I watched 149 movies in 2009.

What follows is a list of my top films from each month. This took me several hours to make. Complete waste of time, but I didn't realize it was going to take so long until about an hour into it and then it was too late. I had already started! Apparently, I don't like current movies. Only ten of these did I see in theaters or, in the case of PBS documentaries, when they debuted on PBS.

January:


February: I only watched one movie in February and it wasn't amazing.

March:


April:


May:


June:


July (this may have been the best month of my movie-viewing. so many to list!):


August:


September:


October:


November:


December:

Updated: Who I want to be when I grow up.

1. Huell Howser's assistant/successor.
   
2. Tambourine player in The Parson Redheads.
3. A guest on Sesame Street.
   

here, here Paul Smith

"Unfortunately, it’s just so normal now for people not to believe anything and for people to lie about things, and gamble on them, and not be sincere. In a way, sincerity is the new fake because no one even believes you if you are sincere."

With chains and knives!

Roland Reiner Tiango. awesome awesome awesome. check out his stuff.

"Whoomp (Sqaure It Is)" is a terrifying thought.
Paul Rand!!!
Wes Andersen seems to be less annoying and more adorable in animation. Perhaps this is a reason.
"Indie wasn't crappy for a purpose (anymore)"
Do you have some extra old guns and knives lying around?

(bonus points to anyone who knows what the title of this point is referencing)

John Krasinski reminds me a lot of Andy Griffith these days.

Two things that would prevent me from buying a watch.

1. No hour demarcation of any kind.
2. This slogan: "German precision and American testosterone."

Dear Wes Anderson,

I like you. Then I don't. I like you. Then I don't. You're making this really tough for me. But right now, I like you.

Laura

More articles.

Christmas song Jews.
White House vegetables not actually White House vegetables.
History of Christmas cards, sorta.
Super interesting article on Highland Park Jews.

Dear iTunes,

Why is that whenever I play a song from a Greatest Hits compilation, you display Steve Miller Band album art, but when I play the one or two songs I have that are actually by Steve Miller Band, you show Crosby, Stills & Nash art?

HUH?
Laura

Dear fashion,

I may have already written about this, but it seems you are stealing my dreams. First, wingtips. Then, clogs. And, now, monocles. I'm not sure what to say about this. Before I was hesitant to buy these things because they were so expensive. Now that everyone wants them, they are much more accessible (well not quite yet for the monocles), but, at the same time, everyone has them.

What a conundrum!
Laura

Dear Wall Street Journal,

You use "according to a person familiar with their thinking" too much. Does this person even have any value?

I am not sure,
Laura

Chalom

Dear Boyle Heights,

Thank you so much for this.

Best,
Laura

Dear Crimean War,

Thank you for the cardigan sweater (and apparently also the balaklava, although I don't have much use for that). What other woolen items will you reward civilization?

A hearty thanks,
Laura

Interesting articles I read today.

Anthony Bourdain reflects on 2007.
Jonathan Gold was only freelancing? Crazy.
I'm sad I never went to the Southwest Museum.
Although it took me way more than 25 minutes to get through to my gate last week, this article makes a convincing argument for the "Israelification" of American airports.
The Offline American.

LAist uses my photos again: http://laist.com/2010/01/03/happy_90th_birthday_musso_franks.php?gallery0Pic=5#gallery

Dear Israel,

Your toilet paper embossed with hearts is novel, but let me introduce you to the concept of toilet seat covers.

Best,
Laura

Question which your answer will allow me to judge your character.

What are your top three Stevie Wonder songs?

Genius

Oh, how I love you, Eric Ripert

Dear huddled masses,

What about bodies of stagnant piped-in water makes you throw your hard-earned money away? I really can't understand. Is there some specific origin of this ridiculous custom I don't know?

Please educate me,
Laura

Add trying to sound like Bob Dylan when singing "Then I Kissed Her" to the list of weird things Phil Spector did.

(This way too long documentary series All You Need is Love made by a British man in the 70's is alright. Wouldn't like it if not for these great weird interviews. Most of the information seems a little inaccurate or already known to me, but most people would probably learn a lot of new stuff).

This post is mainly for Lillian.

The black boots I finally procured after buying and returning and buying and returning again (although thankfully I didn't pay anything near that price. The second pair I got in a different color (Mud on the site; I don't know why they won't let me link the correct picture):

Dear L.A. River Report with Ed Reyes,

I would be much more into you if you were not accompanied by monumentally dull music. This isn't a hotel television menu channel show. Too bad it sounds like one (okay, obviously, I'm already admitting a lot by saying I watch LACityView channel 35).

Laura

P.S. THE L.A. RIVER IS A RIVER. DON'T MOCK IT.

J.L.Curtis part II

She thinks I "may have a runway" in my future and should have majored in costume design. She gets this all from a jacket. Excellent.

Also part II of What/Who Ron Jarvis Thinks I Look Like Today (although this is actually in reference to Monday): Coco Chanel. I'll take it.

Harry Shearer was there, too.

Wes Anderson

If you have seen any Wes Anderson film, particularly The Darjeeling Limited, you have probably realized he likes to use his soundtrack to very heavy-handedly underscore every emotion he wants the audience to feel. Quite frequently, my reaction is "OKAY, WES, I GET IT."

I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox this evening. I wonder if Anderson has ever used any diegetic music. I doubt it. Nevertheless, it didn't bother me as much this time. Maybe because I love the Beach Boys. And "Heroes and Villains" is my favorite song.

Also, Mario Batali is one of the minor voices? Crazy.

I need this necklace.

Please, please, please. Channukah present?!?

Dear people who decide San Vicente and Fairfax is an acceptable place to block the intersection,

WHAT THE HELL?

Laura

P.S. When is it ever acceptable to block an intersection?

New segment: "What/who Ron Jarvis thinks I look like today"

Bobby Darin

when the shark bites?

Dear man, whose business card I have already lost, at bar ,

Your socks were great.

Indeed,
Laura

Jamie Lee Curtis likes bluegrass and my new hat

and John C. Reilly wanted to know if I was going to play him a mini glockenspiel solo.

I like buying socks too much for someone who wears flip flops almost every day.

Don't worry, I'm not buying either of these.

Dear clothiers,

After doing some research, it seems what I dislike is called sublimation printing. If I am wrong, please correct me. Whatever it may be called, I do not understand why it exists. Why would one want clothing with random white stretches of fabric? Is it supposed to look like the ink just couldn't be absorbed there? It's not like dye just misses portions of a dress. It also usually accompanies a disastrous Ed Hardy-esque pattern. This is confounding.

Please explain,
Laura

Some examples:

OMG UCLA PARKING I HATE YOU

After returning the portrait, the art thieves reclined

Did you know the Los Angeles Police Department has an Art Theft Detail? Did you know it is the only only full-time municipal art investigative unit in the United States? It's a good thing, too, considering how, as Greg Allen says, "Seriously, there is some great art in LA. Or at least there was, until it got JACKED."

One of the stolen pieces is one of Andy Warhol's portraits of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. According to the aforementioned Allen, eight were commissioned by the man who had one set of athletes' portraits stolen. I have my own picture somewhere of one that hangs in the UCLA Chancellor's Residence, on loan from the Hammer Museum (perhaps they got one of the 4/8 given away), but this one will have to do because I can't find it. I have no real opinion on Chancellor Block's wife other than that I really enjoy her statement to the Daily Bruin: "'I met Kareem at a UCLA event recently and I said, ‘Oh, I see you every day.'"

Dear blog readers,

Analytics tells me my most popular posts are ones with the least comments. What's going on?

Laura

I like to sleep with the window open and you keep the window closed.

L-R, T-B:
1) Paul McCartney: Give My Regards to Broad Street
2) Paul Simon: Hearts and Bones
3) Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years
4) Peter Sellers: the Best of Sellers
5) Petula Clark: The World's Greatest International Hits!
6) The Police: Ghost in the Machine

1) Rhino Records 99 cents purchase, yeeeeah. But, this album is just whatever. It's a soundtrack of a movie I'd never heard of. I didn't even realize it was a soundtrack until writing this right now. The bizarre pictures all over the gatefold should have clued me in, but one never knows with these rock stars. (oh my that was so cheesy). Anyways, this has a lot of his already released tracks. So, basically, this is the kind of record I buy when I'm just record shoppin' quickly and the albums are 99 cents.

2) I don't remember where I got this record. I don't even remember ever listening to it. So, alas, all I can say is that it has really ugly album art.

3) A classic I took from the parents, which includes the classic that gave this post its title. I don't think anything bad could be said about this album. Well, actually, it could be said that it's super annoying that my dad starts singing "Still Crazy After All These Years" every time someone mentioned something related to many years or being crazy. But I'll overlook that. Why, you ask? The answer is easy if you take it logically (what's that too much? Probably only if you know that it comes from "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" -- track four). okay okay "YOU'RE KIND" IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS EVER>BIG DEAL!11!!!!1!!1 (the 1s are to denote to gkla the level of excitement here). If you want to listen to a super perfect duo of songs, you want to listen to this song and then "Heart of the Country" from Paul McCartney's solo album, Ram.

---NOTE---: There are a lot of records that have been procured since this picture was taken, but I'll save writing about them 'til I have pictures.

4) MAMSROC. This is a weird not 12" 33 1/3 LP but 10", which means that it comes from the time when only classical music and 'musical' music was given the 'privilege' of getting more shellac. I really like the Parlophone logo.

5) Also MAMSROC. and, also ORANGE VINYL. woooooo!!! Also includes the silly rework: "The Boy from Ipanema." I think it is one of these (thank you internet! google "petula clark orange"): "There are also numerous bootleg albums from Taiwan which have become quite collectable. These are generally inferior quality copies of her American or British hit albums on red, orange, green or yellow vinyl with poorly xeroxed art work." true, but the poorly xeroxed art work looks kinda nice.

6) Rhino Records $0.49 purchase from early high school. I liked this record a lot then.

What I'm Not Doing Tonight

(What up what up LACMA !)

playlist for LACMA

• Leonard Cohen - A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes
• Beach Boys - Heroes and Villains
• Antony and the Johnsons - Shake the Devil
• Esthero - Superheroes
• Old 97's - Up the Devil's Pay
• Llibertines - Time for Heroes
• Starlight Mints - Seventeen Devils
• Danielson - Propaganda for a Comic Strip
• The Kinks - Superman
• Roxy Music - India
• Tommy Dorsey - Song of India
• Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Little Demon
• Steve Earle - Angle is the Devil
• Blitzen Trapper - Devil's A-go-go
• The Anniversary - Devil on My Side
• Marty Robbins - Devil Woman
• Rufus Wainwright - Evil Angel
• Willie Bobo - Evil Ways
• The Smiths - Handsome Devil
• The Germs - Lexicon Devil
• Helen Shapiro - Little Devil
• Robert Johnson - Me and the Devil Blues
  

Not redacting.

I was only writing this post because, for no reason, I really wanted to use the word "redact." Then I realized it's a totally inappropriate word for this post. Anyways, I am addending (blogger doesn't think this is a word but it is the verb form of addendum, believe me), sadly not redacting, the post entitled " Josh Heller doesn't read my blog, but he'd probably enjoy this truck," in which I wrote "P.S. Kim chi quesedilla! Oh my god." with "P.P.S. Kim chi quesedilla! Stop putting too much cheese in it and letting it get too cold and congealed before you serve it!" (In fact, I exactly did not redact that post; I did not edit it before publishing in such as I am editing it after the fact with this here additional post).

Hey, I don't know what the deal is with this post being all kinds of crazy font sizes. When I edit it, it looks and says it is all one size. Sorry.

Notes taken out of context.

In the process of cleaning my room (the room I spent more than half of my childhood in, the room I just moved back into after not living in for four years a.k.a. there was a lot of stuff just stashed in random places room), I have discovered lots of little pieces of papers, post-its, business cards, what-have-yous with notes on them, either that I noted to myself or received. Sometimes I remember what they mean or what they come from, frequently I don't. I am going to share a few. Feel free to claim you're the one who said any of them. This may become a new series (if I ever resume regular posting), semi-inspired by Erica's affinity for my (is "to" actually the correct word here?) letter series.

"Looks like a 502, he's really weaving." "Give him a ball of yarn; he could make us both a sweater."

"Call him on it, be like, 'that dog just ain't gonna hunt.' Yeah, maybe the idiom is too much, but my point remains." (okay, honestly, I now remember exactly who said this and what/who it was about, but I didn't when I found it and it's kinda too much to get into for a blog post but makes me chuckle and thus I deem it post-worthy).

Perhaps a good way to remember the order of the streets downtown: "Wouldn't it be grand to hope to pick flowers on Figueroa?"

"1848 was charming only through an excess of the ridiculous"

"It is not theft to steal from thieves; it is merely irony."

OK, this last one I wrote down sometime during 2006. I know this because other stuff on the paper happened that year. I also know gkla told/IMed/somethinged this to me, but I have no idea what it is referencing: "Laura, you may now proudly say of yourself, "Today I was riding dirty." So fantastically dated, right?!

A few updates.

Two meals were foiled today, sadly. I was making dukkah-encrusted salmon for the fam (I didn't even know what dukkah was last night and today I was all set to wow them with the beautifully crispy topping) and, after I had made way more than necessary of the mixture, I notice an oddly darker piece. At first, it seemed like just a burned piece of coriander, but then it looked like it had appendages. With the use of a trusty magnifying glass, I was able to see that it, indeed, had legs. Gross! So I had to throw out all the mix. And now I am sufficiently concerned about all our spices--here's to the end of flavor! Thankfully, salmon is just as delicious baked with even a meager dose of salt, pepper, and some dill.

The other meal was ruined not by it's undeliciousness (it was a quite tasty chocolate twist I picked up on the way to work bright and early at 7:30 thi morning), nor did was it bugged. Breakfast was ruined because of the excruciating expedition finding parking at UCLA has become. I admit I got there about eight minutes later than the previous shift, but is that really reason for me to expect all street parking to be gone? Anyways, at that point I knew I was already going to be late to work. I really hate being late. So, already slightly anxious, I drive around campus only to realize they have removed ALL the meters I used to park at for even moderately reasonable fees. They also removed all signage. So, when I resign myself to paying a gazillion dollars at a "pay-by-space" space, I park and go to pay at the new machine things they replaced the meters with. It's only two hour parking; no sign for that, of course. I am already late, so I paid it. But it was SEVEN DOLLARS FOR TWO HOURS.

Having been ten minutes late to work, I had to leave two hours later in the middle of my shift to try to find another space. After looking all over the campus and the neighboring streets for 15 minutes, I park in one of the lots. WHICH IS NOW TEN DOLLARS.

Thus, I paid $17 to park when I was only going to be making $48 dollars today. UCLA parking FOR THE LOSE.

Hippies

I don't remember where I read it, so I apologize for the lack of attribution in advance, but I enjoy this sentence:

I hate war, man, just look at the circumference of my pant legs.

Also, in case you were wondering, the new LA Times site uses the same font I always have on this here blog. Indeed, the LA Times new site kinda looks like a blog.

Dear Netflix,

Thanks for defining my film interests in such specific categories. Yes, I like "feel-good independent comedies," "critically-acclaimed cerebral foreign movies," and "crime movies from the 1940s."

You're so right,
Laura

hello.

I've been wasting a lot of time on the internet today, which is fitting because I took a four day hiatus from the interweb and it was fabulous. Anyways, following is a variety of things 1) I want, 2) I want to read at a later point (but I'm not on my computer so I can't just bookmark them), 3) that are interesting, 4) or whatever.

Items of clothing/stuff I can't afford to purchase: purple sweater blazer, tank top (by the way, why are these called tank tops?), bow tie necklace ('guess this means I will miss being an usher), clogs, bag (in orange).

Listen: Turkish Psych Funk!

Read: Gas station architecture, sea&space

Look: Wu Tang meets Blue Note, Museum of Online Museums

Go?: Fiesta Shalom (name = eeek), MOTA day(although the name would possibly be worse than Fiesta Shalom, I would totally buy 'Arroyo Fro-yo')

LAist used a photo of mine again today: http://laist.com/2009/03/03/today_we_vote_heres_what_you_need_t.php

really Star Trek weekend.

Brent Spiner in Man of La Mancha at Freud on Saturday (didn't recognize him, my dad had to tell me who he was) and Leonard Nimoy in audience at Royce on Sunday (definitely recognized him. Leonard Nimoy!!!)

baby, baby

Dear Tavis Smiley,

Your laugh brings so much joy into my life. Additionally, Lamont Dozier and Raphael Saadiq? What a show!

Danke,
Laura

work woes

Dear girl ten feet away from me,

Yelling that you lost your voice seems a little foolish, doesn't it?

Sincerely,
Laura

chain mail replacement

I'm writing this here and not on Facebook, because I don't want to participate in chain mail and tag 25 people afterwards but also don't want to disappoint the three people who have tagged me who obviously care so much about me (hehe).

1. My mother taught English. This has made me keenly aware of other people's grammar mistakes and super embarrassed when I make them myself. It bothers me that I am quite bothered by other people's mistakes--well, at least some of them. Just so you know, "number" and "amount" are different words. "Few" and "less" are, too. There should always be a comma before "too."

2. I have never desired to be a real banker, but, when I was younger, I had my own pretend bank. I made my own currency, checks, and log books. I printed weekly statements for my family members and allowed them to make transactions. The bank even had an awesome logo and a slogan I can't remember.

3. I have never had a pet. Assorted family member's allergies and aversions prevented it. My grandfather had two cats that my brother and I named. Then one of the cats jumped at my brother and created a huge gash in his neck. That was the end of us hanging out with the cats.

4. I truly enjoy learning. I can usually listen to people to talk about things that interest me for a long time. On the other hand, three hour classes usually only retain my full attention and interest for at most two hours. Additionally, I do not wish to be a writer of any sort and have only two or three times in my life enjoyed written assignments.

5. I did not have cable television until the middle of third grade. While that seems pretty early in life, I think much about me is related to the fact that I pretty much only watched PBS for those formative years. On family trips, Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite were the Coolest Things Ever. Once we got cable, classic television was all I watched until much later. Hogan's Heroes is still my favorite show, closely followed by Adam-12. I have seen every episode of Hogan's Heroes at least three times. I would totally be able to watch the same episode a few times in a row and each each viewing.

6. It is a little weird to me that I love prison movies, but I do. My favorite movie, not just in the prison genre, is Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood. This is, in large part, the cause of my love of Clint Eastwood, not due to my love of Clint Eastwood. My second favorite is Papillon.

7. I hate washing dishes. It also amazes me how easily I make my apartment incredibly messy, when I am a generally organized person.

8. I do not know how to ride a bike.

9. I have had a fireplace in my apartment both this year and last and never used it until right now (Sunday February 1st, 7:58pm). Unfortunately, it is not a real fire place. The logs are fake. I do not like that. Also, the flames are blue. There is not much heat. The logs will never burn down. The fire will never end, unless I turn it off. What the hell? That is not the correct fire place experience. I don't like the sound it makes or the unsafe feeling it gives me. It also took my building three months to turn it on. Ridiculous.

10. I really like cooking. I would be more than happy to cook you dinner, if you help me clean up after.

11. Ella Fitzgerald once serenaded me in an elevator.

12. This one should be obvious by now: I love the work of Raymond Chandler. For the most part, I also love movies based on the work of Raymond Chandler.

13. I painted a portrait of him recently. It's the first painting I've done in a really long time. This makes my mother really happy, because I used to be very into art. I almost went the whole art school route. But, in the past four years, I haven't done much art at all. My mom thinks I am wasting talent. I think I have the skill but not the ideas.

14. I enjoying drinking gimlets. I am not sure what percent of this affinity stems from my love of Raymond Chandler and the first book of his I read, The Long Goodbye.

15. I bought a harmonica and would like to be able to play it well. I have not yet dedicated any time to this task, however. Hopefully spring break will bring greatness.

16. I am finally going to Coachella this year. I am most excited 'bout Leonard Cohen. Sometimes I call him Lenny Cohen, like we're friends. We're not, but I have met him at a Christmas party. Sorta met him. More like too nervous to say anything other than hello. (OH MY, SO COOL).

17. I frequently think in song titles. When someone says "alley oop" at a basketball game, I first think of the song by the Hollywood Argyles, not the offensive maneuver usually involving a slam dunk.

18. I think James Franco is an okay guy but am really disappointed he is going to be the commencement speaker at my graduation.

19. I don't think participation should be so highly valued by professors. This pressure to participate causes people to say things just for the sake of getting those participation points and not because they have anything valuable to say. I cannot count how many times classes have been ruined because of idiots 'participating.'

20. My usage of the word idiot reminds of an interesting twenty minutes spent in an urban planning class a year or two ago discussing all the words related to city. In a roundabout way, idiot is one of them. See if you can figure out how.

21. I have a headache right now that is distracting.

22. I will watch any Huell Howser show. Even though I am way into them, they frequently are very helpful if I want to be sleeping. I will spend over five bucks (ridiculous) on a quart of Broguiere's milk if Huell Howser's face is on it. In my defense, it does taste better than most other milk I've had.

23. I really like Jewish holidays. I am going to have a seder this year at my apartment on the third night. You might be invited. Let me know if you would like to be.

24. I don't know why I didn't think of this one sooner: I really really really like postcards. I keep every postcard I get. I also, in general, like writing and receiving letters (not just the fake ones I write on this blog).

25. I do a lot of things for the future, which sometimes seems really silly to me but I like it anyways. For example, I took a yearbook photo and am buying a ridiculously expensive yearbook when I graduate, because I am really into my grandmother's college yearbooks and want to have one for my eventual granddaughter to find. This way/philosophy/appropriate-noun-of-which-I-cannot-think-currently has caused me to be quite the pack rat.

Who ya gonna call? Trust Busters!

Dear Television Gods,

How did you let me miss this show? While I have only seen some clips, it seems to be the perfect cartoon for this particular gal. Silly songs about Teddy Roosevelt and other presidents?! How fab! It came out about the time I stopped watching Saturday morning cartoons I assume.





Release this on DVD, please!
Laura

P.S. These magazine covers are really swell.

Vote of Confidence

(10:25:19 PM): i think you would kick the city coucil's ass

(10:25:21 PM): council

(10:25:22 PM): 's

(10:25:26 PM): you should run

(10:25:44 PM): CD5 is an open seat right now if you're interested

(10:25:48 PM): you wouldn't even have to move

yesssss!

bloggity bloggity blog

Dear Peter and Rob,

I like your blog. This post is particularly enjoyable.

Sincerely,
Laura

Removed from sidebar to make room for 2009 list!

Copying Susan Harris: Books I Read, Latter half of 2007

• Adam Gopnik - Paris to the Moon
• Elijah Wald - Escaping the Delta
• Poe Ballantine - Things I Like About America
• Reyner Banham - Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies
• Rob Sheffield - Love is a Mix Tape
• The Editors of McSweeney's - Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney's Book of Lists

Uncharacteristic fashion post.

I put together this nice little image in Paint last night, because I was procrastinating as usual. I want these items of clothing, which would make all sorts of rad outfits together. I will not, however, buy any of these items, because they are all incredibly overpriced.


Pedro Garcia - Alanis jazz shoes
3.1 Phillip Lim - Leather motorcycle jacket
3.1 Phillip Lim - Lace Bubble Skirt
Oscar de la Renta - Crossover Faille Dress
Fendi - striped crepe dress
Jimmy Choo - heather leather boots

Top 6 Sandwiches of 2008

Ok, I just made a really delicious sandwich--a sandwich even you vegetarians can eat! I'll get back to that later. First, I think it's important that you know about these sandwiches.

6) Meltdown, etc., Culver City: Mozzarella, Fontina, Grilled Eggplant, Yellow Squash & Zucchini, Roasted Red Peppers, Caramelized Onions, Walnut Pesto on Focaccia Bread aka Grilled Cheese. mmmmm.

5) Alcove, Los Feliz: Crab cake sandwich: maryland style crab cake made from sweet blue crab meat on a caramelized onion bun, caramelized bermuda onions, wild arugula, tomato and chipotle aioli on the side

4) Breadbar, Century City: Ahi Tuna Burger on Golden West Five Grain Bun with Seared ahi tuna, crispy onion, radish, tomatoes, wasabi mayonnaise, garlic ginger fries.

3) John O'Groats, West Los Angeles: O'Groats Crab Melt: Meaty, moist, and flavorful crab cake on a rustique roll with tomato and melted provolone cheese.

2) Damon and Pythias, Westwood: Portabella Caprese Sandwich: Portabella Mushrooms on Grilled Foccacia Bread with Roasted Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Fresh Basil and Mixed Baby Greens.
1) Tender Greens, Culver City: Free Range Chicken with Rustic Bread, Aioli, and Roasted Peppers.

Ok, now to the sandwich I just made. This is what you need to do. Toast two slices of Sourdough Wheat Bread with a few slices of fresh Ovoline mozzarella. While you're doing this, sautee sliced white mushrooms, shredded carrots, baby spinach, and a little diced fresh garlic in a pan. Add some salt and pepper and mix in Trader Joe's Caesar salad dressing. Cook for just a few minutes while bread and cheese is toasting. Take the bread out of the toaster, cover with the vegetable mixture, and then top with quartered cherry tomatoes and bean sprouts. Woila! realllllly tasty.

Sorry

Dear gum chewers,

You look stupid.

Laura

P.S. People who buy Barack Obama coins, issued by the banks of countries like Liberia, on TV also look (are) stupid.

"a galvanic mixture of charm and energy"

L-R, T-B:
1) The Promise Ring: Very Emergency
2) Randy Newman: Little Criminals
3) Randy Newman: Trouble in Paradise
4) The Rascals: Time Peace Greatest Hits
5) Ray Charles: Modern Songs in Country and Western Music
6) Robert Clary: Meet Robert Clary

1) The Promise Ring were one of the first bands I really loved. It was a short but brilliant affair between me and their albums in middle school and early high school. Then I forgot about them. Suddenly, sophomore year of college, I get really into Maritime--an amalgamation of Promise Ring and Dismemberment Plan members. So I got back into The Promise Ring and bought this and a Maritime LP from their website. Oh yeah, Maritime was on my radio show. You should've listened.

2) I think I got this one from MAMSROC. Since I haven't written about my records in a while, I'll remind you that MAMSROC stands for "middle aged man sells records on campus." It's a good album, but I rarely listen to it. According to Wikipedia, "In 1978, legislation was introduced to make playing the song ("Short People") on the radio illegal in Maryland, though the bill failed to pass." That's super ridiculous.

3) Also from MAMSROC. "I Love LA!" And it's true, I do. Do you? I once saw Randy Newman at the Hollywood Bowl and the entire audience of 17,000 or so was shouting "we love it" in the correct spots. It was weird.

4) 99 cents from Rhino! I bought this because I thought it looked cool--very Lichtenstein. "Groovin'" "Mustang Sally" etc., exactly what's to be expected from a Rascals greatest hit album.

5) I can't remember where I got this. But it is of course a classic album. Revolutionary, even. "Big band arrangements by Gerald Wilson and Gil Fuller." I LOVE Gerald Wilson. He taught at UCLA, you know.

6) I bought this album on Ebay, 'cause I really wanted it, 'cause I love Robert Clary. It's probably been made clear enough already but Hogan's Heroes is my favorite show. Robert Clary played Louis LaBeau, a French POW and one of the titular "heroes." Not only does this have really cute illustrations on the back, but it prooves that Robert Clary is a really great singer. Surprisingly, most of that show's cast members were good singers. The best song this album is "Fleur Bleue." Try to find it. It's worth your time.

Down by the schoolyard.

photo by Tom Marcello

Dear Arnold Schwarzenegger,

I have now felt the "public school overcrowding," and it is going to prevent me from taking the class on Ellingtonia with the awesome Kenny Burrell. BOO. I really wanted to take that class, but I cannot handle 200 people stuffed into a classroom that should contain fifty. Add in the fact that twenty plus people are on their sidekicks and one person WAS ON THE PHONE (talking!) in the middle of class. Also, Burrell is in his late 70s and doesn't talk too loudly in the first place.

BOO BUDGET CUTS,
Laura

Josh Heller doesn't read my blog, but he'd probably enjoy this truck.

Dear Mark Manguera,

Thank you for Kogi truck. The Korean BBQ chicken taco I just devoured was undoubtedly delicious. Sometimes I like food a lot because I am just really hungry and, thus, predisposed to liking whatever I eat. Tonight's case was the reverse. I was not hungry at all and, yet, the food still was tremendous. I am thinking about getting twitter just so I can follow your wearabouts!

That's a big deal,
Laura

P.S. Kim chi quesedilla! Oh my god.

blogging, whilst at a party, = boredom

What kind of people don't like Check the Technique? Sad.

Recursion (maybe, I'm not exactly sure about the definition of this term)

Emergency! was a spinoff of Adam-12 which was a spinoff of Dragnet. One of the main doctors on Emergency! is in a cameo on this Dragnet episode! crazy prescient recursion?!

A few notes on basketball.

1) The people they show cheering before the game are not live, because they don't expect fans to be loud and such during winter break.

2) We won by 51 points today--113-62! (side note, when did I start caring about basketball?).

3) During half time, they have a "super shot" contest, in which one can win prizes if one makes certain shots. Half court shot winning the ultimate prize of a year's tuition and books. You sign up before the game if you want to participate. In no way was I ever planning on signing up for this. Apparently, someone thought it would be a really great idea to sign me up without telling me! And I was picked! SERIOUSLY. I didn't think I was even going to make a lay up, nonetheless a half court shot. yeesh. I was so nervous, shaking like I was about to get some sort of shot a the doctor's office. Oy, the announcer makes jokes about you the whole time! But, at least, I did make a lay up. One usually gets one Muscle Milk (such a lame prize) but they ran out (thankfully), and so I got a free burrito from Chipotle.

3a) I have only eaten at Chipotle twice previously. Both times were because I got free burritos.

4) Oh my god, I love James Keefe. This is mostly because he was in one of my geography classes, but also because he is quite good looking and a pretty solid basketballer.

Side note: I haven't done a Royce celeb update in a while. Both super pregnant Jennifer Garner and super high-heeled Patricia Arquette were at The Nutcracker this past Saturday.

Things I learned yesterday

1) Apparently, it took only 12kb to get to the moon on Apollo 11. (I didn't do any research to confirm this). This got me thinking a lot. I find it hard to believe that if, today, we tried to send a man to the moon on only 12kb we could still do it. Have we lost the ability to do things the way they were done pre-new technologies? By the way, Andrew Dawson is performing at UCLA's Little Theater tonight through Sunday; I highly recommend it!

2) I always knew what the "Twinkie defense" was, but now I know where it came from! Yay movies teaching you things.

3) The 800 block of Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica is actually pretty sketch. Surprising. Watch for the establishments named "Cash N Run" and "Sober Inn."

2008 Concert Photos

Mr. Greenwald put up his annual Best Of Concert Photos post. Last year mine were so much better than his. haha. Since then, he has improved and, in comparison, mine are pretty weak. Plus, his blog has a nice and convenient way to view the photos unlike mine. Hopefully you can handle it anyway. Enjoy!

unacceptable

Dear Swingers,

How dare you charge me a dollar for two quarters of a pickle. That is ridiculous. I overuse the word ridiculous, but I am pretty sure it is quite appropriate here. Not even Jerry's Deli charges for pickles; they provide a whole plate full of free pickles. That makes them better than you, which, I must say, is an unfortunate predicament for you to be in.

No longer your fan,
Laura

Thank Hugh

Dear SNL,

How do you make the hilarious Hugh Laurie not funny?

Sadly,
Laura

P.S. To see Hugh in all his comedy glory, please watch any episode of Jeeves & Wooster or most any episode of A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Try this one:

Omg.

I just unwittingly ate octopus. And, it was DELICIOUS. weird.

Update: Octopus has come up a lot lately. Another great octopus: the one painted on the wall at the party in the beginning of classic movie Beat Street.

Vocabulary Lesson

So amazing. Real word:

palinode

PRONUNCIATION:

(PAL-uh-noad)

MEANING:

noun: A poem in which the author retracts something said in an earlier poem.

Also,

14.71% of visitors to this blog this month searched for etrog vodka. How timely.
5.88% for "susan harris" ucla.

Trouble is My Business

If you don't actually know me, you may not know that I am obsessed with all things Raymond Chandler. And, as such, I have started a blog that I actually update with quotations by Chandler and pictures by me. It's basically a photo blog with captions, or a quotation blog with illustrations. Either way, you should check it out.

Also, on this blog, see the incredibly growing sidebar list of books I read this year--go me!--and how Chandleriffic it is.

The real inspiration for this announcement is ErGo's "Metaphorplay" post. Chandler is nothing if not a craftsman of metaphor and analogy. One of my favorites from The Little Sister:

At 3 a.m. I was walking the floor and listening to Katchaturian working in a tractor factory. He called it a violin concerto. I called it a loose fan belt and the hell with it.

Finally, if I do know you and you like movies, please join me on my more recent quest to watch every movie based on/written by Raymond Chandler. Unfortunately, about half of them are not on Netflix, so this might be a challenge.

Disservice

To whom it may concern,

If I call/email/chat with you for any of the following reasons:

• my computer suddenly loses all sound
• you charged me for wireless internet with included router but did not send me a modem/wireless router
• you don't tell me that the price of the service is actually the price after a mail-in rebate, which won't be applied until four to six weeks after you received the filled out rebate, which I won't even receive until over a month after service begins
  

Please do not thank me after every step of your mind-numbingly repetitive process. Please do not call me Ms. Laura. If you deleted both of these horrible things from your script, we could solve problems much more efficiently. Seriously, all of the following were stated just for "Bert" to tell me that I need to reinstall the audio driver for some reason which he does not know.

Bert : Thank you for confirming.
Bert : Thank you for the information.
Bert: Thank you for the information.
Bert : Thank you for your efforts inchecking all the information.
Bert : Thank you for the information.
Bert : Thank you for the information.
Bert: Thank you for confirming.
Bert: Thank you.
Bert: Thank you for your time and patience.

And now, to especially you, Verizon, please do not tell me you can not give me my money back (for your, of course, incorrect charges) because you have not yet generated the bill when I have the bill in my hands. And when I tell you I have the bill in my hands, don't just ignore that and move on like there is no such bill.

Also, Micaela, please learn how to speak English. "Just to confirm, is the music files are same on external hard drive earlier also?" Huh?

Best,
Laura

Happy Anniversary Canter's!

Um, so, I ate beef yesterday. Weird. But, seriously, at least it was super incredibly delicious, oh man. And, even better, this is what 60 cents bought me: an entire (2 halves) corn beef sandwich, a pickle (a little too bitter, not sour), a "taste" of potato salad (I don't like potato salad, so I gave it to a friend who actually ended up with three such tastes), and a rugulach! SO good. SIXTY CENTS. ridiculous. I feel like Huell Howser should have been there for this moment.

The most important thing one can take away from the film Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton

Make sure your workspace has hardwood floors and you sit in a chair that has wheels. Do not ever get up. Do not ever give up.

Too many "In Memoriam, Intial Initial Initial"s lately

Dear Paul Newman,

I always liked you better than Robert Redford. You were incredibly dashing. Plus, your Italian salad dressing is delicious.

Adoringly,
Laura

My wisdom was extracted on Tuesday.

Consequently, I've been bleeding and reading--and not eating. Plus, watching a lot of movies. A few notes:

• I finally finished alphabetizing all the 'rock-pop-soul' CDs at my internship. The Hives' Black and White Album really has fantastic album art. The font is spectacular. Looks like a great old movie. Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of the back where this great font is. So you'll just have to believe me.
• Also at my internship, I've been doing a bit of golf cart driving which is, I gotta say, quite fun. The silly thing about the lot, though, is that the limit lines for stopping are about three feet behind the intersections, and, thus, you can't actually see anything when you stop there. It is all very silly.
• I also interviewed James Franco again last week. I'll play it on my show as soon as I finish healing. Stay tuned!
• I watched Hitchcock's last movie, Family Plot, today. Didn't like it too much, unfortunately. There are two interesting likenesses though.
  
• 1. The villain looks remarkably like Zev Yaroslavsky!
• Bruce Dern in this film reminds me of Will Farrell. But kinda only in this movie. Weird.

In Memoriam J.A.W.

Dear Jack A. Weil,

For you, I resurrect my letter writing. For you, I spent 85 dollars on a shirt. For you, I made my friend drive twenty minutes out of the way so I could spend those 85 dollars on that shirt. I am glad I did. And I still regret that we didn't stop by earlier in the day so I could meet you. I don't have a picture of you, either, but trusty Charles Phoenix does and a mighty good one, too! You are great. I mean, come on, you invented the western pearl snap button shirt!!! You, and not that hideous Lee Greenwood song my mom loves so much, make me proud to be an American.

Laura

P.S. Your initials are JAW!

Start them arms a-flappin'!

Please join me in reviving the Funky Chicken. Do the Funky Chicken now!



Here's another video for your viewing pleasure of Rufus Thomas is all his pink glory at Wattstax!

Just for a while, just for a while.

I watched another movie you can't get (or rate) on Netflix last night: Marlowe, you can't even get it on DVD! As you may have noticed, I am currently reading and watching everything I can get involving Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe private investigator character. This movie is an adaptation of Chandler's The Little Sister. While I would only give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5, if this movie was on Netflix, I would start two new lists in addition to the one I created last week about movies that have parts that take place in the Hollywood Bowl. Marlowe's office is in the beautiful downtown Bradbury Building and another scene takes place in Union Station. There also quite a few noteworthy small roles in this movie--Caroll O'Connor as Lt. Christy French and Bruce Lee and killer(killee?) Winslow Wong.

Edouard Edvard Edward Eddie Ed

I have written about this man, one of my professors last year, previously on this blog. Now you have some absurdity/genius to match with the name. In this clip, Soja is almost like a super-intense-in-a-completely-different-way Huell Howser!

nonpareil

So, it is always sad when I can't rate movies on Netflix. One movie that I watched in 2006 comes to mind, in particular. Raffles, with the nonpareil David Niven. It is so great. You should watch it today. That is the end of this post.

-fin-