muerto de risa

i know!

i remember first going to LA as a teenager and feeling like i was in a time warp of old cars, vintage neon signs, and hamburger joints that had remained the same since the 1950's.  being from the more humid, snow-ridden, and dense northeast these sights were new and very exciting for me. 

 

as i am still a fan of such retro kitsch (in moderation), i was excited to see an ad for a vintage slideshow performance by charles phoenix in the auditorium of a local denver elementary school.   he provided hilarious commentary to slides from the 50s and 60s that were layered with odd, funny, and sometimes frightening people and their homes.  one of my favorite parts of the night was hearing about his appearance on the martha stewart show and how martha yelled at him when he pointed out similarities between pumpkins she decorated and one of his old photos.  and then yelled at him again when he hinted she might be a bridezilla.

his love for old things in tacky increased my desire to check out some old and apparently fabulous sites in colorado.  who new my new state contained such wonders?

1. casa bonita

a huge theme restaurant that first opened in 1974, casa bonita offers mariachi singers, flame throwers, cliff divers, 4 different themes dining rooms (one of which is the sleeping beauty room) AND horrible "mexican" food.  one friend described the burritos to me in the following way, "you know those frozen burritos you bought in 1984 that you think are still somewhere in the back your freezer?  well, casa bonito found them, defrosted them, and serves them daily!"

    

2. the north pole

the north pole was built in 1956 so we could all visit santa and his home all year round! 

i wonder if the mine ride still exists?  it looks VERY exciting!  i adore riding in circles, especially if there is a cute donkey pulling me along.

there are two more i've already seen and want to share but this post is getting long and as i said earlier, i like my kitsch in moderation.

have a great weekend!

bad movie, good art

i am very thankful for long weekends.  our thanksgiving weekend was relaxing and filled with activities like browsing books, sipping tea, and watching movies. 

yesterday, we saw gone baby gone.  a lot of folks loved this movie, but i thought it was terrible.  i like casey afflek and liked his performance as a young detective in south boston.  the plot, however, had too many holes in it and ultimately did not work.  it's difficult to go into details without ruining the movie for those who have not seen it (although i think it was pretty much ruined from the get go) but there were certain issues left unadressed (e.g. social services and the foster care system) and others that seemed forced (a masked detective remy showing up at the bar near the end).

   

much much better is the current exhibit by lauri lynnxe murphy at the plastic chapel.  her newest work isn't on her website, but consists of a mixture of mini-collages, paintings, and snow globes filled with seussian-style "plants."

i love the contraption in the above collage.

have a great week!

the perfect turkey-themed outfit!

   

a turkey dress!

(found via a dress a day)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

persepolis

as a long time fan of marjane satrapi and her graphic novels, i was very excited to see her new animated film, persepolis, based on her two books of the same name.  when jordan and i saw it was playing saturday as part of the denver film festival, we quickly purchased a pair of tickets.

i highly recommend this film, which like its printed predecessors uses simple drawings to convey the rather serious (although often simultaneously hilarious) story of marjane and her family in iran during a time of regime change and war.  there is an english version of the film, but i suggest seeing it in its original form (in french) with catherine denueve as the voice of the mother.  the english version may be good too, with sean penn and iggy pop providing voices, but i always prefer to see films in their original language.  plus, french is fun to imitate even if you sound like a fool attempting the proper accent.

For one night only!

         

                     Friday, November 16th, 2007

            The Frog Prince

                             A Silent Opera

Starring Belle (from The Small Object) and Wilson (whose name must be pronounced with a Spanish accent as he hails from Argentina)

-Beginning promptly at 8PM in Jordan and Risa's hallway, Denver, CO.

                           FREE!

(Tips are always welcome; Belle collects vintage bakelite buttons and Wilson likes root beer.)

three little horses

some of my favorite books in my picture book collection originally belonged to my mother.  one that is particularly special to her and me is a tall red book about horses illustrated by the dutchman, piet worm (great name!). 

i especially enjoy the part of the story when the three horses go into town dressed up as women.  piet perfectly captured the kind of costumes i loved as a child.

i also love my mother's copy of the the steadfast tin soldier.  the inside cover always makes me smile. 

p.s. it's really hard to take photos in colorado in november when you work full time.  i miss the ecuadorian sun!

Does anyone out there design websites?

I need to do some site updating and creating for my job (nothing too fancy) and am trying to figure out:

1) Is it worth upgrading from Macromedia Studio 8 to Adobe CS3?

2) Can I teach myself how to use Dreamweaver using a book or is it better to take a class?

Any opinions will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

(I'll be back later with something more interesting.)

i continue to rediscover old treasures every day

yesterday, it was a postcard advertising the daily drawings at partyka by shawn cheng (see above), sara edward-corbett, sean mccarthy, and matt wiegle.

don't miss their catalogue.  i may buy this.

i also rediscovered cameron tiede's sketchbook.

happy friday!

a fun twist on the ol' fire in a barrel

 

 

(animals spotted mingling with denver art fans on santa fe drive)

Bzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Friday night we went to "First Fridays" when many Denver galleries (particularly those along Santa Fe Drive) are open late.  Many of the galleries had special exhibits for Day of the Dead which I will write more about later.

One of my favorite exhibits we saw was a ceramic installation by Rebecca Hutchinson.  I don't have any photos of the specific work we saw, although there were many pieces similar to those in the photo above (right side).    Walking around the long hanging "branches" made me feel like I was a honey bee flying around collecting my nectar. 

While part of the power of the installation was viewing all of the pieces together, I would love to see how some of Rebecca's collectors display her work in their homes or businesses.