There was a time when the blog on this site was current. That time may come again, but for now, journaling has been relegated to the archives. The rest of the site remains relevant.

• I’m writing two half-hour pilots. One is my Stark thesis project, and one is an extracurricular collaboration. Both are progressing well, but I have some anxiety about balancing writing/revising with my workload and other duties.
• This week I start interning on Black Dynamite the animated series. The pilot (embedded below) is sick, hilarious, and worth watching. I’ll probably be pimping the show here as the season unfolds.
• I was awarded a Stark Teaching Assistantship for both semesters. In addition to being a victory for my finances, the TAship will give me an opportunity to work with great professors and the next generation of Starkies. My first year already feels like a lifetime ago.

Between these projects and a full week of night-classes, this is going to be a busy year, but as always it’s hard to complain about work I love. I’m already looking forward to April, when my thesis is done and I’ll have the availability to work full-time. LA continues to be beautiful. Sarah’s voice studio has never had so many students, and she’s building a new singing career. I’m surrounded by talented, kind, and generous people. There are flowers and hummingbirds everywhere.

Driving is still the absolute fucking worst, but it can’t be la-la land all the time.

I took this at the Monterey Bay Aquarium while on our cross-country road trip last year. Watch in HD/fullscreen for an idea of how mesmerizing the real thing is.

It’s been exactly one year since we left Boston for Los Angeles. Nothing to regret, everything to celebrate. Happy 4th of July!

HIDEOUT THEATRE, AUSTIN TX

Our headlining show is at 10pm. We did an interview for the fest as well. This will be my first improv show in a year, and I’m looking forward to shaking off the rust.

This long meta-interview with Richard Ayoade resonates in unexpected ways. I feel compelled to see Submarine now, despite the interview’s overt attempts to steer clear of publicity. I’ve been a long-time fan of Garth Marenghi but, to the disdain of my peers, I’ve never enjoyed The IT Crowd. The more I learn about Mr. Ayoade the more I feel like I should be paying close attention to his work.

If you ever want to simulate a seizure, try to follow along with the mixer as he works on dialog:

It’s like watching the tv screen as somebody else plays a video game — nausea-inducing and highly stressful. The result, however, is so worth the process.

My first semester in the Peter Stark Producing Program is officially complete. This summer I’ll be interning and writing as much as possible; I’m not in the mood to relax just yet. I hope to post some reflections on my first year soon, but suffice it to say, it’s one of the best moves I’ve ever made.

We’re in the final 48 hours before sound lock, and then there’s just a few hours of mixing and we’re done, done, done with A VERY SHORT ENGAGEMENT.

Speaking of 48 Hours, good luck to all the Boston 48Hour Film Project teams who are currently scrambling to export their films before the deadline… looking forward to watching what you upload.