Celebrity status

Quick anecdote: Ric's Grill, last Friday. Our server, who just happened to be Miceail's little sister, comes up to me, and breathlessly says "my manager REALLY wants your autograph. I'm serious." I thought it was a joke at first, but she insisted and persisted, and finally I scrawled a quick note of "thanks for the grub. JJ" on a napkin.
No joke, ladies and gents.
On our way out, to much eye-rolling from Christa, the manager repeated his admiration for my, ahem, "work," and how much of a fan he was. He even comped our dessert. What a guy ...

Anyways, yesterday (Monday) I jetted south to Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood's hottest and hippest. Is it any wonder I feel at home here?
I keed, I keed.

After arriving at the airport, my sis picked me up, we had a quick lunch and then it was off to Manhattan Beach Studios, home of the set of CSI: Miami. I got a personal tour of the various sound stages and permanent sets (I hope I haven't skewered the beliefs of some that it was actually filmed in Miami), met some of my sister's co-workers, bosses and underlings. I even saw her massive office, complete with stacks of cardboard boxes, stationary lockers and extra chairs. She's big time, ya'll ...

After chillaxin at the crizzle (A little LA speak for ya), hit the arclight theatre for a little MI:3 action. This was a pretty swanky theatre, with registered seating, really expensive snacks and lazy-boy like seats. Tom Cruise wasn't too bad, either. I only thought of him as a gay Scientologist once while watching the movie. Lots of explosions, gunfights, stunts and the best bad-guy death I've seen in a long time. 3.5 stars from me.

Today was a day for roots. I'm always identified with being black, being afro-canadian, just because of the way I look. People forget the other half of what makes me ... me. Sometimes I even forget that. So today's trip to the Museum of Tolerance was a bit of a reminder for me, a little "note to self" to remember some of my roots.
We took in a couple exhibits on the Holocaust, on Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, and had the luck to attend on a day when an actual survivor of the Holocaust was speaking.
Bella Friedman was the lone surviving member of a family of six. Barely 13 at the time, she made it through two Nazi-created ghettos, two work camps, and the gas chambers of auschwitz. Her tale was stirring and emotional even for her, even though she must have recounted the story many times. She told us of a forced labour camp making telephone equipment, and how she picked up a disassembled phone one day in a fit of despair, and tried to talk to God, ask him for his help. A Nazi guard appeared. "I will help you," he said, and then beat her and her friend to within an inch of her life.
I was riveted by her talk, though the high school class that comprised most of the crowd seemed disinterested, at best. One of the museum staff, who bellowed while s-p-e-a-k-i-n-g r-e-a-l-l-y- s-l-o-w-l-y unintenionally gave everyone a good laugh when soliciting the crowd for questions. A lesbian couple, one of whom had short hair and was, ummm, let's just say masculine, raised her hand to ask a question. He turned and said "Yes, young MAN. You have a question."
I had to laugh, even though I had just heard a tale of grim deaths and suffering. But I'm glad I had a chance to go to the museum, and especially to see Bella speak. She was truly an inspiration.

We're bizzack at the crizzle now, cooking dinner for my uncle Rob and aunt Fran, and their kids Rae and Eli. My aunt Sue and husband Art took a rain check, and we're meeting them for lunch tomorrow.

Stay tuned for pics and vids from the trip. I'll try to make a daily entry.

and I'm outtie ...