Early Warning

Your eyes will burn because for some reason E! is broadcasting the first episode of this crap commercial-free.

Big Boy Epilogue: Beware the Brawny Lad

With apologies for the epic length of the previous post, I still would like to offer this link, which I found at the bottom of the Bob's Big Boy Wikipedia page:

http://www.team188.com/features/brawny/

Next time you visit a Big Boy, consider yourself warned.

Cadillacs and Big Boys

I've got a soft spot for Bob's Big Boy restaurants. The food is nothing special, but I always liked the iconic Big Boy statue as a kid, and my late grandfather, who lived to be nearly a hundred, was a ordering his bacon and eggs from Frisch's, the midwestern Big Boy equivalent, well into his 90's. Until about a month ago, the greater LA area had at least three Big Boy restaurants. One in Glendale, one in Burbank, and one on Wilshire Blvd next to Lou Ehlers' Cadillac dealership. At the end of May, it was announced that the Big Boy on Wilshire had been served with an eviction notice to make way for a new BMW showroom. If you ask me, Los Angeles isn't exactly suffering from a BMW shortage, but I digress. I was sorry to see the Big Boy go, and I comiserated with a coworker of mine, who lived in the area and liked to pop over to Bob's for a chocolate malt now and then. This same coworker called me near the end of my workday yesterday to tell me that the former Bob's Big Boy was about to vanish from the earth, and that someone had spray painted some things on the building. He suggested that if I had a camera that I might want to stop by there after work and try to get some shots before it disappeared. This seemed like a good idea to me, so I grabbed my cellphone camera (source of most of the photos here on whatmakesjeffyrun) and walked the seven blocks from CEG headquarters down to Bob's. First thing's first, I took a shot of the friendly Big Boy retaurant sign:

Next I turned to the shell of the restaurant itself, which had been surrounded by chain link fence. My favorite shot that I took from outside of the fence sums up the situation nicely:

Suddenly I realized that I wasn't alone. A man who looked to be in his early 40's approached and expressed his outrage over the situation. He had also come to take some photos and asked me if I wanted to hop the fence and look around inside. I wasn't so sure, but I did want to get a closer look, so I agreed. Shifting into commando mode, we scaled a phone booth and hopped the fence to pay our last respects to the Big Boy. Once we were inside, "Dante" (he swore that was his birthname, and who am I to argue?) began scavenging for souvenirs, all the while ranting about how unfair the whole thing was. Meanwhile, I set about getting some more photos for posterity. It was clear that whoever had visited before us had a pretty good idea of who deserved the blame:

Whatever had happened, it was obvious that the place had been cleared out in a hurry. All the windows were broken, the floor was covered in broken glass, and they hadn't even bothered to get all the foodstuffs out of the kitchen:

After a while I started to get nervous that the cops might show up, or worse, that Dante might decide for some reason to pick up a shard of glass from the Big Boy floor and slit my throat. I probably misjudged him, though, because when I said I had to go, he offered to help me back over the fence. Soon I was back on the Wilshire side of the fence. I turned to go, but Dante stopped me one last time. He began rummaging around for something in the bushes. For some reason, I waited, and that's when Dante did something kind of great. He reached down in the bushes and pulled out a glass bowl of Bob's Big Boy rolls, wrapped in cellophane. Like some sort of ancient rite of diners, he lifted the bowl over the fence and set it down on top of the phone booth. "I just thought it would be cute," he explained. I had to agree.

Best Shark Week Ever

As most of you are doubtless aware, yesterday marked the beginning of Discovery channel's annual Shark week, where we are reminded every night that we should stay out of the ocean because it's filled with ruthless prehistoric killing machines. Sadly, if reports are to be believed, a certain popular media personality failed to heed the warnings and decided to take a swim, with predictable results:

http://www.usmagazine.com/Ryan-Seacrest-I-Was-Bit-by-a-Shark

Some have claimed that this is part of a top secret deal between Mr. Seacrest and Discovery Channel to boost Shark Week ratings, but my sources indicate otherwise. In fact, the attack was much more serious than Seacrest and the media have led us to believe, and the American Idol host has been suffering some unfortunate after effects: I don't even know how to use photoshop. I swear.

Requiem for an Imperial Pint Glass

I broke my favorite glass the other night. And we're not talking cracked at lip, or nicked in such a way that it might still be usable. We're talking shattered. Smashed into so many jagged pieces that at first it seemed like it would be impossible to clean up without slicing myself to ribbons. In the middle of a Presidential election, looming terror threats, and the continued existence of America's Got Talent, this may seem like small potatoes, but I was still sorry to see it go. First of all, the Imperial Pint glass is superior to its American cousin because it's bigger. (20 oz vs 16 oz) As a result of this, you don't see them much in bars in the U.S. Some bars, though will serve draught Guinness in them, most likely because Guinness has provided them for promotional purposes. One such bar, Schuba's Tavern in Chicago, is a place I used to go from time to time. (http://www.schubas.com/, if you happen to be in the neighborhood) Schuba's is primarily known as a great place to see up and coming bands these days, but it's a bar that dates back to 1903, as evidenced by the old school Schlitz sign carved out of the building's stone facade. One night, back in the late 20th century when I was living in the Windy City, I was out at Schuba's with some folks, seeing a band and having some Guinness. After a couple of pints had produced a healthy buzz, I made the decision that the Imperial pint glass in my hand was coming home with me. Juvenile, I realize, but I had made my decision, and at the end of the night I succesfully executed the plan. (It helped that Chicago is cold and people tend to wear very large coats.) That imperial pint glass had a long and storied life. It moved with me through 4 Chicago apartments, and survived a 2,000 mile drive to Los Angeles back in the summer of 2005. At some point during that time, the people at Guinness decided to spruce up their logo a bit, making my glass with the old logo (one like it is pictured above) even cooler. Just last year, my friend Bailey and I started brewing beer in my Beachwood apartment, and the Imperial pint glass was perfect for enjoying one of our 22 oz bottles. You could fill that glass all the way to the top and still have a couple of ounces left over. Maybe the next step is for Steverson Brewing to make up some Imperial pints of our own. Slainte, Guinness glass. Last call.

Update:
Sadly it appears that a couple of pieces of this glass found their way into our garbage disposal, which is now clogged.

What's Right with the Emmys

I'm reluctant to be yet another writer who proclaims that Mad Men is the best show you're not watching, but if my circle of friends is any indication, it's probably still true. Much to my surprise, however, the membership of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is a different story. Mad Men recieved a staggering 15 Emmy nominations yesterday, with recognition across a wide spectrum of categories from acting (Jon Hamm, John Slattery) to cinematography (Phil Abraham.) This drama about Madison Avenue adverstising executives in 1960's New York is easily one of the best shows of the decade, and it's just getting warmed up. If you still haven't seen this show, now's the perfect time to get up to speed. Time Warner, our one and only choice for cable television in Los Angeles, has all the episodes of season 1 on demand through the end of July. After you've seen a couple, you probably want to follow my lead and purchase season one on DVD. Look at that zippo box. You know you want it. Season two starts July 27th at 10:00 on AMC. Oh, and one final note. The only show that received more Emmy nominations that Mad Men? NBC's hilarious 30 Rock, with 17! There may yet be hope for our culture.

What's Wrong with The Emmys

I think this post marks the most I've ever done in a single day. Thanks to my annoying proximity to an edit bay for E! News Now, I've had to listen to this little nugget ad nauseum:

"E's own Ryan Seacrest snagged a nom for his work on American Idol." Is this a new category? Annoying host of annoying reality competition program? Howie Mandel is also up for "Deal or No Deal", so get ready to reach for your revolver no matter who takes the prize.

The Finer Points of LA: Part Three

This was taken at a restaurant in Old Town Pasadena while I was at the Raveonettes show. All I can say is...Finally.

The Finer Points of LA: Part Two

While "chubby funster" Ricky Gervais (nickname supplied by British tabloids), also had New York City on his brief tour itinerary, Danish rock duo The Raveonettes picked the Make Music Festival in Pasadena June 21st as their only North American appearance of the summer. For the uninitiated, the Raveonettes combine close two part harmonies with fuzzy distortion guitars, with catchy and sexy results. If you don't believe me, check out their latest album, the aptly titled LUST LUST LUST. Adding interest to this performance was the fact that the Raveonettes usual singer Sharin Foo was pregnant and was replaced by her sister! They sounded great, and I was glad I made the trek, even though the show was at 5:00 in the afternoon and if it was easily a 100 degrees in Old Town Pasadena that day. For the record, I also travelled to this event via the Metro Red and Gold Line trains.

The Finer Points of LA: Part One

Most would agree that Los Angeles is far from perfect. For every ray of sunshine there's a traffic jam, for every Malibu beach house, there's a wildfire or a mudslide ready to destroy it. But there are also a lot of things you can do here that you can't do anywhere else. For example, if you have a craving this summer to enjoy the stand up comedy stylings of Ricky Gervais, it helps to live in LA. On July 11th and 12th, the creator of the original BBC version of "The Office" and "Extras" played two sold out nights at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. These shows were announced last December, but for some silly reason I didn't manage to get tickets until the week before. (This in spite of the fact that I live so close to the Kodak that I can actually take the Red Line subway to get there.) But we managed to get two tickets (3rd Mezzanine), and arrived just in time for the hilarity to ensue. I'd actually heard quite a bit of the material before, because Ricky recycled a lot of material from "Animals" and "Politics", his previous BBC specials, but it's still great material, and it's always more fun to see it done live. Plus, if we hadn't gone, we'd have missed the opportunity to see this:

For those of you non-Angelenos out there, fear not; HBO was in the house filming the act for a future special.

Be careful what you wish for ARCO

This photo was taken at the ARCO station at the corner of Gower and Franklin in Hollywood. Last time I checked the signs at this station, regular unleaded was going for $4.49 a gallon. It occurs to me that it might benefit ARCO to suspend this ad campaign. Of course, I take the bus to work 90 % of the time so I don't really care what they do. I'm just sayin'...

Why I Need a New Job: Part 1

One of the joys of working for CEG is that you get the inside dope on what goes into creating the hard hitting programs that fill the airwaves of E!, Style, G4, etc. A prime example of this is the THS Newsletter, which is e-mailed company wide every time a new installment of E!'s award winning True Hollywood Story is produced. It took longer than I expected, but the latest episode, just in time for the release of The Dark Knight, is the sad story of Heath Ledger. I won't go off on a rant about how this kind of thing is exploitive or in dubious taste because let's face it, stories like Ledger's are the reason True Hollywood Story exists in the first place. I do, however, take issue with the following excerpt from the new THS newsletter, from which I will now quote:

Q. How Did you overcome the difficulties of producing this show?

A....In LA, my segment producer got an emotional interview with Verne "Mini Me" Troyer who worked with Heath on a film just before he died.

Ah, yes, Verne Troyer. I suddenly feel that the whole tragic tale has been put in perspective.