hustler of culture

Pain Au Chocolat

December 23, 2008 - 9:30 am PST - Paris, France

While in Paris, I indulge in food. I eat, eat, and then I eat some more. Why? Because I generally only have about a week out of a year to satiate my French culinary cravings. It's the simplest foods, like the breakfast pastry, pain au chocolat above, that drives me craziest. Why oh why can't we have a good Los Angeles version of this chocolate croissant?! It's a good thing for us, our French family and friends are very accommodating and schedule our activities around meals. Bon appetit, indeed!

'The Twitter Film' by CSK

the twitter film (racing north, chased by tweets, chasing tweets) from svanes on Vimeo.

Christian shot his road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco on May 30, 2008. He recently finished his short film about a time lapse journey by car. Christian meant for the clip to move time forward on three levels, "the actual travel that is recorded on film that can be measured in distance and time, while the twitter postings provide an additional register of the day’s progression." Two of my tweets are used in the film, "check your IM chat log PUNK ASS. May 23rd. 6:56 p.m. APOLOGIES good for the next 24 hours," and "according to GOOGLE MAPS, there are 7 car accidents waiting for me on my commute home. looks like i'm taking surface streets from BURBANK!" It's a fun clip, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Chabot Space & Science Center

December 14, 2008 - 1:59 p.m. - Oakland, CA

Having grown up with the National Air and Space Museum in my backyard, I'm a sucker for all space-related museums. While up in the Bay Area, my family friends took me to the Chabot Space & Science Center for an afternoon with their kids. It was nice. Very interactive. But not as glamorous as its Washington DC cousin. Nevertheless, I had a lovely nap during the Search for Life screening. Laying back with the stars spread across the Megadome screen in front of me, reminded me of falling asleep in the backyard as a kid. I highly recommend visiting this museum on an evening where a clear sky is predicted so that you can take advantage of the observatories' powerful telescopes.

Entertainment Gathering 2008 Recap

Entertainment Gathering 2008 was incredibly inspirational and moving. I was at times, welling up witnessing what was on stage. But mostly, I was in awe of the human spirit and all the exciting projects and things people were up to. The company was top notch! So many creatives. So much talent. So nice people! I am grateful to have seen and heard what had transpired over a few days in Monterey, California and I look forward to attending the event again in the near future. Thanks EG 2008 for all the story-worthy memories.

Matt Groening + Hans Wegner = So Best!

December 13, 2008 - 5:33 p.m. - Monterey, CA

At Entertainment Gathering, I happened to win a Hans Wegner Wishbone Chair. I asked conference attendee Matt Groening to sign my "winner" card. He graciously doodled Lisa Simpson on it for me. Best win, ever! Thanks Steelcase/Coalesse, thanks Mr. Simpsons Creator, and thanks EG 2008 for the opportunity!

Entertainment Gathering 2008: Jill Sobule

December 11, 2008 - 8:40 p.m. - Monterey, CA

MIT Media Lab Tour

December 5, 2008 - 11:41 a.m. - Cambridge, MA

My friend and MIT graduate student, Nadya Peek gave me a tour of the super inspirational MIT Media Lab. This half mogwai, half ewok robot under construction is just one of the many tech "toys" one can see in development while cruising the hallowed inventive hallways. Unfortunately, the lab is closed to the public and tours are all given on a personal basis. Befriend a student and take a tour! This place is amazing. There's so much to see and it's refreshing to speak with some of next gen's super creatives. Thanks, Nadya for all. Good luck with your studies! You roXXorz!

Team WT Wedding

October 18, 2008 - 1:48 p.m. - Angel Island, CA

Chris and Jess got married on Angel Island and it was a beautiful day and memorable occasion. Congrats to the newlyweds! Wishing you a lifetime of love and joy.

Shake Shack Lunch

July 19, 2008 - 12:32 p.m. EST - New York, NY

I know this post will probably start a few fist fights. So here goes...

I've been hearing about Shake Shack for some time now. It's hard not to when you have friends living in New York City. Shake Shack announcements are twittered constantly as though it's boast-worthy to beat long lines and eat there for several consecutive days. Every single time a foodie friend bites into a burger, they announce their happiness to many others. You're lead to believe that Shake Shack's Americana menu delivers the best burgers in the world. And they're not. They're definitely, really yummy but in my humble opinion, not worth waiting more than thirty minutes for. And from what I can tell, most patrons wait over an hour to place their order, nevermind to sit down and eat.

The way I described eating the famous Shack Burger to my friends was that, "It's really tasty. The meat's one step better than our fast food fave, In-N-Out, but they're not so good that I'd eat here more than once a month." In all fairness, it would've been hard for any food item to live up to such hype. It is not the burger equivalent of Blue Ribbon's bone marrow. The burger is juicy. Cooked near perfectly. The condiments are fresh. And bonus points for the toasted bun. Seeing that it's a burger I won't even comment on grease and messiness, however, size-wise, it's small. Most friends mentioned having to order three between a couple and eating one and half burgers each to really satisfy the appetite. Taste-wise it's nothing extraordinary.

For an amateur gourmand, the Shake Shack bun-meat patty-combos are an easy go-to for something dependable and affordable. I'm happy I had the experience, however, next time I'm in town, I'm going to go for one of the Chicago Dogs instead, mmm mmm!

Team RM Wedding

July 18, 2008 - 11:36 p.m. EST - New York, NY

Super congrats to our pals Omar and Megan on their wedding day. Wishing them the most beautiful life together. And with a kick off like this, how could it not be?! If you invite me to your wedding, I will rock it.

Wiley'ing Out

July 17, 2008 - 2:46 p.m. EST - New York, NY

Artist, actor, designer, nice guy Wiley Wiggins happened to be in New York City the same time as us. So we spent an afternoon together with the usual suspects eating and visiting galleries. I tried to convince Wiley to change his flight home to Los Angeles so he could join us for our BBQ but it was too last minute to manage. I know Wiley from our tech and film posse and we've only met a few times in real life, but I totally dig the bugger.

Maui Sugar Cane Fields

July 8, 2008 - 1:51 p.m. - Maui, Hawaii

Fred's Mexican Cafe Menu

July 6, 2008 - 7:51 p.m. HST - Maui, Hawaii

Makalua-Puna Point

July 5, 2008 - 2:53 p.m. HST - Maui, Hawaii

Off Highway 30 in West Maui, rock formations resembling jagged shapes due to years of salt spray, erosion and upwind called "Dragon's Teeth" can be found by hiking towards the water on the fringe of a fancy golf course (watch for errant balls). Different than lava found elsewhere, this lava flowed during the last days of the West Maui volcano eruption and is bleached white and fine grained.

Maui Lava Fields

July 4, 2008 - 11:25 a.m. - Maui, Hawaii

This massive lava field was created as a result of the last eruption on Maui around 1790.

Sunset at Wailea (Maui, Hawaii)

July 3, 2008 - 6:40 p.m. HST - Maui, Hawaii

Stowaway Atari

July 2, 2008 - 11:02 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Made in Scandinavia* Hosted by Lara and Theresa

June 20, 2008 - 6:38 p.m. - Mar Vista, CA

Lara and Theresa went on hols in Scandinavia. It was more like a modern design mission. They came back with lots of photos and loot. To share their experience, they showcased what they'd seen with a slideshow and snacks. Take a peek below:

LA - "Terra Incognita: San Fernando Road" (06.08.08)

ABOUT Terra Incognita: San Fernando Road 06.08.08
Terra Incognita is a mapping project that attempts to map how we collectively see and experience our daily environment. It starts with the skeletal map (see attachment) of a designated place/space. On a specified date, documentary efforts of those who visit or pass the place are gathered and placed on the map accordingly. The final outcome of each map experiment is accessible on flickr (username: Terra Incognita 2008) and wholly determined by how much or little others participate. Depending on how much documentation I receive, by day's end the skeletal map is shivering from cold nakedness or sweating from too much awesome swathing. San Fernando Road 06.08.08 is the first venture in this project.

Jeremy Scott x adidas x Coachella Party

April 27, 2008 - 3:03 a.m. - Palm Springs, CA

I didn't make it out to any parties from pure Coachella exhaustion but I did get my ass to the Jeremy Scott x adidas x Coachella Party. We were picked up by a bus at the Palm Springs Art Museum and quickly shuttled to Frank Sinatra's old house. Selected revelers mingled with hipster royalty and danced all night with host and uber designer, Jeremy Scott. That's Santogold holding court on the dance floor. Thanks adidas for another kick ass party!