Hello Blog, I'm Back, But Not Ready To Commit

Hello Blog,



It has been over a year since I posted, and I wanted to say I'm sorry. You have been a good, faithful blog- and, well, I have ignored you. I was planning to say that I would try to do better now, be a better blogger- the kind of blogger you need me to be. But the the truth is, I just can't commit. Sure, I'll have a steady stream of blogs for a few weeks, but then life will certainly get busy again. Before long we will be back to sporadic late night drunk-blogging where I promise to change.



So I am laying it out on the table right now. I would be interested in an open blogging relationship. I am being very honest that I will read other blogs, and probably even comment on some of them. I really enjoy blogging here, but I am just not ready for the time it takes to be committed to this blog. I'm sure there will be future updates on what I'm doing, and what's been going on in this last, most-crazy year. For now, let's just be blog with benefits.



Best,

Brandie

ER Time With The Chernows

This quarter at school is kicking my ass, thus the serious lack of posts.  Finally getting one done.

Now that the adventure known at Chicago Stem Cell Transplant is behind us, I figure it was time for some serious R&R for my folks. Both are wiped from Chicago, not to mention the trip back to California- which involved a ton of packing. Mom's birthday was just a few days shy of their trip home. Hmmm pack for your birthday, sounds like such fun. I figured she needed a real birthday celebration. I plan a special day with her at our favorite hot springs- Glen Ivy. I didn't tell her that I invited her sisters and booked her for several spa appointments.
9:30am I got a call from her that my childhood cat, Tristan, wasn't doing well. She was lathargic, deydrated, and had a kitty fever. Mom was going to take her in to the emergency vet and hopefully, if things settled down, come to Glen Ivy later. I was pingpoing in my head- worried about my cat (who is 14 yr old btw) and worried that my overworked mother wouldn't make it to her massage (that she didn't know about) in the next hour.
10am The spa let me reschedule mom's massage for later in the day.

11am Mom's sisters show up. We all wait around for word on Tristan, and to find out if my mom would finally get a break.
12:45pm - Mom makes it! Yay! Tristan was given antibiotics and hydrated. Mom's sisters laid down on lawn chairs with their hair in towels and wearing sunglasses. Totally surprised Mom! Lovely day followed.

Wednesday became part II of the Chernow ER festivities:

5:04pm Got a text from Mom that Dad was running a low grade fever, and likely there would be a trip to the ER. I got on the phone with my dad (who doesn't love a text like that?) to get detail. Yes, he had a low fever (100.4) and yes, they were going to the ER- mainly as a precaution, since he was a recent stem cell transplant patient. Every time he got a low fever before it turned out to be something more serious, so all of his doctors just wanted to play it safe.

I spent the evening drinking a large glass of wine, eating take-out, and hoping for the best.

10:48pm Got another text from Mom that they were going home.

The next day they had to go back to the hospital. Dad still had a fever and still on the brink of having to be admitted. Fortunately, his fever broke. 

It's been like that the last few weeks.  Dad has been in and out of the hospital, often from lack of fluids or food, since he has a hard time keeping things down.  It's kinda a roller coaster of being very concerned, but also kinda numb at the same time.  Every time I hear 'ER' I wonder if it's something serious or just caution because he's a recent transplant patient.  Hopefully things will get better once his immune system is back to par.

Good news- Tristan is doing much better.  Whatever she had seems to have resolved, and she is her usual feline self.

Zombie Wedding Followup

Over weeks of planning, 14 hours on set, and a lot of fake blood- and we had an awesome zombie wedding!  Check out a followup article on the Examiner by our favorite zombie-reporter/zombie (he was also in the shoot) here.

We had an amazing cast and crew.  Everyone worked really hard and weren't afraid to get into the shoot and get dirty (well, bloody).  We took over 2,000 pictures, so stay tuned for the finished video, as well as behind of the scene photos of "That Special Day."

They're Back!

Quick update on the parents.  Thanks for everyone's support during this 'wild' ride.

After almost six months- my parents are finally back in California!  YAY!  Thanks to everyone for their concern and support.  It's been a long roller-coaster of a ride, and it's not over yet, but we are happy to have Chicago behind us.

Craig and I went to see them Friday night.  It was wonderful to see them, but they're pretty exhausted.  Dad weighs less than I do, and that was pretty disturbing.  I hoping being home, he'll start feeling better and fattening up.  And hopefully, mom will be able to get some rest too.

7 Days

One week till the parents come home from Chicago!  After only five months of chemo, and treatments, and transplants, Dad is no longer an international health hazard (thank you Swine Flu) and they'll be coming home!

Zombies Attack Wedding!

For those of you that read my other blog, this will be posted there as well. But you don't have to read it twice. But you can if you. After all, this covers my life, my art, weddings, and zombies.

I've decided that what this world needs is more zombies attacking weddings. So my production team, Junebug Media, is going to make this dream a reality!

We also gotten some great press on NBC LA:

A local artist is looking for zombies to help ruin a wedding in Sherman Oaks.

The undead mayhem is the brainchild of artist Brandie June Chernow. The idea began as a photo shoot to document a staged wedding dissolving into chaos (Imagine spilled wine, bad toasts, perhaps a few awkward moments).

Chernow and her production team at Junebug Media started brainstorming ways to up the ante. One of her coworkers suggested a Bridezilla vs. Godzilla theme. That's when things got interesting.

"…and that led to me thinking that zombies would be a great way to worsen a bad situation. Zombies attacking a wedding it became. Because when you think things can't get worse, that's when the zombies attack," Chernow said.

Chernow is now accepting applications for zombies. The project is on a tight budget, so all undead work will be pro bono. Not all applicants will score a role in the Sept. 13 photo shoot. Those interested can reach Chernow at junebugmedia@gmail.com.

Ideally, Chernow says, she'd like the photos displayed at an appropriate venue, such as the Downtown Art Walk.

"But mainly we think it'd be fun. Art for art's sake. Or zombies for art's sake. Or art for zombies' sake," Chernow said.

And the Examiner also ran a story:

On September 13th in Sherman Oaks, zombies will be busting up a wedding, and you have a chance at getting involved in the mayhem!

Junebug Media, founded by Brandie June Chernow in 2008, is putting together a still photography shoot and slide show-style video of the events, which Brandie described in an email as being "about a wedding that starts sweet and then goes wrong (think passed-out drunk groomsmen, bridesmaid making out with groom)," but quickly turns into a bloodbath when zombies attack. With her team rounded out by Ray McCoy, Damon D. Brown and Craig Johnson, Brandie has a group of experienced TV production folks at the helm of this project, and they have already put down some hard-earned money on the zombie makeup that will be used for the event.

Anyone and everyone can get involved by contacting Brandie at junebugmedia@gmail.com and showing up to the event. Although there's no pay -- this is an ultra-low budget event -- Brandie says that she can get people copies of the photos, and will be shopping around the slideshow and photos to be displayed locally, such as at the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk. As Brandie puts it, "mainly we think it'd be fun. Art for art's sake. Or zombies for art's sake. Or art for zombie's sake." How can you beat that?

If you've never heard of Junebug Media, they have completed several short videos, and have won second place at the UCLA Anderson School of Business and Management video contest with a mock 1950s parody PSA. Additional team members support them on various projects. This may very well be an outfit to watch out for in the future.

And by the way, is anyone else reminded of Adam's (Jeremy Sisto) short film in May?

Certified Pre-Owned Cats!

Saw this, and found it amazingly touching. The Michigan Humane Society created this ad poster and video to help promote adopting adult cats. They are adopting out adult cats for free to help find them homes.