June 30, 2004
Me In The 70's
June 30, 1975
Wendi gets braces off.
June 30, 1976
Excellence 8-10
Watched all my soaps then Julie called. Julie spent the night. Went bike riding. Saw a lot of people. Talked to Chris and Tony and Bobby. Saw Cris and Lisa. Lisa wasn't mad.
June 30, 1977
Went to West High to get work permit but couldn't get it. But I did get my blue slip!!! Debbie called. Went out with Chris at night. Had a good time.
June 30, 1978
Had a tennis lesson. Played frisbee at the park with Debbie, Nan and Patty. Went on to Bob and Angel's with Debbie. Saw Leo at the park. Went to the movie at midnight - David Bowie's "A Man Who Fell To Earth".
June 30, 2004
Hiked the canyon with Oscar then gave him a bath. Ran errands. Saw Chris (T). Worked on a painting and listened to David Bowie's "Reality".
June 29, 2004
Me In The 70's
June 29, 1976
Went to Excellence 8-10. Layed out for a while. Rode my bike to the Plaza. Bought some nail stuff. Went driving around for a while with Lisa and David. Saw Gary. Talked to alot of people. Lisa got really mad as usual.
June 29, 1977
Went out to Westwind. Was there all day. Went out with Debbie, Patty and Nan. Went to the drive-in and saw "Hollywood High" and "Revenge of the "Cheerleaders". They were pretty dumb.
No Animals Were Harmed In The Making Of This Picture
It was only a few months ago that we were trying to fit a name to our puppy. After two weeks of polling, it was down to two names - Oscar and Rocky. At the time, several people weighed in against "Rocky" because it was associated with Rocky Balboa and our pup ended up being named Oscar.
Last night we watched the documentary "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" which was based on the book of the same name. The book is phenomenal, but the documentary paled in comparison. They apparently couldn't get some of the major players to comment on the subject matter which is the transformations the movie business took over the 1970's, which is arguably the most influential decade in film making.
The documentary ends with the accolades of Speilberg's blockbusters and Scorsese's boxing narrative "Raging Bulls". After switching back to television in search of a Law & Order, I found the first "Rocky". A movie made in the seventies, never mentioned in the documentary, and one that was integral in the future of sequels. Granted, the Rocky sequels became somewhat of a joke, but as we watched the numberless Academy award winner, it was apparent that it should have been in line with the other 70's creations that changed the face of movie making.
Not to mention it inspired me to put on the boxing gloves and spar with the under dog.
Winner and still champion - Oscar.
June 26, 2004
Corner of Arnold & Spine
Apparently Arnold got the message yesterday and took back his proposal on shortening the lives of stray animals in shelters from 6 days to 72 hours. "That was an oversight...that's not me." Thousands were in Sacramento protesting, with their rescued pets, calling for an about-face. I caught one lone woman walking the busy intersection around Sunset & Vine, putting her two cents in...
June 25, 2004
me in the 70's
June 25, 1976
Did nothing all day but watch TV and get ready to work at the band concert. Went to West High at 5:30 to work at the band pageant. They hardly needed us but we got in free and everything. Every band was really terrific.
June 25, 1977
Went out to Westwind. Chris came out but I didn't talk to him much. Went out with Debbie, Robin and Sue. Drove around for a while and went to Funway.
June 25, 1978
Worked all day. Went out with Lisa (M.) and went over to Tony's. Yummy!
New Stuff At My Shop
Keeping up with the trends, cafe press finally offers a pink t-shirt!
And a new ladies tank:
And for those fashion conscious pups...
Of course for those of you that have portraits of your pups already and wish them to be on the doggie t-shirt or the must have pink t-shirt, just let me know!
June 24, 2004
Me In The 70's
June 24, 1976
Went to Excellence 8-10. Gave John a ride home. Mom's birthday! Went out to get something for mom with Margaret. Went over to Julie's then went with her to get a manicure. Went shopping at night with Lisa, Cris, Brian and Jamie. Talked to Mr. Wis and Mark up in Geneva.
June 24, 1977
Played baseball w/all the girls but it got rained out. Went to Boz Skaggs concert at the Auditorium with Lisa and Elaine. It was great. Went to Gino's afterwards.
June 24, 1978
Went out to dinner for Lisa's birthday then went to party at Bob & Angel's.
June 24, 2004
Happy birthday Mom & Lisa M. Oh, Lido.
June 22, 2004
Me In The 70's
June 21, 1975
Went to West Wind.
Saw "Jaws".
June 22, 1976
Went to Excellence 8-10
Did nothing all day but listen to albums. Played tennis tonight with Margaret. Saw a lot of people out when coming home. Mace, Gary, Dave, Brad and a lot more. Did nothing after that. Julie called.
June 22, 1977
Went with Lisa to Elgin C. College and to Wheeler Park. Went out with Chris at night. Went to Nan's party out at her farm. It was pretty good.
June 22, 2004
I think I'll hike, make some artwork and listen to albums - er, CDs all day then do nothing at night. It'll be pretty good...
June 21, 2004
Presidential Casting
Her:
"Kerry is stiff. He makes Gore look animated."
Him:
"Uhg. Gore is like Keanu Reeves. Bill Clinton was like Jack Nicholson. Kerry is Ben Affleck. We need another Jack Nicholson."
June 19, 2004
June 18, 2004
Me In The 70's
June 18, 1976
Went to lunch at Pizza Hut with Julie and Sheryl. Then went to the movie "Mother, Jugs and Speed". It was pretty good. Went to Fox Valley with mom after dinner. Bought a shirt and a jumper.
June 18, 1977
Went to West Wind all day with Julie. Report cards came today. Oh boy. Went out with Chris at night. Had a real good time. Yawza!!
June 16, 2004
Me in the 70's
June 16, 1977
Went to Excellence 8-10.
Went out to Westwind all day with Julie and Sheryl and Lisa. Got a little tanner. Went out at night with Julie, Sheryl and Lisa. Lisa drove, finally didn't get mad. Went to the drive-in and saw "Blazing Saddles". Chris and Brian were there. Had fun but of course Lisa couldn't end the night without getting mad.
A Note From The Author:
*Excellence was a tennis program.
*Westwind was a swim & tennis club.
*Lisa has recently passed on - from, well you could say, going mad.
June 14, 2004
No More Basketball for me
"Big Game" James Worthy said it himself. The officiating in basketball started getting bad just as he was finishing up his career and it it has gone down hill ever since. I'm not denying the Piston's defense or their nothing-to-lose loose play, or the Lakers lack of Laker usual abilities - but I've had it. Ya' know, if one referee had to do one interview per every post game, perhaps it would put an end to the inconsistencies. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. My ticker can't take it any more. I'm done.
June 13, 2004
Me in the 70's
June 13, 1976
Jim's Birthday
Printess's Birthday
Found out that Melvin Jackson drowned yesterday. Went to Chris's house with Lisa and played tennis then to his friends house and swam. Went out to dinner for Jim's birthday. Stayed home at night. Boring.
June 13, 1977
Went to a job interview with Lord & Taylor. Got a job, start in August. Went over to Patty's and watched TV with Debbie and Nan. Went to the Y with Lisa and Elaine. Went out for awhile afterwards.
June 12, 2004
My Reagan encounters
In '89 or '90, I was working at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, doing the window and interior displays. One day, I was changing the mannequins on the fourth floor, like any other day when I noticed several men in black suits and ear pieces standing around with hands clasped behind their backs. I knew instantly that Nancy was in the store. I think they'd just moved back to Bel Aire to the house that they had the address changed from 666 to 66something else.
Anyway, I started getting paged. At the time, there was a bell system and my numbers started chiming. I phoned in and my boss asked me to come to the office right away. On my way to the elevator, I saw Nancy carrying BATHING SUITS toward the dressing room. Parish the thought. When I got to the office my boss frantically told me that Nancy was in the store. I said, "I know, I saw her." My boss, very humourously but half serious says, "Well, I knew how much you hated her, I thought you might hit her." I cackled and assured her I wasn't THAT crazy.
In 1998 or '99, I was working for Neiman Marcus, just down the block from Saks, doing the same thing. I was on a coffee break at a local shop, sitting with my cronies on the sidewalk. Up drives a couple of big black sedans and out of them come the several men in black suits and Ronnie. They were guiding him towards a medical building. He didn't look so hot then, but even though you could tell how sick he already was, he still had the stature of a president. I think there were some jokes flown around about his "unmemorable" movies, and then we went back and made the store pretty for all the rich folk that he so loved.
Me in the 70's
June 12, 1976
Went out to westwind with Julie and Sheryl. Chris was there for a while. Went out tonight with Julie and Sheryl and Lisa. Went to Russ Evers party. Pretty fun. Talked to Clay and Brian alot. A lot of people were there. Clay and Brian took me home.
June 12, 1977
Chris picked me up at about 2:00. We went over to Arundale's all day. Ate over there and partied some more. got home around 10:00. It was pretty fun.
Funeral Comment
"...Jimmy Carter is right now whispering to Roselynn, 'a pine box, just a pine box.'..."
June 11, 2004
I too am a cynic
From IMDB :
"Hollywood turned out in force to support Michael Moore at a special screening of his controversial new documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 on Tuesday. Actors Martin Sheen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen DeGeneres, David Duchovny, Sharon Stone, Meg Ryan, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Jodie Foster, Drew Barrymore, Chris Rock, Jack Black, Matthew Perry, Diane Lane, Marisa Tomei and Viggo Mortensen all attended the showing at the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences Theater in Los Angeles. Moore's film criticizes American president George W Bush's behavior following the September 11th terror attacks in Washington D.C. and New York and exposes links between Bush's family and Al-qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's relatives......After seeing a clip from the film featuring Britney Spears pledging her trust for Dubya, Titanic heart-throb DiCaprio burst into laughter....."
I'm laughing and crying already. And speaking of crying -
Death is a terrible and inevitable fate but don't get me started on all the twenty & thirty-somethings sobbing at the casket of Ronnie. Ray Charles should be getting so much commendation for his contributions to American culture.
June 08, 2004
Calendars
My father recently sold his office building back in my hometown of Aurora, IL. During the move - forty years of decrepit files and hundreds of dusty law books, etc., they discovered a box of "Norabilia". They sent some of it to me. A lot of newspaper clippings and five wall calendars from the years 1975 - 1979 that I meticulously filled in practically each square with my daily events.
JUNE 8, 1977
Last day of school.
Debbie picked
me up after school
and we went out
all afternoon. Sat
at the park w/Nan
& Patty, too. Went
out with Chris
at night. Went
to Mike Leonardi's
party. I had a real good
time.
Surrounding all the squares are song lyrics, the ubiquitous hearts and musings of couplings. Nora & Chris, Debbie & Stan, Joy & Kevin....But on this month of June, 1977, I wrote in big swirly pen - Nora Murphy & Nick Nolte; Nora & James Caan !!
A girl can dream, can't she?
June 07, 2004
June 06, 2004
H. Gordon Boos
Dear Gordo,
Yesterday there was a memorial service for you at the Director’s Guild. Your friend Michael Anderson put most of it together and Don Willenburg presided as M.C. It was a good turnout. I got an email from George Clooney’s assistant sending his regards from Italy where he’s shooting Oceans 12. There was a humongous and beautiful flower arrangement sent from “Nicolas”. Mr. Cage is currently in New York shooting something.
Your mentor, Ron Shelton was there with his beautiful and very pregnant wife, Lolita. He spoke of his admiration to your professionalism and looks to all his A.D.’s to now live up to your standards. He told the story of how he ran into you in the steam room at the Hollywood Y right before the filming of “Cobb”. You asked him what he was looking for in an A.D. He told you three things. One was that his A.D. shouldn’t be aggressive or mean to his cast and crew. The second one I can’t remember. The third thing was that even after a fourteen, sixteen-hour day, he wanted his A.D. to sit with him in a bar over cocktails discussing what they did that day and what they were going to do the next day. You told him, “I’m your man.” And you worked on his next four films before you got sick and even one after. A sign of loyalty from both sides.
Your friend Phil, who is incarcerated, sent a letter that was read by his sister. It was intense and eloquent. It echoed the sentiment throughout the day that you treated everyone you knew with respect and love no matter their position, no matter how long their absence from your life or you from theirs.
After the event, about fifty people convoyed over to one of your favorite drinking holes, Boardners. The more people I talked to the more I couldn’t believe we hadn’t met before we did. Apparently, we crossed paths many times in the eighties, both doing our drinking between the Firefly, The Frolic Room, Boardners and Musso’s. Brad, the owner of Boardners was very sad to hear of your passing but kindly opened a couple bottles of champagne for a few toasts.
Your son was there, crawling across the beer laced carpet, insisting on getting out of his shoes and socks, and was found in the bathroom with his pants around his ankles trying to reach the sink to wash his hands. Everyone could picture him growing up to be very much his father’s son. Many of us imagined seeing him on the street one day in twenty years, hearing his voice and knowing exactly who he is.
It was a special day. Thanks for being a person that so many people will continue to celebrate.
June 05, 2004
My computer wallpaper today
I want to see Karl "the mailman" Malone hoisting one of these in a week or so. Go Lakers!!
June 04, 2004
Quote Of The Afternoon
"So, I went to a party at Alan Thicke's house the other night."
And the response to the quote of the afternoon -
"Why would you do something like that?"
Quote Of The Morning (it's still early)
"There's three things you can't argue about in Los Angeles. Politics, Religion and The Lakers."
June 01, 2004
Betty R.I.P.
I traveled to Catalina over the Memorial Day weekend. My high school buddy Lisa flew in from Portland and we hooked up with BV who now lives on the island. Saturday night was the 75th birthday of the Avalon Casino. There was a party in the ballroom with a big band, a DJ, another band that played oldies. Though it felt like being at a wedding, everyone was having a good time dancing and conjuring the ghosts of when the casino was grand.
Sunday we took a two-part hike and in the middle of it, we stopped at Jen and Jim’s house to say hello. Jim owned a shop in Avalon till recently, that sold jewelry and musical instruments and doubled as a coffee and computer bar. It appeared he hadn’t given up his buying habits when they showed us some things they picked up at a recent estate sale. They purchased a very large jewelry box filled with costume jewelry.
We laughed about a rhinestone-covered pin that spelled BS and were informed that the jewels had belonged to a woman named Betty. Jim pointed me toward the necklaces that he had hanging on a curtain rod and when I noticed the pendant, I instantly started to beg for it. I was prepared to pay something for it, but he decided to keep the chain it was on and kindly give me the pendant. “Look.” I said, “Betty was a Ho.”
Could Betty really have been employed at Mustang Ranch? Why not? Look at all the costume jewelry she had!
I caught the Express boat back to Long Beach on Monday morning, but while I was having my tea and packing, I picked up the once-a-week local newspaper that I had brought from the boat two days earlier. Skimming through the ads and rescue notices, I saw it – the obituary for Betty Salisbury. It all came together. Betty was my favorite island character ever since I started coming over there. She worked at the Pancake Cottage, the best breakfast joint on the island. A few years ago I wrote a short story called "Halloween Hiking" and I noted my encounter with her and though I hadn’t known her name, I called her Betty – “Two foot tall Betty with four feet hair and one foot of blue eye shadow.” I delighted to go to the Pancake Cottage on all visits in hopes to get a glimpse of her corralling the tourists into the tables for foot high stacks of pancakes.
Betty Salisbury. Born in 1921 in Sacramento, CA. At 16, after the death of her parents in a car wreck, she married. They moved to Catalina in 1958. At her request, there was no memorial service and her ashes are to be scattered at sea. Odd, it didn’t take long for the family to sell off her stuff. Glad they did, now I will always have a piece of Betty with me. I suppose maybe she went on a trip to Nevada, and maybe visited Mustang Ranch where perhaps they engrave these pendants as souvenirs. But, really, wouldn’t it be great if that was part of Betty’s legacy? I’m certain it is a legacy of vibrant color no matter what.