Camera Phone Files #7: Station Fire

A hill overlooking Tujunga.

Smoke behind downtown.

My crap camera phone pics while we were driving on the 5 going to Burbank and Glendale this past Friday and Saturday nights.

Here are some pictures of the Station fire currently burning northeast of LA. I believe it's called the Station fire because it threatened the Angeles Crest Ranger Station. Apparently the fire tripled in size the night these pictures were taken and it's now burning 122,000 acres. The fire started in the Angeles National Forest and covers Tujunga, Mt. Wilson, Glendale, La Crescenta, Acton, and La Canada areas. Here's a link of an interactive map, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-fire-map-html,0,7464337.htmlstory. If you want to see real photographs, here's a link to LA Times' photo gallery: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-0826-morris-fire-pictures,0,2039975.photogallery. There are moments when we can smell the smoke in Echo Park. Not that this is cause for celebration, but I did want to mark our first California fire experience. In NY, we'd always see news coverage of the California fires on the local news. I never got a grasp on the geography of the fires. Is the Capital Records building burning? Did someone flick a butt while getting off the Golden Gate Bridge? Is all the wine okay?

LA Field Trips #11 & Camera Phone Files #6: Hollywood Bowl

Last week, Alex and I hit the Hollywood Bowl with our new friend, Sarah. We had a great time meeting her friends and getting our culture on. There was a weird moment when we noticed a helicopter circling the Hollywood sign. When the light from the helicopter hit the sign, Sarah was certain she saw a guy running around. It was like watching an episode of 24 with Rhapsody in Blue as the soundtrack. We listened to big band jazz featuring James Moody, Roy Hargrove, Gordon Goodwin, and vocalist Roberta Gambarini. I didn't know who they are either. I don't go to a lot of concerts and this lit a fire under my ass to see more live music. Here are some of my crappy camera phone pics and Sarah's better digital camera pics.

Being a douche can be very dehydrating

I bought a bottle of water at the movie theater this weekend, and I was given a bottle of Ed Hardy Structured Water. What's "structured water?" Well, Ed Hardy designer, Christian Audigier put together the science community's best collection of Euro trash, thirteen year old girls, coked out Hollywood club promoters, and Jon Gosselin to make hydrogen and oxygen even more "science-y." Let's have the bottle label and www.edhardywater.com explain:

Water is the basis of all life. Approximately 75% of your body is made of water. Whether thirsty or not, you drink water so that the cells in your body can achieve hydration. The more effectively you hydrate our cells the healthier they will be and the longer they will live. As a result, effective hydration gives you increased energy and the ability to perform at more optimal levels while flushing out toxins more effectively. Ed Hardy structured water is natural alkalized calcium ionized living water and is treated with reverse osmosis for maximum purity as well as infra-red stimulation and electromagnetism to create the best (+) positively charged hexagonally shaped structured water ever. By using their proprietary technology they are able to break up the larger molecules into smaller hexagonally shaped and now STRUCTURED MOLECULES, which are much more easily absorbed by the cells inside our bodies. The absorption rate of hexagonally shaped structured water molecules is a much as four (4) times more efficient than water that is not structured, which enables you to drink less water while achieving hydration faster and more efficiently. Whether young or old, professional athlete or common everyday person, everybody can benefit from Ed hardy Structured Water, which was created with some of the most important ingredients of all: lots and lots of love, care and positive energy? For all who will discover that water is the basis of all life?

Now go hydrate and buy more $100 t-shirts.

LA Lesson #6: Tar!

If only this blog was called "I Stomach Chapel Hill" then I can make a Tarheel joke.

Our new post-beach routine. It removes tar...and the top 2 layers of your skin.

This past weekend Alex and I headed back to the 'bu and hit Zuma Beach. The water was chilly , but the important thing is we didn't have to take the G to the E to Penn to a shuttle bus to get there. When we got ready to leave we noticed parts of our feet were covered in tar. Tar. Tar! There's nothing like coming to a beautiful beach and leaving smelling a newly paved driveway. I did a little research and apparently tar is par for the course when visiting LA beaches. I grew up in New York fearing medical waste and bodies washing up to the shore. When packing for a day at the beach remember your bottle of Goo Gone along with the sunscreen and towels!

LA Field Trips #10: What up, 'bu?

My friend Katie was in town, and we spent last Saturday all up in the 'bu. Malibu. I made an executive decision that living in Malibu is the ultimate of the ultimate goals and it needs to happen. At Malibu Wines we drank with fabulous, "picture frame" pretty people wearing uncreased white linen. We ate a late lunch with old people eating dinner at Duke's. Alex drove us down the PCH and we wondered how people can get this life. Katie asked what laser the citizens of Malibu must have invented. I asked what shit-tastic movie they made and got teenagers to spend their parents' money on.

Six month-versary Thoughts

I marked my six month-versary living in LA on July 31. I spent the last ten days waiting for some epiphany/"Eureka!"/light bulb/"Aha!" moment of insight, perspective and wisdom. All I can think is...I like it here. I like LA. I've been here for six months and I like it. I like the weather, our apartment, learning golf, the ocean, the shows I've been part of, the classes I'm taking, the friendships I have, the new people I'm meeting, the old friends from NY that are excited to visit, the new places I've discovered, and all the possibilities of truck food. I like LA. I bet in the next six months I'll like the auditions and job that will magically pour from a mighty river of opportunity, and the pounds I'll lose from liking truck food too much. So Happy six month-versary, LA! Where are you taking me to dinner? In N Out Burger? Perfect.