Another Busy Day In The Southland

He is the reason I had the opportunity to walk through a TV studio during an all nude show! Does that deserve thanks? These people should have remained clothed!

Another busy day in the Southland. We have only so many days in the warm California sun and so much to do. Helaine and I picked up Stef and headed south to “The OC.” We were meeting my cousins for lunch.

Cousin Melissa picked the spot which meant I was heading to a vegan restaurant for the first time in my life! The menu does list things like cheeseburgers, but without meat or cheese! Everyone working there looked gaunt.

“Is this like when grandma tried to convince me regular coffee and decaf were the same?” I asked Stef.

My burger was actually mostly shitake mushroom and it was pretty good–but it wasn’t a cow derived burger. I’m sure the burger tasted better than I allowed it to taste in my mind.

Cousin Melissa is an attorney currently running for the California Assembly. We were glad she was able to spring the time. I suspect she was glad to.

We are a small family. Cousin Michael and I have been close since birth. We don’t see him or Melissa enough.

As long as we were in Costa Mesa why not hit the mall? OK–that’s not my idea, it’s Stef’s, but I was willing to play along. I had “Clicky” with me and anything new is fodder for photography.

The mall is called “The Lab” and it is marketed as the anti mall. There’s an Urban Outfitters there. That’s not particularly anti.

What is different about The Lab versus everything we have back east is this mall is open air. There’s also some pretty interesting art on display including a fountain made of rusting barrels.

Possibly the most interesting moment of our mall adventure was when I mistakenly began to enter the Ladies Room. No harm, no foul, but I was close.

We drove back to Woodland Hills where I dropped Stef and Helaine then drove to my friend Howard’s office.

Here’s how Hollywood and the real world differ. While I waited for Howard someone at the reception desk showed me his new head shots! He’d gone from young and friendly to dark and brooding. I think the dark and brooding will work–if he has talent. This is a town of head shots!

Howard’s office is on the top floor of a midrise on Ventura Blvd. You go past the receptionist then down a hall full of busy people into an outer office and finally Howard’s corner office. The full length windows give a great view of the San Fernando Valley and even open to allow access to a small patio that hugs the outer wall.

Howard was on the phone as I walked in. He spends most of his day on the phone.

Before long Burt Dubrow joined us. Burt is a pioneer in daytime talk. He produced Sally Jessy Raphael and Jerry Springer among other shows. I’ve known Burt since he moved Sally to New Haven from St. Louis.

He is the reason I had the opportunity to walk through a TV studio during an all nude show! Does that deserve thanks? These people should have remained clothed!

I’ve got one more stop before the night is out. I’m heading to the West Side to meet and have a cup of coffee with Ross Ching. I’ve written about Ross before. He’s a young guy just getting started. I learned about him after seeing his time lapse videos. He’s a working director now. Very talented.

Scarily, tomorrow’s agenda is just as busy!

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