A Smart Move

I'm really enjoying the L.A. Film Festival's move from Westwood to Downtown Los Angeles for 2010. It seems to be running smoothly and I've been able to use the free shuttles to travel between venues. And how awesome is it to see this view when you come out of a screening at the Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live? I think it was a wise move. I hope it stays there.

Eight Nights A Week

No, this isn't an early Hannukah post...

A lot of our friends always say things like, "You guys do SO much." I often downplay it and insist that sometimes we do sit at home and drool in front of the tv, but come to think of it, that is more the exception. This past week leaves me defenseless as we did something every single night.*

Monday: Neil Finn @ Largo, who was joined by his son on the drums and Largo's favorite son, Jon Brion, on all sorts of instruments. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that the show was amazing.

Tuesday: As part of the Downtown Film Festival-Los Angeles, E and several members of the L.A. 3D Club , put on a special screening of independent 3-D short films at the Downtown Independent, a really cool, fairly new film and event center. We had a great turnout and a reception on the roof. (I had to go back to work from 11:30pm to 1:30am).

View from roof of Downtown Independent

Wednesday: VisionFest is the annual Filmmakers Alliance (FA) event which gives an award to a prominent figure in the world of independent film (this year's recipient was producer Ted Hope), a presentation of short films, followed by a party with food, booze, and mingling. During the festivities, E ran a video theater to show other shorts by various FA members.

Thursday: Of course we attended the 3-D Club's annual officer installation and awards banquet. Not only are we members, but E is the VP and usually the projectionist. One of our members was quite boisterous this year, making it a unique occasion, but that's neither here nor there. The important thing of it all is that I not only got my participation ribbon for entering each , but I also got a 3rd place medal for the newbie group!

Friday: It was Avatar Day and by the time we remembered to request tickets, the only place left in the L.A. area to go was Long Beach. That was fine since some friends who are also into 3-D live there and joined us. We made the trip worth our while and had some Peruvian food with them after the sneak preview. We stopped at Scoops once back in L.A. & I got the last of the Brown Bread for the day! P.S. Avatar looks pretty effin' cool.

Saturday: After a long, exhausting day at work, we went to closing night of the DFFLA. We got a very rare glimpse at a dated, but fascinating, documentary called The Jackson 5 in Africa. The footage from 1974 had only screened once before in New York and it's unknown when or if it will ever be seen again. Unfortunately, the after-party was a bust, but we ended up going to Wurstküche, an exotic sausage restaurant in the Arts District. We'd heard wonderful things about the place and they were all true!

Sunday: After sleeping in a little, we decided to drive down to Laguna Beach to catch the soon-closing Sawdust Art Festival. We strolled around the art galleries along the ocean first and then took in the arts and crafts. There was also a lot of candy, but I don't want to talk about that.

Laguna Beach, my favorite place in the O.C.

Monday: Now we're up to last night. We met up with an old friend from college, who will soon be moving back to L.A., and a couple of his friends. It was a good time and even though some business-type stuff was discussed, the hours flew by as we indulged in good food and conversation.

*You may have heard me complain about being broke and that hasn't changed. We're very fortunate in that a lot of these fun things we do often cost very little to nothing, for a variety of reasons. We did pay full price for the sausage, though, and it was worth it.

Drive-In Tonight!

Come on downtown for a drive-in! Hollywood Mobile Movie is screening Mock Up On Mu in conjunction with the Downtown Film Festival LA. Come check it out! More details, in case you are too lazy to click:

From the DFFLA program:

We've put together an evening of programming made for film fans who embrace the cutting edge. The evening revolves around a special drive-in preview screening of celebrated San Francisco avant-garde filmmaker Craig Baldwin's latest feature, Mock Up On Mu.

Just roll up to the giant SCI-Arc parking lot in the Arts District (near 4th Street and the Los Angeles River) and we'll take it from there. Note: All kinds of vehicles are welcomed; the only requisite is that whatever you're driving, must have a working radio.

The evening begins with a complimentary cocktail reception, followed by a presentation of new works by students at SCI-Arc, the experimental architecture school in downtown L.A. Immediately following with be a showcase of shorts from the just completed Los Angeles Digital Arts Festival.

Location: 960 E. Third Street, Los Angeles 90013
Schedule of Events:
4:30 - 5:30 pm - Reception
5:30 - 6:30 pm - SCI-arc shorts
6:45 - 8:00 pm - Digital Arts Festival shorts
8:30 - 10:00 pm - Mock Up On Mu

Tickets are $10, and are available here.

*********
Location
*********
SCI-Arc Parking Lot
Map: http://www.sciarc.edu/portal/exhibitions/locations/index.html You will need a ticket to get past the security gate at the SCI-Arc lot. To buy your ticket, click the link above.

The entrance to SCI-Arc's parking lot is at 350 Merrick Street, Los Angeles 90013, between Traction Avenue and 4th St in downtown Los Angeles.

The Week (So Far)

• Cosette had one vet appointment and ended up getting scheduled for surgery the very next day! It's always stressful, but especially for a geriatric dog. She will go for a bandage change this weekend and endure the hilarious cone for about ten more days.

• We saw Death Cab For Cutie in concert for the first time at the newish Nokia Theatre. The venue is pretty cool, even if the sound was a bit wonky. The band was fantastic, but I was somewhat put off by their open expression of distaste for L.A. Especially when the crowd was giving them an amazing reception. Seattle folks must be jealous of our sunshine, as many seem to hate this city.
  

• I've been under the weather myself and slept Wednesday away.
  

• The Los Angeles Film Festival continues. One of the highlights this week was a screening of three episodes of Spaced followed by a Q&A with director Edgar Wright, moderated by Matt Stone, of South Park fame. It was a tremendously good time.
  

Edgar and Me

• I've been working on the Craft Hamster 2.0 and may be at a point where I can post a photo or two soon.

What Has Been And What Can Never Be

I saw the world premiere of the documentary Largo this past Sunday night at the L.A. Film Festival. It was really enjoyable for me, as one of the people who loved the club's original incarnation on Fairfax. Also, I'm a fan of many of the musicians and comedians who performed there. The film is black and white and performance based. There is no narrative and minimal subtitling. Featured performers include Grant-Lee Phillips, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Andrew Bird, Colin Hay, Jon Brion, Davíd Garza, Tom Brousseau, Sarah Silverman, Greg Proops, Zach Galifinakis, Louis CK, John C. Reilly, Bic Runga, Flight of the Conchords (how did I miss that?!?), Nickel Creek, Jackson Brown and a couple of others I'm sure I'm forgetting.

It actually made me quite sad knowing I can't ever go back there for such an intimate show. I haven't been to Largo 2.0 at the Coronet Theatre yet, but hope to check it out soon. Have you?

Signs That It's Summer In L.A.

• The L.A. Film Festival has opened. Wanted opened the fest and I *wanted* to really like it, but meh, not so much. Oh well.
  

• Thomas Wilkins debuted as the Principle Guest Condutor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. We enjoyed opening night, where Sir James Galway, B.B. King, and Liza Minelli all performed as they were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.

• It's hot. Africa hot. And everyone, including myself, is complaining about it. I'm glad I have air conditioning, but shudder to think of the upcoming electric bills. I do know the extreme temperatures are temporary and we'll be back to lovely weather soon.
  

Happy Summer!