Staglevision: Birthday update

Dear friends,

Happy spring! I've got some exciting news to share with you:

FILM - "Street Kid Book Factory" Airing on Current TV
The short documentary I shot with Sarah Gilbert in Buenos Aires last year is finally playing on Current TV! Here's a synopsis and the link:

Eloisa Cartonera is an independent book publisher in Buenos Aires that sells recycled, handpainted books written by some of Latin America's most dynamic young writers. In this pod, VC2 producers Steven Tagle and Sarah Gilbert profile the publisher's founder and interview some of the young street kids who collect the cardboard and paint the books.

Watch "Street Kid Book Factory" and let me know what you think:
http://current.com/items/89633872/street_kid_book_factory.htm

WRITING - Spork Piece in Progress
I've begun writing a piece for Spork, a literary magazine edited and constructed by Richard Siken and Drew Burk. Siken has been one of my favorite poets since I read his debut collection, Crush, in college. I emailed Spork asking how I could get involved, and Drew very generously, very quirkily invited me to write a piece. I think that's all I can divulge for now, but with luck, you'll soon be seeing me in one of Spork's beautifully bound hardback issues! This will be my very first publication.

See what Spork is all about:
http://sporkpress.com

LIFE IN LA - Birthday Brunch and Beach, 4/26/09
Next Sunday, April 26, I'll be celebrating my 24th birthday at Panini Garden in Santa Monica. I discovered Panini Garden a few weekends back on a writing adventure with Amy Aniobi and Reena Magsarili. They have a Secret Garden-esque backyard patio and a breakfast panini with a side of fresh fruit that makes my mouth water.

If you're in town and want to spend an afternoon brunching and hanging out at the beach, I'd love to see you there.

Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Time: 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: Panini Garden then Santa Monica Beach
Street: 2715 Main Street (at Hill St.)
City/Town: Santa Monica, CA
Parking: There's free street parking around 6th and Hill,
or use the Farmer's Market beach parking.
Link: http://www.yelp.com/biz/panini-garden-santa-monica

Hope to see you next Sunday!

Best,
Steven
--
http://www.steventagle.com/contact

Theory of Writing: Moments

I want to write moments that my characters would remember for the rest of their lives.

Restaurants and Cafes to Try in LA

royal t ****
an experience; modern art, salmon with edamame, japanese french maids
http://www.yelp.com/biz/royal-t-culver-city

espresso profeta ****
very homey and quaint; choncey's art is spectacular
http://www.espressoprofeta.com/

clementine ****
nice little restaurant, great for a weekend brunch
http://www.yelp.com/biz/clementine-los-angeles

http://www.clementineonline.com

venice grind ****
great on sundays, right next to the mar vista farmer's market.
limited seating
http://www.yelp.com/biz/venice-grind-los-angeles

alibi room**
nice interior, but crowded, narrow and loud. when we were there, we had to wait over an hour for tacos, and the bar owners called the cops because some a**hole was outside drumming on the front door
http://www.alibiroomla.com

la mill coffee boutique****
http://www.lamillcoffee.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-mill-coffee-boutique-los-angeles-2#hrid:ztAEOIztD-8siiC-5449Hg

bolivar cafe and gallery****
great arepas, a little chilly
www.cafebolivar.com
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-bolivar-santa-monica

applepan**
all right, great counter service. best burger in la? i don't know.

funnel mill***
very zen writing spot in santa monica
http://www.yelp.com/biz/funnel-mill-rare-coffee-and-tea-santa-monica

18th street****
great french cafe with booths perfect for sitting cross-legged in!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/18th-street-coffee-house-santa-monica


the hall at palihouse holloway****
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-hall-courtyard-brasserie-at-palihouse-holloway-west-hollywood
Great decor and service


empanada's place***** Absolutely amazing Empanadas

caffe luxxe***
http://www.caffeluxxe.com/index.htm
http://www.yelp.com/biz/caffe-luxxe-santa-monica
upscale cafe, nice place to meet an old friend for coffee

--

amelia's expresso and panini
http://www.ameliascafe.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/amelias-espresso-and-panini-santa-monica

17th street cafe
http://www.yelp.com/biz/17th-street-cafe-santa-monica

gyenari
http://www.yelp.com/biz/gyenari-culver-city

akasha
http://www.yelp.com/biz/akasha-culver-city
http://www.akasharestaurant.com

argentinean empanadas

The Little Next Door

bonano's chicken in northridge

griddle cafe

Ye Olde Kings Head English Breakfast

Staglevision: Valentine's Day update

Dear friends,

It's been a while. I hope you all had a pleasant start to 2009. Here's what I've been up to:

LIFE IN LA
A year and a half after moving down here, I'm finally starting to feel at home in LA. I have my favorite local haunts: dinners with my sister at The Nook, a neighborhood bistro; writing at Cafe Balcony or Intelligentsia; catching the latest great movie with Tyrrell after work at the Landmark or Vista theaters.

No matter how much time I spend here, there's always more to discover. I recently saw The Bird and the Bee (one of my favorite bands) perform at the Natural History Museum amid display cases of extinct mammals. The night after, I heard Edward Albee discuss his plays at UCLA.

WRITING
For Christmas, I asked for subscriptions to a few top literary magazines. I am now a proud subscriber to McSweeney's, Zoetrope: All-Story, One Story, and The Threepenny Review. After reading short stories from some of my favorite contemporary authors, I am excited to return to this form.

In January, I wrote a couple drafts of a poem currently titled, "The Night We Went to Fubar." I don't write poems very often, but I find that it exercises a certain muscle that I'd like to develop more. I enjoy the surgical precision that a poem requires, the microscopic attention to every element of the line. Thanks to Shamala and Larry for all their helpful comments on my revisions!

This month, I've returned to work on the novel, which by now feels like an old friend. I completed revisions on Chapter One in the fall, and I'm very pleased with them, though the chapter has doubled in size. I'm now combining Chapters Two and Three, hoping to finish by the end of this month so I can move on to the Oktoberfest chapter.

WORK
For almost a year, I've been working at SpiritClips, a new media company that produces high-quality inspirational content. At SpiritClips.com, you can watch moving short films and share them as exquisite, personalized FilmCards.

I'm responsible for producing our website, and I'm learning a ton about web development, HTML coding, Google Adwords and Analytics, project management, copywriting, the works. Since I only took Intro to Computing in college, this is very exciting!

Watch a Valentine's Day FilmCard featuring our newest film, "Montgomery."

If this FilmCard inspires you, please share it with a friend or loved one!

Here's the best way:
1) Join SpiritClips.com
2) Select the Free Trial to send one FilmCard, free.
3) Personalize "Montgomery" by adding a cover, photo (optional), and message.
4) Address and send!

Thanks for listening. If we haven't spoken in a while, give me a call, or let's hang out. I want to know how you've been!

Best,
Steven

"Fidelity"

Great video from the Courage Campaign.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/divorce

Cafe Balcony: My New Westside Writing Haunt

After Elysee's fall from grace, I thought I'd never find another hip cafe to take its place. My writer's block has been killing me. Yesterday I decided to try Cafe Balcony on Santa Monica and Rochester / Centinela Ave. The place is amazing.

+free, easy street parking on centinela ave.
+$2 loose leaf tea with hot water refills
+awesome ambient music
+warm crowd of regulars
+wall of power plugs
+big counter space
+free wireless (though my computer is old and couldn't access it)

looks like i've found a new home!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-balcony-los-angeles-2

Mid-Week Obsession

Overcoat from A.P.C.

Join the Impact - Los Angeles Prop 8 Rally

Ascension


Bicycle of Protest


Caged

Wish I Could Cook: Arroz Caldo

The Election Reactions

Reactions from around the US as Americans discovered their new President was Barack Obama. Featuring footage from Amy's party!

My First Rally - "No on 8" in WeHo

Dear friends,

Sunday's "No on 8" rally in West Hollywood was the first political rally I've ever attended. I caught up with some old friends, yelled and waved signs on the corner of Robertson and Santa Monica. The energy was contagious, and it felt great to help the cause.

Please vote No on Prop 8 and stand for equality in California.
http://www.noonprop8.com

You can watch my footage on Current TV here:
http://current.com/items/89484582_my_first_rally_no_on_8_in_weho

steventagle.com Down Until Friday

Hi all,

Since its inception, my steventagle.com domain has been hosted on Yahoo! Small Business. But this year, Yahoo! decided to jack up its annual domain rate from $9.95/year to a whooping $34.95/year. So I'm transferring the domain to GoDaddy.com. Same simple service, and even easier on my pocket--$6.99/year, with the first year free!

All this to say, my website will be down for the next two days while it waits to be transferred to GoDaddy.com. Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely,
Steven

God Has Returned to Cerro Vista

After a year away, I've finally begun revising my novel again.
Nothing will stop me now.

Current TV Project Updates

Dear friends,
Hope you’re all having a spectacular summer! Here are a couple updates about my Current TV projects:

1. FOOD FIGHT SPECIAL now airing
2. LITTER INTO LITERATURE bought by Current
3. OUR GENERATION’S WAR segment in production
4. I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU TRENT AND GREG screening at SIE Film Fest
________________________

1. FOOD FIGHT SPECIAL now airing
GOT RICE?, a pod I produced about the rice shortages in LA, is now airing on Current. The piece is part of FOOD FIGHT, an hour-long Vanguard and Collective Journalism special that investigates the promise and peril of using food for fuel, and the far-reaching consequences of the global fight for resources.

To find interview subjects for this pod, I visited over 20 rice-serving restaurants in Alhambra and Monterey Park. Thank you to Xiao Qi Liang, owner of ACC Chinese Fast Food, for agreeing to speak with me, and to Jerome Jiang, one of her customers, for serving as our interpreter. Thanks too to Kimpo Ngoi for sharing his family’s reaction to the rice shortage with me.

The segment that I produced runs from 31:20 – 33:20.
You can watch it below:

2. LITTER INTO LITERATURE bought by Current
I have finished editing LITTER INTO LITERATURE, the short documentary I co-produced in Buenos Aires with CJ Contributor Sarah Gilbert. The film is about the cartoneros, Buenos Aires’ unofficial recyclers, and Eloisa Cartonera, an independent book publisher where cartoneros can get a good deal on cardboard and contribute to great art as well. Current bought the doc and will be airing it soon. Thanks to Henry Goldman for bringing it in.

3. OUR GENERATION’S WAR segment in production
Current contributor Alex Paris and I have also begun work on a segment for another Current special called OUR GENERATION’S WAR. This piece examines the sacrifices that our country’s service people have made in the War on Terror. The piece attempts to document the entire cycle of service: from recruitment to extensions of service commitments, to what our service people find when they return home and the families they leave behind. For my segment, I will be profiling a service person who has been stop-lossed. If all goes well, we intend to shoot the piece next weekend.

4. I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU TRENT AND GREG screening at SIE Film Fest
My first Current pod, I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU TRENT AND GREG, will be screening at the Stanford in Entertainment Film Festival next weekend. This is the film festival’s 10^th anniversary, so the group is planning a jam-packed afternoon of screenings at Cinespace, followed by a reception. My film will screen with the other shorts from 3pm – 4:30pm, but I plan to stay for the whole event. Come check out TRENT AND GREG on the big screen—I’d love to see you there!

Date: Saturday, July 26
Time: 3pm – 4:30pm screening of short films (including mine) / 5pm – 7pm feature screening / 7pm - 8pm reception with appetizers and cash bar
Place: Cinespace / 6356 Hollywood Blvd. (corner of Ivar and Hollywood) / Los Angeles
Price: Free for members plus a guest; $15 for non-members
RSVP to Amy Taylor, ’98 at amytaylor1@verizon.net

Hope to see you next Saturday!

Sincerely,
Steven

Life Updates

Dear friends,

Here are a couple life updates and information about my birthday shindig this Friday, April 25.

1. Winter Recap: New Hampshire, South America, Los Angeles, Colorado / Photos
2. Redesigned Website Launch: www.steventagle.com
3. Birthday Party: Friday, April 25 at the Arsenal in LA
________________________

1. Winter Recap: New Hampshire, South America, Los Angeles, Colorado / Photos
Covering the New Hampshire primaries with Current TV was an amazing experience. I had a blast with the other Collective Journalists and with Current’s production team. We spent five days interviewing campaign volunteers, chasing presidential candidates, and hanging out in our Manchester production office. I attended the 100 Club Dinner (the NH Democrats’ exclusive fundraising event), was interviewed by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, and heard Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama speak only feet away from me. Thanks to everyone who tuned in to watch our broadcasts. I’m looking forward to working on more projects with Current in the future.

After New Hampshire, I flew to South America to film and edit a travel series with Marita Vera and Angela Higley. Our three-person crew spent a month in close quarters, traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Punta del Este, and Lima. Other than being robbed at gunpoint in La Boca, the trip was fun and productive. I was exposed to a wealth of South American culture, from the delicious alfajores (caramel sandwiches covered with powdered sugar) of Peru to the contagious energy of screaming, jumping fans at Brazil’s Maracana Football Stadium. While in Buenos Aires, I also filmed a short documentary with CJ Contributor Sarah Gilbert about the cartoneros, the city’s unofficial recyclers. The doc is in post-production, so look for it soon on Current!

I’m now back in LA, working at a short film production company. I really enjoy it because I get to pitch script ideas and get hands-on production experience. Recently, I’ve also begun helping a Sundance programmer with research for a short film book. And last month, my short screenplay, BEAR, won Best Dramatic Short at the BlueCat Screenplay Competition.

I spent this past weekend in Parker, Colorado, filming the wedding of Megan Felsburg and Nate Doud (Megan is my roommate Katherine’s older sister). The wedding was beautiful and masterfully organized. I had the honor of capturing the Douds’ special moments and all the behind-the-scenes antics of their friends and family members. Please feel free to visit the Douds’ wedding website and wish them well: www.nate-megan.com.

Photos:

01 – Me and my NH roommate, Derrick Shore, checking primary results at the Current Lounge in Manchester.

02 – Me filming emera.tv hostess Marita Vera atop Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro.

03 – Tom Rastrelli and me after his “Only in America” concert in Glendale.

2. Redesigned Website Launch: www.steventagle.com

Months after my Stanford site shut down, my new and improved website is now open for business! This is your one-stop shop for all my past and current projects. Read my plays, poetry, and short stories. Watch FLATFISH, MODEL MAN, and all my Current pods. Check out the new Design section, featuring posters and publications I’ve designed all the way back to Creative Impulse magazines in high school! If it’s by me, it’s on here. Check it out.

3. Birthday Party: Friday, April 25 at the Arsenal in LA

This Friday, April 25, I’ll be celebrating my 23^rd birthday at the Arsenal in Los Angeles. The Arsenal is a West LA restaurant / bar with a cool name and swanky atmosphere. When I heard that they served Kobe hamburgers, sweet potato French fries, and mac and cheese, I was sold.

It’s my first birthday in LA, so if we’ve worked together on a film, if we’ve gone to school together, or if you’re in town and looking to have fun and catch up, I’d love to see you there.

Start Time: Friday, April 25, 2008 at 7:30pm
End Time: Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 2:00am
Location: The Arsenal
Street: 12012 W Pico Blvd (at Pico and Bundy)
City/Town: West Los Angeles, CA
Links: www.arsenalbar.com / www.yelp.com/biz/the-arsenal-los-angeles-2

Hope to see you Friday!

Sincerely,
Steven

LA Writing Cafes!

Finally, I found some cafes I can write in! These two spots make me wish I lived on the Eastside:

Casbah Cafe:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/casbah-cafe-los-angeles
Great Moroccan atmosphere, and prosciutto and brie baguette sandwiches for $7.

Intelligentsia Coffee: http://www.yelp.com/biz/intelligentsia-coffee-los-angeles
Way cool blue and white tile floors, hip laptop counter, Darjeeling tea.

Marble Madness

Thomas, Dean, and I build the world's tallest marble tower!

Populate

Kids at church:

Girl with a bunny ears headband sticks bits of tape to her mother's hair.

Boy draws a duck that looks like a cracked bowl.

emera.tv - Videos

Dear friends,

For the past month, I've been traveling through South America filming and editing a travel series with emera.tv. emera.tv is a travel resource that presents day play, night play, sleep, and eat options in an easily digestible minute-long viral video format. We filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Punta del Este. Please check out the videos from Argentina and Brazil below.

I'm flying back home tomorrow after spending two weeks editing in a hotel room with one florescent light, within walking distance of the beach. And I am officially addicted to lucuma and manjar blanco.

Call me to hang out in LA!

Sincerely,
Steven

Most Surreal Experience in Peru

Listening to a guy play "I Will Survive" on an electronic keyboard at the Wong supermercado while people seemed to pass me in slow motion with bottles of liquor.