Summer Days with the Fam

I'm loving these lazy summer weekends, plenty of quality time with family.


Lunching with Mom at the Getty Villa


A gallery of famous faces


Father's Day dinner was fantastic


Talk about camera shy


Summers are best spent at a beach house



Taking full advantage of the bike path



You can get away with a lot when you're with Grandma...



Sometimes the best part of vacation is YouTube.



Never too late to learn a new game. (in this case Speed Scrabble reigned supreme)



Breakfast is great any time of the day



EcoFest in Venice means seeing weird things

Yay for no school on Saturdays! Yay for family!

Anniversary of Funk

Wait, has it already been a year? Are you sure? Did I miss something here or did we switch to a 10 month calendar? Whatever happened, our first year of marriage flew by so fast I can still taste the lemon bundt cake from our wedding (maybe because I've been raiding the in-laws' freezer at night).


It's already been a year?!

Since we were in Newport on the 21st we celebrated our nuptials at 21 Oceanfront, a swanky restaurant just off the Newport pier with a dazzling ocean view from our table.




Now, I'm not much of a seafood guy (I don't eat seafood), but after our waiter made such a big deal about the appetizer, "it's only on the menu for a few weeks out of the whole year!", and the longing look in +1's eyes I decided to take a chance. It was soft-shell crab. Picture looking an entire crab in the face, then yanking off his arm and eating the whole thing, no cracking the shell. It's a little disconcerting but I did it and I'm proud of myself. That's how much I love my wife.


@ 21 Oceanfront in Newport Beach

I've heard that the first year is supposed to be the hardest, but I guess we got lucky because it's been a breeze so far. Come wealth or poverty, I feel that we've already had the greatest success of our lives by building a happy marriage. Raise your glasses, here's to a lifetime of years just like this past one. Cheers!


My wife is HOT!

...that's Master of Funk, thank you very much...

As of last Friday this blog is now known as "Master of Funk".


Mortarboard hats are awesome. Why can't we wear these things all the time?

That's right, it's official. I finally received my MBA from UCLA. No more late nights and long weekends on campus, no more missing out on get-togethers and nights out because I have homework, no more telling my wife "I'll be home a little later than I thought." No, now you're all going to have to get used to seeing a lot of me. I'm coming over, whether you like it or not. I might hang out and just watch TV at your house. It's okay if you want to go to bed, I'll lock up the place and check on the refrigerator. Is it okay if I borrow this?



It was great having my Mom in town.

And what a great time to be graduating with an MBA. The Dow is almost up to 8900, just a wee bit shy of its high of 14165. I hear businesses are growing like gangbusters in China. And there's considerable demand in both the home foreclosure and prison guard industries. It's almost as promising as my last decision to go into aerospace right after 9/11.


We celebrated that night in style at Josie Restaurant in Santa Monica

All sarcasm aside though, I couldn't be happier with my experience at UCLA. 3 years flew by. I learned some things I know will change my career and my life. I met some amazing people, had fantastic professors, extended myself further than I thought I could, and am leaving more confident and stronger than when I came into the FEMBA program. And with tuition reimbursement from my company it's just a win-win-win for me. If I could do anything different I'd have worked harder to network with my fellow students, the ones I am close with have been such a gift.



+1 went above and beyond with her cupcakes

+1 being the amazing planner she is threw me a graduation party in Irvine, preparing the most deliciously sweet pork tacos with cilantro-lime rice. Top that with her dessert of buttercream frosted chocolate cupcakes with those perfect little mortarboard hats and throw in family and friends to boot and it was such a fun night.


Could these be any more perfect?



I didn't get nearly enough family shots!

ARTWALK Culver City

Photos from ARTWALK Culver City
March 30, 2009 (More info)


In Culver City stretching East from the Helms Bakery district in the vicinity of Washington Boulevard and La Cienega there are more than 30 art galleries nearly door to door.

Upcoming Events in Culver City
The Culver City Music Festival
Thursdays from 7-9 July 9th - Sep 3rd
@ the Culver Blvd City Hall Courtyard (Map)



Culver City Art Walk

This area, formerly lined with run down industrial and warehouse buildings, auto shops, and such, has achieve a critical mass of sorts with great restaurants, tree lined streets and exceptional art drawing people of all types.




That jazz is so smooth!

We were lucky enough to make it down here for the annual ARTWALK, when most of the galleries are open from 12 to 8 with a number of afterparties extending the hours even later.


Looking closer at this plain pattern reveals it is made up of soldiers

Even with the popularity of this event we didn't have much trouble finding a parking space close enough. Maybe that's part of why this place is blowing up, convenience. It's cheap, right off the freeway and easy to get around.


Bands around each corner

With the Arts District, Helms Bakery District, its revitalized downtown with historic theaters and tree-lined boulevards,Culver City is one of my favorite places in LA. If only we had bought something here 10 years ago is the same sad song heard so often...


Somebody's ready for a rumble...




We were all impressed by this mobile




These mobiles look like they were made with a laser




Which way to the art?




I can't feel my face

Culver City Links
Culver City Gallery Guide
Culver City Gov't Site - Good source for upcoming events
Downtown Culver City - Has info and links for showtimes, services, restaurants, maps, etc...
Wikipedia entry for Culver City - also has a huge set of external links for more info on Culver City

Cinespia Cemetery Screenings 09!

Cinespia Cemetery Screenings 2009
Saturday nights at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (map)
$10 donation + $5 parking
Calendar of upcoming screenings


"I see movies with dead people."


The mortuary wall actually makes a pretty terrific screen, plus it's fun to see a classic movie like this with an audience.

I couldn't think of a clever way to describe seeing a movie in a cemetery so I decided to put it in verse. Here goes:

What walks, and stalks, and creeps at night,
yet lives six feet below?
Where those interred are free to fright,
and Hollywood Forever go?

The crypt's dark visage is betrayed,
when on grand wall now is displayed,
the spirits of the silver screen,
like zombies loose on Halloween,
and mortals sit in great delight,
they gather here in the moonlight.

A seance do they now perform,
to watch the stars here be reborn,
with popcorn they salute the dead,
on the grounds where they now bed.




The screenings draw a substantial crowd so make sure and get here early before all the good spots are gone!



The scariest part about seeing a movie in a cemetery had to be this freakishly huge spider by our blankets. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it!


Ah, what a cute couple.

Vencie Art Walk 2009

I think I might actually like the Venice Art Walk more for the opportunity to walk through artists' homes than for the chance to look at their art. +1 and I volunteered for a few hours on Sunday morning then toured a few homes later that afternoon after Church. If only there were more time, these homes were so cool!


A couple of the houses we visited had a wide assortment of hanging lamps in their backyards



It must really pay to be an artist in this town, these homes are awesome



If I were a kid I'd totally make friends with whoever lives here



Some Art Walk people really made themselves at home at people's houses, like this lady just maxing and relaxing in the chair. I meant to ask here if there was anything good in the refrigerator.



When in Venice, paint Venice



I've always thought the bridges of downtown LA were cool to look at



Though I admire the artist's technique and color choice, I wonder if +1 and I could maybe do something like this ourselves. We'll have to give it a try.




The artist at this home also grows moths



Everyone needs a rec room like this, it's like a house behind your house



Only my Sunday Best will do for Art Walk

My wife can cook...

I felt a certain sense of guilt eating this food on Mother's day when I'm pretty sure I should have been the one cooking, but that didn't make the food taste any less delicious!


This should be in a family home evening manual

+1 prepared glazed chicken and roasted sweet potatoes with Peruvian chickpea cakes. Add a salad with fresh home-made dressing (a Conley family brew) and finish it off with some home-made vanilla ice cream and brownies and you're looking at a pretty good reason to skip weighing in tomorrow morning on the Wii Fit.


Time spent at the culinary classroom is really paying off



Dinner is served

Yay for mothers! (and daughters that know how to cook!)