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March, 2009: Stuff
Complete Flickr set here
I had started this post when there was nothing to post about (but LJ can be good for helping to keep track of events and the passage of time). When I'm completely senile and forgotten all of this (probably some time next year), I can look back here and say, "Wow! Colors!"
Of course, that was before Devil's Canyon's make-over and feral kittens and other Interesting Times.
Let's start off easy:
Roz has a doofy cat!
•
My beloved UCLA Bruins got knocked out of the NCAA tourney in the second round. Granted, Villanova is going to the Final Four, but they literally mugged the Bruins. West coast college basketball is finesse; east coast is far more physical. If only the refs would call the games with some consistency over all the leagues. What Villanova did, though, was just nasty: you don't knock jumping players off their feet for hard falls (if you're a V-fan, maybe the ends justify the means). I never expected this years team to make it to the Final Four again, but I'd hoped they would make it to the Sweet 16 at least!
•
On a recent hike up Rice Canyon, we discovered that a land-mark oak tree had fallen. Surprised, even shocked: this was a healthy oak deep in a canyon. The winds had to have been just right for this to have happened:
This used to be our turn-around spot here. Nice shady oak to rest under before hiking back out. I'll miss it!
•
Went to Disneyland for a friend's birthday: the only new thing we saw was the "House of the Future" (or whatever it's called). Very goofy, low-budget exhibit. The way technology advances these days, also risky. Most of the stuff was either impractical (like the personal jet-pack of the 60's) or pretty much obsolete already. Also (and this falls under the "risky" part of predicting), they completely missed the Wii and how it would change game-playing and all of the other aspects of life that the Wii affected (like the elderly using it). MMORPGs were also minimally represented. It's a way to kill an hour, though. The complete lack of crowds on a beautiful Saturday bodes ill of the economy: five minutes to get through the Haunted Mansion ride?!? Wow.
•
My Prius cracks 50MPG! Most Prius owners would scoff at this. For me, however, this is a new high. Nothing like a long, slow-and-go stretch of traffic to pump the mileage up! Yes, I celebrate these things. I also try to take pictures of odometer turn-overs. Life's little victories.
•
Missing my moved-away friends a lot.
•
Roz, here are the pictures of that bird you were trying to identify on Mulholland the other day...
•
I though I was helping a friend by getting them involved with my projects and having fun working together. Also tried to get them to get them out more, socialize at cons and with friends. Discovered that they found it all a huge chore. No good deed goes unpunished!
•
A mid-week hike on Mulholland. Look how green everything is!
Here is the deadly SPITTING CUCUMBER! (not) You can tell it's been a wet year: they're all over the place!
•
I need to set up lights at work to airbrush some heads so that they look correct under tungsten lights and on video. Bad-news, good-news: can't do that right away because we actually got some clients in for a long shoot. No rush on the airbrushing, but I was on a roll and ready to go; on the other hand, great to have work!
•
Apache's nick-name is "Princess". Here she proves that she is truly not royalty: sound asleep atop a tennis ball. A REAL princess can detect a pea (let alone a tennis ball) under dozens of mattresses. Not so Apache!
•
Saw an otherwise unremarkable movie on cable: "Don't Say a Word" with Michael Douglas (2001). This film had me gnashing my teeth: I saw everything I hate about big-budget studio pictures. The worst were the long, spinning Louma-crane shots (that camera shot that circles the actor). Overly dramatic chase scenes for no good reason (he can't call the police, but drives like a maniac through NYC, cutting across the Macy's Parade at one point!). No one seems to notice. The film was shot in NYC as far as I could tell: also a huge chunk of change. Too many things done because the no-talent, self-indulgent director thought it would be "cool" ("Hey, let's have a massive robbery with explosions and guns for no reason!). And a totally idiotic plot. Acting was okay, but wasted on this thing.
•
I find a lot of things on hikes in The Wash (a dry riverbed in Valencia): money (a bit), golf balls, purses, crack pipes (a really nice one!), etc. No human remains, though. But, look what I found! (work safe). It was fun trying to figure out why they threw it into the wash (from a traffic bridge); we left it for the crazy homeless guy.
•
Apache has her share of dog-admirers: for some reason they find her irresistable, despite her teeth and subtle (not) body language that says, "Not interested!" This usually consists of lots of growling and nipping. Still, the boys just can't keep away. One of my friends has a gorgeous shepherd named "Lucifer". He is completely smitten with Apache and spends the whole time sniffing, licking and otherwise trying to impress her. She usually returns his affections by biting his leg.
Apache and Lucifer!
I had started this post when there was nothing to post about (but LJ can be good for helping to keep track of events and the passage of time). When I'm completely senile and forgotten all of this (probably some time next year), I can look back here and say, "Wow! Colors!"
Of course, that was before Devil's Canyon's make-over and feral kittens and other Interesting Times.
Let's start off easy:
Roz has a doofy cat!
•
My beloved UCLA Bruins got knocked out of the NCAA tourney in the second round. Granted, Villanova is going to the Final Four, but they literally mugged the Bruins. West coast college basketball is finesse; east coast is far more physical. If only the refs would call the games with some consistency over all the leagues. What Villanova did, though, was just nasty: you don't knock jumping players off their feet for hard falls (if you're a V-fan, maybe the ends justify the means). I never expected this years team to make it to the Final Four again, but I'd hoped they would make it to the Sweet 16 at least!
•
On a recent hike up Rice Canyon, we discovered that a land-mark oak tree had fallen. Surprised, even shocked: this was a healthy oak deep in a canyon. The winds had to have been just right for this to have happened:
This used to be our turn-around spot here. Nice shady oak to rest under before hiking back out. I'll miss it!
•
Went to Disneyland for a friend's birthday: the only new thing we saw was the "House of the Future" (or whatever it's called). Very goofy, low-budget exhibit. The way technology advances these days, also risky. Most of the stuff was either impractical (like the personal jet-pack of the 60's) or pretty much obsolete already. Also (and this falls under the "risky" part of predicting), they completely missed the Wii and how it would change game-playing and all of the other aspects of life that the Wii affected (like the elderly using it). MMORPGs were also minimally represented. It's a way to kill an hour, though. The complete lack of crowds on a beautiful Saturday bodes ill of the economy: five minutes to get through the Haunted Mansion ride?!? Wow.
•
My Prius cracks 50MPG! Most Prius owners would scoff at this. For me, however, this is a new high. Nothing like a long, slow-and-go stretch of traffic to pump the mileage up! Yes, I celebrate these things. I also try to take pictures of odometer turn-overs. Life's little victories.
•
Missing my moved-away friends a lot.
•
Roz, here are the pictures of that bird you were trying to identify on Mulholland the other day...
•
I though I was helping a friend by getting them involved with my projects and having fun working together. Also tried to get them to get them out more, socialize at cons and with friends. Discovered that they found it all a huge chore. No good deed goes unpunished!
•
A mid-week hike on Mulholland. Look how green everything is!
Here is the deadly SPITTING CUCUMBER! (not) You can tell it's been a wet year: they're all over the place!
•
I need to set up lights at work to airbrush some heads so that they look correct under tungsten lights and on video. Bad-news, good-news: can't do that right away because we actually got some clients in for a long shoot. No rush on the airbrushing, but I was on a roll and ready to go; on the other hand, great to have work!
•
Apache's nick-name is "Princess". Here she proves that she is truly not royalty: sound asleep atop a tennis ball. A REAL princess can detect a pea (let alone a tennis ball) under dozens of mattresses. Not so Apache!
•
Saw an otherwise unremarkable movie on cable: "Don't Say a Word" with Michael Douglas (2001). This film had me gnashing my teeth: I saw everything I hate about big-budget studio pictures. The worst were the long, spinning Louma-crane shots (that camera shot that circles the actor). Overly dramatic chase scenes for no good reason (he can't call the police, but drives like a maniac through NYC, cutting across the Macy's Parade at one point!). No one seems to notice. The film was shot in NYC as far as I could tell: also a huge chunk of change. Too many things done because the no-talent, self-indulgent director thought it would be "cool" ("Hey, let's have a massive robbery with explosions and guns for no reason!). And a totally idiotic plot. Acting was okay, but wasted on this thing.
•
I find a lot of things on hikes in The Wash (a dry riverbed in Valencia): money (a bit), golf balls, purses, crack pipes (a really nice one!), etc. No human remains, though. But, look what I found! (work safe). It was fun trying to figure out why they threw it into the wash (from a traffic bridge); we left it for the crazy homeless guy.
•
Apache has her share of dog-admirers: for some reason they find her irresistable, despite her teeth and subtle (not) body language that says, "Not interested!" This usually consists of lots of growling and nipping. Still, the boys just can't keep away. One of my friends has a gorgeous shepherd named "Lucifer". He is completely smitten with Apache and spends the whole time sniffing, licking and otherwise trying to impress her. She usually returns his affections by biting his leg.
Apache and Lucifer!