Friday, October 26, 2007

photos from the city of angels

I spent the weekend in Los Angeles, prior to my Caltech tech talk.


Chateau Marmont, the bar that Elaine chose for Saturday night.


Token LA celebrity encounter! In the parking lot, we ran into Nicole, lead singer from the Pussycat Dolls.

...


Lovely LA morning with my friend's baby. My friend is half-Filipino half-Caucasian, and her husband is half-Japanese half-Caucasian, but for some reason, their baby looks completely white.

I know I'm inviting trouble (in the form of snarky comments) just by saying the word "Caucasian", but damned if I'm going to self-censor. Bring it!


My friend's backyard. This is the best house I've ever seen.


The rotunda in her house.

She excitedly showed me an interior design magazine with photos of a "dream house", which confused me because her own house looked just as impressive to me.


I like how the brunch restaurant thwarted my attempt at healthy eating, by topping the salad with a stack of onion rings.

...


I prefer the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to the Getty Museum. The Getty is high-maintaineance, with laborious parking and a 20-minute shuttle just to enter.


LACMA architecture is all high ceilings and glass. I approve!


Some of my actual friends don't look this alive.


I want to sit in this chair every day at work.

22 comments:

Soids said...

Okay, I'll bite on the 'bring it' dare ;-)

50% European
25% Japanese
25% Filipino

That's 75% pale skin genes, no?

I use to be quite upset with the terms Caucasian, since you can't prove any of my relatives came from the Caucacus mountain range. But then I heard that some neo-KKK or neo-nazi group was using the term European-American (which is factually correct for me). What's a white boy to do?

Anyway, your photographs are always top notch, even the ones you're in. How do you manage that?

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos!
"My friend's backyard": Now I'm in love. With THAT backyard.

I think your friend must be a very happy person, with that cute baby and great place to live.

About the Caucasian thing - I wonder how many of us still know to point to those mountains on a map. I 'flew' over them yesterday on Google Earth - they're so impressive :)

Anonymous said...

my god. what do your friends do to own a house as impressive as that?

Anonymous said...

I am mestizo (Filipino and White)and my wife is all Filipina. Dang if our oldest looks all 'caucasian' and our boy looks somewhere between Filipino and Arab. Genes are probablistic, not deterministic, it would seem.
And love is the same no matter what your genes are.

Anonymous said...

I believe her friend's husband is a ranking scion of the Bavarian Illuminati, or possibly the Gnomes of Zurich. But yeah, nice digs. I could see myself taking up permanent residence in the pool house, reading novels all day and living on a steady diet of Baileys, chilled gin and pomegranate seeds.

We could refer to all white folks using the Inuit term Qallunaat (literally, big eyebrows). It was typically used to describe Europeans of all stripes, but more generally refers to all non-Inuit, so it could even be used for asians. Maybe we need a special, new word that roughly translates to: eyes like dinner plates.

Anonymous said...

65% English
25% Irish
7% German
3% Cree (Native American - but our ancestors came over the Bering Strait, does that mean they're Chinese?)

My wife's history:

75% Korean
25% Chinese

Anonymous said...

of course the asian chick is admiring the white-looking baby.

Anonymous said...

Of course she does. Niniane would not even touch an Asian baby.

ishkabubba said...

what a *kawaii* baby! the house is gorgeous too. is your friend a *pre-ipo* former googler? ^^

Anonymous said...

Isn't a bit archaic, and perhaps absurd, to refer to anyone as %50 this or half of that? I am proud to be both Filipino and white, and there are no percentages or fractions involved. I am proud to have a Ma from the Philippines, a Pa from the South, I am proud to be born here and raised in both Filipino and American heritages. Though our individual differences are always important, we're all more same than different. Oh, and thanks for the soapbox, and the pictures of the beautiful baby.

Unknown said...

"Some of my actual friends don't look this alive." That was hilarious. Those friends need to get out of the office and get some more sun! :-)

Never been to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but I agree with your comments on the Getty.

Cute baby. Cuter woman holding the baby :-)

Anonymous said...

The chair looks more like a throne than something to work on a computer.

Give me a Freedom any day.


Seriously, someone give me a Freedom.

Anonymous said...

Niniane..

Stop tweaking your head in EVERY freaking picture that you are in.

Looks like timmy in South Park.

Timmerssssssss

Anonymous said...

Niniane have a huge head.

米国人 said...

What's wrong with Timmy in South Park?

TIMAAAHHH! =)

Anonymous said...

oh, come on, don't be so hard. Most chicks pose in front of the mirror to figure out what they thinkg their best angle is.

Except Eva and Sara. I'm pretty sure they don't pose cuz they look good and tasty at EVERY ANGLE!!

Anonymous said...

Those are two of the most forced smiles I have ever seen. Was Nicole a horrible bitch? She looks a bit like a man in those photos! Spill the beans!

Anonymous said...

A large number of people i (and from) the Philippines) are carrying around inside of them genetic material introduced by the Spaniards. Additionally, the Ainu of northern Japan possess many honky features as opposed to Mongoloid (i.e. blue eyes...as can the Hmong). Bottomline, who knows what genetic material will end up where. We have friends, she is Korean he honky, who have two daughters. One looks suspiciously Asian and the other suspiciously Caucasian. Maybe they have a open marriage but then that wouldn't quite add up either, now would it?

Anonymous said...

That's the most I have heard that term "honky" used in one paragraph...I think ever!?!

BTW, Honky is as bad as Nigger and shouldn't be used in proper conversation (FYI).

Anonymous said...

I never met a European American/white/Caucasian who was offended by the term "honky". It's supposed to be offensive, I just don't know anyone who toke offense. There's no way anyone thinks it's as bad as "nigger".

Anonymous said...

I think the person meant it shouldn't be used in proper discourse. The correct term is "anglo-saxon" I believe.

Anonymous said...

filipino genes r not very strong...it usually gives way to the other ethnicity

which is why half filipino-half white babies look more white

it has nothing to do with supposed spanish blood because there is very little amount of spanish ancestry in the Philippines to begin with

out of all the countries spain colonized...they did the least mixing with the natives in the Philippines...hence why filipinos still look asian

though there r alot of chinese mixed filipinos...maybe 10% of the Philippines is chinese mixed