The Face Of The Future

I was inspired by my friend Helen to put my face through various ethnic, age, and gender transformations. It's where I got the manga-fied me that I recently posted. You can do the same by going to this site.

Jodi (before transformation)
I started with this photo, taken after a long and tiring day.



East Asian Jodi
E likes this one and said something like, "You look cute Chinese."



West Asian Jodi



Old Jodi
Truly frightening. I may print this one out and tape it on my mirror to remind me to use daily moisturizers and sunscreen.



Man Jodi
I find this one quite hideous. Besides the fact that I would've been called "Jim Bob," there are other obvious reasons that it's a good thing I'm a girl.



Boticelli Jodi
This is my second favorite, behind the manga one. I guess I prefer myself looking a bit more abstract and artsy.

There are a couple more in the flickr set, if you are interested.

The Week (So Far)

• Cosette had one vet appointment and ended up getting scheduled for surgery the very next day! It's always stressful, but especially for a geriatric dog. She will go for a bandage change this weekend and endure the hilarious cone for about ten more days.

• We saw Death Cab For Cutie in concert for the first time at the newish Nokia Theatre. The venue is pretty cool, even if the sound was a bit wonky. The band was fantastic, but I was somewhat put off by their open expression of distaste for L.A. Especially when the crowd was giving them an amazing reception. Seattle folks must be jealous of our sunshine, as many seem to hate this city.
  

• I've been under the weather myself and slept Wednesday away.
  

• The Los Angeles Film Festival continues. One of the highlights this week was a screening of three episodes of Spaced followed by a Q&A with director Edgar Wright, moderated by Matt Stone, of South Park fame. It was a tremendously good time.
  

Edgar and Me

• I've been working on the Craft Hamster 2.0 and may be at a point where I can post a photo or two soon.

What Has Been And What Can Never Be

I saw the world premiere of the documentary Largo this past Sunday night at the L.A. Film Festival. It was really enjoyable for me, as one of the people who loved the club's original incarnation on Fairfax. Also, I'm a fan of many of the musicians and comedians who performed there. The film is black and white and performance based. There is no narrative and minimal subtitling. Featured performers include Grant-Lee Phillips, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Andrew Bird, Colin Hay, Jon Brion, Davíd Garza, Tom Brousseau, Sarah Silverman, Greg Proops, Zach Galifinakis, Louis CK, John C. Reilly, Bic Runga, Flight of the Conchords (how did I miss that?!?), Nickel Creek, Jackson Brown and a couple of others I'm sure I'm forgetting.

It actually made me quite sad knowing I can't ever go back there for such an intimate show. I haven't been to Largo 2.0 at the Coronet Theatre yet, but hope to check it out soon. Have you?

Signs That It's Summer In L.A.

• The L.A. Film Festival has opened. Wanted opened the fest and I *wanted* to really like it, but meh, not so much. Oh well.
  

• Thomas Wilkins debuted as the Principle Guest Condutor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. We enjoyed opening night, where Sir James Galway, B.B. King, and Liza Minelli all performed as they were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.

• It's hot. Africa hot. And everyone, including myself, is complaining about it. I'm glad I have air conditioning, but shudder to think of the upcoming electric bills. I do know the extreme temperatures are temporary and we'll be back to lovely weather soon.
  

Happy Summer!

Hamsters Love Broccoli!

E and I stopped at the grocery store last night for bread, milk, and a few other necessities. We only needed a hand basket since we weren't buying much. While in the produce section, I noticed the loose broccoli and decided to get a small amount for Ami. I chose the five or so smallest florets in the bin and tossed it, in a produce bag, into the basket.

Fast forward to the check out line where E unloaded the breads, milk, peppers, and bananas. He went to put the basket on the floor. I grabbed the plastic bag from it and said, "Don't forget the broccoli!"

E: "Huh? Broccoli?"

J: "Yeah, in this bag."

E: "Oh, I just thought that was trash someone left in the basket."

J: "I just got a tiny amount. It's for Ami."

E: Rolls eyes.

J: "Well, it's only about 3 cents worth of broccoli so it's not big deal. I think the fresh veggies I give him are part of the secret to his living so long."
(He's at least 2.5 years old now).

E: I think there was another eye rolling moment here.

It was our turn and the cashier scanned our items. And what do you know, but that little bag of broccoli rang up at $.03!!! I thought it was hilarious and I think the checker thought I was nuts. Or at least a dork. Which I am.

Jodi As A Manga Character

24/7

Last night we checked out a new late-night/anytime dining option in Hollywood. Kitchen 24 is located on Cahuenga in the heart of the hipster club scene. I’ve been wanting to try it and thought a Monday night might be a less crowded than others. If you check out reviews on Yelp, etc. you will find them all over the map. E and I both really enjoyed it though.

The atmosphere is dinery with a brown, pink, and white color scheme. Our service was initially a little slow, but it picked up and our food came out really quickly. I had the macaroni and cheese dish and E had a tuna burger. The food was quite tasty. E topped off his meal with a chocolate-chocolate-chocolate cupcake, even though he’s “not that into cupcakes” and said it was delicious. I was just too full to even taste it.

Our food, sodas, and E’s dessert came out to less than $30. We’ll definitely be going back. It’s nice to add another 24-hour eatery to the list.

The Cute

Running To Stand Still

I haven't been able to keep up here as much as I'd like to lately. I'm not necessarily getting much done, even though I have some big deadlines looming. I've been spinning my wheels quite a bit. I have no choice but to get it together and get moving on some projects. A craft fair and Comic-Con are looming in the very close future and I must prepare.

In the meantime, I must sleep as this is a 50-hour work week for me and I'm working early in the morning. It's my last working Saturday until August.

I don't have a transition, but Rusty did some updating over at Snarky Dogs and his own blog. Check them out if you appreciate that kind of silly.

Hooking Lessons

No, I wasnt' hanging out on Sunset Blvd. this weekend learning about the oldest profession. It was quite a busy weekend with the highlight being the Basic Crochet & Amigurumi workshop I took. I recently bought a kit to make this cute little chipmunk (lower left of photo) and then realized I needed to learn hooking basics first. I've been trying to teach myself to crochet with an old school book and it just wasn't working out. I'm either a bad student or a bad teacher! Probably a bit of both.

Well, I certainly know more than I did before my class. I'm by no means an expert, but I can at least understand the patterns and have high hopes for crafting "Chippy Chip." I do tend to be a slow learner when it comes to motor skills (which makes it hilarious that I'm in the profession I'm in!), so I got a lot of individual attention. Most of the students finished their bats by the end of the workshop yesterday. I had to complete mine at home, but I was determined to finish. His bottom half is tapered because of some difficulty I initially had with the counting and placing the stitch marker. I got the hang of it though and am pleased with the upper two-thirds.

Once I had the finished product, I was indeed a happy hooker!

Foreign Debts, Homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz, Hypodermics On The Shore...

The recent Universal Studios fire was all over the news, so you probably heard about it. I live very close to Universal City and unlike most Sundays, I was up pretty early to go downtown and meet up with a friend. I immediately smelled something funny and heard helicopters. Once I went outside, my throat was burning and I started coughing. Yay asthma. Also, there were bits of ash all over our cars.

View looking down my street.


View from the North Hollywood Metro stop.

While I was driving over to the North Hollywood Metro station to catch the subway, I listened to KNX news radio. They had a reporter "on the scene" who insisted that "the air is fine." What? I got aggravated by that and decided to call. I'm not the type of person who calls into radio stations, but I wanted the right information to get out there. I certainly did not call to be on the air, but that is exactly where they put me. Luckily, it was so early I assumed no one heard me. They even asked if I'd talked to friends in the area and I said no one was up yet!

And then I got this email from my friend W:

I heard you on the radio. B and I had gone up to Mulholland lookout to watch the fire, and we heard you on the radio on the way down the hill. You were very dignified. And some of your friends were up just as early as you.

At least I was "dignified." Ha!

Unfortunately, this is not the first Universal Studios fire. If you want to see some cool footage of both the 1990 and 2008 fires, check out this video shot by my friend and neighbor Erik.

Sew (A Needle Pulling Thread)

I bought a sewing machine this evening. It's fairly basic and refurbished, therefore inexpensive. I vaguely remember hanging out with my Mom when I was younger watching her use her heavy duty Singer. I have even less clear memories of using this kind of equipment in Home Ec class, although I know I did. So, it should be an interesting adventure and I may end up needing to take a class. Hopefully, I can end up doing something crafty like make my own tote bags! Or hats for my hamster. (I'm kidding). (I think).

I'm also now the proud owner of a dorky little garden gnome.