Invisible L.A.

Captain Morgan(R) Original Spiced Rum has announced the second summer of the “Ultimate Pose Off” campaign to find the best adaptation of the “Captain’s Pose” depicted on the label of the Captain Morgan bottle. Contestants will face off against each other in more than 1,200 “Pose Off” contests hosted by Captain Morgan and his Morganettes. The in-bar events will help find the “Ultimate Captain Morgan Poser” who will win a grand-prize trip to Hugh Hefner’s Halloween party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.

Consumers 21 and older who submit their own “Pose Off” photo on www.CaptainMorgan.com between May 26, 2008 and September 3, 2008 are also eligible to win. All entries will be judged on originality, creativity, technical merit and overall “awesomeness”.

Upload your pose at www.CaptainMorgan.com and you might be partying at the Playboy Mansion this Halloween!

There is no downturn in high-end Los Angeles real estate. L.A.’s affluent neighborhoods where the money is such as Brentwood and Westwood and costal Laguna and Newport Beach are up substantially this year.

Here is how some Los Angeles neighborhoods are doing:

The Hollywood Hills up 26% to a median price of more than $2.1 million

Rancho Palos Verdes and the Palos Verdes peninsula up 17%

Brentwood is up 16%

Newport Beach is some parts up as much as 67% to a $2.75 million median price

Laguna Beach is up 6%

CBS studios at Beverly and Fairfax has a great history as well. The studios was built in 1952 on the famous Gilmore stadium where the professional “Hollywood Stars” baseball team would play. Such great baseball stars that played were like, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Billy Martin. The team was owned by such big stars such as George Burns, Greacie Allen, Gary Cooper, William Powell, Bing Crosby and Cecille B. DeMille. But back to more history, one of many shows that were taped at the Beverly/Fairfax were the Carol Burnett show, The Sonny and Cher, The Ed Sullivan Show(where the Beatles made they did their first US show).

I have been into the CBS Studios several times for several shows. It is a great experience to view live TV shows. I have seen such shows for free such as “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker, The Hollywood Squares and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. And if you are a big soap opera fan of “The Young And The Restless” and “The Bold and The Beautiful” you may get a peek at a few of the stars going and out or just hanging out in the back for small time chatter.

All the tickets are free to get to see the shows. There are several ways to get free tickets. One way is to drive to the CBS studios on Beverly and Fairfax and walk to the ticket window. The ticket window is open 5 days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM. You pick the show, the date and what time(several shows do several tapings per day). Another way to get free tickets is of course to do a search via the net, there are many services out there that you can order tickets from. Or you can call directly to the studios, which is: 1 - 323 - 575 - 2458. And if you are a local of the Los Angeles area, many studios hire temporary agencies or firms to hire what many call in the industry as “Audience Paticipants”. Yes indeed they do get paid. You may not know who they are in the audience because one of the rules is they can not tell others they are there to fill seats and to get paid.

If you want to see a listing of the television shows that are not affected by the 2007 - 2008 writers strike. Here is the listing as of January 21, 2008. Reports are coming in that some studios are actually closing in on deals with the writers union. Many believe the strike will relatively end at the end of January 2008. Here is some information about CBS television show dress code, parking, arrival time and attending the show.

Yes indeed, I took another visit to Farmers Market the day after Christmas. I had some cash to use from a present I recieved. So I had the time and cash to splurge on myself. After browsing the stores like, Victorias Secret, Barnes and Noble, Bath & Body Works, Crate & Barrel, Bannana Republic, Apple Store and Table La Sur at The Grove. One could only imagine how hungry one can get after the long day of shopping.

There is a restaurant in Farmers Market I always wanted to try out. The name of it is Kado -Ssushi - Teppan Lounge. It’s on the more pricier side. But I thought what the hey, it’s Christmas time and I had a little cash left over. Well, it so happens that on the way up the stairs a Kado Hostess was passing out flyers on their specials. Which was a $20.00 all you can eat sushi bar. the special runs till February 15, 2008. Much better than paying the typical $4.00 - $8.00 per plate of sushi. and I wanted to try different kinds and didn’t want to be limited to one to three dishes to try. So I opted for the all you can eat. the hours to for the all you can eat sushi is from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm.

I got there roughly around 2:30 pm with my daughter and a family friend. There were a few patrons there and was not overly busy. Once we walked through the front door we got a big greeting from the sushi chefs who shout out their way of welcoming you in Japanese.(mind you there were four of them). Once we sat down and the waitress handing me the drink list(which i bypassed and choose to have water). Chopsticks and a dish of fresh wasabi(green of course) and gari - fresh pickeled ginger were set to the side. A placemat of pictures of the different types of sushi was at my table setting so I can identify them on the conveyor belt. Kado primarily serves futomaki, hosomaki and uramaki styled sushi.

The first dish I picked was of course was the freshly cooked soybean. I love seeding the pods for the delicate soy bean. And it’s a good thing to have a friends with you. whatever you may not care for, you may share with your friends. We chose these types of sushi off of the conveyor belt:
temaki - spicy tuna rolls
california rolls - crab and avocado
himachi - yellow tail
hotato - scallops
sake - salmon
amaebi - sweet shrimp
eel
edamame - soybeans

So make a visit to Kado - Sushi - Teppan Lounge in the next few weeks to take advantage of the special pricing on their all you can eat sushi. The pricing, ambience and excellent tasting sushi is well worth it.

Living in LA requires a dose of reality. How about spending the day getting some Los Angeles style reality?

Jonathan Salon Beverly Hills on “Blow Out” is the place to get a new Beverly Hills look. You want to catch a bite to eat? Mel’s Drive In on “The Surreal Life” is the place. “Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” Gary Coleman and Vanilla Ice have worked at this legendary diner for the day. How about passing by the Playboy Mansion? Playboy Mansion on “The Girls Next Door” is the place to catch a glimpse of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and his beautiful bunnies.

In the evening, The Laugh Factory on “Work Out” and Cabana Club will entertain you. The Cabana revives Hollywood glamor and has been featured on “The Real Housewives of Orange County”. The Cabana Club has a hidden-oasis patio with palm trees, cabanas, waterfalls and a shallow pool.

1. Jonathan Salon Beverly Hills
   Address: 9681 Wilshire Blvd.
   Cross Street: Bedford Dr.
   Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
   Phone: (310) 273-9999
2. Mel’s Drive-In
   Address: 8585 Sunset Blvd.
   Cross Street: La Cienega Blvd.
   Neighborhood: West Hollywood
   Phone: (310) 854-7200
   Hours: Open 24 hours daily
3. The Laugh Factory
   Address: 8001 Sunset Blvd.
   Cross Street: Crescent Hghts.
   Neighborhood: West Hollywood
   Phone: (323) 656-1336
   Hours: Show times vary
4. Playboy Mansion
   Address: 10236 Charing Cross Rd.
   Cross Street: Sunset Blvd.
   Neighborhood: West LA & S. Robertson



5. Cabana Club
   Address: 1439 N. Ivar Ave.
   Cross Street: Sunset Blvd.
   Neighborhood: Hollywood
   Phone: (323) 463-0005
   Hours: Wed-Sat 9:30pm-2am