Yesterday, I spent an enjoyable morning at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills for the dineLA press conference. Don’t worry - I can mention other hotels here. I know who’s number one in my heart. But I, of course, had to go incognito. If you were there, do you remember a devilishly handsome gentleman who had the city’s best and brightest hanging on his every word?

That was me. Yes, I know how to blend in. It comes from my time in Berlin during the Cold War. Don’t ask.

Now, for those in the know, dineLA is a legendary tradition in Los Angeles: every year, for two years now, hundreds of the city’s best restaurants get together and, in the interest of broadening their customer base, offer special set menus at affordable prices. Why people order off the menu in the first place, I don’t know. I certainly never do. I like making up what I want for dinner on the spot, you know, to keep the restaurant staff on their feet. I love the mayhem I can cause with one simple request for fresh lizard’s tail baked in a BBQ spinach aioli. Hilarious! You should have seen Wolfgang’s face!

But so I spent an hour or two at this lovely press conference, giving each of the chefs terrible advice on how to make their restaurant more competitive with our resto Twist. Unlike these lazy bums, our own chef Antonio Moreno was, oddly enough, back at Twist actually working. Imagine that, chefs of dineLA? And what are you doing, if I may ask? Oh, you’re promoting your restaurant through this great LA program.

Here’s a few shots I took at the press conference. Who’s that in the middle? The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa? I’ll never tell…

This is Bruce, signing off.

Uh-oh, the holidays are coming! I just got my first holiday card. It was from the King of England. He and I, we go back. The wild stories we have from Prohibition! Sadly, the last King of England hasn’t been around for more than fifty years. Pity the English postal system…

Still, it’s November and Thanksgiving is coming up – another holiday the Brits are not particularly fond of. And December is the home of such illustrious holidays as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, as well as other slightly less well-known holidays as National Cookie Day (December 4th), Human Rights Day (December 10th), and Poinsettia Day (December 12th). Yes, the fabulous poinsettia gets its own holiday. Don’t you feel smarter knowing this?

All this is a roundabout way of getting to the important point: the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, the delightful home of yours truly, is offering a special rate for all those people out there looking for a place to stay this cold winter season. And by cold, I mean under 60° F. Any colder and I get frostbite through my silk undergarments.

The hotel is offering a very low rate of $229 per night for one of our amazing guestrooms and, if you’re really really special and have an Elephant Card from the Hollywood & Highland Center, you can get an even more-special rate of $199 per night. Now, here’s the secret: I’m going to tell you exactly where to get this fabled Elephant Card. Go to Visitors Information on Level 1 of the H&H Center and tell them Bruce sent you. They promised me they would take care of you, my beloved audience. I trust them; you should too. Supposedly you can also get these cards mailed to you by visiting www.hollywoodandhighland.com but who trusts these intertubes anyway?

Now, go forth, and celebrate! Today, November 14, is National American Teddy Bear Day. I thought you should know that.

This is Bruce, signing off.

We try to keep this blog pretty light, but with the FYI Film Festival coming up, we decided to put up a few thoughts of hotel castmembers on the short films that made the semi-finalist round. We invite you to add your thoughts too on these shorts covering a wide variety of issues that deal with the things most important to our kids and young adults. I want to share some more of the thoughts from some of my friends here at the hotel.

From Clancy Dupepe, our Sales Coordinator :

Missing New Orleans
This is a true and real testimony by a young person that echoes the many generations of New Orleanians. This, and a number of other documentaries, speaks truth about the mystical and historical significance of the city as well as its irreplaceable charm and soul.

And Rick Spades, Market Director of Human Resources:

Aspiring to be American
A real portrayal of what others are aspiring for, it makes one realize that we take for granted what so many do not have.

Give Civil Liberties
No one should be denied what others are given. It’s 2008 and amazing to me that people are so judgmental and not living in today’s world.

The Struggle
People want to have a better life for themselves and their family. It’s sad to see how racial profiling effects our society and that the color of our skin automatically places you in a behavioral category.

And a few thoughts of my own:

Missing New Orleans
I was once the Resident Manager at the Marriott in New Orleans so I know the city well and I keep a standing fishing trip there each year, hitting up the brackish waters of the Mississippi Delta. As with everyone else in this country, my heart has been torn apart by the slow recovery in this wonderful, vibrant city after Hurricane Katrina.

I am Muslim
I was touched by this message from our fellow countrymen and women that are being treated differently since 9/11/2001.

Put some time aside and give these memorable films a watch. And please, leave us your own thoughts on the FYI Film Festival (link) on our message board below. We’d love to hear what you, dear audience, thinks.

This is Bruce, signing off.

Our young staff is super excited about the “Film Your Issue” Film Festival, now that the voting has begun online. Our own Director of Human Resources, Rick Spade, has his thoughts on some of the semi-finalists:

Aspiring to be American
Real portrayal of what others are aspiring for and it makes one realize that we take for granted what so many do not have.

Give Civil Liberties
No one should be denied what others are given. It’s 2008 and amazing to me that people are so judgmental and not living in today’s world.

The Struggle
People want to have a better life for themselves and their family. It’s sad to see how racial profiling effects our society and that the color of our skin automatically places you in a behavioral category.

- Rick

Thanks, Rick. Make sure to go to FYI’s website and view the films yourself. We’ll be posting more mini-reviews of the online shorts by our cast members here at the hotel, so check back soon.

This is Bruce, signing off.

We see a lot of stars here at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, from music to movies. But if you watch television – and let’s be honest, why would you not? – chances are you have at some point wondered, “how can I meet with the creators and stars of my favorite shows?” Or as my mother so sweetly refers to as her “stories.”

Well, other than running into these people at your local Coffee Bean, the options are limited, unless of course you’re in Hollywood over the next week or so. The whole town is abuzz over the 25th annual Paley Festival, held from March 14th to the 27th, celebrating some of TV’s most popular shows by putting fans in the same room as the creators and stars.

This year, the festival will include a Buffy The Vampire Slayer Reunion (Browncoats, beware!), a 40th Anniversary Celebration of Elvis’ ’68 Comeback Special, and an Evening with Judd Apatow & Friends as well as the casts and creators of Chuck, Damages, Dancing with the Stars, Dirty Sexy Money, Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, and Pushing Daisies. See a complete schedule here.

Most people, however, don’t have the spare time to travel to LA on a whim to see what Serena is doing on the next Gossip Girl but, fortunately, there is an easier way.

TV Guide has weeklong coverage of the whole event, with blogs, insider articles, and exclusive videos going up every day. Michael Ausiello, whose eponymous weekly vodcast The Ausiello Report premieres each Tuesday on TV Guide with the latest TV scoops and spoilers, will be on-hand for tons of red carpet coverage as well as answers to viewers’ most burning questions.

And where would the esteemed Ausiello Report and TV Guide be making its base camp for the festival coverage? A little place called the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. Yes, that one. See The Ausiello Report, as well as his weekly wrap-up show covering the whole festival, here.

Ah, TV Guide. What would my mother do without you?

This is Bruce, signing off.