After the glow, the scene, the stage, the set

I saw Pavement this past Thursday night in Pomona and it was definitely magical, that is until we were stranded on the side of a freeway, but I'll get to that later. Most important information on that evening is that they played five out of my top seven pavement songs:

1. Spit on a Stranger
2. Roll with the Wind
3. Shady Lane
4. Cut Your Hair
5. Range Life
6. Harness Your Hopes
7. Stereo

I'm pretty satisfied with that outcome, as the italicized ones are B-sides I probably should never have hoped them to play (but can we just all agree that Roll with the Wind is spectacular?).

So then my friend's car has some sort of issue, in which the car fills with smoke and loses power breaking capability. Let me tell you, that is some scary stuff. And then we stand, freezing, on the side of a freeway in the middle of the night waiting for a tow truck. I obviously did not envision this occasion in choosing to wear a dress that morning. It's a good thing everyone bought shirts at the show; wearing three shirts did help a little. This situation would probably have been less frightening had I not watched so many Law & Orders and or film noirs that include scenes similar to these.

All in all, however, it was a pretty successful Nochella weekend: Pavement, first day of new job, long shift at old job (money!), Record Store Day (including buying a Robyn Hitchcock album I somehow missed which has a song titled "Raymond Chandler Evening"--what could be more perfect?!), pizzza I hadn't had in 14 years, square dance, maybe the best donuts in L.A., and learning how to make bagels.

Excellent Asians.

They filmed the Asian Excellence Awards at Royce on Wednesday. I won't reveal any of the winners since they don't air until May 1st, but I don't think you care about that anyways. Let's just go through a quick run-through of the random people who were there, starting with Kenny G. What? Then there were a ton of reality TV folks (most of whom I wouldn't know if I hadn't read the program): some American Idol girl named Ramiele, JabbaWockeez, Cheryl Burke, Cristian de la Fuente, Carrie Ann Inaba, Karina Smirnoff, and Tia Carrere (who sang two Hawaiian songs and was really uninteresting). And the folks that someone once cared about and have now become reality TV folks: Ian Ziering, Daisy Fuentes, oh yeah-Vern Troyer. And then the so-called celebrities other people were excited about but whom I had never heard of: Rex Lee (Entourage?), the guy who (co-?)invented YouTube, and so many more. Sonja Sohn, of the Wire, gave a pretty intense speech about how it was 'about time' and great that the Asian community was accepting of the mixed race folk. This speech went on for quite some time. B.D. Wong who plays the psychologist (I think) on Law and Order: SVU! I don't even like this show but anything even semi-related to Law and Order has the potential of making work just slightly less boring. heh. Also, a very disheveled Quentin Tarantino. People who are awesome: Kristi Yamaguchi (so skinny! so short! pretty dress).

A great moment: we didn't let Three Six Mafia into the VIP reception cause of a lack of tickets to the VIP reception, only to get the oh-so-funny "You don't know who they are?!?!" There was also one guy from the Black Eyed Peas.Also, three pageant queens were there. "Miss LA Chinatown"'s crown was perhaps a foot tall. It was beyond absurd, especially for a winner of not even a city's pageant, just a section of a city's pageant.

Finally, !!! Mr. Iron Chef America Chairman Mark Dacascos said hi to me and my fellow usher and started walking away before he turned around and came back to shake our hands and tell me I "have a great smile." awww.

Roommates and Supertramps

Sometimes I wonder if my roommate thinks I am as crazy for watching so much Murder, She Wrote and Law & Order as I think she is for watching so many Lifetime Movie Network and what I like to call Judge Phil (Judge Judy, the People's Court, and Dr. Phil).

I know dandelions are, but I am have no idea about this pretty tree.

In other news, I am in the process of (intermittently) reviewing my notes for tomorrow's biogeography final. My professor, by the way, is basically David Hasselhoff as a lacrosse athlete who for some reason ended up studying geography in China. Anyways, several weeks ago we learned about "supertramps"--species that spread widely and easily. Oh, Professor Zackey!

Edit: Upon some quick googling, it turns out that the "supertramp" was coined by the one and only Jared Diamond, the UCLA professor who makes his students write essays to get into his classes. According to Wikipedia:

The name was coined by Jared Diamond in 1974, as an allusion to both the itinerant lifestyle of the tramp, and the then-popular band Supertramp.

This is kinda hilarious.

Murder, He Wrote

Ian David | flickr

Oh man, how did I not know about this?! Jerry Orbach as a returning character on six episodes of Murder, She Wrote!!!!! Playing almost exactly the same character as Lenny Briscoe on Law and Order. At the end of the episode, Orbach asks Angela Lansbury to join him at his private detective agency. She should have said yes; they could have had a spin-off, and it would be my favorite show ever. Probably even top Ellery Queen!

Superb!

Oh yeah, Alex Rocco is in one of the episodes, too!

Ok, so I have to edit this because the episode "Murder Takes the Bus," which is on the same disc as the previously described Jerry Orbach episode, is full of crazy guest stars. I love how both Murder, She Wrote and Law and Order attract all the great character actors, plus some big names as in Julia Roberts in L&O. Anyways, this episode had Michael Constantine (who was also on Law and Orders amongst many other things), Larry Linville (M*A*S*H!!!!!!!), David Wayne (Inspector Queen from ELLERY QUEEN!!!), and Rue McClanahan from Golden Girls. yowza, what an episode.

Rollin' with the Homies

I knew he looked familiar! But more than looking familiar, his voice is so only his voice! I didn't place it when he played an obnoxious lawyer representing the bad guy on an episode of Law and Order or CI (I can't remember), but right now I am watching an episode of the new season of L&O for the first time on which he is a regular (the newest in a series of replacements for the best--Jerry Orbach). Aaaaaaaaaand it is none other than Elton from Clueless!!!!!

A Rascal's Disciple

photo via derekb at flickr

It's a little crazy how many recognizable actors have been on an episode of Law and Order or L&O: Criminal Intent. In the episode I am currently watching, Jeffrey Tambor plays a hilariously inept judge, Honorable Barry Dilwynn.

Also, I just love that people other than me use the adjective 'Saulbassian.' While that is not a particularly exciting post, I highly recommend the Brand New blog about brand/identity work.

Finally, while 'falling on your ass' is perhaps more embarrassing, I am pretty sure falling on your knees is more painful as the blood on my left knee can confirm. Thank you, the combination of socks and slippery wood floors.

By the way, Saul Bass has the coolest signature.

Midnight Yell.

I am finally starting my response papers that were due last Monday and Wednesday for my blues class. And, the links to the songs won't play. Gah, this is when my mother would conveniently exclaim, "You should never save anything for the last minute; you never know what might come up." Thank you, mother. Boo, internet. But, Law & Order: CI just always takes precedent.

I also watched the Bob Dylan movie, I'm Not There, today. It was so bizarre. I didn't really understand it and I know quite a fair amount of Dylan's story. So, uh, hmmmm. It wasn't bad, but I also don't think it was worth nine dollars. Also, why is Heath Ledger playing a ton of jerks these days?

Anyways, since I am apparently not writing essays anyways, I am going to create a wishlist to further fuel my materialism. Chanukah doesn't end until Tuesday, folks! Not that I expect any of my, oh, three, maybe four, readers to get me any of this stuff and thus it will include some completely unrealistic stupidly-expensive items that I really wouldn't want anyone to buy anyways--I just would like them to magically appear in my possession without anyone having to pay anything.

A set of 6 of these, please. ;-)So cute. Turtle Hare! painting.

Okay, I am actually just going to go to sleep since I am not getting anything done. Jonathan Gold wrote non-food articles, woah! Especially woah that Jonathan Gold wrote an article entitled "N.W.A.: A Hard Act to Follow."

Also, apparently people actually engage in Midnight Yell. weird. and so prompt, too.

I am listening to Neko Case so loudly that I didn't realize it was raining.

I am so excited about this rain! Going to make some tea in the morning and get the gas for my fireplace turned on (Although, I am still disappointed that is a gas fireplace and not a real one. sad). Speaking of gas, I spent two hours today preparing foods for a Chanukah dinner. Two hours! Making latkes which I don't even like just because one needs latkes at a Chanukah dinner. And then, thirty minutes before people are supposed to arrive, my stove top won't turn on! So I knock on the doors of the two people I know on my floor and they don't answer. So I end up cooking latkes in some random people's apartment (and to continue the running motif of recent entries, they were watching Law and Order while I was doing this, although it was SVU of which I am no fan) and it was super awkward. And because of this awkwardness, I rushed the cooking and they weren't so fab. Bah! At least the salad was delicious. haha.

As promised to some folk, what follows is an awesome documentary made for the BBC in 1972 called "Reyner Banham Loves LA" which I first watched in my Los Angeles in Film class freshman year. It is spectacular. Please note the Shaft-esque music. Also, I am in the process of reading Banham's Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies and I highly recommend it.

"And you might wonder what I am doing in Los Angeles, which makes nonsense of history and breaks all the rules. Well, I love the place with a passion that goes beyond sense or reason."

I am pretty sure I don't like you.

I am writing an analytical memorandum (oy!) on Road System Performance in West LA (of Pico and Olympic Boulevards). I needed some information about a bus that I saw on Pico when I was doing some, shall we say, field research, so I called up 1-800-commute.

Me: Can you tell me what MTA bus lines run on Pico between the 405 onramp and Avenue of the Stars?
Her: The Santa Monica Seven.
Me: But I saw a MTA Local bus.
Her: NO YOU DIDN'T.
Me: Thank you. hang up

Um, okay, maybe my eyes deceived me, but yelling was really unnecessary, MTA woman.

On a Law & Order: Criminal Intent side note (per Alan's request. hope you're still reading!), I was watching an episode today without Goren or Eames (boo!) that was redeemed by the following interchange:

Captain Danny Ross (Eric Bogosian, who seems to always play Jewish characters but I don't think he is): Guess we know who didn't find the Afikomen! (about a boy who hated his father)
Logan & red-haired partner of the week: blank faces
CDR: It's like an Easter egg hunt for matzah.
Logan & red-haired partner of the week: blank faces, pause uh huh

Table sports.

JFranco actually showed up today--shocking. I really expected to hate him, especially after so many cancellations, but he was quite charming. I don't think he's such a liar anymore. Plus, he had pretty swell musical selections: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Jesus and Mary Chain, Jens Lekman, Magnetic Fields, John Lennon. I had to teach him how to use his iPod--pretty awesome. He admitted that he's made some pretty horrible movies. We're apparently going to play some ping pong. I like ping pong.

By the way, I am writing this blog entry, chatting on AIM, and watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent, instead of writing six pages. Oy! I am a bad student.

Woah, Dr. George O'Malley (whatever his real name may be) plays a computer game designer. Carazy. He has a weird reddish hair color. Which kind of goes with the horrible red hair of Goren's partner in this episode. Goren agrees with me, "Eames would have known!"

Take Me Out of the Ballgame. Not You, Mike Logan.

If you were planning on seeing Reprise's production of Damn Yankees at UCLA's Freud Theater, don't. Boo, Jason Alexander; you are a bad director.

1. Fine, you want to update the play. Then why update it to the 1980s? Doesn't make much sense. The '80s is not a decade that makes people particularly nostalgic.

2. If you are going to change things, you gotta get the details right. It's the little inaccuracies that detach the audience from the play. Frank McCourt wasn't the owner in the 80's; even I know that.

3. You shouldn't describe a player as "6'2", 195 lbs" when he is only around 5'9" and 150 lbs.

4. Fire your costume designer. All the women looked like they gained ten pounds since their measurements were taken. Every item of clothing they wore was just a little too tight, making for awkward tugging and gaping of fabric. All I could focus on during the first half was how ugly they all were made to look.

However, Jackee (Jackay!) Harry is awesome. In case you don't know who she is (I didn't just by her name, either), she played Lisa Landry on the fab television programme "Sister Sister." And, coincidentally, plays a character named "Sister" in Damn Yankees.

On a side note, in reference to the very helpful comment on the previous point, I hate Det. Mike Logan's partners. Every single one of them. Also, Mike Logan a.k.a Chris Noth creeps me out because I cannot think of him as anything other than either Mr. Big or supercreepster of the pretty eh movie, Searching for Paradise.

A few small items of note.

1. Can someone please explain to me the cast of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I have seen probably a hundred episodes of this fine show, and yet I always get confused when there are any other detectives than Goren and Eames. Please illuminate!

2. Only Erica might care about this, and she probably no longer reads this blog, but... Yesterday, whilst driving home from Santa Cruz on the 101, we chanced upon some weird public radio station just west of the Central Valley that was playing 'sounds of the Middle East.' My co-passengers really weren't digging it, but the song really caught my attention. After a couple minutes, I am positive it was some version of Tarbuka (or whatever is the real name of the song which accompanies that dance). Too bad the DJ was talking in thick accented Arabic and I really couldn't confirm.

3. James Franco might be guest DJing Automatic Stapler this Wednesday at 4. But since he was lame and canceled (I always want to put two Ls in that word) last time so last minute, I am not going to really advertise. You should tune in, though, because we are awesome whether or not Mr. Franco participates, and there are only a few more shows this quarter.

The Letterwriting Continues

Dear Mike Post,

How dare you change the theme song for Law & Order: Criminal Intent!

You broke my heart,
Laura

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.