Day 3877 - Smoke Shop Window - 12.31.21

Today my wife and I went and saw "Licorice Pizza" at the North Hollywood Laemmle.  Before the film walked around the NoHo district which we had not really been to since before the pandemic.  I took pictures of the El Portal theater and some of the buildings and storefronts.  I took a picture of the smoke shop not only for the weathered painted window, but also because this was the site of Nudie Cohn's "Nudie's Rodeo Tailors."  That was super cool to discover.  Also another cool coincidence was that one of the last shots of Licorice Pizza has our two heroes reuniting in front of the El Portal Theater.  So it was cool walking out of the Laemmle to see one of the locations just featured in the film.  This is is something I was today.
 

Day 3876 - FWY Detour Sign - 12.30.21

This morning we returned our rental car.  It was raining.  While my wife was returning the car I jumped out and took this photo of a detour sign which was right near the Enterprise Rental place on Victory.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3875 - Santa-Rex - 12.29.21

Today we drove back from Arizona.  We stop at the Cabazon dinosaurs.  The T-Rex was painted to have a Santa Claus outfit, which was awesome.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3874 - Silver Trailer In Chandler - 12.28.21

Today we went to Agritopia and then to Chandler.  We walked around and had lunch at Serrano's.  This trailer was in a parking lot.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3873 - Pasta And Meatballs - 12.27.21

Today we went and saw "West Side Story" and then went out for dinner at The Sicillian Butcher.  This is the pasta and meatballs that I ordered. It was super yummy.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3872 - Flower Pot - 12.26.21

This is a flower pot in my mother's backyard.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3871 - Christmas Day Toys - 12.25.21

This is my nephew's son and my wife putting together a lego toy with him.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3870 - Jacob - 12.24.21

This is my son-in-law Jacob on Christmas eve.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3869 - School Bus - 12.23.21

Today we drove to Arizona.  This is a bus that was parked around the back of a truck stop.  It looked like someone was living in it.  I like the way this photo came out with the clouds above.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3868 - "Gremlins" and "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" At The New Beverly - 12.22.21

This evening I went to a Gremlins double feature. My wife, my two kids and their spouses came.  It was a whole family affair.  My wife, daughter and her husband were exhausted after the first film and didn't stick around for Gremlins 2.  Boy did they miss out.  I had only seen Gremlins 2 once before and I had forgotten how awesome it is.  Maybe it was also a factor of having just seen it at home, but seeing it on the big screen with an audience it played like gangbusters.  We laughed the whole way through and by the end I think it may even be better than Gremlins.  I walked out of that screening feeling like is it perhaps Joe Dante's most underrated films.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3867 - Barb Practicing Guitar - 12.21.21

This is my wife practicing guitar.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3866 - "To All A Goodnight" and "Don't Open Til Christmas" At The New Beverly - 12.20.21

This evening I went to a fun double feature at the New Beverly.  It was two Christmas slasher films that involved either a killer Santa Claus or a killer killing Santa Clauses.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3865 - Stranger Things "Space Camp" Graphic Novel - 12.19.21

This is a Stranger Things graphic novel I picked up at the Stranger Things pop up store yesterday.  I read it this morning.  It was fun.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3864 - Playing Dig Dug - 12.18.21

My daughter and her husband are in town for the holidays.  This afternoon we went to the Americana and to the Stranger Things pop up store.  This is her, her husband and my wife all playing video games in the arcade in the store.  My daughter is playing Dig Dug. If you look really closely you can see the game reflected in my daughter's glasses. This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3863 - No Parking Sign - 12.17.21

I took my camera with me again on my lunchtime walk.  This is a no parking sign up the street.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3862 - Two Tiles - 12.16.21

This afternoon I took my camera with me on a walk around the neighborhood.  I was looking to take photos that could be used for SAP Music mix covers.  These are a couple tiles  set into concrete on the side of a house.  I loves all the texture in this photo.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3861 - No Circumcision Car - 12.15.21

This car started showing up on our street earlier this fall.  This person clearly has an opinion about circumcision.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3860 - "Black Christmas" & "Silent Night, Deadly Night" At The New Beverly - 12.14.21

Tonight was an amazing night at the New Beverly.  I have been trying to see this traditional double feature for years and this year I was finally able to get tickets.  My son and I went and it was just a great and fun and we thought it would be.  This is something I saw today.

Day 3859 - Emerson, Lake And Palmer "Tarkus" - 12.13.21

This is the inside of the album Tarkus.  It was the album for the 1001 list today.  This is what I wrote.

I own this record, but I will be the first to day that I have not listened to it much. To me the best part of the album is the cover art. If I am going to listen to some ELP, I will reach for Brain Salad Surgery every time (which is woefully missing from this list). I will say that I did listen to the epic "Tarkus" track 3 times over the last week or so. The first time I was just listening with it more or less in the back ground. The second time I listened to it, it was after reading up a little more on the album and I thought I need to pay more attention. My mind still wandered. Then again this morning I thought I need to focus. But I couldn't. I cam back to my description of Fragile. This is serious music. It is so serious that I need a map to follow it and supplemental reading. Unfortunately, I'm not always in the mood to work that much. I found reading about the music perhaps more fulfilling. That said, these are some really smart guys doing some incredibly complex if not a little nerdy stuff and I respect it. It will probably be a long time before I return to this album. Also, it is hard to be patient with an album like this when I know Led Zeppelin IV is on the horizon for tomorrow.

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3858 - United States Post Office - 12.12.21

Today we went to the local post office to send out Christmas cards, but our local post office was closed.  Of course the branch was closed, but even the lobby was locked which was not normal.  That branch is what is photographed here.  The weird thing was that even the post office boxes outside were locked and so we had to drive to a different location to drop the cards in a postal box.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3857 - Now Hiring Sign - 12.11.21

Today we went to Monte Carlo Deli and I took this photo of a now hiring sign.  I love that one of the things that they list that they are in need of is a "Sandwich Artist."

This is something I saw today. 

Day 3856 - Don McLean's "American Pie" LP - 12.10.21

Today the record for the 1001 albums list was Don McLean's "American Pie."  This is what I wrote about it.

A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile Now that is a way to open not only a song, but an album. Let's face it the track "American Pie" is such a monster of a track it does make all the other tracks pale in comparison. This song brings on all sorts of memories, the strongest being a couple dances I went to when I was twelve or thirteen. This song was played at each one of them. I remember getting up the courage to ask a girl to dance and it was to this epic song. I don't even remember who the girl was. It wasn't anyone I had a crush on or anything. It was more about just asking a girl to dance. But I don't know what I was thinking. I knew how long this song was and all the tempo changes. It seemed to go on forever and I remember that dance getting long and awkward. I also remember telling that story to my kids and warning them to stay away from this song at a dance. That said, the song is epic and awesome. I won't get into the backstory of the song. I trust either someone else will write about it here or if you don't know you will look it up. I've had this album for many years. It was part of that first round of early vinyl record shopping where I was picking up albums from the 70s where I may have none only a song or two but wanted to hear the whole album. I must confess that when I do put this album on I do tend to just put on the opening track. That isn't because the other songs are bad, it is just that they are different and when I'm in the mood for "American Pie" I'm in the mood for that epic song and that nostalgia. This challenge was a nice excuse to listen to the whole album. The songs are solid. They are gentle. They are short or should I say shorter. I'm glad I listened to it again and could appreciate Don McLean as a songwriter and not just as the guy who wrote "American Pie." To me the rest of the album is very much of that early seventies singer-songwriter vibe of James Taylor and the like. I think I liked Sweet Baby James more, but I also liked this album. With that said I think some of these lyrics are great and maybe more poetic. Or at least feel more like poems. A standout for me as an example is "Vincent" which I think does work as a nice little song, but I think it really works as a poem about Vincent Van Gogh.

This is something I saw today.

Day 3855 - Christmas Kisses - 12.09.21

This is a dish of Christmas kisses we have near out front door.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3854 - Elton John's "Madman Across The Water" LP - 12.08.21

Today we listened to "Madman Across The Water" for out 1001 albums challenge.  I wrote the following for my friends.  

This is the kind of album that got into seriously collecting vinyl records in the late 90s and early 2000s. I wanted to go back and hear albums by artists that I only knew from their radio hits. I wanted to hear their deeper cuts and buying vinyl records was the cheapest way to do that. Elton John was one of those artists who I wanted to get into his full catalog. Growing up in the 80s I wasn't that big of an Elton John fan. I wasn't a big fan of his music in the 80s. (I've sense changed my opinion). But in high school I had an art teacher that loved to play an Elton John greatest hits cassette and I did start to gain an appreciation for his work from the 70s. So when I started collecting records Elton John was one of the first artists I was on the hunt for. Elton's early records are all pretty great. I've already mentioned my love of his first album. This is also a pretty great record. Even if you hate every song on this album except for "Tiny Dancer" the album would still be great because that song is a musical narcotic. That song gets into your blood and by the end you have to be singing along. I believe we all saw this effect in the movie Almost Famous. "Levon" is another great song was one that I knew from the radio. It wasn't a staple, but it did get played here and there. Oddly enough I looked up the track listing on that Greatest Hits album my teacher played all the time and neither "Tiny Dancer" nor "Levon" were on that album. That is just crazy t me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(Elton_John_album) The rest of the album is basically deep cuts and I imagine new to anyone who has never heard this album before. There are a few things I like about all of these songs. The first thing is the production. I was listening to this album in the car Monday night and I had the stereo up really loud and in that environment I could really appreciate how well sound designed the album was. It all sounded so good. Every instrument is really captured well. Nothing is muddy. The second thing and related to the first is that the musicians and the arrangements are all great. The last thing is the songwriting itself. Elton John and Bernie Taupin are up there with Lennon and McCartney in my book in terms of great writing partnerships. Bernie really was great at spinning a tale and evoking imagery and emotions. As I am writing the track "Madman Across The Water" is playing and I have it up really loud. This is a great example of everything I mentioned above. The song goes through all these modes. It gets big and then small, and then dramatically builds again to this mammoth song. And it has all these great textures. The production is playing with the mix and things rise and fall, push forward and recede. It is quite a song. "Indian Sunset" is another epic story song with a complex arrangement and makes full use of studio wizardry. It isn't a simple straightforward pop song. It moves and evolves and changes with the narrative. I think it is also a nice example of Elton's great piano playing. I think I often forget how great a pianist Elton was. When I saw "Rocket Man", that film brought that to the forefront for me. By the way if anyone hasn't seen that movie, I highly recommend it.

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3853 - Petula Clark's "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" LP - 12.07.21

I picked up this album by Petula Clark at a local thrift store recently.  We went to the thrift store to buy some snow flake candy dishes we saw in the window one morning while walking.  While there I also picked up some records and this was one of them.  The huge find for me on this record kicks off side two.  The version of "Bang Bang" on this album is AWESOME!  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3852 - "Night Of The Juggler" and "Ms .45" At The New Beverly - 12.06.21

Oh man tonight was a killer double feature.  "Ms .45" is a film I've seen several times at home, but never on the big screen. I knew I was in for a treat there and watching it in a theater was easily the best viewing experience.  As great as "Ms .45" was "Night Of The Juggler" was a jaw dropper.  I knew of this movie.  I knew of it's reputation and I knew I would like it, but none of that prepared me for what I saw.  For the first 20-30 minutes I sat with a huge smile on my face and my jaw on the floor.  I kept thinking to myself, this is crazy.  This is amazing.  Can this keep up?  There is a chase scene in the first act of the film that is so insane and it does finally come to a close to give the audience a moment to catch their breath.  It was truly great seeing that for the first time in the theater.  The intensity of the movie keeps up and the film really is a gem.  If and when it plays again I will bring others with me to experience the madness.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3851 - Wayne Newton "Songs For A Merry Christmas" LP - 12.05.21

Today I put on some more classic Christmas records.  This record by Wayne Newton was one of them.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3850 - "The Shining" at the New Beverly - 12.04.21

It has been a busy week at the New Beverly for me.  This evening my son and I went to the midnight showing of "The Shining."  It was good times.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3849 - "Blast Of Silence" & "The Night Of The Hunter" - 12.03.21

Tonight I saw a great double bill of "Blast Of Silence" and "The Night Of The Hunter."  I've seen "The Night Of The Hunter" before and it was great as always.  The real revelation of the evening was "Blast Of Silence" which I had not seen.  It is a hitman movie that takes place in New York around Christmas and so there is a bunch of great black and white footage in Manhattan at the holidays.  It also has a great third act that was filmed during a hurricane and all of that weather intensity translates to the finale.  It was great.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3848 - Before Digging Please Call - 12.02.21

It was a foggy morning today.  I stepped into the alley to take this photo of this sticker on the telephone pole next to our house.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3847 - "Imagine" by John Lennon - 12.01.21

John Lennon's "Imagine" was the record for today. I wrote the following for my friends.

I haven't listened to this album in a long while. It was nice to revisit this morning. This is one of the great John Lennon records for sure. Of course the title track is amazing and iconic. There have been many occasions in the past where this song has brought me to tears because of its beauty and message. Back in 1988 I went and saw the John Lennon documentary "Imagine: John Lennon" and I do remember tearing up watching that documentary and hearing this song. I was way, way, way into John at that time. "Crippled Inside" is a cool track. It stood out to me more than usual this past weekend when i was listening to it. "Jealous Guy" is one of my all time favorites from John. I literally woke up with that song in my head this morning. "It's So Hard" is okay. "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama" is quite a powerful song. It also sounds big. I really got into the groove of this one this morning. "Gimme Some Truth" is another powerful and angry song. This song is punk rock in my opinion. It may not be the fast power chords of punk, but the attitude certainly feels punk. This is a song that I grow to love more and more. "Oh My Love" is a pretty song. "How Do You Sleep" is another angry song. Part of me likes when John is in angry mode. I think he can pull it off well. However, I must say that I don't really like it when he and Paul fight. Part of what I liked about "Get Back" the documentary was that it showed that even while those two were getting on each others nerves and there were tensions, there were times when they were amazing together. Seeing them write and create together was magic. Seeing them play music together and have fun together was amazing and I guess I'd rather remember that more than the anger and the fighting. So I am torn on this song. It is a good song, but I don't know that I want to listen to it the way I would "Imagine" or "Jealous Guy" or even "Gimme Some Truth." "How?" is another track I really love. This was on the soundtrack to the "Imagine" documentary. That soundtrack was the first collection of John Lennon songs that I owned. I listened to that tape to death back in the day. So I have listened to this song so many times. I do remember thinking back in the day that there was something different about the production of this song and in hindsight knowing more about the production of the song, I thought there was a certain level of cheese to the song. I think that quality I was reacting to was the Phil Spector factor. I think I was reacting to the strings and that sort of soft 70s sound. Now, I don't mind that aspect so much. "Oh Yoko!" is just a fun pop love song. My feelings on Yoko go up and down. I have to say when watching the "Get Back" documentary this past weekend, I was really annoyed by her constant silent presence. And then when you did hear her it was doing that screeching thing that she does. Sometimes I find her annoying or sometimes I find her a really interesting artist and other times I find her quite sweet in her love of John. No matter how I feel about Yoko I can't deny that John truly loved her and I love the joy in the song. As much as I like the angry John, I love the "in Love" John and this song has it in spades. This could be my favorite song on the whole record.

This is something I saw today.