Notes from E3

Life has been pretty busy these days–good, but busy (evident in my lack of blogging among other things [as if anyone really cares]). So today, I finally got a chance to have some good 'ol fashion geek fun as the wifey and I hopped on a train to L.A. for the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 for short.

Here are some of the highlights from today's trip:

Those were some giant Final Fantasy ads.

Didn't get a chance to see the upcoming game, but the Ecto-1 was a nice treat.

The Arkham Asylum game had a pretty sweet booth–
I have to say the game looked like the best Batman game to date.

Is Manny Pacquiao the first Filipino to be in a video game?
And no, Ewoks don't count.

Super Mario Bros. Wii was a 4-player blast, but I think it may break up some families and end a few friendships as other players can collide with you, hindering your attacks and jumps.

Left 4 Dead 2 (360) looked pretty solid, though I was surprised they went with such a saturated color palette being that the game takes place during the daytime.

God of War 3 looked amazing–probably the only reason to buy a PS3 next year.
The line to play the demo was intense!

Only geeks think tattoos like this are hardcore, so naturally I LOVED it.

The best part about today's trip was that we spent zero time behind the wheel–one of the great things about living so close to the train depot.

I can't wait until 2010 when the Metrolink will be running with later hours and more frequent stops. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to stay in downtown L.A. for dinner after next year's E3.

Chalk Another One Up For The Speedway

Another accident took place this morning on The Santa Ana Speedway shortly after 8:30AM. Luckily, it didn't look like anyone was injured in this accident.

I didn't notice it at the time, but after close examination of image, it looks as if both cars are the same make (Toyota), model (Corolla) AND color.

What are the odds of that?

Art Walk Photos: 09/20/08

Art from the HiveArt from the Hive (street view)

Candid Art

Curbside Gallery

J. Lewis Gallery

Liberty Fine Arts

Salu Gallery

Sipho's Gallery

Galeria Tufiño

Strong Island Designs

Ooh! The Colors!

About a month ago, this "peace" caught my eye as I was driving south in the car pool lane on the 55 freeway. To get a better look at the work, I had to pull off the freeway and backtrack being that it wasn't exactly facing the commuting traffic.

Graffiti of this caliber is rarely seen in Santa Ana. Luckily, I had my handy-dandy point-and-shoot cause I knew this one was a keeper.

The businesses along the 55 freeway are frequently subject to gawdawful "attempts" at graffiti art. The Pool Tables USA building alone (facing the southbound side of the 55 freeway) is often abused by graffiti of sub-par standards (at best), which are eventually painted over only to be a clean canvas for the next amateur waiting in the bushes.

Note: In the last two years, I've seen this building having been painted over several times. I wonder when the property owner will consider a wall-crawling vine to help reduce the all too frequent attacks and help cut back on his/her trips to the Home Depot paint department.

If the "KND" (Kings Never Die) signature on the top right looks/sounds familiar to you, then you probably remember the infamous "22 Tagger" who a few years back, terrorized CalTrans and the 22 freeway with his mark.

Now I'm not trying to justify whether or not this should be considered art (though I personally think it is), or whether "nicer" graffiti should be condoned, but rather wanted to share an interesting photo of true graffiti culture existing in Orange County.

I'm sure if this artist were to shift their talent onto a stretched canvas, they'd be able to make some serious money at our monthly Art Walk.

The Anomaly

On a brick wall facing an abandoned home just west of the Santiago Street Lofts is where I first spotted this rare find several months ago.

Normally, this abandoned lot is highly inaccessible to foot traffic due to multiple layers of chain link fences. But with the "mini-circus" that came to town during Cinco de Mayo weekend and used an empty adjacent lot for vehicle storage, I had one less fence to jump and was able to snap this photo.

Oh my goodness! Did someone actually take the time to plan a mini-mural in Santa Ana? Bravo!

This piece is an anomaly for the city of Santa Ana being that it is a strong departure from the mundane chicken scratch that can be seen all over town. Granted, it doesn't hold a candle to the work done in Los Angeles, or even Vancouver for that matter, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

4/20 Sunday in Review

An accident victim.

The other car after the driver abandoned it and bailed on foot. Don't worry, he didn't get far.
And of course, what Sunday would be complete without the obligatory BBQ–now with movie!
Stop lying to yourself. You want to live here. Santa Ana rocks.

...and Museum?

The other day while riding my bike through the city, I came across this awesome sign down by the Santa Ana Jail. I'd imagine it's an either/or trip to that office.

A good friend of mine put it best: "You have two ends of the spectrum colliding: the dredges of society and the things worth keeping.


Inmate: "What took you so long man!?"

Bailer: "Well...see, they kind of had this museum at the bail bonds office and we sorta lost track of time."

Barbecue Season is Officially Here

Whether you're a person that likes to cook, or someone who loves to eat, you’re in good company here at the Santiago Street Lofts.

This past weekend, a good amount of neighbors took advantage of the beautiful southern California weather and rang in the extra hour of daylight with a delicious barbecue.

The hit of the “Q” was definitely Dr. Jason’s Newcastle-marinated ribs. I have to say; I’ve never known a dentist that used barbecued ribs to get me to floss.

So, if you’re on the fence about moving here, then hopefully knowing that you’ll have some kickass neighbors will be the push that you’ve needed. If you live here and missed this Sunday’s barbecue event–don’t worry; there are plenty of barbecue days ahead of us.

Could Be Nothing

The other day while I was out for a walk in the hood, I noticed a loader (middle of image on the right) working in a fenced parcel located just around the corner from the Santiago Street Lofts (corner of Garfield Street and Santa Ana Boulevard).

It looked as if the worker was breaking-up large clumps of asphalt and probably wasn't anything major, but it's nice to see some activity happening in those city-owned lots.

In the meantime, I'll put a call in with Ray Lirette to see if he has the skinny.

*UPDATE: Ray returned my call and informed me that no construction will be happening on those lots anytime soon, but rather they are being used as storage for other street and sewage projects. Bummer.

Take it from the Top

I snapped this photo the other night while I was on the roof checking for residual puddles after the recent showers. The night clear and brisk, and the view of the city lights offered a much-need break from the madness that sets in halfway through the workweek.

I'm going to be looking into purchasing an attic ladder in the next few months to make future trips to the rooftop a little easier. If I find one that's worthwhile, I'll definitely pass it along.