What the hell am I doing in LA?

A small majority shouldn't be able to take rights away from the minority

2008-11-06T05:32:00.001-08:00

I was fortunate to get a few hours off work last night to go to the No on 8 rally. It helped that my boss was the person leading the caravan to the rally. It was held down the street from where I live actually. There was so many people, we stopped traffic and walked through the streets. There was a big police presence but they just worked to re-route traffic. There was such peaceful love all around. It felt good to help in the fight for my gay and lesbian friends and be a representative of the majority for the minority. Equal rights for all!

Yes We Did

2008-11-05T00:31:00.001-08:00

What a night! It all started when I couldn't stay asleep. I woke up at 10am, after working til 4am the night before. I walked to my polling place and waited an hour in line. The time flew as I talked with those around me. It was like a block party. Everyone happy to wait. Happy to vote. I walked away from the polls with a smile so big, I couldn't have made it go away even if I wanted. Regardless of what the outcome was going to be, I knew I voted for history and for change. My day went by in a haze, with the one highlight being free Starbucks coffee for voting.
At work I couldn't concentrate. So, when things settled down, I quietly closed my door and told my co-workers, if the supervisors look for me, give me a text, and I drove to my friends for an election party. On my way NPR gave me the good news. Barack wins! Even typing those words now I tear up. I arrived at the party to share the moment with good friends and my Raymond, which meant the world to me. We hugged each other tight. Our hugs had meaning. See, we've been talking about this candidate and this election in our circle for what feels like forever.
We watched McCain's speech and commented on how a part of us felt bad for him now. Now that the fight is over could we really see the human side of him. We agreed that he's a great man, but it was just not the right time for him. A few people remarked that perhaps 8 years of McCain might have been better than the last 8 years with Bush.
Then, Baracks speech! When he walked out I couldn't help but jump up and down. "That's my President!" I kept yelling. "That's my President!" Because never before has my vote gone to the winning candidate. And, not to mention a candidate I've felt such deep passion for. His speech brought tears to my eyes, I'm not afraid to say. What an awe-inspiring turnout of support, in Chicago, Washington, all around the US and abroad. I didn't want him to stop talking. I wanted to stay in the blissful communal moment with my friends longer. I can't tell you the last time I felt this happy. I know we have a long road ahead, and only time will tell what kind of president Barack will be, but I do know the hope that I have that he'll be a great one and that is what is fueling my joy right now.
When I left the party to head back to work, people were out in the streets with signs, cheering to passing cars, embracing one another, and taking pictures of the celebration going on around them. Car horns, including mine, cheered them on more.
My joy is slightly lessened by the news that Prop 8 is looking like it's going to pass, which would change CA Constitution to ban gay marriage. I live in a gay community, I have gay co-workers, one of which got married when it was legal, and another who hopes to be married one day. I talked to the man behind me in line at the polling place, who said he's never volunteered before or been so involved and that this was a RIGHT he wanted very much. I know their hearts are breaking tonight, so mine is too. I'm hoping this issue comes to a vote again.

IMDB Love

2008-09-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

MAMITAS IMDB PAGE

Scroll to user comments. Someone independently saw the thesis film I edited at a film festival and commented on it's IMDB page! I can't wait to edit the feature!

How Dare You?

2008-09-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

The Colbert Report is kicking ass and taking names!

CLICK on this LINK to see the WORD!

So very smart.

Everything I'm talking about!!!

2008-09-14T13:32:00.001-07:00

Simply A Brilliant BRILLIANT response to the "Lipstick on a Pig" debacle

2008-09-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adeLtg0_10Q

How long is John McCain going to hide behind silly charges of sexism, simply to distract the American people from his policies? Only time will tell if this strategy will work.

I'm so angry about this vice president choice as a woman. As a woman I'm offended. I would love someone to look me in the eyes and tell me this choice wasn't made simply for political reasons. Go on, tell me this is a fabulous choice for McCain. It's not. Otherwise, she'd be talking policy and doing more interviews...Instead, her rhetoric and the truth don't line up, so she's backtracking all over the place. And, McCain doesn't have to field questions about his own flip-flopping ways, he can hide behind her and her wave-making. Then, when people ask the tough questions, call them sexists. Smart smart move.

She says she will oppose earmarks, but Alaska has asked for MORE earmarks per PERSON than ANY other state. She said she didn't support the bridge to nowhere...but she did, until Congress didn't support it. Then she jumped ship. But Alaska kept that money. Her selection is a joke.

A sampling from a NY Times piece

2008-09-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

The Rhetoric and the Reality

A political convention is a license if not to lie then at least to tell the truth creatively. At their quadrennial gatherings over the last two weeks, Democrats and Republicans presented their records and their platforms — and those of their opponents — through typically partisan lenses that blurred or distorted the real picture.Both sides filled the airwaves with dubious claims, exaggerations and selective statistics. Here is a reality check for a sampling of statements made at the conventions.

John McCain

Republican convention speech, Sep. 4

"I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them.”

Reality Check

The number of jobs grew substantially during Mr. Clinton’s presidency, as did median income, but the numbers depend on the category and year cited. An August Census Bureau report shows median household income fell by $324 from 2000 to 2007, not the $2,000 Mr. Obama cited. The $2,000 figure probably referred to median non-elderly household income, which has dropped by $2,010 since 2000. If counting from 2001, the year Mr. Bush took office and the last recession ended, overall median household income rose $778 by 2007. While it is true that incomes grew far more under Mr. Clinton (by $5,312 from 1993 to 2001), the median household income adjusted for inflation in 2007 was still the third highest on record.

Mr. Obama correctly quotes former Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, who resigned as Mr. McCain’s campaign co-chairman amid the ensuing controversy. But Mr. Obama, in trying to make Mr. McCain guilty by association, is exaggerating to call Mr. Gramm the author of a McCain plan. Mr. Gramm is a longtime friend of Mr. McCain and is identified with deep tax cuts for corporations and upper-income people of the sort proposed. While advisers say he retains more influence than the campaign publicly acknowledges, Mr. McCain’s proposals come mainly from Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Bush White House economist and congressional budget director who is the campaign’s chief economic adviser.

This refers to Mr. McCain’s answer at a forum last month when the Rev. Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church asked the candidate to give a specific number for the income level that divides the rich from the middle class. “How about $5 million?” Mr. McCain initially answered. The audience laughed and Mr. McCain went on to say: “But seriously, I don’t think you can” cite a number. He also foresaw how the opposition would use his answer. “I’m sure that comment will be distorted,” he said. The nonpartisan FactCheck.org concluded that was what Mr. Obama did — distort what it called Mr. McCain’s “clumsy attempt at humor.”

Mr. Obama’s health-care plan alone would absorb all revenue from letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire. He says other big-ticket items — expanded national security, foreign aid, veterans and education benefits — will be offset with savings from leaving Iraq, cuts in subsidies and spending earmarks, and fees for polluting emissions. But the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has concluded that both he and Mr. McCain “would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years” —Mr. Obama by $3.5 trillion in the decade and Mr. McCain by $5 trillion.

Mrs. Clinton spent much of her primary campaign pounding Mr. Obama because she said his health care plan would not cover 15 million people. “Most of the Democrats have plans that cover everybody; Senator Obama does not,” she said at one event. Unlike her plan, Mr. Obama’s program would not include a mandate that every American obtain health insurance. But like hers, it would make it possible for everyone who wants to have insurance to get it. While the Obama campaign quarreled with the 15 million estimate, it agreed that under its plan, there would be people who would not seek out health insurance, including some well-off people who did not want it, some young people who did not think they needed it and some lower-income people who would qualify for Medicaid but for whatever reason did not enroll in the government program.

The $2,500 figure is based on assumptions that have provoked debate among experts. The Obama campaign says his plan would save more than $200 billion in health care spending each year and that would average $2,500 for each family. But his aides acknowledge a lot of those savings would not go directly to families but to the government or private employers, and there is no guarantee they would be passed along to families in the form of higher salaries or lower taxes. Some experts also say the Obama plan is overly optimistic about how quickly and deeply it can cut health care spending. Some say the savings Mr. Obama envisions would not be realized for a decade or more, rather than by the end of his first term, as he has suggested. Mr. Obama’s plan, for instance, relies on saving $77 billion a year through computerizing medical records, an estimate taken from a Rand Corp. study in 2005 that also warned it would take 15 years to realize such savings. The Congressional Budget Office in May criticized the Rand estimate’s methodology in projecting such sizable savings. The Obama campaign has fought back by rounding up other experts who endorse its plan as tough but doable.

The recent Senate fights over financing the Iraq war have pitted Democratic measures, which require a timetable for troop withdrawals as a condition for funds, against Republican proposals providing money without strings. Mr. Obama has voted for his party’s measures and against the others. Mr. McCain has done the opposite, voting for the White House-supported versions and against the Democrats’ measures. In short, both senators can be said to have voted both for and against war financing.

Mr. McCain vows that he would be “a pro-life president,” but his position on abortion rights marks him as someone who sees the issue primarily as one for the states and the judiciary, not the president. He opposes amending the Constitution to ban abortion and instead supports state constitutional amendments. In his 2000 presidential campaign, he repeatedly said he opposed repealing the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision because women would be forced into illegal and dangerous operations. He now says he supports its repeal, but would not use the case as a litmus test for potential nominees to the Supreme Court.

This drastically simplifies what the candidates' tax plans would do. Mr. McCain would preserve all of the Bush tax cuts, while Mr. Obama would let them expire for those making more than $250,000 a year. Mr. McCain would also double the child tax exemption to $7,000 and reduce business taxes. Mr. Obama would reduce income taxes and provide credits for people earning less than $250,000 a year. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that Mr. Obama's plan would amount to a tax cut for 81 percent of all households, or 95.5 percent of those with children. The center calculated that by 2012 the Obama plan would let middle-income taxpayers keep about 5 percent more income on average, or nearly $2,200 a year, while Mr. McCain would give them an average 3 percent break, or about $1,400. The richest 1 percent would pay an average $19,000 more in taxes each year under Mr. Obama's plan but see a tax cut of more than $125,000 under Mr. McCain.

John McCain

"My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.”
Reality Check

The number of jobs grew substantially during Mr. Clinton’s presidency, as did median income, but the numbers depend on the category and year cited. An August Census Bureau report shows median household income fell by $324 from 2000 to 2007, not the $2,000 Mr. Obama cited. The $2,000 figure probably referred to median non-elderly household income, which has dropped by $2,010 since 2000. If counting from 2001, the year Mr. Bush took office and the last recession ended, overall median household income rose $778 by 2007. While it is true that incomes grew far more under Mr. Clinton (by $5,312 from 1993 to 2001), the median household income adjusted for inflation in 2007 was still the third highest on record.

Mr. Obama correctly quotes former Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, who resigned as Mr. McCain’s campaign co-chairman amid the ensuing controversy. But Mr. Obama, in trying to make Mr. McCain guilty by association, is exaggerating to call Mr. Gramm the author of a McCain plan. Mr. Gramm is a longtime friend of Mr. McCain and is identified with deep tax cuts for corporations and upper-income people of the sort proposed. While advisers say he retains more influence than the campaign publicly acknowledges, Mr. McCain’s proposals come mainly from Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Bush White House economist and congressional budget director who is the campaign’s chief economic adviser.

This refers to Mr. McCain’s answer at a forum last month when the Rev. Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church asked the candidate to give a specific number for the income level that divides the rich from the middle class. “How about $5 million?” Mr. McCain initially answered. The audience laughed and Mr. McCain went on to say: “But seriously, I don’t think you can” cite a number. He also foresaw how the opposition would use his answer. “I’m sure that comment will be distorted,” he said. The nonpartisan FactCheck.org concluded that was what Mr. Obama did — distort what it called Mr. McCain’s “clumsy attempt at humor.”

Mr. Obama’s health-care plan alone would absorb all revenue from letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire. He says other big-ticket items — expanded national security, foreign aid, veterans and education benefits — will be offset with savings from leaving Iraq, cuts in subsidies and spending earmarks, and fees for polluting emissions. But the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has concluded that both he and Mr. McCain “would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years” —Mr. Obama by $3.5 trillion in the decade and Mr. McCain by $5 trillion.

Mrs. Clinton spent much of her primary campaign pounding Mr. Obama because she said his health care plan would not cover 15 million people. “Most of the Democrats have plans that cover everybody; Senator Obama does not,” she said at one event. Unlike her plan, Mr. Obama’s program would not include a mandate that every American obtain health insurance. But like hers, it would make it possible for everyone who wants to have insurance to get it. While the Obama campaign quarreled with the 15 million estimate, it agreed that under its plan, there would be people who would not seek out health insurance, including some well-off people who did not want it, some young people who did not think they needed it and some lower-income people who would qualify for Medicaid but for whatever reason did not enroll in the government program.

The $2,500 figure is based on assumptions that have provoked debate among experts. The Obama campaign says his plan would save more than $200 billion in health care spending each year and that would average $2,500 for each family. But his aides acknowledge a lot of those savings would not go directly to families but to the government or private employers, and there is no guarantee they would be passed along to families in the form of higher salaries or lower taxes. Some experts also say the Obama plan is overly optimistic about how quickly and deeply it can cut health care spending. Some say the savings Mr. Obama envisions would not be realized for a decade or more, rather than by the end of his first term, as he has suggested. Mr. Obama’s plan, for instance, relies on saving $77 billion a year through computerizing medical records, an estimate taken from a Rand Corp. study in 2005 that also warned it would take 15 years to realize such savings. The Congressional Budget Office in May criticized the Rand estimate’s methodology in projecting such sizable savings. The Obama campaign has fought back by rounding up other experts who endorse its plan as tough but doable.

The recent Senate fights over financing the Iraq war have pitted Democratic measures, which require a timetable for troop withdrawals as a condition for funds, against Republican proposals providing money without strings. Mr. Obama has voted for his party’s measures and against the others. Mr. McCain has done the opposite, voting for the White House-supported versions and against the Democrats’ measures. In short, both senators can be said to have voted both for and against war financing.

Mr. McCain vows that he would be “a pro-life president,” but his position on abortion rights marks him as someone who sees the issue primarily as one for the states and the judiciary, not the president. He opposes amending the Constitution to ban abortion and instead supports state constitutional amendments. In his 2000 presidential campaign, he repeatedly said he opposed repealing the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision because women would be forced into illegal and dangerous operations. He now says he supports its repeal, but would not use the case as a litmus test for potential nominees to the Supreme Court.

This drastically simplifies what the candidates' tax plans would do. Mr. McCain would preserve all of the Bush tax cuts, while Mr. Obama would let them expire for those making more than $250,000 a year. Mr. McCain would also double the child tax exemption to $7,000 and reduce business taxes. Mr. Obama would reduce income taxes and provide credits for people earning less than $250,000 a year. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that Mr. Obama's plan would amount to a tax cut for 81 percent of all households, or 95.5 percent of those with children. The center calculated that by 2012 the Obama plan would let middle-income taxpayers keep about 5 percent more income on average, or nearly $2,200 a year, while Mr. McCain would give them an average 3 percent break, or about $1,400. The richest 1 percent would pay an average $19,000 more in taxes each year under Mr. Obama's plan but see a tax cut of more than $125,000 under Mr. McCain.

Mr. Obama at first flatly opposed lifting longstanding restrictions on offshore drilling, but a month ago he suggested that he would be open to additional drilling if it were part of a broader energy plan. "If in order to get that passed,'' he said, "we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well-thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage, I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done." Mr. Obama also says he supports nuclear energy, although he has not been as specific as Mr. McCain.

Mr. McCain's proposed tax credit of up to $5,000 for families would probably likely help some uninsured and healthy Americans find good coverage, policy experts say. But those with health problems would have trouble, and most plans are more costly than the proposed credit in any case, some analysts add. But workers with employer-provided coverage would have to pay income taxes on the value of their insurance, long excluded from taxable income, to encourage cost awareness. As for Mr. Obama's plan, small businesses currently insuring their workers would benefit from new subsidies. Those that do not insure workers would face new costs. Obama advisers, and some nonpartisan analyses, say these employers would more likely withhold raises than cut wages, and freeze jobs rather than drop workers.

Barack Obama
Democratic convention speech, Aug. 28
"Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I’ve laid out how I’ll pay for every dime.”
Reality Check

The number of jobs grew substantially during Mr. Clinton’s presidency, as did median income, but the numbers depend on the category and year cited. An August Census Bureau report shows median household income fell by $324 from 2000 to 2007, not the $2,000 Mr. Obama cited. The $2,000 figure probably referred to median non-elderly household income, which has dropped by $2,010 since 2000. If counting from 2001, the year Mr. Bush took office and the last recession ended, overall median household income rose $778 by 2007. While it is true that incomes grew far more under Mr. Clinton (by $5,312 from 1993 to 2001), the median household income adjusted for inflation in 2007 was still the third highest on record.

Mr. Obama correctly quotes former Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, who resigned as Mr. McCain’s campaign co-chairman amid the ensuing controversy. But Mr. Obama, in trying to make Mr. McCain guilty by association, is exaggerating to call Mr. Gramm the author of a McCain plan. Mr. Gramm is a longtime friend of Mr. McCain and is identified with deep tax cuts for corporations and upper-income people of the sort proposed. While advisers say he retains more influence than the campaign publicly acknowledges, Mr. McCain’s proposals come mainly from Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Bush White House economist and congressional budget director who is the campaign’s chief economic adviser.

This refers to Mr. McCain’s answer at a forum last month when the Rev. Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church asked the candidate to give a specific number for the income level that divides the rich from the middle class. “How about $5 million?” Mr. McCain initially answered. The audience laughed and Mr. McCain went on to say: “But seriously, I don’t think you can” cite a number. He also foresaw how the opposition would use his answer. “I’m sure that comment will be distorted,” he said. The nonpartisan FactCheck.org concluded that was what Mr. Obama did — distort what it called Mr. McCain’s “clumsy attempt at humor.”

Mr. Obama’s health-care plan alone would absorb all revenue from letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire. He says other big-ticket items — expanded national security, foreign aid, veterans and education benefits — will be offset with savings from leaving Iraq, cuts in subsidies and spending earmarks, and fees for polluting emissions. But the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has concluded that both he and Mr. McCain “would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years” —Mr. Obama by $3.5 trillion in the decade and Mr. McCain by $5 trillion.

When it Comes to Napoleon...

2008-08-12T04:33:00.001-07:00

Just let him do his own thing. He'll be a lot less pissed.

This Weekend!!!

2008-08-06T16:09:00.001-07:00

Edit Fest, put on by ACE (American Cinema Editors)! I'll be there!

Event opens with a welcome reception at Universal Studios and a panel discussion featuring:
•ACE Board Members
•ACE Intern Success Stories.
•ANIMATION EDITING
•Get the inside story from top animation editors. They’ll discuss their work from storyboard stage to completion.
•CUTTING FOR COMEDY
Find out from the masters what it takes to edit “the funny.”
•EDITORS OF SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS
Editors from the year’s biggest films will discuss their work and challenges.

So far panelists include:
Dan Lebental – Iron Man
Michael Tronick – Hairspray, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Paul Rubell – Hancock, Transformers, Collateral, etc
Craig Alpert – Pineapple Express, Knocked Up
Mark Helfrich – X Men 3: The Last Stand, Rush Hour
Carol Littleton – Margot at the Wedding, E.T., Silverado, The Big Chill
Dana Glauberman – Juno, Thank You for Smoking
Kevin Tent – Sideways, Election
Alan Heim – ACE President, All That Jazz, Network, The Notebook
Janet Ashikaga – Seinfeld, The West Wing, Medium
Bonnie Koehler – In Plain Sight, Crossing Jordan, House M.D.
Maysie Hoy – The Player, Why Did I Get Married, The Joy Luck Club
Jim Stewart – Monsters Inc, Law & Order
Randy Roberts – Vice President of American Cinema Editors, Law & Order: SVU (Producer)
Mark Goldblatt (Terminator 1 and 2)
...and many more panelists to be announced (all subject to scheduling conflicts and availability)

Attend this insider-only event where editors from top television shows discuss their work.
THE FIRST OF ITS KIND WEEKEND SEMINAR ABOUT THE ART OF EDITING!

There was a quake?

2008-07-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

I slept through it. My dad calling is what clued me in.

Local 700

2008-07-14T15:09:00.001-07:00

I'm in the Editor's Guild! I got my hours, finished all my paper work and took the required safety class. All I need to do now is get a Union job and start banking hours!

A slighty lighter look...

2008-06-27T17:44:00.001-07:00

Today I went two shades lighter. It's a little hard to see in my computer station light...but you can kinda tell.

Making My Way...Kinda

2008-06-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

I'm cutting a little 3 minute thing for work tonight. (I'm waiting for things to import, hence the time to blog) So... yeah, that's kind of exciting. And, when I Love Money airs on VH1 in July, episode 10 has a little transition I cut still in the episode. I mean, we're talking 20 seconds tops, but still...baby steps, baby steps.

Napoleon

2008-06-17T16:05:00.001-07:00

Hanging out by TV and on his window perch. He's so spoiled.

From My Office Window

2008-06-12T15:49:00.001-07:00

Hey, I worked on that!

2008-05-31T02:47:00.000-07:00

I just saw a commercial for the show I was working on. So, if you see the teaser for I Love Money on VH1...that's my show. This week I moved to a new show at the same company and there's talk of moving me to days, which would be nice.

Birthday Boy

2008-05-01T15:25:00.001-07:00

Birthday Boy
Originally uploaded by melissabrown.film

Click here for a link to Ray Ray's B-day Birthday Bowling Celebration. Sure it was a few months back...but I just uploaded the pics.

Sticks and Stones, Transient Man, Sticks and Stones

2008-04-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last night, as I was pulling out of the parking lot from work, I notice a scruffy, slightly scary looking man pulling a suitcase with a case of beer on top down the middle of the street. My window was cracked because it was so nice outside. I stopped at the sidewalk to look both ways and started turning onto the street and the man was right next to me practically and he was just staring and smiling at me. I'm turning; he's staring and smiling. I give a little smile and start to speed away. I hear him yell, "Bye, Hooker!" Now picture the "bye" long and drawn out, real creepy like, and the "hooker" quick and with emphasis. It was real weird.

I texted my co-worker who was right behind me and told him what the weird man in the middle of the street said and he texted back: "That's what you get for wearing demure earth-toned skirts." Which is what I had on...Hilarious response.

Wine Trip Pics

2008-04-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Click Here for Wine Pics!

What Have I Become?

2008-04-25T01:34:00.000-07:00

An early night at work has me home surfing the net long before my usual bedtime. I stumbled upon the site, GatoIsland.com. Gato is Spanish for cat, everyone, and let me tell you, this is an island I'd like to be stranded on. Fun pictures of cats, galore, like this one:

I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to look at this picture or a picture of, say, a cat in a funny sweater while sitting on the beach of Gato Island eating bananas? But I digress. Yes, I know what this looks like. I know what I've become. At some point I turned into a person who likes looking at cute animal pictures on the Internet. A deer and a dog napping? Love it. A giraffe licking a squirrel?

Bookmarked.

Perhaps owning my own animal has brought this out of me. I love Napoleon despite him being kind of a jerk cat. Boy do I love that little jerk. I bought him this on the Internet:
I thought maybe my cat needed some outdoor time, since one of Napoleon's jerky-isms is his non-stop meowing at the front door when I'm trying to work during the day and thus not paying attention to him.

Phew...glad I got that off my chest. Now that my love of cute animal pictures is out there, I can get over the social stigma attached to people like me. So take your gloomy clouds elsewhere. Nothing but kittens and rainbows for me.

P.S. Mom and Dad. The wine country trip post to come. I have to find my camera battery charger so I can post with pictures.

Weekend in LA

2008-04-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night: We hit up the Griffith Park Observatory for an awesome journey through space.

We looked through a giant telescope pointed at Saturn and were able to see the rings. The layout up on the hill also provided great night views of the city.

Then it was onto some food from Masa in Echo Park. (I had the most delicious Caprese Panini with prosciutto. Mmmm Mmmm...)

The night ended with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and a viewing of Alien.

Sunday:

Ray and I hit up IHOP for The Mayor's breakfast. You know, from Horton Hears a Who. It includes: Green Eggs (scrambled eggs with spinach), ham and a fun tower of pancakes with bosenberry syrup bright purple and blue in color and rainbow colored chocolate chips.

After that, it was onto Century City (a great outdoor mall) for some browsing of the Container Store and then to see Horton Hears a Who. It was cute, but not quite a classic. There was one hilarious random character who cracked Ray and I up...but he wasn't on very much.

No celebrity sightings to report.

Next weekend: LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

Stumble Upon

2008-04-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

Ray introduced me to this web application called stumble upon...you check boxes of things that interest you and then hit a button labeled, "Stumble" and it takes you to a website you might be interested in...I don't know what this says about me, but two of my websites were:

This picture:

and...

http://www.bushflash.com/14.html

I guess this application knew I was counting the days until Bush is out of office...

A little Friday night...well Saturday am (4am to be exact) Survey

2008-03-22T03:51:00.000-07:00

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Lifeguard at the City of Leslie community pool.
2. Waitress at The Filling Station, Orange CA
3. Head Lab Assistant for the AVID help desk at Chapman University
4. Editor of GMC car commercials for the web

Four movies I would watch over and over (or have watched over and over)
1. Amelie
2. Good Will Hunting
3. 40 Year Old Virgin
4. Casablanca

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. The Office
2. Pushing Daisies
3. 30 Rock
4. America's Next Top Model (A total guilty pleasure that I enjoy watching with Heather)

Places I've been
1. Myrtle Beach, SC
2. Europe (England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Liechtenstein)
3. Vancouver
4. One crazy night in Amarillo Texas

Four people who email [or call] me regularly:
1. Ray Ray
2. Heather
3. My Dad
4. My Mom

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Anything at Alcove
2. Sweet Potato Fries!
3. Tuna & Veggies
4. Fancy cheeses (Brie, goat cheese...) and fancy meats on fancy crackers

Four places I would like to be right now:
1. At the movies with friends
2. On a road trip with Ray
3. Backpacking in Eastern Europe
4. Hiking in Griffith Park

Four things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Reaching my 100th day of non-union work and getting into the Editing Union (Hello health insurance and overtime pay!)
2. Mamitas the feature
3. Maybe visiting Michigan when the weather isn't miserable
4. Ladies Wine Club tomorrow night. It's South American wine night in honor of Bianca's Brazilian-ness.

Four people who should/will [respond] post FOUR THINGS ABOUT THEM:
1. Matt Damon, because I love him and would love to know what he would have to say for himself.
2. Heather because she is mentioned in my blog...however, she doesn't have a blog of her own nor does she read mine.
3. Laura, because she's the only other person I know who reads this thing, besides maybe Anne, who already did this survey.
4. Napoleon, because he needs something constructive to do besides hunt my feet as I walk around the house.

16 Minute Update

2008-03-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

My Final Cut Pro is telling me 16 minutes left until my quicktime is done. So, until that finishes and I start my DVD burning...I might as well update this blog.

Yes, it's almost 5 am here...but see I spent all day in technical editing hell on this silly side-project I got myself into and then had to go to my night job...without getting the silly side-project done...hence why I'm still up.

What's new, you ask? Celebrities? Well, for Ray's birthday we went bowling and a few lanes away was Jerry Cantrell from the band Alice in Chains. He came to our lane to steal a ball, but my friend Heather (note: not knowing who he is) said, no way man (note: come to think of it, even if she would have known him, I bet she would have still said no way jose).
That's about it on the celebrity tip. Oh wait! Or is it...
I work with a celebrity. My fellow assistant editor on the night shift is known on the internet as Hollywood Steve. He said to me one of our first few nights working together, after I saw how many myspace friends requests he had in his email inbox, "I'm kind of famous on the interweb." I soon found out, he is. He was in this internet sensation webisode series called Yacht Rock (YouTube it...it's hilarious) and in a Starburst commercial (YouTube it: Starburst Tashi). I'm a fan. He's also from Michigan and went to MSU. It's a small world out there people.

Moving on-
Things I'm hoping happen in the near future:
1.) Horseback riding in Griffith Park (pretty inexpensive for 2 hours of riding).
2.) A weekend trip to a wine festival with friends.

That's about all the energy I can muster for dreaming about the future. Sad.

Checking back in with the project...Oh good.
Less than a minute to go on the quicktime...go, Final Cut, go! 98%...99%...blue line almost to the end...5 Seconds...COMPLETION!

FIREWORKS explode ***
in my mind-
I need sleep.

Over and out!

Guess Who I Saw?

2008-02-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

Ray and I walk into the Borders at a mall in Beverly Hills. I notice someone standing in line is wearing a University of Michigan jersey. I look at the jersey and scoff as I often do when I see U of M paraphernalia. Next I move my glance up to the face. Bwhaa...double take, It's Russell Crow. He's pretty big time. So that was exciting.

Workity Work

2008-02-15T15:47:00.001-08:00

I'd tell you more but I signed a confidentiality agreement. I'm having a good time though and it's right in the heart of Hollywood on Sunset...doesn't get any better than that!

A Classic Weekend in LA

2008-02-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

My only weekend off for awhile, now that my new job has me working 6 days a week. Good for getting in the Union quicker...bad for hitting up awesome LA hotspots with friends on the weekend. Yesterday we hit up Beverly Hills and Rodeo drive for some wishing and dreaming about a day when we will be billionaires whilst window shopping. I spotted Faith Hill and Tim McGraw at a spotlight in their fancy convertible. I kinda gawked at them as we passed by on the crosswalk. I didn't mean to. It just kind of happened without me realizing. We then headed to Santa Monica and walked on the Pier. The lights from the ferris wheel and the crescent moon lit the haze and waves below. From there we went across town and met some friends for Kareoke at a Burbank bar, a little hole-in-the-wall place tucked away in a small shopping center. You could definitely call it a dive bar. Sunday was a lazy day. A trip to Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, which lead Ray to quote Will Farrell's character from Old School, "I don't know if we'll have time," numerous times. Then we strolled on Sunset and passed by the ArcLight Cinemas...the best place to see a movie in LA. They have assigned seats and attendants who lead you to them. They also stay in the theater to make sure the sound and picture is at 100%. Oh and one person introduces the movie with running time, the stars in it, and most importantly, tells everyone to turn off their cell phones, pagers, etc. People are very serious about movie watching here. We saw Atonement. One of the last Oscar nominees we needed to see before the awards.

It was such a good last weekend of freedom!

Employed in LA!

2008-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

What a difference a few hours make. So I finally got the call. I got the night assistant editing position I interviewed for last week. Reality TV here I come.

Oh boy.

Unemployed in LA

2008-02-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

So my job cutting GMC car commercials came to an end with the cherry on top being my last two cars were Hummers. A car I'm so against I spit venom every time I see one. Seriously. Why would someone want to buy one? Don't answer that for I cannot and will not ever understand. But yes, I had to swallow my pride and sell sell sell, the devil car.
Now I'm looking for work, which is frustrating. There's work out there...if you want to work for zero money. "Deferred credit!" "A chance to work with creative talents who are looking to forge a lasting relationship with an editor." Blah blah blah...all the crap LA people try to sell to get you to work for free. I hope this strike ends soon. There is a serious lack of jobage out there and it's seriously bumming me out.

My first as a California resident!

2008-02-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

It felt real good!

Locked in my Apartment (a random assortment of thoughts from the day)

2007-12-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

Rains a coming this weekend. I hope the houses high on the hills above us don't slide down to our street.

Cutting documentary footage isn't really my favorite.

I was real grumpy this morning because I had to get up early and move my car for street sweeping. I absolutely hate the weekly street cleaning they do here in CA, one side gets cleaned on Wednesday's and one side on Thursday. The city does it for the money more than anything. The amount of tickets they must give out in all of Los Angeles...well, I don't want to think about it-It could probably pay off my loans in 2 weeks.

Ugh, working on this documentary special feature is driving me crazy!

I procrastinated by not only working on this blog throughout the day, but also by taking a few minutes to research about Janis Joplin. Then I convinced Laura to give me $14.00 to play her in a biopic based on her life. I think I could belt out a song like Janis and I'm going to try it the next time I'm at karaoke.

Back to work I go. Enough fun for today.

It doesn't look like the Holiday's outside, but we're making it work.

2007-12-04T11:02:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving

Ray and I made the turkey...

Napoleon just checking out the smells.
Nick doing a pretty ok job carving.
Me and the boys. We're only missing Nebojsa.
After dinner coffee anyone?

Christmas Tree

Napoleon thinks this is his new water bowl. He's kinda fallen in love with the tree. Like the wild beast inside of him knows this tree is his kind of thing.
Ray tries to yell at him to stop...but Napoleon is Napoleon. He does what he wants.

Happy Holidays

I was tagged and so you get what you ask for, friends.

2007-11-19T19:01:00.001-08:00

Here's how you play....once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with ten random facts, habits, or goals about yourself. At the end, choose ten people to tag, listing their names and why you chose them; don't forget to leave a comment on their page letting them know "tag you're it". You cannot tag the original people/person back that tagged you first, but let them know when you have posted so they can read your blog.

10. It's official. I'm a "cat person". I thought I just enjoyed having Napoleon, however, my cat-standing was fully realized last night whilst browsing the Christmas cards at Borders. The only ones I picked up were the ones with a cat theme.

9. Living in LA and working at home makes me feel really lonely sometimes. I miss the city of Orange and school a lot. Everyday, whether at the coffee shop, grabbing a sandwich or walking the halls of school, I saw someone I knew.

8. I want to polish up one of the two screenplays I wrote in school and submit it to some screenplay competitions.

7. I had three bikes stolen from me since moving to California (hence why I no longer have a bike...couldn't stand another one being taken from me) and my car broken into and my navigational system stolen.

6. I love editing but one day I would love to try and direct a movie.

5. My pet name for Ray is Monkey and his for me is Squirrel. Totally mushy I know, but I can't help it.

4. I miss fall time in Michigan.

3. Everyday I find myself more and more like my mom...and I don't think that's a bad thing. I really like my houseplants, doing little crafty projects, like converting a random piece of wood into a shelf, and giving a lot of unconditional love to my friends, Ray and Napoleon.

2. I really really want a vintage record player with the fancy wood cabinet and all. Then I want to go to Ameoba Music and buy a lot of records, new and old. Simon and Garfunkel would be my first purchase. "Slow down, you're moving too fast. You got to make the morning last. Just kicking down the cobblestones. Looking for fun and feeling groovy" - 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

1. I want to learn French and spend an extended period of time in Paris.

Since the two people I know with blogs already did this survey, I tag no one.

Mamitas Wins again!

2007-11-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

Last month Mamitas won the $10,000 Angelus Award. Today I found out it won the People's Choice Award at the Denver Film Festival for the whole Short Film section. I'm so proud of the film and I'm getting so anxious to cut the feature version!

How we do in LA

2007-11-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Ray and I practice our LA look. Ray prefers the blue steel, while I go for the Mona Lisa smile and staring eyes.
However, once out in the 'field' we don't really stay true to our practicing. Good thing Nick there in background doesn't either.

Speaking of Nick...here's the movie poster for our thesis. Hopefully soon you will be seeing the big screen version.

California Influence

2007-10-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

Thai food (with Tofu!), Sushi, Health food grocery stores, navigating 5 lanes of heavy traffic and multiple highways to get to the same place, paying over $1,000 for a 1-bedroom apartment and becoming unfazed by seeing 2 bedroom 1 bath houses for over $600,000 are all things I've become accustomed to since moving here over 3 years ago. Crazy.

Malibu is on Fire; Napoleon hides in Fridge

2007-10-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Santa Ana winds are in full effect. On my walk last night, valet signs were blowing over and girls perfectly blow-dried straight blond hair was flying about.
The quick and dirty about the winds:
"Several meteorological factors come together to create the hot, dry Santa Ana winds that often whip up roaring fires in Southern California."
The headline this morning: Malibu 'at the mercy of the wind'.

We aren't really feeling the effects of the fire here in West Hollywood. However, Napoleon may be feeling the heat. Every time Ray and I open the fridge today, he climbs in:

I can't believe you made me get out of the fridge.

Party on Hollywood Blvd: Schmoozing...oh the awkwardness

2007-10-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

My week in Schmoozing School:

First, my two thesis films screened at Chapman's First Look at the DGA (Director's Guild of America) in Hollywood on Sunset (boo-ya boy!). Chapman invites tons of industry people to the screening with hors devours served before the show and desserts and coffee after with drinks served all the time (aw yeah). Scoring free food and drinks at these events is what I'm always excited for, but what everyone is there to do but at the same time what I think everyone hates to do is: SCHMOOZ. I had my business cards in my pocket and set a bunch out on the Mamitas table (they were all gone after the screening). You scan the room and see everyone else scanning the room, looking for people to talk to. You think about opening lines. You see a friend engaged in what looks like an interesting conversation but you can't butt your way in...I was recently informed it's bad form to interupt a friend mid-schmooz. You have to wait until it looks like the conversation is dying down. Once in the conversation, it's an effort to keep it going and finding a way out is always an awkward transition.

Scmoozing: I've realized I need to relax and just chat with ease, I usually get tense and nervous, thinking things like, am I boring this person? It's loud, can they hear what I'm saying? I also need to learn to take compliments. I got a lot of praise at the screening. I always blush and look away and I never know what to say. However, I think, I just need to say simply, "thank you so much for saying that," and then continue the conversation. Side-note: my movies looked polished and went over amazingly. After Mamitas screened, I heard someone a few rows up lean over to the person next to them and say, "that was really good."

The Emotion of it all (This is why I do this): I was sitting in the back of the theater and half way through the movie the tears started flowing. All the hard work and all my passion went into the two movies. I loved working on them, I loved how I molded them out of hours of raw footage. I loved how the audience responded to both of them...and now it's over. People keep telling me not to worry; that I'll have new things to work on. I know that there are many projects ahead of me, but I've just been so involved for over a year, it's hard now that it's gone. I guess, if the scmoozing will get me more projects that will make me feel like this, it's a neccessary thing to do. It's just so awful. It's definetely an artform in this business.

Last night there was an industry party on Hollywood Blvd. I saw Oliver Stone, scored some delicious bites of steak on a stick and partook in the free open bar. After a few parties, I will be an old pro...I'm going to avoid being that Hollywood slick annoying schmoozer.

GooD DeeDs in LA

2007-10-18T11:47:00.001-07:00

Who was the mystery man in the white Prius who paid for the four cars behind him in the parking garage at the Beverly Center? As I was driving home I imagined it was one of the actors in 2 Days in Paris, the movie I had just seen. I mean, it was late, midnight, and the mall was closed and the only people leaving the structure were the folks leaving the theater...
I plan on seeing Lars and the Real Girl tomorrow. Maybe Ryan Gosling will buy my popcorn and soda.

What I Hate the Most:

2007-10-11T03:57:00.000-07:00

All-Nighters. They suck.

The Good and Bad in LA...

2007-09-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

What an eventful couple of days here:

1. Mamitas, one of my thesis films I edited, won the top prize at the Angelus film festival (http://www.angelus.org/) for $10,000!!! And, it gets to go screen at the Sundance Film Festival. I'm so going to Park City this year. =GOOD

2. Mamitas and my other thesis, The Line are both screening at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in October for industry people and the like. This is kinda a big deal, so the school is paying for them both to go to a 35mm film print. Big time stuff for a student film. = GOOD.

3. Going to film is a technical nightmare for the workflow we have at school. And with two of my movies going to film, that's double work. Plus it's stuff I spent many sleepless nights during the last school year doing, so I just feel like, I've done this all before. It needs to be re-done because the school decided to wipe the drives that all our stuff was saved on. I feel like the amount of work I have to do in the amount of time is almost impossible. Plus, I'm not getting paid for the work. =BAD.

4. The Indie feature I was working on before the money ran out, had another day of work for me today. I get to make DVD's of the rough cut, so I get to see the result of all the footage I sunk (put sound and picture together) and organized in the computer. Pretty cool. =GOOD.
However, there is still all that work I have to do down in Orange hanging over my head. =BAD.

If anyone wants to see some excerpts from the movies I've cut in my years at Chapman, you can visit my website at: www.melissaannbrown.com
Let me know what you think. It's pretty basic, but it's my first attempt and I'm using some pretty rigid web building tools, which make some cosmetic things difficult.

When the view from your apartment is a brick wall...

2007-09-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

Make it better...

I spent all weekend, painting this piece of wood, which I saved from my old bed frame. I feel pretty crafty and a whole lot like my mom.

Napoleon being sweet by the plants...

Ray telling him not to bite the plants...

Napoleon, not listening at all.

It Never Rains in LA!

2007-09-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, finally weather different from warm and sunny to warmer and sunnier. The rain these past two days has been fabulous. It's always funny to see people outside right after the rain starts, looking toward the sky with their mouths open. People, do you know how much crap is in that rain? Think of the days where you can't see the mountains because the smog is so bad. That's what you are drinking. You can thank your mouth cancer on the blond bimbo driving the Hummer.

The View from the Balcony

This next portion for Anne, and for anyone else who wants to hear about how adorable my cat, Napoleon, is. Since Napoleon's scratching post look-out is placed in the corner of the big picture window of the apartment, he has taken to greeting the neighbors as they walk by. Occasionally we will hear people say hi to him as they pass and he sometimes replies with a meow. Last night as Ray and I were heading out, a neighbor was coming home and said that he loves our cat and if we ever go out of town he would love to cat-sit. I didn't mention that Napoleon likes to bite.
Napoleon sleeping, not greeting, on his perch:

Here he is out of the apartment, checking out the rain. The first time he's seen it in his life.

So cute you might throw up.

The little girl next door loves to talk to Napoleon through the window. Here they meet in person:

Hello you...

So good to meet you face-to-face.

Hmm... Well, if you promise not to grab me suddenly, I might come back.

It's a beautiful thing

2007-09-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

I knew Los Angeles wasn't all bad. I found a cafe with free Internet. Yes, you heard me, free! None of this pay $3.50 for a latte and then $4.00 for a T-Mobile connection for an hour, where 15 minutes of that is spent figuring out the password and user ID and blah blah blah. Nope, not here. The coffee is served in plain white cups and there are bookshelves filled with paperbacks and art for sale on the walls and when you open your computer a message pops up and asks, "would you like to join the Cafe Marco wireless Internet?" Yes, yes I would like to join, thanks for asking so politely Cafe Marco. So, I click yes and like magic, the bars on my Internet connection are full. Just like that. It's a beautiful thing. A beautiful thing to do for people who want to sit around and write screenplays and look for jobs and maybe read a few chapters in a book and then get back online. No worries about time running out. If these walls could talk, they'd say, "it's cool man, relax, just do your thing." Cafe Marco is cool.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, Starbucks is not cool. They are the antithesis of cool. They are as corporate as they come. They are wolves dressed in hippie clothing tricking you into thinking you are cool for visiting their establishment. I'm going to make this statement here and now, so I stick to it: I will not be buying Starbucks coffee anymore. This is hard for me, since I've turned into one of those who gets a headache if not enough coffee is consumed in a day and with Starbucks everywhere, it's very convenient to just stop in, even if it's, "just this one time." However, this attitude is what has lead to Starbucks being built across the street from...Starbucks. This happened down the street in my old neighborhood. Starbucks bought my favorite coffee shop, which had free Internet, and turned it into a Starbucks, when directly across from it was already a...Starbucks. Both places, you need a T-Mobile account to get online. This needs to stop. Viva La Revolution!

Another cool point about Cafe Marco: it's within walking distance to my apartment.
Also, it has delicious fresh pastries, not stale ones, (eh hem, I'm looking at you Starbucks).

Ok, I'm signing off since I'm pretty sure I'm now on the Starbucks hit list. If I mysteriously disappear or if a sniper rifle...you know...I trust you to take over the revolution.

Making your way in the world today...

2007-09-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

So, I'm back on the job market, which, FYI, sucks in LA. Everyone here has a lot of money, which I have determined by the fact that I usually find myself driving next to some obnoxious guy in a Lamborghini, with a comb-over and a hot broad in the passenger seat...or some dumb blond in a giant Hummer. I hate seeing some girls perfectly done French manicure on the steering wheel of a Hummer. So, where do they get their money? It's not like people around here work. People are everywhere at all times of the day. Traffic sucks at noon and just sucks worse at 5. So clearly people ARE making money and therefore there has to be positions open, like the jobs that people AREN'T doing whilst shopping at the Beverly Center per say. Well, fingers crossed that I'll get an interview for that celebrity website editor position.

Starting...

2007-09-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

I need coffee before I can start this...

in Paris...

Oooh Paris...

That's what I need...

Coffee in Paris, spectacular Paris, with Ray...