RIP Surfas (for now)

Surfas - or as one Yelper described it, Disneyland for foodies - has closed their California stores. The Orange County store is closed for good, but they are planning on reopening the Culver City store somewhere, at some point, and I'm hoping they're able stay in the area. But now, the wrecking ball has come for Surfas, whose location right across the street from the Culver City Expo Line Station proved too tempting for developers.

From their website:

The 80th Anniversary year of 2017 has been a year of unexpected events for Surfas. Coming into 2017 we had no plans for changes to our stores in California but we knew changes would be coming in 2018. Surfas sold the 8777 Washington Boulevard, Culver City store location a couple of years ago and anticipated vacating the property in 2018.

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Shortly after the decision to close Surfas Costa Mesa our store location in Culver City was sold to Clarion Partners. The corner will become the location of HBO Headquarters with demolition of the building this Summer.

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We are NOT giving this up! So...ninety days ago we began searching for a new Surfas LA location. We have negotiated multiple agreements but none have been finalized. Please know that we are as frustrated as you have told us you are to find ourselves in this position. But we are still aggressively searching because we know that we will find a location that is the right fit for us and for our customers.

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Today, the Culver City Surfas store and cafe are closed and the wrecking crew is ready to roll...


So sad. I found some really cool stuff there and the location was really convenient. Really hope they come back soon and nearby.

I'm not a tattoo person, but some of these are really cool

52 tattoos inspired by books.

Some of my personal favorites:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Poirot!

Where The Red Fern Grows. I remember this being read to us in elementary school.
We cried at the end.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Fahrenheit 451

Totally insane tat for Lord of the Flies

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Hitchhiker's Guide again

Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Be sure to scroll down to the comments, a lot of pics being posted there.
This one is for The Silence of the Lambs.

H/T to Midnight Ink on FB for the link.

Product placement done right

One of the most annoying things that can happen when watching TV or a movie is product placement that sticks out like a sore thumb and distracts from the story. It's a real pet peeve for me.

This, on the other hand, is a beautiful example of how to do it right: Breaking Brand: Cinnabon Sees $1 Million in Media Value From "Better Call Saul" Placement.

From the article:

As AMC's "Better Call Saul" opened for the first time, the camera panned in on Gene, a character played by Bob Odenkirk, whose nametag, apron and regalia indicate that he's the manager of a Cinnabon.

Set in black and white, the scene followed Gene as he makes the company's famous cinnamon rolls step by step. For many, the scene was a peek into the new life of Saul Goodman, a beloved character from "Breaking Bad" forced to change his identity. For Cinnabon, it was two minutes of uninterrupted TV time in front of millions, a boon for its marketing department.

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Cinnabon's brand name was the first thing the show's 6.9 million viewers saw during the show's premier. How did the company get here? Quite organically, as Jill Thomas, vice president of marketing at Cinnabon, tells it.

I think the key word here is "organically".

When Saul Goodman had to leave Albuquerque for parts unknown, he told Walter White he'd be lucky to end up as a Cinnabon manager in Omaha, Nebraska. He didn't seem thrilled with the prospect. But instead of taking offense, Cinnabon treated it as an opportunity. They tweeted a job application to Bob Odenkirk, who played Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and Saul's predecessor Jimmy McGill on Better Call Saul. Brilliant, just brilliant. And it didn't cost them a cent.

When the morally flexible lawyer was spun off to his own show and the producers approached Cinnabon to be part of the his post-Breaking Bad future, the company not only agreed, but put Odenkirk through Cinnabon training for the opening scene mentioned above. Odenkirk has told the story on various talk shows, providing even more publicity. Again, no money changed hands, but everybody wins.

Do take the time to read the whole article. With so many companies crashing and burning on social media and in the public eye, it's kind of amazing to see a company do it right.

H/T to Better Call Saul Fun Facts on Facebook.

I don't know how you miss this

Woman had 27 contact lenses in one eye.

I'm extremely near-sighted and have worn contacts since my teens. Even if it was only a couple, or several, I don't know how you don't realize you have multiple lenses in. But TWENTY-SEVEN???

The mind, it boggles.

Brilliant advice for screenwriters: Think like a producer

Sometimes the most obvious, most common sense advice is the hardest to grasp. For screenwriters, here is some of the best - and simplest - advice: Think like a producer. From the linked article:

Elements that will get the picture funded are: Cast, Genre and Budget. When these three items are aligned, your screenplay will have a better chance of getting made. Let's take a look at each of these from a producer's perspective.

So simple, and yet so very important. As writers, sometimes it's hard to remember that we also have to look at our work from the perspective of producers, editors and publishers. We get so wrapped up in how important the story is, we sometimes assume it will have the same effect on everyone else. But like everyone else, people in the position to usher our work into the public eye have their own issues to consider.

When you see your name on Amazon

The novelty still hasn't worn off.

Also, I made it through my first three author appearances without a train wreck. Good times.

End of a writing era - The Writers Store is closing

Sad news - The Writers Store in Burbank is closing its doors this month.

Good news - it will still be around online.

Very sad to hear this, but not surprised in this era where so many of us make so many of our purchases online.

According to their website, you have until July 17 to drop in and score some heavily discounted products.

Cool video of the day: Woman saves drowning osprey

She just saved a drowning osprey, and boy are her arms tired. Seriously, I love how the bird just sat there and eyed her, like he was trying to process what had just happened.

When what you need to make your day complete is a horse blowing bubbles

I love this horse. I love his goofy face, but most of all I love watching him blow bubbles. And he seems to enjoy it too.

Fire in the sky

We got our usual great fireworks last night to wrap up the truly insane celebrations at my apartment complex. New Year's around here is a snoozefest compared to the 4th of July. It is the big holiday here.

You could see the moon in the background, which was really cool. I don't know if you can see it in the videos, but when I was watching the fireworks, there was this weird optical illusion where it looked like the moon was trying to move away.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday, America!!!

Or, as it's also known in my household, Happy Twilight Zone marathon on Sy-Fy day!

Everyone have a great holiday!

Note: Pics and vids snicked from various parts of the internet. If one is yours, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

June Words of Wisdom

Another kind of slow month.

Think of what makes you smile, makes you happy...and do more of that shit. --Steve Maraboli

The harshest reality (in Hollywood) - everybody that has finished a script is immediately ahead of 90% of the people that claim to be writers. --Bill Lawrence

Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love. --Craig Claiborne

Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest. --Mark Twain

We can disagree with one another without being raging, judgmental, spiteful, self-righteous lunatics. Can't we? --Scott Stabile

Keep reading. It's one  of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have. --Lloyd Alexander

The love of books is a love which requires neither justification, apology, nor defense. --J.R. Langford

Don't tell the reader anything you can show. --Janet Evanovich

It's not your job to like me, it's mine. --Byron Katie

The truth is my light. --Latin proverb

Just as the body cannot exist without blood, so the soul needs the matchless and pure strength of faith. --Mahatma Gandhi

This is how you do it: You sit down at the keyboard and put one word after another until it's done. It's that easy, and that hard. --Neil Gaiman