Friday Flowers: Visions of Autumn

Sabine Bronze Fleurettes

Yeah, here are some more photos from my visit to the Bellagio's conservatory. Although I have other fine flowers to share with you, I think these lovely orange beauties express my Autumn mood best.

Along with scarecrows and pumpkins, this will make up for skipping my "first post of Autumn" during my hiatus last month. No Vivaldi, no "Autumn Leaves," and no Mucha beauties. Maybe next year. . .

And, what the heck?!! It's been a while since we did two consecutive weeks with Friday Flowers. So cut me some slack. ;-)

Happy scarecrow at the Bellagio


Look!!! Even Mr Scarecrow is pleased with my new dedication to posting at least once a day. Paideia isn't back to top form, but it's off the floor and staying in the fight.

And who can resist a pretty grouping of pumpkins and gourds?

Pumpkins and gourds set among the bronze sabine fleurettes


Enjoy!!!

Amusing Guitars

The "Don Ho" ukulele made of shells and plywood by Joann Yates


I was over at the Long Beach main library a little while back. A few of the walls were decorated with assembled guitar images. It looked to be a school child project, but it caught my fancy.

I figured they would make for a nice post. After all, who doesn't like "pearly shells" and jelly beans. ;-)

The "Blue Bayou" made out of blue jelly beans


Fun stuff!!!

I Got Nuthin'

Peering through a window into an empty library


For real, I got nothing!!!

Actually, if it were not so late into the night and if my mind were less befuddled, then I could have probably come up with something cool to share with you all. After all, it's George Crumb's birth date.

Well, I guess a snip of Black Angels is appropriate to the Halloween season, cool but creepy!!!

Devils may be horrific, but dark angels evoke a dread most sublime. ;-)

Archangel Raphael (c.1600) from Naples, Italy. On view at LACMA.


So, let's listen to some music.

Time Slips Away

Pretzels spilled on the pavement, wasted.


Ugh!!! I'm really wanting to put up a solid post with interesting ideas. However, time always seems to run out. There are plenty of cool things that I've seen. There are countless interesting topics to discuss. Each day presents a new birth date, anniversary, or holiday for us to celebrate.

But my time rarely seems to be enough.

Oh well, let's give a Happy Birthday shout out to "Weird Al" Yankovic, born on October 23, 1959.

Poster for "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1989 movie, UHF


Now, let's look at some vids.

Black Cat

A giant black cat looks down from the roof.

I'm not really big on Halloween decorations, but I kind of like this giant black cat on Artesia blvd. It's head turns from side to side, as though it is considering pouncing down upon the passing traffic. And the orange nose and demented green eyes look goofy. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Dying for Chocolate

Chocolate skeleton on a chocolate electric chair at Jean-Philippe Patisserie at the Bellagio


The previous two posts were based on a daily theme, Friday Flowers and Silly Saturday. So, I began to wonder about about today's theme. Then, I remembered that Sunday already has a topic, Spooky Sunday!!! Yeah, it's been a while since I did one of those posts, but they've always been popular with the readers.

So, I figure that we can dust off the concept and put it back into use, especially for Halloween.

Moreover, I have some photos from my tip to Las Vegas that I would like to share with you all that fit the theme. At the Jean-Philippe Patisseries at the Bellagio and the Aria, there were plenty of Halloween-inspired chocolate sculptures to admire and desire. Yum!!!

This trapped ghoul hasn't realized that it can eat its way out of the chocolate coffin.


Although I normally focus on more "highbrow" forms of sculpture, these sweet constructs were wonderfully crafted. From candy Thriller zombies and Michael Jackson to chocolate Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, there were plenty of pop culture Halloween icons formed out of sugary materials. But I was more interested in the large scale works.

For instance, the Electric Chair Skeleton is made of 35 kg white chocolate, 30kg dark chocolate, 1.5kg rolling fondant, and took two people 70 hours to create!!! That's some impressive chocolatier work.

Chocolate Pumpkins and tombstones


Anyways, let's look at a few more photos and listen to a couple tunes. And let's welcome Spooky Sunday back into our weekly schedule. ;-)

Silly Saturday: Chickenmobile

The Chicken Mobile delivers!!!

Seriously, who would want their dinner delivered in a yellow Cadillac with a chicken's head and tail sticking out the top and back? Maybe the kids would like it or someone enjoying a drug-induced euphoria. As for me, one instance of having the Chickenmobile park in front of my place would certainly encourage me to forevermore pick up my takeout orders. ;-)

Check out this post from LA Weekly on another chicken car, "El Gallo." Fun stuff!!!

Yeah, this is another "Image of the Day" post, but with a twist. If I'm going to do easy photo blogging, then I might as well follow some weekly themes. And, therefore, I've initiated "Silly Saturday" with the intention to provide my dear readers with a goofy treat to start the weekend right.

Now, comedy isn't my thing. This feature may totally fall flat. But experimentation is the key to successful long term blogging and writing. It keeps things from getting stale, develops underutilized narrative talents, and creates a diverse portfolio within a blogger's body of work.

So, this is our first installation. Let's look at what happens next week. . .

And a few vids over the jump.

Friday Flowers: Autumn Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemum: Rosy Victoria Coral


If it's fall, then it's time for the 'mums.

I was recently in Las Vegas and had the opportunity to check out the conservatory at the Bellagio. It was a lovely design. But the chrysanthemums on display were absolute beauties. Although I don't do the regular "Friday Flower" posts anymore, I couldn't let the day pass without sharing these pretties with you.

I'm hoping to pay a visit to some of the local botanic gardens to see some more chrysanthemums as the season progresses.

Chrysanthemum: Durango


And maybe, if I pick up the pace on my posting, I might start celebrating these floral delights on a weekly basis again.

Maybe I'll even start showcasing poetry, like I did in the old days. But I better not get ahead of myself. We'll see how the new style of posting works out over the course of a few weeks before making any promises. ;-)

Chrysanthemum: Regal James Town


Pretty. Pretty. Pretty.

Enjoy!!!

Kurenai Considerations

Crimson tints in light and shadow

Well, I've been promising a period in which my blogging will mainly consist of "Image of the Day" type posts. As the past few updates indicate, that time is now!!!

But that doesn't mean I won't be posting my random thoughts, birth date celebrations, or art show reports. It just means that the daily churn of posting will be photographs, a couple words, and, occasionally, a few music vids after the jump. But when I have the time and energy, you can count on my traditional style of blogging, for better or worse. ;-)

Anyways, I'm glad to be back at the keyboard, in good health, and of a disposition quite optimistic.

Now, let's listen to some music.

Uncanny Aspects and Eerie Facades

A trio of fashion mannequins at the department store


I'm not a fan of mannequins, marionettes, and human-like figures of any type. They creep me out.

As a child, visiting the local wax museums here in the Los Angeles area was never a fun activity, always leaving me with haunting images of dead faced figures that looked like real people. Yeah, it's an "Uncanny Valley" situation; they look close enough to actual humans, but their lack of animation brings to mind corpses. It make my skin crawl.

Well, since we are approaching Halloween, I figured that I'd share these photos with you all. I'll have some more photo posts coming over the next few days.

Geek mannequin

Well, not all mannequins disturb me with quite the same intensity. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Going Up?

Escalator at the South Bay Galleria, Redondo Beach


Are things looking up? I think so. ;-)

Enjoy!!!