Field Trip: Forest Lawn, Glendale

I was in Glendale yesterday and wandered around Forest Lawn, exploring the monuments and artwork. Today I am in a gothic mood - it must be Halloween.

Dia de Los Muertos at molaa - Sunday, 10/2!

As part of the Dia de los Muertos Family Festival at molaa on Sunday, 10/2, local artists and shop owners are participating in the contest to create the best altar for Dia de los Muertos, to raise money for the School Tours program. Altars will be featured at molaa as well as businesses along Broadway in Long Beach.

Come to molaa this Sunday, 10/2 from 12-6pm, to participate in viewing the contest winners and enjoy entertainment, food, and workshops for adults and children!

Our friends, the Kids are Alright and DDR Shop and Gallery will be featuring altars at their shop locations. Winners will be announced on Sunday, November 2 at 3:00pm during the Dia de los Muertos celebration. Support these local businesses and enjoy their creations!



We enjoyed the Dia de Los Muertos at Grand Central Art in Santa Ana, last year. Here are a few images to enjoy!

I.O.U.S.A. - Free Film Screening - C.S.U.L.B. 10/28 at 5pm

The Financial Management Association (FMA) of Cal State Long Beach is presenting a free screening of the film, I.O.U.S.A. - the critically acclaimed documentary that discusses government debt, liabilities, the trade deficit, personal debt, and leadership/ethics, in the USU Beach Auditorium, tonight at 5pm, in the USU Beach Auditorium.

Following the film will be a presentation by a panel including Drs. Michael Solt (Finance Expert and CBA Dean), Edgar Kaskla (Political Science), Lisa Grobar (Economics), Steven Yamarik (Economics), and F. King Alexander (President of CSULB), at 6:45pm.

Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade, Long Beach!

Justin Rudd has done it again! This weekend was the Haute Dogs Howl'oween Dog Parade and costume contest in Belmont Shores, and the Great Pumpkin Drop.  Fun, Fun!  Who is scared of the world's smallest hyena?















More cute pics at Laist!

Thanks, Justin! for the link from Haute Dogs!

Email me for info on pet portraits.

Seva Cafe, Long Beach - beginning 10/26!

This is such a fascinating idea.  I first heard of this concept on NPR a few years back - they profiled the One World Cafe in Utah (oneworldeverybodyeats.org) whose mission is to build community by sharing a meal together and paying what you want or what you can (or not at all, if you wish), for delicious food.  

Now we have a similar pop-up cafe here in Long Beach - currently being held at Zephyr's restaurant on Sunday nights.  Come out for delicious food and good people.

Seva Cafe

Date: Sun Oct 26

Time: 5pm-9pm

Location: Zephyr's

Address: 340 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90802

Cost: from your heart

The Seva Cafe is an experiment in the joy of giving.  It is very different from most restaurants specifically because there are no prices to any of the meals, it is run completely by volunteers, and every meal is prepared with one single-minded focus:  to serve with love.

At the end of the meal, every guest is also given the opportunity to participate in the circle of giving.  Guests can give from their heart whatever they wish, and those donations are used to pay for future guests' meals.

The first iteration of the Long Beach Seva Cafe operated out of the Royal Cup Coffee Shop every Saturday from June, 2006 through March 3rd, 2007.  During that time we realized that giving, at its core, not only benefits the recipient but actually transforms the gifter.  The Seva Cafe is unique because it creates an opportunity for every single person to be in that space of giving.  The volunteers, the guests, and even the musicians all find themselves generating goodness when they enter those four walls.

Seva Cafe will take place every Sunday evening from 5-9pm.

To come as a guest, you do not need to RSVP. 

_______________________________

(h/t to Be the Cause.org and Angelenic!)

the Kids are Alright and the Outfit - Holiday SALE! This Friday, 10/24 and Saturday, 10/25

Yep, that season is now rushing upon us - in the immortal words of Charlie Brown, "Christmastime is here!" So take the extra effort to support your friends and neighbors here in Long Beach, your local shopkeepers and small business owners, and shop early this year. The Kids are Alright and the Outfit are hosting a pop-up holiday boutique, specializing in products made by and for moms and their little ones, at two locations this weekend.

Shop Local, Shop Long Beach!

Be sure to review the flyer for times and locations!

I had a great time shooting the product lines for the Outfit this summer.
Check out these darling little ones, wearing the most adorable clothes - which you may find featured at the sale!

Hammer Presents: An Evening with Michel Gondry

Field trip to the Hammer Museum tomorrow, 10/21 at 7pm, to check out Michel Gondry, discussing his installation project based on Be Kind: Rewind.

"Creator of influential music videos and feature films, French Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michel Gondry discusses his own technical and conceptual process and his new book, You’ll Like This Film Because You’re In It: The Be Kind Rewind Protocol. He presents clips from his own films and homemade films from visitors to his DIY interactive installation Be Kind Rewind at Deitch Projects. Gondry has collaborated with such luminaries as Björk, The Chemical Brothers, and The White Stripes. His feature films include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, and Be Kind Rewind."

While I didn't see Be Kind: Rewind - it seemed sort of intriguing, but I couldn't get past the trailer - Mr. Mod and I LOVED the Science of Sleep, as much the "Making Of" featurette on the DVD, as the movie itself.  Mr. Mod was inspired by the tiny city created in cardboard for the dream sequences, and I loved the interplay of reality and imagination within the film and Charlotte and Gael's interpretations of characters that were both off-putting and charming at the same time. I was also dazzled by the stop-action horse, running along the piano and the living room floor- so whimsical.

All Hammer public programs are free. Tickets are required, and are available at the Billy Wilder Theater Box Office one hour prior to start time. 

Limit one ticket per person on a first come, first served basis. 

Members receive priority seating, subject to availability. Reservations not accepted, RSVP's not required.

S. Termino and Ocean, Long Beach

I was exploring the alleyways and side streets of this intersection and wandered across the street to the Belmont Pool, between appointments for the day. I was looking for some inspiration, and found it in the most unusual places.

Acres of Books - closing soon! (1934-2008)

This post comes with a soundtrack.

(pause the radio to the left to experience these audio selections.)

Well, we have until Saturday to walk the long aisles, peruse the stacks of books for hidden gems, and pause to remember together one of the final markers of 20th century history left in downtown Long Beach.
As a former employee of one of the last independent bookstores in southern California, Either/Or Bookstore (1966-1999),

to see Acres of Books close is really heartbreaking.

Not even Ray Bradbury could shiver some sense into the matter.

I have long loved the golden light that skims along the spines and shelves and looking up, up at the books on the tallest rows, to see so many gorgeous wood beams above. As a last hurrah, I bought three books: The Stuff of Dreams : behind the scenes of an American community theater / Leah Hager Cohen, The Passionate Playgoer : a personal scrapbook / ed. by George Oppenheimer, and Without Makeup : Liv Ullman : a photobiography / compiled by David E. Outerbridge (she is too gorgeous and the photos are stunning!)

Cheers to you, Acres of Books, Phil and Jackie Smith and all the staff. Thank you for your years of hard work and dedication.


Acres of Books, 240 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802.