Off the heels of my Jean Grey, Famke Janssen sighting this morning, comes an encounter with another character of mostly Los Angeles fame, Angelyne.
The so-called “Billboard Queen of L.A.” hasn’t gone anywhere, even if her billboards have.
Jean Grey in the Morning
20 MayThis morning @ 7:45am : waited to cross the street with Famke Janssen (who was walking her dog and wearing Converse sneaks). She asked me “Is the light broken?”
Way too shy to attempt to recognize her or ask for her autograph.
Recession Proof
19 May
Three hours I spent here. Half the time, I was just trying to find the table with the booze. A live performance incited giggles from a painted mustache, art was reviewed, questioned, wondered at, priced at $800 to $1,000 a piece; and I got to wander through an airplane hanger turned art studios.
Blind Spot
18 MayAt 1:30am this morning, a car reeled into a parked car off of Hollywood Boulevard and Vista. Then drove off. A congregate of local residents converged around the hit vehicle, and a multitude of stories “when I heard the accident, I came out” was heard.
DANE COOK: Car Accident @ 3:59
A Dirty Run
14 MayFor two years, I ran everyday. Relocating across the U.S. both started and ended my serious running career.
Photo by Sandeep Nandy
Born and raised in Colorado, my roots go far into the ground there. I spent my whole life in Colorado, grew up with friends, fell in love with downtown Denver, had favorite cafes and bookstores. Then I met someone. I graduated college, married, and because my new husband was more transient than I – he proposed we move to Florida. Why not? I wanted adventure too. We settled in Miami, blocks from the beach. But something unexpected happened. This was not an adventure, it was an emotional catastrophe. I became angry, I cried. Although I just married the love of my life, he was new and somewhat unfamiliar. I had never moved, never been away from my family, from my twin sister. I did at least four life-changing events all at once: graduating college, moving, marriage, first real job, first time move away from family. I missed all that was familiar, and I hated Floridian culture (Miami is three times as transient as L.A. with even more drunk people roaming the streets every night). I began to run – a way to siphon the thrashing emotions. I pounded it out. I was in the best shape of my life. Then, we reached two years and decided to move again. Florida to California. I was burned-out, both physically and mentally; we settled in but I couldn’t shake a newfound distaste. I didn’t want to run. I now connected exercise to heartbreak and exhaustion. I had pushed myself too far, what would I do now?
First, you go to counseling and second, you re-introduce yourself carefully to avoid injury. Running gave me clarity, time to myself and a feeling of unconstraint; could I get that feeling back?I’d never run a race before, except against my personal best, but I found out soon enough that it might be worth considering. During my time of cautious re-introduction to running, a few friends of mine brought up the famous Camp Pendleton Mud Run. Curious and partial to doing research, that’s exactly what I did. I found that the four Mud Run’s in 2008, and one in January of 2009, were very popular and thus sold out. Bummer. Sold out status be damned, there’s always an alternate route.
It’s not Camp Pendleton, but Skyline Sports sponsors its own dirty run at Skyline Church. A dusty, hilly, hot spot near San Diego. That afternoon, determined to run again, I signed myself up for a run in the mud. I had four months. On the weekend of November 16th, the temperature reaching above 80 degrees, I met my sister and a friend for the ambitious event.
As beginners go, I felt ill-prepared for even a three-mile run, let alone one that included 20 mud puddles and a 500 foot incline (a little fact I found out about just before the outset). Clean and in a white t-shirt no less, I checked in, got my free t-shirt, checked my bag and pinned on my race tag. One hot dog, three waters and several bathroom trips later, I lined up at the starting line – 3, 2, 1 – and I was off. Our friend darted ahead but my sister and I remained in stride. I just hoped I wouldn’t need the medic. Fire hoses sprayed gallons of frigid water over us as we pounded the pavement in a roundabout from the parking lot onto the dirt trail. Now sopping wet, I faced the first immense mud pie, which turned out to be superficially deep but nevertheless left sticky mounds of dirt around my ankles. Water stands met us at intervals, a relief from the dust runners kicked up at dry patches of the track. People lost shoes, started walking, joyously jumped into puddles and politely passed their competitors. My sister and I continued to stick together, splashing water and ensuring generous amounts of sludge stuck to the other at every opportunity. I was having fun. 18 puddles, one pipe crawl, countless hills, 500 feet and a rocky mud slide ending in a neck-high puddle turned small lap pool; I finished the race at 39 minutes and 36 seconds.
The 5K was hard, no free-wheeling feeling in this run, no adrenaline packed bursts of energy, just a need to finish, and finish dirty, maybe with one shoe left stuck in the mud at 450 feet – a victorious nod to fighting in the trenches. At the end, I was happy and relieved. I was elated, accomplished and inexplicably energetic. I came out on the other end revived; I faced a challenge, finished a race, muddy shoes my badge of honor – ready to run again.
I still run. I run sporadically and for fun. It’s not quite the same, but it’s not different either. I neither hate it nor love it, but it feels good.
Be Mine
14 MayScented nights and days…
Audrey Tautou and Chanel No. 5 find their lost love.
Chanel No. 5: Film, Story, Behind The Scenes
Celestial Nights
14 MayThe Griffith Observatory was inspired by the stars. It’s purveyors believed that a close look at the world around us was enlightening and profoundly affected the viewer. The Observatory grounds were envisioned to be a place where the public could access the engimatic mysteries of the universe in a relaxed, fine atmosphere. When Griffith J. Griffith came along, it was an endeavor not yet achieved in Los Angeles.
In the Spring of 1930, planning began for L.A.’s first ‘Great Park’. Costs were low due to the present Depression. For the same reason, talented architects were available, the finest stones and resources were prevalent. Earthquakes, Focult’s Pendulum, a planetarium and the observatory’s telescope tower were considered in preparation of this ‘Great Park’. Today, the observatory is a newly renovated mansion, closed in 2002 and reopened in 2008 at the cost of $93 million dollars. There are no parking or entrance fees and you no longer have to make a reservation to visit. In fact, the only fee is a ticket to see a half-hour show at the Planetarium, at a cost of seven dollars. The grounds are grandiose and pristine, the views wide and dramatic.
The Observatory is, as its shape suggests, toured as follows: an entrance, a left, then right, a downstairs and a roof – accessible by winding staircases along the side of the building. A telescope is brought out on the outside lawn daily for a closer look at Venus, the most visible planet in the L.A. firmament. Exhibitions cover the high points of astoronomy’s most notable celebrities and inventions, featuring the theories and beliefs that first brought our eyes skyward. Planetarium shows run every 45 minutes. Using digital laser technology, a Zeiss Universarium Mark IX star projector (latest in it’s field), live narration, and seamless dome construction to create an immersive program for viewers, the Planetarium is all about modern design. The narrator warns that you may get nauseous, to close your eyes if this happens, it’s only a visual affect. Follow signs to the lower level to view information about our planets, meteorites and the moon. Weigh yourself on Mars and Neptune, read about Saturn’s icy rings, and locate the stars in our sky. The upper level is about the past, the lower about our future. The whole is about our location in the galaxy.
Viewing our galaxy is profound and humbling, and the Griffith Observatory is all it was meant to be. A place for relaxation and education, a ‘Great Park’ as Griffith J. Griffith envisioned. The observatory makes the city remarkable, draws foreigners to its gates, and provides a heaven’s view of the dusty L.A. landscape. An alluring view from above.
Barbie Wishes She Were Me
14 MayHow some serious advertising and a love of pink can make you a Hollywood icon…
This…
Is…
Angelyne.
As the election for a seat on the 5th District Council heat up, candidates are promising a crack down on supergraphics and billboards that now populate an area that encompasses West Hollywood to Beverly Hills – premium advertising space. However, there’s one billboard that hasn’t disappeared from the landscape. The ‘Billboard Queen of L.A’ would never do that to her fans.
Any L.A. local can tell you, Angelyne is most famous for her pink predilection – she drives a pink corvette with vanity plates that read “ANGLYN” and carries around a dyed Maltese pooch; both of these secondary to her numerous billboards found across Los Angeles, featuring her propped on a feather boa, in a sequined bikini with shoes to match, all pink.
A Google search reveals that she has appeared in over a hundred films, music videos and television shows, and managed to release three self-proclaimed successful albums. Somewhere in the 80’s, she appeared on the scene through a series of billboards featuring her in different poses. By 1982 she was so recognizable that people would stop her to take photos, and she appeared as a guest on the late night show Thicke of the Night with host Alan Thicke (of Canadian fame and only known to those who grew up in the 70’s). In the 90’s, she performed at special events, such as the New Year’s Eve celebration at Cherry in 1999, the raucous spot that reigned Hollywood’s club scene from 1994 to 2001. Today, she is rarely seen in person. Most sightings are of her Corvette parked off Sunset Boulevard or a rare stop at the seven-eleven captured by TMZ or Hollywood reporter – a tiny blond antiquity wrapped in fake-fur.
As she tells it, she maintains “the glamour of classic Hollywood.” “My image is seductive and sensual without being campy or burlesque. I carry on the tradition of the Hollywood Blonde Bombshell in my own unique way and I’m very proud of that.” General knowledge says she’s the wife of a billboard magnate, but she denies these reports and says instead that financial support comes through private investors, and ‘countless’ offers for interviews, star appearances and features in music videos. The reason for all she does? Inspiration to others. Whatever the dream, you can conquer all odds.
She’s not complacent to be pigeon-holed as just a billboard star. She wants the world to know that she’s a true performer – a dancing, singing, glamorous throw-back to good old Hollywood. Not so much. She is seen around town in mini skirts and hooker shoes, four-inch heels carved out of clear plastic, and stalked with perverted intrigue. She looks more like Mary Ann from Gilligan’s island aged 40 years with bad plastic surgery than an elegant Lauren Bacall.
Kitschy or not, her billboards look dirty and worn. Times are tough. However, she is relevant to modern Hollywood; she marks its backdrop and peppers its history. Though her fifteen minutes seem to be coming to a close and her iconic fame revolves more around her erratic behavior than God-given hotness, she is another Hollywood dream come true.
Trader Joe’s
14 MayA late night run for two-buck Chuck finally got me to Trader Joe’s new location off Sunset. Three parking garage floors down is the entry way to the store. I expected cheap grocery store goods, not a rehash of Rock n’ Roll motifs. However, this store’s novel location may have called for a new spin on things.
First, the elevator from the parking garage…
The walls of Trader Joe’s
This is unusual for Trader Joe’s, whose normal in-store decor themes ebb around the Islands. An oasis in the city if you will.
NO SAINTS IN L.A. 