I've been inspired especially lately to do some writing that is autobiographical. My friends, Sam and Greg have both recently posted openly about hard times in their lives and I think it is beneficial for us to  share stories of our more difficult times because it connects us as humans. 

On Friday a group of us got to meet with Kushal, founder of Vittana and to start he asked us why we were interested in social innovation.

I had not consciously thought about it before but I love film because I love telling stories about people. People are the most wonderful thing in this world. We are important and we all have unique stories, but we also share the same emotions. We are connected, whether we like it or not.

So look forward to more posts about ME. Or never come back. That works too. 

According to Science...

There's this article about a Japanese robot that was programmed to "love."

I would've titled it: Robot Programmed To Love Becomes Clingy Boyfriend

Speaking of being in love with technology...

Speaking of loving technology...this.

Christian Bale's stand-in got his own Batman suit...Think about that for a second. You want to be that guy.

I want to do a mash-up of:

Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys

The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga &

Set Fire to the Rain - Adele

Can anyone help me with that? I just pretend like I have musical skills, but I don't.

Does anyone want to teach me voice lessons over the summer? I'll teach you something in exchange...anything you want. 

If you go to the restaurant "There's no place like Home" in LA...I recommend the chicken pomodoro sandwich. 

Real Lyfe.

The summer after my Freshman year I blogged everyday. Every. Day.

We were lucky enough to have Ross McElwee come screen his movie and speak to us in two different forums at BYU. He is a cool guy, who I can appreciate a lot more than when watching his movie, Bright Leaves, was the last thing I had to do to get into the film program--at the time it nearly killed me.

I am going to be honest, even though it betrays how people think a good film-major should think and believe, I don't like documentaries. Now that I've said that, I really do like documentaries, but they are hard for me. I hate that they leave me feeling like I need to change my life. I hate that they are always so one-sided and I hate that they act like they know everything.

Those are all generalizations.

A good documentary, and they definitely exist, gives you a slice life--someone else's life--and that is a magical thing. I don't know what it is like to live in the Middle East, or what a struggle it is to restart your life after being a porn star, or how crayons are made. But I can experience those things via documentaries.

Let's take a moment and remember Mr. Roger's and all the things we learned on his show.

Documentaries are good. They show us how the world works. They introduce us to people we would never meet otherwise. 

Ross's work is interesting because some of his films are autobiographical, which brings me back to when I used to blog everyday. I would talk about my life. Then I thought my life was too boring so I stopped. But, maybe it's not. Maybe we all have very interesting lives and we shouldn't keep ourselves from talking about them. 

It seems self-indulgent, but I it's not. We love reality tv. We love watching the news. We like real life. Conclusively, we should all tell our own stories.

Lastly, this week's Parks and Recs was Uh-MAZE-ing.

She is the wooooooooorst. 

I'm So Charitable and Other Humble Things...

Disclaimer: This is not turning into one of those "I am a wonderful human with a wonderful, perfect life" blogs...I just happened to have a good week.

In MCOM we were invited to "buy a stranger a Coke". Originally I was going to use it as an excuse to be adorable and win over some attractive male...

Well, my friend Diana is a good person and she arranged for us to feed a whole group of strangers an entire meal. I just cut the potatoes, but it felt good to serve.  There was no actual Coke, but I think it counts. 

Speaking of strangers, here's a group of people I didn't know. 

But we ended up being a dream team. The Laycock center is in the middle of the Fine Arts Center on campus that encourages inter-departmental relations (collaboration, that is). 

So they kicked off this 24-hour competition and we had to get in groups of five with at least three different majors.

Thus it happened that one (1) Visual Art Major (and his kick-a GF), two (2) Communications majors, and two (2) film majors became one.

We combined all of our talents came up with a nifty campaign including a video and an animated logo and a budget. It was nice to use all of our strengths. 

Then we were in the top three. And then we won the money to develop our campaign further. All only 26 hours after hearing about the project.

Oh, $5K, you're so funny.

But here's the really cool part. If I hadn't done this competition I wouldn't know about vittana.org an organization that helps students in poorer countries fund their education.

It's like another organization kiva.org and works through micro-financing. You loan the money so someone can get an education and after they graduate they pay it back and you can invest the money into someone else's education. People are given opporunities they couldn't otherwise afford, but still are self-sufficient. 

Seems like a win-win-win.

We serve other people because we care. It doesn't matter how well we know each other, we should just buckle down and get things done. 

Media Likes

I have to write this blog post for class and I don't have anything to say because I've been busy writing/developing things for my screenwriting classes and for the Mayhew writing competition.

So here's some stuff I like.

If you haven't ever watched Parks and Recreation you should change that right now because it is a fantastic comedy. I would recommend it to everyone and so would my mother. Most of its greatness comes from its dedication to its characters they are consistent unlike many TV shows that just change character traits to fit weird dramatic plot lines. Watch it on Netflix. Skip the first season.

My favorite film of the Oscar nominees is Silver Linings Playbook, even though I have a hard time remembering the name. It's rated R for swears, lots of swears, but it is such a wonderful story about two imperfect characters that are perfect in their own ways. I loved it. Go see it. 

Songs I like:

Also, go see plays at the Echo Theater on University Ave. Just saw Happy, Little Secrets there. That was a really good little play that gave an insight into some difficult issues people have to deal with.

That's all I've got this week.

HOW TO: For Boys Wanting to Date Girls

I have a friend who has an impressive amount of first date experience and she helped me compile this list of "What Not to Do's" for boys on a first date or when asking a girl out.

This is meant to give real and actual advice because we are well aware how difficult dating girls must be. 

Best Way to Ask Someone Out:

• Not in public---that's a good tactic if you want to trick her into saying yes, but not if you want a genuine answer.
• Not over Facebook--if you need to go through Facebook to get someone's number, I'm okay with that. But CALL or ASK IN PERSON. It's scary I'm sure, but it's SO much more manly. And if you ask on Facebook she can just pretend like she didn't get it. 
• Explain what we're doing. Do I need to look hot in heels or are we hiking (aliteration, holla!)? Are we eating or should I eat before to avoid being hangry at you the whole time? 
• Don't try and arrange something via texts. It makes my thumbs hurt.

First Dates:

Don't make it: 

• Overly long. Marathon dates are great when you're madly in love but it's nice to have a limited time frame for first encounters. She can't miss you if you never leave.
• Super expensive. Makes the girl feel awkward if you drop a bunch of cash up front (there'll be time for that later).
• Somewhere in swimsuits. There are lots of fun things to do in water--but it's hard not to assume you just want to check out our bodies.
• Just keep it simple. Most of us are not judging your bank account or abs straight-away but how you interact with other humans. 
• Maybe you're asking out someone you don't really know and that's cool but if you have any idea of her interests try and plan something around that. If it's someone like me who posts all over Facebook "OMGoooooosh I LOVE THIS PIZZA PLACE" or "I WOULD KILL FOR A FROSTY" then you know you can't go wrong with that. That's why they invented Facebook. But, seriously, if anyone wants to ask me out for Italian pizza...

Don't talk about sex on a first date. Don't follow up with, "This isn't the first time I've talked about sex on a first date." 

Other Remarks:

• We know "pre-med" and "pre-law" aren't real majors. It's okay if you're studying English as an undergrad, just say so. It's a better conversational move, because otherwise it's like, "cool, let me know what that's like in 7 years." 
• If you kiss a girl, you better have something to say for yourself because most girls are going to interpret that as meaning you like her. Tred lightly in that territory. 
• Remember the whole "just be honest" thing. Don't use us as part of some game or competition.  Because we will write an angry song about you---or worse.

General Don'ts:

• Don't wear a snuggy...And especially don't wear a snuggy and then draw massive attention to yourself by jumping up and down and shouting.
• Don't wear less clothes than I am. Those super short cut-offs? Not exactly the knight in shining armor look. James Bond can pull it off, but he's one of a kind. 
• Don't look up my starting salary and then announce it to a large group of people. Don't then say, "It's okay, you can find a man to take care of you." Even the non-feminists don't want you to tell them that they need you for survival.
• Don't get someone's number and then not call! What is up with that? 
• Don't say you want to watch a chick flick because you like them when what you really mean is "I want to watch a chick flick so I can make out with you." 
• When I tell you I am studying Art History do not respond with, "So you're studying porn?" 
• Don't almost get me fired from my job and then try and ask me out.
• Don't preface anything with something like, "I find you strangely attractive" or something similar. That only worked for Darcy...and even he had to redeem himself. 

Hope this helps you find a future Valentine! 

If you have How-To's for girls and dating you can leave them in the comments. 

What Being a Film Kid Looks Like...

Once upon a time I said, "I'm going to take it easy this semester."

This week looked/looks like this:

Monday:

8:30am get to campus early so I can email a bunch of people back for casting calls for HBLL video

9:00am post-production class for Weeping

11:00am work

12:00pm more post production talk

1:00pm Screenwriting 2

3:00pm Casting Calls for HBLL

5:00pm Communications class

6:15pm Big Meeting for Drift

7:00pm Finish reading Night for doc class and write paper

10:00pm Help Kelso/Tess take equipment back, grab a crepe while picking up Willem

11:30 Finish paper, shower

1:30am Sleep

Tuesday

8:30am Doc class

11:00am Devotional

12:00pm Work

1:00pm TV writing class

3:00pm Work, casting/location decisions 

5:00pm Discuss pick-up stuff, scholarship stuff with JMags

5:30pm Casting meeting for Without a Rope

6:00pm Testing screening for Weeping

8:00pm Post-screening discussion with Jeff

9:00pm Run home, get car, pick up Jacob, mad Wendy's dash for much needed sustenance to catch the...

9:50pm showing of Warm Bodies (okay, this doesn't seem necessary, but it was)

12:00am drop JJ off, have lengthy life discussion (also needed)

2:30am Sleep

Wednesday

8:30am Wake up, check email, forward an email along, turn off alarm

10:00am actually wake up

11:00am Work

1:00pm Screenwriting 2

2:00pm Work/Study for Quizzes

5:00pm Communications Class

6:15pm Run home, get car, get pizza, go to MPS for pick-ups for Weeping

Thursday

8:30am Doc class

11:00am Forum with Jerusha + Jared Hess (love,love,love)

1:00pm TV writing class

3:00pm Work

5:00pm Download pickups footage, learn how to punch people, fail at learning how to see those stupid Magic Eye things.

7:00pm Pizza at Terra Mia (love,love,love)

8:30pm Grocery shopping for a BILLION groceries
10:00pm Prepare food
12:00am Watch SMASH
2:00am Bed

Friday

10:30am Run some set dressing things to work
11:15am Start prepping curry for 40 people + catch up on my NBC shows
2:30pm Serve lunch
4:30pm Clean up Kelly's kitchen
5-9pm Casting
9pm Buy more cups, drop off stuff at Kelly's
10:30pm FroYo rendezvous + deep conversations
12:00am Talk movies + eat macaroons
1:30am Drop off water bottles that were still in my car.

2:30am Bed

Saturday

8:30am-2pm Shooting for HBLL
Drive to Fairview

6pm Feed everyone "lunch" for Drift
Try to slip in some screenwriting
12am bed.

In between all these things life is spent glued to my laptop (a now constant companion) writing:

1. Short musical film

2. Two 25 minute television episodes

3. A feature-length film

4. A song for Valentine's Day
5. Endless, unnecessary tweets (@lawsren).

I am a champion at procrastinating writing assignments by writing something else.

How To Survive a Provo Winter

It's been cold here. First, there was freezing rain that turned the whole city into an ice rink. There was snow. There was more snow. There was subzero temperatures. Etc.

Here are some tips I've found helpful.

1. Layer up. The thing about winter is that the buildings on campus decide to keep themselves warm and toasty so while you feel like you are going to freeze your face off walking up to campus you will be sweating as soon as you step indoors. You will need a t-shirt for when you first get into the building and your body freaks out, a light jacket/sweater for when you realize it's cold again, and a huge coat to get you from one building to another.

I recommend stripping as you walk through the doors. It helps your body adjust and attracts the attention of passer-bys. I found it to be a fail-proof method.

2. Get headphones that double as ear muffs. But seriously, I never liked ear-buds and they won't do anything for you in the cold.

3. Wear waterproof shoes. Everyday I don't wear my boots there is magically 6 inch-deep snow blocking whereever I need to be.

4. Swap your side bag for a backpack. You have no shot at keeping balance on slippery terrain if your weight isn't well distributed.

Lastly, study at the library:

Not going to lie, I'm proud of this little video because me and Laura did it almost entirely by ourselves (minus the talented people in it, of course). 

Today Was the Great Because...

I hate to be that optimistic person, but I feel really good right now. 

(I wanted to put real good but that is not grammatically correct)/ 

at 1:00am I finished my first ever draft of a real-life television pilot.

I wasn't freakishly tired during my 8:30am class and we watched some classy Lumiere films.

Bad hair day was covered up with a beanie easily enough. 

The Tuesday forum was both amazing and mind-blowing and WONDERful (more on that later).

I remembered to bring a lunch.

Boss liked the project I've been working on.

I like the project I've been working on.

Willem proposed as I was passing him in the hall. 

(Told him I'd think about it). 

Made myself a gourmet dinner of mac n' cheese with edamame beans (you know, for protein or whatever).

My car wouldn't start, which instead of being obnoxious is kind of just funny to me.

Finally got to see ARGO. 

With a film buddy who really knows how to appreciate a good flick.

The only theater playing Argo was 30 minutes away, which sort of made it feel like a mini-adventure and I think seeing movies should be mini-adventures now and again. 

Listened to good music. Had good conversation. All those important things.

I love, love, loved Argo. It is definitely not for the faint of heart but it had such a good tone. I'm big on tone today it's all we talking about in Writer's Room. So intense ALL THE WAY THROUGH. You think they're safe but they NEVER ARE. 

Ben Afleck, you son of a cuss, you pulled off a wonderful heist movie. AND IT'S REAL..ish. 

The 70s-80s Production Design!? Wonderful. All the Hollywood jokes? Perfect.

That look in Ben's eye when he knows it's time to be a bad-A? Yes.

The characters were wonderful and lovable. 

There were so many good twists and twists and more twists. 

I also smuggled Kool-Aid Squeez-its into the theater (don't tell). 

Now I'm eating Phish food while I study grammar. Perfect ending to today.

p.s.

Yesterday was great too. Inauguration crepe party, Italian pizza, and wedding dress shopping with one of my best girls (see also:EVERYONE I KNOW IS ENGAGED). 

Valentine's Day

I am actually excited for Valentine's Day this year. My friend Angela and I are having a party for the loved and the lovelesst to come together in the noble cause of dipping things in chocolate and eating them. 

If you have a child like Molly you can easily send adorable Valentines to loved ones.

me n' Mollz:

post photo shoot playing:

My personal fave:

As for the childless, we're left to cut out letters from magazines so we can leave anonymous love notes on the porches of people we have secret crushes on. 

Happy Early Valentine's Day from Lawsy Photography and Molly the Cutest.