The L.A. Dime

We went to pick up our crib at Babies ‘R Us Wednesday night. It’s relatively light in the package, but very wide, and did not fit in the Kia. So…we went to Home Depot, took some free twine from the lumber section, and tied the sucker to the rails on the roof as best we could…which wasn’t very good.

So driving home, I’m sitting in the back seat, my back against the door, head out of the car, with one hand on the front of the box, and one on the back. Tina’s driving safe and slow. Then, over a loud speaker, I hear, “You have got to be kidding, right? Seriously. You’re joking, right?” I look back to see two cops cracking up in their squad car. They told me to get in the front seat, put on my seat belt, and then they let me go. The crib arrived home safely, and after some homemade chipotle burgers, Jan helped us put it together.

Last night, we had our first birthing class, complete with several scary, alien-head-popping-from-body videos. Quite sobering. One woman broke down weeping in absolute fear.

Nice cross section of L.A. represented there, too. Yuppies, hippies, hipsters, surfers, agents, trophy wives, and just about every race you could imagine. Pretty cool, in fact, if only one dad, who is clearly ready to be a father, hadn’t brutally assaulted a vending machine when his pretzels didn’t emerge.

Check out the Op-Ed I wrote for the most recent issue of Business Lexington. This issue also features an interview with Lexington’s Vice-Mayor and long-time friend, Jim Gray.

Cool Hollywood tale. My friend, The Cheese Fry (whose blog you should all be reading), wrote a great script that has a director attached, but like most everything that isn’t being adapted from a novel, comic book, TV Show, or commercial, is struggling to find financing. In search of an A-list leading lady, the script recently went to Jessica Biel for her consideration. So, when TCF’s wife, Faleena, was out at lunch and saw Ms. Biel and one Justin Timberlake at the valet stand, she approached, apologized for interrupting, informed Ms. Biel who she was, politely asked that she read and consider the script already in her possession, then excused herself after wishing them both a nice day.

TCF reports that both celebs were very kind to Faleena, and that yes, indeed, she had her hand on JT’s back throughout the entire, albeit brief, conversation. I’m not in any way a star worshiper, but how cool. How gutsy. That’s true love in Hollywood.

I love cereal. Sometimes I eat three bowls a day. Give me a choice between a bowl of Lucky Charms and German Chocolate Cake, and I’ll take the purple horseshoes every time. I even considered writing a cereal blog, but, alas, Cereal Buzz, among others, have beaten me to the punch.

While it doesn’t appear to be Lucky Charms, or my other favorite sweet treat, Fruity Pebbles (Cookie Crisp rocks, too), here are some shots of my nephew, Sawyer, eating his first bowl of porridge.

After a trip to Universal Studios, where Tasha confronted her life-long fear of haunted houses and survived the experience clinging to my T-shirt, their visit wrapped up at my second favorite sushi restaurant, Katsuya. For service and atmosphere, we prefer Azami in Hollywood. It’s owned and operated by three lovely women, the sushi is great, cool location, and everyone is super nice. Katsuya caters to the Universal crowd, so its sceney, and also very, very busy. It does offer, hands-down, the best sushi dish I’ve ever mouthed, though — the crispy rice spicey tuna roll. It’s unbelievable.

We also took in our local, walking-distance pizzeria, Lido Pizza. Not as good as the Village Pizzeria in Larchmont, or LaRosa’s back home, but pretty darn tasty nonetheless.

And, finally we had great seats to see the Dodgers lose to the Mets. Jake and Aiyana joined. Couple dingers. Couple Dodger dogs. And a cool, Chavez Ravine breeze.

It was a fun visit, and we look forward to a happy return some day soon.

Brian, Tasha, and I went up to see the $93 million renovation of the Griffith Observatory yesterday. Scorched-earth surrounded the building from the recent fires, and we were scorched by the insane shuttle-bus system one must use to get there. I’m all for minimizing impact on the environment and allowing as few cars up there as possible, but the LA Zoo park and ride is ridiculous. It adds nearly an hour of travel-time to the trip. You may as well hike up with your reservation in hand.

The Planetarium is fantastic. Aside from an overly cheesy narrator, the visuals are amazing. We saw Centered in the Universe, which is a history of our understanding of the universe and our place in it. The show opens with a bright daylight sky turning to dusk, then darkness, followed by the emergence of a starry-night so real you’d swear you were high atop some mountain on a cloudless night. The program is a bit too short for the effort and money it takes to see it ($15 including shuttle fare and ticket), but seeing the new exhibits and the renovation will make it worth the trip.

We ate lunch at Mario’s on the corner Melrose and Rossmore. If you haven’t had their Lomo Saltado, you are missing out on an exquisite, low-cost, belly-filling meal. Get there before noon, though, as it gets packed and there can be a long wait. The evening rush begins around five and holds through closing at eight.

The not-for-profit I helped to create, The Kentucky Film Lab (KFL), is now accepting reservations for its fourth-annual Fall Filmmakers Studio September 14-16 in Louisville. KFL is working to build and support a community of filmmakers in the Commonwealth.

Participants in the Studio receive three days of expert instruction from industry professionals and film educators in one of two tracks — screenwriting and production. They also receive discounted admission to all IdeaFestival events. Scheduled to appear are Charles Pogue (The Fly, Dragonheart), Aaron Thomas (Friday Night Lights), Stu Pollard (Keep Your Distance, Nice Guys Sleep Alone), Archie Borders (Paper Cut, Reception to Follow), Gill Holland (Sweetland), and many other writers, producers, directors, and professional media artists.

Please spread the word to anyone you know who may be interested in film. It’s a can’t-miss event and an incredible value. Visit The Kentucky Film Lab for more details.

Hamlin House has welcomed my brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Tasha, for a visit this week. Over the weekend, we hit Venice Beach to see the freaks and catch some sun. It was a great day for body surfing, and while Tina didn’t ride the waves, she did take the belly for a dip in the ocean.

That night, it was off to the Hollywood Bowl to see John Williams conduct the LA Phil. They did a series of pieces from some of his favorite composers, then got down to business and played all the old favorites: Superman, Harry Potter, E.T., Indiana Jones, and, of course, a series from Star Wars. Dozens of devoted fans waved menacing red lightsabers as the Phil gave us goosebumps with Vader’s Imperial March. It was a wonderful evening, and a fantastic stroll down memory lane. The man is our Mozart. He is a genius.

Sunday was a trip to Santa Ynez wine country. A beautiful drive up the 154, nice wines — we really enjoyed the Gainey Vineyard — and a quaint lunch at the lovely Los Olivos Café.

My dad and his neighbor, Ruey, stage a nightly race down Hope Lane on their bikes. Ruey is the Buddha-esque dude on the sweet beach cruiser. Dad was rolling his Schwinn on a new set of Specialized slicks.

The most recent and exceedingly long gap in posts was due to a trip back to the Bluegrass. We attended the magnificent wedding of our dear Cousin Ryan to the lovely Shelly, had our first baby shower — hosted in extravagant fashion by my mother, grandmother, and lots of awesome helpers — saw a Reds game (where Barry Bonds hit #751 [Boo!]), experienced a fourth of July thunderstorm, met Randy Moss at a golf course (where, by the way, I watched him teach a boy I presume to be his son how to hit, and he was very kind and patient ), and celebrated my birthday with a surprise party and Cincinnati Bengals cake complete with bobble head. There were, of course, the requisite trips to LaRosa’s and Gold Star Chili.

After eight years in L.A., I find it odd that when we return here, I feel like I’m on the wrong side of the journey — like I’ve left home and landed here for some vacation or business trip. There’s still a foreign element to being here for me. It may be that strong sense of place which Kentuckians have for their Commonwealth that lead Mark Twain to say, “every time I meet a Kentuckian, he’s on his way home.”