Willy Wonka and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

"It's the most fun I've had in L.A."

That's what I'd heard. Of course I'm going to go in slightly skeptical and full of the highest hopes. I'd been pumped up to believe that evening movie screenings in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery were not only great, but a quintessential part of the Los Angeles experience.

I can now stand behind everything I'd heard and assure you that it is absolutely, 100%, positively true. If you get one Saturday in LA during the summer, and only one, this better be what's on your list to do.

Screenings in the cemetery are a fantastic way to spend a summer evening. Sure it sounds creepy (and it a little bit is) but as Megan put it as we were gallivanting through the gravestones - "It's kind of cool to be here and be really a live. You know? We're living in the moment with friends. we're not here for death. We're here for life." I might have paraphrased a bit - but that's the gist of what she was drunkenly rambling on about after the movie.

Yes, I said drunkenly. You see, it's not "public" in there so drinking.... TOTALLY ALLOWED.

Several bottle of wine, a shit-ton of snack, two bags of candy and a sushi platter later - we have a successful, drunk picnic in the cemetery for last night's movie: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. (No not the shitty one - the good one.)

Gates open at 7, so Nora, Kate, Mikey, Megan and I got there at about 5:30 to get in line. Kevin and Alex and Ashley soon joined us. Followed by Janove and Julie and Jordan. What a crowd! Apples to Apples passed the time (Kate and I are kindred Apples to Apples spirits)...and so did the wine. I was hammered before I even got through the gates into the cemetery.

500+ people crowded onto the lawn for one of the greatest cult movies ever. There was yelling. There was singing. There were snarky remarks. There was quotes. There was so much candy.

It was a ton of fun- but admittedly would have been less so had it not been for the amazing weather, great friends, and campy, fun movie.

Can't Take My Eyes Off of You: A Blog About Karaoke

Who doesn't love karaoke? Janove and I went to the Little Bar on Monday for Nora's birthday and I sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." It's a fun little diddy, and I'd like to think I sang it well (except for that time I came in early from the "instrumental break." I hate those things....)

Anyways, I looked around and found myself surrounded by two types of people. There were the ones that came to have a good time (have a couple drinks, slur a rendition of "I've Got Friends in Low Places") and then there are the regulars. They're the ones who come every week. They're the ones that have an ARSENAL of songs at their disposal. They know the DJ. They're good. Like really good. Like I'm a white guy crooning Beyonce's "Listen" good. But they're not having fun. No, no. They're singing to be DISCOVERED.

NEWS FLASH: Karaoke bars are full of drunk friends and tools like you. The Hollywood myth of being discovered by an off duty record producer who happens to stumble into a Karaoke bar...ISN'T TRUE. Who is the last singer out there that you can think of that comes from this type of a background? Oh right... NO ONE. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET DISCOVERED AT A KARAOKE BAR. So shut your trap, make fun of the drunken idiots and have a good time.

Don't get me wrong, you are still allowed to sing well. Sing well for your friends, sing well for your colleagues, for the strangers at the bar and for that cute guy or girl that you've had your eye on all night.

It's not a good place to be discovered professionally, but karaoke is a PERFECT place to be discovered by your next boyfriend or girlfriend. There you are, spotlit on the stage, singing an off key version of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King." Three minutes and twenty-three seconds of all eyes on you, including his/hers. Come on people, seize this opportunity. Smile, have fun, make eye contact. So much easier than meeting him/her at a regular bar.

Karaoke was MADE for getting all eyes on you. Just not those of a music producers.

Areas I Love: Melrose Avenue

Time for Part II of "Areas I Love"!

You all have heard of the street, most of you probably have even watched the TV show at one point in your life. Recently, I've started to actually spend time on Melrose (in part because friends live close, in part because I need clothes and in part because it's awesome)

The part of Melrose I frequent lies between La Brea and Fairfax, and if you ignore the Ed Hardy- I really like most of the stores and restaurants. Melrose is the go-to street for wardrobe and fashion.

But as you'll see, the food isn't half bad either.

Here's a rundown of places on Melrose I enjoy:

Kazuyo Sushi

Nora and I first stumbled upon this when searching for a Sushi restaurant near us. It's incredible and kind of classy. The sushi is gigantic and delicious. Their popcorn lobster roll is to die for. I'd call it my favorite sushi place in all of L.A.

Urban Outfitters

Don't act surprised that this is on the list. I love myself some Urban. My closet can testify to that. This is the closest one to me, so naturally it enhances my opinion of the area. Not to mention that a few streets down is-

American Apparel

I don't think I need to say any more. I basically can get all of my shopping done on this stretch of Melrose.

American Vintage

In addition to Urban and AA, there is American Vintage which is hands down my favorite second hand store in the area. So many clothes. So many time periods. It's great for costuming, and even greater when I get to find stuff for myself.

This is where I found the giraffe costume that lead to a stellar Halloween. American Vintage is by no means the only vintage store on the block as well, so wander around. You'll find what you need.

Melgard

I just went here today, but can guarantee I'll be back. The beer variety is huge (not that I'm a huge drinker) and the outdoor patio is great. If this hasn't won you over already, happy hour will: Buy a beer (6 bucks) and get a free pizza. Yes. An entire pizza. Not just a slice. Make sure you do it on separate tabs though. It's one pizza per card.

8 0z

Another great place for beer, but even better for burgers. You can build your own burger and anything you could possibly want on it is available. Fried pickles? Not for me...but hey - you might like them. Get the garlic fries. Trust me.

Areas I Love: Vermont Avenue

This is a new thing I want to start doing, in addition to my regular blogging/ramblings. Picking a place I like in LA and talking about it.

Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz (which I have been informed, I do not pronounce properly). I first stumbled upon Vermont while back at Chapman. I was thrifting for a movie and stumbled upon a little place called Squaresville in the uber hip neighborhood in Los Feliz.

After being introduced to Squaresville I vowed to make this little neighborhood, full of shops and big trees, book stores and bars my home. When I first started looking at apartments in LA, this is where I went. Ultimately, I didn't end up over here - but I've been visiting it more and fall in love with it every time.

It's everything you could one on one street. It's alive, but not over crowded, every night. The people that hang out on Vermont are the type of people that you look at and think "I could be friends with you."

There are so many restaurants on this street and I've only been to handful. It's a street that you walk down and want to try it all. One day, I might.

Here's a rundown of a few places on Vermont I enjoy:

Squaresville

Squareseville is a little vintage thrift store that is packed from wall to wall with some of the coolest clothes ever to grace the last decade. I would make it my closet if I could.

Los Feliz 3

A little movie theater that shows indie movies that don't usually make it to the big ones, as well as a studio movie or two. I saw Crazy Heart here, and it's charming. Charming, I think, is the word I'd use to describe the entire area.

The Dresden Room

I went to this bar with Nora and it's exactly the type of place you'd imagine your grandparents drinking in. It's classy and old fashioned with super nice elderly bar tenders who treat you right. Live music every night makes it a relaxing place to chill.

Fred 62's

A little diner with the coolest seats around. The booths are like seats out of 50's cars. It's menu is a little scatterbrained. For you Orange County kids, it's like Norm's but not a chain. The burger was amazing and huge (and that's that I ordered The Wimpy Burger [I kid you not, that's what its called!]).

Pattaya Bay Thai

I went here with Jeff and we keep going back. It's a hole in the wall Thai restaurant but it's SO good. The decor is kind of nautical, with fish tank portals on the walls. Reader Beware, if you walk into Pattaya Thai on a night they're doing karaoke TURN AROUND. It's terrible.

Philanthropic: A Word I Can't Say

Not because it's bad. It's not a cuss word, don't worry. I just literally cannot pronounce it. I was trying all week to tell people that I was going to a fi-lən-ˈthrä-pik event, and I couldn't get the word out of my mouth.

That point aside - this weekend was the second Philanthro Production I attended. They are, as Mikey put it, events that make you "feel like you live in LA."



The First: Over the summer Nora, Justin and I went to SAVOR THE SUMMER, in which all proceeds benefited cystic fibrosis. It was a white party and Nora and I looked good. By the end of the night I looked terrible. fruit, chocolate, tacos and tequila stained my white ensemble. Worth it. This event was a blast. Free tequila before ten meant that when we got there at 9:30 we each downed way too many shots. I don't know if you know this about me- but three tequila shots is too many. Drunk Marcus loves tacos and so did the front of my outfit. Pretty people, loud music, food, and flowing booze. It was the type of event that makes you feel "so LA." I disappeared into the bathroom and came out to find all of my friends had already cabbed home. I walked.

The Second: Philanthro Productions threw another soiree this past weekend, ASPIRE. This party benefited homelessness. We joked that for every martini we drank, we were keeping a martini out of the hands of the homeless in an effort to get their lives back on track. But we paid our entrance fee and entered a room too small for the amount of people this event brought. That's great. the draw tot his event (not that events like these need a draw, everyone in LA wants to appear like they care about things other than themselves) was that it had food from some of the best restaurants in Venice. We pigged out on cupcakes and meatballs and steak and pasta and salad. And then we felt bad, given that the homeless are probably hungry. So we bought drinks (91% of our drink price goes to the charity).

All in all, they're great events. They're fun and you're going to spend that much on a night out anyways, might as well have it go to a good cause.

Now onto another point: Charity is a funny thing. It makes you feel good about yourself, but is that why you do it? It shouldn't be right? But it kind of is. Not that that's necessarily bad, just kind of interesting. People love causes. Look at Haiti, people have come out of the woodwork to support the 3rd world country rebuild after the devastating quake, but no one seemed to care that it was third world to begin with. Why does it take a huge event to make us notice those less fortunate? Why does it take someone getting cancer, to make someone an advocate for cancer research (which I am, by the way). Why are celebrities who donate to Haiti after a quake hailed heroes, but those who donate regularly ignored? It's all apart of image, I suppose. The more public the tragedy or the cause, the more publicity the philanthropic gesture gets.



We should start publicizing charities like mad, maybe they'll get more public donations.

A Weekend in LA [with an under-ager]

So, this past weekend (yes, I realize it's Friday already) I somehow rolled the lucky dice. An entire weekend off of work AND Denny was in town.

Friday: Errands, and lots of them. RKO let me have the afternoon off because they've been working me like a slave.

Then I went to the LACMA with Nora and Matty. Got to see some Warhol and Lichtenstein, so I was happy. The rest wasn't as good as I'd hoped- but it was nice.

Then, picked up Denny at union station. We got beer at Ralph's and chilled in (since under agers are NOT allowed to drink in fun public places, like bars.) Watched The Savages, which I recommend, if only to see Laura Linney say "Big. Red. Pillow." and see Philip Bosco smear shit on the wall.

Saturday: Met my parents for breakfast. They love Denny and would absolutely drive to LA to see him. Oh yeah, I'm here too. Where did we go? Where do you think... Griddle Cafe for giant ass pancakes. I'll never know another breakfast. Then we went to a Verizon store where my dad proceeded to yell at the employees for a good thirty minutes, but all ended well. I got my new baby. I'm like a grown up or something. Then we ventured over to Santa Monica. I hadn't been to the beach all summer. Changed that! It was fantastic. Santa Monica beach was followed by Santa Monica promenade. Good food. Spent too much money on clothes and food and movies. saw Away We Go again. Another recommendation, if only to see an uncomfortable oral sex scene and Allison Janney act crazy [crazier?] Night ends with a wandering up and down Hollywood Blvd. We got invited into a limo. We passed.

Sunday: Lacei joined us! We walked around the Farmer's Market and Hollywood Blvd. Ate amazing salads at Tender Greens, Stared at graffiti [art?] and went to the Grammy Museum.

It was a packed weekend, but definitely a break I needed.

It's technically Tuesday...

Forgive me.

Hollywood is so close I can touch it. Two months 'till the move.

Went to a salsa club in Santa Monica this weekend. Got drunk off one margarita (which was delicious). The joys of being a light weight. Tried to salsa dance, failed miserably.

I went with Julie, Kristen, Nora and Alison. All of which who were hit on by numerous latinos, and Lupe (a chubby bald guy with a beard and glasses, who Julie proceeded to call out [ten points for Julie]). It was fun.

"Tell Tale Heart" keeps getting closer and closer to shooting. I should get cracking on buying my stuff. It'll be easier to do once I know actor sizes for costuming, and visit the location which I should be doing tomorrow, er today.

It should look really good, I hope I'm right.

Spring Break is a couple days away, can't wait. I'm planning on locking myself in my room and writing, only coming out to pee and eat.

And meet up with a few friends in LA to discuss, you guessed it, movies.

Other than that, I'm the Daily Grill employee of the month for the month of March (heyo!).

Have a good week.

So it begins...

My life in Orange County is slowly drawing to a close, and the next logical step is LA.

My lease here is up at the end of May, and then I'm off to LA. I began the apartment hunt with Lauren and Janove. We hit up a few places in Los Feliz and North Hollywood. Later that night, Nora and I went on a spontaneous adventure back to LA. We were trying to see Cake Eaters, but missed the movie and ended up eating at Du-Par's (best Raspberry Pie, ever) and driving around La Brea, Hollywood and WeHo looking at apartment buildings. Somewhere in there is probably here I'll end up. I'm only young once, might as well be in as much of a city as my industry will let me. I'm not ready for suburbia. I hope we all end up close together, though.

I'm super excited. Dreading the finances of it all. I made it this far up the mountain, now I'm looking over the edge. Getting ready to jump.