Around Town - Friday 8/10/2007

As promised, a shot of the restored Papoo's Hot Dog Show sign.


The sign in context. The patio's around the back. This is one of those classic old eateries. They do some terrific diner food. My favorites: bacon breakfast burrito with salsa on the side, pastrami Reuben, vegetarian Reuben (both are served with avocado inside!), and the French fries.

I have only had one hot dog there in the 8 1/2 years I've worked down the street. It wasn't bad, I'm just not that much into hot dogs.



Just a cool converted garage that caught my eye. We parked near here on our way to McCabe's.



McCabe's Guitar Shop on Pico. This place is hands down, my favorite concert venue in L.A. Because I like its small, unpretentious atmosphere, the quality of the acts, and the intimacy of the performances.

We saw Mort Sahl there last night and he was amazing. I don't know if I've ever laughed so often in an hour and fifteen minutes. He set a fun pace, and was so smart. John Stewart and Stephen Colbert have nothing on this man. Great tales of his experiences, commentary, etc.

I'm telling you, if you have an opportunity, see Mort Sahl live. He's one of the wits of our time.

Nice Logo - Thursday 8/9/2007

I just liked this logo. It was painted on a truck that was parked outside of Big Boy when I came out.

Waitress E told me that one of her regulars committed suicide on Friday night. Not someone I know. He used to come in with his wife for breakfast around 8:30 or 9:00. His wife came in on Saturday to tell them about it.

There's a lot more that I took quick notes on as Waitress E kept stopping by to tell me. She was partly choked up, partly very curious.

Happy Anniversary! - Wednesday 8/8/2007

We went to Vincent Hill Station in Acton to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Yikes. It's astonishing to think we have towels that are older than Lindsay Lohan. Thank goodness they are better behaved.


Don't judge! These crab stuffed mushrooms were actually much better than they look. In fact, they were the best part of the meal.

Vincent Hill Station looks better in the dark when the interior glows with firelight, which it has been when we've gone there before, for my birthday. The service was actually very disappointing and the food was just okay.

I think the combination of the France trip and watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (which is miles and miles superior to his trashy Fox-TV series Hell's Kitchen) have spoiled us for prepackaged or frozen foods at high prices.


The flowers Hydra brought home with him. Cheery!

More Calories On Your Hand Than In Your Mouth! - Wednesday 8/8/2007

This post was going to be called The Big Little Hostess Cupcake Expose' until Weens busted loose with the comment that became today's title.

OneL brought in these 100 calorie packs to share. Thanks, OneL!

We were all excited. Then we were all amused.

Objects on the package may appear larger than they really are.



Yeah, baby. Kick back. Slide off your shoes. Brew a cuppa' joe. Indulge in these sumptuous treats.

See the little smudge of filling to the left of the cake-lette? Yeesh.

I mean, come on folks. I just looked up the full-sized full-fat version and I think the extra 100 calories must be worth it.

Over 500 Years of Experience - Tuesday 8/7/2007

They boast a lot of experience in the dry cleaning business on another of the signs outside of Milt & Edie's Drycleaners. And they're open 24-hours. So if you're at Bob's Big Boy in the middle of the night and you spill coffee on your tux, you can walk over here and drop it off.

You have to have affection for people who go to the trouble to put advice and deep-ish thoughts up there with their advertising.

Figgy Joy - Monday 8/6/2007

Three figs on a plate.

You don't know beans about figs until you've eaten them fresh.

Wow. They might just be the perfect fruit.

Wall and Piece - Sunday 8/5/2007

Pages from Wall and Piece by Banksy.

I think I may have seen some of this guy's stenciled graffiti art in Paris. Whether it actually was or not, I liked it and the images here a lot. Especially the rats. I think there’s a place for creative graffiti in the world.

I used to work at The Blue Mountain Coffee Company in Fort Wayne, IN and the women’s bathroom was famous for its witty and artistic graffiti. They even did an article about it in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette.

Anyway, the images are interspersed with snippets of commentary from Banksy about his experiences in creating street art (I could have read even more of that), and about the art scene, and about society in general.

The only thing that I really didn’t agree with was his painting on the sides of living animals. I didn’t see anything that said that he didn’t use regular spray paint on the cows and pigs he graffitied, and that just really doesn’t sit well with me. Especially the pigs, who have sensitive skin and not much hair to protect them.

Oh, and the stuff where he’s messing with someone else’s art…which I guess he does in a way that doesn’t permanently deface it.

But how interesting to see art that actually challenges you and makes you think.

I love this image [taken from the Internet], which is wrapped around the cover of the book in a way that doesn’t let you see the punch line. It caught my attention and drew me in. I sat with the book at Barnes & Noble for about 20 minutes last weekend and decided I needed to buy it and bring it home.

Cool Thing: He has a website!

It's a Hoot - Saturday 8/4/2007

A couple of friends, singing at a hoot. I usually don't post photos of people, but I don't have any others from Saturday. It's really not fair to take pictures of people while they're singing. Usually, they have their mouths wide open.

On Saturday night we drove down to Anaheim Hills to sing swan songs to some Songmakers friends who are moving away for at least a year. It was a great evening. Started with a potluck and conversations at 6:00 and moved into music at 8:00.

It being the last one hosted at this home by these people for a long time, and maybe indefinitely (our hostess was very enthusiastic about the reception they've received so far in their new community in Washington State), there were lots of emotional songs interspersed with the usual stuff. Hydra sang Tom Paxton's "Thank You for the Honor of Your Company" and I did "The Dalai Lama's Candle," an Eric Bogle song that for me is about staying connected to our past and to each other. Hydra also did his rousing Russian-accented version of "Those Were the Days," which got everyone clapping, and a few people dancing. And I did "Teenager In Love," which is silly and is a great sing-along.

So it wasn't all intensely serious adios material, see.

We've been members of this acoustic music club, the people we also go camping with several times a year, for ten years now. It's amazing to get together with a bunch of talented people who will forgive you for hitting a wrong note now and then. I'm in it for the chance to harmonize, and for the hugs upon coming and going!

What with taking a break from the music a little later than usual, and the two-hour drive, and our inevitable inability to just go straight to bed after a night like that, we didn't get to bed 'til 3 am Sunday morning.

As you may or may not know, Hydra usually rises around 3:15 and I get up around 3:50. Big, fun night. We slept till (gasp!) 8 o'clock Sunday morning!