Hitchcock once said, "Self-Plagiarism is Style"

So it's time to resume the letter writing.


Dear KCRW card,

Please develop some way of notifying me that you are useful in particular establishments. I was going through your guide this evening and got very sad about the amount of money I didn't save in my several years of owning you.

Hopefully,
Laura

rolling with the Holm(i)es

So, apparently Angela Lansbury was at Royce on Thursday and nobody bothered telling me until today. A little late, no? Angela Lansbury!!! Man, she is as good a mystery solver as Sherlock Holmes, I am sure. And then of course there is the inimitable Bedknobs and Broomsticks. She perhaps would have been my fav Royce celeb; too bad I wasn't there! boooooooo.

In other Murder, She Wrote (MSW) news: I am almost at a point in my MSW watching career in which I can claim that actors from all my favorite shows have had guest roles on MSW. This weekend I have watched two episodes with some rad folks. Kevin Tighe, of Emergency!, played Lt. Moynihan in the 1990 episode, "How to Make a Killing Without Even Trying" and Martin Milner, of Adam-12, played Sheriff Bodine in the 1985 episode, "Reflections of the Mind." Adam-12 was one of the most technically accurate police dramas, by the way, and AMAZING. Earlier posts have explained previous appearances by Ellery Queen stars, but I don't know yet if I have seen any Hogan's Heroes crossovers (Although Bob Crane was once on an episode of Ellery Queen entitled "The Hard-Hearted Huckster"--what a great title, right?). That's what I am waiting for.

On a side note, I am beginning a collection of photos of those stamps in the sidewalk. Does anyone know what they are called exactly? This one above is taken on a street that is perpendicular to Echo Park Lake, if I remember correctly.

Edit: I didn't remember correctly. This one was somewhere in Koreatown.

Opera Dictator's Paradise

Is it just me, or is "Paul Potts" too eerily similar to "Pol Pot" in name? Perhaps this is just what happens when I see "Paul Potts reflects on his journey from mobile salesman to opera star." as the main headline on yahoo when I go to check my email after spending the weekend reading Golden Gulag, a terrificly depressing book about California as THE INCARCERAL STATE . yeech. (But, I am proud of myself for finishing a book before the final, for once. Fin=added to the list to the right!).

This afternoon at work I scanned Mr. Ron Howard's ticket to a screening of the classic silent film Safety Last with live organ accompaniment. While our entire interaction consisted of some electronic bar code reading and some "Hello"s and "Enjoy the Show," I must say he is a genuinely adorable man in his baseball cap and reddish hair. I then realized that I can't think of one movie he's helmed that I've seen. I do enjoy me some Happy Days, though.

Roy thinks of hearts and livers and brains when he thinks organs.

HOWEVER, what was more interesting about this show is that COOLIO was supposed to come, as a guest of weirdo organist Christoph Bull, nonetheless. gangsta Coolio, yo. See, we get the will call tickets once the box office closes up and there was an envelope with tickets for him. While I was super excited about the prospect of Coolio attending a silent film, I then realized I don't think I would be able to confidently identify him. This did, however, give me the opportunity to regale my fellow ushers with tales of the hilarious Cooking With Coolio. Oh, wow.

The ghetto witchdoctor superstar chef is here to make you forget about every cooking show you've ever heard. Get your tomatoes, your mozzarella, a little balsamic, and get your ass into that kitchen, baby.

The Leak Stops Here!

LA Weekly informs me that one of my favorite signs has been gone for months! How oblivious I have suddenly become. I took this picture in 2006.

I don't spend enough time on jentacular activities.

I don't give myself much time in the mornings before I must leave for class or the radio station. I pretty much have time to shower and give the email a quick check. But I really am not a happy person if I don't have breakfast. Sometimes I'll just grab a granola bar but that's really lame. Please give me some suggestions that are quick! If only I could live near City View Restaurant, the best dim sum in San Francisco (definitely not the one pictured).

You either give up or you chase history.

Damn straight, Jay-Z, damn straight.

The Adage To Live By (today's post's title) given to Charlie Rose by Jay-Z several months ago has imbued many a young boy with the fighting spirit, I am sure. It may also have instilled a challenge within a not-so-young weirdo middle-aged man (the more likely Charlie Rose audience member) to buy an overflowing cart's worth of groceries--$220! worth, in fact-- for himself! and to glare at me and my fellow shoppers. What a creeper.

The time spent at Trader Joe's on Friday, however, was not without the equally-weird, but much more delightful experience of a jolly old Scottish man telling me the general arc of his life story. He was so adorable.

Trader Joe's is the best.

But, then again, there's always the weird renaming-based-on-ethnicity-of-foods-thing.

Good Medicine

Celebz galore yesterday at the Good Medicine benefit for the Solidarity Fund, which was created by the WGA to aid crews who were hurt by the WGA strike, at Royce. Well, most of the celebz were on stage and not in the audience (actually, there were very few celebz in the audience, I saw only three who aren't really celebz but are on Grey's Anatomy). But anyways, on the stage were most of the casts of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. Ones I actually saw close up or interacted with at all were Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, TR Knight, James Pickens Jr, Sara Ramirez, Eric Dane, Brooke Smith, Loretta Divine, Tim Daly, Audra McDonald, Paul Adelstein, Taye Diggs, and Chris Lowell.

Apparently a ton of them are Tony award-winning folks. And they can actually sing, it's true. Those who couldn't sing did pretty un-funny little skits in between. Shonda Rhimes, the creater of the shows, said a lot of uninteresting stuff, too. Most of them that could sing did Broadway musical theatre stuff, but Amy Brenneman, Chris Lowell, Paul Adelstein, and Tim Daly did "California Stars," my favorite song from Wilco and Billy Bragg's album of unrecorded Woody Guthrie lyrics, "Mermaid Avenue," and it was spectacular. Tim Daly, who I totally thought was super good looking when I was a young gal watching Wings (haha), is still pretty good looking and plays bass pretty well. Adelstein also is excellent on the keys (although he kinda butchered his earlier solo number of Slip Slidin' Away on guitar). Lowell was kinda whatever the one time I watched the pilot of Private Practice, but in real life he is very good looking and wore a swell hat--and plays a mean harmonica. haha. Brenneman was beyond adorable in a beautiful cocktail dress and flats, singing the song and shaking a tambourine. The rest of the songs I wasn't too interested in.

Sandra Oh once sat at a neighboring table to me at a show at the Largo. She was with some people, one of which had the most annoying laugh ever that drove me crazy. I didn't talk to her yesterday. Katherine Heigl is actually very pretty in real life and seemed very charming, although apparently is a chain smoker. Justin Chambers is also a nicotine fiend, although he was polite and put the cigarettes out on the bottom of his shoe and threw them away instead of littering (at least the one time I was around). TR Knight is so little! The Chief (James Pickens Jr) was really nice and did a silly James Brown lip-syncing thing. His real wife, who also performed, has an amazing voice. Eric Dane just looks so greasy. yeech.

Then in the audience were some people with small roles of Grey's: the guy who played Joe the bartender, the woman who plays the nurse who gave somebody an STD (I can't remember), and some guy who plays one of the interns who joined the show after I stopped watching it.

still ringing.

really cute ducklings in Echo Park Lake

Dear The Echo & British Sea Power,

Thanks for taking ten percent of my hearing from me.

Not,
Laura

British Sea Power

via mikeakelley|flickr

FYI, British Sea Power on Automatic Stapler tomorrow Tuesday 02.26 4:45pm pdt. Listen at UCLAradio.com as usual. IM us at BruinRadio during the show.

Also, check out a photo of mine being used by LAist!

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.

Happy Presidents' Day!

I almost bought Gerald R. Ford stamps today. HA!

Just so you know, TR is my fav president.

Dear Kevin Roderick,

Thanks for using the phrase "Holy Geography, Batman."

I now love you,
Laura

Americana

1. I am SO excited that I got the Eddie & the Cruisers soundtrack LP today from the oldmanrecordseller on campus. woooooo! There is nothing better than a movie about the false death of a fake Bruce Springsteen. yowza.

2. Weird.

3. I am giving away tickets to see Afrika Bambaataa (at the Roxy 2/21) on my show next week. Listen in Tuesdays 4-6pm pdt UCLAradio.com

I should post about Jon Brion more frequently.

Dear 'harmonium,'

I am not dreaming, but thanks for getting me a lot of hits.

Laura

Letter Writing Campaign

Dear USPS,

Please stop increasing the price of letter postage. I am quite the fan of letter writing, but I really can't afford all these increases! Plus, I still have 37 cent stamps, nonetheless 41 cent stamps. Not ready for 42 cents. Oy!

Sincerely,
Laura

P.S. Would it be ironic or just stupid to start a 'letter writing campaign' to the USPS to stop the price hikes?

A Series of Letters Relating to this Evening and Other Things

Dear Largo,

Thanks for being so awesome. I could deal with better prices on the food or no cover charge--fixing one or the other would be excellent, but otherwise you're real smooth.

I love you,
Laura


Dear Greg Proops,

You are pretty hilarious. I, too, am glad we have advanced enough technologically as a people to have a cyborg run for president. "You like Tusk? I Like Tusk!"

Please be on my show,
Laura


Dear Jon Brion,

You looked super greasy today, maybe wash your hair tomorrow. Nevertheless, how are you so awesome? Your ragtime Tainted Love was solid. Your jacket was supacool, too. Please make the world align so that I may actually get reservations for one of your Largo shows in which you play more than two songs. Have fun in Paris.

Please be on my show,

Laura

The first #2pencil portrait I ever did, back in the day

Dear Rhett Miller,

Your hair might be a smidgen on the too long and feathery side today, but you are still beyond handsome. And your hip swiveling is always grand. Additionally, I appreciated your compliments about my show, and if you wouldn't mind getting Spoon on my show like you said you would tonight (really randomly, I might add), that'd be swell.

I love you and please come on my show (again),
Laura


Dear iTunes,

Why do you make the Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits' album art the album art for every greatest hits collection?

Not cool,
Laura


Dear Readers,

You are grand. I adore your comments.

Please listen to my show tomorrow (or today, I guess. Tues 4-6pm pdt UCLAradio.com!),
Laura

What? Jenny Lewis is doing a duet with Elvis Costello? Huh?

Maverick

It is a really beautiful day--the epitome of a perfect spring day in the middle of winter.

He's Fantastic

Don't steal my drawing, thanks.

Going through my daily time-waster of reading a gazillion blogs, I was inspired to write a post about two of my favorites combined! also known as Sondre Lerche's obsession with Alfred Hitchcock. So wonderful, but you may not have noticed. So, let me illuminate:

1. The font on all Two Way Monologue-era material is very much like the genius Saul Bass' poster work for Vertigo.
2. The bird motif on TWM is also an obvious allusion to The Birds.
3. The spirals inside the album booklet of TWM are another (slightly less obvious) allusion to the title sequence of Vertigo (also Saul Bass's work).
   
4. "She's Fantastic" off of The Phantom Punch makes obvious references to Rebecca: "In that old movie 'bout Rebecca's spell, I feel like Max never felt, minus the drama and the fraud..." and Vertigo: "Just like in that old movie about Carlotta's spell, I feel obsessed like Scottie felt."
5. In almost all interviews with Sondre about his scoring for the recent film Dan in Real Life, he brings up Jon Brion and Bernard Hermann, who scored Vertigo and Psycho, among many other Hitchcock films.
   

I am sure there are more but that's all that come to mind at this moment.

Also, while we're on the Saul Bass posting spree, check out this amazing website that has over twenty of his title sequences and info about them, including a non-Hitchcock film, but my second favorite move EVER, Around the World in 80 Days with David Niven and Cantinflas! (which I of course own on DVD if you'd ever like to watch it. hehe).

And, while not scored by Bernard Hermann, Victor Young's Oscar-winning score of Around the World in 80 Days is my favorite film score ever--a gift I would be happy to receive. ;-) (I have four different releases of it on vinyl but not on CD).

I kinda want to go to this...

http://laist.com/2008/02/07/jayz_mary_j_bli.php haha

Also, I just ate about a gazillion sugar snap peas.