"Tamale Cafe" located at 6421 Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles

Why oh why isn't this still in business?

Then:

Now:

Paging Studio 54

This glow in the dark dress by Halston is just too much fun! Sure, it's gimicky as all hell, but I have to wonder what kind of shine this dress gives off in the dark. You know if you wore this out, you'd end up in a closet all night showing it off. Party trick!

Covered Mother

This was a practice where the mother…often disguised or hiding often under a spread…holds her baby tightly for the photographer to insure a sharply focused image.

Hidden Mother : Tintypes and Cabinets Flickr Group

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween kids!

After being out of the country for two years, Halloween just seemed like a lot of work this year. It used to be my favorite holiday, and I guess it still is, but each year spent not celebrating it, I miss it less and less.
Or maybe I'm just cranky because I didnt get my patty heart costume together this year.
I'm off to disneyland, for the first time in a long while (after an mushroom incident, I didnt feel the need to go back for a bit). Hopefully there wont be a million kids, this being a monday, but I'm really just looking forward to a day off, eating churros, maybe checking out the new Star Tours.
Sorry neighborhood trick or treaters, maybe next year.

Magic

Lon Chaney Sr, the man of a thousand faces, and his make-up kit

A Wise Old Man Once Said....

The Obvious Child

"Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself
How it's strange that some rooms are like cages
Sonny's yearbook from high school
Is down from the shelf
And he idly thumbs through the pages
Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from here to get there
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hand through his thinning brown hair"

Ciao, Tony.

This bums me out. LA's freeway murals are being removed at a rapid rate, and it's been well established I don't like change in LA.

You won't have Tony Curtis to distract you from Hollywood traffic anymore. The 16 year old mural on the 101 Freeway at Sunset has been scraped off by artist George Sportelli, who told Los Angeles magazine's Chris Nichols "the freeway is the stupidest place for a mural.…Tomorrow is the last day I’m going down that frickin’ overpass. What a pain in the ass." Sportelli tells us he's been maintaining the mural on his own all these years and confirms that it's now completely gone. Jill Curtis sponsored a replica mural, which Sportelli painted at Hollywood Blvd. and Bronson Ave. last month. He's now fixing up a section of the original freeway mural to be installed at Jill and Tony Curtis's Shiloh Horse Rescue near Las Vegas next month--he say"Tony Curtis liked the original mural so much that Jill Curtis wanted to have it at the ranch as a memorial." The mural also exists in graffiti-resistant banner form.

Lisbeth Salander for H&M

I just started reading the second book in the trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and I saw the trailer for the movie last night. I'm love that they're doing this. 

Via RackedLA:

H&M's newest collaboration is with costume designer Trish Summerville, who will soon be bringing some looks from the upcoming David Fincher film,The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (based on the Swedish film from 2009 and book by the same name), to their retail selection. Summerville is the one behind the outfits for the Hollywood remake, and to celebrate, has created a dark, urban, 30-piece collection inspired by the films "anti-heroine," Lisbeth Salander.

With a strong, unique, and gritty style that has already been highlighted on the cover of W Magazine and a persona recognized in this month's Vogue, a clothing line was a logical step. Summerville says:

Salander's look is very real and very lived in. I wanted the collection to have the essence and strength of Salander, with a fashion edge, and I'm pleased with the result! My goal is for women to find pieces in it that they love and then mix them with their own wardrobe to create their own personal style.

Salander's style is realized through the line with biker leathers, battered jeans and hoodies in industrial shades like black, charcoal, and deep red, as depicted inStieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy. Accessories are another key: Snoods, tribal earrings, wedge boots, and sneakers are present as well.

With the "English version" of the film slated to release this holiday season, H&M has positioned the line to be available starting December 14th, worldwide. Prior, the collection will debut exclusively at Colette in Paris for two weeks.—Payton Wang
· Behind the Scenes: H&M's Dragon Tattoo Collection [Barracuda TV]

The Stranger Song

Retouched

Old school retouching.
When I started in the industry, head shots were still black and white (and astonishingly, remained a standard until I was around 18), and retouching was still done by hand. You would take your head shot into Ray the Retoucher, and watch as several people there sat with little pots of paint in shades of grey and painted out your lines, painted in eyelashes, and gave good face.

Johnnie Can You Hear Me?

With the motion picture Academy moving its movie museum into the old May Company building (YAY!) at Wilshire and La Brea and the 99 Cents Only Stores being sold, everyone's wondering what's going to happen to the old 99 Cents-owned Johnie's Coffee Shop at the northwest corner of the intersection. The restaurant was designed by Googie architects Louis Armet and Eldon Davis and first opened in 1955 as Romeo's Times Square. Not even the New York Times knows: "Executives at the 99 Cents Only Stores, which still rents out the diner for film shoots, did not respond to queries last week about the diner’s future." [NYT]

Footlights and Fools

What I'd give for that sleeve and that screen.

Miami

two pools and a private beach? Sold.

Off to Miami tomorrow.
I havent felt so unprepared for a trip in a long time, and I dont really know what to expect.
In all my travels, America hasn't made the list, and I've never been to Florida.
My mom is going for work and they're putting her up at the super slick Gansevoort, so while shes working all day, I'm playing all day.
Or really, resting. The only must see on my list is the deco architecture, and while I know theres more to see, I really just don't have it in me.
R & R is the name of the game for Miami. 3 days there, 3 days in Key West, where a family friend will join us. For that part of the trip, I'll be on their train, and I'm very ok with that.
Essentially, I just dont want to think.
I've been sick for over a week, didn't rest the way I usually do, partied too hard at a birthday party over the weekend, and havent been able to go to the gym in over a week.
In other words, I'm wiped out.
5am at the airport tomorrow morning. Yikes.

One of the better things about warm weather climates is that fact that you can pack so much in a suitcase. Its quite nice.

Repeat