Music Festivals

There is nothing like the buzz at a good music festival to add some great memories to your summer. It was looking like my summer would come to a close without seeing any live music. Then, a Penn State friend of mine who is living in Santa Monica this summer invited me to join him at a charity festival that included one of his favorite bands. I was excited enough already to check out some new bands, but I became even more excited when I learned it would be held at none other than Paramount Studios.

It was called the Billabong Design for Humanity. The festival featured the bands Imagine Dragons, Walk the Moon, The Lumineers, and The Joy Formidable. I went into it not knowing a single song by any of them and walked away a big fan of them all. If you like music festivals, I recommend checking these bands out. 

Besides good music, the festival featured a variety of artists. They had an art gallery set up with a silent auction going on. They had graffiti artists decorating walls to take pictures in front of, and they had unique merchants selling items such as "jammy packs". It is a fanny pack with a speaker on the front that you can plug your phone or ipod into.

The festival drew in a large crowd, including a few celebrities. I spotted Ben Nemtin of The Buried Life, Sophia Bush of One Tree Hill, and Lea Michele of Glee.

All in all, it was a really fun night. I look forward to attending again next year!

The Bu

I had done a decent job fending it off, but the sun and it's powerful rays caught up to me this past Tuesday on my trip to Malibu. My shoulders and knees turned into tomatoes, but, with the help of my wonderful Aloe Ocean Potion lotion (say that ten times fast) I am getting back to my normal paleness.

It was a beautiful day! Not a cloud in the sky, a gentle breeze, and warm sand. The water is pretty frigid, but nice to walk in. I relaxed on an uncrowded beach with my Dublin roommate and the little boy she babysits while we ate lunch.

Malibu is not at all what I expected. There is no real town like in Santa Barbara. It is mostly just and endless strip of beach, some areas public and some areas private with beautiful houses. I picked out a few I wouldn't mind buying. If anyone wants to pitch in $5-10 million, let me know. I will happily accept housemates!

Before taking our trip to Malibu, we started the day with a nice hike up to a mountain top that boasted a breathtaking view of Simi Valley in all it's glory.

I did hear back from my interviewer at Voltage Pictures. Rather than bring me in early and have me writing script coverage, he said he passed my resume on to an Assistant Editor of the feature The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman. I looked it up on IMDB, and it has a few recognizable names in the cast such as Shia LaBouf and Rupert Grint. I am beyond excited at this opportunity. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, because I imagine there is a good chance that nothing will come of it. However, the fact that there is possibility has me dancing in my head.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge the completely different world that is Beverly Hills. I was driving through West Hollywood on the way to an interview and was thinking how different it was from East Hollywood. Then I crossed into Beverly Hills city limits. Everything about it is so well-kept. You definitely get what you are paying for when you live there.

I also happened upon Paramount Pictures studios on my way home. I was tempted to leave my resume at the gate, but the traffic flow wouldn't allow we to make a left turn onto their lot. Typical L.A.