Be Thankful for Ones Who Are Friends

The last time I received a page from Mir Tukhi was 9 p.m. on a Friday a few weeks ago. An assignment editor at Fox News, he was angling to be put on the guest list to the trendy Hollywood nightclub Las Palmas, plus nine. Because it was Mir--a talented colleague at Fox and a hard-earned friend--I made a round of late-night calls and hooked him up. Mir, 26, died in last week’s Aspen, Colo., plane crash. He will be missed.

Speaking of amigos, Mario Madrigal--photo queen of La Banda Elastica magazine--dragged me to a screening last week of “Amores Perros (Love’s a Bitch).” The hecho en Mexico indie film’s the coolest movie I’ve seen in anos, so cool in fact, sitting through “Blow” two nights later felt like Chinese water torture. I did, however, sit behind James Ellroy and gazed upon his profile a spell, thrilled to see a writer who actually made something of himself.

At the post-”Blow” bash, a white-hot party held in a Hollywood warehouse, everyone got a dose of bad doorman. A buffoon in a leather trench coat was throwing around attitude and mocking guests. Attention party planners: Hire professionals.

We bailed on “Blow” for Vynyl, where we had the rare pleasure of kicking it with Cedd Moses, Marc Smith, Johnny Comacho and Phil Duff--the nightclub’s owners. At Vynyl, I ran into Tsar manager Tom Atencio, who was also seeking shelter from the “Blow” storm. Apparently, Tsar, a Silver Lake rock band, is breaking big in Britain.

Had more fun than I ever imagined at Barfly last Wednesday, where I joined promoters A.K. and Skunk Baxter in celebrating the 15th anniversary of the weekly China Club Pro Jam, a legendary fixture on the L.A. scene, where first-class studio musicians bust out with the funk.

At Barfly, I ran into Las Palmas owner Chris Pike, who asked me if that friend of mine he put on the list “plus nine” ever made it in. I told him Mir and company had blown off Las Palmas and headed to the Standard instead.

About 24 hours after that conversation, Mir’s plane crashed.

Reporting from the trenches . . .