Shawn Chapman Holley, Lohan’s attorney, filed an appeal later in the day seeking bail. Just before 6 p.m., Judge Patricia Schnegg reversed the decision, ruling that because Lohan was charged with only misdemeanors she was entitled to bail.

According to a report by the Associated Press, early today Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore confirmed that Lindsay Lohan was released at about 11:40 p.m., after posting $300,000 bail.

Lohan is required to wear a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) around her ankle, and she is required to stay away from any establishment whose main function is to serve alcohol.

She’s also scheduled to appear in court on October 22, when the judge who’s ruling sent her to jail yesterday will decide her new sentence for failing a drug test.

Stay tuned.

Lohan recently tweeted that she failed her drug test, saying “Regrettably, I did in fact fail my most recent drug test and if I am asked, I am prepared to appear before Judge Fox next week as a result.”  Lohan went on to say that she was taking responsibility for her actions and was prepared to deal with the consequences.

Bailiffs immediately escorted Lohan from the court room in handcuffs, after her hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes.

Japan has strict laws which allow them to deny entry to anyone convicted of drug charges. Paris Hilton was recently arrested in Las Vegas for possession of drugs when officers found .8 grams of cocaine in her purse. At the time of the arrest, she used the “it wasn’t mine” defense.

After changing her tune on her “not my drugs” arrest, Paris Hilton plead guilty to misdemeanor drug charges for possession of Cocaine and was sentence to one year probation, $2000.00 in fines, 200 hours of community service, and is required to enter a substance abuse program. She was given a suspended sentence, which means she is not required to serve any jail-time unless she is arrested for something other than a minor traffic violation.

Before taking off, Paris tweeted the following message to her fans, with a screenshot of the tweet below:

“Going home now. So disappointed to miss my fans in Asia. I promise to come back soon. I love you all! Love Paris xoxo.”

The endangered Blue Whales, the largest animal on earth, have recently been spotted in record numbers off the coast in the Santa Monica Bay.

Estimates of 25 to 30 whales have been in the area for weeks, and this has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many.  It’s estimated that 2000 Blue Whales, out of a total world population of 10,000, feed off of the California coast.  But never before have this many been seen in the area at the same time.

Blue Whales can grow up to 108 feet in length (33 meters) and weigh 180 metric tons or more.  Their diet consists mainly of Krill (tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans), and experts believe the Blue Whales are in the area because of an unusually large amount of Krill here this year.

The whales blow (the large spray that can be seen when the whales rise to the ocean’s surface for air) can reach around 30 feet high or more (over 10 meters), and many whales blow can be seen from the shore around the Redondo Beach, California area.

If you’re lucky, you can see the whales fluking (like in the video above).  Fluking is when the whale begins to dive deep, and its massive tail comes completely out of the water…quite a display!

Voyager Excursions

After seeing so many whales from shore, we wanted to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and see them close up.  We booked a trip with Voyager Excursions, which operates their 65 foot double decker boat, Voyager, from the International Boardwalk at Redondo Beach Marina in Redondo Beach, California.

The tour is $25.00 for adults, and $15.00 for children under 12.  These appear to be higher prices than they normally charge for whale tours, but also seems like the tours are longer than normal.  Either way, at $25.00 it’s still a deal to be able to experience the Blue Whales up close.

The tour was from 12pm – 3pm, with a small group of very friendly people (most of them seemed to be from the local area) and an excellent crew.  Due to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which was enacted to protect endangered animals, the boat would stop the engines at a safe distance from the whales and we’d observe them from a short distance.   Occasionally the whales would swim very close to the boat, allowing an amazing view and putting into perspective just how massive these beautiful creatures are.

Blue Whale getting close to a sailboat

As we floated on the water, Blue Whales were seen in every direction, and countless blow seen not too far.  The whales usually traveled in pairs, but there were many pairs in the area, we estimated we saw 15 to 20 whales close by.

Along with the Magnificent Blue Whales, we saw the local dolphin population, some California Sea Lions hanging around the boat, and a few of the unusual Sunfish, or Mola Mola swimming within feet of the boat.

Simply put, anyone that loves nature, or just wants to  be inspired must take this tour!

If you’ve had a chance to see the whales, or have any questions, please leave your comment below.

Contact Info for Voyager Excursions and more helpful links:

Voyager Excursions – click here to visit Voyager Excursions website
International Boardwalk at Redondo Beach Marina, Redondo Beach, California
(Click here for directions)
310-944-1219

View the Wikipedia page about Blue Whales

View the Marine Mammal Protection Act

After a little persuading, we talked Hiroko into asking for a picture.  There’s no way he can say no to a sweet, young lady, right?  And if she’s polite enough to ask instead of just taking a picture, surely he won’t mind?

Well, that’s when things went terribly wrong.  Let this be a lesson to all of you up-and-coming paparazzi…learn from our errors.  As Pierce was exiting the Yogurtland, Hiroko approached from the back and with an ever so gently tap said “excuse me, excuse me (words which she will never forget).”  Pierce Brosnan abruptly scolded Hiroko saying, “Don’t be so rude, I’m with the children.”  Well, there were children, many children, but none next to him at the moment, but alas it wasn’t meant to be.  And then the long walk back.  As a man, I’ve experienced the walk of shame many a time, asking a girl to dance only to be told ‘I don’t dance,’ or asking for a girls phone number only to be rejected.  Oh the humiliation   If you read this Pierce Brosnan, how could you?

But those girls had the courtesy to let me down easy, to at least make me think that maybe there was some truth to it (even though I knew I was rejected).  So Hiroko came back, rejected by Pierce Brosnan, and I felt like a jerk because I was sure he wouldn’t be mean to her.  Visions flashed before my eyes of watching myself on TMZ getting beat up by Pierce Brosnan in Yogurtland.  How could he?  How could you Pierce Brosnan?  But he was, and now we can never look at him quite the same.

So the picture wasn’t meant to be, until by chance we stumbled upon Pierce Brosnan again at the indoor skydiving booth.  Although this was my first paparazzi experience (me being the paparazzi that is, umm, or me being photo’d by the paparazzi come to think of it), I instantly sprung into action and captured Pierce Brosnan in action.  What a proud moment.  Maybe fate led me to this day, one that would change my life forever!

So after a couple of minutes of watching Pierce Brosnan cheer on the children, we were on our way, with many lessons learned.  Never try to read they psyche of an A-list Hollywood Actor, and never, ever, EVER approach a papa-bear from behind when his cubs are around.

With a little bit of counseling, I’m sure we will be Pierce Brosnan fans once again!

Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors. An absolutely cool guy with an incredibly unique sense of style and personality.  And one of the few that can absolutely capture any role he takes on.

I just returned from watching Alice in Wonderland, the 3D version by Tim Burton.  The line above is my favorite line of the entire movie, and nobody can pull it off like Johnny Depp.  In shackles, forced to kneel before the Red Queen, she asks him “Where’s Alice” and he replies “What a regrettably large head you have.”  Perfect!

Alice in Wonderland starring Johnny Depp

If you’re seeing the movie in the near future, get to the theater early.  We were running a little late (what’s new) and ended up having to sit about 5 rows from the front.  5D does not look as good as 3D (more about my thoughts on 3D later).

A few minutes into the movie, half of the screen turned a yellow tint.  So we’re watching half of the screen in 3D, and the other half looked like the Blue Blockers sunglasses that you used to see advertised on TV all the time.

After they restarted, we were back on track.  First, my thoughts on the movie, then my thoughts on 3D.  I really enjoyed this movie, except for the ending.  I thought the ending was very cliche, with the expected but unnecessary battle scene, and a ridiculous break-dancing meets river-dancing, called the futterwack, put on by both Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska, and a dose of excessive cockiness tossed in for good measure.  But it was a fun movie and I guess this was their attempt to appeal to the younger, hipper generation.

But those tiny annoyances aside, it was a cool movie and I recommend seeing it at the theaters. A grown up Alice returns to wonderland to save the day, with some of the funnest and goofiest characters you’ve ever seen.  Tweedledee and Tweedledum were great (reminded me of some of my friends hehe), and of course Johnny Depp nailed the Mad Hatter.

Remind you of anyone you know?

And of course, a great message: don’t be afraid to dream, to think big, and to follow your dreams.  If you like that kind of thing (and I do), there was a small dose of inspiration here as well.

So do yourself a favor and go see the enchanting Alice in Wonderland.  I’m sure you won’t regret it.

As far as 3D?  Well, I’m still not sold 100%.  It’s very cool as an effect, but I think I prefer the amazing resolution and brightness delivered by a standard movie.  The 3D version seems to lack the sharpness and resolution.  At times, the picture is stunning, but then it goes into a blur and it’s hard to follow.  Add to that the ‘looking through a window’ feeling I get and I have to say I prefer the standard 2D movies.  I look forward to seeing the bright colors and vividness of Alice in Wonderland in 2D, the way they were meant to be portrayed.

So allow me to put on my Movie Critic hat and announce my rating!  I give Alice in Wonderland a B.  Let’s hear your comments?

A couple of weeks ago Kendall was so excited to tell me that Al’s coming to play at the House of Blue on Sunset.  He saw him years ago and he was really excited to see him again.  I had no choice but to go!  Actually, I really love live music of pretty much any kind, so I was looking forward to it.

If you’re not familiar with Al Di Meola, he’s an American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist with a career in music spanning over 30 years.  I wasn’t aware of how influential and highly-regarded he is in the music industry.  According to Wikipedia (maybe Kendall authored Al Di Meola’s wiki page), “Albums such as Friday Night in San Francisco have often been cited as some of the most influential live albums ever recorded. Numerous have earned their place as legendary recordings for the practicing guitarist.”

It goes on to list tons of amazing artist that he’s performed or collaborated with, including Chick Corea (where he first started), Stanley Clarke, Jan Hammer,  Jean-Luc Ponty, Paul Simon, Paco de Lucía, and more.

So needless to say, he’s a very well accomplished performer, and I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to see him perform live and get to know his music.

I’m a big fan of Carlos Santana, and I was surprised to hear a song that Al Di Meola played that reminded me very much of a song from Carlos Santana’s Blues for Salvador disc.  Kendall and I would battle over who’s better, and of course I’d say Santana, even though I never really listened much to Di Meola.  After hearing this performance, though, I’d have to say the Santana got some major influence from Di Meola, because the song Di Meola played was years before Santana’s song!  Also, a disc from the Santana Brothers reminded me a lot of some other Di Meola songs.  I’m not sure if I’d say I like Al Di Meola’s music more than Santana’s music (I’ll have to give it a chance though), but I do believe that Al Di Meola truly has the most amazing command of a guitar that I’ve ever seen.

If you have never heard his music, and you’re open to different types of music, you should give him a listen…he’s really a great talent that I feel fortunate to have seen perform live.  Just goes to show you that we should all open our minds and experience new things…many times we come out much better for it.

He was kind enough to stick around afterwards signing CD’s, meeting his fans and even let us take some pictures with him.  Class act!

So, Al Di Meola, and Kendall…I’m sorry for doubting you all these years!

And if you’ve never been to the House of Blue on Sunset (another first for me), you gotta go.  There’s so many great performers there, and it’s a small venue so you’re gonna get a great show no matter where  you end up.

House of Blues on Sunset
8430 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 848–5100
Restaurant Host Stand
(323) 848–5136
Restaurant Hours of Operation
Wednesday – Saturday: 6:00 p.m. until close
Sunday – Tuesday: Closed unless there is a concert
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