Akeelah and the Bee

Everyone should run -- not walk -- RUN to go see this awesome movie! Trust me, it's a very special film. The young actress, Keke Palmer, who plays the lead is outstanding. It's such a great movie. I walked out of the theater feeling so good and inspired. Strange enough, there was a quick shot of Universal City where I saw the movie, and where, I will never see another movie again in my life. That place is so ghetto. I call it the poor man's Grove (those of you who live in LA will understand).

I went from a high after the movie to a low soon after when my friend and I went to grab a margarita at one of the restaurants there. It started out great. We sat outside next to a wall that is a waterfall. Then, just before we were going to leave, someone threw something at my back. Like an ice cube maybe? So I glanced over my shoulder at the one and only table behind me and there was a table of six middle-age, Midwestern-looking folks sitting there, one of which was laughing his ass off and did not acknowledge our looks.

When we got up to leave, my friend and I gave them dirty looks and we left. However, I forgot my hoodie at the table, so we had to return. As I'm approaching the stairs to go back down to our table, the Midwesterners are ascending the stairs and the jack-ass who was laughing before was clutching my hoodie. As soon as he saw me, he chucked it at me violently and started cussing at me! So I asked him why he was cussing me and he said because you and your friend were staring at me. And I said -- because you threw something at my back (moron)! And he said, what makes you think I threw it? Because you were the only table behind me -- who else could have done it? DUH! His wife had to come between us before a bar room brawl broke out. It wasn't pretty. So never again will I go to Universal City, which is sad because it could be a very cool place if it weren't for the hordes of trash that flock there.

Sunday I attended a networking event at Sony Studios with the production team behind my favorite soap opera, "General Hospital". I was fortunate enough to speak with the producer, who is going to forward my resume to the writing staff. I also met the actress who plays Big Alice, the Quartermaine's maid and one of my favorite actors from the show, Leslie Charleson, who plays Monica Quatermaine. She's a very cool, down-to-earth lady.