Don Henley's Concert

I watched Don Henley's concert tonight at the Forum. It was filled with feeling and emotion. The concert opens with singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin, who plays a very nice and heart warming repertoire. If you want a sample of her songs, here is a link to Sunny came home:

After the break, Don Henley came out with his band. The playlist went back to the 80s, some covers for songs from the 50s and songs from his latest album. The forum was dancing, screaming, clapping in happiness and remembrance. The crowd ranged from 30 to 60 year olds. Parents and sons and daughters. If you enjoyed the 80s and have country music in a corner of your heart. You must watch this. Country, in the way it hasn't been done for a long time. There's a reason why his most recent album debuts at Number ONE.  

Every Breaking Wave

U2 is one of the bands that has defined me along with The Police, The Cure, Depeche Mode, PSB, OMD, and Erasure. Their concerts just keep getting better over time and their always evolving music and lyrics always capture me. 

If you haven't heard about U2, I'd recommend going to pandora or YouTube and listen to With or Without you, Where the streets have no name, Pride, The unforgettable fire, Desire, One and that should give you a quick introduction. My personal favorites are: Lemon, If God would send his Angels, Angel of Harlem, Cedarwood Road, Ultraviolet, Party Girl, red Hill Mining Town and so many other ones. 

Enjoy music and create your life's soundtrack! 

Juice Dieting

Juice Crafters Three Day Detox Program

http://www.juicecrafters.com/cleanse/about-the-cleanse

I was intrigued by the juice cleanse programs I keep hearing about and I’m a Juice Crafter kinda guy, their Fountain of Youth is one of my favorites so I decided to go for it. I bounce between the Ocean Park and the Robertson locations and the girl at the Robertson location took the time to explain to me the different kinds of cleansings they offered and I opted for the beginner three day Master Cleanse. I love juice and I think I shouldn’t have a problem having only juices every two hours throughout the day. We shall see! the girl did mention that I may be cranky on the first day (I’m guessing because I couldn’t eat solids). We shall see! $150.00.-

Day One

1st Juice: Greenest #3

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9:30 AM

This is a juice that is very similar to my morning green juice (which mom prepares for us almost every day: celery, parsley, spinach or baby kale, pineapple and spirulina). It contains spinach, kale, romaine, cucumber, parsley, celery, apple, lemon and ginger. I could really taste the ginger, it gives it a little spice which is tamed by the apple and the lemon. First juice is not bad. I finished it in no time! next juice is at lunch time.

2nd Juice: Cleaner #10

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11:30 AM

This looks like a very simple juice which I’ll need to drink once more later today. This second juice has Pineapple, Apple and Mint. Easy to drink, finished it in no time. I’m noticing that I’m not feeling hungry, but I felt a little light headed around 11 AM, but after this juice I’m back!

It is quite interesting how I’m not craving cookies or things like that.

3rd Juice: Rootier #6

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1:30 PM

The Third Juice had beets, apple,lemon and ginger. I took my time drinking this juice. Tasted good, but I wasn’t hungry! strange… Anyways, my energy level is pretty good considering I haven’t had any solid food.

4th Juice: Alkaline Tonic #13

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4:00 PM

It is strange that I’m not hungry yet. It is a bit interesting to find myself forcing the juice down. This forth juice has Apple, lemon, ginger and cayenne Pepper. taste is somewhat similar as the previous juice and so far all the juices are very easy to drink. They all taste great! and somehow I’m still wondering why I’m not hungry.

5th Juice: Cleaner #10

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6:00 PM

I am feeling very, very hungry now and now I’m drinking Cleaner 10 again and it’s a bit tough not to eat something. This is the moment the girl at the Juice talked about! Haha, and I thought she was kidding...

6th Juice: Cleanse Guru #12

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8:00 PM

OK, now I’m drinking this juice. The sensation of hunger has gone away. I just got myself busy running errands to keep my mind focused on something else and that worked. I’m driving around checking out Marshalls and Ross for a gift and I’m back to normal. The storm has passed! But I’m skipping the next juice because I can’t drink anymore liquids ^^.

Day Two

1st Juice: Greenest #3

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7:30 AM

woke up and completed this first juice in no time. so far so good

2nd Juice: Cleaner #10

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9:30 AM

finished drinking this while driving to work. but I ate half an apple as well. It was a small half apple. The next Half will be for lunch.

3rd Juice: Rootier #6

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Noon

This was my lunch. I’m feeling pretty hungry. My friend Tuan gave me 5 blueberries.

4th Juice: Alkaline Tonic #13

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3:14

Ok, now I need to drink this… It’s been more than 2 hours, but there are many meetings taking place today and I haven’t been very hungry.

5th Juice: Cleaner #10

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5:30

The day has passed by very quickly! I had 4 cranberries earlier, and I counted them! LOL They tasted even more delicious than normal and so far the cleansing is going well. My body has ups and downs. I feel down usually in between juices. so I’m drinking them fast so I can replenish the energy. My theory is that the natural sugars from the juice ingredients (primarily apple and pineapple) are what keep my body going… They are the last day

Day Three

Intro Juice

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I had to use my veggies at home, so I made a parsley, spinach, coca leave, spirulina and pineapple juice in the morning using a blender. The pineapple needs to be ripe and sweet to ensure a delicious experience! oh and I used the Aloe water, so it was very refreshing.

1st Juice: Greenest #3

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8:30 AM

Drove to work, listening to some tunes and enjoying this juice. So far so good. Not in dying need to eat yet.

2nd Juice: Cleaner #10

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10:30 AM

Had a busy morning and I’m surprised that I haven’t had the need to chew something. I made sure I finished this juice quickly and so far so good. My energy level seems high considering I haven’t had much meat! and I’m a carnivore! but I’m not in need of a big meal. very strange.

3rd Juice: Rootier #6

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12:46 Noon

I had a slice of apple that size! so I don’t think I’m cheating ;-) but I’m doing it so that when I eat my first meal tomorrow my body still remembers what to do LOL. I finished my juice at 1:08 PM. Still OK, haven’t taken a lunch break… still going strong!

4th Juice: Alkaline Tonic #13

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4:00 PM

I finished my Apple and now I'm drinking the Alkaline Tonic. I find it interesting that I'm not having any cravings.

5th Juice: Cleaner #10

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6:00 PM

This is my favorite juice. I feel light.

6th Juice: Cleanse Guru #12

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8:00 PM

OK, the last juice of the set! I can't believe I made it alive. Haha, I feel good, and I feel fine.

Day Four
Well, now the question is what should I eat? I drove to work packed with fruits, walnuts, peanuts, raisins and a light salad. Everything went well. No issues to report

Day Five
Mom's birthday. We went for seafood pasta. It was delicious as always, but afterwards I felt really sick. I don't think my body is really to digest heavy foods yet. Note to all of you, stay with the easy to digest meals for a few days after the juice cleanse.

Day Six
Back to the basics, had fruits, chicken breast, veggies, boiled potatoes and nuts.

Day Seven
Still eating light, grilled salmon, veggies, rice and lots of fruits.

Day Eight
Korean BBQ Day with friends. I didn't eat as much as it's expected in a Korean BBQ. I ate a lot of salad and some beef. My body seems ok. I'm back to normal!

The Death of Steve Jobs and Apple's simplicity and other random thoughts

My birthday reminds me of the passing of Steve Jobs as they are a day apart. It's been four years since the co-founder of Apple Inc. passed away and with him Apple's successful philosophy of simplicity and elegance.

Like many, I have enjoyed the simplicity and ease of use of Apple software for many years, but the honeymoon is over. I often find myself talking to my iPhone in discontent asking "why?". I have found myself walking the isles at the Microsoft store, Best Buy, Sony, etc. seeking for a phone replacement, but Samsung's gorgeous displays and functionality are eclipsed by the Android's OS lack of uniformity and simplicity. There are too many versions, too many hacks, too many bugs which would simply add up to my already stressed American worker class life.

iTunes for example, has gone from being easy to use to unnecessarily complex due to the addition of features that I don't even care for. Before playing music on the iPhone was easy, I could do everything by tapping an icon, with one finger, without having to read the display much. Today, I have to read long lists of menus which are clutter that get in the way. I actually have friends still using the old iOS (from the iPhone 5) and they refuse to upgrade, because they take a peek at my phone and get stressed after a few minutes.

The only reason Apple devices are still popular is because there are no good contenders out there. Samsung has great hardware, but the Android OS is in essence like Linux. "Hey! making it work is half the fun!" - For kids probably, but I'm a young adult with a job that imposes an amount of stress only comparable to climbing Mount Everest, and I'm not alone. There are many friends and colleagues that have it worse than me and I hardly have a weekend off and my personal relationships, if any, are hanging by a spider web's thread and that's what our American society has turned to: a high percentage of jobless folks and the other employed ones are over stressed, suffering from a number of nervous system disarrays ranging from panic attacks to eating disorders and obesity. The root cause to this is disorganization and poor leadership at many different levels, but us, the working class contribute by not doing something about it.

On October 4th, my birthday will pass by once again finding me wiser, more knowledgeable, economically stable, without much free time, with less time to hang out with friends and loved ones, doing less fun activities than before, spending more money on things that help me relax (spas, gym, magazines, books, etc.).

And to end my ramblings, Apple will hopefully go back to basics and what their essence used to be, otherwise they may end up badly and Steve will not be there to save them again. A new company will emerge to challenge Apple one of these days.

LA Downtown ArtWalk

Have you ever gone to the LA Downtown ArtWalk? What are you waiting for?! It takes place every month! The next one is on June 14, 2012.

Here is a link: http://fe.gd/1M2 Don't be left out!

and Here are some pics from last month's walk! and more pictures here!

Anime Convention coming to LA Downtown!

Between June 29 and July 2nd 2012, The LA Convention will be the home of AX, the Anime Convention And you can register here.

Director Ei Aoki, Producer Hikaru Kondo, Animation Director Tatsuo Sato are only some of the names of the Guests of Honor that you will be able to see/meet at AX - Not Armani Exchange... Anime Expo :-).

24 days left, so don't be left out! https://www.facebook.com/animeexpo

Here are some old pics from previous years...

See you at the LA Convention Center!

Photo Explorations - CAR Show @ Farmer's Market

I definitely would like to shoot more, but this weekend... all of a sudden I had time for Photography! and I had a friend with free time! so armed with my camera, lenses, tripod, and my imagination we went out to capture the moment.

During the day, there was a car show at the Farmer's Market on 3rd Street and Fairfax.

Here are some photographs I took for the car show!

This gorgeous Bubblegum purple vehicle was one of my favorites! too low to the ground, but it was the most amazing thing I had seen!

Everywhere I turned, there was a car more beautiful than the previous one! I was in Paradise!

 



This is the Ford Woody, which is sold in its toy form at the Malibu gift shops with a surf board on the top! I wanted to take it for a ride along PCH !

Yes, this is the Stingray! Truly a work of art!

and saving the best for last... my Baby! my one and only... the Mustang convertible in red!

Here are more pictures!