Weekend Forecast

All week, I could hear everyone saying.  Snow levels down to 500 feet.  Cold, winter storm headed our way.  Oooh! So by Saturday morning, I was just itching for snow flurries and figuring out how to make do-it-yourself ice-scrapers (old credit card?).  But the weekend came and went and as of Sunday evening, the snow level looked like it's a good 3500 feet -- nowhere near the forecasted level.  In fact, it was downright sunny Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.  So, why is the public more tolerant of errors in weather forecasting?  I doubt they even come close to a 90% accuracy.  Nonetheless, the weekend weather brought some amazing cloud patterns to the Los Angeles basin as can be seen in the photo above taken on the 210 freeway somewhere in San Dimas.

Oil Portrait

Something about portraits done in oil just capture my attention.  I found this at an antique store in Pomona last weekend for $25.  The framing alone would cost that much but this painting of a woman, who looks between 20 and 30 years of age is very striking.  There is the all-black top that she is wearing and that sliver of a red chair on her back just projects a certain melancholy about her face.  What was she thinking at the time she sat?

Found Paintings

One man's junk is another man's found art.  To my surprise, I found these two acrylic paintings in the "Free" pile in my Pasadena neighbor's front yard.  Geometric and apparently done with masked patterns using some form of tape, these 16"x20" paintings are interesting and retro cool.  Looks like they were done back in the 60s or 70s given the yellowing of the canvas and the wooden frame.

Just Like Riding A Bicycle

Summer 2009 was the last time I rode the bike in any capacity so putting on my helmet (albeit the skateboarding kind) and my bright cycling jersey was with a bit of hesitation.  It was raining off and on all weekend and the temps were downright cold (51F is cold for anyone who grew up in the tropics).  My road racing bike was replaced by my 3-speed Bianchi cafe racer and my Look pedals with New Balance tennis shoes.  The 7.5 mile loop took me to the top of Day Creek Blvd and down to the corner of Etiwanda and Victoria Street before going west on Victoria Park Lane to hit Rochester Ave back up to Banyan and home. Without the efficiency of clipless pedals, I suffered through the ride in a decent 30 minutes, spinning my way mostly.  Gone was the anaerobic recovery, the power up the hills was not there and the top speed in the flats, well, is not so fast.  However, my spin was still somewhat ok and am encouraged that if I had extra time, I could probably do this loop twice next week.  For old, ex-bike racers like me, my spin is probably the only skill that won't go away (thankfully).  Just like riding a bike, right?

The Mechanic (2011)

There are a few movies that I can remember my dad taking me to as a kid and "The Mechanic" was one of them.  The original 70s version features Charles Bronson as the assassin who liked to worked "cleanly", leaving little trail of his job.  Tonight, I took both kids to see the 2011 remake of "The Mechanic" as the highlight of this rain-soaked Saturday.  Jason Statham is probably my second best choice for the role of highly efficient killer (Daniel Craig being a colder, tougher version) but he did more than adequately kicked ass.  Different targets, different weapons, different geography than the original but Mechanic v2011 stayed pretty close to the theme of the Bronson flick except this time, Statham survived the attempted killing of the teacher by the student.  Probably would not have even bothered if I hadn't seen the original but Battle: Los Angeles won't be out for another 3 weeks.

"Bubble Gum Alley Alphabet" (2010)

I got this idea for an art series when the kids and I first visited Bubble Gum Alley in San Luis Obispo last year. They helped me find the letters as I snapped away with the camera but had a bit of trouble looking for a "Z". So, we made the last letter on the spot, I stuck the diagonal and each kid stuck the upper and lower horizontal leg to complete the alphabet. The bubble gum was fresh (clean) after a week's worth of rain washed away the dirt on this artwork of the masses just off Higuera Street in SLO.

The Stingray Project Update 2/18/11

This sat in the Pasadena garage for years. And I was determined to be driving it to work by March 2011. I've replaced the clutch, all 4 caliper brakes, new master cylinder but with my job and being a full-time single parent, I finally gave up and had it towed to McJack's Corvette in Santa Ana on 12/30/10. Almost an admission of defeat, I will pay him to restore it for me. (I bought this old car thinking it will be the product of my sweat and labor...well, shit happens.)  Today, I visited the car at McJack's and heard for the first time the 2 1/2 inch exhaust pipes emptying into these new mufflers.  Low and throaty, I am encouraged with the progress - after all, it took almost a month stripping off the old paint with a flat sander.  Hoping to get a call in two weeks after a coat of primer had been applied.  In the mean time, color choices are just going back and forth in my head.  Red, deep red, white, pearl white...I have time to decide.