Thursday, July 31, 2014

More of November

Other stuff that happened last November.

There were donuts. SK's is my favorite and they're open all night!

Disneyland was in the Christmas spirit. I still hate It's a Small World.


But fake snow made it all seem pretty great. Love those SoCal winters.

There was thrift store shopping. I'm still terrible at it.

There was a Thanksgiving fireside at the UCLA Institute building and it was lovely.


I played for most of the musical numbers with very little practice. Eeeeek.

There was a trip to the Wiltern! It's a great venue. Cher had tickets that she couldn't use, so she gave them to me, and I took Amy.

CHVRCHES! And I ran into Patrick there, who I hadn't seen in a couple years. We've got some history, and it was nice to see him again. He and his friend came with me and Amy afterward, and we kicked it at a K-town coffee shop.

One of my favorite things, and I wish I could do it again - the Burrito Project! A lot of LA people get together and make burritos, then go hand them out on Skid Row. I could only go for the making and not the passing out of burritos, but I had a great time and met some nice people. People of LA, go do this every month!

There were tacos on my way from Burrito Project at Los Primos. So good.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

AFI Fest 2013

Movies, movies, movies - that's what Hollywood is all about, right?!

I hadn't been clued into AFI Fest in previous years, but I managed to go this year and fell in love.

Lucky for me, a good friend lives near the theaters at Hollywood and Highland, so I could use her residential parking pass and walk down to the event. I managed to see six films during the week (all free!) and missed a couple due to not arriving early enough. I figured out the system and I'll be better prepared when I go again.

On Saturday I met up with Jonathan and Trevor at the Egyptian Theater to see Cleo from 5 to 7, with Agnes Varda in attendance.  There was a lot of waiting in line and staring at the trees before we got in. But look at that sunny, beautiful November day! I'll  be missing that this year.

The theater is glorious - I'd never been inside before.

On Monday night I went back for a double feature. Half of a Yellow Sun is a film from Nigeria with some big name stars. It's one of two Nigerian films I saw, though I didn't really love this one. Maybe I'd like the book better?

I think I might've left that one early to get into Omar, since lines can be long. I found a seat alone in the middle, and later realized that Trevor and Aaron were in the front and had been trying to get my attention for awhile.

I absolutely loved Omar. It was done by the same director as Paradise Now, and while most screenings had actors and/or directors/producers present for Q&A after the film, and Hany Abu-Assad was there, there was no Q&A. I wish there would've been and I wonder why... Do yourself a favor and go watch this. Especially since that whole region is once again blowing up.


On Tuesday I went for one of the shorts programs. A few stood out.

You can watch RPG OKC here - it's an online dating story of 8-big video game characters, and I was just amused!

Democracia is from Spain and it's just absurdly hilarious. An office boss tries to boost company morale with a crazy plan, and I just found it hysterical. I couldn't find a link online, but the trailer is here.

The last one I remember was so incredibly heavy and hard to watch, and it really affected me. I still think about it often. It's from Sweden and it's called On Suffocation. So very difficult.

Thursday I saw B for Boy, the second Nigerian film, about a woman who needs to bear a male child to keep her family together and her husband from taking another wife. So interesting to see the role of women in other cultures.

The last day I went back to see The Owners, a film from Argentina. It's an amusing story of some caretakers who squat in the owners' house and have to scramble when they show up.

I really wanted to see The Past, but work or something got in the way. I ended up seeing it in the following months along with Inside Llewyn Davis, the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Philomena, Her, Jodorowsky's Dune, Like Father Like Son, and August: Osage County

I still want to see The Great Beauty, The Lunchbox, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. So much good stuff screened there! I really should consider going back for the next one.




Monday, July 28, 2014

Musical Monday

Lykke Li is some sort of magical creature. This is a fantastic breakup song that I'll keep in my arsenal for future use. No need now, I've never been more single, but I'm still playing this on repeat.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Tired Pony at Hollywood Forever

You know I adore Gary Lightbody, and I'm thrilled that he's mostly around LA and that Tired Pony had a show at Hollywood Forever. I met up with Liz for tacos across the street first, then we headed into a most wonderful show. You may remember that I flew to NYC a couple years ago to see them when their first record came out. I didn't have to travel far this time, but I totally would've flown across the country again.


First time in the Lodge at Hollywood Forever.

Patiently waiting.

So much awesomeness on that little stage. And yes, that's Minnie Driver in the back right.




He's the best.
Tired Pony - The Beginning of the End from L Dubbs on Vimeo.

That smile gets me every time.
Tired Pony from L Dubbs on Vimeo.

Wonderful show that I still think about months later. I hope he keeps making music for a long time, whether with Snow Patrol, Tired Pony, or any of his other musical friends. 

I also tried the pomegranate trick that weekend. But the I really didn't know what to do with the fruit after.

Sunday afternoon walk to my car.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

November in Utah - Hallie's Baby Blessing

Beautiful sunset one day and a light dusting of snow a couple days later.


Mom and Dad came into town and saw their grandbaby for the second time. Dad got a little nuts.

Taylor and Courtney had the blessing at their house on a Saturday. Courtney's brother had just gotten home from a mission and had his homecoming that week too, so they had a packed schedule. It was nice to have it at home, with friends and family.







Good job, Tay!








Hallie was a little angel.




The next day I headed back to LA in a snowstorm, and it was a little terrifying. Not used to driving in snow. Guess I better figure that out now that I live in Utah. 


Hello again, California.


Sunday, July 20, 2014

Late October - Back to Utah

At the end of October I planned to drive back up to Utah to see the family for Hallie's baby blessing. It worked out that I went up a weekend early, so I could hang with friends and see the Moth & the Flame at Velour for their EP release party. Little did I know how exciting that would turn out to be.

The night before I left, I got a call from a couple guys in the band, asking if I had room for some of them and their stuff. Turns out their awesome bus broke down, and they were scrambling to get everyone up to Utah. The guys from Swimm were also playing with them, so between two bands, wives/girlfriends/extra friends, and equipment, they weren't all going to fit in the one passenger van they were able to rent.

I was happy to have the extra company, so I headed over to the Cube to pick up a few people early Saturday morning. We barely fit stuff in my trunk. Off on an adventure!

It was nice to switch off drivers, though kinda funny since Adam had to drive through the slightly crazy canyon in northern Arizona, and he's a Florida native who's only used to flat roads. We pulled into Provo with a tad bit of time to spare and went straight to Velour.

Turns out some of the discs printed were wrong, so I helped in the scramble to unwrap all the packages and switch out discs. Also, if you don't have one of these, you're gonna want one.


Roommate Haleigh was at the show along with lots of other LA friends and of course the music was great. Halfway through, Brandon grabbed his acoustic guitar and announced a new song that no one had heard yet. He looked for Haleigh in the crowd and walked toward her as he sang a song he'd written for her. Surprise proposal! Of course she said yes. It was just perfect, as he'd also had her parents fly in, and his whole family was there, and he arranged for several cameras to video their moment. I'm glad I got to witness this lovely night. Sadly, the next day he had to leave for a European tour and those six weeks sucked for them, but they are now happily married and together. 

I had the next day to hang out with Taylor and Hallie at church while Courtney was at work. What a good dad, fixing her bow. One of my favorite pictures. 


When Hallie was asleep, I cuddled with Max.

Baby GIF!

And a funny face. I love this baby.

For Halloween they dressed her up as the most perfect Cabbage Patch Baby ever. She really is a little doll.

I enjoyed the fall colors. Utah really is beautiful.




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