Beyond Beyond Well Being

Took me a few months to get this uploaded, but this was taken on Memorial Day, adjacent to the Santa Monica pier where every Sunday an organization puts up a wooden cross for every soldier killed in the War of Terror (sic). They call it "Arlington West".

No image manipulation here, those are some bright wild California poppies. My traveling companion for the day takes in the majesty of the high desert's brief but intense blooming of the poppies. Poppies... poppies... poppies...

Cherry blossoms in bloom at Lake Balboa, a park in The Valley. Here I am waiting patiently for fairies to appear.

Had some good rains in early 2008 in Southern California. While they did little to alter the long-term drought we're experiencing, they did have a positive effect on the potency of the wildflowers this spring. Sorry I don't know what these flowers are called, but they smelled like a candy store.

Greg's a good friend with whom I share a long personal history. He comes from a very musical family, the Khachaturyans. His great grand uncle (or something like that) was the Armenian composure who wrote the Sabre Dance. Greg's dad is an expert Jazz pianist and his mom has a natural talent for dance. Now that Greg has come of age, he has discovered within himself a blues harp player.

OMG, he's incredible! More on that in the YouTube video. First, it's time to document our afternoon together building the coveted iMic!

As a warm-up to the day's festivities, Greg gives me The Finger. No, not THAT finger, but still a finger.

I'm guessing that the use of angular script as a title to a building began as a fashionable thing in Beverly Hills, at least locally. Here's an image of what I presume is the inspiration behind what follows: The Beverly Hills Hotel.

"Riviera" says Rich, but the stars say Space-age!

Mmmm... Cheese cans.

I didn't realize that there was a theme shaping up as I take in Santa Monica's house names. These three all have a Cuban theme.

The first is simply exclaiming "Fidel". Really pretty look of bold revolutionary communist red with a nice little star.

Next, we have a mention of Cuba's capital, Havana. However on this house, they don't stop there. No, this is Alta, or UPPER Havana (Habana). These people are obviously of superior breeding, not interacting with the riff-raff of Baja Habana. Good for you, and welcome to Santa Monica!

And finally, inspired by Fidel, we have the iconic mug of Che Guevara atop the words "Sierra Maestra". This translates literally to "Mountain Master". Not sure what the context is behind the artwork here, but there it is.

What's a Genorge? Oh, about two or three pounds. No, wait, that's a HenWay. Genorge might translate to "The Norwegian". A little difficult to decipher Norske website's words. Still, it's a cool architectural element on an apartment building in Santa Monica that has always intrigued me.