Interviews

Abbey Londer & RIOT – LA’s Alternative Comedy Festival

By David Dean on January 25, 2012

Back it. Love it.

We love comedian, producer, and the all around lovely Abbey Londer. She is that rare being that creates for the sake of creating, for pure enjoyment, for everyone to have fun, for a community. Insert RIOT – LA’s Alternative Comedy Festival. You will learn all about it in our interview with Abbey, but she sums it up so perfectly with this: “We love to laugh. And we love comedy. We love performing it. We love watching it. And more than anything we love the community that revolves around it.” What started out as an idea is turning into a reality. With truly the best comedians on board, and a Kickstarter that is SO close to hitting its goal (back it up!), and with a love of laughter being the driving force, RIOT is all things Serial Optimist loves. Read on to learn more about the festival, Abbey, and of course, for plenty of smiles.

Interviews

‘HEY THERE STRANGER’

By David Dean on January 23, 2012

Hello

In November, filmmaker Julian Klepper and crew, shot 2/3rds of a pilot Klepper wrote and directed called “Hey There Stranger“. It’s about a sweet yet captious dreamer who falls into a dark depression after his girlfriend of six months breaks up with him. Sounds like a bummer right? Wrong. It’s a funny, slightly dark (dim?), honest, serious, but not too serious show about wanting to connect but not quite knowing how. It also comes across as very personal, or more passionate; you can tell this something Klepper has put his whole heart into. Money is being raised to finish the pilot on Kickstarter, and is oh SO close to hitting its goal. Read on for a great interview with Julian, and to learn more about “Hey There Stranger”.

Art

The Velvet Cell: Psychic Hearts By Sandra Croft

By David Dean on January 19, 2012

Coffee table must

The Velvet Cell continues to produce beautiful independent books for photography. They believe that the book is the most intimate way of interacting with photographs. It shows, as the quality and content of each book is fantastic. Their new release is stunning. Psychic Hearts by London based photographer Sandra Croft allows you to escape into a  hazy dream world, and that’s not by accident. Read on for an interview with Sandra, and a look at the pages of Psychic Hearts.

Art

Artist Feature: Jack Azar

By David Dean on January 18, 2012

Pretty Boy

Jack Azar is a Lebanese-American born artist from Santa Barbara, California. Jack experienced a moment of self-awakening in 2002 – an already existing reality emerging with the aid of scissors and glue. Referred to as “Azar Bizarre,” his art is an ensemble of familiar images taken from familiar sources, collecting and reconstructing them to create a unique kind of art. As a result, magazines have become a valuable contributor for his creativity. Read on for more about Azar Bizarre and his work.

Interviews

Freddi Scheib Talks ‘Missed Connection’ & Makes Us Laugh Hard

By David Dean on January 17, 2012

"Missed Connection"

SO many great comedy series are hitting the web, as you can see here, and another hilariously amazing gem is “Missed Connection” from writer, comedian, and actor Freddi Scheib. “Missed Connection” comes from a personal place, but you wouldn’t know it because it’s so relatable, in a beautifully absurd way. With a stellar cast that includes New York’s finest (comedians), and witty sharp writing from Scheib, “Missed Connection” is no doubt en route to being an online watch-the-newest-episode-as-soon-as-it-hits favorite. Read on for a truly laugh out loud interview with Freddi and some “Missed Connection” episodes.

Art

Artist Feature: Sammy Slabbinck

By David Dean on January 17, 2012

TV

What started of as a bit of fun, making cartoons and postcards, evolved into creating well-balanced and sometimes humorous snapshots of a forgotten world bursting with color and filled with images of yesteryear. Belgian collage artist and illustrator Sammy Slabbinck’s love of old photographs and vintage magazines are the basis for most of his creations. Read on for more of his work.