NPR All Songs Considered Best of 2008

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Who you calling ugly?

My latest creature.

Santacon hits LA

Santa Grannies on Mopeds and Helio Sequence

I sweat my ass of in Griffith Park today jogging/hiking. It's December and was almost 80%. That's Indian summer anywhere else I've ever lived. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this. I'm going to go into shock when I get off the plane in Boise for the holidays.

On my way back to my car a group of grannies in shorts and santa hats riding matching shiny red mopeds with Christmas bows cruised past me.

Seriously? Only in LA.

I think they may have even been singing christmas carols. Although I may have imagined the whole thing in my complexed weather confused state.

I'll just keep my apartment cold, wear sweats inside, drink hot tea, and pretend that it is indeed winter.

On another random note I love this Helio Sequence Album. I just heard one of the songs on a podcast during my hike and remembered how much I love it.

BUST a move!

Bust Craftacular!!!

Jason Houchen burns

I did have a chance to take P to some galleries while he was in town. La Luz de Jesus on Hollywood was my favorite particularly the Jason Houchen show. His images are burned on wood in amazing detail and sometimes burned on carved wood sculptures. So awesome. As someone who dabbled in wood burning once or twice in wood shop I'm even more impressed. If I had the cash I would have bought one of these on the spot for my parents house. I love his western style, old world trade skill, and then comic relief. A breathe of freshness in my recent low brow burn out.

Thanxgivin' in LA

P flew out to the west coast for Thanksgiving and we decided to just have dinner for two this year since us being on the same coast is so rare these days. We had a blast. The drinking and cooking started early after a sunny morning walk. We couldn't decide what to make so we made everything: a baby bird, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pearl onions in cream sauce, brussell sprouts with butter and garlic, rolls, pumpkin pie, and offensive construction paper Indian headdresses. Days of eating, drinking, and loving too much.




I remember the cooking and sitting down to feast, but the rest of the Holiday and weekend were a blur.

R.I.P. Mitch Mitchell

A drumming legend. Such a badass. RIP.

Vote Already

Dia de Muertos

Tim Burton Scream Immortal

My favorite moment of the show. It doesn't translate nearly as well on video as it did being there.

Kiss with a Fist, but don't cry over dried Paint

I heard Florence and the Machine for the first time today (thanks KEXP.org). I was in the middle of silk screening monkey skeletons with paint when a rockin Regina Spektor meets the Noisettes styled voice belted out my speakers and made me halt mid pull. I stopped everything and just listened and then realized my paint was drying in the screen. SHIT.



Loving it and saved the silkscreen.

Screaming at the Greek

I got invited (by a friend not Spike TV) to the Spike Scream awards Saturday night. My first Hollywood or Hollyweird award show. I was skeptical until I walked in and saw all the freaks, geeks, special effects, acrobats and alcohol. And the Greek is such a great venue. Outside in a forest under the movie lights like Disney land for adults.

The show started out with, my favorite funny chubster, Kevin Smith and ended with a tribute to George Lucas featuring the man himself and 20 or so stormtroopers. People went nuts screaming and cheering he stood there with the award for almost 10 minutes until people calmed down and let the man speak.



There were also tributes to Anthony Hopkins, Wes Craven, and Stan Lee.



And Marylin Manson was there, of course.



My favorite of the night was my hero Tim Burton arriving to the stage in an air balloon of sorts. It was like being in one of his movies for a moment. Film Geek heaven. I would love to work for that man.




The Dark Night took home about half the awards at the end of the night. Nolan winning for the screenplay and directing as well as awards for Heath and other cast and winning best picture.

For Arts Sake

Tiny mixed media colage paintings. Just another distraction. I started these last week and finished them up yesterday.

Creative Binge

Last week I was on a creative high pretty much all week. The music filled weekend inspired me. The high lasted a week 'till Sunday I came crashing down. I'm not an musician, but music always inspires me to write and make art and so I did. Here's some work in progress and finished pieces.







It was all because of the LA Weekly Detour Festival, one of the coolest festivals I've ever been to. Usually festivals are in these outdoor amphitheatre, parking lots, or desert like settings, but this one was downtown LA. And it wasn't just like a street or two blocked off it was a huge area surrounding city hall. All the bus stops, sculptures, fountains, etc were fair game. There was even a DJ stage in the outdoor foyer of city hall. At night a rave like dance party was happening in there. Something you don't normally see at city hall, not to mention everyone getting stoned on the city hall steps.

DJ Stage


I took the metro downtown and when I got off just followed the music. Downtown should be like that all the time. It was a perfect day only in the 70's and overcast with a little bit of rain - rare for LA.

Grand Ole Party - so good, she rocks, my new favorite band



Datarock - love them

Black Lips - always a party, one of the guys threw up during the last song, classic but tame for them
’

They also toilet papered us.


Mars Volta - they went on and on and on ever song was an epic I didn't stick around long too 5 years ago

Cut Copy - such fun
Last but not least Gogol Bordello
Pre-show back stage

They were so amazing. One of the best shows ever. So much energy.



And for the finale one of the girls rode her drum into the crowd.

The Little Shop of Horrors

I've been watching classic and not so classic horror flicks in October to celebrate the month of Halloween starting with The little shop of horrors. The 1960's black and white one directed by Roger Corman (not the 80's one).



You just have to love this cult classic. Cheesy cheap goodness. Talking flesh eating plants and accidental murders. Jack Nicholson is so good. And the detective is hot. Why is it that all detectives in old movies are hot? Gotta love it. The movie is really funny too in both dark and obvious ways. I love that when the detectives son dies from playing with matches and he says "those are the breaks". Am I the only one who thinks that's hilarious?

Tuesday night at the Mayan (9-23)

Ssion, Tilly and the Wall, and CSS!!!! So good. I'm in love.

Ssion - BULLSHIT

Ssion - STREET JIZ

Tilly - TAP INTRO

Tilly - POT KETTLE BLACK

Tilly - THE FREEST MAN

Tilly - BEAT CONTROLL

CSS -MEETING PARIS HILTON

CSS - ALCOHOL

CSS - MOVE

CSS - MUSIC IS MY HOT HOT SEX

CSS - LETS MAKE LOVE AND LISTEN TO DEATH FROM ABOVE

CSS - ALALA


I left sweaty, inspired, and covered in glitter and confetti.

Flirtations with Hearthbreak

I got "the" call this afternoon "we're sorrry, but you were not selected" thanks, but no thanks. My first LA heartbreak. The first of probally many. So I screamed, cried, freaked out and then went to an Irish Pub with M to ingest lots of greasy comfort food and more black and tans than my skinny ass could handle. 

Silverlake

Exploring Echo Park

Echo LakeThe word lake is very deceiving. In Idaho we'd call this a pond.

My new lake Merritt.

I decided to take a walk aroundand feed the ducksapparently they lock up the really nice palm trees
but not the statues
I didn't find any hipsters. Just a few families and some homeless people in sleeping bags surrounded by brown bagged bottles.