Photography: 1"

I decided to do another take on old photo concept that I had previously shot, this time, using only a one-second exposure. The above was taken on the Wilshire bridge overlooking the 110 Freeway (facing south). It was actually quite scary because I could feel the wind from the cars kick up my hair when I leaned over the railing, looking down. G had to accompany me as there were quite a few homeless people around and it was almost 10PM in downtown LA (we were quite near Skid Row). The older photo (circa 2008), below, was taken in Century City using a 13-second exposure.

Photography: 1/1000"

I had found thumbtacks and champagne flutes laying around from a previous photo shoot that I had done (see below) and decided to do a different take on it using gravity. Unfortunately, due to how cloudy it was (and I like to shoot only in natural light), I had to kick up the ISO on my already crappy camera, which raised the noise to unbearable levels.

Movie: Thor (3D)

I saw Thor (in 3D), yesterday, at the Grove, and, maybe I've just seen too many movies now, but it seemed awfully cliche, even for an action movie. In particular, Natalie Portman's portrayal of a cute, but work-driven scientist was disappointing, especially because I usually like her stuff. I suppose any normal girl would gush about the main character's (Chris Hemsworth) fantastic abs, but I was more thrilled to see the ending universe sequence because it was in 3D! I could care less about the final scene after the credits, which apparently was an important teaser. Oh, whoops, there goes a spoiler.

LA: 2011 LA Times Festival of Books

Why, oh, WHY did they have to move the Festival of Books to USC (ugh!)? I mean, I know why -- financial reasons -- but couldn't they have negotiated some sort of deal to keep it on the beautiful, rolling hills of UCLA? Like, how about promising to charge a dollar or two more for parking or as an admission price? A quarter of a million people show up to this event, so it could make sense. Maybe I'm just biased, being a Bruin-alum and all, but I believe it would have been worth it.

Travel: Las Vegas (Palazzo)

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll probably not be surprised to hear that we did a 24-hour trip to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Palazzo this time. I think I've finished doing a world tour of 5-star hotels/resorts on the mid- to northern end of Las Vegas Blvd. Nothing really to report; the rooms are identical to those at the Venetian and there's even a Grand Lux Cafe on the casino level as well. It's SO EASY to get lost in the hotel corridors though, as the signs aren't strategically placed or conspicuous. I even had to be escorted out by the staff a couple times just to get out of the maze! The shopping area is high-end, so, if that doesn't work for you, step on over to the Venetian's side, since they're connected to each other.

Other itinerary notes: I brunched at the Wynn again. Love them eclairs.

Travel: Las Vegas (Caesar's Palace) & The Grand Canyon

This was my third time going to the Grand Canyon National Park and, let's say, billionth time going to Las Vegas (I've honestly lost count at this point). The difference this time was that we brought along my brother who had yet to see the grand ol' crack in the earth.

Itinerary:

• Day 1: Drove to Vegas and checked into Caesar's Palace. I know, I know. It's quite a departure from my routine, as it's definitely not a 5-star hotel, but my brother had given us the DVD for The Hangover for Christmas. Need I say more? Honestly, who doesn't now question pager service when standing near the check-in desk? The good news is that we got a free upgrade :D. The jacuzzi bathtub rivals that at the Trump.

• Day 2: Breakfast at Bellagio. We checked out the nice pool area but decided it was better to leave ASAP in order to arrive at the GC at sunset (as we say in photography: golden hour!). It turned out to be cloudy though :(.We ended up having dinner from Criollo Latin Kitchen.
• Day 3: Drove the 400+ miles from Flagstaff, Arizona to LA. Note: gas is much cheaper on the Arizona side, so fill up before you cross the state border. Arizona also runs on a different time zone (keep that in mind for checking-out).

Movie: Source Code

Brought up interesting ethical issues, but overall Source Code was a fail. :(