Happy Halloween from West Hollywood

 

Santa Monica Boulevard at 5:30 p.m. 

Santa Monica Boulevard at 9:00 p.m.

Three Johnny Depps 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clowns!

Saw a fun, little show on Theater Row in Hollywood today called "Haywire!" It's a take-off on one of the last movies Joan Crawford made -- a murder thriller titled "Beserk!"

In the movie Crawford played the Ringmistress of a small traveling circus. Performers in the circus start dying mid-performance and when the word gets out the box office goes through the roof as spectators come hoping to see the next gruesome death. In true show biz spirit, Crawford insists the show must go on after each incident and screams "Clowns!" to move it along.

At least I think so after seeing the play today. I've never actually seen the movie -- and now I want to rent it.

There's No Place Like Home

Today's USC vs. Washington State football game was Homecoming. I don't think I've ever seen so many people on campus before a football game. It was packed!

The Coliseum was sold out and rocking.

Celebrity Sightings: Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge sat down in our row for a few minutes during the third quarter. Turns out his first cousin has tickets at the end of our row. But LaBonge only stayed a few minutes -- then he was off to shake more hands.

Snoop Dogg was seen hanging out on the Trojan sideline. 

This year's Drum Major leads the Trojan Marching Band on campus before the football game. 

Dr. Arthur C. Bartner (in a rare quiet moment above) has directed the Trojan Marching Band for 35 years -- an accomplishment celebrated during today's Homecoming Halftime show. 

The Trojan Marching Band's formation for the National Anthem. 

Traveller comes out after each touchdown. So the horse got a lot of exercise today. 

Several hundred alumni of the Trojan Marching Band were on the field to play at halftime. 

Over 100 Song Girls (that's Trojan for "Cheerleader") from the past 40 years gathered to perform at halftime.

These Song Girls -- from the 60s I think -- had uniforms that are red and gold. They still had the moves down.

Everybody's got to have a look. 

The Trojans sold out the Coliseum again -- 92,021 in attendance today. 

Another Trojan blowout -- this one 55 to 13 over the Washington State Cougars. 

Saw an interesting show tonight at the Pasadena Playhouse called, "Open Window." It's a co-production with Deaf Theater West and several of the cast members are deaf. The play was entirely in English and American Sign Language.

It's a really sad story about the struggle between a deaf psychologist and a deaf linguist struggling to deal with a young deaf man who had been locked in a basement for 12 years and escaped by killing his father. Heavy! 

Shoppers Paradise

Did a little shopping for a birthday gift at the highly popular shopping center, The Grove, this evening. Everyone loves going here. Traffic -- both vehicular and pedestrian -- flows well at this relatively new shopping center. Good stores, good restaurants and a good movie theater -- what more could you ask for in a shopping center? (Since they opened at about the same time The Grove is often compared to the Hollywood & Highland, and H&H always comes up short in the comparison.)

Had dinner with my friend, Michael Self, at El Coyote. We had a nice time catching up. On Friday nights El Coyote is normally slammed. But not tonight for some reason. My guess is lots of folks are too busy getting ready for Halloween to go out to eat tonight.

Didn't make it to a movie or cultural event tonight. Am I in trouble? 

Hello, Laaaady!

Went to Santa Monica tonight to see an interesting murder-mystery movie called "Where the Truth Lies." It stars Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth as a 1950s song and comedy duo a la Martin and Lewis.

The movie travels back and forth over the decades and the story centers on a young journalist's attempt to find out why their partnership came to an end. Maybe it had something to do with the dead body found in their hotel suite......

I especially liked 50s and 70s entertainment world presented by this movie. And the 1970s Pan Am first class scene (complete with swivel seats and a dining table) is a complete hoot.

With all the publicity Jerry Lewis has been getting on his new book about his partnership with Dean Martin, it seemed like a timely movie to see.

Of course, the only time Martin and Lewis were accused of killing was when they were really funny in a showroom.

Celebrity Sighting: Saw Michael York turning left onto Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood this morning. I forgot to notice what sort of car he was driving.

Land of the Dead

Went to the hugely unpopular Hollywood & Highland Shopping Center in Hollywood tonight. It was deserted! Everyone I know hates the traffic flow at this terrible commercial center. They've put up more signs since it opened to help people navigate the place -- but it's still awful.

And here's a suggestion to all real estate developers: If you're going to build a place that may end up as an empty monstrosity -- don't decorate it with huge "White Elephants." Hello!

Hollywood & Highland has been in the news this week because the LAPD is cracking down on the characters (Spiderman, Superman, Charlie Chaplin, Chuckie, Michael Jackson, etc.) who stand on the sidewalk in front and take photos with tourists for a tip. Apparently the first one arrested was Mr. Incredible -- he was charged with aggressive panhandling. According to the newspaper, the LAPD launched this campaign by gathering all the characters (in costume) in a conference room and letting them know the crackdown was underway (what I would give for a photo of that). Two Spidermen fighting in front of the tourists over their turf was the straw the broke the camel's back.

I went to Hollywood & Highland to see "Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride" at the Mann's Chinese 6 Theater. It's a fun movie made with stop-motion animation.

A nervous groom accidentally marries a corpse and is drawn into her Underground World of the Dead. It's more funny than creepy. And Danny Elfman's music (of Oingo Boingo fame) totally makes the film.

Pie a la Mob

Tonight I really enjoyed seeing David Cronenberg's relatively new movie, "A History of Violence."

Viggo Mortensen stars as the owner of a diner in an Indiana small town. He thwarts a robbery attempt and finds himself in the spotlight as a local hero. As you can guess from the movie's title, that's exactly where he doesn't want to be.

This movie is deftly crafted and the tension builds while the story moves along at a good pace. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's a fun thriller.

Ain't Your Usual Muppets

Saw a strange, but visually curious, new movie tonight called "MirrorMask." It's produced by The Jim Henson Company, but it's no kids movie.

It's about a young woman who lives with her parents who run a small traveling circus in England. Her mother falls ill during a performance and faces surgery. The daughter has this bizarre dream through which she realizes the adolescent hatred she carries is hurting only herself.

I can't begin to describe her dream -- it includes everything from light and dark queens, animals with the body of a gorilla and the head of a penguin, tigers with human faces that can only be passed when stumped by a riddle, a spider with a gigantic eye and a key that unlocks a mystery lock.

I've never done drugs. But this seems like one of those movies that would be quite something if you were on acid.

Sunday Matinee

Robert Downey, Jr. is great in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." So is Val Kilmer. It's a very fun movie -- sort of a modern day film noir.

But it doesn't really represent life in Los Angeles. The parties aren't nearly as interesting as the ones in the movie.

Cluster F-Bombing

Sat through the horrid, new David Mamet play, "Romance" at the Mark Taper Forum tonight. Hated it, hated it, hated it. Did I mention I hated it?

Mamet's trademark rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, and fascination with profanity, is alive and well. But for this show he tries his hand at comedy. Too bad the play's not funny.

I don't subscribe to the theory that bigoted jokes and stereotypes are funny as long as you offend everybody. (Although I do have to admit I saw Don Rickles pull it off once in the showroom at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas -- but I digress.)

How is an on-stage debate over which is worse, that William Shakespeare was a Jew or a fag, supposed to be funny?

Sadly, much of the audience seemed to think it was funny. They reminded me of six-year olds giggling over their witty use of the words "caca" and "pee pee."

About twenty years ago David Mamet had a casting dispute while preparing one of his shows for the Center Theatre Group with their then-Artistic Director Gordon Davidson. As long as Davidson was in charge no other Mamet play appeared on a Center Theatre Group stage. But now that Davidson is gone and Michael Ritchie has taken over, they've kissed and made up. Too bad the first show (and Ritchie's first show at the Mark Taper Forum) is so regrettable.

At least I saw a few familiar faces in the audience:

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Cindy Misikowski was seen heading for the parking lot during intermission. (Smart move, Councilwoman!)

Also during intermission Political Consultant Harvey Englander diplomatically said he was keeping an open mind until after the second act.

Movie Director Robert King -- who defeated me for High School Student Council -- was spotted in the audience. (Why is the guy who beat me the ONLY person I went to high school with that I see out and about?)

Movie Star Tom Everett Scott, who I saw last weekend at the Ahmanson Theater in "Dead End," was also spotted in the audience. Kind of funny that the first Saturday night after his show closed he's back at the Music Center watching a play.

The Photo Drought is Over

Saw a really outstanding film tonight called, "The Squid and the Whale." It stars Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels as a married couple going through a divorce and attacking each other through their two children.

This movie makes you laugh while breaking your heart at the same time. Excellent script and great acting!

As you can see from above, I got a new camera today. I went with the Olympus Stylus 600. So far I'm liking it.

I went to dinner tonight at Canter's on Fairfax Boulevard and was learning how the camera works by taking pictures of the fancy fruit cups on display. The restaurant manager came over and told me that customers aren't allowed to use cameras inside Canter's .

After I stopped laughing I asked way. He told me -- with a straight face -- that other restaurants wanting to duplicate Canter's look might send someone in to take photos of the place.

Yeah, there's a lot of demand for mid-50s, enormous diner/delis these days. (It probably has more to do with the infamous KCBS hidden cameras that recorded some pretty hideous health violations at Canter's a couple of years ago.)

But I complied and put my camera today. I don't know what I'd do if I got 86ed from Canter's.

Don't Buy Casio!

Found out today Casio wants me to pay $170 to repair my digital camera.

Here's the background: Last November I bought a Casio EXlim Z40 digital camera for around $300 in anticipation of my trip in January and February. In Cape Town, South Africa I slipped and fell with the camera in my pocket -- breaking the LED screen on the back.

When I got home I paid Casio around $200 to fix it. No complaints, no whining -- I broke it, so I paid to get it fixed.

It worked great until I was in Phoenix earlier this month. I pulled it out of my shirt pocket before the football game to find the LED screen broken again. Shoot! But this time I hadn't done anything to it.

So I shipped it off to the factory and expected them to fix it under the one-year warranty. Well, they refuse and claim they found "pressure points" on the LED screen so it's not a "manufacturer's defect."

Well, all I know is I treated it well and it broke. Since Casio refuses to stand behind their products I've vowed to never again purchase a Casio product. And since you're reading this, I urge you to do the same -- for your own sake.

Now I've got my eye on an Olympus Stylus 600 digital camera.

Sorry, didn't go to a movie or some other cultural event tonight -- so nothing to report on. I spent today in San Mateo attending a Junior Statesmen meeting. My flight home from San Jose was delayed by fog at LAX. We sat on the runway in San Jose for 30 minutes. So all I had time for tonight was to write this anti-Casio rant.

Phantasmagoric

Caught a screening tonight at the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard of the deliciously over-the-top Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton 1968 movie, "BOOM!"

What a glorious train wreck.

Filmed in Sardinia, (a too young for the part) Taylor stars as the super-rich recluse Sissy Goforth and (a too old for the part) Burton plays the wandering harbinger of death/gigolo/poet Chris Flanders.

Goforth lives at the top of an island that she rules with her pet monkey and mina bird. In fact, my favorite line was when Taylor screams in frustration, "Monkey, off the terrace!" She also screams "injection" into her elaborate intercom system whenever she needs her doctor's attention.

The screenplay was written by Tennessee Williams and Noel Coward even shows up in a role called the "Witch of Capri."

The rumor is Burton and Taylor were drunk during most of the filming -- and it shows.

No wonder this is supposed to be one of John Waters' favorite films.

It's based on a play also written by Tennessee Williams called, "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore." The Broadway play starred Tallulah Bankhead and Tab Hunter. It ran for exactly four performances.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped in the frozen custard palace "Lickity Split" next door to the Egyptian Theater. Some people believe frozen custard is even better than ice cream. I'm going to have to conduct more field research before rendering a verdict.

Stand By for Estrogen

Saw an emotionally intense movie tonight called "Nine Lives." It's about nine different women caught in emotionally fraught situations (i.e. in jail, about to undergo surgery, attending the funeral of an ex-husband's second wife).

Each of the nine stories is told in a single take lasting several minutes. This film technique really adds to the emotional intimacy of the film.

And the great cast really gives some memorable performances. Among my favorites in the movie are Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Mary Kay Place and Sissy Spacek.

Color Commentary

Life in Los Angeles: Was having dinner tonight at the Johnny Rocket's at Farmers Market when a guy walked in with a gunshot to his head. Fortunately, he was a sales clerk at the nearby Halloween Costume Shop. Many of the restaurant customers were startled at first, but the staff was all, "Hey, Freddy." I guess it's that time of the year.

Caught the new George Clooney movie, "Good Night, and Good Luck" about the television showdown between Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joe McCarthy.

I really wanted to like this movie, but ultimately thought it was just OK. I didn't think the drama was a gripping as it could have been given the circumstances.

Clooney used real footage of McCarthy and cut it in with black and white footage of actors recreating the situation at CBS. And for some reason, Clooney threw in a totally distracting side story about two CBS employees who were married -- which was against company policy. I'm all for Robert Downey, Jr. and Patricia Clarkson having work -- but what was the point?

More Depression Era Entertainment

"I'm gonna give you the mark of a squealer!"

That was my favorite line in the production of "Dead End" I saw this afternoon at the Ahmanson Theater at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles.

"Dead End" is the first show under the direction of the Center Theatre Group's new Artistic Director, Michael Ritchie. Ritchie said he wanted his first show to "make a splash" -- and this one certainly does, literally.

"Dead End" premiered on Broadway on October 28, 1935 and was described by The New Yorker as "a play you simply must see."

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt saw the production three times, and it was the first play to be presented in a command performance for the White House.

In 1937 "Dead End" was turned into an Academy Award nominated movie starring Humphrey Bogart as gangster Baby Face Martin. Also featured in the film were six of the young actors from the original stage production -- the "Dead End Kids" -- who went on to star in nearly 90 spin-off movies.

The show is an examination of classes in America, specifically in New York City. It's set along the East River where a building for the wealthy is erected next to tenement slum buildings.

In real life, New York's River House, 435 East 52nd Street, is one of the most luxurious apartment buildings ever built. Built in 1931, it once bordered 19th century tenement housing. It's thirty stories high with 73 apartments. It's curving drive leads to an austerely beautiful black marble-floored lobby. A typical apartment has 12 rooms, six baths, two fireplaces and a view of Long Island. Residents have included Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, Henry Kissinger and John Kenneth Galbraith.

But the "splash" comes from what Ritchie did with the orchestra pit in the theater. He lined it and filled it with water and turned it into the "East River." The show starts with one of the "Dead End Kids" jumping into the river -- much to the chagrin of the people seated in the front two rows.

(The theater nicely provided them with little blankets to cover themselves but they always seemed one second too late to protect themselves from the frequent splashing. The kids jump in the river a lot! They even threw a tire in the river for one more surprise splash. I went down there after the show was over and it was really wet. You had to be carefully walking despite the special flooring put down.)

"Dead End" has a huge cast of 42 actors! In order to make such a large cast economically feasible special permission was granted by the Actors Equity Association to allow students from the University of Southern California School of Theatre to be part of the show. 14 of the 42 actors are Trojan students. And they got class credit for being in the show.

The impressive set received a round of applause when the curtain first went up. A dead end street on the East River was recreated with very real looking four story sets on both sides of the stage.

This afternoon's matinee was the last show in the run. At the end of the curtain call the "Dead End Kids" jumped in the river one last time in full costume. This show made quite a splash, indeed.

Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow

It was raining tonight when I came out of the Pantages Theater in Hollywood after seeing "Annie." I didn't really mind because it gave me a chance to say to the people around me in the lobby, "don't worry, the Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow." I'm so funny.

I went into the show with low expectations. I was expecting another typical bus-and-truck roadshow. I was pleasantly surprised. The sets were pretty basic, but the cast was talented.

Conrad John Schuck, best known as Sgt. Enright on McMillan and Wife, was a strong Daddy Warbucks. And Mackenzie Phillips, Julie Cooper from One Day at A Time, showed up as Lily St. Regis -- the con woman.

Can you believe it was my first time seeing "Annie?" I guess if I'd known it was so political I would have seen it sooner. I enjoyed the discussion of Hoover and Roosevelt-era politics. And I did not know that Annie was single handedly responsible for the New Deal, which she inspired by singing her Big Number atop the table in the Oval Office.

Back on the rain, I'm sure glad I didn't get my car washed today. I nearly did, but decided to hurry home to watch the USC vs. Notre Dame football game.

And what a game that was! The last two minutes may have been the most intense two minutes of football I've ever watched. I was nearly in tears when the clock ran out and the Notre Dame coach and students came out on the field. But since the ball had been knocked out of play the clock was reset with 7 seconds remaining. Trojan Quarterback Matt Leinart held onto the ball and barely ran it into the endzone to score the winning touchdown. The Trojans defeated the Fighting Irish 34 to 31.

Can you believe the Irish, in a failed attempt to slow down the Trojan running game, let the turf on the field grow so long? It looked like the rough on a golf course. I hope my friend, Michael Paese, who was a Notre Dame Student Body President in the 80s personally takes a riding mower out of the shed and mows that field in shame.

Happy Birthday!

Today marks exactly one year since I started this blog. In fact, my first (lame) entry still can be read in the October, 2004 archives.

It all started at the suggestion of Karen Kapler as a way to share photos of my upcoming around-the-world trip with friends and family. (If you haven't seen the photos, check out the January and February 2005 archives.)

And 609 post and 2,596 visitors later it's still going strong. I'm really enjoying keeping it up. I like having a place to share interesting things that happen to me -- at least I think they're interesting!

The movie I saw tonight was definitely interesting. It's called "Loggerheads." Bonnie Hunt does a stunning dramatic turn as a woman who gave up her baby for adoption when she was 17. The film also looks at the adoptive parents who reject their son because he is gay. And Kip Pardue plays the son who deals with double rejection. No walk in the park, this film.

The film's title refers to Loggerhead Turtles that come to the North Carolina Shore at night to lay their eggs in the sand. Once the eggs are laid they're abandoned by their mother. They hatch and find their way to the ocean, on their own, via moonlight. After the hatchlings mature, the females return to the exact spot where they were born to lay their own eggs and repeat the cycle of life.

Please, Sir, I Want More Blog

Caught Roman Polanski's dark and dreary "Oliver Twist" tonight.

What a dreadful story about child abuse. I suppose children were treated like that 200 years ago -- but how horrible to have to see it now.

And what a filthy city this movie makes jolly old London out to be.

I want my movies like my toilets -- sanitized for my protection.

How ironic that the Blogger Word Dictionary doesn't recognize the word "blog." Hello!

I'm getting such a kick out of the ads Google's automated system is putting on my blog. It picks out key words and then selects ads it thinks readers would be interested in based on what I'm writing. But it always seems just a little off. And I'm supposed to get some money whenever anyone buys something from these ads. So far I haven't earned a penny! You people need to buy more junk off of the internet.

Make It Rhyme

When I was younger I used to love to enter contest!

Tonight I saw "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson. Set in the 50s and 60s, it's about a smalltown housewife who makes ends meet by winning contests. Harrelson plays her good-for-nothing husband who is a raging alcoholic.

Turns out it's based on a true story written by one of the family's nine children.

I guess being born in the 60s I missed the era of housewives writing contest-winning jingles -- and including a proof-of-purchase with their entry.

Sharks and Cocaine

Caught the new eye-candy movie "Into the Blue" tonight. Not sure why this movie was released in the Fall rather than last Summer. It's a perfectly fine movie if you want to turn off your brain for a couple of hours and look at pretty pictures.

But couldn't they do better than the old standby "just one time" criminal exploit to drive the plot? Whenever you hear one movie character urging another character to break the law "just one time" you know it's going to turn out bad. Especially when kilos of cocaine and an ocean full of sharks are involved.

Crazy Smart

Caught the new Gwyneth Paltrow/Jake Gyllenhaal/Anthony Hopkins movie, "Proof," which mines the fine line between mathematical genius and insanity.

Paltrow plays an insane/genius woman haunted by her father's insanity/genius.

The drama plays out via a "proof" of an advanced mathematical theorem regarding prime numbers. (They lost me at Algebra II.)

I saw this story when it was first a stage play by the same name on Broadway a few years ago starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. (Paltrow played the role on stage in London.) This is one of the few movies that successfully makes the transition from stage to screen.

Thanks for Bringing the Room Down

I'm afraid this isn't going to be my normal happy-go-lucky posting.

This morning my brother and sister, Justin and Andrea Redewill, and I left our Mother's ashes in the Pacific Ocean.

Joyce Carol died in December, 2001. Since then her ashes have been in my closet. A burial-at-sea always seemed like a fitting tribute for her. But the finality of it all was scary and it was easy to simply procrastinate on disposing of the ashes.

Joyce would have turned 60 last Friday, October 7. Andrea, who lives in San Francisco, was going to be in town this weekend for the UCLA vs. Cal football game -- so when we discussed it last Christmas, it made sense for today to be the day to deal with the ashes.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a glorious day weatherwise. Bright blue skies, mid-70s temperature.

We set sail from the Redondo Beach Harbor aboard a boat named, "Tribute," under the steady hand of Captain Art Windsor.

We went out about 2 miles past the breakwater into the Santa Monica Bay. Mom's ashes had been placed in a basket with carnation flowers and rose petals on top.

Once the boat had stopped in the water, Capt. Windsor read a very beautiful and spiritual Hopi Indian poem and then this poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson called "Crossing the Bar" which refers to a ship leaving a safe harbor and crossing the treacherous sand bar into the open sea.

SUNSET and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness or farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

Capt. Windsor then lowered the basket over the back of the boat and pulled a cord attached to its bottom to turn it upside down under the waterline.

We could see the ashes as they sank down and the flowers rose to the surface, marking the spot.

In the near distance we could see the beautiful hills of Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Capt. Windsor circled the flowers once with the boat and then back to the harbor. As we headed back our view changed from the Peninsula to the wide open sea. As we sailed away you could see the flowers still on the surface, riding the waves.

Mother always loved the ocean. In fact Andrea told Justin and me that she can remember riding in the car and whenever Joyce caught her first glimpse of the ocean she would say, "Hello, Mama Blue."

The South Bay was an important part of her life. In 1952 our grandparents and Mother and Uncle Skip moved from Providence, Rhode Island to Wilmington -- hard on the Los Angeles Harbor. The Palos Verdes Peninsula looms over Wilmington. It's where the rich people live. I can remember trips to P.V. for shopping at Hughes Market (which seemed like a fancy excursion to me) and of course Marineland -- the poor man's Sea World of my childhood.

Mother lived in Wilmington until 1972 when she and I moved north along the Santa Monica Bay to Pacific Palisades.

So releasing her ashes in the Bay seemed very fitting.

On the way back to the Redondo Beach Harbor, Capt. Windsor pointed out a couple of bottlenose dolphins and we stopped to watch a couple dozen sea lions sunning themselves on some structures in the water near the entrance to the harbor. Critter-watching was a welcome mood changer for all.

Of course funny things happen, even at sad times. Before we left the Harbor, Andrea and I were waiting for Justin (!) and a well dressed, large family approached the boat. Capt. Windsor began to usher them onto the boat. They looked at Andrea and me -- dressed pretty casually. We looked at them -- even the six-year olds were wearing little suits.

You could see they were thinking, "Why is this Clawdiddlehopper Family on OUR boat?" I was trying to think of the right way to say, "I'm sorry for your loss, but you're not getting on OUR boat."

Just in the nick of time, Capt. Windsor realized he had confused my last name of "Green" with their last name of "Greenwald." He quickly directed them to their "much larger" boat elsewhere in the harbor. Everyone seemed very happy with that resolution.

Double Header

Watched the USC Trojans spank the University of Arizona Wildcats 42 to 21 this afternoon. USC may have looked a little shaky at times, but they got the job done.

The weather sure was a lot more pleasant this afternoon than last Saturday -- the temperature today at kickoff was a delightful 73 degrees.

Next weekend the Trojans take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Wish I was making the trip to South Bend, but I'm not. I can only hope that Regis Philbin is reduced to tears by the outcome of the game.

Tonight I saw a strange little show at the Kirk Douglas Theater called "all wear bowlers." It's really more performance art than theater and features two performers/clowns who act out some very surreal scenes.

The best one was when they kicked a couple of people in the front row out of their seats, unscrewed the seats and hauled them on stage, and sat in them facing the audience -- staring at us and expecting us to entertain them!

One scene was a series of spit-takes, which immediately brought to mind my friend, Roger Noriega. He used to think the ultimate moment of any late night talk show was a spit-take. I wonder if he still does?

I'll Get It

Caught the new Lypsinka show, "The Passion of the Crawford," tonight at the Renberg Theater in Hollywood.

Having seen her perform over the last 15 years in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Provincetown I consider myself something of a Lypsinka fan.

Tonight's show was good, but not one of my Lypsinka favorites. Normally Lypsinka's shows feature lip-synching to soundbites from lots of movie divas edited together in a very funny and wity way.

As you can guess from the title, "The Passion of the Crawford" features Lypsinka solely as Joan Crawford. The show starts with a long (30 minutes?) recording of an interview Crawford gave late in her career at Town Hall in New York City.

It's only after this interview that we get Crawford soundbites from various movies. The second part of the show also includes a pretty funny poem Crawford once read that salutes Alice in Wonderland and Little Boy Blue.

Fortunately, Lypsinka included her patented "ringing phone" routine. I think her loyal fans would have rioted had it been omitted.

I suppose it's a little like a rock band that wants to perform its new numbers while its fans just want to hear the old hits.

I can see why Lypsinka wanted to try something new -- but the old stuff still works pretty well for me.

Getting It Right

Heard a funny exchange today between a crotchety old man and a waitress trying to take his order at Jann's Restaurant on Beverly Boulevard. It went something like this:

"I want a tuna FISH sandwich."

"OK, one tuna salad."

"No! I don't want a salad. I want a tuna FISH sandwich."

"OK, one fish sandwich."

"No! I don't want a FISH sandwich. I want TUNA fish."

"OK, one TUNA salad."

"NO!......."

Finally another waitress intervened and they solved the problem by pointing to the picture in the menu.

Fortunately I don't have any fear of getting older and becoming that crotchety old man. I hate tuna fish.

Tonight I checked out Nicholas Cage's new movie, "Lord of War." If you like Nick Cage you'll like this movie. I don't mean if you like Cage playing a character -- I mean if you like Nick Cage.

He doesn't seem like a guy who was born in the Ukraine and immigrated to Brighton Beach, Long Island, New York. He seems like, well, Nicholas Cage. Especially since he narrates the entire movie in that "I'm...Nicholas...Cage...talking...real...slow...and...monotone" kind of voice.

The movie is an interesting story about gun-running arms dealers in the 80s and 90s. But it's filmed is a stylized, MTV video sort of way that renders the story completely unbelievable.

But if you like Nick Cage.....

What Would Sarah Say?

Saw a bizarre Swedish movie tonight called, "Garcon Stupide" (Stupid Boy).

It's about a 20 year old who spends his days working in a chocolate factory and his nights with anonymous hookups from the internet.

Eventually he meets a Portuguese soccer player, named Rui, who teaches him some lessons about life.

Finally, he finds true love at a carnival.

So I guess the lesson is if you want to meet a stupid boy you should be riding a ferris wheel.

Whatever!

Celebrity Sighting: Saw Willie Garson, who played Stanford on "Sex and the City" at the gym this morning. Apparently, he's one of those people who thinks it's OK to workout without a towel and to leave a little gift of sweat behind for the next person who uses the machine. Stupid gym boy!

British Fight Club

Saw Elijah Wood's other movie out now, "Green Street Hooligans," which explores the intense world of English soccer hooligans.

Let's just say these people make the Dodger fans on $2 Tuesdays look absolutely comatose.

Wood plays a young American whose sister lives in London with her British husband and on a visit falls in with the "firm" connected with the local soccer team.

Each team has it's own "firm" -- basically a gang of out of control fanatics who rumble with other firms from other teams. The fighting is over pride and reputation.

Wood's character learns when it's wrong to walk away from a fight and when it's right. Many people die in order for him to learn this lesson.

Disappointment Grows

Today got off to a rough start. I tried to buy tickets to the November 21 Depeche Mode concert at the Staples Center when they went on sale at 10:00 a.m. I was on-line and ready to go at 9:55. As soon as they went on sale I was clicking away trying to get a couple of tickets. The Ticketmaster on-line ticket system kept me on hold for about 8 minutes and then I got a message that no tickets were available! I hate it when I don't get my way.

Tonight I saw a weird movie entitled, "Three Dancing Slaves." I'd like to tell you what it is about, but that would require me understanding it. I know it centered on three brothers -- the oldest just out of prison and trying to get his life on the right foot by working at a ham-smoking plant, the middle brother buying drugs from a mean motorcycle gang and the youngest mostly praying to his dead mother. But beyond that I really have no idea.

Tea At Five At Seven

Saw the one-woman show, "Tea At Five" at the Pasadena Playhouse tonight. It stars Kate Mulgrew, Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, as Katharine Hepburn.

It's a delightful show with Hepburn as a young woman in September of 1938 in Act I and as an older woman in February 1983 in Act II.

Mulgrew's Hepburn as a younger woman is spot-on in Act I -- she's got the voice, the hand to the chin and the leggy poses down pat. Unfortunately, her "older" Hepburn was a little too cartoonish for me -- the Parkinson-driven mouth movements were a little too large and drew laughter from the audience. I don't think it was intended to be funny.

But it was fascinating to learn about her movie career, relationship with Spencer Tracy, disappointment at not being cast as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" as well as darker issues such as her adored brother's suicide at age 15.

I'd recommend you go see the show except tonight's performance was the last at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Bumped into Sue Glad at the Playhouse. I worked with her in 1981-82 on the Deukmejian for Governor campaign. She was the scheduler and official office Den Mother. She followed Deukmejian to Sacramento and was his first scheduler as Governor. I normally see her every year at the Wheelspinner's Party at Christmastime -- so it was a pleasant surprise to see her a couple of months early.

Cooling Off the House of Heat

It took all four quarters to do it, but the Trojans defeated the Arizona State University Sun Devils today at Sun Devil Stadium, known locally as "The House of Heat."

The Trojans were down 21 to 3 at halftime, scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter and went on to win 38 to 28.

When the Trojans went ahead 24 to 21 in the fourth quarter the ASU students pelted the field with water bottles. Of course, I don't condone such behavior -- but it was kind of funny to watch their own cheerleaders dodging the incoming trash.

The stadium certainly earned it's nickname today. It was 93 degrees on the field at the 12:30 kickoff and only got hotter during the afternoon. There's no shade for most of the seats (including the visitor's section) and the metal benches were very toasty.

Somehow I've broken my camera again, so I won't be posting photos while I sent it to Casio to repair AGAIN. In February I slipped and fell on my backside with my camera in my back pocket -- so I have no one to blame but myself for it breaking back then. But this time it was working fine last night, I took it out of my pocket today and the screen on the back is busted again. So it'll take pictures, I just can't see what I'm shooting. Lame!

What's In a Name?

I still get the biggest kick out of the existence of an airline called "Ted." Ted flew Ted today so Ted can go to the football game of Ted's alma mater.

Tonight dinner was at the old-school Phoenix steak palace "Durant's" downtown. What a fun place! Great steaks, a happening atmosphere and huge bouquets of red roses everywhere. It opened in 1950 and according to an article on the wall, Marilyn Monroe ate there.

Here's the view looking south towards Phoenix from the balcony of my hotel room at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort. 

The Trojan Band did a great job performing at Friday night's Pep Rally in Scottsdale. 

My Favorite Trojan Fan was spotted at the Pep Rally wearing a rather boring Cardinal and Gold Hawaiian shirt.... 

...But his jazzy boots more than made up for it.