Uncommitted Legs
Taken December 17, 2011, at 9:56AM.
Yenny on a Bench at Placita Olvera
Taken Cinco De Mayo, 2012 at 9:07PM in Placita Olvera, on a bench near the entrance. The artwork on the bench was probably inspired by Diego Rivera’s artwork, namely this painting, Flower Seller.
And look at Yenny, so stylish =D
Arrival at Union Station & Walking to the Eastern Portal
A video of the last 5 minutes on the Metrolink train ride to Los Angeles Union Station and the subsequent walk to the Patsouras Transit Plaza, all taken from my first person point of view, set to “Mood Indigo” (2 different renditions) by Duke Ellington.
The first half of the video is in real time, and it fits the music well, but I speed up parts of my walk to the Eastern Portal of Union Station to better fit the music. Sorry for the shakiness of the video in the second half and for not keeping the camera level. It’s hard to do that while walking quickly.
- At 0:54 you can see my reflection.
- At 1:26 you can see the downtown skyline very well.
- At 4:08 you can see the brown MTA building and the outside of the Eastern Portal to Union Station (the half dome shaped building).
- At 7:28 & 7:55 you can see the glass half-dome ceiling for the Eastern Portal.
- At 7:34 & 7:52 you can see the mural Los Angeles City Of Dreams by Richard Wyatt, one of my favorite murals. I even posed for a portrait with it once in this picture.
I make this trip by train frequently, probably every Sunday. I took this video on February 19th at about 1:50pm. I usually listen to my iPod when I’m on the train and while exiting the train and everything, so when you see this video, it’s almost as if you’re seeing what I would see and listening to what I would listen to. If you could experience my life from 1:50pm to 2pm that sunday, this is what you would’ve seen and heard.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people.
“My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Woodson, at Manhattan Beach, on his sand throne
Sand throne provided courtesy of Brittany Toda.
Photo taken January 29, 2012
Yenny Beholds Young Woman of The People
Photo taken at the LACMA on December 29. 2011.
Yenny, a young woman of the people, was looking at Modigliani’s painting titled “Young Woman of the People.”
Miguel Beholds Portrait of Sebastia Juñer Vidal by Picasso
Photo taken December 29, 2011 at the LACMA.
I got a Bloggie video camera for Christmas, and when I took this photo of Miguel looking at the Picasso painting, for some odd reason, the photo came out all purplish. I didn’t photoshop this at all.
Photos of Behind the Wall
We (Miguel, Yenny, and I) found this cool wall with murals painted on it, facing the LACMA. The wall has segments from the actual Berlin Wall. It’s pretty cool.
Me, in my element
Yenny took this photo of me on Christmas Day, 2011.
I’m in my room, on my bed, with my guitar, wearing my Red Santa Christmas Tie.
Views of Los Angeles from the 10 West
Taken on December 30, 2011, heading west on the 10 Freeway.
That is L.A.
It’s grimy and wiry and a bit worn.
But it’s majestic and beautiful.
Plus the misty feeling from the smog/clouds makes it feel dreamy.
I would say it’s like a grimy yet dreamy urban jungle.
I love it.
On My Fear of Saying F.M.L. & My Superstitious Side
F.M.L. “Fuck my life.”
I’m afraid of using this phrase.
If the phrase were “Fuck, my life,” as in “Aww fuck, my life sucks!” then I would use it. But that’s not how it’s used. It’s used as an imperative. “Hey, you, fuck my life.”
I’m not a particularly religious man; I do not believe in a Judeo-Christian conception of God or in a any sort of deity for that matter. Yet I fear saying things like FML because I imagine “God” hearing me say that, and responding to me, “Hey, you know what, Mauro? I think I might take you up on that. Sure, I’ll fuck your life… right now.”
And the next day, I look in the mirror and notice my hairline is receding, and for the next few weeks, I start balding rapidly. And consequently my girlfriend (Correction: Fiancee) starts to find me less attractive, slowly loses interest in me, and falls out of love with me.
OR the next day, while I’m at my favorite gym, I suddenly get immensely and violently painful abdominal cramps, and I shit my pants then and there for everyone to see. So I’ll never be able to return that gym again. And later, at home, after showering, I go to YouTube out of a need for escapism and find that me shitting my pants is the newest viral video laughingstock.
OR I imagine something much, much worse happening, something that I wouldn’t even want to think about.
So, to avoid these scenarios and their endless possibilities for pain, humiliation, and misery, I’ll do my best to avoid saying “fuck my life” whenever something bad happens. So the next time I lose my keys, or roll my ankle playing basketball, or run out of milk when I crave cereal, I will instead say “Oh, goddamn it.”
They exist to explore.”
