Monday, February 07, 2005

UCLA Party and Tour Through Neuroscience Labs

plus Art Exhibit Opening in East LA

What an adventurous week it has been! But first, let me talk about what happened this past Thursday Night. Alex, Roberto, Arjin and I were chillin and looking for a place to hang out. After going to our usual default hangout at Del Saloon to play a shot of pool, Arjin told us that there was a party going on at UCLA. He said some of his female friends invited him. That did it for me... LETS GO!

So we get there, and it was a party filled with young hotties dancing to music in this sort of recreation hall on campus. There was free drinks, couches and a great group of people. Everyone was smiling and having a good time. I met Arjin's friend, Nicole. While we were getting introduced, she mentioned to me that her background was of Guyanese/Belizian descent. Wow! Exotic. She was a real party girl, totally having fun. I also met this girl named, Lauren. She danced up a storm with me. We only stayed there a while, danced up until 1:30am when they slowly closed down the party. Here are some quick photos I took while I wasn't dancing.

People Dancing	More People Dancing	yes.. more dancing

Neuroscience Lab Tour with Dan
My roomate, Dan took me for a quick tour of the neuroscience lab where he works. Him and his lab buddies study the neurological patterns of the brain by using sea slugs. The lab is located on the UCLA grounds, but is not part of the school. When Dan told me he used sea slugs, the idea that I had was that the slugs used were about the size of the ones you see around late at night. Like the width of a pencil and as long as a credit card. When I got to the tanks where they were kept, I almost jumped back! Now, prepare for the picture you are about to see:


Depending on your screen resolution, this is actual size!

Dan Getting A Sea Slug	Sea Slug in My Hand	Another Angle

Another guy who was working late in the lab was our friend, "G.B." monitoring the sea slugs under a special camera. As you can see, he looks real busy. This picture also shows his personal work environment. A lot of fancy machines, cameras, computers.... all this stuff looked way too complex for my understanding. I'm sure they serve some scientific purpose. Dan and I did not stay there too much longer, for we were only there to quickly pick up a flashlight. The flashlight was going to be used later in the night for the art exhibit.

Alex, myself, Dan and his girlfriend Tessa all journeyed to this Erotic Exhibit being held at the 'Self Help Graphics & Art Galleria' in East Los Angeles. Upon arriving, we met our friend, Roberto who actually had some work on display. His father as well had work on display in this exhibit. Now this was something unique that I haven't seen before. The gallery is dark, with all the lights off. Everyone was invited to bring their own flash light to view the work inside. Before entering, all of us (including Roberto!) was ID checked. I don't mind, I get flattered when that happens. Upon entering, I came prepared with my mini-MAG light. Small, sleek and very durable. It was very cool. I walked in and pointed my flashlight in all directions. This was a different approach to looking at art. Instead of standing back and observing a work from a distance, you are up close, and personal with your flashlight looking at the intricate details. Just when I was looking at some work of art, all of a sudden two guys, along with a woman walk in with a boombox blasting some music. Instantly the attention of the people inside is focused on them. The girl is wearing some sort of catwoman outfit, but without the pointy ears. The guys were wearing these luche libre masks and all black clothing. The bigger dude looked like he was Lennox Lewis under a mask with his dreads hanging out from the bottom. They proceeded to a corner of the gallery where there was a stage with small lights on it. The girl went on top of the stage while the crowd of people surrounded and looked at her. We were all wondering what were they going to do? She then pointed at a guy to some up and join her... so this one guy goes up on the stage with her, and she kicks him off after a minute. I was still confused at what was it that she was asking for us to do. So I went up, and then I started dancing beside her. The crowd started to clap and cheer for a bit. Then when it began to seem a little stale, the luche libre guy to my right pulled me off. I then merged back into the crowd and waited to see who the next victim was. My roomate, Alex came around and was like, "Whats going on??" So I then pushed him to go up. Alex did a dance that made me crack up.. and then made the girl up there give him a thumbs down. I don't think Alex cared. It was funny! Shortly after the music stopped and everyone carried on to observe the other works. I walked around and found some of my friend Roberto's work along with his father's. There was also a girl in a corner, in some sort of tent. Around the tent, were all these persian rugs. I went up to her and started chatting. She wore a burka and a vail, but I sweet talked my way into getting her to smile and take it off so I could see her pretty face. She wasn't the artist, but part of the work. Here are some photos: Looking at works in the dark Slug People wiht flashlights People looking at works Erotic Art Luche Libres & Girl Girl invites people to come up Alex dancing with girl Do not shine flashlights... The girl behind the veil One of Roberto's Dad's works People in the gallery Reyes Rodriguez and his work I spoke with Reyes Rodriguez (the artist with the luche libres and the girl). He was one of the guys behind masks. He told me how he designed the girl's outfit, it was all mostly made from vinyl. You can see more of his work here: http://www.tropicodenopal.com He told me that this piece was supposed to be more interactive, where people were supposed to be coming up to the girl, be closer. From what I observed was that people were unsure of what to do, and just stood there like the girl was supposed to pull a rabbit out of a magic hat. Anyways, the show was good. Very different.