"Daily Cooks" Update, followed by Professional Debauchery and Mild-Mannered Frivolity
So on Monday I briefly described my first day of interning on the "Daily Cooks" set. I was doing runner work and general PA stuff. It was a lot of action which was a perfect first day in my opinion. I quickly met some truly friendly people.
I learned a lot (or 'much' if you've ever taken a USF class evaluation) about television production. The crew had been working on "Daily Cooks" for about 5 months so it was more or less like a well oiled machine. Everything is pre-made, measured, cleaned, garnished, and blocked perfectly in both the rehearsal and subsequent taping (which is conducted as if it were a live show, so precision is important).
"Daily Cooks" Control Room:
I arrived fairly early on Tuesday (10) and did a little PA work, but sat in on the control room most of the day. While it was definitely interesting to watch the taping from the nucleus of the "Daily Cooks" world, I missed out on some great snacking and hanging out between takes with my new British peeps, who I engaged with on a diversity of issues, including American politics (overall the Clintons are celebrated like foreign monarchs delivering well wishes and clotted cream), British newspapers (everything Rupert Murdoch owns is complete shit, which is refreshing, because I thought it was an American phenomenon), and the relative sexiness of my accent. On that last note, I explained to my some of my co-workers that in the states, English accents are considered sophisticated, sexy, and exotic: like some kind of fantastic dessert like rich chocolate soufflé, the kind of dish no one can resist, and only someone of immense, god-given talent can create. In return, I was informed that American accents (because of the 'californication' or globalization of our media) are so common that they appear mostly dull in person. However, apparently, my accent has a bit of twang that renders my voice slightly more desirable than my fellow yanks. I think Liz was just being nice, but I do feel kind of special recognizing that every time I speak here someone does a double-take.
Anyway, not only was Tuesday MY second day working on the show, it was THEIR last day of production, which meant a sweet and long-overdue ending for this bi-daily, 8 - 14 hour-a-day production team, BUT...it meant the official "Daily Cooks" season (or series in English English) finale after party. Now, I've never been to a real season finale party, and certainly never any kind of media-professional function in Europe, so I determined that it was in my best interests to follow the lead of my peers and supervisors. After we finished cleaning the kitchens, all of the runners + crew grabbed giant tote bags and looked through all of the food that was left over and would otherwise be thrown away. Cooking shows are wasteful. Although Britain is very environmentally conscious, when space and time are issues and you've got a show to produce, a lot of food is thrown away. So we were grateful that we could alleviate the communal burden by taken massive amounts of amazing ingredients home. My tote bag contents included, but were most certainly not limited to: spinach, basil, zucchini, oranges, two loaves of different kinds of bread, some cake, eggs, pasta, hummus, and probably something else my roommates and I have probably eaten. After this shopping spree, we all met up with the cast and control room team at a local pub.
My new British friend and fellow runner (PA) Liz with her bags of bounty:
I don't think I've mentioned it yet on this blog, but England, like much of Europe, is a drinking culture. I was only planning on slowly nursing my modest glass of rosé and sat at the 'kiddie table' with my fellow runners, BUT my rosé was followed by a surprise gin and tonic from a fellow runner, which was followed by more drinks from the crew. It was either a bizarre case where the American college kid wasn't expected to drink due to modesty (a challenge), the crew taking pity on my poor economy and providing alcoholic offerings not unlike our collective ancestors offered native peoples (a gift), or they were all proud of my 48-hour whirlwind performance (an award). I'd like to think it was the third selection. To ensure my modesty as the new American intern, I chose to devour some pita bread and slowly sip my tonic. To be frank, I never knew interning could be this fun. I had a long and in-depth conversation with our Executive Producer and several other producers. Not only did I get much more inebriated than I would have ever expected at a work function (and I was probably one of the least intoxicated people present), but I had a great time, some memorable conversations, and learned even more about British culture. Although I did have to guide a very drunk co-worker to (and through) the tube. I finally returned home at around 1:30 am. It was my longest non-USFtv media day.
The "Daily Cooks" 'kiddie' table:
class
Because it had been a long and exhausting couple of days...and also because Wednesday was my day off this week, I gorged myself on an epic night of rest. The following morning I enjoyed the serenity that accompanies a rarely empty house and felt satisfied as I dined on some of my bounty. I proceeded to run some errands which included meandering in a boxy and fun Notting Hill record store. I eventually found my way to class quite early, which is a sensation I have not experienced in some time. Our class this week was on business structures. Nothing to report. I had some Chinese food with friends and watched one of the documentaries done by my second internship: Out There News.
Libya and Bobby Lee (USFtvers may enjoy...)
The following day I found my way to North London for my first day with Out There News. Paul, the managing editor and founder of Out There was in meetings all day and didn't have anything for me to work on, so I did some homework and helped the OT producers with some research on Libya. Specifically, how Americans feel about Libya. I'm going to be frank: I know virtually nothing about Libya, and not too much about most Arabian and/or Muslim countries outside of Iraq, and even that's dodgy. I'm hoping to learn more about this region and the stories Out There tells on behalf of many people who can or will not. The central office for Out There is composed of only about 4 - 6 people, and most of them have a personal connection and real conviction to do their work. One of my new coworkers named Zeina is one of the researchers/producers for Out There. She is also a filmmaker and I was moved and intrigued when I watched her short film at work about the recent bombing of Lebanon. It's called I Remember Lebanon, if you'd like to watch you can check it out here:
That evening I met up with my good friend Bobby Lee and his friend from high school named Larry. The two of them had been traveling through the French Riviera with Larry's family and then progressed to London together. We had a delicious meal at a Japanese/Korean restaurant in Soho that Zeina recommended and caught up. Bobby Lee is always a hoot, a highly intelligent, often offensively humorous (or humourous) hoot, but a hoot nonetheless. After dinner, we walked around and went to a few bars/pubs in Soho and Piccadilly Circus /West End. We didn't go to several bars/pubs because we were having a raucous time drinking like fish, but because Bobby is very particular about what bar he will settle into, so we tried a few before he found one that was just right. He's like 'goldiepubs.' I'm not sure about the name of where we ended up, but it was okay enough. They played electonica music and had expensive cocktails, it was sufficiently European. We mingled with some local college student and one kid's aunt and headed home before the tube closed.
Bobby Lee and I, up-close and personal in London:
TV Online and Kitchen escapades....(more Bobby Lee for you fans out there)
On Friday I arrived to a mostly full office which included Paul, who had some significant research for me to on online video platforms. It took me all day to complete this report, but I am now a temporary expert on online video platforms and produced one of the finest reports I have ever commissioned. I'm tre proud of it and if anyone really wants a copy, I'd be more than happy to email one to you: dbinegar@gmail.com. Remember, its 'binegar' with a 'b' as in boy or butter. Here are two sites that you should definitely check out: Joost is an invite only service that may be the front runner of the next wave of online video, and Democracy, a free service that's shockingly familiar and easy to use.
I also had several entertaining conversations on perceptions of the US and UK, popular culture, and media with another new coworker, Huda, who has an extensive resume of media work...including a show she once did with Scary Spice. I thought she was cool before, but now I think she's rad. After work, I raced home and met Bobby and Larry at my flat.
Now, I don't do a whole lot of cooking. I grew up with a bevy of talented chefs at home(s) that were more than willing to cook (or order fantastic takeout) on a regular basis and have had a meal plan since leaving home. And while I did have to cook my meals when I lived in an NYU apartment last summer, I did very little actual cooking. In fact, I'm an expert at heating up Trader Joes frozen dishes, making peanut butter and jelly, and applying dressing to pre-made salads. So, since I had some amazing homemade, organic, gourmet pasta sauce from one of the "Daily Cooks" chefs, and a lot of pasta and salad. I though Larry, Bobby, and I would save some money and make dinner at home. Fortunately, Bobby is like...really good at making pasta, which was tough in our strikingly dirty kitchen. Our dinner was quite good and I enjoyed a nice (and cheap) change of pace. You'll be happy to know that I have since made pasta successfully by myself. It's been a liberating experience.
After dinner, we joined some of my flat mates for drinking and dancing at out local wannabe hip bar mango-lounge (FOR SFers: our Poleng...only you're money is worth half as much and it actually isn't that cool). Larry went a little crazy with the Lychee martinis, and before you knew it, most of our house joined us and we danced to all of the best European hits of...2003...including my personal favorite: that Romanian "Numa Numa" song. You know, the one made famous by that dancing fat kid. We had the place mostly to ourselves on the basement dance floor and we went off. It wasn't quite sexy, but it was surprisingly comfortable.
The next day, while Bobby escorted Larry to the airport, a few of us made plans to visit the London Zoo while most of our house was on a day trip to some castle or something. It took us a little longer to get out then we thought because I slept in a little and there was a lot of construction on the tube. We exited the tube at Camden Town, the stop closest to the London Zoo, but when we exited we did not see a massive complex of caged animals and snow-cone clad children, but discovered a bustling street with vintage and trendy clothing shops, canals, bars, street vendors, cheap sunglasses, and young people with multi-colored weaves for hair. It was like a bizarre, but brilliant mix of SF's Haight-Ashbury, beach towns of Mexico, the cool parts of Bangkok (I imagine), and an Amsterdam rave...but with alterna-malls. If there is a consumer Bohemia, it's London's Camden Town. Trisha, Shannon, my flatmate Thom and I all quickly decided that the zoo would have to wait until another day. We were all a little hungry/tired, so we stopped by one of the bars overlooking a canal and chilled for what seemed like hours of a most desirable afternoon. I enjoyed an amazing soy bean burger with chips (we call them French Fries). We then walked around and took in the ambiance of the scene. I'm sorry I don't have more photos, but I WILL be back there for sure.
Bobby came over that evening and we enjoyed a nice, long (and CHEAP!) dinner at wagamama, an amazing London-based Asian restaurant chain that is bent on cheaply tasty world domination. We then walked around to a few pubs (once again, 'goldiepubs' came out to visit) and we eventually met up with my housemates at our neighborhood pub O'Neill's, to conclude our celebration of my flatmate Jayson's birth. Bobby left for the tube before it closed and I continued to hang out with my housemates. Shannon, Trisha, Trisha's friends, and I hung out and enjoyed rich conversation over trail mix and hummus.
Joe, Andy, Katie, Jenni, and Jayson celebrating at O'Neill's:
Happy Birthday Jayson!
After very little sleep on Saturday night, I awoke early to meet Bobby for breakfast near his hotel and help him get his luggage onto the train. I returned home and freshened up for an exploratory day with Shannon and Cathy. We just started walking and stumbled into South Kensington and Chelsea. We walked for about an hour or so and then hoped on a double decked bus for an elevated perspective. We exited after a leisurely drive through Kensington and ended up at the shockingly beautiful Victoria and Albert Museum...having no idea it was there. The V&A Museum was on the top of my list of things to do, so it was perfect that we ended up finding it. Even more fortunate for us was that it was the last day of the Kylie Minogue exhibit, which I had wanted to check out. I don't have any photos of the V&A collection because they request no photography, which I usually ignore, but felt some level of responsibility since the museum is free. The V&A Museum was a delightful surprise addition to our day and I hope to check it out again.
Shannon, Cathy, and I sitting on a replica of Dali's "Mae West Lips" in the V&A:
Once again, I'm exhausted, but that's a substantial update for now. Check again in a few days/next week and there will be more fertile narrative of my adventures abroad.
British Phrases of the week:
1. Brilliant - used to describe something positive. Example: "these scones are perfect...brilliant, good job."
2. Fuckwit - used to describe someone who is incapable. Example: "I feel like a total fuckwit right now, can we run that one more time?"
Song of the Moment:
Tiga, You're Gonna Want Me
By The Way:
Paris is big news over here as well.
Victoria "Posh" Beckham is like...hotter than the sun over here. She is in the paper every day...literally. I have some really gross and juicy gossip about Victoria if anyone wants to hear it when I'm back in the states.
