Pacific Palisades Fire 2

Yesterday morning, I took the photo at right, taken on the 405 North in West L.A., about 4 miles from my home, with smoke from the Palisades Fire rising from the other side of the Santa Monica mountains. By the evening, the fire had made it to the other side, forcing the evacuation of the neighborhoods on both sides of the freeway up further in the photo. That area is about 9 miles north of me up the freeway.

We never got an alert and the fire today appears to have continued northwest, away from us. Despite all this, last night was the first time I experienced some anxiety about this and actually gave some thought to what I would pack if it came to that. Fortunately, it appears we continue to be safe, but I can only imagine the stress felt by those who have been told to evacuate.

In addition to the firefighters, police and other officials, I have to also give credit to the local news people. This being L.A. with several local television news stations, all of them have been providing nearly all-day coverage, some 24/7 (about three to four stations or so). This has been from the news room, up in the air and on the ground—some reporters have covered their own neighborhoods, evacuating their own families first. 

The fact that it has been going this many days with about only 11% contained—and so far burning an area 2-1/2 times the size of Manhattan—should give people an idea of the sheer size and unprecedented scope of this disaster. With so much of it tearing through undeveloped land (like mountain terrain) where it can be only fought with water drops from aircraft, it's difficult to contain from the ground until it approaches homes and developed areas.

Pacific Palisades Fires

Today, I drove home to Los Angeles from Northern California and, shortly after entering the L.A. area, spotted the Pacific Palisades fire a few hours after it had begun. (I did not learn the details of the fire until I returned home, discovering it had become a national news story.)

The photo at right was taken on the 405 South freeway entering into West L.A. where I live, from the San Fernando Valley. The photo is around the Getty Museum that I visited just a few weeks ago (in fact, I believe that's the Getty nestled in the mountain to the left). This photo is probably 5-8 miles away from the fire.

I initially began this post to note that, on this drive, I broke my personal record for the 313 mile drive, making it in 4 hours and 10 minutes! Over the past couple years, I have made this round trip drive a few times a year now that my son attends college up there—I also have family in the area, which helps break up the drive over a few days. 

For decades, I accepted the fact that the wall for this drive was 4.5 hours, but this past year, I broke it a few times at 4 hours and 15 minutes. Over the course of today's trip, I watched GoogleMaps gradually shave my arrival time by more than 45 minutes.

Indeed, in addition to the fire, this trip was more fraught than usual. During my drive, I encountered high winds up in the mountains that jerked my car sideways a couple times—winds that likely helped fuel the fire's spread. I even saw several tumbleweeds roll across the freeway lanes in front of me! On the trip, I also had to swerve around a detached SUV bumper in the carpool lane I was in and, this afternoon, a huge piece of truck tread in the middle of the freeway. 

Oh, well, at least I made it home safe and sound. As I write this, the fires continue to spread—all my good wishes go to everyone affected by the disaster.

Remembering January 6

What a peaceful transfer of power in a democracy is supposed to look like...

...versus four years ago.. 

Never forget.

A Rockin' New Year Concert – MADJB!

In the year just past, I discovered the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band on YouTube, which mostly does covers of "dad rock" and other power pop songs. Formed during COVID, it's led by comedians Ed Marino and David Wain, members of The State comedy troupe. The band includes friends, musicians, and other actors and comedians, with guests frequently sitting in and singing in their videos and live shows. They obviously love the music and have pretty good music chops, but as the band's name suggests, and they being who they are, it's all about the fun and they don't take themselves too seriously.

So when they announced they were having a New Year's Eve concert, at a small second floor club called the Lodge Room in Highland Park, just north of downtown Los Angeles, we couldn't resist the opportunity to see them! 

They performed a diverse set list that ranged from covers of songs by Billy Joel (three!) the Doors, the Squeeze, Talking Heads, Tom Petty, Tommy Tutone, ABBA, Springsteen, the Who, Paul McCartney, the B-52s, Barry Manilow, and others—they also performed a full cover of Conjunction Junction!Among their guests were comedian/actors Kerri Kenney, Errin Hayes and Joe Truglio. There also were lots of laughs and comedy bits between songs. Their kids also took the stage at one point, performing covers of songs from Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. At three hours (with a break), we certainly got our money's worth (tickets were surprisingly not expensive at all). It was a great way to ring in the new year.

At the end of the show, Marino mingled a little with the crowd, so I was able to thank him for a great show!

Entertainment Roundup for 2024

Not much to say about this year, but I certainly watched plenty! Saw a record number of films in the theater and plenty of live shows. Though it partly started last year, I also re-discovered to a degree network TV with shows like Ghosts, Elspeth, So Help Me Todd (since cancelled), and the return of the Law & Order mothership. Among the best overall on tv and streaming were Blue Eyed Samurai, Franklin, Julia, Time Bandits, The Mick (the latter three also since cancelled), 

I always say that I'm not a good bellweather for films since I don't see everything and have gotten a bit more discriminating about what I see. That said, among my favorites this year were Saturday Night, Fly Me to the Moon, Twisters, The Boys in the Boat, Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,  and Brooklyn (though that film was a 2015 release. 

Films

Gone With the Wind – Culver Theater (12/30/24)
Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Howard Hughes Center (12/23/24)
Conclave – Monica Laemmle (11/29/24)
Wicked – Culver Theater (11/25/24)

Saturday Night – Culver Theater (10/13/24)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Culver Theatre (8/26/24)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – Culver Theatre (8/19/24)
Babe – Culver Theatre (8/10/24)
Iron Giant – Culver Theatre (8/3/24) - rewatch
Deadpool & Wolverine – Culver Theatre (7/31/24)
Twisters – Bruin Theatre (7/20/24)
Fly Me to the Moon – Culver Theaters (7/13/24)
Fall Guy – Century City AMC (6/1/24)
Spy x Family Code White – Century City AMC (4/27/24)
Argylle – Culver Theaters (2/3/24)
Boys in the Boat – Culver Theaters (1/11/24)

Streaming Films/DVD/BluRay

Wham: Last Christmas Unwrapped – Netflix (12/29/24)
Music by John Williams – Disney+ (12/8/24)
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Max (12/6/24)
School of Rock – Paramount+ (11/30/24) – rewatch
Dear Santa – Paramount+ (11/30/24)
March of the Wooden Soldiers – YouTube (11/28/24) – rewatch
Amelie – Max (11/6/24)
Dave – YouTube (11/4/24) - rewatch
See How They Run – HBOMax (10/21/24) - rewatch
The Party – Prime (10/16/24)
Snack Shack – Prime (10/15/24)
On Chesil Beach – Max (10/11/24)
Brooklyn – Max (10/10/24)
The Banker – Apple+ (10/4/24) - rewatch 

Go for Broke – Prime (10/1/24) - rewatch 

Django & Django – Netflix (9/12/24)
Big Fat Liar – Netflix (9/9/24)
Muriel’s Wedding – Netflix (9/6/24)

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Twenty-Five Years Ago this New Year's Eve...

Last Year Watch: Gone With the Wind

Last night, at the last minute, my wife and I decided to catch an 85th anniversary screening of Gone With the Wind at the local Culver Theaters, the last film in its 100th anniversary of MGM Studios film series (tickets were only $7 apiece!)

I've seen it twice on the big screen and numerous times on the small screen, but this was my wife's first time in a theater, though she's seen it several times as well. The very opening credits opens with a shot of the Selznick International Pictures sign then pans out to reveal its iconic studio building (seen at right)—the audience applauded because the theater we were sitting in is only a few hundred feet from that still-standing building. 

As such, I've also included below a photo I took of the building earlier this year—it's been known for many years as the Culver Studios, but has been home to RKO, Desilu and several others (there's a commemorative plaque nearby that lists them). It's now under long-term lease with Amazon Studios, which made renovations on the lot—you can see the Amazon logo from the street on top of many of the new soundstages. The building is easily visibly accessible from a pedestrian plaza that includes the theater, as well as new buildings and the historic Culver Hotel. 

Anyway, seeing the film on the big screen with an audience was terrific. A local film historian spoke a little before the film and it included a film introduction by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. The showing included the music overture before the film begins and Intermission. The film also opened with a title card with its new disclaimer, concluding that it is presented as it was created, which I think is important to acknowledge and does not detract from the achievement of it as a film and work of art.