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:: Pe-KHOO-liar Things ::

What's in this section?
Things that I finds strange and noteworthy. And possibly disgusting.

You Are Not Alone - and We Feel FINE!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I discovered this website at the Singapore Design Festival.

I think it is one of the most interesting sites I’ve seen in a long time. And I guess it kind of has been around for awhile! Developed by Jonathan Harris and Sepandar Kamvar, it’s a visual representations of all the people who write “I feel...” on their blogs. It matches picture and tells you where they are and when they wrote it.

It’s FASCINATING.

Seriously, I started looking at it and 2 hours later it was 1 in the morning and I had to sleep. It’s perfect for wilfing. Not only that, you can either look for different feelings willy-nilly, OR you can categorize them by location, feeling, sex, etc. Very cool.

www.wefeelfine.org

The best part is that it’s REAL stuff. I mean, it’s great when people make prototypes of stuff and show what *could* be done, but this project actually does it. In real time. It’s awesome.

Go check out how people are feeling! 

The Second Advent of My Refrigerator

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Sometimes the second coming is better than the first!

Now that you’ve all heard me complain and complain about management company, I’ve got one more story to toss on the pile.

So despite everyone’s input that we didn’t have a legal leg to stand on when it came to not getting keys, Susan and I took drastic action. We got apartment keys, but we didn’t have keys to the garage or washer/dryer room. I once got locked out at 9:30 pm and couldn’t get to my car to pick up Susan from school. So we decided to withhold rent. If they consider “starting the lease” to be from the time they hand over the keys, I argue that we had not officially begun our lease agreement. Especially since we weren’t getting access to all the facilities described in the contract.

Anyway, we paid rent and withheld 1/3 of the rent for the time that we did not have access. I was a little nervous, because I wasn’t sure if that was actually legal. I’m still not sure. We didn’t hear anything from the property manager. Then again, this is nothing new. I’ve called that man at least a dozen times, and he has yet to pick up his phone. So last week on Thursday, I come home from work...and notice that something seems different…

I take a look around to try to put my finger on what that difference is...and discover that THE REFRIGERATOR IS MISSING! Now you have to understand that the leasing company told us that we could have that fridge, but that they would personally throw it out because it was too disgusting to use. When you’re poor, however, you can’t really be all that picky. So we kept it. It really wasn’t ours. And so at that moment, I immediately thought that they had taken the fridge back as an act of retaliation!

All our food was in the sink or on the counter. The multiple dairy products growing ripe in the afternoon sun. The ice cream was in a sad state of affairs. I freaked out.

I called around frantically, trying to get someone on the phone. I was trying to formulate my argument why what they did was wrong. “You didn’t get my permission to enter the premises...” and “You had no right to take something as an act of retaliation...” Finally, I got the maintenance manager on the phone.

“Um did someone come and take my refrigerator?” I asked, trying to hold myself together so I wouldn’t scream at them.

“Oh, are you in apartment #4? Oh that was a mistake,” came the reply.

“...A mistake?”

“Yeah, it was supposed to be the fridge from apartment 7.”

At this point, I was relieved and fully in disbelief. Could they really be that retarded? Did they not notice that it was still in use?

So I asked haltingly, “so...can we get the fridge back...?”

“Uh, can we give it back tomorrow?”

“I’ve got lots of food that’s already spoiled and still spoiling. I need it back tonight.”

Thankfully, they agreed without too much of a struggle. I have never been so happy to see that nasty old thing again. You really do appreciate it the second time it comes around, because you’ve had enough time to realize how good you had it while it was there, even if it was old and worn. I was so happy that I didn’t even ask why there was dirt and tree leaves in the freezer.

As they shoved it back into place, the maintenance manager said, “Good thing you called. It was going to be thrown away tonight!”

...

I have only one word for this: RETARDED

WeHo Halloween Carnaval: An Introduction to West Hollywood

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Having just moved into the neighborhood, I had a great opportunity to see what the community was like in this huge block party event!

Monica, Rommel and I ventured out into the streets to catch a glimpse of the crazy revelry of which I have heard many a tale. Getting there was the first adventure. We successfully rode public transit in LA! We got on a bus and made it to the Carnaval with no problem whatsoever! In fact, we had to document the momentous occasion. Ya gotta love the rainbow upholstery. Rommel took a bunch of pics that night - in fact, all the ones below are by him!

We got there a little early so we wandered the streets. But as the night wore on, the streets became packed with one amazing costume after another. Some were amazingly elaborate and made me wonder how much money they spent on their costumes. Or even more impressive, how much *time* it took to put them together.

This Robotech Valkyrie must have taken awhile to put together.

Snowy demon costumes were all the rage!

Shrek and Fiona look almost TOO real...

More impressive than the amazing costumes, though, were the amount of strange and hyper people all around. Halloween is that holiday where you can be your alter ego self, be a caricature of yourself with all your characteristics exaggerated, or just be plain bizarre. Or you could be cheap like me and just get a dress and wings. Oh and the heels. Those things killed by the end of the night! Some used their costumes to fully express themselves, like the guys who were wandering around in a thong and a mesh body suit. Or the guy who body painted himself and wore...nothing (except shoes of course. Gotta protect the feet!).

There were lots of other great costumes like…

Drag Queens...

Drag Queens...

And more Drag Queens!

I have to say, I feel like I know more about my neighborhood than ever now! Maybe more than I want to know--like knowing the guy that lives 2 houses down can probably strut better in heels than I ever will be able. It’s a great place with vibrant people. It’s gonna be fun! 

In Loving Memory

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Toby Tylernole II - November 1992 to June 20, 2007

Ghost Riding = Strange Dancing + Cars

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Call me totally out of the loop, but i just found out what “Ghost Riding” is. 

So apparently, Ghost Riding is a dance form the evolved somewhere Oakland, CA. Basically, you let your car coast slowly with the doors open and you dance along beside it, on top of it, or behind it. It’s all very fascinating. I’m not sure how/why this art form was created, but it’s definitely...special.

As more and more of my friends are moving out to Oakland, SF and the Bay Area, I thought this would be pertinent information, in case they should want to join in the “Ghost Riding” festivities. So Jeremy, Erica, Slim, Susan, Merv, Joel and Heather, Courtney and Daryl--this one’s for you!

I have to admit, while it’s described above, it’s hard to imagine unless you actually see it. So i’ve included this video of two guys ghost riding his volvo. That’s right, his VOLVO--not a very hot car to ghost ride next to, but oh well, the video is a spoof anyway. So please enjoy.

This vid and dance sequences were produced as a protest to the Oakland A’s moving to Fremont

Congrats to Kenny & Yasuyo on their Bunlet in the Oven!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

If my title is too obtuse for you, it means that they are PREGNANT!

That’s right, i said it: PREGNANT. As in having a miniature person enter their lives. As in having a baby carriage and diapers. As in saving every last penny to afford those Nike Air Jordans one day. Or the Prada. Just kidding, i mean saving for college instead.

So Congratulations Kenny & Yasuyo! May you be responsible, loving and fun parents! Role models and good citizens! Good luck!

Yeah, that picture is more like it. ;)