Day 3795 - Hidden Toy Dinosaur - 10.10.21

This morning my wife and I went on a walk an placed another hidden toy along Burbank Blvd.  This is where he is hidden.  I hope he stays at this home for a long time.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3794 - "House" and "Encounters Of The Spooky Kind II" At The New Beverly Cinema - 10.09.21

This evening was a great night out for me and the wife over on the West Side.  We had dinner at El Coyote and then we hit up a double feature that the Bev.  "House" which is a favorite of ours was great on the big screen.  We had never seen it in the theater.  "Encounters Of The Spooky Kind II" I had seen before, but it was new to my wife.  It was super entertaining as one would expect from a Sammo Hung film.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3793 - Paul Page "Hawaiian Honeymoon" LP - 10.08.21

I started digitizing more Hawaiian/Pacific Island Records again recently.  One of the records today was this one by Paul Page.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3792 - "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath - 10.07.21

Today on the 1001 Albums list the album was "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath.  This is one of the great albums of all time and I was super happy to listen to this album today.  This is what I wrote about the album to my friends at work.

I can't believe I'm finally writing about this album. I feel like I have been writing about this album for months, referencing so many other songs and albums in comparison to this album. To me this album is such a watershed moment in music history. I know I am not saying anything new or revelatory, but there is a reason this is considered to be the first real heavy metal album. And to me it is that what the band did here is take all the hard rock that was going on around this time and added a level of doom and horror that was unlike anything before it. That was the atom bomb element that was ignited on this album. Now this is an album that I have been listening to since I was in 5th or 6th grade, I honestly can't remember when I first got a copy of this album. So in many respects this album has been played as much as any Beatles album and each song is an old friend like any song on a Beatles album. Now I say that, but I must say that listening to it this time through there was a bit of a revelation and that is that I listened to the original track listing that includes "Evil Woman" which was not on the American release. So the version of this album that I grew up on has Wicked World kicking off side two. So it was great listening to this album again with "Evil Woman" because that is one hell of a good track. And in my reading I learned that "Evil Woman" was actually a cover track and was the single off the album. And that all makes sense. While the track is great, it is a little more straight ahead rock and doesn't have that doom element that is so quintessentially Black Sabbath. It is more of a single. Now I have to circle back to the opening of this album. I honestly think this is one of the all time greatest album beginnings of all time. The gentle rain sets a mood and then the haunting church bell in the distance. Then some thunder and the rain gets louder. And then some more thunder and then the thunderous opening chords just pound down on you. Tony Iommi really make a statement with this opening riff. He hits those first 3 notes or chords and there is this trilly thing he does and all of it sounds like the scariest horror movie ever. In that opening Iommi signals to the world that he is doing something different and if you go on this journey with him, it is going to be dark and scary. Then the lyrics are so dark and Ozzy is amazing. But truly one of my favorite moments in the song is how at the end of the first first Ozzy bellows out "Oh no" as if the song and the evil and darkness is overtaking him. Sure he is playing a character, but man of man, I don't think the world had heard character like this before in a song. As the song continues the lyrics continue to paint a horrific picture that includes Satan and by the end of the second verse, things have gotten so dark Ozzy wails, "Oh, no, no, please God help me." I mean come on. I listen to this and I think about how Jim Morrison gets all this credit for his theatrics and his performance and his poetry and cinematics. But honestly "Black Sabbath" makes Morrison look like a mere amateur. "The Wizard" is that perfect mix of drawing upon the hard blues rock that was happening at the time, and the English interest in English folk songs and folk horror. That harmonica is awesome. It is bluesy, but it is also for lack of a better phrase, so metal. Again Ozzy paints an amazing story with the dark Wizard. Again Tony Iommi is not only on fire, but he is burning down the forest and blazing a new path. But I have to call out Bill Ward's drums on this track. They are relentless and awesome. If Iommi is burning down the woods, Ward is hacking and slashing and beating his way through that forest along with him. "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" is so good. I really like how how the band actually clears out this spaces for Ozzy's voice to cut through. It gives the song this very raw an immediate quality. If there is anything bad to say about this songs it is just that it isn't "Black Sabbath" "The Wizard" or "N.I B." which are honestly some of the greatest metal tracks ever put down. But that isn't really fair because this song is great on its own and fills out what could arguably be one of the best sides to a heavy metal album ever. And it sets up and slides with into "N.I.B." which as you can see from my previous sentences is simply amazing. "N.I.B." opens with an almost funky bass line which fades out, but then in comes another of Iommi's archetypal heavy metal riffs. At this point some 51 years later this guitar riff is as ubiquitous and "Jingle Bells" to me. Similar to "Black Sabbath" this song has all the hallmarks of what make Sabbath and this album great. Killer guitars and lyrics as pitch black as they come. Now I know we've already listened to "Sympathy For The Devil" by the stones in which Jagger takes on the character of Lucifer. And that seemed kind of dark and the bad boys of rock and roll were pushing that whole Satanic envelope, but let's be honest that song sounds more like a gospel song than it does sound evil. "N.I.B." on the other hand when Ozzy cries out "My Name is Lucifer, Please take my hand." I believe that character. I feel like I am listening in on a Black Mass and it feels sort of helpless. It feels horrific. I feel like I am listening to something evil and scary. And just to be clear these lyrics: Now I have you with me, under my power Our love grows stronger now with every hour Look into my eyes, you will see who i am My name is Lucifer, please take my hand That is METAL. That folks is how you do it. And then the back half of this song is just an instrumental orgy. The guitar on the bridge shreds. The end just builds and builds and is something that I dare say gets perfected on their next album with the last minute of "Iron Man." But I get ahead of myself. We'll get there soon enough. Needless to say, the end of "N.I.B." is heavy metal ecstasy. Tony Iommi lays down some guitar that I think could rival anything Jimmy Page laid down with Zeppelin. I've already written about "Evil Woman." So I'll just move on to "Sleeping Village" which showed that even just as a band, they could conjure up horror. Sooo goood. "Warning" which is another cover, is also a fine song and to me fits in a little better with everything Sabbath was laying down on side one. It is darker than say "Evil Woman." It sounds like Sabbath as apposed to "Evil Woman" which sounds like Sabbath doing a cover. And lastly I do want to write about "Wicked World" which as I mentioned wasn't on the original release and as it turns out was the B-Side to "Evil Woman", and was included on the American release. So this song is pretty much an essential part of this album to me. I can understand how the record company or the band or whoever makes these kinds of decisions went with "Evil Woman" because it was safer and felt like a single, but "Wicked World" feels like Black Sabbath. I am so glad that this is what I've heard all these years when listening to this album. I think you could make an argument that maybe it is the weakest song on the album, but honestly, not by much. It has a couple killer riffs in it and I think sits well on the album. I think there is also an interesting effect on Ozzy's voice that is cold and kind of scary, almost robotic. It is different kind of horror, that isn't as supernatural as some of the other tracks, but is a different kind of scary. This is a precursor to "War Pigs" in how it is coldly laying out the horrors of the real world. I think contrasted against all the fantastical sounds, it becomes quite powerful. But I will admit that what I think they are exploring here also gets perfected on "Paranoid." with "War Pigs." Okay, I have to wrap it up. I wrote about this album the way Stephanie wrote about Beatles records, except I didn't even go into any of the behind the scenes or production. I am really only writing what I felt as I was listening to the album. An album that brings this much in me is special and I can honestly say is one of my favorite albums of all time. And with that this was something I saw today.

 

Day 3791 - "Phantom Of The Paradise" and "Suspiria" at the New Beverly - 10.06.21

I didn't have pre-ordered tickets for tonight's show because the online tickets sold out very quickly.  However I went plenty early and waited in line and got tickets.  I was so happy that I did.  Thought I have seen these movies many, many times and I've even seen "Phantom Of The Paradise" at the Beverly before, it was really great seeing the two films together.  The audience was amazing as well.  "Phantom Of The Paradise" I enjoyed more than I ever have before.  For whatever reason I really, really loved the music this time through.  Then seeing Suspiria on the big screen was fantastic.  I have wanted to see it on the big screen for a long time and it was everything that I was hoping for.  What a great night.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3790 - "Night Of The Living Dummy III" Goosebumps Book - 10.05.21

I picked up some Goosebumps books recently.  I've decided that I am going to try and collect as many of the Goosebumps books as I can.  The "Night Of The Living Dummy" episodes of the TV show were favorites and my family and I loved Slappy.  So I was very happy to find this book.  What a great cover.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3789 - "A Man Called Tiger" and "Bruce Lee: Super Dragon" At The New Beverly - 10.04.21

Tonight was a Brucesploitation double at the Bev.  The first film was okay.  The second film was interesting and a bit of a mess.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3788 - Tiny Mosasaurus On A Wall - 10.03.21

This past summer my wife and I started finding little toys places on walls and ledges in Burbank.  Specifically we have found them along Burbank Blvd.  We've wanted to add to the fun by adding our own toys for kids to find.  Today we placed our first toy.  This is a tiny what i assume to be a mosasaurus, which is a pre-historic crocodile.  I hope he stays in his new home for a long time.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3787 - "A Nightmare On Elm Street" and "Don't Panic" At The New Beverly - 10.02.21

This evening my wife, son and daughter-in-law had a great time at the cinema.  We watched "A Nightmare On Elm Street" which we all had seen before, but never on the big screen.  It worked great and I think unanimously we all thought it was the best experience we've had watching the movie.  The second film was a jaw dropper and we couldn't stop talking about it after the film and on the whole car ride home.  It was a Mexican film from 1987 called "Don't Panic."  It was inspired by "Elm Street" but was just bonkers.  The crowd in the theater was great and it was such an amazing, entertaining experience.  Tonight is why I love the Bev so much.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3786 - Sad Vampire Wind Up Toy - 10.01.21

This is a sad vampire toy that I own.  He's cute.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3785 - Frankenstein Monster Wind Up Toy - 09.30.21

This is a Frankenstein Monster wind up toy that I have.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3784 - Skeleton Wind Up Toy - 09.29.21

I may have photographed this toy last year, but this week I got out all my Halloween wind up toys and so he I thought that they again would make great photographic subjects.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3783 - Pikachu - 09.28.21

This is a tiny Pikachu that I have.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3782 - Stephen King's "The Long Walk" - 09.27.21

This is the most recent Stephen King book, "The Long Walk" that I picked up.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3781 - Tree Trunk - 09.26.21

This is a tree trunk I saw today.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3780 - Sunrise on Victory Blvd. - 09.25.21

This morning I woke up around 2:40 in the morning.  I watched "Prisoners Of The Ghostland."  Then around 5 I went on a morning walk with my wife.  We walked for a couple hours until just before the fun was coming up.  Then we walked over to Eat 'N' Park for breakfast.  I took this photo on the walk over.  This is looking down Victory Blvd. as the sun was just starting to peak out from behind the mountains.  What a great start to the day.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3779 - Lay's Potato Chips - 09.24.21

For lunch we went to Santoro's and picked up some tasty sandwiches.  I took this photo of the Lay's potato chip bags they had in the shop.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3778 - The New Beverly Cinema October 2021 Calendar - 09.23.21

This is the October calendar for the New Beverly Cinema.  It is going to be an amazing month.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3777 - "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" At The New Beverly Cinema - 09.22.21

This month has simply been amazing at the New Beverly.  The theme of Los Angeles on film has been awesome.  Tonight was no exception with "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" which I actually had never seen on the big screen.  I missed it upon its initial release.  The print looked awesome.  The action sequences were amazing.  No one puts together an action sequence like Jim.  Tonight marks the last night that I'mm be going to the Bev this month and this was one amazing film to end on.  Can't wait for next month.  There are a ton a great films lined up.  Anyway, this was something I saw today.
 

Day 3776 - Sunrise - 09.21.21

I feel like as we get into Fall, the sunrises get better.  I haven't taken a sunrise photo in a while.  This morning's was beautiful. No clouds or anything like that to make is dramatic or anything like that.  Just a really nice spectrum of color.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3775 - "Chopping Mall" and "Night Of The Comet" at the New Beverly - 09.20.21

The screening of "Chopping Mall" and "Night Of The Comet" at the New Beverly Cinema was amazing.  Going in I already adored both of these films.  The theater was packed and the audience was super vocal and responsive laughing and cheering at all the right places.  Between the films there was some surprise Q & A sessions with people associated with the films. First off Kelli Moroney who stars in both films, was there.  Jim Wynorski the director of “Chopping Mall” was there. Tony O’dell and Russell Todd of "Chopping Mall" were there.  Leslie Rosenthal the editor of "Chopping Mall" was also there   From “Night of the Comet” Ivan E. Roth who played Willy, king of the stock boys was there.  Overall the night was pretty spectacular.  This is something I saw today.

Day 3774 - "The Ninja" Paperback - 09.19.21

I found this book "The Ninja" this weekend.  I mostly picked it up for the cover.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3773 - Pablo Cruise "Worlds Away" LP - 09.18.21

And the yacht rock journey continues this weekend with some Pablo Cruise.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3772 - "Minute By Minute" by The Doobie Brothers - 09.17.21

I am still working my way through some of my yacht rock albums.  This one's a classic.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3771 - "In The Heights" Blu-Ray - 09.16.21

This past summer I absolutely loved "In The Heights" and so when I saw it at the grocery store on Blu-Ray I picked it up.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3770 - "Killer Of Sheep" & "The Exiles" At The New Beverly - 09.15.21

This evening I watched to really interesting movies at the Bev., "Killer Of Sheep" and "The Exiles."  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3769 - Toto "Toto IV" LP - 09.14.21

I'm still listening through some of the classic yacht rock records.  "Toto IV" is great.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3768 - "Foxes" and "Suburbia" At The New Beverly - 09.13.21

Tonight I went and saw "Foxes" and "Suburbia" at the Bev.  I actually just watched Suburbia back in January at home so it was pretty fresh in my mind, but it was great seeing it on the big screen and having the great music booming in a theater.  "Foxes" I had not seen before and that is was I was most excited about seeing.  It has been on my list to see for a few years now.  It did not disappoint. It had great Giorgio Moroder music, which I knew going in.  It also had some really great performances and writing.  I also sort of knew going in that while the film sounds like it would be kind of an exploitation type movie, that isn't what it was at all.  It was more of a character ensemble piece.  I was really surprised by some of the scenes between Sally Kellerman and Jodie Foster.  They were so well written and performed.  I really felt for both of these women.  As you can see I arrived later than usual and everyone waiting in line had already been let in.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3767 - Boz Scaggs "Silk Degrees" LP - 09.12.21

I recently listened to some Hit Parade episodes on yacht rock, which prompted me to not only get out some of the records mentioned on the podcast, but to track down a bunch of tracks with Michael McDonald on them or connected to them to make a Michael McDonald mix.  That isn't really connected to this Boz Scaggs record but I did listen to this Boz Scaggs record today since I was in the yacht rock mode.  This is something I saw today.

Day 3766 - "Valley Girl" and "Clueless" At The New Beverly - 09.11.21

Today my wife and I had a really nice day out.  We went and watched "The Karate Kid" at the New Beverly for the matinee. It was great seeing that on the big screen again.  It played super great and I teared up at the end.  It truly is a classic.  Then we went to dinner at Bludso's for some tasty BBQ.  Then we popped back over to the Bev where we met my son and daughter-in-law for a screening of "Valley Girl" and "Clueless", both of which I have seen many times.  I had seen "Valley Girl" at the Bev a few years ago and it really is one of my favorite films of all time, so there were no surprises there in terms of how amazing that was.  "Clueless", on the other hand, I had not seen in quite a few years and had forgotten how great that movie was.  It was so funny and really played great with the audience.  It was a really nice day.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3765 - "A Musical Production Of Puss In Boots" Record - 09.10.21

At one of the new schools my wife is teaching at they had a bunch of old children's records.  They were Scholastic Books records that at some point had a book to go along with each record.  They just had the records left and they had no use for them.  She brought them home and I have been digitizing them.  This on for "Puss In Boots" was one that I digitized today.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3764 - "Tommy" VHS Tape - 09.09.21

I found this VHS of "Tommy" this past week.  I really like this VHS box.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3763 - "Kiss Me Deadly" and "Repo Man" Double At The New Beverly - 09.08.21

Tonight was an amazing double feature at the New Beverly.  I watched "Kiss Me Deadly" and the "Kiss Me Deadly" inspired "Repo Man."  I have seen "Repo Man" many times before, but never on the big screen and it was a pleasure seeing it on the big screen with an audience.  It played great.  "Kiss Me Deadly" was a first time viewing and I must say that I was kind of blown away.  I vaguely knew what it was about and what the twist was going to be near the end of the film, but that didn't matter.  The reveal toward the end was amazing and played so well.  It was still sort of shocking and the ending was so bleak.  I was also taken aback by how black and dark the interpretation of Mike Hammer was.  It was also great watching it before "Repo Man" because I the connections between the two movies were made all that more apparent.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3762 - Led Zeppelin "Led Zeppelin II" - 09.07.21

Today on the 1001 albums list we listened to my favorite Led Zeppelin album, "Led Zeppelin II."  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3761 - "The Master" and "L.A. Streetfighters" at the Bev. - 09.06.21

Tonight was a double feature of Jet Li's "The Master" which was super fun and "L.A. Streetfighters" which was just so so.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3760 - "Angel", "Vice Squad" & "Savage Streets" Triple At The Bev - 09.05.21

Tonight my wife and I went to a Hollywood Blvd. triple feature and all three movies were great and super fun.  They all played great.  "Angel" was a bit of a revelation for me.  So many great characters.  "Savage Streets" I had seen at the Bev before and it is a total crowd pleaser.  It was my wife's favorite of the three films.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3759 - "The Live" Midnight Show - 09.04.21

Today my wife and I went and say "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" at the Bev for the afternoon matinee.  It played like gangbusters.  Then later I returned alone for a midnight screening of "They Live" which also played like gangbusters.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3758 - Behind Tommy's - 09.03.21

This afternoon we went to Tommy's for lunch.  This is the backside of the Tommy's in Burbank.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3757 - Emmylou Harris "Luxury Liner" LP - 09.02.21

Today I listened to Emmylou Harris's album "Luxury Liner."  It was talked about in the Ken Burns "Country Music" documentary series which is what prompted me to take it off the shelf.  I really wanted to listen to her version of "Pancho And Lefty."  The whole album is great.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3756 - "Sunset Boulevard" and "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" - 09.01.21

Tonight kicked off a month of movies featuring Los Angeles at the New Beverly.  I went and saw "Sunset Boulevard" and "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?"  I have seen both of these classics before, but never on the big screen.  That was a treat.  This was something I saw today.