Dear UCLA,

Mahi Mahi is delicious! Thanks for letting me know.

Best,
Laura

ZQ

I somehow end up on a gazillion random email lists on one of my email accounts; sometimes I read through the stuff I get. Coincidentally, one of the emails today included an interview with Zachary Quinto, whom I wasn't sure if it was he or not at Royce the other night.

We've run into you several times seeing the same movie at the ArcLight—so we know you've got good taste in cinema. Any other favorite sources of entertainment?
ZQ: I'm a subscriber to UCLA Live, and they're doing a lot that's especially cool this year. I'm going to see the Pina Bausch dance company and Yo-Yo Ma. I'm also really looking forward to seeing Regina Spektor at the Wiltern.

Guess it was.

Lear's end.

An update on the celebz since I can't think what to write on a couple essays right now (I will probably be awake for a long time writing. boo).

Ian McKellen doesn't look that much different than this man.

Closing night of King Lear brought in the stars--some A-listers, even. The people who got there on time include some folks from Ugly Betty (although they came separately and I don't even know if they knew the other was there): Michael Urie and Ashley Jensen (thanks IMDB); the villain from Heroes, Zachary Quinto (thanks IMDB, once again); and Henry Winkler, who was really amazed that I could read his seat info from the ticket he was holding upside down.

Then come the people who make it just in time; I assume these people want to be late as to not engender much attention during the mad rush to get in before the doors close but not late enough to be held (smart). This category includes Orlando Bloom, who is actually, indeed, very handsome, more so than I previously believed, and Denzel Washington and his wife (who was wearing a lot of perfume). Denzel is pretty awesome. Man, this paragraph is full of parenthetical comments and weird punctuation, sorry 'bout that.

The third category is the famous "umm, let's be really late, shall we?!" and includes Lawrence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves, who came together. awww. They were totally fine about being held, though; kudos to them. Finally, Andy Garcia was there but I don't know when he arrived; I just spotted him at intermission with a horrible haircut. There were a few other people there as well whom I cannot specifically identify; one is a male bad actor from some sitcom or MTV something and the other is a older, late middle-aged woman who plays mothers in things. Also learned today that Ian McKellen is not circumcised. Lovely.

On a side note, "They call me crazy, but my name is Clifton Chenier"

Ian McKellan

Yesterday evening I ushered a performance of King Lear and the variety of celebrity turnout was quite grand. First, Neil Patrick Harris, in very fitted pin-striped trousers. Second, the ever-present Julia-Louis Dreyfus with her husband and a gaggle of kids (not all hers, though). She arrived late, so we had to hold her out of the performance for the first half hour. My boss was proud of me for not heeding celebrity. It wasn't that hard; she wasn't mean about it unlike every other obnoxious man who got there 45 minutes late and wanted to be seated in the front row! Boo stupid patrons--my favorite comment of the evening, "But I am a guest of the British consulate!" Who cares? During intermission came a few ones I had missed earlier--Julian Sands, who played the villainous Bierko on 24 but also a fantastic psycho theatrical man on an episode of Law & Order:Criminal Intent (a show that took up a lot of my procrastination time last year), John Lithgow, whom I once walked into while he was walking his dogs because I wasn't looking where I was going, Blythe Danner (my co-ushers had no idea who she is), and, finally, the tall curly-haired villain from Home Alone!

The show is endless--about three and a half hours! Plus intermission. Man, I am working it again tomorrow.

Hurry Up, Doomsday

Umm, I stole this from WFMU's Beware of the Blog, but it's pretty interesting.

$10,000 for killing a Whooping Crane.

$54,500 for releasing anydrous ammonia into the environment.

$55,000 for illegally travelling to Cuba.

$70,000 for mishandling and mislabeling hazardous chemicals.

$116,000 for improper disposal of flammable materials and other violations.

$133,000 for exposing employees to infectious diseases.

$1.2 million for broadcasting pixillated boobs (FCC).

So, listen to not FCC-regulated radio: UCLAradio.com! On a side note, today felt very post-apocalyptic.

Here's a picture from a year ago that also seems pretty armageddon-y.

Perhaps it will rain.

My legs are unequivocally achy. I don't know why. Tis quite unfortunate.

ummm, I got bitten by a rat.

No, I don't have rabies. BUT I GOT BITTEN BY A RAT!

edit: Danny Elfman was there. There was creepy music within feet. Fitting for a rat bite, it seems.

My photo was featured on LAist!!!!!!

See title. WOOOOOOO. http://laist.com/2007/10/11/extra_extra_.php Check it.

Etrog Vodka.

See title. It's happening. It's a two step, week-long process.

Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)

Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, Seattle, WA

I watched The Darjeeling Limited Wednesday evening. At the end of it, my body ached. Adrien Brody showed up and was pure hipster. Wes Anderson showed up, as well, and was super Caucasian. Roman Coppola showed up and I didn't even really notice. Slate thinks, "Hands down, it's his most obnoxious movie yet."

"There's his pervasive preciousness, exemplified by the way he pins actors into the centers of fastidiously composed tableaux like so many dead butterflies. There's his slump-shouldered parade of heroes who seem capable of just two emotions: dolorous and more dolorous (not that there haven't been vibrant exceptions to this). And there's the way he frequently couples songs—particularly rock songs recorded by shaggy Europeans between 1964 and 1972—with slow-motion effects, as though he's sweeping a giant highlighter across the emotional content of a scene."

I would tend to agree. Despite this obnoxiousness, I kinda really liked it. Plus, the cinematography was spectacular.

Black pens should not be allowed to have blue ink.