more salton sea

Praise the Lord for Facebook...and Felicia, the coolest makeup artist/costume designer I've ever met. A few more photos from Saturday:

L-R: Nathan, Alex (Actor), Daniel, Andrew (Director), and dear Mandy

Proof I was there amidst the action! Following Mandy around as was my MO that day.

Shooting in the empty pool...dehydration and faint heatstroke had set in...

Foul.

They weren't kidding.

Fouler and fouler. Poor Phil...had to keep doing take after take because the flies were crawling all over his face.

Me in my audio glory!!

Seriously you guys, this is going to look SO COOL once complete. I can't wait to see it.

the salton sea shoot

On Saturday I spent twelve hours in the desert; 102 degrees in the shade. In the middle of the Colorado Desert in Southern California lies the Salton Sea - a vast salty body of water with abandoned communities clustered along the shores. I've never seen anything like it in the U.S. before. Nature colliding with human possessions; years of erosion, rot, elements and animals eating away at everything; eerie and desolate. I went out with Mandy and a small group of her classmates as they began shooting their class final film project, tentatively titled The Midlands. We arose at 3:30am to pack the trucks with tracks, the camera, the dolly, lighting, generator, sound equipment, food and water, blankets, etc. and headed east. When we arrived at 7am it was already 85 degrees. Three actors, five crew (and me, who didn't really count), two locations, and thirteen hours of shooting before heading home exhausted and hungry (In & Out!) at 7pm.

*Most of these pictures are not mine...I took many pictures with someone else's camera so hopefully I'll be able to post those soon instead of these, which I stole...*

Our DP (director of photography), Nathan, in front of one of the abandoned trailers...right here is where I spent the first half of my day running communications and water back and forth, fetching props, learning to wrangle cable (I'm terrible), and taking photos of the action.

The abandoned motel, our second location of the day. Hornets' nest, pigeons everywhere. Wish I could show you a picture of the attached building where we filmed the last shots of the day (I say "we" but really I was outside "guarding the trucks" aka reading The Lovely Bones and watching skeevy photographers take turns throwing their hatchet at a palm tree while everyone else toiled in the filthiest place I may have ever seen). Piles of rubble, bird parts scattered, fake blood splattered, and the droning buzz of a thousand flies. We wore masks in order not to breathe in too much feces and asbestos (and who knows what else). There were at least two fashion shoots going on here that day as well...so surreal to see the models draped over the rocks and grafitti-strewn structures.

Nathan and Daniel, the audio director, at the edge of the empty pool. I did get to hold the boom mic and be in charge of sound for an entire scene. However it was discovered about three-quarters of the way through the shoot that the mic was on the wrong setting and the dialogue will probably need to be dubbed in post-production.

Staying cool at the water's edge. Water lined with dozens of dead fish, their eyes plucked out. We decided against a swim. Miraculously I did not get sunburned at all...way to go SPF 30 Sport!

Mandy the AD (Assistant Director), script and shot schedule in hand. She is amazing. The "sand" you see is actually all crushed shells and bones. Our poor actress got several puncture wounds on the bottoms of her feet from running to the water's edge take after take.

What a fascinating day!!

leaving on a jet plane...

...don't know when I'll be back again.
(Okay, I do...Monday.)

reminds me of the survey days

Okay I'm a little out of control but it just seems like an I-need-a-distraction Tuesday.

in one word...

Yourself: sleepy
Your husband: where?
Your hair: frizz
Your Mother: firecracker
Your Father: genius
Your Favorite Item: gift
Your dream last night: contentment
Your Favorite Drink: creamy
Your Dream Car: hybrid
Your Dream Home: literary
The Room You Are In: cold
Your fear: monotony
Where you Want to be in Ten Years? growing
Who you hung out with last night: YAWP!
What You’re Not: pushover
Muffins: aromatic
On Your Wish List: flannel
Time: flies
What You Are Wearing: cozy
Your favorite weather: wind
Your Favorite Book: emily
Last thing you ate: sweet
Your Life: whirlwind
Your mood: variable
Your Best Friends: constant
What are you thinking about right now: filmset
Your car: sunroof
What are you doing at the moment: sin
Your summer: anticipated
Relationship status: disappointed
What is on your tv: dunder-mifflin
What is the weather like: brrrr

movie quote game

Results are in...the last two are two of my favorites.

I stole this from J.Spi...

• Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
• Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie (or quote them from memory).
• Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
• Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed.

These are the players’ rules:

• No Googling or using IMDb search functions (don’t cheat!)
• Leave your answer(s) in the comments.

I pick the quotes; you guess without internet aid. I'll post the results as they come in.

1. a) "I can be in the NBA. I'm tall, I like to wear shorts. Hook! Hook! Dunk! Dunk! Baby, I'm all about three points."
b) "I said I'd give you the change when we ordered the Sno-Cones when we pulled up, so why don't you just give me my sandwich and stop being a prick."
c) "My boy's wicked smart." (Good Will Hunting)

2. a) "I have to teach myself not to read too much into everything. It comes from too long having to read so much into hardly anything at all."
b) "I'm not in love with him. I'm in love with ghosts...and so is he, he's in love with ghosts." (The English Patient)

3. a) "There's no secret handshake. There's an IQ prerequisite, but there's no secret handshake."
b) "I'm late for a jeans-folding seminar. Let's locomote!"
c) "Did he dazzle you with his extensive knowledge of mineral water? Or was it his in-depth analysis of, uh, Marky Mark that finally reeled you in?" (Reality Bites)

4. a) "Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone's not a genius? Do you especially think I'm not a genius? ...You didn't even have to think about it, did you?"
b) "I'll have a butterscotch sundae I guess."
c) "Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?" (The Royal Tenenbaums)

5. "Sorry fellas, I'm afraid you're just too darn loud." (Back to the Future)

6. "I wish I were rich, and I could spend the whole summer at a hotel, eating ice cream and chicken salad." (Anne of Green Gables)

7. "What if I were smiling, and running into your arms? Would you see then what I see now?" (Into the Wild)

8. "Are you not aware that I get farty and bloated with a foamy latte?!" (Zoolander)

9. a) "The whole world is on fire."
b) "Someday, you and I are going to have a serious disagreement."
c) "They do not live their lives 'by your leave'! They hack it out of the wilderness with their own two hands, bearing their children along the way!" (Last of the Mohicans)

10. "Obviously, doctor, you've never been a 13-year-old girl." (The Virgin Suicides)

11. "I'm exhaustified of being the boy!" (Little Women)

12. "Nobody sits like this rock sits. You rock, rock. The rock just sits and is. You show us how to just sit here, and that is what we need." (I Heart Huckabees)

13. "I must throw a party for her. Otherwise everyone will feel at once how much I dislike her!" (Emma)

14. a) "It's amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealousy."
b) "You win. He's got you on a pedestal...and me in his arms." (My Best Friend's Wedding)

15. a) "So, this flannel thing. Is that a nod to the crispy Seattle weather, or are you just trying to stay warm in front of the refrigerator?"
b) "Suddenly, a dark cloud settled over first period. I got a C in debate?!" (Clueless)

e defined?

CATALYST:

1. Chemistry. A substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected.

2. A person or thing that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences.

heh.

...can't WAIT for thursday...

moody blues

"...she walks through the streets with her eyes painted red
under black belly of cloud in the rain
in through a doorway, she brings me
white golden pearls, stolen from the sea

she is raging
she is raging
and the storm blows up in her eyes..."

- U2

what i can't get out of my mind

The scene in Becoming Jane where Tom suddenly appears at the ball and in an instant all seems to shine brilliantly with hope and possibility...I felt as though I was going to leap out of my skin, my heart was on fire, we all gasped. Oh, to have such a moment again in real life...

(So as you can see I am unabashadly revealing my most-often hidden romantic sensibilities. Must be Spring.)

Other things on my mind:

Really bright lipstick.
Weird, huh? I don't even wear lipstick. (Well, hardly ever.)
Perhaps the times are a'changin?



Still looking and longing for a flannel shirt. I saw a trio of teenage boy skaters walking down the street the other day and the resurgent love for early '90s style was as strong as ever. Anybody seen any lately that aren't too girly or cowboy?






















Jackson Browne


Vampire Weekend



James McAvoy






















John KrasinSKAY

Le sigh.

stream of consciousness

i am eating blackberry yogurt
(rich in antioxidants)
i am dreaming of the future
i want to be anywhere but here
the sun finally shows its face
(i am trying to drink a glass of water every hour)
the whole world is before me
where shall i go?
send me.

looking forward to tonight:
jake g.
scary rabbits.
time travel.
mad, mad, mad, mad world.
gorgeous friends.

but first, the day.
tired of being cold.
tired of being stagnant.
tired of distractions.
tired of myself.

WAFF finale

Last night, Serrah and I were finally able to conclude our inspiring WAFF (Wes Anderson Film Festival) with the feature-length that started it all:

Bottle Rocket.

Dignan: Okay, there you see the star is me, right there, and I'll be in there, right in the middle. This X over here is Anthony. Bob, you're the zero out here in the car.

a weekend in pictures

for bridget

These are my favorites...today. ;)

5 things you can’t live without under 5 dollars:
1. lip balm (not chapstick)
2. iced coffee
3. vogue magazine
4. black-ink ballpoint pen
5. dark chocolate

5 Favorite Movies:
1. emma
2. into the wild
3. 3:10 to yuma
4. reality bites
5. good will hunting

5 songs you could listen to over and over again:
1. anything by denison witmer. especially "you got me good" and "healing time" and "little flowers"
2. "elephant love medley" from the moulin rouge soundtrack - ewan mcgregor & nicole kidman
3. "under the bridge" - red hot chili peppers
4. "the stone" - dave matthews band
5. "new favorite" - alison krauss

5 people who have had a positive influence in your life:
0. rod & kathy (goes without saying so I'm not going to count them)
1. patricia vena
2. clare
3. deena
4. rich
5. gwen

5 things in your purse you cannot live without:
1. debit card
2. lip balm (currently cherry carmex)
3. trident original flavor gum
4. cell phone
5. iPod

5 moments that changed your life forever:
1. michael is born - age 10
2. leaving starbucks
3. having to quit being max's nanny, summer 2005
4. "we're just friends"
5. i resolve absolutely, definitively, and firmly to follow christ for the rest of my life - campfire, sr. girls camp, age 11

5 current obsessions:
1. jim & pam
2. biola film school projects
3. facebook
4. white patent leather doc martens
5. soup for lunch

5 places I would love to travel:
1. iceland
2. antarctica
3. maine
4. greece
5. fiji

5 people who’s top 5 you would like to see:
1. nicole
2. deena
3. nadeen
4. rich
5. jeremy

spring is here!!...now what?

Proverbs 13:12.

Ever feel like you just have nothing to look forward to?
Yeah.
Disappointment, and a little TOO MUCH possibility.
I have a pretty vast imagination, and my imagination tends to get carried away with possibility. In fact, I've been known to get pretty drunk on possibility.
It's a great high and an awfully hard crash into reality.
For a very long time I've been diligent about crushing any little buds of hope that attempted to spring up out of the dark unknown. I thought it was better to kill them while they were young and new, before they had a chance to really bloom...because if they were allowed to grow tall and beautiful, wouldn't it just hurt that much more when they wilted and died? But the theme of my life these days is newness and I'm trying to be different, truly a new creation, not a squasher of life and hope but a cultivator. It's a struggle as I resist vulnerability with a staggering fierceness. I feel like a baby deer trembling on its new legs, wanting to be bold and run but so unskilled. And when the little disappointments come there's a voice that whispers loudly in my ear, "YOU ABSOLUTE FOOL." Foolish to think that good things could come to me, foolish to think I was something special, foolish to think anything could change.
I know this is not Truth. But it is my weak spot (like an arrow into Smaug), and I hear it, and believe it, and hang my head and feel ashamed of myself.

Lest you be concerned about "where this is coming from," nowhere really. I had a GREAT weekend. Pictures to come soon. But I will say, it is hard to go from abundant sunshine and penetrating warmth back to damp, and chill, and wan light breaking through endless layers of grey clouds.

last day of winter

Well, we survived. And tomorrow is the first day of long-awaited Spring. Hallelujah! I am off once again to warmer climates. A little break, if you will. Things I am very much looking forward to in the next several days:

*wearing tank tops and flip-flops
*Disneyland
*laughing - probably a LOT
*In & Out Burger
*Good Friday - remembering sacrifice, darkness, pain, brokenheartedness, with an eye toward...
*Easter Sunday (my favorite holiday) - celebrating resurrection, miracles, all that is new, hope, life, love, power. He is Risen!!!
*Holiday party at the home of a Bronco (if I can't be with my family on Easter, a Bronco is second best. And I don't mean Denver, people. I am talking of course about the legendary Bronco Squad...)
*Spending quality time with Ciara, Mandy, Amiliah, Nicole, Kelly, Ashleigh, and I'm sure some others too...
*wearing my new sunglasses
*taking lots of pictures

Happy Spring and Happy Easter, everyone!!