Smiley Anders for June 30, 2009

• By SMILEY ANDERS
• Advocate columnist
• Published: Jun 30, 2009 - Page: 1B

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If I look tired, it’s because I just got back from the 33rd annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in Ventura, Calif.

We had writing coaches telling us how to write — a useful skill if you’re going to do a column.

Speakers were all atwitter about tweeting, blogging and Facebooking — proving that the medium is indeed the message.

But the highlight was hearing from three columnists — Jeff Zaslow, co-author of the bestseller “The Last Lecture”; W. Bruce Cameron, whose book “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” was made into a hit TV series; and Steve Lopez, whose Los Angeles Times columns were the basis for the movie “The Soloist.”

The idea that ink-stained wretches can write bestsellers and have TV shows and movies made from their work thrilled us, their fellow ink-stained wretches.

In “The Soloist” Steve, who looks more like Vin Diesel, is portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.

This led to some discussion about who would play us in a movie.

“You could be played by that short Italian actor,” one columnist told me.

“Who, De Niro? Pacino? DiCaprio?”

“No, Danny DeVito.”

The hole truth

Lynn Anselmo, owner of Tony’s Donuts from 1974 to 2004, tells the reader seeking the recipe:

“It is a process rather than a recipe. The mix is incorporated with potato flour, adding to the crispness, while the by-hand mixing and kneading, and frying at higher temperature, gives the doughnut a lighter texture, with air pockets in the dough.