Live from Hollywood, Pt. 1

I would have had a photo at the top of this post, but I can't remember where I packed the wire for the digital camera.

But imagine, if you will...

The soft hum of traffic near Hollywood Boulevard. The occasional irate honking of a horn. Downtown LA, off in the distance, bathed in smog. The Hollywood Sign within view. The Capitol Records building, too...

And my wife and children downstairs in the hotel pool while I wait for a rollaway bed and a mini-fridge.

So I sit here and drink yet another can of beer before it goes completely warm. And blog.

The flight here was smooth; the kids handled their first flight like stone-cold pros. (They even charmed a bunch of cookies and a free breakfast out of the flight attendants.) As usual, the Bride drove as I assumed my role as the Human GPS. We hit the 405, then Ventura Boulevard, then a Koo Koo Roo in Studio City for lunch. I had never heard of Koo Koo Roo until reading about it Kevin Smith's latest book, where it seems like every meal consumed by the Smith family comes from the Koo Koo Roo kitchens. (Can't blame 'em; the turkey sliders are good.) The Bride sought out Starbucks; I made an ego trip to the nearby Barnes and Noble, housed in a former movie theater, where I was happy to find nine copies of Severance Package, and none of them bearing a handwritten note from Lee Goldberg, telling unsuspecting shoppers that the book was total shit. (I kid Lee! He knows that.) I signed them, then bought a few books, including a new edition of one of my favorite movie books: Harlan Ellison's Watching.

And I swear to God, the first name I see when flipping through the pages: "Lee Goldberg." He interviewed Harlan for Starlog back in the 1980s, and Harlan wrote about it. (Tell me there isn't some sentient being out there, fucking with us. Tell me!)

Then we did some cruising around Hollywood, picked up some hotel room supplies at the Ralphs on Sunset (including some beer, which is getting warmer by the minute... where oh where is the guy with the mini-fridge....) and then we checked in to our hotel.

I am here blogging.

My family is a few floors down, basking in the Calfornia sunshine, splashing each other with crystal blue, hyper-chlorinated water, laughing and embracing life.

I am waiting for the mini-fridge guy.