Giffith Observatory

On Sunday we made a reservation and took a shuttle to see the Griffith Park Observatory, which I knew about from its appearances in such films as Rebel Without a Cause, Bowfinger and Charlie's Angels 2.  

Sitting up in the Hollywood Hills the park also provides some great views as well as the celestial museum inside. There's a planetarium with regular 45 minute shows and exhibits on the solar system, Galileo and space inside too. Also, inside of the east dome is a huge telescope that visitors can look through and see the moon close-up, craters and all. It was pretty amazing. We went at 5:00 and stayed til the sunset, so we could get both views of the city and stars.  

Here are some photos of the pretty observatory, orbit of Uranus,  and what would be a nice view of downtown LA if it weren't for the smog.

Guest blogging: Just wrote a post on my work's blog, Fusion PR Forum called, Are you a blogger or a journalist? 

I work out with The Rock

well not with him, in the sense that he spots me or anything (not that I even do bench weights), but he does go to my gym in Santa Monica. I saw The Rock after work yesterday stretching one of those elastic bands under his foot and extending his leg. He looked just as big as he does on the screen and was also a little sweaty. All that was missing was his trademark raised eyebrow in position, which I can also do by the way just not as severely. 

I actually wouldn't have even noticed him though if my coworker hadn't pointed him out. I played it cool and walked by him with my iPod on, since I had to anyway because the mats were behind him and I was aiming to do some crunches.  I'm not a fan of his from wrestling but I really liked him in Be Cool, so seeing him was pretty cool, especially the fact that he works out at my gym apparently.

This was my second L.A. celeb sighting since living here, the first being Sharon Lawrence. Otherwise I saw more celebs in New York, Liv Tyler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Molly Shannon and Julianne Moore all lived within blocks of me afterall so I'd see them walk by every once and awhile. I even pet Liv's dog (a King Charles spaniel). Never mind the other sightings I had when covering the Tribeca Film Festival and being about town. In L.A. though, everything is so spread out, it's easier to miss seeing celebs if you're not in the industry. 

Rod Stewart: Still the Same

My top two favorite male artists are Stevie Wonder and Rod Stewart. I was able to see Stevie in December during his Christmas charity event and one of the gifts under the tree this year for me were tickets to see Rod Stewart at the Staples Center last Tuesday night.  

Not only was it my first time seeing Rod in concert, but also my first time at the Staples Center which is way more posh than Madison Square Garden, but similar in it's arena feel. 

Simply put it was a really fun time. You could tell Rod was very passionate about his singing. The first half was more intimate with songs like "Reason to Believe" and "Have I Told You Lately" and photos of his family being shown on the jumbo-tron. The second half was more rock and roll with "Hot Legs," "If You Think I'm Sexy," "Have You Ever Seen The Rain," "Forever Young" and my dad's favorite, "Maggie May," which he did for an encore. There were lots more songs though like "First Cut Is the Deepest," and "You're in My Heart."

I was afraid he would just sing standards from his last two albums, which I enjoy but their not his classic raspy voice singing. Luckily this tour was for his newest album, Still The Same...Great Rock Classics Of Our Time. 'Still the same' is a great analogy for the Scotsmen, because he looks the same, even his hair and jean clad legs.  He kept moving his feet in quick steps, making fun moves, twirling the microphone stand and running about the stage, it was great, lots of personality for sure. His band also featured a female saxophonist and guitarist, which I thought was cool

The stage was in three rings with the main stage being the center, sort of like Celtic knots. Celtic was a theme for him since the stage had a banner saying Celtic football and the curtains hiding the stage before the performance was the traditional Stewart plaid. Cameras weren't allowed but I snagged the small side photo via a cell phone when he was wearing a military UK red coat.  Despite his homeland representing, he also showed an American flag on the screens for one song. 

The audience meanwhile was filled with lots of women getting tipsy with their girlfriends and going crazy whenever Rod shook his butt. It was fun to see them carry on. Their was an elderly woman at the end of our row with binoculars glued to her face as she bopped around to every song, it was cute.  There were a lot of guys there too though, in fact it was a full house and there's another showing tonight at the Staples Center too. 

Laughter is the best medicine

I know everyone has had those moments when you’re in an environment that’s serious and you know you shouldn’t laugh or be silly like when at church, but then something funny happens and you just can’t help laughing. You know, that silent laughter that you try to control but it shakes your body and makes your eyes tear. The more you try to quell it the more it rises up. You laugh so hard it hurts your stomach as if you just did a bunch of sit-ups. The worst is when you have a partner in crime with you, who makes it harder for you to control yourself. You know those times? Well, for me almost all of these incidents happened with my mom in cahoots.  

One time, when I was seven or eight and my mom was in the dentist chair and I was waiting in the room with her, I moved aside her hair and whispered a little kid’s limerick in her ear. Because she wasn’t expecting it and because it involved a rake and a weenie, she couldn’t stop laughing. Every time the doctor went to work on her mouth she'd start laughing again. It got so bad that the doctor asked us to leave and had my mom reschedule her appointment for another time. We both felt like little kids when leaving the doctor’s office and returned home that day.

Another time, we were at a very important Navy ceremony. It was small and private and very serious, but then this huge guy in army fatigues comes out and blows on this puny whistle, which emitted sharp piecing rhythmic sounds like Captain Von Trapp in Sound of Music. It looked so funny and was so unexpected by us that we erupted in laughter. Although it was silent, we made such a fuss shaking about and gasping for air that we received an evil look from an admiral, but that just made us laugh all the more.

The best incident though was when we were in my high school auditorium for a welcome introductory assembly with parents and all incoming freshman. The place was packed and silent, all the other students are nervous and excited to be starting high school and the auditorium is decked out in red and white—the school colors. After an hour, my mom and I were bored hearing about classes and electives that I had yet to take, when the Q&A started. One parent after another raised their hands and asked intelligent questions like how soon could their children take AP classes and even the percentage of students going to Ivy league schools that year. NO pressure right? My mom then pokes me with her elbow and says out of the side her mouth, “I have a question.”

Recognizing that mischief look on her face, I knew she was going to say something embarrassing, I quickly grab her hands from rising up in the air and hiss, "tell me first." She leans her face close to mine and goes “how much is lunch?” And we both do one of those releasing of breath explosions and can’t stop laughing from picturing how ridiculous that question would sound. Every time I finally got control of my laughter I would see her shoulders lifting up and down and I’d start again. The couple in front of us even turned around and shushed us, which of course made it all the funnier, especially as my mom dismissively waved them off in a gesture that said they should mind their own business.

Finally, we both start taking deep breaths and seem to be more stable now, when I get that mischief look in my eyes and whisper to my mom, “I have a better one, what are the school colors?” And then we were gone…again. When we left the auditorium, my friends ran over to us in wonder asking what was going on, apparently they could see us squirming in the uncomfortable metal auditorium seats in the 1000+ crowd. I don't remember anything important from that assembly, not that it hurt me any, instead I remember how much fun my mom and I had trying to control our laughter and then giving in to it.

PS: This post is part of a a word suggestion (laughter) supplied by Blog-Off For Breast Cancer, hopefully I'll make it to the next round in the competition, so there will be more. 

Surprise!

Hmm...did I see George Clooney behind this picture taker? Who knows, but I'm definitely startled in this photo or took one too many uppers! I look practically cartoon-like, Toony Tara, lol. If you scroll down and then right back up, I even bounce like Bugs Bunny.