Layers

I spent a lot of time there looking at the layers of paint and the patterns they created as they were worn away. I particularly like the way the old lettering is starting to show through and the texture created by the rust and peeling paint.

More typeface

Some more typeface.

I don't know what this is about.



Nice skunk, a comment on engineers in general?



Loved these numbers.

Typeface

I really liked the typeface they used on the trains.

The Chronic-What?-cles of Narnia

Trains

Some more shots from our trip to Travel Town. I had a hard time getting back far enough from the engines to get really good overall shots of them and I try to avoid visual cues which will date my pix too readily (visual tic I guess) so I stuck mostly to details, interiors, and textures.

This is a shot of the one car we were allowed to walk through while we were there. I'm curious what the lighting fixtures were like.

The round deco windows and rivets on the back of this passenger car lend it a nautical feel. I also really like the color, like toothpaste.  The aquafresh express.

Some of the restoration in progress.  These cars have obviously seen better days but the worn paint is like looking at the strata of the earth, revealing the pieces history.

An interior shot of a car that came from Hawaii.

Travel Town

We made a little trip to Travel Town in Griffith Park over the weekend. I've driven by it several times on the way to various places but never had the opportunity to go in.  It's really pretty great, you can climb on some of the engines (which are surprisingly huge in a few cases) and read some of the history.  I think what I like about it is that they are a little run down, unlike a museum where things have been pristinely restored to appear as they did the moment they rolled off the assembly line.  These have obviously been used hard, donated and left to decay in a corner of the park.  The layers of paint and textures evident through time and the elements is far more beautiful in many ways than a glossy new paint job. Restoration efforts seem to be taking place in several instances though so it's unclear whether they will remain in their current state of entropy or not.

Here's with the little guy in one of the bigger cabs. I'm amazed at the technology involved in building these things.

And taking a ride on the little train. Last time we did this T curled up in a ball on my shoulder and didn't look up until we were safely in the car. He's made great strides since then.

Inauguration Day

Watched this mornings events with great hope and excitement. All I could think about was the world we'll pass on to this little guy.

Random pix of Mr. McGroodle.

Just a few random pix of the boy. He's too cute to not post them.

One last gift.

T's aunt Becky made him a super cute bunny for Xmas.

Just a peek.

Texas for Xmas

We didn't have a traditional come down stairs and open presents Christmas this year.  We flew on Christmas and didn't get into Ft. Worth until late afternoon, time for an early supper and kind of knocking around.  It was fun but not very "Holiday-ish".  We went to the zoo though, after Christmas.

And Thom got to meet and hang out with his cousin Graham. 

Center Pivot Irrigation

The man altered landscape from the air.

Pix of the house.

The other day someone mentioned to me that I hadn't put up any pictures of our new digs yet, and there are a few reasons for that. First and foremost, it's still kind of a disaster. We've got everything put away for the most part (except for the guest room) but we're still working on getting stuff on the walls so it's not quite finished. Plus we just started on the storage for the guest room so there are boxes previously contained out in the living room. The decorative effect is one of overwhelming clutter. The second reason is the house itself is kind of dark. We've got a lot of trees around and sort of deep overhangs which let in enough light to keep it from being dreary but not enough for off the cuff photography. I'm not big on dragging out my tripod (a fact attested to from my "just out of focus but not in an artsy way flickr photostream).

So there you go, excuses. Here's a few pix taken around the house though while I watch the light make it's way through the rooms.

Our front porch where T plays "put the rocks in the empty milk carton" and then "pour them out on the bare concrete in order to wreak havoc on mom and dad's eardrums.

T's race car in his room.  

Our collection of Rebekah Potter's Bloks. We started collecting these a few years ago and really love them.  We could probably tile an entire bathroom with them if we had the dough but alas.

There is a rental behind us which was built much later than the house itself. Lends a semi-modern look to our backyard come parking lot.  

And our dining room windows.  

Still now real feel for the place.  We're too far from civilization for people to actually come see it in person though so I'll have to keep trying.

Halloween

He's had this costume forever but here are the official Halloween pix (I'm so behind).

Me and the little guy.


Strutting down the street with his bucket, he's yet to realize he has no pants on.



In fact after the first house the costume came off all together and he finished the night in nothing but a diaper and those red chucks. Still, fairly appropriate for LA I guess.

Kung Fu at the Getty Center

A few months ago T and I went up the the Getty with my sister Roz and her little girl Josie. We had lunch and sat on the lawn and watched T go to town on some of the local riff raff.

He's getting antsy here after what he considers an inordinate amount of time for lunch.  He's so put off in fact he refuses to acknowledge me until I've come to my senses and set him loose.

Roslyn is convincing him to steal something here I'm sure.

And it's begun.  A quick spin kick to the head has his opponent on the ground begging for mercy...

But T shows little mercy, indeed none at all as he proceeds to chase his poor mark down the hill sending his compatriots scrambling in fear for their mothers or at the very least the protection of an arbor of bougainvillea.

This is a bummer...

I've been following pingmag for a while and it's a real bummer to hear they're going on "extended hiatus".  They were a really great source for art and design information and they wrote in a way that made the information really accessible.  They were part of my daily routine and I'll miss their posts.

Boom

I've been neglecting this blog for a while, first out of laziness, then because of holiday business etc. Now I just got nothing. I found this on CarlosLabs (via bldgblog) and it's pretty fun.




It's a bit of javascript that allows you to find a place with googlemaps and nuke it. Above is what would happen to Denton (naturally the first place I thought of) if the Russians went ballistic with the 50mt "Tsar Bomba", histories largest explosion. Give it a whirl, it's fun for the whole family.