Beautiful Afghan Hound Huck: Rest In Peace

Our dear boy Huck died February 24, 2013. He was a beautiful, soulful Afghan Hound. Huck went quickly. Sunday morning, he had trouble standing up. By midnight, as the Oscars played on TV, Huck breathed his last breath. Marla and I loved him so.

Greetings From Laurel Canyon

Now ensconced in Laurel Canyon, after noisy neighbors drove us out of the Tijunga Village home. Cars roar by pretty much non-stop on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, but my giant picture window where I'm typing this faces out onto a gorgeous glade - - dragon flies, lizards, bouganvilla, and even a bubbling brook make themselves at home on this hillside property. And the birds. They cast some kind of weird hypnotic spell every morning making it harad to snap out of it, go in the house and do the daily writing gigs.

Leaving Studio City?

I'm going to miss this neighborhood and all the characters, but there's too much noise coming from next door so it looks like Marla Huck and I will be moving by April 1. Stay tuned for updates

Super Duper Cinema

I've seen the future of movies, maybe, and it's mighty impressive. On Thursday I went to RED Cinema in Hollywood and they filmed me tossing an orange, hurling water, stuff like that. They shot it at 48 frames per second. Normally, it would be 24 frames a second. Twice as crisp! I'll be writing up a full report for Wired.com in next few days.

Radio Chit Chat

I did a radio commentary for Canadian Broadcasting Company on Wednesday, ranting about Andy Serkis getting snubbed for an Oscar just because he uses "performance capture" technology. Tomorrow Friday, I drive to a Pasadena radio station to record a phone interview with the host of Day Six. Like pretty much everything in life, it's harder than it looks , or sounds - - to read from a script and make it sound conversational. More I did it, the better it sounded. Good producer helped me getting out of my writer head and more into performance mode. The thing airs Saturday Jan. 28, worldwide.

My Dog Huck: International Superstar

Talk about universal appeal: My dog Huck has it. This week an elderly couple from Russia (guessing from their accents) praised the pooch. The little Iranian boy who picks trash with his grandfather every week took a break from his chores when he saw us walking up Tujunga Avenue and cheeped "I like your dog." He's a neighborhood fixture. It's the first time I've seen him smile. The Mexican construction workers eating breakfast burritos in front of a taco truck paused as we (he) strolled by and nodded their heads in approval. The haggard Ukranian nanny in the purple leisure suit and bloodshot eyes tells the baby in her carriage "doggie, hi doggie, bye bye doggie!"

Huck was a scrawny, paranoid desert runaway when Marla and I first found him in San Dimas, California.

Now he's the perfect gentleman. Our very own Oliver Twist.

Cast of Neighborhood Characters

Each time I walk Huck the wonder dog through my stretch of Studio City, we run into familiar faces that have no name.

In no particular order, my neighborhood cast of recurring characters include:

The Gypsy. He packs and unpacks stuff from his pick up truck all through the night, lets his pitbull run free, and gets into a screaming match with his bleach blonde girlfriend at least once a month.

Mensch and Grinch. Middle-aged couple speed walks down the street. Man (Mensch) always says "hi." I always say "good morning" back. Grim woman (Grinch) plows straight ahead.

Barry. This pitbull gets walked every morning by a 12-year old girl dressed invariably in shorts and tee-shirt. I don't know her name but wonder why, at 10 in the morning in November, she's not in school.

The Gay Astronomer. Friendly real estate broker has a beautiful house with an observatory on top.

The Artists. Shirtless and drunk, they throw loud parties nearly every weekend. When I complain about the noise, the hipsters stagger over in their buzzcuts and promise to make cookies, explaining that we should all get along because they are Artists.

The Mayor. My wife Marla chats up so many people about their gardens or dogs during her twice-a-day strolls that it's like she's campaigning for office.

Then there's all the semi-famous TV character actors, but that's another post.