What we’re about
Unplug and unwind. Bond over shared experiences. Make authentic friendships.
So Cal Explorers Meetup is the antidote to a hyper-mediated, disconnected world. We go on outings to learn, explore, and celebrate Southern California's most historic, iconic, interesting, cool and lesser-known spots, together. It’s through shared experiences that bonds are formed. We are not a dating group. We are not a networking group. We want everyone to have a place where they can connect and form friendships with other adults without any pressure or ulterior motives.
We'll enjoy walking tours, presentations, hiking, kayaking, museums, live music, movies, dining, exploring, and meetin' up. While everyone 18 and older is welcome, we tend to be a group of progressive, slightly irreverent, 40-60 year olds with counter culture sensibilities.
Come explore with other like-minded folks for relaxed, casual, and fun socializing, learning and dining. So Cal Explorers is where awkward encounters turn into epic friendships!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- MOVIE: THE LAST SHOWGIRL LOCATION/TIME CHANGEAMC Orange 30 (AMC Block 30), Orange, CA
**LOCATION AND TIME CHANGE**
Join us for a much-anticipated movie at Cinemark Century Orange from director Gia Coppola, starring Pamela Anderson.
Tickets are on sale. We are in seats G5 and G6. Use this link:
https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/128039518/seats?affiliateCode=WWM&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=webedia&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=X048C
*6:00 pm - optional pre movie dinner at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse
*7:40 pm - meet in lobby at 7:40 for purchase of any drinks/food
*8:00 pm - movie (run time of 1 hours 28 minutes, not including previews)Wikipedia:
The Last Showgirl is a 2024 American drama film directed by Gia Coppola and written by Kate Gersten. It stars Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, and Jason Schwartzman.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024, and was released in the United States on December 13, 2024. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with Anderson's performance garnering critical praise. It received two nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Anderson and Best Original Song for "Beautiful That Way". - "DEUX FEMMES" - OCMA EXHIBIT OF LEONORA CARRINGTON & LEONOR FINIOrange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa , CA
Cross-posted with LA & OC Weirdo Music & Art Forum
I recently watched a presentation and documentary film at the Philosophical Research Society with my group on Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. I've been a fan of her artwork.
The Orange County Museum of Art has an exhibit, "Deux Femmes" (Two Women), featuring her work, along with that of Argentine-Italian artist Leonor Fini (both actually disavowed the label "surrealist").
(Honorable mention to Remedios Varo, another great artist and kindred spirit, who also relocated to Mexico and was a friend of Carrington's)
Date: Sunday, January 12, 12:00
Lunch at the museum's cafe Verdant at 12:00 followed by gallery visitTickets: Tickets are free, but you must order in advance. Donations are appreciated.
https://10670.blackbaudhosting.com/10670/ticketsDeux Femmes (September 12, 2024 – February 23, 2025)
Deux Femmes brings together a collection of work by artist Leonor Fini (b. 1907, Buenos Aires, Argentina; d. 1996, Paris, France) and Leonora Carrington (b. 1917, Clayton Green, England; d. 2011, Mexico City, Mexico), each of whom emphasize metamorphosis and transformation as a source of power. Both artists lived in Paris in the 1930s and 1940s, engaging with ideas inherent in Surrealism— an international literary and artistic movement that explored the workings of the mind, championing the irrational, the poetic and the revolutionary. Deux Femmes celebrates the enduring legacy of Fini and Carrington, emphasizing how both artists used self-representation in an imaginative and defiant way, embracing duality and multiplicity of identities.“Although I was attracted to the ideas of the surrealists, I don't like being boxed in as a surrealist today. I prefer to be a feminist. André Breton and the men in the group were very sexist, they only wanted us as crazy and sensual muses to entertain them, to serve them. Besides, my clock didn't stop at that moment, I only lived with (Max) Ernst for three years and I don't like being constrained as if I were a fool. “I have not lived under the spell of Ernst: I was born with my vocation and my works are mine alone.”
— Leonora Carrington“I always imagined I would have a life very different from the one that was imagined for me, but I understood from a very early time that I would have to revolt in order to make that life. Now I am convinced that in any creativity there exists this element of revolt.”
— Leonor Fini"Rogomelec" by Leonor Fini
Article: 8 Female Surrealists Who Are Not Frida Kahlo: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-8-female-surrealists-who-are-not-frida-kahlo
Deux Femmes is organized by OCMA’s Curatorial Department with support from the entire OCMA staff.
- STRAY DOG + THE BAD SLEEP WELL - AKIRA KUROSAWA DOUBLE FEATUREThe Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA
We've seen Kurosawa's "High and Low" and "Rashomon". Experience a double feature of Akira Kurosawa's crime films "Stray Dog" and "The Bad Sleep Well"!
Date: Tuesday, January 14, 6:00 pm
Venue: The Frida Cinema
305 E 4th St #100 · Santa Ana, CANo dinner before, due to the start time. Meet in the theater or in front 5:45.
Tickets: $13.00
https://thefridacinema.org/movies/stray-dog-the-bad-sleep-well-double-feature/About the films:
"Stray Dog" Trailer
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 100% positive rating"The Bad Sleep Well" Trailer
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 100% positive ratingIn Stray Dog, rookie cop Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) loses his pistol to a pickpocket during a sweltering Tokyo heatwave and embarks on a relentless pursuit to recover it. Teaming up with seasoned detective Sato (Takashi Shimura), Murakami uncovers a connection between the stolen gun and a series of violent crimes. As the investigation progresses, the parallels between Murakami and the desperate criminal they chase blur, reflecting the struggles of a society grappling with poverty and moral decay. Combining gritty realism with profound humanism, Stray Dog is a masterful examination of guilt, redemption, and the thin line between law and lawlessness.
Kurosawa took on Hamlet in the guise of the hyper-stylish corporate noir. The Bad Sleep Well follows Koichi Nishi (Mifune), a seemingly loyal employee who marries his boss’s disabled daughter, Yoshiko, to infiltrate a corrupt company responsible for his father’s tragic death. As Nishi uncovers the depths of the company’s greed and malfeasance, his meticulously crafted plan begins to unravel under the weight of human frailty and unforeseen complications. With its noir-inspired aesthetic, sharp critique of postwar corporate Japan, and a chilling sense of inevitability, the film is a powerful exploration of morality, justice, and the personal cost of vengeance.
- NOIR BOGEY AND BACALL MOVIE: THE BIG SLEEPThe Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA
This is one of the classics of the Noir genre. Akira Kurosawa cited The Big Sleep as one of his 100 favorite films & Roger Ebert included the film in his list of "Great Movies"
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 7:15 pm
Venue: The Frida Cinema
305 E 4th St #100 · Santa Ana, CAOptional dinner 6:00 location TBD
Tickets: $13.00
https://thefridacinema.org/movies/the-big-sleep/Trailer: https://youtu.be/HiAEX4Y6jEs?si=HvLe6g8GFFQxVQh1
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 96% positive rating
About the film:
The Big Sleep, Howard Hawks' noir adaptation of Raymond Chandler's iconic novel. Private detective Philip Marlowe, played by Humphrey Bogart, is hired by the wealthy General Sternwood to investigate a blackmail scheme involving his daughter, Carmen. What begins as a straightforward case unravels into a labyrinth of deception, murder, and corruption, as Marlowe discovers connections to gambling dens, organized crime, and a missing person. Along the way, he encounters the General’s other daughter, the sharp-witted and enigmatic Vivian, portrayed by Lauren Bacall, with whom he shares a smoldering chemistry.
Director: Howard Hawks
Run Time: 114 min.
Release Year: 1946
Starring: Elisha Cook Jr., Humphrey Bogart, John Ridgely, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers
