Lets Dance

Last night I watched the documentary "War Dance."

Set in civil war-ravaged Northern Uganda, this Best Documentary nominee for the 2008 Oscars follows the lives of three youngsters who attend school in a refugee camp and find hope through a rich tradition of song and dance. Coming from a world in which children are abducted from their families and forced to fight in the rebel army, these kids give it their all when they travel to the capital city to take part in the prestigious Kampala Music Festival.

It is such a beautifully shot film, and the colors are amazing. The movie goes back and forth between preparing for a music/dance festival and the children telling their stories. The stories will just break your heart. There is this one little boy who just stands out in the film and is so charismatic and musically talented. Like the other children he tells his story alone to the camera. Towards the end of his story he talks about a time the rebels forced him and some other children to kill innocent farmers with their hoes. It was horrifying. The child told the camera that he had never told his mother about it or anyone else because he didn't want to be known as a murder. He was so saddened and ashamed. At other points in the movie you can see how happy and kind everyone is at the refugee school. Then it goes back to a child talking about seeing their parents decapitated heads or being cut into pieces. It is really a tough movie to watch. One moment you are thinking that life and nature is so beautiful and everyone is basically good and then the next moment you hear the most disturbing acts of violence senselessly acted upon. I do recommend it but with warning.

Adore

I was listening to The Submarines album on my way to work today. It is really a great album and I recomend it to all. If I could fall in love with a lyric it would be from "Submarine Symphonika:

"Everybody deserves to be adored
Why would you settle for less
When the world gives you more?"

That is is just about the sweetest lyric ever, the whole song is pretty great.

Fugging Myself

I think I lost my damn mind when I went to the thrift store today. If I was a celebrity I would end up on gofugyourself.com all the time. I bought;
1. a blue pin stripe vest. I have never owned a vest in my life and I'm pretty sure that trend is dead. But it is cute!
2. a pair of high waisted print shorts. I don't own a any shorts nor anything high waisted. I love the print and it has cute wood buttons!
3. A very gaudy 80's dress with layers of ruffles, a loud print, and a bow on the back. I'm pretty sure I had a Barbie in the 80's with this exact dress.

I know these things are fug but I just can't help but love them.

See the Stone Set in your Eyes

I know it is an unpopular statement but regardless let me just say I am not a big U2 fan. I think some of their songs are alright but I was just never all that into them. This is not to say that I am judging the majority of you out there that LOVE them, they are fine just not my cup of tea. That is to say except the song "With or Without You." Now that song I can get behind, in fact it really effects me. Unfortunately my Monday night spin teacher loves to play this as her last song of the night for the last month or two. So after an hour of spinning I'm all happy and high on endorphins and then BAM, right back to sadness city when that song plays. For some reason I'm fine with the mindless god awful pop music they play. In fact it is better that way because it really helps with tuning your mind out and focusing on your body. What I'm not okay with is being physically exhausted and then having to hear the line repeated "and you give yourself away." That is when I start tearing up in class and that defeats the purpose of me even going to class. I'm starting to feel like I might of wrote about this before in my blog. I can't remember, but the teacher keeps doing it to me awwwww

Dr. Bonesaw

HA! this cracks me up to no end! I have been helping out a little bit on Brian's horror movie called "The Echo Game" this weekend. Well, there has been some free time to fuck around on set and this is the result, care of Psychic Bunny. hehe This might be my permanent facebook photo.

Need to Learn How to Think

I have put myself in some pretty hurtful situations unknowingly before. I should really get better at fully thinking my actions through before acting on them. No details on this post, it's just too humiliating to admit to. UGH, I can't wait for time to pass when painful things become funny in retrospect, it is always better to laugh because one's other options are never as appealing.

Fun with String

Elwood will NOT let me eat my string cheese in peace. He goes absolutely crazy. Kitties love string, even in cheese form!

Horsing Around

I was passing the Rio strip club driving home about a block from work. All of a sudden this dude in a horse drawn buggy charges in front of my car. The horse was going crazy and the guy had no control over him. Luckily I had room to swerve into another lane. I'm so glad today isn't the day I was killed from running into a horse and buggy in the middle of industrial Gardena, in front of a strip club. Though that obituary would be awesome!

Mr. Stubs

Went out to the bar with some friends tonight. But how can one stay out late when such a cute stub armed boy is waiting for you at home. Good lord, I'm glad Elwood isn't mine because surely I would fast become that crazy cat lady. He is such a sweet cat though.

A Moon of Honey

I am looking forward to this weekend, I need a good long sleep-in. I was just tired from the whole party weekend. I wonder how Lindsey and David are doing on their honeymoon. I always like to think about all the wonderful things my friends are seeing when they are away. I looked up the word "honeymoon" because I thought it was so pretty, I mean it combines two words that I love. Apparently the moon represents the first month and honey represents sweetness, so it means that the first month is the sweetest (maybe everyone else knew that but I never thought about it before). So while Lindsey and David are away I am taking care of the adorable Elwood M. Pudding in all his freakish stub arm glory. That cat cracks me up, he always looks confused. Last night Lawrence came by with the movie "Touch of Evil" that I missed seeing at the Hollywood Cemetery. That movie is hilarious, and surprisingly really pretty. Charlton Heston playing a Mexican will never stop being funny to me. I'm also pretty sure the skin on Orson Welles' face was attacking him, like the Blob.
Back to work this morning, I am dreaming of a vacation.

BEST WEDDING EVER EVER EVER!!!

I had such an amazing weekend in Lompoc for Lindsey and David's wedding. It was so beautiful and perfect. Without a doubt the nicest wedding I've ever been too. I can't wait to see the photographers millions of professional photos. I snapped very few photos. Here are a few that I took pre- and post wedding and some I stole from Ms. Lindsay.

We gots are hair did



We shove the bride in the back of the car. Eeeeeeeee, she is beautiful!!!



Lindsay took a photo of the amazing cake and my birdie cake topper I made



Me with my fancy hair and make-up, and my twin Laurel



We eat dinner in heaven!



So many fun times are had!

Etta Last

Holy Hell was Etta James awesome city at the Bowl last night! This was my favorite show of the year. That woman is amazing! She is 70 years old and so damn feisty and sexy. I was not even prepared. I thought she would be all glam and diva but she was funny and a little raunchy and just flat out amazing. I swayed along with the music and giggled at her naughtiness all night long. The first act was Paolo Nutini who was just adorable and talented. The second act was Solomon Burke who was so fat that he was just sat on his red velvet throne the whole time in a sparkly black suit. He had a guy dressed in all white whose only job consisted of wiping the sweat from Solomon's brow. There were a bunch of sexy black women back up singers all in shiny gold mini dresses. Then Etta who did some of her songs and some covers. I need to see if I can download her version of "A Lover is Forever" because it gave me chills, so beautiful. I feel so lucky to have been able to see such a legend.

A Sad Day for my Tummy

This is such a depressing day. Lindsey called me last night to tell me she went by Doughboys and they were closed. I thought surely they must have just moved again. I went on to their website to find that in fact they are closed for good. Doughboys has been my favorite restaurant sense I've lived in LA and one of the only ones I go to on a semi regular basis. They always seemed so busy too. I guess they still sell their red velvet cake by special order but where they hell am I going to get my staple porridge and Cameroon tea!?!? I just don't understand. I am a sad faced person today.

I went to their wedsite to get the whole story. This is even saddr now.What really happened to Doughboys
(as posted on www.doughboys.net)
I have heard many rumors about the state of Doughboys...what happened and why. But none of them even remotely accurate. I would like to set the record straight. And while it might seem a bit self-indulgent, it’s my website, and if I can’t do it here, where can I do it.
It began as a wholesale bakery with an eye towards evolving into a café and retail bakery. I opened Doughboys in February of 1992 with 2 employees (both bakers) and myself. The front of the space was used to store flour, the rear was the bakery. We began with two customers.
Towards the end of 1993, the restaurant adjacent to us became available. While I had no need of it at the time, I knew I would need it eventually if I was to expand. It was a fully equipped restaurant, complete with a walk-in refrigerator, stoves, ovens, and hood. I purchased the equipment from the owner, and signed a new lease. As is always the case when you take over a business, I was required bring the site up to current Building and Safety codes, as well as Health department codes. This involved submitting plans for necessary work and obtaining building permits, then completing the work and having it approved. We were required to upgrade our entire hood structure, including the exhaust and make up air system. That had to be approved by the Mechanical division of Building and Safety. It was. Then, the fire suppression system upgrades that needed to be approved by the Los Angeles Fire Department. They were. We made plumbing changes, repairs and upgrades with plans being submitted and the work being approved by the Plumbing division of Building and Safety. There were repairs to the tiles, walls, refrigeration units, and many other things required for Health Department approval. All of this was done legally. We even have a stamped, approved set of plans issued by the Industrial Waste Department acknowledging both addresses as one. Eventually, over time, Doughboys evolved into the bakery and café I had hoped for. It took many years, much work, and the help of a wonderful staff, many of whom have been with me for years.
Within the last few years, as 3rd street has grown, some members of the Wilshire homeowners association have expressed concern over the parking situation, noise, and general congestion in the area. Their concern is certainly legitimate. Most of the homeowners are communicating with local business owners directly, with mutual respect and understanding. They have regular meetings where they discuss possible solutions. However, a very small minority of the homeowners directly behind some of the restaurants have chosen to take a different course. In our case, there were many calls to the Department of Building and Safety, our councilman's office, the police, Health Department, and other agencies. Police officers and officials from their respective offices responded to every call, and almost all were deemed “no violation”. The police in particular, never cited one incident in which we violated any law or civil code. A Lawsuit brought by our immediate neighbor to the south for excessive noise was thrown out after the many hours of recordings and videotape furnished by the neighbor prompted the judge to declare that all he really heard were police helicopters. The Health Department was called with every conceivable allegation. Almost all visits by the inspector (there were 12 to 13 in a period of 8 weeks, normally there are 4 visits per year) turned up “no violation”. And things that were found needing attention received it immediately. Since letter grades were initiated in Los Angeles County, the majority of ours have been “A” ratings. This prompted one inspector to suggest we try to do something about the “harassment” by our neighbor.
And while the many calls to the Department of Building and Safety alleging illegal construction proved false, it ultimately prompted an investigation into the 2 spaces we occupied. The original one and the one we took over later. As it turned out, the “restaurant” we acquired in 1993 had never changed its zoning status, as would have been required, to convert its use from “retail” to “restaurant” use by its owner. This is an important distinction because there are different requirements in parking, plumbing, electrical, and so on for all zoning, such as industrial, residential, mixed use, commercial, restaurant, and on and on. This also meant he had been operating illegally. And it also meant that after all these years, when they insisted I convert its use, it was unlikely I would be able to due to the current codes which change year to year. I obviously resisted just closing my business and continued to search for a solution. This was a long and tedious search involving many people. And it took quite a long time. So long, in fact, that I was fined several times, and was ultimately charged with criminal prosecution for non-compliance. There is currently a warrant out for my arrest. I was told by the city attorney that to dispose of the criminal matter, I would need to obtain a building permit to show we were officially on the way to compliance.
Surprisingly, my architect, with my landlords help and support, was actually able to design a plan that would satisfy ALL code requirements and bring the space into complete compliance with the laws. This included the fire codes resulting from joining the two spaces. It was sufficient to the extent that we were granted a building permit. This would allow us to begin the work needed to come into full compliance, and remain a café. It should have also resolved the criminal matter. Every penny available to me, including the refinancing of my home, the virtual draining of funds from our Highland location, and money and work from friends, was used for the work needing to be done. Over $100,000 was spent on construction. As we neared completion, and were 4 to 5 weeks away from what we hoped would be our final inspection, our building permit was revoked. When a senior Building and Safety inspector was contacted by my architect, he was told that the inspector who approved the permit made a “mistake” and overlooked some things.
My architect promptly went to work addressing those “things”, and discussed them with the senior inspector. One by one, each item was resolved to the satisfaction of the inspector. A “supplemental permit”, was issued allowing us to continue. But that too was promptly revoked, with the same supervisor unable to say why. He could only say that it was sent “upstairs”. We were eventually led to our city councilman, Jack Weiss. In support of Doughboys, my landlord insisted on a meeting with the councilman’s assistants, senior members of the Department of Building and Safety, himself, his lawyers (at his own expense), and my architect. He also carried with him a petition with the names of over 600 local residents (all in Mr. Weiss’s district) in support of Doughboys, which were obtained by many of our staff, on their own time, and wanting only to support us. The meeting ultimately failed to resolve the problem, the petition was ignored, with one of Mr. Weiss’s assistants referring to the complaints of several neighbors (one in particular, she said, called every day without fail) and the pressure they were putting on Mr. Weiss. The end result was that the space in question could NOT be used as a restaurant. That effectively closed Doughboys for good. And for good measure, that member of the councilman’s staff said to my landlord, “he really needs to take care of that criminal matter”. This was the criminal matter that was to be disposed of upon our receipt of a building permit.
16 years of work, 40 people put out of work, hundreds of thousands of dollars lost, our bakery, as well as our new mail order business (which began after our Red Velvet cake was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show), all lost. And then there’s the sadness of being forced to leave the neighborhood in which I worked for so long and the neighbors I had come to know. Some we knew for years, and watched their children grow up. It has also removed me from the day to day involvement of our highland location. This, and the financial condition in which I was left, led to difficulties which ultimately forced the closure of that location as well. And months after the actual closing, I am still discovering new issues resulting from it. Multiple lawsuits, accusations of dishonesty, and indifference to the many people who helped build the company, and the continuing drama of the criminal charge, which, after losing everything, is still unresolved. I’m still a criminal. There have been many suppliers and trades people with whom I’ve worked over the years, many of them small companies and many of them close friends, who have been affected as well.
But By far the worst however, was the loss of, and the inability to pay many of the employees who had worked for me so long. These were the people responsible for the growth of doughboys. No one person can build a company by himself. Many successful business people with tell you they became that way by hiring people smarter and more talented than they are. Such was certainly the case with me. Some have been with me for up to 14 years. One started when he was 17 (he lied about his age). This was the only job he had ever had. Over the years, I watched them date, marry, have children (some of whom were even brought by the restaurant on their way home from the hospital so everyone could see them), bury close friends and family members, and all the other things that families and friends do. At our Christmas parties, we would count how many babies had been born that year (one year I believe it was 7 or 8). These people all trusted me to fulfill my part of the bargain. They worked; I would pay them for their work. And when I was forced to close, and unable to completely fulfill my part of the bargain, there were several responses...all of them incredibly painful. No one really understood how it happened, nor did they especially want or need to. There were some who thought I planned it, and just took their money and ran. Some didn’t really think about it much, they were just trying to figure out how they were going to pay their rent. Some tried to offer solace, and just thanked me for the time we had. Many of these employees asked to be contacted if I was ever going to re-open, so they could come back to work. A couple of them even asked me if there was anything they could do to help me; if I needed to borrow some money (I’m not sure I would ever be able to describe how that felt). Some were very angry and threatening, understandably, and wanted to know how I could be so irresponsible. A legitimate question, I think. One I’ve struggled with, but have no idea how to answer. They say hindsight is 20/20. If only! And there are many who won’t speak to me at all, or return my phone calls. But whatever their reaction, I’m sure there were many who just thought I didn’t really care. I did.
It is unlikely anyone could fully recover from this experience. Financially, maybe. Could anyone recover emotionally? Well, I can only speak for myself. I won’t. And it’s still extremely difficult to understand how this could happen, and to accept this loss. What was my role? Could I have done something differently; something that would have altered the outcome? Doughboys has dominated over a third of my life. Think about it...one third of a life’s work; gone. Is it gone forever or can it be rebuilt? And if so, what would I do differently? And would I be able to avoid the same mistakes and errors in judgment? Would the staff ever forgive me for breaking our contract, or consider working with me again? The fallout is likely to continue for some time, and there are many unresolved issues. And there are taxes to be dealt with, vendor lawsuits to fight (or acquiesce to), and personal matters that, previously ignored, will at some point have to be addressed if at all possible.
But I will make every effort to recover. I promise myself every day I will keep trying to find a way to repay those who have lost as a result of all this. And I truly believe I will. And I hope I can restore the name and reputation everyone at Doughboys worked so hard to get.
So, regarding the rumors that continue to circulate, the people who start them, the people who believe them, and even the people who couldn’t care less, my goal here was simply to tell the true story. I am not trying to change anyone’s mind, or convince anyone I’m a wonderful guy. This is no marketing ploy, or sympathy plea. Like all people, there are those who like me, and those who don’t. And no matter what I do, I will always have both. Ultimately, my conscience will allow me to sleep at night or not.
Good Night
Frank Waldman

Summer Lovin' It

Another great summer weekend came and went. On Friday night I went over to Corinne's for a party. I knew she had a pool so I brought my suit and towel. I was very glad I did because the water and the summer night air was amazingly refreshing. On Saturday I went to the cemetery screening of Sixteen Candles with Amanda, Erin, Erin's roommate, and Dan. Amanda spotted the tall blonde actress from all the Christopher Guest movies in line. On Sunday morning I headed over to the Rose Bowl flea market. I was there from 9 till 1 until it became so hot that I thought I was going to pass out. I bought only two dresses. One dress is green with flower embroidery on the hem (I'm wearing it today and it is on my flickr page if you want to see it) and the other was a little vintage yellow sundress that is a bit too little and I need to let out at the waist a bit. After the Rose Bowl I went to Rudy's to get a trim so my hair would be fresh and healthy for Lindsey's wedding next weekend. The hairdresser cut too much off and I am pretty bummed about it. I wish I hadn't gone at all and then my hair would have been longer for the event. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now so I will just suck it up. Then yesterday evening I stayed in read and watched my Netfliks. It was a delightful and happy weekend.

Babbydidabadbadthing BA-DA-DA-DA

I totally forgot about this video until I was reading about the sexist music videos on nerve. Could Laetitia Casta be any hotter? I say not. Now this song is going to be in my head.

Cuppy Cake

Oh My God! I was looking through this cooking magazine someone left out at work and there is a recipe for Key Lime Cupcakes. I ripped it out. I can't wait to try it. YUM!

I'm Like a Saint or Something

Why can't I remeber to pay my bills? It isn't hard, in fact it is very easy to pay your bills. One more thing to make me feel like I will never be an adult. Even though I don't like automatic payment I'm signing myself up for almost all my bills to be paid that way today. Bonus points for cutting out all that paper and being better for the environment. It is sort of like how being a vegetarian is better on the environment and has bonus ethical rewards even though I really just became one because I hate the taste. I am totally fighting the good fight for completely selfish and lazy reasons that have nothing to do with me making a stand of sacrificing anything.

To Dye For

I finally gave into the advertising machine. I have been seeing this ScarJo add in every magazine and I always think, 'damn, I really like her hair and make-up there.' I've been needing to dye my hair because I have giant roots and haven't dyed it for awhile. So I went out and purposely bought this color dye from this ad. I have to say I really like he color, though it did not magically turn me into Scarlet haha I don't think anyone can actually tell that I dyed my hair though.

What day is It?

Life is better when you are wearing a brand new swanky green hat. Today is fancy hat day in my world.

On the Down Low

This has been a lovely weekend mixed with things to do and some much needed down time. On Friday night we had a pretty large group go to The Joker. I just love dive bars! Yesterday I rolled out of bed and walked over to the theater to watch The Dark Night. The rest of the day I walked all around town to Target, the bank, the coffee shop, and Goodwill. In the evening I went over to Little Bar for trivia. Our team one by 1 point. This time I actually contributed some knowledge to trivia, hooray I am not just an extra body, I am an extra MIND! I love that I don't really have plans today, it is nice. I just finished watching Darkon which is a pretty funny little documentary.

Work It

We had a little goodbye party for our intern today. Thought I'd share a group shot.

Dream On

I have been having some bad dreams lately but last night I had a full on nightmare. I won't get into it but it was like a horror sci-fi movie which in retrospect is kinda cool if I hadn't been so frightened, sad, and hopeless the whole dream. I was woken to the sound of screaming, crying, and hitting. I thought it was still my dream but it was my neighbors having some sort of fight at 3 in the morning. Delightful

Apart from that I had a lovely evening in the Valley for Jesse's birthday at Sr. Fred's. Tasty Mexican food and wonderful ladies!