Capitol

I learned yesterday that every state gets to send two statues of famous state figures to the US Capitol for display in the rotunda, crypt, etc. California has a statue of Junipero Serra (sure, I guess...he did 'civilize' the native heathens) and.....Mr .Ronald Reagan. For the record, the following must have missed the cut:

Caesar Chavez - guess they thought a state holiday was enough? All he did was organize farm unions which still hold strong today. Or is it because he was born in Mexico? Wait, Reagan and Serra= both not Cali natives...

John Steinbeck - A Cali native, hailing from Salinas - capturing the plight of poor dust bowl-ers and winning a Nobel Prize...

John Muir - mapped the most beautiful wilderness in CA, more than 100 years before gps, bear canisters, or even trails. Guess the ol John Muir Trail is good enough? Too bad 95% of the world will never set foot on it...

Harvey Milk or Mayor Moscone - assassinated for being gay/a supporter of gay rights...guess the federal gov't (McCain?) just wouldn't be cool with this just yet. A shout-out from Gus Van Sant didn't help the cause either...but how cool would it be to have a statue of the two of them?

Jackie Robinson - granted, a Georgia native, but a Muir High School grad (Pasadena), a Pasadena City College grad, UCLA BRUIN, and decorated veteran. Oh, and he broke the color barrier in MLB...but for the Brooklyn Dodgers so...maybe not.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo - First European to explore the Cali coast.

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale - Yeah, nobody's ready for that yet. But it might be kinda cool.

Coach John Wooden - played for Purdue, sure, but he is a Bruin, and an inspiration, for ever. See my Bruin bias?

Idda voted for any of em before Reagan...and I'm not a Reagan hater- I'm totally indifferent on the guy. But he a bit recent...and not that big of an actor. Give it some time! Let his legacy simmer a bit, then take a look 50 years from now. In the meantime, can we please have Clint Eastwood, Jim Morrison, Tupac, Dr. Dre, Grace Slick, or Jerry Garcia?

Or how about this guy? Most awesome dude to ever hail from Torrance, CA.

They're making a movie about him. word.

valentines day

Back in DC after a winter break that, I'll admit, was a bit too long. I feel like I've almost lost the drive to begin studying again, especially after the extra-long 5 week break...but I came out here for a reason, and I still feel great about my long-term goals...even if I'm not exactly sure what those goals are. I'm heading toward something and I'm learning more (at least I hope) about the things I came here to learn about.

In retrospect, the first 4 months of DC have been good to me. I've met some great people and am inspired by many of them. Also, no snowmageddon this year, so I didn't have to hunker down in my basement apartment for days on end (hooray). Storms have been mostly mild, and today warmed up into the 60s. I admit, as a transplanted Los Angelino, I'd have never described 60 as "warm", but it's a far cry from the light snow we received last Wednesday. Looking forward to the spring time and seeing leaves on the trees once again...

This weekend I got to do some sightseeing with a good friend. DC is really a tourist ghost town during the winter months, and it sure is surreal to not see children screaming and running through the Smithsonian. Did the Washington Monument for the second time in a few weeks- if you're in the DC area, now is the time to do it. Likewise for the Archives. Love them free tourist attractions.

I just have to say, I'm getting a little tired of just being in DC every day. Oh, the joys of a car. ZipCar it may be, and very soon. This weather is getting nice fast. Hope it stays like this for another two months...is that too much to ask? I have no idea what to expect next.

That Egypt news is some heavy stuff. I have so many opinions about it, but a blog isn't the time or place to start this discussion. Actually, that's what blogs are for, so that was a stupid thing to say. But I'm going to stay away for now. It'll be interesting. The folks out there are changing the world and others will follow suit. Let's all hope for democracy in Egypt, minus the internet shut-offs.

Which is actually a crazy thing. What would happen if the government shut down the internet? Even scarier- A private Silicon Valley firm provided the technical assistance to get it done. Sometime, not too long from now, a single event will instantly change everything we (the casual internet users) know and how we will handle the internet. For now, just keep tweeting. Don't mess with a good thing.

In other news, Arcade Fire picked up a big Grammy award. Funny how after "Funeral" didn't receive album of the year the first time around, I totally lost faith in all things Grammy and have always had a reason to hate on the award show. Now they win with their 3rd album. Bout time. So what exactly happened? Did enough people actually buy Arcade Fire's album for them to actually get notice? Or is the entire Grammy philosophy actually changing to actually represent the best in music for the year? My anti-Grammy bias continues, and I have to think the former best describes the situation. Otherwise LCD Soundsystem would be blowing up that stage alongside AF, a la 2007. And did the Black Keys win because of their constant appearance in commercials? There's always reason to be cynical, especially when it's the Grammys, but for one night, all the college kids and music geeks and hipsters could rejoice and say, "yeah, duh, I've been listening to them since '04!"

Random thoughts to end this thing:

LCD sold out MSG. wtf? James Murphy has some words. With any luck.....

Also saw Santigold/Major Lazer/Miike Snow coming up in NYC. Jealous of you hipsters, I really am.

Lol@ Rep Lee

I have a rant. But I will hold back for now. Happy lovers' day!

will haikus de-stress me tonight?

it's almost over

i tried to manage my time

still up all night long

snow falls in DC

not quite ready for the cold

need a new jacket

a normal weekend?

feels like nights at infill 2

without smelly trees

need a quiet place

but the library closes

way too early here

mexican food calls

a hunger i cannot fix

a whole coast away

this actually worked

maybe i like writing haikus?

back to this paper

call to action

get up, get active, and make a difference.

the first steps are the toughest. like getting out of bed in the morning.

but what is life without challenges?

without perseverance?

without seeing what you're capable of?

without finding your calling? it's certainly out there.

fuck being comfortable. im starting to enjoy the flux.

the stress can be a lot to deal with. but that's what beer is for.

if you're wondering whether or not to try...

...whether to put yourself outside your comfort zone...

...whether or not to see what's out there...

...whether or not to breathe fresh air...

...you already know the answer....

...yes.

this is a call to action.

mostly to remind myself that life won't slow down for me.

enjoy the ride. then blog about it.

year end list.

This is the first time I've been able to write something in a while. Better make it count, right?

I think I have a blog entry around this time every year. I think it's because I start to see these crazy year-end "best of the year" music articles in Rolling Stone, Spin, etc. and they're all so ridiculous. I start off by thinking how utterly futile it is to quantify something so subjective as music into a "top 25" list.

You basically get a single list that encompasses music throughout the year. Which in itself is ridiculous because, at least for me, context matters. I'll love something in the summertime simply because it sounds good in warm weather. Same for the fall, spring, and winter...

But fuck it, I'm jealous of the folks who get to push their music tastes out there. It really does feel nice to make your music preferences public. A little vanity never hurt anybody, right?

2010 - don't mind the countdown. it's more for dramatic effect than an actual ranking system.

12 Tame Impala - thanks Rosy

11 Beach House - the winter trip to bryce canyon wouldn't have been the same without them.

10 Wolf Parade - r.i.p.? thanks for one last go-round, fellas.

09 Sleigh Bells - loud. solid- especially live.

08 Janelle Monae - her music video is sick. and she can def sing.

07 Yeasayer - if only for 'i remember'. but the whole thing is oddly good.

06 Hot Chip - solid, once again

05 Broken Social Scene - underrated? i saw it as bss's return

04 Cold War Kids - just an EP, but it was my fix for 10 until january...

03 LCD Soundsystem - refined. anything that has folks dancing in the aisles at the bowl works for me

02 Black Keys - the best and most distinguishably different black keys album.

01 Arcade Fire - duh. you guys know me.

disclaimer - i'm going to think of 5 more albums that I should have included right after posting this.

In fact, I already forgot Cosmogramma. How could I forget the Thom Yorke contribution for 2010?

btw, I went to NYC for the first time on Thanksgiving.

Brooklyn...I get it now.

rambling

I logged onto to the blog website and saw that I'm really falling behind.

I told myself I'd try to do a blog, at least record some thoughts if only for myself, etc. In fact, it's probably in my last blog post about 2 months (?) ago. I've fallen behind. I see eyeball burp 's blog and it's got 159 posts, I see justin keeping up the wells blog, and it's got 44 posts. And I have every reason to be doing this, living in a new city, on a new coast, in a new time zone...better get on it, I suppose...It's funny, I left LA and came out here, but I now can't get enough of music from LA. It's like I almost took it for granted? Who knows. I hope not. I like the Cold War Kids a lot...and their new single "royal blue" sounds fantastic. I can only imagine how good it sounds live, since they always sound about 5x better live. I realize they rank up there with my faves. People out here have heard the Local Natives. Is that a trip or are they really that big? Nobody knows what Anticon is. So far. But they know Animal Collective. Naturally. I bought Avey Tare's cd yesterday...I should open it. It's cold sometimes. It's really not that bad yet, I sometimes expect it to be freezing and it's kinda warm (like today); other days it looks nice but it's biting cold out. We'll see how it goes after this Thanksgiving break.

dc still never fails to amaze me, for better or worse.

for example:

-the licence plates here all say, "taxation without representation" awesome.

-I saw a gnarle sticker on a car here. awesome.

-public transportation has rush hour too. not awesome

-and laker/bruin games start at 10 effing 30. not awesome.

...and there are so many things that just make me think that dc is the land of opposites. Like I walked through a mirror in LA and fell out here.

...first, there's the obvious ones you see at first:

-you can't buy everything you want to buy at the grocery store

-there's an nfl team

-i walk a lot

-the nba team sucks

-real seasons, trees change colors

Then theres the small things that kind of start to show after some time

...people watch hockey

...mexican beer is expensive here

...there are no jack in the boxes in the area

...everywhere sells crab cakes or lobster rolls

...the water isn't 'arrowhead' it's 'deer park'

...there's no such thing as "crv" so it makes no sense for me to leave a glass bottle beside a trashcan

it's a trip. I say that a lot, but it's a trip.

Seeing yellow leaves fall from trees along a brick sidewalk among the brick houses. I'd never see that back home. Thunderstorms. It actually gets colder when it rains...with no marine layer to soften the sharp chill. Rain comes fast and quick, but it rarely sticks. Riding the bus is an experience. I think I'm getting used to it. This past weekend, I found suluDC. Saw taiko for the first time in a while. I think they were more Asian than taiko groups around home. I haven't driven a car in weeks. I miss it, but I'm so happy I don't have to drive around here.

I'm heading to NYC in 2 days. Wednesday til Monday. Seeing the bruins play at the Garden. I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I'm as excited for the bus ride there as I am for the whole trip. I haven't been out of DC in more than a month. What the heck exists between cities out here? I always imagine farmland, but that's a California thing. This will be interesting...

Finally, I'm glad I'm doing this Writing in this blog. For me. Someday I'll look back and laugh at myself. Which is always fun...

p.s. Stinky Pinky is a good ass band. What an EP.

Hawthorne, Home, and Beer...

...could it get any better than that?

Let me start by saying that I saw Mayer Hawthorne tonight. Dude rocked it.

We headed out to the Black Cat (awesome venue, by the way), only a 10 minute walk from my spot in Logan Circle. I realized how privileged I am to be living in a big city. Just 10 minutes away, I could see a great show, have some great beers on tap, and chill the fuck out, without having to worry about DD's and all. No driving out to the El Rey or the Fonda, worrying about how to get home without risking my life or criminal record...Anyway, the show was great. The dude has some serious stage presence and really knows how to get a crowd going. If nothing else, I absolutely recommend seeing him if you get a chance...although it still tripped me out to hear the guy yell, "hello DC!".

During the course of the night, I had three fantastic beers. I just thought I'd brag a bit.

Started with a Guinness. That's actually one thing I noticed about DC. Guinness on tap is more the norm than the exception. Everyone's got the stuff on tap. Is it because the East Coast is closer to Dublin? I'm curious to know if the stuff is available everywhere in the east. Regardless, I just love that. Guinness almost seems like a luxury in LA...here it quickly become the old dependable brew.

Anyway, I tried a Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA. That stuff does wonders. It felt like the first time I tried Stone IPA. It's just a fantastic IPA- strong, hoppy, and delicious. I recommend trying it if you ever see it. I finished the night with a Dogfish Head 90-minute. The stuff is 9%. Imagine the the 60-minute and add more alcohol and flavor. Good times. Despite paying $10 for four 12-oz bottles.

By the way, I realized what Yuengling is. Supposedly the Yuengling Brewery is the oldest brewery in the States, located in Pottsville, PA...i think I'm going to have to visit one of these days. It's everywhere out here; everyone carries the stuff. It's pretty generic... tastes like an American brew. I just can't believe how many bars out here carry it. Like Sierra Nevada back home, I guess.

The weather is getting cold. Rain hits almost every week. But the rainy days are mixed in with some seriously beautiful, cold days. When the sun shines on DC, it's a fantastic thing to see...the sun hits the old buildings and churches, and the city really comes alive. I just wish I had more time to just walk the streets...

I have, however, walked from Maryland back to DC through Rock Creek Park. I made it from Logan to Georgetown. I even walked through the National Zoo. This after spending my life driving from place to place...it's definitely a change.

The metro, the marble buildings...it's a different world out here...I truly miss California, another world away...but I'll be back...at least I know what's out here...I guess...

Home this past weekend was amazing. I saw people I haven't seen in a long time. Thanks everyone, for making my quick 3 days a great 3 days to remember.

Cheers all...

...it's only Thursday night...

enjoy your weekend!