The Winter Games Have Come to an End...

Catherine Ivill / Getty Images

Almost two hours ago, I watched NBC's taped broadcast of the Winter Games' closing ceremony in Beijing, China. It was a fun 16 days!

Even though the United States finished in the fourth spot with 8 gold medals, and 25 medals overall, it was a thrill to see Team USA members Chloe Kim (women’s halfpipe snowboarding), Nathan Chen (figure skating), Erin Jackson (speedskating), Alex Hall (freestyle skiing), Kaillie Humphries (bobsled), Ashley Caldwell, Christopher Lillis, Justin Schoenefeld (all three for freestyle skiing), Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis (both for mixed-team snowboard cross; Jacobellis won another medal for women’s snowboard cross) win gold at these Olympic Games.

Looking to the future, I'm totally stoked for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games in Italy. For starters, Olympians will be snowboarding and skiing on actual snow four years from now!

But in the meantime, we have the 2024 Summer Games in Paris to look forward to next. And as a resident of Southern California, I cannot wait for the Summer Games in Los Angeles four years after that!

Clearly, the next six years will be a fun time if you're an Olympic buff like me. Carry on!

Photos of the Day: Celestial Bodies Above Downtown LA...

Just thought I'd share these pictures that I took of downtown Los Angeles when I was at work in the City of Angels exactly one week ago today.

In the image above, Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn (in that order) loom high above the Wilshire Grand Center...while in the photo directly below, Jupiter and the Moon hover over other buildings in the L.A. skyline.

These pictures were taken from Los Angeles Center Studios—using my Google Pixel 4A smartphone. Happy Thursday!

Better Luck in 10 Years!

So my 20-year high school reunion takes place a little over a month from now...on October 6. Unfortunately, I most likely won't go since my close high school friends, two of whom I went to my 10-year reunion with in October of 2008, won't attend this time around. The reason for this is because the 20-year reunion will be held on a boat that sails out of Newport Beach in Orange County, California. I myself don't mind being on the boat (even if it's gonna be for at least 2 hours), but I don't want to be on a boat with a bunch of former classmates who I didn't really talk to on campus 20 years ago! Oh well. I'm hoping that the 30-year reunion will take place on land—at a restaurant, preferably (the 2008 gathering took place at Villa Sorriso restaurant in Pasadena, CA). Or someplace cooler, like Spire 73 atop the Wilshire Grand Center! Then again, one of my close high school friends might also be afraid of heights. Soooo Pasadena restaurant, it is! If I was the one organizing the 2028 reunion... Carry on.

Photos of the Day: The Wilshire Grand Center and the City of LA...

Last Wednesday, I finally drove down to the Wilshire Grand Center to check the skyscraper out in person for the very first time. As expected, I was impressed by the architecture and how elegant this newest addition to the Los Angeles skyline looks up-close. Using my Nikon D3300 DSLR camera, I took pics at its rooftop bar and lounge Spire 73, which is located on the 73rd floor, and scenic snapshots of the L.A. cityscape from the 70th floor as well. Overlooking the fact that I paid a little over $27 for parking (it was valet, so I shouldn't complain), this trip was worth it. I definitely want to go back to the Wilshire Grand to take images at night. If these photos from almost three months ago are any indication, then more nocturnal pics of the tallest building west of the Mississippi River won't disappoint. Especially when I'll be using my DSLR camera... Carry on!

The Wilshire Grand Center...Open for Business!

Just found out online yesterday that America's tallest building west of the Mississippi River, the Wilshire Grand Center, had its grand opening in downtown Los Angeles a week ago (June 23). Finally! I plan on visiting L.A.'s newest skyscraper pretty soon...and take pictures of the L.A. skyline from the top of the tower. And of course, see that spire up-close in person. Happy Friday!

Photos of the Day #2: The Wilshire Grand Center Is Lit Up for the (2024) Olympics...

As I was heading home after attending the book signing by Beth Behrs yesterday, I stopped by downtown Los Angeles to take photos of the Wilshire Grand Center...whose rooftop 'sail' was lit up in red, orange and yellow. Why was it lit up in red, orange and yellow, you ask? Because the LA24 Exploratory Committee wanted to impress the International Olympic Committee (IOC) while it was in SoCal this week to gouge if L.A. will be handed the Summer Games of 2024...as opposed to Paris, L.A.'s only rival in this bid. The IOC will choose the winner sometime this September. Here's hoping that the colorful scheme atop the tallest building west of the Mississippi River will bring the Games of the 33rd Olympiad to the City of Angels seven years from now. Us Angelenos can bitch about the major freeway congestion and overcrowded venues that this event will most definitely bring later.



And in case you're wondering: No, the Wilshire Grand Center hasn't opened to the public yet. That is all.

Photos of the Day: Images from my iStock Portfolio...

Just thought I'd end this month by sharing some pictures that I posted on iStock.com recently. As of this Blog entry, I have around 400 photos in my online portfolio...which was created on April 18. For those of you who don't know what iStock is, it is one of several websites devoted to microstock photography—generic images that people can purchase online for (legal) personal or business use on the Internet and elsewhere. Folks, like me, who contribute pictures to these websites receive a certain percentage of the profit that is gained when someone buys photos from our portfolios.



I signed up with other sites like Shutterstock, but I am currently focusing on boosting the amount of pics I have on iStock (which is now a part of Getty Images) since it has a higher acceptance rate (at least for me). Based on its criteria to approving submitted pics, it seems like I would need to invest in a DSLR camera [the photos I'm currently submitting online were either taken with my Fujifilm and Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot cameras, and (other stock photographers will be disgusted if they read this) my Android smartphone] before I post images on Shutterstock...which has rejected my first two photo uploads as of this entry. I'm in the process of applying to other microstock sites like 123RF and Dreamstime, but I'm also focusing on getting 500 (great) pictures uploaded to my iStock portfolio as quickly as I can. I read online that a contributor needs at least 500 to 1,000 photos on their iStock page (and every other microstock site) to begin earning a decent income from this endeavor. Hopefully that will be the case soon.



I don't have the funds right now to spare on a Nikkon D3300 (which is one of the cheaper DSLR cameras—at a cost of a little over $400 on some online sites)...so I'll have to make do with what I have now. Anyways, click on the link below to check out (and purchase hi-res photos from) my iStock portfolio! Carry on.

LINK: Richard Par's iStock Photo Portfolio

Photos of the Day: The Wilshire Grand's Spire Is Complete!

Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Just thought I'd share these great photos that I found online showing the Wilshire Grand Center after the final piece of its spire was installed early this morning. The skyscraper now stands at about 1,100 feet-tall, with the spire making it around 90 feet higher than the U.S. Bank Tower (which was the tallest building in Los Angeles up until this past week) and officially giving the Wilshire Grand Center the honorary position of being the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River. Sure, it's still the fourth-highest building in the United States (behind New York's 1 World Trade Center and the Empire State Building, as well as Chicago's Willis Tower). But other than that, I'm so proud to be an Angeleno! For the most part, that is. Yes, I keep saying that.


Gary Leonard, AP


Gary Leonard, AP


Reed Saxon, AP

Photos of the Day: Crowning the Tallest Building on America's West Coast...

Just thought I'd end this month with photos that I took of the Wilshire Grand Center when I worked in downtown Los Angeles last week. As you can see, the skyscraper is all but completed...with the spire the last major component to be installed atop the mammoth tower. As of this Blog entry, the spire had just been completed (use the #WilshireGrand hashtag on Twitter and Instagram to check out current pics of the installation)—but it was cool to see it still being assembled from ground level a few blocks away seven days ago. From the looks of it, the Wilshire Grand Center is on track to open to the public on March 8 of next year. But in the meantime, the Wilshire Grand is already the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Not bad an achievement for the newest addition to L.A.'s skyline... I'm proud to be an Angeleno! For the most part.

Photo of the Day: A Sunny Afternoon in Los Angeles...

Just thought I'd share the photo above that I took of downtown Los Angeles while heading home from work last Saturday. If you look closely, you can see the new Wilshire Grand Center (left of center frame above and below...with the construction cranes above it) as the skyscraper slowly reaches its full 1,099-foot height amidst the L.A. skyline. In a little over a year, the Wilshire Grand Center will open to the public and officially become the tallest structure in the City of Angels as well as west of the Mississippi River. Pretty cool. Below is a cropped version of the pic.

Photos of the Day: Checking Out the New Wilshire Grand Center in Person...

Yesterday, I worked at a location in downtown Los Angeles that was only a few blocks away from the new Wilshire Grand Center (WGC)...which is currently undergoing construction. This skyscraper is still ways away from making its grand opening in 2017—but the fact that this is supposed to be the nation's tallest building west of the Mississippi River once completed (the highest U.S. building east of the Mississippi being none other than the 1 World Trade Center in New York City) made me eager to see it in person. I had such a long work day yesterday that I took photos of the WGC early in the morning and late at night, before I went home. Can't wait to take more pics once this tower opens to the public!