I began my second game, the last game to be taped that day, happy that I had won once and aware that I should be satisfied with that outcome. Of course, once you win once, you start thinking “Hey, I like this, I can keep this up,” and you don’t want to the feeling to […]

[Read more →]

On the morning of the big day, Aimee and Grace dropped me off at the Sony Studios lot at 8:30, just after we saw the Radisson shuttle pull in bringing out-of-town contestants from the hotel. I was glad to have been to a taping before, having seen how the process works and gotten some of […]

[Read more →]

I’m going to be on Jeopardy! tomorrow night. This is the story of how that happened. I wasn’t a huge Jeopardy! watcher as a kid, and watched even less of it as an adult, but I’ve always enjoyed playing along at home, and it’s hard not to be amazed at the show’s longevity. At various […]

[Read more →]

Now that we’re home for awhile, we had a chance to venture out to explore another Los ANgeles “small town,” after our trips to Calabasas and Montrose. This time, it was another spot we’d previously visited, but one we hadn’t really explored: South Pasadena. It’s a beautiful spot, with lot of independent businesses, picturesque neighborhoods, […]

[Read more →]

Aimee took one for the team this year and stayed home with Grace while my mom and I went to the show. It was a little different this year, as I guess it is every year, but as always, a lot of fun. The red carpet was set up slightly differently, but we managed to […]

[Read more →]

We’ve been somewhat holed up at home for the past few weeks, trying to teach Grace how to love napping. Or at least enjoy it, or perhaps just tolerate it. She’s gotten the hang of it to some extent, so we decided to spend our Sunday exploring a bit rather than just counting the hours […]

[Read more →]

‘Nuff said.

[Read more →]

A few months ago, I picked up a copy of Los Angeles Magazine featuring a piece on the “small towns” of Los Angeles, which we thought would make good destinations for day trips while I’m on leave. For our first trip, at the end of November, we visited Calabasas, where we wandered the farmers’ market […]

[Read more →]

It’s that time of year again… We got the gingerbread house going yesterday, and ended up with a nice, understated approach that didn’t have any significant construction disasters (except for the the mistake of using multi-colored candy balls on the roof line, which required tweezers to remove and be replaced with red and green only). […]

[Read more →]

Every once in awhile, we stop and ask ourselves what we did before Grace came along; it usually involves being what now seems like lazy or self-centered, or just busy doing baby-unfriendly things. I don’t know where blogging fits in there; we haven’t really done as much to write about, and I also have no […]

[Read more →]

Movie Week 2010 was a multiplex-heavy event, in part because I covered most of the independent cinemas in Los Angeles in 2008 and 2009 and also because, having not been to the movies for a few months, I hadn’t seen anything that had come out all summer, most of which was still in the theaters. […]

[Read more →]

AMC Century City 15 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Saturday, 9/25/10, 11:00 am Price: $7, their discounted “A.M. Cinema” price. Concessions: None Audience: 75-100 people, probably, which seemed pretty good for a Saturday morning. Trailers/advertising: The terrible “AMC First Look” ad/trailer package was going when I came in, with ads for TV shows, movies, Coke, […]

[Read more →]

American Cinematheque at the Aero Theater Manhattan Friday, 9/24/10, 7:30 pm Price: free with my badge. Concessions: None Audience: 150? 200? The theater was mostly full, not unusual at the Aero, but always pleasantly surprising to me. Trailers/advertising: No trailers, but one of those hyperactive KCRW ads that the Cinematheque always shows at its two […]

[Read more →]

Pacific Culver 12 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Thursday, 9/23/10, 7:05 pm Price: $11.75, and free meter parking on a nearby street. Concessions: None Audience: 8 or so in a small theater, maybe 75 seats Trailers/advertising: Trailers for My Soul to Take, Skyline, Jackass 3D, and It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Projection: 35mm platter, […]

[Read more →]

Regency Village Theater The Town Wednesday, 9/22/10, 7:20 pm Price: $11.50, plus $1.25 for meter parking on a nearby street. Concessions: None Audience: 75 or so in a theater that seats 1300+ Trailers/advertising: Trailers for Jackass 3D, Burlesque, The Tourist, Hereafter (again?), Life As We Know It. Projection: 35mm platter, excellent presentation. I’ve long been […]

[Read more →]