mat kearney & then block party

I'm currently on jury duty this week and luckily I haven't been called in.  I manage to catch 2 concerts this week (woo hoo).  Monday, I saw Mat Kearney at the HOB and was impressed with the venue.  The sound is good and I always luv intimate shows than stadium size extravaganzas.  Mat Kearney was okay; he was a bit boring on some of his songs.  I don't understand why he raps his songs.  I guess it his style, but "Nothing Left To Loose" is very different from the others.  Kearney seems to be experimenting and trying find his style.  Overall, I like the show, especially the cute guitarist/back-up vocalist Tyler.  He's a hottie!

Tuesday, I saw Bloc Party @ the Wiltern and was just amazed of how good they are.  They have great presence and got the crowd moving; everyone sang along to the songs and just had a good time.  The year is starting out well with Bloc Party and I can't freakin wait for The Killers @ the Staples Center next month.  The 2nd album Sam's Town  has some good sounds and quiet different from their 1st album Hot Fuss.  I like Hot Fuss better though.  Excited!

I finished book 3 of Harry Potter, in good time since I have been busy finishing up my applications for Moorepark College and LAVC.  The Harry Potter books are addicting; I mean I couldn't put book 3 down.  I remember back in Spain people were reading  the spanish version of  Harry Potter The Order of the Phoenix in the metro.  It was the same craziness as the Da Vinci Code, where  I saw someone reading the book at my sister's graduation.  I hope to finish the 4th Harry Potter book by early April, so I can read the 5th book on my long flight to Italy.

new adventure

How long? Well, for 1 month and also taking a trip to Amsterdam on my last weekend in Europe.

Why? Frustrated about my current situation with this nursing bullshit and it's a good excuse to travel.

What? I'm going to learn Italian, experience culture, see some great art and try to go to mass on time in Rome.

How? A long flight with many stops, really a lot.

Any feelings? Anxious, excited, and scared.

...and yes, I will be broke after this adventure, no doubt bitches!

b*day shindig

The shindig was a lot of fun and I was so happy everyone had a good time, maybe it was the sangria that did it. It was so nice for people to come and celebrate my Birthday with me; I felt so special. I am glad everyone enjoyed the food, even some vegetarians in the house were happy with the food. The highlights were great friends, good food, and interesting conversations. It was a successful get together since many of us do not see each other often, and it was nice to catch up.

skin + bones birthday

Birthday lunch with the family and the Skin + Bones exhibition @ MOCA. My birthday was the last day to see the exhibition, so it was fitting to spend the afternoon and see some great clothes and amazing architecture. The first piece displayed was the Babushka dolls by Viktor & Rolf couture collection of 1999 and it was my favorite. Here are the explanation of the process by Viktor & Rolf: 

In the winter of 1999 we appeared on the cat walk ourselves to dress a single model, Maggie Rizer, in nine layers of jewel encrusted dresses. After each layer, the small pedestal on which Maggie stood would rotate, giving the audience an opportunity to see a particular set on her before the next layer was laid on. When the final veil had been draped around her, Maggie was carrying approximately 70 kilos (100 lbs.) of richly decorated textures on her shoulders. We intended this presentation as an ode to exclusivity and unavailability, the things that give fashion its aura. Once occluded by the next layer, the previous layer remained present on stage, but impossible for the audience to see.

One sight to see is the ultra hip and modern Prada building in Tokyo. According to my sis, the fitting rooms are made of clear glass and when you want to try clothes on, smokes comes up and then covers the clear glass so you can have your decency.

Later that night, I had dinner with Ken to Cafe Santorini. The restaurant is on the second floor of this old brick building across from Laemmle's theater in Old Town Pasadena. We sat at the terrace which offered views of the courtyard below and provided a great atmosphere to enjoy our yummy food ; it was a nice b-day, since it was on a Monday.

magritte

The last weekend to catch Magritte and everyone seems to be rushing to see the exhibition. My sis and I almost lost our chance to see his paintings since the last show was sold out for the night. My sister was ready to become a member and pay 75 bucks and then we would have the tickets for two to go in. I swear LACMA makes any excuse to take your money. I manage to ask two girls (looked like art students) if I can buy their used tickets. We were willing to pay the full ticket price, which was 17 dollars each, but she asked only 10 bucks for 2 tickets :). Woo hoo! We were able to get the audio tour, which is a plus when your in the mood for the commentary from various art phucks.

The highlight was the set design of the gallery. The floor carpet was made of cloud designs and the ceilings were pictures of freeways which made me feel like I was in a surrealist painting. We got to see all of his famous paintings like "This is not a pipe." The Treachery Of Images and Times Transfixed. One art professor from the audio commented that Times Transfixed was about a sexual act between a man and woman where the woman represented the fireplace and the man, well the train. It is absurd to think a train and fireplace as sexual things, he must have been horny err something. Tomorrow is the last day to see Magritte and then farewell.

oooh la la...

My Eiffel Tower picture transformed into blank note cards, ooh la la ja'dore! 

Once in while I will get emails from Shutterfly offering specials on prints.  This week they offered free 12 blank note cards of any picture you wanted.  I choose this one because it is my favorite pic of Paris.  It was a perfect setting, wandering aimlessly in Paris with my sisters and finally getting to the Eiffel Tower with the sun setting and the tower just barely lit for the night.  This pic was captured by my Nikon N65 35mm and I heart my camera.

I finished the 2nd book of Harry Potter and was just impressed as the first book.  The Chamber of Secrets gave a glimse of who was Voldemort and gave a human side to him.  He was an orphan boy like Potter, but had evil desires.  I also liked the idea how both Harry and Voldemort mirror each other and good people have the potential to be bad.  The story also reminds me of Star Wars for some reason.  Now, I will move on and read the 3rd Harry Potter book and see what mischief Harry and Ron will get themselves tangled in.