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A Couple Days In The Life Of

About a week ago I was on the top of Runyon Canyon connecting a woman to her lost chocolate Lab named Koop. Twelve minutes later I had my five dogs in the back of the car, chasing after a lost chihuahua mutt that took off across Mulholland Drive and into the hills. We kept pace from a distance for about two miles, up and down and around the multi-million dollar neighborhood till she came upon a dead end (a mansion's gilded gate) and burrowed under a dumpster. Tried everything to get that (scared shitless) rascal out of there, but finally the owner miraculously showed up (Runyon folk must have pointed her in the right direction) and pulled her out.

Yesterday I had a small pack up at Runyon and I was just saying to myself - I really need this to be an uneventful day today, what with the insomnia last night and the night before - when I twisted my ankle and went down palms first so as not to do an elbow or face plant. I cursed LOUD and skid a short distance on the concrete/gravel trail and the three dogs with me turned and came running to my rescue. They hovered and licked at me till I regained composure, then kept checking on me just to make sure.

40 minutes later after traversing the full trail I got a phone call that Charlie the Maltese was sick as a, well, a dog and could I take him to the vet. After getting the rescue dogs home and nearly running out of gas (and a nice big tally for a fill-up, thank you very little) I got the dog to the vet and back and saw eight other clients before my day was done.

Today I took a rambunctious crew to Runyon and got through the hike without too much silliness. I was convinced it was finally going to be a normal day...till I dropped off two of the dogs in their Coldwater Canyon upscale hood and then saw two Bull Terriers wandering the street like they were out on the town. Construction workers didn't want anything to do with them. I pulled over, five cars didn't, then another did and this tanned tall fella and I corralled these two nosey dogs (which wasn't hard in this case - I think they wanted to get in to the dog car with my pack and go anywhere) and called their owner. While waiting for the dogs' dad, the boy dog (who was not fixed) humped the girl dog and we noticed the boy's name was Mucker. Yeah, little futher mucker...
And then dad arrived in a convertible Rolls Royce!

And later I saw six other clients including the Maltese who was back to his (nine month) old self.
Why can't I get rid of this belly-ache and headache?

DW Production Diary

Despite some "technical difficulties" I shot one of the interview scenes on Sunday. The actors and I schlepped to the St. Charles Borremeo Church and found a good spot where we could see the church in the background and be somewhat out of the path of church-goers. People were actually quite respectful towards us, making sure they and their kids were out of the shot - maybe because one of my actors was wearing a collar! I really think they probably thought he was a priest being interviewed!

Anyway, after about eight minutes of improvised scene-playing, I played it back and realized the mic hadn't been turned on. Ugh! Well, that's rehearsal, guys! Let's do it for real this time! Professionals as they are, it didn't phase them a bit. It actually tightened up the scene though there was some pretty funny stuff during the first take that I may or may not have not been able to use. If I am missing something I can always use some of the footage and have the narration over it.

Even with a little digression, there was progression.
Nora T. Wood
April 25, 2006

Hollywood Chef

Hooked up with chef Govind Armstrong and friends and family at L Scorpion in Hollywood to watch the finale of Celebrity Cookoff (I paraphrase because that was the only night I watched it, so unsure of the exact title).

Govind was teamed up with a Miss USA on the show but alas, could not beat out the chef with the cleavage and the "pop star".

More L Scorpion and Govind fun at My Buzznet!

Puffers Puffing On

After three tries and countless hours, I've managed to post photos at My Buzznet of the bash of the year (so far). Since they have now sold the house in the path of John Travolta's jets, ten years of parties and flopping at the Zagorski/Puffer home in Santa Monica have come to an end. (One of the trivia questions concerning the home was how many people - other than the homeowners - had lived there in those ten years. I was one of them -three months in 1998.

Alotalotalotalot has happened in the past decade, but never have they wavered in their welcoming to the transient, crazy, and the newcomers. They made the finale on Clarkson Ave. as festive as only they could...With a little help from the transient, crazy and the newcomers. And a wooden horse...and a bad kitty...

I GOT GOT GOT GOT NO TIME

Brotherly Love

From the hometown rag, The Beacon News, quoting my brother, who's nickname could be Sly, but to most it's Murph.....

Jim Murphy figured the 25 people who packed this week's Aurora Township annual meeting weren't all there to review the annual financial report.

About 15 of them, it turns out, were part of an Illinois anti-war coalition using a little-known state law to put a referendum on township ballots in November. The referendum question asks:

"Shall the United States Government immediately begin an orderly and rapid withdrawal of all of its military personnel from Iraq, beginning with the National Guard and Reserves?"

The Iraq issue has raised partisan hackles in a pivotal midterm election year, and the Aurora Township annual meeting featured the familiar rhetoric in addition to questions about the purpose of a local, nonbinding referendum on a national issue.

But, in the end, the participants unanimously agreed to put the question up to the voters, which Murphy, the Aurora Township supervisor, deemed a victory for direct democracy.

"I'm very surprised that townships wouldn't allow that to be put on the ballot," said Murphy, a Democrat. "That's anti-democratic to me, but maybe, by definition, it's republican."

One Buck Luck

DJ and I often stick our head into the 99cent store on our way home from The Steak Joynt to see if there are any good dog toys. There often are and we stock up or pick up a bag of tennis balls that will soon be tossed under the fence and out onto Cahuenga and into the gutter.

The other night we did just thus and, trying to hurry through because frankly the place stinks of ammonia and other cleaning agents, we came upon an end unit buttressed by stacks of wine cases. DJ stopped in his tracks and picked up a bottle. "Shit - this is pretty good stuff. We sell this at Topline [Wines]." I looked at him skeptically because really, that just can't be right. I've heard that you could occasionally find Pabst Blue Ribbon there but I wouldn't buy that if it were 9cents. (Yes, I can no longer put my money towards anything crappier than Miller Lite and I can't remember the last time I bought a six-pack anyway - though DJ bought one yesterday.....) BUT! I was convinced that for 99cents, this bottle of Maddalena (Paso Robles) Sauvingon Blanc would be worth a swallow. And it was. More than.

Knowing that just Topline alone pushes this stuff through for at least six times the price, and they price well under say, a Vendome - I went back tonight and bought a case. Not only that, but I noticed that the other brand that was next to the Maddalena was still highly stocked but the MSB was running dry, so to speak. The Word Is Out!

That's Toluca Lake for ya. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the next time I go to The Steak Joynt....

Back To Back

Oh well. Up and running. Yesterday slumdance.com and all websites associated with it were illegally shut down - which is currently being investigated by the FBI no less. When I was out on the road I got the phone call telling me the blog and all others were down. I was so tired yesterday that I was caught between a nostalgic sadness and a feeling of a weight being lifted from my shoulders. Of course I knew that Brian Flemming, being the wizard he is, it would be back in no time, but in what form? A year ago or so, it had crashed, then he got it back but it had lost all the photos - great ones of hellhouse and everything before it. This didn't seem to happen this time but come to think of it - those fundamentalists have a pretty strong network...

Anyway, as long as it is under investigation - thought I'd give a little shout out to the Feds. And I don't mean Brittany and Kevin.

Christain Dior

On this Sunday off to walk a couple goddam cute dogs, I pass my local Catholic Church with people piling in for Palm Sunday mass. Huh. I guess no one cares to dress for mass anymore. Literally there were a hundred people crossing the entrance in jeans and t-shirts. I'm sure this isn't a recent phenomenon, but it surprised me that folks that care enough to get to church would care enough to wear something other than the beer soaked jeans from the night before. This probably makes me sound as critical as the little old lady who was the only person I saw in church-wear. All I'm saying is, when I go to my churches - Runyon Canyon, Wrigley Field, The Getty, Musso & Frank, - I dress appropriately!

DW Production Diary

Had a Pow Wow last evening with two key participants in the movie. Really good ideas, I think, regarding their character development. Funny stuff. One of the guys is actually going to narrate the movie so we did some passes at accents that he is capable of and may use and we also went over the subject matter that he will improvise. Using some techniques from Nothing So Strange - and both these guys were involved in that film - they were briefed separately on the outline of their scene and where I want it to get with their input.
Scheduling the shooting of this scene however is proving a little more difficult.
The narrator said all he needs is 24 hour notice and I agreed and we toasted to it.
Real life, real job will be getting in the way of that for at least another week.
Time flies when you have no budget.
April 1, 2006
No joke.
Nora T. Wood