Favorite Foto Friday

(Photo from Time)

This is one of my favorite photographs, taken by Dennis Stock at Venice Beach in 1968. A large copy of it hangs on the wall in my room. I love the perspective of the shot. I always felt like I could relate to this girl. The want to be free, unique and different; not part of the crowd.

At the age of 16 my need to be rebellious really came about. The idea of being the same as anyone was unacceptable. Why couldn’t I be smart and have fun? I attended class with the “smart” kids and partied with the “bad” kids.

While the need to rebel so extravagantly has subsided a little, my skin still crawls at the idea of being the same as everyone else. This photograph, this girl is a reflection of a very important part of me and I love that I get a little reminder of that every day.

Plus it’s Venice Beach in the late 60s. I’ve always had a soft spot for LA and the 60s, it most likely stems from my obsession with Jim Morrison and the Doors.

New Track: The Neighbourhood

I can’t decide if I like this video or the song better…

I came across this song on the Rolling Stone SXSW playlist the other day. Expect to hear more “New Track” posts off this list.

Anyway, I really like the LA feel both to the song and the video. I also like that the video is in black and white. The whole style is very ’50s James Dean, rock ‘n’ roll, raw and romantic, clearly not in the traditional sense of the word.

I’ve seen the views for this video jump tremendously over the past few days.  I can’t tell if this is going to be one of those “cooler” indie songs that only the in kids know about or if it’s going to go main-stream teeny bopper style and get totally over played. I’m kind of leaning towards the latter.

Either way, right now I’m really enjoying the flow, the lyrics, the video, the 1990’s Romeo and Juliet movie-feel (would you say that’s accurate ?) and the music. Hope you do too!

LA

Currently blogging from Cafee Trieste in downtown San Francisco!  I’ve been here less then 24 hours and am already absolutely in love with this city.  It’s a nice change from LA.

LA was a unique adventure that I’m glad I got to experience with some great friends.  What a truly unreal vacation it’s already been.  It’s amazing that there are so many different people in such a big area.  So many DIFFERENT, as in different from each other and different from any conformity that exists on the east coast.  Everyone owns themselves and their personalities.  People are more in touch with that out here.  Back east it’s as though everyone is a slave to something else, their career, their family, their relationship, etc.  No one is into that out west, and they don’t seem to care about that east coast attitude.  That’s yesterday’s news and they most certainly have no business with it.  I think for many of them, they have no idea that east coast attitude even exists.

However, it’s not that people are unfriendly or snobby to us tourists.  In fact, we met many people that were genuinely interested in what we were doing in LA and our story.  It’s just that the people here almost have a more “selfish” view, or rather what we on the east coast would call selfish, but perhaps it’s a more natural and new age way of thinking, and perhaps it’s only “new age” to me.  Maybe people, have in fact always thought this way on the west coast.

California has always been where it’s at.  Today is no exception.  People out here just have it.  I can’t explain it.  I’m not jealous, I’m really intrigued.  I’ve got to be apart of this somehow without totally losing myself.

It has been a really great trip thus far, combining all that I love, friends, travel, adventure and even a little bit of writing.  We had some great laughs in LA and some intriguing 20-something-view conversations.  The uniqueness that is LA provided the perfect background.

Now off to have some more exciting adventures with Mary in San Fran!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hello California…

“I always tell the girls, never take it seriously.  If ya never take it seriously, ya never get hurt.  Ya never get hurt, ya always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.” ~Penny Lane