Hocus Pocus MOCA Focus

I know this is sort of turning into Alex Month, but so frickin' be it. It was her official opening at MOCA last night, and it was dope. There's nothing like sipping cocktails with your posse in a museum courtyard on an almost-balmy night at your friend's opening, or seeing her name in big letters on the walls, or watching a crowd take in her gorgeous work. Or getting a catalogue fo' free from the head curator - that's right, suckas, still working it even though I didn't know who he was.

This is the kind of success we all wish for ourselves. And it's so cool to see one of ourselves get it. It was kinda magic. YAY ALEX!

Alexshowinfo

Shut Up And Sing

We are so lucky we live in LA.

Last night I saw this great documentary called “Shut Up and Sing". It's about the Dixie Chicks, and it focuses on the kerfuffle they got into when they said that they were ashamed that GW Bush was from Texas. After seeing it, all I can say is, country radio owners and listeners can be a bit screwy. And it seems they have something against free speech.

Anyway, it’s a great movie – a perfect blend of music and politics, which is pretty much all I ever need. But the most excellent part was that Barbara Kopple, THE badass Oscar-winning documentary chick who has been an inspiration to me for years, spoke afterwards. She talked about the Chicks, her process, and the fact that the band overcame everything from censure to death threats to win five Grammys. (Take that, suckas!)

AND it was at the Arclight, where you can get a glass of wine before sauntering in at the last minute to settle in to your comfy, reserved seat. AND I saw it with my favorite music-documentary partner in crime, Neee-cole. AND it’s part of this annual Music Documentary Series put on by my alma mater, the good old AFI. It’s by far the best thing they do, and something I look forward to every year.

So if you wanna go see a film that makes you wanna dance, get your ass over to the AFI Music Doc Series. Or don't. Because dissent is patriotic.

AFI Music Dox

Weekend of Dirt

I’m only just now able to write about the weekend, because it was so full of dirt, and I’ve just now recovered.

First of all, my brother (the artist, not the wine distributor) was in town. That’s good enough on its own – lots of late-night convos, the Hollywood farmer’s market, chillin’ in outdoor cafes for two hours drinking free champagne and watching the rain from under the awning, and of course, sausages on the grill and Red Sox on the telly.

Then there was Alex’s sneak preview at MOCA. I got verklempt several times, and I wasn't the only one. The work was excellent, and it’s awesome to see your friend rockinit. Plus the fine wine and the art conversations and the great outfits and the old ladies pillaging the dishes of mixed nuts – everything you’d want, and I was glad my brother was in town to see it.

The festivities then spilled over into Sunday as everyone grillaxed at Pi and Josh’s, at an impromptu bbq to honor the Mayor, who flew in for the weekend. As he would say - REPRESENT!

The pic says it all - good friends and a great time. All in all, a perfect weekend. Lucky us.

Now, if you want to live the dream, go see Alex's show at the MOCA and then go to brunch at Prizzi’s on Sunday. This month they’re giving away big glasses of champagne. And it’s goood.

Focus: Alexandra Grant

Valley Girls

So me and Jill-AY went for drinks last night to catch up, and we decided to pick one of the many cheesy, excellent, lost-in-time dive bars in the Valley, where she lives.

The winnah, and still the champion: The Sportsmen's Lodge, a giant tacky masterpiece replete with swans, gazebos, fairy ights, waterfalls, and not one but two concrete paved alcoves where you can get married or have a prom. (On that note, someone get on it - we need to have a party there.)

Another aside - do you think the swans feel like they lost the swan lottery? I mean, I'm sure they're taken good care of, but what swan wants to spend its life on Ventura Blvd?

Anyway, the drinks were cheep, the live band was loud but drew a surprisingly large crowd, and the faux-hunting-lodge-meets-astroturf background was the perfect setting for exchanging the last six months' gossip. It was kitschy. It was right around the corner from Jill-AY's house. And it's a total waste of living in Hollywood if you don't go to these places from time to time.

The Sportsmen's Lodge

A Good Excuse to Drink 10 Bottles of Wine

I was bitching to my brother the wine distributor the other day that no store ever has a tasting that's just different brands of wine - like 6 different pinots. I've always wanted to do this, because in my mind, that's the best way to learn about each wine. He suggested that I quit my bitching and throw my own wine tasting, so I did.

On Sunday night, a bunch of my people (read: drunks) came over with a bottle of $11-$20 zinfandel each, except TK, who had to be all individual and bring two pinot noirs. (We shoulda tried them first - my brother the wine distributor said so.)

Why zinfandels, you ask? Because I am into them right now.

My contribution, besides the sass and charm, was that I cooked a bunch of foods that go with zinfandels. (Read: Pulled pork, cumin sweet potato skewers, beet salad with rosemary, stinky goat cheese, roasted walnuts, and three kinds of fancy chocolates.) Then the tasting began.

Everyone had to say 5 things about the wine they brought, and then after tasting each one, had to say one word that described it. The words got better as we approached the last bottles - "crispy" turned into "best label" which became "gasoline" .

My favorite, and a popular crowd pleaser: Josh and Pi's $18 bottle of Michael & David Vineyards 2006 Seven Deadly Zins, all velvety and vanilla-y and very drinkable. (My brother the wine distributor says it's vanilla-y cause it's aged in French oak. Word.)

Then we all watched Entourage, drunk.

Dudes, it was sooo fun! And we actually did learn. So go throw your own wine tasting, cause with wine, as with other things, direct experience is the only way to go.

7 Deadly Zines

Thrills, Chills and Cake on the West Side

So last night I went with the beautiful and very calm Eileen to see our friend Gideon's move "The Killing Floor". He's the first of the kids I hung out with at AFI to have written and directed a feature. All I can say is: What a pleasure it is to see your friend's film and not have to lie when you tell them how great it is. It's a thriller, and several people, including the suddenly-not-so-calm Eileen, actually screamed out loud. I loved it, and I loved seeing all my best girls from school even more - feels like it's been a long time and it made me really happy.

Then we went over to our friend Rachel's bday party at this gorgeous little pad in Venice. It's really fun to go to parties where you don't know hardly anyone. Especially the ones with bartenders, carrot cake and a fab wine selection. When we left around one, Rachel was dancing to some eighties song and someone else was drinking clear liquid out of a red wine bottle, so you know it was good.

Happy Bday Rachel! And Happy Movie Gideon! Go see it, suckas, when it comes out, and don't even think about eating pork before you go.

Wiki-Gideon

My Ridiculously Expensive Sweater, For Ten Bux

I got this Alice & Olivia sweater at Goodwill for $4.95 about a month ago – black cashmere, tattoo design on the sleeves, usually $200, fits me perfectly - you know the drill.

Wait, you ask, what was wrong with it? It couldn’t possibly be that cheep without a catch. A catch indeed: The elbows were worn clean through. Big frickin’ holes – I have no idea what the previous owner did to it, nor do I wish to.

Which would be fine for my usual day-to-day rock n’ roll lifestyle, but this sweater was actually nice enough to qualify as a Work Clothes Item. You know, the four things I own that are actually presentable when I have to work with other humans and look good.

So I took it up the Lake House when I went to visit my folks, thinking that we’d buy elbow patches and I’d coerce my mother into sewing them on. Alas, there was no fabric store nearby. BUT, Queen Sonda came up with a brilliant alternate idea: We went to their Goodwill, bought an old leather purse for $4.95, cut out the perfect-sized leather patches, and Ma sewed them on.

It was kind of a bitch, which is why I didn’t do it myself, but it made me think that if I were in LA, I’d just take it to my friendly neighborhood dry cleaner/tailor and get them to sew ‘em on (usually about 12 bux). Which I’ll do next time just to save my ma’s sanity.

Anyway, the patches are dope, and the sweater is now better than new. So the moral of the story is: Don’t be afraid of the Goodwill, and don’t be afraid to get your local sewing lady to modify something that’s just a little wrong. And get it dry-cleaned, too.

Local LA Goodwills

Bob's Cleaners - My Local

Save The Date: Coco Bday Lake Fiesta 7227!

SAVE THE DATE, BITTSCHES! CAUSE IT'S MY BDAY-GETAWAY SLEEP-OUTSIDE SWIM-IN-THE-LAKE BOATING-DRINKING-GRILLAXIN' WEEKEND.

WHO: You. If you can read this, you're invited. LA, SF, Oz - this means you.

WHAT: Coco Bday Extravaganza, featuring all of her friends in one place. Which is on the dock. But only I will be on the grill.

WHERE: Lake O' The Pines; AKA The Lake House, Auburn, CA.

WHY: Because I want you to.

WHEN: Friday July 20 - Monday July 23. Special date: 7227.

WELL HOW AM I GOING TO GET THERE: If you're from LA, check out Southwest tix below, or get in your car and point it north on the 5. Takes about as long as it does to get to SF. If you're from SF, it takes about 2-1/2 hours to drive, but if you come later at night or during non-rush, you can do it in 1 hr. 50 min. flat. (My record: July 4, 2000.) Australians and other Antipodeans - let's talk.

BUR-SAC $49 Baby!

National Alex Day

I hereby declare this National Alex Day, since it's her birthday.

It was gonna be National Alex and Sha-VAWWWN's New Baby Day, since I had cold hard cash riding on Missy popping out her first pup today, but alas, no baby yet.

The reason I put my money on today is because I love Alex so much that I was thinkng, 'Any baby born on Alex's birthday would be damn lucky. As well as smart, fun, talented, generous, and gorgeous.' No, I do not exaggerate.

HAPPY BDAY ALEX!

Guest Dirt: Smoke and Mirrors, AKA My Almost Car Crash with Mischa Barton

From our favorite beautiful boy, Jake Torrens, sitting at my computer this AM:

I thought to myself, 'Damn, the smog in LA is O.O.C.' Turns out it wasn't smog. Instead, my approach to Burbank was veiled in smoke that originated from this giant Hollywood Hills fire (see right) caused by two teenagers igniting their pyrotechnic fantasies. Oh, to be young and stupid. Wait...

I'm in LA visiting three dear friends, taking Tinseltown by storm, and this Bay Area fag's trip had been fast and fabulous. Dinner at Hatfields, a late night dance party in Jen's K-Town flat, brunch at Campanile, freaking with the fags in WeHo (who you calling a "Ho, hO?"), and BBQ and QT with the Mistress of the Coals, the one and only Coco, in Los Feliz.

And then we had the near-miss fender-bender with Mischa Barton. She was coming out of this Starbux at Sunset and La Brea. We were trying to get over. I looked in my sideview mirror and saw a curtain of hair - her face was turned to the side - and realized she couldn't see us at all. I screamed. Tires screeched. Nonfat soy latte undoubtedly flew. But disaster was averted - whew! All in all, a Hollywood Moment. Later I thought that maybe I shouldn't have said anything, cause then I could've got Mischa Barton's phone number and DL. But that's stalking, isn't it?

Yes, dear, it is. If you really need The Mischa Barton Experience, just click below. It's much safer.

The Mischa Barton Experience

Become Beauty

Dudes, Miss Darcy had one of those parties yesterday where you go to her house and try out new skincare products and it was FUN. I was a little concerned that it would be high pressure, but it wasn't. We just sat around getting free facials and thunking tons of good-smelling stuff on our skin. But even better, the chick in charge (CIC - who of course was Aussie) knew everything about the science of skincare so it was really interesting and you could ask all the geeky questions you wanted. And trust me, with eight girls and three gay guys (represent!) all in their thirties, there were lots of geeky questions.

You know, it's been kind of cool and interesting lately - there's been this influx of makeup empresarios, skincare divas, high-heeled-shoe-rockers and punk-chic high-end stylists into my life. Right about the time that I've been thinking about/experimenting with becoming more of a grown-up lady. Hmm... But alas, I digress.

Anyway, the party. It was a surprisingly fascinating afternoon of cupcakes and fancy lemonade and learning why there's ground-up pearls in your moisturizer. And we all left with glowing high-beam faces that could blind you at twenty paces.

PLUS, the shit is not super-expensive for super-high-end stuff. And if you throw a party of your own, you get half-off the product. So guess who's doing one in May? Let me know if you want to come. (Boys, don't be shy.) Or throw one yourself - it's fun.

PLUS - Lest you think I'm getting too girly, what with the models and makeup and moisturizer: It's Opening Day of baseball season!!

Become Beauty - The Dope Shit