Josh Phelan
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joshphelan.com
Josh Phelan
@joshphelan.com
160 followers 110 following 310 posts
Sr. Staff Gameplay Engineer at Santa Monica Studio
Sometimes cosplayer at coolbyproxy.com
Formerly Arkane (Prey), Turbine (Infinite Crisis), R* New England (Bully)
He/Him 🏳️‍🌈
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Today's View From a Run: Royal Palms Beach is funny because the only time it looks like a normal, sandy beach is at low tide. The rest of the time it's just rocks.
A photograph of a small sandy beach. The beach is U-shaped, surrounded by rocks. The sand is wet showing the tide recently vacated the area. On either end of the beach are dark, rocky outcroppings that stretch slightly into the Pacific Ocean. The Ocean stretches off into the distance, with Santa Catalina Island just visible on the horizon. Overhead is a blue sky with faint clouds.
November 6, 2025 at 1:29 AM
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Our annual piratical set-up for Halloween. My two main crewmates are getting appropriately aged by the elements from a few years of service. I also decided to throw our extra skellies in the window boxes. We once again had a treasure chest full of candy; we ended up getting through half of it.
A selfie showing me in an off-white long coat over a white blouse with a medallion necklace and a tentacled bandana. Behind me is my pride-painted house and driveway. The driveway is lined with cardboard cut-out waves with blue lights. There's a skeleton hanging from a rope over some purple tentacles in the bushes. On the house there are two window boxes with skeletons sitting in each, next to some pride flags. A treasure chest loaded with candy. It's a mix; you can see Skittles, M&Ms, candy ramen, taffy, Reese's, Snickers, ring pops, pop rocks, and more. A skeleton dressed in a red acket, a pirate's hat, and blue trousers hanging from a palm tree's trunk. It's holding a plastic sword in one hand and is leaning around the tree. Below it is a green bush with pinkish flowers. A skeleton is wearing a vest and green pants with a red sash. It has a bandana and is holding a sword in its teeth. It is hanging from a rope strung between two palm trees, and there are lanterns hung from the rope as well. Below the skeleton are three purple and green tentacles, as well as some green bushes and flowers. There is a cardboard cutout of waves in front of the bushes with blue lights strung throughout.
November 1, 2025 at 7:53 AM
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Today's Views From a Run: Dia de los Muertos in San Pedro! Every year there's a pretty big celebration here in Pedro, with tons of food trucks/booths, merchants, multiple stages of entertainment, and a ton of other things. I decided to wander through on my run, and it was hopping.
A photograph of a street packed with pedestrians. In the middle of the road there are women dancing in colorful dresses with skull make-up on half of their faces. A photograph of a tall statue of a skeleton. It has a moustache and is wearing a checkered short-sleeved shirt with blue pants and a belt with a steer belt buckle. A photograph showing three skeleton statues. One is a merperson, one is wearing a monarch-butterfly-themed dress, and one is holding a giant fish. There are people standing around these statues on the sidewalk. Another skeleton statue; this one is sitting up in a canoe(?). It has a red veil and is holding red flowers. Near its feet are orange flowers.
October 27, 2025 at 4:00 AM
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Today's View From a Run: this seagull is completely unphased by the fountain going off.
A photo of the Fanfare Fountain in San Pedro. The bottom of the photo is an expanse of water with a seagull floating in it. Behind the seagull the fountain jets are shooting up into the blue sky. Beyond the fountain are a string of palm trees in front of a bridge and a lightly cloudy blue sky.
October 20, 2025 at 1:30 AM
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Some quality cat TV going on outside my office.
October 16, 2025 at 9:41 PM
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Today's View From a Run: the babies are growing up! And, yeah, they were really that close (they didn't seem to care at all about my proximity). There were a few others across the street, but they were in the shade and the photo didn't work out well.
A photo of a peahen and an adolescent peafowl. They are just starting to cross the road, stepping from the sidewalk into the street.
October 2, 2025 at 12:51 AM
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Today's View From a Run: The pedestrian bridge over Gaffey St. The tree next to it is slowly trying to consume it.
A photograph of a paved ramp with a chain link covering on both sides and curving over the top. Through the chain link you can see the branches of a tree arcing over it, and at the end of the tunnel formed by the chain link the leaves of the tree are hanging down, blocking the top quarter of the opening.
September 29, 2025 at 2:22 AM
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Today's View From a Run: Looking over the cliff at Ocean Trails Reserve. Those tiny little tidepools look so inviting; I bet there are lots of little critters hiding out in there. If it wasn't a total pain to go down and up the cliff mid-run I would have been a lot more tempted to check them out.
A photograph of a rocky coastline along the Pacific Ocean, taken from atop a cliff. There's a mix of dead and living brush along the cliffside and a bunch of rocks forming the shore. Large slabs of rock emerge from the water diagonally, and the receding tide has left behind trapped pools of water in the crook of those rock slabs.
September 25, 2025 at 12:59 AM
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Yesterday was my birthday! We took the Metro downtown, went to the Broad and the MOCA, walked over to Angel's Flight (as pictured here) which we rode down to Grand Central Market for some pie, then walked to Little Tokyo for ramen. Growing up in a rural area really makes me appreciate a major city!
A selfie of myself and my partner Fenix inside of the Angel's Flight funicular. I'm in a light pink button-down shirt with the orange strap of a bag cutting across my torso, and Fenix is in a black blouse with an elaborate silver chain necklace.
September 21, 2025 at 7:53 PM
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Today's View From a Run: a crow party underneath this tree in White Point. It was pretty windy, so they were taking off by just doing little hops and letting the wind grab them.
A lone conifer atop a hill in White Point. There's a paved trail that runs under the tree, and there's a black metal fence parallel to the trail on one side. Underneath the tree there are 6 crows, one of which is mid-landing.
September 18, 2025 at 3:30 AM
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Today's View From a Run: about 3 miles into my run I realized I picked the wrong direction (too hot, not enough breeze), so took a random side trail to head back towards the ocean. That trail was very much a dirt bike trail, though, and *not* a good choice for running.
A photograph of a dirt trail following a small ravine, flanked by dead brush. The trail descends along a hill, with the Pacific Ocean visible in the distance, and Catalina Island farther out.
September 8, 2025 at 2:46 AM
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Today's View From a Run: A classic car show at Point Fermin! San Pedro is always a hotbed of classic cars, but today especially so. There were several dozen classic cars arrayed across the park, along with a mish mash of vendors.
A photograph of a row of classic cars parked in the shade on the grass at Point Fermin Park. There are large trees nearby. A photograph of a dozen or so classic cars on the grass, pointed at the bandstand in Point Fermin. There are several large trees against a bright blue sky.
September 1, 2025 at 5:34 AM
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Today's View From a Run: I love the environmental storytelling going on here. There's a clear escalation in the conflict between people wanting to get into Sunken City and those responsible for this fence. The latest volley happened in the last week, adding a couple more bars to try and stop folks.
A photograph of a white metal fence made up of vertical bars. Many of the bars are bent out of shape from where people would squeeze through. Extra bars are welded on to fill those gaps. Some bars are different colors and textures, showing they're replacements for bars that had been removed. Beyond the fence is Sunken City, with a prominent palm tree on a cliff side overlooking the Pacific under a bright blue sky.
August 21, 2025 at 8:03 AM
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Recent Views From Runs:
Last Sunday - construction at Royal Palms Beach! It's prep work for the massive sewage overflow tunnel getting dug through the peninsula.
Wednesday - a pretty tree! I just like the flowers.
Today - Ocean Trails Reserve! Beautiful day along the coast, as usual.
A photograph of a construction site at the bottom of a cliff along the Pacific coastline. There's a large crane and a pile driver (maybe?) inside an area defined by sound absorbing walls. A photograph of a small tree along a road. It's one of many along this stretch of road. The tree is in full bloom with rich, orange-yellow flowers. A photograph looking along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean. On the right is the Pacific stretching off into the distance. Running along the edge of the cliff is a dirt trail that cuts through the brush of the park. The brush is a mix of browns and greens. In the distance there are houses. The top half of the photograph is nothing but hazy blue sky.
August 18, 2025 at 12:16 AM
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Today's View From a Run: if you like big boats, then this one's for you. Looking down the main channel towards the Vincent Thomas bridge, with an enormous shipping vessel on the Eastern side of the channel, and a cruise ship and the USS Iowa on the Western side.
A photograph looking down the main shipping channel on the West side of the Los Angeles harbor. There's an empty pier running diagonally in the foreground. In the distance is the Vincent Thomas bridge arcing over the channel. On the left edge you can see the battleship USS Iowa docked in front of a large cruise ship, and on the right side of the picture you can see a shipping vessel docked under large cranes with WAN HAI written across its back.
August 7, 2025 at 2:41 AM
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Today's View From a Run: the golden hour at White Point. Had a late start to my run, today, so had to shorten it up a bit. Gorgeous weather, so no complaints there.
A photograph of some hills and gullies covered in brown grasses and some shrubs that fall off towards the Pacific on the left side of the photo. The sun is dead center, just above the horizon in a clear blue sky with a marine layer of clouds underneath.
August 4, 2025 at 3:18 AM
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Today's View From a Run: the seagulls give a clear indication of which boats are the fishing boats.
A photograph of the Cabrillo Marina, with some fishing boats docked in the center. Around the boats are a couple dozen seagulls circling overhead.
July 31, 2025 at 12:29 AM
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Today's View From a Run: A trail heading down the hill from Miraleste. You wouldn't know it from looking, but this is actually in the median of a fairly busy road.
A photograph of a dirt trail going straight down the middle, with green trees and bushes on either side, and a blue sky overhead.
July 28, 2025 at 2:41 AM
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Today's View From a Run: the Pacific Ocean? Well, yes, but not JUST that. It's a sailing race! But they're *itty bitty* so you have to really squint. Are they far away? Well, that's part of it, but mostly no, they're just really small boats. This is the ILCA 4 Youth World Championship, apparently.
A photo of sunken city along the Pacific coast. Out on the water there are multiple groups of tiny sailboats in the midst of a race. The sky is blue and dotted with clouds on the horizon and it's a bright, sunny day.
July 19, 2025 at 11:59 PM
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Today's View From a Run: the path up the bluffs at Ocean Trails Reserve. That trail is a bit too steep to run, so I tend to go the longer way around.
A photograph of some bluffs along the Pacific Ocean. The sky is grey and slightly overcast. There's a dirt trail that winds its way up the hillside to reach the top of the bluffs; it's a mix of stairs and gentler inclines. The hillside is otherwise covered in green and brown shrubs and other plants.
July 14, 2025 at 2:35 AM
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Today's View From a Run: babies! I once again found myself running through peacock country, and this mama peahen followed by her two chicks crossed the sidewalk in front of me and headed into this person's yard. You can see her patiently waiting for the chicks to catch up before moving on. So cute!
A photograph of a person's yard. It's mostly cobblestone, with a patch of grass and a brick wall in the back with a metal gate. In front of the gate is a peahen waiting for two chicks in the middle of the patch of grass. A photo of a person's yard. There's a cobblestone path running through a patch of grass and heading to a metal gate set into a brick fence. There's a peahen and two chicks just about to pass through that gate (the chicks having caught up to their mother from the previous photo).
July 6, 2025 at 11:50 PM
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Today's View From a Run: We can't stop here, this is peacock country!

This absolute King decided to strut his stuff as I was running by. This was after passing two different family units of peafowl (including babies!), but they weren't interested in having their picture taken (unlike this boss).
A photo of a peacock standing centered in front of the front door of a house, at the top of some stone steps. The peacock is on full display, with its tail feathers at attention.
June 30, 2025 at 1:53 AM
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My favorite author as a kid was Bruce Coville; some of his books were very popular, but my favorite were actually the lesser-known A.I. Gang trilogy, about kids whose parents were working on AI and they secretly fed it lots of pop culture to help it become sentient... it... hasn't really aged well.
Three book covers of the A.I. Gang books by Bruce Coville. From left to right: Operation Sherlock, showing one kid trapped in a cage filling with water as two kids look down from above in worry; Robot Trouble, showing one kid getting carried by a giant red mech while another is trying to help them and the third is looking at something off-cover; and Forever Begins Tomorrow showing the three kids swimming being chased by a robot shark.
June 28, 2025 at 5:51 AM
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Today's View From a Run: A trail running through Peck Park. Doesn't the way it disappears into the trees just make you want to see where it leads?

Sorry to anyone on the other side of the country, today; it was a lovely 70F here, today. Sunny with a stiff breeze. Absolutely lovely.
A photograph of a dirt trail running straight ahead through trees and tall brush growing up on both sides. The trail continues into the trees that cover the path, shrouding it in darkness. Above, the sky is sunny and blue.
June 25, 2025 at 11:56 PM
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Today's View From a Run: part of the trail that runs along Western near the ocean. Look out for low-hanging branches and giant spider-webs.

This is the nicest part of this trail; the entire thing is really narrow and a lot of it is crumbling towards the road, 15 feet below (a *little* precarious).
A photo of a narrow dirt trail. On the right side of the trail is a bush absolutely covered in pinkish-red flowers. There are short trees on either side and thick tree branch crossing the trail at roughly head-height. Beyond that the sky and ocean are a bright blue.
June 23, 2025 at 12:57 AM