No, Not An Entry About P. Diddy – NYC Travel Journal November 11, 2009

 

Recently I had the luxury of traveling to New York City for the first time in my life. I was curious to see the city that I’ve heard so many people talk about. Apparently the weekend we decided to travel there, New York was experiencing a storm and temperatures of 38 degrees, down from the bearable 65 degrees it had been just the week prior. It didn’t matter nor did it sour my experience. Instead I embraced what the city had to offer me.

 

Aside from first noticing how grandiose it really is, I got the feeling that I wasn’t in San Francisco anymore, nonetheless Los Angeles. There was something different about the people, about the place and culture. I picked up on some sort of unspoken connection. I couldn’t help, while walking downtown, to wonder how erractic and stressful it must have been during the 911 fiasco, but I don’t want to turn this post into a piece of melancholy, so…

 

One thing is for sure 3 days in New York is not nearly enough time to explore and get a taste of what this wonderful state and city really have to offer, but I was able to savor a sip of New York city. The other unique aspect of my trip is that I didn’t just spend the entire time in Manhattan, I started out in the less touristy areas. After we stepped off the plane we started out on a 2 hour subway ride to the very last stop in Brooklyn, Flatbush Avenue.

 

It is in this neighborhood that I visited my first White Castle, being aware of the many references this chain has provided for popular culture ( i.e. Beastie Boy songs and the ever popular Harold and Kumar).  It was here, while waiting in line for my sliders that I first thought about escapsim. Being hundreds of miles away from home and in this large, urban city that I had immediately fallen in love with, I thought about how exciting it would be to just drop everything and move. Hundreds of miles away from the problems that were bogging my mind down. I thought about all the american authors who’ve played with the idea of escapsim in their works and it was in this moment that I truly understood the allure of it all.

 

The rest of my trip, which flew by, consisted of one day in Manhattan and an entire day visiting the streets of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. I enjoyed all the sites I got to see and all the food I got to eat. Including the quintessential street side peanuts of which my best friend had told me about. She mentioned the sweet smell that engulfs the downtown air. I enjoyed the shopping and enjoyed seeing the many styles of all people rich and poor which I must say have a sense of how to put things together.

 

While it was my first bite of the big apple it certainly is not the last and I am itching to go back already, and perhaps maybe one day I’ll call New York home for at least a small period in my life. What I can say is that my first bite was crisp and cold, the way I usually like to enjoy my apples.

Thriller Never Dies November 11, 2009

Last night while relaxing at home after a strenuous day at work, I decided to spend the rest of my evening lounging in bed and watching the tube. Before settling in, I was tidying up and while doing so, I usually like listening to something familiar in the background. While scouring through the channels I quickly chose 13 Going On 30 which was playing on FX and while I had only meant to watch it temporarily, it caught my attention. Yes, I’ve seen the movie before several times, but I just couldn’t tear away from it. The scene in the movie when Jennifer Garner steps out onto the dance floor alone to do the Thriller, always manages to draw a chuckle out of me. Soon, as you all know, a crowd is on the dance floor doing the Thriller like it’s a natural reflex.

It may be that this particularly caught my attention because I had recently heard about “Thrill the World” from my cousin who was practising and joined the Los Angeles group on October 24, 2009. Apparently, every year organizers get together to dance the Thriller for charity and in an attempt to break world records for the city with the most bodies dancing the choreography. While I couldn’t find anything that stated what city broke the world record this year, I had previously heard that it was Mexico City.

That brings me to the thrill of Thriller. I, along with many other teenage girls was crazy about it when it was released back in 1984. Little did we know, back then, of the impact this phenomenon, and Michael Jackson for that matter would have on popular culture. As 2009 comes to an end, I think about the changes the year has brought upon us. I think about how this was the year we would experience the last moments of  the King of Pop’s life. While this post is months after his death, this is my tribute to M.J.

A Series of Short Ones Part Three September 25, 2009

Today

My thoughts of you

Almost brought you

to life.

I reminisced

indulged

out loud

chuckled

A Series of Short Ones Part Two September 25, 2009

ROBOTS

As I move I see the machines of flesh

Created from ribs and dust

I think about this globe and the flow of currency

Yesterday, I used the cliche “the world is your oyster”

and asked my sister, how can the world be like an oyster

The world is hard and ugly

but when you brake inside it’s good

You can move and mold it

Suck it in or spit it out

Eat it raw or cook it

She said

about the world

and her life included

A Series of Short Ones Part One September 25, 2009

CONFLICT

pulls

twists

turns

gives you

an indian burn

Two huge imaginary fingers

bugging the shit

out of you

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Plays Masterpiece September 23, 2009

 

Phoenix, currently on tour, stopped at the Warfield in San Francisco on September 17, 2009 to play a great show that was a treat watch. Touring with a new album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, they played a good set to a packed house at the Warfield. Opening with Listomania the first single off the new album, the crowd was boppin’ and movin’ to french indie band’s tunes.

 

One of the best parts of watching the band that night was the amount of fun they appeared to be having. Talking to the crowd and dancing around the stage, lead singer Thomas Mars even twirled the mic around by it’s cord as he danced to his songs.

 

Best concert experience, by far, was during the last song of their encore. The lights dimmed, the music started to play, while next thing you know, the light goes on and to the crowds surprise Thomas Mars appears on the pit floor and starts walking to the back of the pit  and straight toward me. I had settled myself in the back row of the Warfield’s pit where there is a railing to the second level and to my suprise, Thomas Mars gets onto the railing and sings the last song right in front of me. Speechless and jumping around in awe, it dawns on me to get my camera out. In the midst of the excitement, with adrenaline pumping I’m able to snap this picture:

 

Walking out of the venue, I’m in disbelief as I’ve never had quite a concert experience such as this. As I’m walking home all I can think is “THAT WAS AWESOME!” As someone like me never has this kind of luck.

If you’re into Indie rock I definitely recommend you give Phoenix a try.

An Untitled Poem of Times Past. September 14, 2009

I wane

Back and forth

From happiness to sadness

From relief to a sense of loss

 

I miss our poetry

Our late-night-living-together kisses

You made a deep pool of artificial love available to me

That after time, I let go of my life vest and swam freely

 

Within that “love”

You consumed me and I almost drowned

As I braved the depths of you

And somehow I’m making it out alive

 

There was an ironic comfort we felt

No matter how bad it got

We were happy to come home

To the place that tore us apart

 

Now there’s the possibility of others

But even if I close my eyes they do not feel like you

And yet you are not the same person I once adored

 

I wane

Back and forth

Between loving you

And letting you go

Revolutionary Road. July 28, 2009

 

Revolutionary Road is a movie about making not-so-right decisions and working through the consequences. It’s about knowing that you may have chosen the wrong person to spend your life with. In Revolutionary Road you see a couple, struggle through differences that just can’t seem to go right, no matter how hard they try. What I enjoyed most about this movie however is the thought that it provoked within me. The realization of how life really is. In real life people do pretend and ignore shortcomings that are so huge, how can anyone ever be happy. The chemistry of disfunction plays well between Winslet and DiCaprio, so well in fact that you barely even think about their past love affair on a certain cruise ship. Winslet, especially, shines and there is no doubt that 2008 really was her year. The perspective I enjoyed exploring most is that of an uninterested woman. We always see instances where the woman is the one holding onto the bad relationship and here we encounter a woman who is completely over it. I appreciate new and interesting perspectives and Richard Yates works that well. While discussing this movie with my roommate he brought up the point that he thought they could have chosen a more sensitive actor and while DiCaprio is a great actor in his own category, I can agree that maybe someone else could have played a better Frank Wheeler, but regardless he did a good job. I really like this movie and definitely recommend it, it is a little intense but once you enter the Wheeler’s world you become engaged and can’t help but keep watching.     (4/5 stars)

Summer Smash: The Hangover July 27, 2009

 

The Hangover is an entertaining summer flick that is worth the watch.  Directed by Todd Phillips (Old School) and starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifiankas and Justin Bartha, the movie starts out with four guys destined for Vegas to celebrate their buddy’s final days of bachelorhood. While you think you’ve seen movies like this before, you have no idea what kind of trouble these boys get into at the movie’s opening. The cliche saying, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” was dreamt up for a reason and once you see the type of shenanigans these boys get into, you will see that saying holds some truth, at least in this case. While it’s difficult to review this film without giving anything away, I can say that I could not once guess what was going to happen next. One minute we see the boys getting ready for their first night in sin city and then the next we wake up with them, with the worst hang over, in their hotel suite that closely resembles the mess we found Hunter Thompson in, in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The worst part, they have lost the groom-to-be and no one can remember the events that lead up to the world’s worst hangover.  Writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore do a great job adding structure to their movie in a haphazard way and we never really know the true accounting of how certain events really happened, that is…until the closing credits when we find out that they have located Alan’s digital camera and we get a peak at these bizarre situations they got themselves into. This film is a definite must if you are looking for something to entertain you this summer as it was a riot to watch. Not knowing quite what to expect this was entertaining and funny as hell, I have to say it was a better summer flick than Transformers.                                                            (4/5 stars)

Incubus Plays Stellar Show at Hollywood Bowl… July 20, 2009

Accompanied by a warm L.A. night and a sky full of stars Incubus played a show that was not at all disappointing. Opening with Privilege, off Make Yourself their third album, definitely got the crowd going as all the vetran fans sang along to some of their older tracks. Being my second time seeing them, I was happy with the set list of 20 songs that I think showcased their talent, music and that what they’ve done over the last 10 years. It was good to see them play rarities like Make Yourself, Redefine and Warning. I was surprised that they didn’t play any of their new songs especially their newly released single Black Heart Inertia. Instead they went for some oldies and goodies that would get their hometown crowd swooning and if that was their goal, I’d have to say mission accomplished. One of the best moments of the show was their remix version of Dig that incorporated a lot of drums and liquidy guitar riffs, it could be described as a remix a la Jack Johnson, channeling the spirit of beach music. Opening for the group we got a taste of London rock presented by a band called The Duke Spirit, which wasn’t not bad at all. While I don’t think many people at the venue that evening had heard of them, the lead singer did wail and graced us with a positive vibe. The only downside to the show was the venue’s parking situation, which added an additional 45 minutes to the ride home. Thankfully, the show was awesome and left me reliving the memories of my favorite songs while waiting for the people in the car ahead of me to move.    

 

SET LIST

 

1. Priviledge
2. Pardon Me
3. Nice to Know You
4. Ana Molly
5. Stellar
6. Megalomaniac
7. Love Hurts
8. Drive
9. Make Yourself
10. Dig
11. Redefine
12. A Certain Shade of Green
13. Oil & Water
14. Quicksand
15. A Kiss to Send Us Off
16. Let’s Go Crazy (cover)
17. Wish You Were Here
18. Punch Drunk
19. Warning
20. Aqueous Transmission

(*Picture from Los Angeles Times, at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/)