I never tire of photographing the ocean. Just like each visit to the beach is different, each wave has its own unique form and texture. From one frame to the next, you will not necessarily feel the brute power of the ocean but you will sense its patience and potential energy. Relentless, wave after wave turns stone into the finest grains of sand. One Sunday in August, for the past dozen years, I get out of my tent, tripod and camera in hand and click away for a half hour before sunrise. I sit on that same cliff, year after year, appreciating the fact that I am observing a master artist who had been at work for millions of years, the mighty Pacific Ocean.
I came to see Tim Burton back in June. The bonus as the exhibit in the main area of the Resnick Pavilion at LACMA that featured the American sculptor David Smith's works. Always a nice surprise to see works of ab-ex artists I'm not that familiar with.
I still can't believe this hike starts less than a mile from the house. The North Etiwanda Preserve loop is an easy 3.2 miles from where the houses end on Day Creek Blvd and Etiwanda Ave. Kids and I finally did the loop yesterday; I'd say it's relatively flat (500 ft elevation gain/loss) and with the nice view of the cities of Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and Ontario. Someday, maybe when it cools down, we'll get to the waterfall. The photo above is on the west end of the loop, about mile 2.5 overlooking a flood control basin.
At LACMA, August 13, 2011.
Have not been to the Pasadena City College Flea Market in about six months but somehow, found 4 free hours to do dimsum + flea market. Definitely as secular as one can get on a Sunday morning, scouring through aisles and aisles of stuff produced little in the way of art or furniture finds. I even drove the Tahoe thinking I will need something to haul a bigger piece back all the way to Rancho Cucamonga. But alas, getting there around noon meant most of the vendors have sold all their good stuff. However, I did manage to find some classic jazz vinyls from the giants, Davis, Goodman, Rich and Krupa for a mere...$20! Vinyl still rules.
Sometimes I wish natural selection works faster than it does. Yesterday, while driving to the Rhino Records in Claremont, around 8pm, some guy crossed Bonita while yakking away at his f***ing cell phone without even looking to his right or left. I had to slow down my f***ing car just to avoid this bastard, whose genes obviously will not propagate if he continues on this habit of disregard for his safety. A thousand or more years is just way too long for these idiots to be filtered out of the gene pool. Is it too much to ask for natural selection to be a bit more accelerated?
I've always lived in cities that have more than 4 bookstores -- Los Angeles and Pasadena. When I moved to Rancho Cucamonga, I was not too happy with the limited selection of having the Borders at Victoria Garden Mall and the Barnes & Noble on Foothill -- but decided that two corporate bookstores is better than no bookstore at all. So when Borders announced they were closing all stores last week (while we were in Hawaii), I know I'm down to the Barnes & Noble. Sad. The whole friggin' city of Rancho Cucamonga will have a single bookstore in about a month. Ok, I can still but books at Target and Walmart, one might argue. Please. Amazon? Maybe, but the concept of a bookstore is to have a place where members of the community can interact. Virtual community, I'm sorry, is not what I have in mind. Since the announcement of the closing, I've been to Borders twice last week in Honolulu and twice this week at home to start buying up some of the bargains but I'm really at a lost where to get books by the end of next month. Vroman's in Pasadena is 37 miles away. MOCA and LACMA bookstores are at least 50 miles from the 909. Maybe in the ashes of these corporate giants, the independents can make their way back. One can only hope.
