The myth of Southern California (or the lie we choose to perpetrate, you decide) is that it never rains here. Always sunny and 72-degrees. Admittedly, it is mainly desert area, our annual rainfall is rather minimal. However, when it it is raining, we take "cats and dogs" to a whole new level.
Yesterday, it rained a shark.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-shark-golf-course-20121025,0,7711527.story?track=rss
Okay, maybe 'rained' is a stretch, as it was just one startled shark in a very isolated 'storm'. But while golfers in Southern California are rarely worried about being struck by lighting, several were shocked yesterday to watch a tiger shark land on the course. Though they were impressed that he avoided the water hazard.
I'll let you play with that picture in your head for a moment.....a surfer was just killed by a great white shark off the coast, so we have some serious predators in the water....before I put it in some perspective. Speculation is that a bird picked it up and was trying to get it to a nest before deciding it was really in the mood for fried chicken instead of two feet of fresh sushi.
One golfer sprang into action and grabbed the poor shark, driving it (in a car after determining his driver was too small) quickly back to the Pacific 5 miles away. The shark is now telling fish tales about how he made a hole in one on the golf course yesterday.
So, we continue to survive L.A., though the hazards on the golf course really bite.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Surviving L.A. - Takes a Tour
While entertaining visitors a few years ago, we took a tour of Iconic Hollywood Filming Locations and were praised by the guide for being locals. Too many people, he said, never play tourist in their hometowns. If you haven't noticed from this blog, we do not suffer from this problem. (And, by the way, we're damn fun hosts. Come on out!)
In 5 years, we have taken 3 bus tours in L.A. We have found that while some tours go past the same location, not everyone provides the same information. Some will let you know that the Dan Tana's restaurant was a favorite hangout of the Rat Pack while ignoring their neighbor, the Troubadour - the legendary concert venue where Guns-N-Roses were discovered. And not all of the tours include the strip club where Demi Moore did her research for Strip Tease. Or, for that matter, the litany of strip clubs immortalized in the Motley Crue song Girls, Girls, Girls. So we need to exhaust the tours to become true experts on L.A. But for now, we have a few tidbits to share.
We took the first tour within a month of our move, climbing aboard the red double-decker buses of Starline to be whisked around the city while straining to hear the less-then-clear audio system commenting on both sites and history in L.A. (www.starlinetours.com) I regularly use their shared facts to wow visitors with my knowledge of the area, including the detail that the residential streets in Beverly Hills have 'designated trees,' such that if you look down any street it is lined with the same foliage for each street. They are very pretty, just don't ask me what any of the varietals are. The tour didn't say. They did say how you can tell when you have crossed from Los Angeles into Beverly Hills....there are suddenly no overhead utility lines. Cross back into L.A. and there they are again.
Our second tour garnered the previously mentioned compliment. We spent 4 hours in chauffeured comfort watching movie and TV clips while driving past the corresponding filming locations. (http://www.dearlydepartedtours.com/hollywood-movie-tours.html) The same company has a few more morbid tours, such as the Manson Murder tour, hence the name. The filming location tour, however, is much more lively. Among some of the highlights were houses from Happy Days, Grease, Six Feet Under and Halloween. One high school has hosted scenes from Nightmare on Elm Street, Pretty in Pink and Gross Pointe Blank in the front, and the final scene from Grease on the back fields. One of my more favorite sites was a park bench used by Michael J. Fox's character in Back to the Future as the launching point for his DeLorean's path out of the 1950's. I can take you there, it's in Griffith Park. Sadly, that is probably the last thing I can show you - I was so mesmerized by the videos in the comfortable van to pay attention to where we were going. If you come visit, we'll just have to take the tour again!
But I can take you back to the house built in Beverly Hills for The Witches of Eastwick. It's actually fantastically close, and I am glad it was pointed out on our recent Rockin' Hollywood Tours ride. (www.rockinhollywoodtours.com) This was actually my least favorite tour, mostly because it focused mainly on celebrity homes. I do not care to see the homes of celebrities any more than most of them want anyone peering at their private personal space. As a result, most of the homes are not terribly visible anyway. So if you take a tour of the homes, be prepared to see a gate, large, thick foliage and maybe the corner of the garage. In one neighborhood the tour guide pointed out a particular roof with two white chimneys and said it was home of the Beckham's. So....I've seen their roof tiles. Fascinating. We were shown a road that was once the private drive to where Tom Cruise used to live with his second wife. Chilling. They also show the gate on the house where Michael Jackson died. Disturbing.
They did have a few interesting tidbits, however. The tour highlights a building once home to a rising movie star named Ronald Reagan. The tour guide mentioned that the group who convinced him to run for Governor of California had initially approached James Garner, who turned them down. Garner was a Democrat and became vice-president of the actor's union while Ronnie went from Sacramento to DC. Rob us of the Rockford Files? Perish the thought!
I will leave you pondering what life under the President Maverick could have been like, and remind you that we are continuing to Survive L.A. Come on out and find out for yourself....we'll show you where Richard Gere climbed to 'rescue' Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, and where Brad Pitt got his start in acting.....as the El Pollo Loco Chicken mascot. It's true, they said it on the tour.
In 5 years, we have taken 3 bus tours in L.A. We have found that while some tours go past the same location, not everyone provides the same information. Some will let you know that the Dan Tana's restaurant was a favorite hangout of the Rat Pack while ignoring their neighbor, the Troubadour - the legendary concert venue where Guns-N-Roses were discovered. And not all of the tours include the strip club where Demi Moore did her research for Strip Tease. Or, for that matter, the litany of strip clubs immortalized in the Motley Crue song Girls, Girls, Girls. So we need to exhaust the tours to become true experts on L.A. But for now, we have a few tidbits to share.
We took the first tour within a month of our move, climbing aboard the red double-decker buses of Starline to be whisked around the city while straining to hear the less-then-clear audio system commenting on both sites and history in L.A. (www.starlinetours.com) I regularly use their shared facts to wow visitors with my knowledge of the area, including the detail that the residential streets in Beverly Hills have 'designated trees,' such that if you look down any street it is lined with the same foliage for each street. They are very pretty, just don't ask me what any of the varietals are. The tour didn't say. They did say how you can tell when you have crossed from Los Angeles into Beverly Hills....there are suddenly no overhead utility lines. Cross back into L.A. and there they are again.
Our second tour garnered the previously mentioned compliment. We spent 4 hours in chauffeured comfort watching movie and TV clips while driving past the corresponding filming locations. (http://www.dearlydepartedtours.com/hollywood-movie-tours.html) The same company has a few more morbid tours, such as the Manson Murder tour, hence the name. The filming location tour, however, is much more lively. Among some of the highlights were houses from Happy Days, Grease, Six Feet Under and Halloween. One high school has hosted scenes from Nightmare on Elm Street, Pretty in Pink and Gross Pointe Blank in the front, and the final scene from Grease on the back fields. One of my more favorite sites was a park bench used by Michael J. Fox's character in Back to the Future as the launching point for his DeLorean's path out of the 1950's. I can take you there, it's in Griffith Park. Sadly, that is probably the last thing I can show you - I was so mesmerized by the videos in the comfortable van to pay attention to where we were going. If you come visit, we'll just have to take the tour again!
But I can take you back to the house built in Beverly Hills for The Witches of Eastwick. It's actually fantastically close, and I am glad it was pointed out on our recent Rockin' Hollywood Tours ride. (www.rockinhollywoodtours.com) This was actually my least favorite tour, mostly because it focused mainly on celebrity homes. I do not care to see the homes of celebrities any more than most of them want anyone peering at their private personal space. As a result, most of the homes are not terribly visible anyway. So if you take a tour of the homes, be prepared to see a gate, large, thick foliage and maybe the corner of the garage. In one neighborhood the tour guide pointed out a particular roof with two white chimneys and said it was home of the Beckham's. So....I've seen their roof tiles. Fascinating. We were shown a road that was once the private drive to where Tom Cruise used to live with his second wife. Chilling. They also show the gate on the house where Michael Jackson died. Disturbing.
They did have a few interesting tidbits, however. The tour highlights a building once home to a rising movie star named Ronald Reagan. The tour guide mentioned that the group who convinced him to run for Governor of California had initially approached James Garner, who turned them down. Garner was a Democrat and became vice-president of the actor's union while Ronnie went from Sacramento to DC. Rob us of the Rockford Files? Perish the thought!
I will leave you pondering what life under the President Maverick could have been like, and remind you that we are continuing to Survive L.A. Come on out and find out for yourself....we'll show you where Richard Gere climbed to 'rescue' Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, and where Brad Pitt got his start in acting.....as the El Pollo Loco Chicken mascot. It's true, they said it on the tour.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Surviving L.A. - Takes Fried Chicken
It's true, just ask the Obama team that had to conduct an impromptu sweep of the world famous Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles on one of the President's trips to L.A. After being assured no crazed bus boy had a plot for anything better than a bad B movie, Barack sampled the place that made the L.A. food scene before Asian Fusion Vegan Haute Cuisine ever became a thing.
We tried our first chicken and waffles recently. Not at Roscoe's (they have had huge lines even before Obama's endorsement), but at Wood and Vine. We can see the appeal. But if you prefer your chicken sans syrup, then you find the next big thing at the Los Angeles Fried Chicken Fest.
The first annual event, a fundraiser for anti-hunger organization Share our Strength, featured the latest take on a summer picnic staple. But this is L.A. people. We eschew the colonel. Popeye is soooo 1988. We use volcanic ash in our fried chicken, for pete's sake.
The featured chefs were:
Josef Centeno of Baco
Mercat and Bar Ama
David LeFevre of M.B. Post
Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill
Matt Molina of Mozza
Bryant Ng of the Spice Table
Jazz Singsanong of Jitlada
Marcel Vigneron and Haru Kishi of the Coop
Ricardo Zarate of Picca and Mo-Chica
The event was held in the empty space for a formerly large Japanese restaurant, which seemed like a strange place to nickname "The Coop" for the evening. The checkered tableclothes were rather our of place near the massive koi pond. Stations were set up throughout the property for sampling.
I think Matt Molina's take on the fried chicken with fried biscuit accompaniment (why not just throw the whole meal in the fryer?) was the group favorite of the night, though the fried curried chicken was a close second. There was a Peruvian dish, some Carribean nuggets and a Thai-inspired take on a Southern U.S. staple.
But by far the most unique 'how far will L.A. chefs go for the next big thing' was the Hot Lava Chicken. I happened to be there just as a new batch was being served....though it appeared to me to have been cooked too long. If you happened upon this dish anywhere else, you would think someone had formed charcoal to loosely resemble a chicken leg. The carefully placed sauce for presentation may have been the only clue that one should pick it up, look beyond the seemingly exceedingly charred exterior, and find tender chicken. The server offered the explanation that they used volcanic ash in the cooking to give it that look. Given that stories surrounding any volcanic eruption include reports on threats to food supplies, I do not believe her. But some secret spice concoction was used that gave the credibility to the idea that perhaps, at least, the chicken had perhaps lived a little to close to Eyjafjöll.
Check it....opening of a new chicken fast food joint near you....Mt. St. Marenzo (patron saint of cooking). Until then, we will have to survive L.A. with Roscoe's....maybe the President will join us again.
We tried our first chicken and waffles recently. Not at Roscoe's (they have had huge lines even before Obama's endorsement), but at Wood and Vine. We can see the appeal. But if you prefer your chicken sans syrup, then you find the next big thing at the Los Angeles Fried Chicken Fest.
The first annual event, a fundraiser for anti-hunger organization Share our Strength, featured the latest take on a summer picnic staple. But this is L.A. people. We eschew the colonel. Popeye is soooo 1988. We use volcanic ash in our fried chicken, for pete's sake.
The featured chefs were:
The event was held in the empty space for a formerly large Japanese restaurant, which seemed like a strange place to nickname "The Coop" for the evening. The checkered tableclothes were rather our of place near the massive koi pond. Stations were set up throughout the property for sampling.
I think Matt Molina's take on the fried chicken with fried biscuit accompaniment (why not just throw the whole meal in the fryer?) was the group favorite of the night, though the fried curried chicken was a close second. There was a Peruvian dish, some Carribean nuggets and a Thai-inspired take on a Southern U.S. staple.
But by far the most unique 'how far will L.A. chefs go for the next big thing' was the Hot Lava Chicken. I happened to be there just as a new batch was being served....though it appeared to me to have been cooked too long. If you happened upon this dish anywhere else, you would think someone had formed charcoal to loosely resemble a chicken leg. The carefully placed sauce for presentation may have been the only clue that one should pick it up, look beyond the seemingly exceedingly charred exterior, and find tender chicken. The server offered the explanation that they used volcanic ash in the cooking to give it that look. Given that stories surrounding any volcanic eruption include reports on threats to food supplies, I do not believe her. But some secret spice concoction was used that gave the credibility to the idea that perhaps, at least, the chicken had perhaps lived a little to close to Eyjafjöll.
Check it....opening of a new chicken fast food joint near you....Mt. St. Marenzo (patron saint of cooking). Until then, we will have to survive L.A. with Roscoe's....maybe the President will join us again.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Surviving L.A. - is an Exercise
An exercise in insanity, maybe. Because every other billboard, TV ad, Groupon and airplane-dragged banner is hawking something designed to remind you that to make it with the beautiful people in L.A. - you have to be willing to put in the effort. You can buy the laser sculpting or you can sculpt the muscles the old fashioned way.......sweating to the oldies. (Which you can do on occasion with the legend himself, Richard Simmons, on a random Tuesday or Thursday at class at his Beverly Hills Studio. http://www.richardsimmons.com/j15/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=137&extmode=flat)
But this is L.A. - home of muscle beach, inspiration for roller blading and the birth place of the thigh master. We try what's new. What's cutting edge. The next big secret to 2% body fat and a red carpet body in just 8 minutes a day.
As you know, I am embracing L.A. But while I like - well, real food - too much to do the latest 'proprietary blend' 20-day raw juice cleanse, I am willing to turn to my inner cardio queen and give some of the new ideas in workouts a try.
I'm not talking pole dancing.....that's so 2008. After all, Santa Monica is the home of the first Cirque De Soleil show in the United States. Future performers - and the delusional among us - can take classes in high-flying arts like the trapeze and slick, colorful silk panels that make you cry for the 'easy' days of your 5th grade gym class rope climb. I loved it! No worries mom, despite the best efforts of the graceful instructor, I lack any skill to run off and join the circus.
Willing to watch me make fun of myself for my birthday, my dear friend Kim bought me a gift card for a dance cardio class and then talked me into the Hip Hop Dance Class. Of course we have hip hop dance classes...what else do you think the Fly Girls are doing until the In Living Color reunion show? It took us one hour to learn a 15-second hip hop routine that proves I am, in fact, too old to consider a second career as a Laker Girl.
It was a really good workout for me, but I am not looking for a weekly reminder that I do not, in fact, got the moves like Jagger. So another friend had an excellent alternative - do all the traditional exercises you have known for years. Let's just find a way to make it harder. Do it on 1970s-space-movie-inspired-prop-boot-gone-crazy shoes - it's called Kangoo. Once you master walking on the single-leg trampolines, you go through your basic cardio moves from jogging to jumping jacks to Jane Fonda-inspired aerobics. http://bouncevenice.wordpress.com/
Perhaps the genius of Kangoo is that it serves a dual purpose. Your quest for firm glutes take you onto the exercise trail running from Malibu to Manhattan Beach. So your very location helps you do double duty as extras in the entertainment capital of the world, providing a great deal of gawks and head-shaking laughs for the tourists. I try not to think about how many bad vacation photo albums I now appear in.
But if you really want to do challenge yourself, you have to turn up the heat. It may stay a cool 72-degrees year round in southern California year round (which is a lie, but that is for another column) but you can have the hottest workout around at Fire Groove, where in 12 1-hour lessons you too can swing flaming balls around your head for the entertainment of others. (I'll start booking for weddings and birthday parties in August.) It turns out there are multiple ways you can 'dance' with fire. Kim and I (I am starting to see a pattern with her!) tried Poi Fire Dancing, which is supposed to be a graceful swinging of ropes twirling beautiful flaming orbs around your body to music.
Thankfully, instruction was conducted with socks stuffed with weighted balls....slightly less painful to the temples while learning butterfly wings and angel wings and a move that should be renamed "the black eye" for it's ultimate accomplishment. I am going to use the word dance very lightly, as I truly felt like my moves were more defensive...standing as still as possible or moving as quickly as possible to avoid being smacked in the head - again. I will definitely say that Poi dancing got my heart rate up....though I think it was more out of fear than any cardio effort.
Next, Kim and I are going to learn to paddle board in Malibu. Just in time for prime whale migration season. I think it might be safer.
As Missing Persons sang "Nobody walks in L.A." - but we are willing to try just about anything else in the name of fitness. It's how you Survive L.A.
But this is L.A. - home of muscle beach, inspiration for roller blading and the birth place of the thigh master. We try what's new. What's cutting edge. The next big secret to 2% body fat and a red carpet body in just 8 minutes a day.
As you know, I am embracing L.A. But while I like - well, real food - too much to do the latest 'proprietary blend' 20-day raw juice cleanse, I am willing to turn to my inner cardio queen and give some of the new ideas in workouts a try.
I'm not talking pole dancing.....that's so 2008. After all, Santa Monica is the home of the first Cirque De Soleil show in the United States. Future performers - and the delusional among us - can take classes in high-flying arts like the trapeze and slick, colorful silk panels that make you cry for the 'easy' days of your 5th grade gym class rope climb. I loved it! No worries mom, despite the best efforts of the graceful instructor, I lack any skill to run off and join the circus.
Willing to watch me make fun of myself for my birthday, my dear friend Kim bought me a gift card for a dance cardio class and then talked me into the Hip Hop Dance Class. Of course we have hip hop dance classes...what else do you think the Fly Girls are doing until the In Living Color reunion show? It took us one hour to learn a 15-second hip hop routine that proves I am, in fact, too old to consider a second career as a Laker Girl.
It was a really good workout for me, but I am not looking for a weekly reminder that I do not, in fact, got the moves like Jagger. So another friend had an excellent alternative - do all the traditional exercises you have known for years. Let's just find a way to make it harder. Do it on 1970s-space-movie-inspired-prop-boot-gone-crazy shoes - it's called Kangoo. Once you master walking on the single-leg trampolines, you go through your basic cardio moves from jogging to jumping jacks to Jane Fonda-inspired aerobics. http://bouncevenice.wordpress.com/
Perhaps the genius of Kangoo is that it serves a dual purpose. Your quest for firm glutes take you onto the exercise trail running from Malibu to Manhattan Beach. So your very location helps you do double duty as extras in the entertainment capital of the world, providing a great deal of gawks and head-shaking laughs for the tourists. I try not to think about how many bad vacation photo albums I now appear in.
But if you really want to do challenge yourself, you have to turn up the heat. It may stay a cool 72-degrees year round in southern California year round (which is a lie, but that is for another column) but you can have the hottest workout around at Fire Groove, where in 12 1-hour lessons you too can swing flaming balls around your head for the entertainment of others. (I'll start booking for weddings and birthday parties in August.) It turns out there are multiple ways you can 'dance' with fire. Kim and I (I am starting to see a pattern with her!) tried Poi Fire Dancing, which is supposed to be a graceful swinging of ropes twirling beautiful flaming orbs around your body to music.
Thankfully, instruction was conducted with socks stuffed with weighted balls....slightly less painful to the temples while learning butterfly wings and angel wings and a move that should be renamed "the black eye" for it's ultimate accomplishment. I am going to use the word dance very lightly, as I truly felt like my moves were more defensive...standing as still as possible or moving as quickly as possible to avoid being smacked in the head - again. I will definitely say that Poi dancing got my heart rate up....though I think it was more out of fear than any cardio effort.
Next, Kim and I are going to learn to paddle board in Malibu. Just in time for prime whale migration season. I think it might be safer.
As Missing Persons sang "Nobody walks in L.A." - but we are willing to try just about anything else in the name of fitness. It's how you Survive L.A.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Surviving L.A. - Takes Star Sightings
And sometimes, that's like shooting fish in a barrel. At least when Paley Fest is happening.
William Paley was the creator of CBS Network, and left a historical legacy in this town in the form of a TV museum and an annual event inviting program fans to spend an evening getting some behind the scenes information from their favorite cast members and creative talent behind the show. In a special Monday edition of Date Night, I surprised Richard with an intimate evening with the cast of one of his favorite shows: Two and a Half Men.
The evening opened with an introduction of the show's creator - the same genius behind Two Broke Girls and Big Bang Theory - Chuck Lorre. In his introduction the moderator, L.A. chief for TV guide Magazine (aka, L.A.'s Bible) Mike Schneider, showed a cover that featured Lorre when he was inducted into the TV hall of fame. Lorre blushed like a starlette showing up on the red carpet wearing the same dress as Jennifer Lopez....he was wearing the same outfit as he had on in the picture. Clearly, the man needs more money for clothes.
Lorre introduced a screening of next Monday's episode, which has an ending that....as soon as you see it coming....will make you forget all about what's-his-name Sheen and realize the writer's have too.
After the audience stopped cringing at the final scene and remembered to clap, the moderator introduced the cast - pretty much everyone. Paley Fest tickets come with the disclaimer that they make no guarantees about any individual's participation, but the cast seems genuinely thankful that so many fans stuck with it through what most people in and outside of L.A. saw as the show's untimely death at the hands of an out-of-control leading man. So in addition to Lorre, we were graced with the presence of Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher, Angus T. Jones, Holland Taylor, Conchata Ferrell and co-creator Lee Aronson.
For more than an hour the panel discussed the show with questions from the modertor and the audience on everything from character growth to returning guest stars to Jake finally graduating high school to Ashton's prosthetic penis.
We got a small sneak peek or two to some upcoming features, but no big spoliers as the show has not technically been picked up for next season. Paley Fest is a highly entertaining, behind-the-scenes look into the people who entertain us. If you are ever in L.A. in the spring, I highly recommend it.
Now, I will not close without quoting Aston when he pleaded last night "please give some context to the penis." If you watch the show you know that the Walden character is known for being well-endowed and fond of, or at least not shy about, going au naturale. However, the show is taped in front of a live audience and one is not allowed to do full nudity in that setting. Ashton mentioned - to the apparent shock of his co-stars - that he had just the thing to take care of this problem, a prosthetic. Why exactly someone can wear a prosthic fallic device but not prance in the nude is beyond me, but this appears to be the case. So, for the pleasure of the live audience, Ashton donned the device and gave new meaning to Two and a Half Men.
I will leave you, dear readers, with questions to ponder. What college degree qualifies one to create or fix a prosthetic penis (it apparently needed to undergo some delicate repairs), and are you ready to make a move to this career field? Never mind asking the question as to why Ashton had one conveniently in his car to begin with.
We continue to survive L.A. - highly entertained.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Surviving L.A. - takes good news reporting
"No News is Good News"
That phrase takes on a new meaning for me after having lived in L.A. for more than 4 years. Trying to keep up with the important things affecting our lives - Health Care Reform, state and federal elections, the Arab Spring - are really hard here when Charlie Sheen just won't behave, Kobe Bryant's ex-wife is only getting three mansions in the divorce settlement and the porn industry is threatening to pull out of Southern California. I have found that in L.A. No news outlet is good news reporting.
Now, I understand I live in the entertainment capital of the world and therefore "the Industry" will dominate the local news since the majority of the people here make their livelihoods directly or tangentially from it. That does not mean I need the evening news to report who got voted off Dancing with the Stars. It's often hard to tell the difference between the 5 o'clock news and TMZ, or the Los Angeles Times and People magazine. But, clearly, there are people here who do think Jennifer Anniston's every move is fascinating...and their not stalkers, just subscribers.
Avoiding entertainment news in most cities is as easy as tossing that section of the Sunday paper in the recycling bin. In L.A. it is pervasive....even beyond the legal pages discussing Lindsay Lohan's latest court appearance. The Sports section includes non-athlete celebrity activities at sporting events. The Home Listings page has special spotlights on celebrity homes for sale. Currently, if you are in the market, Paula Abdul's Sherman Oaks home is on the market for $1.899 million, Ryan Reynolds is selling the home he bought with Scarlette Johansson, and a house once leased by Brittany Spears is ready for new occupants as well. Paparazzi do not convey.
Now, the news media is only giving the public what they demand, right? So what does it say about my fellow SoCal inhabitants that the Most Viewed news story on the L.A. Times website in November was "The best wine to serve with Thanksgiving Turkey"?
But there is a news story that finally, after 4 years, gives me cause to write this particular installment of surviving L.A. The news first broke back in November: a rock is making its way toward L.A.
The viewers are rapt. Was the movie Armegeddon really a prophecy coming true? Could Bruce Willis come to our rescue yet again? (Oh wait, he died in the first movie.) What can we do? The media keeps us glued to the TV daily following the trajectory and the timeline....which is turns out is very slow.
And the only danger we are in is being offended by another's taste in art.
Today's update from the L.A. Times - because I can't make this stuff up:
"Sunday night marked the fifth night of travel for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s “big rock,” as it’s been dubbed. The 340-ton, near-two story high granite boulder, now well on its way to the museum to become the focal point of artist Michael Heizer’s landmark sculpture “Levitated Mass,” is now a seasoned veteran of the SoCal roads."
And it's critical that you know: "It was given the night off Saturday, but continued its trek Sunday night."
Tantalized? Check out the websites for our local TV stations. You can see the live reports from the rock's location. The L.A. Times has a route tracker. Because traffic here isn't bad enough. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-heizer-rock-map-20111123-i,0,5739628.htmlstory
So I ask you - nay, beg you - to send me news of the outside world. Because if there is an actual asteroid headed for earth, I'd like to know. It's the only way we will continue to Survive L.A.
That phrase takes on a new meaning for me after having lived in L.A. for more than 4 years. Trying to keep up with the important things affecting our lives - Health Care Reform, state and federal elections, the Arab Spring - are really hard here when Charlie Sheen just won't behave, Kobe Bryant's ex-wife is only getting three mansions in the divorce settlement and the porn industry is threatening to pull out of Southern California. I have found that in L.A. No news outlet is good news reporting.
Now, I understand I live in the entertainment capital of the world and therefore "the Industry" will dominate the local news since the majority of the people here make their livelihoods directly or tangentially from it. That does not mean I need the evening news to report who got voted off Dancing with the Stars. It's often hard to tell the difference between the 5 o'clock news and TMZ, or the Los Angeles Times and People magazine. But, clearly, there are people here who do think Jennifer Anniston's every move is fascinating...and their not stalkers, just subscribers.
Avoiding entertainment news in most cities is as easy as tossing that section of the Sunday paper in the recycling bin. In L.A. it is pervasive....even beyond the legal pages discussing Lindsay Lohan's latest court appearance. The Sports section includes non-athlete celebrity activities at sporting events. The Home Listings page has special spotlights on celebrity homes for sale. Currently, if you are in the market, Paula Abdul's Sherman Oaks home is on the market for $1.899 million, Ryan Reynolds is selling the home he bought with Scarlette Johansson, and a house once leased by Brittany Spears is ready for new occupants as well. Paparazzi do not convey.
Now, the news media is only giving the public what they demand, right? So what does it say about my fellow SoCal inhabitants that the Most Viewed news story on the L.A. Times website in November was "The best wine to serve with Thanksgiving Turkey"?
But there is a news story that finally, after 4 years, gives me cause to write this particular installment of surviving L.A. The news first broke back in November: a rock is making its way toward L.A.
The viewers are rapt. Was the movie Armegeddon really a prophecy coming true? Could Bruce Willis come to our rescue yet again? (Oh wait, he died in the first movie.) What can we do? The media keeps us glued to the TV daily following the trajectory and the timeline....which is turns out is very slow.
And the only danger we are in is being offended by another's taste in art.
Today's update from the L.A. Times - because I can't make this stuff up:
"Sunday night marked the fifth night of travel for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s “big rock,” as it’s been dubbed. The 340-ton, near-two story high granite boulder, now well on its way to the museum to become the focal point of artist Michael Heizer’s landmark sculpture “Levitated Mass,” is now a seasoned veteran of the SoCal roads."
And it's critical that you know: "It was given the night off Saturday, but continued its trek Sunday night."
Tantalized? Check out the websites for our local TV stations. You can see the live reports from the rock's location. The L.A. Times has a route tracker. Because traffic here isn't bad enough. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-heizer-rock-map-20111123-i,0,5739628.htmlstory
So I ask you - nay, beg you - to send me news of the outside world. Because if there is an actual asteroid headed for earth, I'd like to know. It's the only way we will continue to Survive L.A.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Still Surviving L.A.
We'd like to take this opportunity to dispel the cruel rumors spread across unsavory tabloids and unscrupulous blogs - we are, in fact, still surviving L.A.!
Like a good HBO series, there was a nice hiatus for the Surviving L.A. series. I know it was quite a cliff hanger, keeping you wondering if contract negotiations or a writer's strike had taken us the way of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (Still bitter). But I am pleased to say we are still going strong, just in some reruns as to the more exciting highlights of our first three years here - Magic Castle, Magic Mountain and Richard's magical ability to know that we have run into someone famous, but not know who they actually are. (For the record, the three most recent sightings were Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chelsea Handler and Marky Mark sans funky bunch.)
But a lot has happened in the last 18 months and we're putting together a new list of fun local activities to try - come visit and join in some of them! AJ's learning to dance with fire, Vega's been checking out the waterfalls in Los Angeles and Richard's new job now has him as CIO of 2 wineries.....how bad can that be?
Like a series that has been going long and strong and needs a new character in the mix, we may be making a liberal interpretation of the term "Greater Los Angeles Area" in lieu of adding a new cute kid - but I hope the adventures will be good into this season as in the past to enthrall the 3 readers who have mentioned missing this blog.
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