Finally Home

Ugh, what a travel day from hell. Although I had no trouble checking in and passing through security, I barely made my plane in Denver. It was starting to board when I arrived at the gate. Gotta get to the airport plenty early these days. We boarded the plane and sat in our seats at the gate for over an hour due to a "maintenance issue" with one of the engines. That never sounds good. Also there was something wrong with the electrics on this plane because the flourescent cabin lights kept blinking on and on off rapidly and randomly. It was like a strobe effect inside the plane -- and I wasn't even stoned!

At last we pulled away from the gate, only to be stopped on the tarmac because of weather delays in San Francisco (our destination). That was another half hour or more of sitting on the aircraft in the middle of the runway. Naturally the plane was full of families traveling with small children after the holiday and I was stuck right in the middle of them. I actually traded seats twice to allow parents to sit with their kids, spouses, etc.

By the way, I'm totally OVER parents and their precious children at this point in my life. I'm not sure who is most annoying, the kids or their inept parents. You can keep 'em as far as I'm concerned. "Look, but don't touch" is my new philosophy.

The flight attendants kindly put in a movie to help pass the time. It was "Cinerella Man" by Ron Howard. Although highly censored for airplane viewing, the movie was quite entertaining and compelling. Very good filmmaking and performances from the stars Russell Crowe, Renee Zellwegger, and Paul Giamatti. And hell, it had to compete with dozens of screaming children and it won. Thumbs up!

The plane left Denver about 5:30 pm (almost two hours late) and we arrived in San Fran about 7:15 Pacific time. I was certain that I had missed my connecting flight to Burbank since the scheduled departure time was 6:30. "Luckily" that flight had also been delayed due to weather and traffic flow and was scheduled to depart at 9:45 that evening! Yes, two more hours of waiting in the airport.

After chowing down on a Whopper combo from the airport Burger King (I was starving after 8 hours without food), I had plenty of time to catch up on my reading. And after a gate change and some more waiting, my flight to Burbank finally took off sometime close to 10:30pm. My friend Benny drug himself out of bed to pick me up in Burbank at 11:30. At times like this, one certainly knows who one's friends are.

I finally made it home, sweet home after 12:30am. The cat was somewhat indifferent to my return until she caught me in an unguarded moment and reached up and scratched the hell out of my right hand with both her front paws. "Welcome home, asshole!" I don't know what she had to complain about. There was plenty of food and water, and she had the whole place to herself for a week. Jeez!

After cleaning up a bit, settling in and winding down, I made it to bed around 3. Today it's cool and rainy in Los Angeles. Two big Pacific winter storms are bearing down on us and promising inches of rain by the start of the new year.

On the bright side, I'm listening now to Brian Wilson's SMILE (got it for Christmas)and it is dreamy and wonderful. I need to vacuum and empty the cat box (not necessarily in that order), buy groceries, write "thank you" cards, and prepare for my meeting with the tour boss on Friday. Oh yes, I also desperately need to practice for the concert on Saturday night. But what I really want to do is play with my Christmas toys!

Bring on 2006!

Out of 'Time to make the doughnuts'

CNN.com - 'Time to make the doughnuts' actor dies - Dec 27, 2005

Enough Is Enough -- Impeach Bush

If the Democrats have any balls at all, they will impeach Bush at the first confirmation of illegal activity by him or his administration.

The Republicans impeached Clinton for having oral sex in his private office. While that may be illegal in some states, it's not quite the same as disregarding the Constitution one has sworn to uphold. If that isn't at least incompetence, I don't know what is.

I attended a discussion with Gore Vidal on the eve of the invasion of Iraq (almost three years ago) and he said that George W. Bush would leave office as the most unpopular president in U.S. history.

If that's true, do we really have to wait three more years, until January 2009, and let this guy do more harm to our country and to our way of life?

Best Picture of the Year

We have a winner, and it's one of the best ever:

ASIAN FEVER #22

Thanks, Larry Flynt!

And Sydney Makes Three

Yes, I'm three for three in my celebrity sightings this week. OK, Bruce Vilanch and Jason Schwartzman may not be household names, but Sydney Pollack certainly is. His resume as a producer, actor, and director is one of the most esteemed in Hollywood.

The most recent feature he directed was The Interpreter, starring Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman, but he's most famous for movies like The Firm, Out of Africa (for which he won an Oscar), Tootsie, Absence of Malice, Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were, They Shoot Horses Don't They?, and on and on. His list of producing credits is longer than his directing credits!

Now Mr. Pollack has produced and directed his first documentary feature, Sketches of Frank Gehry, a fascinating portrait of the architect and his creative process. Mr. Pollack attended a screening of the film here in Los Angeles, including a Q&A afterwards, and I was one of the lucky people in attendance.

It is a remarkable and engaging film, especially if you are a fan of Frank Gehry's other-wordly architectural style. A resident of Santa Monica, Mr. Gehry has designed a number of private residences and public buildings here in Southern California in addition to his world-famous commissions such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. His most famous local landmark is the new Walt Disney Concert Hall, home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.



The documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics, and according to Mr. Pollack there will likely be a limited theatrical release of the film in about 20 markets before being released on DVD. It was also supported in part by American Masters on PBS so you will probably be able to see the film on TV soon.

I Touched a Coppola

As if meeting Bruce Vilanch were not enough (!), I ran into Jason Schwartzman at Peet's Coffee in Westwood this morning. Although not a household name, Jason Schwartzman
is the young star of Shopgirl (he stole the movie) and I Heart Huckabees, but he's perhaps best remembered for his brilliantly refreshing performance in Wes Anderson's Rushmore.

I had just ordered my cup of coffee when he appeared in line behind me, wearing a green T-shirt and a scruffy full beard. In ultra-cool LA fashion, I simply acknowledged him and said "I'm a big fan." He brightened and responded, "Thanks man, awesome!" which, if you've seen any of his movies, sounds exactly like him.

I grabbed my coffee and moved on, but it was only a few minutes later I remembered that besides being and up-and-comer himself, he's also the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola and the son of Talia Shire.

Oh, and his former band Phantom Planet (whom I saw opening for Elvis Costello a few years ago) recorded the theme song for the hit TV show The O.C.

So there! Now, if I get to see Sydney Pollack tomorrow as scheduled, I'll be three for three!

Brokeback Mountain

This is a good movie. It may not grow to be a blockbuster because a lot of people are still nervous about dealing with intimate relations between men. And that's a pity because this film is not a "gay" movie. It's a love story, and a gripping one at times.

The setting in the Rocky Mountains is absolutely gorgeous. The cinematography alone is worth the price of admission. The two young stars, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, did a great job of portraying two simple country boys who come to love each other very deeply (no pun intended!).

It was surprising at first to see a fairly graphic depiction of gay sex on screen between two big Hollywood stars. There were quite a few gasps and sniggers from the audience. What an enormous risk those actors had to take in portraying these characters!

I was so pleased to see a full house at the preview screening at the Arclight in Hollywood and I hope that good word-of-mouth will get this film seen by many people. It's another winner from director Ang Lee, who became a star with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as well as Hulk, Sense and Sensibility, and The Ice Storm.

Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, the touching screenplay was written by the legendary Larry McMurtry, author of Lonesome Dove, Texasville, Hud, Terms of Endearment, and The Last Picture Show. Pretty good resume, don't you think?

Give Brokeback Mountain a chance. It's worth the effort.

Bruce Vilanch has lost weight!

You've probably seen comedian/writer Bruce Vilanch on the Hollywood Squares or writing jokes for the Oscars. I met him tonight at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood. I was there at a screening with my boss, but little did I know my boss and Vilanch were old friends. We were standing in line at the snack bar when Bruce came downstairs with a handsome young man. My boss Tony spotted them and called out and it was old home week for a few minutes.

Bruce Vilanch has lost weight. He looked a lot thinner in person than he does on TV, but my boss Tony said Bruce had lost a lot of weight, maybe a hundred pounds. I'd believe it, except he's still got a big double chin since he shaved his beard. Nice fellow.