Rufus rocks the bowl

Jason and I got tickets a while back, right after I'd decided to move to LA, to go see Rufus Wainwright interpret and restage Judy Garland's famous Hollywood Bowl concert
(as he has done for her Carnegie Hall concert, the Palladium and others). The concert was tonight and needless to say, it was amazing; not only Rufus' performance which was impressive, but also the whole scene: a bright beautiful moon, family members suppporting him, Debbie Reynolds in the front row, and Lorna Luft performing with him. Nothing gayer has happened in my life I don't think.

To top it off, I had my first legitimate celebrity sighting: Michael McDonald from Mad TV was sitting a row behind us and several seats down.





Bonus pic: Michael McDonald

Weather Event!

So on Friday and Saturday it rained.

It rained. (note wiper use to the left of this photo)

Apparently this doesn't really happen here. I wouldn't know having only lived here for a couple weeks. Seemed pretty natural to me. To be fair, it rained a lot--very steadily for a good day or so.

You would have thought they were expecting locusts or brimstone or frogs. For six days prior to the event the news media were speculating about the rain and what it would mean for residents. Seriously. I know weather reporting is kind of crazy everywhere, but this was something.

Again to be fair, there was some damage and there were some injuries.

Driving down the street, I was struck by how unprepared everyone was. I speculated about how many households in LA were digging through closets in the vain hope of finding their neglected umbrellas (if they had them).

Friday night it really poured for a little bit and Saturday it rained pretty steadily for most of the day. Jason says, "You know all the plants in Southern California today are like, 'what's going on?!'".

Emmy party!

Last week was the Emmys. They're held at the Shrine Auditorium. Afterwards parties are held at various venues throughout the city. Turns out the HBO party is held at the Pacific Design Center which is half a block from our place. I'd noticed earlier in the week that something big was happening. The entire courtyard was walled off in pink fabric covered eight foot barricades, gold statues were brought in, carpet was laid, and a large tent was erected. As the setup progressed throughout the week, a guard was posted 24 hours a day.

We weren't sure what the event was until a big Emmy statue appeared on the balcony of the PDC. On Emmy night, Jason and I were busy unpacking and doing things in the apartment. San Vicente was blocked off between Melrose and Santa Monica and there were cops stationed outside our apartment. This was a checkpoint for folks arriving at the party. As the night went on, we decided to walk up San Vicente. We were prohibited from walking on the side of the street as the party, so we crossed and walked to the library, stood on the stairs and porch and took some pictures. We didn't recognize anyone, but it was pretty cool none the less.


This was the limo parking area near the library.
















This was the scene. Arrivals to the right of the picture.

Predictable but Hooray!

You'd be disappointed if I didn't post it, so don't judge.

On the Saturday after I arrived, we went too Hollywood, saw the walk of fame, the Kodak theater, etc. It was touristy but we figured we'd better do it ASAP. I snapped this through the telescope thingie.

We walked all around and then I had my first In and Out Burger. Not bad. Comparable to Five Guys. ** In retrospect, I completely disagree with myself about this. Sometime I'll write about it but to summarize: In n Out burgers and Five Guys burgers are comparable, but the fries, hands down, belong to Five Guys. Overall I still love Five Guys more and think they're better. **

Herb doctor

This is one of the first pictures I took when I arrived in LA two Thursdays ago. Jason and I were walking down Santa Monica in the homohood at about 9:30 or 10 at night. We were on the way to the gym where I inquired about membership (it's LA after all: first things first!).

My mother begged me to send her this picture so she could tell everyone I had gotten a job.

Touchdown

So, a blog. Why not? I'm unemployed!

As a new transplant to LA (that's WeHo city limits to you!), I want to record my nuggets of wry, nose-snubbing, eye-rolling, east coast, bitchery with as much drab, khaki, muggy, DC, disdain as I can muster before this place captures my heart and transforms me into a looks-obsessed, shallow, acquisitive, paparazzi-dodging, fame whore with a carbon footprint the size of Texas. I can't wait.

And I want to post pictures and write about words I make up. And I miss everyone and thought this might help lower your productivity. Stay tuned.