I spent Saturday consuming football, more than I usually do but probably less than most fans of college football. I started out in the morning at the Amherst Alumni telecast of the Amherst-Williams game, which started out ok for the Jeffs but we were never able to capitalize and things went downhill quickly in the second quarter. It was nice to see Pratt Field in the fall, but the game was a disappointment. And even though it’s a bit of a daunting number, watching the game did make me more excited about our tenth reunion coming up next spring.

In the afternoon, I headed over to Michael’s to pick him up and head to Pasadena for the UCLA-Oregon State game at the Rose Bowl. We had great seats, and enjoyed a UCLA victory which didn’t look certain until late in the game. Neither team seemed to be able to score early, but Oregon St. was doing a much better job of moving the ball around, and UCLA’s quarterback couldn’t hit any of his targets. We busied ourselves with our burritos, the insane couples in the row in front of us, and learning the 8 clap. I’d never really been to a big college football game – Amherst vs. Williams is big, but in a little way, and I don’t think Dartmouth vs. William & Mary in 1981 really counts – and it was a blast. The most memorable part of the day, though, was the craziness of parking on an actual golf course, the weird sensation of driving over sculpted greens, and the confusion that ensued when we tried to find the car again in the dark. We eventually did, and eventually got out of Pasadena, and headed back home.



And on another note, living in L.A. means seeing famous people all over the place; the chance that the person you see actually is the person you think they are is pretty good here, unlike elsewhere, where the person you see just looks like someone famous. Anyway, it’s usually not a big deal, but this week brought such a strange combination of people that I’ve got to mention them in a quick rundown:

1. John Landis, director of classic comedies like The Blues Brothers, Animal House, The Three Amigos, and more, sitting in our row as we watched Borat last Saturday afternoon.
2. Janice Dickinson, whom I didn’t recognize but Aimee told me about afterwards, reality TV person, former supermodel, and all-around crazy person. After the movie, Aimee and I went to Pinkberry, and she stood in line behind us and proceeded to talk to us for ten minutes about how “zen” the place was, joking with us about what might be going on behind the counter. She asked if I was a writer; apparently I was hilarious. A very strange experience.
3. Eddie Izzard, great English comedian and actor, driving next to us on our way home from the yogurt place.
4. Danny Bonaduce, former child star and current strange guy, Aimee tells me, pedaling madly on his bike as we left brunch in Los Feliz on Sunday.
5. Josie Maran, model and actress, at the ramen place where Michael and I had dinner before the movies on Monday (thanks, Google News search).
6. Peter Bogdanovich, coming out of the bathroom next to my office on Thursday evening; I almost bumped into him.
7. And last night, to top off the week, at our local Formosa Cafe down the street, Orlando Bloom, still looking somewhat piratical.