Oh life. When you are young, especially among guys, you dream to take over the world. In college, you are thinkin’ it’s gonna be on once I graduate! Especially when you start making good money in your career, life is good: Vegas, switching from beer to top shelf, new car, nicer apartment, you can actually afford your own room in Vegas without sharing, a trip to Europe, NYC, MIA, HI, Japan, more trips to Vegas … then you realize how expensive life really is and all that shit your parents warned you about is somehow depressingly true. Several years into your career you ask yourself “wasnt I supposed to be driving a fucking Ferrari by now”? You realize this shit is tough and expectations of yourself change. Those videos of Jay-Z & Dame on a yacht in the Mediterranean pouring champagne on, ya, were misleading. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything life has blessed me with. Especially given this Great Recession, we all are more appreciative of friendships and the little things that get us through the day. But, every now and then, inspiration catches you off guard. To each their own, but growing up in Southern California, I always had a love for cars. So I open my gmail this morning and I see an email from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars titled “the new Rolls Royce Ghost has arrived” ….
and all of a sudden the day changes. Happy Monday everyone, cheers.

(courtesy of www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com)

I’ve been a long time Linkin Park fan. Many a drive up PCH, or from one end of LA to the next, with their music for some quality auditory therapy. About 5 hours ago (fascinating thing, this internet), Mike Shinoda uploaded some of his mixtapes online. Nice interface right? Enjoy.

For the track list visit http://mikeshinoda.com/2010/02/17/shinoda-mixtapes/

While all of Los Angeles seemed to converge on Downtown LA for the LA Street Food Fest this past Saturday Feb 13, the Maverick’s Big Wave Surf Competition was held at Half Moon Bay in Monterey, CA. I’ve been to the bay before, and I can’t imagine 50ft waves barreling through. FastForward to 19:16 for a few highlights of the competition:

Its also dangerous just to watch the competition; a surge of waves hit the breakwall and a bunch of people got thrown into the water!

This food truck phenomenon is getting huge and now there are a lot more players than just Kogi. Komodo was good, I didn’t even try to wait in the Grilled Cheese Truck line, and the Buttermilk truck was surprisingly good. My personal favorite was the Japanese style hot dogs from Dogzilla: gourmet sausages, furikake, bacon, guacamole, onions, and Japanese mayo on Hawaiian sweet rolls. I mean c’mon you had me at bacon & furikake! Unfortunately, they don’t have a truck yet and just pop up at events & festivals. When they do come out of hiding, do NOT miss out and make it a point to try their food!

Follow them on Twitter and be a Fan on Facebook, so you can catch them whenever they do pop up next
http://twitter.com/dogzillahotdogs
DogZilla’s FaceBook Fanpage

www.lexus-lfa.com/
www.lexus.com/LFA/
Been busy completing the Social website for an official clothing launch, but I got side tracked with the Lexus LF-A again. Great video, great pictures and the configurator is the best one Ive ever seen. A lot of crazy colors to choose from, but you know there are tons of uber-rich with horrible taste.

No this isnt a new song, but I definitely think it has staying power – it’s going to be well into March or April before this song fades. While Young Money’s “Every Girl” is a single man’s anthem, this is a better all around song. There are lyrics for your headphones, bass for your car, a catchy chorus for the clubs (you know you be singing it to your girl on the dancefloor, lol), but I think it’s Lloyd’s falsetto that makes this song (in the vein of a young Michael Jackson). Gudda looks like Twista’s little brother. Nicki’s “Barbie” diamond chain is cute. Drake is obviously the highlight verse “I race for your love, shake’n'bake, Ricky Bobby” (lol). Tyga brings that Cali swagger to the group (He is also the cousin of Travis McCoy, lead vocalist of the group Gym Class Heroes). Signing to Young Money was a good move for the LA-native; it’s a better direction for his talent than “Coconut Juice”… but who the hell who told him the orange pants were a good look??

I had a chance to visit the Magic Castle again this past Monday for drinks, dinner, magic, a performance with Ed Alonzo (we even had a drink with him after the show). For those who aren’t familiar with the Magic Castle here a quick description from their own website:

“The Magic Castle is the world’s most famous club for magicians and magic enthusiasts and home to The Academy of Magical Arts, Inc.

The Magic Castle is the showplace for some of the greatest magicians from around the globe. We also take great pride in showcasing the magnificent building that houses the Magic Castle. Built in 1908, this storied mansion has watched Hollywood grow and change for almost 100 years while never losing its original charm.” (courtesy of http://www.magiccastle.com/)
… and for HIMYM fans, NPH is a board member (we didn’t see him though)

Entrance is by invitation only from a member and luckily we have a friend who frequents. You can spend hours in the mansion exploring rooms finding magicians performing their specialty of magic. There are a few bars throughout the mansion making this a Disneyland Haunted Mansion for Adults. The performers are top notch, and can trick you even though you aren’t blinking or even holding the prop yourself!

Ed Alonzo (Max from Saved by the Bell) is headlining for the next couple of weeks at the Castle. He just finished traveling the world with Britney Spears creating illusions for her 2009 “The Circus Starring: Britney Spears” tour and usually spends his December in LA performing. It’s a great show that has as much comedy as magic.

I know I said it’s invitation only, but if you stay at the Magic Castle Hotel (http://www.magiccastlehotel.com/), you can have access to the Magic Castle. It’s a fun night with friends and a date, so check out the website for info, book a room, have dinner, drinks and watch the shows. It’s definitely different but it’s an old Los Angeles tradition that’s worth experiencing.
Check Yelp, no one has a bad thing to say about the Castle or Hotel. Enjoy.

The Lexus LF-A, Toyota’s $400k supercar, is beautiful… period. I’ve seen a bunch of pictures on the internet and none if them did this thing justice. It is very impressive when you finally see it in person. Hopefully video captures it better. It is arguably the star of the LA show; though you can hear people complain its $400k sticker is way overpriced. It may be expensive, but at a limited production run of 500 units in two years, it will be rare and its value may hold. Don’t believe? Twin Turbo Supra’s from the 90’s go for $100k+

While biking one Sunday afternoon back in October, I couldn’t miss the huge circus tents of Cirque du Soleil next to the Santa Monica Pier.

(sorry for the iPhone quality picture)

In recent years, Cirque du Soleil has used the Forum in Inglewood but has chose to return to Santa Monica for their 25th birthday. Apparently, Santa Monica was Cirque’s first US tour destination over 20 years ago and anyone who has been to Vegas can attest to the brand’s success. Last night I finally had an opportunity to watch this fantastic production of theatre, music, acrobatics and comedy. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I highly recommend you see Kooza. Honestly, I haven’t been to the “circus” since I was a kid in the Ringling Bros. days of the 1980’s and 90’s (as I’m sure most of you haven’t either), so I didn’t know what to expect. There is a definite European-esque feel and it seems very traditional; not over the top like a Vegas production. Don’t be mistaken, the show is very exciting and the comedy is geared towards adults and not children. No tigers nor dirt bikes in steel balls, but the acrobatic performances are amazing and can stand on their own merit. My personal favorite is the Wheel of Death which has you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The music is Indian inspired and the band & singers add beautiful musicality to the show. In a world where we expect $100+million Vegas productions, this is a refreshing production; especially since you can catch it locally.

The show is coming to Irvine in January and San Diego in February so get your tickets! (Look out for 40% deals that might come in the mail or emails passed around, but don’t let that prevent you from missing out on a good seat position) Schedule dinner and make a date night out of it. If you can make an LA show this month, I recommend eating and/or drinks at The Lobster with it’s view of the Ocean and Cirque tents (*see below). I suggest buying tickets for seats as close to the middle as possible because there are towers that might impede your view on the sides. It’s a pretty intimate setting, so it’s not necessary to spend the money to sit in front. I actually think sitting mid-distance affords the best perspective of the performances. Cheers!

For tickets, show times and info visit the official site:
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/kooza/default.aspx

(Image courtesy of CirqueduSoleil.com)

… and The Lobster restaurant in Santa Monica is a must visit. It is located at the entrance of the Santa Monica Pier so obviously has the best of view of the Pier and ocean. The food is tasty. There is a great oyster selection but try the Fanny Bay Oysters from British Columbia (personally I love any oyster from the Canadian Pacific). The truffle Parmesan fries and tomato crab soup were good. The Seared Day Boat Sea Scallops were cooked perfectly and the accompanying shrimp bisque sauce with home fries and lobster chunks complimented it well. The Seared Rare Pacific Yellowfin Tuna was good and I’m a fan of Hearts of Palm & shrimp salads so they had me at hello. Our server and staff was attentive & friendly so it topped off the experience. I’m disappointed I never visited earlier but am excited to return soon.

http://www.thelobster.com

The $8.5 billion Las Vegas City Center development is finally opening up. Crystals, the 500,000-square-foot luxury retail and entertainment district at CityCenter, opens today.

“We wanted to move the epicenter in the Western United States of these large, luxury retailers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas,” MGM Mirage Retail President Frank Visconti explained. “Almost every one of the tenants is larger here than it is in L.A. We never wavered from that.” Taking it from LA? Ouch.

This will be the largest Louis Vuitton in North America. At night, the exterior facade will come alive with a show made by over 4,000 LEDs. It reminds me of the extravagant retail stores in Ginza Tokyo.