Just one day left on my adventures on the island of misfit toys, also known as the Television Critics Association summer press tour. I’m reminded in these last moments what a weird and wonderful creation Los Angeles is, populated with all kinds of characters…

Monday night, I had dinner at the famous Ford’s Filling Station (owned by Harrison Ford’s son) with “10 Items or Less” star Kirsten Gronfield who couldn’t be more grounded and funnier. Plus, she’s got great taste in food. She promises to make a couple appearances at the Minnesota State Fair. If you see her, buy her something deep-fried.  Afterwards, I stopped by my favorite watering hole in Beverly Hills, Roni’s Diner, where there’s never a dull moment. In the past week, I’ve shut the places down with the irreverent owners and watched one of the cooks chase down a homeless, barefoot thief who stole his bike. Last night, our waitress, an actress who has appeared on “Dawson’s Creek” and “Greek” ended her shift by sitting down with us for over an hour and regaling us with stories about the size of various actors’, um, members. Yes, it’s that kind of bar.

Speaking of members, I’m still recovering from the tiny firestorm I created by asking the PBS president whether they would show Ian McKellen in the nude for the Great Performances’ presentation of “King Lear.” She was not exactly Shakespearean in her dodge of an answer. Reporters are also trying to get over Dennis Hopper’s appearance for Starz’ “Crash” in which he referred to his little buddy at least a half dozen times.

The most buzzed about panel at TCA was Karl Rove’s appearance for Fox  News. One reporter asked him if he minded that cartoons on Fox often made fun of him. He replied that he wasn’t familiar with the shows, but panelist Chris Wallace sort of “outed” him. He said there were lots of “Family Guy” and “Simpsons” toys backstage and at one point he lifted up a baby doll to show his colleague. “Stewie!” Rove replied.

There wasn’t supposed to be any celebrities at the fancast cocktail party, so I did a double take when I spotted “The Office” star Leslie David Baker on the balcony. (he plays Stanley). He shared some great stories about his summer in Italy and the pleasures of success in middle-age. Look for him to make a guest appearance on the very funny “Office” web-isodes, starring our own Brian Baumgartner.

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