Celebrity Sightings: Update

Today I saw Christine Lahti. Her son is beginning USC this year so she came by my table at the Student Services Expo. The photo on the left was taken May 16, 2006 at the Los Angeles premiere of An Inconvenient Truth. In the past ten years she's been doing some film but mostly television (Ally McBeal; Chicago Hope; Frasier). Her first big film was And Justice For All (1979 with Al Pacino), then Running on Empty (1988 with River Phoenix), Miss Firecracker (1989 with Holly Hunter), and Gross Anatomy (1989 with Matthew Modine).


Here is the updated list of celebs I've seen in real life (in no particular order).

1. Scott Wolf
2. Jennifer Love Hewitt
   
3. Christine Lahti
   
4. Barry Van Dyke
5. Robbie Williams
6. Morgan Freeman
7. Cary Elwes
8. Michael Moore
9. James Stewart
10. Tom Wopat
    
11. Gordon Clapp
    
12. Jeffrey Tambor
13. Charlton Heston
14. Jay Leno
15. Joni Mitchell
16. Milton Berle
17. Danny DeVito
18. Leonardo Di Caprio
19. President George H. Bush
20. President Bill Clinton
21. Vice-President Walter Mondale
22. Charles S. Dutton
    
23. Alexander Haig
24. Paul Michael Glaser
25. Alan Alda
26. Frankie Avalon
27. Debby Boone
28. Matthew Modine
29. Daphne Zuniga
30. Johnny Cash
31. June Carter Cash
32. Ann Wilson
33. Nancy Wilson
34. Max van Sydow
35. Liev Schreiber
36. Patricia Arquette
37. Chuck Yager
38. Bob Schieffer
39. Patrick Stewart
40. Sting
41. Mick Fleetwood
42. Ed Bradley
43. Henry Winkler
44. Peter Cetera
45. Larry Hagman
46. John Houseman
47. Mick Jagger
48. Mark-Paul Gosselaar
49. John Glover

Beach Wars

This is a fun film by my nephew Dan Bryant, Beach Wars. It stars my niece Amy Bryant and is filmed in Port Townsend, Washington at Fort Worden State Park. Beach Wars: great setting, a fun story with flamboyant characters.

Cars: Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita

I just saw the movie Cars, a Disney~Pixar film. AWESOME! The movie is really about life. The tag line on the poster reads, "Life is a journey; enjoy the trip." That's been a theme for my life this year. When I'm driving up Pacific Coast Highway on the one lane road north of Malibu, and a city-dweller speeds up behind me and rides my bumper, I want to say, "Life is a journey; enjoy the trip. You're driving along the most beautiful coastline in the world; relax and enjoy the getting there." The movie, the Cars, is really a story about a hotshot rookie who learns that it is not about the destination but about the friends made along the way. Cars, the seventh animated feature to be created by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, is a high octane adventure comedy that features a wide assortment of cars as characters who get their kicks on Route 66. In addition to Paul Newman, now 80 years old, the voice cast includes NASCAR legend Richard Petty, as well as Owen Wilson ("Shanghai Knights," "The Royal Tenenbaums"), Bonnie Hunt ("Monsters, Inc."), and Dan Whitney (Bravo's "Larry the Cable Guy"). Cars was produced by Darla K. Anderson ("A Bug's Life," "Monsters, Inc."). Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters--including Sally, a snazzy 2002 Porsche, Doc Hudson, a 1951 Hudson Hornet with a mysterious past, and Mater, a rusty but trusty tow truck, who help him realize that there are more important things than trophies, fame and sponsorship. In the end, I hope that this enjoyable movie helps others learn that the Journey's the Thing. And I pray we ought not end up like the lost soul in the opening line of Dante's Divine Comedy: "Midway along the journey of our life [Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita] I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path."

My Baby Had Her First Changing

Well my baby Yaris just passed 3,000 miles so it was time for an oil change. I was the first Yaris to visit my regular car shop and the mechanics swarmed around the car asking me if it really gets 40 miles per gallon. YES! I said. I love this car and I've washed it every week that I've had it. I paid $3.12 a gallon today in Orange County which was quite a deal based on recent gas prices. Go Yaris!

The Producers

I just saw the Producers (2005) for the first time. I watched the original (1968) with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder several years ago and couldn't even make it to the end -- it was that bad. On the contrary, the 2005 Producers, with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, is a masterpiece. And the reason this film is a masterpiece is just one word: Nathan Lane (ok that's two words). Not since Birdcage has the fabulous Nathan Lane pulled off such a performance. If you liked the character he played in the Birdcage, you realize after watching the Producers -- this is Nathan Lane -- he is just playing himself. The film is based on the 1968 film starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, and the smash hit on Broadway. Max Bialystock (Lane), a failing producer, has just had the worst show in town, Funny Boy, a musical version of Hamlet, close on opening night. Distraught, he runs into accountant Leo Bloom (Broderick) who comes up with the notion that you can make more money with a flop Broadway show than with a hit. Max, overjoyed to hear such wonderful news, lays out his scheme. Step 1. Find the worst play ever written: when Max comes across Springtime for Hitler, written by neo-nazi Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell), he knows he has found the mother lode. Step 2. Hire the worst director: the gay/cross-dressing Roger Debris -- who wants to keep everything gay! Step 3. Raise 2 million dollars from Max's backers, harmless little old ladies looking for more than just a goodnight kiss (wink wink). Step 4. Hire the worst actors in New York and open on Broadway, and before you can say step 5 the show will flop and you run off to Rio with the 2 mill. The show opens and the audience is aghast with Nazi's dancing on stage. The audience begins to walk out until Roger Debris as Hitler comes on stage and plays a campy version of Hitler. The show is a hit, the police find that the books are cooked, and they end up in Sing Sing State Prison. Where they put on a show (the dancing in the prison show reminds you of Young Frankenstein). P.S. The outtakes are hilarious and prove that Nathan Lane steals the show on and off stage. A must see -- over and over again.

Angels & Demons

I am currently reading the prequel to the Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. Angels & Demons follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, as he tries to stop what seems to be the Illuminati, a legendary secret society, from destroying the Vatican City with the newly-discovered power of antimatter. Many who have read it say it is better than the Da Vinci code. It is definitely a page turner. Both books take place within a 24 hour period. Short chapters read quickly; it's like watching scenes of a movie. I highly recommend Angels & Demons.

X Men 3

What a great movie. I wasn't that impressed with X Men 2 even though I liked the first one. But the third installment, The Last Stand, is really fun. Sir Ian McKellen as Eric Lensherr/Magneto is excellent. Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine is boring. Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast is surprisingly entertaining. I'm always a big fan of Patrick Stewart, Professor Charles Xavier. Will there be another sequel? Stay in the theater through all of the credits and I bet you'll know.

Solvang, Shoreline Beach Cafe

This weekend, I visited the movie backdrop of "Sideways" and went through Buellton and Solvang, then into the Santa Ynez Valley. We visited the Santa Ines Mission and walked through the Stations of the Cross which was most inspiring. We had a late lunch back in Santa Barbara at the Shoreline Cafe. The Cafe is on the California Coastline and the tables and chairs are actually on the beach -- your chair and table sink in the sand. The service is good, the price is reasonable and the food is a B+. We had fish tacos and fries. Regardless of the food and drink quality, I would go back in a minute. There is no restaurant in California, that I am aware of, where you can actually sit on the beach and have someone bring you food under palm trees on the California coastline.