Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo

On Your Night Out

17 Jul

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Happy Friday! Surfing the web this past week led to the find of several articles from New York Magazine and Vogue (among others), touting Los Angeles neighborhoods as the next this and the new that, plus highlighting some great places to eat along the way. I can’t summarize the entire article, but here’s a whiff:

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Photo by Larrie Knights

With the exception of some seriously run-down neighborhoods and sketchy gang territory, it’s hard to pinpoint an area of Los Angeles that isn’t so-to-speak “up-and-coming.” Though I’m sure Jamie Brisick of the New York Times did his homework, a friend of mine said in response to the verdict of Highland Park as the newest addition in charming neighborhoods and low-cost eateries, “I think its funny that the nytimes does these articles on these little ‘up-and-coming’ neighborhoods…when, they are in NEW YORK. they wrote an article on the demise of glassell park and eagle rock (which, hello, is directly next door to highland park; same occidental students…), that was completely out-of-touch and inaccurate. i say: nytimes, stick to your burroughs, leave our barrios to the latimes, thankyouverymuch.” Since she grew up here, and I have just three years under my belt, I’ll refrain from a judgment call here.

NEW YORK TIMES: SURFACING: HIGHLAND PARK

The recommended?
Cafe De Leche
Orecul 77
York on York
Johnny’s

While the piece on Highland Park is focused on the bourgeois artists and local fare, Vogue’s article is decidedly posh. James Steingarten chronicles his visit, alongside L.A. Weekly editor-in-chief Laurie Ochoa and her husband Jonathan Gold, to restaurants located in and around Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, read: costly; but he’s right about L.A. Weekly, the local weekly (duh) newspaper. It is a must in L.A. – a well-written, culturally informative, free newspaper.

VOGUE: FAVORITE L.A. RESTAURANTS

The recommended?
The Bazaar
Chung King
Animal Restaurant
Osteria Mozza
Rivera Restaurant

I recommend:

Osteria La Buca: owned by true Italians – the freshest pasta, very romantic.

Street: If you ever wanted to eat hot dogs in a restaurant, this is your place.

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Bon Appetit!

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Mr. Brainwash is French

14 Jul

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Thanks to Walls of L.A., an explanation of Mr. Hitchcock’s appearance has come to light. A French filmmaker, known as Mr. Brainwash, is apparently the reveler behind graffiti posters that have appeared throughout Hollywood and particularly along Melrose Avenue. His new project involves the exploration of graffiti and thus what better way to advertise the upcoming, possibly London, show (currently TBD)?

On June 18, 2008, Mr. Brainwash celebrated a solo L.A. show titled “Life Is Beautiful,” another tragic commentative piece on the state of affairs in our world; comprising of piles of trash, police escorts, use of campbells and iconography, clever societal criticism and the defacement of Larry King (among others) in Marily Monroe makeup.

MR. BRAINWASH

Since I knew Banksy first and Mr. Brainwash second, it’s a close call between their styles. A quick Google search reveals that either Mr. Brainwash is being mistaken for Banksy, or Banksy is being mistaken for Mr. Brainwash as images attributed to the first are pulled up under the second. See for yourself. Or maybe I’m so far out of the graffiti artist loop, I’m missing the obvious.

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Please check out LURKER: AN L.A. GRAFFITI & STREET ART BLOG

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Take Off

13 Jul

Photobucket The spirit of Los Angeles. The Grove, 3rd Street.

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Berd

10 Jul

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More Berd.

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Sartorial Cacophony

9 Jul

MOODS OF NORWAY: FOUND HERE
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These guys are trouble. Their line of (among many things) cowboy button-ups, turquoise three piece suits and fuschia underwear was represented by the L.A. showroom I once worked at. Currently, they are in L.A. to attend the opening of their flagship store on Robertson Boulevard. They are hilarious, good humored, goofy and crazy as you’d expect from men who wear pink tuxedos and rainbow socks. In order they are: Peder, Stefan and Simon – who once serenaded me at a party and kept asking if I’d like to go to Norway. Above you’ll find a link for their blog which, if not for the commentary, check out for the photos. There’s always a conspicuous limo, yacht or tractor in the background; usually in blue, pink or gold (their primary colors). In my experience, all their endeavors are excessive, outrageous and extraordinary; if you ever wind up in the middle of the pandemonium, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

AVERT YOUR EYES: PREMIERE: MOODS OF NORWAY

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They Call Me Mel

9 Jul

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Mel’s Diner. La Brea Avenue.

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Golden Domes

8 Jul

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Santa Monica Boulevard. Beverly Hills.

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The Leading Victim

7 Jul

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Joseph Rubinstein is hovering over my body. As my eyes gloss over and my body goes limp – my arms cradling a chainsaw – I’m aware that my Sister is lying next to me and I’m being covered in filmy plastic. But for Rubinstein, I’ll play dead any day.

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My Sister brought me to tonight’s reception to see a man by the name of Joseph Rubenstein open his first Los Angeles show at a Gallery called Integrated Circus, a multimedia showroom for (as the owners Loni and Viktor say) “anything we happen to like.” It is only their second gallery reception. Joe is a photographer, whose recent contemplation of our relationship to death brought him to tonight’s offerings: a handful of saturated photographs of murdered and bloody young, beautiful women. Though the deaths are artificial and cosmetic, they could come out of any crime drama.

Photography with either a camera or phone is prohibited at this exhibition, so I’m allowed only a picture of the front of the gallery but here’s the point of tonight’s artwork:

“Death in our culture has morphed from a sacred or at least natural part of life to become the most sensationalized part of our everyday story telling. Crime Dramas like “CSI” focus so much on the prevention of the “Next Victim” that they forget to slow down and understand the initial exchange that is driving the story. The original victim’s body is fragmented and turned into factors in an equation. The human cost is largely ignored, and because of it we, the audience, develop a build up of these deaths that we know so much about, but have never really stopped to look at. I am offering a chance to stand and stare at a fictionalized death. The images I create are beautification, idealization, creative interpretations of death the same way CSI is an idealization of the criminologists. By creating the fantasy of it, I am giving the viewer emotional license to look at the body and try to see themselves in it. In photos of real death we feel too perverse, too indignant to explore them. It becomes very difficult to integrate those photos into the collection of stories in our minds. My goal is to create images that help us understand these stories, and maybe their relationship to ourselves.”

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THEY CALL ME JOE / POLITE IN PUBLIC

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NaBloPoMo in July

7 Jul

Visit NaBloPoMo

WordPress released an announcement to advertise NaBloPoMo ’09, which is National Blog Posting Month 2009 – July. Although it looks like almost every month of the year is a month that a blogger can publicly committ to post something everyday for a month, I’ve chosen this month, July, my birthday month, and one of the hottest of the summer to post everyday. For your pleasure, for my pleasure, I’m posting. There’s a theme too – Routine. Though nothing seems to truly be a routine around Los Angeles, and in particular Hollywood, I’ll do what I’ve been doing – trying to show you around, trying to show you the best and the mundane; because both can be surprisingly amusing.

If you’ve been reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos and the commentary and if not, let me know what you want to see. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the outside of the glass and things tend to muddle once you’re in the center.

Happy reading!! xo.

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