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Brick Flowers

2008-11-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

Some things grow in the unlikeliest of places. These flowers have supplanted the weeds of my neighbor's house, a house that's been unoccupied for over two years. The rest of the yard is gone and dead yet these flowers have found a home.

Our House - November 10, 2008

2008-11-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

One More Day

2008-11-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

One more day! This is it. Wow, it's all come down to this. It seemed like it couldn't get here fast enough, really. The first stirs of the election were over two years ago! It's definitely been a long time coming.

Can you feel it? There's such a buzz in the air. It's all focused on tomorrow, a magnifying glass held over November 4th since, well, probably since Bush was re-elected in 2004. And perhaps it's because I'm four years older and four years wiser (I hope!), but this election feels different. It feels heavy. Everywhere I go I feel the weight of importance, whether it be competing lawn signs or a bumper stickers. My TV is inundated with ads, showing people looking for change, families and children strongly affected by the past four years. People are strongly divided and tomorrow will be a defining moment of our time.

I don't know what to expect and I don't know what's going to happen. I just hope for the best.

Go vote!

UCLA Campaign of Champions

2008-10-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

Added a page for my latest project, UCLA's Campaign of Champions. It's a 6-minute promo that's being used to raise $150 million for UCLA to renovate Pauley Pavilion.

It hasn't been released publicly, so I can't have it on my site just yet. If you want to see it, I'll be happy to show you!

New Videos

2008-10-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

Just posted: three new videos in the Watch section.

One is the teaser for a short film called Untimely. It was directed by William Bibbiani, who I went to UCLA Film School with.

The other two are clips from another short film, The Delivery. Peter Hagan directed this short.

I'm proud of both these projects because they were different from anything I had done before. Untimely was a horror film, a genre that I don't love to watch but have a lot of fun making (strange, huh?). The Delivery is a romantic comedy and features the music of Jason Holstrom, U.S.E., and Wonderful.

Check them out! I also made them iPhone compatible, so if you have an iPhone, you're totally good to go.

"Dinosaur-shaped Chicken Nuggets": A short story

2008-10-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

It's one of those nights. Can't stop working or won't stop working. Basically trying to load my site up with as much crap as possible.

And now...! The amazing, wondrous, fantastic return of my 2003 short story "Dinosaur-shaped Chicken Nuggets!"

I wrote it as a submission to UCLA's School of Film. It's not great, but I still think it has charm. And it's definitely better than anything I'm writing now. Well... Maybe. That's still to be determined.

It's only about 2,000 words so if you have ten minutes to spare, perhaps take a look. Enjoy--

Panoramic Ecuador & Galapagos

2008-09-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

I posted two sets of panoramic photos of Ecuador and the Galapagos. The more panoramic photos I take, the more I love it.

My favorites from the Ecuador set are:

I've discussed this before, but what I love most about the panoramic frame is how it requires the viewer to take a more active role in looking at the photo. Something I've been doing lately is choosing a subject that's lost in a crowd or nearly hidden until you really look into the image.

For instance, at first glance this photo simply looks like buildings and sky. But upon closer inspection, you can see the people hanging off the balcony. It was a older man and what I presume to be his children overlooking the town square.

In this photo, initial impressions seem like a simple shot of the road. But the subject is actually my friend Rebecca, feeling the effects of altitude sickness.

And, of course, there's always the gratuitous landscape or sky shot which panoramic makes all the more gorgeous.

My favorites from the Galapagos set are:

I had no idea that this shot of the tortoise would have been so cool. When I took the photo, he opened his mouth so quickly that I thought I had missed it. Having captured this image, however, it looks like he's trying to fend me off. In actuality, these animals have a demeanor so serene that you could've touched their shells.

Full galleries are in the Look section. Also, if you like the panoramic photo format, check out my new blog I started called A Life Panoramic. It's going to focus on panoramic photos only, along with random thoughts and observations.

EcuaPano

2008-09-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

New photos up in my photo gallery of the Ecuador and Galapagos trip we took at the end of August. Take a look and I'll have a longer post about them tomorrow.

A Life Panoramic

2008-09-27T10:10:00.001-07:00

Oh boy, here I go. Another project in the works. This one, however, actually feels like it has legs. We'll see.

A permanent link is on the sidebar.

Ecuador & The Galapagos

2008-09-16T20:05:00.001-07:00

I just got back from Ecuador & The Galapagos a few weeks ago. It was an amazing trip that I took with my wife, Chelsee, my brother, Michael, and our friend, Rebecca. I put up two photo sets and a third panoramic photo set will be coming soon.

The first one is of Ecuador. What an amazing country! We visited two friends who had moved to the capital city of Quito to teach at the international high school. We started with a walking tour of Old Town, enamored with the ornate architecture and rich history. Of course, we had to try the local ceremonial food of fried guinea pig, or cuy.

After a day in Quito, we took a bus through the Quilotoa Loop, highlighted with a stay at the Black Sheep Inn and a hike to Laguna Quilotoa:

Also, let it be known that the best way to travel through Ecuador is on the back of a pickup truck:

The second set of photos is of the Galapagos, which was equally stunning. It had a different appeal than mainland Ecuador with a more natural beauty and animals everywhere. We saw iguanas, pelicans, lizards, seals, and penguins to name a few. And--oh yeah--blue-footed boobies.

It was an awesome vacation and, as always, far too short.

Four New Videos: Chicken Wing Theme?

2008-09-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

A bunch of updates are coming down the pipeline and to start I've added four videos to the Watch section. Though they weren't made as spec spots, as finished products they make pretty good ones.

They're all :30 spots: two for Buffalo Wild Wings, one for Hoagies & Wings, and one for March Madness 2008. Strangely, all four spots deal with chicken wings. Perhaps it'll become an emerging theme in my work...

All were written and directed by me and my brother, Michael, and edited by me.

Brand New!

2008-09-07T02:57:00.000-07:00

I have a habit of updating my site every few months, despite the content not changing that much. However, I like to aesthetic of this site much better than my old one. I feel it's more streamlined and logical. Also, the design matches my new business card, which I like.

Chinese New Year & Healdsburg

2008-03-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking, I apologize. These photo sets are from February and I'm just getting around to posting them.

The first is from the Los Angeles Chinatown parade for Chinese New Year. We stood in the hot sun after a filling dim sum brunch and watched the dragons and cars stream down the street. After that, we went to the infamous Scoops and ordered the most bizarre ice cream flavors, which included pear champagne, brown bread, Guinness & chocolate, and nicotine. Yeah, nicotine.

We finished the day with a drive to Alhambra to eat dinner at Savoy, the best place in LA for hainam chicken.

Here are my favorites from the album:

The last one isn't really a shot of the Chinese New Year parade, but I took it on the outskirts of Chinatown, so I'm including it. I love it--there's something dreamlike about the double exposure, which was actually an accident. The grain creates a gritty feeling, something very raw and exposed, and the saturated colors amplify the heat, giving it a sweaty, downtown LA feeling. If you look closely on the left side of the frame, there's a person with a black sweatshirt sitting on the ledge. The photo, to me, feels like it could be the cover of a novel.

For the second photo set, we travel to Northern California to a small wine town called Healdsburg.

We visited Chelsee's grandmother, Nanette, and her husband, Miles, for a quick weekend trip. It was the perfect getaway. They live on a farm, about 15 minutes away from anything busy, and the peace and quiet was refreshing. It's nice to get away from LA once in awhile.

Here are my favorites from the album:

In the first one, I love the framing. Gus is busy eating and Chels is sitting there watching him. There's something so natural about it and I think the mood captures the whole vibe of Healdsburg. The second one, simply put, has a great sky. I'm a sucker for a great sky.

Their farm shares a fence with another property that raises horses. In case you've never seen a horse in real life, they really are gorgeous animals. They also had a Shetland pony named Ozzy, but we renamed him a more appropriate Gus (seen on the album's cover and above).

As majestic as horses are, I still have no idea how this happens.

The complete albums can be viewed in the Look section, so please check them out. I hope you enjoy them and if anything strikes your fancy, contact me and I can make prints, as well as frame them nicely for you.

*do I think it's a coincidence that my favorite photos from both sets are panoramics? Not at all--I really love what that camera can do.

Improv Everywhere

2008-03-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

Improv Everywhere is a troupe of performers who turn real life situations into scenes. As their slogan goes, "We Cause Scenes." Their latest is quite impressive. Right here at the Baldwin Hills mall, a group of them broke into song, creating their latest mission Food Court Musical. I must say, the song is actually pretty good. Check it out here:

Here's their website: Improv Everywhere.

Other missions include Frozen Grand Central, Slo-Mo Home Depot, and my personal favorite, Best Buy.

When I first found out about them, they were only based in New York. It seems that they've expanded. Perhaps it's time for me to get involved...

3 Way Chess

2008-03-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

Not sure how this is played and if standard rules apply, but it looks fairly ridiculous. How exactly does a horse move once it's in the middle?

From Gizmodo.

The Newest Fawlt Magazine

2008-03-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

The other reason I've been away is that I've been improving the literary magazine some friends and I started, Fawlt Magazine. It was originally designed very poorly, but now it's solid as a rock, which means the only thing that could bring it down is paper. (paper covers rock--haha?)

Be sure to take a look. There are some really great works in the Self-Delusion issue and our next one, Dependence, is scheduled for May 1.

Leap Year

2008-02-28T20:26:00.001-08:00

Enjoy your leap year and remember that anything you do on February 29th doesn't count--so go crazy.

Lifehacker

2008-02-28T10:35:00.000-08:00

My current "website du jour" is Lifehacker. As a do-it-yourself type of person who is always looking to create and/or change things to make life easier and/or more interesting, this site is a natural fit for me. Their posts range from the obscure to the everyday, from how to waterproof a camera to how to hack your car. While I don't actually carry out most of the procedures posted, it's fun to read about what others can do with a few common and cheap items.

Another great site is Instructables, which I also highly recommend to any fellow do-it-yourselfers (sp?).

Tequila Darts

2008-02-27T18:40:00.000-08:00

My apologies for not posting recently, but I've been busy. I've also been working on getting my annual March Madness pool started. Anyway, to hold you over, I thought I'd post my new favorite drinking game that me and my friends stumbled upon: Tequila Darts. It's pretty much what it sounds like: tequila + darts. Play 301 as you would normally, but the person with the highest score when someone wins takes a shot of tequila. As always, the more you play, the more fun it becomes.

Subprime Housing Mess

2008-02-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a great slideshow that explains the whole subprime housing mess. It takes about a minute to click through and the end is pretty funny.

The Subprime Primer

Here's the post from My Money Blog, as well. For anyone interested in personal finance, I highly recommend this site.

2nd Grade Ideas Work, Sometimes

2008-02-22T09:41:00.001-08:00

This whole blowing up of the old US spy satellite I found pretty interesting. Then I found that Gizmodo had recently learned of another way to intercept a floating pile of $$$: with a giant blanket.

I'm pretty sure I came up with an idea like that during my formidable grade school years. And the included drawing is something I think I did at home with crayons.

Buffalo Wild Wings Commercials

2008-02-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

YouTube is hardly the bastion of video quality, but it's simple and quick. As such, I've uploaded two commercials I did with my brother and his friend Erik for the Buffalo Wild Wings Film School Competition.

"Proud" :30
"War Paint" :30

When I have more time, they'll be up on my site as high quality quicktimes, as will the rest of my reel. Stay tuned.

Twenty Worst + One

2008-02-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

Suju comes through again with a post on the 20 worst foods in America, as listed by Men's Health Magazine. However, a compiled list like this just makes me want to try every single one.

Also, check out the worst breakfast ever, thanks to Hungry Man. What's great is that before you've even left your house for the day, you've consumed 104% of your daily saturated fat and 231% of your daily cholesterol. Taking that percentage seriously means that you shouldn't consume any more cholesterol for 2 1/3 days after eating this *delicious* meal. Simply amazing.

Buffalo Wings

2008-02-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest creations in the history of man, buffalo wings are just flat out ridiculously perfect. In the Los Angeles area, my favorite has to be Hoagies & Wings, but check out Suju's post on the top ten in Southern California. Very comprehensive.

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