so this really is the last installment of photos from my July trip to the desert
these are all of the Holga pics I took

if you've missed any of the photos you can simply go back to my older blogs starting july 18

LA












Joshua Tree






Pioneertown



Palm Springs tram hike





Vegas




and the rest of these are actually from around here

Poconos





Astoria







ohh and I got the new Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul...I LOVE IT!
listen to it!

the last of the pics from my july trip to the desert!
(ok not quite..there will be one more with the Holga pics..but I finally got thru the 3300 photos! yay)

Vegas

Luxor


poolside...my daquiri was called Miami Vice


Downtown Vegas









We saw Crazy Girls at the Riviera



Paris (Vegas) blueberry pancakes...yummiest ever!!



Ghost town
I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't a deserted ghost town..but (judging by the cars and fixed up homes) was probably inhabited by maybe 50 people..though I didn't actually see anyone until I passed the local saloon...
it was eerily quiet except for trees scraping against rusty buildings and the wind.




I couldn't decide which one I liked best..so I'm posting all 3!







there's a video bobby took of me by these abandoned buildings..I was trying to peek into the window when something jumped out at me...

Red Rock Canyon



I think I once had wings...







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Bobby and I are going to Woodstock for the weekend...it was his bday on wednesday.
as luck would have it, it happens to be the same weekend as the Woodstock Film Festival!
I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing...we'll see what happens.

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Sarah Palin is an idiot

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been watching lots of scary movies

and tv shows: (tho i'm not caught up on some so dont' spoil!)
fringe
trueblood
heroes
californication
supernatural
pushing daisies
sons of anarchy..not sure i like
twin peaks season 2 dvd

read Twilight...i was wary..thought it would be stupid..i liked it...i love vampires and it kind of made me giddy like a 16 yr old girl...but now i'm not sure about the film...looks a bit silly..we'll see..and nikki reed..ew..what happened to her?

currently reading: something wicked this way comes by ray bradbury

more new pics from my july trip to the california/nevada desert

Joshua Tree National Park




this second version is slightly blurred..you can probably see it better in it's larger version


near Gram Parsons' tribute site at Cap Rock



Joshua Tree Inn --where Gram Parsons spent his last night


...in Room 8


which btw is also where Lorelei shot her grievous angel set




Dinosaurs in Cabazon!
(featured in Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Oasis' Supersonic video )








in the mouth of T Rex (which is much much smaller than potrayed in Pee Wee's Big Adventure...that was a soundstage)



on the way to Vegas


initial view from our first room at the Luxor on the 4th floor

this is actually the best part of the view..once the sun went away..it was a dull grey wall..i was not having it...we moved up to a higher floor with a view the next morning

lounging poolside at Luxor


Peppermill mmm


Bellagio
neat fountain







the Mirage...where I saw the Beatles' Cirque du Soleil Love

the REVOLUTION lounge...yep..Beatles themed


Lake Mead


the Hoover Dam..and now I can say I've been to Arizona!

more new photos from my desert trip in July!

as usual, you may need to right click and view photo to see the entirety of most images!
or look at my latest blog on myspace


the sink in the bathroom of the Wondergarden Cafe near Joshua Tree National Park where we got refreshments before entering the park



Joshua Tree National Park














leaving the park en route to Cabazon (where the dinosaurs are!..next time)

I have sooo many more pics to post from my trip last month..almost 2 months ago now! but I can't find the time or energy to finish going thru them...I will..but I would've liked to have been done by now.

I suppose i could post the handful i have done, but it won't be with a story or anything..

alright..

first ...
Yanna kinda looks like me in this pic!


I watched Neil Young's Heart of Gold documentary/film...I've loved Neil Young anyway..but it only reinforced how much I love him...listening to him tell some of the stories behind his songs..very touching..i'm so emotional haha. he seems like such a nice old man.

I recently watched Splendor in the Grass -- 1961 Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood...what an attractive pair!


that film also featured Zohra Lampert as Warren's onscreen wife at the end..never really heard of her before, but she was in another old film I just watched...a horror from from 1971 called Let's Scare Jessica to Death.


hmm...I thought there was more (more interesting things) I was going to say..but I can't remember of course..too tired.

life is a little weird right now..seems like most of my close friends' lives are in a sort of disarray.
that always makes me feel like mine should be too.

I've been listening to: (last 7 days according to my last.fm with the most listened at the top)

Neil Young

Otis Redding

Bob Dylan

The Zombies

Emitt Rhodes

Beck

Elliott Smith

The Beatles

Dennis Wilson

The Velvet Underground

Journey

Janis Joplin

Joni Mitchell

The Beach Boys

David Bowie

ok anyway...i'm just gonna post some pics now

(note: right click and view image to see entire photo!)

these are from Joshua Tree National Park:

Skull Rock



Cholla Cactus garden







Hike to Mastadon Peak




this is my favorite from this batch...from the top of the Peak...in the distance you can see a body of water..that's the Salton Sea

more coming soon!!

I've gotten thru some of the photos
so I've decided to post a little bit at a time so I don't overwhelm myself or you!

note: it looks like my photos are too large to be seen in entirety on this blog, so right click and view image to see the whole thing
cos some of the best parts are cut off!!
especially in the LA tree part

ugh seriously! as I scrolled through more and more I realized this display of my photos is completely butchered! SG needs to make the blogs wider!
you'll be able to see the same blog on my myspace if you want

LA

Four'n 20: a cute pie diner in North Hollywood on Laurel Canyon Blvd. where we ate breakfast


Elliott Smith memorial wall on Sunset




"I'll fake it through the day with some help from Johnny Walker red"










then on to my favorite tree in LA on Franklin



I match the leaves



this also looked cool negative and solarized




this one too




Venice
"I <3 NY"

hula hoops eh?






I really liked this





say hi


underexposed, but I like how it looks like it's about to storm





Pacific Coast Highway through the sunroof



Barney's Beanery with Ranee
for some reason (probably because I was a little buzzed and running on very little sleep) every picture we took with her phone I looked absolutely retarded in with my eyes half closed
so here are some shots with the powershot




the next morning before heading out to the desert, we drove around a bit

we had breakfast at the 101 Coffee Shop




but apparently "you can't take pictures in here"

and that was after I tipped her 25%!

Wonderland Avenue


I'm pretty sure one of these houses is where the Wonderland murders occurred




I'm not sure which house Jim Morrison had lived in or I'd have shot that too of course!

Mullholland/view of LA



Bobby said this looks like a house where they film porn haha





on to the desert: Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, Yucca, Pioneertown

you know you're there when you see wind turbines


and also your temperature will read in the 100s!






when we finally arrived at the motel, this is what I saw when I got out of the car



I relaxed on the bed for a bit before we headed out to Pioneertown for dinner, drinks and live music at Pappy & Harriet's










inside Pappy & Harriet's


this isn't a good picture..it was too dark in there..but I liked this painting that hung over the bar


Gram Parsons who was of course a large part of my Joshua Tree soundtrack



a local band, Thriftstore Allstars play there alll the time



afterwards we took more pictures outside




California stars


this should totally be a new ad for Mastercard!!! don't you think?! I love it




the next morning we headed out to Palm Springs


first we stopped and had breakfast at the Water Canyon Coffee Co.



I love that orange wall behind me and the painting above it

this is upstairs..I also love this creepy drippy painting..if I lived here I'd sit in this chair when I went for coffee

I want these chairs!


this amused me

it was hanging on the outside wall of the coffee shop with a bunch of other flyers

as we headed into Palm Springs the temperature climbed to 112!!


no sooner than we got there I needed a refreshment: Ignition Coffee shop



we walked around in the unbearable heat for a bit then went to take the Aerial Tram 8500 feet above the desert floor to where it was 30/40 degrees cooler!!
it was absolutely beautiful up there..spectacular views and perfect hiking weather!








this tree led to a wicked viewpoint





stop for a little snack



Meet Jeff! haha

this tree smelled like ice cream!







I love my wide angle lens




like I said there's much more to come

there's still shots from Joshua Tree National Park, Cabazon, and Vegas!


on an unrelated side note..I love Swingtown, Trina is hot and I want her wardrobe!

I can't find any good captures from the show right now
but if you watch it, I'm sure you know what I mean.

I'm back...unfortunately!

I took sooo many photos
I have almost 3300! photos to sort thru
so I have no idea when I'll post some

I had a lot of fun
it was super hot once we left LA...over 100 degrees every single day..usually about 110...highest was 115
but still better than being here in nasty humid NYC
seriously it's so gross here
even at 87 degrees it feels worse than the 110 in the desert
and my hair just doesn't cope well with humidity
it looked great out west no matter how hot it was
so..when can I move to LA?

I was only in LA for a day, but I got to see the lovely Ranee
unfortunately tho, Amanda was sick so I didn't get to see her.
other highlights I'll talk about when I post photos.

Joshua Tree was beautiful
I'll talk more about it when i post photos
but the highlights of the area were:
--Pappy & Harriets' in Pioneertown (which I knew about because of Lorelei and I always remember her Joshua Tree Inn/Gram Parsons set) where we ate and drank and saw the house band, the Thriftstore All Stars
--Joshua Tree National Park of course
--the Wheel Inn Eat in Cabazon...featured in Pee Wee's Big Adventure ..with the huge dinosaurs outside!
oddly I can't find a video clip on youtube of this, but I'm sure you remember
tho now they've gone and messed it up by building a fence around the back of the T Rex and creating a backyard adventure thing
and you can walk up inside the T Rex and see thru his mouth, but it's not like in the movie
that part was a soundstage...it's A LOT smaller than that!

the desert, the diner, and the dinosaurs are also featured in Oasis' Supersonic video way back in 1994/5


and Vegas was fun...
most mornings we started the day at the pool
I did have a couple celebrity sightings..of course: clad in black leather, Jenna Jameson and her bf Tito Ortiz (an ex fighter i didn't recognize, bobby did..tho he didn't recognize Jenna) walking out of Hard Rock, Carrot Top (if you count him as a celebrity haha) exiting the Luxor (where i stayed and he has a comedy show nightly) to the parking lot
it's weird cos I remember Carrot Top when he was scrawny..and now he's grossly 'roided out (or just tons of plastic surgery and synthol injections) with black eyeliner and a tall blonde on his arm...still not attractive.
we went to surrounding ghost towns, Red Rock Canyon and the Hoover Dam
but didn't make it out to Death Valley..too far away and we were warned that it's far too hot, and it's best to go in the cooler months

we saw the Cirque du Soleil Love show (the one with the Beatles' music) which was absolutely amazing and I cried haha
and we saw Crazy Girls (a classic topless show) at the Riviera

I won some money, but lost it trying to win bigger ..haha oh well
downtown Vegas is really cool with little old motels, wedding chapels, and casinos all lit up in Neon lights the way old Vegas (and even Times Sq.) used to be.

Vegas gets kinda old after too many days there though
and maybe it was the heat, but i found myself exhausted really early most days

my sleep is all messed up
I slept most of the day yesterday
and still slept straight thru my alarm and didnt get up til 2pm today
i hate that
and I have to try to get to bed early tonight cos i have to get up by 4.30am for work tomorrow
le sigh

those are not with the new lens...
but I took them the other day

I decided to go with the canon 10-22 for my new wide angle lens
there will be plenty of pictures with that when i come back from my trip to the california desert and vegas


I'm leaving in a few hours!

randomness...

I was browsing my local bookstore here in astoria last week looking for nothing in particular and found this vintage copy of No One Here Gets Out Alive amongst several random paperbacks in a dark stairwell. It was amazing that I found it..but I did.
It's by Danny Sugerman...the guy who wrote Wonderland Avenue which I read recently.

but it's awesome..it's from 1981 and it was only $1.99!!
not sure when i'm gonna read it yet..but

currently finishing up Little Miss Strange


next I'm going to read On the Road by Jack Kerouac
which I borrowed from Catherine

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shortly after I got my haircut, Kalifornia came on tv and I do love that movie
both david duchovny and brad pitt are young and attractive (and still are attractive for that matter...when is Californication coming back?!)
and michelle forbes is hot with her short hair and camera

I guess she smokes a lot in the film...




but yeah...it made me think of my haircut, tho mine is thinned out a bit and not as poofy
and a tiny bit longer in front

after i first saw this, i wanted to dress all in black and take pictures
hehe

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I got new sandals today


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took this pic on my way to the city this afternoon

i find myself taking a lot of pictures of this particular spot while i wait for my train...tho usually it's been at sunrise..


*****************

I wear my sunglasses at night...



got a new pair of sunglasses for 6 bucks which is much better than the 20 i was going to spend online for a similar pair
****************

bobby said something really funny last night...he's so retarded sometimes
he sounded like forest gump: (so imagine it in that southern accent..cos that's how I keep saying it when I make fun of him haha)

"I don't like fancy things...that's why my favorite color is brown"

hahaha..i mean you probably had to be there

we were putting scoops of cookies and cream ice cream into bowls and i asked if he wanted chocolate syrup and that was his response
but i mean how does that even make sense?
and what does his favorite color have to do with him not liking fancy things
hahaha
it cracks me up..
just a "re-re" moment for bobby

****************

1 and a half weeks til the California desert and Vegas with a one day stay in LA at the start
can't wait yay
it will be so hot
but i want to take a lot of pics

I'm hoping to buy a new wide angle lens before I go

I shoot with a Canon Rebel XT
I've been thinking about the Sigma 10-22mm f/4-5.6(cos it's 200 bucks cheaper than it's Canon version)
or
Canon EF 35mm f/2 cos it's cheap $240 vs $500 of the Sigma..but not as wide...but better in lowlight

but i also heard the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is good which is around $400

can anyone help me out?
I leave on the 27th but I'd like to go get it this week...maybe friday
so any input would be great!!

so i finally got my holga pics developed
a couple didn't come out and a couple weren't that great

LA:




Astoria (NY):



and here is catherine and I at Niagara in the photobooth


hm..i was sure there was more i wanted to say, but i can't think of it

oh..anyone else watching Swingtown?
hehe
of course i have to give it a try..it's 70s..and swinging...like the Ice Storm
2nd episode is tonight..i'm tivo-ing it..i'll watch it later

and Grant Show with a 70s porn 'stache hehe
the daughter is kind of hot too


2 weeks til Cali and Vegas!

ps.

sooo HOT

lainey