Oscar Sunday and Four Things about L.A.

A certain Card Player-ranked, Absinthe-swilling poker player "tagged" me for this challenge, and having lived in this fair city longer than most will ever be able to withstand, I felt more than obliged to contribute. I love Los Angeles. Though at times she wears down my body and threatens to tear out my soul, L.A. will always be a huge part of who I am.

And today, Oscar Sunday, is like her prom night. As I write these words, the L'Ermitage and the Four Seasons and the Chateau Marmont are flooded with entourages and stylists. Racks of gowns are being wheeled through their gilded hallways up to the nominees' studio-comped suites. The stars will rub sleep out of their eyes and sip coffee while flashbulbs pop and makeup cases are unpacked, and gift baskets arrive, sent by agents and well-wishers, dying for a mention in a potential acceptance speech. The ones who have been through this before might relax into the process and savor the moment, while the first timers may freeze, immobile in the eye of this hurricane of glamour and stardust, wondering just how the hell they got here.

In just a few hours, the end result of all this Hollywood hoopla will be beamed via satellite to the rest of the known universe, and the industry will be able to take a short collective breath before starting this shit all over again next year.

Make sure you check out the Tao of Pauly today. I did a quasi guest-post that includes both our takes on the Oscars as well as our picks in the individual categories. Lemme say it right here right now-- it's the year of the Gay Cowboy.

So in honor of Oscar Sunday, here are my 4 THINGS ABOUT L.A.

Four Jobs I've Had In My Life in LA:

1. Usher at the Hollywood Bowl
2. Paralegal for personal injury law firm in Downtown L.A.
3. Unpaid intern to coke fiend producer on Burbank studio lot
4. Creative Exec at Academy-Award winning producer's film company.

Four Movies About LA I Could Watch Over And Over:

1. The Player
2. 10
3. Adaptation
4. Clueless

Four Places I've Lived All Over L.A. (With Food Memories From Each):

1. Westwood (Big, soft melt in your mouth cookies for 25 cents apiece at Diddy Reese)
2. West Hollywood (Excellent sangria and friendly service, not to mention some spectacular, tastes-like-home-cookin' Mexican food at Gardens of Taxco on Santa Monica Blvd.)
3. Beverly Hills (You must try Il Tramezzino's dreamy paninis-- AND they're open until 4 AM on the weekends!)
4. The Slums of Beverly Hills aka Beverly Hills Adjacent (Great pizza and cheesesteaks at Philly's on the corner of Olympic and La Cienega).

Four LA-Themed Shows I Love(d) To Watch:

1. Beverly Hills, 90210
2. Six Feet Under
3. Three's Company
4. Entourage

Four Places I Would Vacation At In LA:

1. Chateau Marmont
2. The Four Seasons, Beverly Hills
3. Shutters
4. The Ritz-Carlton, Marina Del Rey

Four LA-Based Websites I Visit Daily:

1. The Defamer
2. Variety
3. Awful Plastic Surgery
4. Daily Candy L.A.

Four Of My Favorite Foods Found In LA:

1. The crab roll at Sushi Nozawa
2. The lobster salad hand roll at Sushi Katsu-Ya
3. The black miso cod at Nobu Malibu
4. The tuna sashimi in ponzu sauce at Sasabune

Four Places In LA I Would Rather Be Right Now:

1. Getting lost in Topanga State Park
2. Watching the sunset on El Matador beach
3. Getting high in the Huntington Gardens
4. Hiking to the Hollywood sign

Tagged:

HDouble
Franklin
Facty
Rini