Abe at Z's

Last Saturday my friend and I decided to break in her new bike. After I rolled up to her apartment we biked around the Hollywood Forever cemetery then off to Larchmont for our usual caffeine fix at Peet's and a quick bite. Seeing that it was pretty hot out all we wanted to consume was something cold, something not too heavy. Greek salads at Z Pizza it is then!


We sit outside next to an adorable dog, Julius, who I just could not get enough of. I had to tell his owner, Abe, that if he wasn't careful I would run away with dear Julius. Abe frequents Larchmont since he lives close by. He practically comes here everyday with Julius! Today he took Julius out of the house since his wife, an actress, was filimg a project at their home. "Julius was starting to get really excited with all the people around so I decided to take him out for a bit so that my wife could get work done." (As an aside, Abe tells me his wife and her friend have a blog called The Actor's Diet. It's 'delicious' - you should check it out.) Abe took this opportunity to read outdoors. He happened to be reading Lush Life by Richard Price. He tells me the book takes place in the lower East Side of New York City and involves a murder. "'There is a bit of a culture clash between those who live in the projects and the hipsters. At least that is what I'm guessing from what I've read so far."

Abe's read other books by Price and really enjoyed them. That is why he was compelled to grab this book. He actually heard about it on NPR's Fresh Air (we both started to gush about Terry Gross). "It sounded interesting so I got my copy at Chevalier's across the street." Another Chevalier patron - I love it! "Yes, I usually try to get my books from there. I know it's a bit pricier than Border's or Barnes and Noble but I love supporting the shops around here. Plus they are great people. And Julius was even featured on their blog."


Before Lush Life Abe was reading Malcolm Gladwell's "The Outliers". "I had read other Gladwell books, too, and I think I like 'The Outliers' the most. The conclusions got me thinking. I'm not sure if they are totally legit or just great anecdotes but it is all entertaining nonetheless." There was an interesting story behind how he got to reading "The Outliers". Abe works for the documentary company Brave New Foundation and they have this great system where people leave items on a coffee table at work for people to take/borrow/use/pass along. "They usually have DVD's there due to our line of work", Abe says, "but one day there was a copy of 'The Outliers' with a note: Read and pass along."

Abe is currently working on a project called "In Their Boots". He actually had a screening of the film this past Thursday at Sony. Sadly I could not make it. The episdoes document gay and lesbian partners of soldiers who have been deployed in Iraq. It's all about "Don't Ask Don't Tell". I was very curious about the project and before Abe told me what it was about I thought it had to do with a project someone I met in Chicago was involved in. This guy (Andrew) traveled around the country with a van full of soldier's boots. He would help set up a traveling museum of sorts and talk about the various veterans whose boots were on display.


If Abe were to write his own book it would most likely be non-fiction. "I produce documentaries so it's my forte. However if I were to write fiction I'd like to write like my favourite author, Zadie Smith. I just think she is brilliant and funny, which is really important to me."

Abe asked me about what I was currently reading. I told him I was finishing up a book by Jhumpa Lahiri called Unaccustomed Earth for my book club. We discussed the book a bit and how I felt about the short stories in it. "I'm really touched by the different stories especially since many of them revolve around the relationships with mothers or parents in general." I tell him a bit about the chapter Hell-Heaven and how I could related to how the daughter of an immigrant mother had to deal with growing up as an American kid and slowly letting go and often times pushing away her Indian heritage. It was the same way with me being born here and being raised by my mother. Abe shared how his wife felt the same way. Her wife's parents are from Taiwan and how his wife shared with him the moment she stopped wanting to hold her mother's hand in public. Very typical reaction most people go through during the pre-teen phase. When having immigrant parents there is that added level of letting go because you're not a "kid" anymore but also letting go of being raised a la the mother country's way of thinking.