Oh My God I Have a Blog & Paris Photo LA is Coming Up! Get Your Tix!

Bourdin Guy's on exhibit at Paris Photo LA, 2015 (from Foam in Amsterdam)

I seriously know know know this is such a good place for me to have an outlet. I always forget it's here. Yes, like I said in my last post, I've been writing. This blog is supposed to be about my recommendations about cool stuff in LA but because I've been consumed with another creative endeavor, I've not had a chance to do that. I miss it! I wish there were more hours in the day.

But what I am planning on doing I'm extremely excited about. I have this goal to shoot what I've been writing in May, on my own dime, so you know, it will literally be a dime. So terrified. So happy people want to work on it with me. So hopeful about it. And yet I'm not one of the young kids who are like "No big deal! I shoot shit in my sleep." Not me. Still it's so much fun and I happen to really love the characters and the world. Maybe I'll even post the outcome here. I don't know. Who knows what the future holds?

Paris Photo, LA

That being said, I'm distracted, big time. It's always a good sign when the house is messy. Means I'm in the zone (or mentally ill). And listen, there's other big stuff too, but the web series is one of the bigger projects that's taken me out of this hobby - this blog - my sweet Opine LA!

Thomas Joshua Cooper, Snake River from the Ingleby Gallery will be on exhibit

And the anniversary of it's birth is coming up. My first post was about my adventure hitting Paris Photo LA with my good friends, Max & Nicole.

Paris Photo LA, me, Max & Nic

I'm so sad I'll miss being there with them this year (and I believe my cutie pants friend Heather is going as well). Oh Paris Photo LA! It is so spectacular. So much fun. SO WORTH IT.

Paris Photo will be in May. May 1-3 on The Paramount Lot to be specific. They'll be hosting 80 leading galleries and be showcasing art from 17 countries. It is so cool to be on the lot, seeing art in the stages and backlot. And they always have food trucks (though if you're in a crunch starving and need something before or after, get a veggie burger with zucchini fries at Astro Burger on the corner of Gower and Melrose. Oh, and ask for extra dipping sauce for the zucchini fries. You won't regret it).

If I wasn't going to Portland to see the maternal side of the fam, trust me, nothing would keep me away. Oh how I will miss it!

ENJOY!

xoxo

Paris Photo's Link for Tix & Info: http://www.parisphoto.com/losangeles
Astro Burger is at 5601 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Here's the link: http://www.astroburger.com/


Paris Photo at Paramount April 27, 2013 - the first pic on my blog.

Music in LA Tonight: Michiko Freemond

Ah, good music. Could it trump football? Superbowl Sunday is a national holiday and we would get off work if we worked on Sundays. Some of us do, and to the bartenders, busboys and valets, I am sorry, ladies & gents. I hope at the very least you make a lot of dough.

But tonight, at Hotel Cafe, if football is not your jam or if futbol is but not football, then I recommend you check out my good friend, Michiko Freemond. She's a little Joni Mitchell, a little Tom Waits, and add in some Lucinda and you got it. Here's Michiko and a video she cut when recording with Brant Biles. [VIDEO LINK]

Tix are available on The Hotel Cafe website but you probably can take advantage of Superbowl Sunday, get there at 6:30 and not pay the upcharge you might on the website.

It's 11 bucks to get in the door. Below is Michiko at her Molly Malone's show:

Hotel Cafe is at 1623 1/2 Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028. 323.461.2040. It's 3 blocks west of Vine between Sunset and Hollywood. If you don't find street parking, there's parking at the yogurt place, on Selma and Cahuenga for 5 bucks.

Here's more info: PARKING AT THE HOTEL CAFE.

And if you want to get weird with genre bending music, stick around. At 8p, The Evangenitals play.

I am so pissed I'm sick! Enjoy!

Beachwood Cafe - A Nice Place for a Yummy Breakfast (and Horses)

This morning, I ended up having to kill a little time before meeting someone and found myself in my old 'hood, at The Beachwood Cafe. The cafe used to be a diner, and it was kind of worn out and done in and I loved it. Dark wood, flies that seemed like they knew your name, that sort of thing. So when this new, cheerful, CLEAN restaurant took over, it was a little jarring for someone like myself.

Yet enough time has passed and now I can say while I love the old, I welcome the new; especially when the first thing you see, parked outside the door, are horses.

Inside the memories of the old Beachwood diner seem to have finally faded. I don't fully remember it any longer. I do remember some of the staff and miss them. But the new staff could not have been nicer and I wonder if my waitress worked at the old one as well. Either way, she was fantastic. And the truth is drab and depressing is no longer my game. As much as I like that old greasy spoon feel, I'm publicly going on record to say I like clean stuff, nice people, good food and pretty walls. The Beachwood has all of that.

Yellow and blue are the predominant colors and the kitsch, homey wallpaper and unusual photos of dogs above the tables add light, energy and life. Even the floors are blue and yellow. I was wondering if this was possibly an alma mater color combo from the owner's university years past. (All hail The University of Michigan).

Regardless of how cute everything was...

I mean come on...

The food was delicious. I sometimes meet my little friend, Nancy, here for a pow-wow and vent-fest. She normally gets the tofu scramble while I go for the Nichols, a scramble comprising of spinach, onion, bacon -- guess who weighs less in this friendship?

Nichols Scramble, 11 bucks, deelish

Yet regardless of the fact maybe mine has a higher calorie count, whatever you get here is fresh and they care about their food sources. They make it very clear if you're eating chicken or bacon or a burger, it's hormone-free, grain-free... or put another way, it roamed, it laughed with its friends, it had a real life. They care where it came from, that it tastes good and that it won't mess with your health. And if you're a Vegan or Veggie they have lots of choices. Because it's hard to eat meat when you see this guy out your window...

But not that hard if you really like meat.

Anyway, as sweet, as Martha Stewart-Would-Be-Proud-ish as this spot is, it's still, at the end of the day, on some level, just a diner...

Beachwood Cafe Kitchen

And while yes, you can have soy or almond milk in your coffee, at every table you can still have this...

Leading me to say, I don't really miss those damn flies.

 

Beachwood Cafe is at 2695 Beachwood Canyon, LA, CA 90068. Open Tuesday thru Saturday, 8-10p. Sunday 8-3pm. They also now deliver. You can park in the lot there or on the street. Information about their design can be found here: http://bestorarchitecture.com. 

As for the horses, my guess is they were from Sunset Ranch. At the top of Beachwood Canyon Sunset's where you can rent horses for about $40 per hour. Or maybe those three people who rode their horses just have horses instead of cars and that's how they roll and if so, that is very cool and awesome. 

I was in the midst of writing a new post when I saw this

The thing about LA is there are a lot of very talented people in our town. Not everyone gets to do the thing they want to do on a global scale but it doesn't make them any less talented. In fact many times they blow your mind with their talent. They just need the right opportunity. And you need to either be there to see it or get some bad phone version of it.

This happened Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl. My friend George just told me about it. I guess it's going viral. A voice teacher was in the audience at a Kristen Chenowith concert when she volunteered to come up on stage and sing a duet with Kristen. It's a part of the show that they ask for a volunteer to sing with Kristen but she's not a plant.

Now I don't know Kristen at all (except I do seem to recall seeing her on an awards show where I thought she was funny and talented). That being said, I love her now and am a huge fan, as I am of this woman, Sarah Horn.

ENJOY!

Bombing The System -- Style Wars at The Academy of Arts & Sciences with KCRW

So much freakin fun last night!

Mear 1 creating at the event. 

My husband convinced a group of us to go out on a Sunday night - a coveted stay-home evening - to see the famous early 80's counterculture documentary "Style Wars" which is about graffiti artists, bombers/writers, b-boy dancers and hip hop in NYC in the early 80's.

Photo by Henry Chalfont, on exhibit at the event.

Shown outside at night on the lawn of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, I was pretty much the only one watching who was new to this beloved documentary. Pretty much all in attendance owned it like the back of their tattooed hands. The guy next to me was shouting out lines as if he were watching "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." I get it and I loved it. LOVED LOVED LOVED.

"Style Wars," directed by the late Tony Silver and produced by Henry Chalfont, was just recently restored with fund-raising efforts lead by uber fan Catherine Keener. She was there before the film to discuss the film's meaning, history and impact along with a panel comprised of Chalfont and one of the film's star bombers, Skeme, moderated by Anthony Valdez.

Skeme and his Mom in their kitchen on screen

The movie was so good and personal, due in part to the intercutting throughout of Skeme and his mother. Just a two-shot in the kitchen, their dynamic, her personality, everything - it was FANTASTIC. Nothing short of priceless and classic. I could watch clips of them over and over and over again. Here's a little of the film featuring Skeme and his mom, along with other moments from the film:



It was also a major adrenaline rush due in part to the soundtrack. Check out the movie's playlist, as compiled by Repo136:

1. Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and Funeral Music
2. 8th Wonder - The Sugarhill Gang
3. The Wanderer - Dion
4. Jam Hot - Johnny Dynell
5. Pump Me Up - Trouble Funk
6. The Message - Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five
7. Beat Bop - Rammelzee vs. K-Rob
8. Sing, Sing - Gaz
9. Give It Up or Turnit a Loose - James Brown
10. Rockin’ It - The Fearless Four
11. Rocket In The Pocket - Cerrone
12. Feel The New Heartbeat - The Treacherous Three

And yes, now I'm going to download the whole damn thing. So good. Also prior to watching the film there were artists making art:

Photo by Terrence Dunlop

T shirts getting silk screened with famous sayings from the time period:

Photo by Terrence Dunlop

And they even had BBoy dancers from Long Beach. Before that performance, just while hanging out, we listened to some great music spun by Anthony Valdez, including of course:



My husband danced to this as did the many gathered on the lawn there, but I didn't get much of a shot of him dancing. Sorry Terry Fans.

KCRW did this in conjunction with Oscar Outdoors, which on its own shows movies all summer long right there on the lawn at The Academy of Motion Arts and Pictures. The entrance is on Homewood, between Cahuenga and Vine (just south of The Arclight) in Hollywood. There's SA-WEET parking right across from the lawn (It was very human!!!! - I got in and out no problem, no agita!). So if this sounds like your sort of thing, know that there are a bunch of films coming up. Good stuff, too. You can buy tickets online, though some of the really popular movies set for August are already sold out. And yet...

When there's a will, there's always a way.

If you're into it, you can go on standby. That's what we did for "Style Wars." We got there before 6pm, and had no problem getting in and setting up camp. Tickets are 5 bucks, free for kids under 10 (are you short?) and if you're an Academy Member (ahem) it's $3. This Friday, August 2nd, is "American Graffiti" and on August 24th it's "Grease." Grease is the word yo. For ticket information, rules about what you can bring in with you, etc. just go to Oscar Outdoors.

Meanwhile, I kind of bonded with these very nice people from KCRW last night and want to add there's a cool upcoming FREE event which they're hosting in August. This showing of "Style Wars" was a part of KCRW's Summer Nights Events. On August 17th as part of their Summer Nights schedule, they're throwing a big ole party in Chinatown. I'm definitely going. Sounds like mega fun. There's going to be dancing, food, DJ's, chefs cooking up Chinese cuisine -- food, food, food...

Photo courtesy of KCRW

And as for last night, it was a blast. And educational. The movie really effected me. I remember growing up in New York and being scared out of appreciating graffiti. I was young and had fallen for my paranoid parent's (and Mayor Ed Koch's) opinion that graffiti's only real meaning was to signify urban blight and the terrible depths our society had fallen to. As I've gotten older, I've fallen out of fear and into love with graffiti. I see such art and messaging, talent and creativity. I really felt that "Style Wars" gave me a lot of insight into the world of someone who wanted to see their name traveling all over NYC, from one place to another. They cared so much about the art of it and what it looked like. I understand much more now what it meant to them to see their name on those cars in terms of displaying their creations to likeminded individuals who could and would (minus Cap) fully appreciate what they had accomplished. And the subversive task of getting their art done in and of itself was of course a major part of the thrill and added to why the act was so truly empowering.

"Style Wars" made me want to be cool, which is one of the best outcomes of any film, if you ask me.

Leading me to say if you EVER hear that this film is being screened, do yourself a favor and go see it. You will not regret it. Also if you're interested in the topic, you may want to check out the producer's website: HENRY CHALFONT.

To sum up:

STYLE WARS
OSCAR OUTDOORS
CHINATOWN SUMMER NIGHTS WITH KCRW
HENRY CHALFONT

ENJOY!

One Truly Fantastic Historical Tour of Hollywood That Appeals to Your Intelligence!!!

*** 

This past weekend my sweet, lovely friend Else...

That's Else on the right. Hi Else!

Treated my husband and I to an amazing historical tour of Hollywood.

Here's the deal: If you're looking for the typical tour of star's homes or a studio lot tour, this is not for you. And if that is you, totally fine. I used to give tours of NBC at Rockefeller Plaza. I know! That being said, this is like the indie Hollywood tour because it is born from a passion and love for all of this town's rich history and glamor. The creator of the tour, Philip, cared so much about all this stuff,  he felt it needed to be shared, so the truth and legacy live on in this 90 minute journey through one of Hollywood's most historical areas. But that sounds really heavy and serious. Trust me, Philip's a character. He's funny, smart and doesn't talk down to you. At all. Hooray for People Who Trust That I Have A Brain and an Imagination! (Sorry for the outburst but my husband and I have gone on some pretty lame tours. One night tour in Prague was particularly offensive.)

The Felix in Hollywood Tour with Philip Mershon.

It's all pretty simple. Philip meets you on the corner of Sunset and Vine, in front of the Chase Bank at the fountain there, and basically takes you on a 1 mile walking and talking tour - that's it. And if you know ANYTHING about this area, I'm not going to lie, visually -- not the most thrilling thing you're ever going to see. BUT THAT'S OKAY. Because a) Philip knows how to tell you where you really are and what hallowed ground you're truly walking on and b) he's got a swanky book!

That also doesn't sound like much does it? But the photos tell a lot. They help you to understand that what you're looking at, isn't remotely what this area once was. 

In fact, every time you pass a building, driveway or parking lot - Philip will show and tell you what used to be there, how it got there, who put it there, who slept there, who slept there with whom, who sold it to so-in-so or what-and-what or Warner Brothers, and what it's like now.

IT IS AMAZING. And fun. And I want to go again.

For locals it might even be more exciting.

We drive by, walk by, see these places every day and most of us really don't have a clue just how much has gone down here. Kind of makes you want to kiss the ground. Euphemistically. Let's not get carried away...

It did all really blow my mind.

Major stories with this place

Major stories with this place

Even major stories with this place that has nothing to do with pancakes. Though I'm sure there are some good pancake stories, too. Feel free to let me know.

I especially loved all the stuff about Harry Cohn and Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison, right? Who knew? Philip, apparently.

Tours are every Monday through Thursday at 1:30 pm. Friday through Sunday at 1 and 4pm and all tours last about 90 minutes. It's $40 per person and open to anyone over the age of 15. Tickets are arranged for in advance and to do so, check out the website:  felixinhollywoodtours. He will try to accommodate same-day purchasers, just check out how on the site. As for what you're in store for, this isn't going to remotely wear you out. Like I said, it's really a small amount of walking you're going to be doing. And there are kind of a million places to eat in the area: Tender Greens, Go Burger! Umami is near by on Cahuenga. Also, you can park at the parking structure at Sunset and Vine (where Borders used to be and is now a Walgreens and if you ask Philip, he'll tell you a lot more about all of that, too). You can also park on the street. Where I did. And so when on our home stretch we encountered the following, I momentarily panicked.

But back to the tour, if you go, let me know how you like it. I certainly hope you do.

The Palladium on Sunset, back in the day

ENJOY!

***Fred Astaire & Rita Hayworth on the top of a Columbia Studios Soundstage.

Directions to The Hollywood Sign - The Fast Version

Check out my longer post from July 1st for a detailed version of Hollywood Sign directions including hidden gems along the way, to and fro. That being said, these are the fast and dirty directions to The Hollywood Sign if you don't like all those pictures and words:

•Go NORTH on BEACHWOOD CANYON DRIVE. You'll drive up several blocks, passing Scenic, Graciosa, Cheremoya.

•When you get to Beachwood Village, in order TO FOLLOW ALONG BEACHWOOD take a SOFT LEFT.

•At LEDGEWOOD, go LEFT. Follow Ledgewood up.

•At Rodgerton you can go in a few directions but you want to STAY ON LEDGEWOOD. THEREFORE, TAKE A SOFT LEFT. At the top of the hill YOU WILL BE ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE.

•If you TAKE A SHARP RIGHT and drive up the road, you will ARRIVE AT A TURNAROUND that will give you good photo opportunities for THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN. It's not legal to park here so do this at your own risk. When finished turn around and get back onto Mulholland.

•To get to the vista, CONTINUE GOING FORWARD ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE. Follow it until you ARRIVE AT CANYON. Behind you is THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN. ACROSS the street is a VISTA from which you can take photos of the reservoir, Hollywood and Hollywood Signage, surrounding areas and on a clear day, you can even see all the way out to Catalina.

ENJOY!

The Most Specific Directions to The Hollywood Sign

When I lived in Beachwood Canyon I cannot count the times I was stopped to give directions to The Hollywood Sign. And really it never bothered me. But I'm a talker. I like people. Whatever.

Oftentimes the locals have gripes about the amount of people each year going to see the sign and the traffic jams it causes. All understandable but I believe it is a fait accompli. I look at it this way: If I were visiting LA, I'd absolutely make the pilgrimage to such a symbol of the dreams, glamour, tragedy and beauty that is Hollywood. Therefore...

Here are the Directions to The Hollywood Sign (da da da dahhhhh!). Be warned on this journey YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE. Unless you go at 4 in the morning and then you might see some coyotes snapping pictures alongside with you.

First you gotta get to BEACHWOOD CANYON DRIVE. Beachwood starts at Franklin between Gower and Bronson. Okay, so good, you got there. Now HEAD NORTH UP BEACHWOOD. Right away you'll see The Hollywood Sign, front and center. Every day, right on Beachwood, tons of people stop their cars and take pictures, to the annoyance of the natives. I also always see cameras outside people's windows - sometimes while they're driving. Hey, you're in Hollywood, of course you're gonna take a picture but for crying out loud, please be careful!

Anyway, you'll go up several blocks (past Scenic, Graciosa, Cheremoya). In time, you'll hit the adorable little Beachwood village, the cross street of which is Westshire Drive. The village consists of a restaurant, dry cleaner, antique shop and The Beachwood Market. More on that antique shop later. To continue to the sign YOU NEED TO STAY ON BEACHWOOD. To do this it's sort of like TAKING A SOFT LEFT (a hard left would put you on Westshire).

WHEN YOU GET TO THE SIGN AT LEDGEWOOD, TAKE A LEFT. I'd do what the sign here says, This is Hollywoodland. Now relax and slow down.  There are plenty of locals and tourists who use this road. What's the rush? Why get into an accident? Besides, if you go too fast you'll miss this little gem:

This is Oz

Oz (located right after BELDEN) is an outdoor artist's garden with figurines and tiles embedded in cement and tons of dream catchers hanging from various trees. Sadly for the past decade I've not seen its gates open. Back in the day, they would let the public in every now and again.  But now the gates are closed (it seems) all of the time. I feel like the gate keeper is some Willie Wonka, mad at the world and maybe for good reason. Still it's so sad, because if you peek through the gates, you'll see, this is a magical place.

So if you like, leave a little letter in this box on your way to the Hollywood Sign and let them know you'd like to come in.

Now, back to the directions...CONTINUE UP LEDGEWOOD.

You are going to get to an area that's just a shade confusing. In great Wizard of Oz fashion you could go Left, Soft Left, Soft Right or Right. TO CONTINUE UP LEDGEWOOD YOU'LL GO STRAIGHT (WHICH FEELS LIKE A SOFT LEFT).



Immediately after Rodgerton you will see the Hollywood Sign's Gigantic letters smack dab in front of you. Keep going. You'll hit another Stop Sign at Heather Drive. Keep going straight. As straight as a windy road can be. There'll be rental cars coming downhill. Keep going, keep going. Now you can see popping above and through the treetops, the letters of The Hollywood Sign here and there. And right around this amazing white tree...

...you'll get a nice view of OOD. It'll be outside the right side of your car. You can't stop on your way up the hill. You can though park on the way back down.

At the top of the hill you'll now find yourself on MULHOLLAND HIGHWAY. 

Take a SHARP RIGHT ON MULHOLLAND HIGHWAY. (BY THE WAY I refer to this section of Mulholland as Mulholland East. This is a very small section of Mulholland. The really big long gorgeous stretch of Mulholland goes from Hollywood all the way towards the ocean. It's fabulous and one of my favorite drives. For more information regarding Mulholland, it's history and all it's famous vistas, click HERE). You'll just drive for less than a minute and here at this turnaround you can get excellent, close up pictures of the sign. You'll also probably be breaking the law. So go at your own risk and make it snappy.

See all those signs, yeah, you're really not supposed to be here. When you leave, continue on Mulholland, going straight. Before you hit the stop sign, you'll see on your left a house where the garage is actually painted to look like stacks and stacks of books -- I always thought this was very cool. CONTINUE FORWARD ON MULHOLLAND. You'll curve around and to your right, below is actually something the people who live here call Dog Hill. It's where locals take their dogs for runs even though you're not supposed to have your dogs off-leash. In my experience this doesn't hold water with the natives or the pooches. So don't ever drive too fast around here!

Regardless, when you get to the vista point you'll know it. THERE ARE TOURISTS EVERYWHERE. THIS IS NOW CALLED CANYON DRIVE. It is here where amongst everything else, you will see this van:

I seem to park behind it every time. Now I highly recommend if you can, come for sunsets or even evening. Such a beautiful spot. Or early in the morning. The soft light will be stunning to you. Anytime you come though it's super cool.



Good photo opps for the sign.

If I were in LA for a visit, I'd want to do what these folks did and rent this car...

Car Porn at The Hollywood Sign

When you go across the street to the actual vista, you'll see The Reservoir (otherwise referred to as Lake Hollywood), and beyond. Beyond is a great view of Hollywood, all the cool signage, to your left you may see Griffith Observatory and if it's a really really clear day, you may see all the way out to Catalina.

What I tend to do though is I go to this dirt road opposite of the area where everyone is taking pictures. You'll see a lot of cacti there. And I mean huge cactus. Like you're in the Land of The Lost or as my friend Jen Sincero refers to it, Mars. The entrance to the little dirt road is marked by this very cool sculpture. I don't know anything about it. It just sort of popped up one day.

I used to hike through this dirt path to get back and forth from Beachwood Canyon - though it's a circuitous route and I would definitely try to do it with someone who knows the score. Anyway, as you walk down the path, if you look up on your left, behind those tall trees is I believe a house first built for Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. At one time Madonna was said to have owned it. At that time it was painted rust. Now it's more tasteful and more hidden. And I think Madonna's LA digs are in Los Feliz now.

Madonna's old house, or so it is said.

As you continue on the dirt path, you'll see tons of these, cactus with so-in-so + so-in-so carved into the surfaces. I think it's really mean to pick on a cactus but I'm not 18 and mad at nature.

I always call these bunny ears.

Cute, aren't they?

There are also nice photo opportunities from this area and it's quieter.

If you like, when you get back up to the area where the van is and the vista and all the tourists, you can continue down Canyon past Dog Hill and go to Lake Hollywood for a nice walk around the lake.

This is one of my favorite walks and you know it's a little long - 4.2 miles. So take that into consideration. But it's beautiful and there is tons to see and other great photo opps.

When you get back to that little village at Beachwood and Westshire, I highly recommend popping into the antique shop there. It has so much memorabilia of Hollywood, Hollywoodland specifically, and just tons of antiques from the area, you never know what you'll find. It's called Hollywoodland's Antiques and Fine Time Pieces.

It's a collector's paradise.

I love what the owner Jeff finds.

A telephone booth atop which sits a clock from an old Gulf Station.

A giant Rolex:

AVictrola...

If real deal memorabilia and vibey type stores are your thing, pop in.

What a great neighborhood this is. Right by the antique shop is this cafe...

Which by the way has a lot of healthy entrees. And while I've never had it I hear there's a good cup of joe. Might be nice after so much scenic driving. Let me know how the Hollywood Sign is and if you ever get into Oz. Until next time...

ENJOY!