kaboom!

Saturday I went to the ca boom show in Santa Monica. Ca boom is your typical convention center type home show, but with a modernist and smart design twist. I wasn’t sure what to expect, because (oddly enough for a show geared toward designers) their website is completely illegible and unusable, but I went anyway. Vendors range from artists to architects, along with (modernist) home tours and lectures. I went in hopes of going on the Venice home tour, but I wasn’t prepared for the $75 price tag on top of the $20 admission fee (and the $10 parking). I’m sure it was worth it, but I just wasn’t in the mindspace for it. So I wandered the show floor. Interesting stuff. It struck me how overused the word “design” is – ca boom markets itself as a design show – which, as a graphic designer, is what first attracted me, but there was no graphic design represented (nor any reason for there to be) – interior design, space design, home design, yes. Does anyone out there not call themselves a “designer”? I caught a cool lecture, so I felt like I got to see more than just a trade-show floor; next year I’ll be prepared for the price of the tour. That would have made the experience worth every penny.

life is over

Life magazine is ceasing publication next month. Its the third time Life has called it quits since its beginning in 1936. As much as I'm sad to hear that, because I think of Life as a great standard-bearing magazine with truly hallmark photography; I have to admit that I haven't seen an issue in years. In fact, I didn't even know it was only a weekly Sunday newspaper supplement now - and has been since 2004. It doesn't seem a very dignified end for Life to go out as a 20-page piece of celebrity news and household tips. Perhaps its demise is a good thing. Maybe it will get a fourth incarnation someday in the future - perhaps as "Time" in pictures - primarily very strong editorial photography documenting current events and culture in a way that honors its glory days. But then again, maybe time is just up for Life.

New York Times: Life Magazine Will Cease Publication

boards

Surfboards hanging on the ceiling of a surf shop at the Hermosa Pier...

i love la

I ran across a bit today on franklinavenue.net about Charles Phoenix's "Disneyland Tour of Downtown Los Angeles." It sounds awesome! "Histo-tainer" Charles Phoenix has created a historical tour of Downtown Los Angeles with a kitschy tongue-in-cheek bent that draws parallels to Disneyland, starting at Union Station (Main St USA station) and ending at Disney Hall (the Castle). And even more importantly, it starts at Noon! woohoo! None of that 9am tour crap. (I hate that!) I've actually been to most of the places it seems to go, but I'm sure there's so much more to learn and see about them, not to mention the experience itself. I definitely wanna go. The only currently scheduled tour date is May 27, and unfortunately, I won't be here to take it.

But even better than finding out about the tour itself is a YouTube movie about the tour that Franklin Avenue pointed to. It's really, really well done. Great images and sound that really capture moments, experiences, and the reality of the places. It's 15 minutes long, but based on the info at Zzalgern0n.com, the website of the films creators, it looks to have been cut down from a 25 minute film. If you have the time to spare, take a look. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

YouTube: Charles Phoenix's Disneyland Tour of Los Angeles

"Disneyland" Tour of LA info

venice gallery

I had some software training in Venice this weekend. These are pics snapped in the neighborhood while walking to lunch...

rac me amadeus

My buddy Heith hosted a raclette party Saturday night. Raclette (don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either) is a social do-it-yourself food that seems to gaining popularity in the US. It seems to come from Switzerland and can be traced as far back as to Wilhelm Tell in 1291. Raclette involves a "grill" that is similar to a CreepyCrawler or Easy Bake Oven toy with little pie-slice shaped trays. You fill the bottom with meat and then fill the rest with other various ingredients (from potatoes and apples to capers, pickles, bacon and peppers. You then cover those with cheese and let it broil in the "grill." And, well thats pretty much it! You end up with a little tray of warm cheesy goodness to scrape out and feast on. After trying several ingredient combos - all I can say is Yum!

Swiss Raclette Association

linked in

I've decided to add a few more blogsites to my links column on the right. Three are from good griends of mine, all who have appeared in my pages here; and one is a more "professional" blog - though I'm not sure if it's considered that or not. I'll start with my friends. First up is Mick, one of my dearest friends who moved from Los Angeles to Albuquerque a few years ago. He updates fairly frequently with random thoughts and observations about life in the Land of the Zia. Keep your eye open for flying saucers. Next is my friend Casey, who moved to Austin recently. He blogged his travel and then disappeared from blogland for a while. He seems to be back fairly frequently with updates on learning to live in Texas. And finally my friend Kris from San Diego, one of my avaiation-obsessed friends. His blog is a personal scrapbook of friends, family, and the occasional airplane/airport report. And finally, there's Curbed LA. Curbed has sister sites in NY, SF, and (gulp) tha Hamptons. (they call that the beach?!) Curbed has a bit of a real estate and development bent, but not too much. If you didn't know better it feels more like gossip and reports on whats being built where, mixed in with other general goings on and just interesting knowledge about the neighborhoods that make up LA - and they usually don't limit themselves to the official city limits of LA. After all, half of LA isn't in LA. Take a bit to peruse, maybe they'll become regular stops of yours too.

Mick's blog: Land of the Zia

Casey's blog: The Rearview Mirror

Kris' blog: Kris in SD

Curbed LA

about faces

These guys all look like people you or I might know, don't they? Make you wonder who they might be? Clearly people with full lives of friends and stories and families that make them who they are. And that's who they should be remembered as. These men are memorialized in the new "Iraq veterans Memorial." I've always wished there was a way to make the casualty numbers more than numbers, so the people who gave their lives could be known for who they were. Apparently I wasn't alone.

A group called the Brave New Foundation, headquartered in Culver City, has put together this online memorial. Anyone who has lost a friend or loved one in the war is welcome to submit a video to become a part of this larger online video where we get a glimpse of the names and stories behind the numbers.

This weekend we passed the 4th Anniversary of the war. There are now 3,230 stories like this out there. The memorial currently honors 27 people. 3,203 to go. and counting.

As an aside: I will volunteer to create a video for anyone who happens upon this and doesn't know how to make one. If you can get me jpeg or other photo files (or video files) and an audio file, I will be happy to put them together as a video that fits the requirements for this project. Just email me and we'll figure it out. Its the least I can do.

Iraq Veteran's Memorial: iraqmemorial.org

up on the ruff

I walked down the beach to the market today to get a Diet Pepsi (woohoo! what a treat!) Along the way I happened to look up and see this guy up on the roof of one of the houses along the beach. At first I thought he was just trying to fix his DirecTV reception, but he seemed to be content just hangin out and walking around up there. Later closer to the store I saw this other guy lounging in the back of a parked truck taking in some rays. He couldn't even be bothered to move his head as I walked by. Dogs know how to live.

one big-ass disappointment

After seeing the A380 landing yesterday, I was excited to go back and see it take off for the first time out of LAX. I live close enough in Manhattan Beach that I can see planes take off over the ocean; and when riding on the bike path, there's always something kinda cool about seeing the bigger planes fly right over you, so I could only imagine what it would be like to see this one. It was published that it would fly out between 7:15 and 7:45 in the evening, so I drove over to the airport. Much bigger crowds this time than for the landing, probably from all the media coverage the landing got. Not long after parking, I walked by someone in a car who said "the plane already left". What?? Really? Apparently, it flew out unannounced just after 6pm. They were just as disappointed. I walked over to the crowd, just in case. What if they were wrong? I could pick up mutterings from different people saying the same thing. It certainly wasn't anywhere to be seen. Little kids gathering kept pointing at 747's and asking their parents if that was it. I finally called my friend Heith and asked him to do a Google News search as I heard several others on phones asking similar things. He confirmed that it had in fact already gone. What a disappointment. I'm just glad I hadnt rushed or traveled far like so many others said they had. I probably would have seen it out my window had I been looking.

Realizing it was Tuesday, I asked Heith if he had any interest in Taco Tuesday. Sure! Wheee. All was not lost. So he and our friend Mark came down later and we walked over to OBs for peanuts, tacos, beer, and wings. Leave it to tacos to make up for lifes disappointments. I'll just have to wait til fall of 08 to see the A380 take off. That's a lot of tacos til then.