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So there I was.
I never expected to see the almighty City of Sin like this. As if another Las Vegas had existed all this time, yet never able or aware that it had existed. But there I was, standing atop the world, surreal.
I breeze through the 179 and hit Interstate 17 again to be on my way to Vegas. I started noticing dark clouds as I climbed the highway to the peak of the mountain range. I figured that it couldn’t start raining right? I spoke too soon. It sprinkled a bit and nothing that I would actually call “rain”, but the winds blew up and I felt at times as if it would knock me off the side of the road. It was a good contrast from everything that I was photographing from the past couple of days or so.
And now, Vegas…
Some compositions I took on the road to and from Sedona.
Believe it or not. I was taking pictures of the landscapes in Sedona, when a giant white chicken off the side of the road caught my eye. I wasn’t on peyote so I knew that I couldn’t have imagined it. I busted a bitch and cautiously pulled into a parking lot.
As if all the brands in the world had thrown up in this one parking lot, here were worlds of old sign-posts of the most Americana of American brand names. I was immediately taken back. As I snapped away, I realized that the place was actually a gift shop in the town of Oak Creek, near Sedona call Son Silver West. http://www.sonsilverwest.com The shop somehow had this magnetic draw to it, as if it was almost mystical. I would surely pass through again if I have the chance.
My next stop was Vegas, so I contacted my cousin Mel so that I could crash at her place for a couple days. She said it was cool and even suggested that we should go to Red Rock Park there in Henderson. Awesome, but before we hung up I mentioned that I was in AZ. She suggested that I she likes to visit Sedona when she’s up here. I did a little research with my $14.95 Wi-Fi and figured that the place couldn’t be more than 2-3 hours from where I was staying. So from Scottsdale, I traveled North on the I-17 and took a route off exit 298 to AZ-179. I soon found out what my cousin was talking about. If ever there was a place where the rocks touched heaven, this was surely one of them.
Just saw this on another blog earlier. Awesome billboard and it’s a local ad too! Somebody just got a raise.
So admittedly I’ve been spoiling myself for the past couple days staying here at the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale. Yes, they have an adult pool, and a golf course, and WiFi, and a spa, and tennis courts, etc. But tomorrow I’m heading back on the road to Vegas where I’ll be meeting up with my cousin Mel and plan to go to Red Rock Park. Before that I’ll be stopping off at Sedona here in AZ to snap a few picts of the desert. Hope there aren’t any fucking SNAKES.
Anyway, here are some compositions I snapped while walking around the hotel. Very well designed structure. I must visit this place for a vacay again soon.
Some picts from the Road on the Interstate 10
Picts from Joshua Tree National Park 2009
More picts from Music Loves Fashion party at the Riviera in Palm Springs.
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- Buff Belvedere
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- Jus Ske on the move
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- Desert Dancing
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- “I had no idea this was your cousin!”
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- “So hot, it’ll burn straight through”
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- Julez
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- Fuck Dos Equis, this is the most interesting man…period.
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- Jus Ske
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- Jus Ske & The Posse
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- The Fabulous Matt Colon
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- Step Step Step & Repeat
There’s something about shouting at the top of my voice and hearing neither an echo or anyone shouting back that is quite a humbling experience. The desert was awesome; more awesome than I expected. On my trip to Joshua Tree I tried to take some snaps in the spirit of Ansel Adams without getting caught up in the loneliness of the whole trip. I rode along listening to John Mayer’s Continuum, trying not to think about the long trek throughout the park despite the steady stream of sunshine beaming through the West end. The temperature was surprisingly low being it the high desert and all. I thought about rattlesnakes and coyotes, and even chickened out on a few trails because of the fear of solidarity. I guess it’s not worth it to be all alone huh?
I got to Palm Springs around 3:30pm, settled in at my brother’s pad, and got ready to go to the party that my buddy Matt was throwing with Dim Mak and 55DSL at the Riviera. But first, I had to pick up more memory cards for the Nikon and searched for the nearest Radio Shack. When I got there I found something quite unusual. As if I stepped into the movie set of the Day of the Dead; you know, the part when the survivors are in the mall, but everything is closed and no one is around? Well, imagine that in Palm Springs. Kinda freaky.
And speaking of FREAKY…after, I headed to the party at the Riviera Resort to snap some picts. Couldn’t get in at the door as it was a la packed up the waz, but I saw my ex co-worker Julie and she grabbed me a wristband.
I don’t know where I should begin this, so I’m just gonna start.
I’ve been thinking about vacation for a while. I was actually planning to go to Amsterdam and Europe for a week during Spring Break, but when I actually got a chance to plan it, the cost would have been around $3Gs. A struggling student doesn’t have that sort of cash; heck, even when I was working didn’t have that much cash. So I opted to take another route and take a road trip. But where?
I’ve always wanted to fly all the way to the East Coast, rent a car, and then travel cross-country back to Los Angeles. The trip itself would take about a week, but the experience would last a lifetime. I mean, driving cross-country? How awesome does that sound!? So I did a little research, but found out that the trip would actually cost the same if I would have gone to Amsterdam.
Without hope for a Spring Break trip, I started to evaluate the reasons why I wanted to take a trip in the first place. This was actually easy to answer––to get away. Yea, no shit Sherlock; but why did I want to get away. Because I was tired. Tired of what? And low and behold, a blasphemous thought entered my brain. I was tired of ADVERTISING.
“WHAAAAAT?!”, I thought. How on earth could I think such a thing! But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I work myself to the bone at school and I thought, heck why not take a break from the whole wish-wash of Advertising, Advertising, Advertising for once. I’m really sick and tired of it when I come home to rest anyway. And even then I can’t really take a break from it. Think about it–it’s fucking EVERYWHERE.
A couple of friends of mine went to Cuba and told me that there is no Advertising to be found–ANYWHERE. Yes, there is propaganda and government pamphlets, but everywhere you look otherwise, things are as untouched as it was in the 1960s. The thought of one day seeing that sort of flip side in Cuba has fascinated me since.
I didn’t have enough money for Cuba, so I settled on the next best thing–The Desert.
Well, my 3rd term is over and I am tired. I’m officially a sophomore (well, sorta) and getting ready for the break. I just wanted to share some picts from the last couple of days.
I was thinking about eating after all the festivities, and when I got home I found some take out; I promptly pummeled that shit.
10:00pm
10:16pm
Fucking entertainment majors man! These guys are NUTS! So very talented. This is from the past Super Thursday. The art is proprietary. So no biting bitches! Enjoy.
Email me if you want to take down pictures because of copyrights. rdavid [a] artcenter.edu
Beautiful compositions are everywhere!
