CAL vs. ucla - pauley pavilion

had time to join up w/fellow bruin and ex-roommate eric and his son maverick for today's matinée at pauley pavilion. fortunately for me, my bears won out 72-58, but there was a lot of trash talking between the four-year-old and i. UCLA jumped out to a 28-13 lead early, so mav was all up in my grille, but luckily the bears came storming back and took the lead at the half.

it's been a while since i took in a game at pauley, but it was all worth it when i heard the words "i'm bored" late in the 2nd half w/the bears commanding a double-digit lead. welcome to a world rife with heartbreak and shattered dreams, kid... XD

world trade center - los angeles

paid a visit to the world trade center in downtown this morning, as i had a date to exchange USD for thailand baht at foreign currency express. i believe it's the only place in LA that doesn't charge a service fee, so hey, i'm on board. rates aren't the greatest - i got 30 THB to 1 USD (current rate is 33.17 THB) - but i exchanged enough to tide me over until i find a bank in bangkok.

while there, i had time to snap a few pics of a deserted downtown (after all, it's a saturday... and it's raining), so enjoy the view. first up is the WTC against the backdrop of the westin bonaventure hotel:

trip to the cutting room!

got a chance to visit my favorite client, editor steven rosenblum, at his workplace yesterday. he's currently cutting ed zwick's next film 'love and other drugs' (starring jake gyllenhaal & anne hathaway) and it was my first opportunity to watch a master in action. steve's credits include 'braveheart,' and 'x-men,' and he couldn't be a nicer human being.

i've had the luxury of seeing him host an editing seminar at the lodz film school in poland (that's steve on the left), so he's able to infuse his charming wit and humor while discussing the finer points of editing. but this was the first time i got to see him work an avid machine and literally construct, deconstruct and change a full scene by the stroke of a keyboard.

it's fascinating to see how he can manipulate the audience's mindset or feeling by holding on a musical note just a beat more, or by slightly dissolving a character's line of dialogue, or by rearranging scenes in a montage to emphasize a different emotion. the editor is literally performing sorcery by using every available tool at their disposal, whether joining two disparate elements or creating a symphony with sight and sound. it's amazing, really, and i definitely gained a deeper appreciation for just how much they do to improve the film. the only problem is, now i've got to wait at least another 6 months before the film makes it to theatres...

warrior dash - it's on!

finally decided to sign up for warrior dash - billed as america's most insane race. it's a 3.08 mile course interspersed with 12 obstacles from hell and it lands in socal for the very first time.

with names like hell's hill (sprint to the summit), hay fever (hustle up/over ginormous straw bales) and muddy mayhem (mad scramble under barbed wire in mud), it promises to be quite the exhausting race, but something i'm ready to take on!

http://warriordash.com/register2010_socal.php

guns a-blazin'

so everybody knows about washington wizards' star gilbert arenas recent mexican standoff w/teammate javaris crittenton over a gambling debt gone unpaid, which led to his suspension for the rest of the year.

but did anybody hear about somebody carrying on a secret tryst w/arenas' wife for the past few years? who is that person you ask? none other than fellow baller shaquille o'neal!

it's kind of graphic, but you have to check out this hilarious e-mail exchange between shaq-fu and his lady friend about setting a time/date for one of their, uh, encounters. let's just say that none of these mensa members used spell-check, which makes it even funnier.

but do you really want to mess with the fiance of somebody that just got suspended for carrying 4 guns into an NBA locker room? really?

iPad - at long last

the world's worst secret was finally announced by the geniuses at apple this morning. the iPad - apple's spanking new multi-touch, multimedia tablet - will be available this april. prices start at $499 (16gb) and top out at $699 (64gb) and demand, of course, will be next to nil...

eats - akasha restaurant

sunday, january 24 brought the return of dineLA week, so tonight i had the chance to eat at akasha, a restaurant/bar/bakery in culver city that serves up new american cuisine with an eye towards natural, organic ingredients from sustainable sources. plus, it was olivia's birthday, so what better way to celebrate than with good drinks & food!

i was planning to eat off the optional prix fixe menu specially arranged for this week, but when i spotted the skillet mac & cheese w/organic swiss & cheddar, roasted shallot and toasted bread crumbs ($8), i quickly nixed that idea. the texture was spot on, but i would have liked a tad more zing from the cheddar.

bacon-wrapped dates ($7) and the spiced lamb sausage pizza w/rapini, manchego, tomato and parmesan ($13) soon followed. the scrumptious pizza was oh so delicate, with the perfectly thin crust charred just so. choosing lamb allowed the flavors to sing thru without the protein dominating the mouthfeel...



akasha restaurant
9543 culver blvd.
culver city, CA 90232
www.akasharestaurant.com

something for everyone

the above phrase is definitely true, especially in context with what i saw on saturday. after a downtown training session, i walked past this newsstand on grand ave. which sold a magazine featuring DEAD BODIES and MURDER VICTIMS. you know what's even crazier? my friend picked up two issues of said magazine...

eats - orochon ramen

since i trained in downtown today, what better time to sample the culinary delights that the area has? today's choice was orochon ("bravery" in ancient japanese) ramen, recommended by my friend shiloe after seeing it on the travel channel's "man v. food." apparently there's a ramen so ridiculously spicy that if you can finish the entire bowl within 30 minutes, you get your picture taken and put up on the wall of bravery. let's give it a shot!

first things first, there are 3 types of broth (miso, soy or salt) and 7 primary levels of spiciness - #7 for mild and #1 for extreme. however, there are two additional levels of hot - special #1 and special #2, the latter of which is literally a bowl of fire and comes with a warning label on the menu.


after much hemming and hawing, i opted for hyper #2 (not to be confused w/special #2), seeing as i wanted to actually taste the ramen since it was my first time there. plus, i picked up on the fact that every table had loads of napkins and ice water at the ready, so i was intimidated before i even started. what determines how hot the broth is, is the amount of secret spice mix that the chef/owner doles out when preparing your bowl. FYI special #2 has a whopping 6 teaspoons of the mix, not to mention a heaping handful of chopped jalapenos.

it arrives in a cauldron and it's filled with noodles, pork, garlic, green pepper, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, bean sprouts, sake and green onions. it's hot, but not unwieldingly so, so after i finished i definitely think i could move up to special #1. but the liquid inferno that is special #2 may be out of reach...

i guess i shouldn't feel so bad, because over 20,000 people have tried to take it down, but only a few hundred have succeeded. there's always next time...

orochon ramen
123 s. onizuka st.
los angeles, CA 90012

parkour - downtown LA

after a brutal week weather-wise in southern california (rain, heavy winds, lightning, thunder, hail), the sun peeked out for the first time today, so i had to spend it outdoors. what better way to celebrate than with an intense conditioning session in downtown los angeles! here's a kong over a monument i wasn't sure i was going to be able to get over...

2010 census - testing results

so i got a call from the census office to confirm that i had indeed signed up for selective services way back when. i couldn't remember when i filled out the application, but there's a handy site (www.sss.gov) that tells you immediately, so i was relieved to have confirmed as such.

while they had me on the phone, i asked if they had tallied up the results of my test score (10 out of 28 is passing). survey says? 27 out of 28.

at this point, it's out of my hands. if i get a call over the next several weeks, then i'm in like flynn. if not, no worries, i had fun carrying out the process. nevertheless, keeping my fingers crossed...

bELIeve - january 15

forgot to mention that during parkour training at UCLA this past saturday, a troika of black t-shirt wearing girls stopped us during our quadrupedal regimen up/down janss steps to hand out free shirts on behalf of the hughes brothers' film 'book of eli.' sweet!


for the uninitiated, 'menace II society' remains entrenched in the top 10 films of my lifetime, so you better believe i'll be wearing this with pride...

2010 census

this morning i'm starting the application process for a possible job as a census taker, as 2010 is a census year! i already have a full-time job that keeps me quite busy during the week, but there's an opportunity to do work on nights and weekends, so it certainly wouldn't hurt picking up some extra cashish. i'm not sure what the test consists of, but wish me luck...

only in LA

snapped this hilarious pic of silver robot guy meeting his agent this afternoon. i mean, who doesn't have an agent in los angeles?

believe it or not, they were going over different signage in an effort to maximize his foot traffic on third street promenade. best believe...

eats - best fish taco in ensenada

and no, i did not travel to mexico this past weekend. this taco joint is actually located in los feliz, just off sunset blvd. on hillhurst ave. it came highly recommended to my buddy kyle, so we hit it up after playing ball at UCLA on sunday afternoon. much to my delight, it was SO good.

on the periphery, it's not much to look at, as it's basically a small shack with a few tables inside along w/outdoor patio seating. the menu literally consists of three (3) items: fish taco - $1.50, shrimp taco - $2, drink - $1. i went w/2 fish tacos, 1 shrimp taco and a glass of homemade horchata, for the grand total of $6. as a plus, it's all made to order, so they don't get started until your number is up...

a huge appeal to this place - other than the delicious tacos, natch - is the self-serve salsa bar, so you can dress your tacos to your liking. i counted 5 different sauces - hot guacamole, pineapple kiss, mad mango, mild & a secret white sauce - along w/finely shredded lettuce.

and here's a nice shot of the tacos, which come nicely proportioned with huge chunks of fish or shrimp. the only problem is, this place is so far away, otherwise i'd be a frequent visitor...

best fish taco in ensenada
1650 hillhurst ave.
los angeles, CA 90027
www.bestfishtacoinensenada.com