L.A.Xcellent

I'm in Los Angeles this week doing some work with Loyola Productions, which is a Jesuit-run film and TV production company. They do a lot of work for Jesuit institutions, creating short documentaries or marketing pieces. They've also got this great series on hidden treasures of the Jesuits, sort of a documentary meets mystery kind of show, that they're pitching at various places. Check out the trailer -- click here, and then look under "Promos" for Hidden Treasures of the Jesuits. It's very cool.

The weather here is outstanding; 85 degrees and clear skies. The nearby area is in the midst of a horrible fire, I hear the worst in the history of the state. Some days it's been very hazy, and you come out to find little bits of ash covering the cars. But it's strange -- in most ways the city seems to move and flow as it normally does. It's the way of things, I guess. Mysterious.

I've been meaning to follow up with some more interesting post-election stuff. Have you seen the Obama family slide show from election night? It's quite striking. Lots of wonderful shots of the whole family; you can tell something important is happening on TV, but in another way, you'd hardly know it was a presidential election. And there is that now characteristic sobriety. My one hope for Barack Obama is that at some point in his four years he has the opportunity to engage in a massive pillow fight with his daughters and their friends.

I'm not sure I told anyone, but I had the chance to meet Obama when I arrived here in L.A. It was a really amazing moment; and his staffers actually took a photo for me, which was amazing.



The thing that really hit me that I hadn't noticed before is the length of his right earlobe. Somehow they fix it on TV, but he really has an unusually extended lobe.

I've got other photos to share from Election night -- I know, I'm way behind. (On the other hand, I still haven't told you about spitting the dummy or fair dinkum, and that's from 7 months ago. So, it's all relative.)