AllanwoodLand

wonder of nature

2006-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

Ah, the mighty Los Angeles River.

Sometimes I just need to get away from big city life...

So I just come here next to the 5 freeway to commune with the peaceful river. And hobos occasionally.

Listening to the calm steady flow really puts the mind at ease.

Oh, Life!

the club

2006-01-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

Ready for a night out in B-Ham!
Stacy and I are looking sharp.
My lips have been
airbrushed for this photo.

Over Christmas, Stacy and I went to an exclusive country club restaurant in Birmingham, AL. The kind of place where dudes are required to wear a jacket and tie, which was a first for me. It's called The Club, and the place was so bizarre. Kind of a kitchy fun throwback to the 1940's & 50's segregationist south, sporting an all black wait staff and an all white customer base. What a super-fun theme, right?
Once you allow yourself to ignore the obvious racial divide (as we all should), you see just how incredible The Club really is. Totally swanky, like something built for the Rat Pack, except Sammy Davis, Jr. may not be allowed inside.
The best thing about this place is the dance floor, which is illuminated with various colored lights from underneath. This floor is also said to have inspired the makers of Saturday Night Fever who once ate at this club and enjoyed the dance floor as much as I did.
Stacy and I ate seafood and danced the night away. And don't worry, we gave our colored server a big tip.

sick. so sick.

2005-12-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

i am sick today. so sick. just look how sick i am.

i can barely...keep...typing...ugh...

bicycles!!!

2005-12-13T17:29:00.000-08:00

Don't know how many of you are making donations to various charities and things this year. I'm sure a lot of you are cause you're super. But i just donated my freakin bicycle!!! Beat that! Oh, what'd you say? You donated your car? Oh, what? You donated a million dollars to Hurricane Katrina? Huh. Well you must be so proud of yourself. Hooray for you! I donated my BIKE, okay? I put "bike" in all caps cause that's how important it is. And though it was old an run-down (some might even say it was a "piece of shit" because it no longer had a seat), the sentimental value was absurdly high. That bike alone is the reason why I almost got laid on a number of occasions in college. That's right. Not to mention the fact that it was repeatedly vandalized by people who couldn't stand how badass it was, and therefore how badass I was. I had two horns AND a bell ripped off of this puppy. And that's not all either, no, one time someone knifed the tires just because they were so jealous of how awesome it was. People only do that to things they fear or don't understand. My bike was so awesome it was scary. So today's a bittersweet day for me. At least the pieces of my bike will go on to infuse other bikes with it's otherwordly kickass-ness. It was a good bike. I'm gonna miss it.

Here's where I donated my bike.
Here's where you can go if you live in L.A. and want to find out the best way to get anywhere in the city on your bike.
And here's where you can go if you are an extreme bicycle enthusiast.

at the bottom of everything

2005-12-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hey, check out this video.

My friends Susan, Andrew, and Terrance Stamp are featured prominently. And if you look carefully you can catch me, Stacy, and Beka dancing and hugging. We move pretty fast, though, so keep those eyes peeled. This was a lot of fun and everyone who worked on it was super friendly and cool. As a fan of Bright Eyes, I was excited to be a part of it. Incidentally, I spent the entire night before this shoot in the emergency room getting stitches in my chin after a bike accident on Hollywood Boulevard. So I experienced both a bicycle crash AND a plane crash in less than 24 hours. How interesting!

paranormalities @ central library

2005-12-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

Went to the library to check out a book called Youth In Revolt by C.D. Payne. I've never read it. Have you? Is it good? Really? Anyhow, the library did not have it. So Stacy and I went outside to sit on benches and stuff.

That's when Stacy started to feel a little uneasy, but she didn't know why.

I decided to take a picture of two girls sitting.

But this is what I got. Something is blocking the view of the girls. Can you see it?

There seems to be some sort of energy residue from a person who must've died right here on this very spot.

I started feeling a little uneasy myself. So I took another picture of the girls. I thought, "surely this time, this time I'll get a good shot of those two girls sitting."

How wrong I was. Again a restless spirit obstructs my view.

I know it's hard to believe, but these pictures are not "fake" or "staged".

I decided to do some research on the paranormal.
So should you: The Ghost Investigators

medieval times: revisited, part-y

2005-11-25T23:58:00.000-08:00

After a fierce battle, there's nothing better than medieval dancing:

Or medieval posing:

To honor! To chivalry! To glory! We Joust!

medieval times: revisited, part 3

2005-11-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Ultimately, after a battle hard fought, the Red Knight did not save the kingdom.

Some other knight did, but this all happened a while back and I forget which color knight it was who actually won. Anyone who was there and remembers, feel free to comment and remind forgetful me.

In the end, it is of no consequence.
The honorable Red Knight won the hearts and minds of us all.

Especially Karolyn and Matt.

kind of bored this morning

2005-11-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

a delightful quartet. you should check them out.

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving.

a meeting with santa

2005-11-23T23:45:00.000-08:00

Trevor (my nephew) and Cori (my niece) had their annual conference with Santa recently. I can only speculate about the topics of discussion, but I imagine items on the agenda included the following: the new Xbox 360, a digital camera, cable, and Tivo, along with a couple of other things I told them to make damn sure and mention.
AND THEY BETTER NOT HAVE FORGOTTEN.

medieval times: revisited, part 2

2005-11-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

The Knights were introduced as we feasted. We rooted for the red one.

The battle is underway.

I thirst for blood.

"Oh God, the Red Knight's done for," utters a concerned Matt.

A terrifying moment: The entire kingdom may be in danger!

medieval times: revisited, part 1

2005-11-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

In honor of our departed (to Portland) brother, Richard, a bunch of us took a trip back to times Medieval.

Outside the castle gates Ryan, Ann, and I stand ready. I, in my Modest Mouse t-shirt and homemade kingly crown. Ryan and Ann, in fear. Notice how they laugh to hide their fear of impending battle.

Azalea, Richard, Paul, and Ethan enjoy some pre-tournament spirits.

Drink up ye lords and fair lady, for this could be the last Hazah.

the view

2005-11-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

Here's what I see when I leave my apartment everyday. A neighbor's lovely backyard.

The bush in the middle is full of oranges. Yum. Oranges are a fruity treat.

This was supposed to be a closeup of an orange, but the bush just up and ran.

Here's what the view outside used to look like in olden times.

So much has changed, yet so much remains the same.