Meatwad got the money, see -- Meatwad got the honeys, see... All Hail the Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Yeah. For those of you not in the know yet, the Cartoon Network has a seriously twisted lineup of seriously twisted cartoons every night at 11pm called Adult Swim -- among my favorites are the Aqua Teens and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Check 'em out -- you won't be disappointed.

I have finally been initiated -- I got my first parking ticket in L.A. yesterday. Stupidity on my part, really -- forgot to move my car for the street cleaner. Oh well, I feel like I live here now...

So I left you dangling without so much as a celeb name drop earlier -- my bad. Here goes -- over the last week, we've seen Pete & Bridget again, Chris Cornell (whose daughter is a complete doll), Bruce Willis (who stopped in merely to use the facilities -- I didn't see him personally), Brandy with her beautiful little girl and what seemed like her entire family, Mary-Kate Olsen (yes, she actually ate something), Ron Jeremy (rock ON), and Jessica Simpson. Whew!

I realized something today -- earlier when I said I could see the Hollywood sign from my walk to work, well, that wasn't true. Evidently, I've been looking at some rich guy's house in the hills, not the Hollywood sign. But, for artistic purposes, pretend I walk to work every day in the dewy sun, my face upturned, gazing at the future I desire. Good? Remember this is my reality, you're just visiting. :)

First session with the [personal trainer today.... OUCH. It's amazing how you can think you're in shape, and so quickly you realize you're pretty much a slug. I hope I live through Saturday's session.

A lot of things happening in my life right now - good, bad... mostly change... and change is almost always good, if you understand and accept it. Great quote from David this week: "there's a fine line between bitter and accurate." Funny as hell, that one.

Bought myself a DVD player today, and now I'm enjoying "Brain Candy" and the Aqua Teens... simple pleasures here. Of course, now I can use my yoga DVDs...

So who are you pulling for on American Idol, Diana or Fantasia? I was pulling for my Georgia gal, but I'm thinking Fantasia pulled it out tonight... just realized I was sitting in post-AI traffic at Hollywood & Highland after the gym tonight on my way to Amoeba Music (yea!!) -- trippy. It's just so bizarre that entertainment and reality coincide here... not sure sometimes where one begins and one ends.

My reality is always entertaining to me - isn't that enough?

A thought to ponder... I'll be back sooner, promise ;)

I've been busy... I thought about you, but I've just been soooo busy... buyin it? Didn't think so :) Ok, I promise not to stay away so long again. For real. Forgive me?

For those of you who've been following along and have gone back to re-read some of my inspirational literature, you may have noticed a little revisionist history on my part. It's true, but this here is my little world, and I get to choose my own reality. Deal with it.

Anyay, there's a bunch of stuff to tell you!! First off, I went to my first Dodger game -- Dodgers vs. the Cubbies at Dodger Stadium!! What a thrill -- I just love Major League Baseball, don't you? We had the cheap seats (most ballparks have seats for $5-$7 now -- less than the first beer) - awaaaaaaayyyy up in the heavens. I swear, I thought I was going to trip on the stairs and end up in right field. It was incredibly cool, tho -- spent a great evening with a bunch of friends from work. Can't wait for the Braves to come in August -- I'm there!!

I've decided there must be a retirement community for 80's musicians down the street from my restaurant. This week I realized the artsy dude who frequents the bar is none other than one John Waite, of "Missing You" fame -- one of my most favorite 80's tunes of all time (and painfully remade by Tina Turner).

It's been a pretty active week here celebrity-wise. So far Dan Cortese, Marissa Winokur (Tony winner for "Hairspray")and Josh Duhamel ("Win a Date With Tad Hamilton") have stopped by. Actually, it seems Mr. Duhamel used to work in my restaurant before fame came a-knocking. Speaking of former employees, the sister of a former waitress stopped by with her husband last night -- one Bridget Wilson and Pete Sampras. Even more fun than peeking at Pete (he's just too cute) was listening to the guys in the bar talk about his bald spot - jealous anyone? :)

So, this Hollywood thing is not so easy. Not that I thought it would be - I'm sure if it were, everyone would be doing it. Walking to work the other day, however, I noticed something curious... If I walk with my head down, beating myself up, all I see are cracks in the sidewalk. If I hold my head up, I can see the Hollywood sign in the distance. The distance is a lot shorter than it used to be.

If you're a celebrity from the early 80's and everyone around you was born in the early 80's and has no earthly clue who you are, are you still a celebrity?

Back on the Byron Allen thing again. Nice guy, tho.

It takes two to make a thing go right... it takes two to make it outtasight --- ok, I guess 80's music is the theme of the month, as Kid from Kid-n-Play made an appearance today (guess he comes in a lot) -- I remember Amy & I at the Club MTV tour dancin that silly K&P hook-feet dance to the JumboTron... too much fun. Yes, I saw the Club MTV tour featuring one Paula Abdul, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Information Society (rocked!), and.... yes, I'm admitting this in a semi-public forum, Milli Vanilli. I'm pretty convinced they ALL lipsynched that night. Ahem.

Anyway, today was chock-full-o celebrity fun. In my post-Friends depression I was quite thrilled to see none other than Michael Gross. Now here's a name for everyone - he was the comforting father Steven Keaton on "Family Ties," and is now featured as John Carter's (Noah Wylie) father on "ER" (great episode last night, eh?). Wow - what an actor.

In addition, Steve Harvey dropped by for some spinach dip in his famous hat. Ok, I'm sure he has more than one hat. I'm sure he has several. You know what I mean.

Not much else to report today -- I'm knee-deep in HTML and website building. Trying to figure out how to use the FTP.... grrrrrrrr......

Do I see Lakers and other sports stars? Yes, I do. Do I know their names so you can get all excited? No, I do not.

So, to quench your thirst for celebrity today, I will recount all the fine folks I saw & used to see a lot in Atlanta: Chili, T-Boz and Lisa Lopez from TLC, Usher, Toni Braxton, Jermaine Dupree (didn't actually ever see Janet - sorry), Michael Jordan, Michael Vick, any number of Braves and Falcons, Charles Barkley (a regular in my bar), Cuba Gooding, Jr., Hillary Duff, Emmanuel Lewis, Elton John (and most of his staff, including my friend Paul - his hairstylist who quit when a "wig master" was finally required), Paul Stanley from KISS, the Prime Minister of Ireland, Big Boi and Andre from OutKast, BowWow (when he was still "Lil"), Jimmy Carter, Jane Fonda (who literally ran into me at a bookstore while waiting to meet Tom Wolfe), Dennis Rodman, Magic Johnson..... and I'm sure a bunch more I can't remember right now.

Feel better? I knew you would. :)

So it's been a few days -- sorry, won't let it happen again :) Not a lot of celeb activity this weekend... however, last week one Xibit from Mtv's "Pimp My Ride" (or something like that) came in to dine -- somebody had to point him out to me, as I was not aware of his apparent celebrity status. Ahem. That same night brought Mila Kunis (Jackie on "That 70's Show") -- I heard that voice and knew her immediately! Can't help it -- I'm a huge fan of that show :)

I forgot something when recalling my "Price is Right" experience -- normally shows have a warmup act to get the audience wild and excited. In this case, the CBS pages danced up and down the aisles to a dance remix of "The Price is Right" theme... WITH LYRICS. Truly a sign of the apocalypse.

Yesterday I went to the movies for the first time in L.A., and spent $10.50 on my ticket. That's TEN-FIFTY. For my European friends, that's Ten Dollars Fifty. Any way you say it, it's a crapload to pay for a bad movie (luckily, I saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - which is not a crappy movie). When my film comes out, just remember, you're paying to see ME on the big screen -- I'll be happy to pack you a nutritious snack so you still have money left for your ticket :)

Remember back when I was complaining about the cold weather? Although I'm not a huge fan of the cold, I'm sure wishing we had air conditioning in this 95-degree heat... at least it cools off pretty nicely in the evenings (much like Michigan -- not the sweltering nights in Atlanta).
Another thing sucky about Atlanta? No happy hours -- I'm off to margarita madness at Acapulco!

Cheers!