Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical Giveaway

Now that we have the winner for The Yo Gabba Gabba concert, I have another fun show to give tickets to, coincidentally on the same day Nov. 15th. These are 2 tickets for the 5pm show of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical, at The Pantages here in Los Angeles.

Just like before all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, make sure you leave contact info. Anonymous comments can not win. One entry per household please.

I'll announce the winner on Tuesday November 24 at 1pm pt.

Good Luck.

Matt Weiner Interview Tonight

I'm so excited!! I just found out I'll be going to an interview with Matt Weiner tonight. I'm trying really hard not to turn this into an all Mad Men Blog, but I wanted to let people know. I think there will be a Q&A part and I need intelligent questions. So please leave any questions you have in the comments. I'll pick the one I can pronounce. I'll try to take some pictures and video if possible.
Thanks for your help!

UPDATE: INTERVIEW NOTES



Last nights interview was so great. Mary Melton of Los Angeles Magazine conducted the interview and asked all the right questions. I took as many notes as I could So here it all is.

Her first question was about how Mad Men came to him.
His answer was long but I'll give you what I got. His parents were The Drapers age, and came through the 60's slightly radicalized. They were pre-baby boomers. While his parents are not Don and Betty they are a bit like them. He also talked about how the popular show of his youth were Happy Days and MASH all of the late 50's early 60's period.

Which character came first?
He answered this by saying that the first line was "I'm not going to let a women talk to me like that."

From here we branched off on to how this world of sexism/racism lasted into the
80's. He said that the line "Adding money and education doesn't take the rude edge away from people" that Pete delivers referring to jews, was something he actually over heard while teaching in private school in LA.

This all came back around to the premise of the show. No matter how sucessful you are, what kind of family, or riches you acheive, there is still a feeling of, is this all there is. Dissatisfaction.

Conformity
How this country is based on conforming. Our grandparents wanted to learn english and loose their accents. It's still that way right or wrong.

Talking about Pete
He is the most truthful, unedited person and always on the edge of a tantrum.

Talking about Don
Don's talent is being open to others and being a conduit

Talking about Joan
Is sure of what she knows. Confident. Matt said that she went through with the marriage to the doctor even after he raped her. She thought she was getting one thing but it was all false advertising.

Talking about Betty
She stayed with Don to see if the baby would save their marriage. But it hasn't.

Talking about Suzanne
Matt was shocked that people thought she was going to tell Betty about the affair with Don.

Talking about Sally
The actress is 9 years old and amazing. Sally is an entry point for many viewers, as they were her age in the early 60's.

Talking about critisism of Betty's parenting
Matt kind of laughed and said that it is basically how his parents raised him and most people of that generation were raised that way too.

On Grandpa Gene
The entire death scene of grandpa Gene happened to Matt. His grandfather died in a Sees Candy shop while Matt was at Hebrew school. He waited for him to pick him up and then walked home. Even the police man coming to the door happened.

Betty and the priest
The priest was in love with Betty but he choose to stay with the church. He was a priest and that is all there is.

Finally, I asked when the next season would start and that there was a rumor it would come back in January. He said it takes a really long time and there is no way it will be back before August. I told him he was breaking my heart.

Christina Hendricks/Joan was there too, though she just sat in the audience, I talked to her after and she couldn't have been sweeter.

Yo Gabba Gabba concert Giveaway

WOOHOO!!! Your kids are going to freak out if you win this one.
I have 4 tickets to giveaway for the Yo Gabba Gabba concert on November 15th at 3pm at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

For all the show details check the Yo Gabba Gabba site

Just leave a comment and you are entered. I'll choose a winner with Random.org this Friday Nov. 6.
Good Luck!

Here's a little clip of Yo Gabba Gabba, just in case some of you have missed out on this crazy fun show.



We have a winner #2 Mommy toolbox

Mad Men Wrap Up

Wow!! It was tragic to watch the world come crashing down on our Mad Men. I loved the opening. The heat isn't working in the building, it's terribly cold. Pete is curled in the fetal position on the couch, and Hildy bring him a cup of cocoa. He complains that it's instant/fake. Could it be that it's a cold world and we only have our fake cocoa to keep us warm. The scene ends with Hildy telling Pete that the building will fix the temperature "they always do". I think they are about to find out that nobody is fixing anything anymore. Just to add insult to injury the building does fix the cold and replaces it with blazing hot. Out of the ice box and into the fire (foreshadowing).
Now on to the specifics. What is going on with Roger and Jane. What was with that comment "are you going to commit suicide?" Has she been holding that over him. Between that and him bringing her home from another society event 3 sheets to the wind, I don't see this marriage lasting. On the bright side Joan and Roger seem to be checking in with one another here and there. Maybe, if Joan's rapist husband is killed by his own troop in basic training, and Jane gets written off we can have Joan back as Rogers new wife...or whatever.
Pete and his wife looked primed to join the beat generation.Peggy and her roommate are the queens of passive aggressiveness. Peggy and Duck seem like they've settled into some kind relationship.
Finally, Don and Betty, will Betty really leave Don for Henry. She told Don she doesn't love him anymore, but she stopped short of saying she wanted a divorce. The episode closed with Don looking positively destroyed. Like the rest of the characters, he has done everything, and then some, to achieve the kind of life that everyone is suppose to want and it has not worked out. I think the Kennedy assassination was the vase over the head to the entire nation.

Things are not going to be fixed, or OK and no one can say or pretend "This Didn't Happen".

I can't wait to see how they wrap up the season next week. Is it Sunday yet?

Johnny Mercer on TCM

TCM is doing a tribute to Johnny Mercer to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth. It kicks off this Wednesday at 8pm et, with a documentary by Clint Eastwood(who made the film about Mercer, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil {I'm wrong, as usual, Midnight is about a murder that happened in Mercer's house after his death}). Then they will be showing films that feature Mercers music, check here for listings.
The people at TCM sent me the documentary and in watching it I saw an amazing dance number with Ruby Keeler, dancing to Mercers Just Too Marvelous, on a typewriter keyboard in a movie called Ready, Willing and Able. I definitely want to catch that one. It's on November 11 at 2:45am et. That will have to be tivo'd, but I gotta see it.
I love so many of Mercers songs if I had to pick one I think I would go with
Ac-cent-u-ate the Positive. I love that one it's so up beat. Although Mandy is Two sung by Billie Holiday reminds me of my father. One For My Baby is so mornful I kinda love that one too. So like I said I love a lot of Mercers songs. I bet you do too.
Don't miss all this good stuff, watch TCM Wed. in November!

Just in case you don't have a tivo here's that Typewriter number

John Fogerty on PBS

PBS has been so kind as to invite me to their Live By Request Series with John Fogerty.If you are not familiar with The Live By Request Series check out all the details here. We'll be live from The Shrine auditorium. Get you requests in. I'll be whrrling from the show, so keep an eye out for that.

Here are a few videos to get you in the mood!!! I'm totally excited.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

The wonderful people at Overture Films were kind enough to let me into a press preview screening of the new George Clooney film, The Men Who Stare at Goats. The title is kind of a mouth full, but I guess Return of the Jedi was taken. That will make sense when you see how often they call themselves Jedi in the movie. It opens nationwide November 6th, and I highly recommend you go see it at your earliest convenience.
The Chemistry between George Clooney and Ewan McGregor is great, Brad Pitt better watch his back or he might go the way of Mark Wahlberg.
The story is far fetched but based on a true story and as the opening of the film says, more of this is true than you would believe(or something like that, it's dark in theatres and hard to take notes).
The cast is stellar there's George and Ewan, but there are also Jeff Bridges (AKA the Dude) and Kevin Spacey. Seriously, people you can't go wrong here. It's my personal favorite, bizarre and funny, bizarrely funny, or funnily bizarre, anyway you cut it, it's a good time.



P.S. this is my pervy Clooney stalker comment. There is some of the film set in the past and Clooney wears this long haired wig(not like his real 80's long hair, on Roseanne) and he looks super hot.I know, I know he's always hot. I just had to get that off my chest...