April 9, 2021

Yesterday evening, my friend and I drove to Venice to take part in a Sunset Skate, a group of quad skaters rolling from Venice to the Santa Monica Pier and back. We were late, so by the time we got there the group had already left. That was more or less for the best though, as it was the first time my friend and I had tried out that path. We're used to the smooth contours of the Mar Vista rink. This was sand, pavement, mottled asphalt, slight inclines, bicyclists and pedestrians, the whole works. 

Initially freaked out, we nearly quit after five minutes, but we decided to ride it out a little farther and eventually got more comfortable. We made it all the way to the Pier and back! But weirdly never ran into the big group of skaters. When we were done, we sat on the outdoor patio of a bar by the beach and drank a beer. The first time I've done that in LA in over a year. I'd call it a success! Even though I did not look cool or relaxed at any point during the skate. My butt muscles were clenched like iron and my eyes were glued to the path in front of me. There are some flamboyant characters in and around Venice, but I didn't pay attention to a single one of them. 

I'm looking forward to going again next week. 

MLog Time! 

**SPOILERS**

GIRLS TRIP

2017

Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee

Written by: Kenya Barris, Tracy Oliver

Watched: 4/8/21

Ryan and her posse of friends haven’t hung out together in four years, so when she’s invited to be the keynote speaker at the Essence music festival in New Orleans, she invites the crew to come along. Ryan’s trying to keep her lifestyle brand together by hiding her crumbling marriage. She and her friends party hard, and by the end of the trip, Ryan realizes that she can be honest with the world because, even if she loses her husband, in the end she’s not alone. 

The dialogue and the acting was often pretty stiff. The total standout was Tiffany Haddish in the role of Dina. She had the most outrageous lines and fully committed to them. My favorite set piece was the one where Jada Pinkett Smith’s character gets stuck on a zipline across Bourbon street and has to pee. She ends up peeing in an explosive fire-hydrant-level torrent. Then Dina swings in to save her and pees like that as well. That made me laugh. 

The movie also had what felt like a lot of b roll – footage of second lines, of the characters standing around drinking, etc. Not the tightest script. The movie was fun and made a lot of money, and I hope more movies like this get made. (And I hope they get better.) 

Rating: ★★