Experimenting

With colors...
Trying to finalize the palette of my film...

Macho Macho Man

Another photo snapped while lost. Musculation fitness, anyone?

Hershey

We were constantly lost in Marrakech. Who can blame us? The old medina is a bit of a labyrinth with its limited signage. During one "detour", I snapped this photo. I wish my door looked like this. A ginormous Hershey bar!

Pet Peeve

I like to pack light for trips and it really bugs me when I pack items that go unworn. I didn't end up needing my bathing suit this trip. I suppose that was a good thing as mine doesn't fit me well anymore. I'm nearly 30. Under-wire support is mandatory!

Minimalism

Outside Cafe de Soleil in Imil.

Aww...

Our High Atlas mountain guides, Hussein (left) and Lasin (right) showing us an awfully cute baby goat. They were so cute - the baby goat AND our guides. They really liked to sing. In falsetto... :)

Easy to Please

Le cub loved most of the airplane food served during the course of our trip. He loved the Royal Air Maroc and Air France meals so much that he even ate mine!

I really dug Air Maroc's complementary cobalt blue socks... tucked in a nifty lil' pouch!

I Want to Go to There

And I did!

Looking back at the 3 gigs worth of photos I took in Morocco, I cannot believe we (the Moroccan crew of James, Jen, Tiff, Nancy, le cub, and I) accomplished as much as we did. Although we did not have enough time to make way to the Sahara desert and Fes, *sniffles* we did, however, get to spend a good amount of time checking out the charming seaside village of Essaouira, the beautiful landscape of the Berber village, Imil, tucked away in the High Atlas mountains, and of course, the hustle and bustle of the heart of Morocco, that is Marrakech.

What came to a surprise to us all was that Morocco had so much to offer in terms of culinary delight. From lamb to pigeon, we ate it all! Once I post the photos of all that was devoured on My Tummy Smiled, y'all will know what I mean. Moroccan-French cuisine has so much to offer. Sweet, savory, full o' spices. Luckily, Tiff, Nancy, le cub, and I, having taken a fancy-shmancy cooking lesson at La Maison Arabe, know how to recreate at least one of their staples, the chicken tagine.

More to come about the trip. In the meantime, enjoy these pics! (Morocco's actually a really colorful destination. Colorful photos to come.)

P.S. For those "in the know," the title of this entry was taken from an episode of "30 Rock" :)

La, La, La-La-La-La

Well, I never ~!
Didn't think I could love Haribos anymore than I already did, but get a load of what I picked up at CDG airport... Smurf Haribos!!!

Odds

Love Laduree

Macarons capable of inspiring a painting.

I Want One

I rode this lil' fella' along the beaches of Essaouira. Pretty damn cool.

Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep!!!

Moroccans aren't big on airport security. Transferring from Casablanca to Marrakech was a cinch. Airport security was extremely lax. Everyone and everything going through the scanner was beeping, yet the security agent continued to rush us through... Hmm.

Me Likee

Contemporary artwork by Mohammed Ben Allal on display at Ben Youssef, the largest Koranic school in Marrakesh.

C'est Si Bon!

The above pictured doodle was done before le cub and I landed in Marrakesh. I drew in cotton candy because clouds of pink fluff are graphically interesting. What's strange, and mention-worthy is that on our third night in Marrakesh, "the gang" (Jen, James, Tiff, Nancy, Le Cub, and I) went dancing at one of the city's most famous, and apparently, hedonistic clubs, Le Teatro. And get this, they were handing out cotton candy! Marrakesh has a lot to offer after dark. More about evening entertainment later.

Alice in Arab-Wonderland

Le cub and I are back from our amazing and highlight-filled voyage to Morocco. Will be posting photos soon. In the meantime, here are some doodles made en route to Morocco...

Top: Leaving Beans behind.
Bottom: Not knowing what to expect.

Analogy

An animation student is to Adobe CS4 as a business school student is to Microsoft Office.

Today calls for celebration.
Le cub accompanied me to the UCLA bookstore this morning and I bought my very own legal copy.
I've been deprived for way too long!!!
So long Arcsoft. Good-bye, iMovie.
I'm going to be playing with the big boys now!
Am installing the software now and realizing that I'm going to have to figure out the basic functions of After Effects in time to hand in the "final" that's due tomorrow. Say a little prayer for me...

I Think I Can... I Think I Can...

Check out the time-stamp. It's late, er, early, yet I'm still up. Must finish a paper for the animation seminar I enrolled in. OMG. I'm so close to finishing... Cannot sleep until it's done.
I think I deserve coffee.

And ooh. Look what I found online. NEAT-0!!! 3-D pavement art is so freakin' awesome.

I Can't See

In desperate need of a haircut. Starting to look mangy.

Pictured: Doodle from class. Le cub thinks this dude's hair looks like his popcorn.

Payback Time

A quarter into my C-film and I've already got a running list of people to thank. Chris A., Chris M., Kevin, Alexis, Jeff, Jae, Feme, Melissa... the list goes on. Luckily animators like cookies. I hope to bake some in time for Tuesday, but if I should run out of time before then (sadly, highly likely), I will have to find the nearest Mrs. Fields.

I Know I Should Be Working...

But I couldn't resist.

I think you should watch my friend's fine art film + installation piece - currently on display for the past few weeks at UCLA's Broad Art Center) HERE. Click on Kanako Fujii. That's her name... don't wear it out!

Pictured: A still from her short.

Hiatus

Won't be posting for a week due to final projects. Apologies! But I'll be back...

Monopoly

Of the fashion sort. The Sartorialist and Garance are dating. Very happy for them, but I thought The Sartorialist had a kid. Oh well, I'm always one to give benefit of the doubt. Much love to my favorite street fashion photogs...

Best of Both Worlds

I need to hunt down the Kogi truck because the thought of korean bbq meat meshed with a Mexican taco sounds absolutely delicious. See what I'm talking about HERE.

Note to self: Must register for Twitter account.

Wardrobes I'd Like to Raid

Magazines are always asking celebrities "If you can raid anyone's closet, who's would you raid?" One-in-ten celebs answer Kate Moss. Come-on! Couldn't they be a tad more creative?

My personal fav? Giovanni Battaglia. The average human being wouldn't be able to pull off the looks she does, but *sigh* she makes getting dressed look like so much fun. The textures, the colors, the humor!

See what I mean by clicking HERE and HERE.

A breath of fresh-air.

My more realistic and imitable fashion idol would be Michelle Williams. No, not the quiet chick in Destiny's Child - rather the mother of Maltida and former-gal-pal of Mr. Ledger.

Final pick? Sofia Coppola. What's not to like? Oh wait. Godfather III. Ouch.

I Miss the Bay Area

Because of THIS fab new service. Can you imagine? Never having to commute again, EVER!

See Daily Candy's review of the service here:

Yep, Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation saves the day with its new fleet of ecofriendly commuter buses. Called Wi-Drive, the Hampton Jitney-meets-Google shuttle coach line is the first Bay Area luxury green commuter service for the masses (hurrah!).

Tricked out with Wi-Fi, iPods, LCD screens, tables, and attendants, buses also offer Peet’s coffee along with Specialty’s breakfasts in the morning and Popchips snacks at night.

For now, Wi-Drive does round-trips ($5-$9 one-way) from the city to Marin and San Jose, with more routes coming soon.

Man, that’s super.

Day After Christmas Blues

That's how I'm feeling today. I always look forward to my cousin's rare and much-sought-after visits in the same way one might look forward to Christmas. My cousin Jen, a resident at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the most intelligent and hard-working individuals I've ever met. She rarely has time off from work, so every moment I get to spend with her is always deeply cherished.

Anyhow, us bone-heads had ourselves a grand ol' time on the West side this past weekend (our parents insist that when we get together, our IQs are halved). We brunched with yuppies at Joan's on Third, stimulated the economy via the mall ("I want to go to there!"), watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, and then stimulated the economy a little more. Hold the applause.

This weekend was such a high that I'm now feeling kinda' low. The fun is over, and I am grieving her departure - as is Beans. Jen is Beans' favorite person in the whole-wide-world. He whimpers with excitement and SMILES when he sees her. Yes, dogs really do smile.

We miss you, Jen.

P.S. The "I want to go to there" remark was made by the lovely Tina Fey on one of my fav television shows, 30 Rock. Apparently the line was inspired by unaccredited 30 Rock writer, Alice Fey. Tina's toddler muttered the line after seeing a commercial for Disneyland on tv. Too cute!

Allow Me to Make Your Day

Watch Yale MFA student, Ely Kim boogie his heart out HERE.
I don't know what's more disturbing. The fact that I own at least half of his play-list or the fact that I really want to take lessons from him. He's no Quest crew member (a reference to one of my fav shows, America's Best Dance Crew), but he's got so much heart!

P.S. Day 17 has inspired me to dance in the stairwell of UCLA Theater Film and Television.

P.P.S. Day 36 is when his dancing actually starts to show improvement.

Rest in Peace

I chat with my parents pretty often. Once a week, at very least. Anyhow, earlier today, my mom and I were talking about death. My beloved Aya's passing has the entire family thinking about life after death, and since my family's pretty open to chatting about pretty much anything, my morbid mommy and I started talking about our preferences with regards to death. Yes, you heard me.

So I really don't want to die drowning. I'd rather burn than drown. My mom thinks it doesn't matter how one dies and that it's the follow-up that matters.

Should she pass (knock-on-wood), she'd like to avoid having any sort of big ceremony planned around her. She would, however, like a little plot at which her remains would be stored, er, housed? She'd like a photo placed by her ashes, and she wants me and my brother to kow-tow to her three times each time we stop on by to say "hi."

Should I pass (knock-on would), I'd like for my loved ones to throw a little party. Must-haves include cake and a pinata. I too, would like to be cremated, but please, don't toss me in a lake/ocean/deep body of water...

Oh yeah. During this strange conversation, my mom and I also discussed suicide. We both agreed that we're both too happy in life (even when complaining) to consider taking our own lives. And with that said, my mom said to me (not in these exact words, but close), "If you should find me dead one day without explanation, you must investigate! It is probably MURDER! Not suicide." Hmm. I think my cutie mommy needs to lay off suspense films for a while.

Happy rest of the weekend...

Drop Dead Gorgeous

A couple years ago, when I first moved into my loft in San Francisco, I splurged on my very first piece of original art by a talented individual named John Smiddy. I was head-over-heels in love with his mixed-media work then and am still deeply enamored by the piece I purchased years ago today. Check out some of his work HERE. (Though I must say, the pieces are so much more fabulous when seen in person!) I was lucky enough to get a hold of "51".

Anyhow, the reason I'm posting about his work now is because a year ago, towards my final year in business school, I was able to catch a screening of the animated short "Symphony" at UCLA. Watch the short HERE. It was like seeing Smiddy's work set to Vivaldi... Ink swirls moving in space. OMG, omg, beautiful. Well, guess what? Now that I'm enrolled in the Animation Workshop at UCLA, I'm a classmate of the brilliant animator behind "Symphony"! Erick Oh (that's his name), is in his second year. I'm still in my first.) Check out his full body of work HERE. So incredibly talented.

Just thought I'd share.

Andy

Figuring drawing on Friday mornings can be great fun if you've got a great model. Yesterday the workshop welcomed "Andy," from New York. A "little guy," he was no taller than 5'2, but boy, did he make up for what he lacked in height with personality and pizazz. He'd brought along a couple of props and costumes to change into over the course of the five hours, and his props were anything but Mary-Poppins-esque. A pistol was paired with a cigarette and wife beater. A trench-coat was paired with a machine gun and fedora, and a cigar was paired with a unitard bathing suit, mid-calf socks, and Woody-Allen glasses... Dude was gangsta'. So fun to draw.

Good News For Me

Doodling could help you boost brain power! Read THIS article. If only this were true. Doodles from my Friday evening class posted above...

Mmm-Mmm Good

Had a couple friends over for dinner last week. I served the above-pictured macaroni and cheese. The black spots? Truffles. You heard me, TRUFFLES! My spin on the Joan's on Third Street mac n' cheese recipe. Kathy told me that my mac n' cheese is worthy of entry in Hannah's upcoming "Mac-Off." Dude. Bring it! (P.S. Don't know why the photo isn't flipping into the horizontal position I prefer. Grr.)

My parents are very cute. The last time I was back home, they reenacted THIS Taiwanese video for me and le cub.

Finally, just in case you feel like you haven't had enough Asian culture in a day, check-out this classic Sesame Street episode that le cub frequently quotes. "Chinese noodle, they're my very best favorite food!" His fobby accent is adorable.

Gasp.

I think my heart skipped a beat when I laid eyes on this collection. I l-l-l-love Marni. The colors... the textures... Consuelo Castiglioni is a goddess.

Crunch Time

Working on an animation seminar paper that's due this coming Tuesday. I've had all quarter to write it, yet the genius that I am chose to procrastinate the assignment, I mean, chose to save all the fun involved in completing this assignment, for today. Ugh. It's now crunch time and I've got nothing. Double ugh!

Zoo sketches?