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yukinotrinko · 2 years

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エストレーリャ・デル・ソル

アルバム : 『ロンリズム』 - テイム・インパラ

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『ミー・アフター・ロンリズム』

　16歳の頃、私が唯一夢中になれたことは音楽を聴くことだった。家にいるときはもちろん、地元のプラヤス・デ・ティファナを散歩しているとき、学校の休み時間に授業中など、どんな場所や瞬間であろうと、私は好きな音楽を繰り返し聴いていた。

　でもこれだけでは飽き足らなかった高校生の私は、音楽を聴くことと同様にコンサートに行くことにものめり込んでいった。まだ10代だったから母親を説得させるのは大変だったけど、メキシコとアメリカの国境沿いに住んでいたこともあって、好きなアーティストのコンサートに行くには、ただ国境を越えてサンディエゴに行けばよかった。

　そんな時期に出会ったのが、テイム・インパラの『ロンリズム』というアルバムだった。これまでの人生で聴いたことがない斬新なサウンドに私は大きな衝撃を受けた。ギターの弾き方は分からないものの、音楽を作ってみたいという気持ちが芽生えていたその当時の私にとって、このアルバムとの出会いは特別だった。私をギターに向かわせただけでなく、エフェクトペダル、ディストーション、ファズなどにも興味を抱かせてくれたから。

　ある日、好きなバンドのコンサートがサンディエゴで行われないか調べていると、ハウス・オブ・ブルースという会場でテイム・インパラの公演が開催される情報を見つけた。すぐさまその当時付き合っていた彼に話すと、なんと彼は一緒に行こうと、そのコンサートのチケットをプレゼントしてくれた…！

　2013年5月31日。学校にいるあいだは興奮のあまり、授業やクラスメートにまったく注意を払うことが出来なかった。すでに多幸感に包まれる私の頭の中は今夜のことでいっぱいだった。その日の学校はとても早く、また同時にゆっくりと過ぎていき、学校が終わると、私と彼はトロリーに乗ってサンディエゴへと向かった。

　この日のコンサートの規模が400人程度だったことは私にとってとてもラッキーなことだった。テイム・インパラのヴォーカリスト兼ギタリストのケヴィン・パーカーの側に行き、彼が使う二つのペダルボードと、そのペダルを彼がどのように使うかを見れるかもしれなかったからだ。

　会場に到着すると、友人に出会したり、列に並ぶ人たちと仲良くなれた。その結果、公演を心待ちにするファンに煙草を恵んでもらった私は、ハウス・オブ・ブルースが開場するまで煙草を吹かし、誰もが同じ気持ちでこの場所に集うことの美しさを想った。

　ついにハウス・オブ・ブルースが開場。どんな規模であれ、コンサート会場の独特な雰囲気と迫力にはいつも圧倒されてしまう。私は緊張と興奮を感じながら可能な限り前進し、なんとかステージ近くの三列目を確保した。身動きが取れなくなったあと、ふとステージ横を見ると、フロアを覗くテイム・インパラのメンバーの姿が見えた。彼らも私と同じように緊張しているのだろうか。そう思うと、私はステージをより近くに感じて、彼らに親近感を覚えた。

　ライヴが始まると会場は一瞬にして凄まじい熱気に包まれた。ベース、ドラム、シンセ、ギター、すべての音が一つに溶け込んで、重厚な波のように客席に押し寄せた。このとき生まれて初め��楽器の音を一つ一つ意識したような気がする。私は自分の心の中の感情が大きく膨れ上がっていくのを感じていた。周りを見渡すと誰もが笑顔だった。

　結局ケヴィン・パーカーがどんな風にエフェクトペダルを使っているかを見ることも忘れ、私はバンドが奏でるサウンドに心と身体を委ね続けた。テイム・インパラのコンサートには、彼らの音楽をイヤフォンで聴いているとき以上の感動があった。それは単に彼らの演奏が素晴らしかっただけでなく、音楽を愛する気持ちが一つ同じ場所に集約された事実を体験できたからかもしれない。

　最後の曲 “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control” で、バンドが即興ジャムを繰り返すなか、感動のあまり私は涙を流した。

　あの日のコンサートは、私の中にあった音に対する感覚を変えてくれただけでなく、ライヴでしか感じ得ないことの尊さをあらためて教えてくれた。

　ミュージシャンとして演奏をする立場になったいまも、彼らの音楽を聴くと思い出す、あの日あの場所で感じたことを大切にしている。

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Me After Lonrism

I was 16 years old and the only thing that really interested me was music. I would listen to the same records over and over again wherever I was, lying in the grass during breaks at school or walking around Playas de Tijuana, the neighborhood where I grew up.

I also loved going to concerts. I was still a teenager, so getting permission from my mother was hard. I lived in Tijuana, on the border of Mexico and the United States, so I just had to cross the border to San Diego to see the concerts of artists I liked.

When I first heard Lonerism by Tame Impala, it was a moment that was too shocking for me. I had never heard anything like that in my life. I didn't know how to play guitar or make music properly, but my desire to make music was already coming into my life. Thanks to this album, I started getting interested in discovering new sounds, effects and pedals.

When I turned 17, I got one of the most memorable birthday presents ever: tickets to see Tame Impala on their Lonerism tour at the House of Blues in San Diego. The concert was on May 31, 2013. I remember going to school and being so excited; I had that teenage excitement where you can't really stop thinking about that thing you're so excited about―a lot of teenage euphoria.

That school day seemed to slip by very quickly and slowly at the same time. As soon as it ended, I left to cross the border to San Diego, took the trolley, and went straight to the House of Blues with my boyfriend at the time to stand in line..

With an audience of 400 people, it was not a massive event. I thought I wanted to be as close to Kevin Parker as possible, because I was interested in seeing what pedals he used and how he used them.

At the venue, I didn't just run into friends, but I got to know people standing in line too. We were all there for the same purpose and it was beautiful. We connected very easily.

Someone shared their cigarettes and we stood around smoking until the House of Blues opened. It seemed so beautiful that everyone was waiting for the show to start with the same feeling of excitement.

No matter the size of the event, I always feel overwhelmed by the special atmosphere and intensity of being at a live concert, but this show felt so intimate.

The doors finally opened, and I moved as close to the stage as possible. We were standing in the third row. Filled with nervousness and excitement, I glanced to the side of the stage and saw the members of the band. I wondered if they were feeling nervous like I was, and thinking that made them seem really close, even from where I was watching. Or maybe they were peeking to see how many people there were.

When the show started, the venue was suddenly filled with energy. The sounds of the bass, drums, synthesizers, and guitars all melted together and hit us like a wave. It was the first time I felt really aware of every sound that was going on. I looked around and I knew everyone was enjoying and feeling the same things as me. I remember having all of my emotions in a very delicate place in my mind. I felt everything so much.

Eventually, I forgot about what effect pedals Kevin Parker was using and just gave my body and mind over to the sound they were making. Every song was so special and different―I realized things that I couldn't have by just listening to the album.

It might have been not just because of their performance, but also due to being in one place filled with so much love for the music. When the band played an improvised jam during their last song, "Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control," my eyes filled with tears.

After the show, I headed straight for the merch table and bought a t-shirt. I wore that shirt at least three times a week for a year or so.

That show didn't just completely change the way I saw and heard music, but it also made me realize what a special experience a live show can be. From that day on, I started to see and hear music in a different way. The days after the show I kept on thinking how everything was perfectly equalized, how each song blended into the next one, and how it had been a perfect moment for me. The images of the visuals were stuck in my head for weeks. Even after becoming a musician myself, whenever I hear their music I remember that important feeling I got that day.

Text By Estrella Del Sol

https://popeyemagazine.jp/en/post-104970/

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mexicovisitor · 5 years

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The Jai Alai statue in front of El Palacio de Jai Alai on Avenida Revoluccion in Tijuana. Built in 1947, the building is now an event and concert venue. . . . . . #jaialai #tijuana #bajacalifornia #mexico #palaciojaialai #basque #frontonjaialai #avenidarevolucion #jaialaifronton #basqueball #stayintj #baja #fronton #cesta #frontonpalace #elforo #bajavisitor #visittijuana #averevolucion #tijuanamexico (at Tijuana, Baja California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8XEsxnHtNU/?igshid=spyrbk896x2r

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ginaclyne · 6 years

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♥︎♥︎ This wedding is after my own heart ♥︎♥︎

Marissa is a Mexican-American who grew up in Tijuana, Mexico (and now lives in Los Angeles). Her mother, father, & extended family often make the commute north and cross the US-Mexican border, and this celebration was no exception. Marissa’s birthday is on the 15th of July, and Josh’s birthday is on the 17th of July, so why not get married on the 14th and combine all the celebrating to make one perfect party? (My birthday aligned with these dates, on the 16th, which has got to activate some kind of cosmic power-party mode, right?).

Instead of one cake, they had two, and blew out their candles at midnight while holding hands, as their family and friends wore party hats and sang Feliz Cumpleaños (heart explosion -here-). AND OF COURSE there was a piñata. This was the quintessential Los Angeles wedding, which meant getting married at the Heritage Square Museum (a living history museum that explores the settlement and development of Southern California) beside a Queen Anne style Victorian home from a Los Angeles of yesteryear, and having the reception at Marissa’s sister’s artist studio alongside the LA River. Marissa grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, but has a deep affinity for LA history, which only leaves me with one question… Marissa & Josh, will you marry me? 💍

I shot a couple of their couples portraits using a Holga toy lens, since I knew Marissa & Josh would appreciate that aesthetic!

Their rings were inside these teeny-tiny precious packages, and they opened each of them up during the ceremony before they exchanged rings! They each fit in the palm of your hand, gah!

Beautiful familia!

That’s right! She has a Harry Potter lightening bolt drawn on her forehead, what else?

They had Mexican Alebrijes as party favors for their guests. Each piece is finely carved and hand painted. Made of Copal female wood, Oaxacan wood carvings are representations of the Zapotec cosmogony and its calendar and sacred animals.

Right after the ceremony is always one of my favorite times. I always suggest to my couples to take as many formal portraits before the ceremony, so you relish in the live-wire vibes that happen post-ceremony. As your photographer, it’s my job to safeguard your wedding-day experience and keep you in the moment. The moment is where all the magic lives.

We took the second part of couples portraits as the sun set at the reception site, which was located at Marissa’s sister’s artist studio in Frogtown, alongside the L.A. River. I spend a lot of time shooting art and culture events on the L.A. River, so it was really great for me to loop this special place into some wedding portraits.

The reception decorations were lovingly sourced, handmade, and set-up by Marissa and her talented family and friends. It was truly unreal, and my hungry eyes couldn’t get enough.

Fresh, warm tortillas made onsite, yummmmmm!

Humor me, and get the full effect by listening to the “Happy Birthday” song in Spanish, ’cause it might flesh out the memory and give you an idea of the total joy I felt when documenting this part of the night. 😂

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And good night! Remember, no matter what happens, nobody can ever take away your birthday! Thank you for having me Marissa & Josh!

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Venue: Ceremony, Heritage Square Museum / @heritagesquaremuseum & Reception, Sister’s Artist Studio alongside the L.A. River Dress: Needle and Thread London / @needleandthreadlondon Dress Alterations: Williamsburg Seamster / @williamsburgseamster Hair: Wendy Luna Hair / @wendylunahair Suit: Indo Chino / @indochino

Marissa & Josh’s Mexican-American / Los Angeles-Lovin’ / Joint-Birthday Wedding! ♥︎♥︎ This wedding is after my own heart ♥︎♥︎ Marissa is a Mexican-American who grew up in Tijuana, Mexico (and now lives in Los Angeles).

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awutar · 2 years

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VIDEO: Eduin Caz from Grupo Firme ended his concert in Las Vegas very upset for this reason

the mexican vocalist Eduin Caz Y Firm Group They fulfilled another of their dreams by appearing in an important venue in the City of Las Vegas, the group created in Tijuana, Mexico, which delighted more than 65 thousand people who gathered at that place to dance, sing and even drink. some drinks. Everything seemed to be going great, like every Grupo Firme concert, those attending the event had a…

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milkmoneyzine · 4 years

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"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" #3

#Follow4FollowMyGuy asks: As an artist in uncertain times, how can I keep promoting my music from quarantine?

M$: The first thing you need to do is find some compromising evidence on a friend that runs a website. Then you blackmail them into letting you write a pointless Advice Column that no one actually cares about. That’s the most important place to start.

Once you’ve got that secured, and the money from the blog is flowing endlessly into your account, then you just hustle. Hustling is a lost art these days. There are so many online outlets, and so many different social media platforms that it can get overwhelming pretty quickly. The key is to not let that happen. Focus on one or two at a time. Get weird on Twitter and sneak in some links. Ask for questions on your Instagram story, then find a way to relate your answers to songs you can post. Dive into the hellscape that is Reddit and find a thread that your music fits with, and drop a link. Not all of this is going to work, but it’s worth a shot.

The other important thing to remember is that you don’t have to promote a specific song, or an album, or a video. Just interact with people. Everyone else is online all the time, so just be visible, be friendly, and be accessible. As long as you’re doing something online, no one is going to forget about you.

Maybe don’t use the band page to drop heart eyes on thirst trap photos. Slide into those DM’s from your own account, you know? The last thing you want is the fucking bass player seeing their reply first and stealing your thunder. But then again, all is fair in love and hardrock.

Dan Price asks: Can I have your milk money?

M$:

@FiendingForMosh asks: When are shows coming back?

M$: The real answer is that no one knows. Probably sooner than you think, which is also probably too soon. It’s kind of a lose/lose situation.

Live music is in a weird spot. To go from “Everyone needs to practice social distancing until we can get a handle on this extremely contagious thing” to “Well, it’s not contained, and we don’t have a vaccine, but fuck it. Go ahead and pack as many people as you can into a tiny, poorly ventilated space and let them all slam into each other” in the span of a couple of weeks seems insane.

There are some medical experts that say live shows shouldn’t start again until 2021. That’s not going to happen. That can’t happen. Every place that relies on a steady stream of smaller touring acts and local shows—which is almost all of them—will close if that’s the case. No one wants that. Venues need to make money and bands need to make money. The only way to do that is with shows.

What’s going to be really interesting is seeing who takes the risk. Some bands are going to hit the road two days after “shelter in place” ends. There will be venues ready to host the shows, and people dying to see them—no matter who that band is. The very idea of getting back out in public and seeing their friends is going to be enough for a lot of people. Those bands are probably going to do pretty well, and play for a lot of grateful people every night.

Then there are going to be other bands that take the whole rest of the year off. To them, the juice won’t be worth the squeeze. They’ll stay home, write new songs, make a new record, and continue to wait it out. The bands that take this route are probably the bands that are a little more established, and have other sources of income. Some bands can afford not to tour. Others can’t.

There are also going to be a lot of people who just don’t trust anyone in a large crowd for a while.

“I’d love to see that band. But there’s no way in hell I’m going to stand in the dark while a drunk, sweaty guy—still wearing a heavy denim jacket in fucking July for some reason—brushes his damp hair across my face as he tries to squeeze through an already tiny space.”

It’s weird, it’s scary, and it’s pretty unprecedented. But it is going to be okay. Live music will always be something that people enjoy, and there will always be someone who figures out how to make the most of it. Things aren’t going back to normal anytime soon, but maybe that’s a good thing. It gives everyone a chance to decide what the new normal is.

There is one upside that could come from this, and one that Milk Money wholeheartedly supports: Maybe venues/bars/clubs will actually keep their bathrooms clean, stocked, and operational.

Ahhh, who are we kidding? No one is going to learn anything from the last five weeks.

XtestpressX asks: Who are M$’s favorite current #SLCHC bands?

M$:

M$ PRESENTS THE #SLCHC2020LOVE THE MIXTAPE: 1. Victim To None - Sacred 2. Devoid - Another Life Wasted 3. Ape $hit - Pretty Neat ft. Dea Giokas 4. Degeneration XXX - Bitter End 5. Dirty Mike - Angel (Prod. by Teemane) 6. Zodiac Killer - Serpent's Tongue 7. Crow Killer - Close Grip 8. Witchtrial - Burn 9. Absent - Dimmed Love 10. Tamerlane - Absense

Run tha trak!

Milk Money Mixtapes

M$ presents #SLCHC2020LOVE The Mixtape

@StatuteOfLimitations asks: What is your wildest tour story? Dan$: As all of Milk Money will attest, my memory is not the hottest. But I’ve been blessed with a metric shit-ton of sketchy/amazing tour experiences, so here’s a montage of pretty true events... - Coming up with the idea for Milk Money with Trevor on west coast Cherem runs.

- Roger Miret teaching me his prison workout regimen in an old church in Switzerland.

- Watching Madball and Obituary festival sets in Turino, Italy from the fancy comfort of an above-ground pool.

- Breaking up fights between American soldiers and German hardcore kids.

- Breaking up fights between American soldiers and Japanese hardcore kids.

- Getting into fights with American soldiers in foreign lands.

- The time Lord Ezec asked me if I wanted to smoke some crack with him.

- The time the moon crashed into Idaho.

- Hiding outside the backstage tent of symphonic metal cover band Apocalyptica in a giant mud puddle during a Czech Republic downpour with Vinnie Stigma, waiting for them to take the stage, so we could sneak in and steal coffee from their espresso machine.

- Taking Matt Mascarenas to the beach for the first time in his life.

- Fuck Nick Cannon. - Watching an aggro road-rager freak and back down a steep-ass, 500-foot grassy slope into a cow pasture after he pulled us over to fight. - The Lightkeeper’s Trail (What's good, Countdown to Life/Broadway Calls?!?!?!) - Watching Sparky from Demented Are Go bite the head straight off a dead rat, pound a bottle of vodka, and say, “That’ll clean it up.” - Chasing a not-be-identified drummer from brothel to brothel in Graz, Austria to watch him dance with girls for a few seconds before running to the next brothel… just to make sure he didn’t get left behind by the bus.

- Not joining Hatebreed in a backstage jacuzzi full of actual erotic dancers. - 30 Seconds to Mars telling us we were “pretty heavy” when we shared a venue in Minneapolis. - Moshing in a Drum’n’Bass tent at a Euro festival with a not-to-be-identified NYHC band who were skying way high on ecstasy. = Learning so many important lessons the hard way while making all of my closest friends cuz… hardcore. Trevor$: I don’t have nearly as many globe-trotting adventures as Dan, but some of my favorite moments with my friends happened on tour. - Spending two full days at a Fazoli’s (the only kind-of vegan option in the city) in Grand Island, Nebraska on our first tour because the transmission went out 13 hours after we bought the van. - Directions to a venue that were “Turn left at the women’s prison, and drive to the end of the road. It’s in the junkyard.” Once inside the junkyard, getting the instructions “Stay away from the fences. That’s where the ladies have ‘yard time’ and the guards in the tower get really angry when we talk to them.” - Air guitar and autographs with a drunk guy named “Deth” in Tijuana. - Almost having to fight a promoter in New Mexico because he accused us of stealing a microphone, only to find out ten minutes after leaving that Bill accidentally put it in the pocket of his cargo shorts and forgot. - Swimming too far out in the Florida ocean and getting stopped by the beach patrol just before the shelf drops off and all the bull sharks hang out. - Going on tour without confirming anything, then having to beg every promoter to let us play when we showed up. - Trying to pretend there wasn’t a fight happening in the crowd until Jake pushed his drums out of the way to jump in at every single out-of-state show Tamerlane ever played. So what we're saying here is, once this plague blows off, GET IN THE FUCKIN VAN CUZ LIFE IS SHORT AND YOU SHOULD LIVE IT!

Until next time, this is Milk Money saying, “Tamerlane is not the Five Finger Death Punch of Salt Lake Hardcore."

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shelleyseale · 5 years

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Hostelworld Celebrates 20th Birthday with Epic Global Party Tour

With the likes of Mariah Carey and 50 Cent apparent fans of hostel travel—where low prices, shared accommodations and sociable common areas reign supreme—it’s no wonder that this hospitality category is going gangbusters.

Photo Courtesy Hostelworld In fact, one published report indicates tremendous hostel market growth, which is estimated to reach a whopping $6.4 billion in 2020. That’s a lot of revenue for an industry that hangs its hat on reasonable prices that are often well below market-standards. One company doing more than its fair share to spur the success of this sector is Hostelworld, the leading hostel-focused online booking platform. In fact, their new travel report found that recent travelers who went on extended trips of three weeks or more, visiting multiple destinations, over four in five (81%) chose to stay in hostels.

Epic 20 Years Young Party

Exemplifying this burgeoning sector popularity, Hostelworld recently showcased its longevity by celebrating its 20th year anniversary in epic form this summer, having thrown 20 parties over 20 days in 20 countries worldwide. The company’s “20 Years Young” parties as they were coined were hosted in all corners of the globe—from San Diego, Marrakech, Paris, Tokyo and beyond, ultimately coming to a wrap in London. The parties, with each themed around a particular year among the last twenty, lit up social media thanks to venues that were kitted out with party props as well as the bevy of travel influencers who hosted games and activities with much fanfare. This included a collective of Instagram Live streams said to have helped bring guests together in a way only the true hostel experience can.

The Party Locales

If you need more convincing about how grand Hostelworld’s “20 Years Young” party tour was, just read the schedule below to appreciate how awe-inspiring this celebration was. 1. Berlin, Germany: St. Christopher’s Berlin Mitte – Party Like It’s 1999 2. San Diego, USA: USA Hostels Ocean Beach – Millennium Party 3. Cancun, Mexico: Selina Cancun Downtown – Double Denim Party 4. Tayrona National Park, Colombia: Viajero Tayrona Hostel Colombia – Sk8er Party 5. Phuket, Thailand: Lub D Phuket – Under the Sea Party 6. Barcelona, Spain: Unite Hostel Barcelona – Funky Gym Party 7. Montreal, Canada: M Montreal Hostel – Jungle Party 8. Siem Reap, Cambodia: White Rabbit Hostel – Farewell Pluto Party 9. Sydney, Australia: Wake Up! Sydney Central – Pirate Party 10. Paris, France: JO&JOE Paris Gentilly – Lost Temple Party 11. Tel Aviv, Israel: Abraham Hostel Tel Aviv – Vampire Party 12. Ubud, Indonesia: Puri Garden Hotel & Hostel – Greek Myths Party 13. Cusco, Peru: Wild Rover Hostel Cusco – Witches and Wizards Party 14. Marrakech, Morocco Rodamon Riad Marrakech Hostel – Superhero Party 15. Goa, India: Jungle by Thehostelcrowd – Festival Party 16. Venice, Italy: Wombats City Hostel Venice Mestre – Emoji Party 17. Tokyo, Japan: Emblem Hostel Nishiarai – #MeetTheWorld Party 18. Sao Paulo, Brazil: O de Casa Hostel Bar – Unicorn Party 19. Lisbon, Portugal: The Independente Hostel & Suites – Superstar Party 20. London, England: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage – Birthday Party “The hostels for each of our events had been carefully selected to provide guests with the best possible experience, as we know today’s travelers expect far more than just a bed for the night from their accommodation,” noted a Hostelworld spokesperson. “As well as being perfectly located to explore, party guests were greeted by fabulous amenities like a cinema room in Mexico, a Muay Thai boxing ring in Thailand, and morning yoga in Indonesia.”

Hostel Social Offerings

According to research by Hostelworld, it seems meeting and commiserating with people from all over the world is of escalating importance to American travelers, ranking “social space as the most important consideration when choosing where to stay,” which is certainly an area where hostels excel. “Another factor helping spur category growth is the importance of free activities that hostels often offer their guests,” the company said. Keeping the celebration going, Hostelworld continues to offer killer deals and free activities that help travelers make lasting memories. For example, USA Hostels Ocean Beach in San Diego offers visitors free shuttles to La Jolla and Tijuana, in addition to relaxing yoga classes and social barbeques. So if you have that itch to get out of Dodge this fall, holiday or beyond and are looking to save a buck or two in the process—and meet and mingle with some interesting folks along the way—give a hostel stay a go. It just might result in the most memorable adventure of your lifetime. ***Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided at no cost or sponsored to accommodate this review, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way.*** Sources: https://blueswandaily.com/often-overlooked-hostel-industry-shows-huge-upside-as-investors-attempt-to-appeal-to-millennials/ https://www.phocuswright.com/Travel-Research/Consumer-Trends/The-Global-Hostel-Marketplace-2016-2020-Second-Edition http://www.hostelworldgroup.com/~/media/Files/H/Hostelworld-v2/reports-and-presentations/the-evolution-of-the-hostel-traveller-v1.pdf Read the full article

#luxelist #accommodations #brandambassador #brands #featured #hostel #hosteltravel #hostelworld #LATEST #merileekern #nightlife #theluxelist #travel #vacation

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krystangreen-blog · 5 years

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October is the perfect time to visit San Diego as both residents and tourists can enjoy the annual Kids Free San Diego offers. These cover many of the best things to do in San Diego with kids, including over 100 museums, attractions, tours, hotels, and restaurants in 2019.

Based on the feedback and questions I get from readers, the offers below are among the most popular.

How to Take Advantage of Kids Free San Diego

You’ll need to read the terms and conditions of each offer. Sometimes, you’ll only need an adult ticket and a child can enter free with you. Other venues will require that kids also have a printed voucher.

There are also limits on how many kids per adult can go free in addition to age restrictions. The most important thing is that you carry an eligible ticket as some sightseeing passes don’t qualify for Kids Free San Diego promotions.

Discounted adult tickets for select attractions that are eligible for Kids Free San Diego are available at aRes Travel. This means you’ll save even more in October. Most of these discounted tickets offer the ability to print and go straight to the gate. In some cases, you may also need to print an eligible child ticket.

San Diego Zoo

A ticketed adult can take up to 10 children for free to the San Diego Zoo between October 1–31, 2019. This offer is valid for children 11 and under and a coupon is not required for free kids entry.

Simply purchase an adult ticket and you’re good to go. Buy your adult tickets at aRes Travel at a discount for further savings. If three or more adults are visiting together, click to call 1-888-795-371 for our exclusive savings.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

A ticketed adult can take up to 10 children for free to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park between October 1–31, 2019. This offer is valid for children 10 and under and a coupon is not required for free kids entry.

LEGOLAND California (Available Now)

LEGOLAND California is incredibly popular during October anyway because of its Brick-or-Treat party nights. And, Kids Free is already in effect so enjoy it during August, September and almost all of October.

The Kids Free San Diego (one child ages 12 and under goes free with a paid adult) offer is valid now through October 31, 2019 and kids do need a printed voucher. Get it below.

SeaWorld San Diego and Aquatica (Available Now)

Children ages 9 and under go free with a paid adult at both SeaWorld San Diego and Aquatica San Diego starting now.

The SeaWorld San Diego promotion is valid now through October 31, 2019. Aquatica San Diego closes for the season on October 6, 2019 and is open on select dates until then. Check the Aquatica calendar for details.

Belmont Park

Belmont Park participates in Kids Free San Diego promotions but you’ll need to sign up for their newsletter to find out what the deals are.

See also: 12 Things to Do at Belmont Park

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

Up to two kids ages 12 and under go free with a paid adult to Birch Aquarium. Download the coupon from the San Diego Museum Council.

See also: Guide to Birch Aquarium at Scripps

USS Midway Museum

Up to two kids ages 12 and under go free with a paid adult to USS Midway, our famous aircraft carrier museum.

See also: Tips for Visiting the USS Midway

Kids Eat Free at Some San Diego Restaurants

A variety of restaurants and San Diego hotels are offering kids the opportunity to eat for free. Here are a few highlights.

Galaxy Taco in La Jolla Shores offers kids combos complimentary for a maximum of two kids ages 12 and under per adult. We love the tacos, which have a gourmet spin and it’s a nice place for a margarita, too.

Up to two kids ages 12 and under per paying adult also eat free at Carnitas Snack Shack Embarcadero in downtown San Diego. This is one of our favorite places to eat should you be visiting the USS Midway Museum, Maritime Museum of San Diego, or taking a San Diego Bay tour (like the Coronado Ferry, whale watching or Patriot Jet boat) departing from right here.

Kids Cruise San Diego Bay Free

San Diego Bay tours are the best things to do in San Diego for tourists but something that we residents usually don’t take advantage of enough.

Flagship Cruises & Events is offering six free children per paid adult on all 1- and 2-hour San Diego Harbor Tours during the month of October. Plus, the adult tickets are even at a slight discount.

Kids cruise free on any daily San Diego Speed Boat Adventures Harbor Cruise that is valid with the purchase of two adult tickets. One free child per boat is eligible between October 1-31, 2019.

Kids Travel for Free

Families traveling across the U.S.–Mexico border can now save time and money with the Cross Border Xpress (CBX), a unique pedestrian bridge connecting the Tijuana International Airport (TIJ) with San Diego. When flying into TIJ, children ages 12 and under, can get a free single trip CBX ticket from Tijuana to San Diego with purchase of an adult ticket. The offer is not available online and you must ask for the promo at CBX counters at TIJ and also present proof of a reservation in a San Diego hotel or attraction.

Kids Free October at San Diego Museums

Up to two kids ages 12 and under can go free to the below list of museums with a paid adult.

To participate, families need to download the free coupon for every museum they wish to visit and present it at the participating museum’s admissions desk.

A Museum Mash-Up event in honor of Kids Free October will be held at New Children’s Museum Park on Sunday, Sept. 29 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Coupons can be downloaded online from the San Diego Museum Council.

For local families, this is a fantastic opportunity to check out a new museum.

See also: A Local Kids’ Guide to the San Diego Natural History Museum

Here’s the list of San Diego Museums participating in Kids Free October:

Barona Cultural Center & Museum Birch Aquarium at Scripps Bonita Museum & Cultural Center California Center for the Arts Escondido California Surf Museum Coronado Museum of History & Art Fleet Science Center (Galleries only) Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House Heritage of the Americas Museum Japanese Friendship Garden La Jolla Historical Society Living Coast Discovery Center Lux Art Institute Maritime Museum of San Diego Marston House Museum & Gardens Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum Mission San Luis Rey Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Museum of Making Music Museum of Photographic Arts New Americans Museum Oceanside Museum of Art San Diego Air & Space Museum San Diego Archaeological Center San Diego Art Institute San Diego Automotive Museum San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum San Diego Chinese Historical Museum San Diego History Center San Diego Model Railroad Museum San Diego Natural History Museum (the Nat) The New Children’s Museum The San Diego Museum of Art The Water Conservation Garden Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center Timken Museum of Art USS Midway Museum Veterans Museum at Balboa Park Visions Art Museum Warner-Carrillo Ranch House

Visit the San Diego Tourism Authority for the full list of offers.

Buy Discounted Adult Tickets and Kids Go Free Tickets at aRes Travel.

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fridaynightbordercrossing · 6 years

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An Interview With Almalafa

Almalafa is one of the most important bands to understand the development of a ska and reggae scene in Tijuana. With a trajectory that has gone for more than 18 years, they tell us about their trajectory.

THE BEGINNINGS

"In those years, we had some friends that were singing, Roxana and Ivette, who did not sing at all(laughs). There was also Carlos Monarrez on Guitar, Jorge Martínez on bass and Julio Martínez on drums. We knew the people of Babylón XX, who played then as Cairo, that was between '93 or '94, so they invited us to play "

"The first important show was the Rock 94 Marathon behind the Jai Alai, they connected us. At that time, we had a demo that was produced by El Chino Perales. In addition, for that festival, we had our first interview for radio, which was connected through Jorge, keyboardist of Babylón XX, who was the boyfriend of Betty Juárez of Stéreo Amistad at the time. We were hungry to be known and we were looking for where to play. "

"In '97, the band was well formed with a metal section and with Isaac as a vocalist, we had the songs ready and we were looking for a studio and an engineer who could record as well. Nessie recorded in Los Angeles, that was an option, but we listened to Nona Delichas and we talked to Rubén Montoya and with him, we recorded at Sweet Sound in National City. With the album ready, we were always looking for large venues to play. We played at Mexicali En La Playa, which in those years was good, there we met Mario Alberto from More FM 98.9, we delivered him the tape and so, we went into the radio little by little".

"The songs were liked and the band got a lot of fans, people thought that the band was foreign, not that it was from Tijuana. Once we played at Club Dosis in Pueblo Amigo and we met El Gato from Mexico City, he brought bands from there and had a sales tent at the Tianguis Del Chopo. He was the first to take the cassette to Mexico City, and that was the first time we went there, even in the Metro, they sold it for 20 pesos. After more bands came out like Los Kung Fu Monkeys, Dead Panchos, and Esos Gueyes and we made the Mexican Ska Fest 1 in Studio 1 of More FM with 1500 people, we invited Chencha Berrinches from Los Angeles with the support of Eduardo Cruz through the Institute Municipal of Art and Culture".

CALIFORNIA CONNECTION

"Playing in California was a good time for the band. I do not remember if they found us online, but who called us was Sergio" Lavis "Peralta for the Skalifornia Fest that was held at the Terraza Jamay, which was a party hall straight from the '70s. After him, we hooked with Jorge Leal from Ecléctica, who later became our manager in the United States and was the one who got our record trough Option Sónica USA ".

"With the album, we started playing in the best places in Hollywood like The Roxy, Key Club, Conga Room, House Of Blues, The King Theater, Whiskey A Go-Go, The Palace and The Knitting Factory. In addition, we also played in Anaheim at JC Fandango's, obviously in San Diego at Brick By Brick, SOMA, Open Air Theater, Cafe Sevilla and Over The Border. We were also in Chicago, in the Aragón Ballroom with Brujería. But what is a fact, is the list of names of bands and artists that we alternate in all these places: Los Pericos, Autenticod Decadentes, Tijuana NO !, The Specials , The Wailers, Fidel Nadal, La Mosca Tse Tse, Karamelo Santo, Garrobos, King Chango, Wisecracker, Chris Murray, G Spot, Vicentico, The Aggrolites, The Skatalites, Un Kuartito, Sekta Core, Salon Victoria, Panteon Rococo, Maldita Vecindad , Molotov, General Public, Victims Del Dr. Cerebro, Okploide, Alika, 2 Minutos, Antidoping and many more. The reviews appeared in magazines such as La Banda Elástica and Retila, in those times we played more in Los Angeles than in Tijuana".

"In fact, at a point we considered staying in California for a while, it would have been interesting to stay for months and record there, since there are good studios, but we have a family, that occupies a large part of our time. When we went to Mexico, we slept in a small room, we were without nothing, 2, 3 months. You have to know how to have control of that, because if you can not stand it is difficult. People have said to us a lot of bullshit, but if people knew that we played from the nastiest punk places in Mexico to the nicest places in Hollywood, we've been working hard".

"More FM was very strong with rock music, all of Tijuana began to listen to us. What happens is that because of their politics, the radio stops helping you, they take away the spots. At that time, we were strong in Los Angeles, in Tijuana we did not play because there was not a record to show people. On the other hand, in Tijuana it is difficult to get paid, you have to pull your people, assure them something. Nobody takes risks, then, it is difficult in that sense. We used to do our events, but we stopped doing them because we did not have a record, but we're starting over again".

SOWING THE SEED IN MEXICO

"With the Psicodelic Ska album in the market, we returned to Mexico City to festivals and PP Lobo arrived and offered to release the album under his PP Lobo Records label. He already had signed the bands that we the most popular there like La Matatena, Sekta Core, La Tremenda Korte, so he offered to distribute the album. We also participated in the first two Mexican ska compilations, Skuela de Baile 1 y 2 that had very good distribution, and that helped us to get promoters to take us to Mexico City. Almalafa had the best recording, best vocalist and most original concept. Maybe it is bad to say it, but, we were better in everything and we influence many bands from there. For example, listen to El Fantasma De La Rana of Sekta Core and it sounds like Quemare Tu Sepultura or a song from Panteon sounds like Psicodelia and there are more".

"The ska scene in Mexico continues and strong, there are ska shows everywhere, in Tijuana, Guadalajara, Monterrey, DF and even in Los Angeles, we are in the 3rd. Ska wave. New bands come out in every city. Here in Tijuana, ska bands are the ones that move the most, as I see it, making shows, looking for venues, and this is part of what we have planted bands like Tijuana NO !, The KFM and us. There is a strong scene with an audience".

"Many people have a very bad concept of ska bands, not all of them are like that, but, we have an evolution, we are playing more things. We are Mexican Ska but it's boring to play just that, that's why we're putting more thing, having more fun, that's why there are very varied things on the second album. In terms of lyrics, each band has its own way of protesting. We talk about not wanting wars, but we do not talk about what happened in the past, we talk about the present, talking about positivism and good vibes, it's a way of a protest seeking peace. We can not be a single genre band, we have to change it, but as for the band's concept, we play what we play, we're not going to change, so we play with any type of band, we are what we are, that's our satisfaction".

MI PELIGROSA TIJUANA

"We feel more mature, musically, we are better musicians than before and that helps us make better music, lyrics, and arrangements. We are going to give you a mixture of rhythms very different from those of the first album, combined with the Alma-style ska. Also, more aggressive voices and choirs, something that did not have the first album. The sound of this album is more raw, not as clean as that of Psicodelic Ska. In this recording, the studio is better and we use Rubén Montoya as an engineer again, we feel very comfortable with him ".

"This record was a medium length process, like 2 years, a lot of time, but it was because of the expensive of the studio. We recorded it in the Studio EQ of Los Tucanes De Tijuana. With the profits of the shows, we bought blocks of 5 or 10 hours. Actually, it was not very comfortable, we worked against the clock, pressured by time and cost, but in the end, I am quite pleased with the result. It was also a long process because when it was already recorded new things were coming out in the arrangements and we were changing them again. This record can be considered to be within the ska movement, but that does not mean that Almalafa does not play anything else ska. Almalafa is a versatile band that likes to combine ska with rhythms such as Danzon, Bossanova, Jazz, etc, that could change on a future the musical course of the band".

"Imagine that at this time we had released two albums, things would have been different, but now, things are like that and we go with it. Exactly I do not know what would have happened, but we would be a little more advanced. There is a time, in which, I do not know, it's like a challenge in all bands where there are difficulties, but thank God, we get along, we have been able to keep the band, we are more understanding among ourselves, we are still here and we do not think about stopping in a very long time".

"At the start, we played making noise, looking to structure a song, build the band and not think about the result. We do not do thinking that the songs are going to hit, we compose and make then for our liking. We were lucky to have been in a compilation of Sony Music, where the first track was ours. A lot of people knew about us and had a good response and it was a good achievement. Also with Ubeerse Records in Germany with whom we had the distribution of the album, there has been a good response from over there and even from Indonesia".

"Technology makes things easier, but we are old school. We recognize that computing and the internet are an important tool, and in that case, it is better to be independent, we can do anything with the record, we can put it anywhere. What we want is promotion, that is what we are fighting, whoever distributes it, gives us something to work. If we were signed, the problem would be that we would be without promotion, without that, there is nothing. There are bands that been freeze by companies. In fact, there are many bands that even the company decides not even releasing or distributing their record, which is worse. You are learning to be independent, to move without that "help", since you do not know if it is for good or for bad, so we want to be the owners of the material. Peter Gabriel, to give an example, sells only his material and is dedicated to touring the world. The most well-known bands are able to pull their own deals. We like to have control, so that is why nothing has ever been signed. We are not interested in the transnational record companies, we will be independent until death, (the big ones) do not take care of the bands".

IN CONCLUSION

"Almalafa continues, and will continue to make music, recording it, making videos and playing here and there, where it is possible, traveling to other cities. We have a necessity to create and present music, and if it is well accepted by people, much better. With the time we have, it is easier, the promoters are looking for us to participate in their festivals and it allows us to play for more people".

"We have been playing for more than 15 years, but we have reinvented ourselves, we have again that hunger to go on tour and record new songs. In music we are in a super point of creation, we are getting the very good stuff. And what we have left this year is to return to Mexico City and start recording Volume 2 of the album Mi Peligrosa Tijuana, we are ready to start recording, there are 10 full songs and we want to start working on that".

UPDATE

They finally released Mi Peligrosa Tijuana and in fact, it is their finest release, showcasing their uncanny ability to make great songs. They celebrated their 20th year being featured in the Pepsi Ska Fest in Mexico City with good reception. Still are going strong, going back to California and doing some special shows.

(Compilation of interviews conducted between 2000 and 2012 for RadioTrac in Bulbo Broadcast, Trac! Trac! Trac!, JarCore Radio and No Cover in Spanish)

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#Tijuana #interview #Ska #Reggae #Music #culture

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drtanstravels · 5 years

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We left off in my previous post having spent a few days hanging out in the beachside city of Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico before crossing back over the border into the US. The original title for this post was going to be A Tale Of Two Californias, Pt. 2; San Diego, California, because we spent essentially all of our time except for a couple of hours on this leg of the trip in San Diego, however, I realised that I didn’t capture any decent photos while there and the reason will become more evident as you read.

The purpose for our stay in San Diego was because Anna had been inducted into the Macula Society last year and this year we would be attending their 43rd Annual Meeting that would also be hosting a welcome dinner for all new Macula Society members. This was a pretty big deal because, not only is Anna now possibly the youngest member of the society, but she was also one of only three women inducted this time around. Besides the dinner, she would also be presenting at the conference, as well as chairing some events. Let’s now focus on the American leg of this trip.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020 I ended our last post when we were finally able to cross the border back into the US. When we came out on the other side we were a little confused; we were pretty sure that we were in the correct place, but all of the shops and signs were in Spanish and there were hispanic people everywhere. Had we made some kind of mistake, taken a wrong path, and were still in Tijuana? It sure seemed that way, but we hadn’t veered off the common path while crossing and if so, the signs definitely need to be clearer, because we certainly didn’t want to be subjected to that whole immigration process again! We walked around and eventually saw a sign that said “To Mexico” so we were definitely on the US side of the border, it just happened to be almost entirely hispanic as well. We got into an extremely unroadworthy taxi and went to the San Diego International Airport in order to pick up our rental car, a white Hyundai sedan. While Anna was inside the office signing all of the paperwork, it became apparent to me in the fading daylight that the car had a lot of bumps, scuffs, and scratches all over it. I took photos of them all, which Anna showed to the Avis representative, however, he told us not to worry, “You’ve got full coverage.” As soon as we got in the car, another thing became immediately apparent; the inside of this thing absolutely stunk of weed! It honestly smelled like the person who had just returned the car only rented it so they could spend a couple of days hotboxing.

En route to the resort at which we were staying was a giant factory outlet centre so naturally we stopped in there. There were outlets for pretty much every fashion label and store you could think of, this place was enormous, so Anna looked at the clothing outlets and I checked out the shoes and sporting goods ones, but it was almost impossible to find any sneakers that weren’t absolutely hideous. Denim Air Jordan 6s simply shouldn’t exist, but it was only awful stuff like that that I was able to find. As we slowly made our way through this sprawling mass of outlet stores, they began to get cheaper and cheaper until we found ourselves at a store we would see several more times over the coming days — Ross, a clothing outlet with the slogan, “Dress for Less.” I don’t recall seeing these stores when we lived in New York City, maybe they’re just predominantly in California, but apparently Ross is the largest off-price retailer in the US. When I was in my very early twenties, I for a time worked unloading trucks and stacking shelves in a similar store in Melbourne called Myer Goodbuy Clearance Centre, an outlet for excess, end of season, and just generally unsellable stock for the Myer department store chain. That place was just like being in a regular department store and you could get really good stuff at a great price. This particular Ross store was on a whole different level completely! It was kind of laid out like a thrift store with just random clothing items crammed onto racks, except in Ross the items were new and people were just ripping pieces off the racks, looking at them, throwing them on the ground, and then grabbing another. It was like the Wild West in there, people in cowboy hats fighting, but instead of over poker games or cattle rustling, they were fighting over extremely discounted clothes. Definitely a site to behold.

When the factory outlet centre was coming close to closing time, we got back into the weed-infused car and drove in the general direction of San Diego until we came to Rancho Bernardo, a kind of upperclass gated community where our resort, the Rancho Bernardo Inn, was located. Rancho Bernardo Inn is an enormous, Spanish-style resort set on a golf course, but it is also still at least a 30-40 minute Uber ride out of the main parts of town so we were going to be spending a lot of time there. When we arrived, a valet took our car to park it, giving a smile and a nod as the scent wafted out, and we checked into the inn. It was a bit of a maze to find our room, but when we eventually did it was big and seemed like a comfortable way to spend the coming days. The TV was already on when we entered, the home screen and movie options both inexplicably presented by Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell fame. They must also get a few people stay there who become a little tired of the isolation of the place, because there was also completely free porn access in each room. Here’s a look around ours:

Entering our room once we had found it.

Those wooden doors opened out onto a large balcony, the view from which is the feature image for this post

Looking toward the entrance

Mario doing his thing

I hope that doesn’t mean all the movies star Mario Lopez

Just some of the other entertainment options available

Once we had dumped all of our suitcases in our room we went down to one of the hotel’s restaurants for dinner and then to the hotel bar for a couple of drinks while watching college basketball and playing shuffleboard again like we did in Vancouver. We still don’t know the actual rules to shuffleboard, despite them being posted on the wall in the bar, they just seem too complicated, plus the table had a slightly different layout this time so we continued to do it our way until the bar closed at midnight.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020 Anna registered for the conference, met up with our friend from Spain, Rosa Dolz-Marco, who was also attending, and then I went down to have a coffee with them at the hotel cafe. Rosa had to leave so Anna and I walked around with our drinks, just exploring this vast resort, one so large that staff used golf carts to get around the grounds, and that’s not even including the golf course itself. I was wearing a Brant Bjork t-shirt and I’ve found that a lot of Americans aren’t particularly shy about giving you their opinions or asking questions so I wasn’t all that surprised when a grey-haired man with a handlebar moustache stopped the golf cart he was driving , turned to me and yelled, “Who the hell is Brant Bjork?” I told him he was a musician and the man then explained that Bjork was his own surname before driving off again. Anna soon had to be at the conference and I always love checking out record and thrift stores so my plan for the day was to head into the the Gaslamp District of San Diego, as well as some other nearby neighbourhoods:

The Gaslamp Quarter is a district of San Diego, California. It is a 16½ block historical neighborhood in Downtown San Diego, and is the site of several entertainment and night life venues, as well as scheduled events and festivals, including Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp, Street Scene Music Festival, Taste of Gaslamp and ShamROCK, a St. Patrick’s Day event. Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres is located one block away in downtown San Diego’s East Village.

The Gaslamp Quarter extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, and from 4th to 6th Avenue, covering 16½ blocks. It includes 94 historic buildings, most of which were constructed in the Victorian Era, and are still in use with active tenants including restaurants, shops and nightclubs.

“Gaslamp District” is the more commonly used name of the neighborhood by local San Diegans, while “Gaslamp Quarter”, despite being on the entryway arch and all official city signage and banners, is rarely used by locals. The use of “Gaslamp District” is so pervasive by locals that it has become a shibboleth to determine who is a local San Diegan and who is a tourist.

I called an Uber to go into town and as I made my way through the lobby of the resort and approached the pick up area, who else was there on arrival but the man with the handlebar moustache, this time waiting with a fellow employee. “Hey!” he shouted. “Show this guy your shirt!” I humoured him by showing them both my Brant Bjork shirt again, adorned with a giant, red marijuana leaf, and they both laughed, shook their heads, and walked away. My Uber arrived and for a fee of US$35.00 plus more than half an hour of my time I was finally in town and it wasn’t really what I expected. The Gaslamp District had what looked like some cool places to eat and drink, but not a whole lot of shops I wanted to look at. Of course, going out in the evening would mean adding close to US$100.00 to our night out once you include after-hours fees to a ride in a taxi or Uber back to where we were staying, plus we don’t know how dodgy the Gaslamp District is after hours. The shops I wanted to see were deep in the East Village, and my guess is that none of the characters in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (above, right), ever once set foot into the East Village of San Diego:

In the latter part of the 20th century the East Village became known for its vacant buildings, dive-bars, and eclectic dwellings of artists. Prostitutes, drug addicts, and homeless people were common. Beginning with redevelopment, and particularly after the opening of Petco Park in 2004, the area became known for upscale restaurants and trendy shops, although it is still rife with homeless.

I first visited the record store I had intended to and then there were a couple of thrift stores a 20-minute walk away. I figured after paying that much to get here I might as well check out what I’d come to see so I kept walking deeper and deeper into the Village. Sure, the area had become a bit gentrified, as tends to happen often with the shittier areas of cities, but the homelessness was still rife, countless transients everywhere pushing all of their possessions around in old shopping carts. At one stage I thought an African-American guy was walking toward me, resplendent in his tattered rags and a trolley full of trash, but it turned out to be a white guy who was so dirty and grimy that his skin and hair gave him the appearance of being from a completely different race. I had several guys mutter what drugs they could sell me as they walked past and before long I was at the thrift stores. These stores were large, but not quite what I was expecting — There wasn’t a whole lot of goods for people like me that love stumbling across vintage crap, but instead catering to what appeared to be their main demographic, the countless vagrants in the area that were just trying to stay warm at night on the street. The other option for the classier of the homeless community was another nearby Ross outlet a block away.

It was now late afternoon and I had returned to the Gaslamp District and was just exploring the area, browsing in some of the shops and looking at possible options for if we did choose to spend a night out in the city, when Anna messaged me to tell me about the dinner plans back at the resort. I jumped in a cab so I could get back and have a shower and my driver turned out to be this fascinating Moroccan-born data analyst from Finnland who gets bored at work and drives for Uber to improve his already fluent English. We got stuck in traffic for a bit so our ride back to Rancho Bernardo took longer, but we had a really interesting chat on the way, a trip that cost over US$40.00. When I arrived home Anna was giving a talk so I freshened up and later went to dinner with Anna, Rosa, and their crew. The food was an American-international buffet, but the busiest station was true Americana, a build-your-own burger bar. After dinner it was back to the bar for a couple of drinks with Rosa and company. Take a look around Rancho Bernardo Inn, some stuff I found in town, and Anna having dinner with some international colleagues:

We were staying upstairs in that building

Now going back to the lobby

Still going…

…and going…

…getting warmer

This place is enormous!

Looking back at the entrance

Probably the most American canine-based publication I’ve encountered

Mario Lopez is huge in this town

Now having dinner with some of Anna’s international fellows

Thursday, February 20, 2020 Anna didn’t have anything on in the afternoon so we decided to check out some shopping malls, however, they were still about 30km (18.5 miles) away. The valet brought over our dope-odoriferous car, smiled as he handed us the keys, and it was time to hit the road. We soon came to another outlet mall and although she wanted to do some shopping, there is another thing that Anna surprisingly has a soft spot for whenever she’s in the US, one that I would never have expected — In-n-Out Burger. Despite the fact that we had just had lunch, we pulled up a seat in the old-school burger joint from the Happy Days era, and had a burger each before going to the shops. We spent a bit of time looking around, but there wasn’t a whole lot there, although I did manage to pick up a nice tie to wear to the dinner the next night.

Anna was going to have work drinks with her colleagues so I showered and went down to the hotel bar, which was showing the NCAA basketball. I pulled up a seat at the bar next to an older gentleman and we both took in a great game between Oregon and Arizona State, fortunately for us with it on mute and some music playing, otherwise we would’ve got stuck listening to Bill Walton talking about composting or his time hanging out with the Grateful Dead, anything but the game. I got talking to the guy next to me, an ex-Marine who had lived briefly in Broome, Western Australia before retiring in Florida, and then recently moving to the Rancho Bernardo neighbourhood. He said he moved to San Diego because his main hobby is sailing, but ultimately regrets it due to the cost of living and how spread out the area is. In fact, he was drinking in the hotel bar because it was the only one even remotely near his house. The old guy left after the game was over and Anna joined me in the bar for more shuffleboard to finish off the night.

Friday, February 21, 2020 The big day was here, Anna’s welcome dinner for the Macula Society would be later that night, but first after she gave a presentation and chaired a panel I would join them at one of their lunches. Might as well just pull up a seat and grab a bite to eat while they all talk shop. One of the Irish doctors in attendance had just been for a swim in the ocean, because it was about 25°C (77°F) and she told me it pretty much never gets that hot back in Dublin. After lunch we had a look around Fashion Valley mall, although there wasn’t a whole lot for me to look at, however, Anna took advantage of the situation and stocked up on miniature bottles of hand sanitiser, something that has been a little tough to come across for hospital staff in Singapore since the coronavirus outbreak. She bought 40 bottles to be precise. I just picked up an awesome pair of Andre the Giant socks and before long we were headed back to Rancho Bernardo again.

They had a really good band playing at the dinner, everyone one was standing around having more drinks, and Anna and I were catching up with fellows of hers from around the world that we hadn’t seen in quite a while. Soon we were seated, speeches were being made while several people felt the need to passive-aggressively hit their champagne glasses repeatedly with a spoon at the slightest hint of noise, and then after the main course, the highlight of the night for us took place:

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Moments like this make me extremely proud, especially, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Anna was one of only three women inducted this year and is now possibly the youngest member of the Macular Society. It’s just a shame she didn’t get to keep that saxophone. The rest of the dinner was spent doing more mingling and catching up, interspersed with Anna being congratulated and being asked to be in photos. When the band wrapped up and the dinner came to a close, the older doctors and professors went back to their rooms, while some of the younger ones went down to the bar for more drinks and some drunken, novice attempts at shuffleboard with the uninitiated. The barman had seen Anna and myself every night since we had been at Rancho Bernardo Inn and asked what the occasion was when I went to the bar to get Anna a drink. I told him about Anna’s achievement and he soon returned to present her with a celebratory cupcake, the perfect way to cap off an awesome night. Anna with her fellows at the welcome dinner, as well as my new socks:

All of the new Macula Society members

The three newest female members

Had to take my opportunity for a picture while there was a chance

Anna’s celebratory cupcake

My new socks

Saturday, February 22, 2020 Our last day in California was upon us so we checked out of Rancho Bernardo Inn, got in our stinky car, and headed for Los Angeles, stopping off in Ladera Ranch to visit Anna’s uncle and auntie, Bob and Susan, the latter of whom is suffering from a degenerative neurological condition, so they were glad they had a chance to see us while the opportunity was still there.

(image source)

After the visit we were back in the general direction of Los Angeles. I mentioned the first time we came to LA how bad the traffic is, but what I didn’t mention is how difficult it is to navigate the closer you get to the city, a good example being this image to the left. That may appear confusing at first glance, but it is even more difficult in the dark using Google Maps and let’s not ignore the fact that there are many of these types of junctions. Sure, the traffic jams of endless SUVs make it relatively slow, but if you look closer you’ll notice in that image that in some areas there are four or more layers of traffic and in others you can be on a road following the same route directly above or below another road, making it impossible to figure out which path you are following on Google Maps. Add to this exits splitting into multiple exits, other exits barely metres after the previous exit, and if you miss the one you require, you may need to rapidly cross six lanes of traffic to counter your mistake by taking another exit, this time on the other side of the freeway. But there is no other option, the city is so sprawling with pretty much only taxis for public transport so you either have to drive or get driven.

We had given ourselves plenty of time to get to LAX so we had a couple of hours to spare before we needed to be there. We decided that we should get something to eat as the food in the airport lounge would probably be kind of ordinary, plus Anna knows that my favourite record store in the entire world, Amoeba Records, is on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood so that’s where we’d be stopping, we just forgot how awful that part of town is. It’s strange how revered and lauded Hollywood is, Sunset Blvd. in particular in music and film, the place where dreams are realised, but that is only for a small few. In reality it appears to be where all hopes are dashed. Our plan was to park in the lot out the front of the Jack in the Box across the street from Amoeba, but there was the small issue of the two violently alcoholic bums that would be directly in front of a car full of our belongings, one of whom could barely stand and the other who was screaming and threatening to glass him with a half-empty wine bottle. I made the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas comparison the first time we were in LA, but it is impressive how accurately they managed to encapsulate this city, the only main differences are that in reality the traffic is worse and the streets are dirtier, but why would you want blocked roads in a game that involves endless driving? Anyway, we contemplated the situation for a good couple of minutes, figured it wasn’t worth the risk, especially when there was a little tent city on the same block containing more people who would probably be more than willing to cash in on the items inside the multiple suitcases in our car. It turned out that there was a multi-storey parking lot with guards just around the corner so we dropped off the car and went to Amoeba. I won’t bore you with the details of me shopping, I could’ve spent all day there and picked up some great stuff, it was just fortunate that we hadn’t gone the day before, because Ozzy Osbourne had done an in-store signing there. Don’t get me wrong, I love Black Sabbath, but it would’ve made looking around a tad difficult, where as now I could embrace it. Time was soon running out so we went to a Japanese restaurant around the corner for some dinner, then it was back in the car and on our way to the the airport. Our last day in California:

Anna with her auntie

Me with her uncle

“Parking there might not be that bad…”

Although this guy threatened to cut a dude out the front

“Hollywood is like Picasso’s bathroom.” ― Candice Bergen

It was worth the traffic and lack of public safety just to visit this place again

Took this the day after Ozzy was there

After dinner we were in the car for the final time. Google Maps was trying to get us to go back on the freeway in a huge arcing loop of endless traffic that would most likely result in us taking multiple wrong exits in order to get to the airport, when there was also another more direct route through back streets that would take essentially the same amount of time. Obviously we opted for the second option and got to the airport completely hassle-free with time to spare. We dropped the Hyundai off at the Avis lot at LAX, hoping we didn’t smell like pot after a day of sitting in that thing, and then had to take a shuttle to get to our terminal, the driver supposed to tell us when we arrived. Only she didn’t, she drove straight past it without us knowing and about half an hour later we were back at the Avis lot. The driver told us she had forgotten that we were stopping there, but wouldn’t forget this time so after close to an hour on the shuttle we were finally ready to check in, leaving us in the usual mad rush that we always seem to end up in, despite initially arriving at the airport with plenty of time remaining. I hate airports at the best of the times, but the ones in the US are among the worst, all patrolled by security staff not smart enough to pass the police exam, but still with the cop mentality. When we had our boarding passes we went through security and the first point was the sniffer dog phase, despite the fact that we were leaving the country and would be arriving in one with some of the strictest drug laws in the world. One security guard at the back was telling the line not to stop, just forcing us to keep moving, yet the guard at the end near the dogs was telling everyone to stop moving forward and back up, causing a bit of a squishy situation in the middle of the queue. Then it was on to the metal detectors, where you have to remove boots, but not shoes. One man in the line who clearly didn’t understand English just saw people taking their boots off so he decided to do the same with his sneakers. “Sir! SIR!” the security guard shouted into the crowd angrily, but the man had no idea it was him being yelled at, he was just doing what almost everyone else was doing. The guard approached him and continued shouting, but the man had no idea what was going on, he just put his shoes in the tray, and went through the metal detector while the guard rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. After a quick stop in the lounge and changing into some cooler clothes, we were seated and on our way home.

This was an awesome trip, we absolutely loved Mexico and had a complete blast there and yes, we may have spent our time in a more tourist-friendly area, but when we returned, people in both the US and Singapore couldn’t believe we weren’t attacked or killed, but to be honest I felt a lot safer in Mexico than I have any time on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood! It would’ve also been cool to see a bit more of San Diego and get some photos around the town, if we go again we’ll try to stay in the city, but it was all worth it to see Anna get welcomed into the Macula Society.

The second part of our recent trip, arriving in San Diego from a vacation in Mexico so Anna could be welcomed into the Macula Society, before trying to navigate freeways in Los Angeles. We left off in my previous post having spent a few days hanging out in the beachside city of Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico before crossing back over the border into the US.

#airports #homeless #Los Angeles #Macula Society #San Diego #traffic

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kansascityhappenings · 5 years

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Mexico’s Azteca hopes to shine for Chiefs vs. Chargers matchup after last year’s debacle

MEXICO CITY — Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium is looking to put its best face forward Monday night when it hosts a regular-season matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, after last season’s NFL game had to be moved to the L.A. Coliseum in a major black eye for the arena and the league.

Poor field conditions forced the last-minute change of venue, which prompted headlines like “Colossal Shame” from the Mexican sports newspaper Record and others, and since then league and stadium officials have taken steps to ensure the marquee event comes off without a hitch in one of the NFL’s most important overseas markets.

The hybrid turf that never quite took in Azteca has been swapped out for natural grass. Women’s soccer league matches were moved to a different venue, and fewer events in general have been scheduled for the 84,000-seat Azteca. Last year, concerts in the days leading up to the scheduled game between the Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams contributed to the ragged field conditions.

This year, the most recent soccer game in Azteca took place Nov. 2, giving groundskeepers time to ensure the field is tip-top.

“The field is in very good condition,” said Arturo Olivé, director of the NFL’s office in Mexico. “It looks spectacular, and we are very happy with the great work that has been carried out.”

Starting in January, Olivé said, the league has been sending monitors to Mexico to avoid a repeat of 2018’s debacle, and he has been making weekly visits to the stadium to file progress reports.

“The NFL people did not come to judge what was being done, but rather as part of a working team contributing solutions,” Olivé said.

Last November’s fiasco was also a major headache for Televisa, the largest broadcaster in Latin America, which owns the stadium.

Officials hired World Sports Solutions International, which prepared fields for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, to restore Azteca’s hybrid surface to natural grass.

Renato Luis Laurentti, who is responsible for the upgrades, said this week that the field was fertilized and irrigated with orange juice, vitamins, carbohydrates and proteins. Images published by the company on social media showed the grass apparently in perfect shape.

Monday will mark the fourth regular-season NFL game played at Azteca, which underwent a renovation in 2016 partly with the league in mind. Capacity was reduced from over 100,000 previously, and locker rooms designed to accommodate NFL teams were added.

The 49ers and Cardinals faced off here in 2005, followed by the Raiders and Texans in 2016 and the Patriots and Raiders in 2017. Before that it hosted several preseason games as well, including a Chiefs victory over the Cowboys in 1996.

It will be the Chargers’ first visit to Mexico, where according to the league’s local office the team has a strong following — mostly in the northern city of Tijuana just across the border from San Diego, which the Chargers long called home before moving to Los Angeles after the 2016 season.

The push to keep playing games in Mexico is no accident. While soccer, known as “fútbol” in Spanish, remains king, the NFL estimates there are some 25 million fans of football in the country. Many people get together in homes, bars and movie theaters to watch live broadcasts, and it’s common to see fans wearing jerseys of their favorite teams. The Steelers, Cowboys, Patriots, Raiders and 49ers are among the most popular.

“I came a few years ago for the Raiders game and you could feel the excitement, and I believe that it keeps growing,” said Anthony Muñoz, a Hall of Fame former offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals.

“A lot of people think of Mexico and think that they just love the other ‘football,’ but it’s not like that,” said Muñoz, who has Mexican heritage. “The fans here are really knowledgeable and understand the game. There’s a big fan base here.”

The NFL has promoted the sport for years in Mexican schools and estimates that about 3.3 million children play on more than 6,000 junior teams in 27 of the country’s 32 states.

Football historian Alejandro Morales, founder of Mexico’s football Hall of Fame, said the game arrived in the country in 1896 via Mexicans who studied at U.S. universities and brought their appreciation back home. Mexico’s first football game took place that year in the city of Jalapa between local students and a team made up of U.S. Marines who were passing through the port city of Veracruz.

Mexico has two college football leagues with nearly 40 teams between them. Last weekend’s championship between Burros Blancos and Aguilas Blancas — “white donkeys” and “white eagles,” respectively — overflowed the 36,000-capacity stadium at the capital’s Sports City complex and was broadcast on national television.

“A stadium with 35,000 people to watch a student sport event is something incredible,” said quarterback Rodrigo García of the victorious Burros Blancos. “That tells you something about the passion for this sport in Mexico.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/11/17/mexicos-azteca-hopes-to-shine-for-chiefs-vs-chargers-matchup-after-last-years-debacle/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/11/18/mexicos-azteca-hopes-to-shine-for-chiefs-vs-chargers-matchup-after-last-years-debacle/

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marilynngmesalo · 6 years

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Tijuana shuts down migrant shelter near U.S. border

Tijuana shuts down migrant shelter near U.S. border Tijuana shuts down migrant shelter near U.S. border https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

MEXICO CITY — The city government of Tijuana announced Saturday that it has closed down a migrant shelter at a sports complex close to the U.S. border that once held about 6,000 Central Americans who hope to get into the U.S.

Officials said all the migrants were being moved to a former concert venue much farther from the border. The city said in a statement the sports complex shelter was closed because of “bad sanitary conditions.”

Experts had expressed concerns about unsanitary conditions that had developed at the partly flooded sports complex, where the migrants had been packed into a space adequate for half their numbers. Mud, lice infestations and respiratory infections were rampant.

Mexico gets first left-wing leader in over 70 years

Trump says 'We will close the border permanently if need be'

Migrants enveloped in tear gas after heading toward U.S. border

The remaining migrants were taken by bus to the new shelter about 10 miles (15 kilometres) from the border crossing at Otay Mesa and 14 miles (22 kilometres) from San Ysidro, near where people line up to file applications for asylum in the United States.

Tijuana officials had said earlier that nobody would be forced to move to the new facility, a large building and concrete patio known as El Barretal that was used for concerts and other events until about six years ago. But they also warned they would stop offering food and medical services at the Benito Juarez sports complex.

The new shelter is being run by federal authorities.

Also Saturday, in one of his first acts in office, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador signed an agreement with his counterparts from three Central American countries to establish a development plan to stem the flow of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S.

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The Foreign Ministry said the plan, which includes a fund to generate jobs in the region, aims to attack the structural causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Thousands of migrants, mostly Hondurans, have joined caravans in recent weeks in an effort to speed across Mexico to request refuge at the U.S. border.

Dozens of migrants interviewed by The Associated Press have said they are fleeing poverty and violence in their countries of origin.

//<![CDATA[ ( function() { pnLoadVideo( "videos", "N9Fee66LyZQ", "pn_video_844505", "", "", {"controls":1,"autoplay":0,"is_mobile":""} ); } )(); //]]> Click for update news Bangla news https://ift.tt/2PdnsYk world news

#metronews24 bangla #Latest Online Breaking Bangla News #Breaking Bangla News #prothom alo #bangla news #b

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frontproofmedia · 7 years

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Who Should Be Miguel Cotto's Last Opponent?

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By Hector Franco

Follow @MrHector_Franco !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs'); Follow @Frontproofmedia!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');

Published: September 28, 2017

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By the time 2017 is over it will be remembered as one of the best years the sport of boxing has had in some time. The year has been full of big events like Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko and Canelo-Golovkin and cards that provided action from top to bottom like HBO’s “SuperFly” card. The sport has also gotten unprecedented coverage and exposure in the mainstream sports media this year. Boxing promotional company Top Rank signed a deal this year giving sports channel ESPN exclusive coverage of their fights. More importantly, than all these factors is that 2017 has been the year where boxing has transitioned to a new era. The Mayweather-Pacquiao era is now over for the most part with many fighters announcing their retirement such as Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley, Floyd Mayweather, Wladimir Klitschko and most recently Andre Ward.

One more fighter of the last era has announced that 2017 will be the last year of his career. Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto (41-5, 33 KOs) will reportedly fight for the last time in 2017. In his last fight, this past August; Cotto won the vacant WBO Super Welterweight (154) championship against Japan’s Yoshihiro Kamegai (27-4-2, 24 KOs). With a world title in hand, Cotto looks to have his final bout in his second home of New York City in December. The Puerto Rican will look to fight on December 2nd at the famed Madison Square Garden where he has had some of the biggest fights of his career. This will mark the 10th time Cotto has fought at Madison Square Garden. The date and the venue seem to have already been taken care of; now the attention turns to who will be the final opponent in the Puerto Rican’s career.

""What we're working on now is finalizing the opponent. There's a short list of guys and hopefully, by the end of this week, we'll get that locked down. We're looking at December 2nd and we have the MSG (Madison Square Garden) locked down." " -- Golden Boy President Eric Gomez

DAVID LEMIEUX (38-3, 33 KOs)

The opponent that has been mentioned at the highest rate for Cotto is Canadian puncher David Lemieux. Facing a puncher like Lemieux is a significant risk for Cotto at this stage of his career, but could provide for an exciting night of action as a send-off to his career. Lemieux earlier this year scored a devastating one-punch knockout over middleweight contender Curtis Stevens. Afterward, The Montreal, Quebec native won a unanimous decision over the tough Marcos Reyes on the undercard of Canelo-Chavez Jr. in May. Lemieux also has the same promoter as Cotto in Golden Boy Promotions making negotiations easier than most.

In Lemieux’s biggest fight of his career in 2015 against Gennady Golovkin at Madison Square Garden the event was sold out and at the time set a record for the fastest sell-out at the venue in boxing history. With his contingency of fans willing to travel to New York from Canada, a fight between Cotto and Lemieux could mean fireworks in the ring and at the box office.

MIKEY GARCIA (37-0, 30 KOs)

WBC lightweight (135) champion Mikey Garcia has brought up on multiple occasions that he is willing to once again move up in weight to meet Cotto at 154-pounds. Garcia, recently moved up to 140-pounds from the lightweight division to face Adrien Broner this past July. Garcia won an impressive unanimous decision over Broner. However, a move up another two weight-classes to meet a veteran like Cotto would be a tall order for any fighter.

Garcia is taking a page out of the Sugar Ray Leonard book by not having a commitment with any one particular promoter and attempting to make the biggest fights possible throughout the boxing landscape. While Cotto-Garcia would likely be treated as a mismatch by most fans and experts, it has the potential of being a fight that captures the public’s interest similar to when Canelo Alvarez faced Amir Khan. The fight would also have the advantage of being promoted as another chapter in the storied rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico.

AMIR KHAN (31-4, 19 KOs)

For the last few years, former 140-pound champion Amir Khan has made it clear that he will only step into the ring for a big fight. Khan was last seen in the ring looking up at the lights after a right hand from Canelo Alvarez in May 2016. The U.K. native has not stepped in the ring since and has made more noise on Twitter for personal issues than anything else.

If Cotto is looking for an opponent who has a name and someone whom he has the potential to score a knockout against, Khan may be the fighter for the job.

An ideal opponent for Cotto would be with two of Khan’s fellow countrymen. This past April, Liam Smith (25-1-1, 14 KOs) and Liam Williams (16-1-1, 11 KOs) battled for the interim WBO 154-pound title. The two will meet in a rematch this November making a fight with Cotto for the winner highly unlikely.

ANTONIO MARGARITO (41-8, 27 KOs)

Tijuana, Mexico native Antonio Margarito began his comeback to the sport after a five-year hiatus in 2016. Margarito has fought exclusively in Mexico in his return to the ring. Earlier this month, he faced Carson Jones (40-12-3, 30 KOs) and was lucky to escape with a decision after the fight was stopped due to an accidental headbutt. Jones was starting to put a beating on Margarito before the fight was stopped giving the impression that Margarito was saved by some hometown favoritism.

Margarito at this point is still a pariah in the boxing world with many believing he benefited from cheating with loaded hand wraps for a majority of his career. The former welterweight champion from Mexico has not looked good in any of his returning bouts and seems to have lost his most redeeming characteristic, his chin.

A rubber match between Cotto and Margarito could be promoted as a grudge match, but at this point, Cotto and his fans may have lost interest. Cotto at this time would be favored to stop Margarito and possibly devastatingly stop him. This matchup could be made, as Cotto’s final fight is more about the event than the actual fight itself.

Whatever happens in Cotto’s last fight in December is inconsequential. Puerto Rico’s first four-division champion has already put in the work to have his name stamped in Canastota as a Hall-of-Famer. Cotto’s legacy as one of the best Puerto Rican fighters in history has been cemented. In December, fans will get the opportunity to watch one more time one of the most exciting fighters of this era perform in front of what should be a raucous Puerto Rican crowd.

Whom would you like to see Cotto face in December for his last fight? Let us know below.

(Feature Photo: Team Cotto)

#HF #Miguel Cotto #Puerto Rico #Puerto Rico vs. Mexico #WBO Junior Middleweight champion #wbo #Golden Boy Promotions #Golden Boy #Madison Square Garden #New York #Freddie Roach #Amir Khan #David Lemieux #Liam Smith #Liam Williams #HBO #HBO Sports

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