The L.A. Dime

May 19 2010

Bourbon Tasting

Published by Brad under The People, The Place

For a while I’ve been wanting to host a bourbon tasting, and since I’ll be heading to Louisville soon to stay at the Brown and give its bar a good workout, I thought it might be good timing to have some fellow aficionados over and sample some of Kentucky’s finest.

Thanks to Jan Kasl for helping cook. We made our own bourbon BBQ sauce for use on slow-smoked pulled pork. The bourbon baked beans cooked for 12 hours. Laurie Perdue, pride of North Carolina, offered her slaw and green bean recipe, and Tina baked Amy Wilson’s Derby Pie for desert. Quite the group effort. We used a fifth of Beam just in the cooking.

Extra special thanks go to Josh Hafer, fraternity brother and Heaven Hill honcho for donating a gorgeous bottle of Evan Williams, and for helping me with the tasting protocols.

Thanks to Sandy, Stu, Shep and Jack for attending, bottle in hand. The Elmer T. Lee won best of show 4-2 over Booker’s. Elmer will defend his title against a whole new slew of brunettes when next the tasting party (not to be confused with Tea Party — though they did come up in conversation) meets again.

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Jan 17 2010

Meeting Noah’s pets

Published by Tina under The Family, The People

We met the Shepherd clan at the Skirball yesterday to check out the Noah’s Ark exhibit. It was an experience full of sounds, wonderful visual sights and a ton of hands-on opportunities for our little ones.
What we were probably most impressed with the use of materials to make these enormous animals. For example, an old violin case served as the head/mouth of an aligator and drums serves as the feet of an elephant. The last piece of the exhibit allowed the kids to play a variety of instruments to make various animal sounds and pretend to jump in the water puddles left behind after the rain storm. Oh, while Sophie enjoyed all the touch-n-feel stations, her favorite part was most likely climbing up a net (that was really only supposed to be for kids 4 & up) and then running above our heads in the “jungle tunnel”.

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May 12 2009

Getting ready for Baby Girl D.

Published by Tina under The People

Our dear friends Mark and Faleena are expecting their first baby at the end of June. It’s been so great to watch these two embark on this journey of learning about the great news, watching the baby bump turn into a beautiful belly, and hearing their stories of getting the nursery prepared.

We were honored to host a baby shower at Hamlin house this past weekend where I tried a brand-new recipe for Red Velvet Cake cupcakes (thanks Romy), and lost miserably at the “don’t break your water” game.

Congrats Mark & Faleena — can’t wait to meet your newest addition and welcome her into our family!!

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Mar 01 2009

Submarine Reunion

Published by Brad under The People

Last night, thanks to the gracious baby sitting help of the Dempseys, we went with friends Gary and Laurie to see our favorite band, The Submarines, perform the last show of their recent tour at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. Not only was it fun to see our friends, now rising stars, rock out before a sell-out crowd (spurred no doubt in part by the iPhone commercial featuring their song You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie), but it was wonderful to experience live music in a small venue where you can actually witness the musicianship and performance of the bands up close and personal. Different from a music video, or seeing a show in an enormous arena, at a place like The Troub, you can see the band actually working together, working the crowd, and working up a sweat — and I find that invigorating. I was reminded of the thrill it was to see Snow Patrol there before they blew up, and how amazing they were only twenty feet away (and shortly before one of their songs appeared in my first movie). Or, seeing The Flaming Lips at an intimate setting, discovering who they are as people, as a band, as opposed to a sound from a CD or iPod.

The Morning Benders opened for the Subs with an original sound that was amazingly tight, given the fact that most of the band appeared to be too young to even entire a night club. It was a great night. We need to get out more often.

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Jan 24 2009

At the IdeaFestival

Published by Brad under The People

With Mark Shepherd and Jack Epps, Jr.

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Jan 12 2009

Houseguests, homemade pizza and beer pong!

Published by Tina under The People

Our dear friend Jan and his lovely girlfriend Kerry have been staying with us for a little while as they await their next work assignment. This has been a wonderful opportunity to catch up, eat wonderful homemade food and play silly games. This past weekend Jan made pizza from scratch (although a wine bottle had to suffice for a rolling pin). The flavors were steak with a mustard/horseradish sauce and a tomato/basil….both were super yummy and didn’t last long. Faleena brought a delicious sopapilla cheesecake desert. After dinner, the boys played beer ping (courtesy of Brad’s latest movie “Road Trip 2: Beer Pong”) while the girls chatted and watched their men destroy themselves. Thanks to Jan, Kerry, Mark and Faleena for always making us laugh — we treasure our friendships with you so very much.

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Nov 29 2008

Turkey Day 2008

Published by Tina under The People

Our LA Family came out in full force on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving at Hamlin House. Everyone contributed with yummy food, delicious drink and wonderful conversations. Our 22.6lb turkey turned out ok and Sophie had her first helping with some green beans, sweet potatoes and mashed taters. We are thankful for our family & friends, our health, our little Sophie, our jobs and our home.

Faleena and I headed out at 5:15am on Friday morning to get some deals and we were both able to cross a few people off our lists. I’ll be wrapping them today and we’ll all be putting up the Christmas tree and other decorations tonight!!

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Nov 11 2008

A Message of Love

Published by Brad under The People

Those who read this blog know that my political leanings are left of center, and therefore, are not in line with many of yours. And yet, from what I can tell, you continue to stop by to read it, and occasionally voice your opinions, and for that, I am extremely grateful. So please take the following not as a judgment or condemnation, but more of a plea to think deeply with your mind, and feel deeply with your heart.

A week ago today, the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency was a thrilling, hopeful event for me. As our tiny little family sat together in a friend’s living room watching the President-Elect speak, I felt renewed and inspired. In this country, truly, all things are possible.

And then, I got in the car.

Driving home in a fog of happiness, I learned that Prop. 8, designed to overturn a California Supreme Court decision that denying gays and lesbians the right to marry is unconstitutional, was on its way to passing. And then, that historic night suddenly became bittersweet for me. You see, Sophie has been to three weddings here in CA. They were all beautiful ceremonies for dear friends whom we spend a lot of time with, who babysit our daughter, who watch football and basketball games with us, who play fantasy football, who grill out with us, who love each other every bit as much as we do — and now, two of those marriages have been legally voided. Why? Because the couples are lesbians, and as such, are denied the same rights Tina and I take for granted every day.

Here’s the thing. I’ve argued, FOREVER, that this is a church and state issue. I can’t be convinced otherwise, so don’t bother. This issue has everything to do with religion. And the founding fathers, religious as most of them definitely were, expressly forbid the intermingling of church and state. So, on two fronts, in my view, the denial of gays and lesbians the right to marry is completely unconstitutional. Believe what you wish, teach your children what you wish, worship with whom and how you wish, but do not impose your beliefs on others to deny them their constitutionally guaranteed human rights.

I know he is considered a wacko amidst conservatives, much like Rush and O’Reilly are among liberals, but Keith Olberman makes a wonderful, clear, emotional, yet logically reasoned argument why Prop. 8 is wrong. Did you know that in 1967, in sixteen states, blacks could not marry whites, and in any one of those states, Obama’s parents — married at that time — could not have been wed? What are we doing saying whom can marry whom in a country that promises religious freedom and the pursuit of happiness for all, so long as we do no harm to others?

So please, take a few minutes to watch this clip, as I can’t make the case any clearer than Olberman does. And as you watch, consider this: have you met a gay or lesbian couple? Spent time with one? Been to the marriage of one? Seen their love for each other first hand? If not, then who are you to judge? Let God judge, if those are your beliefs. But in this country, it is not acceptable to deny basic human rights to a group of people due to your religious ideals. Far beyond law and faith, though, this is an issue of the heart, of love, and of happiness. How could so many Californians have been so cold? And as for me, I took Prop.8’s failure for granted. How could I have been so naive?

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Aug 11 2008

One World, One Dream

Published by Brad under The Games, The People

Our friend Greg is a pretty amazing guy. He’s a musician who wrote many of the current drum cadences for the Notre Dame Marching Band when he was a Domer back in the day (a lot of which are used in Rudy), he owned his own very successful record label for many years and has put out a bunch of albums of his own, he was a stand up comedian, a marathoner, and has screenwriting degrees from both USC and UCLA. He’s been working mostly in Shanghai of late, writing and producing a popular childrens’ program.
On a whim, he decided to write and produce a song about the Olympics (in English). It’s really taken off in China, and some big name American singers are considering singing a version of it for radio play here. You can watch a making-of video on YouTube — it’s called One World, One Dream. I think it’s a fantastically fun, uplifting song. If you like it, you can buy a copy for 99 cents, with a portion of the proceeds going to earthquake relief in China. Well done, Greg!

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Jun 01 2008

In Country

Published by Brad under The People

My sis-in-law’s brother, Grant, recently sent some photos from Iraq where he has just begun his first tour as a Marine. Grant is a great guy, we respect his conviction, are proud of his service, and wish him a safe return home when his work is done.