Tonya Plank's Blog, page 10

BUNHEADS

When I first saw the poster for this new ABC Family show a couple weeks ago I got so excited for Sophie Flack, thinking her young adult novel of the same name had been made into a TV series. But as I read more about it, I realized the plot was completely different. Still, the series looks interesting. It follows the path of a ballet-trained Las Vegas showgirl who’s kind of returning to her origins. It’s written by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who studied ballet as a child and created the hit TV show Gilmore Girls. There’s lots of good info about it here. It premieres June 11.

I do think it would be awesome though if there were a TV series that followed pro ballet dancers in a New York-based company

SHIRLEY YOU JEST!

I am very honored to have been asked to help judge the inaugural Shirley You Jest! book awards. It’s open to traditionally and self-published authors alike. So if you’re the author of a comical novel or humorous work of non-fiction, please consider entering! Details here.

Misty Copeland and FIREBIRD Excerpts Live-Streamed from the Guggenheim

For Californians (like me) who missed Misty Copeland’s Firebird at Segerstrom last month, or for New Yorkers and others hoping to catch a pre-Met season glimpse, she’ll be performing excerpts of it at the Guggenheim as part of the museum’s Works and Process event next Sunday and Monday nights, April 29th and 30th. The event is sold out but will be live-streamed on the Guggenheim’s ustream channel, so everyone everywhere can watch. It begins at 7:30 pm ET, so 4:30 PST, and they usually last an hour and a half. The Guggenheim usually does a good job with these live-streams and if you sign up for a ustream account, you can participate in the live chat. Otherwise, they usually keep the videos posted for a while so you can watch at your leisure.

It’s not just Misty performing though; it’s a celebration of ABT’s upcoming Met season. So you’ll see others perform excerpts of the upcoming ballets as well, such as Cory Stearns and Hee Seo in Onegin, Sascha Radetsky in Swan Lake, Craig Salstein and Kristi Boone and others in The Dream, and ABT Studio Company members will perform the Swan Lake Czardas. Also, according to the press release, Roman Zhurbin will perform a special character medley. Hmmm, sounds very intriguing!

Panelists include Copeland, Zhurbin, Salstein, and Reid Anderson, director of the Stuttgart Ballet, and the moderator will be John Meehan, professor of dance at Vassar.

You can also follow on Twitter @WorksandProcess and by hashtag #WPLive. But I highly recommend the live-streaming if you can!

Above photo of Misty Copeland with Herman Cornejo by Gene Schiavone, taken from LA Times Culture Monster.

 

Ratmansky’s Fantastically Funny, Tim Burton-Esque New FIREBIRD

Thursday night I went down to Costa Mesa for ABT’s premiere of Ratmansky’s FIREBIRD at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. I’m so glad I braved the nearly three hour drive (with traffic; without about fifty minutes) from west L.A. because it was an excellent evening. This is I think Ratmansky’s most theatrical, spectacular ballet – certainly of those he’s done for ABT – and I loved it. (Photo above of Natalia Osipova in the lead role, by Gene Schiavone, courtesy of Segerstrom.)

The curtain opened onto this magnificent set. The prince is supposed to be in a forest searching for his lost beloved, and so strewn about the stage were these fantastically creepy dead tree-trunks with spindly branches that magically sprouted blood red blossoms. I was so enchanted with those tree trunks, which to me resembled a witch’s hand, and the crimson blossoms bright red fingernails. It all had a very fantastical Tim Burton feel.

Then behind a scrim we see the prince, Marcelo Gomes, dressed all in white, searching about frantically for his lost maiden. At one point, he bumps his head into a branch on one of the creepy witch-hand trees. The audience seemed really to appreciate the humor in this; they laughed at this, and laughed pretty frequently throughout.

Soon, a flock of red birds devoured the stage, and Natalia Osipova emerged as their leader, or the most remarkable one, whom the prince became taken with. This was the one problematic part for me. It makes sense to have a flock of birds with a leader rather than one bird, as in I think most versions of this ballet – but the stage here was really too small. Natalia went to take one of her famous leaps but then seemed to hesitate and took it down several notches. There were too many birds, and as she turned to run to one side of the stage, she almost smacked into one of them. I think that set the note for the rest of her performance, because unfortunately, she just seemed to be holding back throughout the whole thing – not only in her solos but also in her pas de deux with Marcelo after her firebird is captured by his prince. I didn’t really see her struggling to be set free, and when she gave him her magical feather, it seemed more an afterthought than in barter for her freedom. Marcelo is ABT’s most dramatic male principal and he kept up the act well, being enthralled with the firebird, but ultimately feeling sympathy for her and setting her free, but you could tell he was also concentrating on making his dance partner feel as assured as possible. I’m sure as they iron out the kinks, Natalia will be perfect though.

Simone Messmer actually stole the show to me. Well, she shared it with David Hallberg (who, judging by the cheers, has quite the fan base in L.A!) Simone danced the role of the maiden who captures the prince’s attention, and she danced it with a really wonderful sense of humor, as she alternated between being controlled puppet-like by a sorcerer’s spell, being annoyed by the prince’s intrusion, then falling for him, then being fought over by him and the sorcerer, who keeps trying to retain his spell on her.

Ditto for David, who danced the part of the sorcerer set on keeping the prince and maiden apart. We first see David’s wicked magician in shadow form, from the back of the stage, which looked both malevolent and funny at the same time. When David emerged, he sported this big green bouffant, and Ratmansky had him chasing the maidens about the stage in this bent-legged run (almost like a Russian folk dancer). He was really both creepy and funny at the same time.

The comedy continued when the firebird returned (after the prince, threatened by the sorcerer, summoned her protection) and compelled everyone to dance themselves silly. It was particularly interesting to watch David here. Ratmansky gave him these rather crazed lightning fast steps danced in place that reminded me of a sequence he danced as the mentally unstable boyfriend in Ratmansky’s earlier ballet, On the Dnieper. There they were meant to convey extreme anger and were frightening because it meant the character was about to become unhinged and violent; but here they’re more funny than scary, and I think that’s what Ratmansky intended. I think Ratmansky is making an actor out of David Hallberg He certainly got a great brilliant comedic performance out of Simone.

I wasn’t really a fan of the ending. Prince and maiden danced, sorcerer and firebird, then they switched partners, but the sorcerer tried to reclaim the maiden. Finally the firebird shattered the egg containing the sorcerer’s power and prince and maiden were sweetly reunited. The last scene is of the firebird being held up high by a group of men, in a group lift, heroizing her. I don’t remember the firebird appearing at the very end of other productions, and it felt a little too cutesy to me, or a little too ‘good triumphs over evil.’ I realize that’s the theme of a lot of ballets but I was expecting a bit of a twist here since the whole was more comical and different in tone than other versions.

Other dancers appearing as the firebird later this week are Misty Copeland and Isabella Boylston. I can’t make the trek to Orange County again this weekend unfortunately, but will be really interested to hear what others think of the other casts.

The other two dances performed were Christopher Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions and Merce Cunningham’s Duets. At first I’d forgotten I’d seen Thirteen Diversions – it premiered during ABT’s Met season last year. I was charmed by it all over again; definitely one of my favorite Wheeldon ballets. Misty Copeland, Stella Abrera, and Craig Salstein stood out to me. Misty really made that ballet she was so spellbinding as the girl who seems to struggle with herself and her partner. What I like about this Wheeldon dance is that he really allows the dancers to create characters; it’s not just about musicality and creative patterns (although that’s there as well). Craig Salstein was sweetly funny as he kind of flicked his partner off stage and into the wings, so he and his male cohort could have the stage all to themselves.

Duets was first on the program, and it was new to me. It got off to a slow start. It seemed the first two couples were stiff and nervous and just going through the steps without giving them much meaning. But the fourth couple – Xiomara Reyes and Arron Scott – changed the tone when they took one look at each other, as if to say, “let’s go, let’s do it!” and took off on a quick paced, very precisely and charmingly danced sequence of steps. After that, everyone else seemed to unwind and perform more full out and with intention. I’m really beginning to like Xiomara. She and Arron were my favorite couple, but Julie Kent and Jared Matthews got the most applause. At the end of the whole program, David got the most applause – people really love him there.

This was my first time at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The building is so interesting. The orchestra is on the right half of the theater (if you’re facing the stage) and the mezzanine is a raised portion on the left half. And then the balcony is up above. It’s definitely not as big as the Lincoln Center stages or City Center, but it was packed full of a very enthusiastic audience. It made me wonder if most lived around there or if people often drive down from L.A. I’m sorry, I’m still this stunned New York expat unable to fathom how people can drive three hours a day in gridlock and not go insane!

It was kind of unsettling seeing my favorite N.Y.-based dancers in L.A. I looked around the press section thinking there must be some N.Y. critics there to cover a premiere, but I didn’t recognize anyone and a Facebook friend later told me Macaulay was with her at a N.Y. performance Thursday night. And the one L.A. critic friend I have wasn’t there either. It made me sad. I really miss spotting the writers in the audience, wondering who’s going to write a review, who’s covering for the Times, who’s thinking what, who’ll write what. And most dearly I miss hanging out with my N.Y. dance-goer friends on the Koch Theater promenade during intermissions, or at Ed’s Chowder House or Fiorello’s afterward to discuss a performance, especially a premiere. I guess I’ll eventually make those friends here…

Ratmansky's Fantastically Funny, Tim Burton-Esque New FIREBIRD

Thursday night I went down to Costa Mesa for ABT's premiere of Ratmansky's FIREBIRD at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. I'm so glad I braved the nearly three hour drive (with traffic; without about fifty minutes) from west L.A. because it was an excellent evening. This is I think Ratmansky's most theatrical, spectacular ballet – certainly of those he's done for ABT – and I loved it. (Photo above of Natalia Osipova in the lead role, by Gene Schiavone, courtesy of Segerstrom.)

The curtain opened onto this magnificent set. The prince is supposed to be in a forest searching for his lost beloved, and so strewn about the stage were these fantastically creepy dead tree-trunks with spindly branches that magically sprouted blood red blossoms. I was so enchanted with those tree trunks, which to me resembled a witch's hand, and the crimson blossoms bright red fingernails. It all had a very fantastical Tim Burton feel.

Then behind a scrim we see the prince, Marcelo Gomes, dressed all in white, searching about frantically for his lost maiden. At one point, he bumps his head into a branch on one of the creepy witch-hand trees. The audience seemed really to appreciate the humor in this; they laughed at this, and laughed pretty frequently throughout.

Soon, a flock of red birds devoured the stage, and Natalia Osipova emerged as their leader, or the most remarkable one, whom the prince became taken with. This was the one problematic part for me. It makes sense to have a flock of birds with a leader rather than one bird, as in I think most versions of this ballet – but the stage here was really too small. Natalia went to take one of her famous leaps but then seemed to hesitate and took it down several notches. There were too many birds, and as she turned to run to one side of the stage, she almost smacked into one of them. I think that set the note for the rest of her performance, because unfortunately, she just seemed to be holding back throughout the whole thing – not only in her solos but also in her pas de deux with Marcelo after her firebird is captured by his prince. I didn't really see her struggling to be set free, and when she gave him her magical feather, it seemed more an afterthought than in barter for her freedom. Marcelo is ABT's most dramatic male principal and he kept up the act well, being enthralled with the firebird, but ultimately feeling sympathy for her and setting her free, but you could tell he was also concentrating on making his dance partner feel as assured as possible. I'm sure as they iron out the kinks, Natalia will be perfect though.

Simone Messmer actually stole the show to me. Well, she shared it with David Hallberg (who, judging by the cheers, has quite the fan base in L.A!) Simone danced the role of the maiden who captures the prince's attention, and she danced it with a really wonderful sense of humor, as she alternated between being controlled puppet-like by a sorcerer's spell, being annoyed by the prince's intrusion, then falling for him, then being fought over by him and the sorcerer, who keeps trying to retain his spell on her.

Ditto for David, who danced the part of the sorcerer set on keeping the prince and maiden apart. We first see David's wicked magician in shadow form, from the back of the stage, which looked both malevolent and funny at the same time. When David emerged, he sported this big green bouffant, and Ratmansky had him chasing the maidens about the stage in this bent-legged run (almost like a Russian folk dancer). He was really both creepy and funny at the same time.

The comedy continued when the firebird returned (after the prince, threatened by the sorcerer, summoned her protection) and compelled everyone to dance themselves silly. It was particularly interesting to watch David here. Ratmansky gave him these rather crazed lightning fast steps danced in place that reminded me of a sequence he danced as the mentally unstable boyfriend in Ratmansky's earlier ballet, On the Dnieper. There they were meant to convey extreme anger and were frightening because it meant the character was about to become unhinged and violent; but here they're more funny than scary, and I think that's what Ratmansky intended. I think Ratmansky is making an actor out of David Hallberg He certainly got a great brilliant comedic performance out of Simone.

I wasn't really a fan of the ending. Prince and maiden danced, sorcerer and firebird, then they switched partners, but the sorcerer tried to reclaim the maiden. Finally the firebird shattered the egg containing the sorcerer's power and prince and maiden were sweetly reunited. The last scene is of the firebird being held up high by a group of men, in a group lift, heroizing her. I don't remember the firebird appearing at the very end of other productions, and it felt a little too cutesy to me, or a little too 'good triumphs over evil.' I realize that's the theme of a lot of ballets but I was expecting a bit of a twist here since the whole was more comical and different in tone than other versions.

Other dancers appearing as the firebird later this week are Misty Copeland and Isabella Boylston. I can't make the trek to Orange County again this weekend unfortunately, but will be really interested to hear what others think of the other casts.

The other two dances performed were Christopher Wheeldon's Thirteen Diversions and Merce Cunningham's Duets. At first I'd forgotten I'd seen Thirteen Diversions – it premiered during ABT's Met season last year. I was charmed by it all over again; definitely one of my favorite Wheeldon ballets. Misty Copeland, Stella Abrera, and Craig Salstein stood out to me. Misty really made that ballet she was so spellbinding as the girl who seems to struggle with herself and her partner. What I like about this Wheeldon dance is that he really allows the dancers to create characters; it's not just about musicality and creative patterns (although that's there as well). Craig Salstein was sweetly funny as he kind of flicked his partner off stage and into the wings, so he and his male cohort could have the stage all to themselves.

Duets was first on the program, and it was new to me. It got off to a slow start. It seemed the first two couples were stiff and nervous and just going through the steps without giving them much meaning. But the fourth couple – Xiomara Reyes and Arron Scott – changed the tone when they took one look at each other, as if to say, "let's go, let's do it!" and took off on a quick paced, very precisely and charmingly danced sequence of steps. After that, everyone else seemed to unwind and perform more full out and with intention. I'm really beginning to like Xiomara. She and Arron were my favorite couple, but Julie Kent and Jared Matthews got the most applause. At the end of the whole program, David got the most applause – people really love him there.

This was my first time at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The building is so interesting. The orchestra is on the right half of the theater (if you're facing the stage) and the mezzanine is a raised portion on the left half. And then the balcony is up above. It's definitely not as big as the Lincoln Center stages or City Center, but it was packed full of a very enthusiastic audience. It made me wonder if most lived around there or if people often drive down from L.A. I'm sorry, I'm still this stunned New York expat unable to fathom how people can drive three hours a day in gridlock and not go insane!

It was kind of unsettling seeing my favorite N.Y.-based dancers in L.A. I looked around the press section thinking there must be some N.Y. critics there to cover a premiere, but I didn't recognize anyone and a Facebook friend later told me Macaulay was with her at a N.Y. performance Thursday night. And the one L.A. critic friend I have wasn't there either. It made me sad. I really miss spotting the writers in the audience, wondering who's going to write a review, who's covering for the Times, who's thinking what, who'll write what. And most dearly I miss hanging out with my N.Y. dance-goer friends on the Koch Theater promenade during intermissions, or at Ed's Chowder House or Fiorello's afterward to discuss a performance, especially a premiere. I guess I'll eventually make those friends here…

ABT is Coming to Orange County with Ratmansky’s New FIREBIRD

How excited am I! This Thursday through Sunday, my beloved ABT will be performing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County. They’re premiering Ratmansky’s new Firebird – and none other than SLSG faves Marcelo Gomes and Natalia Osipova are scheduled to star! (David Hallberg and Simone Messmer are co-starring.) The two other dances on the bill are Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions (photo above, by Rosalie O’Connor, of Marcelo with Isabella Boylston) and Merce Cunningham’s Duets. The latter two I haven’t seen yet since I missed the company’s City Center season last year.

Read a preview of Firebird by Joseph Carman here.

This will be my first time at Segerstrom / Orange County. If any of my Angeleno or former Angeleno readers would like to give me advice on the best way to get down there from Century City on a weeknight, I’d be most thankful I will most definitely report back, particularly on the new Firebird!

 

ABT is Coming to Orange County with Ratmansky's New FIREBIRD

How excited am I! This Thursday through Sunday, my beloved ABT will be performing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County. They're premiering Ratmansky's new Firebird – and none other than SLSG faves Marcelo Gomes and Natalia Osipova are scheduled to star! (David Hallberg and Simone Messmer are co-starring.) The two other dances on the bill are Wheeldon's Thirteen Diversions (photo above, by Rosalie O'Connor, of Marcelo with Isabella Boylston) and Merce Cunningham's Duets. The latter two I haven't seen yet since I missed the company's City Center season last year.

Read a preview of Firebird by Joseph Carman here.

This will be my first time at Segerstrom / Orange County. If any of my Angeleno or former Angeleno readers would like to give me advice on the best way to get down there from Century City on a weeknight, I'd be most thankful I will most definitely report back, particularly on the new Firebird!

 

Careening Down Mulholland Drive, and Blue Line-ing to Long Beach

Last weekend was so nice (temps reaching 80!), I had to put work aside and get out and explore more of L.A. Friday evening I took the snaky Mulholland Drive home, which, thanks to a short story by Michael Connelly, I will always think of as Mulholland Dive. (It's also the title of a surrealist, rather haunting David Lynch film.)

The street wends itself through the entirety of Hollywood Hills, from west to east L.A. and is the official dividing point between Los Angeles (to the south) and the Valley (to the north). Despite its reputation – and I did find it to be frightening at some points, especially when locals fly around some of those precipitous curves and intimidate you into doing the same – it's more touristy than I would have thought. There are overlooks everywhere, inviting you to park your car and take pics. Which is what I did. Here are some from the east point, right above Hollywood, looking out over downtown.

It kind of looks like Oz, right? Oz in the distance anyway, beyond the cliff.

On Saturday I wanted to go to a beach. I haven't been to Laguna yet, but after researching it, thought it was something my mom might like to do when she comes to visit next month, so decided to save it. I haven't been to Venice yet either but just didn't feel like driving all the way across town again on my weekend. I get enough of the west side on my weekdays Ditto for Malibu.

So, I decided to go down to Long Beach, and to take the Blue Line (one of the seven Los Angeles subway lines) to do it. I'm a rather proud rider of the Los Angeles subway. I guess it's the New Yorker still in me… (It's actually called the Metro rail but I like to call it the subway ) I've now taken three of the lines: "my" line  – the Red line, which is probably the most popular, as it goes from the Valley down to Universal City (where Universal Studios is), down through the most touristy parts of Hollywood, then to the trendy Los Feliz, then on to downtown (one of the two big work hubs), and ends at the train station; the Purple line, which is a rather short line and goes to Koreatown; and now the Blue line, which I now know travels not below- but above-ground, and stops first at the Staples Center (which is like Madison Square Garden), then continues on to several more stops in downtown and south L.A., passing through Watts, Compton, and ending at Long Beach.

Curving upward as we leave Long Beach.

This is taken from the Compton station, which is lined with these these big, bold letters spelling the town's name. I thought they were so artistic. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get a good picture as the train rolled by, but here is part of the M. I've heard Compton is a poor part of town but, if that was ever true, it must have enjoyed a renaissance because it didn't seem run-down at all. The train passed a big shopping center with a Best Buy and other electronics and high-end stores, and a very snazzy-looking casino.

I found the train ride more interesting than the destination though. I don't think Long Beach has much of an actual beach; it's more of a harbor.

…with lots of restaurants and stores.

and a small lighthouse.

and a ferris wheel, which wasn't being used.

I am learning that much of the food in L.A. tends to be Mexican-ized (this is particularly true of Italian where pasta sauce tastes strangely like mild salsa and risotto like it belongs beside refried beans). I ordered "jerk salmon" at this dock-side restaurant. In New York that would mean the fish would be drenched in that mouth-watering Jamaican sauce that is somehow super spicy, tangy, and sweet all at once. But this was simply grilled salmon topped with mango salsa. Very well-prepared grilled salmon and delicious mango salsa, but IT WAS NOT JERK SALMON!!! Oh well.

How to Find the Studs in the Wall, How Do Valets Not Lose Keys, and Other Settling into LA Conundrums

Aye, still trying to figure out how to live here… The other weekend I was perusing the antique shops on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank and this piece of furniture stood out to me. I've needed a bookcase since I moved here but I haven't liked anything I've seen in the regular furniture stores. But I loved this one. It's actually a baker's rack, not a bookcase, but it serves the same purpose. Plus, ever since shopping the Rose Bowl flea market, I've kind of been into unique furniture functioning as something other than it was originally meant for. So I bought the baker's rack.

But I remembered reading in The Elegant Variation, one of my favorite lit blogs written by a New Yorker turned Angeleno, that when he moved to his new L.A. home, one thing he had to do before loading the bookcases was to earthquake-proof them, meaning fastening them securely to the wall so they wouldn't topple over in the event of an earthquake.

So this was in the back of my mind when I bought the piece of furniture. The man I bought it from told me no worries, just go to a Home Depot and buy an earthquake proofing packet. It should have everything I need, with instructions. So I did. And the guy there also acted like it should be no big deal; just follow the instructions.

I thought package would consist of some burlap straps which I could tie around the furniture and nail into into the wall. Simple. But so not. According to the instructions, after finding an ideal place to velcro and snap the straps securely around the rack (which was hard because of the rack's kind of ornate design), I was supposed to screw the things into the wall, for which I'd need a drill of course. But I couldn't just screw anywhere – I needed to find the studs in the wall so that the furniture would attach to something that would actually hold it, which drywall would not. For this I would need an instrument called a stud-finder. You could also just knock on the wall, but you have to know what you're listening for – ie: the difference between drywall and a stud – which I most definitely do not. So I bought the stud-finder.

When I got the stud-finder home, I found that it operated on these rather unusual batteries, which I didn't have and which didn't come with the instrument, so I had to go out to the drugstore for those. When I finally got the stud-finder all ready to use, I carefully read the back of the package, which contained a kind of hidden warning that you need to be very careful that when the little red stud-finder light goes off, it's actually a stud it's found and not a pipe or electrical wire. The stud-finder can easily mix all these up. If you drill into an electrical wire you might be electrocuted and if you drill into a pipe you could really screw up the plumbing. In order to avoid electrocution, the package recommended turning off all electrical outlets. Which of course I needed to operate the drill.

I finally decided to call my management company. I was trying not to be a helpless woman, but, seriously, I have no carpentry skills; this is just way over my head. And I don't even own this place if I do mess up piping or electrical wiring. I don't remember the lease saying anything about not letting tenants drill, but I wouldn't want tenants who know nothing about studs and drywall and pipes and electrical wiring drilling about if I were the owner.

So, a nice man from maintenance came and fixed it up for me. Funny, because he didn't follow the instructions on the package at all – or even use anything in the package. He just drilled a couple large screws into the wall in strategic places so that if the bookcase were to be volted forward, it would probably be stopped by a screw. Not as secure as the earthquake proof kit, but I guess at this point I'm just not going to worry about it.

When I went to work the next day and told everyone about my angsty weekend, pretty much all of my co-workers laughed, and said they've never secured anything into a wall. Most people here don't, they said – they just figure if it's a small earthquake like the vast majority are, nothing's going to happen, and if it's a big one, we're all doomed anyway.

So I guess that's that. Anyway, for better or worse, I loaded the bookcase:

I don't know what made me think all of my books were going to fit on it. I sold about 80 percent of my print books in N.Y. to the Strand and gave about ten percent more away to Housing Works, but somehow I kept so many that I still have more than will fit in one large floor to ceiling wrought iron case. And of course I'm buying more here (thanks mainly to Book Soup in West Hollywood), which I said I wouldn't do. Didn't say I wouldn't buy books, just that they be of the e-version now.

Speaking of books, I also joined this book club called Ladies' Guilty Pleasures Book Club, which reads mainly mysteries combined with romance. It's run by a fantastic book publicist I met here through a journalist networking event named Liz Donatelli.

Anyway, their first meeting at which I joined was at this Italian restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. It was held on a  weeknight, so I left work as early as I could so that I could find the parking lot. Not so that I could find the restaurant, but so that I could figure out where to park. I'm not kidding. Parking is by far the most confusing thing about this city to me, far more frustrating than driving.

As expected, I found the restaurant right away, then spent the next half hour driving back and forth past it trying to figure out where the parking lot was, or if they had one, and if they didn't, where else to park. I found several general lots on the street, but I couldn't gauge how far they'd be to walk. Here, it always seems like something is close by, and then when you try to walk it, you realize the streets are wider and longer than in New York and it's actually much more of a trek than you thought.

Anyway, I finally found a narrow narrow driveway with an arrow pointing down with the words Panzanella (the name of the restaurant) written underneath, so I slammed on my breaks and turned on my – at that point I think left – turn signal, and when traffic finally cleared, sped into the narrow driveway. The parking was valet only. I figured okay, fine, my first valet experience. More of an expense, but I'm just happy to have my car and myself in the lot with five minutes to go before the dinner's set to begin. But it made me worry the restaurant was going to be all five course $250 prix fixe plates or something.

Of course the valet wanted my car keys and I was all butterfingers as I tried to detach the car fob from the rest of the bundle. When I finally got it free and handed it to him, he flashed me a suave smile and delicately placed my receipt in my hand. Definitely an actor. But then all throughout dinner I kept wondering how he kept all those keys straight. There were so many cars in the lot. What if he mixed them up?

But nothing to worry about. Entrees in the restaurant were priced in the teens and low twenties and most wines weren't more than $10 per glass. This is one of the oddest things about L.A. to me: a restaurant doesn't have to be at all high-priced to have a valet only parking lot. The food was very good, and the valet was really good looking and smooth, and he didn't lose my keys. And the book club was fun, and I made lots of very cool new friends. Next time, we're meeting Jackie Collins at a restaurant in El Segundo, which should be a blast!

Rhea’s Laser Light Show

Thought I’d let my cat people readers know about a fun new cat toy that Rhea loves. With my long work hours and kind of crazy commute I’ve been having some issues with kitty lately – namely that she doesn’t want to let me sleep at night because I haven’t played with her all day. I was complaining to one of my friends at work and she asked her sister, who works at a company called Lucky Litter, to send me a couple of play-by-herself cat toys. The company specializes in self-cleaning litter, which I haven’t yet tried.

Anyway, Rhea absolutely loves this laser toy. What I like about it is that you don’t have to flash the wand all about but can set it on a shelf or a table, push the button, and it shoots a bouncing red light all over the place all on its own. So I can just set it up and go do my things and Rhea plays with it by herself.

The instrument the laser emanates from is the cute little white robot-looking thing at the bottom center of this picture.

Fun fun! Thank you, friend at Lucky Litter