Pancake Mountain

Sometimes my job is really fun, like when I get to take part in children's web shows with bands like the Melvins at places like the Troubadour. I have much more to say about this, but everyone should know what Pancake Mountain is and buy the DVDs. For all of you with children, please share this show with them. It's great. Fingers crossed they get picked up.

Drifting

This is what I'm going to be all about for 2009.

Evenings activities - Razorback

When I started at my new job almost a year ago, I shared a teeny tiny office with a guy who was temping as he continued to act and write. We would sit back-to-back, elbow-to-elbow all day, talking about random stuff - his freelance gig for sumo wrestlers, my trials with certain work challenges, the housing market. You know where this is going. We became friends, he finished his gig and I moved offices, but we continued to stay in touch. Well, it turns out he finally finished his play and initial reports are that its really good. So I'm heading down for a evening of culture to laugh, cry and cheer at the precise moments that will subliminally imbue a 5-star rating into the LA Weekly theater critic who is also attending.

Video Game Video-ganza!

I work on both of the games involved in this awesome video series. For video game fans I'm talking about Halo 3 and Viva Pinata. (Sis - you should share this with Jaywalka). But anyway, they are epic and hilarious. See the video below and then the making of below that (which is almost more impressive) and then the inspriation below that. Suffice it to say, I think video game developers have more fun.



The making of...


and the initial inspiration...

Earthquake

An earthquake rattled LA this morning. In my office on the 25th floor there was a large smash and then some serious swaying. It's pretty unsettling when you look out the window and see the earth moving from 300 feet up.

More from CNN,

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A magnitude-5.4 earthquake has struck just east of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Officials say there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 3 miles west-southwest of Chino Hills and 28 miles east-southeast of the Los Angeles Civic Center, which is in downtown Los Angeles, the USGS reports. The epicenter was about 8.5 miles deep. In general, earthquakes closer to the surface produce stronger shaking and can cause more damage than those farther underground. It was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego and across the border in Tijuana, Mexico. The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. (2:42 p.m. ET), according to the USGS. Kate Hutton, a staff seismologist at Caltech, said 11 aftershocks followed, with 3.8 being the largest and the only one felt, the Los Angeles Times reported.

No major aftershocks so far. Whew!

jargon

today brought me this gem,

"To save cycles, let's quickly vet that through respective teams to poke holes, then we can flesh it out and run it up the flag pole."

seriously?

the 'wood

The NYT featured my enchanting neighborhood in their 36 hours feature this weekend. There are a few things on the list I haven't done and am looking forward to exploring a little more. I love that they call out its walkability because that's an underappreciated aspect of the 'wood and a reason why i like it so much. Also excited to confirm that the arclight is one of the best theaters in the country.

On a more somber note, the Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant, passed last week. I worked with him on a couple of projects (a star unveil and starlight childrens foundation event) and was impressed by his exhuberance. You can find a nice story on Johnny in the LA Times here.