so shout out to my good friend mangela, I miss you my dear:
Sunday, September 27, 2009
spotlight: more than this provincial life
Man oh man, it's mangela, and she's got a blog, and it's got comics, and it's awesome.
the internet, because the more i have to do, the less i get done
As each day passes, I am one step closer to my latest foe, the Graduate Record Examination. Each morning and each night I vow to lock myself away from the world and dig deep into the depths of academic prose, GRE prep books, and various papers, abstracts, and theses. However, with each passing day I am reminded that I am not a super-intelligent alien robot. This repeated realization still chokes me up. Moreover, not only am I human, I am an easily distractible human.
And it was a beautiful day outside.
So I took a walk. And then I fed some geese. And then I took a nap. And then I checked my email. And then I was completely overwhelmed by the internet and got lost somewhere between lastfm and tumblr. It happens.
You call it procrastination, I call it a mental health day (and I don't think I'm the only one who would call it that).
Start around 2:20
Thursday, September 10, 2009
the triumphant return of TURQUOISE LOVE
August didn't get any blog love; but hey August, don't lose heart, you win some you lose some.
If too little love is a problem in any arena, I've got just the solution: Turquoise Love!
That famed, that legendary, that ever so slightly infamous internet radio show born on a wintry night after a Cloud Cult concert in northern Indiana nearly two years ago...
IT'S BACK!
Turquoise Love will be making it's triumphant return in full glory this semester. The four original DJs will be reunited on the air waves for the first time in over a year, and it promises to be nothing less than magical.
TURQUOISE LOVE
FRIDAYS 12pm-1pm EST
Featuring DJs:
"Win a Date with" Danny McRae
Michelle "The Indie Asian Sensation" Nguyen
Stephanie "Big Gunz" Jazmines
Shannon "Rock 'n' Roll" Mathers
Kids* on the west coast - wake up Friday mornings to the latest, the greatest, and the most absurdly fun that music has to offer
Kids on the east coast - witty banter and silly musings for your turquoise lunch?
Kids in the midwest - call in and win a date with Danny McRae! you're close enough to take us up on the offer!
Kids abroad - party at all hours!!!
*it should be noted that term "kids" and similar and related terms here-in does not imply an 18 and under crowd, but is instead used in a more generalized and colloquial sense to evoke this relative hipness and youth of those people attracted by all things Turquoise Love, it should also be noted that the term is not meant to alienate other listeners, as all are young and hip when they partake of Turquoise Love, especially Danny's mom, my favorite listener
So tune in, turn it up, and IM requests to: wvfiradio
Tired of waiting? Check out the website in the mean time:
Cleveland Revisited
Way back in the month of July, I had planned a blog post so epic, it would have put Homer to shame; an expose of modern day life on the mean streets of Cleveland/a celebration of a love for all things Cleveland. This tear-jerking heart-warmer was going to be posted just in time for Cleveland's 213th birthday on July 22, 2009. Sadly, life got in the way, the report from the Cleveland front never arrived, and my once beautiful dream was in shambles.
And so, for that, I apologize.
However, dear reader, know that I have been using my Cleveland calendar for many months now and I couldn't be happier. For the month of August I had a lovely view of the North Point Tower from East Ninth Street at Lakeside Avenue. September now brings me changing leaves in the Cleveland Botanical Garden in the University Circle area, appropriate as I am now back at my own university for a senior year. My calendar is nice and full and resides happily in my dorm room next to a post card of a wax statue of Abe Lincoln and family from Springfield, Illinois, another midwestern town which is close to my heart despite the small detail that I've never been.
And while it has been a while and the blog and I lost touch briefly, I never stopped caring; I'm here for you blog, I'm right here.
Monday, July 13, 2009
the greater Silverlake area
Silverlake is the land of hipsters, to be sure. Bordered by Echo Park and Los Feliz, it's kinda near Dodger Stadium, surprisingly close to Downtown, and also a neighborhood with a heavy immigrant influence, particularly from Mexico. It's a diverse neighborhood, and for the most part not a flashy one. It's also one I'm growing fonder and fonder of. Not just because it's Hipsterville, U.S.A. (although this does mean there are some funky awesome little boutiques and some good people watching), but it's home to Beck (ok, not making a good non-hipster case yet), my favorite glasses shop, a fun and very legit weekly market, and it's got great street names.
I'm not really where exactly on the Los Feliz-Silverlake-Echo Park map the following places lie, but most of them are in Silverlake, if not close by.
That said, here are some of my new favorite places.
1. Gogosha Optique - run by a wonderful eyewear guru named Julia, the frames are pricey but creative, interesting, and hard if not impossible to find anywhere else. Their claim to fame, you walk in and instantly the sales clerk will find about a dozen frames that look good on you, but the two of you will work together to find the best match.
2. Little Dom's - while sometime I think they're called Major Dom's or they ought to serve Asian fusion, Little Dom's is in fact a good ol' fashion American restaurant with an old Hollywood glamour and a well-preserved charm. Not only that, the food is excellent. You can order a bowl of fruit as a side, but instead of your run of the mill cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, etc, they serve an eclectic and ever-changing mix of the best that's in season. When I went, the fruit bowl included fresh fig, apricot, and plum, among other things.
3. The Silverlake Farmer's Market - A good ol' fashion farmers market chock full of fresh produce and home made crafts, but with a twist, meaning avocado crepes and pure cane juice, handmade notebooks made from recycled paper (so recycled that there's still writing on the other side) made by Tyler Bender, and an organic coffee stand that serves a drink called "Global Warming" (Cafecito Organico). Granted, most of these vendors are also at the larger Hollywood Farmers Market, but I like Silverlake because it's smaller and more laid back (this may or may not be related to the pervasive smell of marijuana that lingers in the air).
4. The Echo - okay, so this one's definitely in Echo Park, not too far from the park itself, but its in the general region and it's a great concert venue. Small, but not too small, there's seating against the wall if you get too tired of standing, but they keep a pretty solid lineup running through there, so during concerts there isn't much need to sit.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
spotlight on Cleveland
The rumors are true, today's spotlight city is none other than Cleveland, Ohio.
However, contrary to popular belief, I am not actually in Cleveland at the present time.
So then why Cleveland? Let me explain:
But why did I hang a 2009 calendar in July?
The calendar was a gag gift from one of my uncles to my dad for my dad's birthday which was in May. My dad was both puzzled and unamused by the gift so after trying to pass it off to a cousin or two, the calendar fell into my possession and, as an enthusiast of the esoteric, I kept it. Then it sat around for about a month at which point I rediscovered it and, as calendars are always handy, I hung it up. This morning.
Coincidence #1 - I opened a random calendar at a random time to find the steamship of a man who will surely prove to be my long lost uncle.
Calendar in place, I went about my business. A few hours later I got a call from a friend who just so happened to be en route to Cleveland himself. (Coincidence #2) He is neither a resident, nor, at the time that we spoke, a fan of Ohio (pro - it's hillier than Indiana or Illinois, con - there are not enough rest stops on the highway; Ohio lost this round), but was on his way to see a friend. We decided that should I fail at life, the next logical course of action would be to fly to Cleveland, paint an S on the Steamship William G. Mather Maritime Museum and claim ownership.
Cleveland will be none the wiser.
I've named this particular friend as my traveling correspondent and he's promised me an exposé on Cleveland, but in the meantime, I leave you with these:
Thursday, July 9, 2009
lacma
Today I went to LACMA with my internship. It was wonderful, quick, but wonderful.
The most wonderful? Magritte's Ceci n'est pas une pipe, naturally ;)
Also, just saw this film, like it a lot, mostly for the conversation:
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