LaLaLiving

Et tu Indie 103? January 15, 2009

Why, oh why, can’t Los Angeles keep any decent radio stations on the air?  (Y107 or 101.9 anyone?)  I turned on 103.1 today to hear the horrible announcement that they were ceasing on-air broadcast operations, and were moving to an online-only existence.

Sigh.

While this is fine for when I’m actually sitting at a desk, it’s a big bummer when I’m stuck in interminable LA traffic.  It also gives me pause when thinking about the liklihood that they’ll be able to keep/afford the regular DJs, like Jonesy or Mr. Shovel.

Double sigh.

Diamonds are Yummy June 1, 2008

On Wednesday, I joined the boys for the opening night of this year’s Last Remaining Seats series. The movie was was the always fabulous Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, at the gorgeous Los Angeles Theatre.

In the program, they printed a a 1953 review from the Los Angeles Examiner, which pretty well sums it up: “(Marilyn) romps through ‘Two Little Girls From Little Rock’ bewitchingly. Her natural attributes are so great, it’s like a triple scoop of ice cream on a hot August day to realize she is also an actress - but by golly, and Howard Hawks, she is.”

Delectable.

My Long Absence, Part Deux May 26, 2008

Yes, yes, it is I, back from Blog purgatory. My apologies to you, my 3 fans, for the great lapse.

To get things going again, I thought I’d offer up this juicy bit of mass consumption:

“The Walker Brothers” (a.k.a. Alonso, Jeffrey, and Aaron) held a fundraiser last week for their upcoming Avon 3-Day Walk for breast cancer (you can donate to the cause here), and what a fundraiser it was! Charity Bingo at Hamburger Mary’s, with celebrity caller Kevin Smith, and a slew of nifty prize packages that Alonso et al got donated. Cindy graciously agreed to accompany me, and we arrived early to snag a table and get a bite before the fun and games started. For some reason, I had to go and order the chicken pot pie. And, yes, everyone who walked by our table stopped and stared or laughed hysterically.

Anyway, the evening was a huge success even though Cindy and I had dud Bingo cards and almost-oh-so-close-just-two-more-spaces-damn-someone-else-called-bingo was the mantra of the night, but I’m not bitter. The boys raised a big ol’ chunk of change, and I managed to give away about a 1/3 of my pot pie to Dave, who took pity on me.

The Goat’s Dance February 23, 2008

My father came down with Sheran and some friends for the recent holiday weekend, and I managed to escape from my work confines a few times to visit.

I met up with them one morning at the Getty Center, where I focused on the new exhibits (I’ve never been a huge fan of their permanent collection, other than the photography, and there’s not much in bloom in February to make the gardens worth a wander). The Goat’s Dance exhibit in particular was spectacular, and well worth a trip.

Photographer Graciela Iturbide’s work was stunning, and the exhibit was incredibly large and provided a nice survey of over thirty years of work. Haunting is an overused art word, I know, but these photos really were just that. From the images of the annual goat slaughter in Oaxaca to the massive body of birds taking flight from a start tree in winter to the portrait of an elderly woman in Juchitán, I found myself thinking about them for days afterwards.

I regret that I didn’t have enough time to explore the André Kertész photography exhibit … next time!

Visiting January 30, 2008

Johanna was down visiting last weekend, and I managed to escape my cave a few times to meet up with her and Tina…even though three old high school friends can be a potentially dangerous combination for those around us.

We had dinner at Ita-Cho one night, one of my personal favorites. They’ve snazzed the place up a bit, putting in a new sushi bar along the kitchen area and adding a separate sushi menu for table service, but thank goodness the rest of the menu is the same. I think I would weep openly for a good long while if they ever messed with the fried chicken and eggplant.

Seriously. You can get raw fish anywhere, but that homemade mayonnaise? (Not that you really want to go crazy with the fish anymore, given that recent New York Times article on mercury levels in sushi-grade tuna … not a surprise, but a frightening reminder).

I also introduced them to Pho-Siam Thai Spa, one of my absolute favorite places in LA. For $40, you get kneaded, stretched, walked on, twisted, and generally reduced to wet noodle status within minutes (while while wearing cotton Thai pants, so you don’t feel so exposed while your leg is being prodded up over your head). All in a very pleasant setting, far from the Chinatown massage places I used to go to in NY, with some mismatched curtains separating you from the next customer. The three of us slowly rolled out after our sessions, and went to the Casbah Cafe at Sunset Junction for some tea. “Escape from Thesis Binder” doesn’t get much better than that.

Bladerunner 25 Years Young October 6, 2007

I tagged along with the gays last night to see Blade Runner: The Final Cut at the Landmark Westside Pavilion. What a frickin’ cool movie. I haven’t seen it in years, so it was awesome to see it again on the big screen, especially in uber-restored digital projection. I had forgotten just how beautiful it was (with the minor exception of Harrison Ford’s shirts…keep the trench coat on!), and total running time was under two hours! Go Ridley!

Anniversaries and Updates August 28, 2007

First of all, happy anniversary to Leslie and Steven!  It seems like just yesterday that we were all standing at the giant LOVE sculpture on 6th Avenue in Manhattan, conducting a guerilla wedding.  Well, seems like yesterday until you realize that Leslie is now eight months preggers… Congratulations kids!

Now, some big news updates…

Life After Film School—I have two episodes coming up:

• Sept 2: Peter Ligouri, the Chairman of Fox Entertainment
• Sept 9: Rob McElhenney, one of the creators of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX (I looooooove that show!)

(Premiere date screening times are: 1:00 PT/4:00 ET, 4:30 PT/7:30 ET, and 9:30 PT/12:30 ET)

-AND-

The website I’ve been producing, www.howdoisaythis.com (relaunching Sept 5), was greenlit by mtvU as an on-air series, meaning we’ll get air time in small, “VJ Hits” segments throughout the year (basically re-purposing the episodic material we produce for the site).  (mtvU is MTV’s college station, broadcast to universities around the country).

Here’s a link to a story about the mtvU fall lineup in Hollywood Reporter.

Off to see Crowded House tonight at the Greek Theatre, and THAT is quite a way to top the day off.

___

Have I mentioned how much I love Neil Finn?

The Crowded House show at the Greek was stupendous as expected.  Witty banter, impromptu songs, audience participation, and an almost entirely different set list from their show at the Troubadour last month.  Fatima and I swooned, as Ian and Tom F. maintained a more respectable demeanor (until Tom lost it a tad when they played “Mean to Me” in the encore, which he had forewarned us about.)

Neil’s son Liam played almost the entire show with them, and he obviously has the family music gene (he was at the Troubadour as well for a few songs).  I really wanted to buy one of his t-shirts, but they only had them in large sizes.  It had a purposely amateur drawing of Liam and an Obi-Won Kanobe-type figure, with a speech bubble that said, “Liam, I am your father.”

Opening act Pete Yorn needs to lighten up.  He barely said anything between songs, other than muttering the song name. You’re playing with Crowded House.  Watch and learn my friend.

Fancy Movie Night August 25, 2007

Alonso and Dave have been hosting Fancy Movie Night for the last few months, after Alonso received the Janus 50th Anniversary box set for his birthday, Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films.  I haven’t been able to attend any yet, so was thrilled that I could make it for tonight’s showing of Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries.  What a beautiful film, and I’m feeling rather haunted by it.  It really holds up well, over fifty years after its release, which is understandable given its themes of regret and aging.

Of course, we eased into the evening by watching highlights from Disney’s High School Musical The Concert, so I feel well balanced.

Kate the Great July 18, 2007

I was bummed to discover that LACMA is going to have a Katherine Hepburn film series exactly while I’m out of town. Figures. It’s such a joy to see those old films on the big screen.

The Late, Great Kate: A Centennial Tribute to Katharine Hepburn runs from July 20 to August 21, and will feature twenty-three films. Someone go so I can live vicariously!

Prince Postscript July 3, 2007

We heard through a friend that a reporter they know attended the Friday night Prince concert, and Prince didn’t go on until 2:00 am.  What is that?!?!
Pfffffttttttttt.