My Apologies

I'm sorry not to have continued the 'Picture a Day' series that was also the 'Beer a Day Series'. I'm sure no one cares and knew it even existed, but me. But that's not the point, consistency is and that's what I'm after. But if anyone cares, the rest of that can be found at Instagram, look for ththm2046. There will be more stuff, trust.

#beeradayaugust #7 -> Photo a Day - Day 8

Saigon Export, a lager from Viet Nam. It has 4.7% alcohol. It's brewed in Ho Chi Minh City. I found this beer to be lacking in taste. It looks like sparkling cider. Not bad, if you drink it fast. But it doesn't really make you want to have another.

#beeradayaugust #6 -> Photo a Day - Day 7

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale. It's an American Pale Wheat Ale with 7.5% alcohol. It comes from Petaluma, CA. This is an interesting beer. It's very easy to drink and has a lot of flavor, but it also has a kick with it's alcohol content. Like a wheat beer and an IPA, but not as flowery and a lot easier to drink. Overall a great beer.

#beeradayaugust #5 -> Photo a Day - Day 6

Black Butte Porter, hails from Bend, OR. It's a porter with 5.2% alcohol. It's a dark flavorful beer with a bittersweet taste. It reminded me a little bit of a Young's Double Chocolate Stout. If you are into that, then you should give this one a shot. I found a new favorite.

#beeradayaugust #4 -> Photo a Day - Day 5

After a few days of lagers I decided to go with an old favorite. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which has 5.6% alcohol. It originated in Chico, CA. It's a consistently good pale ale and a great starter if you are into this particular type of beer. Pale ale's are definitely not for everyone, but if you enjoy flavorful strong beer then this is not a bad place to start.

#beeradayaugust #3 -> Photo a Day - Day 4

Today I had the Staropramen, a premium lager from Prague in the Czech Republic. It has 5% alcohol. After tasting this one it reminded me of a Pilsner Urquell, which I do enjoy drinking from time to time. But haven't had in a long while. I wouldn't mind picking this one up again.

#beeradayaugust #2 -> Photo a Day - Day 4

Today I had a Danish beer named Carlsberg. Their traditional brew, a pale lager with 5% alcohol. When I took my first sip it reminded me a bit of last night's beer, the Czechvar. Although this one tasted smoother and fresher than the Czechvar. Not bad, not great.

#beeradayaugust #1 -> Photo a Day - Day 3

My friend on Instagram, alice_en_wonderland came up with an idea to try a different beer every day this month. I instantly was on board with her idea. So today I'm having the Czech Republic's very own Czechvar. Which upon first taste I was unimpressed. It has 5.0% alcohol and is a lager. It tasted a little like a Heineken, which I don't really like. It's pleasant and satisfying enough, but not really worth your trouble.

Photo a Day - Day 2

Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks. This picture was taken on Friday, July 20th.

Photo a Day - Day 1

I've been on Instagram for over a year now, but I've been pretty selective as to what I put up there. I've always been fascinated by photographs and when I got an iPhone a few years ago it made things easier for me to take shots and put them up on facebook and Instagram. I like the idea behind the Photo a Day concept. But it's been difficult for me to stay on course with it. This applies to many things going on in my life. So here we go again! Here's my attempt at Photo a Day. This shot was actually taken on Tuesday, June 12th at Dodger Stadium on Mike Scioscia Bobblehead Night against the Los Angeles Angels.

Orphaned CDs

I'm a big fan and supporter of mom and pop shops of all kinds. I really believe in supporting them as much as I can. So when I come across, for example a small record store.. I have to check it out. I enjoy listening to all kinds of music so often times I always find something worth purchasing. I like knowing that I'm contributing to the local economy, but also in these much needed establishments that have interesting things to offer. I was visiting a friend out in the San Fernando Valley and I came across a music store called Orphaned CDs. I went in and started browsing finding a few things of interest and wound up buying three classic hip hop albums for $10. They were Young MC's 'Stone Cold Rhymin', 2 Live Crew's 'Is What We Are' & Tone Lōc's 'Lōc-ed After Dark'.

Video Madness

My good friend created this video for all of you to enjoy. He's an avid movie watcher of all kinds of trash. He also creates music under the name Oversized Skull. Check out his video and music.

I'm back!

I haven't had a library card in so many many years.. I had a few books that were late and that kind of started things in a bad direction. I then lost my card and then one day found that I had overdue books at my house. Great... I thought. The episode of 'Married with Children' came to mind. The one where Al finds an overdue book at his house from his childhood and decides to return it. Only for the same evil librarian to haunt him upon his return. Anyways, for some reason I've always tripped out on fees and being in good standing with the library. I returned those books many years ago. But I've always thought about where I stood with the library. After all this time, I was in Downtown Los Angeles for the May Day march. I had some time to kill and since I got off the nearby Metro Red Line.. I thought, "Why not?" So I made my way over and spoke to someone at the information desk who guided me through the process. I answered their questions, filled out the form and showed them my driver's license. Moments later, all my information was stored and I had a new library card. Ever since I was a child, I've always loved to read books and it made me so happy to be able to check books out once again. I learned my lesson and I won't take this privilege for granted. I love the library! This is so exciting!

A Great Warmth

I woke up at 4am this morning to a great warmth in the room. I slept shirtless and in my boxers. I sleep by the window in my family's living room. I took a look outside and saw the vibrant colors of a fire raging next door. I raced out of bed and into my sister's room to notify her. Only for her to walk out and then freak out at the sight of the fire. My mom went into a bit of a hysteria. I quickly threw on a jacket, shorts and shoes. I tried to find my wallet with no luck, but did snag my iPhone. I tried to snap a quick snapshot while outside and heard the fire engines making their way onto our street. I wasn't able to. My sister and I then noticed that my mom wasn't behind us and then I started noticing that our fruit tree started catching fire and that the winds were aiding in the spreading of the fire. Everyone in our building was making their way to the front of the building and we all collectively saw the action unfold from the other side of the street as the LAFD and LAPD went to work. I started thinking about key things that I might've lost then and there. Important things to me like photographs, letters and journals. The timing of this fire couldn't have been stranger to me as I went through a massive cleanup the previous day. I went through a little soul searching while cleaning and tossing things away. I held onto too many things in my life. Abandoned projects. Things that I had no intention on returning to. Ideas and projects from a different time and place. It wouldn't be honest to who I am now. About 45 minutes went by or so as I tried to reach my brother who never came home and eventually we were let in by an LAPD officer. The black smoke was thick and we made our way back. We surveyed the damage and tried to get everything back to a certain normality. Crazy start to a day.

Los Angeles Dodgers

I've been working every day since I got back from Oakland, CA. So I just spent the last seven days working and so I was looking forward to my day off. A day off in which I planned on heading over to Dodger Stadium and purchasing a pair of tickets to Opening Day on Tuesday, April 10th. I took the Metro over to Dodger Stadium and walked up the hill. I enjoyed my walk up as it's always great to see the stadium and the surrounding areas of Elysian Park and Echo Park. I made my way to the security booth and I told him that I was there to buy a few tickets. He asked for my ID and scanned it. He gave me a sticker to place on my jacket that had my name and picture printed on it. Weird, but okay. He asked me if I had ever been there... That was funny to me. You see, I practically live there. I love the Los Angeles Dodgers. So I walked up to the box office. There were a few news vans in parking lot P. So I tried to purchase a pair of tickets, but was told that they only had single tickets available. So after a few minutes of figuring it all out, I purchased my ticket. Keep in mind that this was my day off from work and so it was something that I was going to do anyways, but I couldn't help but think about how the group of bidders for the Dodgers that had Magic Johnson in it would affect and change things. There is excitement, but I know what I've been through for the so many years with the team. So I'm definitely taking the wait and see approach. I didn't like the fact that Frank McCourt wasn't completely gone. He still owns some of the land surrounding Dodger Stadium and has a say with the parking lots. I'm trying to be optimistic, but real about the situation. The Dodgers are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Dodger Stadium this year. I'm very happy to be attending the home opener this year. I made a promise to myself that I would attend at least one game in every series at Dodger Stadium this season. I tried this experiment a few years ago and I actually made it all the way to August before missing a game in a series at home. This might just be an interesting way to keep up with my progress. Let's go Dodgers!

Trayvon Martin

I first heard about Trayvon Martin a few weeks ago. I didn't stop and actually read the news article, but caught the headline and a little something about it. It was only until a week ago when I was staying in a room in Oakland, CA that I watched the story on CNN late one night. I felt horrible for not paying more attention to it beforehand. As I watched the story unfold during the news broadcast I had strong feelings about it all. I was upset by what I heard and saw involving the murder of this 17-year old young man. I couldn't believe that the shooter George Zimmerman was not charged for Trayvon's murder. Between the 911 calls placed by George Zimmerman and his neighbors as well as Trayvon's last conversation with his friend it pointed to the very least a thorough investigation of the matter. But instead Mr. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, claimed self defense and the local authorities were complacent in the matter. They failed to inform Trayvon's parents of their son's death. The 911 call placed by a neighbor was chilling to hear as Trayvon pleaded for help and his life as gunshots later silenced his cries for help. Trayvon went out for snacks during the halftime of the NBA All-Star Game. He came across George Zimmerman who reported him to police as being "suspicious" and "possibly on drugs". The truth of the matter is that George Zimmerman is a paranoid racist man who murdered an innocent child over absolutely nothing. Trayvon did not have a weapon and was found with a bag of skittles and a bottle of iced tea. Cold blooded murder. This isn't over. We cannot let an incident like this happen anywhere. To allow murder to be justified by Florida's insane "Stand Your Ground" law would be an injustice to Trayvon Martin and others who have been victims of police abuse and vigilante shooters. This is only the beginning. We demand justice!