Looks like I might have to subscribe to HBO for a month

HBO Checks in With Hockey Series.

From the linked article:

HBO is lacing up its skates and joining the NHL in drumming up interest in the league's midseason marquee event, the Winter Classic.
HBO sports is producing a four-episode series, 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic," which will debut Dec. 15.

This might be my Christmas present to myself.  Plus, in addition to the behind the scenes stuff, this should be one hell of a game.

Vaudeville at the Alex Theatre

Last Sunday, the Alex Film Society presented Vaudeville Returns! at the Alex Theatre and the Brother and I headed over to Glendale to catch the show.

The Alex was originally built as a vaudeville house.  It has been beautifully restored and is now used for a variety of events and screenings.  Our previous (and first) trip to the Alex was in February when they screened Psycho on the big screen.

The show started with five live acts, ranging from music, juggling and hula-hooping to mind-reading, all with lots of comedy.  We even had a card girl who came out between acts to reveal the next act.  My personal favorite was comedian Dana Daniels and his unflappable co-star Luigi, a psychic parrot.  Yes, psychic parrot.  Judging from the level of applause all the acts got when they came out for their final bows prior to intermission, I wasn't the only one who held that opinion.  All of the act were terrific in their own ways.

After the intermission, a quartet of shorts was screened.  We got a Hearst Metrotone Newsreel, which featured Adolph Hitler violating the Treaty of Versailles by sending the German military into an area annexed from Germany by the treaty, setting up the uncomfortable possibility that the "War to end all Wars" - World War I - might not be the last war after all.  It was kind of eerie, knowing what lay ahead for the people who sat in a theater and watched that newsreel so long ago.

One of the other news stories came out of nearby Montrose, which initially made the locals happy, but it was about new (at the time) firefighting techniques.  Too soon after the Station Fire, guys.

There was a rather bizarre Dave Fleischer cartoon that had the Mills Brothers dropped in the middle of it, performing a "follow the bouncing ball" sing-a-long.  The song had nothing to do with the cartoon, but it was still a neat song and the vocals were beautiful.  With the exception on one guitar, there were no instruments, just the brothers' voices, and it sounded like you were listening to a full band.  This was a trademark of their act.

The Our Gang short had the kids attempting a performance of Romeo and Juliet in which everything predictably went awry.  Featuring Alfalfa, Spanky, Buckwheat and Darla, the kids are so young here that you have to marvel at their comfort level in front of the camera.  It reminded me of the origin of Our Gang (aka The Little Rascals), when Hal Roach was distracted by a pretentious performing child auditioning in his office by a bunch of normal - and much more interesting - children playing outside his window.  They were just kids being kids.

The day wrapped up with Laurel & Hardy's Hog Wild.  Oliver Hardy's battleax of a wife insists he set up a radio antenna on the roof.  Stan Laurel shows up and Hardy enlists his help, or more accurately, "help".  Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, with the Hardy's roof and Laurel's car among the many casualties.

The vaudeville show is an annual event at the Alex and I highly recommend it the next time it comes around.  The Brother and I had a lot of laughs, and we were also pleasantly surprised at how many kids were in attendance and actually enjoyed the show.  In addition, the theatre itself is a sight to see.  The following were taken with my Crackberry and don't do the place justice, but you get a general idea of how beautiful the Alex is and how meticulously it was restored.  It's also in the Americana at Brand area, so there are a lot of places to go for dinner, drinks or coffee before and after the show.

 

Links/sources:
Alex Theatre - Alex Film Society - Alex Theatre on Wikipedia - Ian Whitcomb - Ian Whitcomb on Wikipedia - Jeffrey Daymont - The Amazing Bornstein Experiment - Mat Plendl - Dana Daniels - Hearst Metrotone News - Our Gang on Wikipedia - When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba on imdb - The Mills Brothers on Wikipedia - Hog Wild on imdb

Here's hoping the TCM Classic Film Fest has an affordable option this time around

You know, for those of us who love the classics but don't have celebrity-sized bank accounts.

2nd annual TCM Classic Film Fest announced.

Least expensive pass for the first fest was a whopping $500.  I still can't believe I had to miss it because of that.  I live right down the street from the damn thing.

Not ignoring the blog...

Just lots of family obligations lately.  Including today.

Sophie, however, is ignoring you.

Parking 'tard, Miracle Mile

I emerged from the Ralphs on Wilshire Boulevard this afternoon to this cheery sight:

Why yes, that is my little blue Corolla in a space clearly marked "COMPACT".  The massive truck next to it, also in a spot clearly marked "COMPACT" and parked waaaay too close to the aforementioned Little Blue: Not mine.  I can read.  Also, I can park.

I considered waiting for the idiot truck owner to come out so I could congratulate him on his selfish stupidity, but opted for opening my door as hard as I could.  I had just enough room to slip in.  I didn't look, but I'm hoping this particular shade of blue shows up really well on his paint job.  Too bad I didn't have a heavier door, I could have really left a sign of my regard for his parking idiocy.

The truck was actually sticking out into the lane.  Maybe next time he can just park on top of my car.  I mean, if you want the world to know you park like a jackass, go all out.

Fuzzy photo taken with my Crackberry.

Inside the Dexter Writer's Room

Dream job.

Dexter returns Sunday, September 26 on Showtime.

Some writerly ramblings...

White Collar spec: Finished through Act 2/page 30.  Still haven't figured out how they're actually going to solve the crime, but given the amount of progress I've made lately, I'm looking forward to getting to that point and having to find a way to make it work.  I'll be making OC runs today, tomorrow and possibly Saturday, so not much is going to happen with it in the next few days.  Deadline for Scriptapalooza TV competition is October 1.  Since I didn't get this one finished in time for the Screenwriting Expo competition, I really want to make it into Scriptapalooza.

Beyond October 1: Thinking of taking a shot at The Mentalist when I finish the current project.  Also still want to try writing a Dexter spec, but need to see how they proceed in the new season.  I'm beginning to think this may not be a great one to spec after all, since the show resets so much each season.  I also have a feeling that Hawaii Five-0 will be a very popular show to spec if it turns out to be as big a hit as everyone is anticipating.  That could be a fun one to write.

Screenwriting Expo: Program/schedule still pretty thin even though it's less than a month away.  Still waiting to see what other classes and speakers they will have to determine whether or not I need to shell out for a Gold Pass or just regular registration.  I'm beginning to think that the key to getting the most out of the Expo is only attending every other year.  I had a blast last year, check it out here: Preview, Report #1 - Anthony Zuiker, Report #2, Report #3 (Hawaii Five-0 is discussed), Report #4, Report #5 - Goldman/Cleese.

Ahem. May I have your attention please.

Hockey season is imminent, so expect to see me posting stuff like this.

Via NHL on Facebook, THIS:

Does your breakfast lack team spirit? Spice up the most important meal of the day with this Los Angeles Kings ProToast™ toaster from Pangea®. The retro-style appliance leaves the mark of the team logo on every piece of bread. It also features adjustable settings and can accommodate 2 slices of bread.

I realize there's an obvious "The Kings are toast" joke in here and that I really should be looking at the Ducks toaster, but there's no way anything bearing a Quacks logo defiles my home.  Or my toast.

Team toasters on Shop NHL.com

Why a new blog?

Welcome to To Live and Thrive in L.A., my new blog.  Why a new blog?

I've been in a personal, professional and creative rut for an extended period of time.  Couple of years, in fact, and I need a change of scenery, something to kick start my life.  I can't make a physical move at this time due to my dicey employment situation, so this blog became my outlet.  I kind of think of it as moving to a new, fresh and hopefully exciting place at least creatively and I'm hoping this will will have the effect of energizing me.

I also wanted something a little different in tone.  Rose Parade was a bit of everything (including politics, which I hadn't initially wanted to get into online, but events pushed me in that direction).  I also recently decided I wanted to simplify things blogwise, and while at the time building RP with lists and links and all sorts of fun stuff was enjoyable, now I want things just...quieter, I guess.

For the new blog, I'm looking to make it more of a journey of creativity, the pursuit of trying to make that creativity a career, and of not just living but thriving in a fascinating place like Los Angeles (hence the new design and name).  There will, of course, be much yammering about my beloved L.A. Kings and many, many pictures of Sophie, because let's face it, there's just no such thing as too many pictures of my incredibly photogenic cat and the Kings are made of awesome these days.

Also, check out the shiny new URL!  Luckily, since I have an unusual name, it was still available.  I feel like I'm sitting at the grownups table now, internets-wise.  It is kind of bizarre to see my name in a url, though.  That will take some getting used to.

You'll notice some duplicate posts from the last days of Rose Parade in the archives.  This is because when I was starting the new blog I didn't want to launch it without existing content.  There are also a lot of new posts, because during the aforementioned rut I just lost interest in keeping RP up while I was working on the new blog.

Rose Parade was the blog I wanted over the past five years.  To Live and Thrive is the blog I want now and for the foreseeable future.  Also, I'm kind of surprised I never heard from these guys about the previous blog's name.

So I've finally decided that the shiny new blog is ready to go, although I may tinker with it a bit more.  Comments on the new look are welcome.

Oh, and please enjoy this picture of Sophie!

Countdown to the 2010-2011 hockey season

Our boys in royal purple and black marching out of the dressing room and into battle.  Blades scraping on ice.  Bob Miller's voice.  Jim Fox and his snarky sense of humor.  These are things that make me, a long-time (and long-suffering) Kings fan happy.

Exactly one month from tonight, October 9, the Kings will begin the season in Vancouver.  CAN. NOT. WAIT!!!

The Brother and I are going to the Kings/Quacks game on December 26.  These are actually my birthday gift from last June (tix to the game of my choice).  More tickety purchases to follow, no doubt.  This situation would be helped immensely if I could find a full-time job.

We've been eagerly awaiting this season ever since the last one ended.  GO KINGS GO!!!

L.A. Kings 2010-2011 season schedule

My version of Labor Day

Laboring over my White Collar spec, trying to beat tomorrow night's final deadline for the Screenwriting Expo writing competition.  This is complicated by the fact that my usual Wednesday family obligations got moved to Tuesday this week.  There's a doctor's appointment involved, so it's not up for discussion.

I actually worked out a lot of my story issues today.  I always do my best work with a deadline looming.
Speaking of Screenwriting Expo, I still need to buy my pass for the Expo itself.  Man, I hate not having a regular paycheck.

Now back to my script.

RIP Wilma. Again.

 

I can't believe it's been five years since she died.  So sad.  She doesn't even have a category on the new blog.  I mean, what's the point?

It also means that Sophie is five years old.  I have to say, she's done a hell of a job replacing Wilma.  That was a tough act to follow.

God bless both of you little fuzzies.