I saw some art near the downtown area of my home

It's an artist by the name of Shlomi Haziza that made these intriguing art pieces, I actually wanted to go in but I was running out of time and then I don't know if it was a private place, it looked opened but still good. I will check this artist out real soon! I was with my friends earlier returning library books, actually mangas my friend Angelique recommend me to check out, I liked one of the two. She gives real good advice on recommendations on mangas and books too. Anyway, I thought I share this with you since I haven't been on here in a while and this was indeed an art moment!

My Linkin Park items and Concert remembrance

I recently purchased two Linkin Park items, these are limited edition items one is based on the music video "Breaking the Habit" and consist of the anime of it and the DVD of how the video was made and the music video. I love anime, so I thought it was a brilliant choice and it didn't cost so much at all! The item on the right is Minutes to Midnight, which was the same concert with some friends. The song "What I've Done" was the ending theme of the first Transformers movie. The first time I heard of Linkin Park went even further. They did a remix of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" now at first, I really didn't like the remix, but after a while, it started to grow on me, and I gotten fascinated by Linkin Park. Then by watching the first Transformers movie , that's what gotten into them as well. I downloaded a lot of their songs.

The Concert: The concert was around March I think, it's been a while! It was a few years back. I remember I asked my mother if I could go to the concert because Kimmy and Carla said you should go and have fun. She let me go because of my grades were so good, and she believe I deserved it. My aunt took me because it was at the Staples Center( mostly any concert or big events happen there along with the the Convention Center, which is next door to the Staples Center) I already purchased a ticket, because they were selling out like crazy! My ticket I remember it was $52.00 my seat was at the top, I remember seeing so many people there, you can hear several voices at once. I wanted to bring my camera but the note said no cameras (which I so regretted it!). I was in the wrong sit because I looked at the numbers wrong, I guess being excited and nervous at being at your first concert, things happen like that. There were two other acts before Linkin Park though, I think one was called Coheed and another band I can't remember at the moment. But when Linkin Park came to the scene, everyone was standing up! I was sitting and chatting with two fans next to me, they were so excited! I had to stand up the rest of the concert because I couldn't see the band and then I was too far away, but around you, you could see several lights flashing like stars in the sky, because everyone had their cameras. My old phone which was a razor, the photos I don't have anymore, but there was a screen/projectile/projector they had where you can see the musicians, my camera on my phone was terrible, all I kept getting was Chester Bennington and not the other band mates. The first song they perform funnily was "What I've Done." After half of the concert, I saw Kimmy and Carla, they were sitting diagonally from me. They already had their tickets when they told me about the concert so it made sense, when you have concerts, they have assigned seats oddly enough. The concert was an astonishing experience, the musicians especially Chester were vibrant and lively, and I was told he was sick that day too, it was amazing because he did back flips and all kinds of jumping and shouting so it was hard to believe that he was sick. I know another class mate was over there but he had the VIP ticket, obviously he paid in advance. After the concert, I said goodbye to my friends and my aunt was waiting patiently for me, and I was checking up on her, and it was a few minutes to midnight (henceforth the album title) and I wanted merchandise from the concert but it was so costly. I know Carla had a beautiful shirt and Kimmy had a jacket with the symbol LP submerge together like the book you see in the photo. I remember there were bands that do promotional when big bands come out. So they were passing out CDs and stuff this band name Panima(I still haven't gotten around of listening to it.) I took it because I knew how it felt when you want to promote yourself and stuff: common courtesy. Finally after that, I asked my aunt could I please get a shirt so I gotten the shirt you see on the photo below, it was not from the inside, it was one of those discounted people who sell cheap or discounted  merchandise so basically, I gotten my shirt for $10.00, I was satisfied enough because my friends had to pay almost $100 for their clothes ware. I had a smashing night, once I find the shirt I can put the actual date on it. I come across the shirt every now and then, I would wear it sometimes. This was indeed a fine art moment I think! I do plan to go to more concerts soon, the only other concerts I have been to were jazz concerts called Jazz Fest West where they have them from next door to the water park Raging Waters. (I might have a blog post on that so stay tuned!) Again it was a great moment for me, because even to this day my mother and I were shocked she made that decision to let me go to one!

This is me with my Linkin Park shirt, and this is one of my friends Kimberly.
She was one of the friends that went to the same concert. 

John Hughes collection

I love John Hughes movies, there's still more I need to explore of his movies. I'm missing Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Home Alone at the moment. All good movies though! I like how he had Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall in three movies all of them they played different characters of kinda fall back into the same level in away. The only movie that's not part of John Hughes is Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but the other two movies Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club are his work. The guy was a genius, was nothing like other directors, the fact he wrote these stories when he was young and encountered situations like that, now that's the perfect way to make a movie I think. And then by having really good actors and actress really make a difference. All the ones including Ferris Bueller, they are bonus editions. Now Home Alone is the only one I have that doesn't have a bonus feature, and ironically that was the first movie I knew about his work, and gotten me into the actors from it. I was shocked he did all these other iconic movies, a lot helped out actors including Jon Cryer's career which was pretty awesome! Once I find my DVDs and maybe purchase the edition of Home Alone, I will have an update! These are good movies and the soundtracks are outstanding: Simple Minds, Oingo Boingo, New Order, the Smiths, OMD, etc! 

Jon Cryer collection

I know this seems a bit weird, but what can I say the guy is a good actor, a lot of potential and skills. These are the available movies I can find him in at the moment. All from Amoeba except No Small Affair DVD. They didn't have the DVD so I ordered it off from Amazon, it wasn't that expensive really. I know he plays the a nerdy character in all of them basically but each of them have something distinctive about them. I plan to find more DVDs or movies of him, he's definitely an actor of interest. The first time I heard about him was in Pretty in Pink because when I saw Two and a Half Men, he looked so familiar to me! These are all comedy/drama movies some are funny than others and he plays different levels of roles like Stay Cool, he wasn't the main character. If you like movies and love nerdy people or characters, definitely something to search for! 

My Joy Division/ New Order collection

This is my Joy Division and New Order collection. The two sources I gotten from were Amazon and Amoeba. A couple of friends told me about Joy Division, after seeing bits of Control on YouTube and checking out Unknown Pleasures as well, I guess my interest went a bit deeper. I knew about the connection between two bands, but after hearing about them, and actually watch footage, they are actually pretty good! I still have one more I do have in my wish list: an Ian Curtis poster. I still have to read Torn Apart to see what more depth of the situation. It was so strange because the same year and day Ian committed suicide was the same as Mt. St. Helens volcano erupted and it was a helluva eruption too, it wiped out a lot of nature and civilians! When I see the volcano few years ago, it was so peaceful made me wonder was it the same volcano that caused so much terror.
The recent items are Heart and Soul and 20 Years of New Order but it also contained music of Joy Division, it was a promo disc, considered to be rare it was only $20! Heart and Soul from the looks of it is really good, the booklet is really nice. I still need to explore on these two bands, and are definitely a worth of interest!
Control is an excellent movie, Anton Corbijn did a fine job with this movie, the characters really suit and gave me a feel on how Ian was before he died and how the post punk era was really raw in the since of non sugar coating. The two interview DVDs are another fine items to have, they have astonishing bonus features!
New Order Technique(2-disc CD) and Joy Division's Still are considered out of print items! 

My Tim Burton collection update

This is my Tim Burton collection, I do have two missing DVDs that are lost in my room at the moment and those are Sleeping Hollow and Beetlejuice. I will buy more of his work soon, but for now this is what I have aside the missing DVDs. I have gotten a passion of his work, from watching behind the scenes footage, going to the exhibition with a friend of mine, etc, his work inspires me. The DVDs that you see before you are from Amoeba music, The Alice In Wonderland book I gotten from my previous college, they had a promotional thing at the time, and I was so eager of seeing the newer version of Alice in Wonderland and this book it shows how and what the character are and quotes and so on. I also brought the actual book by Lewis Carroll   , it was a good read and the illustration was good too! The Tim Burton book and the bookmark are from the exhibit, I actually wanted the bigger 1,000 page book at the time, but it was over my budget so, I brought this book instead, it just shows you his best work from the early days and so forth. The Edward Scissorhands shirt, I purchased this when I was in Hollywood, they had some shirts and this one caught my eye. I really love the collaborations of Tim and Johnny Depp, and then by it having my favorite color I couldn't resist to get it, and it was the last one in my size too! Last but not least, the Alice in Wonderland buttons are from a store in the valley my aunt took me to, it was one of the erotic stores that sold sex toys and stuff, but I was more into the buttons. When I find the two DVDs I will update about it! 

My High School graduation remembrance

 

My high school graduation

It was like almost yesterday, it’s almost been two years since I’ve graduated. It was a funny moment of my life.  I remember having to practice with my classmates with the seating and gestures and everything. Since I was one of the honor students, I had to be on the second row. You see, they had it divided from the honorary to the regular students. My grade point average was a 3.43 a “B”. I was shocked because I didn’t think I made it on the honor roll. I had tragic moments during my high school years, like both my grandmothers died a year apart and one of my grandfather’s was sick and my father at the time slipped on the floor trying to make to my graduation.  Everyday I would ask my friends and teachers to sign my yearbook, it was an astonishing moment for me, because again I didn’t think I would graduate. On top of that, being accepted to a University of California, it was too good to be true! I honestly felt like a nobody at my middle school graduation, they forgot I was one that been in that school for nine years, but it was funny because my mother embarrassed the school, West Angeles Christian Academy, which is a of now, a tutoring place. I made a few good friends, and a few good teachers too, but the rest was just horrific, and glad I made it out of there. Compare to Community Harvest Charter School, thank God for that school, I hardly made enemies there and the education was just right, I really gained a lot from Community Harvest, I know they are going through a rough financial battle at the moment, almost seem like I was destined to be there, because I gotten out in a nick of time! I really had no idea one of the staff knew who my family were on my father’s side, it quite shocked me when I saw her at one of my grandparent’s funerals. Anyway, the day it happened, it was pulsating because not knowing where people will be after years to come, and seeing my fellow classmates that were salutatorian and a valactorian* I think that’s how you spell it, they had the highest grade point averages and had to do speeches. I gave out invitations too,  to my family including a friend I known in my art classes. It was emotional, and a fantastic event. I remember my feet were in pain because I had to stand up in a line to be inside the building. I can’t find my white robe string, but I do have my honor roll medal that has my name engraved with my grade point average. I would usually wear it when I’m trying to use different styles when I dress. It was remarkable to finally feel like I accomplished something as a starting point of my life. I enjoyed the tassle/cap in the air moment. Luckily we all had our names on them so we would remember who’s who, because they were head size custom made. My mother told me something that really stood out to me: You’re not too high or too low, being in the middle is the best thing you can be in anything. She’s right, it’s like trying to say being over qualified or something like that but being just right, is the best part. I had both pieces of my family members five from my mother’s side and five from the father’s side there. I only wished my father was there and then my late grandmothers. However, one of my aunts told me that she had a vision of my her mother saying that’s my baby or something like that, she was happy, and she said it had to be about me because it occurred about round the graduation. We also received another medal for just graduation, I can’t find at the moment, it had the school’s symbol the eagle, some received the USC scarf for joining the University of Southern California(one of the top universities), the robes( they came in three colors: gold/yellow for the top two students, above 4.0, red was for the 4.0s, and white(which I had) was for 3.0s grade point averages and then the plague, which is in storage at the moment, of our certificates of graduation.   I also wished one of my best friends graduated with me, but she graduated a year later, which wasn’t bad.

Marc Almond tattoos from a fan that works in Amoeba Music!!

 
I was helping a friend out today looking for something from Amoeba which is called Record Store Day, sadly the items she wanted wasn't there. However, I did meet two Marc Almond fans, which was a treat to have! One was looking for Marc and the Mambas CDs, I informed her that's pretty rare material since they weren't really established, I did say Amazon would be a good source, or if you're fortunate to ask Marc fans and do a trade in! Anyway, when I was going to pay of my items, the guy was ecstatic to see that there's another Marc fan in the midst, he showed me some radical Marc Almond tattoos! One from the CellMates era and then from Marc and the Mambas, I didn't want to hold him up since it was packed over there, so I was able to take these photos of his arm tattoos, pretty neat isn't it? Yes, there are Marc Almond/Soft Cell fans out here, may not be everywhere, but hey you can't beat a person who knows good music and Marc Almond is just that talented! This was the highlights of my day, after going through some minor issues, finding rare Pet Shop Boys items and then meeting two Marc Almond fans was just splendid, I don't really pay attention or look for fans, I just focus on what I need to do and if there are fans of the artists I adore, then hey I can't complain! I just thought to add this because this is INDEED a favourite art moment! :D 

Marc Almond's The Days of Pearly Spencer single holographic CD

This is my first time seeing a holographic CD, its a limited edition and it looks pretty neat!

An Easter card plus gift from an Awesome friend!

A lovely friend name Mazie, sent me an adorable Easter card and shocked me with a cute necklace! Sorry the photo is upside-down, but I was just excited to take another photo! We settle our difference from the past and start again, only wish more people I encountered would do the same but they are that stubborn but oh well. Things happen for a reason, I was actually shocked she wanted to be my friend, and for someone to forgive me like that, just shows how there's good in people. I wanted to be her friend as well, but i know she was mad at the time and needed a lot to think about. It was a rough year last year. But I'm glad we are talking again! Thank you again Mazie you're one of a kind and you are stronger than you think as well!

Happy Easter everyone! :D

Yu-Gi-Oh cards a friend gave me

One of my best friends Ignacio gave me his old deck of Yu-Gi-Oh playing cards since he have a new one, he told me it was a good start and then I can collect more when possible. He's very sweet, and I'm currently learning about how the game works. It's more complex than chess I'll admit! 

Two treasures I bought from school

I bought these books at my current college, I passed by them and this lady told me they were for sale. I wanted astronomy books but they didn't have any so, I had a look around and they had two books that caught my eye: Everyday Life in Bible Times and Pictorial World Atlas. I'm a Christian so I am rather curious on how life was back in those days and I do and would love to travel when I can so I thought these would be beneficial for myself.

A Recent Arrival!!

 
This came in the mail yesterday! A friend of mine, Clare was telling me about few days ago and told me it was really good, so I'm taking her word for it! It's a Joy Division DVD about the legacy of the band and facts on the late Ian Curtis.

Another collection of artists, I'm testing out!!

I also gotten these from amoeba except Phil Collins' But Seriously album, I gotten that from Amazon, I Think I might get No Jackets Required soon. Anyway, a friend of mine Clare gotten me into some more artists: Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, she gotten me into Joy Division, even though I'm still testing these bands out, but I did like what Clare showed me. I also gotten some Depeche Mode, New Order, La Roux, and Human League in there. They had bonus tracks for some of these bands and since I can't stand the buffering, I decided to test them out, I do listen to other artists, but I prefer downloading their music if possible, because I don't want to go broke here. I'm still learning about all kinds of art everyday!

Joy Division Unknown Pleasures came in a few days ago

Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures came in a few days ago, I will work on a art review about the album art pretty soon!!!  It's so astonishing that this album was a bargain, and new as well! Since It's an old album, they would usually be expensive but, on Amazon, the prices went down!!

My first Universal Studios Annual Pass and finally going to Universal Studios after so long!

I have been in Universal Studios before but never thought to get the Annual Pass, actually didn't know they had one. I went with one of my best friends Angelique to Universal City Walk and took her out to a Sushi Bar there called Wasabi; And she was telling me about the Annual pass she had so I thought why not, I can afford it now! I gotten the best deal ever! It cost $77 but was well worth it, you can get discounts and it only last for this year. They have more but I chose the basic, I'm still trying to budget. My Annual pass does have Black out dates meaning you can't go on those days. It's all good because I don't go to it often. The trip was Amazing, being there with one of your best friends is a treat to have. Being at the studio, really inspired me even more about animation and just pure film and art in general, seeing aspects of how they get shows that you would usually watch on a regular basis use the simplest things! I actually prefer this over Disneyland, it was a lot of people but not too crowded, because Angelique and I gotten on The Mummy Returns ride three times in a row! I hope one day I can be a part of the art world or in a studio. It's just so astonishing! Saw the set of Desperate Housewives, the set of all the hit movies and shows. They really reuse the same stuff over and over! What was so incredible about it was that on the tour we saw The show CSI being filmed, we couldn't talk at all, it would have messed up the audio. Overall, I had a Fantastic time hope to go with all my good friends! 

Angry Birds Keychain from It's Sugar

I don't know if It's Sugar, is an actual store beyond Universal City Walk, but It's a nice store for candy lovers anywhere! I gotten candy but its the powdered candy. They have candy from all kinds of sources, some are ridiculously huge and some are so tiny! I couldn't handle too much that candy, which is ironic but its the truth. I gotten an Angry Birds Keychain there, they do have items that are non edible believe it or not. The game is addicting so I couldn't resist of getting a Keychain that had them on it! I only wished they had all of the characters on it though. I'm pretty sure It's Sugar have a website.

Pink gloves from Hot Topic

Pink have always been my favorite color, typical girl color I guess. It's a mixture of red and white but now varies from different shades of red and different shades of white. Anyway, I gotten two pairs before and couldn't find them so I thought to get these instead they looked.different from the ones I had. The design looked artsy to me, they can be warm sometimes but when its cold, they feel cold because of the small holes. The hearts on them looked really neat to me.

Some Buttons from Hot Topic I gotten recently

I'm a button(flares) and pins fan, I especially love it when they have sayings on them some can be relative and some are just plain silly! I have about seventy buttons and a few amount of pins, I will do a collection update of those real soon! I know there's ton of buttons to get and collect, but every button or almost every button signifies a memory or tells a story about myself like symbolism really and usually some just represents me in general. 

Sailor Moon items

I went to two Hot Topics with my friend Angelique in the past week and then yesterday to Universal City Walk. I didn't know they had Sailor Moon items over in a goth/rockerish store but then again the title, I'm guessing old anime in general are the hot topic of vintage. So far I gotten a Button and an I.D. case, felt like spoiling myself. They were expensive but not as bad as their other items they had there. It's a nice store to go to, I would recommend it if you haven't heard of it over here!

a brief update

I wouldn't entirely call this a favorite art moment. The whole week was just one of those stressful moments for me. I was glad(still am) about going back to school, but at the same time, my father passed away. He was sick and I found out he had cancer for the past ten years! He never told me about it. Based on what my mother told me, he didn't want me to worry about it, but I would know about it eventually and the timing was just mind bottling. I did have a grudge on my father for not spending time with me and some neglecting issues, but I gotten over it. The same day Pet Shop Boys' Alternative came in, was when he passed away. I couldn't even listen to Alternative which was difficult, I usually listen to music to calm me but in this case, it didn't. I did listen to bits of it the next day. Then yesterday I took care of some financial business and then when to the music store called Amoeba music, I call it Amoeba Records, I guess because I still miss Tower Records. They had a clearance sale, and added so some things there, like turntables, even newer bands/artists in vinyl form, I guess that's for clubs and collectables. It's the only mainstream store I know that consists of majority of the bands/artists, I find other stores like Barnes and Nobles, f.y.e., Mad Platter, WhereHouse, even Best Buy had Disco 2 for a bargain and had dozens of them on their own shelf! Anyway, I had a hard time choosing what to get, even having a Facebook friend posted on what's in there, my phone died so I couldn't take a photo and show her, next time I will. I'm usually a downloader but now since I don't have an iPod working, I use CDs, I'm more of a DVD type person, I do listen to other bands on my phone from the Youtube app. I came to a conclusion on my purchase: Behavior $3.99 plus tax, Very $4.99 plus tax, and Soft Cell's This Last Night....in Sodom for $8.99 plus tax. They have other ones, but they were costly and I saw better prices on Amazon and a lot of them were imported and had missing CDs or cracks on the case. I didn't have to spend over $20.00! Which was a fantastic moment, but my aching is still here of losing my father. I will even admit getting Special when my grandfather passed away made me excited but I was still sad too, still hurting after losing so many of my family members in close duration of time. I usually purchase items when I'm feeling down, but it feels alright and then you still feel that hurtful feeling.

Noel Fielding and his Fascinating, Eccentric Artwork

After a friend of mine told me about Noel Fielding did all the art in the surreal comedy Mighty Boosh. I enjoy watching it when it comes on/when it came on. I usually would watch the episodes on YouTube. I have every now and then look at his work on photos, and I noticed he reminded of a few artists that I like: Picasso, Salvador Dali, and slightly John R. Dilworth, Roy Lichtenstein, and a different version of Tim Burton. Even she also told me one of his inspirations was Roy Lichtenstein and I was just so in awe when she told me and he has an art book called The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton. Once I save up more money on it, I'll buy it. I like his eccentric style that he did on the Mighty Boosh along with it's strange humour. I strongly believe he's a modern, eccentric Picasso, if that makes any sense.

Some of these portraits gave me the idea of a modern, eccentric Picassoo.