Whole Foodies

Well, it's true. 

Bonnie + Crow

Today's post is brought to you by my two Brooklyn pals Bonnie and Crow, who flew me out to NYC last week to shoot their engagement photos. I've known Bonnie for a few years (she was one of the original Long Beach residents, after all) and this was the first opportunity I've had to meet her paramour Crow. We spent the day together in Williamsburg, trawling through the stalls at the Flea, walking along the Hudson, swilling drinks at Cafe Colette, and bike-riding the side streets near Bonnie's apartment. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

2011.10

Ignacio Torres

Stellar. Pun intended. 

See more here. 

Keslie

I shot these before I left for NYC last week. This lil' lady got married on Saturday, and her wedding was like a magical romp through a field. Would you expect anything less?  

On The L

Couple of shots from Brooklyn last weekend.

More to come.

Gee Willikers! Did I Do That?

An excerpt from Mindy Kaling's hilariously incisive takedown of clichéd Hollywood romcom tropes:

When a beautiful actress is cast in a movie, executives rack their brains to find some kind of flaw in the character she plays that will still allow her to be palatable. She can’t be overweight or not perfect-looking, because who would pay to see that? A female who is not one hundred per cent perfect-looking in every way? You might as well film a dead squid decaying on a beach somewhere for two hours.  

So they make her a Klutz.  

The hundred-per-cent-perfect-looking female is perfect in every way except that she constantly bonks her head on things. She trips and falls and spills soup on her affable date (Josh Lucas. Is that his name? I know it’s two first names. Josh George? Brad Mike? Fred Tom? Yes, it’s Fred Tom). The Klutz clangs into stop signs while riding her bike and knocks over giant displays of fine china in department stores. Despite being five feet nine and weighing a hundred and ten pounds, she is basically like a drunk buffalo who has never been a part of human society. But Fred Tom loves her anyway. 

Read the rest here.

"Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles." 

-- Frank Lloyd Wright

A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama!

That, ladies and gents, is a proper palindrome. 

In other words, a palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backward as forward. (Yes, I'll wait while you dissect the letters in the title of this post. See? Uncanny, right?) 

Hannahs of the world, rejoice! 

A few years ago when I was working for AA, I challenged myself and my coworkers to a new kind of mix-making competition: The Palindrome Project. The premise is fairly simple: Craft a twelve-song mix comprised of six originals and six covers of said originals that, when played from track 1 - 12 is the same as when played from track 12 - 1. It's a fun exercise because covers (whether decent or atrocious) abound for every great original song in existence. It's up to the mix-maker to determine what order the first six tracks (and therefore the last six tracks as well) are placed in, as well as concept or theme. 

Fast forward to 2011, I posed the same challenge to a few friends to see what they'd come up with. While I'm still waiting on those mixes from my friends at the Kent House, I thought I'd share my mix with you in the meantime. You can download it here. 

Conversations with Byron: Hail Mary Edition

LD: So when are you going to Vegas, huh? 

BS: 4pm, be there by 9 or so? 

LD: Yeah, or 10. 

BS: Yeah, depending on how the traffic goes... 

LD: I mean, 4pm on a Friday...good luck. Is all I'm gonna say.  

BS: WOW. You get out of here with your negativity.  

LD: GOOD LUCK, IS ALL I'M GONNA SAY. 

BS: Well, I'll say you're not "Your parent's Christian," is all I'm saying. 

Thursday Linkage

I've got three links to throw your way on this fine Thursday afternoon. 

1. The first is from my good pal Dustin, who joined in my Labor Day festivities at the beach. He took a few images, and they're lovely. So head on over to his blog to see some of his work (including this shot he snapped of me on the drive home. Pretty much anything you need to know about yours truly can be surmised from this photo. Well, apart from the presence of a labrador or a bottle of beer). 

2. Another friend of mine, Ben Bishop, is an utterly fantastic writer. Witty, thoughtful, insightful...I could wax rhapsodic all day long. He's started a web-based publication called Ragged Band that brings together interviews with creatives - artists, writers, thinkers, musicians, you name it. He interviewed me a little while back and now that interview is up on his site. Click here to read anything and everything you ever (or never) wanted to know about your girl LD. 

3. Finally, here's a link to an article I wrote with the venerable (and hirsute) Scott Jones of We Love Long Beach about an upcoming holiday called Neighbor Day. Want to celebrate community with your fellow neighbors? Read on...

That's all folks!

Malibooty

And just like that, September arrives on the coattails of a spectacular summer. 

After all the travel, after the endless plane rides and packing, unpacking, and repacking, after the last remnants of my toiletries kit had been returned to the bathroom, after I eventually got groceries, and even after a couple of harrowing back-ups during which I couldn't see the Apocalypse coming through my rear window if I needed to, after all of that, I finally got my car washed. 

And then last night, it rained. 

So Fall's coming, and it would like to make sure you darn well know. Oh, I'm AWARE, thank you VERY much for your consideration, weather. Anyway, here are a few photos from Labor Day's activities. Malibu, the pals, and the sun. Oh, the SUN. Who are we kidding, anyway? Fall weather in Southern California only means that thousands of high school kids are really pissed about having to wear their khaki uniforms in 90-degree heat. 

Sorry, kids. Them's the breaks. 

David gets ICED.