June gloom has lifted, and LA is bright and sunny and full of spit and vinegar.Why, Perez Hilton, that infamous blogger, got a knuckle sandwich to the face on Sunday from the road manager of the Black Eyed Peas after Perez called Will.I.Am. a “faggot.” It went down in Toronto, but you don’t take a shot at LA’s number-one celebrity blogger and not expect retaliation. Perez is filing suit. Fergie just wants to keep the peace. It’s all so f-ing G-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s.

On Saturday night, I took off the gloves a little myself and killed a cockroach the size of a frog and with the speed of Usain Bolt. A distressed friend had captured the critter on her couch with an upside-down cup. When I arrived, I slid a back issue of Sky Mall under the roach in the cup and raced it outside. That’s where I went postal and bludgeoned the beast with the magazine. Sky Mall never looked so grotesque.

All this went down, and I still managed to discover a new (at least to me) and delicious summer spirit: Sailor Jerry Rum. It’s a friendly rum and as drinkable as a good whiskey.

While sipping the libation on the rocks, a friend spun a true LA story about picking up a guy in freeway gridlock. They made eyes, the windows were rolled down, then he pointed at his phone, she mouthed her number, he called, and they spoke for over an hour as they traveled home in their separate cars. It reminded me of LA Story, that forgotten gem of Hollywood cinema with the bizarre (but fascinating) tone, the kissing montage set to Enya, and that oracle freeway sign that “really wants to direct.” Yes, beautiful things can happen in this city of smog and celebs and roaches the size of your head.

Still don’t believe me? Just look at Hollywood’s latest news . . . now it’s easier than ever to get an Academy Award Best Picture nomination. Starting next year, the Oscars will nominate ten films instead of five. Esteemed Hollywood muckraker Nikki Finke had this to say: “It devalues the rarity of an Oscar nomination and belittles the judging...” Perhaps. . . or maybe it opens the door for classic films that never get a chance, such as FernGully. That movie is good. And even better with a bottle of Sailor Jerry.