San Francisco

I spent a few days in San Francisco recently and had a great time. Most of my time was spent wandering the streets looking at all there is to see in San Francisco. I saw Rancid play at the Warfield which was awesome! The Contemporary Jewish Museum had an excellent exhibit featuring paintings by Charlotte Salomon entitled "Life? or Theatre?".

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Car Show

Going to classic car shows is so much fun. Here are a few pictures from the car show in Montrose on 4th of July weekend.

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Pasadena Chalk Festival

The Pasadena Chalk Festival took place over the weekend, and was a lot of fun. I was amazed to see the creativity that people expressed on cement with chalk. It was really inspiring.

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Olvera Street

If you are looking for a fun way to spend a few hours in L.A., you should check out Olvera Street across from Union Station. There a bunch of restaurants where you can get yummy food and shops where you can get neat things like marionettes, maracas, and colorful clothing.

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Art in the Streets

The Art in the Streets exhibit at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA began on April 17th and runs through August 8th. This exhibits showcases the recent history of graffiti and street art. If you haven't seen this, I would highly recommend that you check it out before it is over.

Benchmark

This Debbie Harry piece was one of my favorites.

Enjoy this video of Debbie Harry and Kermit the Frog singing Rainbow Connection on a 1981 episode of The Muppet Show.



You may also want to watch the film, Exit through the Giftshop, which contains footage of current graffiti and street artists Banksy, Invader and Shephard Fairey.

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Grilled Cheese Invitational 2011

Due to my love of grilled cheese, I was taken to the Grilled Cheese Invitational as a a birthday gift. It was great!

Grilled Cheese and Onion

I ate a variety of delicious grilled cheese sandwiches, and was able to be a judge as well.

Trophy

I really enjoyed the performance by March Forth Marching Band. Watching them made me wish I could go back to high school and be in a marching band. Who knows what that could have led to?

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Record Store Day at Amoeba in Hollywood

In appreciation and celebration of record stores, I went to Amoeba Records in Hollywood on April 16, 2011 for Record Store Day. Records have been a part of my life since childhood, as I remember staying up way too late on many nights with my dad listening to his records.

Henry Rollins at Amoeba Records

Learn more about Record Store Day.

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Kevin Smith's Red State Screening at the Wiltern

I saw Kevin Smith's new movie Red State at The Wiltern last night, which included a Q&A with Kevin and most members of the cast. The movie was much different than Smith's past films, and was based in part on Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, who are known for hate speech and picketing at soldiers funerals.

Kevin Smith on Stage

Check out the IMDB page for Red State which includes trailers and cast member bios.

Red State, U.S.A Tour Info

Kevin Smith's movie memorabilia was being displayed in the lobby to promote The Official Askewniverse Garage Sale, taking place today April 10th at the Pasadena Convention Center.

Bluntman and Chronic Sign

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Springtime!

This might be my favorite time of the year. Everywhere I go, it smells like flowers and makes me happy.

Tulip

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Galco's

I stopped by Galco’s in Highland Park for the first time the other day, and realized why I always heard people talking about that place. They have a huge variety of sodas in glass bottles (over 500 kinds), many of which I have never seen at other stores. I picked up a few to try, including a cucumber soda and rose petal soda.

Galco's

Postobon Bottle

Aisle of Soda

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Los Angeles Police Museum

I recently went to the Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum and Community Education Center in Highland Park. This museum is located at Police Station No. 11 at 6045 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042.

The inside of the museum offers a collection of police memorabilia, including handcuffs, badges, guns, and over 100 years of photographs of the LAPD; while outside, you can view a variety of police vehicles, including a police helicopter, armored cars, and a 1929 Model A Ford police car.

Below are some of the pictures that I took at the museum:

Police Station No. 11

Inside a Police Rescue Vehicle

Jail Cell

Chevy Delray Police Car

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