Californy Away We Go

Howdy howdy, kids!

I'm sending out a supplemental update because I'll be in Houston some of this and next week (4/4 - 4/10) and I wanted not only to let you know I'd be around, but also so that next week you wouldn't think I'd forgotten about my audience. (I won't use the word "fans" until I've made it big. Then I can forget all about you.)

So, on with the update.

3/24 - Oscar Night Party! Technically, this should have been in the last update, but technically I forgot. In keeping with a long tradition, my roommate Marie (from now on, I'm not going to make this introduction), hosted an Oscar Party. Normally, it has been a requirement to dress as a character from the year's movies, but I couldn't find my Shrek outfit, so we let it go this year. However, we did have groovy snacks like Lord of the Ring Dings, Gosford Pork Rinds, MeMentos, and of course, Shrek Shots. The last of these were to be taken on any mention of Shrek, but towards the end of the evening we started mentioning it ourselves just to "get rid of them." A fun time was had by all, and I won for most correctly picked winners (Oops, I mean "Oscar goes to's"). Of course, a lot of that has to do with good guessing on categories where no one has ever seen the movies.

3/26 - Went to see the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn again. Craiggers. It's a lot more fun than watching a taping of a sitcom because you're only in there for a couple of hours. The 30-minute sitcoms can take as long as four hours or more. Anyway, they didn't have John Cleese! He had taped earlier. However, they made up for it by having Paul Reiser tape for his show two days early. The mixing and matching of show segments throughout the week is pretty interesting. The stage is so small, they tape the bands before the show, and Craiggers isn't even there. At the end of the show he just says "Let's hear it for" then immediately follows it up with "Wow, wasn't that just great?" Welcome to show biz.

3/27 - Woo hoo! I got the transcription job! I'm no longer destitute (though donations are still accepted) and I get to talk to a computer all day. I just hope it doesn't give me any lip, or heads will roll.

3/28 - Met with Faith, a friend of Marie's. Upon hearing I was a writer, that somehow immediately qualified me to critique her script. Yikes. I'm not perfect, but let's just say I now understand why good writers are sought after out here. Hopefully I can fill that need, or else we're in store for a lot more of the same old clichés in the movies.

Later that night, she took me to a place called the Barsac. An oddly snooty restaurant/bar, considering the name. Anyway, I got to meet a lot of her friends in the business, which was voice-over work. Everyone there worked as cartoon character voices, commercial voice-over people, etc. It was pretty cool. I met one girl, Kimtai, who is the "Voice of Sears." This is apparently a title of great distinction. I asked her all about tools and lawnmowers, but unfortunately that's not her department. I heard that the "Voice of Vonn's" (a local grocery store) was also present, but sadly I didn't get to meet him.

Alright there you go - that's my week.

LA Survival Tips - This Issue: Radio

LA is famous for having cool radio, and it's pretty true. I've been listening to two stations almost exclusively.

KROQ - This is the LA version of The Buzz, or rather I should say the reverse. They play all sorts of cool things that you either haven't hear in 10 years or have never heard before. They are no where near as repetitive, and it's difficult keeping up. They play so many songs before breaking for commercials or DJ's, it's really very refreshing.

KLOS - This is the LA version of KLOL. They are sort of a hybrid of Rock and Classic Rock. Like KLOL, but they play a lot more Rush (yay) and The Who (yay) and Metallica (yay). They have daily blocks of Whole Lotta Led, and Mandatory Metallica. It's cool. But by far the coolest thing about it is DJ Jim Ladd. He's the spitting image of Dr. Johnny Fever, and perhaps even the inspiration for that character. He's been around forever, and when he plays, it's a whole evening. He plays album rock, or Deep Cuts as he calls it, which is the songs you've never heard on the radio from the b-side of your favorite album. That song that you love but you didn't think anyone else even knew about. It's awesome.

Okay, that's it. Here are some quotes. They weren't the ones I wanted to use, but I'm still researching those. See you next time kids!

Movie Quote Challenge:

"No matter what anyone tells you, words and ideas can change the world."

"Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave."

Movie Quote Answers:

Congratulations to Mary Felder, the first to answer correctly (extremely quickly, too)!

For the record, the first was from Dead Poet's Society, by Tom Schulman. The second was from Blade Runner, by Hampton Fancher based on a story by Philip K. Dick, Vance. ; )

Better luck next time!