Los Angeles and "Mad Men," another in a series

Once again, we were watching "Mad Men" on Sunday night, when Maria and I both realized -- hey! We know this place!

Indeed, the ill-fated wedding on this week's episode took place inside the classic Wilshire Ebell theatre and attached venue.



We were there in February 2007 for Maria's Grammy nomination party. Here's that same view from above, taken when we were at the Grammy party:



Here's a view from the opposite angle of Roger Sterling's daughter's wedding reception:



And here's a professional photo of a real wedding at the exact same venue (via the official Wilshire Ebell website):



More on "Mad Men" and Los Angeles:

Los Angeles and "Mad Men" (Oct. 2009)

"Mad Men" Gets Its L.A. Logos Right (Dec. 2008)

The Hollywood Christmas Parade Once Again Gets Televised

After an absence from the airwaves last year, the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade will once again be televised -- via MyNetworkTV, which has picked up the rights to air the special as a two-hour event on Dec. 10 (and again on Dec. 24). This represents the first time the event has been turned into a lengthier two hours. Associated Television Intl. is producing the telecast, which had aired on KTLA in the past.

That's not the only thing that's been restored to this year's event: The name itself has been restored to what it had been called in the last few decades. When the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce dropped the parade in 2007 and the City of Los Angeles stepped in to save it, the parade was renamed "Hollywood Santa Parade." Now the title has reverted back to the "Hollywood Christmas Parade."

Coca-Cola is sponsoring this year's event, which takes place on Sunday, Nov. 29 starting at 6 p.m. in Hollywood.

Details can be found here. But the basics:

The Hollywood Christmas Parade/Live Positively Presented by Coca-Cola will include celebrities from film, television and stage; award winning bands; colorful equestrians; ornate floats and specialty characters. The holidays will be ushered in with a special appearance by Santa Claus. The parade will travel on a U-shaped route throughout Hollywood, CA starting at Orange Street and Hollywood Boulevard, traveling East onto Hollywood Boulevard turning South onto Vine Street, and then traveling West onto Sunset Boulevard back to Orange Street.
This year’s parade will feature 13 award winning bands, 10 of which hail from various areas in the state of California, and an additional three bands representing other states, including Connecticut, Indiana and Kansas. In order for each of the bands to participate in The Hollywood Christmas Parade/Live Positively Presented by Coca-Cola, a good deal of fundraising needs to take place.

Canstruction Returns to Los Angeles

A few days ago I got off the elevator at the Variety Building -- and walked smack into pallets upon pallets of canned goods in the lobby.

Turns out I was looking at the raw material that would soon be put to use by several teams for this year's "Canstruction L.A.."

The face-off consists of teams from several design studios and architectural firms around town, utilizing ordinary canned goods in order to create works of art. After the exhibit is over, the cans will be donated to the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank.

Event is organized by Society for Design Administration and supported by the American Institute of Architects/Los Angeles. This year's "Canstruction" runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 15 in the Variety Building lobby (across the street from LACMA). The public is welcome from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. -- it's free, although a can food donation is strongly encouraged.

A few more sights you'll see:

The KABC and KCBS/KCAL Marketing Advantage

Something that dawned on me Sunday night, while watching this report on KABC/Channel 7: Now that KTLA, KNBC and KTTV are sharing camera crews and news resources via their local news sharing agreement, their station microphone flags won't be seen as often over the air and on rival broadcasts.

Case in point, above: Camera crews caught up with Mayor Villaraigosa over the weekend to discuss his impending chief of police pick. There you can see mic flags for KABC, KCBS/KCAL and even KNX 1070 newsradio. But I'm assuming Channels 4, 5 and 11 sent a shared cameraperson to cover the mayor, since their microphones are nowhere to be seen.

Halloween Eve in Atwater Village

Above, an Atwater Village merchant passes out candy while I talk to Blogger Preschooler (dressed in his Spider-Man gear).

Yes, I'm sporting DJ Lance Rock specs and hat.

We met up with a few friends (including our pal Tony, who took these pics) and their kids on Friday afternoon to do a trick-or-treating dry rehearsal up and down Glendale Boulevard in Atwater Village.

"Trick or Treat on the Boo-levard" includes nearly 50 local businesses as they pass out treats to costumed kids. (The Atwater Village Newbie says it "might be the most villagey thing that happens in Atwater Village").

The neighborhood's sixth annual event has become a staple for us, and we've watched as it's grown through the years.

Sad to say 55 Degrees Wine wasn't offering up any treats for the grownups -- ditto Club Tee Gee.