May 11, 2007
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LA Observed, Lunch Buddy & Doggie Cell Phones – Only in LA
I went to the famous Ford Theater tonight to see a show with Raul. I had no idea what this show was about before we went. All I knew was that it was being performed by a “cultural comedian” or “histo-tainer” named Charles Phoenix:
“Celebrate the 1950s, 60s and 70s theme parks, tourist traps, car culture, space age style, parties and more with Charles – all in glorious color, and all accompanied by his discerning, gleeful, and often hilarious commentary.”
Basically what the show was comprised of was a 2 1/2 “retro slide show” of some of the most hilarious old slides that everyone in my generation grew up with (God I sound so old!). The slides were from all over the U.S. but mainly from Los Angeles; all accompanied by the wittiest, most acerbic and hilarious commentary I’ve ever heard. No slideshow I saw as a kid was ever like this. I was constantly laughing out loud. It was really enjoyable.
Here are some sample slides. He points out the funniest things about them, that you would never think of. You can sign up for the “Slide of the Week” on his website and if you’re really interested in this kind of kitsch, you can check out his book.
And here are a few photos I took. Nothing great, no tripod or flash, but you get the idea.
The Ford Theater, on the other side of the Hollywood Bowl.
Self Portrait, LOL
Larry Mantle’s wife took this.
Here you get an idea of the stage and the crazy slides and his outfit
Blurry, but OK for resting the camera on my knee
Charles Phoenix, crazy outfit and all, signing his book.For those of you interested in the history of this sometimes overlooked American City, the Los Angeles Times in conjunction with UCLA have put together a fascinating website.
UCLA’s Department of Special Collections owns about three million news photos from the original Los Angeles Daily News and the L.A. Times, covering more than seventy years. Now some 5,700 of the images have been selected by researchers and put online at a searchable, browsable new website.
Mickey Rooney watching Judy Garland put handprint in cement at Grauman’sTheatre during “Babes in Arms” film premiere, 1939
I work from home (when I’m not traveling) and this is the view outside my office window:To give you some perspective, the white building to the right of the palm tree in the third picture is the Mondrian Hotel, home of the Sky Bar. It’s next to the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd, which are both a half a block from my house.What you can’t see in this picture unfortunately is the huge avocado tree that used to be in my front yard just beyond this foliage. The reason you can’t see it is because it was cut down last month
Even though I’m not a fan of avocados, I loved that tree. It was big, and twisted and fun. The kind of tree you would love to climb or set up a tree house in. Sadly the tree was diseased and had to be cut down. I don’t know the specifics of tree diseases, but from what I heard, the poor guy was quite sick. I regret not having many pictures of this tree, but here’s one from last Thanksgiving with my parents. It kind of gives you an idea of what it looked like:
There used to be a squirrel who lived in that tree ever since I lived here. I know it was the same squirrel because he used to come by my office window a lot. He was very tame, and even when I had the window open, he would come by and not be bothered as I talked on the phone or typed on my keyboard. He also had a bit of a limp. Since they cut the tree down, I haven’t seen him as much, but today when I went out to lunch, guess who I saw sunning himself on my side gate?! He actually kind of scared me when I saw him, but he didn’t move. For a second I thought he might be dead, but then I noticed he was breathing. Luckily I had my camera in my pocket (I’ve started carrying my SD800 everywhere I go, as it’s so compact). Here’s my little buddy taking his afternoon siesta.
He looks a little skinnier now that he’s not on an avocado diet! LOL
Incidentally, the other thing I often see out of my window during the day is various Hollywood types walking their dogs. I snapped this picture a while back of Rachel Bilson (from The OC), walking her dog (in that outfit) at noon on a Wednesday. LOL I’m not sure where she was coming from or where she was going, but I thought it was pretty funny.
I took this picture sneaking out the curtain of my patio door, and not using a flash, but you get the idea.
From Defamer:
Introducing the Doggie Cell Phone:
As if the L.A. dog population isn’t already just a bunch of pampered assholes who crap wherever they like and expect the rest of the world to trail behind them and clean up their gilded messes with an attentive, gloved hand, the new PetsCell mobile phone promises to elevate them to another level of privileged insufferability. Soon, dog parks all over town will be filled with the abrasive chatter of cockapoos bragging to their pals out for a jog at Runyon Canyon about the shar-peis* they mounted last night at the Chateau Marmutt, coarsening an already obnoxious local canine culture.[*As dumb as this concept is, we're still not gonna make the bitch joke. Even though we suspect that the existence of this object--even more than the Paris Hilton stuff and the wildfires-- is a sure sign the Reckoning is finally upon us.]
Three USA educational institutions were commissioned by the government to discover why the human penis is the shaped the way it is.
Colgate University allocated a budget of $500,000 for research. After 2 years they concluded that the reason the head of the penis is wider than the shaft is that it fits better, when in situ, so to speak. This would prevent leakage of semen and increase the probability of successful fertilization.
about the last entry, i hope that’s a joke. it’s such a waste of money to do research on that. and we could all come up with it as we brainstrom….
are those intelligent design groups?
btw, you got a very sexy neighbor. :)
haha the colbert and rain thing is hilarious
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