Think Floyd?

New Hair Poll!

2012-01-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! So in the quest to figure out what to do with my hair before my next headshot shoot, I've posted a new poll. The poll has my current top options listed, but you are welcome to leave comments here if there's some other look I've... overlooked.

See what I did there? :)

Poll is in the column to the right! Vote away!

More wigs!

2012-01-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

Some of these are crazier than I'd want to actually try, but it was fun trying them on. :)

Playing with wigs. :)

2012-01-25T02:32:00.000-08:00

So I've been toying with the idea of dying my hair a darker color, an auburn or dark reddish shade. Lots of folks told me, "Try a wig! See if you like it first!" So that's what I did today. Gonna go to one other wig place tomorrow and experiment some more. But thus far I am intrigued! What do you think? I only wish my real hair was as thick as these wigs. :P There are actually two different wigs in these pics, but I can't really tell which one is which! The lighting and angles makes slight differences here and there.

My Top Songs of 2011

2012-01-18T02:05:00.000-08:00

So I know this song is technically from late 2010, but I only discovered it a few months ago, so as far as I'm concerned, it's my anthem of the year. Can't believe it wasn't a single. What's up with that, MAA? :)

"Hangover Payback" by MAA

Also fairly pleased with Darren Hayes's new album, "Secret Codes and Battleships." A few of the tracks remind me a bit of two of my other English-languages mainstays, Coldplay and Snow Patrol.

"Bloodstained Heart" by Darren Hayes

In the K-Pop field, I'm leaning towards 2NE1. They kick ass on a regular basis!

"I Am the Best" by 2NE1

New Blog Settled!

2012-01-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

So my Wordpress experiment was not working out as well as hoped, so I moved everything to this new Blogspot address. That should be the end of the matter for the time being! This new blog is now conveniently merged on my end with my main website, www.allysonfloyd.com. Delete any links to my old blog, allysonfloyd.blogspot.com, or the temporary one at allysonfloyd.wordpress.com.

Maybe at some point Google will let me rename this site to "allysonfloyd," but since that name is unavailable (90 day rule, I think), for now it's "allyson-floyd" with a hyphen.

And it seems a good 75% of friends polled think I should try out auburn hair for a while! I just might try it out. Final decision pending. :)

Spin Magazine lists K-Pop among “Best of 2011″

2012-01-17T01:09:00.001-08:00

Did you know Spin magazine listed a K-Pop song as one of their 20 Best of 2011? Yep. It’s “Bubble Pop” by Hyuna!

Spin Magazine ranks “Bubble Pop” by Hyuna at #9 for 2011

“Bubble Pop” MV

Tune in Tokyo's Interview with AX Live!

2011-06-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

Anime Expo gets into full swing tomorrow at the Los Angeles Convention Center! Tune in Tokyo will be playing on Saturday night at the Club Nokia VIP Lounge. To prepare, check out our interview with AX Live!

Tune in Tokyo to play Anime Expo 2011

2011-06-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

As announced by Anime News Network, Tune in Tokyo will be hosting the Saturday night dance at Club Nokia's VIP room as part of Anime Expo. Come and rock out to some world class global pop music at the country's largest anime convention!

Tune in Tokyo gets more LA Weekly Coverage!

2011-04-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

Check out the slideshow for our last event at Royal/T at LA Weekly Online!

See Me as Lady Gaga on Jimmy Kimmel (Again!)

2011-03-30T00:55:00.000-07:00

That's right, I got booked a second time to play Lady Gaga in a Jimmy Kimmel sketch. Once again, you cannot see my face. A decent gig, nonetheless!

Hiromu Arakawa's New Manga Series "Silver Spoon" to debut in April

2011-03-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hiromu Arakawa, creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, to debut new series in April in Shonen Sunday. Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji) is apparently going to be set in a high school, which has me skeptical. What's to differentiate it from the zillions of other high school manga out there? Of course, if it's Arakawa, it's bound to be good, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. ^_^

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-03-25/fma-hiromu-arakawa-starts-silver-spoon-school-manga

Tomorrow Night in Little Tokyo: the Q Pop Help Japan Art Fundraiser!

2011-03-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

Join us this Friday at the Q Pop Help Japan Art fundraiser from 7PM-11PM in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles! Live performances by Dig Jelly, Stephanie Yanez and Po Lo, music from the Tune in Tokyo DJs (that includes me!), silent auction, and more! $5 donation requested. Come one, come all! Have fun on a Friday night AND make a difference - how can you go wrong? For the country that has brought us so much amazing music, animation, fashion and culture, this is the least we can do in return. ^_^

Tune in Tokyo and Diamond present Holiday Hot Mess on Tuesday, Dec 21st!

2010-12-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

Following is our press release for the event tomorrow night!

----------------------

Tune in Tokyo and Diamond Gal Circle present "Holiday Hot Mess" at Royal/T

LOS ANGELES, CA (December 11th, 2010)—Tune in Tokyo and Diamond Gal Circle announce our first holiday party at Royal/T Cafe and Artspace, "HOLIDAY HOT MESS"! Join us for a night of Japanese Gal and Punk fashion, J-Pop and ParaPara dances, a performance by rock band Dig Jelly, and tons of holiday fun at LA's most beautiful and cutting edge cafe and art gallery!

HOLIDAY HOT MESS spotlights the Gyaru (or "Gal") fashion movement that developed in Japan's Shibuya neighborhood and other trendy locations in Tokyo. Diamond, a national Gyaru-Sa (or "Gal Circle) will host the event, which will include a holiday fashion show by STAR COUTURE, and other activities that will introduce the world of GAL fashion to LA!

Punk fashion will be represented as well, with leading Japanese label h.NAOTO presenting a video of their latest TOKYO COLLECTION, and offering prizes from their Hangry & Angry, SIXh. and h.NAOTO lines for "best dressed" There will also be door prizes from online music retailer JapanFiles and Japanese culture blog Kawaii Kakkoii Sugoi!

This is your opportunity express, and celebrate your love of Japanese Gal and Punk fashion! We’ll be offering a dramatic glimpse into Gal life and fashion in Tokyo, but you can also show us what kind of Japanese fashion inspires you! Feel free to dress up! Shibuya and Harajuku street fashion is encouraged (but of course, not required).

This trip into Gyaru subculture wouldn't be complete without PARAPARA, the driving, Eurobeat-informed, syncronized dance from Japan best known through video games like "ParaParaParadise". Special guest DJ Yuki will be spinning the best in ParaPara tracks, with routines demonstrated for newcomers!

Dig Jelly, the Los Angeles based hard rock band fronted by Japanese vocalist Rayko, will take the stage later in the evening. The Tune in Tokyo DJs will also be dropping J-Pop, K-Pop, and Global Dance throughout the night.

In addition, partygoers will have two great options for getting photographed in their holiday best! Cosplay in America creator and photographer Ejen Chuang will be shooting portraits, and we'll also have a $2 mistletoe instant photo booth!

Royal/T will also be offering a limited light menu (at an additional charge). Menu and prices to be announced.

Admission for the event is $10. All ages are welcome!

This is the Gal Fashion and J-Pop event of the year! It's your chance to be both naughty and nice! Join LA's only Japanese & Global Pop DJ Unit Tune in Tokyo, and Diamond Gyaru-Sa for HOLIDAY HOT MESS!

Tune in Tokyo to Headline Friday Night Dance at Pacific Media Expo

2010-11-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

Tune in Tokyo will be spinning tracks for the big dance at Pacific Media Expo this year. Come and see us!

Tune in Tokyo October 28!

2010-10-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

Check it out - we've got some sweet new group photos! ^_^

Allyson as "Lady Gaga" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

2010-09-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

It's me as "Lady Gaga" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Where Can I Get a Poster of This???

2009-07-06T01:57:00.000-07:00

OVERLOAD, pleasure overload!!! O_O

This was just posted on the Official Fullmetal Alchemist site in Japan today (right alongside a commercial featuring the first clips of the new characters). I WANT IT ON MY WALL. RIGHT NOW. The split between plot in the old series and the new has finally arrived as of this week's episode! Can't wait to see the gang from Xing animated! And look at how badass Olivier Armstrong is!

Wow. Epic poster is epic! :D

A Day at Coachella!

2009-04-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

If you had asked me a month ago, I would have had no idea what Coachella was; turns out it's now become one of the highlights of my year thus far!

A friend from New York contacted me out of the blue and told me she'd be in LA for a few days and had two free VIP passes to the music festival Coachella and would I like to go? I had heard it briefly mentioned by one of my fellow DJs who was also going, but still didn't really know what it was. But sure, why not? I'm always up for a random mini-adventure...

Well, we got there (amidst a ridiculously long stream of cars waiting to get into the place... they really must work on their parking procedures), saw We Are Scientists (the lovely sources of our free VIP tickets; thanks much!) and then took a tour of the unique festival decor:

I was very impressed that the VIP section had a "raw and organic" food stand. Only in California...

The highlight of the night was Paul McCartney... who I'd had no idea was going to be there! I hadn't looked up the festival online ahead of time and had not seen the schedule until that morning. I really don't know what else to say except that he was utterly awesome (and full of energy for an old guy). He played for not one, not two, but for TWO and a HALF hours. Yeesh. He just kept going! I was tired and ready to go long before the end and I wasn't even the one on stage, haha! O_O

Getting out of the festival was an adventure unto itself... even though I have a good sense of direction and knew where I had parked, the flood of people at the exit kind of forced you to follow one direction. "Okay," I thought, "We'll just loop around to the right lot." Famous last words... O_o

An HOUR later, we found my car (hey, at least it was only an hour... and fortunately there was leftover Easter chocolate in the car to help us recover!). Ironically, it's possible our little detour got us out of the entire mess earlier than we would have, since over the course of our various wanderings we came up on the correct lot from behind. The line of cars waiting to exit were all headed in the opposite direction (and moving at a grand total of about 1 mile per hour). "Uhhhh... okay," we thought, "We're just gonna go back the way we came. Suckers!" o_O And we zipped right out onto the road. We ran into one small backup that lasted about ten minutes partway out of town, but then we were on the freeway and zooming back towards LA.

I may not have gotten to bed until 7 AM Saturday morning, but it was well worth it! :)

Songs of the Week

2009-03-17T23:46:00.000-07:00

Not to suggest that this will actually be a weekly thing, but I'm REALLY enjoying these particular songs this week and had to share!

Crystal Kay - "Namida no Saki Ni (Beyond the Tears)"

Translation

Uverworld - "Sora (Sky)"

Translation

Composer Yuki Kajiura - "A Song of Storm and Fire" from "Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle"

No translation necessary on that last one, since it's a completely MADE-UP language. :)

My favorite type of music - the soaring kind!

Truly the universal language...

The Sundance Report 2009

2009-01-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

I actually got back from Sundance late on Monday night, but even now, the better part of two days later, I have yet to recover! You know you've had a good time when you've run around so much it nearly makes you sick. I say "nearly" because I'm not so badly off that I'm curled up miserable in bed. But I do have a sore throat (too much talking?!) and a slight case of the sniffles.

The five days spent either at or en route to/from Sundance felt like a good two weeks. Partially, it was the driving. It was 10 hours each way to and from LA and an additional hour of commute time each of the three days at the festival because we were staying at a friend of a friend's place in Spanish Fork, Utah. And partially, it was the weather change. 86 degrees when we left Los Angeles. A low of 8 degrees our last night in Utah. Amazing the different a mere 10 hours of driving time can make, huh? But most of all, it was the flurry of parties we all fanagled our ways into and the people we knew who we ran into all over the city. They aren't kidding if they say half of LA migrated to Park City! In fact, my roomies I left behind in Burbank had a house party Sunday night, entitled "Everyone Except Us Went to Sundance!"

Ironically, I only made it to one screening the whole three days: Shorts Program 5. Please contain your excitement!!! Hah. Basically, tickets were sold out for everything and that was all we could get without being famous. One of the shorts, however, was an NYU grad film and another of them had a cameo by Zachary Quinto, so I would say they were worthwhile. Now, a couple people in our group camped out in front of the box office overnight to try to get a few extra tickets for one of the premieres. In the process, they actually also managed to get a ticket to a Japanese movie that I wanted to see... but then my alarm didn't go off and I missed it anyway. Sigh!

One thing you should know about the group I was with: while we were up there, they were trying to crazy-promote their finalist in the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl competition. We left voteforthecat.com stickers all over Park City! If you took one of the Sundance shuttle buses at any point, odds are you saw one of their stickers...

The party highlights included:

-The Kenneth Cole party. We got into this one on the coattails of a friend in our group who had very small parts in "Frost/Nixon" and "500 Days of Summer" (which was premiering at the festival)... not to mention that we had a very talented publicist with us. Although it still took us almost an hour to get in... and it was freakin' cold outside! Free perfume swag. Yahoo. I actually found a news article on this one online. Click here.

-A few British guys with very outgoing personalities (one of them almost a caricature, really!) invited us back to their hotel room party. It was a VERY posh ski resort penthouse, which I am positive was about twice as large as my townhouse back in Burbank. I found it hilarious that their idea of partying was to "rock out" to the bands "Snow Patrol" and "Kings of Leon" (coincidentally, two of my favorites). I really should have been born in the UK!

-The NYU Tisch School of the Arts party. This party was obviously my favorite. Go NYU! They had crab cakes! And fruit tarts! Fellow alumnus and director Brett Ratner told my friend Aaron that he was the best-dressed guy at Sundance. We chatted for a bit with the fellow whose grad film was in the shorts program we saw. We also ran into some alumni council folks who had been to one of my house parties back in Burbank before. Got a Tisch scarf and some other little freebies on the way out, as well as an invite to the NBC/Universal party.

-The NBC/Universal party. Met some cool folks, including the director of the short with Zachary Quinto. Apparently he used to rent from one of the crew members before he hit the big time, so he agree to make a cameo in the film as a geeky gay salesman with braces. Nice.

-"The Cove" after-party. This was a new documentary produced by NBC, about a cove in Japan. I haven't seen it, but I heard it features dolphins... lots of them. Lovely imagery, based on the photos I saw displayed on the wall.

Some interesting side notes:

-We actually got our pictures snapped by the paparazzi a few times. O_o One guy in our group had met the driver of a black Hummer the night before and took his card. We then utilized his "taxi" several times over the course of the next couple days. See, when you're well-dressed and step out of a black Hummer with tinted windows, even if they don't know exactly who you are, at Sundance, they will take your photo anyway, just in case!!!

-Aside from the unscheduled photogs, my group had also actually hired a couple photographers as part of their publicity blitz for their commercial. Sundance conveniently provides photo backdrops out on Main Street, so all we had to do was get in front of them and take some pictures. I have yet to see them, but hopefully soon.

-I apparently missed seeing Daniel Radcliffe walking out on Main Street by about ten minutes or so. D'oh.

-A "dream interpreter" on one of the shuttle buses told me I have an air of "royalty" and a "divine creative energy." Um. Okay. Thanks! O_o The next night, someone else at the Cove party told me I "shine." Well, here's hoping a few casting directors down the road will agree...!

-The same "dream interpreter" at first had asked if I was my friend Aaron's administrative assistant. HAH, no way. A mere hour later, someone else at the NYU party said they were intimidated to come and talk to me because Aaron looked like my bodyguard (he is quite tall and, as Brett Ratner observed, was dressed quite sharply). Geez people, which is it gonna be, lol?!

I'm sure I could say more, but I think I've had enough. Here's looking forward to next year's Sundance!!!

Utada "Come Back to Me" - New English Single!

2009-01-12T02:01:00.000-08:00

Oh ye English-language music snobs, click the following link before disregarding this message:

Come Back to Me

I'm one happy little J-Pop fan tonight, since I just discovered and listened to Hikaru Utada's brand new English single! For the uninitiated, Hikaru is one of Japan's top acts and one of my personal favorite musical artists. She was actually born in New York and is fluent in both English and Japanese, which means she can sing in English without sounding ridiculous (as many Japanese artists often unfortunately do).

She tried her hand at an English-language album a couple of years ago, with the ill-received "Exodus." And even as a fan of hers, I can see why. Here a lyric sample from that album: "You're easy-breezy and I'm Japanesey." *shudder* No shocker that album flopped.

But THIS, now this new material sounds like it might actually have a chance of cracking the English billboard and radio charts. Here's hoping!!!

Joyness!

Happy New Year 2009! Times Square, Deborah Aquila, Demi Lovato and... Tribbles?!

2009-01-12T00:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

Okay, so we're almost two weeks into the New Year now, but hey, I've been busy!

2009 started off with a bang as two of my best buds and I trekked it to Times Square and zero-degree windchill factors. However, we played it safe (and somewhat naughty) as we ducked into a pizza parlor around 6 PM and stayed there... until 11:55!!! We then darted outside just in time to watch the ball drop!

Now, we didn't quite mean to be quite so under-the-radar. The night actually started out on a shaky note, as 1) Barbara was running late thanks to heavy snow up north, and 2) once she did arrive and we made our way to the "pens," we discovered that they weren't allowing backpacks or any large bags at all. Two of us had large bags. And what were we supposed to do with them at that point in time (almost 6PM?). If we had trudged off to find, say, a locker at the Port Authority, we'd never make it back in time to get a decent spot in the Square. Meanwhile, the police weren't allowing anyone to loiter in the cross streets between pens. Plus, it was already freezing cold.

What to do, what to do? Temporary solution: FOOD! Barb was hungry, so we went into a Famiglia's within view of the ball, just up the street from the main part of the Square. Once we had a table in a back corner, well... we just kind of just stayed! The place got more and more crowded as time went by and other party-goers retreated inside to escape the cold and/or use the facilities, but this actually worked out well enough for us, since it allowed us to stay quite incognito. We had Christmas cookies, notebook paper and a pencil; what more could we need for hours of entertainment? Management did eventually crack down on the crowds once the restaurant became too full to even walk through, but we were able to keep our spot as long as we had food from the restaurant at our table (never mind how long we took to eat it...!).

After midnight, it was easy enough to go against the flow of traffic and make our way INTO the Square, where we got our fill of pictures as we waded through rivers of trash and confetti. More than one crazy drunk person leaped into our photos... So all in all, sure, we missed out on the live musical acts in the center of Times Square that night, but on the plus side, we stayed warm and cozy while everyone else froze their buns off!

Funny Holiday Traveling Adventures:

1) My plane from Burbank on December 20 was delayed for ICE. They couldn't find the ice thawing machine. Then they found it, but no one was "qualified" to use it! Yeesh. Southern Californians.
2) One of my roomie's good friends was not only on my flight from Burbank to Denver (my transfer hub), but he was also just across the aisle from me!
3) On my return flight on January 2nd, one of MY friends and his daughter was on my flight from Denver TO Burbank! What are the odds I'd have someone I know on BOTH of my flights to and from LA/Denver? That said, I noticed that some folks next to me on the initial return flight from Washington Dulles to Denver also ran into someone THEY knew on that plane. Small world. :)

Once I got back to LA on the 2nd, I dove right back into things at the Anime Los Angeles convention (where I was flattered to find that several people recognized me from DJing). I also got to meet the guy who wrote the "Trouble With Tribbles" episode of the original "Star Trek," which was a nice and unexpected little event. However, my ribbon count was as pathetic as ever, with only a "Guest of Guest" and a "(runs happily in circles)" to show for myself on my badge. I always wonder where the folks with the 50+ ribbons manage to find all of theirs, but then, well, I figure they must have a lot more spare time... O_o

Earlier this week on Wednesday, I went to a Liferaft event at SAG, an evening with the casting directors Deborah Aquila and Donna Morong. This was a particularly interesting Q&A to me for two reasons: 1) Deborah also went to NYU Tisch, and 2) she did the casting for "Twilight" (a film whose sequel I would very much like to be a part of... yeah, me and everyone else in Hollywood, right?). In any case, whether or not she's doing the casting for "New Moon," I still enjoyed meeting Deborah, as we had a nice little chat afterwards about NYU and the fact that I majored in screenwriting as opposed to acting (a fact which she applauded, quoting a stronger grasp on character development).

This was also compounded by the job I worked on Thursday and Friday, Demi Lovato's new show "Sonny With a Chance" over at NBC Burbank. The characters on the SNL-esque sketch comedy show within the show spent quite some time mooning over their supposed guest host, the "dreamy" star of the new vampire movie "Tridark" (who, FYI, never showed up). Haha, kids. :P~

I've also discovered that they like pigs on Disney shows. In the last six months, I've encountered pigs on set at both "The Suite Life on Deck" and now also "Sonny With a Chance." While the pigs at "Sonny" the other day were smaller and cuter than the one they had at "Suite Life" (think "Babe"), they were also very noisy. One of the little things wouldn't stop screaming its' head off every time they handed it over to Demi! Bit scary, actually. FYI, they were switching off between two little pigs that day. One was named "Halle" and the other was named "Berry." Heehee!

On a closing note, I'm GOING TO SUNDANCE, FOLKS. Woohoo! I've already RSVPed for the Tisch party. Guess we'll see what else we manage to finagle our ways into? Details later.

LA Weekly Blogs on Tune in Tokyo!

2008-12-24T00:11:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, we got publicity! Check it out!

Tune in Tokyo is featured in PLAY, the LA Weekly's Music Blog this week! Now is your chance to help put J-Rock on the map in Los Angeles! If you attended our event, be sure to leave feedback in their comments section that follows the article!

If you didn't attend Tune In Tokyo, you can still leave a comment -- tell them which J-Pop + J-Rock bands you like or where you would like to see the J-Music scene go in the U.S. in the future! The J-Rock / V.K. scene in L.A. is getting coverage -- now is opportunity as fans to make ourselves heard!

For the PLAY music blog, click the following link or cut and paste the url into your browser window.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/play/nightlife-and-events/tune-in-tokyo-where-jpop-and-j/

See you in January!

Murdered on "Without a Trace"!

2008-10-14T01:17:00.000-07:00

So I've been having a lackluster couple of weeks. Ever had one of those streaks where every single little thing you try to do goes wrong in some large or small way, shape, or form? That's been me lately. But today at least boasted a small highlight amongst all the unnecessary angst. Ironically, it involved me lying "dead" in a thick, oozing puddle of pool!

I got a last-minute call over the weekend to come in and be a photo double for a murder victim on "Without a Trace." That means the production gets to save $$$ cuz they can pay me less than the principal actor's full day rate! :P That or their principal is just a wimp who doesn't want to bathe in fake blood. Wimp!

It was really quite entertaining, albeit brief. I showed up at WB at 10:30 and they didn't need me until almost 1 PM. It was a perfect, breezy, beautiful, sunny fall day. I just sat on a bench in the town square of the old "Gilmore Girls" set-up (which has of course been used in tons of stuff over the years) and read E.G. Wells "War of the Worlds." Am I really getting $50/hr for this? o_O

Come close to 1 PM, I was whisked off to Stage 8 where I changed into their wardrobe (a rather frumpy 70s nightgown, sorry to say, but whatcha gonna do?). Once inside the soundstage on an apartment set, I was then instructed to contort my body into an odd and rather uncomfortable post-mortem-esque position as they dumped almost an entire gallon of corn syrup and red food coloring all over me... It was the most bizarre feeling! It had somewhat the consistency of paint and wasn't really cold, but it made me want to squeal "cold!" nonetheless as it oozed rapidly over my neck. So snap, snap, snap went the camera, "More blood, more blood!" snap, snap, snap, "Yeah, get some on her hands and feet..." Snap. "I think we need more blood." And so on. Everyone had a pretty good sense of humor about the whole thing.

Lucky me, I got to take a shower afterward right there at the soundstage. For all the times I've been to WB now, it never occurred to me they'd have a full bathroom a story above ground-level at one of the stages, but there it was, along with a few offices... how convenient! :P

And I was done before 2 PM. Not too bad for a day of freelance work, I suppose.

I topped off the day by picking up the newest FMA manga (Volume 17, wooohoo!) at the Northridge Borders and from the second floor got a stunning view of the brush fires up in the hills beyond. I actually saw a plane whiz low over them and dump a load of red liquid chemicals! Supposed to keep it from spreading farther, in theory. One of the Borders employees I spoke to was worried it might go towards his house nearby. Apparently they had already packed up all their valuables, ready to evacuate if necessary. Yeeeck, the fires were kinda cool, but that makes me glad I live farther in towards the city. I haven't heard of too many brush fires in Burbank.

That said, the faint red glow of the fires on my left on the freeway back to Burbank contrasted nicely with the deep lavender sky and a bright, white full moon.

Raccoons in Burbank?

2008-09-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Seems there's all kinds of wildlife round these parts!

First, the other night whilst biking, an orange tabby cat scurried across my path. Okay, cat. Nothing unusual there.

Then last night, right around the same area, on the same bike path, a RACCOON ran across my path! The last time I remember ever seeing a raccoon in the "wild" was back at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, probably six or seven years ago. That raccoon also streaked across the bike path in front of me. However, that bike path was back in the woodier part of a semi-rural college campus; THIS raccoon was in the middle of Burbank, CA, a good-sized city. I watched him scamper across the road and look back at me before ducking down into a sewer opening.

Oddly enough, I had the Studio Ghibli movie "Pom Poko" sitting on the coffee table at home. I had been meaning to watch it for days. When I got home last night, I finally did. It was about Japanese tanuki (raccoon dogs) dealing with urban development. Hmmmmm, interesting timing. And a very odd little movie.

I also saw a coyote trotting right down the sidewalk on Los Feliz, a main street, a few months ago. That was at five in the morning. Who needs the zoo?

Ice Skating on the Set of "Ice Dreams"

2008-09-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well, I finally got the chance to show off a bit for a film crew the other night! It also reminded me how much I love ice skating. I really must get out to do it more often.

I submitted for a posting a few days ago that said they were looking for ice skaters. They called me the next day, but I missed the call. When I called back just a couple minutes later, they had already booked it. That's the way it goes in LA... but when I told them I could really skate, not just scuff in wobbly circles, they said there were other nights and wanted my info to call me back for later.

Amazingly enough, this production actually did call me back the next day (a rare occurrence in this industry...) and I drove up to Simi Valley for a night shoot. Yes, a night shoot, lucky me... Since the rink is open during the day, they have no choice but to shoot at night. They've been shooting every night for the last three weeks!

I was expecting to be one of a couple dozen skaters, part of some public skating session or something (which is a call I've gotten before back in NYC a couple times... although I wasn't available for those particular shoots), but what I got was far more interesting.

It turned out this was a movie ABOUT ice skating, called "Ice Dreams." I was one of only three background skaters for a regional competition scene. And they wanted to put us in leotards, as if we were actual competing figure skaters. Now, this could have been potentially disastrous, but thankfully the suit they picked for me turned out quite well. It was black with rhinestones and a long flowy skirt bit. I got trendy little fishnet wrist-gloves too. I've never worn a skating leotard before (never actually competed in my skating), so it was all actually kinda fun to get to wear.

Once we got inside, I saw that the three of us had this gigantic, freshly-resurfaced ice rink all to ourselves! And the best part was, I was BETTER than the other two skaters by a long shot, MUAHAHAHA!!!

In fact, apparently I was good enough that the crew actually wanted to have me zip around as if I was in the middle of a routine at one point, following me with the spotlight and everything. Sweet. Sadly they only did one or two takes of that before realizing there actually wouldn't have been a routine going on at that point in the scene (for whatever reason), but it was nice while it lasted. ^_^

And sadly my superiority kick didn't last for all that long either, as it turns out they had also hired a stunt skater who could REALLY really skate, professional-level. She was actually kinda scary. O_O I think the rest of us were pretty convinced she was going to either run us over or back into us with a skate blade mid-jump at some point or other.

Then my too-small skates started to kill me, as they always do after an hour or two (I really do need to take them to a pro shop and see if they can do something about that). And I swear that rink was one of the coldest I've ever been in and it got COLDER as the night went on.

By the time we were wrapped (after 9 AM!), I was more than ready to go home, but all in all it was one of my more enjoyable background gigs. Maybe they'll call me again before they wrap! ;)

More Reason for the Manga Fan to Love "Heroes"

2008-09-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of those times when I admit that I'm far too easily amused, but hey, why not blog about it? Anyone who knows me knows that Heroes is among my favorite live-action shows. Having recently read the book version of the online webisodes and having just started the new "Heroes" novel, "Saving Charlie," I've been given more reason than ever to love it!

This is what really got me: I'm only about a fifth into the novel, but I was reading a bit last night where Hiro steps into the Music City Mall in Midland, Texas, in search of the Japanese phrasebook he is ultimately destined to give to Charlie. He comes across, lo and behold, a comic book shop that carries manga! Following is a brief excerpt from the book:

"He pounced on an issue of Fushigi Yuughi [sic], which technically was for girls, but he didn't care- he'd be happy with a battered copy of Sailor Moon, just to have something familiar.

He kept rummaging through the stacks. A Hagane no Renkinjutsushi he'd already read, but - who cares - he was getting it."

Now, I was amused enough to see Fushigi Yugi mentioned (one of the first anime I ever saw and still one of my favorites in both the anime and manga realms), but I sat up straight in bed when I saw "Hagane" mentioned. Further testament to my geekiness, even many anime fans wouldn't recognize that reference, but I knew it in an instant. "Hagane" means "Steel." "No" is a linking particle. And "Renkinjutsushi" means "Alchemist." Literally "Alchemist of Steel," aka the Japanese title of Fullmetal Alchemist, commonly abbreviated as "Hagaren." I love the fact that my favorite series ever has been mentioned in an official Heroes publication. Way to help bring it to the wider masses!

All this on top of a lovely forward by actor Masi Oka I read in the "Heroes: Volume 1" graphic novel compilation; he wrote about the importance, inspiration and wonder of manga in his life and how it had the power to link people from all walks of life. Every Tuesday when the weekly Shonen Jump came out in Japan, he'd see all the businessmen in their suits pick up a copy and immerse themselves on the subways or buses, all experiencing the same thing. Manga was the place where you could find sanctuary and still be a kid. "Hold on to your imagination and your dreams."

Finally, going back to the novel and Hiro's story six months in the past, he also found a copy of his own very favorite manga, Rachel Red: Robogirl, in the comic book shop. While I don't know that particular series myself, I can certainly understand Hiro's reaction to finding it:

"Hiro clutched the comic book to his chest, something heavy pressing behind his eyes, feeling like he was going to cry or faint or start hooting like an owl or something. He hadn't found just his favorite manga in this utterly foreign place. He had found a friend. A sense of Home."

I may not be in a foreign country like Hiro was, unfamiliar with the language and culture, and I most certainly am not stuck six months in the past trying to save the life of someone killed by a super-powered serial killer, but hey, I am 3,000 miles from my family and closest friends, on my own kind of little quest; I can still empathize with it a little. ^_^

All that said, my only gripe with the Heroes novel thus far is the fact that it mentions Hiro being 24 years old. EXCUSE ME? 24??? I'm 24. I'm sorry, but there ain't no way I'm buyin' that. Sheesh, Masi Oka is in his mid-thirties and they're gonna say his character is only 24 in this book? I dunno if I ought to count this as canon or not now, hmmmmmmmm. -_-

Boy, what a geeky thing to gripe about. ;)

Slaving Away at Dunder Mifflin...

2008-09-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Apparently I'm far trendier than I thought. Today was the second time in little over two weeks that I've been mistaken for hair/makeup department (last time was my first day on "Knight Rider"). Do I have a brush sticking out my back pocket? Nah, it's cool though, I actually find it pleasantly amusing. ^_^

Today started out on a fairly stressful note. It was gray, cold and cloudy. On top of that, it's sketchy Van Nuys and I couldn't find the darned studio. According to my GPS, the address did not exist. The Office has done a very good job of hiding their whereabouts. So much so that their freelance employees can't even find them!

Now that I've located the place though, I must say that after only half a day, The Office is one of the nicer sets I've been to lately. They pretty much have the entire studio to themselves and are so settled in that various crew members even have their own offices (actual offices, not part of the set...). That said, even I have my own "office" today! Or a cubicle, at least. And let me tell ya, they've been working me so hard I've barely had time to check my email and read the news online and check casting notices and take a nap and type this blog!

You know, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've had internet access on a set, not to mention basically my own computer station. All this purely for my own amusement. Now, I've brought my laptop to a couple of sets before. And if you're at WB on a lunch break, you can scamper off to a free internet station at one of their on-lot cafes. But this is a whole 'nother story! This could not be much cushier. I see various crew and cast members alike playing Solitaire on random computer terminals at any given time. Almost makes me forget I only got four hours of sleep after staying up too late working on a script again! >_<

The crew seems especially nice as well (seeing as most of them have been together for a while, they get along great). Even Steve Carell was nice enough to introduce himself to me and shake my hand when he saw I was a new face, despite my measly stand-in status. Plus Stephen Merchant, the original creator of the British version of the The Office, is here directing today's episode. Cool stuff.

Word is now that Ben & Jerry's is coming by with free ice cream for everyone in about an hour... oh Hollywood... ^_^

Tune in Tokyo Club - J-Pop/J-Rock in Los Angeles

2008-09-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 2nd, 9 PM - 2 AM, I'll be one of four DJs for (as far as we know!) LA's first night of all J-Pop/J-Rock. It will be at 2nd Street Jazz in Little Tokyo. Check out this link for the official info:

http://www.myspace.com/tuneintokyoclub

This will also be my first time DJ-ing anything. How could I turn down such a great legitimate reason for imposing my favorite music on a crowd? I'm always quoting one of the reasons I never go out to clubs as "They never play any music I like." Well, here's my chance to finally make it happen! DJ Ally hopes to see a few of ya there. :)

On the Set of the New "Knight Rider"

2008-08-29T01:50:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days when I thought to myself, "Am I actually getting paid for this?" Granted stand-in work is not the most intellectually stimulating job out there, but it certainly does get you into some odd situations.

Monday we were in the desert, roasting like pigs on a spit. I thought for sure I'd see a rattlesnake or scorpion, but thankfully did not... probably too hot for 'em, actually. Although one crew guy told me a buddy of his once found a rattler camped out under one of the wheels of the lunchbox (a.k.a. the expandable lunch trailer). But it was nighttime and so the icky little reptile, being none too feisty in the chill, was easily removed.

Horrible temperatures and paranoid thoughts of dangerous wildlife aside, that day I got to sit in the new KITT car, which kicks the ass of my cute little Hyundai. Why doesn't my car have a glowing red power strip on the hood? Or a fancy-pants crystal ball-esque communications globe on the dash? I may have to speak to Hyundai about this.

Backtracking to the wildlife issue, the sides for the day announced possum stew and rattlesnake BBQ as being on the lunch menu, but come lunchtime I didn't see no snake on the menu. *shudder* Either it was someone's idea of a joke or it was for someone else on the shoot of whom I was unaware (lucky them).

Tuesday and Wednesday were more boring insofar as KR generally goes, but today we moved to the greenscreen stage to film a simulated car crash. Now, for all the sets I've been on in both New York and LA over the last three years, this was actually the first time I'd been on a greenscreen stage. It gave me a warm, glowy, rite-of-passage type feeling. ^_^

This crash involved a van-sized back passenger seat set up on a little steel rig which will later be inserted into the actual "van" via computer. This rig was strung on one side to a thick bungee-type cord and to a lever on the other. When you crank the lever, it pulls the seat away to one side, stretching the cord on the other side. When you let it go, BAM, instant jolted seat. Just add humans.

As you may have guessed, yes, I got to ride on this contraption. I thought for a moment someone may have accidentally dropped me off at an amusement park, but no, it was over too quickly for that. To be honest, it kind of felt like someone just gave you a really nasty shove (just enough to make me bump hard into the other stand-in's side). But I wanted to ride it again anyway! Only got one go, though. Drat.

Tonight was the end of the episode I was working on, so it looks like I'm done with Knight Rider for the moment. But you never know when you could get called back; after all, I started out thinking I was only working there Monday, but then it turned into a 4-day gig. And someone said they thought the character I was standing in for might be recurring, so I well could end up back there soon enough. Although, darn it all, let's hope I start getting some good auditions soon and get some actual PARTS in stuff, not just stand-in work! ;)

Wow, I should have gone to bed a good two hours ago. See, this is why I keep locking my keys in my car. *sigh*

New "Fullmetal Alchemist" TV Anime Confirmed; New "Inuyasha" too?

2008-08-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

The following link made my week (month, year?):

New Fullmetal Alchemist TV Anime Series Confirmed

Can I start by just saying "I KNEW IT." Long before the "leaked document" from Studio Bones last month, I had been confidently telling anyone who would listen, "There's no way they won't make a second FMA at some point. The storyline in the manga is just far too amazing NOT to be told to a wider audience." And there was more to my affirmation, but I think I'll save those thoughts for a later date, at least for public forum purposes.

Now, for anyone who is actually an FMA fan, I'm sure we've all heard the same speil by now: will it be a continuation of the previous anime, will it start halfway through the first series and then give the alternate ending from the point where it branched off from the manga, or will they just do the whole thing over, making it more manga-based?

Frankly, I think the first two theories are laughable. The movie clearly ended the series and to retell halfway through still wouldn't cover all the plotholes and differences between the two versions.

I think we can assume with 99% certainty that we are talking about a new series from scratch, telling the entire story over again from the beginning, following the manga story much more closely. I think we can also assume an all-new design and art-style for the show, hopefully also more closely based on the manga (I, for one, loved the character designs from the previous show, but I also love the way Ed and others are drawn in the manga and think they also deserve to be animated as Arakawa-sensei originally drew them).

On top of this news, at Otakon in Baltimore two weeks ago I also heard from the lips of Kappei Yamaguchi himself (Japanese voice of Inuyasha, Ranma, L, etc) that we may soon be seeing new Inuyasha anime as well. The series ended for a time because it caught up to the manga and decided to not just make stuff up (like Fullmetal Alchemist and Rurouni Kenshin did). But now that Rumiko Takahashi has wrapped up the manga in Japan, the anime may be starting back up again as well. As if 167 episodes wasn't enough. But I'm not complaining! I'm sure this will make for many other happy fans as well. This bit of info is also following on the heels of the premiere of the brand new "Black Tessaiga" Inuyasha short at the Rumic World exhibition in Japan this past July 30, 2008 (which was the first new Inuyasha animation in four years).

But keep in mind, the possibility of a whole new season of IY is NOT CONFIRMED. So don't sue me. :)

I am one happy otaku.

New Blog, New Coast, New Work

2008-08-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my newest tool for shameless self-promotion! I've been blogging via MySpace for some time now, but darn-it-all if Blogspot isn't a better choice for Google. Here I'm supposed to be some sort of writer, but no one ever sees anything I write (except for my cat, who doesn't give the most stellar feedback... but she is ludicrously cute, which helps).

Why Teatime? Because I like tea. A lot. And I like to drink it whilst surfing the net. I imagine others out there do too. I probably have 50 different varieties in my cupboard. In fact, I just finished drinking a pot of sencha green tea with stevia. It was brewed in my cute purple ceramic sakura pot and drunk through a straw from one of my many silly anime mugs imported from Japan (this particular one happened to be Fullmetal Alchemist).

I'm also a geek, reaching out to other geeks.

And I live in Hollywood. Sort of. Okay, Burbank. But Burbank rocks, so don't knock it. -_0

I'll be doing my best here to make my daily life and career aspirations here in Los Angeles actually sound interesting. I will most certainly also be using it as my very own public geek forum (that's where the 'reaching out' bit comes in).

I've had brief experiences working on such geek-friendly shows as Heroes and the upcoming new Knight Rider series. Though my power and authority on such productions is essentially zilch right now, give me time. Just give me time. Also be glad you were not on the set of Knight Rider yesterday. It was in the %$#@ 100-degree desert north of LA with little-to-no shade... my friend Sunblock SPF 45 battled and lost.

I also may soon be working on some Japanese anime English dub ADR scripts. This has been an actively pursued goal of mine for about a year now and finally seems to be shaping up. I might actually be getting paid to write for once! Imagine that. For example, when I went by BangZoom! Entertainment here in Burbank last summer, resume in hand, I was initially told I was "overqualified." O_O Say wha'? But I wanna do it! Good grief. That's been the curse of a BFA in Dramatic Writing for Film and Television from NYU. I'm either over- or under-qualified for everything.

Now I'm off for an evening swim in my lovely pool, fifteen steps outside my front door. I might go all out and partake of the hot tub as well. Not the sauna though; the building it lives in is small, dark and freaks me out. ^_^