Wrestling with demons

I wrote a story earlier this week about how the WWE -- that's Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment for those who don't know a turnbuckle from a flying scissors kick -- and it reminded me of my teen years growing up on Long Island and a huge fan of wrestling.

Sure, we all knew it was fake, but the theatrics were just so much fun. I remember watching it once a month on cable from a sold out Madison Square Garden, and then our whole family went one night to the Nassau Coliseum to witness the action live and in person.

Abruzzi, Italy's favorite son, Bruno Sammartino, was the reigning champ for many of the years that I was a devotee of the squared circle (as announcer and future WWE guru Vince McMahon would call it).

But it wasn't just Bruno who I rooted for. Fellas such as Ivan "Polish Power" Putski, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Andre the Giant, Haystacks Calhoun, Bob Backlund (another champ) and S.D. "Special Delivery" Jones were all favorites, among many others. As for the best of the tag teams, there was the legendary Chief Jay Strongbow and his partner, Billy Whitewolf.

The bad guys consisted of "Magnificent" Don Moracco, Big Bob Duncan, Baron Scicluna (from the Isle of Malta, no less!), "Superstar" Billy Graham and, the one and only George "The Animal" Steele.

Wrestling got hugely popular in the mid-80s and early '90s when Hulk Hogan became champ and lost of all of its charm. I gave up on it then but it still holds a place in my heart, reminding me of a time where I'd do anything to stay up to midnight on a Saturday night, hoping to catch the local broadcast, where guys would be flying off the ropes and landing dropkicks aplenty.

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

Priscilla and I headed down to the Honda Center in Anaheim Saturday for the Billy Joel concert. I reviewed the show for the paper (this is a condensed, edited version of my original review and I'm happy to send the full-length one to anyone who's interested) and we ended up sitting in some choice seats, given to us by the promoter. With no traffic there or back, it was a fun night out indeed.

Billy Joel was a huge star while I was growing up on Long Island. Teens on the Island just loved him for his music and because he was from Hicksville, a town on the Island. It was a case of local boy making good.

And for reasons that still befuddle me, other musical groups that were also popular when I was in junior high and high school included a swath of Southern rockers, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band, the Outlaws and, of course, Bay Area legends the Grateful Dead.

Joel played most of his hits to a sold-out crowd of fortysomethings looking to recapture their youth via his music. From his days in the early 1970s, Joel was a hit machine with one No. 1 single after another. He stopped writing pop music a couple of decades ago but remains a huge concert draw, witness his 12 shows a few years back at Madison Square Garden, which is, coincidentally, the first place I saw him in 1980 on the "Glass Houses" tour.

Anyway, here's the set list from Saturday night:

Angry Young Man

California Here I Come

My Life

Everybody Loves You Now
The Entertainer

The Ballad of Billy the Kid

Allentown

New York State of Mind

Zanzibar
Root Beer Rag

Movin' Out

Don't Ask Me Why

Captain Jack

Always a Woman to Me

Keeping the Faith

River of Dreams

Highway to Hell (sung by a roadie, Joel on guitar)

We Didn't Start the Fire

Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me

You May Be Right

Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Only the Good Die Young

Piano Man

Culture shock

The LA County Museum of Art opened up a new wing on Monday, called the Broad Contemporary Art Museum, in honor of philanthapist and very rich guy Eli Broad.

LACMA, which is practically across the street from Variety, is a great place to hang out. It has a few restaurants and a gift shop in case you need to buy a gift for someone who has everything.

Anyway, Priscilla and I gave it a visit … but, alas, tickets to the new portion of the place were sold out so we couldn't see the new exhibit. Tickets were free all weekend and more than 60,000 attended. Maybe next time.

Just walking around was a nice diversion from the malls and shopping complexes that are our usual weekend hangouts.

Here's a photo of me in front, by the lampost installation. I'll leave the light on for you!

L.A.'s hip hangout

We spent last night at the Grove, the superhot spot where all of L.A. hangs out now nowadays.

I remember about 7-8 years ago when the Grove was first being discussed. There were fierce detractors about how about a new shopping complex would destroy the ambiance of the genteel Farmers Market, one of the city's enduring landmarks from the days of Buster Keaton and the Hollywoodland sign.

Well, there's little doubt Charlie Chaplin or Judy Garland could've imagined shopping at an Apple store or American Girl. But would they have objected so much. Everything in Hollywood changes -- from talkies to shopping meccas.

Priscilla and I met a couple of friends for dinner at Cheesecake Factory at 6 p.m. Yeah, that plan went out the window when we arrived to find an 80-minute wait. We dashed across to La Piazza, where a pasta dinner hit the spot. Coffee and cake was had at Nordstrom, where they not only can do a $1,000 suit but a nice mocha as well.

Some folks still can't stand the Grove, with its immense crowds and Disneyland-like feel. Me, I'm OK with it. Just as long as I can find a parking spot.

It's been awhile, part deux

Yeah, I usually don't take two years between posts, but my good friend Bobby P. just began his new blog and linked to mine, so now I feel an obligation to get Stu's News back up in working order. I'll try to post something every day or two to keep things fresh.

So as if we never missed a step, here goes:

Just flew back from Berlin … and boy are my arms tired (Thanks. I'll be here all week. And don't forget to tip your waitresses.)

Seriously, just had my third go-around at the Berlin Film Festival, where Variety puts out a daily paper. I've been the reviews editor on these editions -- we publish at Berlin and Cannes -- and it's akin to a working vacation.

We put in extremely long hours -- about 12 a day -- but stay at nice hotels and are able to enjoy delicious meals on the company's dime. Here's the Marriott Hotel we stayed at. Nice. And right in a great part of town called Potsdamer Platz, where the majority of the fest takes place.

Since I'm working all day, I was only able to catch two movies, but both were very good. Check out the Variety reviews of "Elegy" and "Quiet Chaos."

Luckily, I wasn't forced to endure the Madonna movie "Filth and Wisdom." I have to hand it to her for still being culturally relevant 20-something years breaking into the music scene in a big way … but that still doesn't make her a director.

It sure would nice to attend a film festival one day as a moviegoer and be able to attend 3-4 films a day. One day, just not today.