Ponies & Weezer

Keeping with the horse theme, a few weeks ago Hubs and I went to Del Mar. Always have wanted to go, never been.

I love Santa Anita. It will always be my favorite racetrack because it's my home track. I love how it's a little grimy, crumbly, and the bathrooms haven't been updated in decades and I always feel like I'm in a church bathroom from my youth. And because of this lack of updating, the admission is dirt cheap and there aren't hoards of people unless it's Derby Day or the Breeder's Cup. Oh, Santa Anita, I miss you. Is it time for the Oak Tree yet?

Hubs took this stunning photo.

But back to Del Mar. Del Mar is a little more put together, and pricier. You have to pay to get in, and pay more if you want to sit down. But the food options are much better, and they have events. Currently, they have a not-too-shabby summer concert series featuring a bunch of solid bands, the two standouts being Jimmy Eat World and Weezer. Both bands are great live, but JEW was playing on a Friday and trying to get from LA to Del Mar after work on a Friday...it's not going to happen.

So we went on a Saturday and it still took freakin' forever to not go very far and we missed two races. But, alas, Del Mar is lovely. There were a bunch of close races. My sentimental favorite Switch (who almost beat Zenyatta at her last race at Hollywood Park and gave me a heart attack) did not win, despite being a heavy favorite. And that was the betting story of the day. We won absolutely no money, which was depressing, because we usually win enough to cover food. Sigh.

But then there was Weezer. As always, they brought it. Highlights were "My Name is Jonas" and their covers of "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People and "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead. I mean, "Paranoid Android"? Awesome. We were inspired to listen to OK Computer on the ride home.

Their show got me thinking. I haven't been a huge Weezer fan since Pinkerton. But they've had A LOT of radio songs since then. It's actually pretty impressive that a band that's been around that long can still keep cranking out hits and remain relevant. Their coolness is transcending decades. And I like knowing I was there at the beginning. And then I was there at Del Mar in 2011.

R.I.P. Nancy Wake

Move over Rosie the Riveter. Nancy Wake would've kicked your ass.

This inspires me. Everything about this woman is fascinating. There is an amazing film in here somewhere. Though there have been miniseries, I don't think anyone has seen them, and the subject could be covered again.

I don't know why, because this obituary was awesome, but reading about Nancy made me think of Sucker Punch. Yes, I just put the White Mouse and Sucker Punch in the same sentence, and I apologize. But I couldn't help thinking while reading that the story of those elite British women trained to go behind enemy lines during WWII should have replaced the burlesque babes wielding samurai swords. If I was Zack Snyder, I know which movie I would've made.

Friesians, Sort Of

I work on a studio lot, and the best part of my work week has been the beautiful Friesian horses that have been filming on the stage across from my office. At least, I thought they were Friesians. Looking at this photo, I'm not so sure. The horses on the lot are black and have thicker legs than your average thoroughbred or quarter horse, but I'm not sure they're as thick as a Friesian's. Anyway...

On Monday, only one horse was brought in, and he neighed or whinnied loudly at least every half hour when he wasn't filming and was tied to the horse trailer outside. Loud enough to clearly hear through all our closed windows, and echoing in my cave of an office. I'm sure he was very bored, as bored as I am on film sets. And he was probably confused, being that he was covered with the blue dots they use for motion tracking. Festive.

On the days since, there have been two horses, and much less neighing. They both get the lovely blue dots. Hopefully they'll make a good movie. If not, it's hard to blame the beautiful talent.

a tiny death

Yesterday I called to make an appointment to get my bangs trimmed and heard words that strike fear in the hearts of all girls who have found their perfect hair stylist at the perfect price: "Oh, she no longer works here." And so that's that. Where did she go? Is she at another shop? Is it appropriate to ask these questions?

I know that L.A. is big and beauty centric, therefore, it seems that it would be easy to find a person that can cut hair well and do so affordably. I have not found this to be the case. I've had $100 haircuts and $10 haircuts and everything in between, but was never completely satisfied until I found my formerly current stylist. And, astonishingly, until very recently, the haircuts were only $25. I had seriously hit the jackpot. Now the prices have gone up significantly and my stylist is gone.

I don't know why I liked my stylist so much. She had crazy amounts of energy and was a little kooky. Mostly she just cut hair really well. The last time she cut my hair, I had to wait ten minutes because she was off crying somewhere, perhaps this has something to do with why she's no longer at the salon. But girlfriend came back, pulled it together, was chipper, and gave me a great cut. Props to her.

I hope she's gotten a great new job somewhere else, or is just taking some needed time off. I wish her all the best. I hope my fill-in stylist does as good of a job as she did.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Be careful what you wish for.

A few days ago I posted about how excited I was about seeing Crazy, Stupid, Love. I was elated at its PG-13 rating and wanted all the teens to go see it. Apparently, the filmmakers wanted the same thing because in a movie that starred Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone, there was way, way too much time given to the storylines involving the unknown teenagers in this film (although I admittedly watched America's Next Top Model when Analeigh Tipton was a contestant, and  was rooting for her to win because she was the cool, open-minded girl who gave that transitioning girl her hormone shots). I felt like every time I was invested in the Carell/Moore/Gosling storylines, slam! We'd be back on those damn kids.

I thought the movie seemed a little choppy in places. The tone of some scenes didn't seem to flow with the previous scene. Perhaps the scenes were rearranged during editing, I don't know. I didn't read the script, though have heard it was quite good.

Steve Carell was pretty fantastic. I could see him getting a Golden Globe nod for comedy on this one. It wasn't an easy part to play, and I think he nailed it. Ryan Gosling is suprisingly funny, still seems a bit weird, and gorgeous as ever. I thought he and Emma Stone had great chemisty, and I wanted to see more of them together.

There were definitely some moments and situations that I didn't see coming. That's always refreshing, and worth the admission price. Overall, the film was actually funnier than I thought it would be. There were even a few laugh out loud moments, which are becoming more and more rare.

I think I'm being harder on this film because I had hope that it could be one of my favorites of all time, a rom com that I would watch on Sunday when it plays all over cable and I don't even care that there are commercials. This was not that movie. The film was good, but it didn't leave me with the warm, fuzzy feeling I wanted, and I'm not itching to see it again anytime soon.

Weather

It was a typical July morning in Los Angeles. The sky was overcast; sometimes the June gloom seeps into other months. But then the skies opened up and it poured for ten minutes, just like a winter storm. Strange.

Nicholl Fellowship - part over

I officially received my three Nicholl rejection letters. My script that I had the most hope for (the only one that was really ready to send in the first place) received two positive reads, which is nice to know. What's not nice to know is that it didn't receive high enough positives to garner a third read, therefore, it did not make the top 20%. Bummer.

Part of me is relieved that this is all over for me. I would have loved to have been named a Quarterfinalist, it would've been a big confidence boost. But not making the cut makes me reevaluate what I do have going for me: I write commercial stuff, stuff that has a chance of selling. And that's what I need to focus on.

Time to start sending out query letters. One of my goals is to get a manager this year, and I still have five months left to do that. The time to start is now.

 Congratulations to everyone who advanced in the Nicholl, and to the lucky, lucky people that manage to win.