Supersonic Rocket Ship... Facility

I've been in LA the last couple of days working on a shoot. No photos of the shoot to be posted here because that would be a big no no but I can tell you that we're working in a ginormous warehouse in a not so great neighborhood, and it's where they built at least one Apollo rocket. There's even an observation room in one of the walls where presidents and other government leaders would come to take a look at the enormous spaceships.

I'm lucky to be here with some really great people: the art director and his wife and baby. It's tough work times but at least we get a break for dinners.

Jose with little Santiago


Me, a different night, in Venice

Another great art director I've worked with, Slav, also on production

My old friend Andy who came to meet up. We like to take dramatic but blurry photos in LA restaurants.

A Tomales Bay Birthday Oystravaganza

When your loving lover has a birthday you want to make it as nice and fun and different and special as possible. When the camping trip we'd been trying to get together didn't work out, we went to Plan B, going to the farm at the Hog Island Oyster Company. We'd been thinking about also getting a bouncy castle or bouncy Twister game (inflated and everything) for the occasion, but ended up deciding that "bouncy" and "oysters" shouldn't go in the same sentence, much less in the same day.

A group of dear friends made the trek up to the Tomales Bay Oyster Company in Marshall. Although we weren't able to get a table there it was a blessing in disguise. Instead, we purchased 112 oysters and 20 clams, put them in bags full of ice, and took our party down the road to a secluded picnic table and grill overlooking a beach, which turned out to be much nicer.

Those friends initially timid of oysters came to embrace the pleasure of shucking and eating the fresh seafood, both raw and on the grill, much as I did on my first experience eating oysters straight from the sea farm.

The picnickers: Thrill, Rosie, Reid, me, Ross, Lindsay, Shannon and Johnny D.

Rosie brought an awesome Polaroid camera which captured the event in sweet style. You can see one of the photos here, at the Cabinet Shop blog.

Reid momentarily disappears in order to get the fire going.

Rosie eats a sausage.

Shannon and Johnny D.

This is your grill...

This is your grill a couple hours later, drunkity drunk drunk.

We ate all the oysters and most of the food we brought, and what we didn't get to the ravens took care of while we were away drunkenly frolicking on the beach.

The birthday boy. This photo is a visual metaphor for the events that next transpired, but ironically the beer was the only thing that the ravens didn't get to.

Johnny D.

Ross teasing Lindsay.

Lindsay's a happy girl in the sunshine.

Rosie and Shannon hanging out on the beach.

Brothers, Reid and Ross, wondering what happens next.

This was my second oyster picnic, (the first was our anniversary last year) and I think I'm starting to get a hang of what to bring to go with the oysters and make it a successful picnic.

List of what to bring:

• Crisp white wine
• Beer
• Lemons and Limes
• Hot Sauces (Tabasco and Tapatillo are my favorites)
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Chopped Shallots
• Salt and Pepper
• Brown bread
• Daddy Mack's Butter (see below)
• Pie
• Potato and Onion grill packets (if it's cold, it gives you something warm to eat. Chestnuts to roast were also good for that last time).
• Charcoal
• A Kitchen Towel and Shucking Knife

Both times I've made Daddy Mack's Oysters, a recipe from Allrecipes.com, which involves making a roll of seasoned butter in advance and putting a little slice of it on the oysters as they grill. It's been a big hit both times, for the oysters and for spreading on slices of bread. The birds seemed to really like it, too. It was all gone when we came back to the picnic table from the beach.

Mignonettes good for raw oysters:

• Minced shallots and red wine vinegar
• Lemon juice and Tabasco
• Lime juice and Tapatillo sauce
• Lime juice and black pepper

Toppings good for grilling oysters (don't shuck them first, grill til they open, then shuck and add seasonings):

• Daddy Mack's Butter
• Lemon juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt
• Lime juice and black pepper.
  

But there are endless possibilities!

The day was a lot of fun and when it started to get later and drunker, we took our satiated and happy selves home.

Mark and Patsy Tie the Knot

A week ago Reid, me, and the Jo-tel + friends all traveled down to LA to see Mark and Patsy get married. Hip E, their roommate, was the minister. He was ordained by atheists online. It was very sweet, very them, and you could see that each word had been very carefully chosen. It was a short but lovely ceremony.

We arrived Friday night and to start off the weekend met up with the other travelers at 100-to-1, the bar near our hotel (which was across the street from the Santa Anita race track). We karaoked to Bohemian Rhapsody.

Then Reid and I decided to take a drunken walk to Denny's. Everything is funny on a drunken walk, so this was HILARIOUS.

The next day was the wedding. Reid woke up with a very painful foot/ankle so we went to the pharmacy and bought him a cane that kind of went with his seersucker suit. People thought it was an accessory, and didn't really believe he was hurt. Later in the night it became a party toy for people lifting up skirts. But we'll get to that.

The ceremony was very sweet and Patsy looked beautiful.

A handsome group standing around after the ceremony.

Southern gentleman plus lemon tree.

Reid is too tall for this photo.

Thrill and Rosie.

Reid wore a flower to match my dress.

First dance

Hip E having a dance off with a particularly talented kid.

After the reception ended we went to a nearby bar and people got pretty smashed. So did a few glasses.
Enter cane as skirt-lifting tool.

The next day we drove into Westwood to meet up with some of Reid's friends. We walked around Westwood and UCLA and saw the best theater ever, the Fox, where they hold lots of movie premieres. There aren't a lot of single-show movie houses anymore. It's too bad. It's so fun to see a movie that way.

We went up to the Sculpture Garden at UCLA and saw the new Richard Serra piece and Reid played with this kinetic sculpture.

Reid, meet kinetic sculpture.

Kinetic sculpture, meet Reid.

We drove around Westwood a bit more and I showed him my old turf. This is the Treehouse, an unusual building with circular apartments in Westwood. It has a waterfall that runs through the center of the building.

Later that day we hung out with Thrill and Rosie in Santa Monica, who made us delicious buffalo wings from scratch.

Finally, it was Monday morning and time for us to beat the traffic. We picked up our car companions bearing Stan's donuts, the best donuts ever. If you haven't had a peanut butter and banana filled donut, you are missing out on life. My dentist actually recommended Stan's to me. True story.