Holiday image from WaPo by Jiaqi Wang a freelance illustrator. This image appeared on the Washington Post web site a few years ago. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiaqi-wang-1b2b26100
Happy Holidays
Category: Art and Entertainment
Vista Theater in East Hollywood
Vista Theatre is a historic single-screen movie theater in Los Angeles, California, located in East Hollywood on the border with Los Feliz. The neighborhood is not a tourist destination. It is mostly an area for working class residents.
Despite that fact Quentin Tarantino, the film director, has purchased the property. The building is closed. He told the news media he plans to reopen the theater by the end of this year. With a reported capacity of 400 seats the theater it is not likely to be divided into a complex.
Tarantino told a local TV channel he was planning to open the theater by around Christmas. He already owns the New Beverly in the Fairfax district that has an extremely dedicated fanbase partly because of Tarantino’s involvement in programming the movies shown at the revival house, which only shows movies on film, not with digital projection. Of the Vista, Tarantino said, “And again, only film.”
This location is adjoining the eastern end of Hollywood Boulevard where it intersects with Sunset Boulevard. A new luxury apartment house is under construction abut the only benefit would be its easy drive to other parts of central Los Angeles from downtown to Hollywood. A five minute walk to the many hospitals near Sunset Blvd and Vermont Avenue. Just a mile from Griffith Park.
Recognizing Commercial Art
This piece of art caught my eye on the Washington Post web site.
Jiaqi (Jackie) Wang is an illustrator and animator originally from China, currently based in Los Angeles. Jiaqi graduated with a MA Animation At London College Of Art. She specializes in 2D moving images and motion graphics. Her work revolves imagination about daily life, full of colors, visual design, and character design.
This link will enable you to admire her talent. It is worth your time. jiaqiwang
There is a Grinch in the White House
Sadly our president is a sad man who hates everyone who doesn’t bow to him. Bruce Springsteen correctly points out how Donald Trump is the absolute opposite of Ronald Reagan who offered positive inspirational words of hope and happiness. There is no morning in America.
‘Forever Marilyn’ statue will return to Palm Springs — forever
Palm Springs’ on-again, off-again love affair with Marilyn Monroe — or, at least, the 26-foot statue of her — has taken a giant step forward. The Seward Johnson sculpture that visited the city from 2012 to 2014 will be installed permanently at an upcoming downtown park next year.
The super-sized tribute to Marilyn Monroe’s iconic scene from Billy Wilder‘s 1955 infidelity comedy, The Seven-Year Itch, with the figure capturing the instant a blast of air from a NYC subway grate raises her white dress.
I took these photos on May 18, 2013 in Palm Springs. The statue was moved elsewhere in 2014. It toured other cities including Hollywood, Chicago, and opposite a church in Stamford Connecticut. And some churchgoers in Stamford believed the 26-foot tribute to the blonde-bombshell was disrespectful.
Doris Day is dead at age 97
I was in love with Doris Day. She was not only physically attractive, she was both an outstanding singer and actress. When she decided to retire to Carmel I was devastated. TMC and other TV channels should run marathons of her many movies. “Hooray for Hollywood” was a signature song of hers. Farewell dear Doris. You will always be in my heart.
US Bank Building in Los Angeles
Standing 72 stories on Bunker Hill, the building holds a prominent position in business and in popular culture. It has appeared in numerous movies and even been fictionally destroyed for dramatic effect in such films as “Independence Day,” which saw aliens blow up the tower as they began their invasion of Earth.
The building was the tallest west of the Mississippi River until another building the Wilshire Grand Center competed on June 23, 2017 opened with one more floor.
Still, going to the top of the US Bank Building is fun to do and besides the views there is a glass slide from the 70th floor to the 69th floor that is mounted to the outside.
The views from the those two floors are spectacular.
City at sundown (Photo taken by a friend)
Westin Bonaventure Hotel (numbers indicate the weight the roof will support in thousands of pounds)
Hollywood sign and Griffith Park Observatory in the distance
Snowcapped Mount Gorgonio and Mount Baldy.
‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’
The me too movement has gone too far!
The Me Too movement, with many local and international alternative names, is a movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. #MeToo spread virally in October 2017 as a hashtag on social media in an attempt to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.
So what does the song ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ have to do with the campaign against sexual harassment? The Me Too movement has decided that they have the right to police everyone’s words.
Songs and movies were written for fun and entertainment. So the word baby has a sexual connotation. “Guys and Dolls” will have to be banned. Burt Bacharach’s – “Wives And Lovers” is definitely not acceptable. No one was ever harmed by those songs or movies.
There should be a rebellion by men against those that want to destroy fun.
Let’s ban “Baby it’s cold Outside”—but allow the rap songs on 24/7 that glorify rape,sex and total disrespect for all women—where is the outcry against rap??
I hope readers of this blog are willing to say “enough.”
Thanksgiving Tole Painting
OK, I am late. This was my wife’s tole painting effort. Now she is working on some snowman displays. No Christmas displays. Just winter displays.
Rolls-Royce’s Yacht-Inspired Phantom Convertible
There it was parked on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills, California. A Rolls-Royce Convertible with the top down. It was parked like any other car. I could see the entire car in the morning sun.
I was taking Freddy, my terrier, into the groomer for a trim and bath. After I parallel parked I realized that there was a Rolls-Royce in front of me. When you go to the car show they have these cars on display but you really can’t see the interior easily. This car could be seen by everyone walking or driving by. No one was around and I ran my hand over the wood not certain that it was really wood. No license plate on the back told me it was very new. The owner was definitely showing off.
Check out the luxurious teak wood decking on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Convertible. “The optional teak decking was inspired by classic racing yachts – hand-made from 30 separate pieces and cut from the same tree for consistent grain,” explained on the hogring.com web site. The teak wood decking is optional and comes at a hefty price of $9,875. Anyone willing to spend nearly $500,000 on the base model would not baulk at paying an extra $10K for such a gorgeous feature.
Here are the pictures all taken by me.
Coast Contact 