I'm still backlogged on blogs here. Here's a little something from The White House:

When I was about 5 years old, I wanted to be the first Chinese American President of The United States. I very quickly grew out of that idea and I'm glad I did. On my recent trip to New York we decided to take an excursion to Washington D.C. as I haven't been since I was 7. Through Lisa's father's relationship with the Secret Service we were taken on a special tour of The White House. Unlike regular tours we got to go into most of the State rooms as well as go into places that most people don't get to see.
The first room here (sorry for the blurriness) is the White House theater. This is where they watch movies and the President sometimes practices his speeches. These two chairs are where Michelle and Barrack actually sit when munching on popcorn to Hollywood's latest release.

This is White House china purchased by George Washington. It is actually from China. Nice to see a little bit of China in The White House.

Aside from all the official State Rooms, we went down into the bowels of the building and got to see the kitchen! All meals are prepared here. I was much smaller than expected. I have worked in kitchens much larger than this that served a whole lot less people than I assume the White House does.

This is in the Chocolate room. Custom chocolates are made here for every occasion as you can see form the photo board. I wonder who was munching on those cookies?

Yes, that's the toilet and yes, I peed there. Really couldn't miss the opportunity although it would have been more poignant during the Bush administration.

The Secret Service are specially trained special agents whose job is to protect The President. This blacked out badge is very cool looking.

This is one of the Secret Service agents that protect the grounds of the White House. That Sci-Fi looking sub machine gun is a Belgian made P90. You don't want to mess around with these guys.

Although I didn't see Barrack but his presence was felt as he was in the press room talking to the media. Overall I was surprised to see that all the rooms looked a lot smaller than they do on tv. I guess that's what a bit of make up and good lighting can do.

Just got back from yet another trip to New York. Besides sampling NY's awesome cuisine I made sure to go and check out the newly opened High Line Park. The High Line was originally an elevated train line that serviced the meatpacking district in NY. It was made to help alleviate street level delivery traffic on the west side of town. Unused since the 60's someone had the great idea it into a park instead of tearing it down. It was designed by landscape architects,   James Corner Field Operations and architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

It's a wonderful idea for a park. Because it is elevated off the ground it allows unique views of the city that you wouldn't normally get at ground level. Above is the entry at Gansevoort Street.

The High Line snakes through the west side going through buildings. You can still see the old rail tracks peeking through the plants in some parts.

The details are amazing, everything from the concrete to the rusted steel planter boxes are elegantly designed and well thought out. There are plenty of benches and chairs to sit and get away from the city while still being in the city. This nicely designed tanning bed actually sits on the old rail tracks and can be moved along the tracks just in case the guy next to you farts.

From the street, you can see the High Line snaking it's way up town peeking out from the buildings.

Above is an amphitheater like seating area with a giant picture window that looks out onto the street. This is probably my favorite design feature. If you are in NY you should definitely make some time to check this place out. I think cities around the world can learn a lot from this project in terms of how to creatively reuse architectural features that may no longer be useful. It's a perfect way to integrate the new with the old. Often times, city governments don't see the value in preservation so they just tear them down but when something is done right like the High Line, it can add vitality to the city. If you want to learn more about The High Line Park click here

If you're into old school Hardcore Hip-Hop like me and will be in Shanghai tomorrow night...GO TO RACKS BECAUSE THEY ARE PLAYING LIVE!!! I wish I could be there but I can't.Someone tell me how it was!

Damn! Brandon beat me to the punch! Here's my version of Terence singing Hallelujah. I was playing around with the HD video feature on my Canon 5D MkII. I was really amazed at the quality that I got and I didn't even light it. There is no auto focus when shooting in video so I had to pull the focus myself and because I was using a telephoto lens that made the depth of focus short, it was hard to stay on him. Turns out it created a nice effect with his singing, which was very much on point that night.

We've lost another legend. Rest in Peace.