"The TV Set" is the first movie I've seen in a theater since moving to L.A.
A little embarrassing to admit, considering I want to work in the entertainment industry. But then, there's never much worth seeing.
"The TV Set," however, was very funny, although excruciatingly so, as I related to the David Duchovny character a little too much, and Sigourney Weaver was channeling people from my past.
At one point in the film, the main character jokes that if he sells out, they can send the kids to Crossroads. Those following my temping adventures might be able to piece together the resonance of that joke for me.
At another point, a British character tells her husband that she is taking the kid and going back to England, saying something to the effect of, "We don't belong here, Richard. This is a terrible, terrible place." That got a big laugh from the audience!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
And my Pointe is...
I'm planning on seeing Jake Kasdan's film "The TV Set" today. Kasdan was a collaborator on the supurb television series "Freaks and Geeks," and the film is a fictionalized version of the struggle to get a quality series on the air. I read in an interview with Kasdan that he would have no idea how to get a TV show on the air today, which is remarkable, when you think about it.
A friend of mine in Austin, who used to depend on my reader advisory skills, asked me to put more book recommendations on here. L.A. is poked fun of as a non-reading city, but supposedly people do indeed read books here, albeit in search of material for entertainment product. I have yet to see proof of this, but it makes sense. Here are some recs that are at least dimly related to my blog:
"But Enough About Me" by Jancee Dunn: Funny, insider look into celebrity culture and entertainment reporting.
"Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey" by Heather Byer: I don't know yet if I will stick with this one, but I did enjoy the opening scene in which a film executive colleague of the author's throws a tantrum in an oft-visited New York restaurant because he is asked to wait five minutes for a table. The executive's quivering minion later defends the guy's behavior to the author, saying, "These things are important to Larry. Commitment is important to Larry. Loyalty."
"The Cigarette Girl" by Carol Wolper: It's been several years since I read it, but I remember enjoying this cynical novel about a single woman living in L.A. and working in the film industry.
As far as movies, I naturally recommend the L.A.-set "The Big Lebowski," although all my friends have surely seen it and probably more than once. Lately I have been recalling the scene in which Lebowski, played by that great, unsung actor Jeff Bridges, is shown a portrait on a wall of this wealthy man posing with Nancy Reagan. His reserved reaction in that scene is akin to my generally skeptical response to the job market here. Like, hmmmm, uh huh, I see.
I also have been thinking about "Sue," directed by Amos Kollek. I don't think it has ever been released on video or DVD, but I caught a showing of it in Paris around 1998, when I was travelling there. The movie follows a middle-aged single woman in New York City as she loses her job, runs out of money, becomes homeless, goes a little batty, and then keels over dead on a park bench in Central Park. I rather enjoyed the film, but I hope I don't end up keeled over on a park bench in Santa Monica.
Speaking of tragic women, a big glossy book and CD about Edie Sedgwick was just released called "Edie: Girl on Fire." I loved the Jean Stein "Edie" book when I was in college. I have recently tried to recall my mindset back then, when I was young and could afford to become obsessed with impractical things. Edie, of course, met her demise in Southern California.
I'll end this with a mention of "Grosse Pointe Blank," which I caught for the first time on DVD about eight months ago and was very affected by. In some indirect way the ennui and world-weariness it portrayed motivated me to make changes in my life and move out here.
On a related note, when I told acquaintances I was moving to Los Angeles, at least five people responded with "So who's the guy?" A friend told me I should have answered, "John Cusack."
Cue crazy music.
A friend of mine in Austin, who used to depend on my reader advisory skills, asked me to put more book recommendations on here. L.A. is poked fun of as a non-reading city, but supposedly people do indeed read books here, albeit in search of material for entertainment product. I have yet to see proof of this, but it makes sense. Here are some recs that are at least dimly related to my blog:
"But Enough About Me" by Jancee Dunn: Funny, insider look into celebrity culture and entertainment reporting.
"Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey" by Heather Byer: I don't know yet if I will stick with this one, but I did enjoy the opening scene in which a film executive colleague of the author's throws a tantrum in an oft-visited New York restaurant because he is asked to wait five minutes for a table. The executive's quivering minion later defends the guy's behavior to the author, saying, "These things are important to Larry. Commitment is important to Larry. Loyalty."
"The Cigarette Girl" by Carol Wolper: It's been several years since I read it, but I remember enjoying this cynical novel about a single woman living in L.A. and working in the film industry.
As far as movies, I naturally recommend the L.A.-set "The Big Lebowski," although all my friends have surely seen it and probably more than once. Lately I have been recalling the scene in which Lebowski, played by that great, unsung actor Jeff Bridges, is shown a portrait on a wall of this wealthy man posing with Nancy Reagan. His reserved reaction in that scene is akin to my generally skeptical response to the job market here. Like, hmmmm, uh huh, I see.
I also have been thinking about "Sue," directed by Amos Kollek. I don't think it has ever been released on video or DVD, but I caught a showing of it in Paris around 1998, when I was travelling there. The movie follows a middle-aged single woman in New York City as she loses her job, runs out of money, becomes homeless, goes a little batty, and then keels over dead on a park bench in Central Park. I rather enjoyed the film, but I hope I don't end up keeled over on a park bench in Santa Monica.
Speaking of tragic women, a big glossy book and CD about Edie Sedgwick was just released called "Edie: Girl on Fire." I loved the Jean Stein "Edie" book when I was in college. I have recently tried to recall my mindset back then, when I was young and could afford to become obsessed with impractical things. Edie, of course, met her demise in Southern California.
I'll end this with a mention of "Grosse Pointe Blank," which I caught for the first time on DVD about eight months ago and was very affected by. In some indirect way the ennui and world-weariness it portrayed motivated me to make changes in my life and move out here.
On a related note, when I told acquaintances I was moving to Los Angeles, at least five people responded with "So who's the guy?" A friend told me I should have answered, "John Cusack."
Cue crazy music.
A Plague of Locusts
There was an article on the front page of the L.A. Times yesterday about global warming that explained how the Southwest might become another dust bowl due to climate change. While I was living in Austin, debating whether I should move to Los Angeles and pondering my life on a micro level, I was also coping with the concern that global warming is going to annihilate the human race! It's difficult to take your personal aspirations seriously when that concern is running in the background.
Work was better yesterday, and I think I can hold on. I should be able to make a decision on that by the end of the month. Although, given the number of golfer types in the office, I do still think I would be better suited to working with entertainment industry misfits.
Work was better yesterday, and I think I can hold on. I should be able to make a decision on that by the end of the month. Although, given the number of golfer types in the office, I do still think I would be better suited to working with entertainment industry misfits.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Pop. Explosion
From "Dewey and the Pelican," by Seven McDonald, in last week's LA Weekly:
“I think we’ve reached the tipping point,” he says, in the driver’s seat of his Ford Taurus. “It seems like there is an impenetrable wall of cars.”
Weber, who’s working on a book called Surf Porn, which he describes as “Pat Hobby meets Ken Kesey,” says he noticed a marked increase in congestion after the epoch of the new millennium, or rather post-9/11, after which, he heard, millions of people flooded the city.
“You used to be able to access many different parts of the city in a day,” he says. “You can’t do that anymore. To get across town and back, it can take you four hours.”
“I think we’ve reached the tipping point,” he says, in the driver’s seat of his Ford Taurus. “It seems like there is an impenetrable wall of cars.”
Weber, who’s working on a book called Surf Porn, which he describes as “Pat Hobby meets Ken Kesey,” says he noticed a marked increase in congestion after the epoch of the new millennium, or rather post-9/11, after which, he heard, millions of people flooded the city.
“You used to be able to access many different parts of the city in a day,” he says. “You can’t do that anymore. To get across town and back, it can take you four hours.”
Another Week, Another Roller Coaster
I found out yesterday that the current tenants in my condo in Austin will be moving out in May. I'd be lying if I said I'm not sorely tempted by the prospect of throwing in the towel on L.A. and moving back. But, despite what appear to be my dismal prospects here, it does seem too soon to make that decision. There's some hidden parties up in those hills, and I'd like to attend a couple before splitting town!
I do think my decision to leave Austin and try something new was a sound one, but I'm just not sure I can build a life here, for reasons out of my control.
In terms of my workplace, I've taken a look up the ladder, and my desire to move upward has been, uh, greatly tempered (oh, how interesting this blog could be if I didn't feel I had to edit myself). Not to mention that almost everyone over the age of thirty appears hitched. Right now I'm just trying to cope with my current position, hoping it will at least cover the bills and that I can stick with it long enough to give L.A. a real chance. I love the short commute and the hours (I work a later shift) and have been pretty successful at walking into the job in the mornings with a good attitude. But then I encounter the chaos and find myself in yet another impossible, no-win situation, and I want to run screaming from the building! I'm still in the temp period and so could decide it just isn't working out, but I'd like it to work, for a while anyway. At least now I'm starting to have conversations with coworkers.
A different temp agency called me this week, dangling an interview for another temp-to-perm job. It was at a higher level, but the compensation, although slightly better, wasn't enough for me to take the risk. In truth, none of these jobs pay livable wages for a city this expensive. I've learned the hard way not to think of the people who work for employment agencies as job counselors. They are more like used car salesman, and if you're lucky, you'll end up with something you like reasonably well that has a minimum of problems. I've also seen some friendly personalities turn on a dime when I didn't behave a certain way. Enough said.
I went to the dentist this week and, big surprise, he told me I've been grinding my teeth at night.
I'm nearly finished with "The Royal Nonesuch" and recommend it highly. The author started a "naming" company while in Los Angeles, and I appreciated his insight on that type of business, as I temped for a "branding" company a few months ago. I definitely don't have the personality to work in marketing, although my skills would lead me there.
I know that if I go back to Austin I'll just be facing another long hard job search. I've started running the numbers and wondering whether if I moved back, found a roommate, and sold my car, I could survive on a part-time job at the Starbucks at 45th and Lamar (for the health insurance). Sadly, I think there's no way to get off the treadmill, if you want to eat.
I'm becoming happier and happier that I don't have kids!
I do think my decision to leave Austin and try something new was a sound one, but I'm just not sure I can build a life here, for reasons out of my control.
In terms of my workplace, I've taken a look up the ladder, and my desire to move upward has been, uh, greatly tempered (oh, how interesting this blog could be if I didn't feel I had to edit myself). Not to mention that almost everyone over the age of thirty appears hitched. Right now I'm just trying to cope with my current position, hoping it will at least cover the bills and that I can stick with it long enough to give L.A. a real chance. I love the short commute and the hours (I work a later shift) and have been pretty successful at walking into the job in the mornings with a good attitude. But then I encounter the chaos and find myself in yet another impossible, no-win situation, and I want to run screaming from the building! I'm still in the temp period and so could decide it just isn't working out, but I'd like it to work, for a while anyway. At least now I'm starting to have conversations with coworkers.
A different temp agency called me this week, dangling an interview for another temp-to-perm job. It was at a higher level, but the compensation, although slightly better, wasn't enough for me to take the risk. In truth, none of these jobs pay livable wages for a city this expensive. I've learned the hard way not to think of the people who work for employment agencies as job counselors. They are more like used car salesman, and if you're lucky, you'll end up with something you like reasonably well that has a minimum of problems. I've also seen some friendly personalities turn on a dime when I didn't behave a certain way. Enough said.
I went to the dentist this week and, big surprise, he told me I've been grinding my teeth at night.
I'm nearly finished with "The Royal Nonesuch" and recommend it highly. The author started a "naming" company while in Los Angeles, and I appreciated his insight on that type of business, as I temped for a "branding" company a few months ago. I definitely don't have the personality to work in marketing, although my skills would lead me there.
I know that if I go back to Austin I'll just be facing another long hard job search. I've started running the numbers and wondering whether if I moved back, found a roommate, and sold my car, I could survive on a part-time job at the Starbucks at 45th and Lamar (for the health insurance). Sadly, I think there's no way to get off the treadmill, if you want to eat.
I'm becoming happier and happier that I don't have kids!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Happy Anniversary to Me
Today marks my three-month anniversary in Los Angeles.
Last week, during my adjustment to the new job, I pondered whether I would choose, if I were able to do so, to snap my fingers and be back in my hobbit hole in Austin, at the old job, with this move to California having been nothing but a dream. I would say it was a toss-up. It's definitely been an exhilirating change, but I'm already worried about having lost the nice benefits I had at my old job. I'm also down about 10k, which in the large scheme of things is not that bad, but, considering my current salary and cost of living, I will have lost a lot more money than that by the end of the year.
Since I held onto my condo in Austin, I feel like I have one foot still there, and I'm not sure if having that "escape hatch" is such a good thing. From a practical stanpoint, yes, but maybe not from a psychological standpoint.
I have a date today and some flirtation possibilities at work, but out of the eight dates I've been on since moving here, I suspect that three of them were gay. Almost 50%! Not so encouraging.
I've also been overcome with anxiety and insomnia. For the most part, it's not conscious anxiety; I'll be happily watching Entourage, not a conscious concern in my head, only to turn off the TV and then lie in bed, completely unable to fall asleep. I just think it's unnerving to any human being to move to a new city without family or tight connections there. And I have a bunch of problems to solve that, when taken together, have led to an "overload on the system."
I've been exercising like a fiend as a way to cope. One of my yoga teachers, who looks like Frank Black (if you can imagine), said yesterday that L.A. is the "yoga capital of the world," with more yoga instruction than any other city. Or something like that.
As a positive effect of all this stress, I've lost about ten pounds.
I talked to a couple of Austin friends this week, and they mentioned the same old events that were attended by the usual suspects, and it didn't make me want to return. So I guess I just need to have faith that my new life here will fall into place somehow.
Last week, during my adjustment to the new job, I pondered whether I would choose, if I were able to do so, to snap my fingers and be back in my hobbit hole in Austin, at the old job, with this move to California having been nothing but a dream. I would say it was a toss-up. It's definitely been an exhilirating change, but I'm already worried about having lost the nice benefits I had at my old job. I'm also down about 10k, which in the large scheme of things is not that bad, but, considering my current salary and cost of living, I will have lost a lot more money than that by the end of the year.
Since I held onto my condo in Austin, I feel like I have one foot still there, and I'm not sure if having that "escape hatch" is such a good thing. From a practical stanpoint, yes, but maybe not from a psychological standpoint.
I have a date today and some flirtation possibilities at work, but out of the eight dates I've been on since moving here, I suspect that three of them were gay. Almost 50%! Not so encouraging.
I've also been overcome with anxiety and insomnia. For the most part, it's not conscious anxiety; I'll be happily watching Entourage, not a conscious concern in my head, only to turn off the TV and then lie in bed, completely unable to fall asleep. I just think it's unnerving to any human being to move to a new city without family or tight connections there. And I have a bunch of problems to solve that, when taken together, have led to an "overload on the system."
I've been exercising like a fiend as a way to cope. One of my yoga teachers, who looks like Frank Black (if you can imagine), said yesterday that L.A. is the "yoga capital of the world," with more yoga instruction than any other city. Or something like that.
As a positive effect of all this stress, I've lost about ten pounds.
I talked to a couple of Austin friends this week, and they mentioned the same old events that were attended by the usual suspects, and it didn't make me want to return. So I guess I just need to have faith that my new life here will fall into place somehow.
Readings in the Film Capital
In an effort to attend at least one interesting L.A. happening this week, I went to Book Soup on
Sunset tonight for a presentation by the author/ photographer of the book "Punk Love." Henry Rollins assisted the author in presenting the book and photos from the early days of the punk rock movement in Washington, D.C. As in Austin, readings don't seem to be well-attended here; maybe twenty people showed up. The author did mention that she attended SXSW this year.
I took very similar black and white photos of a band and their audience in Fort Worth back in 1994, but since none of those people became famous, I will not be coming out with a book.
While at Book Soup, I bought a copy of "The Royal Nonesuch," a memoir by Glasgow Phillips detailing his misadventures in the entertainment industry in L.A. The book begins with him living in Austin, circa 1997, before deciding to make the move west. I wanted to go to his reading earlier this week, but alas, the j-o-b got in the way.
Sunset tonight for a presentation by the author/ photographer of the book "Punk Love." Henry Rollins assisted the author in presenting the book and photos from the early days of the punk rock movement in Washington, D.C. As in Austin, readings don't seem to be well-attended here; maybe twenty people showed up. The author did mention that she attended SXSW this year.
I took very similar black and white photos of a band and their audience in Fort Worth back in 1994, but since none of those people became famous, I will not be coming out with a book.
While at Book Soup, I bought a copy of "The Royal Nonesuch," a memoir by Glasgow Phillips detailing his misadventures in the entertainment industry in L.A. The book begins with him living in Austin, circa 1997, before deciding to make the move west. I wanted to go to his reading earlier this week, but alas, the j-o-b got in the way.
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