Travel: Seattle, Washington

Top of Space Needle

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

Seattle was a nice spontaneous weekend getaway. As soon as we landed, the fall foliage and colors there were simply amazing. The hills surrounding the city were blanketed in trees of red, yellow, and brown, all colors of Autumn. It was beautiful and nothing like what you'd see in CA. The weather was gray and rainy as expected, with a high of about 55 degrees and chilly gusts from time to time.

Autumn

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

The seafood is incredible, so fresh and tasty! Any kind of fish or shell fish could be had at the local fish market, right on the water.

Fish Market

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

Nicoise w/Albacore Tuna

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

In the same market area is the first Starbucks ever (see old logo), a renown Russian pastry shop, and many restaurants serving all kinds of good clam and crab chowder and seafood. For me, it was a salmon and tuna food frenzy.

1st Starbucks

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

Granny Smith Cinnamon Bun/Roll

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

Considering Election time, the Seattle area is quite liberal. There were Obama stickers and posters everywhere. Capital Hill was one pro-Obama city, also known for its music scene, and for its gay population. Our friends led us into my first gay club ever. It was different, but why not? We were there for the music and the fun of being with our friends. However, we didn't expect to be so aggressively solicited, grabbed at, and propositioned... haha.

A Night's Walk

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

We did as much as we could for the 3-day weekend - Space Needle, exploration, literally getting lost in the city, eating, etc. I didn't leave with any regrets. Would I visit again? Yes, but not until after Chicago, more of the North East, and Southern Bible Belt for even more culture.

Space Needle:

From Seattle - 10/31 - 11/2

P.S. I would recommend flying on Virgin America. Very hip airline and decor.

Travel record from CA:
Vietnam
Malaysia
Germany
Poland
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Switzerland
Italy
Mexico
-New York
-Florida
-Utah
-Seattle

Food: Flashback to NY!

My First NY Pizzas!

Location: Manhattan, NY
Parlor: Ray's Pizza
Street: 7th Ave., between 53rd & 54th
Date: March 2008





I never knew how good pizza could be until I went to New York. And, from what I hear, it wasn't even the best pizza in New York, yet it was the best I've ever had!!

I'm bringing this one back because I always had the video, but I never posted it on this blog. I figure I needed something new since my tapioca sampling with Jenny... plus I've been inspired by H.C.'s blog... the diligence in his postings and detail in food descriptions - yum.

Ahh... I've been busy lately, but perhaps after this Friday. After "Taste of Newport" with 3rd Eye Blind... perhaps :D

Marketing: I Loves It

Marketing is a fun field to be in, provided that you've got a little creativity and smarts:



Marketing has gone from traditional mediums to the online realm in a big way. Viral videos in particular, have made their mark about two years ago (I think), when video upload services became widely available. Now, anyone can upload their videos (i.e. youtube.com/khoiboy) and become an overnight sensation depending on how interesting/compelling/outrageous their videos are. For big companies, it's another way to do guerrilla marketing, with the goal of getting the name and brand exposed without the appearance of trying.

The Prada video is a nice artistic piece, probably subtlety representative of their unique style and elegance. Every little detail, I'm sure, comes from the mastermind designers that run the Prada show. Overall, a beautiful video worth passing on. The one above has actually been dubbed with audio that is not in the original. A fan's spin-off perhaps.

You can see the original by clicking HERE: Prada - Trembled Blossoms

I stumbled upon this video while searching for a phenomenal group and tune called Telepopmusik - Don't Look Back. You might recognize their older song, titled "Breathe."

Food & Fun: Tapioca, Jupiter, & Pie

Jenny co-hosts as we try phenomenal tapioca drinks for the last days of Summer 08!



The Phoenix Food Boutique:
Our final stop on this warm Summer night was The Phoenix Food Boutique. You must make a trip out to Arcadia to try this place immediately. Fortunately, Jenny just happened to have her camera on her while we were sipping on tapioca drink deliciousness. We shot video that was mostly improvised and with no script. Nice work, Jenny... have your agent call me already :D

***

Matt Denny's Ale House:
Before we indulged in tapioca, I had a pleasant dinner at Matt Denny's Ale House. I tried their Guiness Pot Pie, which was good. MDAH is more of a "gourmet" version of Yardhouse, with all kinds of beer selections. Thanks to Connie for treating me to this exquisite and fun dinner.




Seeing Jupiter and its Moons:
Next, we were off to the Griffith Observatory to catch the "Star Party" and a sighting of Jupiter using volunteer telescopes set up throughout the area. Space/Astronomy has always, always been a keen fascination of mine, and to be able to see Jupiter's moons and its cloud bands was amazing!!

Beauuutiul Observatory!


***

Our final stop on this warm Summer night was The Phoenix Food Boutique...

Art: Stella Im Hultberg @ Thinkspace

We had a chance to see Stella and her latest works last Friday at Thinkspace Gallery, and what a treat!



Her new "Raveled" exhibit seemed to be a great success for her, because by the time we got there, nearly all of her pieces had red stickers on them (indicating sale). Homegirl busted out with some fantastic new paintings, my favorite being the one shown in the picture above which Sandra skillfully snapped.

Also on display were some of her epic works on tea-stained paper. Below is an older piece I think, and one of my favorites. You can check out some of her other ones HERE.

Stella pwns:


One thing that I've always noticed is that Stella-paintings often show women with amazing hair. Walking into the gallery, there was a gigantic silhouette of her likely subject gracefully depicted on the wall. Eye candy.

Took this from HERE (hope I don't get sued)


Her exhibit is on until September 5th. If you like her stuff as much as I do, definitely make a trip out to Thinkspace soon!

P.S. There passed out free booze at the opening, though I was driving.

Next @ Thinkspace: Audrey Kawasaki - hooty hoo!

Music: Shows & Ear Plugs

Live music is great. The only problem with live music is that it's generally very loud.



Since I've been frequenting shows here and there, I always bring ear plugs. They provide so much relief to my drums, and there is no ringing afterwards. Note that damage is permanent, and tinnitus (non-stop ringing) is a horrible way to live. My public service announcement for the month.


*** Bombaster @ Unknown Theatre - 7/12 ***

I saw Bombaster a week or two ago, and I'll be seeing them again in the next few days. I like their stuff, especially what they do with the keyboard. Check out "Another Shy Goodbye" on their Myspace

Watch video of them below. You can see Wing bangin' on the drums.

Bombaster - Love is for Lovers


*** The Inkblots @ The Olde Ship - 7/23 ***

I heard about the Inkblots through my friend. Yeah... he's the lead guitarist in the band. I've known "Chuy" since junior high (1997-2008,+), and his band seems to get better and better every time I hear them.

Chuy rockin' out:


Last night we saw them at The Olde Ship in Santa Ana. It was their CD Release party. The video below is of them at the actual pub/restaurant:



The Inkblots don't have a general style that they adhere to... my take on their sound is that they sound a bit like Radiohead (some songs) and some other kind of Spanish genre that I can think of at the moment.

*** Food @ The Olde Ship ***

Not having any food, I decided to call for a table at The Olde Ship and eat. Joining me was Sona and later on Rudy. I - for the first time - ordered meat loaf. Now, this restaurant was generally a SEAFOOD restaurant (being congruent with their "ship" theme). BUT... having listened to a few cooks here and there, Wednesday nights are the worst nights to order seafood.

This is why I opted for meatloaf... though I don't think meatloaf would be any safer since you really don't know what they use to make it! Anyway, it was good. I didn't bring a camera with me this night, so no pictures. I suck. :P

Entertainment: Theatre Actors > Movie Actors

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the niiiiggggggghhhhtttt....




I don't think I need to describe this adventure in detail, considering how I'm probably the only person alive who hasn't seen Phantom live it seems, ha.

Our Friday 7/18 night belonged to the "music of the night." We were dressed to the nines and saw a great show. I'm still convinced that in terms of raw talent, stage/theare actors have a big edge over movie actors. Singing live like they do, dancing and hopping around like that... without any major mistakes takes some skillz, yo!

By the way, I wasn't too impressed by the San Diego Civic Theatre. During the auction scene, I was trying really hard to hear... the audio doesn't carry through very well. Roomier seating than the Pantages though.

***

Adding to the weekend festivities, we played a good amount of tennis the next day at John's place. I even whipped out the golf clubs and started swinging in the middle of the big field... that was until someone lost the one ball in the pond :P

Phantom was great. I've still got "Music of the Night" stuck in my head!