I changed the template of the Blog and as of this writing I’m still waiting for the changes to take effect. Hopefully it’ll all be readable when I get back to it.
It’s been hard being without internet access. No Instant Messaging with my buds, no spur-of-the-moment e-mails. Still, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been; I didn’t suffer serious withdrawals. Mainly because I"ve just been too busy.
August began with a visit to The Mark Taper Forum to see The House of Bernarda Alba. I didn’t know what to expect; I just saw an ad in the "New Times" – a throwaway weekly – and throught "What the heck. I haven’t been to a play in a really long time!" The stage production was terrific AND – drum roll, please – Chita Rivera was amazing. What I especially enjoyed was the casting of the five daughters – everyone of them a different ethnicity. Sandra Oh, of "Arli$$", played the youngest daughter.
The Mark Taper is a teeny venue, originally created to bring experimental theatre to the city. It’s located in downtown Los Angeles’ Music Center, across the fountain-way from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the former home of The Academy Awards. I hadn’t been to the Music Center in years – not since seeing The Phantom of the Opera there – and what a surprise! Maybe it was the warmth of summer, the length of the seasonal days, but there were people there – strolling, eating at the outdoor café. Such a pretty night – slightly balmy – with the scent of charring burgers rising up into the air. Not New York by any means…
At least, not until after we’d seen the play. Closing my eyes, I could imagine that I’d just walked out of an Off-Broadway piece. I’m a believer now in the magic of small theater and I hope to see another play very soon.
Movies! Boy have I been seeing movies! xXx was fantabulous! The next Bond movie will have some large shoes to fill. Vin Diesel and crew took all of the elements of the prototypical Bond movie and made it all modern. In the end: a man, a woman, and an American muscle car were able to save the world. Yee Ha!
Blue Crush could have used a lot more of what they advertised the movie to be about: surfing! The soundtrack was bouncy, perfect for the scenes, and ultimately this one just became one giant music video. This is the first movie I’ve ever walked out of and wanted to immediately come home and rewrite it the way it should have played – that means minus the dumb-ass love story and beefing up the competitive spirit of the women involved.
One Hour Photo in a word is CREEPY. Robin Williams is *not* annoying. This isn’t a major production ala Scream, just a quiet movie that takes its time getting started. By the time it’s over, all you can do is sit back in your seat and go, "Shit". Nothing’s scarier than the potential of real life. What won me over from the get-go was the use of VanDerZee as Eric LaSalle’s detective’s last name. How many times do we give and receive Beta’s with this mantra: It’s all in the details. It is!
The feedback on "Depth Wish" has been fabby and appreciated. I’d been away from my ‘puter and fanfic for so long that I thought I’d forgotten what it’s like. In some weird way, I think that sitting down and getting a couple stories completed helped me keep from being so freaked about being unemployed again. I was out of work for a reason; whether that was to get to some much-needed personal stuff or to plunk out a couple of stories I’ll never know. It was great to realize how much I still enjoy writing.
Well, I’m off to Las Vegas in about 24 hours to visit my Mom for her birthday. This is going to be another busy month. Next Friday is the Jazzanova/Koop concert at The El Rey Theatre. There’s still the Shag retrospective at The Brea Museum until October 4th and, starting today, there’s The Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. There’s more on tap – probably seeing Transporter tonight.
Here’s to hoping there’s a lucky Bingo card with my name daubed all over it!
It’s been hard being without internet access. No Instant Messaging with my buds, no spur-of-the-moment e-mails. Still, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been; I didn’t suffer serious withdrawals. Mainly because I"ve just been too busy.
August began with a visit to The Mark Taper Forum to see The House of Bernarda Alba. I didn’t know what to expect; I just saw an ad in the "New Times" – a throwaway weekly – and throught "What the heck. I haven’t been to a play in a really long time!" The stage production was terrific AND – drum roll, please – Chita Rivera was amazing. What I especially enjoyed was the casting of the five daughters – everyone of them a different ethnicity. Sandra Oh, of "Arli$$", played the youngest daughter.
The Mark Taper is a teeny venue, originally created to bring experimental theatre to the city. It’s located in downtown Los Angeles’ Music Center, across the fountain-way from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the former home of The Academy Awards. I hadn’t been to the Music Center in years – not since seeing The Phantom of the Opera there – and what a surprise! Maybe it was the warmth of summer, the length of the seasonal days, but there were people there – strolling, eating at the outdoor café. Such a pretty night – slightly balmy – with the scent of charring burgers rising up into the air. Not New York by any means…
At least, not until after we’d seen the play. Closing my eyes, I could imagine that I’d just walked out of an Off-Broadway piece. I’m a believer now in the magic of small theater and I hope to see another play very soon.
Movies! Boy have I been seeing movies! xXx was fantabulous! The next Bond movie will have some large shoes to fill. Vin Diesel and crew took all of the elements of the prototypical Bond movie and made it all modern. In the end: a man, a woman, and an American muscle car were able to save the world. Yee Ha!
Blue Crush could have used a lot more of what they advertised the movie to be about: surfing! The soundtrack was bouncy, perfect for the scenes, and ultimately this one just became one giant music video. This is the first movie I’ve ever walked out of and wanted to immediately come home and rewrite it the way it should have played – that means minus the dumb-ass love story and beefing up the competitive spirit of the women involved.
One Hour Photo in a word is CREEPY. Robin Williams is *not* annoying. This isn’t a major production ala Scream, just a quiet movie that takes its time getting started. By the time it’s over, all you can do is sit back in your seat and go, "Shit". Nothing’s scarier than the potential of real life. What won me over from the get-go was the use of VanDerZee as Eric LaSalle’s detective’s last name. How many times do we give and receive Beta’s with this mantra: It’s all in the details. It is!
The feedback on "Depth Wish" has been fabby and appreciated. I’d been away from my ‘puter and fanfic for so long that I thought I’d forgotten what it’s like. In some weird way, I think that sitting down and getting a couple stories completed helped me keep from being so freaked about being unemployed again. I was out of work for a reason; whether that was to get to some much-needed personal stuff or to plunk out a couple of stories I’ll never know. It was great to realize how much I still enjoy writing.
Well, I’m off to Las Vegas in about 24 hours to visit my Mom for her birthday. This is going to be another busy month. Next Friday is the Jazzanova/Koop concert at The El Rey Theatre. There’s still the Shag retrospective at The Brea Museum until October 4th and, starting today, there’s The Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. There’s more on tap – probably seeing Transporter tonight.
Here’s to hoping there’s a lucky Bingo card with my name daubed all over it!
posted by Evan at
12:19 PM
