chase the light

Brighton!

I always wanted to go to Brighton because of Quadrophenia. Seeing movies I love that are shot in places I’ve never been always intrigued me. So off I went. I had to work Saturday and also the bank holiday Monday, so that only left one day off. Normally I would go home to Liverpool but the rail lines are being worked on for 3 weekends in August and that means it’s about a 6 hour train ride each way. Liza was also busy with family things even farther north so it would have been an epicly long journey.

I booked a Bed and Breakfast from air BnB in Rottingdean on the advice of my friend Laszlo from work. He and his wife have a boat in Brighton Harbor that they stay on during the weekends.

After work on Saturday I got to Victoria station and checked out which platform I would be leaving from and found I had enough time to run to the bank for some cash. That done I boarded the train it was a quick 50 minutes to the coast. The only problem with the train is there’s not much to see. The train spends most of the time in a cut ravine, so it’s just trees rushing by. Rather boring compared to the Liverpool train that is mostly out in the countryside.

I got into the station and needed to find a bus. I walked around a bit to see if I was missing anything obvious about buying tickets. Nothing. I saw the busses picking people up but wanted to check on day passes and finally had to ask for help. I guy changing the train ticket machines pointed my to an office and the lady there was very helpful and set me up with two day passes. £3.30 for all you can eat bus travel! Such a bargain after London. All told I didn’t get away from the station for about 40 minutes, then the bus ride would be about half an hour to Rottingdean. Then a walk up to the BnB. The bus made its way through Brighton and we turned towards Brighton Pier and it was amazing. I’d seen so many pictures of it. It has a strange mix of Victorian and Eastern influences. I wanted to go back later that night to see it all lit up. I finally got to the BnB and Scott answered the door and got me set up. The room was really nice and I unpacked and relaxed for a short time.

I wanted to get back to Brighton before the sun set so I walked down through the village of Rottingdean and saw some Ye Oldie stuff. I hopped the bus and went to Brighton Pier but got off about 3 stops too early. I hoofed it along the strand where there’s a small version of an Eye. It was here I first noticed a Mod. Full wartime coat and bullseye patches, Who patches, it was great, ha! Then I thought, he looks pretty old! Then I saw more and they were all old. I didn’t find out until I was leaving Brighton why they were all old.

There were a few tricked out scooters in front of Brighton Pier but it was getting dark quickly so I walked on the pier. It was great, and it’s kept up very well. One of the nicer Victorian Piers that doesn’t feel like it’s going to collapse into the ocean. The arcade was packed and the rides at the end of the pier were your usual carnival rides you’d find in the states, except for one. Duhn duhn duhnnnn… A Helter Skelter! I’ve never seen one in person. So cool. It’s just a big old slide but you grab your mat and slide down, and then go back to the top for another ride when you get to the bottom and I’ll see you again! Yeah yeah yeah yeah… You might even get blisters on your fingers. So, yes, this is the ride made famous by the Beatles, and then infamous from the Manson murders with it being written in blood on a door. All it is is a slide! Weird. So I loved walking the pier but my feet were killing me at this point so I decided to call it a night. Saw a few more old Mods and some young ones with girls all dressed up. I thought it was interesting that the culture was still kind of alive.

I got up Sunday morning and took the bus to Beachyhead which is the tallest chalk cliff in England. The bus pulled over and few of us got out but I really had no idea where to go. So I just walked up hill and in no time I’m standing on the ledge of a white cliff. Frankly there wasn’t much to see. Maybe the lighthouse below but you can’t really appreciate it. I suppose it’s like trying to see Mt. Everest while you’re at the summit. When I was on the bus we passed a car that had a champlain in it. Ya know, in case you’re feeling the urge to jump. Beachyhead is the #1 suicide spot in England. They even have a website http://www.bhct.org.uk/wp/. There was an uptick in despondent people in the last week because of the death of Robin Williams. Apparently whenever there is a high profile suicide the rate of ‘incidents’ go up.

Anyway, sights… I decided to head back to Brighton. I sent a message to my buddy Laszlo and he called me to say they were taking their boat out and if I wanted to go along. I had other things I wanted to see so I passed but would meet up with them for dinner. Right after I hung up the bus pulled up to Seven Sisters. I made the quick decision to enjoy a hike out to the coast for some pictures. I walked pass a curvy section of a river where some kayakers were paddling around. Over a little bridge was an Inn that I stopped at and had lunch out on their deck. It was beeeeeeautiful out. Warm sun, light breeze, green all around, blue skies. I ordered a burger and it was the best burger I’ve had since getting to the UK. Okay, so I’m all full and hydrated, time for the walk. I asked the server which way I should go and he asked what was my goal. I said pictures of the Seven Sisters. He pointed to the sheep gate at the end of the car park and off I went.

It took about 30 minutes to walk out to the beach on a rather rocky path. Not much to see really until you get right to the inlet of the estuary. Then the full view of the cliffs is there with lots of people about enjoying the views. The beaches in Brighton area are not really nice though. They’re all rock. Smooth though like fist sized river rocks. I walked up to the cottages and got some great views of the cliffs behind them. Next time I would probably take the path on the other side of the estuary to get right underneath the cliffs. I took the scenic route over the close proximity route.

I took a different track back which took me through the sheep farms. Lots of black headed sheep and a lot smoother walking path. I got back to the Inn and walked to the bus stop and sat down on the grass. That was a 2.5 hour tramp and my feet were hurting. So I thought I would sit down and put my hand in a pile of red ants. That was awesome. Even better was it took me a couple of minutes to notice.

The bus came and I got on a was ready to head back into Brighton but I was so tired and hot I decided to stop at the BnB and have a shower and rest. That was the best shower I’ve ever used. Then I called my parents and then Liza. Laszlo got back in from their sailing excursion so I headed down to the marina to have dinner. On the way there and old man sat next to me and some scooters went by. He looked at me and said, it’s been years since the mods and rockers. Then said he moved there in 1966 and that the media played it up more than what really happened. That was it. The whole conversation. It was later that I discovered it was Mod weekend in Brighton but I hadn’t actually spent much time in Brighton so I missed it all. But that explained why I saw so many scooters and Mods dressed up. They were just there for the rally.

It was his wife’s birthday so we had reason to celebrate. We went to a big wooden restaurant. That’s the best way to describe it. Like it was made of ships. We also met up with some friends of theirs that were on the boat today. His friend told a hilarious story about the movie The Grudge. How a friend of his freaked him out while watching the movie. Right after a particularly scary scene his friend pauses the movie and says, I have something to show you… He shuts the lights off and hands him a flashlight. He takes him to the kitchen and has them both crawl on the ground to this spot until they’re face to face. His friend sticks his finger in the floor board and starts pulling the board up… He tells him to look into the floor. Of course he’s freaking out because they’re in the middle of watching The Grudge. Underneath the floor board is a pitch black hole. His friend tells him to take the flashlight and shine it down the hole. haha And just as he’s about to look in this hole his friend lets out a massive scream and he jumps five feet in the air. This guys house was built over an old well! We were all busting up laughing at the story. Then he had to go back and finish The Grudge. It got late so we said our goodbyes and I headed to the bus. Got into bed and it started raining. Nice.

I got up Monday morning and caught the bus back to Brighton Station, and then the train to Victoria. Bye bye Brighton.

Today I got to do something I’ve always wanted to do. Go inside Abbey Road Studios. In particular, Studio 2. Every trip I’ve made to London has included a visit to Abbey Road. Now that I live here I think it’s fair to say I deserve to go in! I’m a bit of a recording studio fan. I think they’re incredibly exciting places that are slowly dying.

A few years ago I purchased a massive boxed book set called Recording The Beatles. It’s very comprehensive and I love it. If there was one book I would have wanted to bring with me it would have been that one. Just to massive and heavy. The two guys who wrote the book were doing a talk at Abbey Road, along with Ken Duncan who was an engineer on some of The Beatles recordings. So a little dream has come true.

I got up this morning and took my camera and walked to the station only to realize I left my ticket in another bag! Ran back, grabbed it and ended up in a cab just to make sure I got there in time. As I got out of the cab there were people already milling about. The Studios have installed a Crossing Cam that me and my friends back home always look at to watch people nearly get run over. Knowing I was going to be there the stayed up until about 2am waiting for me. It also has audio so I goofed around in front of the camera for a bit and then stood below it and yelled at Kevin. He heard me in Burbank. Ha.

The started letting us in at 10am, and in the door I went. The front part of. The studios. Is basically a house and reception area, while where gardens used to be is where the studios are. I walked down the hallway and in Studio 2. It’s a fairly large space and to the right as you enter is that famous staircase up to the recording area. They pulled out some of the pianos and organs, consoles, etc from the archives. I bought another book from one of the authors which also includes his work atTrident studios which is across the street from work. The talk was interesting and included a ge etchings I didn’t know, but one struck ore that others. It was where in thee studio the recorded. I happened to sit on the end of the row near the back end of the studio. They played some clips of a drummer that were recorded in each studio so we could hear the difference in sound. Then they played twist and shout and you could hear the same sound of the stidio. Quite amazing really. The they showed a diagram of how the Beatles used to record which was like a live set because that’s all they new. They diagram showed the very corner I was sitting in and basically was sitting whe the mic that john and Paul would sing into. Weird to think they sat there and recorded on that spot. Then they asked a few people to come up and they had 3 of the pianos there and marked of the chords for the massive chord at the end of a day in the life. 1, 2, 3…, bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm. End of Sgt peppers right there before your ears. Cool.

Yep, hitting all the touristy sites.

After work this week I headed down to the Emirates Air Line. It’s basically like the old sky buckets at Disneyland. Or a ski gondola up Mammoth. You choose your childhood experience. Anyway, ran out of work at 6:30 since it closes at 8:00. Eventually got to the Jubilee line and over to Greenwich peninsula. Again by the O2 arena… Whoa look at all the people. Must be a show on… Walking, walking…. Beyoncé! Ha. Not my thing of course, but I briefly entertained the idea of getting a ticket. Oh so briefly. Would have been a big spectacle show, right?

I made my way over to the Air Line, stupid name, and paid for my ticket with my Oyster card and hopped on. I really don’t think this is going to be around very long as I was practically the only one on it. Views are okay, but mainly of the O2 and Canary Wharf. I rode it round trip and then walked along the river walk up to the Thames Clipper service. A boat taxi of sorts. The next boat would be an hour so I went to Nandos and had dinner and then walked back to the ramp and boarded. It was about the same cost as the Air Line, but waaaaay better views cruising up the Thames. So amazing at night. I even saw a group of kayakers. I suggested that as a lighting team activity some time after work. Everybody seemed into it. We went under the Tower Bridge, and at night it’s really spectacular. I got off the boat at Embankment and walked the rest of the way home. Was nice out, and really my only venture out this week. Although, on another night I did get over to Harrods for 15 minutes before they closed. Even London closes early. So frustrating sometimes. Everybody’s just at pubs, not really doing anything.

At lunch I sometimes go over to Denmark street where all the music shops are located. Guitars, guitars, guitars, galore. I didn’t bring any guitars over here so I sometimes go to the stores and play a little bit. On the way over to that street I pass Trident Studios which is where Bowie recorded Ziggy Stardust and Queen recorded their first albums. Then a little further along is MPL. McCartney Productions Ltd. Yes, Sir Paul’s office. Soho’s a bit crazy with music sights. Even the underground toilet right outside of work is an exclusive club where John Lennon use to “work”. [LINK]

Back on the train from Liverpool to London. I got in Friday night at about 11:15. Think that’s the earliest by a few minutes. Liza met me at the door but Xavier wasn’t awake. Chatted for a bit and we made plans for Saturday to have breakfast at The Carvery and then head into Liverpool. Went to bed and got up and did just that. Had a full English breakfast. It was me, Liza, Xavier, Soraya, and their mom. I wasn’t in the mood for it really but it ended up tasting better to me than all the other times we went. Go figure. After lunch we headed down to Liverpool 1 for some emergency shopping. Xavier’s pram broke this week and while usable it’s a bit wobbly. Also we needed and new car seat. Which is about 4 months over due. He outgrew his first one very fast. I knew we were getting the car seat this weekend but the new pram was going to be a few months because it is expensive. Well, I had to bite the bullet and get it before his stroller collapsed beneath him.

What did we get? Well… drumroll…. The Bugaboo Buffalo. Gulp. Had to be done really as it’s the biggest stroller made, and he’s off the charts for growth so we needed something industrial. Watch a group of hipsters, with their hipster beards, in their hipster video, be hipsters with their Bugaboo Buffaloes. [LINK] Oh man, I hope I don’t look like that. It’s like Mumford & Sons all had babies. We also got the Axxis car seat which turns towards the car door so you can sit him down and strap him in then rotate him into the car. So much easier. He also made out with a little car walker and a new bed thanks to grandma. Quite a day for him. The real relief was he actually fell asleep in the new car seat. He wasn’t doing that anymore in the old cramped seat.

I’m now back in London and checked in for the night across from St. Pancras station. It’s beautiful, so I might have breakfast in the station tomorrow. Because I can. Nope, didn’t happen.

It’s Thursday night and it was an uneventful week. I’ve now had a few good meals out in London, including a Lebanese place tonight. I leave for Liverpool after work tomorrow. Taking an earlier train which will be super busy, but then a later train Sunday evening to be able to put Xavier asleep before heading back to London. Now that I’ve been in London a bit I’m rereading a lot of events that make much more spacial sense to me now. Particularly the London bombings in 2005. I was reading the Wiki on the history of King’s Cross and St. Pancras stations. Of course the usual Harry Potter history comes up… Platform 9 3/4 and the outside locations of St. Pancras, but I came across the section about the starting point of the London bombings being King’s Cross. I’ve ridden both the tube lines from there and the bus route the bus bombing occurred on. So strange that it’s so close, but so far away. [LINK]

I was supposed to do some laundry tonight, but I’m still at work using the web access to write, and catch up with a few people. If I didn’t catch up with you, I might not have because I wrote the above.

A few things that have humored me this week. Door knobs in the middle of the door. How Victorian, and useless. Also, if you put a pull handle on a door, make it for pulling, not pushing. On the shopping carts, all of the wheels rotate. Not just the front two like in the States. It’s weird, my cart always feels like it’s losing control as I go down the aisles sideways.

I’m now in the routine of work. I don’t know everything yet but that will come with time. Doing some Look Development. Not much to report this week, just glad to be checking out of the hotel for a few days this weekend.

On Wednesday I went to see the play Strangers on a Train. It’s based on the novel, but most people know the Hitchcock film. Hitchcock took quite a few liberties with the film version. The play had Imogen Stubbs in it from one of my favorite movies A Summer Story. It was pretty good but I’m uncomfortable with stage acting. I couldn’t help but think, “where’s the orchestra?” Probably why I prefer a big loud musical than a stage play. The whole cast was doing American accents that were hit and miss. You could hear some of them slip into their English accents quite often. The exception, the girl playing the southern belle type character laid the accent on thick and was very very good. But then she got strangled. Ha. I got the ticket at the TCKT booth at Leicester Square. 1/2 off day of tickets and I got 7th row. Amazing. I’m going to try and make that my weekly entertainment while I’m alone in London. I’m thinking The Book of Mormon for next week.

On Thursday night the lighting team went and played a Round Robin tournament of laser tag in North Greenwich. My code name was Quebec, on the Blue Team. First game I was “Most accurate”, but not a lot of points. Each round I played I kept scoring higher and higher but my accuracy went down. I realized spraying bullets in shotgun mode is pretty much the best way for a large body count. So I started out all Lee Harvey Oswald and then went all Bonnie and Clyde. Is that how I deal with situations though? At first I can be all focused, precise, and methodical, but then if the time comes I can basically shoot the place up. “Trigger Happy” honors went to the guy next to me at work. And you know what? That seems about right. So go play Laser Tag, and get your Kierkegarrd on.

After Laser Tag everybody went to a pub at the O2 Arena. I was too hungry at that point and looked around for something to eat but everything had just closed. I said my goodbyes, but had a walk around the O2. It’s really pretty at night. They have a thing where you can walk over the top of the dome so I’ll check into that some weekend I stay in London. I’m glad they’ve done something cool with the place. Really bummed to have missed the Zeppelin show there in 2007. I was in town and everything.

In other news, George is heading to Liverpool with me tonight to hang out before he heads back to New Zealand. He’ll be there for a few weeks to wrap up selling his house and then will come back to London with his partner Claire and their little dog. He’ll get to meet Xavier and see Liza again. Nice to be getting out of the city. The cable for internet was accidentally cut at the house so it might be a radio silence weekend. I’ll have a look…

Well well well, England is certainly living up to its reputation for crap weather. Every storm that is laying down snow on the US east coast basically picks up steam across the Atlantic and becomes biblical in proportion. 120 mile an hour winds in Liverpool this week. Zoiks’, hurricane force winds. The whole south west in Cornwall is a flooded disaster, and they’ve even closed the Thames barrier. London would be like Venice right now if they hadn’t put that in. They’ve now closed the Thames barrier more in the last few months than they have in the previous 20 years. 25% of the total amount of times they’ve ever closed it has happened in the last few months. Noahs’ Ark stock just hit an all time high. It’s nar nar as they say on ViceTV.

Winter in London has certainly made me appreciate a few things. The sun. I was walking down the street this week and the sun broke through and shined right in my eyes. I actually stopped and just stood there. It paralyzed my brain.

It’s also nice to reflect on how good Mexican food is in L.A. Even a chain like Chipotle is slightly off here, so it’s disappointing. It’s like the worst day at Chipotle in U.S. is the best day at Chipotle in the U.K. I had a burrito at some place this week that tasted like they took a can of Dennison’s chili and put it in a tortilla. Sure, you could do that, but you probably shouldn’t.

An amazing thing about London though is the staggering amount of the things to look at. Look at that, ooh, look at that, whoa, look at that. It’s super intense. I went to Selfridges department store this week to have a look and spent 25 minutes just in the neon sign section. Not the “OPEN” neon sign type that you get at Costco, but full blown artistic neon signs. That’s an actual section in the store. What?! £6000 for a sign if you’re interested.

It’s weird how L.A. has lousy coverage when it comes to public transport, but it generally works and is efficient. That is, if it’s going to where you want to go. London has tons and tons of transport, and it is definitely going where you want to go. Which in turn seems to make it snarl and everything runs late, or runs really late. Oh how I appreciate you 720 express bus on Wilshire. There are no express buses in London. That just made me laugh by the way. An express bus in London would arrive at the same time as a, well, a bus.

Since I’m traveling back and forth to Liverpool on the weekends I haven’t done much sight seeing. I usually take a lunchtime walk around Soho, but I can’t really get very far and then also have lunch. Local areas are all very touristy so it’s not much fun. Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, etc.

I’m leaving the hotel behind this weekend and heading to a hostel that’s nearer to work. This will save some money on transport costs at the very least. George is also staying there so maybe we can share one of the shared rooms at some point. I need a few pay checks to be able to get a flat in London. It’s incredibly expensive and since Liza and Xavier are up north I can handle the hostel on my own. Work is busy enough and I’ve just been going straight to the hotel and watching some TV anyway. I skipped watching any of the Olympics in Sochi this year for lack of interest really. Most of time I fell asleep with the BBC on.

On Valentine’s Day I picked up some nice fairy cakes for Liza from Selfridges. Seen above all decked out in Valentine red. Of course by the time I arrived in Liverpool the cup cakes were smashed. Boo. They were made by the same people who made the wedding cake or something for William and Kate. Shrug. I dunno. I also picked up a Baby Bullet for making Xavier’s food. It’s quite cute and of course kitchen appliances always make a romantic Valentine’s Day gift. It wasn’t really for Valentine’s Day, that’s what smashed cakes are for.

I arrived into Liverpool fairly late Friday and a taxi was waiting for me. The last two weeks Mersey Rail has been doing improvements so it’s been shut down from Liverpool and Formby. All the roads are windy in that area so by the time I get to the house I’m really car sick. Every time. Xavier had woken up just before I arrived so I got to see him and he smiled big even in his sleepy state. Saturday we had a few errands to do but didn’t get to the main one which was to change some money before the banks closed. We did get Xavier’s passport pictures done, which are incredibly cute. Also got the paperwork for his British passport and will try to get that sorted this week. We also went and looked into the local Formby pool. It’s really nice and will be a great place to take Xavier to continue getting him used to water.

It’s Sunday and I took the train back to London. Liza packed a lunch for me and I ate most of it on the train. I had a first class seat today and got a little snack box. First class on a plane is radically different than a first class seat on a train but there is more room and less people than the plebes in the other coaches. See how quickly you become snobby? I’ll be back with my second class citizens on Friday. I shot some video out the window to get an idea of Liverpool.

I’m starting to miss home a little more now. I knew there would come a time where I felt like this. The “Okay, vacation is over let’s go home” feeling. But we aren’t on vacation and someone else lives in our house. So, to combat some of those feelings I have to keep making plans for fun things to do. This Thursday I’m playing laser tag with the lighting team at work. In North Greenwich somewhere. I’ve never played but I’m glad it doesn’t involve paint.

Another thing coming up is in a few months. I have a very exciting once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios. I also get to meet the authors of Recording the Beatles, a massive box set book I bought a few years ago. All the Beatles albums, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, the Star Wars scores, Kate Bush were all recorded here. Amazing. Every trip to London I’ve always visited the outside of the studio. This time I will get to go in. That. Is. Amazing.

I got into London right at 4pm and went straight to the hotel to check in. I met up with George at the hotel! There’s no place to hang out in the room so we headed down to Costa Coffee and sat for a few hours and then went to a Thai restaurant for a meal and sat there for another few hours.

We usually put Xavier to sleep with the Eagles, so tonight it’s my turn. Take it Easy…

Goodbye In-N-Out. Goodbye Tito’s Tacos. Goodbye Paco’s Tacos Cantina. Goodbye Benito’s. Goodbye Rickey’s Fish Tacos. Goodbye Olvera Street. Goodbye Spitz’s. Goodbye Kogi Truck. Goodbye Fatburger. Goodbye Griffith Observatory. Goodbye Gladstone’s. Goodbye Buddha’s Belly. Goodbye Langer’s. Goodbye Canter’s. Goodbye Paradise Cove. Goodbye Wacko/Soap Plant. Goodbye stuff in my storage unit. Goodbye LACMA Rock. Goodbye LACMA Lights. Goodbye Tar in the tar pits. Goodbye Grove. Goodbye Disneyland. Goodbye Hollywood Bowl. Goodbye Hollywood Sign. Goodbye my Honda s2000. Goodbye Yai Thai. Goodbye PCH. Goodbye 3rd Street Promenade. Goodbye Lincoln Ave. Goodbye Alcott Street. Good riddance 405. Goodbye Aeron chair. Goodbye Curson Ave. Goodbye Park La Brea. Goodbye Park La Brea pools and hot tub. Goodbye Miracle Mile. Goodbye Los Angeles. Goodbye California. Goodbye USA. Goodbye North America. Goodbye Americas. Hello England!

Goodbye family and friends, we’re off… See you soon.

It’s been 7 months since Xavier burst onto the scene. The lack of updates to this website attests to the amount of time it takes to attend to a newborn child. I’ve mainly been updating his website for all his ‘fans’ around the world. From the typical jaundiced look of a newborn to the little man sitting in his fire truck, here’s a sampler platter from birth until Christmas. It’s been absolutely amazing to watch him see and do things for the first time. His personality started showing up at about 2 months. There hasn’t been anybody he hasn’t smiled and laughed at and in return he always gets a smile and laugh in return. Even my most jaded non-baby friends love him. He really is the perfect little boy. I can’t believe he’s ours. Way too many people have said they want to eat him up. Please don’t eat my baby.

Then there this…

While 2013 has been crazy, we’re about to embark on a new adventure that will change our lives yet again… So stay tuned, hopefully it will be getting more interesting ’round these parts in February. It will even include more picture taking and posts too! My New Years promise to you website.

On a visit to Little Tokyo I spotted another Space Shuttle. I realized later that I kinda knew it was there but had forgotten about it. It was Labor Day so not a lot of people were downtown. So, to recap the Shuttles… Endeavour at the Science Center, Challenger/Columbia memorial in Burbank, another Challenger atop the memorial for Ellison S. Onizuka in Little Tokyo. Yay for Shuttles!

Get your cheese songs ready to ride down Wilshire Blvd. for the summer Ciclavia event! Missing Persons, Randy Newman, and FOGHAT! Things to look out for in the time breakdown below.

Read the rest of this entry »

As of today it’s been a month since he barreled into the world. Lot’s of milk, diapers, and spit ups going on, but it’s all amazing. Fascinating really. I’ve seen him go from a little bundle of squinty eyes in a swaddle to a strong little man kicking his feet out, grasping things, and the first signs of smiling. Seeing someone learn about the world is a strange thing. How do hands work? What is that? I’ll stare at it. What happens when I do this? Oh, I don’t like that. Everything is a first. A clean slate. Makes you realize how everything really is amazing.

He really loves his orca plushy and stares at it the whole time he’s in the play pen. His newborn jaundice is almost completely gone, right on time with that too. If that isn’t enough he is getting his first movie credit next month! He’ll call you. We have a summer of aunties flying in to see him. Auntie TT in July, Auntie Mimi in August, Auntie Naddie in September, and then grandma’s back in October.

xavier@earth: 1 > perl -E “say ‘Hello World!'”
Hello World!

6 years ago this week I went to England and met Liza. Just before I left I was at the cafe across the street and the Jacaranda trees were in full bloom. I took a picture. I always kind of associate those trees blooming with that trip. Here we are 6 years later and about to go to the hospital. I walked over to that same cafe, took the same picture, and in a few hours welcomed our little one Xavier Bowe Cunningham into the world.

Xavier Bowe Cunningham was born at 12:48pm. Weighing in at 11lbs 10oz and 21.25 inches long.

For years Arrested Development occasionally filmed outside the windows of my office. I would see the airline stair truck go by the windows with someone chasing it or a bike riding beside it. I didn’t watch the show at the time so I had no real interest in the goings on outside. I only really discovered it after it had gone off the air a few years and now kick myself for not paying more attention. Love it now of course.

For the new season’s promotion they set up a Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana stand right in the heart of the area they used to film. The line was around the block for the whole day.

Jerry’s Market
3969 Higuera St, Culver City, CA

“We don’t want to hire unlucky people!” said the interviewer and randomly discarded half of the applications.

Burbank fun facts. Did you know there are two Space Shuttles in L.A.? Read the rest of this entry »

The Seventh Veil & LACMA. Two places you can find nudes.

Liza and I participated in a gallery show with some other L.A. artists. Here’s our wall. It was a good excuse to get my Bridge photos framed, and also Liza’s Americana-inspired triptych.

The artists:
Arturo Aguilar: Los Angeles lifer, photographer and computer artist. He has spent the last decade in the film industry creating simulation art for DreamWorks and Sony Pictures. art-speaks.blogspot.com | instagram.com/art_werks

Asylm: Asylm is an L.A.-based graffiti artist, fine artist and muralist. Asylm.com

Chris Cunningham: Photographs, lights, composites, musics, and 3D enthusiasts. Chasethelight.com

Liza Lemsatef Cunningham: Artist, photographer, designer of fine web and print offerings, art history nerd. Not necessarily in that order. Ellelens.com | Jaunty Angles blog

Brendan Eddy: A director of both film and visual effects, and a musician currently working in Los Angeles. brendaneddy.com | Invisiblehero.net

Eyeone is an artist and graphic designer based in Los Angeles. His work is rooted in graffiti, printmaking, photography, and punk rock. Eyelost.com

Sofia Gonzalez has been professionally designing and screen printing in LA since the 90s, yo! Sofialeegonzalez.com

Michael Hackett: “Michael Hackett explores the space where an information system becomes so complex, that it’s orderliness diminishes and begins to take on organic characteristics.”

Mad Guru: Adnan was raised in both the U.S. and Pakistan on a childhood of writing stories. Besides visual effects and animation on feature films for the likes of Disney and Sony, he works under his company Mad Guru, to create animated films and projects designed to provoke thought and bring diverse people together. Madguru.com

Photos by Liza Lemsatef Cunningham

Caught a midweek church organ concert at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.

Kon-Tiki Screening Q&A with directors Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg, visual effects supervisor Arne Kaupang, and actor Jakob Oftebro. Fantastic film up for the Oscar for Foreign Language Film.

The Park La Brea pools.