To Do This Weekend Pt. 3

Yeah, It's Halloween this weekend (well actually monday aint it). In Theory, I love the idea of the holiday. Dress up like a fool, act a fool, and get treats! But as much as I may unintentionally act a fool, or goof off in the middle of June, I can't seem to muster up the energy to create a kick ass costume, or even what i'd really like to do, create a weird and wacky haunted house for the kids in my neighborhood. Its all soo much work, and in this day and age, who needs more work.

So for those of you who want others to do all the work so that you can still enjoy the holiday I've found the following events.

Pasadena Old Town Haunt
Old Town Haunt (Pasadena, CA)
Thursday, Oct. 27 @ 7:00-10:00pm
Friday, Oct. 28 @ 7:00-Midnight
and 3 more dates.
Full Price: $18.50
Explore the haunted history of Pasadena, including the basement of the old Union Savings Bank, a building where, legend has it, a number of dead bodies turned up in the catacombs. It's a haunted house in a legendary haunted location.

Spooky House Haunted Park
Spooky House Haunted Theme Park (Northridge, CA)
Friday, Oct. 28 @ 7:00-Midnight
Saturday, Oct. 29 @ 7:00-Midnight
and 2 more dates.
Full Price: $26.00
Spooky House takes place in an abandoned movie theatre where legend has it the Devil's Tree murders occurred 100 years ago. Featuring three separate walk-through attractions - The haunted Sun Cinema, Bloodshed Medical Center, and Turbidite Manor - plus a home-grown 5-D horror flick. It's your junior high's Halloween haunt, all grown up.

You can get half-price tickets for both of these events when you sign onto the mailing list for GoldStar Tickets, which is a great resource anyway.

The Mexican Day of the Dead is also being celebrated this weekend. I am personally starting to like this version of the holiday more then our American one. The costumes are always funkier and the idea of respecting and paying homage to those who have died is a nice angle.

There are two Day of the Dead celebrations I know of.

6th Annual Festival de la Gente, Los Angeles’ largest Day of the Dead Celebration
Saturday, October 29, 2005 10 am - 10 pm
on the historic 6th Street Bridge in Boyle Heights

the event features music, food, and art

Festival de la Gente drew over 40,000 people in 2004 and this year’s attendance is expected to reach 70,000. The festival is a great way to exhibit your work, engage the public, and celebrate a tradition in our great city. I went to this two years ago and had a blast.

Olvera Street celebrates the annual ceremony honoring the dearly departed with a Day of the Dead Block Party that features events and rituals dating back to Aztec times, like colorful ofrendas — altars with flowers and food for the hungry spirits, dances, storytelling, and the popular finale, a beautiful candlelit procession. Olvera St., corner of Alvarado St. and Cesar Chavez Ave., dwntwn.; Tues.-Wed., Nov. 1-2, all day; free. (213) 628-1274. (*jacked from the LA Weekly)

Nostalgia Pt. 2 Halloween Edition

As a kid, my default Halloween costume was either Dracula with the fake fangs and blood, or the Hobo with giant cigar and plastic hat. This year? Oh God, who knows.

Anyone dressing up this year? Give us the scoop.

Makin the Connections

The Bloks shown here are the result of my introducing Eve (and Alex and Eero) and Rebekah. Eve commissioned Rebekah to paint the blocks giving her the request to use her newborns name and a monkey as subject matter.

I think they came out pretty damn good and I'm really happy that something like this could be accomplished between two different groups of my social circle.

Irv's is Saved

The news actually broke a few weeks ago, but I haven't had time to mention it till now. Irv's Burgers, a burger stand on the corner of Santa Monica and Sweetzer has been saved from the talons of the Coffee Bean.

Until recently, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf was threatening to buy the space that now houses Irv's and build a coffee shop there instead. Evidently, the West Hollywood City Council has deemed Irv's a Cultural Resource allowing it to stay open. Only in LA.

Irv's, besides making a damn good burger, has been host to John Cassavettes, Shelly Winters, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and many more during their formative years. The stand even made it onto the gatefold of Linda Ronstadt's Living in America album. First Opened in 1950, Irv's is a perfect example of Hollywoods dwindling burger shack that, along with the drive-in, thrived in the town until coorporate fast-food took over the landscape.

Currently owned by the Hong family, who play gracious host to everyone who stops by. I'm not kidding, these people are the nicest humans to ever put a meat patty in front of your face. In fact they hand sign each one with a big thanks on the styrofoam plate.

Their hours are limited (closed sundays and only open till 8 on weekdays, but stop on by for a treat and discover why this place deserves to stay.

Nostalgia Pt. 1

They held the soundtrack to our lives in grade school.

YO Pops!

Saturday, Jenny and I ventured to yet another famed LA culinary institution, Papa Cristos.

Papa Cristos is hailed as being THE Greek restaurant in LA. Located on the corner of Pico and Normandy in the midst of Korea town, Cristos and a Greek church across the street are the only remnants of what I assume used to be a substantial Greek neighborhood.

The place is divided into one room that holds a grocery store, deli, and take-out/order in station, and another room that is a large simple dining area. The store has an array of honey, wine, canned goods in addition to the deli which sells a yummy assortment of olives, ouzo, meats, and whatever else you need to get your Mediterranean on.

At the ordering station, Jenny and I ordered the Lamb Chops, Souvlaki, and Spanakopita. We decided to order a glass (plastic) of wine with our dishes. The cashier happily let us sample all the wines available and it was a tough choice, for none of them were terribly good. Best to buy a bottle in the shop probably.

So we sat ourselves down in the dining room, which felt sort of like a warehouse that had been painted white and filled with white and blue table clothed tables. Not the most glamorous of spaces, but ambience isn't what this place promises. Except of course on Thursdays, which is when, this place goes family style and belly dancers get the party started.

Oh which reminds me, the place closes at 8 so get there early and be sure to have a light lunch before hand.

So Jenny got a giant serving of three monster lamb chops and I a nice skewer of marinated lamb. Both served with the ubiquitous Greek salad and roasted potatoes. Both the meats were super flavorful. I'd have to say the lamb chops, although fatty, were the stand out. The dishes also came with super fresh fluffy Pita and an insanely delicious Tzaziki. I think I could simply eat the combination of Pita and Tzaziki and be perfectly satiated. The yogurt and dill sauce was thick and incredibly rich, unlike the runny stuff I buy from Trader Joes. With all of this, I don't think either of us gave much consideration to the Spanakopita. I'm sure it was good though.

The clientele was an incredible melting pot of class, age, and race. An elderly bunch, clearly regulars, sat next to us. One man getting up time-to-time returning with a handful of wine samples (tricky). Both small and large groups dotted the room with heads dipped down into their plates. The plates, by the way, are plastic as well as the silverware, which kinda makes for tricky eating at times.We arrived just before 6 and the place definitely filled up just after we sat down.

We finished our meal, and although the desserts looked fantastic (baklava with custard...drool) we managed to hold ourselves back, knowing we'd return to sample the octopus, marinated mushrooms, Greek sausage, and anything else we could stuff down our faces.

Dinner plates average around 9bucks. Thursday dinners are 18dollars but as mentioned before are served family style and come with a host of different appetizers.

So get your big fat Greek ass down to Papa Cristos and enjoy yourself. And call Jenny and I when you do and we'll meat up with you.

Fatboy

Fatboy makes furniture for the new generation of rumpus rooms. Remember back in the day, when every house had a basement or garage with a pool/foosball table, bean bag chairs, and a collection of beer cans. Well, fatboy makes bean bags for the x-box generation.

They also make cool dog beds, so your dog can hang out and play x-box too.

They're kind of expensive...but pretty cool. Fatboy is from Finland. Fatboy joined forces with Finnish pattern designers Marimekko to make one swank-ass bean bag chair.

Web Finds

musical things.
funky electronic things.
fluffy things *tip of the hat to Eve for tracking this one down.

Mark Your Calenders!

I love tamales and its tamale season so it makes sense to attend the...

1st Annual Los Angeles International Tamale Festival
Nov. 11-13-2005
1400 North Spring Street & Ann Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

* Tamale Cook-Off

* Best Tamale Contest

* Tamale Eating Contest

* Tamale Making Classes

To Do This Weekend Pt. 1

Snagged from a G-Loop posting:

TarFest FESTIVAL

when: Fri 10.21 - Sat 10.22 ( schedule)
where: Miracle Mile (Various locations)
price:
links: Event Info
http://www.tarfest.com/home.html

From the pits of La Brea (their historic home, that is) rises TarFest, Miracle Mile's annual ode to emergent visual and performing artists. Things kick off at the Craft & Folk Art Museum with Crafting the Los Angeles Experience, a juried exhibition featuring rising artists' interpretations of life in LA. Then, on Saturday, it's down to the La Brea Tar Pits for a day of LA music faves like Satellite Class, Ginger Jackson, VOCO, and Abby Travis, followed by an evening of short film screenings. And for those in search of the Af-Tar party (their joke, not ours) you need only walk across the street to the Subud House for a DJ-fueled nightcap. Sounds tar-riffic, doesn't it?

Howdy Taix

Last Friday I finally made it to one of a few old school east side dining establishments that, up until now, had remained a myth to me.

Taix (pronounced Tex) is a French "country cuisine" joint that has been in existence since 1927. Currently it resides at 1911 Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park. Its first location was in the Champ d'Or hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Both the restaurant and hotel were owned by Marius Taix, a member of the Taix family who immigrated from southwestern France to LA in 1870. The current location of the venue was opened in 1962 just a few years before the original location was replaced by a parking lot.

In my many years of living in the Silver Lake area, I had driven passed the place many times usually witnessing an elderly couple or two entering the establishment but rarely knew anyone my age who had ventured inside. In the last few years, Taix has begun to put on concerts of local music and therefore began to draw the younger crowd back into its doors. Regardless, I still didn't know many people who had actually eaten there.

So on Friday, John, Kelly, Jenny and I made reservations for 8 and proceeded to Taix, the mysterious French bistro. Jenny and I arrived early and saddled up to the bar in the first of a catacomb of rooms that make up the restaurant. I ordered the Taix house ale(not sure what constituted "house" but it was good none the less) and Jenny ordered a glass of wine from what is an extensive wine list (which I had previously found out is known to be well stocked and well priced. A quote from the owner claims that he only adds 5 bucks to the retail price of the vino so that patrons may find a bottle of wine with dinner a bit easier to stomach price-wise.).

John and Kelly showed up. Kelly was bleary eyed from staying up feeding their 3week old kitty that they had found underneath their house and John was equally if not more zombified from completing a recent architecture school assignment. We were seated in another room at a large booth table laden in floral patterns conducive to the aforementioned elderly set.

Our waitress was insanely pleasant and helpful. Not the type of personality you're used to in LA much less attitude drenched Echo Park. She suggested a bottle of wine that ended up being very good (and that I promptly forgot the name of), and we ordered an appetizer of muscles. The muscles were small but the broth was quite tasty.

For Entree’s I ordered Poulet Roti Fermiere, the house chicken dish. Jenny ordered the Entrecote (NY steak). John and Kelly ordered the short ribs. The dinners came with soup and salad. The choice of soup was vegetable or clam chowder. We ordered one of both. The soup was delivered in a big terrine that was divided amongst us which remained true to the old days of "family style" dining when the restaurant had large tables where the food was served in portions to feed the table.
The clam chowder was awesome, creamy and rich. It even managed to perk up Johns' eyes for a few minutes. We were all practically full by the time we finished out soup and salad.

The entrees were delivered in large portions. None of us actually finished what was on our plates although we certainly tried.
The chicken was flavorful and served with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The steak was good as well. Nothing extraordinary, but solid. For a good sticks to your ribs old school meal with a French flair, this place is pretty good. Definitely comforting in the colder months and refreshing when compared to the typical LA food scene.

Complimentary sherbet was served for dessert.

Although the prices straddle the $20 range, that includes all courses so it really isn't a bad deal.

A couple of bands where scheduled to play starting at 10:30. We were all too mellowed by the food to be able to stay for the bands so we left pleased and yawning.

This place is still owned by the same family and I hope It remains in the Silver Lake area for years to come.

My Creative Friends Pt. 2

I met Rebekah Potter at the dog park...then at The Back Door Bakery...then at the dog park. We started chatting, and we kept chatting. Rebekah has been a great sounding board for me. We'd bitch about relationships, and then focus on the important things, our creativity. Both of us Gemeni's, both of us artist's with plenty of great ideas and too little time and money to make our dreams a reality. But we never discouraged the dreams.

Not long ago, Rebekah moved back to her home town of Jackson Mississippi. There she seems to be very close to accomplishing some of the dreams we discussed.

At heart, Rebekah is a fine artist. A painter/mixed media artist. Eastern motifs and artists such as Robert Rauschenberg are pretty evident in much of her work. I traded her design work on her web-site (not currently live) for a few paintings. With her recent works she is sewing pieces of paper together and making these paper QUILT like paintings(?) and doing portraits again..hoping to make some large canvas works soon too!

Currently she has focused on a variety more "commercial" ventures to pay the bills and to reach a wider audience.

Her Bloks are mini paintings on 3x5 wood blocks with a slightly more "pop" motif that, like josh's bodega squares, go well when put together in multiples. She sells these at the Belhaven Market in Jackson, Cake in West LA(across from UrthCafe), Yolk in SilverLake and Juniper Sky Gallery in Utah. She is hoping to get stores in Brooklyn, Phoenix, San Fran, Atlanta and Memphis. She takes commissions with these....(has cute gift certificates even!) They sell for about $36.

She is also working on illustrating the next two books in a series of three..Lucia Loupa and Leah..painter,philospher and architect kids..After these there will be a series of three for boys. All will be packaged in threes in a little box set. We are
hoping to expand into some tshirts and such for some kids wear. *note her man Jason writes and designs she merely illustrates

Rebekah and I don't get to talk as much as we used to.

If you're interested in finding out more about her work, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you emailing her at rpotterdesigns@yahoo.com

He Fatty Pt. 2

While on vacation, I finally had some time to sit down and actually read.

One book I actually got to finish was the book "I Fatty" by Jerry Stahl (author of Permanent Midnight).

Mr. Stahl seems to have found a kindred spirit in Rosco Arbuckle. Both found their lives turned upside down by substance abuse.

Jerry Stahl took the form of a novel to act as a voice of redemption for Fatty. A somber yet highly entertaining book seen from Fatty Arbuckle's eyes about his rise and fall from super-star celebrity status.

In addition to being a pretty engaging story, the book also gave a good survey of early Hollywood and in particular the Edendale/Silver Lake area where Fatty got his start. Roscoe lived, during much of his career, in Silver Lake on Adams st. and first worked for Max Senette at Keystone studios, also in the area.

The book was an enjoyable page-turner, but also a bit of a downer.

On to the other book I've been trying to get through but just haven't had the time, Fortress of Solitude by Jonathen Lathem. So far, this book is very well written and enjoyable. If you haven't added this to your library, do it soon.

You Know, For Kids! Pt. 2

Another Silver Lake venue that has recently opened is Monkey House toys.

As I had hoped, this store has a great mix of designer vinyl figures, one of a kind stuffed dolls, and fun and educational toys, games, and books. I really like the initial approach to this place and wonder how this kids will like it. When I was there, the store was void of any other shoppers even though the neighborhood is teaming with little munchkins.

Anyway, I found many products to potentially purchase for my brothers kids for the holidays, and ended up purchasing something that my friend Eve can share with her newborn Eero (coming at you guys soon!).

Check out their online store (still poorly designed) at monkeyhousetoys.com

Fine Foods Not Great Foods

While I was out of town, Flor Morena Fine Foods finally opened in the renovated space where the Auto Bar used to be.

I dropped by on Saturday to check the place out. It was lunchtime, and although the specialties of this place seem to be American and Mexican comfort food, I was trying to eat light. So I ordered a turkey breast sandwich. The best thing I can say about it was it was a real sandwich, not some cibatta aoli laden fru fru thing, but a sandwich on rye bread with yellow mustard, which is kinda refreshing in LA where everything has to have a shtick. With that said, it was just a sandwich. And for 7bucks and some change, a bit disappointing. Even the pickle served with it seemed wimpy. But like I said, sandwiches aren't what this plays seems to focus on. The menu highlights stick to your ribs dishes like chicken fried steak, ribs, tamales, enchiladas, as well as a few salads. So I figured I'd give it another chance before really making a decision.

Sunday, Jenny and Dini decided to go to Flor Morena for lunch. I sat this one out so that I could pass out for a nap, but their mentioning of hankering for some Mac and Cheese stuck in my mind. The girls returned with a mediocre review as well. They ordered the Echo Park Chop, a salad that I had mentioned looked interesting. A cucumber based salad garnished with a healthy helping of Fritos, it sounded unique if nothing else. According to Jenny, that’s about all you could say for it, its novelty loosing effect after a few bights. They also gave a weak review to the Mac and Cheese, complaining that it didn't have that crunchy seared cheese topping that is by default expected when ordering such a dish away the Kraft boxes at home.

Giving the place one last chance, I stopped by to get dinner to go on Sunday evening. I had a hunkering for some comfort food, still sleepy from the afternoon nap. I ordered the Chicken Fried Chicken with sides of Mac and Cheese (was it really that bad?) and Cole slaw (Cole slaw is a good test for the quality of any venue that serves it). Returning home, I opened the box to find the following. A healthy serving of crunchy flavorful boneless breast of chicken pounded flat, a small serving of tasty mashed potatoes both lightly coated with gravy, a serving of macaroni slightly glazed with what I assume is cheese, and the saving grace, a creamy slightly citrusy Cole slaw.

All in all, although not a complete disappointment, I expected better. With what looks like a packed kitchen, I would hope that this place is just finding its legs. Regardless, business seems good for it, so demand is there.

On the Stereo

Although it doesn't consume as much of my life as it used to, I'm still a music fiend. Love hearing new stuff. Can't get enough of it. So here's a quick rundown of some things i'm enjoying at the moment.

In the Soul and R&B mode, there are two recordings I'm digging right now.

Galactic: Galactic Vintage Reserve - A best of for this New Orleans group. When I first came across this band, I thought they were a late 60's early 70's funk band like Cymande, that I just hadn't heard of before. But it turns out that they produced most of their work in the late 90's early 2k. That might be ruining it for you though. These guys had moments of truely channeling the days when funk was something that you couldn't shake, like the blues. Much more satisfying then the latest Quantic Soul Orchestra album which is just too spotty to be called great.

Black Heat: No Time To Burn - As far as I know this is a vinyl only re-release through Rhino Records. I found it at Arons records. A shop I hadn't been to in probably over a year. Good to see its managing to stay in business, although It wasn't as busy as it used to be (the pros and cons of having an Amoeba in your town). Anyway, this album is great. Released in 1974 it reflects a genre of Funk/Soul that I can't get enough of. More song writing then the "rare-groove" stuff that floods the bins. It doesn't sound like its been remixed at all, which it could probably stand a bit of.

On the Psychedelic tip I've found two winning albums.

Warlocks: Surgery - Warlocks are a local band I had read about a while ago in the LA Weekly but never got around to checking out. Turns out they produce solid Psychedelic rock kinda in a Spaceman 3/Spiritualized way. I'm not sure why I'm drawn to such droning hypnotic music, but I find it rather therapudic even without the chemicals typically associated with it.

Dungen: Ta Det Lugnet- This is my obsession of the moment. This album rocks me. For a while, I thought the most exciting takes on rock and roll were coming out of Japan. I thought Cornelius' Fantasma was one of the best albums i had heard in years. This album has me leaning towards the Swedes when it comes to most influential countries for music. This album spans influences as recent as Super Furry Animals to classics such as Can and Sun Ra, combining it all into something all together original and inspired. The singer sings in his native language which might put some people off, but if you can get passed it, I think you'll be pretty blown away if the aformentioned bands rock your boat.

Honerable mentions:

The Wedding Present have reformed and are as solid as ever. The new album "Take Fountain" evidentally started as a Cinerama album then morphed into a Wedding Present. It combines the best of both.

Pelican is touted as the future of Metal. Sound like solid instrumental rock to me.

I saw Anthony David play at the Temple bar a while ago. Talented soul/blues/acoustic guitar player. His album has some choice bits to it, including Cold Turkey and Georgia Peach(remix). This is an album built for itunes, sample the songs and find the ones you like.

Dogtown

So my dog rules.

I know you may think to yourself, yeah everybody loves there dog. But you see, you just need to get over it, and realize, that my dog really does rule. Regardless of her glass stomach and inability to get along with the neighborhood cats she's virtualy perfect.

So every once in a while, I'll buy her a swank collar or some toy that she immediately removes the life-force (i.e. that little squeeker) from and then tears it to shreds.

Anyway, so I'm always on the lookout for unique pooch products.

These are just plane insane.

This is kinda cool.

This, well, this is just funky.

Roll Bounce

After getting back from our trip, Jenny and I felt like just taking it easy and checking out a movie. We had seen the preview for Roll Bounce a while ago, and I thought it had some style to it, and anything that has the song Lovely Day in it can't be a complete waste of time.

This would have made a great movie to break in the beginning of summer instead of the end of it. If marketed better I could have totally seen roller skating to be the old school fad of the moment. Its kind of like Lords of Dogtown light.

The movie had a good aesthetic to it, and the music was solid. As I said, Roll Bounce featured one of my favorite songs of all time "Lovely Day" by Bill Whithers (if you can track it down, Clarence Carter does a good version too). If that wasn't enough, the song "Superman Lover" by Johnny Guitar Watson also made an appearance. I could have closed my eyes and felt that it was all worth 8bucks. Unfortunately the soundtrack fails to provide many of the original versions of the songs and instead substitutes them with what are reviewed as inferior versions. Fortunately, the movie was visually stimulating as well. The kids who played the main characters, including Lil Bow Wow were fun to watch and occasionally they belted out some good lines. Yeah, Lil Bow Wow actually played the character with integrity. The kid can kinda act.

The dude who plays Sweetness, the arch nemises of the main characters is annoying as hell. Almost to the detriment of the film.

The story was fluffy, but I really don't mind a formulaic feel good movie from time to time.

All in all, the film had its faults but was as much as I could've hoped for. If you want to be reminded of the good old days when school was out for summer, go check it out.

To get your own skate on, old school style, check out Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale.

Travel Log: Arcosanti

After 5 days in Sedona, we make our way just outside of Phoenix to an experimental village called Arcosanti. Termed an Archology by its inventor architect Palo Soleri (a student of Frank Lloyd Wright).

I had first visited the place about 10 years ago when I drove from D.C. to Los Angeles and stumbled upon it. Fascinated by it, I always thought it would be a neat place to spend a day or two. So that’s what we’re doing.

The place is as I remember it, half like some fantastic sci-fi village from an outcast Star Wars set sketch, and half like a crumbling dream. Inhabited by a healthy mix of crunchy hippy types and young artists in training. The ceramic and bronze arts and crafts created here are definitely a few steps forward from the kitschy southwest Sedona crap. Abstract and anthropomorphic critters inhabit the bells, tiles, and pots all cast either on the premises of Arcosanti, or its sister Cosanti. This, and providing workshops and festivals, is how the village manages to sustain its upkeep and any additions (which seem to be few in the 10 years I’ve been gone).

We rented the Sky Suite. The largest room of 13 available for overnight stays. Outfitted with one bedroom with a full-size mattress and another with a single size mattress. Two platforms in the living room may also double as beds. The space was worn and could have used a substantial once over. I’m assuming lack of funds and conservation of water may have made for a less then pristine presentation. Regardless, the general layout and design is nice, with large windows and a porch overlooking the alien landscape. The room, we found out just before we left, is wired for internet access.

The night stayed in the room was trying. As night ascended, and the lights were turned on, bugs congregated around them like some sort of village event. Constantly having to swat ugly-buglies from our backs and feet made a casual night of reading a task. I went outside to gaze at a sky full of stars, including a few shooting ones and a gully of haze that my dad had pointed out as the Milky Way when I was young. I haven’t seen stars like that in years. The night was as quiet as the first time I went to Joshua tree (since, the silence has been invaded by increasing amounts of traffic at all hours), only interrupted by crickets, wind surges, and distant coyote cries.

In the morning we walked a short trail to an overlook that supplied a great view of the compound. A cat joined us at the beginning of the trail and guided us all the way up and back, making sure we weren’t accosted by any snakes. After , we had a light breakfast and then stocked up on a supply of ceramic tiles. Although the bells and pots were incredibly beautiful they were also quite expensive. Hopefully one day we’ll get back and buy a bell or two. If you have a chance, its really worth buying on the spot for the designs are all one of a kind, and although its possible to buy online, you’re not really able to pick the specific object you might want.

Arcosanti is definitely one of the more interesting man made discoveries I’ve found in Arizona and who knows how long it will be able to sustain itself. Palo continues to create architecture and bridges, one of which will be built along the Arizona canal in Scottsdale.

Check out more photos.

Travel Log: Sedona

Sedona is a land where nature has given birth to some fantastic sculptures and natural architecture and yet the humans who live there, have spawned an un-natural amount of gaudy lifeless excuses for arts and crafts catering to what seemed to be the largely elderly resort crowds (excluding my generous hosts of course).

Hiking and wandering around Sedona’s parks left me wide-eyed and wondrous. My first hike was along a trail called Broken Arrow. Named for one of many westerns filmed in the area. The Broken Arrow trail was a relatively easy hike along a series of landscapes ascending to a view that was well worth the sweat. From there we drove to a site of the largest collection of petroglyphs in the area. In what was an otherwise un-impressive landscape, one wall of rock was covered with a variety of petroglyphes left by the Sinagua who inhabited the area between 630 and 1300 AD. Although, quite impressive, I was tired and ready for a nap.

A few days later, Jenny and I drove to an area of Oak Creek called Slippery Rock. Slippery rock is a swimmer friendly series of rapids that propel the swimmer down a series of shoots. The water was an icy 62 degrees. We were two of only a few people who braved the rocks and water. The whole environment reminded me of my childhood trips to my parents cabin in West Virginia. If similar rapids weren’t available, we would build rock walls along the river and shoot through them either in Inner tubes or rafts. I miss those days. The cabin was washed away in the great Potomac floods of 1986, expanding the river to a slow and less exciting play land where my father still goes fishing from time to time.

In between the two days of natural wonders, the weather decided to wet down the dry landscape and so we decided to check out some of the shops that cluster the town of Sedona. I couldn’t believe the cheesy yet expensive excuses for art. Bronze sculptures of Indians, horses, and dream catchers. I didn't even begin to approach the "vortex tour" shops although my curiosity almost got the better of my common sense. The only shop I witnessed that seemed to do the Southwest aesthetic justic was on the road to slippery rock. The name escapes me, but its next door to a tiny deli on your left a few miles away from the park.

The second day of our vacation Jenny's parents were generous enough to treat us to brunch at a secluded resort called
Enchantment(yeah, the name almost had me heading for the hills). Surrounded by red rock bluffs and snooty middle-aged resorters this breakfast spread is expensive, but possibly worth the 34 clams one need lay down. The view is gorgeous (of the bluffs mind you). The food was delicious. Bottomless glasses of fresh juice, mimosas, coffee and tea to wet the palette that is quickly laden with breakfast items such as pecan encrusted French toast, poached eggs cupped in tortillas with chorizo, customized omelets, thick sliced lox. And that’s just the beginning. King crab, muscles, and shrimp top off the seafood list. Scrumptious lamb chops, slices of beef, a cheese and meat platter are available for those with a blood lust. Salads were available, but who are we kidding. We ended up going back only once until our stomach started talking to our eyes and said slow down. The waitress assured us that we needn’t rush and would not be given the bill till we were good and finished. So we took a break for a few minutes and then returned with a mustered half energy that we quickly spent on the desert table. Pear almond tarts, crème brule, flourless chocolate cake, a chevre blackberry cheese cake. Quickly our stomachs screamed stop and we listened. I have to say it was all very good. Not your typical watery scrambled eggs and cold bacon typically served even by the most reputable of hotels. If you are in Sedona with your significant other with money to burn, and want a romantic Sunday brunch, I can’t imagine a more suitable place.

Enchantment resort (yeah I still have trouble realizing that I’m hyping a place called that) is located at 525 Boynton Canyon Rd. in Sedona. By the way, the Enchantment brunch was also reviewed by Daily Candy.

One other culinory mention. After checking out Slippery Rock we had lunch at a place called the Coyboy Club. Definately a tourist spot, the place was kinda fun. It evidentally used to serve as the main watering hole to many stars who filmed various westerns in the area. It now serves up novelties like buffalo burgers, cactus fries, and rattlesnake.

In general, our stay in Sedona was nice. Not a revelation, but nice. Check out more photos.