Los Angeles Highlights Part 4 - Amoeba Music

• Los Angeles Highlights Part 1 - Venice Beach Boardwalk
• Los Angeles Highlights Part 2 - Wacko's Soap Plant / La Luz De Jesus Gallery
• Los Angeles Highlights Part 3 - Brite Spot

I don't know why I haven't thought to write a highlights about probably my favorite place to spend money at in Los Angeles, which has to be the beautiful, the magical, the awesome store known as Amoeba.

PART 4 - AMOEBA MUSIC

"amoeba music (sprocket rocket)" by veejaye on Flickr

Amoeba Music - Hollywood

6400 Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

90028

(323) 245-6400

Store Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30am - 11pm, Sun 11am - 9pm

Trade Counter Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30am - 9pm, Sun 11am - 8pm

                                                  Amoeba Music - San Francisco                     Amoeba Music - Berkeley

                                                               1855 Haight St.                                     2455 Telegraph Ave.

                                                           San Francisco, CA                                             Berkely, CA

                                                                     94117                                                           94704      

Amoeba website | Amoeba wikipedia

The first Amoeba opened up in Berkeley in 1990, then the San Francisco store in 1997, and finally the Hollywood branch on November 17, 2001. I can easily tell you from years of experience that Amoeba in Hollywood is one amazing store for music lovers, filled to the brim with CDs, vinyl records, posters, DVDs, blu-rays, VHS (lolz!), t-shirts, record players, music and movie memorabilia, record players, books, zines, magazines, etc. etc. 

The very first time I went to Amoeba I remember just being completely floored by how huge (and tall!) the whole store is. There are tons of people carrying records in baskets or by their plastic cases's long ends, wandering around looking at the walls covered from floor to ceiling with posters, listening to hard to find vinyls, and scourging the rows and rows of music for the best price or finest copy. 

I've taken a few people for their first trips to Amoeba and I love the way their faces look when they first walk in. The store is a huge maze of stuff and to find what you are looking for might take a while, but you'll find other great things along the way. 

Take your old CDs or movies to Amoeba and they'll give you an estimate of a cash return for them or pure store credit (which is what I always opt for) and browse to your heart's content! Amoeba is a true place for hardcore music lovers, be warned! I was once asked by a fellow customer about what type of record player I owned and what program I used to convert the vinyl music into MP3s for my computer, to which I blanked on completely and looked like a complete idiot mumbling about how my record player was awesome but I couldn't remember the brand name of it. 

Amoeba has lots of live shows plus signings for movies, soundtracks, records, and books as well as selling the best music in town.

My advice for visiting Amoeba for the first time is: park downstairs in their garage parking (sometimes it says it's full, but it's not, believe me, just wait in line for someone to leave, I've never had to wait more than 3 or 4 minutes), and head up their record and graffiti filled stairwell to the store, giving you the full Amoeba-effect! Head in the back room for blues music, more posters, and t-shirts, the bottom floor for general rock CDs and vinyls, plus world music, show posters, odds and ends, discounted DVDs, the exchange counter, and the top floor to get a good view of the walls covered with posters and rare vinyls, and a room full of DVDs and blu-rays. I also advise to be sufficiently supplied with cash or card, because you will always find something you cannot live without. 

"Amoeba Hollywood" by John Megliorino on Flickr

"Amoeba music." by ancient history on Flickr

"Amoeba Music Hollywood" by Mulling it Over on Flickr

"Amoeba Music Hollywood" by Mulling it Over on Flickr

"Amoeba Music, Hollywood" by jleverett (john) on Flickr

"Amoeba Music Hollywood" by Mulling it Over on Flickr

"Amoeba, Hollywood, LA" by amyjanet66 on Flickr

"Amoeba Music | Hollywood, Ca" by beaucolburn on Flickr - click for larger size!

"amoeba recrods hollywood ca" by dianajonesss on Flickr

"Amoeba Records" by louisecostello on Flickr

"November 11th, 2010 | Autograph Signing at Amoeba Music - Hollywood, LA" by Edgar Wright on Flickr

"November 11th, 2010 | Autograph Signing at Amoeba Music - Hollywood, LA" by Edgar Wright on Flickr

"Shonen Knife @ Amoeba Hollywood 9. 14. 10" by cinaferoholbeck on Flickr

"The Bird and the Bee's backup singers" by SOS-Photography.net

"Band of Horses at Amoeba" by freeloosedirt on Flickr

"Shingai Sings" by plance need watering

(Read my post about Shingai here)

"Amoeba Records" by rom_anthonis on Flickr

Music Suggestion: Quartetto Cetra - "Crapa Pelada"

Aaron and I have recently started watching Breaking Bad (pretty awesome show, by the way, I didn't think I'd like it which is why it took me so long to finally watch it, but it's actually pretty good) and there is one character who at one point listens to this song by Quartetto Cetra, an Italian vocal quartet from the '40's. Italian language/culture/music/basically anything Italian, I love. I miss Italy everyday so this song just helps me feel a little closer to my Florentine home. 

"Crapa Pelada," according to Wikipedia, means "bald head." The rest of the lyrics in the song are a little bit older type of Italian, so it's hard to find a true translation of the lyrics, only Wikipedia was able to tell me what "crapa pelada" meant!

Aaron and I went shopping yesterday.

First we went to Fry's.

Avatar | Black Moon | Mars Attacks!

We spent much of yesterday watching the extended edition of Avatar. 

The Walking Dead - Volume 14: No Way Out

Excited to start reading this! The whole series is totally zombie-rific. 

Star Wars moleskin notebook | Star Wars Darth Vader bookmarker
Super excited to start using that notebook for custom order notes. I usually keep all notes for custom orders basically in my head, but lately I've been getting a lot of custom orders so I've been forgetting size and colors for orders and I keep having to go back through messages to find the information. It's a total pain, so hopefully this will help solve that problem. 

Baby Charlie

Over this past weekend I drove up to Los Angeles to watch the kitties while my parents were out of town. While there I was able to see one of my closest friends I've had since high school. She has a 6 year old daughter named Leila and a new born son (born December 29th, 2011) named Charlie. I was able to get a few photos while there, but since Charlie is a baby and squirms a lot I was only able to get a few photos that weren't blurry. 

Justene and baby Charlie

Tiny baby foot!

Leila and Charlie

The Trivial Life

Aaron and I have been playing a lot of Trivial Pursuit lately (we don't party, we just play Trivial Pursuit, so what!?). I find that all my random dumb facts about things comes in very handy when it comes to trivia games. I would highly suggest getting yourself one of the games, it's hours of fun and you do actually learn more facts while playing, which I like. 

Los Angeles Highlights Part 3 - Brite Spot

• Los Angeles Highlights Part 1 - Venice Beach Boardwalk
• Los Angeles Highlights Part 2 - Wacko's Soap Plant / La Luz De Jesus Gallery 

Yesterday I met up with my grandparents for a little lunch at this place in Echo Park. I told them to meet me there without them have ever eaten there and they both said they really enjoyed the food, so it got me thinking, I really enjoy the food there as well and if even my grandparents (who are normally very picky about food), like it, then I think others will as well. So I want to show you some great images I found and suggest to my readers out there, that the next time you are in the L.A. area and are a bit hungry, you should definitely check this place out. 

PART THREE - BRITE SPOT

"20090607175843" by Googiesque

 Brite Spot

1918 W. Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles, CA

90026

(213) 484-9800

Now, after doing some research online about Brite Spot I've read some good reviews and some bad. I've had friends in the past say that they don't like this place and I've had friends who I go with every so often because they like the place, so I would say this place is really up for grabs when it comes to opinions. I can easily say that every time I've gone there, the people have been nice and the food has been good. I particularly like this place because they offer vegetarian friendly foods as well as a meat lovers paradise (my grandfather can vouch for how good he thinks their hamburgers are). Their diner style (plus lots more) menu is broad and chances are you can find something that sounds yummy to you when there.

Another thing about this restaurant that I like is that they have always played good music when I was there and the decoration inside the place is very interesting and fun to look at. They have chalk boards along the walls that always have great chalk art with special menus incorporated into the art. 

At the end of the day it's your own experience with the place and it's food that determines if you like it or not, but I suggest you give Brite Spot a try. 

"Brite Spot" by Angelica Robles

"Full Moon" by Castro142

"chilaquiles" by 7-how-7

"Brite Spot - breakfast quesadilla" by bionicdog

"Brite Spot - burger" by bionicdog

"Red Velvet Cupcake" by Ms Holloway

"brite spot stop" by neptuneyear

"hot sauce" by '|'||'| '|'{}||{

"Brite Spot - Echo Park by Ms Holloway

"breakfast" by poppely

"britespot2" by dealinhoz

"Andy J. Scott" by laurenlemon

 More pictures of Brite Spot on Flickr can be found here.

My Library: "Ghost World: The Special Edition" by Daniel Clowes

Ghost World: The Special Edition by Daniel Clowes
Book - Amazon | Wikipedia | Goodreads
Movie - IMDb | Website | Trailer
Author - Website | Wikipedia | Goodreads

In the comic book world I think there's nothing better than a story that tells the truth and reality of people (I mean there's only so many super hero stories one can take, ya know?!), so I must say that Ghost World fits that category very well. It seems to me that my life growing up wasn't as strange as I always thought it was, that my swearing like a sailor in my teen years/late adolescents wasn't odd at all. It's somewhat stereotypical, right?
One thing that this edition of Ghost World offers that others don't is the extensive background to the story and it's creation that it offers. Where characters came from and how Enid is a reflection of an actual person. In my opinion it's totally interesting to learn more about the story.
On a side note, for those who have seen the movie staring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, and Steve Buscemi, I must warn you, the book and movie are very different from one another, so don't expect to get the movie from the book or the book from the movie. Just understand that while they are related, they are not the same thing. 

Chinese New Year flower

Aaron and I went grocery shopping this morning and I came across a really beautiful flower along with a red card, so I thought in honor of the Chinese New Year (January 23rd, this year is the year of the dragon, my year! 1988 - year of the Earth dragon) we could get this pretty flower. All the flower said was that it was a "Vintage Mum," which is what kind of flower? Who knows! I've been trying to find out what kind of flower or any other information about it online, but alas I have come up with none. On the other hand the flower is really beautiful so I did some more research on the red envelopes and the Chinese New Year in general, as well as take some cute pictures of it. 

Red envelope: 

In Chinese and other Asian societies, a red envelope or red packet (known as hóngbāo in Mandarin, Ang Pao in Min Nan, Lai See in Cantonese, Sae Bae Don (세뱃돈/歲拜돈) in Korean, and Lì Xì in Vietnamese) is a monetary gift which is given during holidays or special occasions.Red envelopes are mainly presented at social and family gatherings such as weddings or on holidays such as the Lunar New Year. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. The act of requesting for red packets is normally called (Mandarin): 討紅包, 要利是, (Cantonese): 逗利是.During the Lunar New Year, mainly in South China, red envelopes (in the North, just money without any cover) are typically given by the married to the unmarried, most of whom are children. The amount of money is usually a single note to avoid heavy coins, and to make it difficult to judge the amount inside before opening. It is traditional to put brand new notes inside red envelopes, as well as to avoid opening the envelopes in front of the relatives out of courtesy. In recent years, some Asian-based banks provide newer-looking notes to reduce the environmental impact of printing new banknotes.  

Chinese New Year: 

Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is known as "Spring Festival," the literal translation of the Chinese name 春節 (Pinyin: Chūn Jié), since the spring season in Chinese calendar starts with lichun, the first solar term in a Chinese calendar year. It marks the end of the winter season, analogous to the Western carnival. The festival begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: Zhēng Yuè) in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chú Xī (除夕) or "Eve of the Passing Year." Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year". 

Dragon: 

The Dragon (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍), is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and the only animal that is legendary. The Year of the Dragon is associated with the earthly branch symbol 辰. 

-All information from Wikipedia

The Home Life

I thought I might show you guys what the inside of Aaron's and mine home looks like plus some of my favorite things. (It's also an excuse to use my new Lumix G1 camera that Aaron got me for my birthday.)

Blanket I knit for Aaron and I using this pattern from Ravelry and a Boba Fett pillow I made for Aaron before we started going out. :}

TMNT bobble head that I got for Aaron for Christmas.

I believe one can never have too many books. The majority of those books are mine, but a few are his.

Our skull phone we used for a month or so until we realized that it was a waste of money since we both have cell phones. My record player, not the best record player, but customized to my liking. :) 

Aaron got this for me for Christmas. When you press or put a coin on the little white fish bones the cat pops out of the box and scoops the coin into the box! It's so adorable and makes a little meowing noise when it happens! I love it!

The Beatles one I bought in London.

Inside my sewing room.

Skeleton pen I bought Aaron at Wacko's.

Another Christmas present from Aaron to me. It's solar powered!

Bed sheets.

Knitting needles and Minnie ears.

HOME:
noun

1.

a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usualresidence of a person, family, or household.

2.

the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.