Bizarre weekend. For one thing, I went out every night, which never happens. And then each night was strange in its own way. Friday night Jeff, Tom, Joe and I went to this freaky "brew pub" here in K-Town that was in no way, shape or form like any brew pub you've ever been to, except that they serve beer they brew on site. Otherwise, it was this big open space with a lot of neon, weird musical selections, and (if Tom's instincts were good) most of L.A. Korean mob. Music included such classic brew pub fare as "I Just Called to Say I Love You", "Silent Lucidity", and "that one that goes I'm blue da da dee da da da..." And a very strange, clearly phonetically rendered version of Happy Birthday. And really expensive food. Oh, but at least the beers were good.
Saturday I ended up going to this jazz club called The Baked Potato. It's a great place, nothing I ever would've expected in L.A.--wood paneled, kinda old, and seating maybe 100. I'd highly recommend it.
Earlier in the day, I saw Fog of War which apparently has been controversial. Robert McNamara gets a forum for his worldview, but also enough rope to hang himself, depending on your perspective. And his unwillingness to really get into Vietnam beyond a certain point is telling in and of itself. Regardless of what you think about his mostly unapologetic Cold War hawkishness, the film clearly shows him to be an intriguing an brilliant guy. And one of his comments was particularly pointed--regarding American unilateralism, he said that one thing he's learned (implication: a lesson of Vietnam) is that America should not be going to war unilaterally, and that if countries such as Germany, France, U.K., and Canada--countries that share our values--don't agree with the war, then we should re-examine our thinking.
Sunday night I went to a comedy show featuring, among others, Jackie Kashian, Victor Vernado, and website-free former CMU quiz-bowler David Taylor. The Valentine's theme of the show was comics telling their sexual horror stories, and I am disturbed to report that I now know the story of Mr. Taylor losing his virginity straight from the horse's mouth. I'm still shuddering a little. But I'm also happy to report that his career seems to be moving along, performing 6 nights a week at The Comedy Store. I have an open invitation to see him there sometime, so I hope to be reporting back about that sometime soon.