THE LA REPORT

Next, Melanie Segal's PLATINUM Lounge at Le Meridien hotel, which featured fine wines and fab fruit as you walked in, with waves of piano tunes wafting in the air as an array of cuties, celebs and media ambled about the booths -- which included superstylish Chip and Pepper jeans, Coby electronics (showcasing their small sleek Mp3 players - so popular they ran out before The LA Report arrived, but look for reviews soon in our Tech Check section), a new spiffily-designed Dirt Devil KONE porta-vac (a cone-shaped beauty that sits upright as you remove the upper portion - the vac - from the lower part - the charging base), Paris Hilton perfume and travel bags, a really cool solar-powered cellphone charger (also for laptops!), Bed Head products (always a femme fave), a cleansing supplement, anti-aging and hair enhancing systems, and even a separate room with oxygen chambers, manicures and massages to enjoy. 

But wait, there's more - as in one more sweet suite, the Ultimate Green Room ECO Living Lounge that Landers PR (known for throwing excellent environmentally-themed events) put on upstairs at the W in Westwood. Wow! What a vibe. Sure, there were those 3 M's -- massage (Green Bliss Eco Spa), manicure, and mane (Pureology - a firm specializing in color-protecting hair products - made The LA Report's head scribe look sleeker, thanks to stylist O'Neal). More? Okay: healthy veggie food from the W's Nine Thirty restaurant (terrif tofu, wraps, salad, vegetables) that I enjoyed elbow-to-elbow with "24" star Jean Smart and about 24x24 others - the smart set that packed the party space, which even featured eco-designed furniture! I'm not done: the Art of Tea was also a hit, as was the H2OM water (with Intention!)... the pedicures, healings (by Debra King), readings and energy cleansings... Linda Loudermilk's eco-conscious clothes and jewelry... vegan gal (vegal?) shoes called Mink (they plan men's soon)... Lavera skincare... face time with Jane Iredale Cosmetics... Natural High clothes (shirts, pants, sweatshirts made from blends that use hemp and bamboo)... Yoga Works certificates... Mod Mix organic cocktails... the VISA Enlightenment Card... and a gifts-and-getaway raffle raising funds for CHEC (Children’s Health Environmental Coalition) and The Blue Butterfly Campaign (bluebutterfly.org). Overall, yes I'll say it, it was the mellowest grooviest "Good Vibrations" of all the pre-Emmy suites. Speaking of Good Vibrations, Capitol includes this smash song on the new PET SOUNDS 40th anniversary disc, now out. See how I worked that in? No mind-limiting boundaries for THIS writer! (Special thanks to The Lippin Group, Platinum PR and Landers PR for their assistance on the Peninsula, Le Meridien and W pre-Emmy events, respectively.) -Don Rose 

Aug. 17: IGNITE!, Gen Art's annual summer bash at the Henry Fonda Theater, was just as exciting and fun-filled as last year, and maybe even more crowded - all 3 floors plus the outside ground floor area were packed with partiers. This third annual extravaganza last five hours, which was good, since there was so much to do! Great music (including beats by DJ Michelle Pesce), dancing, casino action, drinking (hosted drinks galore), Lickety Split ice cream in vanilla, chocolate and mint, swimsuit modelling on the roof (in a little mock pool no less!), massages courtesy of Bliss (which is located at the W hotel in Westwood for your post-party pampering), short films, giftbags for VIPs -- I mean, what didn't this event have? Also outstanding was the eclectic array of local and international artists featured in the lobby and an adjacent lounging room. Even COKE was in the house, giving out bottles of its new Coke Blak; imagine mixing Coke with a little coffee and you get the taste. For the coolest new talents in film, art, performance art and fashion - visual art, photography, multi-media, installation art, and non-traditional fashion - you really need to know about Gen Art. Become a part of it: to find out more about this organization, and their continued commitment to the growth of independent and spirited West Coast talent, visit genart.org.

Aug. 16: ISES Joint Allied Mixer. Event planners meet, mingle and munch at this annual schmooze extravaganza, and this year's - at the Petersen - was a lotta fun along with great networking. Always nice people and interesting exhibit booths related to the events industry - including House of Blues, Ron Rubin (celeb lookalikes and great bands for hire), a service to take 3D photos (lenticular style), and too many more to mention them all! Somehow ISES was able to jam them all in for this year's JAM.

Aug. 16: VISION FEST - the annual screening, awards and party put on by one of The LA Report's favorite groups, FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE - was awesome as always. FA is an LA treasure, a great organization, which helps filmmakers meet and assist each other to get projects done. FA offers invaluable knowledge, contacts and fun. (The FA film "Transaction" was one of our highlights from this year's LA Film Festival). And fun was the operative word at this annual bash at the Directors Guild; hundreds watched the talented celluloid on display, then partook of several food buffet stations and hosted bar. Exhibits to visit included one by SmartSound, a cool company that sells software to make film scoring much more intuitive, and fast - starting at a mere $199. The other cool exhibit: a company selling an electric scooter for around 300 bucks that plugs into any outlet; much cheaper than a Segway.

Aug. 16: DisplaySearch 4th Annual HDTV Conference: The Future of Television was in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton hotel. It was a High Def jam!

Aug. 12: Hundreds of LA new-agers, hippies, hipsters and "Bleepies" attended BLEEPfest at California Science Center, inside the cavernous Annenberg atrium. The film "What the Bleep Do We Know" has become a pop physics phenomenon, spawning a cottage industry - including a new 3-disc DVD, a book, a CD-ROM, a spiritual CD soundtrack and now BLEEPfest. Why the fuss? "What the Bleep" talks about theories of the profound, explaining and dramatizing the nature of our physical world, especially unseen realms - striving to give viewers a greater understanding of the world around them, while arousing a sense of wonder we sorely need more of today. In short, it makes science topics fun and makes you want to learn more. The film made co-star Fred Alan Wolf the rock star of quantum physics; Bleepies came in droves today to see, hear and talk to him live. The performances were also first rate; Lili Haydn - violin virtuoso and vocalist - was the BLEEPfest headliner, and wowed the crowd. -Don Rose, Editor, The LA Report

Aug. 7-9, EMX (Entertainment Media Expo), the annual trade show and conference, was fun and informative as always. From movies to music to video games to all forms of packaging entertainment, EMX brought the top minds in the field together at the Universal Hilton. The highlight was the DVD AWARDS, again hosted by famed film critic Leonard Maltin. After a delightful reception featuring gourmet food and hosted bar, Maltin presided over a wide range of awards, with Best Of Show going to KING KONG: COLLECTORS EDITION (the 1933 classic), from Warner Home Video. More information on EMX at www.entertainmentmediaexpo.com . -D.R.

July 30: PLAY REVIEW by Don Rose: THE GOD OF HELL at the Geffen Playhouse. Author: Sam Shepard, Director: Jason Alexander. There has been much controversy in science circles recently, regarding whether Pluto is really a planet or not. Of course, Pluto doesn't care, it just is, but we humans always love to put things in a neat box of classification, and the fact that Pluto might be demoted to a mere comet is upsetting a lot of people. But there is one thing for sure, as a matter of fact, and that is that Pluto is what Plutonium is named after, and Pluto was the God of Hell, from which this play's title stems. And contamination by Plutonium is one of the predicaments affecting characters in this play - perhaps a metaphor for our nation becoming contaminated by a mutated form of Patriotism that is an effective cover for eroding people's rights and putting us all into neat little controllable boxes, in the name of Security and Safety. Is this Sam Shepard's point? Perhaps partly. Some critics have taken him to task for making his message too obvious or heavyhanded, but that may in fact be part of his point, too; perhaps he feels we have become so dulled by a corporate-controlled media that more pungent, potent points are now needed - and even a dose of pyrotechnics. All of the above were present on this, the closing night of this play. In short, the play worked. Sure, one can make minor myopic criticisms at individual scenes or plot points, but my point is that the overall effect of the play rises above the sum of its parts, parts the Dead Sea of jaded audience hearts and makes you laugh and cry and think - separately and, at times, all at once. For me, the deep emotional imprints I will take away, what struck my gut most effectively, were the twisting of familiar patriotic symbols - visual and musical - into something so scary and dissonant. An American anthem normally so automatic in its feeling of warmth and Star Spangled goodness, as well as our beloved flag, became redefined by play's end, paradigm-shifted into emblems of evil. When the huge Stars and Stripes cascades down as a shredded shroud over the set at the very end, tears welled up out of nowhere. I didn't see it coming - my thinking side was blindsided - and that filled me with, yes, shock and awe. The "Bravo!"s and ovations from the audience made me realize I was not alone. MORE SCOOP: The acting was superb, especially Bryan Cranston as the lead - a fascinating fast-talking fascist fanatic named Welch. Cranston continues to ascend the ladder to the top of the acting chain, my pick to one day succeed Tom Hanks as the go-to guy for playing everything from Everyman to Evil Man. At the closing night afterparty, I asked Bryan what HIS reaction was to the play after he read it; I wanted to see if it was similar to mine, or others so moved by the play. He said his initial reaction was, "What the hell is this?" Perhaps some attendees thought this as well (one in fact told me this - that they didn't quite get it) -- and I can understand that, as there were many ideas and concepts being presented in rapid succession and some things were left ambiguous, probably on purpose given Shepard's mastery of craft, and perhaps to make the play more universal and likely to stand the test of time. But again, it is the overall subliminal impression that always lasts longest, and to me, that gut feeling I got was powerful enough to outweigh any potholes in plot or undotted i's that may have been present. So what IS the answer to "What the hell is 'The God Of Hell'?" Well.. maybe it's... Hell is in the Heartland... or, Hell hath no fury like a Totalitarian scorned... or, Why the hell do we have to put a play in a neat labelled box, anyway? I won't do it, I tell you! I am free to not label; it's a free country - at least for now. So, I say, no need to label possible-planet Pluto OR "The God of Hell". In both cases, the reality, the experiencing of their existence -- that is, SEEING THEM -- is what makes them matter. Doesn't matter what you call them. Maybe if we quit labelling everything - whether planets or people - we would all be a Hell of a lot better off.

Jul 29: McCabes hosted a special night with American treasure MORT SAHL. The LA Report loved his show a couple of months ago; we here in the City of Angels are lucky this true American original still performs often around town, at great intimate settings. Praise for Mort is plentiful: "... dazzling comedic gifts that age has not diminished. He remains a predator of the pompous and pretentious and an election year for him is like feeding time for a lion at the zoo." -Chicago Tribune; "...the so-called "rebel without a pause" blazed a trail for the political humorists of our time, the Dennis Millers, the Jon Stewarts, the Al Frankens, the Bill Mahers." -Chicago Sun Times. So, here's to Mort. He took an irreverent stand on the cutting edge of American social and political humor with his legendary appearances at San Francisco's famed "hungry i" in the early 1950s, refuses to slow down or soften his touch after nearly five decades of ruffling the feathers of the powerful and affluent and shaking a finger at their deeds. Sahl was the first humorist on the cover of "Time" magazine and the first non-musician to win a Grammy Award. His comments today are as incisive as ever. And, as he recounts in one hilarious anecdote, he changed Woody Allen's life! -D.R.

JUL 29: D.A.S.K. Productions presented their 19th Annual Summer Party at Paramount Studios. Event benefited P.S. I Love You Foundation (with a great silent auction, including sports items - can you say framed photo of golf's greatest, Palmer Nicklaus and Tiger?). Guests enjoyed bars at every turn, a spot-on U2 cover band, DJ, 1000 peeps and food carts all over the Streets of New York backlot that made you almost feel you were in the Big Apple; the sweaty weather added to the feeling, too - but I cooled off with great ice cream sandwiches (whoa, kid flashbacks). For info on FUTURE Dask events (Halloween and New Years parties), call Steve Dimon Presents (323) 874-0717.

JUL29: KITSON presented the launch of The "Girls Next Door" by Holly Madison - Jewelry line, available exclusively at Kitson. Celebs who came included the stars of E!’s hit reality series: GND's Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, Kendra Wilkinson -- and Hugh Hefner, natch. Plus: Kathy Griffin! See the new line now. (Thanks to Amplified PR.) -D.R.

JULY 21-28: These days, LA seems to have even more film festivals than fake faces, but here's one with genuine indie cred that always features some new discoveries: the annual DANCES WITH FILMS fest. DWF features films with mostly unknown and/or up and coming actors and directors (and just plain cool celluloid, like a doc about Visual Futurist Syd Mead). www.danceswithfilms.com  

JUL 22: APLA's Summer Party at Paramount Studios was another smash success this year. Eventgoers enjoyed great food, cocktails, dancing, and an excellent silent auction with items such as airline trips and a Melissa Etheridge signed guitar (which started at an amazingly low $75, but soon got bid up to $3000) - as well as a Smirnoff taste testing area, casino gambling for a great cause, Naked Juice tasting, KBIG spinning tunes and broadcasting live, a Wells Fargo info booth with prizes, a chance to win a Mercedes Benz, and live performances from Deborah (it's so hard not to say Debbie) Gibson and Sugar Ray. Make your plans for next year, this is always an A-rated annual affair. -Don Rose

 JUL 16: Attended a "Conversational Quickies" dating event. As in speed dating, there are several "rounds" where you meet new people by moving tables, but CQ features several improvements: (1) you can choose where to move to at each break (2) a new topic is introduced by host Julie Ferman for each "round", instantly giving you something provocative to discuss (3) there are 4 or 5 people per table to chat with each round, not just one, giving you more variety, and (4) you can chat with someone you like again in another round, just by moving to their table. Also, a pro photog takes your "dating mugshot" for you to use online later. The icing on the cake is Julie herself, who runs Cupid's Coach and created these events; she's funny, smart, and suggests intriguing topics. You will learn something, as well as have fun. The LA Report highly recommends this for singles. More info: www.cupidscoach.com . -D.R.