today i saw a great iphone dock!

it turns your iphone into a desk phone!! first time i wish i had an iphone. but if they make something like this for the palm pre i'm so on that.

today i saw the LA music acadmeny.

i was asked by scott (the drummer for the jasper dickson revue) to stop by his work to take some pictures for some promotional materials of his. turns out he works at (and is an alumnus of) the LA music academy. it's a pretty awesome place.

today i saw the magisso cake server.

it cuts and serves up cake all in one fluid motion! plus it looks cool. check it.

today i locked eyes with casey blake.

today's dodgers spring training game was at goodyear ballpark against the reds. we went early and watched the dodgers do some warming up. and i was able to get casey blake to sign our baseball! and before he signed it, he looked me straight in the eye (ie, didn't just mindless grab one of the 50 balls thrust into his face at the time)!! i do adore that man.

matt kemp and casey blake signed ball.

and i swear he also looked straight at me during warm-ups when i was taking pictures. and i have proof!

casey blake looking right at me / my camera !!

today i waited 4.5 hours for a table.

dan and i drove to phoenix early this morning for a whirlwind spring training trip. after the game, we went over to pizzeria bianco for dinner. it's been called the best pizza in the states many times by many people, and we were prepared for a wait. we arrived at five and waited half an hour just to put our names down! then it was another four hour wait until we were actually seated. the nice thing is that right next door in a little house is bar bianco, where you can buy booze and order some appetizers. you can even take it all outside and eat and drink on the lawn, or the porch. the pizza was amazing - the dough is really what does it - really freaking amazing! absolutely worth the wait (though, probably not worth the wait if not for the great weather and alcohol available).

today i saw "fire dancers."

it was how to train your dragon day at work (as the movie released today)! which meant plastic viking helmets, temporary dragon tattoos, consumer products displays, and "fire dancers" - which turned out to be a bunch of dirty gypsies playing with fire to funky music. it was weird. one of the fire balls even flew off a guys chain and i can only imagine how that would have gone over. WEIRD.

today i learned about she&him.

turns out she&him is a little twosome band and the female/singing half is none other than zooey deschanel of (500) days of summer fame, who i adore! this is their first single off their second album..


She & Him - In The Sun from Merge Records on Vimeo.

today i got home before 7pm!

i left work at 6.15, and made it all the way back to my apartment before 7! it was a miracle. i made and ate dinner, did the dishes, paid some bills, did my taxes (finally!), and even got some cleaning in. it's not even 11p yet! it will be nice to move closer to work this summer..

today i videochatted with taiwan.

mike left for taiwan a week ago, and tonight we chatted over google video chat! mainly it was to go over his mail with him, but it was still pretty cool. isn't technology great?

today i learned about new "polaroid" film.

it was a sad day when polaroid stopped making instant film back in 2008. something called the impossible project formed to revive the film, but had to figure out a new way of making it, and today i found out that they've figured it out! currently they will only have b+w, but color is supposed to become available this summer. yay!

today i ate at the tasting kitchen.

the tasting kitchen is a restaurant on abbot kinney in venice that dan and i have wanted to go to for a long time. we finally went tonight, with mattJ and benS for dan's 25th birthday! even though we had reservations for 8.30, we weren't seated until almost 10, as they wouldn't kick out the people already seated at our table. we decided to go with their tasting menu, which is basically an omakase with the kitchen bringing out whatever they felt, for $75. it was 5 1/2 courses.

here is what we had to the best of my memory..
amuse : fried onion slices
appetizer : yellowtail sashimi, pork rillet, merguez lamb patty, ama ebi
salad : four different salads, one with endives, one with butter lettuce..
pasta : seafood orchiette, a pork noodle of sorts..
protein : 2 whole grilled fish, poached halibut, a whole cornish hen
dessert : 3 cheese, a leche cake of some sort, bread pudding, profiteroles

the food absolutely made up for the ridiculous wait. everything was so good, and there was so much of it! i didn't get to eat any of the meat dishes, but the boys loved them, and i absolutely adored the salads and seafood dishes they had. all their pastas are also freshly made in-house. and the dessert! oh my goodness the dessert! needless to say, we didn't leave the restaurant until after midnight.

today i saw my name on the silver screen!!

tonight was our how to train your dragon crew screening and wrap party. the screening was at the gibson amphitheatre - and gerard butler showed up beforehand and spoke for a bit! the movie was amazing, absolutely stunning and brilliant. i know it sounds biased, but it is arguably the best movie dreamworks animation has ever made if not one of the best cg animated movies ever made. and it is most definitely the best 3D ever done - far better than avatar (which was pretty mindblowing already). seriously, go see it - it's not just a movie, it really quite the experience. perhaps most exciting for me, was to see my name in the credits - my very first movie credit!

the wrap party was at the avalon, a very cool space. i ran around trying to get pictures with people i worked with. and i managed to get a picture with both chris sanders and dean deblois, the directors of the movie. so much fun! pictures from the entire day can be found here.

today i saw an awesome google maps video.

it's super cute, i adore.

today i desserted at bin bin konjac.

it's a chinese shaved ice / konjac place next to sinbala. after dinnering at sinbala, dan and i decided to go next door and get some mango shaved ice with rice balls. it was quite yummy! plus, i don't think i've ever had konjac before.

today i shook hands with wyatt earp.

so i previously mentioned this guy at work who dresses awesome and has wyatt earp as his name tag. to be completetly honest, i have a mild obsession with him (i know it sounds weird, but i swear it's completely non-sexual and i really just think he's absolutely fascinating). i've since figured out his real name and what he does at the company, but haven't met him or introduced myself because i'd probably freak out and freak him out in turn. however! at a st. patrick's day party today, i happened to be talking to someone next to him and it's all a blur, but we shook hands and introduced ourselves! i didn't say anything else and found an excuse to immediately walk away to go talk to someone else as i didn't want to make a complete fool of myself. one day we will be buddies, i swear.

oh, and this is a picture of him, seriously. he dresses in this style to work every freaking day (not quite this "fancy" as this picture is from a dressy function, but you get the idea). it's all sorts of amazing.

today i scanned some old polaroids.

i have an obsession with cheap plastic cameras, so i actually own two instant cameras - a polaroid and a fujifilm instax. the bummer is that i've never really been able to share them since i haven't really had access to a scanner, but mike just bought one so i'm putting it to good use!

the above photo is of me and my brothers in early 1988, right before i turned two. and here's us back in 2005:

today i dinnered at stefan's on montana.

we've been for brunch and lunch before, but never for dinner. it's a nice simple menu, and quite tasty. dan had their chicken pot pie, which was a bowl of the filling with a huge piece of puff pastry on top! it looked so amazing. i had their parsnip ravioli - very tasty.

today i found typewriter cufflinks.

while shopping for dan's birthday present, i came across some really great cufflinks at barneys new york. they're vintage typewriter keys from the 1940s, so i got him a pair in his initials. i already gave them to him because i suck at keeping secrets/surprises.

today i wandered vegas alone.

we were staying at the palazzo, which is at the north end of the strip, and i really wanted to get some pictures of the new city center, as well as stop by the coca-cola and m+m stores. so i was up pretty early and walked most of the strip by myself. i thought it'd be nice in the morning, with less people, but if anything, it just singled me out to the drunks and crazies that were still wandering around in the morning. oh well, it was nice to actually get a pretty good gauge on the strip and where everything is situated. i haven't been in years, and i really do hate the place.

today i celebrated my dad's 60th birthday!

we did it in vegas. at daniel boulud at the wynn. it was awesome.

more photos here.

today i ate at urban noodle.

it's a chinese noodle shop that just opened up in downtown LA. the portions are smaller, it's not quite as good (though still really very tasty), and it's significantly more expensive than the places in san gabriel valley. however, it's the furthest west you can get decent chinese noodles in LA, the place is actually quite nice and not just some run-down strip mall joint, and they have a decent selection of beer and wine, which you definitely cannot get at a san gabriel valley noodle shop - so that's what you're paying the premium for. i dig it, i'll definitely be back. especially since it's in such a great location for the monthly downtown art walk.

today i learned more hipster terms.

i had found some of these previously in the hipster handbook online, but they don't actually list all of them as they want you to buy the actual book. luckily, i found someone who actually posted all of them online so here you go! LOVES it.

beacon - one's best outfit
Mary is really stylish, she is always dressed to the beacon.

bennie - hat
It's cold out today, let me grab my bennie.

berries - dollars
Can I borrow a couple of berries? I want to go to Diesel.

bleeker - tourist
Every time I'm in the city some bleeker asks me for directions.

boggle - vomit
If I have another shot of whiskey, I'm gonna boggle.

bronson - beer
Want to go to the Brooklyn Ale House for a bronson?

brumby - bar
There is a new brumby on the Northside, but it is totally midtown.

bust a moby - to dance
Lets go to the Tunnel and bust a moby.

catching the G - sour luck, to be put in a bad position.
Ever since Todd got laid off, he has been broke - he's really catching the G.

chipper - woman of easy virtue
She will peach anyone after one bronson - she's a real chipper.

chowder - alcoholic beverage
Enids has half price chowder until 7pm. Let's get shellacked!

CK1 - bisexual
I saw him looking at my ass, he's a CK1.

clothesline - local gossip
Yo, I heard on the clothesline that she is sleeping with Billy

cronkite - boy
Have you seen Sally's new cronkite? He is a such a frado.

daisy - a gay male.
I feel like a daisy for admitting it, but I think it is totally deck.

deck - a key word for most hipsters, similar to the antiquated "fresh."
That cronkite looks deck in those cowboy boots.

flame - to urinate
I have to take a flame.

flavorless - straight and/or heterosexual
He kinks his hair and wears tight pants, but he's definitely flavorless.

flogger - coat
I bought this wool flogger at the Antique Boutique. It was only 80 berries!

frado - an ugly guy who thinks he's good-looking
Bill thinks all the girls love him, but they all know he's frado.

to frigidaire - to treat coldy
I don't know what her problem is, but she gives me the frigidaire every time I see her.

gluten - to eat
I'm starving, let's gluten.

greaser: An individual who comes from or resides in New Jersey
Frank has a mullet and acts like a greaser when he is shellacked.

hilfiger - some who has no fashion sense
You'd think he had no kale, he dresses so hilfiger.

hog - a taxi, car service
Do you have your piece? I want to call a hog since its raining.

hypo - a coke head
Mike 's such a hypo, I saw him boggle on North 6th after getting really shellacked.

ishtar - bad
Yo, that shit was ishtar.

jerry - a stoner, hippie
My pits smell totally ishtar. I feel like a jerry.

juicer - a lady's man; individual who has undeniable sex appeal.
I wish he would ask me out, he's such a juicer.

jug - a 40 ounce bottle of domestic beer.
Tassles respect me. I can drink a whole jug and still bust a mean moby.

kale - money
Yo Kim, can you slide me some kale? I'm still waiting for my mom to send rent.

midtown - uncultured
He's never heard of Hal Hartley. He's so midtown.

nancy - buttocks
Have you seen her Nancy?

peaching - to have sex
She's got such a tight bod. I'd love to peach her.

piece - cell phone
John is such a nerd. He doesn't even have a piece.

raphaels - glasses
Do these raphaels go with my flogger? I don't know if I like the new frames or not.

shellacked - drunk
I was so shellacked last night that I lost count of how many chowders I had drunk!

tassle - girl
Jim is definitely a frado, but somehow he gets a new tassle every night.

uni - university
Jane is nice but I just can't be friends with someone who went to a public uni.

vejjo - vegetarian
As if I would ever go to Peter Lugers. Nothing there is vejjo.

wally - well-dressed man, a ladie's man
That blonde haired guy we saw at Enids is so Wally.

today i saw facebook in reality.

today i spoke at webb.

i went to my high school this morning to give a couple "workshops" on animation - i basically talked for half an hour about the pipeline - for the bi-annual unbounded thinkers symposium. it was weird and surreal in so many ways, but it was also really good to see and catch up with some of the faculty that are still around.

today i made kale.

kale is supposed to be one of those super foods, but since i never heard of it before a year or so ago, it was a stretch for me to just go buy it and make it. after having it a few times when eating out however, i finally decided to give it a try. i cooked it like i would any other vegetable (sauteed in oil, garlic and salt) and it was delicious! i really like the slight crunch and full flavor of it. i didn't realize how much it would shrink though, so i totally over-salted it. =/

today i bought a black cocktail dress.

with the dragon crew party coming up, i really wanted to show up in something snazzy but not too clubby or prom-y or casual. and i've never owned a so-called "little black dress" - so.. i went dress shopping! i spent pretty much the entire day at the beverly center and couldn't find anything anywhere that i liked. finally, while at macy's, i found a dress that looked interesting, but really had no idea if it would look good on, but i figured i had nothing to lose and it turned out to be a pretty awesome dress. and, here it is:

it's nowhere near as shiny as it looks in the photo above and, surprisingly, it looks much better on me than the mannequin.. but now that i have a dress, i'm even more excited for the party.

today i saw tim burton's alice in wonderland.

watched it at the bridge in imax 3d. since the stereo was done in post-process, the 3d was bad, and pretty painful sometimes, however, it was totally worth it to be able to see the dragon trailer in imax 3d - SO GOOD! otherwise, i liked the movie, and would probably have loved it a lot more if i'd seen it in regular 2d.

today i saw an art-historical music video.

i love this video - it just makes me so darn happy.

today i was billed for mobile phone driving..

ugh. so about a month ago i got pulled over and ticketed for talking on my phone while driving (i blame my mother), i finally got the bill from dmv yesterday and HOLY HELL, it's $142 for a freaking first offense. i thought it was supposed to be a cheap-y ticket for the first offense and it gets more expensive with each.. but to start at $142?!?! damn this state and its debt.

today i saw james cameron.

jeffrey hosted another dreamtalk at work today, this time with james cameron. it was absolutely amazing. he is very articulate, well-informed and very opinionated (or maybe passionate?) about certain things. an he definitely captivated his audience here at dreamworks. unfortunately, i forgot my camera..

today i got an invite to the dragon party!

this will be the first crew screening and party that i've actually been invited to since i started working here (which isn't to say i haven't been able to go to others, it's just the first invite meant for me). yay, i'm so excited! now to decide what to wear...