Wells Fargo, Wilshire Blvd. “If You want to have your own pen, just buy It, but don’t Take me away, because Somebody else needs me. Thank You.” Someone needs some run on sentence and capitalization lessons. I like that it was written from the pen’s point of view, and that it wrote it on itself. It’s doomed.
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Little secret here. Mother’s Day at Magic Mountain. The only time of year to go because you pretty much walk right on to all the rides. Not a lot of Mom’s want to go to Magic Mountain for Mother’s Day. You’ll find them at Disneyland where the lines are longer. Of course you get motion sickness in about 2 hours because you can ride so many coasters. You have to call your Mom sometime during the day too. Or take her out to dinner the day before, like I did. We actually ran into people from PDI in San Francisco. They’re in the know on this too and drove all the way down for the day.
The smog must be rolling in. Ok, it’s smoke from a fire. I was driving through the Kenneth Hahn Recreation area. Lucky him, he gets oil pumps in his park. Other than the smoke it was a nice day. See the big dark blotch in the blue sky. I just discovered I have a cracked lens. #$%@!!! Time for a new camera. When did that happen? Update: It was just a little piece of plastic that got stuck on the inside of the lens and looked exactly like a crack. Odd.
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In the scariest part of downtown L.A., this underground art exhibit and musical party was pretty fun. All over L.A. today there were 4:20 events. “Anyone” took the stage at about 11:30 and put in a great show. Sometimes the smoke got so thick the band disappeared into the lights. I got someone into the show for free and he offered me some “herb” for the favor. I politely declined. That’s a DJ on left, he sucked. So after the show they tie this guy up and pull him up to the ceiling by his feet. Then they start beating him with sticks! Not until candy started falling all over did I realize he was a human pinata. Whew.
It hasn’t even opened and I’m already sick of Spiderman. More Sony propaganda advertising goes up on the lot.
Jeff “Flounder” Macare and the newly crowned Rachel Macare. Talk about a lightning strike, he met a married Rachel in less than a year. Um, in the meantime, I put in a bunch of overtime at work and read Harry Potter. Anyway, only 4 of us sat at the table for 8, so we all raided the loot. We each scored 2 wedding gift candles. And talk about dangerous criminals, we went for seconds at the buffet and hoarded the roast beef. It was soooo good. Thanks Jeff and Rachel.
Went out for a visit to my sister’s. Affordable homes, lots of land, 3 car garages, easy freeway access, beautiful scenery…. um… ok, that’d be no on the last one. Lovely Corona, California where the hills are not alive with the sound of music. In fact, most times you can’t even see them.
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More behind the scenes of the entertainment world. This note just had to be on a BMW SUV too… Apparantly you got to pull the ‘tude to show ’em who’s boss. Let’s see, stage 25 is the set of “The King of Queens”, it’s a lead actor…? So Alex, what’s your prediction for the big summer hit? Your movie?! That’s terribly humble of you. It’s opening 3 May according to the dyslexic art department.
This photo has motivation. Ever seen those photos of palm trees silhouetted against a sky? Kind of like some of these. [LINK] Friday night at The Grove Jill commented about a photo of palm trees she liked. I boldly stated, “I can shoot one of those, and I don’t even have to leave Park La Brea.” Well, the next night as I was sitting home, I looked out the back door and tah dah… I’m a sucker for an easy challenge. Not bad for doing practically nothing.
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Charlie and Lisa are just weeks away from being parents. They’re scared shitless. Oh my God, I’m at a baby shower. Babies have this amazing power of 10. Ever try and have a conversation about philosophical things when a baby is in the room? Doesn’t happen. They can suck the life out of any conversation. It will always find it’s way back to babies within 3 or 4 sentences. They’re amazing like that. Isabella’s due out in a few weeks. You watch. We used to talk about movies a lot… Sarah’s not finding the refrigerator discussion as stimulating as the boys. Kenji’s old school in that Def Jam sorta way. “Yo’ mutha fucka”.
Wargames create beautiful sunsets. A Minuteman II missle was launched from Vandenberg AFB tonight. According to the launch schedule the unarmed warhead and decoys were on a ballistic (non-orbital) trajectory to the Pacific. An interceptor launched from Meck Island was to attempt an intercept of the warhead. Remember the acronyms ICBM and MIRV’S? This is it. It can carry up to three nuclear warheads, but through treaties is only allowed to carry one. Oh that’s nice, fortunately that one is only hundreds of times more powerful than those dropped on Japan. Really want to grasp the full reality of this missle flying over L.A…? Read this story [LINK] that ran in the press on Friday after the launch. After that, read this story [LINK] that ran Monday as FBI reps were in Manila. Which is only about 2000 miles from Meck Island. Or about 20 minutes in missle time. I feel sooo much safer now, thank you. Sure is pretty. Even funnier is that the base is called the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missle Defense Test Site.
This restaurant sucks. Cuban food sucks. I know I’m alone on this. This photo sucks. None of these people suck though. Mark, from PDI, joined us for lunch as he was in L.A. working at Dreamworks for a bit. So we treated him to a Sony hangout.
Don’t read this if you’re young and naive and believe movie stars really do stunts and stuff. Living in L.A. can be funny. The magic of movie making. Cruising down the road is Bob the actor in his Audi TT on the back of a camera truck. They just HAD to have this shot I guess. Put some screaching tire sounds in and you’ve got something. That’s Imageworks on the left.
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It’s all about Sandro today. He the man. Today’s his last day at Imageworks. He’s going back to school. Photo 3 has Sandro, Mahtin Fahster, and John Lafauce. Trust me, funny. A second later Clara was covered in Max’s vomit. Aliza nursed a margarita in a most unfriendly place for a vegan.
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I guarantee none of the people will like the photo of the side of their faces. Nothing like closeup profiles to over analyze yourself with. I did not shrink Johns hands. He did that himself. Max checked out Angela handling the big bills. The party moved from The Sagebrush Cantina at lunch to one of the balconies after work. It just goes on and on, and on, and on… much to Sandro’s dismay.
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I might actually hear about this photo of Sandro. I’ll see if he’s a sport and how long he lets me keep it up. Danny Miller in thug attire is obviously guilty of something. Alan, Jay, and Danni pose while Jay manages a smirk. The cactus sits on the balcony and is a legacy. It has sat precariously on the edge and has survived many a drunken stupor. And last but not least a fashion tip for everybody.
I had my taxes done this morning and then had lunch with my parents and sister after that. Got a load of money back, oh my. The last three months have been very green. After that I called up Riz to see if he was around. He just got back from Anyone’s first tour ’round the States. We talked about his recent visit with Ozzy and the various european festivals they’ll be playing this summer. As we were hanging out he had to decorate his new “Fernandes” guitar. See the problem is… he has an endorsement deal with “Fernandes” guitars. They just got word that he didn’t pose with their guitar during the photoshoot for “Guitar One” magazine. So they called and bitched him out about it and said how disappointed they were. He told them the photographer wanted him to pose with his “decorated” guitar. Eh hem… ok, so he stretched the truth about that a bit. The decorated one happens to be a Fender Strat that he uses live. That’s the part they weren’t too happy about. He likes the Fernandes guitars better, but they aren’t decorated, so he explained to them that he has to be able to decorate the guitars so he can use them live and for photos. So here we have the beginnings of the guitar being decorated. Everytime he added a new decoration he would pick it up and play it to make sure nothing was in the way. This guitar should start showing up in magazines and concerts, probably much to Fernandes’ relief. Forget his guitar playing, he’s a master with a glue gun. Click here [LINK] for the guitar as it used to be. We were talking about the weather a lot for some reason.
Kathleen and I hit this benefit show with ton of classic rock icons.
Sheyl Crow, John Fogerty, Stevie Nicks, Billy Joel, and The Eagles.
Sheyl Crow Setlist: All I Wanna Do – Soak Up The Sun – Abeline – If it Makes You Happy – Everyday is a Winding Road
John Fogerty Setlist: Born on a Bayou – Centerfield – Have You Ever Seen the Rain – Who’ll Stop the Rain – Bad Moon Rising – Fortunate Son
Stevie Nicks Setlist: Tom Hanks Introduces – TISL Intro – Gold Dust Woman – Fall From Grace w/Sheryl Crow – Rhiannon – Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around w/Tom Petty – Leather And Lace w/Don Henley – Stand Back – I Need To Know w/Tom Petty
Billy Joel Setlist: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant – Movin’ Out – New York State of Mind – My Life – I Go To Extremes – You May Be Right – Only The Good Die Young
The Eagles Setlist: Seven Bridges Road – The Long Run – Peaceful Easy Feelin’ – I Can’t Tell You Why – Take it to the Limit – In the City – Boys of Summer – I Know Where You’re Going – Heartbreak Tonight – Life in the Fast Lane – Rocky Mountain Way – Take it Easy
http://www.nicksfix.com/reviews_artist_rights_feb26_2002.htm
The best picture of the trunk and rear window of my car I’ll ever take. I can stop trying now. Out at Vasquez Rocks on Highway 14. After a quick visit with Charles and Lisa in Burbank I took a little detour up Highway 14 to Vasquez Rocks. I camped here quite a few times as a kid when I was in Indian Guides. I was “Little Black Hawk” back then. Don’t email me with comments. Another time I remember our family friend Rick was locked out of the campsite because he arrived so late. So we all piled in the trucks and went down to the entrance and layed boards all over the tire spikes that crossed the road at the exit. We got him in. I checked, and the spikes are still there but aren’t used. Let’s see, the Budweiser Ants commercial was filmed here, The Flintstones, Star Trek, etc… I love when there’s cool shit real close to home. I was always afraid to climb up to the top pinnacle as a kid. I still didn’t go. As the sun set I was sitting on the hood of the car, listening to tunes. If only I had a S’More right now.
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Out of curiosity, I went to Olvera Street for lunch. I haven’t been there since I went with a busload of elementary school classmates. All I remember is the restaurant and thinking I was expanding culturally by eating tacos and beans at an outdoor mexican eatery. I was 10, so that was a big deal. It’s quite a bit smaller feeling now. In fact it’s disappointingly small. It used to seem the size of Tijuana. Not surprisingly, you can buy the same stuff. Harachi sandals, mariachi marionnettes, plaster cast animals, and leather goods. Except I didn’t see any bargaining going on. Anyway, the food… 2 tacos, two taquitos, good stuff. The oldest adobe in the state is here, um, 1818, or something. Two, obviously non Mexican women were tending the garden. Where’d the Mexicans get gourds in the early 1800’s? Did L.A. even have gourds?
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Finally! Kathleen and I had chased Sheryl Crow all over the west coast from “Lilith Fair” in Washington to “The Bridge School Benefit” in San Francisco, it was about time we caught a whole show. Instead of the half hour slots at all the festivals. We vowed that whenever she came back we would go. I’m on the Sheryl Crow mailing list, and an email went out just days before the show with a secret link to buy tickets. She was throwing a 40th birthday party for herself and only a handful of tickets would be released to Ticketmaster the following day. It took place at The El Rey, just blocks from my house. The SETLIST: Walkaway, Soak up the Sun, My Favorite Mistake, It’s Only Love, No Matter What, C’mon, C’mon, The Difficult Kind, Midnight Rider, Love Hurts, Dead Flowers, Everyday Is A Winding Road, Lucky Kid, Do Ya, I Want You To Want Me, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, You’re An Original, Black Betty, There Goes The Neighborhood, Good Times Bad Times, and Tie Your Mother Down. CELEBS in attendance: Bonnie Raitt, Paul Stanley, Minnie Driver, David Spade, Ellen DeGeneres, Laura Dern, Kelly Lynch, Meg Ryan, Kevin Bacon, Luke Wilson, David Wild, Gwen Stefani w/No Doubt, Beck, Angelica Huston, Vonda Sheperd, Ben Harper, Elisabeth Shue, Michael Penn, Amiee Mann, Carrie Fisher, Don Henley, and Dwight Yoakam.
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Big sister had an all day work meeting at Los Alamitos Race Track with her Washington Mutual coworkers. After the meeting they had the opportunity to watch the racing so she invited me down. Hell, free parking and entry, I’m up for that. I’m going to lose money anyway, so why pay more for it. The secret word to get in was supposed to be “Wamu”. After having to say it twice at three locations and all of them looking at me and saying… “what?”. I had finally broke down and just said “Washington Mutual”. That worked much better. So much for feeling like I was in on something. Back in college my girlfriend used to take me to the track with her, and she would get really mad when I would bet “$5 to win” instead of just “$2 to show”. She said I was missing the point, that it was for fun, not for losing money. In an jab at the past, I bet “$5 to win” on every race.