WERKKKKK
This month's "taco" is a Trader Joe's tortilla wrapped around a slice of turkey. We're leaving town tomorrow, and we're in Eat-Everything-in-the-Fridge mode. Though honestly, this is not an uncommon snack for me. When I'm feeling too lazy to make, like, actual food, I'll toast a tortilla on the gas burner, dot it with yellow mustard, and roll it up with turkey. If I've got an avocado, I might add a slice or two. Our last remaining avocado provided more of a smear yesterday—it was too far gone to slice. But with lime juice and sea salt? Not bad. TJ's sells the best grocery-store tortillas in Los Angeles, made from thickly ground yellow corn and delivered fresh daily (I learned in the five minutes of research I conducted just now). Their PR person won't divulge where they come from.
I intended to try Tacos 1986, another Tijuana-style taco joint all the rage in LA right now, but I didn't get there in time for this letter.
I made up for my slothful July by working my butt off in August. Not only did I spend 12-hour days on set, script supervising on my friend Jonathan Wysocki's feature film, but also I got up at 5am most mornings to chip away at my own script.
It was inspiring to work alongside Jonathan. DRAMARAMA, like LIFE ON sMARS, is essentially six characters contained in one location, and though that location is a house in Orange County circa 1994, while mine is a "Mars" habitat on the side of a volcano, there are a lot of parallels. Capturing six people on camera, walking around and talking to each other, looking at each other from every which way, is a tricky problem. I found myself attacking my revisions thinking, But how do I stage this? How will I shoot it?? I'd wake up before dawn having dreamt I was on my set.
Did I finish the script? No. But I improved it. I moved the story forward, and I made two big grant deadlines. I'm in a good mood.
I've still got a long list of fixes. Lots more work to do. But. Ricky and I are packing the car and heading out on a road trip, making our way up to BC, with stops planned in San Louis Obispo, Santa Cruz, and Portland, and I'm determined to have an actual vacation. Not beat myself up about the work I should be doing. There's always more work to do.
*****
This month in public art: A cedar sculpture my dad installed in a Vancouver park almost 30 years ago, who became known to locals as "The Dude," and inspired the renaming of the park itself to (YES) "Dude Chilling Park," has returned as a bronze. This lovely article lays out the whole story, complete with a Seth Rogen tweet, a Jimmy Kimmel clip, and an excellent photo of Michael from 1992.
This month in ice cream: Mint chip is my flavor, and McConnell's makes the very best mint chip. We've been haunting Lassens to procure pints. I recommend topping it with Magic Shell, a product which blew my mind when I first tried it as a kid, and which absolutely holds up. Bonus: No artificial flavors or preservatives or weirdness. The magic comes from coconut oil, which is liquid at room temperature but quickly solidifies when it hits the cold ice cream.
❄️🥥❤️,
Laramie
If you're seeing The Taco Diaries for the first time and you want more, subscribe here to get it once a month. If you've got taco recs for SLO or Portland or Vancouver or anyplace in between, hit me up!!
I intended to try Tacos 1986, another Tijuana-style taco joint all the rage in LA right now, but I didn't get there in time for this letter.
I made up for my slothful July by working my butt off in August. Not only did I spend 12-hour days on set, script supervising on my friend Jonathan Wysocki's feature film, but also I got up at 5am most mornings to chip away at my own script.
It was inspiring to work alongside Jonathan. DRAMARAMA, like LIFE ON sMARS, is essentially six characters contained in one location, and though that location is a house in Orange County circa 1994, while mine is a "Mars" habitat on the side of a volcano, there are a lot of parallels. Capturing six people on camera, walking around and talking to each other, looking at each other from every which way, is a tricky problem. I found myself attacking my revisions thinking, But how do I stage this? How will I shoot it?? I'd wake up before dawn having dreamt I was on my set.
Did I finish the script? No. But I improved it. I moved the story forward, and I made two big grant deadlines. I'm in a good mood.
I've still got a long list of fixes. Lots more work to do. But. Ricky and I are packing the car and heading out on a road trip, making our way up to BC, with stops planned in San Louis Obispo, Santa Cruz, and Portland, and I'm determined to have an actual vacation. Not beat myself up about the work I should be doing. There's always more work to do.
*****
This month in public art: A cedar sculpture my dad installed in a Vancouver park almost 30 years ago, who became known to locals as "The Dude," and inspired the renaming of the park itself to (YES) "Dude Chilling Park," has returned as a bronze. This lovely article lays out the whole story, complete with a Seth Rogen tweet, a Jimmy Kimmel clip, and an excellent photo of Michael from 1992.
This month in ice cream: Mint chip is my flavor, and McConnell's makes the very best mint chip. We've been haunting Lassens to procure pints. I recommend topping it with Magic Shell, a product which blew my mind when I first tried it as a kid, and which absolutely holds up. Bonus: No artificial flavors or preservatives or weirdness. The magic comes from coconut oil, which is liquid at room temperature but quickly solidifies when it hits the cold ice cream.
❄️🥥❤️,
Laramie
If you're seeing The Taco Diaries for the first time and you want more, subscribe here to get it once a month. If you've got taco recs for SLO or Portland or Vancouver or anyplace in between, hit me up!!
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