too beautiful to stay inside again

it is another gorgeous summer day here and i still have a long way to go organize my photos on the computer.  i realized yesterday that i have over 20,000 images

stored in iPhoto (and i have only had this computer for about 7 months) perhaps that is what is slowing my normally super fast iMac down. i will start "burning" them onto a dvd as i get them more organized but first... i am going to walk down to the beach which means i will have more photos when i return of this glorious day. 

no June Gloom today.  or at least not now.

here are a few photos from my tuesday adventure to Hollywood. . .

i am that "poor misguided American..."

or so says the Herald...and i take that as a complement.  all in good fun.  and it was a fun day going to see The Fratellis at their live in-store performance and cd signing at The Virgin Megastore in Hollywood.  there is more to tell about my "pure mince" experience with the lads from the Glasgow, and the couple from Fife, and Mother and son from Corona, and being a tourist amongst thousands of tourists on Hollywood Boulevard on a beautiful summer's day, about my delicious double double at the Inn-n-Out on Sunset, and the about the Latin jazz sounds of Francisco Aguabella and his excellent band, and the coincidence of seeing the amazing trombonist from sunday's jazz event in Manhattan Beach playing in the horn section of Senor Aguabella's band at last night's Tuesday Night Jazz and Wine event at Hollywood and Highland, and about the retired PanAm captain, and of course my bus and subway ride to and from Hollywood from but first here is The Fratellis singing Ole Black n Blue Eyes from their first cd.  there new cd is 

Here We Stand... available at sensible records store around the world and online.  my signed copy is sitting right here waiting to be uploaded into my iPod.

pure mince: from aberdeen to the south bay to hollywood

hopefully this will make sense, more sense when i return tonite. . .

until then, here a few more images from my weekend . . .

(who lives there?)

Mince Accomplished and More:

it was a long but once again, a fun day.  i will write more tomorrow and catch up and fill in some of the details and catch up on some emails but here are a few photos from the live performance and cd signing by The Fratellis at the Virgin Megastore on Hollywood Boulevard at Highland... 

 

Mince Fratelli

Jon Fratelli (signing pure mince)

Barry Fratelli looking on

 Naw we areny!

Mince, Mince's drummer-helper friend (whose name i have  just forgotten) and my Tony  after the live in-store and after the cd signing.

last weekend in 10,000 words

i am tired

a little sample from the 2008 Pasadena Chalk Festival

yes, the "woman with violin" is on the sidewalk and done with chalk.

what a day!  and that's a good thing.  but, i am tired.  did i mention i had a very fun day? たのしかった！ more later.  or monday.  these moments are from today, here and there.

happy father's day

Marcus L. Miller on drums (not to be confused with the Marcus Miller on bass)

surfer boy at Manhattan Beach

June Gloom, Zac, and Unkle Monkey

not sure how this little montage will turn out.  all three photos were taken around noon today from the same spot in Rocketship Park on the hill above where i live. the first photo is looking toward the ocean.  you can see the horizon but no ocean, only the whiteness of the thick, cool marine layer (JUNE GLOOM).  the second photo is looking north in the direction of downtown LA or perhaps more toward the Hollywood Hills.  you can see there really is blue sky under all the white-ness.  and finally, the third photo is looking east and that beautiful blue sky which is above the swimming pool where i live and is the same blue sky i can usually see when i look out from my computer... in the daytime.

this photo was also taken today on the hill in Rocketship Park.   clouds above the telephone wire were coming from the ocean and seemed to almost disappear as they reached the top of the hill.   and once again the blue sky below the telephone wire is the blue sky that i could see at my place before i started traveling west toward the ocean. it probably takes less the 5 minutes to go from summer's blue sky to winter's grayness on days when we have June Gloom.

i drove down the hill and to the beach where i strapped on my rollerskates and skated north to Marina del Rey.  i arrived an hour early to see Unkle Monkey so i continued on the MDR Visitor's information center.  i picked up some new maps, concert schedules and bus timetables.  the 33rd annual MDR Boat Show was going so i skated to Burton Chace Park to see if i can see any interesting boats.  i was interested but i was not $10 interested to go into the boat show.  from there i skated to a nearby grocery store and bought some sushi for lunch.  and skated back to Fisherman's Village just in time to hear Unkle Monkey last sound check.

apparently two of the band member's were hung up in traffic but 3/5 of UM started on time at 2pm.   the first song was a Jimmy Buffett tune, "changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes" and was dedicated to Zac Sunderland, the 16 year old who was starting out on his solo around the world adventure from Marina del Rey around 1pm.  i had just missed seeing the young Zac start his world tour from Burton Chace Park... so that is why the news vans were there.  i thought it was just for the boat show.  Zac is attempting to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe alone. oh, to be young again.  がんばって！

the above photo is Unkle Monkey (or 4/5 Unkle Monkey as you cannot see the drummer).  the leader is Steve Stafford who is singing and playing acoustic guitar.

all the musicians were as they say in the UK... brilliant...

すばらしい in Japanese.

more from Ireland

just another sunday in County Clare. . .

just another sunday walk. . .

just another day ending in music. . .

Eoin O'Neill  (far right) on bouzouki at Brogan's on O'Connell Street, Ennis, County Clare, Ireland.

this morning or was it yesterday's morning

a few moments from my thursday morning walk

in and around Ennis (Inis in Irish meaning "island").