One Rong View

Carlos VS Door

2011-04-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

What does a chick need to do to get a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T?

Moment of Awwwwww

2011-01-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

Sweetest thing ever. When she said, "One day I'll whistle?" I totally melted.

The Link Between Music and Depression

2010-12-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

I've discovered a deeply disturbing trend. Books Ngram Viewer is kind of fun.

Skate Shanghai

2010-12-17T11:28:00.000-08:00

Language

2010-10-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

This one's for those bastions of linguistic integrity, ie. against linguistic evolution.

Bringing Color to Life

2010-10-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

It almost seems counter intuitive to use physical effects in this day and age. But that's the beauty of it. There's something about the tangible process of creating things. Limitations of the laws of nature can be very captivating.

via aesthetics of joy

Dive!

2010-10-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

Like the philosophy. Love that they use action to as a form of inquiry. Must admit it looks exhilarating. Hope to go on an adventure with one of the local groups soon.

via unconsumption

School on Wheels 5K Run

2010-09-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/3rd-Annual-Fun-Run-Walk--Zuma-Beach--Malibu.html?soid=1101632592519&aid=gckGv9OapgA

Have you met a homeless child before? The homeless children population in America is about 1.5 million strong and growing. You can imagine how far reaching the consequences of being homeless are. These children are forced to cope with the challenges of a lack of safety, comfort, privacy, reassuring routines, adequate health care, uninterrupted schooling, sustained relationships and a sense of community. Helping them advance in their education significantly increases their chances of leading a meaningful, productive life, and reaching their fullest potential. It creates a better society for all.

I've been volunteering with them for over 2 years and the experience is humbling. Tutoring with my kids has consistently been one of the highlights of my week. Nothing beats seeing them make progress. One of our kids even got accepted into Harvard. How awesome is that.

School On Wheels is an amazing organization with great people running it. Support our work by donating or come run with us!

How to feed the world?

2010-07-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

What would we call the new cow planet? New Texas? Terra Beefia? The Moooooooooooon? Space cows are cool, I guess. But Brave Star doesn't exactly fit my indie sensibilities. Besides, I'm lazy, so I'm going to go with eating well and respecting farmers. It's closer to home. Nice piece.

How to feed the world ?Denis van Waerebeke on Vimeo. from

Crude Awakening

2010-07-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

The dirty secret of our way of life. Except, it's really no secret that cleaner, sustainable and more efficient energy needs to be made accessible to everyone. For that to happen, we need to demand it. Photos by Jane Fulton Alt.

20th Century Photography

2010-06-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

Made my day.
Legos are the best, hurray!

via balakov on flickr

The Museum of Bad Art

2010-05-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

Who are you to say what's bad? MOBA, that's who!
Wonderfully subversive. Love.

via gelconference.com

This Too Shall Pass

2010-05-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

Reminds me of back in the day. What an amazing time we had in band! Band rehearsals, band camps, band trips, band whenever, wherever, just because. Super dorky. Kinda rough, kinda awesome at the same time.

Grin.

Watch on YouTube

Hold Your Horses

2010-04-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

Art History you can't resist. This makes me very happy.

Secret life of the Merlion

2010-03-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

Pro Cookie Agenda

2009-11-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Cookie Monster

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

U.S. Speedskating

Cookie Monster is a survivor.

Piano Stairs

2009-10-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

Applied operant conditioning for a better tomorrow. I like!

Untitled—the movie

2009-10-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

"I want my work to have the whole world in it and I want it to mean everything to everyone. But I don't want to add anything to it."

“What attracts me to his work is how uncomfortable it makes me feel.”

Also, I want to roll on the floor and call it Bursting at the Seams.

Epitome of Luxury

2009-09-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

DIY and the world is yours. My kind of Channel bag.
via jak & jill

My Mother's Birthday Cake

2009-09-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Mothers do have the answer! I wanted to do something nice for my mum for her birthday and have been asking myself what kind of cake I should make for her. Then the other day, I was talking to her and it occured to me that I should just ask her. Blueberry, she said. Blueberry it is.

It couldn't have been a better cake. I knew my mum would enjoy something relatively light, so I decide to make a sponge cake with cream chantilly and blueberry filling.

First we made the filling. Didn't really use a recipe. Add about a lemon's worth of juice, a bunch of blueberries and some sugar and bring to a gentle boil. Add corn starch to thicken. Taste it and if it's too sour, add more sugar till it's the way you like it. Set aside to cool.

Next, we made the cake and the frosting. I used this amazing recipe. When everything is nice and chilled, it's time to assemble the cake.

Cakes like sandwiches, except, you pile on the frosting after you're done with the sandwich part.

Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoyed this.

Fierce Shoes

2009-08-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Fred brought something very interesting home from The Island a couple of weeks ago.

My little sister made these fabulous tiger stripe shoes for me. I'm not usually one for animal prints but I took a chance and took them for a spin at the farmers market. Pretty sure I rocked those shoes. I like them. Thanks, 敏敏!

When Wisdom Is Relegated to the Sidelines

2009-08-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

Keep California Beautiful

2009-07-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Fun 50s throwback PSA. Love everything about it – catchy tune, over the top lyrics, great directing.

It's way more fun to build a garbage castle… only if it comes with it's own vomiting mermaid.

Read about it here.

Typography Fun

2009-07-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

There are times when you need to drive your point home, and then there are times where your tablet just isn't enough anymore.

Excuse Me, Are You a Model?

2009-07-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Daul Kim seems super cool.

Totally laughed myself silly. Don't you just love it when people make goofy assumptions that make for great stories later on.

Scintillation

2009-07-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Something just swept me off my feet.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

USA! Fireworks, Marina del Rey style, 2009.

1 Dress, 365 Days

2009-07-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

Sustainable fashion + raising money for children living in slums. Proof that style can save us!

The Uniform Project

The Bare Essentials of Safety

2009-07-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

Now that's a cost cutting measure I can agree with.

Post-it Deadline

2009-06-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

The secret life of Post-its at Montgomery Hall! Super fun. Here is how they did it.

via Swiss Miss

Chair Chair

2009-06-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

All spelled out for you. Stating the obvious hasn't been this much fun in a while. Can't say the actual chair is a looker but it sure as hell is a tickler.

via sub-studio

2009-06-11T15:03:00.001-07:00

Steal Our Ideas

2009-05-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

via stealourideas

It's Pops Concert Time

2009-05-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!
by Eric Whitacre

Olympic Fanfare and Theme
by John Williams

The Beatles: Love
A medley of music from the Cirque du Soleil trubute to the Beatles

Disney at the Oscars
A medley of award winning Disney tunes

There Will Never Be Another You
1942 jazz standard arranged by local composer, Bruce Baker

Rhapsody in Blue
Featuring soloist Anne-lise Longuemere

Sunday, 4pm at the Broad Stage. $11 at the box office. Rawr!

Parallelostory

2009-05-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

Parallelostory from impactist on Vimeo.

Monday, you may be long but that's ok. Lovely work. Everything about it makes me happy. Every single thing.

via design sponge

Miranda July – The Hallway

2009-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

The Hallway from The Hallway on Vimeo.

This makes me happy. Its understated simplicity and quietness is astounding. It speaks loudly to me. I love her work.

Lockpicking Artist

2009-04-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Lucas Murgida at 667 Shotwell from Chris Sollars on Vimeo.

Funny how there are so many "no treasure here" signs in our daily life. The psychology of it is pretty fascinating.

via Bre Pettis

Tides of Our Social Outlook

2009-04-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

So far, all my experiences involve me, therefore I must be the center of the universe! Interesting discussion on a shift in the collective social conscience. Quick, paradigm change.
The Archdruid Report

Willie Smits and the Masarang Foundation

2009-04-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

People, Planet, Profit
It goes together.

This rigorously holistic approach to formulating solutions for the challenges we face is the type of thinking that needs to become integral to our cultural psyche.

It's like, instead of approaching the problem with preconceived notions of limitations by saying, "what's the best I can do to solve the problem," Smits said, "What's the best solution to the problem and how can I achieve that?" Rather than say how can we save 10, 20, 100 Orang Utans, the question became what's the best solution to save Orang Utans, period.

After that it's all about going the distance. And being smart about it.

In this case, it means taking steps to put into place mechanisms that will ensure sustained health of the species, and consequently, a thriving ecosystem. Not to mention, the development of a sustainable, income generating economy for the local people.

Making the locals a pivotal part of the solution is a master stroke that makes the whole thing work. It's a prime example of how this approach is infinitely superior to aid that is administered by, often times, well intentioned but ill conceived, heavy-handed top-down prescriptions.

Empower those closest to the problem and amazing things happen. After all, who has a more sophisticated understanding of their surroundings than people who walk the land? Who has the most vested interest in the immediate environment that they live in?

Costly and ill-informed stop gap/cosmetic solutions need to be a thing of the past. Willie Smits's courage, resolve and sheer ingenuity is testament to what CAN be done and is being done.

The best part of this? Everyone stands to gain.

Willie Smits's organization The Masarang Foundation

Do the Green Thing

2009-04-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Meet Green Thing from Green Thing on Vimeo.

It's the smart thing to do. It spurs innovation and opportunity. It's definitely compatible with ongoing economic prosperity. Nice video.

Igor and the Red Elvises

2009-04-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Cello! Except, it's really a double bass. Kind of impossible to not stop and look. Plus, they sound pretty good.

Totally brought down the house with goofy lyrics like, "I've got a condom in my pocket and I'm gonna find me a pretty girl tonight," and, "We're gonna rock this joint, we're gonna roll this joint, we're gonna smoke this joint till we sound like Pink Floyd tonight."

These guys are out of control.

Aspire to Make Meaningful Contributions

2009-04-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

"It doesn't matter where you work. Put your work to the highest possible level." The Speakers at TED never cease to amaze me.

via TED

Made in USA

2009-04-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes speed, efficiency and obsession with profit margins just aren't as beautiful as the human touch, not to mention mastery of tools and the medium.

Great personal project by Tadd Myers.

A Portrait of the American Craftsman via A Photo Editor

Spaghetti Harvest Time

2009-04-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

For those who like spaghetti, there's nothing like real home grown spaghetti.

via the Huffington Post

Explore—To Champion the Selfless Acts of Others

2009-03-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

explore.org

One of the things that made a huge impression was the Indian guy on the bike who stated very plainly, "The key to happiness is to choose happiness."

St Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

Savannah, Ga. 2004
Photos by Chiaw Yong Pang

Through and True

2009-03-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

The grammar gods have given us a sign! I love that there are people who both care about things like this AND are willing to vandalize.

Another reason I need summer to be here now.

2009-03-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Indie rays of silver-screen-shine, make for beautiful glowing, bronzy skin.

The Pedestrian Project

2009-02-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

The Pedestrian Project! Is this genius or what?

Being on street signs is just a day job. They really do have interesting lives like you and I. I mean, just look at these pictures.

The Eat Food Diet

2009-02-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

Personally, one of the greatest pleasures in life has to be feeding myself and the people around me. Getting fed is really great too. I do mean thoroughly enjoying the whole process of fueling our bodies.

Sometimes it means going out to a good restaurant. More often than not, it means browsing recipes, shopping for great ingredients and cooking. I truly wish I have the luxury of fresh produce from my backyard. But we do what we can and lucky us, we have really great farmers' markets near us.

I think it's one of the most stupendous forms of human expression. Some call it culture. I call it eating good food.

Voltaire said it. "Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." Michael Pollan is like Voltaire, except he's saying it for the people of now. And he sums it very eloquently.

Read the book, be really nice to good farmers and enjoy your food.

Some Optim Ism

2009-02-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

Yes we can.

via ffffound

Just Words

2009-02-20T16:54:00.000-08:00

Depends on whether said things get commoditized.

Don't look at me funny, cos we all know that the quote is REALLY bad for business. Unless you put it on a t shirt and sell it for 20 bucks a pop.

But you know what? I'm pretty sure in my world, the best things in life aren't things. Like huge hugs from friends who are always happy to see me, learning something new, laughing at dumb jokes, enjoying the solitude of morning runs, seeing a particularly inspiring gallery show, a good conversation, the joy of making good stuff happen.

Still, you can't deny that there are lots of great things around us that are nothing but things.

via Stencil Revolution

The Earth is Not Flat

2009-02-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

I saw it with my own eyes. The most exquisite lines ever, hand printed by the super talented Carleton Christy. Did I mention he is a splitting image of Clark Kent?

According to Carleton, "I chose the longest url I could have because I wanted to make the growth of the site through word of mouth only."

You heard it people.
limitededitionmediamadebyhandsoldhereonthissitewebsitehonorbox.com

Let's help make Christopher Columbus proud.

9,999,999 Roses, Or...

2009-02-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

Fred and I were at the farmer's market this morning and the fine musicians on 3rd street there were giving this song lots of love. So, here's a Fiona Apple version from me to you.

And in that vein, I found this awesome blog post on cigar box ukuleles... I now know exactly what I'll be doing if for some reason, I'm stuck in Gantanamo. Ingenious. People make the most beautiful things.

Fred Feels Magical

2009-02-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

It's the season of birthdays over here. In other words, let the cake harvest festivities begin!

I'm Gonna Lick It!

2009-01-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

Party Your Way to Work

2009-01-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

Does that mean the Monday blues is history now?
Yes? Yes? Yes? I'm gonna go with yes.

Also, this is why Los Angeles needs a wicked cool mass transit system. We can totally use more public venues for the more regular-type beautiful people to strut their stuff. And commute... but that's just a side note.

Because We're Better Than That

2009-01-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

©Brennan Linsley-Pool/Getty Images

Like many all over the world, I was basking in the glow of Obama's historic inauguration. Looking through the news, this picture stood out among the gajillion photos of men in suits and crowd shots.

Brilliant picture. The most mundane actions in life can sometimes be the most powerful. A humbling moment... for the history books.

Good needs to be circulated to create more good. Now, why would you hoard it? Go ahead, spread some around.

Awesome set of photos from the Big Picture on boston.com.

Kwik-E-Mart Exists!

2007-07-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

Pictures do not lie.

Fred and I might have caught an utterance of, "D'oh!" We're not positive it came out of Homer himself though... he WAS there, in the middle of discovering a meal between breakfast and brunch. We noted that Homer opted for a hotdog but Fred and I decided that donuts are about as adventerous as we needed to be when it comes to Kwick-E-Mart stuff. At which point Homer commented, "This donut has purple in the middle, purple is a fruit." Those donuts... did anybody say,"Num num?" Because that's how I'd describe them.

Plight of the Bumble Bees

2007-05-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Let It Out

2007-04-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

Freebase Pancakes

2007-04-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

I give you... the secret that is what separates the hot creatives from the rest of the world. I am so hardcore. Please, try this at home.

Link

Out Living Life. Be Back Sporadically

2007-04-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

What? Are we already half done with April? That's all I have to say.

Americana Yum

2007-02-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

American pin-up goodness. Thumbs up from me! This week, we're eating this up and licking our fingers clean.

Happy New Year

2007-02-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

Yay, it's Chinese New Year again! Not that anything exciting is going on around here, where there's only me and Fred and our shadows.

It just isn't the same without the extended family, the food (mmmmm...) all that good stuff. I even miss the terrible dong dong qiang music. Maybe we'll finally get our own steam boat thing and make dinner. Maybe this year we'll head out to Monterey Park. Next year, we're going home, even if we have to swim.

Send me your CNY pics.

新年快乐! 恭喜发财! 事事顺利!

Eat your hearts out

2007-02-14T22:27:00.000-08:00

If I ever go on Iron Chef and the secret ingrediant is chocolate, I think Chef ME might stand a good chance.

Home made chocolate thin mints, they make lousy godivas look cheap. And they're healthier cos they're vegan friendly and believe it or not, taste just as good as the artery clogging type. Plus there's the super extra secret ingredient that you'll never get in mass produced things.

Taste Buds Gone Wild

2007-02-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

Eating chocolate makes you feel good. And feel good we did, after eating these deadly chocolate fudgewhiches. Made them for Fred's birthday.

Remember last year's cake disaster? Me neither, because this year, disaster can kiss my ass. Chocolate + wicked graphic design... that's just nuts. (Click on the picture to get a closer look.) I'm so impressed with myself, I think I need to wack the side of my head with a cookie sheet.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

2007-01-15T18:26:00.000-08:00

Brass ensemble equals Christmas music or folksy German lederhosen with suspenders, right? Wait till you hear this.

That was really good, but it gets better.

The ball is rolling

2007-01-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

2007 is definitely starting out great. Wait, make that fantastic. Make that incredible. Make that, I'm speechless, then silence, then wow, wow, wow.

Please, please, please make this just a preview of what's to come. I'll give up chocolates for a year. Splendid.

Hope to share the good news soon.

Deck the Blog

2006-12-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Want a print? Email me with your physical address. Now go eat cookies or jingle some bells or something.

Help

2006-12-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

A little help goes a long way... hehe.
And we may never know why the chicken crossed the road, but now, we know how she did it.

Beautiful, but brrrrrrrrrrr

2006-12-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

If it had to be cold, at least the snow was the nice and fluffy kind. Very cinematic. Visit Colorado.

Can't believe those birds live here. Glad I got to play in the snow but I'm also glad I don't have to deal with that kind of cold all winter.

Lex Luthor and Lois Lane?

2006-12-10T23:21:00.000-08:00

Yay James and Melissa! Congrats, James, for finally finding what you've been searching for for a long time... I think. At least that's the idea I get. I've never seen you happier and I think this is the begining of something that's only gonna get better. I just have a feeling.

Now instead of just having I'm-better-than-you debates with just you, Fred and I can do that with you and Melissa... hehe.

And credit for the title goes to Fred.

2006-12-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

Vickie goes west

2006-12-04T18:11:00.001-08:00

Vickie was the oldest dog in Fred's family. Though I've know her for only a couple of years, I've enjoyed having her as a friend.

To me, Vickie was "the wise one," because of her distinctive sage-like features and her mellow character. She was a very loving dog.

No one thought she would be gone this soon, but in a way, we were all bracing ourselves for Vickie's departure as we saw her slowing down in her old age.

The week before Vickie died, Fred and I were back visiting and we had a great time together, doing the things she liked, like going for walks and eating snow.

If there is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval, then I think Vickie did really well this lifetime.

Is Capitalism Humane?

2006-11-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

It's neither humane or inhumane. Good news is, it CAN be. But only if we choose to make it that way.

World Changing article.

Clear

2006-11-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

Last Minute Christmas Shopping Now

2006-11-12T22:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas is in more than a month and I've not even recovered from Halloween, much less think about Thanksgiving.

Lucky us, being consumers in our incredibly privileged buy-stuff-centric world where businesses do us a huge service by putting up holiday merchandise beside the black and orange, way back in the middle of October. Because of their firm insistence, we are spared from having to constantly remind ourselves to make appropriate purchases in order to buy our way out of the tragedy that is not getting into the spirit.

Still, the wayward and spoilt consumer in me blatantly procrestinates despite such generous reminders! I Should be ashamed of myself. What does it take to make me shop? Must I force corporate America to the brink? To make them resort to reminding me to start Christmas shopping while picking out heart shaped chocolates in February?

In the similar vein of consumer stewardship, this year, the Sky Mall Catalogue will once again provide many air travellers such as myself, relief from holiday season shopping, not to mention, hours of amusement and very possibly, eternal joy, regardless of the amount of legroom or civil avaition related terrorist threats.

Some depend on it to find the perfect gift for the brother who thinks he everything. Others call it the "oh god, oh god, I'm on the plane and I still haven't gotten the presents straightened out yet, thank goodness they have these overpriced make-your-life-better products so I can starve the rest of the year to pay them off to show my generosity" bible that couldn't come any handier.

But wait, there's a better one this year. Check out the Sky Maul catalog.

It's music to my ears

2006-10-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Omg, omg omg omg! I just went for band practice and it was awesome! (Waves hands in the air... freaking out in a good sort of way.)

So I joined the Santa Monica College Concert Band, thanks to our friend, Mark Painter (Fred's ex-coworker), for recruiting me. Touched a FRENCH HORN for the first time in like a gazillion years. Oh how I missed you, dear friend.

I really didn't know what to expect, but it worked, It worked! Thank goodness I still have it... a little rough, though... ok, very rough. The pieces weren't exactly beginner stuff and I did, not play for years, you've got to give me that.

My ears are so bad. Can't get the pitches right like I used to. Felt like the first couple of weeks I was playing the french horn. But I have to say, I'm proud of myself for remembering how to get a great sound.

I can still feel the buzz in my lips, ouch. It hurts, but it hurts so pleasently.

Now I have a real reason to beg for a french horn. All donations accepted. =) Know anyone selling their old mouthpieces?

Ghost

2006-10-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Smitten

2006-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's one of these common knowledge things you don't remember where you learned or why it stuck. You don't know why you remember that image of a praying mantis decapitating its mate... Did you read about it somewhere? Was it one of your older cousin's attempts at trying to impress you with his wealth of worthless amazing facts? Maybe it's that nature documantary you watched at your grandma's house when you were a kid.

Whichever it was, I thought it's a good time to revisit this subject... got the itch for some compulsive googling.

The internet tells me there are over 2000 species of mantises. Some engage in sexual cannibalism more often than others. Those that do, apparently, are responsible for giving those that don't a bad rep.

Although the praying mantis is insanely famous for its cannibalistic mating process, in actuality it only occurs 5-31% of the time. Especially in laboratory conditions of bright lights and confinement, the female is more likely to be a bitch and eat the male. They do it as means of survival.

Or do they? Hmmm... more like femminist-extermist terrorists masquerading as survivalists.

It's a real fake youtube thing

2006-10-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

Did your world fall apart the day you discovered lonelygirl15 was neither lonely nor 15? Well then, now is a good time to reinforce your skull with some brain-splatter-proof material.

This just in. NoHoGirls and WeHoGirls are really as real as Ashlee Simpson's face. Why, oh why must you do this to me.

And why is this important? Some day when you get that PhD in media theory with a concentration in chicks-doing-stuff-for-webploitation you will thank me. Until then, us common folk will just have to keep watching those videos for intellectual stimulation. Somebody please make more of these movies, my life is in dire need of more fulfillment.

saw it at laist

Don't jinx it

2006-10-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

People on the radio reminded me that it's my lucky day... it was quite normal otherwise.

Sounds like?

2006-10-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

And that's how we rolled out of bed laughing.

I wanna be like the USA

2006-10-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

According to the BBC: Ms Rice again ruled out direct talks between Washington and North Korea. "Why are the North Koreans so insistent that there be bilateral talks? "

Don't speak american? Ok, here's the translation: Diplomacy is so un-american because only sissies talk. Besides, North Koreans didn't even bother to learn English. Where's China, Japan and Russia when you need them... Jesus Christ. Until your nukes are as good as ours, don't come back.

Incidentally this week's word for illustration friday is "trouble." And no, I'm not going political on you.

Quote of the day

2006-10-09T17:31:00.001-07:00

Came across a quote today and thoughts led to how it's a pretty good summation of why I'm against DRM.

Immature artists imitate, mature artists steal."

Lionel Trilling
literary critic

After all, something informs everything.

Unless you've never read a book, seen a movie, watched tv, or interacted with anything other than yourself. (Human beings are things too, ok.) At this point, if I offended any blog reading amoebae, I'm sorry. Should have known that even amoeba aren't spared by the media.

My favourite quote on this subject is still one by the guy who taught me about it.

Stop intellectual property from infringing on me."

Fred LeMaster
cute geek boy

As always, don't let me give your all the rong ideas. Go get your own.

Electronic Frontier Foundation
Wikipedia article

Draw this

2006-10-06T16:41:00.001-07:00

Beach

2006-10-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

Summer's gone. Sadness. You can tell by the amount of people at the beach. And by seeing me shivering like a chihuahua in the mid afternoon sun... brrr. No, I'm not crazy, just evolved for survival in hot tropical conditions.

Fred and I decided to head out to what we call the "Culver Beach." Near the mouth of Marina del Rey where Culver Blvd ends. Wanted to relive our art school days and see if our gesture drawing skills died.

The lack of choice picks of interesting characters left us with mostly the environment to work with... if I didn't absolutely have to thnk about these things, I usually avoid them as much as I can. I'm scared as hell of drawing things that have no eyes and are infinitely larger than me, aka landscapes and architechture.

So big and intimidating! How on Earth am I supposed to fit all that crap on my piece of paper. So much stuff, all that detail, eyes hurt, brain hurt... argh. It's like, you think about it and you marvel at how the Impressionists did what they did.

Got to let go, got to let go... and in that spirit, I composed something really quick out of the first things I saw before I had a chance to decide to just call it quits. (And Fred was doing such a good job concentrating on his sketch book... I didn't want to look bad in public.)

The results were suprizingly good. It felt good at least. I actually enjoyed drawing that building. A lot. Fred had to make me stop before I start ruining it by... I don't know, putting in the bird poop that that flock of birds deposited on the ground?

Quiet

2006-10-03T01:38:00.000-07:00

Give a girl a tablet

2006-10-03T00:44:00.000-07:00

I stole Fred's new tablet and it's my new best friend.
Magic, magic, I say. It cures procrastination.

The people at the local library are going to be happy. It's a thingy for their career section that I've been putting off for a while. Now it's done!

And the winner is

2006-09-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

I knew dragging my lazy ass off the bed at 6am on a Sunday morning was for a good reason but that reason got 10 million times better when the guy in the huge speakers said, "Carl Lewis." Carl Lewis, the Olympic champion, my childhood hero.

I used to look up to him so I owe it to my 8 year old self to take this picture.

The Nike Run Hit Remix 5 miler was really fun. Something about running in the middle of the steet, and the being in the middle of a running mob does it for me.

The route was interesting and the runners were a fun bunch. Ran through what I assume is part of the greek row of USC and that was fun. The kids were out holding signs and cheering for us, some in their pjs. College… good times.

One lousy thing happened. Mid course, I had to pee really badly. I was like, what the hell, body, you were fine 20 mins ago. Of course, all the businesses along the route were closed and the portable toilets had people waiting and I didn't want to stop to wait. Argh. But I came across empty ones soon enough. Thank goodness.

When I rejoined the race, it was a group of people who were trying to finish under an hour . Those guys were a hoot! They took it upon themselves to motivate the entire section and that was quite a riot.

The finish was a downhill tunnel into the Memorial Colosseum so it was an easy strong finish. And we finish under an hour. Yay!

I totally paid for the medal, just like everyone else. But I like to think I "won" it and I'm wearing it anyway.

photographer: fred, mostly
photo editor: rong

Can't stop a man from doing good

2006-09-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

Talk about faith in humanity.

I like this guy for one simple reason, if nothing else, it's that he communicates a genuine message of empowerment. Makes me want to be President of the United States when I grow up.

It's all good

2006-09-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

I saw a cute baby with his parents and his grandpa whose eyes said, "we'll love him to death" and I think maybe the world will be ok after all.

2006-09-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Rich and Cat's Wedding

2006-09-09T02:08:00.000-07:00

WEDDING DAY

REHERSAL DAY

Or view All Photos here.

Nuptially Speaking

2006-08-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

Rich and Cat are now Mr and Mrs Ellis. Yay!

It was intimate, it was so much fun and it was very very beautiful. Right about now, I wish I could write poetry that will make you cry, cos then I'd be able to deliver in words the full experience of witnessing those two crazy kids getting married.
No lack of "media coverage" there, so the Pulitzer Prize winning pictures should be up in no time. Brian, Chris, Fred, Nick, Ryan, Tara, me and the extended family were up in photographic arms to capture the finger clicking goodness. I just embarassed myself with that sentance, didn't I?

Anyway. It's off to Hawaii for Rich and Cat. People should get hitched more often so we can all do this again.

Pictures in the next installment.

I Really Ought to be Scared

2006-08-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ever had such a crazy dilemma that you just had to blog about it?

So, those God damn terrorists are at it again, or so I hear. The LA Times tells me that, "Federal Official Raise Aviation Threat Level Nationwide." Check out the pictures too. Link to article Herds of people in clogged up airports. Doesn't it make you feel like we're all in this together…

Timely coincidence. Fred and I will be traveling for Rich and Cat's wedding. Here's the dilemma. Should I be happy that airport security will be working extra hard to fuss over me to keep me "safe?" Or should I be pissed that airport security will be working extra hard to fuss over me to keep me "safe?" It's a tough one.

When Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says, "Travelers would be wise to pack as lightly as possible for their carry-on and to minimize clutter so that we can make the process go more quickly," I'm like... great advise pal!

In fact, I took it upon myself to build on that great advise. It's a simpler plan. Go nude. Terrorism is a serious threat therefore we can't take any chances. I don't see why people who have nothing to hide would have any problems complying. I mean, security will be able to screen people with an increased efficiency of up to 95% and travelers will go through security 90% quicker. Everyone wins. Also, a certain other official did say, "We will do whatever it takes to keep people safe... If it's an inconvenience we're going to have to deal with it." Nudity over terrorism, any day. I can deal.

Ok, that was me being stupid. But honestly, if those scary-as-hell terrorists really want to terrorize large groups of civilians, and/or damage strategic infrastructure, would they make it a point to clear security? You'd think DHS would be equally concerned about large numbers of people congregating in clogged up airports carrying tons of misc supposedly potentially deadly liquid explosives and detonating devices. What about evacuation or coping stratagies. Don't hear much about that.

And what's this obsession with civilian aviation related terrorism tactics anyway?

I probably just jinxed it for myself... they're gonna take me away at the airport and give me the preferred passenger treatment. See, proof that it's more like stupefying civilians with fear than deterring terrorists.

We are mankind

2006-08-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

As a person of the relatively democratic, free side of the equation, what do I know about the whole middle east situation? As much as the next guy, which, probably means somewhere between a little and not much.

(Maybe it's irresponsible, but I'm just lumping them all up so that it's easier on my tiny brain and cos it's one vaild way of looking at it in our globalized times. Anyway you're a discriminating reader.)

What the hell is going on? Where do the lines connect? Who cares, right? Well I do, cos it's just not right.

I mean, we all know shit happens, but what's so bad about what that people have to stick it to the other guy with such horrors that no sane, thinking person would inflict on any fellow human being.

Call me a Nietzsche quoting monkey. "He who fights monsters should look into it that he himself does not become a monster. When you gaze long into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazes into you."

One just can't watch such extraordinary violence and injustice, albeit at a safe distance, and not think about it. Not me at least. Can't just switch and go on watching America's Next Top Model and live in conveniently stupifying pop culture bliss without trying to make sense of the real world.

I realize that it's a complicated issue so I decided to educate myself. Here's where I started.

google video link

And that's just one source of information. I'm still learning.

The more I read about our contemporary issues and History, the more I tend to think that humans will always behave like humans.

It's very disturbing. It makes me feel smaller than a pawn. I can't stop war. I can't stop the innocent from hurting. I can't stop idiots from bombing the life out of our already ecologically fragile planet. I can't make politicians swallow their pride and just do what's best for the world's people.

But as an international community, we can put pressure on people in charge and demand accountability for the decisions made on behalf of the people in this world. After all, aren't we the very people who, at the slightest provocation, tout the merits of democracy so that people of the world may enjoy freedoms such as the freedom to express our outrage at the travesty that is war.

Or is this freedom only reserved for the fufilment of our individual vanities and economic gains?

Are you questioning my existance?

2006-07-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

A very good friend's "What if" blog entry got me thinking...

Like every human that ever lived, I too have my "What ifs." I'd be lying if I told you otherwise. Right now, there are only 2 that I actually give any amount of thought to.
1. What if I was brave enough to NOT decide to go to JC?
2. What if I just didn't go out with Fred?
But that's about it.

See, over the years, I've kinda lost the taste for retrospective, personal "What ifs," cos that's not the way I want to live life.

2 is plenty of personal what-ifs for me. I'll just say I'm too lazy to think about these questions.

Like:
What if I wasn't a band nerd?
What if I hung out with a different crowd?
What if I went to different schools?
What if I died doing a dumb thing that I thought was the awesomest thing ever?
What if I didn't care and did all the dumb things I wanted to do anyway?
What if I conformed more and did all the "right" things, the "right" way?
What if I got better grades?
What if I got shittier grades?
What if I became a vegan, the annoying type, and made piss everyone I ever knew?
What if I didn't think about the stuff I thought about?
What if the entire human race bowed down to me and declared me supreme overloard?
What if I was born in the Amazon Rainforest and brought up by apes?

It gets quite ridiculous, dosen't it? Yes, it does. To me at least. It's kinda like saying, "What if I wasn't me?"

It would suck a ton if I wasn't me, I'll tell you what.

There could be a gazillion what ifs and honestly, there are way too many fun-er things to do. Besides, isn't it infinitely awesomer to to be thinking about things like:
What if I could be ultra bad-ass in at least 5 different languages! (I will totally be the cuteset, most awesome polyglot ever.)
What if I decide to start my own business! (Oh god, the possibilities are endless. I will make a lot of money by making a lot of people happy instead of by exploitation.)
What if I bought me a nice Frech Horn! (It's a little dream fulfilled... I'll play in an amature orchestra. )
What if I raised enough money to go to grad sch! (Then I'd better make up my mind, quick, on what I want to do in sch.)
What if I decide to be a sushi chef! (Oh fun! I honestly think I'd make a fantastic sushi chef.)
What if I become a full fledge activist! (That's going to be a hell of a job but I'll die happy.)
What if I just go become an independent journalist! (What a trip! I will die even happier. Hopefully, I will be fearless.)
What if I assemble a team that will successfully champion the cause of sustainability! (I will be excited everyday, I won't be able to sleep.)
What if I start a project to promote independent/critical thinking and education! (I'd hope it will work out but I'd probably be experimental about it.)

From the Driver's Seat

2006-07-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

When the traffic gets rough, the girl gets snappy. Not talking about road rage here. Don't that when there's fun to be had.

See the slideshow.