Busy Tuesday (As Told Late Wednesday)

LA drive

Busy Tuesday. Part planned. Part surprise.

Up the 5 in traffic. That’s the norm.

We’re 45 miles from Los Angeles. An hour without traffic. Hours with. Plan on an hour and a half, then pray.

I met Gary Brown on the edge of Beverly Hills at a Starbucks. Gary was news director at Channel 3 in Hartford. Friendly competitors.

He and I are both fascinated by the inner workings of television and television news. We had a lot to talk about.

Gary’s an agent. Not mine.

It was a sunny, mild day. We agreed coffee and a window seat at Doheny and West Olympic is great for people watching.

Next stop Sherman Oaks. My friend Howard Lapides… my best man Howard Lapides… manages acts and puts deals together. I can’t explain it. He probably can’t either.

His office sits above Ventura Blvd. with a picture postcard view of the San Fernando Valley and mountains to the north. A little hazy this day.

Hollywood is unusual because so many people work short term jobs. Once production’s done, next. In most case a new employer. A new everything. Howard assembles the deals that put all those non-connected people together… I think.

We’ve been friends over 2/3 of our lives.

He had an appointment at 6:00. I asked if I could tag along. We went to Louise Palanker’s home not far away.

Louise Palanker is a writer, producer and performer in radio, television, stage and stand-up comedy. As Senior VP of Creative and co-founder of Premiere Radio Networks, she wrote, produced and performed in over 20 programs for the network. – Wikipedia

The Showtime documentary, “Family Band: The Cowsills Story,” was “a film by Louise Palanker.”

IMAG0657Today she was sitting in a former bedroom, now an acoustically treated podcast studio. With her, a gaggle of teens.

Louise and crew were about to go live on “Our Place Network,” a website and podcast for teens. In the center of the room, a handful of inexpensive security cameras on tripods.

The equipment is of the “We’ve got a barn, let’s put on a show” variety, but the content was great. Louise was the conductor, but it was the teens who gave advice. Good advice.

It has to have more weight coming from a peer.

The questions I heard all related to the inherent awkwardness of being a teen. They are trying to find their way. They are unsure.

IMAG0659I have no idea how many people watch, but it makes no difference. This is proof-of-concept. What the podcast is isn’t as important as what it can become.

I said goodnight and headed to the 101. Through the valley, past Hollywood and Downtown, then south via the 5 past the mouse and home.

About an hour.

Dinner at In-N-Out. Double double.