Hollywood and Democratic Party Hosts Laugh Fest

The Montalban Theater near Hollywood and Vine rocked with music and laughter last night as the Democratic Party of Los Angeles County held a fundraiser "Stand Up And Vote." Master of Ceremonies, British comedian Eddie Izzard jumped about the stage punctuating introductions of the other talent with his signature routines outlining vast historical trends and the world as seen through animal eyes, ala Eddie.

Saturday Night Live’s Kevin Nealon,



comediennes Sarah Silverman (SNL and Comedy Central’s Sarah Silverman Show)



and Bravo reality show’s "My Life On the D-list", Kathy Griffin, all took their turn before the master of the evening, Robin Williams, entered the stage to standing ovation.

Robin is recently recovered from heart surgery. Looking fit and moving in classic William’s sashay, Robin described how they identified his faulty heart valve. "They do what’s called an angiogram where they go through your groin to get to your heart. It took ‘em years to figure this out when all they’d have to have done is ask any woman. Women have know for centuries that the way to a man’s heart if through his groin."





Eddie Izzard, Kevin Nealon & Kathy Griffin watch from backstage as Robin Willimas performs

The message of the night was to get the vote out—your arse off the couch and to the voting booth.

Queue wrapped around the block as attendees waited in anticipation of a stellar evening. Broad neon signs of neighbouring businesses bathed smiling laughing faces in their glow. Chit chat about politics filled the streets as press darted in and out of the crowd trying to capture the electricity of the crowd on film. Satellite van, door open exposing a bank of screens parked directly across the street as onlookers craned their necks in appraisal.

What other place on the planet can a Wednesday night turn into a glittering fairy tale of celebrity and fun?

I love L.A.



J

Autumn In The Sierra Nevada Mountains of California

The warm light in the Sierra Nevada in autumn is unlike any other. Summer’s golden grass has burnished and the slant of the sun tells the trees to ready for winter. Liquid Ambers burn to crimson and Aspen’s round leaves shimmer in the breeze-a trove of coins glinting in the sun.

Placerville or ‘Old Hangtown” hosts the annual harvest festival as the area apple farms open their doors to the public. Crafters show their wares from beneath white awnings, the smell of buttery cinnamon sweet mingles with resinous pine and families from the cities of Sacramento and San Francisco Bay make their way to this idyllic setting. Reminiscent of days gone by, the narrow winding roads lead explorers from farm to farm. Around each bend is a new delight—tall redwood groves, split wood fences lining the way separating road from green grass or neat lines of apple laden trees. Vineyards neat rows comb the rich earth undulating over foothill topography in European fashion; proud vintner’s residence and tasting rooms atop rounded hill nestled in the cool of shade trees.







Chrysanthemum and roses splash color, picnic tables beckon travelers pause and the bounty of the growing season is displayed in wooden vats-- squash, gourds, Indian corn, and apples of every imaginable shade of red, yellow and green.

A further fifty miles up the mountain the air cools, pines dominate and granite juts from the earth echoing some long ago violent past. Lake Tahoe, the gem of the Sierras reflects crystal clear skies in cerulean blue brilliance and amethyst depth. The deepest lake on the continent, it rivals the great lochs of Scotland and Alpine lakes of the European continent for grandeur and beauty.





Adjunct to the grand summer home of Scandinavian design is Vikingsholm Castle on Fannette Island in the middle of South shore’s Emerald Bay.





Frigid falls tumble down sheer cypress dotted cliffs. Shaded streams gurgle, pausing across leveled flats before resuming their course toward the lake.

Driving south along the eastern spine of the Sierras, one arrives at the Gold rush ghost town of Bodie.





Preserved in a state of “arrested decay” the wood buildings dot the high desert terrain, all but five percent having succumbed to the ravages of time, this remote and infamous town echoes the boom time’s, mining zest, stagecoach holdups, street fights and a ‘sea of sin, lashed by the tempests of lust and passion’.



The ‘bad men of Bodie’ are silent, the remains of lives suspended in time beneath wide skies and tin covered roofs. Furniture and the implements of everyday need rest behind wavy glass windows, blanketed under a thick layer of dust.







The extraordinarily warm autumn day cast this historical locale against a backdrop of chaparral and silence.

One final saunter around the June Lake loop in the shadow of Mammoth Mountain before dropping south through Mohave dessert into the L.A. basin; the lakes of the loop reflect the mountains above in a shimmering mirror of calm water. Trout fishermen cast from the shore, one lone boat taking advantage of the last weekend of the season. The sun dips behind the mountains, deep shadows spread across the aspens and the colors of the day fade.

Five days in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California comes to an end under the chill of a star spattered sky.

The Exquisite Magic Of Diana Gabaldon

New York Times best selling author of the beloved Outlander series spoke at Vromans Independent Booksellers in Pasadena last night, one of many stops on the tour promoting her new graphic novel, The Exile. The second floor loft overflowed with admirers of the woman and her exquisite storytelling abilities. Sold in twenty-three countries and translated into nineteen languages, Diana’s books have bewitched a generation of readers.

A Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Northern Arizona University, a Master of Science in Marine Biology from the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and a Ph.D. in Ecology from Northern Arizona University may have contributed to Diana’s incredible mastery of the language and research abilities, but it is her heart that shines through the sweeping tale that refuses classification. Outlander and its six successors contain elements of romantic fiction, historical fiction, and science fiction (in the form of time travel) and therefore are difficult to pigeon hole other than to say they are possibly the quintessential work of our time, stiching male and female readers together through the adventures and trials of eighteenth century Scotland and tweintieth century America. Woven into the fabric of the series is one of the great romances of all time. The plot is propelled by time travel when its heroine Claire journeys from 1945 to the era of the Scot Jacobean rebellion where she meets and marries a young Scot rebel, Jamie Fraser.

Ms. Gabaldon’s new foray into graphic novels echoes her work for the Disney corporation years ago scripting Scrooge McDuck comic books. The storyline of The Exile parallels that of Outlander, but is told through the eyes of the hero’s protector Murtagh. While Diana admits to basing the antagonist ‘Black Jack’ Randall on herself, the reader of the series will never doubt that integrity and honor are paramount over the centuries so vividly displayed.

“I begin with a kernel”, Diana says, of how she starts a writing day. Whether it is a sight, sound or compelling line, Ms Gabaldon builds a scene around that ‘kernel’ and polishes it until it shines like a diamond. The scenes may well be out of chronology, but the pieces of the puzzle eventually make themselves apparent as Diana drops each into its final place.

“I research when I need to.” When the story requires fleshing out she ‘cheats’ by using real historical occurrence to guide the underlying plot. “You don’t have to be creative with history. It’s all right there.” Analogously, she refuses to hire research assistants, as “all you’ll get is beans and weenies.”

It’s like sending someone to the market for dinner. ‘Let’s have weenies and bean.’ What will they bring home??…Just that and no more. When I go shopping I might see a lovely bit of crisp lettuce and Chinese chicken salad- making ingredients. A dry Chardonay, maybe some delicious chocolate dessert. I come home with much more than beans and weenies.

When I research I am always surprised by things I find and can use to make the story the richer.

Diana says her best writing time is late at night when the house is quiet. That way no one “encounters me weeping” while I write. Any author who feels her work as organic to her very soul is an author that touches the same place in others. Anyone who has written from this place deep inside knows the connection to an indescribable power that has the potential to change worlds.

To Ms Gabaldon I say thank you. These two words pale next to the profound influence she has had in my writing and in the lives of so many authors and readers. Like a good steak every paragraph, every sentence is a gourmet experience not only painting a world as vivid as any reality, but one that creates a rich backdrop on which to feel the thousand emotions that tie us together as people across the centuries…our common humanity.