Sunday Scribbles - Untitled

my love is nimble

quick on its feet

for hide and go seek;

a child of science

shrinks down smiling

hides in cabinets

springs forth with soft laughter

to take up all the space in the room

solid

or melts to liquid, seeping into cracks

rises up gaseous

settles in a dew all around

takes on life again but

curls up in your lap to sleep and 

asks for nothing save the sound of us talking

requires no consistent shape

known only for the phosphorescent tail that trails behind it

unless otherwise noted, all poetry copyright Ryann Ferguson

#danceponydance

So I feel like this is going to be the first in a series I'm tentatively calling "Silly Shit That Makes Me Miss Britain." I think this speaks for itself, so I'll refrain from adding too much commentary. #danceponydance. I miss the UK.

More on Shetland ponies and Scottish tourism here.  To make your own pony mash-up, click here. 

Hope you're having as good a Saturday as this little dude. 

Art in the Burn Off Friday Links

Isolation really makes me start to see things from the weirdest corners of my perspective. It's not untrue, it's just slanted and very very peripheral. Which is why I was so glad this week to stop depriving myself of the company of others as some kind of punishment for the things I've yet to figure out. 

Thankful for more work coming my way, always for the hikes, for Latte, for friends and champions visiting from New York, for all the possibilities that remain open, the people who haven't yet told me no definitively. 

Also, it's my birthday next week. I'm not thrilled about the number, but I am excited for an excuse to celebrate in multiple cities, as is becoming my style.

Here are your links:

- Um, this whisky residue art is amazingly beautiful. Art + whisky. Perfect.
- What it was like to be a TGIF sitcom writer.
- Good interview with composer/lyricist of Matilda, Tim Minchin.
- Kate Makkai on prettiness
- Amanda Palmer at TED on the Art of Asking.
- I was cool with Les Miz, but this honest trailer is pretty great.
- The tunnels of the newest East Side NYC subway.
- Isolation or loneliness that shortens our lifespans?
- The UK Border Agency is being scrapped for parts? Do I rejoice or cower in fear?

- This is adorable. Though, you notice there are basically no dating books geared at men. Because they don't care. Hilarity. I wonder how terrible the book that goes with this is...

Haviland's HOT new dance track - MKE Maximum Energy

Friend/Performer/Mover/Shaker-Extraordinaire Haviland Stillwell has been working on a new dance album since I got to LA. I remember listening to some early tracks in her prius my first week here and loving  the super different direction she was going in. I mean, afterall, she's a legit soprano, not to mention the first person to ever sing VOTE! besides yours truly.

Well, this is nothing like musical theatre, but it has drama and theatricality to spare! Not to mention, enlightened ideas and a beat that made me instantly download and add to my hiking/running/cardio onslaught playlist. 

Also, I've heard the concept for the impending video and I cannot wait to see it fully realized. I'm even thinking about lobbying for a cameo. Maybe not. I don't know about my intergalactic dance moves...

Get your very own copy right here on itunes! 

Learn how to place music on itunes at ReverbNation.com

Hav is supported by a whole bunch of other cool people I love too. So let's give them their due for some stellar (see what I did there, intergalactic friends) work on this!

written by Haviland Stillwell

produced by Mike Schlosser

mastered by Sonic House Post

cover design by Heather J. Weiss

photo by Sabrina Bringuier

Bringing Your Pomeranian to a Silver Lake Wine Tasting

Considering just about every hipster, aspiring starlet, and jogger in Los Angeles has a dog  they bring along almost everywhere you go, McC and I didn't think it would be a big deal to bring Latte to this wine tasting/fancy food truck extravaganza at Silver Lake Wine on Monday night. I mean, I brought him to a bar in NoHo on Saturday night and that twink was a hit! 

Much to our dismay, we may have picked the one place it wasn't cool to bring a pooch. wWhile there was outside seating, there was no wine outside and no puppies inside. Latte was still as popular ever with other dogs and humans alike, so at least his feelings weren't hurt and his reputation as the life of the party is still intact.

As a work around, we ate our fancy food truck food (well, some of us had fancy food like brisket and lamb ragoo lasagna 'cupcakes' from Heirloom and others, ie me, had cheap and extremely spicy tacos from the other truck) taking turns watching Latte and then grabbing wine. We sampled two extremely mellow (bordering on boring) wines first-- a rose' and a tempranillo before partaking in an amazing Merlot I meant to get the name of. McC bought a bottle though, so I hope to taste its deliciousness again soon. 

I also cleansed my pallet with a red velvet raspberry cake-let from Cake Monkey. Evening = success. God Bless Silver Lake...where even the fancy food trucks get parking tickets while trying to make a buck.

Tigerlily Tuesday

Here's just a few of my recent chroniclings of my favorite person. Tigs loves layering costumes, talking about getting married, calling fairytale characters to invite them to tea parties using military time only to realize she's way too busy to chat on the phone and tells them she's got to call them back. 

She enjoys singing the theme song to Peppa Pig and Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse. She does not enjoy being anywhere other than home. But she'll tolerate other spots if there's hopping allowed. Which, if she's with me, hopping is obviously allowed and is, in fact, the preferred method of travel. 

Music Monday - The Twilight Sad

While Kade and I were at the Frightened Rabbit concert, we also got the chance to check out fellow Scottish rockers, The Twilight Sad. These boys are from Kilsyth, between Glasgow and Sterling and my previous knowledge of them consisted only of the fact that they participated in Scottish supergroup The Fruit Tree Foundation along with Idlewild, Frightened Rabbit, Alasdair Roberts and many others.

They definitely don't encompass the range of textures that FR does, but they certainly belong a Scottish mood that sometimes you just have to put yourself in if the world hasn't nudged you or slammed you there already. I mean pretty much every song they have is 5-7 minutes long. They're not afraid to wallow. 

I was digging this little Takeaway Concert from them on Vimeo. Other favorites are "Climbing Up the Walls," and "Here it Never Snowed. Afterwards it did." Hope you're having an awesome Monday. And if you're not, The Twilight Sad is probably the band for you. 

Sunday Scribbles - Aurora Borealis

What good is winsome weighed against
a willowy waif
at home in wellies?
How faux the glow of neon against the Northern Lights

All my acerbic humor,
my American-ness was small against
the tall of trees;
the long legs of Britain
No story could stake at the heart
like an environmentalist poem

Because no one had ever taught me the stars--
Because they can't be seen
from my corner of the world
I'd never see them in his eyes
or his eyes
but only in the glow of an iphone
as I tried to learn.

Christopher Guest Comes to HBO - Family Tree

Christopher Guest. What can I say about perhaps the one man who truly understands what I want. Even after For Your Consideration, I still believed. And I uber uber believe in Family Tree. I mean, how can it lose? 

It's got everyone you love, (Fred. Willard.) plus Chris O'Dowd, who is like THE new generation Christopher Guest man. He's just screaming to be in a Guest project. And this one's about tracing your ancestry!?! This is a nerd's paradise if I ever saw one. There's even a British thing. Just... candy.

God Bless Christopher Guest. And A+ HBO for handling this shnat right. (So it would seem.) Show starts in May.

Get Up Friday Links

Hard to say what takes the cake this week for scariest thing. Walking out to find my car vandalized yesterday was definitely up there. Slashed tires, bent antenna, on my way to an important meeting-- I felt pretty exposed. But all around, I'd say this week has been one of strange, confusing reality checks on all fronts. Well, I'm alive still. And have an adorable puppy to cuddle with at least for a few days.

And this morning I woke up to an email from one of my favorite friends and young performers in the UK who needed some encouragement. Giving that encouragement to others is the fastest way to encourage myself. Believing in the abilities of others is the fastest way to remember how to believe in myself.

Your links:
- Ageless, Timeless, Forever: Paul Rudd.
- Interesting. Diamonds are bullshit.
- Oh, how good people are at misperceiving.
- The hottest hunks of Broadway.
- THIS.
- Yay, Cronin. 
- If guns in movies were replaced with thumbs up.
- 50 most perfectly timed photos.
- How to be like Madeleine.
- More forgotten places.

Finally, some songs for your weekend. Get up. Let's dance. 
- Jesse Ware
- Robin Thicke + TI + Pharrell. 

Downton Zombey

Sometimes I think I've had it with Julian Fellowes and I'm going to boycott his show. But then I remember I am an addict and furthermore, I just want to see how he digs his way out of this. I mean, does he realize you can write someone off the show without killing them?

Anyhow. I always enjoy a good Downton riff. This is no exception. Perhaps this is the answer to bringing some of those actors back once they realize they aren't destined for even bigger, better things. Thanks to Christa for the head's up on it. 

The Return of Latte

This week I've been reunited for a little quality time with my spunky spirit animal pup, Latte. If you need us, we'll be snuggling. 

Happy 80th Birthday, Philip Roth

Back in 2000, on a trip to Rice, I heard Professor Doody giving a lecture on American Pastoral and knew I wanted to be an English major at Rice. Seems like a lifetime ago, but I still love P. Roth. Happy 80th!

"Shame isn't for writers." There's a new documentary out on Roth as well. Check it!

Broadway Barre Tonight!

It's that time again for Broadway Barre and I can't wait to hear my friends sangin'! Join Me!

Hope Your Saturday's Been Fun!

I hear it's snowing in NYC today and I called the cops on my neighbors. But, look at how much fun this dude is having! Look at that tongue. I can't handle it. 

Peace Out, Mercury in Retrograde Friday Links

Who's excited for Mercury to get the eff out of retrograde this weekend?? I know I am! My poor command center alpha is no longer able to communicate with some of its programs the way it needs to, so I've invested in the future of littlewow and a new Command Center Alpha arrives on Monday just in time to start kicking ass with a clean cosmic slate. Hallelujah. 27 inches of awesome. 

Not being able to solve problems continues to be a huge source of weird anxiety for me. Any problem I can't solve on my own in a matter of 2-3 hours makes me kind of depressed. I'm really working on this, but I think I'm always going to prefer at the end of the day to be my own one woman army. 

In any case, tech-stewing aside, there's a lot to be really happy and motivated about lately. Enough waxing, you say. Take me to the links!

- Here's what they thought LA of 2013 would look like back in 1988.
- I'm still super bummed about the demise of google reader. And not impressed by alternatives.
- If people talked about Seinfeld they way they do Girls.
- This has been making the rounds, but it's damn good.
- This.
- Ma' Girl, Claire Vaye Watkins winning all kinds of awards and being everywhere!
- Children from around the world pose with their favorite possessions.
- The ten best famous graves. (Keats! Represent!)
- The life you might have lived. Missing Out by Adam Phillips.

An Untitled Scribble

As I mentioned, I've been feeling a little guilty about how little writing has been on this blog lately. And I definitely haven't been posting any fiction. Perhaps because I've been so focused on scripts, etc and haven't been writing any. Will you accept this humble prose-poem instead? I'm reluctant to even call it that. I'd really prefer to stick with 'scribbling,' since that's really more accurate. I ran across it in one of my notebooks, wedged in between edit notes, lyrics, and the outline of a pilot. I wrote it back in January-- at least I had the good sense to date it, because I don't even remember writing it. 


When you couldn't have her
You'd turn to me
When things turned South
You turned to me
And whenever you'd sigh
at the place
where the pavement ended
You'd turn your thoughts to me.

To making a home
at the end of the world for a moment
with me

But like all things in the modern world
There is no impeding progress
and no sooner had the road run out
then someone paved it farther
out into the distance
of newest possibilities and wildest dreams

You kiss my cheek
and thank me for the company
in your despair and wandering
You curl your grin,
settle your hat
and set out again on the road to the prize.

Guess Who's Seeing Frightened Rabbit Tonight... THIS GIRL.

Please forgive the lack of words on this blog as of late. The amount of writing and editing projects I'm committed to lately have left me with more desire to simply share, rather than do much commenting. But tonight I'm too excited to contain it-- I'm seeing Frightened Rabbit in LA at the Fonda Theatre with Kade!!

All day long, my interior monologue has been in a thick brogue and I may even start speaking to strangers that way. I love how thick Scott Hutchison's brogue is even when singing. And I think Pedestrian Verse has earned its place in my heart as one of my all-time favorite albums. 

This video is a delight. Who doesn't love funky old janitors gettin down on the dance floor at the junior-senior prom?? Get into it. Yay, tonight!

New BBC Drama - Shetland

I'm one episode into the two part series set on the Shetland islands and based on a series of Ann Cleeves novels. Shetland is not getting great reviews, but man is the scenery pretty! And man do I miss the sound of those voices. I like a good murder mystery though. Even if this one is a bit on the nose. 

Music Monday - Morgan Karr - Yellow Skies

You guys, I'm back in Los Angeles and the sun is shining! Speaking of bright Yellow Skies, my little Morgana has a new EP out called just that. I think it's Morgan's best work to date and I'm so happy he's really coming into his own here in LA. I was sad to miss his EP launch because I was back in old stomping ground all week. 

One little detail about Morgan that I always file away as a little reminder of how much I love him is this: during VOTE! rehearsals the summer we were at Minetta (aka, the summer I almost died) there was one night where Morgan and I shared a slightly inebriated cab ride. He had been keeping a journal as Mark, the character he played (and my favorite character) in VOTE! and he just read to me from it. It was so trippy and wonderful. 

He keeps those little lovable details coming non-stop. Like this little gem-- he says this record is for anyone who ever held fear too tightly. 

You can buy Yellow Skies here. You can get a free download here. Plus! Cool remixy thing. And he's got an LA/Venice show coming up soon too. Check it. I just love you, Morgan Karr!

NYC Vacation

While this trip is actually a business trip and not a vacation, I've decided that I'm on vacation from the blog while I'm here. See you next Monday!

Saturday is for Adventures

McC is in Iceland this week and this photo is courtesy of her. Meanwhile, I'm bound for NYC. Catch you on the East Coast!

Hollywood Hike Friday Links

After the editing/sequestered (should I not say sequester?) week I've had, I didn't do much trolling of the internet for links. So there's only a few. But I did go on a hike with Haviland up to the Hollywood sign this morning and I prepped for my trip to NYC... tomorrow! I can't wait to see everyone and get lots of work done. Weeeeee!

- This Makers documentary about women in America was AWESOME.
- An interesting take on MacFarlane's Oscars hosting job.
- I wish I'd encountered this hot hat maker during crush week. His hats, however, are not hot.
- Sigh. Sequester.
- LA-centered reading list for March.