For LA Readers: Napa/Sonoma All-Star Wines

I highly recommend hitting this event. It's a lot of fun and involves some great wineries. Hit up the link at the bottom to get more details and to buy tickets (at a big discount)!



Sunday, April 17th 2011, 1-4pm
Under the Big Top at Wally’s
Only $39.99 per person!
$50 at the door

A tasting of nearly 200 Napa/Sonoma All-Star Wines!

Baseball season will just be under way, but Wally’s will be prepared to play host to over 70 proven All-Star wineries, each of which will be fielding a pair of their finest offerings. The Wally’s Big Top will be teeming with nearly 200 Napa/Sonoma wines being poured by, in many instances, the winemaker or winery principal. In addition, All-Stars II event special pricing will be extended exclusively to those in attendance. Cheeses and bread from the Wally’s Cheese Box are included in the price of admission, highlighted by Cowgirl Creamery’s Peg Smith’s personally offering samples of her award-winning products. The popular duo of “Let’s Be Frank” and “Eduardo's Border Grill” will be on hand, so the very best hot dogs, burritos and tacos will also be available for purchase. Don’t delay, tell your friends and sign up today!


http://www.wallywine.com/p-73502-2011-all-stars-napasonoma-wine-tasting-at-wallys-sunday-april-17.aspx

10 For Thursday

Over the last few days, Twitter has been buzzing with #100factsaboutme entries (the assumed ending being: "that you don't already know"). Though I'm clearly a fascinating creature, I'm not sure any of us is really ready for you to have 100 new pieces of information about moi. I do, however, think that divulging 10 new, and potentially embarrassing, factoids is something we can all survive.

Here are your 10 for Thursday.

1. I can't stop singing "Loser Like Me" from Glee.
   
   There is just something so relentlessly upbeat about it. Even my hard-won cynicism is powerless in the face of that much hope. I'm seeking therapy.
   
2. I've already cried at the trailer for Fox's Mobbed.
   Before you judge—have you seen it? The guy loves his intended so much, he takes over The Grove, gets hundreds of people together, and they all perform an intricate dance leading to the marriage proposal. I can't get a guy to hold the elevator for me when I'm carrying a month's worth of groceries.
   
3. I'm the person the article warns you about (http://www.topdatingsites.com/blog/2011/10-signs-you-are-dating-a-workaholic).
   It's true. I confess. The first thing I do in the morning, regardless of how early the hour, is check my blackberry's email. I claim that it is because I want to know what the work day has in store for me. This is partially true. Doesn't really explain why I head to Twitter immediately following the email check, but let's pretend it's related.
   
4. I love The Broad Stage.
   Not only does The Broad Stage have amazing artists coming in every month, but the facility is gorgeous. Things people don't mention about this place—the bathroom is sumptuous, the parking is at the facility (and free) and the receptions out in the courtyard are completely worth the extra on the ticket price. I'd like to take responsibility for the facility as DM and I attended one of the first fundraisers for the construction, but something tells me that it cost more than $100. You get bonus points if you can tell me exactly how David Duchovny, Jeff Goldblum and Blair Underwood are related to the place.
   
5. I'm envious of the person with a concert hall attached to her house.
   No, seriously, I know someone who has a concert hall attached to her home. You'd never know it from the street, but it's there. They don't really advertise. The events are mostly word of mouth, but once you are on the list, it's magic. Right now there is a play reading series, featuring known actors, happening in someone's backyard addition. This is the secret Hollywood I can get behind.
   
6. The surest sign I will purchase/use something is if you hear me say incredulously, "Why would I need that?"
   See iPad, iPhone, iPod, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. What can I say; I play almost as hard to get with technology as I do with men.
   
7. I'm obsessed with 80s mini-series watching.
   Not that long ago, I allowed some friends into my apartment (shocking!) to watch The Thorn Birds. We watched all eight hours in one sitting—that's a lot of cheese, popcorn, cupcakes and wine. And I'm not likely to stop any time soon—after all, East of Eden has arrived.
   
8. I'm never spontaneous—until I am.
   I moved to Los Angeles from New York without knowing anyone because of a vacation I took with a friend of mine. I flew to San Francisco for Wondercon one year without making any plans (including plane reservations) to be there.
   
9. I can't figure out why women want to look like porn stars.
   Nothing against porn stars—I'm sure they are all fabulous, beautiful people. But there is a particular look, and it tended to be one that non-porn industry professionals tried to avoid. The longer I'm in LA, the more it seems as though that particular industry has informed everything from behavior to body hair. Have the women of Los Angeles decided that they need to duplicate the fantasy in order to connect with the 5.6 straight, single and employed men who shower currently living in this city?
   
10. The biggest compliment I can give someone is to tell them that they interest me.
    Despite my self-professed hermit-tude, I come into contact with a lot of people. However, I'm much more likely to be perplexed or vexed than interested. It's just part of my charm.
    

Those are my 10 for Thursday. Now you play.

Kate

Quick Question

If a man said to you, "You are all round and soft in a way few women in Los Angeles are" would you feel affronted or flattered? Peevish or preening? Dropped into a never-ending pit of despair followed by six consecutive months of Bar Method, or continued gentle glides around the neighborhood?

I honestly don't know.

Go.

The Serenade

Dear Serenading Neighbor,

I understand that there are times when the music just takes you, and your soul demands that you sing "Love Will Keep Us Together" at the top of your lungs. Who doesn't love the Captain and his Tennille? There is many a drive to work that has included my stunning renditions of "Muskrat Love."

Was that a snicker? Sir, you are in no position to laugh.

Nina Simone was an amazing singer. I get that you would want to pay homage… for three or four hours…last night… when I was trying to sleep. And again at 3:25am. However, the neighbors screaming at you from below your window did not seem to feel the same degree of music appreciation that I was experiencing. Perhaps you had on headphones and couldn't hear the villagers gathering with their pitchforks? That might also explain the somewhat atonal quality of the vocal stylings.

I'd like to believe that you are preparing a serenade inspired by Lloyd Dobler himself. If that's the case, let me know. I will hold your boom box (not a euphemism).

If not, perhaps you should keep in mind that there is absolutely no sound-proofing in your apartment. And that "feeling good" becomes somewhat less thrilling the later the hour and the greater the number of times you decide to sing it.

I'm not saying that you should stop—sing on, good man; sing on. But perhaps the zeal could come on a little earlier in the evening?

Oh, and if you actually turn out to be John Cusack reminiscing, I am absolutely willing to forgive you (and I have an entire book of duets that could be perfect for us).

Kate

 

Invisibility Cloak

Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to burst into tears for no discernable reason? Yeah, me neither.

(picture me kicking the dirt with my toe, head hanging down)

Ok, that might have happened to me once… on Thursday… when my invisibility cloak came out of retirement.

It was a typical day at work. I'd gone through the standard "why-God-why" mantra when forcing myself out of bed for work. I'd arrived at work thinking something along the lines of, "There has to be more than this." I braced for impact when a particularly abrasive colleague asked for something ASAP—which naturally meant drop everything you are doing to help me because I'm stomping my foot and I said so, rather than a reflection of any actual urgency. I dealt with it with my usual aplomb: completing the request while mentally re-writing my resignation letter to exchange "regretfully" to "gleefully."

It was an ordinary day.

At lunch, I escaped to a little café near work. It was early for normal humans to be eating lunch, so there was only one other customer waiting (she had already ordered). I walked up to the counter. The woman behind the counter was on the phone taking an order, so I waited. She finished the order call and turned away from me to submit the order. I remained at the counter patiently and contemplated my life. She turned back around and picked up her cell phone. She texted. She turned to talk to the other person in the room bagging up a delivery order. She turned back around towards me. She went back to texting. Just as I was about to say something to her, a man walked into the café. She immediately looked up and asked him if she could take his order.

I looked around. Did anyone else notice that I was being totally ignored? No.

No one noticed me at all.

Normally, I pride myself for being undetectable. I like being the "man behind the curtain," so to speak. But to my dismay, I started to feel my nose get red and my eyes well up. And I just turned around and walked out. I never said a word and no one ever acknowledged that I was there.

They never saw me. I didn't count.

It was an ordinary day.

I'm not loud. I'm not brash. I don't take what I want. I'm the consequence girl who works hard and thinks that slow and steady will be enough. I'm polite—even to people I can't stand. And I don't count.

It was an ordinary day.

Kate

 

Lovely LA Times Surprise

Look what the lovely Los Angeles Times provided the city with this morning.

Click on the image to make it bigger.

White Collar

It has been a while since I've brought you a little touch of Hollywood. Tonight, I attended the "White Collar" panel as part of Paley Fest. I'm a casual viewer, but Pen is slowly turning me into a fan-- and it has made the DVR.

After tonight, I think it's going to make the DVR's consistent line-up! The cast and crew were terrific, and I loved having David E. Kelley moderate. It turned out to be a very entertaining way to welcome me back to LA after another trip to New York (more on that later).

And now... a couple of photos of the panel (alas, I couldn't get a good shot of the entire group, but my side was awfully pretty...)

Awkward

Two Stories for Friday

A Real Beauty

I was at the beauty supply store trying not to commit suicide over the extraordinary cost of the shampoo and conditioner I "should" be using when I was approached by one of the women who work there.

Woman: Do you have a sister?

Kate: No.

Woman: But you are French, yes?

Kate: No.

Woman: Really? You don't have a sister in France?

At this point, I was thinking that maybe lying would actually be better because she seemed to really want me to be French and have a sister.

Kate: No, sorry.

Woman: You look like a girl who used to come in here. Such a beautiful face.

Kate: Aw, thank you! (picture beaming, thoroughly ego-boosted smile)

Woman: She really was very pretty. She was so lovely.

Kate: (awkward pause, faltering smile, followed by the quickest purchase of hair products in the history of female-hair-product-purchasing)

You have to love the awkward that comes with accepting a compliment that was not meant for you. Still, it is heartening to know that somewhere out there, I have a much prettier, French doppelganger.

What more can you ask for?

 

It's Not that Old

It has been suggested to me that I look younger than my actual age. For the most part, I take this as a compliment because I think it is often intended that way. And since I've never seen jowls on a 10 year old, it's not like the gap between the way I look and my age is all that profound—but then this is Hollywood.

There is a very nice, cute man who works at an establishment that friends and I frequent. We were standing around having a conversation about jobs vs careers vs what we'd really like to be doing with our lives (p.s. I came up with absolutely nothing for that one). We all agreed that it was time to make some different choices. Then he asked me how old I was. I told him.

His response?

"Wow! Congratulations!"

(Awkward laughing ensued)

Ok, I'm not that old. I mean, it's not like I told him I was Nefertiti, or that as queen of a pharaoh I was about to give world domination a real go. Other than being short, I haven't really achieved anything. Also, I'm a little concerned that if I actually looked my (apparently ancient) age, I would have failed in some way. I will stage many battles in my lifetime, but I'm fairly certain the only way to win the aging one is to be excited about not yet being dead. So, that's how I've decided to take his exclamation—"Congratulations! You aren't dead yet! We have not yet set you out on the ice floe!"

Sweet.

 

Kate, awkward in LA

 

P.S. Colin Firth better win.

Precise Girls II

Following my ladies of leisure lunch on Friday, Pen and I hit Abbot Kinney for a little wistful window shopping. Wistful not because we couldn't afford some of the offerings, but because we realized that everything required far more style than either of us had. Naturally, this led back to the "Precise Girls" post and the following question, "Is it too late for us to become Precise Girls?"

As I mentioned before, I've chased this dream through most of my youth before giving it up along with other frivolous things like lacey ankle socks and hope. So, I was reluctant to revisit an idea so riddled with teenage angst. But also intrigued. Could I walk away from the seductive tendrils of precision already trying to wrap themselves around my heart? I could practically hear the whisper, "This time, you could be good enough."

When Pen and I parted, the idea had taken hold. We were very nearly excited about something. We just haven't quite figured out the how to go about this yet. I'm guessing it's going to start with some cleaning.

Precise Girls Don't…

• Go two years without painting over water stains from a leak on their ceiling
  
• Have old paint cans in a box because they couldn't find the hazardous waste recycling center
  
• Count chocolate as a legitimate food group
  
• Count pizza delivery as cooking
  
• Have to wonder what happened to their damn sunglasses! (ahem)
  
• Have pants two inches too long because they are too lazy to get them tailored
  
• Step over things strewn across the floor instead of putting things away
  
• Seriously consider sending pictures of their toenails into Ripley's
  
• Have piles of paper everywhere all the time
  
• Leave their dry cleaning at the cleaners for so long that it goes up for auction
  
• Keep broken electronics forever
  
• Don't make panicked calls to eyebrow artists because everything is properly maintained at all times
  
• Hyperventilate during bathing suit season because appropriate exercise takes place all year
  
• Don't rock back and forth when confronted with specialized dress codes on invitations—they always have just the perfect thing
  
• Live in a one bedroom apartment, unless it is their second home in a much traveled to city
  
• Wonder if they'll ever date again—they married their college sweethearts after an appropriate waiting period post-graduate education
  
• Worry about having children—they gestated a human when they designated it to be time
  

  
  

Yeah. This could be a challenge.

Kate

P.S. The name of my second book is now "Precise Girls Don't..."

A Card for You

http://www.someecards.com/

Ladies of Leisure

One of the best things about Los Angeles is the ability to find excellent restaurants with outside seating to take advantage of 74 degree February days. Now, I know that many of my readers located in the Midwest and East Coast have just moved on to a new page, but I did not mean this as a taunt. Well, I did, but not exclusively as a taunt.

I took Friday off of work, and spent two hours at lunch with Chloe and Pen at Gjelina (http://gjelina.com/) in Venice—good friends, good food, amazing weather and just enough wine to make us effusive with our compliments to our brilliance at arranging such an event.

On the off-chance that you are dying of curiosity, we went with:

• Wood Roasted Parsnips with Pistachio Gremolata
  
• Roasted Beet, Burrata, Arugula, Toasted Walnut & Walnut Oil
  
• Salt & Pepper Kennebec Frites with Aioli & Romesco
  
• Caramelized Fennel, Confit Tomato, Green Onion & Spicy Fennel Salami Pizza
  
• Flourless Chocolate Cake with Crème Fraîche & Hazelnut
  
• Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Salted Caramel & Crème Fraîche
  
• Warm Pumpkin & Bitter Chocolate Bread Pudding
  
• Roccolo Grassi, Garganega (Soave, Italy '07)
  

 

 

And yes, that is three desserts. Let's not judge—we were sharing so they barely counted as one. Also, yum, so get over it.

 

Naturally, when the three of us get together, the lore of dating in Los Angeles arises as a topic of conversation. Seriously, a person who dates in LA is a mythical creature to us—like Loch Ness only less believable and less wet (most of the time). Also, when someone does have a dating story, it generally involves indirect knowledge, aka "I know a guy, who has a friend, who has a cousin who dated once."

Not this time! Chloe knows someone personally who is actively dating in Los Angeles. He is meeting a lot of fascinating, accomplished women who are making him feel alive for the first time in years. Or at least that's what he told his wife.

Awesome. The only thing better would have been if he didn't understand why she wasn't happy for him, or blamed her for his liaisons. Oh, wait.

Relationships. Can't wait.

Kate

Precise Girls

I had an ongoing fantasy as a kid that I would someday become one of the "Precise Girls". You've seen them: clothes are perfectly tailored and starched, jewelry is appropriate (and on), hair has never known a flyaway.

I tried. I really tried. I owned Lisa Birnbach's "The Official Preppy Handbook". I even read it. Hell, I practically committed it to memory. I should have been in!

Leader of the "Precise Girls" was Aimee. Sure, she was smart, but more than that she was precise. Two turtlenecks, an oxford under a pink or green sweater topped off with a blue blazer looked effortless and chic. Or as chic as any 15 year old really looks.

I always looked lumpy. Breasts came early for me. Yippee. I know that there were some girls who pined to move on from training bras, but I just spent a lot of time trying to find a way to make my breasts and short-waisted self look less like a pink and green troll. Good thing I was also branded with an izod.

Even Aimee's hair was precise. When it was long, it fell in waves down her back. When it was bobbed, it had a razor's edge. My hair? Um… not even spritz could get my hair to behave. It's as though each individual strand wanted to leave my head in a different direction. Frankly, it still does.

I haven't seen Aimee in 20+ years, but I bet even her home is precisely perfect. And mine? Let's just say it is as lumpy and unruly as its owner.

Well, at least I have consistency going for me.

Kate

Sad Story Guy

As an award-winning blogger (shhhh—let's live with the delusion a bit longer), I feel like I should be imparting daily words of wisdom. Somehow "relationships suck" is not going to cut it anymore. Unfortunately, I have no profound wisdom. I don't even have vaguely logical wisdom. I do, however, continue to be mystified that anyone ever has a successful relationship. And I have a lot of questions.

Here is my question for today:

Why do women hook up with men after
listening to them talk about how much they love someone else?

A recent episode of Californication sparked a vague memory of college days. A friend of mine had spent the evening listening to this guy talk about how much he missed his ex-girlfriend. Seriously, every time I checked in with them, I heard snippets of what he would do to get the ex back. The last time I checked in with them, they were hooking up (1990s version of the term).

Huh? How do you go from "She's the only one I'll ever want" to "Oh, yeah, right there"?

It wasn't until much later that we discovered that the sad story was actually this guy's modus operandi. It worked for him so often that it was actually a part of his hook-up repertoire.

I'm not saying that every guy with a sad story is a manipulative bastard. But let's assume that they are. Why do women go for this? How is "I'll always love someone else" a turn on?

When I cornered my friend the next day, her response was basically, "he's cute, and he seemed so sad that I wanted to make him feel better."

Okay. Is that what is for most women? Is the rescuer in you coming out? Are you just far more generous than I would ever be? Or is there a part of you that loves the challenge so much that you'll go after someone in order to boost your own ego—thinking that if you get him (at least temporarily), you somehow win? I can appreciate all this theories, and lord only knows that I could use the ego boost, but if some guy tried this move on me, the outcome would probably be more like:

Sad guy: "and then she left me, and I
will always be in love with her"

Kate: Awww! That's so sweet. (pats sad
guy's hand) Ok, well, take care. (gets up, leaves).

Have you ever fallen for the sad story guy? Let me hear it!

Kate

They Like Me! They Really Like Me!

I received an email letting me know that this blog has been named among the 50 Best Relationship Blogs (I'm #7 in the main list) by Guide to Online Schools.

Clearly, I do not deserve this... particularly since I haven't written consistently in ages. However, they have called me "witty" and I think we all know that I can be easily swayed by flattery. So, please be prepared to refer to me as "that awesome blogger", "winning blogger", "noted blogger" and "lucky #7" before bowing to me when we meet on the street (which we will obviously never do because I don't like leaving the house).

To check out their entire list, including the kind words they say about moi, head on over here: http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/library/best-relationship-blogs


Now... who has a dating story to share?

Kate

New Invention

I have a new invention. It's called "Shower Pilates", and I do believe this one will revolutionize the industry.

I love long showers, but feel fleeting guilt about wasting water.

I hate exercising, but not being able to fit into my clothes isn't the turn on you might think it would be. I also loathe not only having to find the time to exercise, but having to find the time to shower post feeble attempt at health.

"Shower Pilates" totally solves these problems. I can stay in the shower for 30 minutes without guilt, and I don't have to waste additional time exercising. When I'm done, I will already be clean. Genius! Genius, I say!

Sure, there is some threat of slipping, falling and dying while trying this, but that's a risk for me just walking across my living room.

Cant wait to hear the Patent Office's thoughts on this one.

My Ass is Lifting

My ass is lifting.

Clearly believing that you hang on my every thought, word and action, I felt the need to bring this to you immediately. My ass is lifting. I do believe it is a result of these technologically advanced shoes from Skechers. I mean, I'd like to believe that I'm aging backwards for the next 20 years, but more a more likely cause of this miraculous occurrence is the wearing of the shoes designed to do just this.

Somewhat less miraculous, is the fact that while my backside is lifting, my front side is falling. I'm not sure if it is some sort of cosmic balance, but the stomach and breasts are heading further south—kind of like really big birds that just got the message about migrating to Florida for the winter. This I will blame on the cruelties of life, the lack of aging backwards technology and that I never got my wish of being Samantha on "Bewitched". I could blame the fact that I've been eating like I'm still two weeks pre-Christmas (complete with "what the hell—it's a holiday" attitude), but that really seems more like taking responsibility for my actions. I've already done that once this week after an unfortunate incident at work (perhaps having something to do with my review/compensation), so I've clearly met my quota for grown-up behavior.

Hank Moody would be proud. And then repulsed.

I wonder if Skechers makes girdles.

Kate

New Year's Resolutions

I ran across this article on cnn.com, and I had to share. Let's just say I have done (or am about to do) five items in the "DO NOT DO" list. Go me! How many have you racked up?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/12/29/tf.new.years.resolutions/index.html

What Would She Say

What were you like as a 10 year old? I was bossy—no big surprise. Being an only child meant that I had a certain belief that my opinions would be listened to and weighed with the gravity appropriate for the wisdom expressed. That people frequently noted that I was an adult stuffed into a child's body should not be a surprise either. When friends disappointed me, I would stand with my hands on my hips, shake my head and say things like, "I just don't know what I'm going to do with you."

I bet you can picture it.

I was shy, observant and occasionally fanciful (as the photos of me wearing pink curtains I had fashioned into a gown and cape would attest). I wanted to be a doctor, a spy, a detective and a writer—and all at once.

I still do.

At no point did 10 year old Kate think that she would take a temporary job that would last 16 years—and outlast her interest by a good 14. Passively allowing her ideas to be dismissed? No, I don't think so. 10Kate would never have put up with that. Why would she stay in that situation? Why would anyone?

Perhaps before making decisions, the 10 year old filter should always be applied.

Picture the 10 year old you—maybe you were already developing, maybe those things were still down the road. Pubic hair appearing equaled adulthood. Now tell her that she'll feel inordinate pressure the rest of her life to remove it. Oh, and imagine the shock when you tell 10 year old you that the removal will involve hot wax and someone forcibly ripping it at the roots…. and that she will pay someone to do this often.

Now breasts were power. You had already worked that out if you had siblings or older friends. I'm not sure how the knife and saline implants would have gone over, but I'm guessing it would have elicited some sort of response like, "weird."

Explain to 10 year old you why you got that thing pierced. No seriously. Go ahead.

Look 10 year old you in the eye and explain to her that she will be spending her married life with a man who will not respect her, will cheat on her, will give her STDs and will run off with his girlfriend to Mexico while using her credit cards to expense the trip—while her house is in foreclosure because he lied about paying the mortgage. And he won't understand why she will not be happy for him.

Look 10 year old you in the eye and explain that she will give up what she most wants in life in order to make a partner happy—only to be emotionally abused to the point of paralysis and end up alone anyway.

I bet the 10 year old you would love the idea of you sneaking into a party to meet David Tennant (though, she's unlikely to know who he is yet).

I bet she'd be dismayed to learn that she'll spend her adulthood in love with one man, but marry someone else anyway.

I'm not sure I'd try to explain anal bleaching.

 

Life Unexpected Event

I bring you this most important charity/fun-filled event announcement. :)

----------------

IBG Welcomes "Life Unexpected"

IBG Inc looks forward to fun and informative Conversation With 'Life Unexpected' event this weekend in Los Angeles!

Can you believe it's less than a week away?? December 11th 2010 will mark the second official Conversation Series event for Los Angeles based non-profit organization, IBG Inc. Joining forces with series creator Liz Tigelaar and stars Shiri Appleby and Kristoffer Polaha, IBG is proud to present their "Conversation with Life Unexpected", returning to the Roxbury Auditorium in Beverly Hills.

The afternoon is designed to be an intimate and conversational gathering, with one portion of the hour-long Q&A moderated by E! Online's own Megan Masters, and one portion open floor discussion, taking questions directly from those in attendance. There are still a few tickets available on IBG's website: http://www.ibginc.org/conversationseries and there is also an option for those who cannot get out to Los Angeles this week but still want to be a part of the event in spirit. Proceeds from all tiers of tickets will benefit Portland's Boys and Girls Aid.

IBG will also be filming the event for sale of a DVD, which is already available to pre-order on the website. Proceeds from the sale of the DVD will benefit Portland's Boys and Girls Aid, as well.

In donating the proceeds of the Conversation Series event to Boys and Girls Aid, IBG Inc is proud to join Give Me My Remote.com's previously announced efforts to shed light on, and encourage donations, to this very worthy cause.

Boys & Girls Aid is the oldest child welfare agency in the state. The agency has been working to impact the lives of children in need by providing safe housing, positive relationships with caring adults, and tools to learn and grow since 1885. In addition to foster care, the agency provides adoption services and temporary safe housing for youth in need. For more information, please visit boysandgirlsaid.org.

The “A Conversation With” series is designed to bring together fans and some of the most successful producers, directors, writers, and actors working today. The exclusive hour-long event will consist of both moderated discussion and open-floor questions in an intimate setting. Fans of 'Life Unexpected', and industry up-and-comers in general, won't want to miss what is sure to be an open and honest dialogue about working within Hollywood from both the writer/producer and actor perspective!


Prior to creating 'Life Unexpected', Liz Tigelaar was a writer and producer on a number of other series for TV and the web. She got her start working on 'Dawson's Creek' and began to climb her way up the Hollywood ladder in the writer's room with shows like 'American Dreams' and 'What About Brian'. More recently she has served as writer/producer on 'Brothers & Sisters' and last year's reboot of 'Melrose Place', also for The CW. She is also a young adult author.

Shiri Appleby stars as the beautiful and talented Cate Cassidy, a popular Portland, Oregon radio personality who is reunited with the 15-year-old daughter (Britt Robertson) she gave up for adoption back in high school, in The CW's drama ‘Life Unexpected’. Appleby is best known for her portrayal of Liz, a teenager who falls in love with an alien on the television series ‘Roswell’. Her additional television credits include ‘Six Degrees’ and the final season of ‘ER.’ Her film credits include ‘Swimfan’, ‘Undertow’, ‘Havoc’, and ‘Charlie Wilson's War,’ directed by Mike Nichols. Appleby splits her time between Los Angeles, California and New York City, New York. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the filming of ‘Life Unexpected’. You can follow her on Twitter: @shiriappleby

Kristoffer Polaha stars as Nate "Baze" Bazile, a charming bachelor whose carefree world is turned upside down when the 15-year-old daughter (Britt Robertson) he never knew existed shows up on his doorstep, in ‘Life Unexpected’. Born in Reno, Nevada, Polaha is the fourth son of four boys belonging to Jerome and Esther Polaha. While studying at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he received rave reviews in the New York Times for his role as John Brown in Eugene O'Neill's ‘Bread and Butter’. His television credits include a role as John F. Kennedy, Jr. in the TBS movie ‘America's Prince’. He has also starred on the series ‘North Shore’ and ‘Miss Guided’ and guest starred on ‘Mad Men’, ‘Bones’, ‘House’ and ‘CSI: Miami’, among others. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children. Though he is not on Twitter, you can become a fan of his on Facebook!

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Founded in late 2008, IBG Inc (http://www.ibginc.org) established a non-profit focusing on utilizing the power of philanthropy through the arts to benefit a broad range of charities worldwide. We act as a “fundraiser facilitator” for micro and start-up charities that would otherwise struggle with the logistics and costs associated with event fundraising. This work has taken on a critical importance as the economy has been slow to recover, and we find ourselves with increasingly frequent requests for assistance.




More information can be found online at http://www.ibginc.org/conversationseries

Making My Mark

It isn't unusual for me, at this time of year, to look back and take stock of my life. Naturally, work is a huge part of this reflection. Have I made a mark? Am I valuable? Can I continue doing what I'm doing without slitting my wrists? You know--the basic questions everyone asks.

I won't lie. This year has been a difficult year. My work assignments have been doubled for no other reason than I didn't have "enough boxes" under my name in the organizational chart. Way to devalue everything I've done for the last 12 years!

But hey, everyone has bumps in the road, and it didn't stop me from smiling when I got the invitation to the company's annual Christmas party. It was lovely.

Until I read it.

My name was wrong—my first name.

I've been at the company 16 years, 12 of which have been spent in my current office. I've made such an impression that "Kate" and "Kevin" are interchangeable. I can't even blame autocorrect. The invitations were hand-written.

Now, I'm sure there are a million good reasons for this—1) someone new to the office had the task, 2) the person above me on the list might have been Kevin, and the writer just lost their place, or 3) person addressing was distracted by someone named Kevin. We've all made these mistakes. It's not tragic. But it did make me laugh, and I will use this as a constant argument with people who tell me that I'm not nearing total invisibility in Los Angeles.

I wonder if Kevin has been added to payroll. Will he get a bonus? Because I could use some extra cash.

Kate, Making My Mark in LA