WHAT'S HAPPENING : MUSIC.

A young Aretha: Blues chanteuse Zola Moon once said she always wanted to sing like B.B. King.

In fact, it was hearing King that led the Bay Area-bred Moon to check out Big Mama Thornton and Albert King, two of her other influences. But Moon has developed her own style of what she calls ``postmodern blues'' after knocking around Los Angeles clubs for more than 10 years.

Along with her own original material, Moon covers crowd-pleasing classic blues and r&b on stage. Her acclaimed new disc, ``Lost in the Blues'' (Kent), contains gutsy numbers like ``Blue Wind'' and ``Mean Mean Man'' as well as the jazzier ``Baby Get Lost.''

An energetic live performer, Moon appears tonight at the Rendezvous in Newhall. Her fans range from KLOS-FM (95.5) morning team Mark and Brian to Sid Seidenberg, B.B. King's manager.

``This girl sings like a young Aretha Franklin,'' Seidenberg once said. ``A totally unique act.''

The Rendezvous is at 22505 W. Eighth St., Newhall. Show time is 9 p.m. and there is no cover charge. Information: [phone].

?13- Fred Shuster

art

The sly, satirical Goya: Though the Spanish nobility wined and dined him, the artist Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was nobody's idea of a lap dog. Skeptical of human nature, disgusted by hypocrisy, Goya (1746-1828) was one of the toughest social critics ever to set paint to canvas.

Nowhere is his scathing outlook more evident than in his famous ``Los Caprichos,'' a series of engravings that satirize the Spanish government, its leisure and lower classes and the Church. But the ``Caprichos'' also speak to the timelessness of human folly and to what the artist perceived as the eternal warfare between men and women.

Through January, the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena will be exhibiting a selection from the series of 80 prints. Included will be the well-known Plate No. 43, ``El sueno de la razon produce monstruos (The sleep of reason produces monsters),'' an indelible, nightmare image in which a dozing gentleman from the Age of Enlightenment is menaced by a swarm of creatures from the id.

The museum, at the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards, at the intersection of the Foothill (210) and Ventura (134) freeways, is open noon to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for students with ID and seniors. Members and children under 12 admitted free. Call [phone].

?13- Reed Johnson

film

Don't wait for `Patient': Swooning romanticism mingles with a nice sense of intellectual rigor in ``The English Patient.'' Based on Michael Ondaatje's acclaimed, complex novel, this exquisitely photographed tale of loss and betrayal breaks your heart while it delights your senses.

Ralph Fiennes (``Schindler's List'') plays the title invalid, a horribly burned, slowly dying plane-crash victim cared for by a Canadian army nurse (French actress Juliette Binoche) in a magnificent Italian ruin near the end of World War II. In flashbacks, we learn of his destructive affair with a colleague's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) in prewar Egypt.

That's just a bare outline of what goes on here. It's equally impossible to describe what a sumptuous display of desert vistas, Renaissance artistry and military spectacle director Anthony Minghella lays out here. But the main attractions remain the love stories - yes, there are more than one - in which people's hearts drive them out of their minds, but never ask them to turn off their brains.

?13- Bob Strauss

dining

Satay and crickets: The recent debut of Wolfgang Puck's ObaChine in Beverly Hills results in renewed attention to restaurants with similar multi-Asian menus such as the Santa Monica Airport's Typhoon, 3221 Donald Douglas Loop South, Santa Monica.

A hangout for the flying crowd and those foodies in the know who've stumbled across it, Typhoon is almost as adventurous foodwise as the airplane lore spun by many of the grizzled pilots at the bar.

And its latest foray is into the world of satays and crickets, the former being the skewered, grilled goodies of Southeast Asia, the latter an exotic stir-fried dish for the truly daring who are willing to sample these trillers and chirpers that owner Brian Vidor flies in live every week from a hatchery in Louisiana.

As for the satays, Vidor has introduced Thai chicken, Balinese pork, Indonesian shrimp, Filipino beef and Singapore lamb renditions. Each is priced at $1 and served from 3 to 7 p.m.

They are also available at dinnertime along with a special fruit satay served with a chocolate dipping sauce. The fruit satay was discovered by Vidor on Lombok, an island just west of Bali, during a recent six-nation tour of Southeast Asia.

For additional menu information, call Vidor at [phone].

?13- Larry Lipson

theater

Two from Texas: Caldwell & Winfree sounds like a law firm. Fact is, the only crime involved here is that more people don't know about this Valley-based comedy writing/acting/producing duo.

Rachel Winfree and Michael Caldwell describe themselves as fifth-generation Texans. That's a big deal in Houston or Austin, they point out.

But it also may explain their affinity for down-home humor, the kind you'll find plenty of in ``Our Wedding,'' 3 p.m. Saturdays at Hollywood's Theatre/Theater.

The action takes place at the reception nuptials for two Lone Star newlyweds. More than 20 members of the wedding party show up, all of them played by the actors. The only folks missing, for reasons to be revealed later, are the happy couple.

L.A. audiences have fond memories of past Caldwell & Winfree productions such as ``All About Christmas Eve'' and ``The 27th Annual PLATE Awards.'' The tradition continues at 1713 N. Cahuenga Blvd., one-half block north of Hollywood Boulevard. Tickets are $12. Call [phone].

?13- Reed Johnson

family

The continuing saga of Sega: Tired of playing with your computer at home? Why not head down to the Los Angeles Children's Museum between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday to see the latest stop of something called the PICO Bus.

The rolling, metal, multimedia machine has been transporting demos of PICO, an entertainment/educational system made by Sega, around the country, demonstrating games and CD-ROM stories. The $5 admission price gets you into the museum, 310 N. Main St., Los Angeles, and the 36-console exhibit. As a bonus, life-size characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog will play along. For information, call [phone].

?13- Glenn Gaslin

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) MOON

(2) Goya's ``The sleep of reason produces monsters'' is part of ``Los Caprichos'' at the Norton Simon Museum through January.

(3) Rachel Winfree and Michael Caldwell are the writers and performers behind ``Our Wedding,'' Saturday afternoons at Theatre/Theater.