dont do drugs unless they taste like this...

A hidden gem among downtown L.A.'s jewelry/snack vendors and wannabe galleries (yea im raggin on you LA), The Nickel Diner seems to outshine the dull and literally tasteless eateries that dot the up and coming "scene" of the area. The food is normal, but in a good-way-kinda normal. Instead of offering extravagant and unpronounceable dishes, The Nickel Diner offers unintimidating food that leaves the stomach sufficiently stocked for a busy day or weighted down for a good night's (or day's?) sleep. Also, The Nickel Diner doesn't make us vegetarians feel like outsiders. Our options are well represented.

The highlight of the menu is the salt-peanut cake. With it's crumbled potato chips sprinkled in the frosting it sounds oh so nasty, but trust...when the tongue, teeth, and stomach come into contact with the salty/buttery/sugary goodness that is peanut butter, chocolate, white chocolate, peanuts, and potato chips, you just may catch the Holy Spirit, reach Nirvana, or see Paradise.

Woo, i may have to call a medic just thinking about it. Guide my spirit dear Lawd (towards the Nickel Diner).

I always like to dress well during finals time.

Ol' Frankie and his Stata Center

We Angelenos know Frank Gehry even though we may not know Frank Gehry. You know those shiny slabs of metal perched on the hill downtown that make you search for your sunglasses when u pass it on any sunny southern california day? He did that. You Bilbaínos ( that just love to read this blog ) know him for the Guggenheim Museum which kinda resembles our slabs of metal here in L.A.

I stumbled across the above pictures while studying for my architecture final. Stunning yea? Go ahead and look again, they're indeed real. These are images of the Stata Center at MIT, which is an academic complex that houses many of the geeky (cmon lets be honest here) activities that go on at the school. A lot of negative responses to the structure, but it's daring, original, and seems to do a little dance that requests our visual acceptance....and we appreciate that, right?

Monday May 3 2010

The heat is what we've been waiting for. We hope for it to stay steady. I know I do. Ups and downs in temperature coupled with the pollution of this huge basin have bruised my lips, making them prone to unfriendly peeling and pain. Not appreciating the pain, but appreciating the lips' need to regenerate themselves. The birds chirped later than usual today, past the mark of noon even. Sounds of ancient djembes filled my mind as I stirred my simple breakfast meal of grits this morning. Early lunches and skipped workouts defined my physical day, but Guinea, Marseille, and Bahia filled my brain. Hoping for more patience and discipline as I listen to the foreign sounds of bossa nova and smell the sterile scent of the library basement. Sense has left me.