change.the.channel

camera. phone.

2011-10-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

wood camera iphone case. $42.

@photojojo

bless this mess

2011-10-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

bless cheers medium knitted gloves. $598

creatures of comfort

birds? tulips? leaves? chevrons?

2008-11-03T09:52:00.001-08:00

(via twinkle)

i rarely go ga-ga over jewely, most of it is just too blingy-slutty-gaudy for me. but this gold-plated sterling silver "lovebird necklace" from twinkle living is just divine.

2008-07-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

it is impossible to find a snowboard bag in a brick-and-mortar store on short notice in the middle of june in los angeles. if you must buy, give yourself enough time to buy online.

peeeeeeeeeece!

-c

apc summer sale

2008-06-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

lots of goodies for half off...
apc.fr

Day one continued. We...

2008-06-02T21:13:00.001-07:00

Day one continued. We saw some kite surfers towards the middle of the ride, maybe 20 or 30 miles in at a spot just before Santa Cruz. Also, count your lucky stars when your tent mate snores like a cat and not like a lumberjack. You will take far more pictures than you think you need or want or whatever(?) it take. So, bring extra batteries and memory. My bike is stored currently in the tattoo section. The bike parking people are gonna sell(?) the racks(?) by band names like Nirvana, Queen, The Beatles, National(?) Ballet(?), Blondie, Prince and several other well known organizations that produce music. So, they're really easy to remember and... listen

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Day one highlights:...

2008-06-02T21:07:00.001-07:00

Day one highlights: Sunday, June 1st, 2008, I met Speth(?), a ____ photographer from L.A., Korea(?) Town to be exact. This is her second AIDS(?) bicycle ride, and she's riding two hours faster compared to last year. I also met Robin, a Brit from LA, who's an actor/writer, and this is his first ride too. I saw some lovely rolling hills, farmland right next to the ocean, and cypress trees pretty close to San Fran. listen

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On day 1, there were...

2008-06-02T21:05:00.001-07:00

On day 1, there were 4 rest stops, some had badminton, others had bagpipes and all had massive lines to get food or use the porta-potty(?). Instead of riding at 7 A.M. and finished around 3 P.M. for 8 hours total of riding, I also met Eddy, member of Team Midnight Riders, who I haven't seen or met before because he hasn't been on many train rides. I also learned to pack only half of what you think you'll need and our Team Midnight Riders' jerseys are pretty awesome. You should stop at every restaurant and if you don't, you missed out on the best parts of the ride. listen

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Day 1, camp news is...

2008-06-02T21:01:00.001-07:00

Day 1, camp news is around 7:30pm each night and it's also an essential part of the ride. You get to listen to organizers of the ride talk about where the money is going, and also hear about what's coming up no the ride. You need to always get your tent set up as soon as possible, because Charoline(?) is a very long break(?) quickly, and investigate food options thoroughly. My sanguine pointed out some hidden chocolate nok(?), and that totally made my day. Bi-Tech is also your friend. I met mechanic Ami from San Francisco, and he's been a great help in making my bike rum properly. Also, ringing I have to for(?) sleeping to keep all the camp's lights on all night. And, if you need complete darkeness, you're out of luck. listen

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Continuing the post...

2008-06-01T22:09:00.001-07:00

Continuing the post for Sunday, June 1st, we started out in San Francisco at the Cow Palace and group of 2500 riders from all across the country and the globe. Started our 545 miles trek down to LA. We climbed a bunch of hills, came across a lot of supporters on the road and it was really inspiring to see everyone out to support us. We are in camp right now and 9:00 is bedtime. So, I'm gonna go to sleep. I hope you have a goodnight and I will pull(?) something in the morning. Bye. listen

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Hey everyone, this is...

2008-06-01T22:07:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, this is Kathy. I am on day 1 of the ALC Ride and we are in Santa Cruz. We rode 79 miles today and tomorrow we are going to King City and that it will be away 105-mile ride. We are waking up at 5 a.m., riding out at 6:30 a.m., and it will be really tiring. listen

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This is a test of Jott....

2008-05-29T18:05:00.001-07:00

This is a test of Jott. This is my first entry for the AIDS Life Cycle ride going from June 1st to June 7th. I'm running for 7 days, 545 miles. Going from San Fran to LA and I am excited and nervous and scared and psyched. listen

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food + fun + photos!

2008-05-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

photographing L.A. bike culture
saturday may 10th
7pm - midnight!
@ the bike oven
3706 n. figueroa st
los angeles, ca 90065
[map] - east of dodger stadium, a touch north of where the 5 hwy & 110 hwy intersect

vegan cookies + baked sweets + wine + beer + photos to help Team Midnight Ridazz raise funds for AIDS/LifeCycle7!

finally it's friday

2008-05-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

(the adorable work of thischicken, via cuteable)

i was feeling like the tubby little guy on the bottom right, it's been a long week. but then i realized, "it's the weekend!" and now i feel like the happy honey pot with the spoon in the top middle.

screenprinting party

2008-05-04T07:31:00.001-07:00

click HERE for more details...

day on the ride

2008-04-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

saturday april 19th, 2008 - 80 miles, 7 hours: south from santa monica down through manhattan beach, curl around the rancho palos verdes peninsula, and stop for lunch @ ...... park. then pedal past the port of los angeles (holla cruise ships!) and swing back north through carson and torrance, toward pizza (from CPK), energy drinks, & massages.

started the ride in a church parking lot across the street from bike attack in santa monica

so many bikes! 400 or so riders...

looking south toward palos verdes

nick, andrew, & wing chow down on a togo's sandwich + cookie + chips lunch @ ..... park

sitting in a sunny spot with my bike attack training crew

bummer, a flat! good thing we had 5 other bikers to help out...

+my ALC7 day on the ride flickr photoset

<3

2008-04-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

(via bndr-clthng)

do want

2008-04-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

(via fabsugar)

luxe little romper stomper by rogan for target - $39.99. the collection drops mid-may, and in barney's co-op a few days prior.

+full galleries @ fabsugar & rackedLA

pedal mashin' up malibu canyon

2008-04-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

(via modus eundi)

saturday's training ride took me up the pacific coast highway (PCH) to malibu and its gorgeous canyons and constant winding twisting climbs. PCH is, for much of what we rode, a three-lane highway with a few feet of sandy/gravelly shoulder where bikers can risk a commute. cars zoomed past at 40-50 mph and several times we had to signal to traffic coming up behind us to merge into an actual lane and avoid a particularly rocky stretch or road or an inconveniently placed concrete barrier. and hope to goodness that they saw us. it helped that we had about 50 people in the group, but we were spread out over a mile or two.

once we got up to malibu canyon road, we had our first pit stop at a starbucks. so far, most of the PCH portion of the ride had been a gradual, but still taxing, uphill. after the pit stop, we headed up a short steep climb that made me wish i had a triple chainring instead of a double. even at the lowest easiest gear, i was having trouble keeping up my rpms. after that climb, it was a relief to glide downhill through malibu creek state park for a bit, albeit with a couple hundred foot drop to our right.

we then rode through malibu going inland, and it was a pretty grueling 15 miles of rolling hills, sweat, and pre-summer heat. our second pit stop was an small old grocery store and then we zoomed down a narrow two-laner to PCH. had a minor scare with a speeding mustang that blew past a little too close for comfort, but i managed to stay upright.

it's not a ride i would do alone, but it was scenic, sometimes shaded, and a nice respite from the weekday stress of darting in and out of rush hour traffic. met a new friend, jennifer, a strong girl biker who's done the ALC once before, and got to hang out with my ALC buds fay, nick, andrew, tony, flavio, and wing.

the ALC ride calendar said 65 miles, the ride leader said 45 miles, most everybody's bike computers said about 40 miles in 4 hours.

chickencamp

2008-04-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

thursday evening's cubcamp route took us east to westwood where we met up with nicole & michelle at popeye's, our first fried chicken checkpoint. we continued on to hollywood where we camped outside roscoe's house of chicken & waffles for a greasy late night snack. lots of blinged out kids were inside, as well as a substantial amount of film equipment - a makeshift "no photography"sign caught our attention and a crew member strolling past informed us that "baldwin hills" had just wrapped up a shoot. i had a dry breast and a pretty tasty waffle. not the best fried chicken i've ever had, but it's got a good rep, so i'll have to come back and try a drumstick or a thigh.

our bellies full to bursting, we headed south to culver city's honey's kettle and on the way back up to santa monica, checked a kfc off our list.

approx 33 mile ride. got home at 1am, showered, asleep at 1:30am. damn you cubcamp kids keep me up too late! gettin too old for this...*grumble grumble*

frustrating oxymorons...

2008-04-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

"original copies"

buh!

imperial weekend

2008-04-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

(san gabriel "river" bike path)

spent another saturday on the bike. we started out at the bike kitchen with 13 people - gary, liz, johanna, lance, steph, san diego drew, no-helmet drew, john, craig, jared, richard, derek, and me.

we met up at 9:30am under a grey sky, and the imperial century rolled out a little before 10.

cruised through downtown, then past some spread out factories & a giant produce market housed in a run down outdoor plaza. on the way down to long beach via the bike path, i tried riding in a pace line for the first time - stay 6 inches behind and 6 inches to the left or right of the rear wheel of the bike in front of you. looks rather impressive when your team swoops around curves and dips under highway overpasses (despite the fact that we won't be allowed to pace line on the ALC). =D

stopped @ bixby carpet in long beach for our first pit stop.

(craig sitting and drew splayed)

emptied our bladders then refilled our water bottles. danny had fresh peanut butter + jelly + banana sandwiches prepped for us as well as whole bananas and orange slices. while we restocked on carbs, danny let us try on some sample jerseys (hooray women-specific sizing!)...as well as the dead sexy official ALC jersey for team MR:

(derek & danny)

refreshed, we hopped back on the bikes and headed north on the san gabriel river (concrete basin) bike path. there were stables lining the path, some gated with intricate equine metalwork and others with plain oversized horseshoes. modern day cowboys cantered past us every so often; the dichotomy of our iron (and steel and aluminum and carbon) horses mingling with the real thing put a grin on my face.

after about 8 miles along the "river", jared started having pedal issues due to a pre-ride cross-threading, so he had to bail and we were down to 12 riders. we turned right on whittier blvd and coasted through a bit of suburbia. at one intersection, a car honked and lunged at a cyclist that didn't see the light change, but nobody was hurt. we turned left onto colima road and started up the 1st of its 3 massive climbs. it took us a good two hours to get past colima's hills and finally we were at the halfway point - schabarum park.

it was around 4pm when we sprawled out on the park's open grass and ravaged meghan's delicious dill potato salad, pb&j sandwiches, almonds, bananas, and oranges.

(foreground: lance's mohawk + no-helmet drew's non-helmeted head)
(background: liz catches up on her potassium intake + rich loves food + john digs in for more + derek is happy)

she also distributed gary's beautiful spoke cards (a colorful composite image printed on transparency and then laminated - brilliant!).

(a fabulous spoke card created by gary7)

we chilled for about half an hour, then got moving after spotting a menacing cloud to the north - exactly where we were headed. gary caught a ride home with meghan since he had a 100 degree fever and a severely upset stomach, both of which he was dealing with from the very start.

with no route slip to warn me of what was to come, i had no clue that the next 10 miles would loop through a mountain range. after that, we went west on colima (the climbs were just as painful in reverse) and back into whittier. sweat, sweat, and more sweat. watching the sun set, we continued on whittier until we hit east LA. it was dark by the time we arrived back in the flatlands and before turning right on eastern ave, we had a delay of about half an hour while we waited for a few riders to catch up. a bossy bus had squeezed no-helmet drew to the curb and the driver got off to drop a few choice words.

the sun had barely come out all day, and the high topped out around 60 degrees, so the last few miles through downtown to the bike kitchen was a chilly full-out sprint. and unexpectedly hilly. i was trying to decide whether to pass out or vomit, but there was no time for either. it wasn't for lack of food. i was sick of eating, chewing had become a chore - i had consumed 3 bottles of gatorade, 4 bananas, 3 clif bars, 3 gu shots, and one candy bar over the course of the day. my body was just ready to put a halt to the maniacal pedaling.

we whipped up cesar chavez ave to sunset blvd, past the hubbub of blek le rat's gallery opening at shephard fairey's brand spanking new subliminal projects, and suddenly, sublimely, finally, we were there, back on heliotrope street and slowing down into the hungry saturday night crowd waiting to eat at (http://www.yelp.com/biz_link?biz_id=RgxinOHQdwcN3tM27lMg9Q">pure luck. it was 8pm.

10 hours out. about 8 hours actually spent on the bike. 101.98 miles conquered. i've never been so tired in my life.

(dusk @ whittier & eastern aves)

http://tinyurl.com/5m275n - gary's route slip - 101.98 miles

+my flickr set for the imperial century

..................

and then i did a few more miles on sunday in the name of shopping & 75% off sales:

http://tinyurl.com/57n2cf - sunday's ride to melrose with feaver - 17.77 miles

on melrose - c + f (via feaverish)

product development ninja

2008-04-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

e.thirteen is proud to welcome product development engineer, Kristopher Wehage, to the team. Kris brings three and a half years of high end bicycle component design and engineering experience and a passion for bicycle riding and industrial design.
...
Having proven his design and engineering merits at FSA, Kris will work with e.thirteen founder and technical director Dave Weagle to develop a new line of cycling products. Dave had this to say about e.thirteen's newest team member, "I've admired Kris's ability to pick apart complex problems and visualize innovative solutions since we first met. Being that e.thirteen is such a tiny company, it's so important that we all work well together, and his laid back personality and ninja-like design skills, mixed with the fact that he rides his bike a load of miles each week make him a perfect fit for our team. We're really excited to have him on board!"

more...

hot damn, front (web)page news! congrats kris, e.thirteen is lucky to have you.

my first century

2008-04-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

woke up at 5am on saturday, the fantastic bf treated me like a starved princess with a breakfast of sausage, eggs, pancakes, oj, oranges, tater tots, AND an apple-berry-banana-yogurt smoothie. thanked the bikey gods that the night before, i had already checked my tire pressure, cleaned my chain, and prepped my riding gear, then bolted out the door, just barely remembering to fill up the camelbak, slather on some sunscreen (50 spf!), and smooch the chef. picked up jen around 6:15 and after a quick hit to our favoritest friendliest coffee bean, we were on our way to santa clarita for the paul hulse / positive pedalers annual century bike ride.

cooooooold

the ride met up at 7am, with a (hopeful) rideout at 7:30am, but with 170 bikers to check in, an opening speech, and stretches, the head of the pack didn't set out until 8:15.

i would've been right up there with them...if not for the fact that my helmet was still sitting in my car as i attempted to ride out.

there were rest stops every 15-20 miles and the miles melted away as we sped west on highway 126, avoiding snakes, rogue tire tread, shattered glass, and chunks of plywood. we stopped in piru, a small town with "u scream ice cream" for a refill on bananas and oranges. then we pushed onward, past fragrant honeysuckle-sweet orange groves, and reluctantly declined to partake in honey-tasting rooms and 25 cent avocados.

todd & me & jen

(yummy honey via steve-o)

todd, who jen had ridden with before on a shifting gears training ride, got a flat right before lunch, but he got it fixed super fast and even found cause of his troubles (4 flats in 5 weeks!) - a tiny sharp quarter-inch skinny sliver of metal.

jen & todd have got it under control

i was surprised when we hit the halfway point of the ride, ventura & the beach. we'd ridden 50 miles more quickly than i expected, and after a quick lunch of a 6-inch turkey subway sub, strawberries, bananas, and cheetos, we hopped back on the bikes.

jen & ginger brewlay & me

steve-o is ready to ride

the sun was out all day, but it never got truly hot and i kept my long-sleeved jersey on for the whole ride. my shorts came off quite often though...at each rest stop for another complimentary dose of chamois butter. i've never tried the stuff before (hooray free samples!) and was honestly pretty grossed out that it even exists. bikers go commando when they wear padded shorts, and the "butter" is slathered in heaping quantities directly on the inside of the shorts...which means it definitely gets in your nooks and crannies. verdict: i approve, the stuff is vital for long distance rides. granted, i was wearing a brand spankin new pair of ultra d shebeest shorts, but it does help keep things fresh down there.

win @ the 2nd to last rest stop...only 35 miles to go!

the route from ventura back to santa clarita pretty much mirrored the morning trek, just with a touch more city riding. i was going strong up until the last 10 miles or so. my legs just gave up and i'm sure if i wasn't riding clipless pedals, they would've been flailing about a bit. we also got to see six flags magic mountain from the back (too tired at that point to stop and take pics!).

i survived. it was 4pm. we'd been out for 8 hours; 6 of those hours were actual ride time. and contrary to the route slip, 104.62 miles was our actual mileage.

next year i'm doing it on a mountain bike.

um.........not!

+the rest of my pics from the ride
+a sweet set from steve-o
+lots of pedalers on paul's flickr account

gutsy gaiman gal

2008-03-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

coming to a theater near you feb 9th, 2009...

just finished reading "coraline" by neil gaiman last night. make sure you set aside a couple hours to zip through this (technically) children's book (under 200 pages, huge font, lots of white space & illustrations) before 2009 rolls around. really satisfying (and rather creepy) read...can't wait to see it in 3D stop motion!

+short bonus clip

masterpiece mukluks

2008-03-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

(via feaverish)

fantastic sharpie work by tania, she prettied up these emerica slip ons, spending less than 20 minutes on each shoe! jaws were dropped all around at craftonite...

so fresh and so clean

2008-03-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

(all images courtesy of gary k)

10(?) dirty bikes
+ simple green
+ bike lust
+ 4 hrs of sunny springy saturday
+ buckets of sweat
+ hot dogs
+ homemade cookies
+ cactus cooler

= $190 raised for ALC7 + precious rainbow-colored memories

tour de pain-in-the-butt peninsula

2008-03-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

(via zerieusa)

i met up with a fellow team midnight ridaa meghan around 8am saturday and we streamed out of the bike attack parking lot not long after that. it looked like it was going to be a gorgeous day. clear skies and sunny. we rode south toward the surf-towns and volleyball nets of manhattan, hermosa, and redondo beaches. less than 5 miles into the ride though, my friend flavio had some front derailleur difficulties and had to bail.

i've taken the tour south a few times now, but saturday's ride had some slight (ride lengthening) changes on the route slip, i knew we were still in for some serious climbing. there are lots of different steeply-graded ways to make your legs burn in palos verdes, and this route was a calf-sculptor. we made a pit stop at the forev'r-mobbed-by-spandexed-cyclists malaga cove market, lined up for their meat locker bathroom, and continued on our way. instead of climbing a fairly straight-forward 4-ish miles up hawthorne to get to the top, we kind of wound our way around the mountain, hitting palos verdes north, east, south AND west. this meant lots of up and down, false crests, and staying on your bike meant recovering quickly after a climb, only to do another one right away. so the ups were shorter, and probably less steep than hawthorne, but the ride seemed never-ending.

on the way back, we passed by wayfarer's chapel, a unique glass church designed by lloyd wright (frank lloyd wright's son). i only saw it partially from the road, and nearly missed it, since my eyes were busy bugging out at the clear view of catalina island and the development-shrouded cliffs below us. did you know lloyd also designed some prior versions of the hollywood bowl? i'd say good design sense is hereditary. definitely. =)

about 30 miles into the ride, the wind started picking up and it soon felt like we were moving in slow motion even on the steepest downhills. last week we dealt with fog & mist & rain...this week it was WIND! 20+ mph gusts, enough to blow you sideways and sandblast beach bits into your legs.

this 60 mile ride was my longest yet, and my knees started hurting during the last half of it. time to pick up some clipless pedals!

RAWR FRIDAY!

2008-02-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

(via ebay)

i heart rogues gallery. they need to make more girl stuffs though.

off to mammoth mountain for a week of pain and suffering in the biting wind & freezing snow, with my efforts culminating in rock hard thighs, snowboard-dented shins, and tender purple buttocks.

like, OMG, to the valley & back

2008-02-26T10:02:00.000-08:00

a camera with more megapixel power would've weighed too much, and derailed my plans to climb 8 miles of sepulveda blvd. hence the crappy camera phone shot @ whole foods seen above...

the chilly saturday morning ride started off @ 8am @ bike attack, the temp hovering in the low 50s but almost no wind. amy, one of our ride leaders, gave us the lowdown on the route - through westwood via sepulveda, then up and over the hump into the valley. you've probably driven this route if you've gone north on the 405 toward sherman oaks. yup that's a slow steep climb, even in a car. and yup, we conquered that shiz on our bikes! after we dropped into the valley, we would make a pit stop at a whole foods, then back over sepulveda, through culver city to head west on the ballona creek bike path, which runs alongside the glorious LA river (er, barely wet concrete basin).

erin performed an invigorating bike safety RAP (an amazing sight & sound to behold, truly), led us in a few stretches, and then we were off!

we exited santa monica via ocean ave and hit nearly all the lights. that "come to a complete stop and touch your toe to the ground" policy can be tiring and annoying, but it's best to play it safe when two-ton cars are a potentially life-threatening hazard. also, you can get kicked off the ALC if you don't do the full stop-touch at stop signs on the ride in june! they're watching youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...

i tried sepulveda a few months earlier on a midnight ridazz cubcamp ride. that attempt was at night. in 30 degree temps. and after a full day of work. so i only made it halfway up sepulveda that night, before turning around with numb fingers and toes.

this time i focused my attention on the spinning wheel of the rider directly in front of me and pedaled until i felt the ground level out. daylight helped. temps in the upper 50s helped too. but i do feel stronger than i did on the cubcamp crap-out. after the sepulveda grind, ride leader heather led nguyen, steve, sandy, tony and i back to the beach via the ballona creek bike path at a chill pace, and we were back at bike attack before i knew it.

total riding time: 4 hours
total distance: 38.7 miles

time for a parturiency nascency party

2008-02-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

The vast tomes of history will soon bear your name, which would be flattering, if it didn't come up every time the black plague was mentioned.
Prepare yourself for a year of incredible achievement and success. Do this by ignoring the first 11 months, three weeks, and four days.

rich people to wardrobe...stat!

2008-02-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

(via nytimes)

i can't wait till wall street forgets about wearing those silly monkey suits and adopts the jumpsuit as its accepted uniform (standing guy on the left, $1395). very affordable for that tax bracket. good for biking too, no risk of muffin-top or plumber's crack.

the bright turquoise tie, however, will need some time to overcome the traditional tiny golfers and tiny boats.

1/2 white, 1/2 pink

2008-02-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

(via nymag)

i don't especially love his design work, but i dig his philosophy about identity:

"do what turns you on."

holla westsiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

2008-02-22T06:57:00.000-08:00

(via nytimes)

there's an informative article on my new hometown in today's new york times...here are some highlights:

+the ferris wheel @ the pier is out of commission from may 5th to may 22nd. plan your saccharine-sweet marriage proposals accordingly.

+the galley, a surf&turf "restaurant with a heart" on main street, opened in 1934 and is santa monica's oldest restaurant. have not been. yelpers gave it 3.5 stars out of 5.

+lots of frank gehry work in SM. when you come drop dollars @ the pier, take a detour eastward to 22nd & washington to check out his quirky symbiotic steel-glass-greenery-wood pad.

+adelaide drive in northern SM is another hot spot for touristing architects.

some insider tips from me:

+if you're looking for late night grub, your best non-dennys-ihop option is swingers. great chai, tasty choco-banana milkshake, loaded vegan blue corn nachos (don't forget to add soy chorizo).

+the beach path that starts in SM goes all the way down to hermosa beach, great for a couple miles of running on the sand or swerving your bike around roller-bladers. you'll pass through venice (spur of the moment tattoos!), el segundo beach (stinky + trailers + fire pits), redondo beach (volleyball nets!), & manhattan beach (surfer boys).

+the SM public library is a gorgeous building that loans out cds and dvds (5/week!), hosts family-friendly movie screenings, and has a peaceful enclosed open-air courtyard where you can snag a quick sandwich or espresso. if you've got zilch vacation time left to come out west, their image archives also offer up some amazing photos (see below) from 1875 to present day.

Shoo Fly Landing built in 1875, destroyed in 1879 - E.G. Morrison

Ocean Avenue and Adelaide Drive, after 1900 - Security First National Bank Collection

Ferris wheel, Pacific Park an amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier opened in 1996. Photographed 2001 by Cynni Murphy

where i go, 4 or 5 bikes follow immediately

2008-02-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

(via nytimes)

here's a fun (albeit tad dated) tale of apt hunting in nyc with ethan benton of laek house:

"He spent nearly six years in an East Village apartment shared with three roommates, where his bedroom measured 7 feet by 9 feet. Beneath his loft bed, he crammed several bicycles, assorted bicycle parts, a dresser, a computer and supplies for his business, Laek House (pronounced Lake), which makes reflective clothing for bicyclists."

i've got a titch more living space in LA than i did in NYC, but i should still learn how to build myself a loft bed. nothing like a haggle of velos to keep the monsters at night. my bike stable headtube count is only at 3, but craigslist and her tempting fixer-upper-fixie rock-bottom deals are so irresistible...

+ some of his lovely & reasonably priced work:

school of bunnyfish @ gr2

2008-02-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

cruddy camera phone pix...but i couldn't not take a photo of those comical bunnyfish buckteeth; installed at gr2 from 1/19 to 2/13.

see more kozyndan cuddles on flickr...

attackin' the beaches with bike attack

2008-02-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

(view from the top of rancho palos verdes, via magic_man)

i rode the "santa monica: climb to the top of palos verdes!" 50 mile trek on saturday morning with the bike attack training crew. breakfast was a "banilla" power smoothie from trader joe's (delicious!) and a peanut butter luna bar. david bain (the ride leader) went over some basic rules of the road, and i got to meet drew (cute cat stickers on her sweet specialized allez - soma everwear tires woot!), deborah, tony (the tiger, this will be his 5th ALC), reuben (ruby!), dave (this will be his 2nd ALC), and nguyen (also his 1st ALC!). david has been involved with ALC for 10 years! truly inspiring. my friend flavio was also on the ride - he always ends the ride with a crazy sprint and this one was no exception. he's also got a goal of riding 150 miles PER WEEK. i've definitely got some work to do on my mileage.

there were at least 20 people that gathered at bike attack that morn, but it soon split into two groups: the sprinters and the sane people. i chose to follow the sprinters and got quite a workout - for the first 20 miles we had an average speed of 17 mph! starting off in santa monica, we headed down main street toward venice, then onto the beach bike path toward el segundo and manhattan beach. the first pit stop was after a steep half-mile hill climb in palos verdes, at malaga cove plaza, a little shopping area where nguyen bought a delicious-looking breakfast burrito loaded with avocado, tomatoes, cheese, and egg. i polished off cran-razberry clif blox i brought along and hoped they would give me enough energy to complete the 2nd half of the ride.

the next 4 miles (and half hour) of the ride involveed a torturous climb up hawthorne boulevard. looking at this twisting winding monster from the bottom, i wondered if maybe i should have stuck with the sane people. fortunately, the guys in my pack maintained a steady and reasonable pace. i kept my eyes glued to flavio's back wheel and concentrated on my pedal strokes. finally we saw valero gas station on the left and swung into the parking lot to get our lungs back.

i was down to "red"-flavored gatorade and water at that point, so when reuben offered up some of his lightly salted kettle chips, i scarfed them right up. with most of the climbing done, was cruised down silver sput and palos verdes boulevard. i almost prefer climbing endlessly to bombing down a huge downhill - too many imagined bike crash situations running through my head. after my dislocated shoulder in january, i've gotten a little speed-shy. there were no technicals or mechanicals on this ride though, amazingly enough, and after we started coming back up to hermosa and manhattan beach, we were in the home stretch.

flavio pulled away right before we hit the beach bike path, and that was the last i saw of him for the day. every red light on main street (or rather, the start/stopping) worked my calves to the max and with all my energy bars burned off from the huge climbs, i started lusting after chocolate sundaes and inch-thick steaks drowning in A1. and finally, we were back at bike attack. our pack had gotten spread out over the last few miles of the ride, so i said ciao to tony & dave (driving back to long beach), and headed back home.

got a hint of a calf cramp on the ride home, and my right knee was acting up a little bit, so i definitely need to bring more food (bananas!) next time, and also get a clipless pedals/ shoes setup. i'm still riding in cages & vans, which isn't all that bad. it actually makes stopping at stop signs and red lights a little easier, but yeah, a clipless setup will transfer my pedal strokes a lot more efficiently. holding my breath till payday...

auntie anne's pretzels 20th bday

2008-01-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

ah mall food, how i miss you. haven't had one of these in years, but just the mention of auntie anne's gets my mouth watering for their sugary buttery doughy deliciously heart-attack-prompting confections...

come june my ass will be ahurtin'

2008-01-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

come out to the AIDS/LifeCycle 7 kickoff party! sign up for the ALC7 and get $20 knocked off your $75 registration fee. come to register, and stay for the snacks & raffle (6 bikes will be given away!!!) & giddy goofy warm welcoming smiles from your fellow bikers!

date: saturday january 19th, 1pm-4pm
where: the sheraton gateway hotel, 6101 w. century blvd, los angeles, ca 90045
parking: located behind the hotel for $11
(or you could just bike there and park for free!)

back in october, i signed up for the ALC7 ride. that means on june 1-7, i will be road biking 545 miles from san francisco to los angeles. i've never done a charity ride OR a super duper long distance ride before, so i'm a tad scared. the longest mtn ride i've done is about 30 miles (thanksgiving), my longest road ride is about 44 miles (training ride with shifting gears). it'll test my endurance, and hopefully give a supportive nudge of awareness, knowledge, and support to the 60,000+ people living with AIDS in california, male and female, young and old, straight AND gay. there are an overwhelming 33.3 million people living with AIDS worldwide, so every little bit helps. the public isn't in a panic about AIDS anymore, but it's still out there.

be safe and be compassionate.

the ALC7 ride will entail riding between 40 and 80 miles every day for a WEEK! i have a ways to go training-wise, as well as fundraising-wise. yep, in addition to biking for a week straight, i need to raise $2500 to legitimately call myself a part of ALC7. evil magnanimous wheel-licious helper bunnies. so click one of the links below and throw me that rumpled dollar that went through the wash a few times and barely looks like currency anymore. i'll be good to it. all the crumply dolla dolla bills say so. wish me luxxx...

my ALC7 homepage: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/5641
team midnight ridazz: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/105

battleship island

2007-12-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

(via seattle's slog)

nope, not a city post-earthquake or other natural disaster - it's a photo of a street on gunkanjima, a deserted island off the coast of japan. and probably the most impressive thing i've seen on the internets this week. (even if it did already make the rounds almost two years ago...er....make that three!)

+more contemplative images of the abandoned island from photographer yuji saiga

do. not. want.

2007-11-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

i love that these are "limited edition". and $250 retail.

special blend + LRG = blarfy blinding brand collaboration pants

(via whiskeymilitia.com aka the addictive woot-style last-chance clearance sale item blow-out subsidiary of backcountryoutlet.com)

thanksgiving in two acts

2007-11-30T10:36:00.000-08:00

act 1:

act 2:

(click the pic to check out tania's tasty thanksgiving 2007 flickr set)

"call me, crazy"

2007-11-30T10:15:00.000-08:00

got addicted to barista brat's blog this week. i can't get enough of her succinct & saucy stories about clueless (trust-fund-kid) customers, an 8-yr old "milk connoisseur", and spiteful horny co-baristas.

i'm reading all her entries, stretching back to march 2006, and to celebrate (ameliorate?) the advent of yet another gloriously stressful family-reunion-packed december, here is one of my favorite posts:

++++++++++++++++++

Friday, December 08, 2006
(excerpted from http://baristabrat.blogspot.com)
call me, crazy

for the past four days my bux has been bombarded with prank phone calls. for whatever reason, some person is getting their jollies by calling my bux and asking ridiculous questions.

"what color is your atmosphere?" a heavily accented voice asked when my perky assistant manager answered the phone.
"excuse me?" perky assistant manager wasn't sure if she heard him correctly.
"what color is your atmosphere?" he asked again
"i'm sorry but i think you have the wrong number."
"WHAT. COLOR. IS. YOUR. ATMOSPHERE." he screamed at her.
"i'm hanging up now," perky assistant manager said before ending the call.

an hour later the phone rang again and this time i answered.
"how old is the glass?" asked the accented voice that i assumed had called earlier.
"four hundred thirty-two." i informed him and hung up.
apparently my method worked because he didn't call back for the rest of the night.
the next night, however, he was back to his old tricks. he called so many times that perky assistant manager told me she had to leave the phone off the hook.

last night when he called my barista buddy was the lucky person to pick up the phone.
"how cold is the toilet?" mr. prank asked.
"how old is the toilet?" barista buddy asked, deciding to play along with mr. prank.
"how cold is the toilet?" mr. prank repeated.
"how bold is the toilet?"
"HOW. COLD. IS. THE. TOILET."
"how gold is the toilet?" barista buddy was laughing now.
"you stupid bitch man! i get knife and i will cut!" mr. prank threatened, but barista buddy just hung up on him and turned the ringer off.

so tonight when i answered the phone and heard "what airplane is inside?" i responded with an "operator, this is the call we want traced. how soon will the police be there?".
amazingly mr. prank was the one to hang up and didn't call back for the rest of the night. we'll see if he wants to ask us more questions tomorrow.

++++++++++++++++++

shivering in seattle

2007-11-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

cold. windy. wet. muddy. perfect.

i spent a weekend with my friend kris up in seattle a few weeks ago. they're currently in their rainy half of the year and it gave my coddled always-sunny-in-santa-monica butt a wake-up call. i didn't see the sun all weekend, but that hardly put a damper on the fun we had on the squishy trails. it helped that i had a deliciously squishy dual-suspension transition bike to match the terrain.

after picking up my xs sexy metallic teal beast at dropnzone in ferndale, we hit up the south side of galbraith mountain, and tented it that evening in a $19/night bellingham campground. the next morning, with mud still between our toes, we rode up the north side of the mountain and hit builder bob's trail, sst, 911, intestine, shawn's trail, and a zillion others i forget the names of.

sweet bike-fork-bike-rack @ dropnzone:

on your mark...

2007-11-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

on sunday november 4th, after a 5 year hiatus, i biked in my first mountain xc race since college - the mt sac fall fat tire classic. in short, it was painful. and sweaty. and excruciating. and exhilarating. i convinced jen to race in the sport class with me (18 miles: 3 6-mile loops) - HUGE props to her, doing so in her first mountain bike race EVER.

my first race in 5 years started off like this...

...albeit with a few more people at the start.

it ended like this:

we didn't score any of these sweet trophies

but the race organizers were merciful enough to bestow upon us a medal (woo 4th place for me!) and a ribbon (woo 5th place for jen!).

jen also won some sweet raffle prizes: biking shoes + socks from incycle.

the results:

looks like i've got some training to do. outta the way!!!!!!!!!

you crafty motherf***er

2007-11-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

i'm helping ms. elana out with her rosebud design studio table @ this saturday's holiday gift bazaar and hawkin budgies with the craftonite peeps @ felt club on sunday. please do come out and say hello! i promise you won't be able to say no to adopting one of craftonite's cute as a button budgie buddies...

santa monica holiday gift bazaar
* sat nov 17th, 11am-4pm
* http://www.holidaygiftbazaar.com/
* @1512 16th St, Santa Monica, CA
* free admission

felt club
* sun nov 18th, 11am-6pm
* http://www.feltclub.com/infoHoliday.php
* @ LA Community College, 855 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA
* $5 admission ~ it's bigger & funkier & outdoors!

2007-11-14T13:52:00.001-08:00

bummed.

new boots...or new bike...

2007-11-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

(via apc)

$686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686 $686

free show on sat 11/10/07 @ the roxy!!!

2007-11-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

++++++++++++++++++

Hi!

Through methods that we don't entirely understand but are glad to inform you of, you can now RSVP to come to our show at the Roxy in Los Angeles for free! Here's the link:

http://losangeles.going.com/invite-13700

Sign up! Bring your friends! Get a flip!

Also, although the LA show is all ages, we want to apologize about the upcoming shows that are 21+ (Portland, Visalia, Tucson, San Diego and Albuquerque). We realize how disappointing it is for those of you unable to attend these shows...we do make an effort to play all ages shows whenever possible, but for a staggering variety of reasons (legal, logistical and otherwise) we can't always make it happen. We promise to try even harder next tour, and most sincerely apologize to anybody who can't make it this time around. We'll see each other soon enough! Yes!

Keep it trill.

Yr pals,

Octopus Project!

++++++++++++++++++

...give their tunes a listen & get more details @ the octopus project's myspace page...

bike joy

2007-11-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

(via janvonholleben.com)

+instant advertising borne of jan's exquisite photogs
+more ads relying entirely on his work. copywriter? what copywriter? we don't need no stinkin copywriters.
+background on jan's dreams of flying collection

morning papers

2007-11-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

distressing bicyclist death

entertaining take on the customary two-week notice

inspiring bike-friendly city

i <3 xkcd

2007-10-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

(via xkcd.com)

i'm extremely late to the gnarly awesome hilarious gut-busting shit-kickin' webcomics party that is xkcd. but i laughed too hard and loved this one too much not to use it to add a bit of stick-figure sparkle to your day.

pig zen

2007-10-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

HAND-PAINTED EIGHT-INCH CERAMIC PIG, BY GEORGE CHANG FOR AUTO, $125
(via nytimes.com)

"People apparently collect sleeping pigs. It’s a nice little object and a conversation piece that is cool and soothing at the same time." Renata Bokalo - Auto, New York

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

loved visiting auto while i lived in nyc. located in lower manhattan, they hold an amazing annual "backyard" sale every april, usually the 1st weekend of the month. they specialize in distinctive and pricey (but not uppity) home goods and select pieces of furniture, but i snagged some lovely screen printed tees out of the bargain bin for $20 apiece. one was a white on black study of cursive lettering and the other, a pink on gray messy grid of new courier overlay. my favorite t-shirts, hands down. i can't recall the name of the designer, but i have not spotted graphics quite as nice anywhere else.

+ lucky mag review of auto
+ auto boutique - meatpacking district of nyc

ruff rydaz...mount up!

2007-10-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

(via garyse7en)

i somehow managed 32 miles last night @ cubcamp: the movie - week 2. i iz TIRED. we rode from 9:30pm - 12:30am. surfer statues, near-death experiences, booze, rice krispie treats, fixie obstacle courses, sharkees sluts, pier stink, maniacal jumping, and sweaty jeans were involved.

the route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1414908

shout outs to spook, markus, aaron, liz, joey, steve, eric, brendan, doug, jack, and the 2-3 fixie fiends upon whom i neglected to impose my presence.

bikes + lights + bunnyfish = happy friday

2007-10-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

+ "when the moon is not enough" --> lights for your bikes! (via nytimes.com)

+ "bike dislike" --> a write up about santa monica critical mass, with a focus on the october 5th ride. 200+ folks showed up, but we could always use more. see you @ the november 2nd rambling ruckus. (via latimes.com)

+ kozyndan livejournal --> they live in santa monica! they paint pearl divers & bunnies with fins & octopi & platypi! tune in for glorious stories about japan, australia, and other places i have yet to visit...

201st post!

2007-10-24T10:04:00.001-07:00

(via the uber-hilarious marriedtothesea.com)

fat tire fest 2007

2007-10-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

the morning started out chilly and foggy. driving up malibu canyon road was a real treat, with clouds weaving in and out of the canyon. got there about 7:45am, but there was already a long line of cars trying to get into the park.

it looked like most people opted to come from the north. i came from the south and was able to take a left into the park, bypassing (can i have a backsies cut?) much of the line. temp hovered in the 60s but warmed up to at least 75 by noon. there were hundreds of bikers there...and with all the vendors that attended, probably twice as many bikes!

the beginner and advanced (led by jamis pro rider kathy pruitt) cross country rides took off around 8:30am, and you also had the option to do self-guided poker rides on the many trails that criss cross in malibu creek state park. the poker ride consists of riding to different volunteer-manned stations at the end of various trails, and drawing a card for your "hand". the best hands got ranked and the top 10 hands all won prizes!

i test rode a plush full-suspension bionicon edison on my semi-guided (thanks luke!) poker ride and loved it. i've been riding a hardtail for far too long. though it's probably in my best interests NOT to splurge on this $2700 beast...note my dangerously spectacular wheelie skills...

after the poker ride (and a quick minorly traumatic rope swing over the malibu creek dam), we headed over to return the beloved bionicons, and luke picked up a fresh niner to demo. i signed up for the hill climb with the cynergy cycles folks and received my lucky (birthday) race number...26! the luck didn't help me power up the hill very quickly, but it come in handy later on in the fest...my time was nowhere near the 1 minute 45 seconds it took the 1st place womens winner to get to the top of the hill. the mens winner did it in about 1 minute and 1 second and the winner of the youth division did it in about 2 minutes and 5 seconds.

while i was pedaling furiously up a small mountain, the mountain bike skills clinic, log pull contest, and wheelie contest were getting into gear. here are some great pics by kanga to show you the fun i missed:

i also snagged some shots of klunkerz director, billy savage, kicking ass in the wheelie contest on a genuine old-school klunker...promoting his wares simultaneously! if you haven't heard about it yet, klunkerz is a documentary about how mountain biking got its start in the u.s. they're holding screenings all around the country, so go check out the site and find out when it's playing near you.

then it was lunch time - you had a choice or veggie pasta or tacos. i opted for the carniverous mexican option and gorged myself on the always-tasty combination of rice + beans + cheese + cow. paired with a 2 below winter ale, a fat tire amber ale, and a giant hunk of heavily frosted birthday cake, the meal was complete.

in addition to the tons of free stickers, head badges, water bottles, clif bars, being given away at the FTF, and cheap $10 tires from specialized ($58 retail!), there was a huge raffle with prizes like complete bikes, bike frames, messenger bags, bulk quantities of drink powder and energy bars, and repair stands...and i won an ultimate support bike repair stand yay! it's not a brand new complete full-suspension bike but i'll make do. =)

shout outs to luke, jen, andi, marizel, greg, louisa, laurie, gary, jim, peter, lisa, curtis, paul, and rudy! so good to see everyone out & about.

+my pics from FTF @ flickr
+some great shots by otb mtn biking club rider kanga @ smugmug

...and if you're not busy on saturday...

2007-10-12T10:55:00.001-07:00

+tara's myspace
+team llanes
+road to recovery fund + t-shirt

meet kathy pruitt @ fat tire fest!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

(via the bc mudbunnies)

after many months of searching for a pro biker to host the fat tire fest, CORBA has managed to snag the ferociously luxe kathy pruitt for this sunday's mtn biking bonanza! kathy is this year's u.s. downhill national series champion, a title she also won in 2005 and 2004, and she currently rides for jamis bikes.

she'll be leading a xc ride, and helping out with a skills clinic, so come out to get some riding tips & learn some tricks. i'm def going to pick her brain about kicking ass in 4x...

see you there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-c

team jenson has short names

2007-10-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

my baby fit got her first taste of east LA on saturday, when jen and i headed out to claremont & mt baldy road with a group led by the jenson usa team (tim, rod, & rudy). ray and guy were two other peeps i met, but our group was about 12-13 people large, so i wasn't able to get everyone's info.

the ride was called the "Claremont/Potato Mtn./Marshall Canyon loops", though most of us just looked at potato mtn rather than riding it. these trails involved a lot of fire road climbing and "singletrack" that was more like skinny fire roads. the terrain felt like a bmx dirt jump course, but with lower and more spaced out bumps. loose, sometimes poofy dirt made it hard to go dangerously fast (and to see clearly), but it was a fun ride. definitely good for showing wary first-timers how it's done. no scary technical descents or rocky uphills.

we did about 12 miles, with a fair amount of elevation gain. halfway through the ride, 3 brave souls from our group bombed a steep squishy loose rugged eroded downhill that had no visible lines.

all three made it down safely, thanks to our cheering & hootin' & hollerin' & picture-takin', of course. later on we also saw three deer chomping away on the veg no less than 50 yards from us. they didn't bolt even when a horse came clomping through the clearing. beautiful day too. not too hot, barely a chilled breeze, and amazing views of the surrounding mountains.

big props to the 13-yr old kid riding a single-speed 49-lb downhill bike. and to his brakeless younger brother. and their supportive bike-obsessed dad. my kids will definitely learn to bike before they learn to walk.

what? biking makes you go faster! zoom zoom...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
directions to marshall canyon loops:
210N to exit 52 (baseline road)
turn left onto baseline road
turn right onto mills ave
parking lot is at the corner of mills ave & mt baldy road
the parking lot entrance is on mills ave, you don't need to turn onto mt baldy road

about 1 hour from west LA
google maps
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

...stay up to date on sweet deals & fun rides @ jensonusa.com

i'm off to interbike...

2007-09-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

...out in gangrenous grand glorious las vegas. see you monday.

(via dahab-info.com)

mann o mann

2007-09-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

last night was the week 2 ride for cubcamp. gary, joey, kaylie, antonio, marcus, steven, christ ("chrissed"), nicola (from montreal!), eric, carlos, and brad (BANANA!). also another dude with a mustache i didn't get a name for. so 13. including me. i think. total ride was about 27 miles, out to the mann theater in hollywood and back. eddie murphy has girly handwriting. harrison ford has a manly signature. ava gardner had tiny tiny feet. or a penchant for 8" heels. grabbed some icy creams at mashti malone's. also chased a banana up a hill.

AND i had my very first road bike crash. i was going full speed ahead. and got attacked by a curb. it came out of nowhere. i think the bikey's ok. front tire may be a little bit out of true. i've got a nice lump on my right hip and sore jammed left hand for my troubles...

ride on!
<3>

be safe out there

2007-09-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

(via trevorlittle.com)

on saturday, september 15, 2007, dedicated cyclist sandy julienne was hit by a passing 18-wheeler while riding in irvine, ca.

"Witnesses say Julienne was riding in the bicycle lane when the big rig's rear tire clipped the bike's handlebars. Fellow cyclists chased the 18-wheeler and detained the driver, who seemed unaware that he had hit Julienne..."
-oc register

"According to those riding with him, the truck was about 8" into the bike lane. Sandy was riding next to the truck, and fell right under the wheels."
- OC roadie in bikeforums.net

keep your eyes and ears open love, give the autos some room, and pretend you're invisible. sometimes following the rules and simply staying alert and aware just doesn't cut it...but we've got to try.

RIP sandy.

the future

2007-09-20T08:50:00.001-07:00

Urban Freestyle Trial - For more funny movies, click here

heli-what?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

2007-09-19T07:51:00.001-07:00

(via seattlest)

+at the limit: heli-biking (via uk's times online)
+more heli-biking pix from seattlest contributor & bitchin mtn biker courtney nash
+lamest $1 million NYC bike safety ad campaign EVAR.

crumbs vs. sprinkles...IT'S ON!

2007-09-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

the LA cupcake scene is about to add another epic battle to its history books. in santa monica, we have yummy cupcakes (too much frosting! need more cake!) vs vanilla bake shop (still too much frosting, but better interior design), and about 10 miles northeast, in the lushly luxe territory of rodeo drive, a new contest has taken the spotlight.

in one corner of the ring (little yellow dude), the most gorgeous little minimalist cupcakes (and shop) your architect-graphic-designer buddy has ever set eyes on...the color-coded confections that brings dieting fashionistas to their knees...

sprinkles

(via eats)

...and in the other corner (green arrow), less than 2 blocks away, a spunky irreverent newcomer who has gained ground in NYC with massive overloaded boston creme cupcakes, twinkie cupcakes, and praise the lord, banana split cupcakes...

crumbs

(via rkb1)

someone sponsor a cupcake-eating contest already! and FYI...free cupcakes to the first 1000 los angelos to visit crumbs on thursday september 20th!

sprinkles @ 9635 s. santa monica blvd, beverly hills, ca 90210
crumbs @ 9465 s. santa monica blvd, beverly hills, ca 90210

when i'm not riding, i'm reading

2007-09-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

+my new favorite bike blog: wire donkey

+"holy rollers: the city's bicycle zealots" (via newyorker.com)
+"no rider left behind: a los angeles story" (via kcet.org)
+"feud, not fuel, propels rider" (via canada's national post)
+"you paid how much for that bike?" (via nytimes.com)
+"the bicycle thief" (via salon.com)
+"beverly hills SUV driver attacks bicyclist, only bicyclist gets a ticket" (via laist.com)
+the double cross - blog of bicyclist charlie "shiznaz" princep, who was making his way across the u.s. & canada via road bike when he was run-down and killed by a drunk driver in alberta, canada

sweet, sweeter, sweetest

2007-09-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

SWEET: ryan gosling has officially usurped jake gyllenhaal's throne of best male actor in my book. watch half nelson to see why. (FYI you can borrow it for free from the santa monica public library!) shareeka epps is also excellent and so natural in her role of "drey". it's an honest film with a bittersweet ending that saddens but inspires.

SWEETER: did my first ever midnight ridazz-affiliated ride on thursday evening. heck, my first real long-distance night-time road ride ever! this one was called the cubcamp "week 1" road ride. spook, marcus, franz, dave, carla, carlos, ritchie, steven, eunice, ken, and i were in attendance. i think there were one or two other people i didn't get names for or forgot names of. sorry! we started at 9pm @ bikerowave in santa monica, and ended around midnight with a quick chug of Milwaukee's BEAST, squeezing in some ice cream sandwiches, parking lot structure velodroming, running red lights, and hummer hijacking, into the 20 or so miles of frantic panicky and exhilirating pedal cadence. cubcamp meets on thursday evenings and is a continuous 5-week cycle of road training/sprinting (1st week = 20+ miles, 5th week = 50+ miles) in downtown LA's midnight false-light that preps you for bleeding/riding with WOLFPACK. you don't even want to KNOW how fast and far wolfpack rides.

SWEETEST: today i did the mt pinos/mcgill trail in the los padres national forest with sbmbc and we had a nice tight group riding this trail. luke, stephan, ken, jen, gary, and i, rode the mtn bike singletrack trail up, while marizel and laurie took the equally scenic road ride to the top.

we rode 17.8 miles (jen's computer said 18 cuz she rode the furthest. damn i gotta work on catching up!) and climbed 3600 feet. it's the highest elevation i've climbed to in cali, and the altitude definitely made breathing a bit of a chore. nonetheless, we had a blast on this 3.5 hour ride, as the downhill (coming back down what we had ridden up) was smooth as silk and fast like juiced-up fighter jets. this trail is one of my new favorites.

up to the top!

and down to the cars...

gary

luke

jen

me

THAT was my ONLY fall of the day. can you believe it??? i buckled under the pressure. i'll never be a movie star. *le sigh*

CLICK HERE to see lots more of my pix on flickr...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
directions:
405N --> 5N --> take Exit 205 toward Frazier Park
--> turn left at Frazier Mtn Park Road
--> drive about 12 miles till you hit a Y in the road
--> stay to your left in the Y intersection
--> park in the large unmarked dirt parking lot just behind the Y intersection
--> watch some bluejays and bunny rabbits frolic, then lube up your chain and GO RIDE!

about 1.75 hours from Santa Monica
google maps
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

p.s. hit up MIKE'S PIZZA if you do this ride. by far the most devilishly delicious pie i've had since i moved out here (order an x-large "mike's special"!). they have FUNNEL CAKE (!) and the staff ain't too hostile either. =)
p.p.s. "tylergeike"speaks the truth!!!!!
p.p.p.s. marizel uploaded some of her kick-ass pictures. CLICK HERE and check them out!
p.p.p.p.s. make sure you purchase & display an adventure pass if you want to ride mt pinos. they're $5 for a day pass and totally worth it. you can buy them online or at almost any of the small mom & pop stores along Frazier Mtn Park Road.

my kind of bike

2007-09-13T07:44:00.001-07:00

(via boingboing)

move over moab

2007-09-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm in Downieville, about 100 miles northeast of Sacramento, to test the downhill runs that gear heads and biking daredevils rate as some of the state's fastest and most challenging. As a weekend mountain biker and lifelong Californian, I heard all the talk about Moab, Utah, being the ultimate off-road biking destination. I wanted to find a new biking hub that has the respect of veteran riders without Moab's crowds and hype.

"If you can ride Downieville, you can ride anywhere"...

(via latimes.com)

....................................thanks for the heads up mike!

p.s. three knuckleheads cycle the silk road - via slate.com
p.p.s. bikebum.com takes you to the sacramento craigslist bike classifieds page
p.p.p.s. any ideas for what to call my barely-in-the-works girl-centric mtb site? sweetride.com was taken. boo

maenadic mt st helens

2007-09-06T00:24:00.000-07:00

arrived in seattle thursday eve, had some delicious thai curry with kris, and met my first road bike: a feather-weight yellow and silver giant. made in taiwan. like me! well. ok, like my parents. i'm more of an export. anyway, the bike is beautiful and looks something like this:

friday morn we did some bike shop lessons and assembled my mountain bike i had packed into a box and left in the "care" of the luggage handlers at LAX and SEA. the box arrived ok, and we repaired the mysteriously detached derailleur pretty easily.

after all the repairs and assembly were complete on both bikes, i got to try the giant on my first epic road ride. um...shut up! 20 miles is epic dammit! we rode from kris' house in shoreline about 10 miles south to ballard, both small neighborhoods located north of seattle.

in ballard, we popped into sonic boom to pick up some tunes (the fountain soundtrack, johann johannson, octopus project, caribou). they were playing miho hatori's new solo album, ecdysis, in the store and i think i may need to pick that one up in the near future as well. not a huge fan of the cover art, but the poppy cheery sound is just what i need to prolong my vacation-induced high.

we were supposed to see 'superbad' in ballard but the marquee wasn't cooperating, so we ended up seeing 'the bourne ultimatum'. action movies are always worth a gander on the big screen, and it could've been worse. if you are ever around ballard, i do not recommend eating at sam's sushi. i DO recommend spending that saved money at blackbird.

ok ok, i'll FINALLY get to the mountain biking. =)

saturday morn, we set off. it's only 2 hrs down to mt st helens...except we were on the wrong side of it. mt st helens is 6 miles across at the base, so when we approached from the NW corner, finally found a visitor's center, and were about to hop on our bikes to start riding, the staff there told us that the trails in that area were for hikers only! to access bike-permitted trails, we would have to drive around to the SE quadrant of the mountain...only another FOUR HOURS by car. *lol*

so off we went. four hours of twisty windy steep narrow mountain roads at 25 mph. joyous. stopped at an rv park for a lunch of the greasiest, most delicious jojo potatoes ever, and some fine upstanding cheeseburgers. around 4pm, we arrived at norway pass, a seemingly easy loop that was caked in poofy ash - terrain that makes it hard to get traction and cuts your speed in half. thankfully, the ash called it quits after a half mile and we started up a pretty steep ascent. we were surrounded by trees that had been violently flattened by the eruption back in 1980 and it was a surreal experience, kind of like tiptoeing through a graveyard. there were plenty of low lying flowers and brush on the trail, but the regrowth of trees, even after 27 years, was minimal.

on the way back to the car, kris had some issues with his rear disc brake, i.e. the brake pads were worn down to nothing and metal on metal is just not a good sound. the noise it made reminded me of these round pastel plastic spoke attachments that went up and down on your spokes as the wheel rotated. can't find a picture of them for the life of me. they were glow in the dark. and made to increase the safety of the bike maybe? improved visibility and made sure that you heard the kid coming? something.

anyway, kris didn't have any spare brake pads so we would have to drive down to portland on sunday morning to try to find an open and competent bike shop. not an easy task on a holiday weekend. even better, that evening we had to camp out in a paid rv campground, the "free use" tenting spots were all taken - darn you labor day weekend!

performance bike came through for us with a 10am opening time but was only able to provide us with the parts, not the service. we headed onward to fat tire farm across town, but despite the hours listed on their phone message, they were shut down for the entire weekend. our last stop (and the last straw) was bike gallery, also by mall 205. they were super friendly, gave us bike pins, and best of all, the talented mechanic guy there, butch, was able to fix kris' bike! and for only $14! i highly recommend bike gallery for your next bike emergency. huge selection of sexy mountain bikes too. we grabbed lunch at baja fresh and came out to find a hysterical teeny bopper begging us not to be mad. she pointed out that her ginormous white pickup truck had nudged the back bumper while pulling in to park next to us. there wasn't really much damage, it seemed that kris' car had just pulled off some paint off the truck. the white paint wiped off and the surface underneath was slightly pushed in. they exchanged insurance info and we were on our way...

...to a speeding ticket. i really should've let kris drive.

two cops had set up a speed trap around a blind curve and with 2 bikes on the roof, i stood out like a sore thumb. 73 in a 60 zone. $113. "drive safely" said the cop. right after i pulled back on the highway, they pulled over two more cars. bitches. at this point i was dying to get rid of my biking boner and the campsite troubles, brake pad quest, car nudge, and speeding ticket were NOT helping.

alrighty. back up to mt st helens.

it was now about 4:30pm on sunday, but we were finally going to have that epic ride! we parked at the donnybrook viewpoint and hopped on the smith creek trail. the first half mile was woody forested overgrown stuff, with some sketchy parts where the trail was starting to fall into the lake (which was filled with the white trunks of dead trees, as you can see below).

then we emerged onto an exposed flat plain where we came up on the backside of windy ridge.

tourists can drive down to the base of windy ridge and climb up 100 or so stairs to a viewpoint at the top. the trail took us to the top of windy ridge...and then made us walk/carry our bikes down those 100 stairs. fun fun fun.

at the bottom, we rode across the parking lot...

...and continued up a fire road snaking along the southeast side of the mountain. at the end of the fire road, we were dumbstruck at how close mt st helens was, the summit probably less than a mile away. we had a short steep ascent onto a narrow ridge. the trail followed some more stairs (more like ladders really), this time even steeper and up instead of down.

after lugging our bikes up two sets of "stairs", the climbing for the most part was over. a snaky singletrack followed the curve of the mountains and there were a few tricky and loose switchbacks. the views from this point of the trail were amazing. it was akin to watching an imax movie. massive mountains as far as you could see and deep valleys below you, sometimes directly to your left or right. focusing intensely on the trail was a priority for me. also, pumice is a BITCH to ride on. they're like tiny balloons, light as feathers, providing no traction at all.

we only got a short 5 miles or so into the trail, as daylight started dying fast around 6pm. we'd started too late thanks to bad luck and her bag of tricks. still. an amazing ride. will definitely be back for more.

on monday we hit galbraith, about 2 hours north of seattle. more technical and complicated downhiller stuff than i've ever seen. scary wooden skinnies, sculpted berms, mad hoppy jumps everywhere. some parts reminded me of illinois, some parts i had only seen in hardcore insane downhiller full-face-helmet plus body-armor bike videos. i did ok on my specialized rockhopper, but i can't wait to try it on my future lusciously luxe dual-suspension lover, ms. contessa fx-15.

in n out

2007-08-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

(via cuteoverload.com)

heading to seattle today to bike into the sunset with kris. we're hitting mt st helen's sat & sun, and then some local trails on monday. hooray for long weekends! the elbow's nearly all healed over, so hopefully i will not be adding more bumps, bruises, (breaks!) to my collection of injuries. see you tuesday!

don't let the monday keep you down

2007-08-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

(via the new yorker)

+"sozzled" is my new favorite word, gleaned from a review of "superbad" in the new yorker

Sozzle
\Soz"zle\, n. 1. One who spills water or other liquids carelessly; specifically, a sluttish woman. [Local, U.S.]
2. A mass, or heap, confusedly mingled. [Prov. Eng.]

+ATTACK OF THE FASHION GREMLINS! --> like, omg, did you like, know that ashley is like, two inches taller than like, mary kate???????????????????????

grasslands / crags / upper bulldog

2007-08-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

shiny bikes, sweaty bikers, and some rusty set pieces from the tv show m.a.s.h.
(via north ranch mtn biking club)

3146 feet climbed, 20.64 miles ridden, 4 hours of biking in 90+ degree weather.

on saturday i did a brutal/amazing joint sbmbc/north ranch ride up in agoura hills with ken, mike, jim, another jim, huck, graham, and jen. it was originally supposed to be an easy breezy 15-mile ride, more slow-cruising than soul-crushing. the group that gathered at the trailhead was pretty big, so it split into two, and jen and i chose to go with the faster half.

we set off at a good clip, flowing across rolling meadows for a mile or two, and down a few steep hills that would come back to haunt us at the very end of our 4-hour trek. somewhere in the first quarter mile i got stuck in a rut and took a silly spill at a high speed...resulting in the below hurtiness (plus a few other scrapes & bruises on my right side...nothing like the sting of iodine in the morning):

we took a left at the first fork in the trail and rode alongside a shaded rocky creek, fairly technical, a section that required careful pedal placement and no distractions. we emerged from the forest to take a break at the set of the tv show m.a.s.h., complete with rusty old cars.

from there, we rode a bit further on the fire road, passed some hikers, and then took a left to start a strenuous exposed breeze-free 4-mile uphill climb. it took us an hour. maybe two. and it only got steeper the higher we went. after several pit-stops and stalls in the middle of fairly loose technical sections, we managed to avoid heat exhaustion and reached the top of the mountain, where bulldog hooks up with some other trails.

at that intersection, you could see mountains, trails, and tiny cities for miles around, as well as the ocean, which, from our elevation (about a mile above sea level), looked just like more mountains and clouds. simply breath-taking.

we headed onward (and downward, thankfully) along a mile or two of the roller-coaster mountain ridge fire road and then hopped on a short singletrack section. this spit us back out onto the fire road and not long after that we came upon the little moab trailhead. huck & mike boldly tackled this slickrock section that ends in a intimidating steep chute made completely of boulders, while the rest of us took the paved option to a place where we, with fingers crossed and teeth clenched, could watch them descend...

someone mentioned that on a previous ride, a couple had done that chute on a tandem bike! it had to have been done on a "witness". tandem mountain bikes. simply insane.

nobody needed an emergency helicopter ride off the trail, so we continued on for some more up and down ridge riding, another short singletrack section, and then rode an extremely fast dusty fire road all the way downhill to the surface streets, taking a right to head into a campground. at this point, i had no idea where we were, so i will not be able to give you any names. sorry!

we stopped in the campground for refills on water and got on an exposed singletrack that started from a metal bridge in the middle of the campground, and it soon turned into a dusty uphill (more UP! it never ended!). finishing that section dropped us off at a parking lot (not the one we started from unfortunately), that had bathrooms. the trail then took us down a set of steps and right past malibu creek. i nearly ditched my bike and dived into the creek when i saw tourists wandering around wearing just towels and swim trunks. but no, there were still miles to go before i could crash.

by now we had circled back to the original first few miles of the trail, so we had to do the few miles of swoopy meadowland trails backwards. i'll just say that they were much faster and much more fun the first time around. the steep downhills that originally shot us forward at 40 mph had transformed into daunting long bumpy uphills that extracted every ounce of energy in your body, even with your chain on the small ring, in the wimpiest granny gear. there was never enough room between hills to gain any momentum and i was soon running on fumes. the only thing that got me back to the parking lot was the joyous thought of finally getting off my bike, popping off the shoes, and splaying out in the cool grass.

marizel & ken, our ride leaders, organized an amazing post-ride picnic and i got to meet a few more riders. super friendly & funny bunch. my legs were jelly, my brain was fried, my skin was sunburnt, and i was covered in dirt (and a bit of blood). a perfect saturday.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
directions:
405N --> 101N (west) --> exit at the Lost Hill Road, Exit 33
--> turn left from the off-ramp
--> go south about 1 mile to Juan Bautista de Anza Park, which is on the right
--> free parking lot, ample street parking, sprinklers in the playground!
about 60-mins from the South Bay
about 1/2 hour from Santa Monica
google maps
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

today's the day!

2007-08-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

if you've ever been a teenager of either sex, you need to see this movie. hilarious cast, brilliant producer, and a hysterical script littered with raw nuggets of dialogue gold, crafted by two humble & talented writers that will have you doubled over and out-of-breath from laughing so hard.

superbad is 114 minutes of dirty juvenile comic genius. see it in theaters. with a packed house. several times. see you there!

p.s. here's a treat to kick off the weekend: How To Break Up A Cat Fight

nope, i really don't have anything better to do

2007-08-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

(via heartschallenger)

+cannolicchi --> a new (to me anyway) pasta shape

+the hearts challenger store is now open! --> girl + boy that drive around in an ice cream truck, make music, and sell you funky snacks & candies. don't forget to ask for your free temporary tattoo and 1" button. the store is selling a crystal castles split 7" (glow in the dark!), a hearts challenger 7" (heart-shaped! swoooooon), and delicious neon unicorn-saturated handkerchiefs.

+30 cent bagels at la's schwartz bakery on fairfax

+man vs kids karate war (vid)

+matrix ping pong (vid)

meet me @ home depot on friday night

2007-08-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

in my endless net/blog surfing, i came upon this advice column by margo howard (ann landers' daughter) that just made my day.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Can You Tell Me Where All the Hammers Are?

DEAR READERS (though being a fan of Stephen Colbert's, I want to say, "Nation"): Not long ago, I ran a letter giving a young, single woman advice I'd heard from a male friend: Go to a hardware store on a Friday night. I got tons of mail wanting an elaboration of why. I asked my pal to explain why that was a premium place to scope out single men. Here's his answer:

DEAR MARGO: There I was in the hardware store one Friday night picking up supplies for my weekend project, and I looked round wondering why I was surrounded by single guys. Then I realized: A guy is in a hardware store on a Friday night because . . .

-- he is not out on a date.
-- he likely has a house project, which implies he is stable enough to have a place.
-- he has time over the weekend to do the project because there is no woman in his life.
-- he is good with his hands because he didn't hire a repair person to do the job.

This man is a specific kind of guy who . . .
-- cares about the things in his life.
-- is good with his hands/handy.
-- is single.

The kind of guy who fits into the above categories is also the kind who wears his wedding ring. Plus, simply by looking at what the guy is holding, or which aisle he is in, the woman can figure out what his project is and make conversation accordingly.

It is important to note these guys might not clue in that this conversation is a social opportunity, so even after 15 minutes of talking, the woman may need to ask if he'd like to continue the conversation over a cup of coffee.

This expedition has the added benefit that the women don't have to dress to the nines; they can just throw on their favorite old jeans and a sweater.

--- JUST A GUY

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

it probably also means that he's not going to be out late drinking, is an early riser, and he's picking up degreaser to clean his chain with before his ride on early saturday morning. hmmmm...now i just need something to fixer-up.

chumash / rocky peak / hummingbird

2007-08-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

(via epodunk.com)

this entire ride is in the exposed desert hills above simi valley. very little flora, very little shade. lots of rocks, sandstone, and lizards. it doesn’t sound gorgeous, but it is.

chumash trail starts at the end of flanagan drive in simi valley. start with a half hour of fairly steep steady climbing. it gets rocky in places, the higher you go, the bumpier the trail gets. we spent maybe 25% of the trail doing hike-a-bike. a little narrow and dusty, but nothing too scary.

when you get to the top/end of the 3-4 miles of chumash, turn right onto the rocky peak fire road. the fire road swoops up and down like a roller coaster, and since it’s mostly paved with grippy sandstone, you can get going pretty fast – just keep an eye out for hikers and shirtless sweaty hardcore trail runners. we even came across a biker that was scoping out the trail for his elementary school cross country team, with some kids as young as 8 or 9. west coast athletes start so young!

after a mile or so on the fire road, you’ll come across a ridge with a panoramic view of simi valley and moorpark. slow down and see if you can pick out the antibiotic (keeps out the bugs!) house built into the mountains (2 tiny white squarish blocks on the left), the rocketdyne 1959 nuclear meltdown site, and maybe a wildfire or two. if you look directly below you, down the mountain, you can see a bright green oval patch surrounded by white picket fence. some hikers informed us that this is the hummingbird ranch, where they film the reality tv show “the biggest loser”. used to be a polo field too.

2-3 miles of fast fire road later, you’ll see some green benches and signs for the hummingbird singletrack trail. if you continue on the rocky peak fire road instead of turning right onto hummingbird, you’ll end up an extra mile or so east of where you parked, so you’ll need to turn right onto the santa susana pass road. and add that road riding distance to your trek. santa susana turns into kuehner drive, then left onto los angeles ave, right onto yosemite, right back onto flanagan & your car.

if you choose the hummingbird trail option, make sure you bring your top notch handling skills. and your bravado. hummingbird starts off with easy fast singletrack, a little up and down, and then it’s all downhill. there are several spots where the trail seems to disappear into a giant steep slab of sandstone. yep, you’re meant to go down it. just follow the black tire skids. after the sandstone fields, there’s a series of moderately tight switchback turns. watch out, some of them are sandy and a little more difficult to maneuver. at the bottom, the trail will lead you to a big tree and beyond that, up a short steep incline, is a dirt field. follow the tire treads, going nearly straight across it to the fence, and there’s an opening just big enough for bikes and hikers to enter/exit through. the street you’re going downhill on is kuehner. ride ½ a mile and turn right onto los angeles ave. then right on yosemite, over the 118, up a hill, and then right onto flanagan.

i believe you can do this trail backwards too, parking on kuehner, and starting by the fence/dirt lot, and doing the hummingbird singletrack first. of course, that entails riding/hiking up sandstone. if that's your thang, more power to ya!

total 12-13 miles. about 3 hours of riding. this is one of my favorite rides yet. lots of speed, a bit of technical, a great workout.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
directions:
405 north --> 118 west --> yosemite ave exit
--> right @ yosemite ave
--> right @ flanagan drive
--> street parking on flanagan
about 45 minutes from south bay
google maps
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

summer reading list

2007-08-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

(via theroyalscourge)

+the near-fame experience in new york magazine

"I was just an artist before this happened," he adds. "Now I’m an artist with a fucking clock ticking."
-jay mccarroll, season 1 winner of project runway

+the death of disco in the village voice

"He really hid his dark side. Bipolar suicidal people blame everybody else for their problems. Disco was different. He almost took too much responsibility. He really beat himself up over things, which is why, I think, he actually went through with it."
-isla cheadle, friend of disco d

+How Do You Escape From a Sinking Car?
+A Gentleman's Duel
+Top 10 Breakup Songs to Get Over Your Ex-Boyfriend

san fernando mtns

2007-08-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

6.5 hours, 5000 feet, 22 miles.

also the ruins of the echo mountain hotel & railroad, a squirrel, a rattlesnake, a deer, a bundle of descending deflated helium balloons, and one flat tire with 1/4 mile left in the ride.

---------------------------
louisa's description of the ride:

This weekend, Gary Fleming is leading the Lower Merrill to Inspiration Point then down the Middle Merrill (gnarly) and down the Sunset Trail to El Prieto. Lots of technical single track on this ride. The initial climb is three miles on fairly smooth single track. It is a work out but nothing you can't do. There are lots of hikers on the Lower Merrill on the weekends which means you have to stop and let them go by. That's not a bad thing because then you have a chance to catch your breath!

I think you can do it but I think where you will have difficulty is with the serious technical sections and exposure on the Middle Merrill. I walk some of it. What you could do is ride up the Lower Merrill to Echo Mountain and either wait there for them to climb up to Inspiration Point and come back down the Middle Merrill to Echo Mtn (it's an upper loop) or ride up with them to Inspiration on the Mt. Lowe Rd (fire road) don't go down the Mid. Merrill but back track down the fire road and wait for them to come back around to the Lowe Rd. From there you could go down the Sunset Trail. It also has some gnarly technical but not as much as the Merrill. When you get down to the bottom you are in Millard Campground. From there you climb a short while but not much to El Prieto (the dark one) which is cool 2 mile single track thru the canyon. It also has some gnarly bits, little climbs, descents, splashing thru creeks, hairpin turns and technical rocky sections just not the scale and fear factor that the Merrill has. You have to use your judgement when to get off and when to ride.

(note: it was much more technical than louisa lets on and riding this MOUNTAIN entailed more uphill than i've ever done. i'm exhausted and my knees will not forgive me for a few days. but it was awesome.):
---------------------------

Directions: From the South Bay: Take 405N to 105E to 110N to 5N to 2N to 210E. and exit at Windsor Ave/Arroyo Blvd., turn left at the off ramp onto Windsor and continue for about a mile. Park in the paved parking area on the left near the entrance to JPL (NASA jet propulsion laboratories) just before the street curves to the right becoming Ventura St.

...more details from SBMBC (scroll down to "Sat. August 4: Lower Merrill/Inspiration Point to Sunset and El Prieto Trail.")...

inspiration point

echo mountain house ruins/foundation

gary the downhill master & the endless uphill climb

more pics on flickr!

live every week like it's shark week

2007-08-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

my favorite multi-platform game design agency got a nice write-up on creativity-online.com!

area/code is a tiny nyc group of insanely hard-working creatives that have gotten buzz in the advertising and marketing world for ConQuest (giant inflatable animals + a mob of nyu students = awesomenossity) and a sweet interactive game for a&e's syndication of the sopranos. their latest work is called "sharkrunners", part of discovery channel's annual shark week.

it's picked up quite a few players and piqued the interest of potential future marine biologists. if you're looking for a unique & engaging way to promote or launch your product/service/automated-plant-watering-system, area/code will kick that RFP's ass.

click HERE to read "Feed Frenzy".

santa susana mtns - mission peak

2007-07-30T06:41:00.001-07:00

(via latimes.com)

saturday was a short ride, about 10 miles, up and back down mission peak (also called "secret of the three trees") in granada hills. it's about 40 minutes from the south bay, just make sure your car can take the hilly trek up and over the mountains into the valley.

the mission peak climb lasts about an hour, depending on how much you rely on downshifting to an easier (and slower) gear, a distance of about 2.5 miles. in some places it's so steep that hikers will be lapping you, but the views are amazing, so feel free to take your time.

near the top, an iron fence cuts off what used to be a nice easy switchback trail to the summit. after 9/11, the local gas co cordoned off the area to protect the supposed large natural gas deposit from terrorists. but you can easily circumnavigate the fence - well, it's easier if you're on foot. ambitious bikers will have to power up a nearly 60 degree slope that's powdery and loose.

we took the singletrack trail (you can also just go back down the fire road in reverse) down from the almost-summit, accessed via a path through a wire fence that starts to the left of the fire road if you're looking downhill. the singletrack is fun and fast, though pretty technical. it had a few long steep sections that tested the limits of my handling and ability to hold my focus. it's narrow and a little bit rutted too, so there's not a lot of room for error. if you don't know the trail, i def recommend taking it slow. and remember to take a break or two to check out the skyline! gorgeous.

the singletrack spits you out in omelveny park, which is right next to the suburb you parked in. once the easy gravel trail takes you back to paved surface streets, use the map you brought to find the way back to your car.

p.s. it's foggy in the spring
p.p.s. watch out for horses
p.p.p.s. the los angeles times has a nice piece on how to get to the hike/bike trail

*******************UPDATE /01/07 8:43am PST*******************

my friend peter continued on after i decided mission peak had given me enough exercise for the day and here's his tale of how it (another 15 miles of mtn biking) went...

After you left, we picked up the other rider, who was trying to meet us, but kept getting the directions wrong. We then headed off for some single track.

It started out as horse trails (there were those metal railings beside the trail to prevent horses from falling down). The terrain was rolling (not steep) and we worked our way downhill. There were 3 or 4 water crossings! Some of the water/mud that we went through was quite smelly!

There were also a couple of those short, steep drops and climbs that I like to topple over on!

The single track was not too technical, but was twisty enough to be fun. It was also fairly fast (the fast guys put on their body armor).

By 11:30 or 12 I had hit the wall and struggled to keep up (sorry, I didn’t represent us well).

Of the 100 oz of water that I carried, I think I only had about 20 or 30 oz left by the time I got home! I’m glad it wasn’t any warmer than it was.

We got back to Hans’ house about 1-1:30ish.

and the trails they rode...

We took the trail just west of Limekiln Canyon Rd. and headed west, along the base of the Santa Susana Mountains.

After a while, it angled slightly north and into some shaded areas. We kept on the westward direction and finally came out at Brown’s Canyon Road.

Took this south and it turned into DeSoto Ave. Took DeSoto to just south of the freeway and turned left onto San Fernando Mission Blvd (it is a dirt access road at this point) and took it east to Limekiln Canyon.

From Limekiln Canyon, we went north a bit and pushed our bikes up a very steep hill to Rinaldi St (the more macho riders tried to ride up the steep hill [several times] and failed, even Louisa!). From Rinaldi, it was just a road ride back to Hans’ house.

***********************END OF UPDATE***************************

yet more simpsons marketing

2007-07-27T08:36:00.001-07:00

the simpsons movie finally opens today.

and i heave a sigh of relief.

because it means the promotional assault will finally let up. even as a long-time simpsons fan (who isn't???), the non-stop ads, high-profile branded partnerships, kwik-e-marts, blog takeovers, digital billboards, static (cryptic!) billboards, movie theater photo ops, simpsonizers, custom simpsons avatars, agricultural mischief, la weekly wrap-arounds, la weekly cover & cover story, couture fashion shoots (my 2nd least hated marketing effort)...

...have all been a bit overwhelming. and i'm sure my list is far from complete. though their efforts have successfully convinced me to see it on the big screen. four weeks after it opens. for three dollars.

and i close with my least hated simpsons movie marketing carpet bomb:

roommates wanted

2007-07-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

ah summer. suntan lotion. boogie boards. and MOVING! i know you wanna.

need roommate for the place i'm moving IN to:
Room for rent near the beach ~ El Segundo (just south of LAX, convenient to Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, and Redondo Beach)

need roommate for the place i'm moving OUT of:
Roommate needed for Sept 1 - all utilities & parking included! ~ Santa Monica (about a mile from the 3rd St Promenade, the Santa Monica Pier, and of course, the beach!)

*******************UPDATE 7/31/07 8:59am PST*******************
found roomies for both places! no thanks to you lazy bums. =)
***********************END OF UPDATE***************************

fuzzbeast states the facts

2007-07-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

(images courtesy blogging.la & midnightridazz)

swoopy sullivan canyon

2007-07-15T07:01:00.001-07:00

(via spannertech)

the starting point for saturday's ride was up in the hills above west sunset blvd. beautiful area packed with multi-million dollar homes & their requisite infinity pools, plenty of street parking, and most important, sweepy swoopy trails leading up into the santa monica mountains. had a sizeable group this time: louisa, jen, marizel, peter, ken, jim, matt, gerard, victoria, and moi.

we started off with a few miles of fairly level shaded singletrack, packed with "dipsey doodles" (baby roller coaster rides for your bike), one steep dropoff, and some tight switchback turns. after that warm-up, we hit a mile-long climb that was exposed and gave us the first taste of the afternoon heat. the ascent took us straight up to the fire road/hub, where several trails in the santa monica mountains intersect.

a NIKE station (that i skipped seeing) is located near the sullivan canyon hub. it used to house missiles reserved for attacks on russia and other unsavories of the 1980s. i will take a look next time. there is supposedly a vending machine up there too.

the first singletrack trail that louisa lead us on had a tight switchback turn that led to my first fall of the day - and handlebars twisted out of kilter. ken gave me a manual fix, and then we hit a moderately steep 50' descent covered with loose rocks, denying us any traction and making the bikes pretty much unsteerable. after maneuvering that, we encountered a super narrow (8"-wide for most of it) section that hugged the mountain, had a steep dropoff to the left, and sloped downhill. the trail was in poor maintenance and that, combined with my eternal bullheaded need for speed, provided me with the perfect conditions for a second spill.

we got spit up back onto a surface street, bombed downhill for a mile or two, and hopped on a scenic ride that ran on the bottom of a canyon. of course, what you go down you must come up, and this 2nd steep "up" of the day was a rough one. i made it up with the help of several pit stops and we were once again back on the fire road at the top of the mountain. 15 more minutes of climbing the fire road brought us to the top of the sullivan canyon trail. it was all downhill (and almost no pedaling) from there, and that shaded 1st leg was even better in reverse.

our obligatory post-ride chowfest took place at a votre sante ("to your health") in brentwood. it was surprisingly close to the trail head, and surrounded by plenty of parking. it's a small space, maybe a 20'x 30' seating area, simply decorated with soothing b/w photography. delicious, healthy, colorful food too. i recommend the blackened salmon salad (tender & fresh fish) and the raspberry spritzer (no sugar added!). hopefully i'll have room for a bite of their tempting pies & cakes when i come back for seconds.

18.2 mile ride. 4 total crashes. a zillion calories burned. maybe a zillion and a half. can't wait to do it again next weekend.

lactose indulgence

2007-07-13T12:44:00.001-07:00

ice cream + cupcakes = ice cream cupcakes!

+ $1 off coupon for the $5-$7 "love it" @ cold stone creamery --> expires tues july 31st!

(via splendora)

jen why

2007-07-13T08:18:00.002-07:00

i've been addicted to internet t-vizzle as of late. i finally got to absorb the entire amazing 6 seasons of six feet under, dabbled in entourage, and have found a brand new addiction: wonderfalls.

the show has been kaput since 2004, and i heard a bit of buzz about it when i was living in nyc, but haven't gotten around to actually watching it till about a week ago. brief show synopsis: recent brown u grad works touristy retail whilst undergoing a quarter-life crisis until stuffed animals, plastic toys, and wind up trinkets start giving her quirky cryptic instructions that result in good karma and resolved conflicts.

"karma chameleon", the 3rd of the 13 episodes, is my favorite so far. they discuss the motivations behind "jen why" (gen y), over-educated 20-somethings that are just floating about, unsure what to do or where to go with life, slacking and putting forth as little effort as possible. being in a bit of the same boat, i found it comforting to find out that i'm not alone. that people are aware of my generation's "dilemma"...aware enough to make a show about it. i'm just going to blithely ignore the fact that wonderfalls only lasted one season. i'm still relevant! i think. anyway. i'll just keep flailing about until the "true calling" comes and finds me. heeeeeeeere tc tc tc...

pool invasion

2007-07-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

4 hour ride tomorrow. carb fest tonight. see you there locked, lubed, and loaded.

details & directions (via south bay mtn biking club) if you want to try the park out yourself:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sat. July 14: Sullivan Canyon Singletrack to the Intersection of Dirt Mullholland and Fireroad #30. B- level. TS 3 & EL 3. This ride starts on the Sullivan Canyon singletrack with 4 miles of steady climbing. Then we'll go about ½ mile on Sullivan Ridge Fireroad to the Dirt Mullholland Fireroad where we'll turn left for some climbing and descending to the intersection of the fireroad and Fireroad #30. Here we'll turn around and head to Nike Tower, then it's back to our cars by going down to the Westridge Fireroad where there will great views of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica (we can ride on the singletracks that are parallel to the fireroad). The distance of this ride is approximately 14 miles and duration is approximately 4 hours.

Directions to: 13407 W Bayliss Rd, Brentwood, CA 90049
From South Bay area: Take the 405 north. Exit at Sunset and turn left heading west. Continue to Mandeville Canyon Rd. Turn right and go to first stop sign. Turn left onto Westridge Road. Continue up hill to Bayliss. Turn left at Bayliss and park in that first block. Remember not to yell when you arrive as this is a residential neighborhood. About a 55-minute drive from the South Bay.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

will rogers / backbone / topanga canyon

2007-07-13T07:18:00.001-07:00

Saturday was looking gloomy and overcast - perfect biking weather! Met at Los Liones & West Sunset Blvd at 8am - Ken, Peter, Louisa, Jen, Derald, and me. Parked on the first block of Los Liones, and made the intros. Louisa printed up some SBMBC membership cards for us newbies too. To get to the trail head, we had a bit of road riding to do first. 1/2 mile up West Sunset and left onto Palisades Drive for a few miles, turning left at Verde De La Montura, then immediately right onto Michael Lane. The trail head (Trailer Canyon Fire Road on the map) was about a half mile down Michael Lane on the left hand side. Sidewalk is available to ride for most of the surface street journey, so you're out of the path of cars. Parts are overgrown though, so watch out for weedwhip. Met up with Mark at the trail head, investigated Jen's mysterious squeaky bottom bracket, test rode Louisa's light-as-a-feather Santa Cruz, and we were on our way.

The trails started out with a couple miles of fire road climb, with a few level spots (whew!) scattered throughout. Not quite as steep and intense as the first half of last week's Laguna Wilderness ride, but about twice as long. Utterly exhausting for a coddled midwestern flatlands singletracker like me - I've really got to work on my endurance. I was stuck at the back of the pack all the way up, but the west coast hardbodies barely budged off their big ring! The climb took about an hour and then we reached the "hub", a flat spot where several trails connect, outfitted with a port-a-potty (toilet paper included!), trail map, recycling bins, and a spectacular view.

From there, we hopped on the Will Rogers trail, part of the Backbone trail network. Will Rogers was forested singletrack with a couple short climbs for the first 1/2 mile, and after that, a skinny speedy exposed rocky run that let you go wild for a few miles. We stopped under a large oak tree, our halfway mark, and at that point, our group split in half, as some people were out of water. We had two options:

"UP": Finish Backbone trail and end up where we had hopped on from the fire road, and cruise down the fire road & surface streets to the cars. The catch was, it involved a LOT of up.
"DOWN": Ride Will Rogers in reverse and hit a singletrack to the surface streets. The catch there was that you end up a ways downhill of Los Liones and you finished up your ride with hilly heavily trafficked asphalt riding at peak temperatures.

Worried I was close to bonking, I nearly chickened out and initially opted for the easier way "Down", but Jen inspired some wacko part of me to try (her famous last words - "Nothing else on my schedule today!"). The first 1/2 mile of "Up" was tolerable, short twisty climbs with a few fast runs. And then we hit "The Washout" - about a mile of loose rocky poofy exposed 45 degree slope. The climb itself was tough, but with the sun beating down on your back, and the rest of its rays reflecting violently off the white rocks right back into your face, I was riding (ok, ok, 99% walking it) with a hairdryer blowing in my face.

Finally we hit the top of the mountain, took in the sights, and began the descent. Riding the trail back down to the fire road was no problem, and the fire road itself took about 15 minutes to speed down. It was so hard to believe we had climbed up all of it! The valley next to us held some scattered luxury homes and clouds creeping in along side. Everything looked green and luscious and I welcomed the cool breeze that accompanied the progressive drop in elevation.

Once we got back down to the balmy 68 degree perfection of the trail head, Louisa checked her bike computer and declared the day's stats: a 3000 foot climb during our 19 mile trek. Amazingly enough, after baking in the sun for 3 hours without a ghost of a sheltering cloud, the last few miles of Palisades Drive was completely overcast and gusty, and the temp dropped to about 50. We rolled up to the cars completely drained and ravenously hungry. After deconstructing the bikes for travel and shedding the dirtiest of shoes and shirts, we hit up a nearby Greek/Mexican/American joint. They had a million things on their menu, but I settled for the plainest option - a cheeseburger & fries. Toasted bun, freezer-burned patty, crisp greasy fries, and loads of ketchup. There's nothing like a deathly unhealthy hot post-ride meal.

The delicious single track at the top of this ride is worth the sweat and tears, but be prepared for a lot of it - a full CamelBak and 2 Clif Bar's worth, at least. I recommend Laguna for a shorter run and the Santa Monicas for the day after a marathon-prep spaghetti-eating contest.

details & directions (via south bay mtn biking club) if you want to try the park out yourself:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sat. July 7: Trailer Canyon to Will Rogers Trail. B Level. TS 3 & EL 3. This ride starts with an optional few miles riding up Palisades Drive, followed by four miles of climbing on the fire road, up to the top, and about 4 miles down the Backbone oak tree. Then we’ll turn around and head back to our cars.

Directions to: W. Sunset Blvd & Los Liones Dr, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
From South Bay area: 405N, 10W into PCH north, turn right onto Sunset Blvd., then turn left onto the first street on the left, Los Liones Drive. Park on the first block of Los Liones. If you reach the first traffic light, Pacific Palisades Blvd., you have gone too far. About a 40-minute drive from the South Bay.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

laguna coast wilderness!

2007-07-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

did my first trails ride since the march '06 sedona ibrc alumni trip. it felt so good to be back on the bike, picking lines, bombing downhills, and exerting myself to the point of exhaustion. i had to ride with my clunky heavy downhill pedals (the beloved clipless pedals are en route from brooklyn - how could i leave you behind?!?), so i was extra extra tired at the end of the 3-hour ride. not sure about distance...or the exact trails we rode...but i will certainly be back for more. maybe in october when the 30spf sunscreen can actually stand up to that scorching cali sun. there's more to laguna beach than vapid super spoiled sweet sixteen princesses. thank god.

details & directions (via south bay mtn biking club) if you want to try the park out yourself:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sat. June 30: Laguna Wilderness Park to El Moro and Beyond. B+ Level: TS 3 & TS 3. Lots of ups and downs, plenty of singletrack, and coastal scenery. Trails include John’s Run, Erection, T’n A, BVD, et al.

Directions to coordinates (33.5668, -117.764)
From South Bay area: 405 (SF Valley: 5 South) to 133 South (exit 2 - towards Laguna Beach). 133 becomes Laguna Canyon Road (no turns!). Drive 6.5 miles on 133 and then you'll see a parking lot on the right with a "Laguna Coast Wilderness Park" sign. If that lot is full, drive down another mile or so for the "Big Ben" parking lot, also on the right. Bring $3 for the drop box parking fee.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

coming to a boobtube near you in '08

2007-06-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

i loved watching the devilish debauchery this show brought to primetime. counting down the days...

+++++++++++

Now Casting: Paradise Hotel is Back!

Paradise Hotel is back and HOTTER than ever before.

Returning as a Fox Reality Original, Paradise Hotel is NOW CASTING.

Casting Directors have launched a nationwide search to find a whole new batch of contestants to compete in a brand new season for the prize of a lifetime.

Guests will be whisked away to an exotic locale to live in an exclusive resort fit for celebrities and ultimately compete for the ultimate Prize.

Brimming with luxurious amenities, gourmet food and free-flowing spirits, Paradise Hotel offers the kind of setting that will enable the guests to indulge in their wildest fantasies, all the while doing whatever it takes to secure their place in the game.

Will you play or get played?

For more information, please visit: www.foxreality.com

Email realityshowcasting@gmail.com with the following information:

1. Your name and age
2. Contact information (phone number!)
3. A recent photo
4. Why do you think you should be the next guest at Paradise Hotel

never too old for disney...(?)

2007-06-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

went to disneyland & california adventure this weekend, and although the pacific ocean cooled down anaheim far too quickly after sunset, fun was had and copious amounts of junky overpriced calories were consumed. these are the rides we managed to get on. before i forget it all.

soarin' over california - hosted by patrick warburton (played david putty on seinfeld), it features some dangling, pine scented air conditioning, and a close encounter with an imax screen
california screamin' - the most traditional roller coaster of the rides, and my favorite of the bunch. "the upside down part is mickey." (above image)
maliboomer - 2nd favorite. imagine a young sailor-hat-wearing drooling tyke playing paddle ball. you are the ball.
space mountain - an hour wait. in cold wet chino shorts. worth it. much better than the one at disney world, thanks to the superior wraparound line that looks down on the boarding area and its ginormous 3-story tall spaceship.
splash mountain - identical to the one in orlando. except for the getting drenched part. that wasn't part of the plan.
matterhorn - bumpy as all get out. do NOT double up. sit alone. ALONE. and bring a neck brace.
phantom manor - identical to the one in orlando. shorter line though. it's surprisingly refreshing to encounter halloween horrors in the summer heat.
twilight zone tower of terror - amazing. rides consumed indoors, in pitch black (for the most part), are the epitome of vomit-inducing bladder-pinching gut-lurching entertainment.
pirates of the caribbean - watch out for the airzooka-style invisible cannon balls and musket blasts. a very realistic animatronic johnny depp camps out in a couple scenes too.
peter pan's flight - crap. crap. umm....some more crap. and a long cramped zig-zaggy line to boot.
buzz lightyear laser blast - live action sit-down shoot-em-up. the doom franchise needs a branded park of its own yes please.
a bug's land - disney's take on chuckie cheese's "live" concerts. plus 3d glasses + polished non-plushy animatronics + stinky gas. avoid this "performance" if you can't appreciate a good ol' fashioned smelly wet mist.
mission tortilla factory - not a ride, but impressive nonetheless. good for free tortilla-only meals, a must for the budget-conscious.
it's a small world - the dolls get creepier every time i step into these "worlds". the animals are quality though - tigers and llamas and kiwis that wag their heads at you. visit on the hour to see the clock's innards open up and spit out dolls (and flying carpets) of every nationality. and please please please don't let your kids drink the water. or use it to style their hair. ick.

also, the brand spanking new finding nemo submarine voyage was open to "cast members" only, but overeager non-disney-affiliates can face off with the monstrous snaking 2 hr (minimum, i'm guessing) line on monday june 11th. mr toad's wild ride, the giant orange peel orange in CA adventure (i so badly wanted to feel like james within his giant peach), pineapple dole whip & eeyore "ears" are on my list for next time. when i've generated some stroller-lounging hell-spawn of my own.

14 (very loosely defined) "rides" sampled in 10 hours. it's always difficult for me to pronounce amusement park trips a success when i look at the numbers, but hey, we're talking about makin' memories here!

summer breeze

2007-06-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

memorial day has passed. so kick off the summer with these super comfy creamy perforated leather tretorn high top sneakers - yours for a deliciously paltry $25! (orig. $88) sadly only sizes 8.5 (1 pair left), 9 (1 pair left), and 10 (6 pairs left). let the reign of white shoes begin.

...(anthropologie.com)...

MSTRKRFT @ the Roxy

2007-05-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

free with rsvp!

luxe lust: inhabit dress

2007-04-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

inhabit is one of my all-time favorite cashmere/knit brands, one i was introduced to whilst toiling away at steven alan. can't drop the cash for the gorgeous linen item pictured above, but you (and your much thicker wallet) should def indulge.

i own one of their super soft fuzzy pink vneck sweaters, as well as a clingy thin deep-v brown knit top. i love (& wear) them to death, but i bought them with a substantial employee discount, so i'm biased.

and i dare you to find a better deal at their nyc sample sale (LAST DAY IS TODAY!)

INHABIT
1441 Broadway, suite 3101, between 40th and 41st streets; (212) 575-3800
Sale: April 25, 26. 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Cashmere blouson tunic, $80 (reg. $298), cotton apron dress, $60 (reg. $218), men’s cotton thermal henley, $60 (reg. $198).

(source)

open (sorta) studio

2007-04-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

architect richard meier is offering up a lifetime worth of building models for perusal. his firm has done the getty center here in la, and nytimes.com published a glowing full-blown press release about this marvelous opportunity to peek into meier's brain, but you really only need to read this line:

"Friday visits to Richard Meier’s studio in Queens can be arranged by appointment: (212)967-6060."

(nytimes.com)
p.s. saw p.d.q. bach & the ny philharmonic perform @ avery fisher not long ago. if you're a classical music buff, his live performances are worth a gander.

currently 74 in nyc & 69 in santa monica

2007-04-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Warren Buffett owns See's Chocolates.

Oleg Cassini dressed Jackie O' and made cute basic dresses.

D.A.N.C.E. (works now!!!!)

design-milk.com - lots of pretty pictures, a smattering of concise design editorial.

"Bruce Almighty" - Jim Carrey - Jennifer Aniston + Steve Carell = "Evan Almighty"
+trailer - out June 22nd

"Sicko" - the next Michael Moore doc
out in June

"I AM 8-BIT Version 2.0" - group show @ Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight
thru Sat May 12th

"Human Replacement Project" - Richard Colman @ Merry Karnowsky Gallery
thru Sat May 19th

Cheap.

finally, an excuse for my chronic forgetfulness

2007-04-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

(ocean sunset @ intersection of grand & vista del mar in my new nabe, el segundo, ca)

"I am supposed to do, I’m not supposed to remember!"

-Karl Lagerfeld

he took over chanel in 1983. he is also the hippest grandfather (well, age-wise anyway, not sure if he's spawned any progeny) on the planet. does YOUR gramps like listening to caribou or ratatat or black mountain???

the article that accompanies that quote can be found HERE.

been reading up on biographies lately. in the midst of a slow-going self-proclaimed "spiritual memoir" by sidney poitier and requested the sam walton and warren buffett biographies i left behind in brooklyn from my brother, who has usurped (and lovingly redecorated) my old fort greene apartment.

plus this terrific trek-around-the-globe-in-80-days travel blog sponsored by the magnanimous folks over at conde nast. winning the lottery vs getting picked to go on that trip? no contest.

happy v.d.!

2007-02-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

click for your daily dose of cuteness.

ok. maybe yearly dose of barfy twitchy fuzzy-wuzzy wet-nosed cuteness.