Winter in California

The deadlines for our sets are fast approaching on Land Of The Lost so some of us (including me) have been working Saturdays for the past couple of weeks. I'm always tired, but the checks are nice.


snow capped mountains

Being from New York, we usually get a laugh out of what they call winter out here in CA: 50 degrees and light rain for a couple of weeks. This year however, it actually feels like Winter or at least like Fall. It's dipped below 40 degrees on several occasions and it's been raining quite a bit. Considering it didn't rain at all last year, the rain is good for a parched West Coast.



Last Sunday, Akiko and I finally got to see the Murakami show at MOCA. Colorful, obscene, influenced by Japanese history, and whimsical are words that could be used to describe the work on display. Really liked the DOB paintings and appreciated the incredible amount of craftsmanship seen in every piece. Well worth the price of admission.

Blair Witch part 2

Sucked in by the hype once again. In this day and age, I'm amazed that JJ Abrams managed to keep shots of his monster off the internet and that definitely helped fuel my "I have to see this on opening weekend" urge. That and reviews stating that this film was more than what people thought it was going to be.
In the end, Cloverfield was EXACTLY what I thought it would be. A mix of Godzilla, the latest War Of The Worlds and Blair Witch Project. Giant monster attacking a major city from the point of view of an average person shot through a handheld camera.
I'm not saying I hated it. Really liked the Lovecraftian monster and every scene it was in, but the ultra annoying shaky camera work made the overall experience not so great.
A high point was getting to see 3 scenes that had matte paintings that Akiko worked on for Fugitive Studios. One being a battered, smoking Manhattan seen from Central Park. Sweet.

The other film we caught this week was No Country For Old Men.The Coen Brothers back in top form creating some real tension without a single note of soundtrack music. Excellent work from Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and a memorable villain played by Javier Bardem. Engrossing.

Dinosaur Sighting In Southern CA!

New year's day we took a day trip up to Cabazon (about 10 miles before Palm Springs) and checked out the giant roadside Dinosaurs.


Yep, this Tyran had a starring role in Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

It was super windy that day, but a fun stop.

Now this is my kind of float....





Our New Year's Eve tradition since moving to Pasadena could be called Float Night.
About 50 feet from our front door is Orange Grove Blvd and that is the street where they line up all the Rose Bowl floats so they are ready to roll for the parade the following morning.



Akiko and I pop some bubbly at midnight, make a toast to the new year and then head outside. They put up these huge stadium lights so it's bright as day making it easy to get a close look at each float that has every square inch covered with flowers, seeds and other natural ingredients.


JPL's float.


Teddy Rider