An Even Smaller World After All!

Many years ago, soon after arriving in the States, I had my first brush with celebrity (my first CelebFlash if you will). I went up to NYC with Marcy, a good friend at the time from Bertucci's, and we met up with her sister, an actress, Meredith Scott Lynn.

At the time, the only role I knew Meredith for was her portrayal of the young Ellyn on thirtysomething (which isn't even listed on IMDB since Polly Draper, apparently a real bitch, demanded she dub over Meredith's voice believing her own raspy tones to be her signature acting asset).

Meredith went on to play everyone's best friend in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (with Sean Hayes), Forces of Nature and Legally Blonde, along with some major guest spots on the likes of Lois & Clark and The Practice.

But to the point of this post: I'm at the restuarant the other day, and in walks Meredith. Naturally, she knows one of my waiters, so I really can't pass up this opportunity and go reintroduce myself. And what does she do? She gets Marcy on the phone (who I haven't talked to in at least 10 years). This really is a small world!

But you know the saddest part of the whole thing? There I am, a decade later, and I'm again working in a bloody restuarant.

It really depressed the hell out of me, I can tell you!!!

I Dream of Jeans!

There is almost nothing I hate more than buying jeans.

It becomes this long drawn out ordeal of searching not just for the right size, but the right fit and of course, the right price - do I really want to spend upwards of $150 on denim?

First, size: Finding a pair of 32/30s is nigh on impossible (and what I really need is 31/28s - but that's just never gonna happen)! Why do stores think all short people are fat? Why can I only find 30" inseams with waists of 34" and above? Do all tall people have 28" and 30" waists?

Then comes fit: I don't do boot cut, slim fit, straight leg, mid rise or easy fit. I don't even do relaxed! I can't. They just don't fit over my thighs. Loose, baggy or carpenter, that's about it.

And finally, price: At some point during this 'sode I throw my hands in the air, and announce to anyone within earshot, that if I can just find a pair, any pair that fits I'll pay over $200 if I have to!

So, no Von Dutch, True Religion, Lucky, 7 For All Mankind, Diesel or G Star. They're just not made for us short, thick-thighed boyz! So what do I end up with? Mavi, Mavi Max Wide Full leg & seat to be precise. In other words, "Husky Boy" jeans! Only I fill them out completely, ass, thigh et al.

The one saving grace... they're cheap as all hell!!!

They're Back!

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to the dog park!

Famke's back! And her little dog Liquorice too!

I thought she'd left me and the other park people in peace. But there she was, complete with those over-sized dark glasses, fresh from filming X-Men 3 (and that whole Dark Phoenix debacle that's sure to be a major plot thread this time around).

It looks like this time she's back with a vengeance, and unless she has some extra X3 pickups she's here to stay (there’s nothing else currently listed on her IMDB listing, and, apparantly all her scenes on this season's Nip/Tuck were all cutting-room-floor stuff from last year).

And then there's the ubiquitous Peter Paige who leers at me out of the corner of his beady eyes while doing cable cross-overs (with pretty poor form I might add).

Often dressed in that same damn orange "Save Paul" tee he wears in the movie, the guy is always eerily present whenever and whereever I'm working out. Now admittedly, I should expect to be harrassed by those out-of-work creative types during the "Actor/Model/Escort" hours at the gym, but please let Jackie, Jr. do the leering, not Emmett!

CELEBFLASH: Mo' Muscle

Ok, so I'll admit Kevin Levrone may only be considered a celebrity in some (limited) circles, but the guy was one of the world's preeminent pro bodybuilders throughout the 90s and early 2000s, taking first in two Arnold Classics and many European shows.

Like ol' Arnold, Kevin has decided the the world of entertainment is the place for an ex-bodybuilder, having fronted his own rock band, Fulblown, back in Maryland, he now dabbles in acting, hence my sighting here in Hollywood.

While Kevin once weighed in around 250-260 lbs at only 5'10"...

He's now a simply svelt 215lbs for his upcoming movie Backlash...

The Men of COLT

I know, I know... It's been a bit slow on the old blogging front. I've been busy. It's been raining. Blah, blah blah.

So, while lifting earlier today, this guy I chit chat with occasionally pointed out a couple more local "stars" of the gym. Now I've mentioned the likes of John Kessler, Colton Ford, Blue Blake and Jackie Jr., but the following two, though hot, are way out there on the outskirts of celebdom (hence why I can't even justify this post as a CelebFlash).

And since I know nothing about either... I'll let these (PG-13) pics speak for themselves:

Jason Brahm

Zak Spears

Instant Films 19 - Halloween Scares

7 Writers
7 Directors
24 Actors
48 Hours
7 New Films

Last Sunday I was taken downtown to the LA Center Studios for some Instant Films screenings. The theme of the night for this, the 19th go-round, was naturally, it being October et al., scary movies.

What are Instant Films? Well, writers randomly select 2 words (e.g. gory and werewolf) and then have 12 hours to write a script. Directors then randomly pick a script and their actors and have less than 48 hours to deliver their finished short to the public screening at 8pm on Sunday evening (at the "deadline" only 4 films had been received, the others slowly trickled in during the evening).

Of the 7 films, all of which can be viewed on the Instant Films website, 5 were excellent, 1 was average, and the last was just plain disturbing. The production quality was consistently high, the scripts were intelligent and funny, and there was good gore and "make you jump" scares throughout. The only actor I recognised was Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace), who's actually got quite a hot bod under all the CGI.

It was probably one of the most enjoyable evenings I've ever spent in a movie theatre. The crowd was full of creative industry types, who really got behind (and felt for) all those involved, and this made the viewing experience all the more intense.

If you live in LA and have never been, you really must go! I am seriously looking forward to the next go around!

CELEBFLASH: Bad Boyz!

Dr. Romano the egomanic, but brilliant, surgeon on ER slowly became a mockery of evil, got one arm sliced off by helicopter blades, then died when a second chopper fell on him. Paul McCrane seemed so nice however when he came in to get a muffin. Unfortuantly we were all out!

I thought I was going to get shanked in the belly when I found myself alone in the elevator with former OZ inmate Vern Shillinger. Luckily it was just J.K. Simmons and he'd gotten his muffin!


Playing crazy baby snatcher Ethan on Lost, and creepy seaman Gunneson on Threshold, William Mapother seems to like playing nutjobs. In addition to being Tom Cruise's cousin, he's also, apparently, into that crazy creepy scientology stuff.

Gary Cole has played his share of baddies including boss Bill in 1999's Office Space , dumbass VP Russell on The West Wing, and my favourite, Sheriff Lucas Buck in the short-lived yet classic TV noir American Gothic (which is finally out on DVD this month). But can we ever really be scared of Mike Brady?

Finally, Rebecca Gayheart, that chick from Beverly Hills 90210, Urban Legend and those Noxema commercials. So why have I lumped her with these other "Bad Boyz"? Well, she did kill a 9-year old, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge and only got 3 years probation, a 1-year suspended license and a heavy fine. The beauty of celebrity!!!

The Mailroom!

I had a surreal little experience today when I ended up in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency, the famed talent agency which represents the likes of Hillary Swank, Lucy Liu, Pete Sampras, Rachel Griffiths, and Jackie Chan.

For the uninformed, the mailroom is the breeding ground for future high-flying agents seeking to rep the next Macy Gray or Macaulay Culkin. These kids were dressed to the nines in designer suits and ties, with their hair just so. There they are, crammed into one of the smallest, nastiest mailrooms ever, stuck in the basement with not a window to be seen! And they all looked bored to bloody tears!

Recent woes has lead to the defection of stars like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Halle Berry and Reese Witherspoon. But when you have Macaulay and Macy, who needs these girls, right?

You Are Scheduled for Service...

Between 8:00am and 11:00am. Or so they make you think. And yet... you know they're not going to get to you then, though you think this time might just be different, and again you give them the benefit of the doubt. Oh, foolish, foolish man!

The Home Depot people were scheduled to come by today to fix the flooring that they had inadvertently installed incorrectly the first time.

10:45am: Call to say he'll be there in 15 minutes.

11:36am: Arrival time, only then do we discover he was supposed to bring the wood with him. Off he goes to fetch them.

12:25pm: Back from the store. How long the job will take? Just a half hour he thinks, no problem.

2:38pm: The job is finished.

I got up early and walked the pup (stopping for one of Coffee Bean's delicious Dulce de Leche Lattes) so I could be at home ready for these guys. I thought I'd make it to the gym (for a heavy arm day), run some other errands, maybe even tan before going into work at 4:00pm. Unfortunately, my whole day was pretty much wasted waiting around. All I did was clear 4 hours of shows from the TiVo. And since I took my shot this morning, I've been super jacked up all day (which going to the gym usually alleviates).

Great! Great day!!!

(Someone else having a heavy arm day... certainly not me!!! BTW, if that guy above was my handyman, do you really think I'd be bothered about all this?)

Diarrhea of the Mind

I got a little food poisoning this weekend. Nothing too serious, just stomach cramps, continual bouts of diarrhea and general lethargy. It lasted a little more than 24 hours and I know exactly where I got it from... a dodgy burger with jack and gruyere cheeses, and a small side salad of mixed greens with some (nasty) ranch dressing, that I had Friday evening.

This inconvenience affected, or effected (whichever) my whole weekend. I was particularly off at dinner Saturday evening. We met at Joe's on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice. Four hungry lads, a Saturday night, no reservation... Great! After an hour or so wait the Californian/French cuisine (small portions; fresh, eclectic ingredients) didn't exactly hit the spot. And then... The nut allergy experience... Time to go!

At work on Sunday I kept having to go to the bathroom. Anyone who knows me knows I don't do public restrooms unless extremely necessary (I once almost passed out, back in my Insignia days, from putting off the inevitable. I hated using the gents, the way the guys talked to each other through the stalls, being seen through the slits in the modular walls, newspapers strewn all over the place, and of course, having to place your ass where someone else has just rested theirs... UGH!). Ultimately, I felt like crap all day, bathroom usage or not, so I didn't make it over to WeHo Mark's for his boy's birthday. Sorry guys!

CELEBFLASH: I didn't know Sydney Bristow's dad was a big 'mo! He always plays those strong stoic sorts! However, after looking over his IMDB profile, Victor Garber once played Liberace... Oops!

My favorite bodybuilder, Branch Warren, just won his 2nd professional contest this past weekend, the 2005 Charlotte Pro, Bulk Nutrition Show.

At approximately 5'7" and 250lbs he is one BIG BOY!!! No neck, veins popping, legs like treetrunks... Cue pic... Crazy, but really sorta hot!