I must be getting old

Wow. I tried to watch the VMAs last night. I was looking forward to seeing Britney. Yay for her getting back to normal-ish. I knew she could do it! But seriously after her opening sketch I lasted through the first award. WTF was up with that annoying British guy? If you have to assure people you're famous in another country, you probably shouldn't be hosting the VMAs in any country other than your own. He talked way too long and was not funny. Made me think of that SNL sketch where Kenan played a British comedian on Def Comedy Jam and all his jokes were about British stuff that no one had ever heard of. Anyway, the only thing he did that I liked was tell everyone to vote for Obama. Because yes, they should.

using this blog - a novel concept!

So I started this blog with the intention of using it regularly and then failed miserably. I'm going to do better now. Hopefully this blog will be an intersting chronicle of my attempt to shoot my first indepentdent feature length film. So for starters, a little bit about what's I've been up to.

Since I last posted, I've acquired my own camera equipment. I am the proud owner of a beautiful Sony HVR-V1U HDV camera, a Bogen-Manfrotto tripod, a nifty wide angle lens and other sundry accessories. Owning my own equipment has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. (Including of course, serious debt!)

Back in July I started shooting a documentary that has since gotten caught up in governmental red tape. You can see a trailer I made for the IFC's Back To Basics Documentary Challenge here:

Michigan Youth Challenge Academy Doc Trailer

It wasn't selected as a finalist but I think it shows what a compelling subject the MYCA could be if made into a do. I'm pretty proud of it.

While I wait and see if that situation gets worked out, I've turned my attention to music videos. A week from today I will be shooting my first music video for a band called Darling Down and their song Revenge Is Sweet Like Cherries. I'm pretty excited. I think it could turn out very cool.

I also have a short I want to shoot soon. It's a script I adapted from a Ray Bradbury short story years ago. I might not be able to screen it anywhere but it is my all time favorite short story so why not, right? Experience is experience.

I had been working for a while on a script for a story I've been wanting so shoot for years, but I'm putting that on hold in order to work on something that can be shot in the winter, in a very short amount of time, and on a very small budget. Wish me luck with that one!

Acting your age. A novel concept.

So Paris Hilton turned 27 this past week. 27! Why is she still partying with teenagers and making an ass of herself? Not that 27 is old by any means, but seriously, I shudder to think what she's going to be like at 45. Can you just imagine? Running around with her face pulled tight and botoxed chasing after people like Suri Cruise and the Beckham boys and lord forbid, hopping up on whatever stage is around to show everyone what's "hot". Ugh. What a sad sight that will be.

Save Friday Night Lights!

If you haven't seen it, Friday Night Lights is one of the best shows on TV. It's facing cancellation (again) after a not so great season due in part to the writer's strike (which as a SAG member, I fully supported). There are a couple things you can do to help save the show.

1.) Send light bulbs to NBC! Write "Lights On" on the side of it, and send it to NBC honcho Ben Silverman at:

Ben Silverman
c/o NBC Studios
3000 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA. 91523

2.) Go Here: Save Friday Night Lights! to learn more about petitions you can sign, where to get Save FNL merchandise (or just Dillon Panthers t-shirts) to show your support, and where you can watch full episodes if you've yet to see the show.

I hope you'll check it out! It's a really great show that deserves to be on the air. Especially when you think about shows like Moment of Truth.

Who would Jesus Hate? (t-shirt and musings)

So I just found out that the Westboro Baptist Church (http://www.godhatesfags.com) home of all things evil, (think of the crazy motherf*ckers that picket the funerals of dead soldier claiming that God "hates F*gs" - how they manage to relate this to soldiers who lost their lives defending this country is beyond me) is coming to a town near me!

Article here.

They're taking time out of their busy schedule to send a dozen or so protesters to picket a high school production of the Matthew Shepard play "The Laramie Project". Because we should stop teenagers from promoting and learning about tolerance at all costs! OMG. They make me ill, they really do. In general, I'm not a public protest kinda girl. Not that I wouldn't, I suppose, but nothing has really riled me up enough to get out there with signs and whatnot. These people though just might make me get off my moderately-flabby-but-not-really-fat ass. I even designed a bunch of t-shirts and buttons to wear if I do. They say Who Would Jesus Hate? Although I think the irony would be lost on them. They might even think I'm on their side!

Check it out:


These shirts and lots of other cool (IMHO) stuff can be found at my store Novel Concept

it's not all bad...

Wow, I work for a non-profit organization and one of our most respected community members and active givers lost his house in a fire yesterday. He had over 40 years of memorabilia covering the history of our small town. After losing everything, his first response was to set up a fund with us to help OTHER people who have lost everything in a fire or need special assistance in some way. None of that money will go to help him and his current situation. He is not a rich man. The fund has already received one donation of $10,000. Maybe the world is not such a bad place after all.

a brand new day, a novel concept

Well, hey there! It's Superbowl Sunday and my very first post in my very um... second blog! Although technically I'm not sure the one I had 8 years ago and only posted in 3 times counts. Anyhoo, I thought in this first post I'd just tell a little bit about myself and what this blog will entail. So, here goes. I am a woman, (although a fairly new one who frequently forgets and refer to herself as a girl). I'm a temporarily misplaced Lost Angeleno who intends to be back there by the end of the year. A film school graduate hoping to make filmmaking a career. (You can check out my thesis film here: blackbird-films.com) I lean towards the indie/character study/drama in my own work but love all kinds of movies in general. I like anything involving time travel. And in that same vein I like sci-fi/fantasy stuff such as Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Lost and Harry Potter. I'm a moderate to liberal Democrat. Currently I'm on the Obama bandwagon. (Get Obama stuff I made here: Obama for President Merchandise) I work for a non-profit and am really into giving back and all things charitable. I write, direct, act, edit, and produce. I am planning on shooting my first feature this late spring/early summer. I am a techno geek who is in love with her shiny new laptop even if it does have vista. I play the Sims 2 sometimes, although not lately. I am looking forward to the new expansion pack though! I also love photoshop and designing t-shirts and other stuff for my cafepress shop.

This blog will be part of my website, novelconcept.net once I get it up and running. Things you can expect to see in this blog. Things I've edited, (music videos, trailers, other random things), things I've made (cafepress designs, random things, who knows maybe even some Sims stuff), rants about the paprazzi, politics, the state of the industry/world, funny/interesting/heartbreaking things I've stumbled upon on the web, strange questions that I would really like the answer to, insight into the life of a struggling artist, opinions on everything, and other stuff I can't think of right now.

And now to close this very long and rambling post, some random shout outs. Rest in peace, Heath. Get well soon, Britney! Welcome back, NKOTB! And some pimpage. This is a St. Patrick's Day t-shirt I made that I'm especially proud of. It's covered in lipstick kisses adn says "I'm Irish! Who's next?" Perfect to wear this St. Patrick's Day!:




The design is available on a lot of different shirts, but I like the baseball jersey the best. Get it here at my shop: Novel Concept.