Ambitious Crafting

This could take into account my love for knitting and unnecessary bike customization...

Why isn't public transportation in LA popular?

Maybe I don't take it because having a car is convenient. But seeing that the MTA isn't exactly reaching out to my demographic makes me not feel so bad about driving myself around.

The Real Black Sheep

I think I wanted to be the Real Black Sheep from Chapelle's Show for Halloween so that I could sing this song like Dave Chappelle. One part that was holding me up was the hooves.

Now that LF has come out with these Tribute shoes, I may just be closer to making my dream come true.

Nature Falls

Look at this poor guy. He just wanted to hang out in a tree and got taken down. At least they put down an air mattress for him. Too bad it looks like he didn't land on it.

What I also love about one story, via the Daily News, is that one nearby resident says this was much more interesting than a Kevin Federline spotting at the grocery store. I mean, seeing KFed at Ralphs shouldn't be too much a of surprise. He has to get all of that food he's eating from somewhere, right?

Fauxchella

I like the idea of Coachella, but I'm not into hanging out with a huge crowd of people for days.

When I heard of "Fauxchella", I was sold. Coachella bands? Small venues? San Francisco? Yes, yes and yes.

The first night was Mayer Hawthorne and Passion Pit at the Warfield in the Civic Center. Wowsers. What a great show. The unfortunate thing we found out was that they seem to like to start shows pretty on time. I'm not used to that at all in LA. In fact, if you want to see a headliner and the show starts at 8, you might roll in around 10 and still be listening to opening acts. Not the case here. We got to the venue at maybe 9 and had already missed part or Mayer Hawthorne's set. Boo. Good thing I'd seen him in LA (Hermosa Beach of all places) last year. Passion Pit was off the hook. I was convinced the balcony was going to come down. Here's some pictures of the pretty lights!






The next night was The XX and Hot Chip at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Again, the show really started at 8. WTF? This scheduling is not made for people with jobs. Well, that is if you have to work past 5pm. There is no time for anything else. I couldn't really get any great pictures, as I felt the need to constantly hold my ground in the crowd, so you'll just have to imagine the beautiful theater.

Saturday was spent eating more at the farmers market, walking around by the Golden Gate Bridge, eating Bi-Rite ice cream and wondering how people can so blatantly smoke pot in public. I guess that's San Francisco. Oh, and dinner at Foreign Cinema? Awesome!

Hot Tub Time Machine

My friend Sarah celebrated her birthday in Mammoth this year. In true Hermosa Beach style, there was a theme and costumes. I searched far and wide for some vintage ski wear. Sarah's mom brought some out from Vermont that had been in the family. The way I speak about it, you might think it was some priceless heirloom stuff we were dealing with. And you'd be right! Avert your eyes if you don't like awesome.

Kahlua Pork in a Dive Bar

Have you ever stumbled upon something so unexpected and awesome, you can't believe it's real? I think most of what I post is pretty special to me. And maybe to you, too. That's why you're still reading.

I agreed to take my friend to the airport one day and said that he owed me a drink. Rather than make our way west, to the typical beach side bars, we decided to explore some of the other parts of the South Bay. Our goal was to find a bar that was as awesome as The Roadhouse (I'll write about this sometime soon).

Working in Torrance has always had its perks for me. I have found some really great Japanese restaurants that I now love and have found a borderline biker bar that I also now love. What I was really in search of was a Japanese dive bar. Thank goodness for the "discovery" of Donna's.

In addition to meeting my above criteria, we had happened upon Donna's during a birthday party. The celebrant was more than happy to share in some home made kahlua port, noodles, and a myriad of other delicious treats. She even insisted that I take a plate home.

It may be slightly disappointing to revisit Donna's knowing that there won't be such a spread the next time I go. But I know that the drinks will be well priced (and payable with poker chips). That just puts a smile on my face.