Sadly, another famous filmmaker has passed away. The press is reporting that writer/director John Hughes died today (8/6/09) of a heart attack. He was only 59.
Wow... In the '80s, I was a big Molly Ringwald fan (Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club) and a big John Candy fan (Trains, Planes and Automobiles and Uncle Buck) which made me a big fan of Mr. Hughes. Home Alone (an example of a kid's power and resourcefulness), Mr. Mom (the first depiction of a stay-at-home dad) and Weird Science (science geek gets the girl) were all ground breaking films and are still among my favorites.
I also loved Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and still watch it even today. In fact, when I moved to L.A. 2 years ago, I was riding done San Vincente Boulevard and Jeffrey Jones (Mr. Rooney) was driving in the car next to me. He looked grumpy and he was hunched over the steering wheel just as he did in the movie. He glanced my way and our eyes connected for a moment as bits of dialogue and scenes from Ferris Bueller just flashed back at me in a surreal way. I could hear Jones as Rooney in my head screaming, "Bueller!" I resisted flashing him a Ferris-like smirk and just waved timidly instead. This must happen to Jones regularly because he just smiled at me and drove off. Trust me, the moment was priceless.
I am getting a bit emotional as I am writing this because this man's work has had a monumental impact on how I view both life and films in general. John Hughes genius was the right blend of comedy and angst, mostly the teenage variety but with some mid-life issues thrown in. His movies defined an era and made me want to make movies too. Even though he had not directed in over a decade, he will really be missed as will his special brand of film making. My prayers and sympathies go out to his family during this sad time. May he rest in peace.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
My Second Year in L.A. Anniversary
Wow, two years already!
In July 2008, I celebrated the first half of my L.A. First Anniversary Week at Comic Con in San Diego (see an earlier post). Later that week, I attended a script reader course then I polished my Grey's Anatomy spec. TV script that I submitted to the Disney/ABC Writing Fellowship before heading to the east coast for some medical follow-ups.
Side note: This year is a bit sadder as my dear eldest brother died last week Wednesday.
L.A. Second Anniversary Week: July 24-30th 2009
I spent most of July polishing my House TV script. I had considered submitting it to this year's Disney Fellowship in early July as they've dropped the feature film writing portion. I think to myself... "They dropped features just when I have a great features script". My House script seems good too but alas the deadline has passed for Disney. I remind myself to work on the scripts for the script reader program for my writers group.
On Friday afternoon (7/24) after church, I was in the stand-by line outside of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater waiting to see if I would get into the Mel Brooks Tribute. The tribute would have shorts of all Brook's films and guests like Carl Reiner, Cloris Leachman and .... as well as the guest of honor. The usher walks through the crowd of fans, news crews and photographers and hands me a stand-by card with my place in line... it said 150. Mine was the highest number they handed out so things were not looking too promising.
With my chances to get in slim or none, I start doing excerpts from Mel Brooks movies that I saw as a kid, to entertain the crowd and to try to get someone to have pity on me so that they give me their ticket. I did dialogue from The 2,000 year Old Man, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles just to name a few. The other people who were waiting in stand-by were mostly older people and they were amazed at my recall and knowledge of Mr. Brook's work. One man said that I looked so young and that I could not possibly be old enough to have seen or remembered most of Mel's earlier work (I think I'll keep him). We waited about an hour and no one in stand-by got in. In fact, they even turned away people who had tickets because the theater was so packed.
Saturday (7/25/09): I missed a nice panel with comedy writer, Devon Shepard (Weeds, Everybody Loves Chris, MADtv) because of transportation problems. It was nearly 100 degrees and I was p.o.'d so I head to the mall for some window shopping and a rare snack at McDonald's.
Sunday (7/26/09): At church, we read scriptures and heard a sermon on how to approach God's throne to praise Him and to correct injustices. God is justice!!!!!!
Monday-Wednesday 7/27-29/09: I pack my red suit cases (the same one's that brought me to L.A.) as I try to book a flight home for my brother's funeral but the flights are nearly $1,000 round-trip. I find a flight one way for under $300 but the price changes when I try to book it. I also find out that the significant rent decrease that I was counting on in August doesn't start until September. I resign myself to the fact that I'm not going to make it to my brother's funeral. Still, I am comforted (see upcoming post). God is great!!!!!
I do more re-writes to House and my features script which helps keeps my mind off of things. I submit scripts to my writers group for coverage. I'm still praying that they reverse the cancellation of the show Samantha Who? as I have not one but two specs for that show. I sent a few more people the petition to save the show (......). I hope I can still use these specs as a writing sample though the show may be off the air for good.
Thursday 7/30/09: I pray at 6:00 a.m., the exact time I boarded the airport shuttle at my friend's home in Maryland in 2007. At 1:30 p.m., I put on my favorite praise and worship Cd's and I don the exact outfit I wore on my first day in L.A. I mentally retrace my steps from the airport, to the shuttle van, through L.A. to my hotel and my first night of prayers and tears (see first post). That same friend calls from Maryland just to see how I was doing and we pray and encourage each other. Later, I unpacked my suitcase and even drank microwaved hot cocoa and ate packaged raisins and snacks the way I did the first day. I praise God loudly and I clap my hands for Jesus for a few hours then I write this blog.
My blog:
In two years, I have done everything imaginable (writers panels, pitch fests, conventions, picket lines, movie premieres, Oscar's and Emmy's... As you can see, I have barely chronicled even half of my adventures here so I have a lot of typing to do. I ask that you pray for my chronic pain to end and I ask that you stay tuned because there is much more to come.
Coming soon... "Blog me a river"
In July 2008, I celebrated the first half of my L.A. First Anniversary Week at Comic Con in San Diego (see an earlier post). Later that week, I attended a script reader course then I polished my Grey's Anatomy spec. TV script that I submitted to the Disney/ABC Writing Fellowship before heading to the east coast for some medical follow-ups.
Side note: This year is a bit sadder as my dear eldest brother died last week Wednesday.
L.A. Second Anniversary Week: July 24-30th 2009
I spent most of July polishing my House TV script. I had considered submitting it to this year's Disney Fellowship in early July as they've dropped the feature film writing portion. I think to myself... "They dropped features just when I have a great features script". My House script seems good too but alas the deadline has passed for Disney. I remind myself to work on the scripts for the script reader program for my writers group.
On Friday afternoon (7/24) after church, I was in the stand-by line outside of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater waiting to see if I would get into the Mel Brooks Tribute. The tribute would have shorts of all Brook's films and guests like Carl Reiner, Cloris Leachman and .... as well as the guest of honor. The usher walks through the crowd of fans, news crews and photographers and hands me a stand-by card with my place in line... it said 150. Mine was the highest number they handed out so things were not looking too promising.
With my chances to get in slim or none, I start doing excerpts from Mel Brooks movies that I saw as a kid, to entertain the crowd and to try to get someone to have pity on me so that they give me their ticket. I did dialogue from The 2,000 year Old Man, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles just to name a few. The other people who were waiting in stand-by were mostly older people and they were amazed at my recall and knowledge of Mr. Brook's work. One man said that I looked so young and that I could not possibly be old enough to have seen or remembered most of Mel's earlier work (I think I'll keep him). We waited about an hour and no one in stand-by got in. In fact, they even turned away people who had tickets because the theater was so packed.
Saturday (7/25/09): I missed a nice panel with comedy writer, Devon Shepard (Weeds, Everybody Loves Chris, MADtv) because of transportation problems. It was nearly 100 degrees and I was p.o.'d so I head to the mall for some window shopping and a rare snack at McDonald's.
Sunday (7/26/09): At church, we read scriptures and heard a sermon on how to approach God's throne to praise Him and to correct injustices. God is justice!!!!!!
Monday-Wednesday 7/27-29/09: I pack my red suit cases (the same one's that brought me to L.A.) as I try to book a flight home for my brother's funeral but the flights are nearly $1,000 round-trip. I find a flight one way for under $300 but the price changes when I try to book it. I also find out that the significant rent decrease that I was counting on in August doesn't start until September. I resign myself to the fact that I'm not going to make it to my brother's funeral. Still, I am comforted (see upcoming post). God is great!!!!!
I do more re-writes to House and my features script which helps keeps my mind off of things. I submit scripts to my writers group for coverage. I'm still praying that they reverse the cancellation of the show Samantha Who? as I have not one but two specs for that show. I sent a few more people the petition to save the show (......). I hope I can still use these specs as a writing sample though the show may be off the air for good.
Thursday 7/30/09: I pray at 6:00 a.m., the exact time I boarded the airport shuttle at my friend's home in Maryland in 2007. At 1:30 p.m., I put on my favorite praise and worship Cd's and I don the exact outfit I wore on my first day in L.A. I mentally retrace my steps from the airport, to the shuttle van, through L.A. to my hotel and my first night of prayers and tears (see first post). That same friend calls from Maryland just to see how I was doing and we pray and encourage each other. Later, I unpacked my suitcase and even drank microwaved hot cocoa and ate packaged raisins and snacks the way I did the first day. I praise God loudly and I clap my hands for Jesus for a few hours then I write this blog.
My blog:
In two years, I have done everything imaginable (writers panels, pitch fests, conventions, picket lines, movie premieres, Oscar's and Emmy's... As you can see, I have barely chronicled even half of my adventures here so I have a lot of typing to do. I ask that you pray for my chronic pain to end and I ask that you stay tuned because there is much more to come.
Coming soon... "Blog me a river"
Hollywood, Health and Society
I attended a Hollywood, Health and Society event last week at the Writers Guild of America building on Fairfax and 3rd. Hollywood, Health and Society is a free program at USC's Norman Lear/ Annaberg Center that provides science and medical information resources and consultations to writers and producers for TV or film. The program is funded by the CDC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. There was a presentation by Dr. Tachi Yamada of the Bill and Melinada Gates Foundation then a panel discussion with Dr. Nael Baer (a writer who returned to med. school and became a pediatrician then returned to writing/producing ER, Law & Order: SVU), Peter Blake(House) and J. David(Numb3rs) and two other medical doctors. The writers showed video clips of their shows that had health or medical story-lines from HIV, infectious diseases and organ donation.
The panellist and presentations were great and it was especially nice to meet other pediatricians interested in health and the entertainment industry. I am not at all surprised that pediatricians were in a majority, as we've been on to the importance of media and health for decades. I recall the "Media Matters" campaign by the AAP and something similar through the APHA but I think the best way for us to affect media is to have doctors involved in the creative process (consulting, writing, producing and advocating) ala Neal Baer.
I was thinking of attending Pediatric Grand Rounds to keep my feet in clinical medicine but after the panel I see it as a good way of finding story ideas. The panel also had great story ideas! In fact, I raced home after the panel to flesh out a malaria script I was already working on but now with an added twist. I have also finished a spec. script for House that I am submitting to various contests which involves Down Syndrome and blood disorders. I submitted my Grey's Anatomy script last year to the Disney/ABC fellowship but didn't get it. Then I submitted it for coverage and got fair to good coverage on it, the main complaint being my formatting. I am also turning a feature script I wrote into a spec. pilot as Ellen Sandler (Everybody loves Raymond) suggests (get her book, The TV Writer's Workbook ). As Neal said on the panel, 'getting the medical right is most important" but doing it in 65 character driven pages is definitely a challenge.
The panellist and presentations were great and it was especially nice to meet other pediatricians interested in health and the entertainment industry. I am not at all surprised that pediatricians were in a majority, as we've been on to the importance of media and health for decades. I recall the "Media Matters" campaign by the AAP and something similar through the APHA but I think the best way for us to affect media is to have doctors involved in the creative process (consulting, writing, producing and advocating) ala Neal Baer.
I was thinking of attending Pediatric Grand Rounds to keep my feet in clinical medicine but after the panel I see it as a good way of finding story ideas. The panel also had great story ideas! In fact, I raced home after the panel to flesh out a malaria script I was already working on but now with an added twist. I have also finished a spec. script for House that I am submitting to various contests which involves Down Syndrome and blood disorders. I submitted my Grey's Anatomy script last year to the Disney/ABC fellowship but didn't get it. Then I submitted it for coverage and got fair to good coverage on it, the main complaint being my formatting. I am also turning a feature script I wrote into a spec. pilot as Ellen Sandler (Everybody loves Raymond) suggests (get her book, The TV Writer's Workbook ). As Neal said on the panel, 'getting the medical right is most important" but doing it in 65 character driven pages is definitely a challenge.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Hello Agains and Good-byes
God is great!!!!
I had a busy but rewarding couple of weeks!
Last Saturday, I met some more Christian screenwriters pitching scripts at the Great American Pitchfest that was held June 13-14th. It was lovely to see more Christians answering the call to minister to God's people through this industry. One of them, Buck Custer, is already a published writer and his book "Good-bye Lake Tahoe, Good-bye Indian Joe" is available at Amazon.com. He was kind enough to give me a free copy and I am enjoying it so far. I wish all the Christian screenwriters the best with their projects and I will try to list any of their future successes on this blog.
This Saturday (6/20), my writers group had a "How to Write for TV/Life in the Writer's Room" workshop. We were split up into groups of tens and we had to select TV genres and protagonist from a hat and come up with a half hour of 1 hour show based on our premise. We got lucky and got a 1 hour teen drama and we pitched our log-lines to Erik Bork. In case you didn't know, Erik is an Emmy winning writer and producer of Band of Brothers and has worked with Tom Hanks. I realize that writing for TV may be too collaborative for me but I enjoyed the exercise. A few in my group wants to take it farther by developing and pitching it to the networks but we'll see.
Erik's link: www.
I also attended 3 weeks of church services as we meditated on "Gideon and the 300 Revolt!" from Judges Chap 6 and 7. The week culminated in a strong prayer service on Sunday (6/21) and a sacrifice offering was collected that will be taken along with our prayers to Gideon Springs in Israel. We also acknowledged and prayed for all fathers present as they were anointed with oil. Pastor Israel (a fitting name) read a message from Bishop Wellington on the role of fathers (to provide, protect, to love) as well as the role of wives (to bring peace, diffuse situations wisely, to love) and children (to bring honor to their parents). We will be praying together at the church in Long Beach on 6/26 at the exact time they are praying over our prayer requests in Israel.
Wednesday: I picked up copies of my latest scripts for editing and re-writes. For some reason, I can only do this from a printed script to the delight of my printer, Maziar Senehi. You may say this is wasteful and bad for the environment and trees but I do two sided copies and recycle all my papers to make up for it. I am also very terrible with computers which makes extra work for Mr. Senehi as he has to make adjustments and add the title page before printing my scripts each and every time. Lucky for me, he is nice enough to put up with this and hasn't banned me as a customer (yet). Seriously though, he's really "the go to guy" for all things printing especially scripts. Check him out at www.scriptcopier.com
Last night, attended the Academy's tribute to Hal Ashby at the GoldwynTheater. It was hosted by Peter Bart (Variety editor, former studio chief) and Cameron Crowe (writer, director (Almost Famous) plus an excellent panel with Judd Apatow (4o Year Old Virgin, Knocked up), Seth Rogen (SuperBad), D. Cody (Oscar winning screenwriter of Juno), Jon Voight and Haskel Wexler (famed cinematographer Once Flew Over A Cuckoo's Next) and Yusuf formerly Cat Stevens followed by a screening of Ashby's film Harold and Maude.
The Academy president acknowledged the passing of 3 greats in the business Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson as well as the loss of the great talent that was Mr. Ashby. In light of all the recent deaths, people were a bit solemn but wanted to celebrate Hal Ashby's life's work. Everyone said that he was an unkept weed smoking hippie who would have loved the tribute. In fact, I sat next to an Asst. Director who worked with him and he could only smile and laugh when he reminisced about him.
The best part of the night was when Mr. Yusuf performed and played guitar and sang for us after being away from the music scene for over 30 years. His voice is still excellent with that same deepness and earnestness to it. He sang "Trouble" and 3 more songs from the film but I wanted him to sing "Mourning Has Broken" or "Wild World" which are my favorites. Despite the name and religion changes Yusuf was very pleasant and told little anecdotes during both his performance and the panel after.
As he left he brushed right by me in his thick leather coat as he was being lead to the exit. I followed and then the crowd bottle necked and he was standing directly in front of me for about a minute. I so wanted to tap his shoulder and tell him how I enjoyed his music but I thought I would slip and call him Cat and not Yusuf as some accidentally did (his real name is Greek by the way). Instead I prayed gently for him and then considered calling my brother in law at 1 am his time and handing Cat the phone to speak to him. I calmed myself and did neither. I did touch his guitar case though and prayed some more. They got into the elevator and I waved and blew "God bless you" kisses at him. I saw him smile before the doors closed and it was priceless! I prayed for God to bless Cat by whatever name he chooses and prayed in Jesus' Holy Name.
I bumped in an entourage of women in their 20's to early 30's near the elevators, one of whom was Ms. Cody (I refuse to say her first name). I asked for her to sign the program and told her that she is gifted and blessed. She signed it as I was shaking with delight and praying for her. She handed it back to me and I touched her arm gently and said "God bless you" and she looked at me a bit with her head slightly cocked to one side and a bit wary but I smiled then she smiled slowly... her eyes still cautious. Then I complimented her on her shorter hair style. I said, "It makes your features pop!" and she smiled again but real wide this time and she blushed. She seemed strangely flattered, like a 12 year old innocent.
Check out pics of the event at http://www.oscars.org/
Wow, it was a moving night full of "hello agains" and "good-byes". On my way home around midnight, we drive pass the throngs of fans and tourists gathering at "Michael Jackson's" star in Hollywood but his real star was barricaded by the Bruno premiere and won't open til 10 am on Friday. I shake my heads sadly and of all Micahel Jackson's songs "I Wanna Be Where You are" and "I'll be There" come into my head. I hum and sing them on my way home. Here's a link to him singing "Got To Be There" acapella at age 11. His voice is absolutely amazing and I cried hearing it again after so long.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdmWHB6yF2g
May God rest his tortured soul.
Numbers Chap 6: 24-26
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace.
I had a busy but rewarding couple of weeks!
Last Saturday, I met some more Christian screenwriters pitching scripts at the Great American Pitchfest that was held June 13-14th. It was lovely to see more Christians answering the call to minister to God's people through this industry. One of them, Buck Custer, is already a published writer and his book "Good-bye Lake Tahoe, Good-bye Indian Joe" is available at Amazon.com. He was kind enough to give me a free copy and I am enjoying it so far. I wish all the Christian screenwriters the best with their projects and I will try to list any of their future successes on this blog.
This Saturday (6/20), my writers group had a "How to Write for TV/Life in the Writer's Room" workshop. We were split up into groups of tens and we had to select TV genres and protagonist from a hat and come up with a half hour of 1 hour show based on our premise. We got lucky and got a 1 hour teen drama and we pitched our log-lines to Erik Bork. In case you didn't know, Erik is an Emmy winning writer and producer of Band of Brothers and has worked with Tom Hanks. I realize that writing for TV may be too collaborative for me but I enjoyed the exercise. A few in my group wants to take it farther by developing and pitching it to the networks but we'll see.
Erik's link: www.
I also attended 3 weeks of church services as we meditated on "Gideon and the 300 Revolt!" from Judges Chap 6 and 7. The week culminated in a strong prayer service on Sunday (6/21) and a sacrifice offering was collected that will be taken along with our prayers to Gideon Springs in Israel. We also acknowledged and prayed for all fathers present as they were anointed with oil. Pastor Israel (a fitting name) read a message from Bishop Wellington on the role of fathers (to provide, protect, to love) as well as the role of wives (to bring peace, diffuse situations wisely, to love) and children (to bring honor to their parents). We will be praying together at the church in Long Beach on 6/26 at the exact time they are praying over our prayer requests in Israel.
Wednesday: I picked up copies of my latest scripts for editing and re-writes. For some reason, I can only do this from a printed script to the delight of my printer, Maziar Senehi. You may say this is wasteful and bad for the environment and trees but I do two sided copies and recycle all my papers to make up for it. I am also very terrible with computers which makes extra work for Mr. Senehi as he has to make adjustments and add the title page before printing my scripts each and every time. Lucky for me, he is nice enough to put up with this and hasn't banned me as a customer (yet). Seriously though, he's really "the go to guy" for all things printing especially scripts. Check him out at www.scriptcopier.com
Last night, attended the Academy's tribute to Hal Ashby at the GoldwynTheater. It was hosted by Peter Bart (Variety editor, former studio chief) and Cameron Crowe (writer, director (Almost Famous) plus an excellent panel with Judd Apatow (4o Year Old Virgin, Knocked up), Seth Rogen (SuperBad), D. Cody (Oscar winning screenwriter of Juno), Jon Voight and Haskel Wexler (famed cinematographer Once Flew Over A Cuckoo's Next) and Yusuf formerly Cat Stevens followed by a screening of Ashby's film Harold and Maude.
The Academy president acknowledged the passing of 3 greats in the business Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson as well as the loss of the great talent that was Mr. Ashby. In light of all the recent deaths, people were a bit solemn but wanted to celebrate Hal Ashby's life's work. Everyone said that he was an unkept weed smoking hippie who would have loved the tribute. In fact, I sat next to an Asst. Director who worked with him and he could only smile and laugh when he reminisced about him.
The best part of the night was when Mr. Yusuf performed and played guitar and sang for us after being away from the music scene for over 30 years. His voice is still excellent with that same deepness and earnestness to it. He sang "Trouble" and 3 more songs from the film but I wanted him to sing "Mourning Has Broken" or "Wild World" which are my favorites. Despite the name and religion changes Yusuf was very pleasant and told little anecdotes during both his performance and the panel after.
As he left he brushed right by me in his thick leather coat as he was being lead to the exit. I followed and then the crowd bottle necked and he was standing directly in front of me for about a minute. I so wanted to tap his shoulder and tell him how I enjoyed his music but I thought I would slip and call him Cat and not Yusuf as some accidentally did (his real name is Greek by the way). Instead I prayed gently for him and then considered calling my brother in law at 1 am his time and handing Cat the phone to speak to him. I calmed myself and did neither. I did touch his guitar case though and prayed some more. They got into the elevator and I waved and blew "God bless you" kisses at him. I saw him smile before the doors closed and it was priceless! I prayed for God to bless Cat by whatever name he chooses and prayed in Jesus' Holy Name.
I bumped in an entourage of women in their 20's to early 30's near the elevators, one of whom was Ms. Cody (I refuse to say her first name). I asked for her to sign the program and told her that she is gifted and blessed. She signed it as I was shaking with delight and praying for her. She handed it back to me and I touched her arm gently and said "God bless you" and she looked at me a bit with her head slightly cocked to one side and a bit wary but I smiled then she smiled slowly... her eyes still cautious. Then I complimented her on her shorter hair style. I said, "It makes your features pop!" and she smiled again but real wide this time and she blushed. She seemed strangely flattered, like a 12 year old innocent.
Check out pics of the event at http://www.oscars.org/
Wow, it was a moving night full of "hello agains" and "good-byes". On my way home around midnight, we drive pass the throngs of fans and tourists gathering at "Michael Jackson's" star in Hollywood but his real star was barricaded by the Bruno premiere and won't open til 10 am on Friday. I shake my heads sadly and of all Micahel Jackson's songs "I Wanna Be Where You are" and "I'll be There" come into my head. I hum and sing them on my way home. Here's a link to him singing "Got To Be There" acapella at age 11. His voice is absolutely amazing and I cried hearing it again after so long.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdmWHB6yF2g
May God rest his tortured soul.
Numbers Chap 6: 24-26
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Filene's Basement Closing?!
May 2009
I just heard the news that Filene's Basement was bought out by another company and might be closing. The company said that they would still do business under the Filene's name but I am in shock... I can't believe my favorite store might not be around! I have spent countless hours of shopping bliss in this store and the quality and price of their goods is second to none. The best part of Filene's is the annual "Running of the Brides" , a day where designer wedding gowns are on sale for $250 or less and brides camp out over night then storm the store in a shopping frenzy like only hundreds of bargain conscious brides can do.
I attended one year in August at Mazza Galleria in Washington, D.C. off Wisconsin Avenue and it was an amazing sight. Many women were color coordinated some even had team t-shirts with the bride's name on the back. The teams were made up of the bride-to-be's, bridesmaids, moms and future mom-in-laws and in the odd case, a fiance, all hauling 7-10 dresses at a time. They would go to the corner that they staked out, and the bride would quickly throw off her clothing and start trying on dresses. Some wore bathing suits or leotards as their were no changing rooms per say just draping and a few wheeled cloth dividers.
I felt sorry for the few men viewing this spectacle because though you would think it would be fun for a man trying to catch a peek at a boob or a leg here or there but instead all the men look like they were trapped in a horror flick... "Dawn of the Hysterical Budget Conscious Bride" or "Vera Wang Zombie". They were constantly walking outside for breaks then reluctantly returned to the madness. Believe you me, very few men would willingly sign up for this and the men there were either employees who had to be there and fiances who were probably threatened at gunpoint to attend.
I was actually looking for a wedding dress for my sister for her 2005 wedding. I know her size and what she likes and I planned on sketching the dresses I liked and faxing her a copy then she would call me with her choice ( this was way before camera phones were all the rage). I pulled out 5-7 dresses for her by designers like a Carolina Herrera that was normally priced at over $2,500. I picked out only 5-7 dresses because it's the amount of dresses that you can safely carry without tripping on them or dragging and soiling them.
One time, I saw the perfect dress on a 6 ft. rack packed with dresses. I reached out just to touch it and a lady's hand snapped out and stopped me real fast. "That's mine!" "Oh, sorry", I said and shrugged and moved on to the next dress on the rack that I liked but the lady stopped me again. "That's mine too." I looked at the rack and back at the lady...I'm beginning to see a trend here. "Okay, just tell me which one isn't yours and I'll start there. The lady turns to me real calmly and says "The whole rack is mine". I said, "Ma'am, you can not keep an entire rack of dresses for yourself... it's unfair to the other brides". She rolled her eyes at me and pushed the entire rack through the chaos to another part of the store where she kept her eye on it like a hawk, as she shopped for other dresses. Later, I heard one of the Filene's staff stop her and make her choose 5 dresses to go with off the rack then the rack was returned to the general area. The other women jumped on it like piranhas and all the dresses were gone in a matter of minutes.
Now back to shopping. Tips: For those of you who have never shopped for wedding dresses, sizing is important because these dresses come in sizes at least one size smaller than standard fit. My sister is a 4 usually but often buys a size 6 then tailors it but from the cut and look of some dresses I stuck with getting her all size 8's. I even saw a young woman in her early 20's who was the exact built of my sister but a few inches shorter so everything she tried on and modeled I analyzed for the fit and took notes. In fact, I actually found a few good ones for her that I knew my sister wouldn't like (i.e. all the poofy-foofy dresses) but this lady loved them.
Sadly, a few women gave me a scathing "really" look when I picked out dresses from the low dress size racks, being that I'm plus sized. I had to keep telling people that I am shopping for my sister. Luckily, the plus size stuff was beautiful too as was the stuff for the older brides so no one should have felt left out. In fact, there were a few first time brides in their 40's trying on dresses. I put my foot in it with one lady. She had just tried on a beautiful dress and another lady in her early 20's was helping her and admiring the dress. Both women were talking to each other like they were family. As the dress the older woman had on was a bit unconventional in the shade and style, I asked if she was the mother of the bride. Turns out she was the bride and the young lady was the bride's maid of another team whose bride had already found "the dress", so she decided to help this lady. The older lady didn't get ruffled though, instead she was all blushes and giggles. She showed us pictures of her fiance and gushed, "I can't believe I'm getting married!" Her happiness was so infectious that we all gathered around her and lauded how she looked in the dress and some even hugged her (Woman power!). I thank God for showing me that there's hope for us 40+ singles.
What does Filene's Basement have to do with Hollywood, you ask? First, there is a definite docu-drama in the making in this annual event and if I ever do a documentary, this would be it. Also, I have always loved fashion and shopping and have thought of getting into the movie biz through working as a costumer in the wardrobe department or a buyer or set dresser on set. I wrote more on this in my post on the 17th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit, which shows the costume design of films nominated for best costume for Oscars 2009.
Oh, by the way... my sister went with an absolutely gorgeous dress she bought online and the pics from her wedding ceremony were beautiful. I kept my sketches of the dresses as a memento of this wild event and I've just posted them on this blog.
Update August 29th 2009:
I want to wish my sister and her husband a "Happy Wedding Anniversary!"
Also, the D.C. area just had their Running of the Brides at Filene's Basement! Watch it at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjUU2stpkjo8NR=1
For more info on upcoming Running of the Brides events go to www.filenesbasement.com/bridal/
I just heard the news that Filene's Basement was bought out by another company and might be closing. The company said that they would still do business under the Filene's name but I am in shock... I can't believe my favorite store might not be around! I have spent countless hours of shopping bliss in this store and the quality and price of their goods is second to none. The best part of Filene's is the annual "Running of the Brides" , a day where designer wedding gowns are on sale for $250 or less and brides camp out over night then storm the store in a shopping frenzy like only hundreds of bargain conscious brides can do.
I attended one year in August at Mazza Galleria in Washington, D.C. off Wisconsin Avenue and it was an amazing sight. Many women were color coordinated some even had team t-shirts with the bride's name on the back. The teams were made up of the bride-to-be's, bridesmaids, moms and future mom-in-laws and in the odd case, a fiance, all hauling 7-10 dresses at a time. They would go to the corner that they staked out, and the bride would quickly throw off her clothing and start trying on dresses. Some wore bathing suits or leotards as their were no changing rooms per say just draping and a few wheeled cloth dividers.
I felt sorry for the few men viewing this spectacle because though you would think it would be fun for a man trying to catch a peek at a boob or a leg here or there but instead all the men look like they were trapped in a horror flick... "Dawn of the Hysterical Budget Conscious Bride" or "Vera Wang Zombie". They were constantly walking outside for breaks then reluctantly returned to the madness. Believe you me, very few men would willingly sign up for this and the men there were either employees who had to be there and fiances who were probably threatened at gunpoint to attend.
I was actually looking for a wedding dress for my sister for her 2005 wedding. I know her size and what she likes and I planned on sketching the dresses I liked and faxing her a copy then she would call me with her choice ( this was way before camera phones were all the rage). I pulled out 5-7 dresses for her by designers like a Carolina Herrera that was normally priced at over $2,500. I picked out only 5-7 dresses because it's the amount of dresses that you can safely carry without tripping on them or dragging and soiling them.
One time, I saw the perfect dress on a 6 ft. rack packed with dresses. I reached out just to touch it and a lady's hand snapped out and stopped me real fast. "That's mine!" "Oh, sorry", I said and shrugged and moved on to the next dress on the rack that I liked but the lady stopped me again. "That's mine too." I looked at the rack and back at the lady...I'm beginning to see a trend here. "Okay, just tell me which one isn't yours and I'll start there. The lady turns to me real calmly and says "The whole rack is mine". I said, "Ma'am, you can not keep an entire rack of dresses for yourself... it's unfair to the other brides". She rolled her eyes at me and pushed the entire rack through the chaos to another part of the store where she kept her eye on it like a hawk, as she shopped for other dresses. Later, I heard one of the Filene's staff stop her and make her choose 5 dresses to go with off the rack then the rack was returned to the general area. The other women jumped on it like piranhas and all the dresses were gone in a matter of minutes.
Now back to shopping. Tips: For those of you who have never shopped for wedding dresses, sizing is important because these dresses come in sizes at least one size smaller than standard fit. My sister is a 4 usually but often buys a size 6 then tailors it but from the cut and look of some dresses I stuck with getting her all size 8's. I even saw a young woman in her early 20's who was the exact built of my sister but a few inches shorter so everything she tried on and modeled I analyzed for the fit and took notes. In fact, I actually found a few good ones for her that I knew my sister wouldn't like (i.e. all the poofy-foofy dresses) but this lady loved them.
Sadly, a few women gave me a scathing "really" look when I picked out dresses from the low dress size racks, being that I'm plus sized. I had to keep telling people that I am shopping for my sister. Luckily, the plus size stuff was beautiful too as was the stuff for the older brides so no one should have felt left out. In fact, there were a few first time brides in their 40's trying on dresses. I put my foot in it with one lady. She had just tried on a beautiful dress and another lady in her early 20's was helping her and admiring the dress. Both women were talking to each other like they were family. As the dress the older woman had on was a bit unconventional in the shade and style, I asked if she was the mother of the bride. Turns out she was the bride and the young lady was the bride's maid of another team whose bride had already found "the dress", so she decided to help this lady. The older lady didn't get ruffled though, instead she was all blushes and giggles. She showed us pictures of her fiance and gushed, "I can't believe I'm getting married!" Her happiness was so infectious that we all gathered around her and lauded how she looked in the dress and some even hugged her (Woman power!). I thank God for showing me that there's hope for us 40+ singles.
What does Filene's Basement have to do with Hollywood, you ask? First, there is a definite docu-drama in the making in this annual event and if I ever do a documentary, this would be it. Also, I have always loved fashion and shopping and have thought of getting into the movie biz through working as a costumer in the wardrobe department or a buyer or set dresser on set. I wrote more on this in my post on the 17th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit, which shows the costume design of films nominated for best costume for Oscars 2009.
Oh, by the way... my sister went with an absolutely gorgeous dress she bought online and the pics from her wedding ceremony were beautiful. I kept my sketches of the dresses as a memento of this wild event and I've just posted them on this blog.
Update August 29th 2009:
I want to wish my sister and her husband a "Happy Wedding Anniversary!"
Also, the D.C. area just had their Running of the Brides at Filene's Basement! Watch it at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjUU2stpkjo8NR=1
For more info on upcoming Running of the Brides events go to www.filenesbasement.com/bridal/
Sunday, April 26, 2009
I Love My Church!
I am in a beautiful mood, as today was another day of strong prayer of how God makes the impossible possible and strong testimonies from fellow members. Additionally, five people were baptised (3 adults and 2 teens) in the small pool set up in the lobby. I have attended all the baptisms since January and I am always strongly moved by them. This time, I provided strawberries and chocolates as my baptismal gift to them and left feeling very uplifted, even more than usual. I am preparing to "take the plunge", so to speak, myself so I have been praying and reading more about baptism from the Bible and other sources.
Scripture reading:
Nothing is impossible for God!
Hebrews Chap 11:6 and 1 Kings Chap. 17: 7-16
Here's a link to the church's web site:
http://www.livingfaith.org/
Scripture reading:
Nothing is impossible for God!
Hebrews Chap 11:6 and 1 Kings Chap. 17: 7-16
Here's a link to the church's web site:
http://www.livingfaith.org/
Sunday, April 5, 2009
It's Palm Sunday!
I've finally found a church home! It's called Living Faith and it is an evangelical church full of blessed pastors and people. I've been attending twice a week since before the New Year and have not missed a Sunday service since. The pastors are available 7 days a week for counseling and strong prayer. It's so nice to fellowship with fellow Christians.
God is great!
God is great!
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