‘Twas my first time at the Hollywood Bowl this past weekend. (I know…crazy, right? I’ve also never been to Vegas…just thought I’d throw that out there.) And there was a ‘Sounds of 20th Century Fox’ concert where the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra played award-winning scores and scenes projected on the Bowl’s big screen. The concert was conducted by David Newman and hosted by Robert Osborne, and gave me an excuse to drink cheap Trader Joe’s wine and hang out with friends/the bf/enjoy the last bit of summer.

It’s pretty easy to get jaded out here and there are lots of negative people who will tell you negative things. But its refreshing to go to cool events like this that remind of the reasons why you came out here in the first place. I’m going to get super corny shortly, but really, if you read my blog, you’re well aware of this characteristic. Hearing the classic film scores from all the past from ‘The Sound of Music,’ ‘Planet of the Apes,’ ‘Avatar,’ and several other movies that I saw in a Tisch Film class but am sad to say that I don’t remember watching in its entirety, reminded me that I came out here because I love movies. I love TV. I love the power of how a well crafted film awakens your emotions because at the center of the glitz and glamour is a story that resonates truth and honesty.

A film that stands the test of time always has truth and characters that make you think, cry, laugh, or feel. Or in the case of ‘Planet of the Ape,’ guffaw with laughter as I did because this line is the best thing ever,
“Take your stinkin’ paws off me, you goddman dirty ape”- Yo Charlton Heston, chill out dude. They’re just hairy apes.

Also, my friend Germain, the biggest movie buff I’ve ever met in my life told me, “I’ve never seen “Sound of Music’ in its entirety.”
None of the other guys did either. What is with you people? This is classic!!! And of course, it was the last piece that the orchestra played and I sang along like a big freak. Yeah…Julie Andrews!


Moral of the story: Sometimes you need to sit in an outdoor stadium with visuals of Classic films, cheap red wine, an old hoodie, and your boyfriend’s shoulder to remind you that you are not a huge psycho for pursuing your goals. Sort of.

(All Photos via Jacquelyn Drayton)
I met Meaghan when I first moved here to LA, and was struck by how happy she seemed about life and what she did for a living. She had the “I’m living my life’s purpose glow.” A the time, she was teaching yoga classes all across LA at various yoga studios and fitness clubs, but she always seemed to have a bigger plan in mind. And so it became her own yoga/spinning studio called UpDog Fitness and Cycling, located in the heart of West Hollywood, which is gaining quite a celeb following as well as mentions in VOGUE magazine and more. I spoke with my good friend/yoga guru/CEO and founder of Updog Fitness and Cycling, Meaghan Townsend, about yoga, fitness, and going for what you want in life. Check out the interview:

Meaghan, you’re not from LA, are you? And how did you get started teaching yoga??
Well, I’m from up on the Massachusetts, and grew up playing a bunch of sports from lacrosse, tennis, softball,basketball, and sailing. I’m also a runner and have always had good endurance. I went to undergrad at Harvard and was visiting my cousin in California which is where I went to my first yoga class. All I remember was how good I felt afterward, and then I went back to Cambridge and did yoga there. Soon after graduating, I became a Business Analyst and it didn’t feel right. So, I started taking yoga teacher training, and it felt organic because every time I practiced, I loved it. I knew what I wanted to do.

Was your family supportive of your decision to be a yoga teacher?
My grandfather was Robert Kennedy and I obviously come from a very political, blue-blooded family, so I thought I had to be a doctor, lawyer, or business analyst. In the beginning, the fact that I was teaching yoga wasn’t really accepted by my family. But I just kept teaching classes and people asked me to sub classes. One thing lead to another, and I realized I loved teaching. My parents were like, “When are you going to business school?”

So, what inspires you in your work?
1) The fact that I’m doing something that is healthy and good for my body
2) Helping people and teaching them. When you help someone get over a fear, you’re helping them connect with their weaknesses. I’ve met so many people that tell me, “You changed my life. You bring me peace. You’ve helped me find joy.” It was such a change in my life from being sad at work to being joyful all the time. 98% of my life is happy and I didn’t ever think this would occur. I feel really lucky that I love my job, because I know 80% of America hates their job.

You have a big following with yoga classes here in LA. How do you keep it fresh for each class?
I take classes myself and have always hated when people did the same thing again. For me, as a teacher, I don’t want to be a robot. I need to shake it up which reflects in my classes, so I always want to keep students challenged and thinking of new things. Its important because your body gets used to certain yoga positions, so its also about getting into the same pose from a different angle. It changes your perspective. It reflects life… A lot of students tell me that their focus increases from regular yoga practice and affects how they are in daily life. So, how you are on your mat is how you are in life. For example, if you’re holding warrior 2 (a yoga pose) for a minute, then you can do it in life. Its funny that there are people who don’t use their bodies all day long but in yoga, you’re doing hundreds of things at one time. Your attitude toward yourself will change because of how you approach your practice.

You teach a tough class, but the music mixes that you make are pretty awesome and really add to the challenging classes. Hip-hop, classic rock, contemporary and the latest pop. How do you come up with the mixes?
I DJ during class with my ipod. I don’t know what I’m going to play in class because my class is based on whose in class. I have a hundred different playlists on my ipod for class. I spend five hours a day reading online about music because I have poor hearing and can’t really make out the music. So I created a system for understanding it with websites, charts, creating a matrix. Twenty different categories of music for each pose. I group songs based on the poses and the flow. Also, if I know some of my regular students like a certain type of song, I make sure its in my playlist. Its so complicated and crazy. People work really hard, have stressful lives, and this is an hour when they can learn and feel good in their bodies, and have a good time. I don’t want you to feel bad after practice. Music has an amazing effect on your practice itself and I try to make it as dynamic as possible.

Love it. So, how do you keep a healthy mindset about mind/body?
Yoga is the key for me. I was a girl who didn’t think she was pretty growing up and in my family, there was pressure to be amazing. I never felt like I could live up to it. Yoga took that out of me. I just wanted to do crow. Whatever. In the end, it has totally made me think of the positives about myself. It’s totally flip-flopped. I don’t think about that stuff because yoga takes the focus away from what you look like. I feel so good in my body doing yoga and it never accomplishes anything by being negative to yourself. It’s like… its pointless. When you become happier, your inner being becomes happier. There is something about feeling good within your body that makes you look better. The best beauty secret is doing yoga.

You recently fulfilled a dream to open Updog Fitness Yoga/Cycling studio here in West Hollywood. What’s it like to accomplish a dream?
Absolutely. I never knew that I’d open my own studio, let alone that it would be this beautiful. It has amazing energy and when people come in here, they always say the studio is beautiful. We have amazing teachers, great location, amazing students and we’re really lucky. This was my dream. I’ve always wanted to run my own business that helps people and makes people happier. When I was a business analyst, I loved going to yoga and the times I was most happy was during those times I was in class. Now, if people want to practice yoga during the day, they can come here and not just on the weekends. Accessibility.

You taught the aspiring stars in Hulu’s “If I Can Dream,” series. What was that like?
A student of a friend of mine got me connected with them. I taught them and they haven’t done yoga before. I was like their 1st or 2nd teacher and its great to watch beginners because the rate of growth is so quick. Its less translating what the teacher says to what their bodies feel. For an hour, you can teach them something that affect their sleep in a good way and that’s pretty impressive.

What else inspires you in life and how do you stay motivated and positive?
I think its rare that I found a job I love to do. I LOVE my job and am excited to go to work. That won’t happen for everybody. Some people teach and they don’t like it. For me, it works. In anything, you can be in a yoga pose and think, this pose sucks, why is she making me hold my arms like this. I’m tired. Then, you go into pigeon pose and you’re not happy. So understand that it’s your choice to be happy. It’s what’s going on inside. Your mindset. Choose to be happy and find one thing to be happy about.

For more about Meaghan and UPDOG FITNESS AND CYCLING, CLICK HERE.

So if you’ve seen my stand up routine, you might know that my parents live with me. No, this is definitely not by choice, but by necessity. I made a joke out of something that has weighed down on my shoulders for quite some time now. I mean what would you do if your mom or dad called you one day and said, “We don’t have anything. We’re coming to LA to live with you.”

Your 20′s are meant for struggling, figuring out who you are, getting drunk or high, trying out different things that you’d probably like to forget, spending way too much time on social networking, dating lots of stupid bad boys or maybe just spending too much time on online dating sites, but mostly, it is the time for you to make mistakes. You’re no longer newbies, but you don’t yet have the responsibilities of a family or mortgage. Until you do. The thing is, I’m a family gal. Family has always been really important to me, but its hard to try to figure out your own path while your super conservative Korean parents live with and depend on you.

People are always surprised when I tell them about why I love to perform, do comedy, blog, or sing. And the truth is that…when I do those things, I don’t have to answer to anyone. I’m literally listening to my own voice without anyone telling me their opinions about who I should be and its definitely freeing.

I did write a manifesto about being positive, but it gets really hard sometimes. You worry all the time about what the future holds, you wonder if you will always have a positive outlook when things look really bleak, and you ask yourself if you’ll always be worrying about what will happen with your parents. Granted, I pray a lot which helps me, but that doesn’t mean that life worries completely disappear. I know that my family isn’t the only one that is going through rough times given our country’s Economic climate, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t get wistful when seeing my friends live that fun 20-something life.

Thank God for views like this though. Whenever life gets to be too much, I like to escape to places where I’m completely surrounded by serene beauty of nature. Then, my mind gets clear and all is well…for now. Ya heard?

Random pics of me shot by the boyfriend. I actually thought he was just fiddling with his iPhone and considering I have not joined the real world and do not have a Smartphone…I didn’t know that this cool photo app existed.

In this last pic, I look like I’m in a cartoon. Sailor Moon or something? lol

Turner Lange is a talented dude. As an animator/writer/advertising illustrator, Turner is someone whose creativity is just a part of his DNA. I had a chance to check out his new comic book, “The Adventures of Wally Fresh,” about the Wally Fresh, a character who gets his life put in weird and interesting situations. Check out the interview!

Tell us about yourself. How did you get started as a comic book writer?
This entire project from beginning to end is a labor of Love. I was primarily trained as an animator and after school I went into advertising illustration (storyboards, style frames, concept design) I’ve been bouncing around the industry for a little over six years now Jumping back and forth from music videos to television and commercials. The writing portion kinda came about from my film directing background, I’ve written a slew of short film scripts a few spec pilots and a feature. Wanting to take up a new project I decided to try my hand at comics.

So..the title of your comic is “The Adventures of Wally Fresh.” Please do elaborate on how this story came about?
Wally Fresh is my attempt at genre mashing I lived in New York for almost ten years and really dug my time there, Plus the city itself is such a great backdrop for stories cuz anything can and will happen. So I was looking for a premise that would kinda let me go anywhere I wanted in terms of storytelling. I think at one point I kinda had it as an idiosyncratic kind of book where it was more about the everyday stuff, but when I did a first pass on it it felt kinda stale so I went back retooled it and kinda tried to build into the premise ways to take the characters to other places. And kinda of bring an extraordinary twist to mundane situations. Thats kinda where the spirit animal Barry comes in. Once I gave him to Wally then it was kinda like “well, a talking animal is kinda the tip of the iceberg”

Did you grow up reading tons of comic books? If so, which ones were your favorites?
Yeah My brother and I were comic kids growing. He was pretty instrumental in my creative development and even now he’s still the one feeding me whats hip and whats cool. but growing up I was a big image kid Wildstorm had a bunch of titles I would pick up.( until about 11th grade I thought Jim lee was the man) but Alot of Image, Marvel, DC and Valiant.

Hollywood loves comics. Especially taking them and making them into big Blockbuster films… What do you envision for “The Adventures of Wally Fresh.”
Well first and foremost is to finish this initial story arc. But There’s a lot of places these character could go, and what I’m trying to do is establish Wally Fresh as kind of the initial window into that universe. Kinda like it’s the intersection where all this stuff happens, where crazy characters meet and interact but everything kind of expands out of that initial window. As for different forms it could take (animation, live action, CG) I’m letting the idea itself kinda dictate that.

Very cool. How can we get a copy of this comic?
Well this inital print run has completely sold out I’m happy to say. But we’ll be doing a second run with a local L.A distribution. The spots we’re looking to hit are Secret head quarters, House of Secrets, Meltdown, and Golden apple.

What’s your creative process? How do you get inspired to write/create your projects?
I think of the stuff I want to see or stuff I haven’t seen that I think should be going on and kinda start from there. Alot of ” oh man it would be sweet if this would happen here or if that would happen there,” and then kinda work backwards from there, it’s kinda like “well what would happen if Wally went back in time? okay how would he go back in time, what would he need?”

Last meal on earth?
Italian dinner at La Mela in NoLita.

NYC! Top 5 songs in your ipod?
Conceptions (4hero)
Said and done (orgone)
Ruling ‘is it’s own reward’ (Supagroup)
Alright (Janet Jackson)
Bad Boys theme (Mark Mancina)

Thanks for your time, Turner! For more information about Wally Fresh, CLICK HERE.

My brother and I have had our share of ups and downs, but what siblings haven’t? He’s the person who taught me how to be tough, how to act around boys, and always told me to wipe away my tears when I acted “too girly.” I was always that little sister who tried to hang out with her big brother and his friends and he never babied me at all. Instead, he treated me like a little brother which sounds bad, but actually made me really strong. The thing is..the tough times that our family faced..we couldn’t have done it without having an inner toughness and resilience. Maybe its an Ahn thing. He’s talented in many ways, and most recently he produced a film entitled, “Ruby Booby,” and has been working his ass off! I interviewed Mr. Andrew Ahn himself and oh yeah, Happy B-day Oppa!

How did you get involved with producing “Ruby Booby?”

I met the Tara and Jon of Ruby Booby through Craigslist. Thank God for Craigslist.

What got you into the producing game?

First and foremost, I love film. I really fucking love it. It’s something that I’ve dreamt about doing for over ten years. So most of my career decisions were geared towards entertainment. I mean I moved out to LA for the sole purpose of working in film. And naturally, I’m a business minded individual and I got that “Hustler” mentality and being a producer, you need to have that kind of attitude. It just made sense for me to go in that direction.

Starting out, it was really tough. I worked random odd jobs for the first 3 years and then found work in reality television on the post side. While working my weekday job, I’d take on small projects on the weekends as a coordinator. Working on set and then getting post side experience mentally brought things together and I could see everything from a macro POV. It was a tremendous learning experience. A show I was working on ended early 2009 and instead of jumping back in the television side of things, I just threw everything I had into producing films. I ended up working on a feature length film, Desire Street in the summer of 2009 that turned out to be an eye opening experience. That led me to some smaller projects and finally brought me to Ruby Booby.

What is the most rewarding part about being an independent producer?

I’d say the most rewarding part of being an indie producer is that you get a lot of freedom to tell the stories that you want to tell. We’re not really bogged by having to deal with making a product for the mass market, but rather films that really ring true to our thoughts and ideas. Although that might not as financial rewarding as say a Hollywood production, it allows us to take more risks with our storytelling. Essentially it allows us to figure out our style on our own terms. We can carve out our own space first and then we can go from there down the line.

The most challenging part about being an independent producer?

The most challenging part of being a indie producer or any producer for that matter is getting it off the ground. It’s just that as an indie producer, the chips that are stacked against you are that much higher and more intimidating. We don’t have that credit line or access to financing and so we have to squeeze everything out of all of our resources that we have. For Ruby Booby, we basically asked friends and family for donations or borrowed money. And everyone was so grateful to help out. It was just amazing. They really believed in the project. The other challenging part was finding a crew that would work for basically nothing. But the story was so compelling that we were able to gather an amazing crew that came aboard, donating their time to make this film happen. I mean without them, this film fails to exist.

But these were all challenges that we had to face throughout the production, but we were able to make it happen and that was what made the project even more amazing. Just everything that came together, made facing those challenges worthwhile. We all grew a lot from them.

Very Cool. So, tell us about how you are looking to raise money to finish “Ruby Booby.” Why are you going about fundraising this way?

We set up www.rubyboobythemovie.com to get people to see our teaser trailer, behind the scenes footage, photos and tons of other information. Our hope is that people might be interested in supporting our film by donating a couple bucks here, a couple bucks there and be personally invested in the success of the film. If they like what they see and would like to help, there is a donation menu where we would for example give them a copy of the DVD for a $35 donation or if you donate a larger amount, an executive producer credit. Right now, our greatest need is money to finish up post. That includes sound design, music and color correction among many others. Any donation or support would be greatly appreciated.

The reason why we decided to go about fundraising this way was because the budget of the film was so low, that it was within our means to do it this way. If we tried to go the traditional route of asking for money through investors and such, we would be sitting, waiting, twiddling our thumbs waiting for an answer. We just decided to move the project forward, borrowed all of our equipment, asked friends and family for money and filmed over the course of a month. This forced us to keep the budget as low as possible, but because the story was so important we were extremely prudent in making sure that we didn’t sacrifice that. We were all forced to produce in some way or another.

We are gonna work our asses off to get this amazing story out to the public. We all believe in Jon’s story, which truly deserves to be seen on the big screen.

F’sho. So, what are the types of projects that you hope to produce in the future?

I’m in this game to make interesting, compelling, thought-provoking, inspirational films. Whether it might be a comedy or horror film, whether it is independently financed or a multi-billion dollar studio production, I’m here to make DOPE films. And as long as the films are up to the high standard that I put on myself every single day, I feel that I’ve accomplished what I came to do in this game.

What inspires you to pursue this very difficult career?

It’s what I came into this world to do. It’s not a career or a job. This is who I am. Simple as that.

Do your thang, Andrew! For more information about Ruby Booby The Movie, CLICK HERE.
And this is my bro’s other passion for performing! Our family is just a bunch of attention-hungry freaks, aren’t we?

I’ve taken the Metro a few times since living in LA. I think its a hybrid of the MTA in NYC and Septa in Philly. The weirdest thing is that there’s no one there to check if you have a ticket, but apparently there are secret officers who can catch and fine you if you try to get on the Metro without paying. WEIRD!!!! Anyway… was quick, simple, and I felt like I was back in NY. HOLLA…

Oh and where I was going on this fabulous Metro? The Premiere of “Despicable Me,” at LA Live with RealTVAddict Editor, Germain Lussier. I think you’ll enjoy this film..cute stuff!

And of course, this is the love of my life. Meet the Minion. Only because I’m five years old, apparently.

Erin and I headed to PacSun’s Summer Solstice Beach Ballyhoo this past weekend for MySpace Fashion, and to celebrate the brands that make a SoCal summer and included performances by AWOLNATION, Bad Rabbits, As Tall As Lions, Yelawolf, Ra Ra Riot, Circa Survive, Hey Champ, Eye Alaska, Neon Trees, Steel Train, and Matt and Kim. Oh, and of course, Mr. Hotlanta himself, B.o.B who has 2 of the top Billboard songs in the nation right now with “Nothin on You,” featuring Bruno Mars and “Airplanes,” with Hayley Williams of Paramore.
“Nothin’ on You”

“Airplanes”

Check out the Pics/Video

I was the photographer/videographer and it was interesting to see the crowd from the Artist’s POV. I’m so used to being in a crappy row at concerts, so this was a good change.

Did you know B.o.B can also rock a guitar and piano?

And what girlatastartup entry would be complete without interviews where I go to up random people and ask them questions?
“SoCal Street Style for MySpace Fashion”

Check us out on the MySpace Fashion Blog!

Events can usually be hit or miss in terms of engagement factor, but I’m happy to say that this one was a go. My MySpace Fashion buddy, Erin Bunch, and I headed over to Shape Magazine/Prettycity.com’s 2nd Annual Green and Gorgeous Campaign eco-chic event that was hosted by Environment Furniture, the innovative design brand whose use of uncommon woods, reclaimed, recycled and repurposed woods and canvas, have established them as design pioneers. Celeb fans include Julia Roberts and Leonardo DiCaprio who are fans of the brand’s sense of the aesthetic using only sustainable materials.
The packed event included gorgeous and organic beauty brands including ROB|B OPI Concept Salon, Orange Berlin, the Sofitel Spa, Bliss Spa Hollywood, JUICE beauty, Rand Hills Naturals, and many more. We were loving the reusable SWAG bags with organic products!

Here are my favorite people, Geraldine and Eric, marketing coordinator for Environment furniture.

Me and my fellow MySpace Fashion gal, Erin Bunch

More Event pics… I wanted to get a massage but these lines were ridiculously long.

I covered the Haus of Shimmer event last night for MySpace Fashion, here in Hollywood and felt out of place without 10 inch heels and loads of glitter makeup. This three-day event at Space 15 Twenty runs from June 4-6, featuring a pop-up shop with exclusive items from Chubby Bunny, Jessica Louise, Audrey Kitching, Lil’ Rae Cakes, and JapanLA (and upcoming Sanrio collaborations). Last night was the “Extreme Shiny Outfit Contest,” which I did NOT rock out. I did take a pic with Hello Kitty though. Totally obligatory..way Asian. LOL.