Of all cities, how did this happened in Los Angeles?
Hysterical:
Figgis Detained After 'Shoot a Pilot' Comment
(May 29) -- There are certain things one should probably refrain from saying at an airport, and director Mike Figgis unfortunately learned the hard way.
Figgis, who directed "Leaving Las Vegas," was reportedly held for over five hours at Los Angeles International airport after he told immigration officers "I'm here to shoot a pilot," according to The Guardian. In television, the first episode of a potential television show is called a pilot. However, the agents, apprently not in-the-know with industry terms, took it to mean Figgis had plans to gun down an airline pilot.
Figgis was then held in an interrogation cell for five hours, and was released after officers figured out he had no assassination plans.
I didn't watch Jericho on CBS last season, but I know a lot of people who did. Seems the show was universally loved by those who tuned in.
Anyway, maybe you have already heard about this, but in case you haven't, Jericho fans have been protesting its cancellation to CBS by sending the network NUTS.
Apparently in the last scene of the finale, the town of Jericho was told to surrender by a neighboring enemy town, and the lead character's reply to that was "Nuts!" So when the cancellation became official, fans convened on message boards, and the idea of sending nuts to the network was born. Pretty soon, everyone starting going to NutsOnline to place their orders. The NutsOnline folks responded in kind by making a special Jericho Nuts page, and they are doing pooled orders and allowing fans to simply make a donating starting with as little as $5.00 to the daily pool (those guys are geniuses, BTW). When you check out, you can send CBS your personal message, which are posted here.
Like I said, I didn't watch Jericho, but I think I'm going to go ahead and donate just because I love this story so much.
Did anyone in So Cal feel an earthquake about 10 minutes ago (11:15 pm or so)? It wasn't huge or anything, just a little shake?
I might be imagining it.
Do you remember when I went to a going-away bash recently and everyone got to leave with an original painting of their choice? This is the one I chose, newly returned from being framed.
As you can see, I had the perfect spot for it. It's great to finally have a Joe Ongie original in my home.
Better yet, this painting hung in the restaurant Joe and his wife Catherine owned, a place from where I have many fine memories, musical and otherwise. I love having a little piece of the Gypsy Den in my living room.
She's growing up in size, but she's still a puppy in spirit. This dog will fetch a toy and bring it back to you until your arm falls off. She's a good girl.
Just so we're clear, I realize I'm the only person who is going to find this the least bit interesting. I was watching this Lindsey Buckingham with special guest Stevie Nicks Sound Stage DVD I bought recently. It's awesome, blah blah blah. C'mon, you know I love this man, so I'm not even going to tell you how great he is, you've heard it all before. But check this out, and you might want to click on the picture to enlarge it. See the blonde woman in the audience in red and just to the right of Stevie Nicks? That's Lindsey Buckingham's wife. Does she remind you of anyone? Say, an old girlfriend from 30 years ago?
Alfie's got a wink and a secret for you. He's the one who left the hairball on the sofa. But I've got a secret for him. I think that sofa (the red one) is going in the trash in a couple weeks, so I'm not half as mad as he thinks I am.
Cleo is one of the few cats I know who not only enjoys but actually begs for belly rubs. She weighs about 15 pounds, so it's actually quite an endeavor to oblige. What's funny here is Alfie asleep and oblivious. He's usually strutting around, acting like a tough guy, letting Cleo know that he's top cat around here, and that she's nothing but an annoyance. He'd be so embarrassed if he saw this photo.
Nice cover of this John Lennon classic by Green Day. It will be featured on an upcoming album called Instant Karma the benefits of which will go to Darfur. Click here (InstantKarma.org) for more information. In the meantime, this song is available now on iTunes.
Where the homes in my last entry succeed, this house fails miserably. I live close to this place, and I watched its recent renovation from blah to pseudo-Mediterranean eyesore. There's so much wrong here, let's see if we can ID the missteps. I'll start.
The pitch of this roof prevents it from being a Mediterranean.
In this fantasy as in most, money is no object. Which would I own? All three, but I'd decorate each one differently. Off the top of my head:
Taking inspiration from the exterior, I'd do this Spanish home in warm, neutral earth tones. I see some dark red walls inside.
The Tudor's interior? Deco, Deco, Deco.
In contrast to the first house, this Mediterranean would be done in cool tones with touches of blue and high quality leather pieces. This place calls out for some Moorish-inspired touches.
Christy's is the first of two restaurants in Long Beach owned and operated by Christy Bono, yes, daughter of Sonny (pre-Cher). I love this building (I recommend you click to enlarge so you can enjoy the architectural details of the building).
Stay tuned. I've been out and about with my camera lately, and I've shot lots of houses and buildings that will be posted over the next few days.
I don't usually photograph people, but I had to run over to the hospital (my employer) today to turn in some paperwork. For better or worse, the hospital is in a fairly rough neighborhood. I don't know what this man's story is other than he suffers from pretty questionable fashion sense. The best I could make this out is that he was wearing Celtics basketball shorts with a white button-down suit shirt. The shoes and socks speak for themselves. Go ahead and enlarge so you can see the satiny fabric of the shorts. Yeah, I'm going to hell for this one.
There's not much to see here. For some reason, the camera didn't get much play. This is the ceiling in part of the lobby of the Arlington Theater. There were various banners/flags hanging, as you can see.
Left to right: David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, the interpreter for the hearing impaired.
I took this picture of Ruby about six weeks ago. It took many, many attempts to get one that wasn't blurry because she's always moving just a little bit. My sister was holding a treat behind me, and that was the only way we got her to sit still. As you can see, the tip of her tail is a blur. That's because she knew that treat was soon to be hers.
1. Tom Waits 2. The Replacements 3. Cheap Trick 4. Sonic Youth 5. Warren Zevon 6. Big Star 7. The Pharcyde 8. Roxy Music 9. Talking Heads 10. Bob Seger 11. Fugazi 13. The Cramps 14. The New York Dolls 15. The Band 16. The Cars 17. Pogues 18. Alice Cooper 19. Dinosaur Jr 20. Sleater-Kinney 21. Husker Du 22. Devo 23. Wilco 24. Tom Petty 25. Ween
I often find myself going through life, shaking my head in disbelief at what I see. And then sometimes I am awed by something so stunningly beautiful that I'm breathless. I hope to document both here.
Hysterical: 
