Paramount Ruined My Morning

Okay, maybe it was more the cop on Venice with the radar gun, but Paramount isn't helping! Remember that hilariously wonderful clip I posted of Alan the Marmot and the Not So Scary Sharks from BBC's Walk on The Wild Side show? Yeah, we're not allowed to watch it in the US anymore. The sharks singing the Jaws music is apparently copyright violation or some such nonsense. BOO Paramount. Boo!

Whatever Paramount, I'm just going to watch the Nighttime, Daytime bird instead. So there!



In other news... I had three ginger cookies for breakfast...

Hey LA, what are you doing this weekend? Nothing you say? Well, you should be going here! The West Hollywood Book Fair is this Sunday from 10 AM - 6 PM in the West Hollywood Park.

I'm excited to check out some of the panels, attend a workshop, say hi to people, spend too much money on more books... you know, the usual Nerd things that typically excite me.

In tasty food news, Eco-Vegan Gal put together a great list of Vegan bakeries in LA. I know this isn't necessarily of interest for everyone, but there are some really great places on that list! Even if you're not vegan! It's worth looking at by anyone who enjoys tasty baked goods. Extra points for tasty AND responsible eating.

Other things that are making my morning happy beyond eating too many cookies include my pizza that I picked up from Pizza Port in Carlsbad last night. Sooo good. I love that place. Sort of the opposite of vegan with all of the cheese covering everything... ah well. I went with onion, tomato, and PINEAPPLE. A pizza guaranteed to put me in a brilliant mood. Well, a brilliant mood as long as I'm not sitting in a parking lot on the 405 or getting a speeding ticket on Venice... Um.

Okay, ignoring the bad, focusing on the good.

I think it might be time for another cookie.

Oh Roman Polanski

Over the weekend director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss authorities after he arrived in Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award. His crime is nothing new, he's been a contentious figure for the last three decades. In the 70's he fled the states after he was sentenced for raping a 13-year-old girl. He's been living in exile ever since.

So why was he arrested now? Sure, LA County has been actively trying for the last few years. Is it simply that this time they knew where he would be and when? Sure, why not. Conspiracy theories point to Swiss involvement with UBS. That might be a stretch? Who knows.

I'm curious about the timing but after reading various arguments I'm honestly more interested in whether or not he deserves to be arrested. Is this justice? Or is it something else?

There are various arguments. On the one hand, he committed a pretty terrible crime and then fled the country, evading justice for decades. Just because time has passed, doesn't mean he gets a get out of jail free card.

Other people argue that he has paid for his crimes. They site the trauma of his wife's murder in the 60's, living as a fugitive for three decades, even his parent's internment in concentration camps during WWII.

Or they argue that his role as an artist somehow excuses his crimes. His brilliance as a director gives him a free pass.

What do I think? Looking at the above it probably sounds like I'm falling on the side of bringing him to justice. Is that how I really feel though? I don't know. True, I don't really feel that either of the arguments for his freedom hold much weight. That he's suffered enough sounds like pity and excuses. Let him go free because he's an artist? That doesn't really sound right either. Just because someone makes a cool movie doesn't excuse bad behavior. 

And yet... he was arrested on the way to a ceremony that was supposed to be honoring him? The methods behind his arrest just feel so wrong. He's old! His winning an award he deserves! He should be allowed to enjoy that. Putting the situation into that context makes the "he's suffered enough already" argument seem more valid.

If it's a question of justice then, well, what would justice in this case be? The victim has all ready publicly forgiven him and dropped charges. They came to an out of court settlement. If she's satisfied, shouldn't we be as well? What makes this case larger than the injured parties?

I don't know if he should be forgiven but I'm also not the one who needed to do the forgiving. It's not like arresting him now is going to be taking a dangerous predator off of the streets. If he was a dangerous predator I think we would have noticed that sometime over the last 32 years. Rather than haplessly raping every minor he's come in contact with, he's lived a life of exile and continued to make great art. In spite of, or maybe because of, the events of his life.

The media loves scandal. How much of this is about the scandal? If Polanski wasn't who he is, would we still be chasing after him? Sure, he probably still would have had to stay in exile but would authorities go through this much effort for someone with no name recognition? If the media didn't care, would they? Maybe I'm being a little cynical here, but I have a hard time thinking so.

So much of this just feels like a contrived stunt at Polanski's expense. Maybe I'm crazy. Definitely cynical. I guess from here we just see how this plays out.

For opinions more informed than my own:
Links to a bunch of articles
Q&A on the case
The victim forgives

An Actual Conversation

That I had with myself...

Me: I'm hungry.
Me: There are cookies.
Me: But I'm really hungry.
Me: They're Ginger cookies.
Me: No, I mean like I need a real meal hungry.
Me: That's silly. Have a cookie. They're so freakin good. You'll be happy.
Me: Okay, one cookie...

(Three cookies and 20 minutes later)

Me: That so did not work. I'm still hungry.
Me: Have another cookie!

***

Don't worry, I didn't have another cookie. I actually left the office for my real meal.

Today feels like a really long day even though if you're counting the hours it really hasn't been that terrible. I didn't actually get here til close to 1 PM. Granted, I did drive up from my mom's place in Carlsbad this morning after driving down to pick up the dog for the weekend. Those aren't really work hours though. I tell myself this, it makes me feel better.

I'm allowed to be muddled right now, right?

This is one of those vaguely frustrating evenings in post. The Friday night, sitting around waiting for your weekend to start, it all being entirely dependent upon a computer and how fast a DVD burns.

Did I mention I'm still working on the pilot? I've been hired on through post which is fantastic. After the slowness of this year I am thrilled to have another few weeks of work. And being in post is interesting! This week has been a lot of carry-over from production but it's still being in a new world, seeing a bit more of this side.

Still, it's been a long week and I'm really tired right now. I'm looking forward to these DVD's being done and delivered, getting home to my dog, and then I don't know. Depending on the time I may join a few ladies for a girl's night or I may crash and just sleep. Or I might watch Dollhouse. So many choices! What will she do? I just don't know!

Also, I may have lied. I may have had another cookie...

Girl Talk Thursday - Who's Your Romance?

I went through a brief phase towards the end of high school when I could just not get enough of the romance novels. I don’t know how many I must have read but it’s not like they take that long to get through. In a good week I would easily get through several. I started covertly, sneaking them off of my mom’s shelf, but soon enough I was just reading them out there in the open. Not really sure what got me started and I’m even less sure of why I stopped.

I’ll still occasionally grab a romance off of my shelf or pick up a new one in the store but I have to be honest here, I can’t remember the last time I actually finished one. Maybe it’s an age thing or something but now I find the plots and frequently the characters to be boring, cliché, and sometimes even annoying. The last one I tried to read spent so much time telling me the heroine and hero were so “smart” and “intelligent” and “brilliant” all while they were running around acting like big idiots. I wasn’t convinced.

ANYWAY.

As a reader, I’ve definitely imagined myself as a character in the novels I’ve read. I think if I were to star in my own romance I would definitely want to be in one of the historical ones set in London. Beautiful dresses, elaborate parties, shenanigans unacceptable by society’s standards. There would be none of that damsel in distress nonsense, no contrived plots for me. I might be the debutante on the sidelines, a little too smart and bored to really take part. My leading man would possibly be tall, dark, and handsome (I’m allowed at least one cliché, right?) and would notice how awesome I was. There’d be some friction because we would be both be a little too disillusioned for our own goods but eventually it would work out. I guess it would end with babies?

OR.

If I go back to the sort of scenarios I used to imagine myself in before I even picked up a romance novel, I would definitely be the awesome heroine in the action/adventure plot. The female equivalent of Robin Hood, the good witch in the woods who made that amazing potion, maybe even captain of the pirate ship! I’ve noticed I’m not the first lady participating this week whose romance novel character fantasies involve some combination of swords, kicking ass, and pants.

Makes sense to me! Why should we have to be relegated to the role of dress wearing, bosom heaving, corset enclosed, helpless woman who needs a man to come to her rescue? F’ that! I will cut you just as soon as kiss you!

Not that I want my hero to be weak or even in need of saving himself. Ideally we’d be going up against the villain together, we’d need each other to succeed. We would both be strong, capable people who work better together than individually.

And we would have some great sex.

So I think my plot would go something like this. I’m a girl/princess/lady/whatever who lives in some sort of castle or village. I somehow stumble across this truly heinous plot by the evil villain and this sets off a string of events leading me out into the wide world on a quest to retrieve some object or save some other person. Along the way I’d meet and team up with my hero and maybe a couple of other supporting characters. We’d all distrust each other at first but over the course of adventures and various life saving we’d form a deep bond and eventually realize we were in love. The quest would continue, something crazy and epic would happen possibly involving various gods of different cultures, and in the end we would vanquish the villain together.

The love part wouldn’t be easy though. He would definitely be the dangerous type and the story would be fraught with sexual tension before any sort of consummation ever occurred. Maybe there wouldn’t even be any consummation! Unfulfilled desire is hot. There would definitely be lots of close whispering in corners, smoldering stares, that sort of thing.

So maybe we would have some great sex. Maybe not.

I think that more or less covers it. I love the quest idea. If I lived in another magical time period I would definitely go on a quest. I think that would cover more of my romance novel than the lovin does. Maybe that’s why I’m not such a fan of romance novels anymore. Love always has to be the center of the story and the character’s lives. In my real life I don’t really want that, my fantasy life isn’t much different.

Protect Insurance Companies

This has been floating around online all day and I'm jumping on the video sharing band wagon. Protecting our insurance company CEO's is a very important cause.

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

 
From Funny or Die. I loves them.

Seriously though, I feel like the whole health insurance reform thing is kind of an important issue. Whatever the solution may be, the current situation is not a good one.

Hey, who can define socialism for me?

It's Monday. Happy Monday!

It's Monday. I guess you've probably noticed that by now. Personally, I think I'm still a little sleep deprived this wonderful Monday evening. It was a good weekend that was mostly relaxing but still not enough sleep was to be had. There was Mom time and Dog time and bike time, football time, laundry time, and dinner having time. Followed by more bike time. One of these Sundays I'll figure out that riding my bike to my friend's apartment for dinner is not a great plan. Seems wonderful at 5 PM, exhausting at 10 PM.

One of the things my mom and I did this weekend was attend a fundraiser dinner and silent auction. Something I've never experienced before and I must say it was certainly interesting. I'll spare you the details but rest assured the food was tasty and the drinks did not disappoint.

While not well mixed, I did try what I think may be a version of my new favorite cocktail. A Strawberry Basil Gin drink that sent a lovely combination of flavors dancing across my tongue with every sip. Well, that might be an exaggeration. But it was really good! So good in fact that I'm attempting my own Strawberry Basil cocktail this evening. I'll let you know how it goes and will certainly share the recipe and pictures if it's a success. For the moment I think it's going to be some version of this Berry Gimlet.

I do have more to talk about beyond alcohol! Keep reading!

Actually, I have questions.

First off, what are people's thoughts on this whole lawsuit thing by the Kirby Estate against Marvel and Disney? Basically Jack Kirby's kids are seeking to reclaim the copyrights for the comic book characters he created for Marvel (Jack Kirby himself died in 1994).

Personally I find it to be an interesting albeit very complicated story. As someone involved even remotely in creative endeavors, I tend to fall on the side of the creator, or in this case the creator's estate. Even more so when you consider how much intellectual property is improperly acquired or how often creators are cheated out of compensation they should fairly receive for their work. Against that you could argue that the creator's work was work-for-hire and therefore belongs to Marvel. An argument I don't find particularly convincing but I have to concede that this case is more complicated because of how copyright laws have changed over the years.

Coming on the heals of the recent Superman case, it seems like the Kirby's do have a pretty good shot here (Jerry Siegel's Estate won back the his share of the rights to Superman back in August. Kirby's estate is not surprisingly using the same legal representation.)

/Film's article does give a little more background though as well as a partial list of some of the characters he's responsible for.

Oh, also, there's this about copyright law from the LA Times:

Under copyright law, creators and co-creators can seek to regain copyrights they previously assigned to a company 56 years after first publication and can give notice of their intentions to do so up to 10 years before that.

Taking that into consideration, does that mean the work-for-hire bit is irrelevant anyway? I believe so. 

So what do you think? Are his heirs wrong in trying to reclaim the copyright for work he created? Should the rights to these characters remain with Marvel (and now Disney)? The films that could potentially be affected would be ones like the upcoming Avengers movies Marvel has planned although most of those should be completed before the date that the Kirby Estate is trying to reclaim the copyrights by. Even if they get back the copyrights, Disney and Marvel would still own the trademarks. Or something like that?

Some other sites with various thoughts. Film School Rejects seems to fall on the side of being bummed that the Kirby Estate may put a halt to superhero movies. Paul Constant is coming in on the other side.

I was going to ask more questions but after that I think I should probably split this up into several posts. Different topics deserve their own discussions, don't you think? Okay, I'm convinced. More questions will come later. Specifically I want to talk about women in the workplace. Or rather, women working with other women in the workplace. I've noticed a few things through my own experiences and listening to the experiences of others and I'd like throw some of that out there. Just not right this second. I shall compose my thoughts and come back at you maybe tomorrow. How's that sound? I like it!

The Work Excuse

This is it, it's finally here. Thursday. Maybe not as good as Friday but certainly better than Wednesday (minus the Reno Happy Hour of last night, that makes any Wednesday brilliant). There are lots of reasons why Thursday is a great day. For one, it's bagel day in the office. I don't care if they're not healthy, if I shouldn't eat so much bread, deep down I'm still a Jew girl from New Jersey who loves her bagels. I also love free food.

Thursday is also great because it's Girl Talk Thursday. Sadly I will not be participating in this one. As comfortable as I am with many things, talking about my underwear on this blog is not one of them. Sorry guys, you don't get to read about my panties this week.

Mostly though, Thursday is great because it's only one day before Friday which is the last work day of the week. Then comes the weekend and sleep. Glorious, glorious sleep. Sure, Thursday is the new Friday or some nonsense like that but no matter what else it is, I still have to wake up and go to work Friday morning. I'm looking forward to the weekend morning when that doesn't happen.

All this being said by the girl who was unemployed for most of the year. I'm one to talk about waking up and being tired from work, right? You know what though, I'm about to play the Work Card. Because for almost the first time all year I can! I'm tired because I'm working. I am probably not going to go out tonight because I'm working. I'm not writing or sketching as much because I'm working.

Wait, what? That last one isn't good! That last one kind of makes me sad! It's true though. I've been working and cooking and socializing and not writing nearly as much as I'd like. Saturday was supposed to be a writing day but after spending an hour staring at the screen, writing nothing, I gave up and made it a reading and sketching day instead. Which isn't a terrible thing but it's not what I wanted to be doing either. The sketching was my tree climbing story that I still haven't been able to scan. The reading was a bit of Harlan Ellison.

Why Harlan Ellison? Why pick up another book when I still have a stack of three next to my bed (and one in my purse, two in my back seat, and one more next to my TV...)? I blame it on Josh Olson. Last week two friends, independent of one another, linked to articles by Josh Olson. The first was a story he wrote about a friend who had fallen victim to an emotionally abusive con artist. The second was about screenwriting and how he will not be reading your script. I read both and recommend both. In the first he mentions Harlan Ellison. After reading so much about Harlan Ellison it seemed logical that I actually read a little Harlan Ellison. Put it all into context, you know? Not that I haven't read him before, but it's been a while.

This is how my brain and my life works. One thing links to another, connects to another, flows to something else. It's how I discover new and interesting things. Hopefully I can occasionally share a little of that all here with my dear readers (all 5 of you).

I digress.

What was I talking about?

Oh yes, Harlan Ellison and Josh Olson and how I haven't been writing. Forget about the part where I'm slacking on my writing for a moment, I'm playing the Work Card remember? Let's go back to Josh Olson because it's an interesting discussion.

As a writer, I have to admit that I'm still quite insecure in my writing. I've only ever taken one screenwriting class and beyond that I've never really had any kind of instructional feedback or peer review or any of that. In lieu of that, I send my writing to my friends and family. Who I send something to depends on what it is I've written and I always send it to at least two people. Two people because I figure that 1) I like different opinions and 2) if I send it out to two then I know at least one of them will get back to me. People are busy! Yes I want feedback but I also don't want to force my writing on people who have lots of other things to do. If someone doesn't get back to me, that's cool. I totally get that. I hope it's because they haven't had the time to read rather than they thought it sucked and were afraid to tell me. Even bad feedback is good.

Even so, these are my friends I'm talking about. Beyond the fact that I don't believe my writing is anywhere ready for professional reading, I can not imagine approaching someone of bare acquaintance and asking them to read my script. It just seems so awkward to me. Awkward and rude and an imposition. As far as it goes, I love talking to writers. I love hearing stories and tips, ideas and techniques. I see value in good conversation, you can learn a lot just by listening to what people have to say. If someone happens to offer to read what I'm working on, then great! Honestly it's an offer that I may not even take you up on, yet at least. When I'm ready to share I will. At the moment I am very not ready. However, it is still not something I am going to ask.

So if I've asked you to read something, it's because I think of you as my friend. I respect your opinion and you, I believe you're going to give me honest and full feedback. Along with that, I respect your time. I'm not going to be pissed off if you don't have time to read what I've sent. I'm also going to do my best to ensure that what I'm sending you is something that I feel is ready for others to read. Time wasting is bad! I don't want to do it to myself or others!

That's my opinion as an amateur trying to work work my way towards professional. I find the opinions from the professional side even more interesting. You should go read what Josh Olsen has to say ("I will not read your fucking script") and then follow the discussion over to POV online. Mark talks about Josh's article a couple of times.

I'm sure there are even more people talking about writing and sharing their opinions and whatnot. I'm going to play the Work Card again. I'd love to read more but I just don't have the time at the moment to find the more to read. Feel free to share links if you have them!

I Can't Wait For A Scanner

Warning, I'm very rambly tonight. In that I ramble a lot. Rambly isn't really a word guys, I just made that up. In case you were wondering.

 

I can do only so much with the camera on my cell phone. My scanning abilities will be returning shortly though! We are all very excited for this, no? And yes, that's supposed to be me. There is more that goes along with that! Like, a whole story about how I got stuck in a tree! See why I need a scanner???

 

It's the Thinking Mud Puppy. Did anyone else know that mud puppies are stupidly adorable? I mean, my thinking man kind of moved away from adorable. But check this guy out:  

Cute right?

Then there's the unstoppable partners Cobra and Shark. Great White Shark to be exact.

 

 

I have to admit that these guys were super fun to sketch. I mean come on, the guy has a cobra for a necktie. The guy is a Great White Shark! With an Indian Cobra tie (the only cobra long enough for the Windsor knot, apparently).

I have odd friends with bizarre ideas. I love it.

Hey! Other stuff!

My friend Lauren talked about cool t-shirts over here.

If you're in LA you should check out Little Radio and the stuff that they do. I went out to their September Camp on Sunday in downtown and it was pretty great. Good music, tasty food and beverages, a pool... I believe it was the last of the Summer Camp events but they're around doing other stuff. Totally worth the time and $10.

Spotted this guy on the street walking up to the Little Radio thing.

It's a Green Pussy Monster? Um. Okay, I may have just wanted an excuse to call something a Pussy Monster on my blog. It also kind of looks like a weird cactus thing but that might just be me.

Moving on in the rambly...

Am I the only one who thought the True Blood season finale on Sunday was a little bit of a let down? Not that it was terrible... but... I just feel like it could have been so much more. I think that Maryanne storyline was dragged out way too much. There just wasn't enough there to be interesting for as long as they tried to keep it interesting.

I hate to end this on a sad note and unless you're living under a rock you've probably all ready heard, but Patrick Swayze died today of cancer at 57. It's not a huge shock as he had been sick for quite sometime but it's sad nonetheless. I still have a huge crush on Dirty Dancing Patrick. I probably always will.

Good man, Patrick. Good man.

Girl Talk Thursday: HALLOWEEEEEEEEN!

Girl Talk Thursday! Yes, I know it's Friday. My day yesterday allowed no time for the blogging. It was one of those 9 AM to Midnight kind of work days. Which between commute time and whatnot works out to something more like 8:30 AM to around 1 AM. So sorry for you, there was no Halloween-y-ness to be had here yesterday.

With everyone traveling today things are a little slower in the office. I'm literally the only person here. Other than the comical phone answering debacle* of ten minutes ago it's pretty quiet.

*Imagine cubicles on opposite sides of the row. Then imagine me trying to answer the phones in both of them at the same time. PHONEANSWERFAIL.

But yes, HALLOWEEN. Anyone who knows me is probably aware that Halloween is only like one of my favorite holidays ever. I loves the dressing up! Last year was incredibly sad as I was working until around 11 on Halloween night. When I finally arrived at my neighbors party, frazzled and exhausted looking from a stressful work day, my answer to the question "What are you?" was "I'm an over-worked, under-paid assistant. I wish it was a costume."

This year I have BIG costume plans to make up for last year's lack. Not sure if I'm quite ready to reveal them yet as I'm still kind of deciding between two great ideas. I'm excited though. Don't you doubt that.

I tried in vain to find recent costume pictures but I somehow managed to not take any over the last couple of years. Two years ago I was a "Princess Pirate" complete with plastic sword AND tiara. It was awesome. The year before that I was Door from Neil Gaiman's novel Neverwhere. That costume was easily one of my favorites.

I wish I had pictures of either of those. In fact, I think pictures may exist on friends's cameras. If anyone has any, please send them my way? I will love you forever!

I don't have pictures of those but I DO have a couple of pictures from costumes in college. Check these out!

From Stuff

Yeah, I was totally a zombie school girl ala Stacy. You should have seen the looks I got as I walked across campus. Especially from the girls who were dressed as Serious School Girls. What is up with college girls dressing like skanky school girls? Don't get me wrong, I understand the "hotness" of it. I guess. But seriously, tiny plaid skits and bare midriff tops? Can you get more generic for a Halloween costume?

From Stuff

You can't tell me that blood does not rule.

I don't quite remember what the idea for my costume was the next year. It just also involved lots of fake blood. I was apparently big on the covering myself in blood thing. Let's not read to much into this, k?

From Stuff

Actually that year it was a super last minute costume. As in, fifteen minutes before the party. I was incredibly busy with various college things and was running a Zombie Movie Marathon Fundraiser that night. I wasn't going to dress up or go to the party but a couple of my friends convinced me. I pretty much just dumped fake blood over myself in the English building's downstairs bathroom. I sometimes wonder what the janitor must have thought when he went in there the next morning. Not that I left a mess but it was hard to avoid a few blood splatters...

What are some of your Halloween favorites? Any good ideas for costumes this year?

Happy Labor Day!

What did everyone do for Labor Day?

I know I sure had an enjoyable weekend, even if I wasn't at Dragoncon. I feel like I really needed the three days. Two days is just not a long enough weekend. Even with the extra day I still managed to not get everything done that needed doing. I did relax though and that is important.

Highlights from the weekend included:

Friday night seeing my wonderful neighbors and their band Ocelot Robot at The Good Hurt on Venice Blvd. I'm still not quite sold on Good Hurt (the Stella was warm! What up with that?) but it's growing on me. Mostly I just enjoy seeing the guys play and hanging out with everyone. They have another show coming up on October 17th. Sadly I will be out of town but if you're in the area and need something fun to do, check out The Good Hurt and Ocelot Robot! If nothing else, it's always cool to support your local bands.

Saturday I actually got down to it and spent the day writing. Yes, as usual I've been slacking on the writing around work. Saturday was good though. The screenplay re-write is still going slowly but I did make a little progress. I also cleaned up a short story I've been working on. I think I'm fairly satisfied with that one so I may even release it into the world soon we'll see.

Sunday was delicious. After spending the morning dealing with the plumber (boo!) I ventured into downtown to one of my favorite new spots Wurstkuche. Sausage and beer really has to be one of the best combinations of tastiness to ever have been discovered. This place does it's beer and sausage right. They even have veggie sausage for me! Throw in the exotic Rattlesnake and Rabbit or Alligator and Pork with the sausage classics and you've got a little something for everyone. If sausage isn't your thing but you like beer, this is still an excellent spot to try. They have an impressive selection of beer on tap that always seems to include something new or rare or just plain not on the menu. The guys working there all seem to love the beer and will enthusiastically recommend something to your taste.

I should look into this more but I believe that veggie sausages are even Vegan as are the fries. There's apparently some question on the buns. Either way, it's a super tasty place to go for the eating.

My Chouffe beer. An excellent recommendation.

Veggie Chipotle Sausage
 

After an incredibly satisfying beer and sausage adventure, we made our way out to Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the Cinespia screening of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If you live in LA and haven't checked out the movies in the cemetery yet, well, what are you waiting for? This season is almost over (they only screen in the summer) but there are a few flicks left. Go catch one! It's $10 a person and you can bring blankets, food, drinks, or whatever with you for a picnic and movie on the lawn. It's a lovely way to spend an evening with some friends. I'm also always impressed with the range of films they screen over the course of the season. It includes everything from the classic to the artsy and it's almost guaranteed that they'll show at least one movie you love by the end of the summer. I try and go a couple of times a year and I have yet to be disappointed.

Ferris Bueller, you're my hero.

Monday, the actual Labor Day, I finished off a few errands while pretending to be a responsible adult and then said Screw the laundry, I'm going to the beach! Well, I never did make it to the beach but I did make it to a sailboat. We sailed off of the beach though, so that sort of counts right? Seriously, it was amazing and completely made my weekend. Sailing is one of my favorite things ever even if it is something I haven't done nearly enough of yet. It was the perfect way to spend the holiday.

At times like these, I enjoy living in LA

Once I got home last night I somehow managed to find the energy to actually pull together lunch for the week. I made a slight variation of this Tomato and Corn Biscuit Pie and it is AMAZING. If you need something simple and savory and wonderful, go make this right now. Seriously. I stayed pretty close to the recipe making a few substitutions based on what I had in my kitchen. I only had white onion so I used about half of one of those. I sadly also had no fresh basil so I went with dry. Finally, we didn't have any lemon (my bad, I thought we did) so I used about a tablespoon of orange juice. It was sweeter than the lemon would have been but I thought it worked out quite well. Really, the key to this dish is the tomato and corn. If those are fresh (my corn was soooo sweet and good) then you're pretty sure to get a tasty meal. The biscuit crust is also super, super easy. I can't wait to try just making actual biscuits with that recipe.

OMG delicious

Yes, I am very, very satisfied with the state of my lunch this week.

We shoot this weekend so I don't expect to be writing much for the rest of the week. Today was all ready super busy and I suspect that will continue for the next few days. I will try and get something out for Girl Talk Thursday though. This week's topic is Halloween costumes! A topic I dearly love to discuss. I'm all ready thinking hard on what this year's costume will be. Maybe I'll let you in on the possibilities come Thursday.

On that note, I am out. Hope everyone had an excellent weekend!

Patton Oswalt on Death Bed

A few years back, before I moved to LA, I was here visiting a friend. We decided we needed a movie night and went to the nearby video store to find a couple of flicks. As we strolled aisles that still offered up VHS selections, we discovered a variety of treasures that at the time were still hard to find on DVD. I don't remember everything we pulled out but it included the likes of Delamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man). Who wouldn't be excited by the idea of seeings zombies and a naked Rupert Everitt all in the same movie?

At one point during the browsing, my friend let out a cry and snatched a battered case off of the shelf. "I cannot believe they actually have this." It was a movie she had heard of but never had the occasion to see. It was in fact a movie that had never even officially been released until the early 2000's. Not that easiest movie to find and certainly not the type your Blockbusters or your Hollywood Videos normally carry.

What was this hard to find gem? Death Bed: The Bed That Eats.

Go ahead, read that title again. I'm not kidding.

Shot in 1977, finally released on dvd in 2003, Death Bed is one of those weird little movies that becomes a genuine cult phenomenon based solely on it's oddness. It isn't good. It was never marketed or sold as a Cult Film. It was made, pirated copies came into existence, people saw it, and people talked about it. A cycle began. At some point the director became aware that people were talking about his movie on the internet and he decided to go ahead and release the DVD.

That evening in the video store we passed on Death Bed but we did eventually watch it, albeit years later. I came across the DVD in Amoeba and bought it for my friend as a birthday present. Eventually we got together for a Death Bed and Thai food hang out evening.

The movie is spectacularly bad, but mostly it's exactly what you would expect it to be. I won't go so far as to recommend it or not. I leave that choice entirely up to you.

What I will do is share with you this bit from Patton Oswalt's album Werewolves and Lollipops. Oswalt as always is hilarious (you do know Patton Oswalt, right? Please discover him if you haven't all ready!) and I got an extra laugh or two out of it since I have seen the glory that is Death Bed. And since I'm trying to do that writing thing and I see a lot of the absurdity that goes on in the movie industry.

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats. Why can't I come up with a title that good?

* I suppose I should also warn you that Oswalt curses and says possibly NSFW things. Just in case.

In Which She Gets On Topic

For a blog ostensibly about film, I sure haven't talked about movies nearly enough lately. Which is ridiculous as there are actually quite a few around right now worth seeing.

Normally the summer months are the domain of blockbusters. Last year I was all about gettin me some Iron Man action. This summer however nothing on the large scale really appealed to me. Transformers 2? GI Joe? No thank you. Sure, Star Trek was great fun but Wolverine was beyond boring and please don't get me started on Terminator. Infuriating.

Luckily, there has not been a dearth of quality in the theaters. It's just not to be found in the large budget affairs. This summer, the films that are most worth seeing are the little guys.

So far, these have been my three favorites. I kind of want to see them all again. Depending on where you live, you should still be able to catch them.

(500) Days of Summer

I loved, loved, loved this movie. I am not really a romantic comedy kind of girl, even if I did go see The Ugly Truth, but 500 days is not your typical romantic comedy. It's more accurate to focus on the comedy part, rather than the romance. It is a love story but it's not the love story you might expect it to be. (500) Days is a whimsical look at the difficulties of love and dating. It's upbeat and mostly nice but it's also relateable. At least for me, a single 20 something in LA, it was.

Plus, how can you not love a movie with two leads as cute as these guys are?

Hurt Locker

Hurt Locker is wonderful. I'm not sure I really need to see another movie about this war. The word that came to mind immediately as the credits started to roll was "intense" and it's a word I've heard many people use to describe this particular film going experience. I was at the edge of my seat, quite literally, the entire film. While there were some moments I found to be a little silly, this movie has so much going for it I'm willing to forgive them. The performances in particular stand out, Jeremy Renner really nails it as Sgt. James and the rest of the cast is solid as well. I can't recommend Hurt Locker enough.

District 9

Neill Blomkamp's sci fi flick about aliens in South Africa proves that a large budget is not always necessary, or even always desirable, for a special effects heavy action story. This movie has it all: monsters, explosions, gun fights, blood, space ships. Occasionally ridiculous, for the most part wonderful, it was all accomplished on a budget that is tiny compared to the standard $100+ million for all of the usual summer nonsense. Sure, the veiled digs at apartheid and racism are rather thin but seeing a story told from such a different perspective is a refreshing treat. I also enjoy how Blomkamp manages to integrate the faux-documentary approach into the narrative without getting carried away ala Cloverfield. District 9 is a must for any sci fi or action fans. It's a rare thing, an action movie that actually focuses on character and story telling. What a concept!



These certainly aren't the only movies out now worth seeing. Harry Potter was great for the HP fans, Julie and Julia is passable but Meryl Streep is phenomenal as always, and, hmm... what else? Drag Me To Hell is wonderful but you probably won't find that playing anymore.

I'm a bit behind on others. I never did make it to Paper Hearts or Away We Go. Ponyo and Inglorious Basterds I also still need to get to.

What else is out there? What am I missing?

Girl Talk Thursday: The Five.

This week's GTT is about your five. You know... those five. The five freebies you're allowed to have and it won't be cheating. Or however that works. That is how it works, right?

Straight up, this list is hard! Especially working out here in LA land. Like, I might actually meet these people someday! And work with them. And have them become my best friends. And, um, I'm not creepy? I've all ready eliminated Michael Vartan off the list cause I've seen him irl (Hottest man I've ever seen) and crossing this over into reality seems to take away some of the fun of the fantasy. Or maybe that's just me.

I also change my mind a lot.

1. Johnny Depp

Been in love with him forever. No way he wasn't getting on this list. I don't remember when it started, but I do know I watched Chocolat countless times because of him.

2. Gerad Butler

I watched The Ugly Truth for him. That's commitment to a cause right there.

3. Robert Downey Jr.

I blame Ally Mcbeal. For the crush part at least. I also think he's a fantastic actor and I'm very, truly happy that he seems to have gotten his life together.

4. Nathon Fillion

Everytime I hear "Bam, said the lady" or some variation thereof I get all tingly. He's just so cute!

5. Russell Crowe

Maybe not always but for sure in the L.A. Confidential Bud White mode. Also a fan of the 3:10 to Yuma Russell. And a few others. Something about the bad guy or the tough guy who can still do good. 

I feel like all of these guys sort of fall into the same sort of physical category. Am I really this predictable? I guess I'm a sucker for tall, dark, and handsome. Also, good arms. I'm totally a sucker for good arms.

**EDIT**

Okay, so after reading a few other lists I just have to add a few honorable mentions here. So many cute guys to drool over!

Hugh Jackman
George Clooney - I adore him. I once even had a dream we made out in a pink hair salon. Okay, maybe that's just a little weird and TMI...
Jason Bateman
Taye Diggs - He is so beautiful
Jonny Lee Miller - I had SUCH a crush on him after Hackers. HA!
Justin Long - I know, nerd.

And, last but certainly not least, Alexander Skarsgard.

 I am definitely a Vampire Eric girl. I actually almost, almost put him on my list. I'd say he's number 6. Although, ask me in another week and he may move up...

Lazy Veggie Tortilla Soup

So lazy in fact that I don't even have a picture for you. All though there is still some soup left so I suppose it's not too late.

It's great being back at work but I am definitely not used to the schedule anymore. Amazing how quickly that can happen. Gathering coherent thoughts for this post is harder than it possibly should be. Work is going well though, it's good people which is the most important thing for me at this point. I'm tired but it's obviously more than worth it.

Now maybe one of these days I'll get a job I like AND it will last more than three weeks! What a concept!

After a day at work, the last thing I normally want to do is commit to hours in the kitchen. Tuesday night is not a good night for a homemade dinner. Last night was not just any normal Tuesday though. It was J's birthday (happy birthday again!!!) and we were having a few people over for a Vegan Taco Night.

In addition to the tacos, I decided I wanted to make a Tortilla Soup. It just sounded like a really delicious way to add something to the dinner. The soup itself is super easy. And the tortilla part is in theory super easy as well. This isn't just Veggie Tortilla Soup though, it's LAZY Veggie Tortilla Soup. As in, I made the soup and then was lazy. I didn't make any tortilla strips. I definitely went with the crumbling baked tortilla chips into the soup... The soup itself also takes less than an hour, prep time and all. Another plus when you've got a dinner for 8 people to prepare for.

If you decide to not be lazy, you can very easily accomplish the last step. Grab your tortillas, spray a skillet with some olive oil spray, cut the tortilla into strips, fry them up, and there you go. You can of course actually heat a pot of oil and deep fry them if you want the less healthy option. Apparently this works better with slightly older, dry tortillas.

I didn't do any of that. If you don't want to either, baked tortilla chips work surprisingly well. All you have to do is take a handful of chips, pile them onto a baking sheet, and pop them in the oven until they're nice and toasty. You don't need the oven to be all that hot, around 200 should do you well. Stick them in for the last 15 minutes of soup cooking and you should be set for when it's done.

On to the soup!

This recipe is completely vegan since it was for J's birthday. If you are a cheese person, you can also add some shredded cheese for garnish. I was really happy with how this turned out. Only thing I would possibly recommend is adding a little more water, mine was a little thicker than I really wanted it to be.

Vegan Tortilla Soup

1/2 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
2 Tbsp olive oil

3 sticks celery, chopped

1 12 oz can tomato paste
4 cups veggie broth

1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 cup corn
2 cups water

Cumin
Cayenne Pepper

small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime

Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion, garlic, and basil. Saute until the onion is soft. Add the celery and saute another minute or so, keeping an eye to not burn the garlic. Add the tomato paste and veggie broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Once you reach a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the tomato and corn. Add the water and let simmer for five minutes or so. Add your cumin and cayenne pepper to taste. I start with maybe a tsp of each and go from there. At this point, add more water as needed to get your desired consistency.

Let simmer for at least another five minutes. The longer you let it sit, the more the flavors will integrate. The last thing you want to do is add the cilantro and lime, around five minutes before you're ready to serve. Stir in the cilantro and squeeze the lime into the soup. I used one but I think I could have actually added a little more.

If you actually manage the tortilla strips or if you went the lazy way with the chips, add them as you serve. One way to go is to add some strips to the bottom of the bowl, pour in your soup, and then garnish with some more strips. You can also garnish with avocado. It's all delicious!

The soup is also amazing served cold the next day, something perfect for these hot LA days. Made for a great lunch today at the office!