18th Century and Before

• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The by Benjamin Franklin
• Beowulf by Unknown
• Candide by Voltaire
• Common Sense by Thomas Paine
• Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
• Epic of Gilgamesh by Unknown
• Federalist Papers, The by Alexander Hamilton
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
• Holy Bible
• Prince, The by Niccolo Machiavelli
• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
• Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior... by George Washington

19th Century

• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The by Mark Twain
• Adventures of Oliver Twist, The by Charles Dickens
• Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The by Mark Twain
• Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

All-Time Favorites

• Gladiator (2000) dir. by Ridley Scott
• Meet Joe Black (1998) dir. by Martin Brest
• Legends of the Fall (1994) dir. by Edward Zwick
• Something's Gotta Give (2003) dir. by Nancy Meyers
• Lord of War (2005) dir. by Andrew Niccol
• Notting Hill (1999) dir. by Roger Michell
• Traffic (2000) dir. by Steven Soderbergh
• Big Fish (2003) dir. by Tim Burton
• Pretty Woman (1990) dir. by Garry Marshall
• Star Wars (1977) dir. by George Lucas)
• Heat (1995) dir. by Michael Mann
• American History X (1998) dir. by Tony Kaye
• Raiders of the Lost Arc (1981) dir. by Steven Spielberg
• Cidade de Deus [City of God] (2002) dir. by Fernando Meirelles
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008) dir. by Danny Boyle
• Tristan + Isolde (2006) dir. by Kevin Reynolds
• Fight Club (1999) dir. by David Fincher
• Tombstone (1993) dir. by George P. Cosmatos
• V for Vendetta (2005) dir. by James McTeigue
• Memento (2000) dir. by Christopher Nolan

during elementary and junior high

• Grease: Motion Picture Soundtrack (1978)
• Donna Summer: On The Radio (1979)

in high school

• Michael Jackson: Thriller (1982)
• U2: War (1983)
• The Smiths: The Queen is Dead (1986)

in college

• Depeche Mode: Black Celebration (1986)
• Sting: Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985)
• Peter Gabriel: So (1986)
• Ruben Blades: Buscando America (1984)
• Ruben Blades: Agua de Luna (1986)
• George Michael: Faith (1987)
• George Winston: December (1982)

during grad school

• Erasure: Chorus (1991)
• R.E.M.: Automatic for the People (1992)

1980 :

• Rock With You by Michael Jackson
• Fame by Irene Cara
• Call Me by Blondie
• Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
• It's Still Rock n' Roll to Me by Billy Joel
• Sailing by Christopher Cross
• Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benetar
• Whip It by Devo
• Turning Japanese by The Vapors
• Escape {The Piña Colada Song} by Rupert Holmes

1981

• Tainted Love by Soft Cell
• In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
• The Tide is High by Blondie
• Celebration by Kool & The Gang
• Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon
• 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton
• Don't You Want Me? by The Human League
• Who Can it Be Now? by Men at Work

• Annie (Los Angeles)
• Evita (Los Angeles)
• 42nd Street (Los Angeles)
• Les Misérables (Los Angeles)
• Phantom of the Opera (Los Angeles)
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (New York)
• Beauty and the Beast (Los Angeles)
• The Lion King (Los Angeles)
• Phantom (Las Vegas)
• Wicked (San Francisco)

Michael Mina , San Francisco. (exec chef Michael Mina / chef de cuisine...)

• 1st: foie gras terrine (gingerbread, huckleberry gelée & hazelnut streusel)
• 2nd: wild Columbia River sturgeon (smoked sturgeon croquette, California select caviar & leek cream)
• 3rd: herb-roasted black bass (beef short rib, savoy cabbage & parsnip purée)
• 4th: California chicken breast (shiitake dumplings, Kabocha squash & smoked consommé)
• 5th: Elysian Fields Farm lamb shank and loin (heirloom chicories, Anson Mills polenta & roasted garlic jus)
• 6th: pecorino foja de noche (candied walnut, thyme& star-anise)

Sona , Los Angeles. (exec chef David Myers / chef de cuisine ...)

• 1st: New Zealand snapper tartare (gingered cucumber & Nori jam)
• 2nd: seared foie gras (kumquat purée, pa...

• Guernica painting by Pablo Picasso
• Mother and Child color screenprint by Andy Warhol
• Prodigal Son painting by Rembrandt
• Birth of Venus painting by Boticelli
• David sculpture by Michelangelo
• John F. Kennedy portrait by Aaron Shikler
• On a Beach drawing by Paul Cadmus
• Le Baiser de l’Hôtel de Ville photograph by Robert Doisneau
• Prometo: Yo te Doy el Fuego painting by Joan Sasgar

Where I've Been...

• Alaska : Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay Natl. Park
• Arizona : Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon Natl. Park, Flagstaff
• California : you name it...
• Florida : Miami, St. Petersburg, Tampa
• Illinois : Chicago
• Maryland : Bethesda
• Massachusetts : Boston, Cape Cod, Provincetown
• Michigan : Detroit, Bloomfield Hills
• Nevada : Reno, Las Vegas, Carson City
• New Jersey : Jersey City
• New York : NYC
• Utah : Zion National Park
• Virginia : Falls Church, Williamsburg, Charlottesville, Mt. Vernon, Arlington
• Washington : Seattle, Kent
• Washington, DC

Where I Want to Go...

California (county)

• Alcatraz Island (San Francisco)
• Balboa Park (San Diego)
• Bodie Historic District (Mono)
• Fort Mason (San Francisco)
• Hotel del Coronado (San Diego)
• Little Tokyo Historic District (Los Angeles)
• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles)
• Manzanar War Relocation Center (Inyo)
• Mission Beach Roller Coaster (San Diego)
• Richard M. Nixon Birthplace (Orange)
• Old Sacramento Historic District (Sacramento)
• Presidio of San Francisco (San Francisco)
• Rose Bowl (Los Angeles)
• San Diego Mission Church (San Diego)
• San Diego Presidio (San Diego)
• San Francisco Cable Car (San Francisco)

• catch a sailfish or marlin in Mexico
• see a whale off the Altantic Coast
• play football in Red Square
• have a romantic "sex-capade" in Paris
• climb a pyramid in Giza
• bicycle to a picnic lunch in the Loire Valley
• wine tasting in Bordeaux
• attend a Kentucky Derby horse race
• bungee jump on South Island, New Zealand
• go caving in an Asian rainforest
• climb Mt. Fuji
• go dogsledding in Alaska
• photo safari in Kenya
• horseback riding in Wyoming
• scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef
• go skiing and have hot chocolate in Switzerland
• see a bullfight in Spain
• participate in the running of the bulls in Pamplona

• Great Pyrenees: Churiko
• Great Pyrenees: Izarra
• Hamster: Bogie
• Great Pyrenees: Labri
• Yellow Lab: Nico
• Beagle: Maya
• Great Pyrenees: Chiko
• Great Pyrenees: Neska
• Westie: Churiko Gabana de la Havana
• Golden Retriever: Kemen Anton de las Montañas

• puffy stickers
• stamps
• coins
• baseball cards/memorabilia
• historical newspapers
• books
• CDs
• movies (VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, Blue Ray)
• presidential campaign pins/buttons
• yearly Christmas tree ornaments

• AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
• About a Boy (2002)
• About Last Night (1986)
• About Schmidt (2002)
• Above the Law (1988)
• Above the Rim (1994)
• Absence of Malice (1981)
• Absolute Power (1997)
• The Abyss (1989)
• Accepted (2006)
• The Accidental Tourist (1988)
• The Accused (1988)
• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1993)
• Ace Ventura : When Nature Calls (1995)
• Across the Universe (2007)
• Action Jackson (1988)
• Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights (2002)
• Adaptation (2002)
• The Addams Family (1991)

Entire Series

• Friends
• M*A*S*H
• The OC
• Queer as Folk
• Six Feet Under
• Sopranos
• West Wing
• Will and Grace

Seasons_

• CSI
• NCIS
• Nip Tuck
• Smallville

• Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel
• The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
• Water Music by George Frideric Handle
• Symphony #41 ("Jupiter") by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Sonata in A major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Air on a G String by Johann Sebastian Bach
• Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
• Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven
• Piano Concerto 5 ("Emperor" Concerto) by Ludwig van Beethoven
• Sonata No. 8 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
• 1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66 by Frédéric Chopin
• Hungarian Rhapsody #2 by Franz Liszt
• Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major by Maurice Ravel
• Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy

under construction

My Favorites...

• Campanile (Los Angeles)
• Ortolan (Los Angeles)
• Mélisse (Santa Monica)
• Grace (Los Angeles)
• Bistro Garden (Studio City)
• Sona (Los Angeles)
• Michael Mina (San Francisco)
• Lucques (Los Angeles)
• Il Cielo (Beverly Hills)
• Les Pyrénées (St. Jean Pied de Port, FR)

My 2009 Hopefulls...

• French Laundry (Napa Valley)
• Providence (Los Angeles)
• La Cachette (Century City)
• Patina (Los Angeles)
• Spago(Beverly Hills)
• Fraiche (Los Angeles)
• Urasawa (Beverly Hills)
• Cicada (Los Angeles)

• Kobe filet
• Lobster
• Ahi Tuna
• Oranges
• McDonald's Fries
• Baby-back Ribs
• Brocolli (got to have some veggies)
• Fresh French Bread
• Cheeses
• Chocolate :p

Where I've Been...

• Bahamas : Nassau
• Canada : Victoria, Vancouver
• Czech Republic : Prague
• Denmark : Copenhagen, Rønne
• Egypt : Cairo, Giza
• Euskadi : Donibane Garazi, Donosti, Uharte, Luzaide, Biarritz, etc.
• Finland : Helsinki
• France : Paris, Nice, Cannes, Bordeaux, Capbreton, Pau, Saint Tropez
• Germany : Hamburg, West/East Berlin
• Hong Kong
• India : Madras, New Delhi, Agra
• Italy : Rome; Florence
• Japan : Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima
• Malaysia : Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Taman Negara Natl. Park
• Mexico : Mexico City, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Acapulco, Ensenada, Tijuana
• Monaco : Monte Carlo

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

• Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt)
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Iraq)
• Statue of Zeus at Olympia (Greece)
• Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Turkey)
• Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (Turkey)
• Colossus of Rhodes (Greek island of Rhodes)
• Lighthouse of Alexandria (Egypt)

Wonders of the Medieval World

• Stonehenge (UK)
• Colosseum (Italy)
• Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (Egypt)
• Great Wall of China (China)
• Porcelain Tower of Nanjing (China)
• Hagia Sophia (Turkey)
• Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy)

Seven Natural Wonders of the World

• ALABAMA
• ALASKA
  • Glacier Bay
• AMERICAN SAMOA
• ARIZONA
  • Grand Canyon Natl. Park
  • Sonora Desert
• ARKANSAS
• CALIFORNIA
  • Alcatraz (SF)
  • Death Valley Natl. Park
  • Golden Gate Bridge (SF)
  • Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park (SF)
  • Lombard Street (SF)
  • Mann Chinese Theatre (LA)
  • Palm Spring Aerial Tramway
  • Pier 39, Fisherman's Warf (SF)

• The inauguration for the 44th President was the 56th inauguration in U.S. history.
• The theme for the 56th Inauguration was "Renewing America's Promise"
• Sec. of Defense Robert Gates was the cabinet member designated to not attend the inauguration, but instead be kept in a secured location.
• During the inauguration, 92 people (including florists, art curators, chefs, and carpet-layers) had 6 hours to move the Obamas into the White House. The residence only has 2 elevators.
• Because of the large crowds, spectators without tickets had the choice of attending either the inauguration viewing on The Mall or the parade- not both.
• This was the 7th inauguration from the west front of the Capitol. It changed with Ronald Reagan who wanted to face Californ...

• Novelist
• Travel Writer
• Photojournalist
• 60 Minutes Correspondent
• Cruise Ship Captain
• Supreme Court Justice
• Radio Talk Show Host
• Larry King's job

• Alter Your Life by Emmet Fox
• Art of Happiness, The by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das
• Buddhism: Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen
• Everyday Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck
• Evolve Your Brain by Joe Dispenza, D.C.
• Holy Bible
• Illusions by Richard Bach
• The Shack by William P. Young
• New Earth, A by Eckhart Toole
• Power of Now, The by Eckhart Toole
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• Taking the Quantum Leap by Fred Alan Wolf
• Thank You Power by Deborah Norville
• What the Bleep Do We Know by Arntz, Chasse & Vicente
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

1970's...

• Speed Racer
• Tom and Jerry
• Scooby Doo
• Brady Bunch
• Six Million Dollar Man
• Hardy Boys
• Donny and Marie
• Love American Style
• Match Game
• Happy Days
• Laverne and Shirley
• Three's Company
• The Love Boat
• Fantasy Island
• Facts of Life
• Mork and Mindy
• Dukes of Hazzard
• Diff'rent Strokes
• Alice
• The Jeffersons

• Billy Joel : The Great Western Forum, 1984
• The Go-Go's : The Greek Theatre, 1984
• The Smiths : Universal Amphitheatre, 1986
• George Michael : Irvine Meadows Aphitheater, 1988
• Erasure : Wiltern Theater, 1992
• Josh Groban : Hollywood Bowl, 2005
• Brian Wilson : Hollywood Bowl, 2005
• The Damnwells : San Diego State University, 2006
• The Fray : San Diego State University, 2006
• Vega4 : Wiltern Theater, 2007
• Augustana : Wiltern Theater, 2007
• Lisa Hannigan : The Greek Theater, 2008
• Jason Mraz : The Greek Theater, 2008

• Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
• One by U2
• I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
• Waterfalls by TLC
• Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
• Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinéad O'Connor
• Jeremy by Pearl Jam
• MMMBop by Hanson
• My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
• Mr. Jones by Counting Crows
• Wonderwall by Oasis
• Iris by Goo Goo Dolls
• Who Will Save Your Soul by Jewel
• Life Goes On by Tupac
• Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover by Sophie B. Hawkins
• I Alone by Live
• I'll Be by Edwin McCain
• Believe by Cher
• Run Around by Blues Traveler
• Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn
• All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

• Alegría
• Cirque 2009 (working title)
• Corteo (San Diego)
• Criss Angel Believe
• Dralion
• KÀ
• KOOZA
• La Nouba
• Mystère (Santa Monica)
• "O"
• Quidam
• Saltimbanco
• The Beatles LOVE
• Varekai
• Wintuk
• ZAIA
• ZED
• Zumanity (Las Vegas)

• cookies 'n cream
• chocolate chip cookie dough
• rum raison
• mocha
• cherries garcia
• vanilla
• pink bubblegum
• chocolate brownie
• chunky monkey

• Herb Ritts : love his creative approach to portraits and the unmatched beauty of his nudes; made me want to be a photographer.
• Robert Mapplethorpe : showed us the world through his eyes like no one else; he lived photography!
• Greg Gorman : his capture of the human form is flawless and inspiring.
• George Hurrell : what I'd give to be able to turn back time and sit in on one photoshoot!
• Diane Arbus : found the most amazing people to shoot.
• David Bailey : so cool; so in-your-face; could look at his images for hours
• Robert Doisneau : astounding how he captured an entire city's personality with him photojournalistic style of shooting.
• David LaChapelle : duh!!
• Michael Grecco : amazing dramatic portraiture; so inspiring!
• James Porto : a "pixel surgeon" with amazing vision and technical skill.

Czech Republic

• Prague Castle
• Prague Torture Museum

Denmark

• Rosenborg Castle

Egypt

• Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

France

• Château de Versailles
• Musée du Louvre
• Musée Rodin
• Musée d'Orsay

Great Britain

• Clink Museum
• Tower of London
• Windsor Castle

Italy

• Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington, Virginia)
• The Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.)
• The National Memorial Arch (Valley Forge National Historical Park)
• The Tomb of the Unknowns (Arlington, Virginia)
• The Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
• The Mount Rushmore National Memorial (Keystone, South Dakota)
• The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis, Missouri)
• The Jefferson Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
• The USMC War Memorial (Arlington, Virginia)
• The USS Arizona Memorial (Honolulu, Hawaii)
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington, D.C.)

• 1976: Jimmy Carter
• 1980: Ronald Reagan
• 1984: Ronald Reagan
• 1988: George H.W. Bush
• 1992: Bill Clinton
• 1996: Bill Clinton
• (1998: Jed Bartlett)
• 2000: Al Gore
• 2004: John Kerry (after Wesley Clark)
• 2008: Barack Obama

in the 70's...

• Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood : went to grammar school with their daughters; regularly saw them at school events. (Years later, Robert Wagner moved next-door to a family home).
• Sonny Bono and Cher: went to grammar school with their daughter, Chastity (and shared her birthday); regularly saw them there.
• Walter O'Malley: lived down the street; made fun of one of my halloween costumes.

in the 80's...

• Donna Summer: carpooled with her daughter, Mimi; often saw her wave goodbye.
• Muhammad Ali: picking up dry cleaning on Wilshire Blvd.
• Gary Coleman: taking a tour of my high school, considering it for himself.
• Dom DeLuise , Gary Collins, and John Davidson: picking their kids up from same camp I went to.
• Tom Hanks: visiting the L.A. Children's Museum whe...