Two mixed media postcards I made while teaching at Sanctuary Studio in San Anselmo:


(I couldn't get the best photos of them...sorry! They all had a glare.)

*****

Last night, David, Tristan and I took the bus up to The Hollywood and Highland Mall for a special Woody Woodpecker screening and discussion. We debated beforehand if we were actually going to go (I hate crowds and was worried it would be insane with all of the stuff going on up there that night) but I am happy to say that we did trek up there in the end!

The bus was jam packed with people. We caught the "Express" with a really, overly friendly driver too. Wow, did he go out of his way to help us (not). They closed off Hollywood so he had to go down Sunset, up Highland and then stopped at Hollywood & Highland. Crazy L.A. They often close down that little strip and it makes life crazy insane.

I can't tell you how many people asked if we were in line for "Harry Potter" (no. Then they'd look at us like we had twelve heads when we said Woody Woodpecker. HUH? I wanted to tell them we were in line for free drugs but kept my mouth shut.)

The show started late. David always likes to sit down front while I prefer to sit in the back. However, with the "discussion", I opted for sitting three rows from the front, right in the middle. Of course, then I wished I had duct tape the whole time with the blonde sitting to my right who had ants in her pants and couldn't sit still. The boy and his Mom in front of her who kept LEAVING. And of course, the people behind us who wouldn't shut up-EVER. Of course 2 people from each of those groups were the ones who won the Woody Woodpecker DVD at the end of the night. LOL, of course! Why give it to someone who actually WANTS it? (Have I ever mentioned that my family is a little batty over animation?)

We were treated to a fabulous "discussion" and talk with Phil Roman (he worked on The Simpsons, and the original How The Grinch Stole Christmas, to name a few things...), Maurice LaMarche ("The Brain" from Pinky & The Brain and LOTS of other films), Billy West (Futurama, Ren & Stimpy and TONS more), Leonard Maltin (the Film Critic and Animation Historian), and lastly, the Queen of Cartoons, June Foray (Rocky! From Rocky & Bullwinkle, Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch, and much much MUCH more). It was a total thrill to see all of them. June, Billy & Maurice all did voices of several of their famous characters (Maurice does a dead on Orson Welles. Billy had me rolling! June is -wow- it was really really cool seeing June Foray in person). They all had lots of behind the scenes stories that made the whole event worth attending.

The discussion lasted about 90 minutes. Tristan found out that Maurice & Billy had done several of his favorite cartoon character voices and wanted autographs. Since he wouldn't go alone, I obliged and was the "good Mom" and went up with him to ask for autographs (I hate asking for autographs but what can you do when he's 10?! LOL). Both men were extremely sweet and shook Tristan's hands.

We stayed for all of the Woody Woodpecker cartoons-a little disappointed that they were video and that they had several problems with the sound (more than once). Also they said that they'd play a Chilly Willy cartoon and a couple of others (they didn't). Several of the people around us left including those who had won the DVDs (grrr). They had really really cool Woody Woodpecker figures that they said they were going to give away (they didn't).

All in all, the night was good. It was a treat seeing cartoons that I grew up with on the big screen. The only ones I don't remember seeing were Oswald and the musical numbers that they played.

Afterwards, we all had rumbling bellies and trekked over to Mel's Diner on Highland. It was 11:15 and the place was hopping. This is the second time I've been to Mel's in about a month and both times it's been extremely disappointing (food wise and service wise). We'll see if we go back any time soon...

I gotta tell you, walking home through the streets of Hollywood at midnight is quite an adventure. It usually takes us at least an hour. We made it home in 30 minutes. LOL Yeah, we were walking a little fast...

Comments

~jolene said…
LOVE the postcards - such incredible composition!

Woody Woodpecker was one of my favorites when I was a kid..and I had the 'laugh' down perfect :)
Alix said…
A few months ago, I saw a woodpecker pecking at a telephone poll in Rockridge (near Berkeley) and immediately thought, "WOW, they really ARE like Woody!" Yeah, city girl, huh?

Bummer on the give-aways. I wish they had a meter that would tell them who really cared, and just include those folks. But it sounds like a great family outing nonetheless!

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