Oh man, guys, the cake is good. I feel like I've been on sugar overload for the last three days. I am extremely pleased with the results. First off, the frosting is amazing. It's a perfect blend of tang from the cream cheese, sweetness from the absurd amount of sugar, and vanilla from, well, the vanilla. I adore it.
The vanilla bean experience was a fantastic one. I'm even in the process of making my own vanilla extract from the leftover bean. Should I be as excited as I am about this? I think so.
The cake itself is great. I was super paranoid about the baking time since our oven isn't the most consistent and made sure to check it at precisely 25 minutes. To my surprise, it was actually ready right then so I pulled it out. Somehow I managed to not dry it out at all! It's moist and wonderful. Personally I would almost like it to be more chocolately but I am kind of a chocolate freak. I've had no complaints from anyone else.
No complaints except from L who was a bit dismayed by the amount of sugar and butter and cream cheese involved. Not that she's wrong in that, this is not a healthy dessert.
I almost never eat sweets like this so I honestly really don't care. Since I generally try to go vegan in my baking so J can partake, a lot of what I do tends to be more on the healthier side (not that vegan is necessarily inherently healthy, I've still made some very unhealthy vegan treats. The healthy is just more likely in what I usually make). I'm perfectly happy to indulge every now and again.
I'm bringing some of the cake in to work tomorrow. We'll see what my coworkers think!
If you're curious to try this yourself, visit grammar monkey on her blog Do Not Feed the Editor. Actually, you should go visit her even if you don't want to bake the cake. She's awesome and entertaining and most definitely worth the visit.
While I was baking I did a mini "photo shoot" of the process. The pictures are up on Flickr for your viewing pleasure
Also for your viewing pleasure, more bad art! I'm sadly going to be slower on the uploading of my sketches since I don't have easy access to a scanner at the moment. For Jeremiah's sketch I actually took a picture with my phone and uploaded that. Not ideal, but whatever works!
Enjoy this for now! I've got another few coming and always feel free to add to the requests.
The Station Fire in Angeles Forest is still burning like crazy. The view of the smoke today was epic, even from the Marina. Apparently brush that hasn't burned in over five decades is now burning and parts of Glendale are even being evacuated.
Down here in the Marina we're plenty far away but the air quality is still pretty gross. The last few days have not been good for breathing. Combine the bad air with today's heat, not fun. Apparently parts of the westside were even experiencing brown outs but if we lost power at any point today I didn't notice.
Here's an AP article with more info on the fire along with a few images.
In other news.
I'm baking my cake! I'm actually in the middle of it. I've just taken the cake out of the oven and it's currently cooling. In a minute I'll start on the frosting. So far it's going well! I've taken pictures, of course, and those will be up just a little later.
I even bought a real vanilla bean for the frosting. It's my first vanilla bean guys! I'm inordinately excited about this vanilla.
Speaking of pictures, Thomas Lennon just posted a good one on Twitter.
Last night was, as a friend put it, classic. Not really sure there's a better way to describe it. It was really great to see cast and crew that I haven't seen since December but sad as well, given the circumstances. So classic is one way to describe it. Bittersweet another.
Strangely I did not actually have a camera with me last night. A few friends did though so hopefully I'll get to see other pictures. Or maybe it's just better if this particular evening lives on only in my memory. Either way.
All right, time to make some frosting. Expect another post once the cake is finished and tasting has commenced. There shall be details and pictures. I'm convinced this is going to be delicious!
Starting a pilot for G4 today. Will only go a month or so but that's fine. I'm working with a dear friend who I quite thoroughly enjoy working with and, well, I'm working. The bills can once again be paid.
Cake baking is probably going to now be happening this weekend rather than today (I'm going to be trying this Red Velvet Cake. There will be pictures). And other things may be postponed slightly as well. Although I'm fairly certain I can still manage a sketch of Jeremiah.
I need to make one thing abundantly clear. I cannot draw. I really can't. My sketches are beyond silly. Their quality however is thankfully not the point. The point is that it's something I'm having fun with.
The bad art has continued.
For some reason, the requests I've been getting have mostly involved sea creatures. Although J has now requested a sketch of our local favorite, Jeremiah. That damn devil eyed varmit... So as soon as I'm done with the Chupacabra meets Narwhal, I'll be giving the possum a go. Who knows what will happen after that.
For now, here are my latest two. A happy Narwhal and a Monkfish.
Now if you're following me on Twitter you've all ready seen these guys (and if you're not, why not???) Just for you folks who have all ready experienced the wonder of the happy Narwhal, I'm also giving you some failed sketches. I know, if my successful ones are this bad, how awful are the failed ones? Pretty terrible!
Now that I have a small handful of these silly sketches, I'm considering taking this another step. Since I'm not an artist and have no real aspirations to become one, I'd like to do something that relates a little more to what it is I am trying to do. Writing. I can't make any promises on this, since I am still neck deep in a screenplay that needs lots of work, but I do have a writing project in mind for this bad art. I'll keep you posted and hopefully even have a start on it soon.
Wow am I tired tonight. So tired that it took me three tries to spell “Girl” right. One of the things I’ve been trying to do with my unemployed time is workout regularly. I figure that once get another job I probably won’t use my free time for the working out thing. I like to be in shape (and let’s face it, look good nekked) but I do have other priorities. Like writing. Or sleeping.
I have no job now though and lots of time so I’m more than happy to spend a little of it doing crunches or pretending I know what I’m doing at the gym. The result of the excess of activity is that beyond the nice abs I will eventually have, I am incredibly tired. I’m not really used to this level of energy expenditure. I’m also having difficulty lifting my arms.
But I digress. This is my Girl Talk Thursday writing! This week’s topic is a good one, what do you like to do with your chick friends?
I love my girl time. I need my girl time. A lot of the things I do I don’t necessarily designate as “Girl” things vs. “Boy” things. I’m just as likely to grab a drink with my best guy friends as I am to go out with my ladies.
That being said, there are a few things that usually top the list when I’m planning lady time:
HAPPY HOURS
While certainly not limited to Girls’ Nights, I do enjoy a good girl only HH. Martinis and girl talk, one of my favorite combinations! I was evenly recently convinced that I do indeed like olives. At least the vodka soaked kind that comes in my Dirty Martini. Mmm… More than that though I just enjoy the chance to get drunk and giggly and gossipy with other girls. I like talking about boys and bitching about work and waxing philosophical about the other random topics that are bound to come up.
I have to be careful though or one of these days Gracie is going to convince me to join Match.com. Yikes!
SHOPPING
When I go shopping it tends to be more of a Mother & Daughter thing than a Girl thing. Granted, at this point in my life hanging out with my mom is very much so a Girl activity.
I do enjoy wandering through the clothes store and I like doing it with other ladies. It’s fun to play dress up and shop and compare. I’m not a huge shopper but if I’m going I don’t mind the lady company. THE BEACH
I adore the beach. I love riding my bike out there, stopping for a beer, lying in the sun. The only thing that makes the beach better is going with my lady friends. It’s a lot of the same with the chatting and the being goofy, there’s just sun and, when we’re lucky, really hot surfer boys to ogle. I like ogling the hot surfer boys.
PIZZA AND BEER NIGHT
Pizza and Beer Night is almost exclusively a roommate activity on top of being a girl activity (well, being that both of my roommates are girls… I guess that goes without saying). After a week working with the hours that we tend to work when we actually have jobs, staying in, ordering a pizza, grabbing a six-pack, and putting on some terrible movie is the perfect Friday night. It’s the time to stay in, bitch about work, gossip about boys, be tired, plan the weekend, and pass out. From exhaustion rather than alcohol. THE GIRLS’ NIGHT
The common thread that runs through all of these things is that rather than what the activity may be, the point is the company. While I adore grabbing a beer with G, sometimes what I really need is an extra dose of estrogen. To vent, to bitch, to commiserate, to laugh, to be goofy, to relax. I like boys, I enjoy doing many things with them, but I don’t always want to be around them. Sometimes I just want/need my ladies.
Believe it or not, unemployment can occasionally be boring. Shocking to hear, right? I fill my time with a lot of things: my writing, cooking, reading. The internet can be a huge time suck. However sometimes, that all is not enough. Or sometimes I just need a little additional inspiration.
The other day the boredom got the best of me. So I reached out to my dear friends and asked for suggestions. I've gotten a couple of interesting ones.
Unfortunately the one involving a trip to Portland isn't quite possible for the girl who has hardly worked this year. Drawing a Mermaid Punk Band though? That I can handle.
Even more exciting than my bad art, is my baking. My friend Liz suggested I bake but left the What up to me. After some thought I decided to go savory with some baked eggs. You can bet I am happy I went with that decision.
Combining ideas from Tastes Like Home and 101 Cookbooks (I love this site), I made this incredibly satisfying lunch.
Baked Eggs
3 Eggs (or 2 or however many you want, I was hungry) Butter 1/2 Tomato 1/2 Onion 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1 clove Garlic paprika cumin red pepper flakes pinch salt
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat Oil in a skillet. Add Onion, garlic, paprika, cumin, red pepper, salt (and any other seasoning you want). Saute a few minutes until the onion is soft but don't brown the garlic. Add the tomato. Saute another few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Line a small oven safe dish with butter (or whatever buttery spread you prefer). Crack one egg and add to the dish. Add the onion and tomato mix. Add the next egg or two. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
I decided to top my eggs with salsa and it was delicious. If I had planned ahead a little more I think I actually would have made some salsa from scratch. The tomatoes from the Farmer's Market were that good. I also had a couple of pieces of toast and a side of blueberries.
I think next time I'd go closer to the 15 minute end rather than the 20 minutes. Or possibly try the oven at 350. Either way, this oven I'm using runs a little hot and I generally like my eggs just slightly less done than they were. I think next time I'll also leave off the salt. The cumin and paprika were more than enough and the red pepper adds a nice kick.
I seriously need to make this all the time. It's so amazingly good. I also really want to try a few of the variations suggested on 101 cookbooks.
Sunday Brunch anyone?
***
I've also received a few other suggestions I plan on exploring over the next couple of weeks. Or however long it is I end up being unemployed for. Next week there will be cake baking. There may also be some knitting. And more bad art. Definitely some more bad art.
Feel free to suggest anything else I should try! I'm open to almost all things new.
Lots of videos to share tonight. There are some cool things to be found on the internet.
I probably don't really need to share this is one as it's all ready all over the place. That's right, Jed Whedon's Guild music video Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? Featuring Felicia Day and the rest of The Guild cast members in all their Avatar-y glory. You can watch it for free on YouTube but the single is also available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes. If you buy it you're supporting The Guild and all things geeky. Why not?
District 9 is another big thing of the moment. It rocked the box office this weekend and everyone I know who has seen it loved it. I haven't gotten to it yet but I'm hoping to check it out maybe Thursday evening with my mom. In the meantime, I have watched Neill Blomkamp's original short film that District 9 is based on, Alive in Joburg. You can find it here on the Spy Films website.
Going an entirely different direction is this Episode 1 of Creature Cast. Guys, it's about squid! It's very cool and even a bit educational.
In other news, I've been watching True Blood and Eric is hot. Er, well, I guess that's not really news. That's just stating the obvious.
In other news (for real this time), a friend of mine is making a movie! My friend Cherie is getting set to shoot this fall in Northern Florida. Check out the website and throw some love, and maybe even a little cash, her way. No Matter What
That's all I've got at the moment. Look for another post tomorrow detailing what I do when I'm unemployed and bored (beyond trolling the interwebs for videos). It shall involve bad art and a recipe for baked eggs.
A few days ago photographer Kyle Cassidy posted a writing contest on his Livejournal. Any fans of Neil Gaiman or Amanda Palmer (or both) may know Kyle's work from the book Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
The rules were simple, write a 350 word story about his cat Roswell and mer-people. The prize was a copy of Chris Howard's novel Seaborn. And Chris Howard himself was the judge.
I sadly didn't win (oh well!) but it was a lot of fun to participate in and I really enjoyed a lot of the other stories. The winning ones are all pretty rad. You can read them all over on Kyle's LJ.
You can read mine right here! So now, without further ado, is my little Flash Fiction.
*** The Wiseness of Cats
She stood alone on the vast, empty shore. The great waves roared, crashed, frothed over sand and raced towards her feet. She shivered in disgust. To step foot in that awful ocean was the last thing she wanted.
She daintily slapped at it with one sandy paw. The water swirled around her claws and she pulled back, hissing.
It was so cold!
However, the call had come. She sighed, onward it must be.
With one powerful thrust she let herself fly through the air and into the waves. After a brief moment of swirling mayhem, her feet found purchase and she settled on the ocean floor.
Seawater filled her lungs. Choking, she gasped for air. The water filled her mouth and she felt herself begin to retch. Her whole body convulsed and she hacked an impressive cough.
At her feet sat, or rather floated, a hairball. She knocked it away in distaste.
She crossed many leagues before finally arriving at the undersea palace. The distance would have been annoying but she had traversed it many times before.
The Sea King was waiting. Ten stories to Roswell’s tiny stature and yet she stood before him, mighty in her pride.
“What do those Humans think they are doing?!” He bellowed.
“How should I know?”
“You are the ambassador.”
“I’m just a cat. You’re a King.” At once he deflated, his anger giving way to sadness.
“They have forgotten me. I no longer have even a name.”
“Then you must remind them. That is the only advice I have. You were once a god to them, they trembled in fear at your power. Make it so once again.” He stared glumly at her, not deigning to reply.
“Is there anything else? I dare say it’s time for my lunch and I will soon be missed.”
Back on land Roswell regarded the horizon; an angry storm of justified anger would soon be on its way. Roswell supposed she could attempt to warn them, but humans had forgotten the wiseness of cats. That memory was buried deep along with the names of their forgotten gods.
I have so many random things I've been looking at today. I shall share them with you now! There will be links. Oh yes. Links there will be. And appreciate this because I'm taking a break from my Mad Men to share goodness with the world. Does that make me a philanthropist? Okay, maybe not.
Anyway, on to the linking...
Speaking of Mad Men, The New York Times has this article about the series. It does contain spoilers so if you haven't finished season 2 yet, be careful. To say it one more time, the new season premiers this Sunday at 10 PM. So make sure you're home or set your DVR or, like me, try and do both.
Another interesting New York Times article about Photography in NYC. It details a fascinating portrait of the city. If I was in New York I would definitely try and check out some of the photography being exhibited at galleries around the city. Someone on the east coast should go look at it for me.
This feeling seems familiar... Image from explodingdog.
This story from Mark Evanier made me laugh. How very Hollywood! I'm just curious to know who that Very Big Movie Star was.
Finally, I leave you with this video detailing the lovely harmonies of the Beach Boys. Yes, I still love Pet Sounds. Personally, I think it's brilliant.
What else?
Oh yes! I shall be going here tomorrow night to see a gallery filled with expensive toys. As someone who still loves her My Little Ponies, I fully appreciate the toys-as-art (or whatever it is) idea. Plus, they're really cute. And awesome.
And that's it for now! At some point I'll actually be posting an original little flash fiction I wrote yesterday so stay tuned for that. Guys, I'm going to let you read something FICTIONAL that I've written. I'm just as in awe as you are. That may happen tonight or may happen tomorrow. I promise I won't keep you in suspense for too long.
Otherwise, I hope you all have fabulous weekends full of good news. I'm tired of bad news. I've decided that it's time for me to stop receiving it. I will only be accepting good news from this point forward. Just an FYI. Send good news my way!
Since Tom Lennon has now Twittered it I guess I can spread the news as well. I heard from a friend this afternoon that Reno 911! will not, in fact, be returning for Season 7. Along with many fans I am incredibly sad.
As some of you know I worked on season 6 last fall. I was the Assistant Production Coordinator (means I worked in the office, answered a lot of phones, sent the PAs on runs, and helped our fabulous coordinator out with whatever).
Ah, what can I say about Reno? It was one of the best places I've so far worked. The crew was fantastic, the people amazing, there were constantly funny and absurd things going on and being said. Beyond that, I met some of my favorite people and made some of my best friends that I've made since moving to LA.
Working on Reno was almost everything that working in this industry should be. Of course it wasn't always all sunshine and smiles, there were egos and politics and the usual nonsense, but in the end it was a great production making a fun show and I would have gone back to it in a second.
This is a Girl Talk Thursday post! Mommy Melee explains.
To be honest, my shower/bath/bathroom routine is incredibly boring. I’m sort of the opposite of a girl when it comes to all of this stuff. My routine involves showering. Top to bottom: start with the hair, end with the feet. Sometimes I shave?
After the shower it’s just slap on the deodorant, mess some gel in my hair, and apply the Oil of Olay moisturizer with SPF 15 on my face.
Teeth brushing happens at some point. Hair drying usually doesn’t.
And that’s it. There’s no make-up, no extended routine or ritual. I like showers and all, I’m sort of OCD about taking them, but there’s nothing particularly special to report.
I like my Aveda shampoo and my Tom’s toothpaste. Although I have to admit that for financial reasons I’ve just been using random drugstore shampoo lately. I adore Lush anything but don’t really have the money for that either. And frankly, I’m too lazy to go through the routine of three different products to make me clean and soft and smelling nice. Um, those are all great things. But yeah, lazy. I settle for clean and the basic body wash.
Ha, somebody help me here? I’m feeling like I’m at a loss with this subject.
Actually, now that I’ve said that I know exactly what my shower time does for me, beyond the whole part where I get clean.
I have to shower every morning, almost always before I do anything else, not only because I’m really weird about having to be clean but also because it wakes up my mind. The creative part of me gets moving and shaking. I use the time in the shower to reflect on any dreams I may have had, go through them step by step as a way of remembering what they were.
More significantly, when I’m writing my shower time is when I think about what’s going on in my story. I think about my characters, consider where they’re at, and figure out where they’re going next. It’s an incredibly important part of my creative process because when I’m in the shower there is no distraction. There is no internet trying to tempt me, no phone ringing, no trucks driving by or gardeners mowing the lawn. There’s just the hot streaming water and myself.
I think through ideas and sometimes I’ll even live an entire conversation in my head. All that remains when I finish is to get on the computer and type it out.
So I really do need my showers. They are essential. Well, the showers yes. And the coffee. I can do nothing without my coffee.
The Shower (I like the window. And most of that stuff isn't mine)
My shelf of stuff. I use maybe two of those things on a daily basis.
And the bathroom. A little small but not too bad for three girls.
AMC is running a Mad Men marathon today in anticipation of season 3’s premier next Sunday. I have a feeling I am going to get nothing accomplished today. I’ve seen bits and pieces of Season 2 but I missed most of it. Today is the day I catch up.
If you haven’t seen Mad Men yet, I highly recommend checking it out. The show is fantastic. It’s well done on every level, from writing to acting to production design and wardrobe. It’s also incredibly addictive. Whenever I start watching, I never want to stop.
Start at the beginning if you can but make sure you don’t miss the end of season 1. The bit with the Kodak slide show is fantastic.
Whatever acclaim this show has received, it’s well deserved.
Mad Men Season 3 premier: Sunday, August 16 at 10 PM on AMC.
***
Today is my roommate K’s birthday. About a month ago our other roommate J and I decided we were going to throw her a surprise party. Along with our friend L we took a month to tell people about it, plan it, and get everything together. I never thought we would all actually be able to keep the surprise and pull everything off but somehow we managed.
It was a summer time cookout. The yard was strewn with streamers and balloons, there was a piñata, we grilled. The turn out was great and most importantly K had a good time. Her family even came to town from Phoenix and their presence more or less guaranteed the success. It was wonderful.
Of course every summer cookout needs some sort of delicious summer sides. J made a beautiful fruit salad with lovely fresh seasonal fruit. Melon, berries, kiwi, pineapple. Tasty!
I really didn’t change a thing beyond using canned peas instead of fresh. I didn’t have any fresh ones and even less time to shell them if I had. The dressing is what made this so good anyway.
Since the first step does involve roasting the pepper for an hour, make sure you’ve got the time. Otherwise, it’s super easy and even more delicious.
My other contribution was spicy corn and peppers. Also incredibly easy to toss together. This recipe actually came from my little brother.
I prefer fresh corn for this one but again I was lacking on the time so I went with a giant can. Worked well enough. Since I was making this for the party I also used more pepper and onion when I normally make it as just a side. For a smaller serving size, go with 2 ears of corn, 1 pepper and half an onion or so.
Spicy Corn & Peppers
1 large can of corn or 2 small 1 red bell pepper 1 green bell pepper 1 white onion 3 cloves garlic Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce (I love the Louisiana Hot Sauce but use whatever your preference is) 2 Table Spoons Olive Oil
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic, sauté until the onion is soft but be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the peppers and corn. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cayenne pepper and hot sauce to taste. I like it spicy so I usually end up going pretty heavy on them.
That’s pretty much it. Once everything is heated, the peppers are soft, and it’s spicy to your taste, you’re good to go. An easy, fresh summer dish that’s been a hit every time I’ve served it.
I’ve never really considered myself a music person. I’m a movie person and I only have so much room in my brain. I can remember only so many obscure facts and details. That being said, I do have my favorite music. Who doesn’t?
Music is something that surrounds us. Culturally saturates us. It’s on TV, it’s on the radio in our cars, it’s in grocery stores and elevators. Even more so than film and television, music is a part of the daily fabric of our lives. You can go a lifetime without seeing a movie in a theater, but unless you’re deaf you will probably hear music.
Still not a music person but I do have my favorites. I have a few songs that individually remind me of things but for the most part my favorites are the artists themselves. The songs tend to depend more on what I’ve been listening to in the moment and change frequently over the course of time. I don’t have an Ultimate Playlist for my lifetime; I have smaller playlists for the season. If I were to make the Ultimate Playlist, it would certainly include songs like Hey Jude by the Beatles that will always remind me of my dad pushing me around the lake as a kid or if I’m feeling sentimental I might include I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing from Armageddon, the song my high school boyfriend and I (along with a million other teenagers) decided was ours.
I don’t have that list yet though and if I tried guessing at it here most of the choices would be arbitrary and would probably change in a month or so. I’d pick something by Led Zeppelin, maybe a Fleetwood Mac, definitely Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. Bob Dylan, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, more Beatles, The Clash, Velvet Underground. We can go another direction with Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday. And those are just the classics. What about the more recent artists with the songs I love just as much? Or the guys from the 90’s whose music defined my adolescence? Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, Bush, No Doubt, Stone Temple Pilots, Everclear, NIN, Greenday, Nirvana. And don’t get me started on what I was listening to in 8th grade when I discovered Punk and Ska. Do you see my problem here? There’s just too much.
And I say I’m not a music person…
I don’t have room in my head for it but I love it just the same. I’m going to cut myself off here and go ahead and post my current summer playlist. It starts off a bit folksy, a little indie, expressing some minor frustrations over friendship and relationship (non) issues and then moves on to a little more upbeat, dance type fun stuff. And ends with something silly that’s mostly there for a friend.
Freddy & Francine are a couple of friends with their album Briar Patch recently out on iTunes. Always one to support my friends, I have to admit that I was still surprised by how much I like this album. It’s fun, upbeat and yet soulful. Great music to ride your bike to. And man can Bianca sing.
Track 2: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa by Vampire Weekend
I love Vampire Weekend. I thought I didn’t but then I heard their album and realized I was wrong. I gave them a chance after a writer I follow added them to his favorite album list of last year. Also on that list were Death Cab’s Narrow Stairs, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss’s Raising Sand and Adele’s 19. Those are all great albums so I figured if he liked those, maybe he was right about Vampire Weekend. Yeah, he was.
This is one of the ones that was just hitting home. I love Adele; I love her sound and her music.
You should know that you're just a temporary fix This is not rooted with you it don't mean that much to me You're just a filler in the space that happened to be free How dare you think you'd get away with trying to play me
When I first heard Tegan & Sara I thought they were kind of silly. Then my ex sent me their album, I listened to it, and it’s great. A Fleetwood Mac kind of feel to it at times. This particular song is another that fell in with my current mood toward relationship-y stuff.
Maybe I would have been something you'd be good at Maybe you would have been something I'd be good at But now we'll never know
I love this song. I have loved this song. I came to Rilo Kiley shortly after More Adventurous was released, Accidental Death was actually the first song I heard, but Portions For Foxes is the one that caught my attention. It came up on shuffle on my old iPod one day while I was at work after my friend had given me a few of their songs. After it finished I paused my iPod, wrote down the song so I wouldn’t forget it, and proceeded to play it another five times. And I still remember that moment years later!
It’s on this particular mix because it also goes along with my relationship mood.
There's blood in my mouth 'cause I've been biting my tongue all week I keep on talkin' trash but I never say anything And the talkin' leads to touchin' and the touchin' leads to sex and then there is no mystery left
I heard of this guy from a British kid I follow on Twitter. Nice, right? He came out with his new album Sunny Side Up just a bit ago and I really enjoy it. It’s just something I’ve been listening to, goes a long a bit with the relationship theme, and is fun.
Neko Case was a college discovery. One of the first female artists I really got into. I love her voice and what she sings about. A little bit country. Yeah. I’m An Animal is off of her most recent album Middle Cyclone. One of these days I’ll manage to not miss her playing in LA. She seems to play often enough.
This is where the mix starts to move into the more dance-y portion. Stuff to move along with. Zero was on the radio a bit and I got the album from a friend I met during the three weeks I spent hanging out in Lake Havasu, AZ back in May. I will forever associate it with Piranha 3D. A strange little tourist town on a lake in the middle of the desert, unbelievable heat, and a little heat of another sort with a not unattractive man. If you know what I mean… May was certainly a memorable month. One of those little adventures that make life interesting. I have a feeling those memories will make me smile for a long time yet.
It’s a fun song! Um, yeah, that’s about all I’ve got to say there. Honestly I don’t have much to say about the next few other than they’re great for the summer.
Discovered this one through Boing Boing, which I discovered around the same time. I think someone actually may have linked me to this video. Either way, I love them both. And David Byrne! Any other Talking Heads fans out there?
This one actually reminds me of working on Reno 911! Watching a Bjork video (for a different song) with the Co-Producer (and my now good friend) when we possibly should have been working. C’est la vie.
Track 15: Superman from the Scrubs Soundtrack
This one was for KT. And all of the time we’ve spent together sitting on the couch watching Comedy Central. Good times with a good roommate and a great friend.
And isn’t that what music is for? Expressing emotion and bringing people together. At least, that’s what it’s about for me.
I promised things that make me smile and I deliver on my promises. Dog Hates ME
Short little comics by Sam Brown that make me smile. This one suits my mood at the moment but many of them make me smile. He updates a few times a week for guaranteed entertainment.
My friend took a motorcycle trip from New Orleans to Chicago to the West coast and then back to NO. He promises updates and even if there aren't many it's a fascinating trip to follow. I have to admit to complete jealousy. What I wouldn't give to be able to take a crazy journey like that... Maybe someday I will.
This weekend also made me smile. I spent it with the family in San Diego since my little brother was in town for the week. He's in his second year of law school so he hasn't had much time for the visiting and whatnot over the last year. It's always nice to see him and his girlfriend and spend time with the folks.
The weekend really was a good one. Family time, delicious pizza, an afternoon spent at Stone Brewery in Escondido, beer, a little beach, onion rings, True Blood watching. Pretty good right?
Remember a month ago when I claimed I wasn’t going to let unemployment get me down? I like to think of that post as more of a pep talk before a big game than anything remotely realistic. So now a month later when unemployment is most definitely getting me down I have something to look back on, something to remind myself of all of the positives.
Why is it always worse at the beginning of the week? I’m guessing it’s because after a weekend of being able to forget about searching for a job, everyone around you has gone back to work and you have to go back to facing reality.
I feel like I have to keep repeating the words “I’m okay” to myself and to others. Really I am though. I know this is all temporary, a job will come. Preferably sooner rather than later, but it will come eventually. And then I’ll go back to bitching about how bored I am, how miserable the hours are, etc. etc. etc. all while I’m secretly thrilled be doing anything, not matter how mundane it may be.
One of the things that had been helping me with my sanity was the number of friends and acquaintances who are also unemployed. I say “had been” not because they’ve now gotten jobs, they haven’t, but because rather than making me feel less alone those numbers are now making this feel more helpless. If all of these people can’t find jobs, how will I?
I know these aren’t healthy thoughts to dwell on. It’s just impossible to keep them from popping up.
I briefly had the thought of counting the number of resumes I’ve sent out (a lot) as compared to the number of phone calls or interviews I’ve had (one) in the last month. But those numbers truly are depressing and that’s definitely not something I want to dwell on. Even the temp agency I’m signed up with has this encouraging message pop up when I update my availability:
As you might expect, the number of applicants/associates is currently quite high relative to the number of available positions. However, if we can locate a good match for you, your AE will contact you.
Encouraging.
Of course it’s not just LA and it’s not just my industry being hit. The New York Times reports on how Unemployment Aid will be running out for many now claiming benefits by the end of the year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment in June was over 9%. There’s even a nifty color graph by state. The black ones are all over 10%, including my lovely California.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not writing this for sympathy or anything like that. I don’t particularly mean to be whining. This just is what it is right now. I’m facing a bit of the inevitable. I want to be a creative type? I want to live some sort of artistic lifestyle? Chances are that no matter what the state of the economy, I’m going to be facing financial difficulty while I get started. That’s how it’s always been. This economy just means I’m not alone in my pain. At least I just have my own ass to worry about. I feel bad for everyone with families and a million more problems than the ones I’m facing
I really don’t want to be a complete Debbie Downer here. Stay tuned for a more fun post filled with awesome weekend discoveries and fun links and other things that make me smile. Coming as soon as I put my sheets in the dryer. At least unemployment has left me plenty of time for laundry…
I have a Rough Draft! 95 pages of scripty goodness. I've been resisting the temptation to post constant progress updates (which became harder and harder to resist the farther along I got) but I think this is an okay one to post.
I have a screenplay. With a beginning, middle and end. There are characters, dialogue, plot, structure, there's even a climax. Of the narrative device, story telling variety; get your minds out of the gutter people!
This is such a huge thing for me. It's my first feature length screenplay. It's something I never actually thought I could do. And while I know it's far from finished, I still have 95 written pages! Written pages that I wrote!
So what now? Now I print it out, read through it, and make notes on the myriad problems which I know still exist. Scenes need to change, some need to go away all together. The ending will probably change completely depending on something I think needs to happen to one of the characters. A lot of dialogue still needs fixing.
All in all it's a long ways away from actually being readable by anyone other than myself.
So I'll try to refrain from more progress updates until I get to the first draft. Until I send it off to friends for feedback. No promises on a time frame there. And no promises I won't talk about it more until then.
This blog is about film and life in the wonderful world of LA. I'm a filmmaker just getting started; I'm navigating my way through the industry, trying to find work, and sometimes even managing to make a living.
I've worked across the country on projects big and small. Everything from an indie in PA shot during the dead of winter to one of the bigger reality shows involving Models and the things they do.
I also just love doing things*. I'm a writer, aspiring director, wannabe photographer and cook. I waste too much time on the internet and sometimes all I want to do is hang out with my dog.
Stick around and chances are you'll catch me writing about it all.
*I use the word "thing" a lot. An inappropriate amount. I can't help it. There are just so many different things to talk about. And I just kind of like it.
A lot of things on this blog are original creations, sketches, writing, etc. Feel free to share, repost, whatever, but please make sure to credit and link back! You will be repaid in good karma.
Posts
