I went to Tokyo for a short and uneventful week about a month ago. Our flight was about 5 hours late and so we arrived at the hotel sometime after midnight, which really wasn't all that bad. I did get to visit Kawasaki Daishi temple one afternoon, which was quite beautiful and also quite empty. The monks were there and one of them was pounding slowly on a huge drum. It sounded great, echoing around inside the temple and then out into the courtyard. It was very late afternoon, though, so there wasn't much light butr I did manage to take a few photos regardless.
Thanksgiving was fun and we all had a great time. I didn't do anything "different" this year regarding turkey cooking; we just had roasted turkey breast; all meat, no bone, super moist an very very good.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Rome Trip
Summer was uneventful. I worked a lot and completed the latest house project - a new and much larger balcony a patio cover. I threw a summer party for my Italian friends which was fun - the band played in the living room for an hour or so. I worked on some new songs - wrote, arranged and recorded them. I need some guitar work from Erik and some keyboard work from Jeff to finish them.
I went to Rome for a week or so and returned a week ago. Photos are here. The next day I went to Las Vegas for a few days.
Going to Japan in a few weeks for a shortish week.
I went to Rome for a week or so and returned a week ago. Photos are here. The next day I went to Las Vegas for a few days.
Going to Japan in a few weeks for a shortish week.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Crowded House and Taiwan Redux
A few weeks ago we went to see Crowded House at the Orpheum Theater in Downtown LA . The Orpheum is a 1920's vintage theater that was originally built for vaudeville and "talkies." It's on S. Broadway, a few blocks away from the Bradbury Building and one of about a dozen similar era theaters in varying states of disrepair and use.
We spent the afternoon walking around the Broadway Downtown District, looking at the various theaters and other sites, including the Clifton Cafeteria and went into several buildings in the Jewelry Market area which is immediately adjacent to Broadway.
The neighborhood is fine in the daytime if very urban with the attendant noise, crowding and dirt, but the evenings are a little different. It's not that far from Skid Row and so walking to and from the hotel for the show was not an option, so we used the hotel's limo to take us there and pick us up.
The show was great and the evening was very warm, even when the show was over at 11 PM.
The next Monday I went with a pal to Yosemite National Park for a photo safari thing, th results of which can be seen here. That was a 4 day road trip well-spent; we had a great time together and with the group and got to see the park in a way I never have; with lots of water and roaring falls. The sunset on Wednesday at Glacier Point was unbelievable as well.
I went to Taipei, Taiwan on business last week for a short week as well; I took some photos while I was there. You can see those here.
We spent the afternoon walking around the Broadway Downtown District, looking at the various theaters and other sites, including the Clifton Cafeteria and went into several buildings in the Jewelry Market area which is immediately adjacent to Broadway.
The neighborhood is fine in the daytime if very urban with the attendant noise, crowding and dirt, but the evenings are a little different. It's not that far from Skid Row and so walking to and from the hotel for the show was not an option, so we used the hotel's limo to take us there and pick us up.
The show was great and the evening was very warm, even when the show was over at 11 PM.
The next Monday I went with a pal to Yosemite National Park for a photo safari thing, th results of which can be seen here. That was a 4 day road trip well-spent; we had a great time together and with the group and got to see the park in a way I never have; with lots of water and roaring falls. The sunset on Wednesday at Glacier Point was unbelievable as well.
I went to Taipei, Taiwan on business last week for a short week as well; I took some photos while I was there. You can see those here.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Las Vegas Trip
We went to LV again this year for the GF's b-day. This is the third time in 12 months we've gone; I'm starting to feel we've done all the A-list things we want to do and are starting into the B-list stuff.
Our first night there we saw Elton John's "Red Piano" show, which is at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace. The night after that we saw "La R(e with that little "hat" symbol on it)ve" which a water-based Cirque du Soleil-type show. Our third night we saw Blue Man Group.
Not being a huge Elton John fan I was more interested in seeing Nigel Olsen (drums) and Davey Johnstone (guitar), both of whom have been with him for nearly 40 years. His long-time bass player Dee Murray passed away a few years ago. The show ended up being pretty good; some gorgeous production values, a very bawdy show and stage sets and the band was musically flawless. He opened with "Benny and the Jets" which is in my opinion too slow for an opener and the audience reaction was enthusiastic but not high energy. The show really kicked off with the second tune; "Philadelphia Freedom." The production really shined at this point; a huge video screen above and behind him lit up with a very dynamic video to go with the song.
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" had a very weird video to go with it, too, involving a guy with his head in an oven and a guy in a bear suit. No, really. "The Bitch is Back" feature a shiny-bikini-wearing Pam Anderson pole dancing video. Elton himself was quite engaging and had a very approachable persona on stage. His in-between song patter was somewhat scripted (per a couple of reviews I read after the fact) but it had a natural feel to it and was pretty funny as well.
The GF loved the show, I thought it was good and I enjoyed the giant inflatable tits. I think he has another few-weeks-long-stand with this show in June and then maybe again in the Fall but that might be it after that. He did this show to fill in between Celine Dion's "A New Day" show but that show has ended its run and now they have Bette Midler and Cher coming in so la dee frickin' da.
La R(e with that little "hat" symbol on it)ve at the Wynn was OK; we splurged on VIP tickets for this event which meant we had special seating, champagne, strawberries and our own backstage video monitor that allowed us to see what was going on underwater and back stage. I found that more interesting than the show, actually.
Blue Man Group at the Venetian is a show that combines performance art, mime, dance, science and physics and rock and roll into a funny interesting show featuring 3 guys in blue make up. There is a bunch of audience participation, including a thing at the end that requires EVERYONE in the audience to help. At one point during the "Rock Star Tutorial" segment of the show (we were taught some basic rock star movements such as the head nod and the fist pump) one wag shouted out "Freebird" and the band responded instantly with the intro. Not bad.
We also visited the Atomic Testing Museum, which is about a mile east of the Strip on E Flamingo Rd. This is a Smithsonian Institute museum that is incredibly well done. Why an Atomic Testing Museum? Well, because in the 1950's through 1992 a part of the desert north of Las Vegas was used for testing nuclear weapons, first on the surface and then later underground. There are many photos of mushroom clouds taken from downtown LV; people used to take their lawn chairs onto the hotel roofs to watch the test. The museum captures the cultural context of the Atomic Age and has a lot of interactive exhibits, interviews with people who were part of the program and also discusses the unintended public health consequences of (especially) the surface testing that occurred.
So that's 3 Vegas trips in 12 months for us; I think that's going to be it for a while.
Our first night there we saw Elton John's "Red Piano" show, which is at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace. The night after that we saw "La R(e with that little "hat" symbol on it)ve" which a water-based Cirque du Soleil-type show. Our third night we saw Blue Man Group.
Not being a huge Elton John fan I was more interested in seeing Nigel Olsen (drums) and Davey Johnstone (guitar), both of whom have been with him for nearly 40 years. His long-time bass player Dee Murray passed away a few years ago. The show ended up being pretty good; some gorgeous production values, a very bawdy show and stage sets and the band was musically flawless. He opened with "Benny and the Jets" which is in my opinion too slow for an opener and the audience reaction was enthusiastic but not high energy. The show really kicked off with the second tune; "Philadelphia Freedom." The production really shined at this point; a huge video screen above and behind him lit up with a very dynamic video to go with the song.
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" had a very weird video to go with it, too, involving a guy with his head in an oven and a guy in a bear suit. No, really. "The Bitch is Back" feature a shiny-bikini-wearing Pam Anderson pole dancing video. Elton himself was quite engaging and had a very approachable persona on stage. His in-between song patter was somewhat scripted (per a couple of reviews I read after the fact) but it had a natural feel to it and was pretty funny as well.
The GF loved the show, I thought it was good and I enjoyed the giant inflatable tits. I think he has another few-weeks-long-stand with this show in June and then maybe again in the Fall but that might be it after that. He did this show to fill in between Celine Dion's "A New Day" show but that show has ended its run and now they have Bette Midler and Cher coming in so la dee frickin' da.
La R(e with that little "hat" symbol on it)ve at the Wynn was OK; we splurged on VIP tickets for this event which meant we had special seating, champagne, strawberries and our own backstage video monitor that allowed us to see what was going on underwater and back stage. I found that more interesting than the show, actually.
Blue Man Group at the Venetian is a show that combines performance art, mime, dance, science and physics and rock and roll into a funny interesting show featuring 3 guys in blue make up. There is a bunch of audience participation, including a thing at the end that requires EVERYONE in the audience to help. At one point during the "Rock Star Tutorial" segment of the show (we were taught some basic rock star movements such as the head nod and the fist pump) one wag shouted out "Freebird" and the band responded instantly with the intro. Not bad.
We also visited the Atomic Testing Museum, which is about a mile east of the Strip on E Flamingo Rd. This is a Smithsonian Institute museum that is incredibly well done. Why an Atomic Testing Museum? Well, because in the 1950's through 1992 a part of the desert north of Las Vegas was used for testing nuclear weapons, first on the surface and then later underground. There are many photos of mushroom clouds taken from downtown LV; people used to take their lawn chairs onto the hotel roofs to watch the test. The museum captures the cultural context of the Atomic Age and has a lot of interactive exhibits, interviews with people who were part of the program and also discusses the unintended public health consequences of (especially) the surface testing that occurred.
So that's 3 Vegas trips in 12 months for us; I think that's going to be it for a while.
Joshua Tree National Park
All of the photos
Joshua Tree National Park is a desert park northeast of Palm Springs and south of Twenty-Nine Palms, sandwiched between I-10 and CA 62. Palm Springs is a glitzy weekend community for Hollywood types, Twenty Nine Palms is a Marine Corps town.
My Dad, my brother and I went out there a few weekends ago to hang out together, do a little hiking and take photos of wildflowers, which were blooming like crazy in the southern part of the park this particular weekend. JTNP has always been a favorite local destination of mine; it is renown for its rock climbing and its Joshua Trees, from which of course it got its name. It's about a 4 hour drive from Los Angeles, about 3 to 3.5 hours from my house.
We drove out to the southern end of the park, parked along the side of the road along with a few other cars and wandered into a flower-rich field. My Dad and I both enjoy photography and my Dad seems to have specialized in botany photos so this was a good reason to get together, spend some time road tripping and taking photos. I used my Canon 10D with my Tamron 18-200 F 3.5/6.3 lens.
My brother pointed out the lizard on this rock.
Purple lupine.
Mountain off in the distance
The desert doesn't bloom like this every year; we had a fairly wet winter and had some rains into March which is unusual. It was this combination that triggered the large masses of flowers this year. Next month the cacti will bloom.
Field of purple lupine
The Joshua Tree National Park website claims there are about 80 species of flowers blooming out there right now (or were, the season is very short and is ending now, about a month after it began).
This is probably my favorite landscape shot from this trip; purple lupine, canterbury bells and lots and lots of brittlebush and golden poppies.
Sunset at the Barker Dam parking lot.
A Joshua Tree silhouetted against the sunset.
Joshua Tree National Park is a desert park northeast of Palm Springs and south of Twenty-Nine Palms, sandwiched between I-10 and CA 62. Palm Springs is a glitzy weekend community for Hollywood types, Twenty Nine Palms is a Marine Corps town.
My Dad, my brother and I went out there a few weekends ago to hang out together, do a little hiking and take photos of wildflowers, which were blooming like crazy in the southern part of the park this particular weekend. JTNP has always been a favorite local destination of mine; it is renown for its rock climbing and its Joshua Trees, from which of course it got its name. It's about a 4 hour drive from Los Angeles, about 3 to 3.5 hours from my house.
We drove out to the southern end of the park, parked along the side of the road along with a few other cars and wandered into a flower-rich field. My Dad and I both enjoy photography and my Dad seems to have specialized in botany photos so this was a good reason to get together, spend some time road tripping and taking photos. I used my Canon 10D with my Tamron 18-200 F 3.5/6.3 lens.
My brother pointed out the lizard on this rock.
Purple lupine.
Mountain off in the distance
The desert doesn't bloom like this every year; we had a fairly wet winter and had some rains into March which is unusual. It was this combination that triggered the large masses of flowers this year. Next month the cacti will bloom.
Field of purple lupine
The Joshua Tree National Park website claims there are about 80 species of flowers blooming out there right now (or were, the season is very short and is ending now, about a month after it began).
This is probably my favorite landscape shot from this trip; purple lupine, canterbury bells and lots and lots of brittlebush and golden poppies.
Sunset at the Barker Dam parking lot.
A Joshua Tree silhouetted against the sunset.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Oceanside Downtown
I rode the motorcycle down to Oceanside downtown late this afternoon. There is a bunch of new development finishing up and some new ones approved to begin.
Right at the Pier is the new Wyndham Fairfield Resort. It has a generic up-to-date architectural style, nothing amazing, but tasteful. It's open - there were people in the lobby and employees behind the desk. The great thing about this is they are including a restaurant right at street level which is part of a local restaurant group that does upscale cuisine. I've eaten at a few of their places, such a Indigo Grill in San Diego's Little Italy. So, finally, Oceanside has an up-scale restaurant. I am hoping it becomes my favorite place.
Wyndham Fairfield Resort - Oceanside Pier
Another place getting completed called Oceanside Terrace is over by the movie theaters and the train station. This one has a more Tuscan style, more sandstone and other stone facing and a tall arcade along the walkway that actually somewhat reminds me of walking in the outer colonnade of the Colosseum. Expensive condos above retail. It's taken over 2 years to get this built and ready. Also, the website is no longer active. Odd... I'll try to track it down later.
There is another place a block in from Coast Hwy nearby that is the former PacBell North County long distance switching office (from the 60's to the 90's I think) called Oceanside Lofts. This place too FOREVER to get built and I think they took a bath with it because it doesn't seem sold out. Semi-artsy-fartsy style.
Another development a few blocks up Coast Hwy has a cool "moderne" look to it, also shops and retail on the first floor with condos above.
After this there are two more slated to begin, both by a company called "Citymark." The first is directly behind the Wyndham and the other one is a few hundred yards away, in front of the Oceanside Terrace development and on the "Top Gun House" lot, which fronts up to Pacific St.
So there is a lot of stuff going on in downtown Oceanside, just in time for the economic downturn. But, we must get this stuff done. We have to. Downtown is so crappy as it is that we're going to need a LOT of this sort of thing to be able to ignore the myriad check cashing, $5 haircut (for active military) and uniform and cami dry cleaning and name tag sewing-on places. Up until a couple of years ago we had a strip bar (!) a few steps from the pier. A strip bar. The city bought the owner out and it sits empty now, ripe for redevelopment.
Oceanside is also facing a $2M budget shortfall this year, but I happen to think it's no big deal; these new developments will generate new retail sales and hotel tax revenues and hopefully we'll be able bridge that gap next year.
Right at the Pier is the new Wyndham Fairfield Resort. It has a generic up-to-date architectural style, nothing amazing, but tasteful. It's open - there were people in the lobby and employees behind the desk. The great thing about this is they are including a restaurant right at street level which is part of a local restaurant group that does upscale cuisine. I've eaten at a few of their places, such a Indigo Grill in San Diego's Little Italy. So, finally, Oceanside has an up-scale restaurant. I am hoping it becomes my favorite place.
Wyndham Fairfield Resort - Oceanside Pier
Another place getting completed called Oceanside Terrace is over by the movie theaters and the train station. This one has a more Tuscan style, more sandstone and other stone facing and a tall arcade along the walkway that actually somewhat reminds me of walking in the outer colonnade of the Colosseum. Expensive condos above retail. It's taken over 2 years to get this built and ready. Also, the website is no longer active. Odd... I'll try to track it down later.
There is another place a block in from Coast Hwy nearby that is the former PacBell North County long distance switching office (from the 60's to the 90's I think) called Oceanside Lofts. This place too FOREVER to get built and I think they took a bath with it because it doesn't seem sold out. Semi-artsy-fartsy style.
Another development a few blocks up Coast Hwy has a cool "moderne" look to it, also shops and retail on the first floor with condos above.
After this there are two more slated to begin, both by a company called "Citymark." The first is directly behind the Wyndham and the other one is a few hundred yards away, in front of the Oceanside Terrace development and on the "Top Gun House" lot, which fronts up to Pacific St.
So there is a lot of stuff going on in downtown Oceanside, just in time for the economic downturn. But, we must get this stuff done. We have to. Downtown is so crappy as it is that we're going to need a LOT of this sort of thing to be able to ignore the myriad check cashing, $5 haircut (for active military) and uniform and cami dry cleaning and name tag sewing-on places. Up until a couple of years ago we had a strip bar (!) a few steps from the pier. A strip bar. The city bought the owner out and it sits empty now, ripe for redevelopment.
Oceanside is also facing a $2M budget shortfall this year, but I happen to think it's no big deal; these new developments will generate new retail sales and hotel tax revenues and hopefully we'll be able bridge that gap next year.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Beverly Hills Hotel
Through some particular events in my GF's life I found myself at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday afternoon for a one-night stay. The Beverly Hills Hotel is a 5 star hotel with a legendary history. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned in one of the bungalows there (Number 5), Will Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks used to eat lunch in the Polo Lounge every day, Guns n'n Roses signed their record contract there.
She had a hair and make-up appointment at the salon they have; I caught her in the hallway as she was leaving for it and I was arriving to the room. After about 30 minutes I went down there to see how things were going but it looked like she was getting water-boarded; she was tilted back flat in the chair and the make-up artist was leaning over her intently. I decided instead to grab a bite at the Fountain Room, a coffee shop diner they have (and is where GnR signed signed their contract).
Later, she went to her event in the hotel-provided limo and then a few hours later came back. In the interim I had reservations for the Polo Lounge for dinner for us. She called me as she was leaving so I could meet her in front to help with her stuff; award statue, gifts and flowers. As I was waiting some older movie producer types got out and walked up the ramp into the hotel; gray hair, big round black rimmed glasses, pullover shirt, leather pants. Bowling ball pot bellies.
As we came down the stair case I swear Lauren Bacall was in front of us in line. We were seated at a decent table but we did not see anyone we knew as a celebrity but obviously there were some fairly well-off people there.
The next morning we went to breakfast at the Fountain Room; James Taylor walked in and sat down at the opposite end. He was scruffy and hauling a backpack around with him. We later saw him in the lobby waiting for someone; he was wearing a baseball cap.
But that was it. It was an interesting experience but also fairly expensive for my loser middle-class lifestyle. But now I can say that I have stayed in the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel and eaten dinner at the Polo Lounge.
She had a hair and make-up appointment at the salon they have; I caught her in the hallway as she was leaving for it and I was arriving to the room. After about 30 minutes I went down there to see how things were going but it looked like she was getting water-boarded; she was tilted back flat in the chair and the make-up artist was leaning over her intently. I decided instead to grab a bite at the Fountain Room, a coffee shop diner they have (and is where GnR signed signed their contract).
Later, she went to her event in the hotel-provided limo and then a few hours later came back. In the interim I had reservations for the Polo Lounge for dinner for us. She called me as she was leaving so I could meet her in front to help with her stuff; award statue, gifts and flowers. As I was waiting some older movie producer types got out and walked up the ramp into the hotel; gray hair, big round black rimmed glasses, pullover shirt, leather pants. Bowling ball pot bellies.
As we came down the stair case I swear Lauren Bacall was in front of us in line. We were seated at a decent table but we did not see anyone we knew as a celebrity but obviously there were some fairly well-off people there.
The next morning we went to breakfast at the Fountain Room; James Taylor walked in and sat down at the opposite end. He was scruffy and hauling a backpack around with him. We later saw him in the lobby waiting for someone; he was wearing a baseball cap.
But that was it. It was an interesting experience but also fairly expensive for my loser middle-class lifestyle. But now I can say that I have stayed in the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel and eaten dinner at the Polo Lounge.
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