Because the recession hasn't affected people's budgets as much as you'd have thought, Scion flew me halfway around the world to attend the opening of the Los Angeles Vice Photo Issue 2009 exhibition. Yay!
Above is the obligatory plane window shot. British Airways has the WORST in flight entertainment. I looked on my camera once I arrived at the hotel and I'd taken 220 pictures out of the window.
The hotel (like everything in LA) has a rich showbiz history. It used to be owned by Charlie Chaplin before he lost it in a card game to John Wayne. It was also where everybody stayed during the filming of Wizard of Oz. Apparently the munchkins slept three to a bed horizontally.
Speaking of showbiz, this is Maggie Lee taking a picture of the house that where Drew Barrymore's character lived in the Charlie's Angels remake!
And at the graffiti wall, she took pics of things you can grind on in the Venice Beach level of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2! The glamour!!!
Ewww!
Because of the time difference, I spent a lot of time waking up five hours before everyone else and wandering around in the big park by the hotel.
WTF is a "wheelchair enthusiast"?
I'm not really sure why this wall exists. I spent a good hour thinking about it. Any ideas?
LA, like most cities in the States, can morph from the ritziest neighbourhood in the world into a ghetto in the space of one block.
Maggie's entire family flew out for the opening. Hey guys!!
This was in a Casablanca-themed restaurant that sold, um, Mexican food.
One of the great things about LA is all of the spare time you accrue while driving at two miles an hour down gridlocked freeways. If you're efficient like me, you'll find ways of using it constructively.
This was by the hotel. If you were the Office of Child Development, why oh why would you use the acronym?
This is at the opening. Being socially retarded, it was one of the scariest experiences of my life. I spent most of it hiding out back with a Photo Issue over my face. I only took, like, four photos.
I did, however, venture inside to get Cobrasnaked (barf!). Does anybody else get the impression that this guy might be involved in some kind of evil hipster version of the Never Been Kissed plot? I looked on his Wikipedia and it says he was born in 1986! I don't buy it. I bet he gets home from parties, trend analyzes the pictures, and sells them to McDonald's and Nike and George W. Bush. Or something.
At some point during the after party, I discovered that my camera has some crazy mode on it that turns everyone into zombies.
I have maybe 200 pictures that look like this. Scary!
Then me and the zombies went and got burgers.
Blade was there too. The end.
PS: Thanks Scion!
i really didn't know wheelchair-bound people liked rolling over different surfaces. i would have thought they liked whatever was the smoothest and easist to roll on. now i'm wide open thinking about where someone might want to wheel. offroad wheeling? mountain wheeling. it's endless. really big tires that float on water? that would be cool.
Posted by: olga | 05/08/2009 at 20:00
What is the zombie setting?
Posted by: Tara | 05/08/2009 at 20:12
zombie mode kicks the crap out of sepia.
Posted by: photo shy | 05/08/2009 at 20:15
i love the fact he changed his name to jamie lee curtis taete. that is golden.
Posted by: whats in a name | 05/08/2009 at 20:17
fawskin,,,,,,,,,,,hahahahaah, weeping with laughter.
Posted by: bwahhaha | 05/08/2009 at 20:17
Tim Barber must already be part zombie and this is only enhancing a preexisting condition.
Posted by: RuralJuror | 05/08/2009 at 20:18
cobrasnake website is pretty embarrassing but mark is an alright guy. but yeah, that age seems suspect.
Posted by: cecil | 05/08/2009 at 20:48
i like your cobrasnake theory
Posted by: gemini | 05/08/2009 at 21:05
Is that Maggie Lees father?
Posted by: Backnurse | 05/08/2009 at 21:15
I think the wall is to stop people from driving down that track.
Posted by: Ben | 05/08/2009 at 21:45
its true british arways is shockingly bad entertainment, even the hostess were lame when i last flew with them so i had to make do joining the solo mile high club.
Posted by: going solo | 05/08/2009 at 22:12
yeh that cobra is balding a little bit too much to have been born in 86.
Posted by: bald cobra | 05/08/2009 at 22:21
It looks like a wall that people use to play tennis against when no one else is around to rally with.
Posted by: Amy | 06/08/2009 at 02:23
that was quite cool
Posted by: buttheadfacearsefacehead | 06/08/2009 at 03:35
The wall is to run at and climb over, like you're training to be in SWAT or the Marines or something like that. Duh...you really couldn't think of that as the reason for it existing there?
Posted by: your mom | 06/08/2009 at 17:58
holy crap! Blade! That's amazing. I'm still thinking about what exactly a "wheelchair enthusiast" is or does, though. lol
Posted by: Wenz | 06/08/2009 at 19:15
zombie mode?! like kids and puppies?! are you sure you didnt just fuck up your camera?!
Posted by: zombiemania | 07/08/2009 at 22:21