In The Mood For California

Born on Halloween with two different colored eyes and the last name Bible, Karie always stood out. Raised in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, she knew early on she was destined for something different—and classic Hollywood films lit the path. Karie made the move to Los Angeles in 2000 and have worked behind the scenes at HBO, Miramax, and for an agent, eventually finding a long-term home at a box office reporting firm since 2009. Karie's love of film history runs deep. In 2002, she launched monthly tours at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where she shares stories, debunks myths, and helps people see classic st...

Keith Bush is a gifted pianist and lifelong musician whose music speaks directly to the soul. With over 25 years of experience, he has performed at fine resorts, art shows, music festivals, and with orchestras across the country. Raised in Montecito, California, Keith’s connection to the piano began at age two. Described as a genius savant, he blends masterful technique with deep emotion, creating performances that are both powerful and intimate. He leads his own orchestra, teaches, and cultivates meaningful musical relationships. Guided by his philosophy “Love Always Wins,” Keith’s life and music are rooted in his love for God, peo...

Experienced and respected in theater from coast to coast, Robert Yacko is known as a remarkably versatile actor & singer, equally at home in Repertory, on Broadway and in front of a camera. An admitted character actor from his early years, and blessed with a rich, lyric baritone of effortless range, he has garnered epithets for his work that lean from "raucous" and "hilariously deadpan" all the way to "emotionally intense" and "broodingly dark". Robert starred in the Los Angeles Premieres of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George and Chess, the West Coast Premieres of Legacy of Light and Romance...

Stephen McGhee’s experience includes a career in financial services, advanced degrees in consciousness, health and healing, and more than thirty years advising leaders on personal, professional and planetary change. Stephen has done just about everything one can in the leadership space—keynote speaking, strategic planning, running board meetings, creating culture change and more. He is an entrepreneur, author and film maker, and he has led experiential leadership cohorts like climbing Mt. Aconcagua and class five white water excursions on Rio Futaleufú in Chile. Stephen’s personal journey has revealed a universal truth: leadership isn’t just about achievement—it’s about perso...

Linda Santiman is a fiber artist, as well as a licensed Marriage and Family therapist who has lived in Los Angeles for almost 25 years and calls it home. Linda works with felt and embroidery and specializes in mid-century modern miniature house sculptures that make up the Linda Felt Village. She has had her work shown in galleries in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. She is currently working on sculptures that honor the architecture of Los Angeles. Today, Linda will share how she brings mid-century modern homes to life using the simplest materials, showing us how entire communities can be crafted...

Heather Eastwood and Ruslan Abaev are recent Altadena residents and first-time homebuyers. They both grew up in Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley—Heather as an LA native with childhood roots in Hawaii, and Ruslan as an immigrant from post-Soviet Russia. Having lived in LA for the past 32 years, Ruslan now considers it home. Both work in STEM—Heather as a scientist and Ruslan in IT (Information Technology). After years of searching for a special place to call home, they finally found it in Altadena. They were drawn to its natural beauty, community spirit, and unique character. Heather’s love f...

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Martin Turnbull has always been drawn to history, storytelling, and the golden age of Hollywood. After moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1990s, he worked as a private tour guide, sharing the city’s storied past, and deepened his expertise through historical guiding with the Los Angeles Conservancy and time on the Warner Bros. movie lot. Inspired by his love for classic cinema, Martin turned to writing, bringing Hollywood’s past to life through Hollywood’s Garden of Allah series—a nine-novel saga set between 1927 and 1959 at the legendary Garden of Allah Hotel. He continues to write...

Robert DeLaurentis, the “Zen Pilot,” is an aviation speaker, author, and pilot with over 2,400 flight hours. He holds multiple flight ratings, a Commercial Pilot Certificate, and has flown to 53 countries across all seven continents, including solo crossings of the North and South Poles. A seasoned real estate investor, Robert built a portfolio of 300+ San Diego rental units over 28 years, starting with a single condo in 1990. His journey inspired Flying Thru Life, a book on business, aviation, and personal success. He owns Innorev Enterprises, Inc., managing residential and commercial properties. He holds an Accounting degree from USC and a graduate degree in S...

Diana von Welanetz Wentworth’s life is woven with threads of love, curiosity, and a relentless pursuit of connecting people. Born in Beverly Hills, she became a New York Times bestselling author, television personality, and influential community leader, guided by passion, perseverance and an unwavering belief in the power of community and joy. The author of ten award-winning books, including Send Me Someone: A True Story of Love Here and Hereafter, Diana co-authored Chicken Soup for the Soul Cookbook, part of a series that has sold over 500 million copies. She and her late husband, Paul von Welanetz, hosted The New Wa...

Frank Roller is the visionary Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Placesofhealing.com, an innovative online resource dedicated to transformative travel and wellness. His platform serves as a gateway for travelers and wellness seekers to discover unique destinations centered around holistic healing practices, connecting them with practitioners, wellness experts, and their inspiring stories. Driven by his passion for exploration and an insatiable curiosity for the unknown, Frank established Places of Healing to empower others on their journey to well-being, making it effortless to locate destinations that offer not just relaxation but personal growth and profound transformation. Frank’s journey to launching Places of Hea...

Alexey Steele is an award-winning visual artist with a background of the Russian representational school. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, he began art training at an early age in the studio of his father Leonid Steele, a renowned Soviet Union artist. Alexey attended the prestigious Surikov Art Institute of the Soviet Academy of Arts in Moscow. He moved to Los Angeles in 1990. Mr. Steele is best known for his large-scale figurative works in oil and on paper, portraiture, and plein-air landscapes. His works have been commissioned, exhibited and recognized throughout California, Europe, and Asia. He is also the founder of the...

John Mullican is a Los Angeles native, born and raised in Santa Monica Canyon, a graduate of Emerson College, Boston, and for the past 30 years has worked as a true Los Angeles hyphenate as a WGA writer, an actor, an agency Art Director, and a studio advertising Creative Director for the Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, Viacom and Paramount Pictures. His feature film documentary about his artist father’s life, “Finding Lee Mullican," can be found on Vimeo and for the past 4 years has been managing and directing his mother’s posthumous career, artist Luchita Hurtado. This year, John’s autobi...

Ramin Mortazavi has worked in film and television for nearly three decades. The son of a media mogul who founded the Sepas Film Awards in Iran, Ramin was destined for a career in entertainment. After earning a B.A. in Broadcasting from Arizona State University in 1997, he interned on shows like Entertainment Tonight and The Leeza Gibbons Show and worked on the film Freeway. This led to producing commercials, including for The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In 2000, he associate produced the indie film 21, which won Kodak's Best Picture at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. His brother...

Elise Mallove’s connection to natural and plant-based healing began in early childhood, despite it being neither accepted nor practiced in her family. She was drawn to flowers, often picking them, hugging them in the privacy of her room, and even eating them. In her early twenties, Elise moved to Los Angeles and soon found a small shop specializing in natural skin and body care. Stepping into that shop felt like a profound awakening for her, and she spent every spare moment there until she was eventually hired. This led her to become a licensed aesthetician focused on natural skincare. It...

Leslie Stevens, of Scots-Irish and Norwegian descent, grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her mother, an English teacher passionate about women’s rights, and her father, a left- handed baseball pitcher and businessman, instilled in her a love for learning and tenacity. An athlete from an early age, Leslie competed in Junior Olympic gymnastics until age 11, when her family moved and she shifted her focus to dance, acting, and choir. Leslie made her Broadway debut at 17 as the ingénue lead in La Cage Aux Folles and soon after joined NBC’s Search For Tomorrow as a contract player. She has since...

Meet Kateryna Mykytiuk, a creative force who started her journey at 12 with her first published article. By 15, she released a poetry collection and by 16, was working in television, becoming the youngest journalist to interview Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports. Her career highlights include managing PR for Eurovision winner Jamala, creating projects for Edinstvennaya magazine’s charity foundation, and co-producing the award-winning show Vse Bude Dobre, which ran for 12 seasons. At 19, Kate earned international press credentials, interviewing top talent for high-profile TV projects. She later became an editor for The Cube alongside Maksim Chmerkovskiy and led STB’s Internet Projec...

Today, we’ll experience Los Angeles featuring an interview with incredible Ryan Dusick! Ryan Dusick is a registered therapist, coach, speaker, founding drummer of Maroon 5, author of the book “Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery,” and host of The Harder to Breathe Podcast. His life has been a winding road from aspiring pop star with anxiety, to heartbroken alcoholic, to thriving mental health survivor and messenger of hope in recovery. Founding the group Kara’s Flowers in 1994 with best friends Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden, Ryan and his bandmates worked tireless...

Today, we’ll experience Vroman’s Bookstore featuring an interview with indomitable Joel Sheldon! Joel Vroman Sheldon III is the owner and president of Vroman’s Bookstore, one of California’s largest and oldest independent bookstores, located in Pasadena. A graduate of Occidental College with a degree in psychology, Joel was a standout football player, earning Small College All-American honors. Joel met his wife, Jil, at Occidental, and they have two children who also graduated from the college. While still an avid supporter of Oxy football, Joel has dedicated his career to property development and running Vroman’s. As Joel is prepari...

Today, we’ll experience Simi Valley followed by an interview with remarkable and inspiring Steve Strope! Steve Strope’s journey to owning Pure Vision Design, a renowned hot rod and muscle car fabrication shop in Simi Valley, California, is a story of passion, perseverance, and creativity. Raised in Apalachin, New York, Strope’s path to success had many twists and turns, including playing in his band, Twist of Fate, for eight years in the Triple Cities area. His love for music played a pivotal role in shaping his creative approach to car building. After moving to California over two decades ago to...

Today, we’ll experience Nat King Cole’s life in Los Angeles featuring by an interview with incredibly talented Eddie Wakes! From Walt Disney Theatrical to “La La Land”, Eddie has turned heads when he sings. Eddie’s life as a singer is the stuff movies are made of: from performing at the Super Bowl as a youngster, to being discovered years later singing on the street in Los Angeles by Hollywood A-listers, to performing for and with legends. That’s because when Eddie sings, he turns heads. As Academy Award winning director Damien Chazelle says, “You don’t hear many voices like...

Today, we’ll experience Villa Aurora featuring by an interview with amazing Mary Mallory! Mary Mallory is an author, lecturer, and historian who focuses on early film and Los Angeles history. She is the author of four books, blogger for the LA Daily MIrror, and has written for such publications as American History magazine, Toluca Lake magazine, Discover Hollywood, Noir City magazine, Women Film Pioneers Project, and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. She has lectured at 12 branches of the Los Angeles Public Library, Hollywood Heritage Museum, Pasadena Museum of HIstory, Poster House, and UCLA’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Twit...

Today, we’ll get a glimpse of the captivating history of the people who have shaped Los Angeles, followed by an interview with wonderful Susan Pomeranz! Through 40 years of being a marriage and family therapist, Susan knows there are no cookie-cutter therapies that can be applied overall to human beings. She draws from a vast array of skills and has been trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the Neurobiology of Addiction, Gestalt Therapy, Art and Movement Therapy, Psychoneuroimmunology (the mind-body connection), Mindfulness, as well as hold certifications in Yoga, Tai-Chi and Qigong (medical martial art). She works with adults and specializes in...

Today we’ll feel and experience the history of live theatre in Los Angeles featuring an interview with incredible Christian Telesmar! Christian Telesmar is an educator, entrepreneur and actor on stage and screen, best known for his work in NCIS: LA, the Young and the Restless, and Animal Kingdom on TNT. In theatre, his work has included On the Other Hand, We're Happy by Daf James at Rogue Machine Theatre (named Best Production of 2022 by both the L.A. Times and the L.A. Drama Critics Circle) and the lead role in Radio Golf by August Wilson at A Noise Wi...

Today we’ll feel and experience Los Angeles in the 60s, 70s and 80s featuring an interview with legendary Prince Stash! Stanislas Klossowski de Rola is an Author, Entrepreneur, Actor, Singer, and Music Producer. He performed and worked with various bands including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Vince Taylor & The Playboys, during the Swinging Sixties in London, Rome, Paris, and Los Angeles. Made infamous for his arrest with The Rolling Stones founder, Brian Jones, his engagement to Italian superstar, Romina Power, and for being a fashion icon launching the New Romantic look that was all the rage in the ‘70s, Prin...

Today we’ll feel and experience Oakland featuring an interview with remarkable Fanny Ara! Fanny Ara is an internationally-sought after and award-winning choreographer, performer and instructor. Her most dedicated worldwide fans especially credit her as one of the driving forces of flamenco today; an artist excelling in the full spectrum of flamenco, from the most traditional to the avant-garde. Fanny has been an invited artist in national and international festivals and has toured extensively in Canada, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and throughout Europe. She has been distinguished since 2006 with nominations from the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards in...

Today we’ll feel and experience Sierra Madre featuring an interview with wonderful John Capoccia! John Capoccia served on the Sierra Madre City Council for two terms, 2012 to 2020, twice as Mayor. John retired in 2011 from AT&T, where he held engineering, managerial and leadership positions over a 27-year career. John is an avid tennis player and all-round outdoors enthusiast. He and his wife Marta have lived in Sierra Madre for 40+ years, where they have raised their three children, Lauren, Joseph and Susan. John now serves as President of the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, and serves on bo...

Today we’ll feel and experience Franklin Hills featuring an interview with wonderful Charles Papert! Charles Papert is a director and cinematographer, with credits including classic movies such as “American History X” and “Office Space” and episodic series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, “Scrubs” and “Key & Peele”. He was also one of the creators of the 48-hour filmmaking festival concept. He enjoys exploring Los Angeles for its architecture, design and history and hamburgers. www.inthemoodforcalifornia.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maria.korpacheva.3 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inthemoodforcalifornia/ Twitter: @InTheMoodForCA

Today we’ll feel and experience Canyon Country featuring an interview with amazing Catina DeLuna! Catina DeLuna has been enjoying a successful and varied musical career since beginning to play the piano and sing at a young age. After completing a B.A. in Brazilian Popular Music at the prestigious UNICAMP University in São Paulo, Brazil, she founded two award winning groups: the vocal group Arirê, in which she was responsible for arranging, playing piano, and singing, and the group Serenata Brasileira, playing classic Brazilian songs from the 1920’s and 30’s, in full authentic costume and style. She currently has thre...

Today we’ll feel and experience Beverly Hills featuring an interview with incredible Alex Rotaru! Alex Rotaru is an internationally known, multi-award winning filmmaker. A polymath born in Romania, he moved to the US after a successful career in film acting which led to the highest distinction available to Romanian young actors, to pursue a degree in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology - where he graduated at the top of his class with a 5.0 GPA and a degree in Theoretical Physics. Inspired by studying cinema at the Sorbonne in Paris, Alex then switched gears and earned a Film Production MF...

Today we’ll feel and experience Whitley Heights featuring an interview with amazing Gaby Santinelli! Gaby Santinelli, born in Manhattan, trained in acting and singing at Interlochen Arts Academy, Northwestern University, and Mannes School of Music. She also trained at the Atlantic Theatre Company in NYC and in the Meisner Technique in London. Living in England for 15 years, she became a dual US-UK Citizen. Notably, she won a Best Supporting Performance Olivier Award for Jerry Springer The Opera and has extensive stage experience including roles in The Phantom Of The Opera and The Black Rider. She has appeared in various op...

Today we’ll feel and experience Bronson Canyon featuring an interview with wonderful Russell Brown! Filmmaker Russell Brown’s body of work includes five narrative features, two full-length documentaries, and a number of well-regarded narrative and documentary shorts. His feature films have opened theatrically in select cities to favorable reviews after playing at more than 270 festivals around the world. His diverse filmography includes Loren & Rose, Mama Laura’s Boys, The 44 Scarves of Liza Minnelli and The Kaleidoscope Guy at the Market. He is known in particular for directing actresses to award-winning and critically acclaimed performances, and has worked with Jacqueline Bisset...

Today we’ll feel and experience Richard Neutra’s architecture featuring an interview with esteemed Dr Raymond Neutra! Dr. Raymond Neutra is the youngest son of Richard Neutra. After a public health career in environmental medicine and epidemiology at several universities and the California Department of Public Health he has been drawn back to the legacy of his father and brother. He has been active in the preservation of the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences and several other Neutra projects. He is an “ambassador” for the Iconic House Network and has written scholarly articles on his father’s career. In addition t...

Today we’ll feel and experience Palm Springs and will get an overview of Los Angeles Landmark restaurants in the interview with inspiring George Geary! George Geary is passionate about history, cooking and conversancy. He loves to share that passion with others. He brings humor, energy and experience to every personal appearance across the country and on luxury cruises. His lectures, classes and culinary tours are sold-out months in advance. His wit and humor make understanding culinary concepts and preservation fun and interesting. A former pastry chef for the Walt Disney Company, George is a Certified Culinary Professional and best-selling co...

Today we’ll feel and experience Woodland Hills featuring an interview with incredible Alan K Rode! Alan K. Rode is an American film scholar and preservationist, cinema host, producer, charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation and a co-host of the NOIR CITY, Hollywood and Chicago film festivals. He has been the producer and host of the annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, California since 2008 and has hosted numerous other cinema events. In addition to his many filmed interviews of Hollywood artists, he has produced numerous classic film Blu-ray commentaries and special features and appeared as...

Today we’ll feel and experience Sherman Oaks featuring an interview with remarkable Anthony Mohr! Anthony J. Mohr served for 26 years as a judge on the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, and also sat as a judge pro tem on the California Court of Appeal. In January 2021, he became a fellow at the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University and is now a senior editor of the Harvard ALI Social Impact Review. His stories and essays have received six Pushcart Prize nominations. Anthony’s website: https://anthonyjmohr.com/ Book “Every Other Weekend” by Anthony Mohr on Amazon: https...

Today we’ll feel and experience Disneyland followed by an interview with incredible Rosanna Norton! Rosanna Norton is a renowned costume designer. She earned a nomination, alongside Elois Jenssen, for Best Costumes at the 55th Academy Awards for her exceptional work on the film "Tron." Her creative contributions extend to various iconic films, including "The Flintstones," "The Brady Bunch Movie," "Gremlins 2," and "Carrie." Notably, the unforgettable prom dress from "Carrie" remains etched in memory. Hailing from Los Angeles, Rosanna witnessed the city's transformative journey. Her father, the coordinating architect for Disneyland, and her time at UCLA, when Jim Morrison sometimes cr...

Today we’ll feel and experience the Rose Parade followed by an interview with wonderful and innovative Paul Jenkins and Evelisa Genova! As a Los Angeles native, Paul Jenkins has a deep connection to this vibrant city, where he has lived most of his life. He holds a degree in Construction Management from CSLUB and is a Certified Construction Manager and LEED Green Associate. Over two decades, Paul has specialized in managing construction projects, both innovative developments and meticulously restoring buildings. Beyond his professional pursuits, Paul is a dedicated Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council board member. Please check out Paul’s we...

Today we’ll feel and experience Griffith Park featuring an interview with incredibly talented David Melville! David Melville is co-founder and Managing Director of ISC (Independent Shakespeare Co.). He is the writer and composer of Red Barn, which performed in the Independent Studio in the fall of 2012 (redbarnthemusical.com). With ISC, he has played many of Shakespeare’s leading roles, including Hamlet, Richard II, Iago, Macbeth, Henry V, Benedick and Leontes. He also plays the clown, as evidenced by ISC turns as Costard, Launce, Sir Toby, Touchstone, Stephano and Dr. Pinch (with spinoff band Dr. Pinch and the Pinchtones). His Lond...

Today we’ll feel and experience Julian featuring an interview with amazing Michael and Janessa Cotugno! Michael C. Cotugno, Esq., M.A. in Spiritual Psychology, founder of Conscious Divorce Michael has been a practicing attorney in California since 1996, and a trained mediator since 1998, focused almost exclusively on family law. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology in 2011, during which time he transformed his way of practicing law from primarily an adversarial based, conventional law practice, to Conscious Divorce, which is focused on empowering clients to utilize their divorce as an opportunity for healing and growth. He helps clients navi...

Today we’ll feel and experience Helms Bakery District in Culver City featuring an interview with incredible Bernhard Mairinger! The first thing you notice about Chef Bernhard Mairinger is his height, for at 6’8” tall, he is arguably the tallest toque you’ll ever encounter. His towering size matches his culinary creativity, which has made him a standout chef since his career began in his native country of Austria nearly 20 years ago. In the years leading up to Mairinger’s Winter 2023 opening of Lustig, his newest eatery located in Culver City, California, the chef has racked up experience and accolades that make him o...