A Special Night Of Holiday Music At The Geffen Playhouse

Gil Cates, film director and television producer ( The Academy Awards, 14 times) founding dean of the UCLA School of theater, film and television and director of the Geffen Playhouse, died last month.

image credit Access Hollywood

 On Sunday, December 18th, The Geffen will host a special evening of holiday music performed by much lauded singer Nathan Pacheco.  The evening benefits the Gil Cates Memorial Fund. Tickets are available at 3 price levels, from $48 (there are currently 5 seats left at this price) to $68 and everybody will enjoy wine and dessert after the show. Click here for complete details and a link to tickets and do take a moment to read the LA Times obit for Mr. Cates. He was an old school Hollywood pro, the kind of guy whose taste, work ethic and class made you want to come and work in this town in the first place. In this day of Brett Ratners we could all take a lesson.

The Weekend Feast for November 25th -27th

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration! I certainly did. Now, what to do with the 3 lovely days ahead?

Perhaps you have visitors in town? What a perfect opportunity to see something of Pacific Standard Time.   If you are hosting parents I suggest you head directly to the Getty.

Home to the completely accessible Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, the center piece exhibition Pacific Standard Time, a visit to the Getty offers a totally L A way to spend an afternoon.  Your guests will love the whole experience: the tram ride, the glories of the buildings and gardens, the wonderful view. The galleries are of a human scale, allowing you to linger or to move quickly through an exhibit if it doesn't catch your interest and the cafe is very good.  I can practically guarantee that your visitors will love it.  Here's everything you need to know about a visit to the Getty. 


If you are planning to do some holiday shopping you need to know that tomorrow is Small Business Saturday.

An initiative of American Express, the event is designed to draw attention (and business)  to small shops and the unique items they offer.  Many businesses are offering discounts or other incentives.  Check out the Small Business Saturday Facebook page to enter your zip code and find participating businesses. You can also register your American Express card for a $25 rebate.  Note, dear readers, that while this may sound like an ad, it is not. I don't own a small business ( I don't even own an American Express card) but I like this idea and I encourage you to support it.


Here comes the ad ( ;)) See that cute kid reading in the Barefoot Books banner in the right hand column?  Barefoot Books is the must-know publisher of some of the most beautiful childrens' books you will find. They are also my advertiser.

This weekend Barefoot is offering 20% off your purchases and free shipping (for orders over $60.)  I love, love, love so many of these beautiful books and my kids do too.  You can find some my favorites here.

I am especially fond of the books that come with cds. We spend so much time in the car and these wonderful stories have kept my kids entertained for hours.

And I swear I'm not bragging but my kids have terrific vocabularies.  I attribute that, in large part, to the many hours they spent listening to stories, both recorded and read aloud by one of their parents.  Did you see Thomas Friedman's editorial in New York Times last Sunday? He writes that we parents need to take responsibility for our kids education, that we can't expect schools to do the job alone.  Obviously I agree with this - I am the person suggesting that you take your kids to a museum.  And we do read aloud to our kids. My husband has read aloud to the boys almost every night for 13 years.  Geez when I think about that it makes me want to be nicer to him...
BUT - I also recognize that sometimes people are just exhausted. The idea of reading aloud at 8:30 at night to a couple of squirmy kids when all you want to do is make yourself a bowl of ice cream and sit on the couch in front of the TV, well, it's just too much.  And, that, my tired freinds, leads me back to well written stories on cd. See how I did that?

 I highly recommend almost everything from Barefoot Books ( I'm not crazy about Princess Stories) The independent company publishes books for kids age 6 months to 14 or so. They also have several books available in Spanish and French  (you can use my trick of using early reader books in Spanish to help my kids with their Spanish vocabulary)

Click here to see some of my favorites and then click around the site with your kids, there's a lot of fun stuff to see.  If you are filling a box or a stocking for others as a part of your Holiday giving, consider putting in a book or two.  A small, portable friend can be a real blessing to a child in need.



And speaking of giving to kids in need this season, here's a terrific, only in LA way to spread the love -

It's the Hollywood Christmas Parade, Sunday the 27th at 6:00 pm benefiting Toys for Tots.  Starting on Hollywood Blvd at Orange, the U-shaped parade route will travel east to Vine, south on Vine to Sunset Boulevard and west on Sunset, back to Orange. Find a viewing spot ( it's going to be a lovely, clear night) or possibly, watch it on TV.  Frustratingly, I can't find any information about how to view the Parade on TV but I will keep trying and will update you if I learn anything.

Enjoy your weekend!

For You Dear Readers, On Thanksgiving

Thanks
by W. S. Merwin
Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food to look at the sky and say thank you we are standing by the water thanking it smiling by the windows looking out in our directions back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging after funerals we are saying thank you after the news of the dead whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you over telephones we are saying thank you in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators remembering wars and the police at the door and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you in the banks we are saying thank you in the faces of the officials and the rich and of all who will never change we go on saying thank you thank you with the animals dying around us our lost feelings we are saying thank you with the forests falling faster than the minutes of our lives we are saying thank you with the words going out like cells of a brain with the cities growing over us we are saying thank you faster and faster with nobody listening we are saying thank you we are saying thank you and waving dark though it is  _ And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives. Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings; For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free hearted earth for mother, and God for father. Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)   Thanksgiving is good but thanks living is better   Matthew Henry

Something For Which I Am Truly Grateful

As this makes me laugh (in terror and recognition) and has made me laugh for 2 years ever since I first read it on Awkward Family Photos, I am truly grateful for Marney's Thanksgiving Letter. You have probably seen this but to say it is worth re-reading doesn't begin to express the pleasures to be found in this missive. Enjoy, my dear readers!


From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.
Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.
All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.
Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney

The Weekend Feast for November 18th - 20th

Before you get busy with all that pie next week (and honestly, I can hardly contain myself) why not pre-work it off by getting on your bike and heading over to the grand opening of the Santa Monica Bike Center Friday morning, November 18th?

 You and your wheels are invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony. Meet at City Hall at 9:15 for a bike ride to the ribbon cutting or meet at 2nd and Colorado at 10am for the ceremony.  The full service bike center, the largest facility of its kind in the country, features 5,300 sq ft of space in 2 locations with almost 360 bike parking spaces. Facilities are located at 320 Broadway within Parking Structure 7,  and 215 Colorado in Parking Structure 8.  The center (s)  is designed to provide secure parking spaces and other bike related services including bike repair, rentals, a retail component, lockers and showers.  The website is not yet completed but click here for more details and stay tuned.


Oh and pssst - here's a treat secret for Friday morning.

Milo and Olive, the new pizzeria from the lovely Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry, Sweet Rose folks is scheduled to open their bakery from 7am - 11am.  You can't get pizza until December 1st (11am - 11pm)  but in the meantime you can show up at the bike center ceremony with what is sure to be a beautiful baguette in your basket.   
Milo & Olive
2723 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica

This weekend, as a part of Pacific Standard Time, the Getty presents a fascinating program- How Los Angeles Invented the World .  Lectures include  How Los Angeles created the Good Life, How Life Imitated Art,  and The Past and Future of LA's Global Image. Check-in for a full afternoon of programing begins at 12:30, guests are encouraged to arrive no later than 1:30 to insure that they are seated.   The event takes place in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium.  It's here for details.



MOCA gets further into its Pacific Standard Time programing with Naked Hollywood, the first Southern California museum exhibition devoted to the work of the photographer known as WeeGee.   The mulit-media exhibit looks at the "lurid, irresistible undersides of Stardom, fandom, commerce and publicity" in mid-20th century LA.  This exhibit is a do-not-miss for you but it's not for young kids.

Sexualized, twisted, and warped (literally, see above) the work is incomprehensible to kids (yes, even your little genius) under 12 and would only serve to confuse and disturb.  Kids 12- 14 and older, with guidance and conversation, might appreciate the artist's unique perspective and you're going to love it.  Go here for details.

On Sunday afternoon I will be taking my kids to Express Yourself, a benefit for P.S. Arts at the Barker Hanger at Santa Monica airport. This is a fantastic event which we have been attending for several years. The enormous hanger is filled with a huge variety of arts and crafts booths; puppets, jewelry, tee shirts, tote bags, hair bands - so many things to make and bring home. With fun food, music, a dance floor (or wrestling floor depending on whether there are more boys or girls on it at any given time) it's a great afternoon for a great cause. Tickets are $175 and can be found here.  For 20 years P.S. Arts has brought arts education to public schools with little or no arts education. More that 11,000  Los Angeles and Central Valley students have participated in weekly P.S. Arts programs this year.  I love this organization and I'm looking forward to another great Express Yourself!  

The warm, modern, quintessentially Californian beauty of Heath Ceramics can be yours this weekend for 20% off.   Just in time for Thanksgiving - and suddenly you must have new napkins - the Heath Ceramics sale runs Friday the 18th through Sunday the 27th.  Saturday afternoon the Beverly Store is hosting a kids party from 1-3. Let your kids enjoy the coloring station,  modern kids photography and treats while you shop. It here for details.

I have been hearing about this for a while now but word is the Cool Haus store front is actually opening this weekend.  The store is located at 8588 Washington Blvd in Culver City.  If you get down there and in fact it is not open you can a) go to the nearest Whole Foods (which is at 11666 National Blvd West Los Angeles) where you will find a few flavors or b) check out the Cool Haus tweets.

And finally it is with pleasure (and a bit of anxiety, so much butter, so very much butter... ) that I share with you that the best croissants in Los Angeles are back as Maison Giraud is now open (for breakfast, full service next week) in the Pacific Palisades.  Chef Alain Giraud, of Bastide and Santa Monica's Anisette has opened his dream project, a casual french cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I have tasted and things are delicious.... Maison Giraud 1032 Swarthmore Ave. Pacific Palisades 310 459-7561

Have a wonderful weekend!

Santa Monica Ice Skating Is Open For Business

Santa Monica Ice is open for skating fun -

  It's a winter wonderland by the beach!  The 8,000 square ft. rink is the place to go on the westside to skate outdoors with family and friends. You can even throw a party in a private cabana and, if you need them,  lessons can be arranged.

The rink is located at 1324 5th Street at the corner of 5th and Arizona. 
Hours are:
Mon - Thurs 2pm -  10pm
Friday 2 pm - Midnight
Saturday 10 am - Midnight                  Sunday 10 am - 10 pm

Admission with (the website says "and" but I've got to think it's "with", right?)  skate rentals is $12 and you can store your stuff in a locker for $10. The rink is open until January 16th, 2012.  Click here for  rink details. Wednesdays after hours those 18 and up (and wearing rubber souled shoes) can join in an old fashioned game of broom ball and Friday nights from 8 - 10 it's rock n' skate with a DJ or live band. Your complete list of special events can be found here. 

 And while you're bundling up to skate, why not make a day of it and enjoy one of the many special winter and holiday programs Santa Monica hosts throughout the season? If you want pictures of your kids with the big guy while he's in Santa Monica,  note that he comes kind of early this year.  Santa arrives as the tree at Santa Monica Place is lit for the holiday this Saturday, November 19th at 6pm.   Ho, ho, whoa if you ask me  -  I'm not even ready for Thanksgiving yet!

The Weekend Feast for November 10th - 13th

This weekend American Cinematheque at the Egyptian and Aero theaters presents the annual Cinema Italian Style.  The festival opens tonight with Terraferma, Italy's official Oscar submission for best foreign language film. Selections include other dramas but this year the festival is especially strong on comedies.  Films run from the 10th through the 15th at both theaters. Click here for the schedule and while you are there consider a membership to the American Cinematheque for the cinephile on your Holiday list. 


In addition to the Italian fest 2 great films are playing at the Egyptian on Sunday the 13th.

The restored Mysterious Island (1961)  from the Jules Vern novel tells the story of a band of civil-war  Union prisoners ( and 1 confederate) who escape in a hot air balloon only to land on a creepy island of mystery. With giant creatures designed by the inimitable Ray Harryhausen (think of the Cyclopse and skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts)  this is a fantastically fun way to spend the afternoon with kids 8 and up.  Popcorn is a must.  


At 7:30 Sunday evening you can spend a blissful 2 hours with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron as the Egyptian shows An American in Paris.  Swoon for Gene Kelly's choreography and gorgeous form, savor George Gershwin's splendid score. Here's a taste -

Highly recommended for everyone. Well, everyone 10 and up or so.


This weekend in Pacific Standard Time...

 America The Beautiful, 1968 David Hammons. From Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960 - 1980 at The Hammer Museum.


You've seen some of Pacific Standard Time, right? Well the focus this weekend is on Hollywood/Wilshire with a series of special events at galleries and museums offering FREE ADMISSION all weekend.  Museums include LACMA, A + D Architecture and Design Museum, The Craft and Folkart Museum, The Fowler at UCLA, The Hammer Museum in Westwood and more.  It's here for details and here for a great guide to the whole thing from the knowledgeable folks at For Your Art.


In exciting food news - The LA Weekly's (but he really belongs to the whole city now, doesn't he?)  Jonathan Gold is out this morning with his list of the 99 essential Los Angeles Restaurants.  For some of you this means your weekend plans are already finalized - you will be arguing and debating the list with other food obsessives all weekend long. All I can recommend is that you get up from your computer once in a while and take a short walk.  For the rest of us, enjoy the list and pick a place or 2 to try, maybe something outside your neighborhood... gelato in Altadena perhaps, or sushi in West LA.

And writing of food did you know there was such an organization as the Culinary Historians of Southern California? There is and their mission is a good one - "dedicated to pursing food history and supporting culinary collections at the Los Angeles Public Library."   If this sounds like a group of people you just have to get to know consider joining them when author Kristin Olson speaks on sweets of Regency-era England, Saturday morning at the Central Library downtown.  The program begins at 10:30 and recipes will be provided. Perhaps you'll find something wonderful to make for Christmas.

If you are in the mood for some live theater you'll be pleased to know that the Grinch, the Cat in the Hat. Horton the elephant and other favorite Dr Seuss characters star in Seussical at Santa Monica's Morgan Wixon Theater.  Based upon the works of Dr. Seuss this fun show with a positive (but not heavy handed) message is suitable for the entire family.  This is opening weekend, the show runs Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2pm through December 17th. Click here for details. 

Finally, it is Veteran's Day tomorrow. Here's a link  to Los Angeles area events and here's a link to an organization that distributes care packages to active duty American service members all over the world. The holidays are coming, consider spreading the love.

Have a great weekend!

50th Anniversary of the Bel Air Fire

50 years ago,  over the course of November 6th and 7th, 1961, one of the most destructive  fires in the history of Los Angeles raged. Fueled by hot dry conditions and fierce Santa Ana winds, the Bel Air Fire burned  484 homes, damaged 190 more and charred 16, 090 acres. 

The 405 freeway, only a year old, was thought to be a formidable fire barrier but flames leaped across it. Cedar shingles roofs, popular in the ranch style houses that dotted the hills, went up like tinder.  As a result of the fire these types of shingles were outlawed though you can still find them on older houses in the hills.

This being Los Angeles, and Bel Air being a favorite neighborhood of celebrities, many well known people were affected. Above is a picture of Richard Nixon defending his roof from the flames.

Actors Fred MacMurry and Maureen O'Hara each worked to save their houses.  This picture is of O'Hara's beautiful home on Somma Way, which was on the market recently.


It's been wet these last few days but it's still fire season and today is a good day to remind ourselves how to help protect our properties from fire. Click here for the LAFD brush clearance site and here for Ready, Set, Go! information about how to evacuate during a fire ( or other emergency.) 

For more information about the Bel Air fire you can check out the LAFD historical Society story here. And do take a few minutes to look at the documentary below.  Dramatically called Design For Disaster it's the story of the fire narrated by William Conrad in the hard bitten detective story style of the day.

The Weekend Feast for November 4th - 6th

Welcome to the first weekend in a brand new month.  The usual suspects are running right on schedule this weekend so check out First Fridays on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice for good food, art and pleasant strolling. Friday night 6 - 10pm.

The monthly Public Star Party begins at 2 p.m this Saturday at The Griffith Observatory. A variety of telescopes are available for you to peer through and experts are on hand to answer questions.  My dears, with the Santa Anas blowing I can't imagine a better time to get the clearest possible look at the sky (well, maybe during a blackout...) until 9:45 p.m.

A brand new Winnie The Pooh movie plays this weekend at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.  Don't you love Winnie the Pooh?  And I love the way they do things at the El Capitan - it is expensive (the VIP seating requires you to spend $22 per seat for most seats) but with the organ, the live character show, the drink, the popcorn and the happy fact that there is usually a wonderful and sometimes rare short or 2 shown before the main feature, it's worth the splurge.  Seeing a movie at the El Capitan is an LA must. Show times begin Saturday morning at 10:45 but if you want to get there early for a special treat, you and your children can breakfast with Pooh at 9:15.  This is almost like being in Disneyland but without the lines and what a fun way to start the weekend!  Click for details.

The first Sunday of each month is dedicated to families at the Museum Of Contemporary Art (MOCA) downtown.  This weekend First Sundays presents a workshop inspired by MOCA's current Pacific Standard Time exhibition Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1970 -1984 and the song "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden. Families with kids age 5 and up are invited to drop in, create and share. Workshops begin at 1:00pm.

Tickets are still available for L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade celebrity chef cookout on Sunday afternoon.  This is going to be a great event, full of delicious food and drink and all to help kids battling cancer.   This subject is particularly close to my heart right now as a brave and beautiful young lady in my extended family is on her way to beating her cancer!  The cookout takes place on the lovely lawn of Culver City Studios where Gone With the Wind and scores of other classic films were shot. It's going to be a warm and sunny afternoon so wear a big hat and pretend you are Scarlett O'Hara enjoying your lemonade and other fabulous temptations.  Food by Suzanne Going and David Lentz,  and chefs from Animal, The Spotted Pig and Osteria Mozza join hosts Neal Patrick Harris and David Burtka. Click here for information and tickets.  All tickets MUST BE PURCHASED AHEAD OF TIME - no tickets at the door.

Have a great weekend!

The Santa Anas Are Blowing

 You feel it too, don't you?  The way the winds have begun to take over again?  It's still "sunny and 72 in LA" but something is different and will be for a couple of months. The Santa Ana winds have returned like a dangerous ex bringing suggestion and possibility in from the desert.   People in the rest of this country sometimes dismiss LA as gross and vulgar, slippery, a great big show.  But not everything is on display here, despite the cameras that are seemingly everywhere, and when the Santa Anas start to blow you get a prickly sense of just how much has been hiding in plain site.

Here's how Raymond Chandler put it in his short story  "Red Wind" -

“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.”

Perfect.

I had a nightmare last night. Something about having to be a 3 different places for Thanksgiving but one of the hosts turned out to be giving a test instead of a dinner and not only was I not prepared but also someone was chasing me.  Someone bad. I woke up breathless and scared.  Then I heard the winds blowing. 

What are the Santa Anas? The National Weather Service defines them as "Strong down slope winds that blow through the mountain passes in southern California. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 mph, are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions."  Here's the image the NWS put out on their site this morning, when extreme fire danger warnings went into effect

 The warning is currently expected to be in effect until at least 9pm tonight.


You may remember that in 2007 the Santa Anas were responsible for fanning the flames of the Corral Canyon fire in Malibu.  Check out this satellite image from NASA

That fire destroyed 53 homes and caused 14,000 people to be evacuated.  It was ignited when 5 men started an illegal, late-night camp fire in a cave in the Malibu hills, a known partying spot. 

Fire danger is real and it's everybody's job to be aware. Did you know that a hot exhaust system can start a fire when you park your car in dry grass? Keep this in mind if you are planning to hike in the canyons or park along the PCH. And I don't know about you, but on this warm, dry, almost no humidity day I look about 10 years older than I did in the fog last week and my hands feel like fine grain sand paper. Dehydration is a real threat to your health and the health of your kids and animals, so make sure everybody gets plenty of water.

And keep your wits about you.