Not-So-Finger Lickin'
I somehow missed this, but KFC terminated Jason Alexander's pitchman contract last month.
I would have assumed that Alexander finally walked out of the deal after being forced to peddle drumsticks with Evan "Joe Millionaire" Marriott.
But PETA claims that Alexander kicked the Bucket after it showed the actor how KFC chickens are raised and slaughtered. Yum.
Monday, July 7, 2003
Thursday, July 3, 2003
Farewell, Old Friend
I saw my car for the last time yesterday.
There he was, covered in dust, sitting next to all the other injured cars waiting for service at Honda of Hollywood's body shop.
But my car--affectionately known as "3Ske" (those were the first few digits of its license plate)--wouldn't be getting repaired. And he wouldn't be coming home.
The driver who smashed into 3Ske (see post further below) really did a number on him. Mercury Insurance has decided to total the car and settle out rather than have 3Ske fixed.
I didn't know this when I sent 3Ske off in a tow truck, bound for the Honda of Hollywood body shop soon after the accident.
3Ske wasn't the jazziest Honda Civic DX on the block. He was my first car, after all. Didn't want to spring for fancy extras like "power windows" back then. No, I cranked my window and manually locked the door. (It was old fashioned, but it was also more organic.) No souped-up spoilers. He didn't even have cruise control.
But 3Ske was reliable. He traveled with me to Las Vegas. To San Francisco. To Portland. To Chatsworth. (A lot, actually, to Chatsworth.) He was there when I first met Maria. When I switched jobs. And at countless other life moments.
3Ske was a part of my life. So when the tow truck took him away, it didn't dawn on me that I might never see him again. It wasn't his time, after all. 3Ske had just 65,000 miles on him -- even though I bought him in June 1996. He was still so young. There were plenty more memories we needed to share together, like buying a home. 3Ske would have liked being parked in a two-car garage.
It was all so sudden.
That's why I stopped by Honda of Hollywood yesterday. I needed closure.
Eileen from the body shop gave me the key, and left me alone. I walked up to 3Ske. Sure didn't look like himself. Like I said, a coat of thick dust coated his body. The damage to the back of the car was extensive-- I'd forgotten just how bad it really was. This sure wasn't the 3Ske I wanted to remember.
I opened the door, and sat in the driver's seat. Just like old times. But this would be the last time. I sat there, just like I had a million times before. I put my hand on the passenger seat, just as I would on occasion when I was driving by myself. I fiddled with the radio knobs. Played with the air conditioning control. Open and closed the glove compartment.
Then it was time to go. I took the last few belongings I had in there-- my Northwestern license plate holder. A pair of sunglasses I found stuck between the seat and the parking break.
I said goodbye.
3Ske wasn't the coolest car, wasn't the most comfortable car. But he was my first car. And you never forget your first.
I saw my car for the last time yesterday.
There he was, covered in dust, sitting next to all the other injured cars waiting for service at Honda of Hollywood's body shop.
But my car--affectionately known as "3Ske" (those were the first few digits of its license plate)--wouldn't be getting repaired. And he wouldn't be coming home.
The driver who smashed into 3Ske (see post further below) really did a number on him. Mercury Insurance has decided to total the car and settle out rather than have 3Ske fixed.
I didn't know this when I sent 3Ske off in a tow truck, bound for the Honda of Hollywood body shop soon after the accident.
3Ske wasn't the jazziest Honda Civic DX on the block. He was my first car, after all. Didn't want to spring for fancy extras like "power windows" back then. No, I cranked my window and manually locked the door. (It was old fashioned, but it was also more organic.) No souped-up spoilers. He didn't even have cruise control.
But 3Ske was reliable. He traveled with me to Las Vegas. To San Francisco. To Portland. To Chatsworth. (A lot, actually, to Chatsworth.) He was there when I first met Maria. When I switched jobs. And at countless other life moments.
3Ske was a part of my life. So when the tow truck took him away, it didn't dawn on me that I might never see him again. It wasn't his time, after all. 3Ske had just 65,000 miles on him -- even though I bought him in June 1996. He was still so young. There were plenty more memories we needed to share together, like buying a home. 3Ske would have liked being parked in a two-car garage.
It was all so sudden.
That's why I stopped by Honda of Hollywood yesterday. I needed closure.
Eileen from the body shop gave me the key, and left me alone. I walked up to 3Ske. Sure didn't look like himself. Like I said, a coat of thick dust coated his body. The damage to the back of the car was extensive-- I'd forgotten just how bad it really was. This sure wasn't the 3Ske I wanted to remember.
I opened the door, and sat in the driver's seat. Just like old times. But this would be the last time. I sat there, just like I had a million times before. I put my hand on the passenger seat, just as I would on occasion when I was driving by myself. I fiddled with the radio knobs. Played with the air conditioning control. Open and closed the glove compartment.
Then it was time to go. I took the last few belongings I had in there-- my Northwestern license plate holder. A pair of sunglasses I found stuck between the seat and the parking break.
I said goodbye.
3Ske wasn't the coolest car, wasn't the most comfortable car. But he was my first car. And you never forget your first.
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
Summer soundtrack
Putting together a mixtape for that July 4 road trip? Make sure you include these two:
"Hangin' Around," by Gemma Hayes: The best-crafted pop song of summer 2003. I'd argue that radio stations need to start playing this tune, but they'd manage to burn it into the ground, so nevermind. (Audio and video clips here.)
"Just the Way You Are," by Milky: Pleasant, catchy dance ditty. I dare you not to sing along to the "doo-doo-doo-doo" chorus.
Putting together a mixtape for that July 4 road trip? Make sure you include these two:
"Hangin' Around," by Gemma Hayes: The best-crafted pop song of summer 2003. I'd argue that radio stations need to start playing this tune, but they'd manage to burn it into the ground, so nevermind. (Audio and video clips here.)
"Just the Way You Are," by Milky: Pleasant, catchy dance ditty. I dare you not to sing along to the "doo-doo-doo-doo" chorus.
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
Where Have all the TV Studios Gone?
The L.A. Business Journal files a piece this week on KCOP-Channel 13, which abandoned its La Brea studio earlier this year to shack up with News Corp. sibling KTTV-Channel 11 in West L.A.
The story just gives a passing mention, however, to the other TV stations that have disappeared from Hollywood and the east side in the past few years. It’s truly been a mass exodus.
Besides the KCOP move, Spanish-lingo KWHY-Channel 22 recently moved in with Spanish sib KVEA-Channel 52 in Glendale. KWHY’s and KVEA’s news operations, however, are now housed with big English language sister KNBC-Channel 4 at the NBC lot in Burbank.
KWHY spent decades on Sunset Blvd., across the street from the no-longer-open-24-hours Home Depot. The KWHY building, which was a auto garage in the 1920s before being converted into a TV studio, has been completely razed in just the past few weeks. A retail center is planned for the KWHY site, at Sunset and St. Andrews.
Besides broadcasting Spanish programs, for decades KWHY ran local business news during the day from studios at that site. Competition from cable nets like CNBC finally convinced KWHY to dump the stock market coverage in 2000.
KABC-Channel 7, meanwhile, moved to Glendale about a year ago after 50 years at ABC Television Center at Talmadge and Prospect in Los Feliz (the onetime Vitagraph Studios lot). The lot, now renamed “The Prospect Studios,” is still home to productions such as “The Shield.” (That’s right, we live virtually across the street from Michael Chiklis’ Det. Vic Mackey and company.) ABC soaps like “General Hospital” are also filmed there. But Dallas Raines, Johnny Mountain and company are now fiddling with their “Doppler 7000” next to that massive “ABC7” sign you’ve seen while driving north on the 5.
KTTV-Channel 11, of course, left Metromedia Square/Fox Television Center at Sunset and Wilton in the late 90s; I’ve watched every day on my commute in recent months as LAUSD rent-a-demolition teams tore down the lot. A new high school will be built there, so countless teens can now taunt Sam Rubin as he drives to and from work next door at KTLA.
KCBS-Channel 2 is still at Columbia Square on Sunset, although plans to move in the coming years to a new building on the CBS Radford lot in Studio City. KCAL-Channel 9, which spent decades on Paramount’s Melrose Blvd. lot in this building, moved in with KCBS earlier this year; with quarters way too cramped at Columbia Square, KCAL will join KCBS in Studio City whenever that studio is built. (Channels 2 and 9, by the way, once resided in separate studios at 1313 N. Vine, the one-time Don Lee-Mutual Broadcasting headquarters, where the Motion Picture Academy now houses its archives.)
KNBC-Channel 4 moved to Burbank in the early 1960s. NBC once upon a time operated here from the corner of Sunset and Vine, where the Washington Mutual Bank now stands.
Once KCBS and KCAL leave next year, KTLA and KCET will be the last remaining local TV stations in Hollywood. That’s quite a change from just seven years ago, when seven local outlets called the area home.
The L.A. Business Journal files a piece this week on KCOP-Channel 13, which abandoned its La Brea studio earlier this year to shack up with News Corp. sibling KTTV-Channel 11 in West L.A.
The story just gives a passing mention, however, to the other TV stations that have disappeared from Hollywood and the east side in the past few years. It’s truly been a mass exodus.
Besides the KCOP move, Spanish-lingo KWHY-Channel 22 recently moved in with Spanish sib KVEA-Channel 52 in Glendale. KWHY’s and KVEA’s news operations, however, are now housed with big English language sister KNBC-Channel 4 at the NBC lot in Burbank.
KWHY spent decades on Sunset Blvd., across the street from the no-longer-open-24-hours Home Depot. The KWHY building, which was a auto garage in the 1920s before being converted into a TV studio, has been completely razed in just the past few weeks. A retail center is planned for the KWHY site, at Sunset and St. Andrews.
Besides broadcasting Spanish programs, for decades KWHY ran local business news during the day from studios at that site. Competition from cable nets like CNBC finally convinced KWHY to dump the stock market coverage in 2000.
KABC-Channel 7, meanwhile, moved to Glendale about a year ago after 50 years at ABC Television Center at Talmadge and Prospect in Los Feliz (the onetime Vitagraph Studios lot). The lot, now renamed “The Prospect Studios,” is still home to productions such as “The Shield.” (That’s right, we live virtually across the street from Michael Chiklis’ Det. Vic Mackey and company.) ABC soaps like “General Hospital” are also filmed there. But Dallas Raines, Johnny Mountain and company are now fiddling with their “Doppler 7000” next to that massive “ABC7” sign you’ve seen while driving north on the 5.
KTTV-Channel 11, of course, left Metromedia Square/Fox Television Center at Sunset and Wilton in the late 90s; I’ve watched every day on my commute in recent months as LAUSD rent-a-demolition teams tore down the lot. A new high school will be built there, so countless teens can now taunt Sam Rubin as he drives to and from work next door at KTLA.
KCBS-Channel 2 is still at Columbia Square on Sunset, although plans to move in the coming years to a new building on the CBS Radford lot in Studio City. KCAL-Channel 9, which spent decades on Paramount’s Melrose Blvd. lot in this building, moved in with KCBS earlier this year; with quarters way too cramped at Columbia Square, KCAL will join KCBS in Studio City whenever that studio is built. (Channels 2 and 9, by the way, once resided in separate studios at 1313 N. Vine, the one-time Don Lee-Mutual Broadcasting headquarters, where the Motion Picture Academy now houses its archives.)
KNBC-Channel 4 moved to Burbank in the early 1960s. NBC once upon a time operated here from the corner of Sunset and Vine, where the Washington Mutual Bank now stands.
Once KCBS and KCAL leave next year, KTLA and KCET will be the last remaining local TV stations in Hollywood. That’s quite a change from just seven years ago, when seven local outlets called the area home.
Rate-A-Restaurant, #18 in a series
Restaurant: Fred 62
Location: 1850 N Vermont Ave. (corner of Russell)
Type of restaurant: Diner
They stipulated: Seat yourself, this is a casual place.
What we ordered: Sin Delicious (vermicelli noodle soup cooked Vietnamese style) for Maria and the Bang Bang (flat noodle soup with tofu cooked Thai style) for Mike.
High point: The menu. When you look around at what other people are having, you suddenly get food envy and wonder why you didn't order what they are eating. You scan the rest of the menu and every category has one or two things that sound delicious.
Low point: The menu. The food names are too gimicky and soon, you'll be reduced to ordering a sin delicious or a bang bang late one saturday night. But, you really do need to try the mac daddy and cheese.
Overall impression: This is an old stand-by for us. When we're trying to figure out where to eat and have nothing in particular in mind, Fred 62 can always be counted on for a good meal that'll satisfy everyone's taste buds. The menu is so diverse, you can order breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast. I love sitting at the comfortable booths of this diner and look up at the wall decor, ranging from a mirrored silhouette of Tony the Tiger to black & white head shot drawings of old, famous people.
Chance we will go back: Yes. We have got to go there for breakfast...
Restaurant: Fred 62
Location: 1850 N Vermont Ave. (corner of Russell)
Type of restaurant: Diner
They stipulated: Seat yourself, this is a casual place.
What we ordered: Sin Delicious (vermicelli noodle soup cooked Vietnamese style) for Maria and the Bang Bang (flat noodle soup with tofu cooked Thai style) for Mike.
High point: The menu. When you look around at what other people are having, you suddenly get food envy and wonder why you didn't order what they are eating. You scan the rest of the menu and every category has one or two things that sound delicious.
Low point: The menu. The food names are too gimicky and soon, you'll be reduced to ordering a sin delicious or a bang bang late one saturday night. But, you really do need to try the mac daddy and cheese.
Overall impression: This is an old stand-by for us. When we're trying to figure out where to eat and have nothing in particular in mind, Fred 62 can always be counted on for a good meal that'll satisfy everyone's taste buds. The menu is so diverse, you can order breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast. I love sitting at the comfortable booths of this diner and look up at the wall decor, ranging from a mirrored silhouette of Tony the Tiger to black & white head shot drawings of old, famous people.
Chance we will go back: Yes. We have got to go there for breakfast...
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