April 2007

04.22.2007 Comment...
New Apartment
I moved into a new apartment this weekend. It's only a couple of blocks away from the old one (R.I.P. Bel Aire), but it's a lot nicer. It's quiet... I can actually hear birds chirping again, instead of having them entirely drowned out by traffic noise. Plus the new view is a little better than the old one (which consisted of a Volvo dealership and the occasional bum fight on Burnside). Here are some pictures from the living room window today:

04.17.2007 Comment...
California Screamin'
I got back to Portland last night after a long day of driving. It's nice to be back... the city surprisingly got a lot greener in my couple weeks away. Phoenix was all right. It was nice to see the family and friends, but it's just kind of boring there now. Although I did go to the Bodyworlds exhibit at the Arizona Science Center - which you should definitely try to see, if you haven't already. It was probably the most interesting exhibit that I've ever seen. Resume travelogue:


West Los Angeles from the Getty Center


Hanging around the Getty Center. Like I haven't seen enough cactus the past couple weeks.


Newport Beach. This is, most importantly, the setting of Arrested Development. The banana stand would be to my right.


I'm punching Nellie in the stomach as hard as I can. I don't remember the exact reason why this time... I do it pretty often.


Alana is trying to freak me out. Little does she know, I'm an unflappable picture-taker. I probably should have punched her in the stomach.


Next picture: comeuppance. It's my turn to grit the teeth, and he who laughs last laughs hardest.


Mount Shasta in northern California. This is about the halfway point of the drive from Los Angeles to Portland. Keep on truckin'.


Balls Ferry, CA has the best city name* ever. Ask any 12 year old, he'll tell you.


Weed, CA has the second best city name* ever. Ask any college kid, he'll tell you.


I'm not sure which is weirder: the fact that Weed gets its own airport, or that the airport doubles as a rest stop.

*NOTE - Another one of my favorites is Zillah, WA. Not so much because the name is inherently great, but because the townspeople put it to great use. As I drove through on the highway, I saw a sign for a church that read "Church of God-Zillah"

04.09.2007 Comment...
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
I drove from Portland to Los Angeles and then Phoenix a few days ago. I attended a party at the Canadian government "official residence" in Los Angeles and went to a friend's wedding in Scottsdale. I'm going to the Diamondbacks game tonight, and will probably check out Bodyworlds and the Phoenix Art Museum's Rembrandt exhibit on Wednesday. It feels a little uneventful, if only because i haven't been arrested yet on my trip down here, like some people have. Begin travelogue:


I drove the straight shot from Portland to Los Angeles in a day. Did some wandering around downtown and checked out the auditions for Project Runway. This picture is of the tallest skyscraper west of Chicago.


There's nothing I love more in California than driving down Wilshire Blvd, watching mammoths die along the Miracle Mile. Oh! Here's one now!


Rather than driving around the city and paying $40 a day to park, I rode the bus. Which sometimes got weird. Fortunately I speak Spanish and made a handful of new friends.


Home sweet home. Made it to my dad's house in Chandler, AZ only to discover that it was 97 degrees outside. In March.


Rusty in his favorite position. Of all the Doberman souls I have encountered, his was the most... human. Rusty is definitely the Spock to my dad's Captain Kirk.


Some people greet guests with welcome mats. My dad prefers wanton intimidation. I can guarantee no guest has ever felt comfortable walking through this gate. Evidently, he couldn't help himself when he saw the Doberman silhouette at the store, but at least it's accurate.


Went to my aunt's for Easter. You can tell it's a holiday, because my mom and brothers all appear to be mildly glad to be around each other. But only very mildly.


Waiting for the Suns game to start. Fell asleep? My brother makes a fine ottoman. This is pretty demonstrative of my vacations to Arizona.


A little brotherly love... I'm an excellent role model. Suns/Lakers game is on - you can tell because I'm making my smug Kobe Bryant face. The face turned out really well.


Popped into my mom's office to say hi. Then she strangled and kissed me with one of her employees. How disgusting.

04.02.2007 Comment...
The Nameless Dread
As you know, I enjoy photoshopping stupid comics with new speech bubbles, but no one does it better than H.P. Lovecraft. Much like myself, Lovecraft hates The Family Circus, and decided it could only be improved by replacing Bill and Jeff Keane's insipid malapropisms with passages from his own horror novels. These are particularly amusing for me because I listened to The Call of Cthulhu audiobook on my drive from Portland to Los Angeles last week. He's such an embarassing author. Take it away, H.P.