Carlos A Torres - Designer & Photographer

Here’s what I’ve compiled as a “short” bucket list. From the simple to the complex, there are a ton of places I would love to visit, tons of things I would love to do but for now these are the most important and most attractive to me. A couple of these I’ve done already but the list is there for a reason, to be completely accomplished one day:

France - As a stroll through Montmartre or as a spectator at a Tour de France stage.
St. Marteen - Just to be witness to this in person: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w-9G8z4RCI
Egypt - So I can sets my sight on the only remaining Wonder of the World
New York - Ice skating in Rockefeller Center. Done it, it’s awesome!
Manchester - To take in a match at Old Trafford, although I hate Man U and to see the birthplace of British punk.
Boston - I’ve been to Boston but life won’t be complete until I take a Red Sox game at Fenway Park
Arizona - To take pictures at The Grand Canyon. I’ve seen Hoover Dam in person and that was quite impressive, now to see something that impressive and natural is going to be amazing.

Just saw Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones a couple of days ago and the more I think and ponder on it the better the movie gets. This is a film that has no secrets to it. Pretty much everyone that goes to see it knows exactly what this movie is about and what’s going to happen. Credit is then due to the original material and to the filmmakers for weaving a story that even though sounds familiar, ends up being anything but. We’re all conditioned to see certain plot lines occur in movies of this topic but it is in these caveats that we find the difference between this film and others of similar topic. Think What Dreams What May Come, Premonition, The Invisible, all good films but all had the same predictable outcome and the same goal in mind. The Lovely Bones deviates from the norm to surprise us as the story unravels and as the ending arrives. You may not get the answers you’re looking for, you may not get the closure you desire but you’ll definitely get this film for the great story that it is.

I’ve been able to finally catch most of the films (the good ones) that are nominated for awards during this entire awards season. The Academy Award nominations have not been announced but I’m very close to covering all the SAG and Golden Globe nominees. Here are the ones I’ve seen and the ones I’ve yet to and want to see:

SEEN:
The Hurt Locker
District 9
Inglorious Basterds
Avatar
Up In The Air
The Lovely Bones
An Education
Brothers
(500) Days of Summer
Precious (Based on the book Push by Sapphire)

YET TO SEE:
The Messenger
The Blind Side

So I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately in hopes of actually putting pen to paper or hands to keyboard and penning my own book one day. I just finished New Moon from The Twilight Saga. Now I know there’s plenty to criticize when it comes to Twilight from both story and style views but the fact is that these books are very easily readable and therefore enjoyable due to their simplicity. I’ve already started Breaking Dawn and even though I’m not entirely a Twihard when it comes to Twilight I’m still getting enough out of them to make it all worthwhile. Do yourself a favor and pick these books up and read them or pick up the Harry Potter series, you’ll get some satisfaction out of finishing a book once in a while. I’m also in the process of reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Vivir Para Contarla and Donald McCaig’s Rhett Butler’s People. Thank you to all those who hand books my way, I’ll finish them all soon! I promise!

Here’s a list of films you should definitely catch in case you haven’t. These aren’t your mainstream sort of fare but more of the independent variety. Great films, great endings and overall films not to be missed although they’ve been way overlooked. Some of these go back a few years but they need to be seen anyway.

Elephant - 2003
The Jacket - 2005
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 2004
Donnie Darko - 2001
Sling Blade - 1996
Lost In Translation - 2003
City of God - 2002
Memento - 2000
Pi - 1998
Let The Right One In - 2008

Here’s the evidence! Much gratitude to Ryan Clark, lead singer of Demon Hunter and Yogi, drummer for signing my shirt and drumstick respectively. You guys rock! I wish you the best in all you guys do everyday and I definitely can’t wait until I get the product of your upcoming studio time in my hands.

It’s definitely been a while since I’ve posted anything personal but here we go. Just wanted to post a couple of pics from the Demon Hunter concert in Pomona, California. The night….actually make that, the day was awesome! Saw a bunch of bands since the concert lasted all day long. Kudos to Living Sacrifice, they rocked as always and their new song sounds like a definite winner. Demon Hunter of course, were the dynamic group that they are once again. Much thanks to them for putting together a great show, thanks to Ryan for autographing one of my shirts and for snapping a pic with me and thanks to Yogi for signing a piece of one of his drumsticks. I will post the evidence shortly.

Demon Hunter Official Website
Living Sacrifice Official Website

Check out a new ad I made for Sonya Dakar Skin Care. It’s available on newsstands now in American Spa Magazine or online at their digital version of the magazine. There’s some exciting new ideas brewing in my head and one of them involves using a Ball Python for more photography and advertising in conjunction with our current and new products, so stay tuned for those.

American Spa Magazine
American Spa Magazine - Digital Version
Sonya Dakar Skin Care

Monday I had the pleasure of visiting the new 710 ESPN radio studios at L.A. Live in downtown L.A., courtesy of my good friend Dave Denholm. We did his soccer podcast as we deliberated somewhat on the state of the league, that being Major League Soccer, and the state of the United States national team. Our beloved Los Angeles Galaxy was the main topic as usual and it was fun to actually talk about the Galaxy in terms of success and to bask in the current 4-game winning streak. It’s always great fun to do the podcast with him and I thank him for the opportunity. Check it out at: Dave Denholm’s Soccer Podcast at ESPN Los Angeles’ website.

Brazil 3 - 2 United States (Final)

The United States faced off against Brazil in pretty much the biggest game the United States National Men’s Team has ever played! After discarding Spain with a 2-0 humiliation in the semi-final, I personally believed that the US was ready to go against Brazil and that they had gained some confidence against the so called powerhouses of the soccer world. I was expecting the game to be great and the US to have a very good chance of bringing home the Confederations Cup. Game began and the US was definitely ready. Beautiful goals by Dempsey and Donovan gave the US, a 2-0 lead at halftime and Brazil was looking down. Unfortunately the US was not able to capitalize on this lead and ended up losing the final 3-2. Here’s where the divergence in thinking comes in.
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