A checklist for summer, a Kristen Wiig vehicle, and OWLS COMING TO ECHO PARK
Holy July!
Summer is confusing when you live in LA. I often fail to take advantage of it.
I'll be plugging away on a script or I'll take some freelance job, and Ricky is doing whatever he does on his computer, and we forget to leave town. We don't make any plans. We don't even bug his cousin in Burbank WHO HAS A POOL. Suddenly it's September and everyone everywhere else in the country is mourning the end of summer and that's when our hot weather is just getting started....
But this year I'm determined to do summery things. In the "summer" months, like a normal person. With Ricky's help, I've made a checklist which begins with:
Get in the ocean
Get in a pool
Get in a hot tub
Get in a lake
Get in a hot spring
Get in a river
Get in a water fall
So you have some idea what our priorities are.
I'm also trying a new thing, sort of summer-related but to be continued indefinitely, where I only buy produce that is local and in season. The inspiration came from Dan Barber of Blue Hill Farm (See: Episode 2 of Chef's Table). I love to imagine that our meal-planning will be determined by what's available at the farmers market, and what looks tasty, rather than the existential angst of What did we eat last week? and Can I really stand to eat that again??
I want to be one of those chef savants who strides around feeling up the vegetables, sniffing them, and saying "I need two pounds of your best Chantarelles!"
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I've got too much time on my hands.
Well, yes. Maybe. We'll see if I can keep it up come February when I'm working a real job and all the farmers have is BEETS BEETS BEETS.
For now I'm enjoying the experiment.
*****
On the Laramie's Career front, I have a piece of excellent news.
Girl Pretending to Read Rilke, the script I finished back in October, just made the top 20 (out of 3,000+) in the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition. In theory, they provide a "pipeline" to agents, managers, production companies...?! I'm excited. I'm ready for this. And it feels great to get some positive reinforcement as I close in on 😎🚫💊.
I won't tell you what page I'm on, but I will tell you it's going SWIMMINGLY. I set myself the arbitrary deadline of July 1, which I have since arbitrarily pushed back to July 4 and then July 9. But I am determined to have a complete draft in time to submit for this grant, which means we've now got a very firm and non-arbitrary deadline of July 13.
Thank you, deadlines. I'd be lost without you.
*****
This month in movies: It seems I am a sucker for a Kristen Wiig vehicle. Welcome to Me (for rent on iTunes and elsewhere) is heartfelt and weird in the best way possible. Some of the plotting felt clunky at first, but I surrendered judgement as all mayhem broke loose.
This month in tacos: On one end of the spectrum, we have the clam and lardo taco from B.S. Taqueria (2 for $14). Unless you are Jonathan Gold, this is not a taco you'll crave every day. It's uber fatty and a little rubbery, but quite delicious. Eat it quick, while it's still hot! I also recommend the barracho gazpacho, or "drunken gazpacho," a Bloody Mary-type situation made with mezcal, cherry tomatoes, celery, and cilantro. On the flip side, we have the al pastor taco from Leo's Taco Truck (2 for $2). The meat is sliced straight off the rotisserie while you wait, and garnished with a fresh chunk of pineapple. Five thumbs up.
This month in the tiny house: We've applied to put a barn owl nesting box on our property, and I am really, like, irrationally excited about it. I want to put a GoPro inside so we can capture this kind of thing. (I MEAN. Right??) Party-pooper Ricky says we should focus on getting the thing up first.
*****
xoxo,
Laramie
p.s. I'm accepting suggestions for the summer checklist. Are there bodies of water that we're forgetting?
Summer is confusing when you live in LA. I often fail to take advantage of it.
I'll be plugging away on a script or I'll take some freelance job, and Ricky is doing whatever he does on his computer, and we forget to leave town. We don't make any plans. We don't even bug his cousin in Burbank WHO HAS A POOL. Suddenly it's September and everyone everywhere else in the country is mourning the end of summer and that's when our hot weather is just getting started....
But this year I'm determined to do summery things. In the "summer" months, like a normal person. With Ricky's help, I've made a checklist which begins with:
Get in the ocean
Get in a pool
Get in a hot tub
Get in a lake
Get in a hot spring
Get in a river
Get in a water fall
So you have some idea what our priorities are.
I'm also trying a new thing, sort of summer-related but to be continued indefinitely, where I only buy produce that is local and in season. The inspiration came from Dan Barber of Blue Hill Farm (See: Episode 2 of Chef's Table). I love to imagine that our meal-planning will be determined by what's available at the farmers market, and what looks tasty, rather than the existential angst of What did we eat last week? and Can I really stand to eat that again??
I want to be one of those chef savants who strides around feeling up the vegetables, sniffing them, and saying "I need two pounds of your best Chantarelles!"
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I've got too much time on my hands.
Well, yes. Maybe. We'll see if I can keep it up come February when I'm working a real job and all the farmers have is BEETS BEETS BEETS.
For now I'm enjoying the experiment.
*****
On the Laramie's Career front, I have a piece of excellent news.
Girl Pretending to Read Rilke, the script I finished back in October, just made the top 20 (out of 3,000+) in the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition. In theory, they provide a "pipeline" to agents, managers, production companies...?! I'm excited. I'm ready for this. And it feels great to get some positive reinforcement as I close in on 😎🚫💊.
I won't tell you what page I'm on, but I will tell you it's going SWIMMINGLY. I set myself the arbitrary deadline of July 1, which I have since arbitrarily pushed back to July 4 and then July 9. But I am determined to have a complete draft in time to submit for this grant, which means we've now got a very firm and non-arbitrary deadline of July 13.
Thank you, deadlines. I'd be lost without you.
*****
This month in movies: It seems I am a sucker for a Kristen Wiig vehicle. Welcome to Me (for rent on iTunes and elsewhere) is heartfelt and weird in the best way possible. Some of the plotting felt clunky at first, but I surrendered judgement as all mayhem broke loose.
This month in tacos: On one end of the spectrum, we have the clam and lardo taco from B.S. Taqueria (2 for $14). Unless you are Jonathan Gold, this is not a taco you'll crave every day. It's uber fatty and a little rubbery, but quite delicious. Eat it quick, while it's still hot! I also recommend the barracho gazpacho, or "drunken gazpacho," a Bloody Mary-type situation made with mezcal, cherry tomatoes, celery, and cilantro. On the flip side, we have the al pastor taco from Leo's Taco Truck (2 for $2). The meat is sliced straight off the rotisserie while you wait, and garnished with a fresh chunk of pineapple. Five thumbs up.
This month in the tiny house: We've applied to put a barn owl nesting box on our property, and I am really, like, irrationally excited about it. I want to put a GoPro inside so we can capture this kind of thing. (I MEAN. Right??) Party-pooper Ricky says we should focus on getting the thing up first.
*****
xoxo,
Laramie
p.s. I'm accepting suggestions for the summer checklist. Are there bodies of water that we're forgetting?
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