Motorcycle anarchist and his BEAST strike again!

So I have neglected my motorcycle since I bought my mini late last year. Then my insurance expired...so I didn't bother to renew it since I wasn't riding. Last weekend, my cousin ricky said that summer went by fast and the end is coming. So I paid my motorcycle insurance and tomorrow I am on Southern California Desert Del Taco Tour. Just me, my motorcycle, a tent, and a camera. No stupid airport to hold me back this time! (I didn't make it to Tennessee and I was too embarassed to blog it...)

I will be going to Joshua Tree National Park, and gonna try and take some night shots of the desert. Then to the Del Taco in Barstow, old highway 58 from Barstow to Bakersfield (which is the picture above), and end the tour at The Pantry in downtown LA. It's one of my traditions to end my road trips there. What better way to end a solo trip at the counter in a classic diner that is open 24 hours a day.


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Google maps rule!

Third Anniversary for Hurricane Katrina

Today is the third anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in the City of New Orleans. They are still lacking the nessesary funds to get the city back on its feet. The estimated time to get NOLA back to where it was before the storm is 25 years. 25 MORE YEARS OF REBUILDING!! NYC was cleaned up in less than a year after 9/11...

AND...there is another hurricane floating around in the Gulf of Mexico right now.

So in honor of the greatest natural disaster in America, and in the coolest city, I am going to Bourbon Street in Fullerton and get some red beans and rice tonight.

Well, I wish I was in New Orleans, I can see it in my dreams,
Arm-in-arm down Burgundy, a bottle and my friends and me

Hoist up a few tall cool ones, play some pool and listen
To that tenor saxophone calling me home
And I can hear the band begin "When the Saints Go Marching In",
And by the whiskers on my chin, New Orleans, I'll be there

I'll drink you under the table, be red-nosed, go for walks,
The old haunts what I wants is red beans and rice
And wear the dress I like so well, and meet me at the old saloon,
Make sure that there's a Dixie moon, New Orleans, I'll be there

And deal the cards roll the dice, if it ain't that old Chuck E. Weiss,
And Claiborne Avenue, me and you Sam Jones and all

And I wish I was in New Orleans, 'cause I can see it in my dreams,
Arm-in-arm down Burgundy, a bottle and my friends and me
New Orleans, I'll be there

--Tom Waits

One more thing to check off the "list" before I die...

RADIOHEAD
I FINALLY saw Radiohead last night at the Hollywood Bowl with my brother, Anthony, my cousin, Ricky, and Anthony's friend, Jana. We started the celebration early with two bean and cheese burritos from King Taco.
I have been wanting to see radiohead play for a long, long time. They really blended their live set very well from mixing A LOT their songs from different albums. Thom even played a string of acoustic songs. They came out for two encores after two hours of playing, and said some stuff I couldn't understand at all. His english was worse than Bono's.

With hollywood bowl's infamous stack parking, I was able to do a U-turn with my Mini in a very crowded parking lot, and squeeze out of there in five minutes.

The next Olympic Event...London.

The Chinese brought in Jimmy Page to perform at the Olympic closing ceremony yesterday to showcase the next Summer Olympics in London in 2012. I saw the youtube video last night, but they had to take it off.

Tune Up

I started my digital photography class at cypress college tonight to fine tune those editing skills. The teacher told the class that the best resource for photo editing is not in a book, but to practice the medium over and over.

I have always said I have learned more from outside of class than in side the class room. After walking out of class, I felt excited to take this class. Its my style of learning.

My Favorite Athlete of All Time.

My favorite Olympic story has always been how Jesse Owens won the gold metal at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany.



During this time Hitler was on his quest to prove that the Aryan Nation was superior to all other nationalities, and Hitler pulled every string and trigger he could to get the bid to host the 1936 Olypmics in Berlin to show the world his "perfect race." But within the first few days, Jesse Owens beat Ralph Metcalfe, a white American from the South, right in front of Hitler. In fact, Jesse won four gold metals that day. This pissed the tooth brush wearing mustache man off so much that he waved to his audience and said, "Ziek Hail. Screw you guys, I am going home!" (This is my translation from German) I am sure he went home to rethink the value of his conservative philosophies & "progressive" novel, Mein Kampf.

So in a time where black people were discriminated by most of the world, this was a huge win for their culture. Maybe not at the present time, but for the whole culture in the long run for the slow road of acceptance. Owens said that he was proudly greeted by Germans in the street.

Hitler didn't snub me—it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram.

Jesse Owens Video

Anthony Colombo

My brother needed a portfolio portrait for when the Fullerton Observer publishes his articles.
I told him to take a shower before the shoot. When I saw him, I didn't even want to ask. Taking a portrait of my brother is like telling a kid with ADHD to settle down. I wanted to kick him in the face, and then send him an invoice.

Olympic Photographer

The Olympics are for the best of the best. Check out this veteran sport photographer, Vincent Laforet's Olympic gear! The large lenses in the back are over $7000, each. The Image below is over $60,000 of equipment.



Laforet's Blog

"I was able to borrow an 800mm 5.6 lens from Canon (both Canon and Nikon set up shot at the main press center and loan equipment to photographers, as well as make repairs on site, which is priceless!

The 800mm is a lens that's just been released by Canon and I really wanted to see what I could pull off with it. One of the reasons that this lens is useful is that there are only 4-5 of them here at the Olympics—and what that means is that there are very few other photographers who will be shooting with it. Why does this matter? Because you can shoot from positions that others aren't in (because they are shooting with different (shorter) lenses...) and this gives you a little more breathing room, and a better chance of making a unique frame. The Olympics are all about trying to make frames that no one else is making—and that's something that's very difficult to pull off when you're competing with the best 1,500+ sports photographers in the world."

Brian Kraft

I did a photo shoot for Brian Kraft of Recording Connection in Hollywood. They are updating their website and needed some new photos. His loft is on Hollywood and Vine, and next door to the Pantages Theater and the Capitol Records building. We did most of the shooting on top of the roof, overlooking Hollywood. It was way cool.

One World

This World Cup Video of U2 really stood out in my mind at the end of the 2006 World Cup. So I am posting this video because the Olympics are few days away. I was always fascinated on how so many people from around the world can come together for a few weeks and enjoy the differences and similarities of each other.

Game On!

Cool Wallpaper

I think wallpaper is cool.

Let There be DRUMS!

One Night Only Concert: Nike’s 88BoaDrum


Building on the cult-like status of last year’s 77 BoaDrum—when experimental noise rock band, the Boredoms, gathered 77 drummers on 07/07/07 to play in Brooklyn—Nike is hosting this year’s 88BoaDrum at the La Brea Tar Pits, right next to LACMA. This time, as you might expect, 8 is the operative number.

Featuring: 88 drummers
For: 88 minutes
On: 08/08/08
At: 8:08 pm

This event is guaranteed to sell out fast. Tickets (one per person) are free but necessary for entrance, so be sure to pick yours up in person at LACMA’s box office soon!