Orbital at Glastonbury 2010

Orbital performs the Doctor Who theme song with current doctor, Matt Smith

I crave this experience.

Coast Starlight

I recently hopped on a 11 hour time machine (er, train) from Union Station to Oakland where the sights were majestic and life was undoubtedly slow-paced. I admit, I did fall asleep for a couple hours, but even so, the train jolts woke me up enough times to quickly snap scenery before falling asleep again.

Unlike planes, where hardly anyone talks to anyone else, the train is a very social place. At dinner time, we opted to eat in the Dining Car where a couple joined us at our booth. They had just gotten on the train in Salinas and were on their way home to Eugene, Oregon.

For those who haven't experienced a train ride, I recommend taking the Amtrak on one of their long routes.

E3 Roundup

My world has been consumed with churning out E3 posts in a timely fashion. There's still a ton to write, (closed door Kinect dashboard demo, Gran Turismo 5 in 3D, Little Big Planet played with PlayStation Move, etc.) but here's what's up so far:

Giant Robot Night - Gaijin Games (BIT.TRIP series)

Nintendo Press Conference Pictures

E3 Show Floor Pictures

Ivy the Kiwi? (Wii/DS)

Ys (PSP)

E3 Show Floor Pictures

Conduit 2 (Wii) Behind the Scenes Demo

Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii) Hands-on Impressions

Vanquish (360/PS3) Impressions

Hard Corps: Uprising (XBLA/PSN) and Space Invaders Infinity Gene (XBLA/PSN)

Nintendo Developers Roundtable

Also, a ton of pictures are posted on my flickr page.

Whew!

Kandyce and the Killdozer at Pehrspace

I finally got away from the world of gaming last night and took a refresher by catching some live music at Pehrspace in Echo Park. A band introduced to me last year has slowly been becoming one of my favorite local bands. Kandyce and the Killdozer, featuring Kandyce, Dylan (60 Watt Kid) and Bobb Bruno (Best Coast) has a killer line up and one hell of a sound.

Catch their tunes on MySpace or keep 'em close on your social network via Facebook:

MySpace
Facebook

Michael Jackson The Game

Michael Jackson... The Game?

Yes, it's true! Ubisoft will basically be publishing it on ALL major consoles: Xbox 360's Kinect, PlayStation 3 with PlayStation Move support, PSP, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS. Ubisoft states that, "The game is family entertainment at its best and will provide an interactive experience that enables players to step into the shoes of Michael Jackson himself and re-live his most iconic performances through their own singing and dancing." What is the point of creating such a game?

Seems that Michael's estate has been shaking his money maker as much as they can. I respect Michael enough to not rape his fame and steal it to create a game for the purpose of revenue, especially since this is a project he was never directly involved in. I can't find it in my heart to support this. As far as I know, this is the only Michael Jackson game:

E3 2010

E3, Day 1

At the beginning of the week, I should have written, "BRB, covering E3" to explain my lack of posts. Now I'm saying...

BRB, writing E3 previews, impressions, etc.!

Echo Park Shows

Holy F-Bomb!

It seems I've been out all week. With summer approaching, more and more events are happening and I'm blessed to have the problem of having too many events to choose from as an Angelino.

Origami Vinyl is a record store that hosts in-store loft shows and I was finally able to make it out to one. From somebody's suggestion to Stef, we made it a point to check out HOLY FUCK at Origami. Someone in the crowd blurted out "Mogwai," and I assume they were probably describing bands that are similar to HOLY FUCK. Well, they're wrong. Although both may seem to have the same style of musical setup and a lack of vocals, their music has very little similarity in sound. We opted to stay outside to prevent smelling hipster aroma, hearing stupid comments like the one mentioned above, and to save our ears from their LOUD performance. It actually sounded great outside and we were able to eat our Two Boots slices with ease.

The day before, Stef and I were invited to a backyard party at a friend's house. The three of us are not on Facebook, so we were oblivious of the scope of the invite. One observation that made me sneer was while an iPod played music through a small guitar amp, a kid from one of the bands covered the speaker with a piece of paper labeling the location of the communal ashtray. THIS GUY IS IN A BAND... where's his awareness of sound and music equipment? This dude muffled the sound of the only good tunes coming from that scene. It quickly got crowded by hipsters and I was eager to leave after checking out at least one band.

Even the guy in the band looks bored...

I kept sane by taking pictures like the one above. Sadly, video footage wasn't caught. The awkward, unrehearsed songs sounded like a joke. Uh, I guess it's fine if it makes them happy... right?

LA to OC

So much has happened since my last post. That time was dedicated to having some great LA adventures rather than writing posts.

As many of you know, I have been interviewing around the gaming industry to find a position that fits me best. I was a top candidate for two positions. Someone beat me out for the position I thought fit me best, and I politely declined a second interview for the other one. The reason is because I couldn't find myself working in kids gaming.

One of the reasons why I am in the video game industry is because it is filled with the most artistic and creative people in entertainment. As we find ourselves more immersed in technology, video games are at the forefront of hardware and software. I want to be part of a change and be able to work on games that are culturally penetrating, and intrinsically influential.

I pulled an unintentional all-nighter on Saturday, hanging out with friends and going to Taco Sinaloa #3 past midnight. The menu is intimidating, but the food is great! We caught the late night Latino club crowd, who were there dressed up and drunk after a nice(?) night out.

A couple of hours later, I was off on a fishing trip. We docked out of Marina Del Ray on a friend's boat. He took the crew to a secret place off Malibu to fish for cod. Once getting to our destination, I was blown away by being surrounded by so many dolphins playing in the ocean! My friend told me they even saw whales during our trip--which is a shame because I spent the rest of the trip feeling nauseous and laying in the fetal position in the cubby, repeatedly thinking to myself, "I hope I don't throw up." The guys caught some fish, which we made into fish tacos the following night.

Like all LA transients, I occasionally have to get out of LA. Yesterday was spent with a good friend who will be starting his new life in San Francisco soon. Funny that I was almost in the same position a couple of months ago, ready to move my life to SF to continue my job in marketing/PR in the gaming industry, but at the last minute I decided to let it all go and stay in LA. Ironic that now he will be the one moving--I had asked him to move with me back then and become my roommate.

We had a great time kayaking in Newport Beach waters. Our goal was to make it to Balboa Island, but the tide was coming at us so strong, that half an hour of paddling only got us halfway (it only takes 45 minutes to get there and back in normal conditions). Instead, we drove to Balboa Island and took it all in. It was the last time we both will be there in a very long time.

The Hobby Shop Music Series

Jail Weddings @ The Hobby Shop

Last Thursday, Stef and I attended Mudrock's first Hobby Shop series. Mudrock owns a recording studio whose building blends in the face of the street, hidden and unmarked in Highland Park. The only indicator of the location of the studio was a piece of lined paper with a logo printed on it saying "The Hobby Shop." We walked in during The Bonebrake Syncopators, which features a lineup of extremely talented musicians playing jazz music from reminiscent of the 50s. It felt like everyone was in a Shag painting, sans the dirty martinis in their hands. They covered many songs with new arrangements including the vibraphone and Hawaiian steel guitar. One of those covers was "Dinah," a song The Toughcats also cover.

The atmosphere could not be any cooler. During their set, I thought that it sounded fantastic in there--and then I remembered I was in a real recording studio!

Being in such a delicate space, the long tear down and setup of bands' equipment is understandable. Luckily, it gave us enough time to walk down the block to get veggie burritos at Tacos El Pique, one of the best (original, not trendy) taco trucks in LA.

Tacos El Pique!

The veggie burrito was grand. Highly recommended for late night eats. They're open until midnight most nights, and later on Friday nights.

Back at The Hobby Shop, we got back in time to see Jail Weddings perform a set. The recording studio floor was able to fit this large band (about 9-10 members?) effortlessly, and even leave room for the spectators... and the cute dogs!

A DJ spins tunes out back, where the free beer and smoking area is. The backyard itself is another great feature of the space. It has a welcoming vibe, and is very inviting for those who like a touch of nature.

The Hobby Shop features two bands and a DJ each night. $10 and your email address pays for admission, beer, and a link to the mp3s of the night's performance.

Schedule: http://www.thehobbyshopstudios.com/Hobby_Shop/Live_Shows.html

The Hobby Shop
5239 York Blvd.
Highland Park, CA 90042
Every Thursday night in June
$10, doors 9pm, bands at 10pm and 11pm

8-Bit Stop Motion Video

MY DESK IS 8-BIT from alex varanese on Vimeo.

All day, I surfed the web reading gaming sites and refreshing my mind of old school games. I only started to really think about missing working in gaming lately--I've been in touch with former industry people I admire and they are the ones I miss the most.

However, I stumbled upon the video above and it made me smile. If you get the references, I hope you smile too. The video above reinforces my goals to create my own stop motion piece and find another job in the industry. I heard some news about Level 5 coming to Santa Monica, and I would love nothing more than to find my way in there somehow!

Killing Myself Off of a Social Media Website

There has been a influx of information overload in my life. Social networking drags my hand along different channels, spoon feeding me things I don't necessarily need to read. So much information passes in front of people's eyes, which is constantly being updated by the minute. What is the value of that information if it just gets lost in the digital space?

Everything in moderation, right? That reason alone has justified leaving Facebook. There is so much value in time and brain-space that is wasted by aimlessly browsing through Facebook. I have noticed that I am reading and consuming so much information that it has become difficult to retain what is important. Consider it online suicide. I will be non-existent to many people once deleting my profile tonight. Those I barely keep in contact with can wonder what I am doing instead of actually knowing, as if walking with an air of mystery. It is liberating.

Twitter will satisfy my digital cravings for now.

"What good is knowledge is it just floats in the air? It goes from computer to computer. It changes and grows every second of every day. But nobody actually knows anything."

What I Think I Understand (to a Certain Extent)

Many things I've read or stumbled upon lately have enlightened me in the same way as Stephen Fry in this interview. Perhaps I notice these life lessons a lot more in different places because I am more aware of them in my own life.

STEPHEN FRY: WHAT I WISH I'D KNOWN WHEN I WAS 18 from Peter Samuelson on Vimeo.

A Distant Memory

I am back from my trip to Maine. It's still a shock to have spent some time in a city that's very walkable and an island that's surrounded by nature, only to come back to a traffic-laden, busy city like LA. I drove for the first time in two weeks in a car that wasn't mine. The car had all the current technological features, where everything could be controlled by the push of a button. Driving was nerve-wracking and I was not used to the drivers on the streets, especially on the freeway. I haven't felt that nervous in a while. It still feels weird to be back. I can't quite snap back into reality just yet.

Lane's Island

Lane's Island near Vinalhaven is one of the special places in my heart. It meant a lot to experience a place like Lane's Island with Stef--a place that was once loved by his mom.

We stole a wish flower from the island. Following his secret wish, we proceeded to hike past the family building sandcastles in the limited amount of sand before the rocky shoreline. Our destination was the large rock at the edge of the island to see what was causing the waves to crash in the middle of the sea.

We made it to a point where we concluded the object in the sea was just a large buoy but could not proceed any further than that. It had rained the night before, leaving the trails too muddy to hike without proper attire. The weather still looked a bit ominous, and rain could have started coming down at any moment. Upon turning around, I noticed that massive amounts of black kelp dried up on the shore. I discovered that stepping on the mass makes a crunchy sound. I couldn't help but stomp on it some more.

There was nowhere else to go. Right before exiting, we backtracked and wrote our names on the sand. Stef drew a couple of hearts around our names and added a string, as if it was a heart balloon. When the waves are high enough, part of each our souls will fade into the island, only to become a distant memory to us immortalized by the picture above.

The Toughcats Live

It is Friday. Stef and I will be in Maine for another week. After he records some material for the next two days, we're off to visit his sister, who I have yet to meet. Following that visit, we will take a ferry to Vinalhaven, an island that is tremendously beautiful according to everyone I have recently met here in Maine.

Joe's place is a gem. It's a treat to have him as our host.

Last night, The Toughcats performed at One Longfellow Square.

We sat up in the mezzanine to capture the aural pleasures of the first set.

...and The Toughcats ROCKED IT!

Quick Update from Maine

The video above is a stop motion piece created by Joe from The Toughcats with the iMotion app on the iPhone. Helping him on the piece (I made the clouds!) got me interested in making more stop motion pieces in the near future.

Currently, Stef and I are staying with Joe in Portland, Maine and are excited to be in town for his album release show tomorrow night. I like this little port town. It's great to be able to smell the ocean air and hear the seagulls while walking around. Yesterday, while on a stroll around town, we visited a gallery called SPACE and it's the type of venue I only would dream of owning.

I'll make sure to take some pictures at the show tomorrow night to post later on.

If You Can Peel Me Away From the Ball Game...

On the itinerary tonight is a trip to Echo Park to see howardAmb perform at Echo Curio. As I sit here watching the Dodgers vs. Padres game, currently tied at 1-1, no balls, 1 strike, 1 out in the top of the 5th, (OH MAN, THROWING ERROR TO FIRST ALLOWS THE DODGER ON FIRST TO ADVANCE!) I am enjoying the loud cheers from Dodger fans in the stands, despite it being an away game for us. It's going to be difficult to peel myself away from this game. Maybe it'll end before it's time to leave for the show tonight. Wishful thinking.

Also on my mind is what to pack for two weeks in Maine. I managed to get all the clothes I want to bring into my little timbuk2 tote bag I received as a gift at the Dwell design conference in Palm Springs several years ago. I love that bag. It has traveled with me many places and has never let me down. Now I can allow myself to think about the extra things I would want to bring.

On my list:
- White Noise, so I can finish it.
- DSLR for pictures, of course.
- Mini notebook + pen

The question is, should I bring my laptop? With limited connectivity at my destination, it seems not worth it, but I have an unwarranted attachment to the wretched black and silver piece of hardware. It may be tucked away the whole time of my trip, but I'll find comfort knowing that it is there.

Speaking of comfort, I am liking the fact that it is currently Dodgers 3, Padres 1, at the top of the 6th. Vin Skully announcing it, is the icing of the cake.

Goodbye LA, for now. I'll miss ya.

The People I Meet #3 - The Downstairs Neighbor

The guy downstairs is worthy of a "People I Meet" post. I rarely see him leave his apartment. When he's outside, he is seen in tattered clothing, covered in tears and stains that look like his clothes haven't been washed in years. He restores clarinets for a living and sells them on eBay. If he doesn't sell enough to make his quota, he doesn't make rent.

His van that is parked in the same spot on the street every day. If someone steals his spot, I entertain myself by assuming that he closely watches outside his window until the car moves so he can reclaim it. True story: I once parked in his spot and left for no more than 10 minutes. When I got back, his van was parked in "his" spot.

It's unfortunate for me that he has odd sleeping hours. Around my normal bedtime, ranging from 11pm to 1am, he spends his time watching television very loudly and playing guitar and bass, also very loudly. He once spent weeks continuously playing the same riff on the guitar. The riff was from a country song he was trying to perfect, but his awful robotic strumming made it sound more like Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song." Sadly, he moved on to the bass and I came to the realization that he's not trying to perfect the riffs he repeats... I think he gets satisfaction from being able to play the riff so he plays it over, and over, and over... Now he is continuously playing the main riff from War's hit "Low Rider." It sounds like a broken record that contains a sole riff played very badly. Please save me.

The People I Meet #2 - Party Girl at Grace Jones Concert

This is exciting. I never thought I would be writing this post. On my way to Downtown LA Artwalk (pictures) last night, I received a text from an unknown number. The area code originated from San Francisco, so I thought it might someone I know from gaming.

"Is this the girl I was sitting next to and watching Grace Jones? It's party season, when are you coming to SF?"

WHOA! That was almost a year ago! On July 26th, 2009, Grace Jones performed at the Hollywood Bowl and Stef and I sat next to a group of people who were involved in things like Do LaB and Burning Man. I was drunk, as the tradition at the Hollywood Bowl, and got to know Kelly. From what I remember, she's a full blown free-spirited person, who is up for any kind of party. I got the sense that she judges no one, is very open-minded, and aims to always have a good time.

I would love to visit her when I make my way to San Francisco. Maybe it'll allow me to expand on this post.

Rant on Writing

/rant

Working in PR, I read many articles. Many of which aren't worth my time, but I read them anyway. On top of video games, I keep up with current events, music, trends, arts, cars, and culture. I know I'm not the most fanciful writer, using elaborate vocabulary to present my thoughts and ideas, but that also isn't my job, or what I'm aiming to do.

There's nothing more off-putting to read an article from an "author" that can't write. If you want to be a journalist, reporter, or a writer, LEARN SIMPLE GRAMMAR BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE YOU LOOK LESS DUMB. And yes, I'm one of many who judge those who can't spell simple words or use proper prepositions correctly.

/end rant

The People I Meet #1 - LA Native From Echo Park

2:36pm, Friday, May 7th. I arrived in Gardena via a long Metro ride, taking the rail from North Hollywood to downtown and then catching the Silver Line there to the Artesia Transit Center. Nineteen minutes and a mile later, I found myself at my parents’ house. Walking through the ghetto was nerve-wracking being a “pretty girl” on the streets. Everyone who was walking was a minority with carts full of recyclables, or looked homeless.

My friends invited me to the Natural History Museum for their First Fridays series. Riding on public transportation is very rare for them, but for some reason they wanted to take the Metro to the museum that night. Great.

4:15pm. I was hungry. Really, really hungry. A friend came to meet me at my parents’ house and we walked to 7-Eleven to grab some cash for my museum admission. I perused through the aisles, hungry, and came out with an Almond Snickers along with my cash. Bad choice, but convenience stores usually don’t have the greatest selection of (good/healthy) food.

We got to the Natural History Museum too late for the tour. We bought tickets for the regular entrance and to listen to the discussion at 6:30pm: “Toxic Algal Blooms Along the Southern Californian Coast: Causes, Challenges and Solutions” with Dr. David A. Caron.

First Fridays changed a lot since I attended three years ago. A regular museum admission ($6.50 students/$9 adults) included live entertainment along with the extended hours of the museum. Now, people have to pay $15 to get into the room to watch the bands play and they stream the performance on large projectors in the main hall for those that only paid to roam the museum during its extended hours.

These pictures will tell the story of my visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aileenrobot/sets/72157624018618686/

8:30pm. I said my goodbyes to my friends and decided to take the Metro home from there. Due to the Revlon Run/Walk event blocking Figueroa St., buses going northbound at night were rerouted AND I DID NOT KNOW. I waited at the stop for an hour. Waited longer, even when this creepy bum looked at me, saying indistinguishable ramble. Waited longer around the ghetto streets of USC and examined the juxtaposition between the neighborhood folk and the erudite students of higher education.

9:30pm. A California Science Center employee finished her shift and came to the stop I was waiting at to also catch the bus home. She knew instantly, since I’ve been waiting there for a long time, that the buses were picking up people from different stops. The creepy bum finally left when Reyna started talking to me, reinforcing the idea that a pretty girl shouldn’t be alone in the streets.

We talked the whole time about growing up in LA. She told me about Echo Park, pre-hipster days, and how she lived through the drive-bys and cholos hanging out in the streets. It was very gang-infested before its inevitable gentrification. “I lived there for 20 years and had to move out two years ago when the white people with tight jeans started moving in. The rent became too expensive to afford.”

She and I walked a couple of blocks down to wait for either the 81 or the 200 buses. The 81 routes to downtown, while the 200 cuts through MacArthur Park to Echo Park. We opted to take the first bus that arrived, which was the 200 that was rerouted because of the special event. Luckily, there is a rail at MacArthur Park that took us to our respective destinations. The unexpected route was much different than what I had planned: Silver Line northbound to the 7th St./Metro Center stop to the North Hollywood Station via Red Line.

We parted when my train stopped at the platform. She gave me her card and told me to keep in touch. Without her, I wouldn’t have gotten home that night. I am so appreciative to interact with her. I learned a lot about the city I grew up in as well.

10:50pm. The last stretch was to walk from the station to my apartment. It felt so good to be home.