goji berries

Grabbed a quick dinner at Whole Foods Market and stopped by the fruit section.  I usually make a stop at the fruit section to check out the Himilania Goji Berry line, and I am glad I did since I finally saw my design on the 2oz. package.  Since the product was going to be packaged in China, the company was not sure how it was going to print and took the risk.  The risk turned to their favor because it came out to what I designed.  The "new snack size" is a bit fuzzy, but it is printed on plastic. The colors and the design is what I envision, so I am happy.

james blunt

I haven't been creative for some time now and I'm experiencing withdrawals.  Blogging is a good outlet to just mess with photoshop and see what I can do with pictures and such.  My social life has been on the back burner and I haven't really done anything to blog about except last night.  I went to see James Blunt concert with my sis and cousins.  James Blunt is good live and I was a bit surprised because he had been touring for most of the year and ended his tour in L.A.  No signs of his voice giving out, so he must sing with his lungs.  No doubt he is soft rock, but he can play a mean guitar (really).  Blunt sang some of his new material which were pretty good.  The only song that I thought was lame was Annie; too many rockers make songs about fugly girls and how they broke their hearts.

banksy in london

  

Can you believe it? Banksy sold Kate Moss Andy Warhol Marilyn for £50,400 (95,000 dollars) and it's not even his creation.  Any bone head with a silkscreen these days can copy a Warhol, frankly it will never be a Warhol.  What's up with the celebrity obsession...Paris Hilton, Brad Pitt buying his art, and now Kate Moss.  His graffiti stuff is more impacting than this commercial crap he's been creating.  I guess Banksy has bills to pay like the rest of us or is he really saying "Rich people are stupid to buy such shit and I am making the big bucks to prove it!"

barely legal

I saw the flyer at Juxtapoz magazine and instantly was drawn to the painted elephant.  Never saw nothing like it and probably never will.  Saturday was the only day for me to check this art/graffiti extravaganza.

Who is Banksy?  Banksy is a graffiti artist from the U.K. who is based in L.A. He uses stencils to graffiti his work on walls, monuments, pretty much anything (even stenciled a wall in Jerusalem).  Most of his work at Barely Legal were "tongue and cheek" art and mostly political.  A lot of hilarious pieces such as the famous statue of David, gone hip hop cool.  Click here to access his website and get a taste of what he does. 

About the elephant?  I was impressed how much work it took to stencil the animal, but feel quiet sad it was stenciled.  According to the people at the show, the elephant has been painted before and is a circus animal.  I don't know if Banksy wanted the viewer to have mixed emotions; my heart melted when the elephant could not barely get out of the warehouse.  It was surreal seeing this animal just placed in a context of everyday living.  It is suppose to deem normal that an elephant is in the middle of the living room, hanging out (a pink and gold one I might add).

hammer bash

The Hammer Bash is when the Hammer Museum opens at night and showcases a closing exhibit during the summer season.  They offer cocktails, a decent dj, and some art.  I went to one a long time ago with Erika and had a great time.  I decided to take the boyfriend so he can enjoy some art.  I had to convince him since he is not a big fan of art, just a fan of me (hee hee).

I thought we were going to see one exhibit, but the musuem had multiples of  exhibits which made the whole thing worth it.  The entrance was free, so who would pass it up.   To set the mood, Christine Nguyen's piece covered the lobby wall.  It was a fantastic piece because you feel like your in a aquarium.  We headed off to the Societe Anonyme exhibit to see Cubist paintings to abstract sculptures.

The Societe Anonyme was a group of artists in the 1920's who wanted to expose America to Modern Art.   They would have exhibits and even publications of  upcoming art by the artists.  Saw pieces by Duchamp, Calder, Kadinsky, Klee, Mondrian, and countless of others.   An artists which piece I adored the most was Suzanne Phocas.  I just love how the skirt of the little girl moved and the curves of the fur from the dog.  The other exhibits had this crazy sculpture of tiny cut out pictures and metal pins, and some of Van Gogh's stuff was in the Armand Hammer Collection.  Ended the night with some Diddy Reese ice cream sandwiches; the highlight for the boyfriend.  The rest of the weekend was work, work, and more work.

summer holiday: playa de carmen, mexico

Playa del Carmen is 50 km south of Cancun, Mexico.  I highly recommend for people to travel there because the place is more central than Cancun.  We were able to venture to neigboring cities in affordable rates.  We trekked out to Tulum via Collectivo for only 25 pesos. (2 something dollars).  Considering it is 50 or some km from Playa del Carmen, you cannot beat that price.  The price for getting in the ruins was also very cheap.  It was affordable to go everywhere without wasting your money on lame planned excursions.  The beautiful part of going it on your own is you make your own time and the adventure to speak to the locals with bad spanish and feelin the vibe of Mexico.

  We stayed in Viva Wyndam Maya Hotel.  It was in hotel row called Playacar.  It must have been a rich area because it was a gated community with hotels and beautiful houses; secure and minutes via taxi to the city.  The decor was modern in the lounge area and spanish style in the rooms.  One of our favorite things to do was sit outside in the lounge area and people watch with our cocktails or cafe con leches.

Our first excursion was Tulum.  It was a trade center for the Mayans.  Most of the structures were intact and the place sits on a bluff over looking the ocean.  You can swim after sightseeing and we fully took advantage of it since it was hot and humid most of our stay.  There was an overcast, but still, you can feel the humidity.  It was a nice treat to dip into the water for some cooling off.

An island Cozumel sits next to Playa de Carmen.  We didn't know what to do there, but we definetly wanted to go.  Cozumel is the home of the second largest reef in the world.  It would have been nice to snorkel, but I couldn't have my back burned into a crisp.  We took a joyride in the island with a vintage bug instead.  Saw the smallest Hard Rock Cafe and more  Mayan ruins.  Also dipped in the water to cool off the summer heat.

Our third sightseeing trip was the Mayan ruins in Coba.  Coba was more difficult to venture on your own and it took much creativity.  Many of the locals we spoke to discourage us to go there because it was far from Playa del Carmen.  We manage to go back to Tulum via Collectivo and take a taxi to Coba and have the taxi driver wait for us until we were finished sightseeing around Coba.  All this creativity didn't cost much since we were in a time crunch.  If we had gotten up earlier, we could have taken the bus to Coba, and saved 300 pesos.  The taxi to Coba, which was an hour away from Tulum was 400 pesos (40 dollars) for both.  Not bad since the driver drove fast to get us in the Coba ruins in time.  It was well worth it because I climbed my first Mayan pyramid.  The view was spectacular and the area was filled with lush trees and many Mayan artifacts.

The holiday did consist of other relaxing activities such as reading books on the beach and enjoying our cocktails.  It was just nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and relax; so relaxed that we never kept track of time. 

emotional

Saw Dashboard Confessional last night.  I thought I was fan until my experience at the concert.  There are tons of devoted fans who know every single lyric to every single song and sang along with Chris.  The energy from the crowd was memorable and so was Dashboard.  Chris sang very well and he played off the fans enthusiasm by letting them sing with him.  I would see them again.

l.a. adventures

I have been working like crazy to make up for the days off during Glen's visit in L.A.   

Glen's visit was refreshing since I get to see all these tourisy places and take pictures.  I live in the L.A. county and I rarely explore the tourisy spots, which I should do more often.  The  highlights were Britney Spears star, cream puffs, Santa Monica, the Getty, Prada store in Beverly Hills (very chic' and modern), tapas in Pasadena, a tiny and sexy bar called Magnolia (located across Borders), Fiesta Cantina, and cute waiters.  It was nice to see a friend.

Extraordinary Machine

I luv summer concerts, especially outside venues.  So I saw Fiona Apple sing her heart out again and her seizure like dance moves.  Also enjoyed a make shift picnic since the Greek Theatre did not allow food to be brought in the venue.  They suck!  Gelson's have the best of everything, that is why they are so darn expensive. Try the chicken curry with some french bread and camembert cheese and your golden.  I heart picnics.

chalk & nachos

is a hilariious movie!  First, I luv Jack Black.  He is so darn cute; yes he is cute like a teddy bear who farts!  You can almost believe he is Mexican.  I saw the movie in Pasadena and there were still some art from the chalk festival.  I was meaning to catch it during the Sunday, but who could miss the basketball game?  Here are some bits of art from the festival...

I luv portraiture.

Bob Marley, it is an okay rendering.

Coy fish... go pisces!

moca @ night

MOCA is offering Rauschenberg to be shown at night during the summer.  Why not go since it's free...well, the thing wasn't free, but 5 bucks for students.  I still have my old CSUN id, which I carry everywhere (sidebar: you can get a discount in Panda Express near CSUN when you present your id).  Anyways, love the exhibition.  Didn't really know much about Rauschenberg.  I know his famous piece above Monogram, every art student who took modern art knew it.  His stuff is very inventive.  Mind you, this kind of work was done in the 1950's and 60's.  He predicted much of what is going on today regarding globalization and consumerism of America through his combines.  Rauschenberg used real stuffed birds and combined it with his collages and other found objects.  He also touched based with human nature.  When we followed the curator, she explained this one art piece which was a game piece.  An artist would draw (famous now and then aka. Jasper Johns) and put it on the metal clipboard and people would try to guess it.  It worked for a couple of hours into the show, but in the end, the drawings would start getting less and by the end there weren't any drawings.  Did he predict people would start taking the drawings and keeping it as souvenirs?  Of course he did, brilliant!   Many of  his work were intellectual and thought out, especially the coca cola bottles he used to symbolized globalized America.

One thing I didn't know about him, he is called Bob.  I have a thing for all Roberts who are named Bob...they are always unique and super cool.  For example, Bob Marley, Bob Newhart, Bob Hope, Bob Rauschenberg, Bob the usher from church.  Well, my Drawing 1 instructor told the class that, which I have tried to disprove, but always find Bob's to be cool kats, and yah his name is Bob.

Good times... try to catch it one of these hot summer nights, don't get the martinis, taste like juice (stingy on the liquor), a house wine will do.

weekender

Saturday

My sister has been wanting us to see this great view of L.A. from a tower near the Encino Area that used to be owned by the military.  During Word War II, they used the tower for a look out station.  There were still some remnants of military signage and resting areas. The hike was not strenuous at all.  My sister said it was easy, so I believed her since she is not the atheletic type.  My sisters, cousin Emma, and new friend caught the sun setting on the hottest day of the season...

Military stuff

L.A.'s water reserve...conserve your water folks!

Why is it blurry? L.A. smog, invest in the "it" car, veggie oil powered vintage benzs!

Sunset please...it's good to live in L.A.

Sunday

It's good to have a sister who seems to recieve great emails from fashionistas all over L.A. to alert her of a great deal.   There was a sample sale in the No Ho distribution center for Stila Cosmetics.  We figured.. okay.. there going to sell some color lip gloss that nobody wants and just a little table... but no ladies... it was make up galore!  There were rows and rows of lip glosses, eye shadows, gift boxes, name any foundation, shimmer lotion they got it!  Wholesale prices! Usually those lip glazes are at least 16 bucks, but at the distribution sale... 4 dollars! O my goodness!  We went crazy.  I would have indulge in foundation and bronzing products, but I never got my numbers at the Stila counter.  It would be useless to buy that stuff when it doesn't match your skin tone, and anyways, I know myself enough that I am a lip gloss, low maintenance type of gal.  I also scored a great eyebrow masacara (3 bucks)!

I had a great weekend!  I rarely have it off, so it was refreshing to go out catch another beautiful L.A. sunset, and to my surprise scored on bargain beauty products.

a madonna confession...(forwarned pics)!

I could not miss the Confessions Tour of Madonna.  The last time I saw her was her Drowned World Tour and it was  the best concert I have gone to.  She is highly creative and innovative with her sets.  My sister and I had nosebleed seats, but due to the traffic flow of the people in the aisles, we stumbled into really good seats!  Purely accidental!  

Here are the pics...

Madonna is actually inside this disco ball!

In the beginning of the concert, she had this S&M thing going on... she

even rode a saddle during Like A Virgin and it would go around like a

Merry-go-round!

She goes back to her Catholic roots...

It is like a kaleidoscope... it is actually her face and other body parts...

The dancers would do gymnastics moves in this apparatus... and run back

and forth... it was pretty cool to watch!

Mitosis is art!  Throughout the song it was splitting and multiplying...

She does Yoga...

...and still remains sexy.

A dancer in head to toe purdah dances inside the cage... it was beautiful.

Video excerpts from Hung Up only.

I Love New York... Madonna was jammin and playing a mean guitar.

Roller skating around the stage... it was so cool because they went pretty

fast, I was sure someone would fall, but nah, the dancers were limber.

At this time, she sang her oldies.. but goody, La Isla Bonita (a fave)

Lap dances I see...

She closes with Hung Up...

Radios are sexy!

hoot hoot

When my family moved into the new house, I developed a respiratory allergy. For months I was wheezing and could not even sleep in my own room. I quarantined my room, cleaned off the dust moths, but still I had this wicked allergy. I put two and two together, and I was allergic to the birds living in the shingles. My mom's solutions was to cut down the trees and close up the shingles; it worked and my allergy has slowly disappeared. Now these birds are making a second appearance, so my mom bought this really cool owl. Then I felt guilty because the baby bird was chirping away waiting for it's momma to come back. She was too scared to get near the owl and they were communicating how to feed the baby bird. She was hanging out on the telephone line for hours; I felt so guilty. Nevertheless, the baby bird is alive. The momma bird had enough courage and fed the baby bird. Next solution, move the nest?

smart car in pasadena

If only America made smaller roads so people are forced to purchase small automobiles like this Nissan, and gas prices would not be an issue.  I would not be accosted by a driver who needed an extra buck to get home in the valley.  The cheaper Unocal 76 stations wouldn't be congested with monstrous trucks that suck up at least 80 dollars worth of premium plus gasoline. Can we make German cars like this and I will sign up for my first mini-mi BMW 5 series.

first impressions on earth

After 3 years, I finally saw them again last night.  The last concert Effy and I went was at the Palladium and we saw Drew Barrymore galavanting around the club all giddy that her boy Fabrizio rockin in drums.  We were also standing next to Paul Oakenfold, so we felt like rockstars. This time around, no Drew sighting.  There were the typical skinny boy with skinny pants and converse combo (only at The Strokes concert).  The concert last night was less intimate, but still had a really good time.  They played all the songs from the new album and most of the first one.  A few technical difficulties, but Julian managed to sing his heart out.  There a few hilarious and annoying moments at the concert.  We kept hearing this annoying girl at the back yelling Fuck Yah!! to every song.  What a weirdo!  And this chick in front of us kept smothering her boyfriend.  We felt sorry for him and his body language was "Bitch, can you just get off of me for at least a minute!"  This girl had no clue and kept smothering him the whole time.  She was also dancing like she was on speed, rythmless asian!  Anywhoo, I had a great time.  We also caught Fabrizio on the screen smoking while drumming. Such Rockstars!

twins

Long lost twin...

Found!