Dear Friends,
First and foremost: new contact information:
Maitland Waters - Symbio Agency
Studio: 323-464-7033
Mobile: 310-403-8408
maitland@symbioagency.com
http://www.symbioagency.com
1843 N. Cherokee Ave, #407,
Los Angeles, California,
90028
USA
About Symbio Agency:
Symbio is a small team of
experienced professionals headed up by Maitland Waters and Jon Michal Marr. Each
member of our team with over 10 years experience in all aspects of interactive
production. Specialists in Web, Multimedia Presentations, and Next Media
Marketing. We are based in Los Angeles although our relationships and resources
extend globally. Our past work has been recognized by One Show, the Emmy's, and
NEDMA and we've spent our careers delivering work for clients like: IBM, GM,
AT&T, ABC, and Web MD. Currently accepting clients.
clients@symbioagency.com
Also we are always looking for passionate,
talented designers and producers. Please contact: talent@symbioagency.com
For more information:
http://www.symbioagency.com
NEWS: Los Angeles
Wow. Arriving back in
California is fantastic! Over 2 years ago I left here with a couple of key
goals.
Circumnavigate the globe, experience local cultures and people, and
have as much fun as possible. I can say I successfully completed the mission. My
world tour has come to an end. I have been fortunate enough to travel to some of
the most exciting places on earth and meet some truly extraordinary people. The
journey was indescribable and I feel extremely grateful to have had to
opportunity to take such a trip.
In addition, I spent over a year spending time with family in Wellington
and also working for one of hottest design firms in the world. At Shift I got to
work on projects for America's Cup, Lord of the Rings, the Discovery Channel and
Toyota. Shift http://www.shift.co.nz/ was a refreshing experience. Thank you to
all the people at shift for consistently delivering such a high level of
professionalism and experience. I found it inspiring and fun.
So I'm back. Many people ask me why I have returned. Why leave NZ? And
why LA? That's a good question. But I think it comes back to the same reasons I
left 15 years ago. Coincidentally ˝ my life ago. ;-)
Challenge, adventure,
and something different. For something else. For something bigger. For something
not safe. Something not easy. It's about opportunity. It's about being in the
center of things. In the mix. C'MON!!!!
Living in San Diego was great but
this time……. This time I have decided to set up in Los Angeles. I love LA! The
entertainment history, the weather, and the culture. It's California on
steroids. 9 million people agree that it doesn't suck! I am camped 1 block off
Hollywood blvd in a great building with many cool and fun neighbors. 2 blocks
from the Chinese theater and the Hollywood bowl. And most importantly, 1 block
from http://www.deep-la.com/ (where house lives!) Hollywood blvd is Disneyland
meets a Marilyn Manson show with a huge shot of smut. It's never boring.
The World Tour is over. (for now) Some might feel sad. Not me. It's been
such an amazing ride and I have loved every moment! I feel completely
rejuvenated, centered and hungry. Ready to rock. As many of you know, I have
embarked on a new venture and chapter in my life. It's called Symbio and I have
partnered with my old time good friend and colleague Jon Michal Marr. (Wedding
in Sonoma Valley) JM is a close friend and one of the most talented Creative
Directors in the US and we excited to be teaming up to deliver award winning
work for our clients. I am already loving the energy and passion of this
company. C'MON!
I recently saw some interesting statistics which I think outline the
opportunity for Symbio. The study was sponsored by Yahoo and Carat Interactive.
The study looked at how much time teens (13-24 yrs old) spend per week with
various media types:
| Books and Magazines |
6 Hours |
| Phone |
7.7 Hours |
| Listening to the Radio |
12 Hours |
| Watching TV |
13.6 Hours |
| Online |
16.7 Hours (Does not include
email) |
Not interested in "teens"? There are 49 million 13-24 year olds in the US
and they account for $149 billion in annual spending.
Check out the
article
So what else has been going on? It was a frantic few months wrapping up
my life in NZ. One project we just completed at Shift:
http://www.newzealand.com This is a nice piece of
world class work. Great job Shift.
.
Next it was
- Apt hunting
- Rental cars,
- Car hunting,
- Applications (so many applications)
- Credit Checks. (Sooo many credit checks!)
- Cali drivers license
- Insurance,
- Cell phone
- Land line
- Power / Water
- Gas
- DSL
- Vehicle Registration (more DMV)
- Deposits
- Shopping
Not necessarily in that order. You aren't supposed to get
a CA drivers license till you have a job or a residence. (They want your
permanent address on the drivers licence) But you really need a car before you
get an apt. But you can't get insurance until you have the actual car you want
insured. But you can't get insurance unless you have a California Drivers
license. And the insurance company doesn't want to deal with you if you don't
have a residence or a job. But you can't get a job without a car. And you kinda
need a car to find a place to live. Oh, don't have credit. Forget about doing
any of the above.
Whew!
In LA everything takes a while. You only get a couple of things done
each day. My first week I was kinda frustrated and saying, man, in Wellington, I
could run 15 errands a day. Here it's 4 or less!. (1 if you have a job) Then I
finally got into it and accepted. It's about appreciating where you are at. Then
it was easier. It's not Wellington. It's LA. And yes, there's lots of
bureaucracy and things are hard. The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) is the
ultimate "leveler". We are all equal at the DMV. Millionaire, bum, movie star.
"Halle Berry??! Babe, be a dove, take a number and wait over there. " It's
great!
Los Angeles is the only city in the world where people at a cocktail
party can have a 45 minute conversation about traffic.
"Like, I'd take Sunset
to the 101 to the 110 to the 10 to the 405. Unless it's 4pm then I'd take the
101 to the 110 to the 105 to the 405".
"Cool. We'll my friend just called
and said traffic is moving really on the 5, until you get 101, so just exit
before downtown. "
say what??! It's a trip.
But there are many upsides. The biggest one is the weather! It's
beautiful every day. Lots of Sun. Warm nights. No wind. There is something going
on every night. Music, Film, what ever you want. Last Thursday I went to a
screening of Bad Boys 2. Fun. Intense! Courtesy of Mara @ Sony Pictures. Cheers
Mara.
One service I really love is NetFlix!! http://www.netflix.com
When you go to the movie store they don't have what you want, you can't remember
what your friend recommended, the top 10 are all out, and you pay for late fees.
Netflix rocks. Pick 3 DVD's, netflix pay your shipping both ways and you rotate
out the movies as fast as you can. All for 20 bucks a month. Plus, their
Amazon.com like engine recommends movies, let's you rate movies and maintains
your wish list. Why am I telling you this? Because Netflix is what is so great
about the Internet.
The other week I went to "Pirates of the Caribbean" @ El Capitan in
Hollywood. Old school movie theater. They had it decked out for the movie. Lots
of Pirates and of course lots of booty! I was wondering where they got all the
pirate garb and treasure. Turns out this Hollywood place is where they MAKE the
movies.
By my second
week I was a machine. My eye was trained on "for rent" signs. I was fielding
calls from car sellers, landlords, while driving down Sunset Blvd. How many
bedrooms, what, no parking, call me back! It was mad! Finally found a killer pad
in Hollywood. I love it and it's home. Big Ups to Hugo, Matt and Luscious,
Steven, Annie, T Bonz, Mom, Silverback, and all my friends in SD. It's times
like these when you really need friends and family. I could have not done it
without you guys.
Last Saturday evening I took a drive up to the Griffith Park
Observatory. I was intending to go for a run in Griffith park……but just kept
driving up the hill. Not sure where I was going………I just kept driving. Got all
the way to the top…parked my car and kept on going. Walking up the hill. I guess
it's called Mount Hollywood. This mountain overlooks all of LA. The sun was
setting over the Hollywood sign one canyon over and the lights were coming on
over the city. It was a crystal clear day and the sunset lit up the sky. Finally
dusk turned the sky into orange, purple blue and pink. The moon was directly
overhead. Most people were heading down the hill but I kept going up. It's a
good hike. Finally I reached the top and I was kinda hoping I'd be the only
person up there. But unfortunately, there were two guys on mountain bikes
hanging out. But just as I walked up they said: "Hey, it's getting dark, let's
get going" and split.
Nice.
Which left me standing on the highest mountain overlooking LA
completely alone. . I could see to the ocean in Santa Monica and Venice, the
lights of the valley behind me, the Hollywood sign not yet lit up…. the
skyscrapers of Downtown, several 747's stacked up off the coast coming into LAX,
and the neon of Hollywood stretching out towards Beverly hills and Wilshire. The
power grid across the entire city barely blinking. The city strangely quiet but
alive. An entire city at my feet. 360 degrees of Los Angeles on a balmy night.
Then, I hear some faint sounds of BB King coming wafting up on a gentle breeze
from the Greek Amphitheatre! It was magic. It's my new happy place! (it just
overwrote the solo chairlift ride Snowboarding @ Heavenly at Tahoe on a workday)
If you are coming through LA don't hesitate to contact me and I'll show
you why I love this city. I look forward to catching up with everyone. Let's do
lunch. ;-)
LA and light.
Maitland
(BTW. I picked up a copy of the LA Drivers Exam @ the DMV for review)
NEW LA Drivers Exam
For those of you who are not "fortunate" enough to live
in California, here
is a copy of the California Driver's Exam, and for those
of you who do,
study real hard. This is a new exam. Since driving conditions
(and culture) are
unique in Los Angeles, you may not have realized that the
California
Department of Motor Vehicles has now issued a special application
and
driver's test solely for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.
GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA DRIVER'S LICENSE APPLICATION:
Name:___________________ Stage name: ____________________
Agent:___________________ Attorney:_______________________
Therapist
name:_________________
Sex: ___male ___female ___formerly male ___formerly
female ____both
*If female, indicate breast implant size: _______
Will
the size of your implants hinder your ability to safely operate a motor
vehicle in any way?
Yes___ No ___
Please list brand of cell phone:
________.
*If you don't own a cell p! hone, please
explain:________________________
Please check hair color:
Females: [ ]
Blonde [ ] Platinum Blonde
Teenagers: [ ] Red [ ] Orange [ ] Green [ ]
Purple [ ] Blue [ ] Skinhead
Please check activities you perform while
driving: (Check all that apply)
[ ] Eating
[ ] Drinking Starbucks coffee
[ ] Applying make-up
[ ] Shaving (male or female)
[ ] Talking on the
phone
[ ] Slapping kids in the back-seat
[ ] Applying cellulite
treatment to thighs
[ ] Tanning
[X] Snorting cocaine (already checked
for your convenience)
[ ] Watching TV
[ ] Reading Variety
[ ]
Surfing the net via laptop
[ ] Discharging firearms / Reloading
Please
indicate how many times
a) you expect to shoot at other drivers _____
b)
how many times you expect to be shot at while driving _____
If you are the
victim of a carjacking, you should immediately:
a) Call the police to report
the crime.
b) Call Channel 9 News to report the crime, then watch your car
on the news
in a high-speed chase.
c) Call your attorney and discuss
lawsuit against cellular phone company for
911 call not going through.
d) Call your therapist.
In the event of an earthquake, you should :
a) stop your car
b) keep driving and hope for the best.
c)
immediately use your cell phone to call all loved ones.
d) pull out your
video camera and obtain footage for Channel 9.
In the instance of rain, you
should:
a) never dri ve over 5 MPH.
b) drive twice as fast as usual.
c) you're not sure what "rain" is.
Please indicate number of therapy
sessions per week: ______.
Are you presently taking any of the following
medications?
a) Prozac
b) Zovirax
c) Lithium
d) Zanax
e)
Valium
f) Zoloft
g) All of the above
h) None of the above
*If
none, please explain: __________________.
Length of daily commute:
a)
Less than 1 hour
b) 1 hour
c) 2 hours
d) 3 hours
e) 4 hours or
more
* If less than 1 hour, please explain:____________________.
When
stopped by police, you should:
a) pull over and have your driver's license
and insurance form ready.
b) try to outrun them by driving the wrong way on
the 405 Freeway.
c) have your video camera ready and provoke them to attack,
thus ensuring
yourself of a hefty lawsuit.
When turning, you should
always signal your intentions by:
a) using your directional signals.
b)
what is a "directional signal"?
Which part of your car will wear out most
often?
a) the wiper blades
b) the belts
c) the horn
The "bright"
setting on your headlights is for:
a) dark, poorly lit roads
b) flashing
to get the car ahead to move out of the way
c) revenge!
Your rear view
mirror is for:
a) watching for approaching cars
b) watching for
approaching police cars
c) checking your hair
................................................................
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