The Posh Veuve Cliquot Polo Classic

Last Saturday I did something I've always wanted to do ... I went to my very first polo match. The Veuve Clicquot Classic was held at the Will Rogers State Park Polo Fields, all decked out in VC orange. It was a blast. What a perfectly gorgeous day it was to get out in and see hot dudes on fine ponies while sipping champagne and checking out peoples' fancy outfits.

My friend Sally hooked it up as a birthday outing and we sat on the really nice VIP side of the field, where the Veuve Clicquot was everywhere, from champagne bottle chandeliers to the swag they handed out, like sunglasses and fans.

Ladies wore big hats and men wore pastels. There were many, many dresses I coveted, and a whole bunch of fake boobs I did not. I'm not so sure I'm into what the dudes wear to things like this, it's a little fussy for my men, but I get it. The drag was that VIP and General Admission are on opposite sides and you are not allowed to mingle (rather Titanic of them).

Though the GA did have to sit on the dirt or grass (vs. the tables with centerpieces and waiters on the other side), they had a slew of food trucks that were actually a lot more enticing than the kind of lame Wolfgang Puck lunch baskets we were given. Soggy sandwiches and wrinkly berries type stuff. Plus I had friends on the GA side and the only opportunity to see them would be at halftime in mid-field where staff held a rope separating the sides. Seriously. I'd like to see it be a little more one love. Free to roam if you want to. Why not?

The actual polo match was really great (when we were paying attention to it) ... it kind of reminded me of hockey on horses. One guy would wind up and shoot, and it would go wide, and we'd all moan like in hockey stands. Only this is almost more fierce (as fancy as it is), with horses roaring down the field and guys swinging mallets ... it's pretty heavy.

The guys are fun to watch (also like in hockey) and there are certainly polo groupies (many with the aforementioned freaky boobs), that got all excited when the men would ride along the fence and clang their mallets against the slats to rile up the crowd. It worked.

Halftime is the best, because just like in Pretty Woman, you're invited on to the field to stomp down divots in the grass. You're allowed to bring your champagne, so you're just out there having a grand old time, making friends (cool because it's such an international sport, so we were talking to people from all over, not just the Reg Bev Hills sorts) and clinking glasses as you tried to avoid the mounds that were not divots.

One new friend was so into it, she had a milliner in Australia make her a special Veuve Clicquot big orange and black hat just for the occasion. It's good that it's an annual event ... and also close to Halloween. Her friend made jewelry out of champagne tops, that you could customize with the event on the back. It's a thing.

Nacho Figueras, the Ralph Lauren model guy, is clearly the hot shot in the polo circuit, and the P.A. announcer seemed to really have a thing for him .... everything was Nacho this, and Nacho that, and how bad the guy wished he was Nacho (he actually said that a few times before we tuned him out). Nacho's team is called Black Watch, and they're - no surprise - sponsored by Ralph Lauren. They were stomping all over the Veuve Clicquot team, but I think it wound up at a closer 11-8 victory for Black Watch (by that time it was all a bit woozy).



Speaking of woozy ... Men are not that good at drinking champagne. Neither are many of the women that were in attendance. By the end of the four chukka (period) match, it was pretty sloppy up at Will Rogers, believe me. I was happy to have worn my red equestrian boots over the spiky heels many of the ladies in attendance were stumbling around on the lawn and dirt in.

The shuttle ride back to parking was more something to endure. One filthy drunk guy kept going off about how he's so rich, he could own everyone at that thing ... and he almost got gang beat by the time we arrived at VIP parking. It's sad to know that people that utterly obnoxious really exist. But they do, and events like these are their haunting grounds, sadly. It's people like that douchebag that are ruining our country, and I'm getting mad at him again, so I'll stop. But wealthy dickheads - check yourselves. People aren't having it - even your peers.

We didn't let that wreck what was a truly gorgeous and decadent afternoon, out in nature, being fancy and learning about the royal game of polo. It's real impressive athleticism on the parts of both the humans and the animals. I'd like to give it a swing. It really is a great day, and rather than thinking "Ok, cool, I've seen a polo match, done.", instead I found myself really digging it, and looking forward to next year. I'm gonna need a new swanky hat.

Clink (with a glass of rosé)!!!

The 2014 Other Venice Film Festival

Last weekend was the 2014 Other Venice Film Festival in its 11th annual showcase of the filmmakers of and about Venice.

The event is headquartered at Beyond Baroque, and Friday's opening night featured both films and a party to celebrate them. I'm always surprised that there isn't a better turn-out for this festival, with all the creative people working in film that live within Venice ... but it's a great time, every time.

The OVFF is tirelessly worked on all year long by Reuban de la Casas (Ruby), and he is always assisted by his two darling daughters, whom I've had the pleasure of seeing grow up through the years to become the smart and charming young ladies they are now.

Venice Duck Beer was flowing in the back yard of Beyond Baroque, where chairs were set up for the over-flow people that didn't fit in the auditorium, they could sit outside and watch the films projected on the wall. It's nice to watch films under the stars, after all. Doritos were a sponsor, so Doritos were everywhere. Kind of strange ... I'd like to see more Venice businesses chipping in to help sponsor this annual event - like the Venice Duck guys putting their money and mouths where their community is.

Bands played (Conrad and Natural Hi Fi) and friends caught up, both on and off the Venice Paparazzi red carpet.

The OVFF always features local visual artists as well, and this year it was the art of Christopher D. Hall and Gary Palmer, both of whom had their art on display at Beyond Baroque all weekend.

I caught both opening night films, 1%-ers, starring Michelle Rodriguez as a bad girl actress who gets in a bunch of trouble trying to hustle some tough guys in a game of poker. She winds up fine. It was fine.

The second film, Freedumb, I just loved. I would show it to people as a primer on what it's like to live and work in Venice as an artist. Directed by Lara Rudich and Sean Vanloozen, it follows the lives and creativity of well-known Venice artists like Jules Muck (artist), Wesley Flowers (musician/conductor of the Venice Symphony Orchestra), Ernie Miranda (glass artist), Jason Chrisman (pointillism artist), and more. Every one of them repeated things all of us who live here - and mean it - have felt and said ourselves. Some of my favorite truisms from the film:

"The best thing about being here is just that you're in Venice, not somewhere else."

"What is it? Every part of it."

"It's so free."

"It's miracles ... beauty ... creation ... EVERY DAY. You don't see many places like that in the world."

"It's eclectic people and the people that love them. I feel about as home as I ever have."

"It's the creative center of the Universe."

"There are 200 10 x 10 squares for free, for artists! What an office!"

"There's no other place like it."

"One day I started getting paid instead of arrested."

"Anyone who lives in Venice has no reason to kill themselves. There's palm trees outside. Sorry."

"It's a theater of life."

It doesn't matter who said what, because we all say all of it. I loved every frame of it, smiling and nodding the whole time. It WAS Venice.

I don't believe it won the competition, sadly, and I couldn't make it to the other two days of the festival, but all the winners are just that - winners.

Abbot Award Winners 2014

Best Youth Film "OperHator " Director Tara Nicole Azarian
Best Music Video "Something About You Ain't Right" Director Alisa Daglio 
Most Excellence Film Short "A Time To Kill" Director Justin Rettke 
Most Excellence Feature Film "Nothing In Los Angeles "Director Alexander Tovar
Best Experimental Film " Brit.I.Am "Director Andi Osho
Best Music Score "Celluloid Dreams" Director Jonathan Dillon


Another fantastic Venice event ... by and for our People. See you next year!

My Grandma Olson Would Have Loved Venice

My darling Grandma Olson would have been 114 today. Whoa. She passed away in 1993 at 93, and I've missed her every day since. She taught me how to bake pies. She taught me how to be awesome to people. She would say please and thank you for every last thing, to her last breath. She played kickball with us until she was 90. I feel like my hands are starting to look like hers - both cool and alarming...

She was adventurous and would go on road trips all the time with her even older sister-in-law across the country. She took up painting late in life, and we always joked that she was better than Grandma Moses. I took Norwegian as my language in college so that I could rap a little with my Grandma in her native tongue ... we pretty much only got to where she was from and that we were hungry or thirsty .. but she was still stoked.

Leona Olson was famous all over Wisconsin for her flowers ... person after person got up at her funeral and called her "The Flower Lady". Her garden was something to behold, and we spent hours playing in it as little kids. She somehow managed to plant a tropical hibiscus in our yard in Minnesota that still manages to survive those harsh winters, year after year. She may or may not have liked the tattoo I got of it ...

I feel a little sad that she never got to visit me in either Hawai'i or Venice, as she would have freaked out at all the flowers everywhere, all year round. She was known for sharing her flowers and produce with everyone, and as I was strolling about on the Art Block yesterday, wishing she and my Mom were with me (more on that soon), I came upon this neighborhood sharing that would have absolutely delighted my Grandma Olson ...

Love, sharing, inspiration, art, nature ... I loved that about my Grandma and I love that about Venice. Every day.

A Golden Weekend In Venice

Once upon a time, there was a nearly perfect weekend in Venice, California. There was an October heat wave, making it an almost unheard of 95 degrees at the beach. Many were heard to be complaining ... but when there's talk of early flurries in the rest of the country, I count my many blessings. Heat is one of them (though I too have been doing rain dances).

We beat it on Friday night by seeing Frozen on the Santa Monica Pier. The Front Porch Cinema series has begun, and you can check out movies under the stars and over the waves for the next few Fridays. The kids knew every single word and the grown-ups enjoyed feeling cooler.

There was no place else in the city to be on Saturday besides the beach. Even being fully submerged in the water, one still felt hot, but it was extra-awesome down there because all the tourists have left for the season, and we had Playa de Los Amigos pretty much all to ourselves. The skies were so blue and bright, they almost hurt to look at, but I entertained myself for quite a while just watching the cloud formations take shape while I hallucinated from the heat. Check out these birds! Sky paintings.

My dear little buddy Beckett turned 2, and we celebrated with a spin around the neighborhood aboard his little birthday train express. All the kids loved it, especially when the guy did doughnuts in the road.

The grown-ups were not successful in getting the conductor to cruise us down Abbot Kinney with out open bottles, but not for lack of our trying. It's not really street-legal, I guess ...

Saturday night found us back at Foodshop, celebrating the birthday of our dear Sweet D with the delicious burger night, and a slew of fine friends. The greatest of times.

Sunday ... Nothing. But. Beach. What else? We're so lucky to have this divine splendor right there for the enjoyment, and Sundays are the best days to revel in all its glory.

Top it off with a little Chez Jay sunset dinner, and you're talking about a weekend for the books.

And we all lived happily ever NOW!

Abbot Kinney Street Festival 2014!

We look forward to the Abbot Kinney Festival every year like it's Venice Thanksgiving. Old home weekend style, as you finally see all the old school friends that have been hiding out and avoiding Abbot Kinney these days when it's much harder to recognize as Venice there. But the Festival brings us all back, brings us all together ... and that's why we love it. This year was its 30th anniversary, so it felt extra-special.

You couldn't ask for a more perfect Festival day, bright blue skies, high puffy clouds and a slight breeze to refresh you in the sunshine. It all started real early, as we awoke to the sound of poles clanging as they set up booths in the wee hours.

When you start to hear the live music wafting inside your windows, it creates a sense of urgency to get out there and let the fun begin! This year - FINALLY - we had a dedicated stage (curated by Matt Ellis) for local music at Andalusia. That became our headquarters for the entire day, as every artist playing was a dear friend, thus it was by far the place to be (So much so that I didn't really see all that much else at either end this year, as we were smack in the center of it all). It kicked off with a performance by our Venice Symphony Orchestra, which I JUST missed, but know it was great as always.

Lacey Kay Cowden played so beautifully that I heard a lady say she'd heard the music from a few blocks away, and headed right in our direction. Once there, she was so mesmerized (like we all were) by Cowden's resonant voice, that she said she completely forgot there was the entire ruckus of a street festival right behind us. That's a good review.

Blue Eyed Son was a perfect fit for the day, as his surfy tunes put a spring in your step automatically. It also made us want to party. Which we proceeded to do ... all day and night.

I took a little stroll to see what was what, and was happy to see that Beyond Baroque again had their Spoken Word stage set up, with Venetians and friends getting up there to express their souls to anyone who happened to be there taking a breather. Poetry lives!

The fine folks at Trim were all American Hustled out, with glam 70's looks and $20 hair cuts all day, keeping their fun theme tradition alive.

The morning attendance seemed a little more sparse than usual, I think people had big nights the night before. That soon changed, and before long, you couldn't walk two feet without bumping into a familiar, friendly face. That's the best part of the whole festival, seeing your homies all together having fun in the place that we all love.

The next best part might be the annual parade of the Samba school and drum line that always struts their stuff down the middle of the festival. It's so happy, such a celebration ... everyone just stops in their tracks and shouts and dances along. What a beautiful tradition.

Next up on the Andalusia stage was Paul Chesne, our favorite local raconteur/tireless showman.

 He fired up the people, as usual, and showed why he's booked like 300 nights of the year all around Los Angeles. 'Cause he's the best.

While we were on a burger/drink break on the delightful patio at The Roosterfish (*Festival tip: never a line for the ladies bathroom in there)...

... the Spirit Of Venice awards (and grants) were given out back at the Andalusia stage, where artists Ed Moses, Laddie John Dill, Tom Everhart, activist Mariana Aguilar, VNC's Eduardo Manilla, and a post-humous award for skater Jay Adams all received their Venice props.

Also keeping it very Venice were the Hecho en Venice and Dogtown booths, where there were lines all day to buy the gear that has always shown their local pride. 

Next up at Andalusia was Matt Ellis and his band. Andy Clockwise was the guest drummer, and they demanded and held the attention of pretty much everybody walking by. We sang along, we danced, we felt really grateful that this much good music is available to us all the time here in Venice, most every night of the week.

A little more strolling ... lots of jewelry booths, some new big, cool wings for kids to wear, clothes, t-shirts, bags, hot sauce, art, art, ART ... if you couldn't find it at the AKF, you probably won't.

We made sure to get back over to Andalusia to see Venice's own Tom Freund close out the local stage, playing songs from his great new Two Moons album (also set mostly in Venice). Freund and his band (Adam Topol! Jessy Greene! Gabe Noel! Rami Jaffe!) brought their international level talent to our own backyard, and it was a sublime time in the sun with all of our friends.

As was the entire day, really. The party kept going long after the police did their sweep to clear everyone out. I saw that the beer garden at The Brig was still going strong when we had to gather our wits and head to Hollywood for the excellent George Fest. Phew!

What a great day in Venice. Social media and word of mouth blew up with people talking and sharing photos about all the fun they had at #AKF2014, as this year's t-shirts read. Very timely.

I could go on and on about it all ... but it really comes down to just this every time: I LOVE YOU, VENICE!

George Fest - A Celebration Of George Harrison

Last night was the big George Harrison-A-Thon show at the Fonda theater in Hollywood, affectionately called George Fest. It was really one for the ages, People. More a matter of who DIDN'T get up there and play. For real.

I had spent the day at the Abbot Kinney Festival going nuts, so it was a true test of endurance to first, get to Hollywood at all, and second, hang in there for this many-hours-long show. I did not make it to the end, I confess, but I sure did see an awful lot while I was there. For instance ...

We missed a few openers like the tight house band led by George's son, Dhani Harrison, and I heard Conan O'Brien threw down "Old Brown Shoe". Wow. I got there just in time to hear the end of the darling guys of Jamestown Revival singing "If I Needed Someone." Bam. Just like that, I have a new crush.

The Black Ryder played "Isn't It A Pity", followed by Chase Cohl (and Brian Bell of Weezer) with "For You Blue". The stage was almost as packed as the audience, where people stood on tip-toe the whole night to catch a glimpse of who was all cramming on up there. Like The Heartless Bastards' (who I love) rendition of "If Not For You." So good. Butch Walker got up and sang "Any Road", The Cold War Kids did "Taxman", and then The Cult's Ian Astbury really delivered with "Be Here Now". I was standing next to Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) during this number, and we both just went "Wow. That was awesome." when Mr. Astbury was done. And whistled real loud. I think it was my favorite of the night.

Next up was Black Rebel Motorcycle Club with "Art Of Dying" - Awesome. Then Spoon's Britt Daniel with "I Me Mine", which was great, but even better was the lovely Karen Elson and Norah Jones on "I'd Have You Anytime". And even better than THAT was Ben Harper with "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)". I mean, come on.

Kind of weirdly following that was Weird Al Yankovic in an unusually straight turn for him, singing, "What Is Life", real lyrics and all. Then Dhani Harrison (and friends, including Aaron Emby, Jimmy Vivino, and Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction) really going for it with their "Let It Down". It's really good. We got down.

Big Black Delta played "The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp" while we were in line at the bar (Jameson was the gracious sponsor), and then Dhani Harrison was back on lead with "Savoy Truffle". Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips came out and gave us "It's All Too Much" - which it really almost was. Because NEXT, joining Coyne and Harrison came Perry and Etty Farrell, singing the sweetest favorite, "Here Comes The Sun" to us, and to each other. Love.

The line-up was so super-diverse, and so jam-packed ... it was clear to see how intensely George Harrison (and The Beatles) have influenced and inspired, well, everyone. And they clearly all wanted to play in a show honoring him, because the cavalcade continued on and on ... Nick Valensi (with Danny Masterson and Matt Sorum) playing "Wah Wah". Norah Jones' beautiful ways with "Behind That Locked Door" and "Something" were simply lush and gorgeous. As was Heart's Ann Wilson with "Beware Of Darkness".

My phone died somewhere around here after a long day's work, so I gave up on photos and caring and just completely enjoyed ... The Killers' Brandon Flowers throwing down "Got My Mind Set On You" with Dhani Harrison. How good. We thought that would be a good note to sneak out (and CRASH!) on, but just as I turned around to split, out came Brian Wilson. BRIAN WILSON with "My Sweet Lord", which I'm pretty sure is what I said right then too. Wow. What an evening! What a day!

That was a REALLY good note to sneak out on, so we did, and that was our finale. The real finale, I'm told, was an All-Star jam of both "Handle With Care" and "All Things Must Pass" - both very sage - and timely, as we were about to crash hard. What an excellent night of music, and what an excellent legacy to see, more than honored ... Rocked. Let's hope this was the first of many, many George Fests ... and many thanks to all involved for a spectacular time!

Pie Fidelity - A Pie Premiere

After writing about Nicole Rucker's Kickstarter film project back in March of 2013 , the eagerly awaited Pie Fidelity premiered last night at the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax. It was a celebration of both the great American road trip ... and the great American favorite - Pie.

After cleaning up in the KCRW Pie contest, Rucker set out with her director, Casey O'Brien and their crew to try pies and meet their makers along the way to Orlando, Florida to compete in the 2013 National Pie Contest. Rucker thanked all from the Gjelina group (where she is the house baker), by saying, "Exploration is the name of the game - no matter what." O'Brien simply introduced the film by saying, "She's really good at making pies, so we made a movie about it." There you have it.

The film couldn't be more charming. As Rucker says when she arrives in Florida, "I was visually assaulted by a level of Americana I'd never seen." The same could be said for the film, which spotlights all the very best things about that America ... old fashioned skills, farm fresh ingredients, beautiful land, the open road, and the biggest hearts of the biggest characters.

"I like characters," says Rucker in the film (I do too!), and it shows. The folks they encounter along the way, from Venice to Orlando, are lovingly portrayed in all their down-home glory. The "Pie stops" along the way include Pie Town, New Mexico, where there were no pies to buy until Kathy Knapp moved to town and opened up shop. There her many satisfied customers experience "Piegasms", oohing and aahing over her delectable creations. I'm going there.

Rucker Ranch in Oklahoma was the next stop, at the home of Blaine Rucker's (Nicole's husband) relatives. There they enjoy home-made pies and wisdom shared ... "Always say thank you, I love you, and I'm sorry."

On they travel to the Arbuckle Mountains in Oklahoma, home of The Original Fried Pie Shop. Fried. Pies. That's really all you need to know. Throughout the film, the various characters are gorgeously photographed in a series of stills that are so wonderful, they really demand their own coffee table book or something (with recipes, please!).

A stop in Texas to visit a friend's Grandma Jodie is a joy, and then it's on to Louisiana, where they get to sample the wares at Strawn's Eat Shop in Shreveport, where "It's like being at Grandma's house." Which I think is the appeal of pie. Childhood memories, simple pleasures, someone baking something from scratch with nothing but love. That's why I love to make (and eat) pies, and I certainly got that from my Grandma Olson. I'm also going to Strawn's.

The final pie stop in this adventure was perhaps the coolest. and the one Rucker herself was most anticipating a visit to - the Pie Lab in Greensboro, Alabama. "They put a modern take on what we're doing.", said Rucker. Wow. They have single-handedly (together) transformed the Mom and Pop Main street in Greensboro to once again be a thriving center of the community, where their philosophy states, "Pie + Conversation = Social Change." Awesome. I'm for SURE going there.

From there, they high-tail it to Orlando for Rucker to compete in the "Perfect Pie" category in the National Pie Contest. When her absolute perfection of a four-apple-combo apple pie comes out of the oven, the Silent Movie Theater audience audibly moaned and gasped ... if only it were in Smell-A-Vision!

The National Contest is hilarious. Young ladies in pie costumes, red, white and blue bunting everywhere, the Pillsbury Doughboy as a host ... it really is an explosion of Americana. It's highly amusing to watch the Ruckers take it all in, and exceptionally awesome when - SPOILER ALERT - Rucker takes home the blue ribbon.

The theater erupted in applause and cheers at that foregone conclusion, and after distributing the pies won in the evening's raffle (donated by fancy chefs about town like Evan Kleiman, whose apple I got to taste, and it was flawless), it was time to EAT PIE in the courtyard pie after-party.

The entire evening was delicious, and so heart-warming. The simple delight of a piece of pie with friends ... enjoyed all across America.

Pie Fidelity is a triumph of pie, fun, and friendship. There could be a full-length documentary on any one of the characters involved. Like all the best movies. and all the best pies ... it leaves you wanting more. Many thanks to all involved for taking us along on this absolute treat of a trip, and sharing all that love. And pie.