A rather
dry December Ski Trip to Mammoth Mountain back in 1998 has dissuaded me from going back there that early in the winter season
ever since (after the fantastic El Nino 1997 Season... my first year). And I can still hear the mocking murmurs from Stan and Alfred "Man what is this Marc. Who the hell goes to Mammoth in these conditions?". Of course in my defense, none of them so-called avid snowboarders had bothered to check the forecast neither. Of course that was over a decade ago, or, a forgotten era in which we needn't good conditions to have a reason to ski. In fact I remember saying I preferred the hard-packed man made snow over the soft powder, but of course that was only because I didn't know how to...
In this day and age, and after a decade of practice, you couldn't pay me to ski the rather cramped Mt. High (tall sure but who cares?), and I wouldn't bother with Big Bear Mountain at least until the snow accumulation went north of 12 inches... Sure sure call me an elitist, but I would rather ski three select perfect days throughout a winter season than to wade through slush every weekend...
This upcoming Winter is going to be another El Nino year, and we've already seen early signs of it throughout the Sierras and the Rockies, to name a few. Mammoth Mountain was even so bold as to open the gates an ambitious one month ahead of schedule... Only to walk away three days later with their tails between their legs, but hey that's not necessarily bad because we think it was a sign of good things to come! And right now as you read this, the Southern California Ski Resorts are already open and Ski Dazzle kicked off last night.... Wohoo!
Be that as it may, some of the El Nino years of recent past did show spottiness. Some started far too early and tapered off, while some had slow starts and finished very strong. Case in point? Yes the El Nino winter of 2004-2005... It finished off the year with 8 straight weeks of amazing conditions, yielding sometimes 2 or more impressive storms per week. And of course I was there along for the ride in each and every week! It was capped off by a nice 1 footer on the same week in which the Long Beach Gran Prix ran its annual course, and the MLB Spring Training. Yep in ran that long... It certainly was a wonderful wonderful winter. Late start notwithstanding...
I, along with a very many great faithfuls, are hoping and praying that this years El Nino, to be quite good. In fact I am banking on it because I wanna go for an early Mammoth Mountain visit this winter. Yes back to December... And for what after all these years of fantastic Jan and Feb trips? Well there is an inkling that is too difficult for me to ignore...
And for whatever reason my feelings differ this year about December than years past. I am positive it is largely because of El Nino and perhaps partly because I am hopeful. I am hopeful that whether or not El Nino precedes its spotty reputation, that December will be something to remember (as corny as that might sound...). And maybe in part because of the mocking murmurs from the 1998 December trip... And as stated in my email proposal for this possible trip "
I remember dying last year waiting for the January Trip to come as I watched December pass on by yielding enormous amounts of snow onto our beloved Mammoth Mountain, and all I could do was watch in agony". And perhaps this year could be a better
soliloquy?
As a child I dreamt of someday becoming a sports superstar. Like a Larry Bird or something. First it was tennis but I couldn't quite excel at that and not until my father entered me in a Basketball league at the tender age of 8 did I start to dream. And that was not for the lack of confidence in my backhand (my weakness in Tennis). I think he was just trying to be pro-active in sports for me, and luckily my family pedigree is somewhat athletic (and a full head of hair to boot hehe). I will never forget that Basketball Tournament because in all 12 games that I played in I attempted all but one shot, which I missed horribly btw... A rather inauspicious beginning but a beginning nonetheless...
And although I didn't quite make it to Pro Ball (not even close in fact... but hey we can dream right?) the dream endured (albeit low level) because I love the game. I did play Varsity Ball throughout my decadent High School years and played quite well I might add. I remember it like it was just yesterday, we went undefeated in my senior year. Only we couldn't participate in TAPSA (the equivalent of the State Championships here in the U.S.) because we were the host School. I know it stinks but because of previous years controversies, the host team couldn't play...
Anyway, now at 34 years of age I am still at it! And almost in the same manner like back in my teens (except of course recovery now takes days instead of hours). And like anyone who has played the game as long and as frequently as I have, I can probably say "I seen them all!". You know, buzzer beaters, miracle shots, the heartbreaking losses etc etc etc. And I have been a part of many of these games. Perhaps too many. Do you remember the scene in the Oliver Stone Football movie "Any given Sunday" with Al Pacino and Jaime Foxx? With just seconds remaining and still trailing. Tony (Al Pacino) looks over at his assistant coach, shakes his head and cries "We've been to too many of these...". Yep sometimes I feel that way. My team once lost a Championship Game on a miraculous last second halfcourt shot which pretty much petrified all of us for a good hour, at least. And I once missed a wide open layup which would have sent the game into Overtime in a do or die playoff game. Ya know the kind of stuff you replay in your head over and over again. But there is really nothing you can do but hope to get another chance. And that is why we play ball...
And what I have learned over the years isn't so much how to mold myself into possibly becoming a clutch basketball player or how to make myself more durable over a season, but rather to make less mistakes and the ability to forget stuff. I no longer allow myself to dwell on losing efforts and or heartbreaking games. For instance in the beginning of last season we played and lost a Triple O.T. game. Not only was it heartbreaking but downright disheartening. But, what it comes down to is that it is only a game as dramatic as they could tend to get sometimes. Besides if it ain't dramatic then it ain't that good of a game, is it?. In the end when all was said and done we wound up seeded 2nd in the playoffs. Not too shabby I'd say (would have been tied for first had we won that particular game though). In contrast, we started this current season a dismal 0-5, but right now we are currently in the fight for a playoff berth (1 win from it in fact).
On Thursday night on the other hand for the Copper Division with a record of 5-4, we had to win to secure a spot in the playoffs (a lower level tournament that we also participate in). But not before some requisite dramatics of course... In fact this particular season has been nothing but drama. It all started after a nice 2-1 start. After that the sky seemed to fall over us. We went through (a better word would be "suffered") a rather hellish & controversial league fee snafu and a losing streak to boot. I'm not going to divulge too many details but allegedly the funds were either misappropriated and or embezzled or something I'm really not sure. All i know is that I had to get involved and play the role of an arbitrator between two parties who didn't seem to want to concede nor come up with some kind of a feasible solution. A role I didn't particularly revel in because I had to be impartial without being completely unbiased at the same time for my team...
Anyway 7 tough games later were faced with a must win situation to secure a playoff berth (a lost would mean a 5-5 record and a tie with a team that we lost to. Which would mean NO Playoff!). Some of our teammates would argue that we are a much better team than our record would suggest, but I think the record is quite accurate if you consider our inability to make adjustments during the game (Especially offensively... I think that is out weakness). We can't seem to recognize the opponents weakness and try to exploit it, at least not without having to call a timeout. And a lot of times by the time we'd adjusted it's basically too late...
The game wound up a tough one. And when it seemed like we were in a good position to snatch a win away from an otherwise ugly game that we probably should have won comfortably, we have a mental lapse. In dramatic fashion we tied the game with an and-1 play with 7 seconds remaining in regulation. Darwin, perhaps over thinking the situation missed the free-throw shot but it had luckily bounced high off the rim. Marco fought for the rebound and appeared to be aware that we had a good 7 seconds remaining to set up a play. He held on to the ball momentarily waiting for a play to develop (very smart and poised I might add). And when something did develop (2 seconds later) it was Darwin on top of the key, wide open! Marco smartly passes him the ball, but what happened next stunned us all. In fact it stunned everyone in the gymnasium. He held the basketball on his hip (looking rather comfortable btw) seemingly to shave some time off the clock. Only there was 4 seconds remaining. Naturally we scream obscenities at him which he seemed to ignore at first and when he finally realized what was happening he did something even more weird; he passed the ball. But it was too late the buzzer had rung. Seemingly to mock us. Oh he claimed he'd thought there was 26 seconds left............
And as if we hadn't learned out lessons we had yet another mental lapse in the waning seconds of Over Time. In a tied ball game with 30 seconds remaining with the lack of a shot clock, we felt we were in great shape to win the ball game. The plan was to kill some time before setting a play to try to eliminate the possibility of a good look at the game for the opposing team whether we score or not on the possession. At 10 seconds remaining some of our players somehow decided to discuss whether we should call a timeout or not. While that wasn't necessarily such a bad idea at that point, it was the amount of time that it took that was the problem... Because right around the end of the discussion time dwindled to 3 seconds at which point we had no choice but to call a timeout. So, let's just recap what happened. "In a tied ballgame in overtime with 30 seconds remaining, it took us 27 seconds to decide we want to call a timeout. Brilliant"....
But as they say "all is well that ends well". I got fouled shooting a jumper right at the buzzer... And almost in anti-climactic fashion I swooshed the first free throw to end the game guaranteeing us a playoff berth.
So in the first round of the playoffs what do you think we did as an encore? Only the greatest comeback we ever mounted. Down by a dispirited 17 points in the 1st half, we came roaring back to send the game into two dramatic overtime periods and win it by a basket. We have a flair for the dramatic...
And so i haven't blogged in a while.... Which is interesting because not too long ago I'd have at least 4 blog entries per month. It's a true testament to the time and focus I have been giving to Photography lately and as much as I have immensely enjoyed writing anecdotes of my life it seems like that creative side of me (or at least a lot of it) has shifted to the gratifying yet extremely dissatisfying world of Photography. It used to almost make me feel uncreative when I wasn't blogging, and I think i felt that way because my mind was stagnant. How does it go "A mind is a terrible thing to waste?". Well that's sounds like something a genius would say, and clearly I am not. But the point is when i blogged I felt like I was using my mind, and now I feel the same way about Photography...
What's there to think about exactly when shooting? Well lets not get into that because quite frankly to a lot of people it's quite boring. What I do want to talk about is "Street Photography". If you are on my facebook and if you frequent my
Flickr Page i'm sure you've noticed an increasing number of Street Candids as of late. A far cry from what I use to do when I first started shooting... I used to think that I would pursue the glitz and the glamour of fashion photography, or at least I thought I was preparing too. Somewhere along the way however, I discovered that I didn't really quite have the flair of the would-be glam photographer nor the passion for it. Perhaps the personality for it too.... I was not feeling the Editorial and Commercial type either after some time. I don't know perhaps it was all a phase? Or maybe I was dellusional for some time there..... yeah that must have been it. That said, I think i'm doing okay with the Bikini Shoots though so I think that'll be sticking around (... i'm sure my photog friends would be delighted to hear that). Or am I dellusional to think they are okay too?
lolAs mentioned before in previous
photography blog entries, Shooting the Streets was what swayed me to Photography. Uninspired though the Streets would not come to me until my pal
Bradford showed me the ropes in Downtown L.A., as much as i tried to do all by myself. And once I got the hang of it I fell in love with the streets, just as I thought I would. Downtown L.A. (and Venice Beach a close second) is replete with very interesting
and often in a quite disheartening or depressing characters that really make them quite the subject. And perhaps that is what is most interesting about them. The photos that
we hope to capture would evoke emotions and tell stories (and sometimes we get really lucky...).
Yes the street is RAW. And the people that mill about are perfect in a sense because they are in an unsuspecting state. Sort of like children in play if you will (the innocence draws us in). Pure and unmolested because there is nothing contrived about them even in those fleeting moments in which you're subject seems to know you're there and is looking right at your Lens. Yes the "eye contact" is also something we strive for on the streets, and yes there is certain tecnique to it... "Subtlety and grace" (and oh a good camera and more importatly a Lens with an ultra fast AF couldn't hurt either). The eye contact not only adds drama to an already dramatic form of Photography (if not the most dramatic) but a certain sense of primeval interaction, albeit fleeting. Because street photography isn't about being sneaky
or thievery... It is Art in a most peculiar form.
See all the pics
Movies and novels are awesome because they allows us to experience vicariously a life we may otherwise never live, visit places we may never see in our lifetime, and or perhaps become superheroes or villains right in the comfort of our own homes... I have always wanted to be Ebby Calvin "Nuke" Laloosh (a.k.a. Crash) from the movie Bull Durham because he was so carefree yet so cool, or like the very
testy and poignant Detective Harry Bosch from the Michael Connelly novels and some days I wish I were Jay Gatsby himself. We all fall in love with
such characters and their
enduring stories and perhaps even with their inequities and frailty
in a way. They are the reasons why we keep watching movies and reading novels, that and the simple promise that we may find another Jerry Maguire character that we'll cherish forever or perhaps find
more entertainingly inspirational books like "Men are from Mars and women are from venus"
or dare I say "He's just not that into you" (yes I have read both...) and maybe something like the brilliant and deceptively simple "The good Earth" or another super entertaining techno thriller like "Da Vinci Code"...
Some of us love the
premise of the supernatural movies or Alien. Why? Because it gives us insights to what might be and what could be or perhaps what we want to believe. And they're just so cool aren't they? We are somewhat intrigued and maybe even infatuated with the idea and or concept of the apocalypse, though some movie versions have not been very compelling at all. And despite the numerous movies filmed about vampires and werewolves in the past we are still intrigued with the basic principles and the fundamental idea of immortality, and so we remain patrons... The latest iteration of this genre is "Twilight" (apparently a series of books as well). It is Directed by Catherine Hardwicke whose
Directorial and Production Design work comprises a very impressive list: Lords of Dogtown, Tombstone, Three Kings, 2 days in the Valley, Vanilla Sky, Laurel Canyon etc etc... So it would seem to be at least well made right? Or is it?
The basic premise is probably not something we might consider appealing (at least not the mid 20's and beyond). But if you can get over the
tweeniness of it all the movie just might surprise you... And I could see now why many have said that it would appeal more to the teenage girls than any other demographic. That
conjecture becomes pretty self evident five minutes into the movie... Or the "Unloved" as my friend and self-acclaimed movie critic Mark so crassly put it. I tend to think though that it should appeal to me because of the simple fact that it is somewhat unique. We see enough adult-like movies that a change is almost necessary
in some days. Yes a teeny bopper of a movie but the guy in the movie is a vampire and much like when they decide to make yet another Naval movie I just have to watch the
Vampire movie. Besides we haven't seen a lot of teenage vampire movies, have we?
Okay so conceptually I love the movie but how did it pan out? Well I can tell you that Adrian was right about not spending the $29.00 on the Bluray Disc and my homegirl Melissa might have been a little overzealous on the
Roeper and Evert movie review. If my memory serves me right I think she said "Beautifully Epic"
or something to that effect. Perhaps epic in the sense that the girl would have to become the undead to perpetuate their love but definitely not in the poetic or classic sense of the word. And I think Mark's crude remarks isn't necessarily precise either. He said seeing the movie was a regret...
I'd say it is a great date flick though not necessarily so for the engaged to be married.And now that I have seen it I can appreciate more the appeal of the movie. It is a fresh and somewhat
domesticated idea in the sense that the vampires in the movie found a way not only to co-exist with the humans but go to school and work amongst them as well. And to be able to do this
successfully the vampires had to find the will and a way not to feed on us (and not to mention moving away before anyone notices they hadn't aged...). I think probably the most interesting aspect of the film for me was not necessarily so much why a vampire would fall for a human, but why Edward Cullen (the main vampire) could read everyone's thoughts but Bella Swans (played by the lovely Kristen Stewart). It is interesting to me because Edward was curiously pained as to why he could not, which also seemed to be the source of his curiosity with Bella, but yet the script never quite addressed it (bad writing?).
It is a bad movie in the technical sense especially in the Ultra-Speediness of the Vampires. It was quite unreal and almost distractingly so. The whole business of "blurring" while in motion I completely loathed. When running it was animated-like in the sense that though moving in superspeed motion they almost seemed sluggish because their legs were moving way too fast (Imagine someone on an 18-speed bicycle riding on its biggest gear pedaling 300 rpm's and going only 3 mph. Yeah that was the effect...). But as cheesy as the premise and as awkward as some of the dialogues and as horrible as the screenplay and as badly choreographed the fight scenes might be, the two lead actors had an amazing romantic chemistry on screen. You might even agree if I say the two were destined to play their respective roles. Robert Pattinson who was previously known for his role in the Harry Potter series was quite likable and at times charming while Kristen Stewart played the awkward teenager as well as it could have been despite her inability to change her facial expressions in some scenes (but not overly annoying). And that is the allure and strong point of the movie. I think it is quite rare that someone like myself can sit through a movie with such a bad script and not for a minute think about turning it off...
Nevertheless, the movie with all of its flaws was quite watchable. And like I said I love the concept of the Vampire falling for a Human despite the fact they're in High School
still (...and the Dawson's Creek feel to it). I do like High School movies simply because I didn't go to High School here and I possibly tend to be a little less critical when talking about them. Anyway I wish the movie was made better not just for the sake of the fans of the Book Series but for the genre itself and its patrons
faithful or not....
Everyone has a cool phone nowadays, don't they? Me I have never much cared for them. In fact the handful of times I have stepped inside those
awful Cell Phone stores were only to replace a broken one. Otherwise I still might be sporting the same Nokia phone from back in the day...
Don't get me wrong I do see the entertainment value and the useful factor in having something like a Blackberry or an Iphone (and not to mention the coolness factor too). Internet in the palm of your hands is definitely convenient on some occasions. I can't, however, see my self using such features frequently. Emails are still fundamentally "snail mail" just without the postage stamp and as far as I am concerned it can wait until i get to a computer. I can't imagine doing Instant Message on an Internet Phone either because it is fundamentally a Computer thing too
if you ask me. Point being? Well if its important enough it shouldn't be communicated via Email or Instant Message anyway...
And no this isn't a cell phone diatribe
by the way if it's starting to sound like one. The reason for this of course is my cell phone. I'd been happy with this recent Samsung flip phone which was purchased last summer. But for reasons I don't care to ponder on, the LCD on the stupid phone met its demise. A sudden one (...I would assume because no cell phone I have ever owned murdered its own LCD screen). The small display LCD on the cell phone face was working still though so I knew who was calling and who texted but I am pretty sure you can empathize if I say it is maddening not having the ability to maneuver inside your phone. I was basically reduced to answering phone calls and for some ungodly reason they came in hordes soon after the damn thing broke. And that's not even including the people that were in the know that were just messing with me and my plight (damn those monsters!). I saw a couple of text messages from models I am currently
conceptualizing with and another from
this one girl (yeah
one girl..). Obviously the models you wanna get back too right away because they might get
confused if you take too long to respond
haha. And the
one girl well she's important so emailed her to let her know whats up...
Anyhow this all meant that I had to take a trip to the God awful cell phone store. They're awful I keep saying because every single item in every single one of these stores are overpriced. You could be looking at a four year old phone and it would still be priced around 80% its original face value. Am I starting to sound awfully cheap? Well I am when it comes to cell phones. I can and I have spent $1200 on a DSLR Lens (that would last a lifetime) without pause and $200 each for Snow Tires on my Truck (that would last 100+K miles) but AT&T would be hard lucked if they could get me to fork out more than $40 for a Phone that might last me until next summer when it decides to kill itself... So there I was prepared to spend $40 on a
new phone. That almost sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? I kind of knew too that these awful people from the awful store couldn't upgrade me to a new phone yet since my contract isn't quite eligible (10 months away from it in fact...) but I was hoping that if I were dramatic
and charming enough in my
execution that they might make a "broken phone" exception. "Hi, it seems my phone has met its demise and with our unfortunate and untimely economic situation, I am not prepared nor do I have the money to make a new purchase. Times are tough" I lamented... Of course I would be grossly mistaken...
The AT&T guy although handsome and quite witty was sullen and firm in his response. There was no negotiating with
that guy. He was as tough-nosed as former President George W. Bush was on dealing with the terrorist - There is no dealing! -. I was the
terrorist and he was not at all sympathetic to my subtle cry for help. To my dismay the cheapest phone they had in stock was a $99 Motorola Razor (The phone I despise the most). And I would dig for buried cell phones before I'd used that thing... Before leaving with my tail tucked between my legs I decided on one last attempt to coax him into helping me somehow. And this time around with a little hint of sarcasm. "Would I get the same treatment, if, say, I go to a different possibly more accommodating AT&T store?". This seemed to amuse him a bit. I felt like punching him in the face at that point just to wipe the smug look on his face
and tell a better story. But, ultimately, I decided discretion was the better part of valor. Perhaps deciding that I had wasted much of his precious time already he offered what he might have thought would get me out the door. "Listen, since you're scrapped for cash maybe you could waltz on down to Best Buy and pick up a $19
prepaid Go Phone and just transfer your sim card over?". Although I had a backup plan (take one of my co-workers old phones... I just really wanted a new phone and maybe a nice "broken phone" deal.) what he offered was actually genius. A new phone for $19 cool! Albeit lacking a lot of the the
cool features generally found on more expensive phones (like speaker phone and blue-tooth).
I suppose I am not their ideal customer who is more than willing to spend
somewhat exorbitant amounts of money on Cell Phones. Much like the four customers before myself who each picked up either the
seminal Blackberry or the
ostentatious Iphone. Perhaps one day I will join
you in the fraternity of the cool cell phone folks (Imagine that!). But as long as a new cool Cell Phone like the Blackberry cost about the same as a Mountain Bike part, a
Honda car part that might net me
Fi moh hosspoweh, a new snowboard, or even a measly DSLR Lens etc etc etc, we can forget about it...
That $19 phone believe it or not despite lacking Speakers is an upgrade from last summers Samsung phone which cost me $9.99 lol....
So i wrote this blog entry the day after my last trip to Mammoth Mountain in early March but i guess I completely forgot to publish it. Yeah a blog recession if you will...
I was a little afraid perhaps a little disappointed too because at the 7000 feet elevation (about 25 miles north of Bishop), I saw no snow on the ground. Apparently the snow level hadn't bothered below 7000 feet in the five days that it snowed prior to my last Big trip of the Ski Season. This, auspiciously and consequently, made the drive a little more pleasant otherwise. And at resort level you wonder? Well let's just say that when we ventured Mammoth's backside I was able to exact my newbie-revenge to the man called Mori Abrigo. Contemplatively this new guy has been spoiled like no other newbie before (learned, at least the basics, on relatively good snowy coverage)... So on this particular trip (officially his 9th day boarding) my intention was just that -to make him suffer just as my unavailing mentor Kris had done so terribly to me-. I couldn't exactly exact that revenge on my cousin Adrian (it's that blood thing i guess...) nor his girlfriend Trixy and especially not to his friend Michelle whom I had just met on the prior trip(we've had many newbies that have come and gone, but Kris did them all in. Not me...).
My only regret on this particular trip was that most of the guys couldn't make the dates I had picked out sigh. Just four boys this time. And you know what that means; we had to fend for our own meals (... and oh we got plastic plates and utensils). As a result breakfast was so so ( but thanks Mori haha you'd make a good wife someday as Art so eloquently put it...) and the dinners weren't so terribly delicious either. Nor was it cheap. Yeah for some reason we paid a hefty $57 for Pizza between the four of us? Bah! And inexplicably we ended up gorging on the infamous Thai Food they got in Mammoth on Friday evening (Ya beats me...). The cabin was such a mess too throughout the trip. I too can be messy but I am practically immaculate compared to these guys!! And since there was no Stan or Kris I had to take the lead on the slopes. A role reserved usually for those two (and not because they have the best sense of direction either...). That has only been the 4th trip to Mammoth ever in almost 13 years of venturing out there without either of those two so I felt a little bit at a lost... But it was a day for the Ages! If there ever was a perfect day, and I know I've told all sorts of perfect day stories before on this blog but that Thursday was truly spectacular! According to the weather forecast it was to continue to snow from Wedneday evening through Thursday afternoon. And it was not looking good on Wednesday evening because the snow was unrelentingly heavy and the winds howled like the wolves. You could even hear the tempest inside of Angels Restaurant (yes we went back!!) and if you happen to look through the window while you ate your dinner you'd never want to leave your seat. It was almost frightening I promise! On Thursday morning however the weather seemed to have a change of heart... There was no longer the howling winds and even no clouds in site like the storm was never even there. Save of course for the four feet of snow on the slopes. And I like to think Mother Nature did it or us ya know; The faithful...
And we can forget about Friday because even though it was still a lot of fun, it was pretty miserable out there. Weird too because although it was only partly cloudy the snow never actually stopped ever that day. And the winds? Well when facing it, it pretty much stopped you on your tracks and almost blew us off the mountain against it. But Thursday I can't even begin to describe. It was rare. We spent the first half of the day on the Mountain's backside laughing and crying at some of Mori's spectacular yet mediocre crashes and his inability to plow through the deep stuff. Because up in the slopes, there is nothing much funnier than a newbie stuck in some Black Diamond Pow... right Kris? The better part of the afternoon was spent in the glorious West Side of the Mountain (... or away from the Pow Pow that Mori began to somehow loathe haha).
And the best part of the trip? It was on Friday evening... Mori was seated in front of the television, a beer in hand, drifting in and out of sleep, face ashen from defeat and exhaustion. He perks up and says to me "Marc, this has been the best trip, ever...". I mean how can you not like the guy? I beat him up for a couple of days and he thanks me for it...
