Hot Rods

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

I was really excited to see your post this morning, of the car you used in your video. For one thing, it is super cool (more on that in a moment), and for another - you are really getting into the role of Producer now, arranging for such a major prop as that. The super cool part, for me, is that when I was a kid, I was fascinated by Hot Rods. That's what we called 'em, and they are probably still called by that name. When I was nine, I even had a subscription to Hot Rod magazine! I spent about a year building model cars, gluing them together and painting them with great care, and I built all the famous ones, including the "Red Baron" by Revell. Google it! :)

You may know this, now that you've worked with the owner of that Hot Rod, but there was a guy named Big Daddy Roth in the 1960s, who was an originator of what you might call "character" cars, i.e. Hot Rods with names like Rat Fink, and I built that model, too. :)

Big Daddy Roth built cars also for the movies, he was very famous for a while when the Hot Rod ethos was in vogue in the 60s. And of course he never went out of style, and I can see that one of the commenters on your photo refers to the car in your video as a "ratrod", so he must know about Big Daddy, too.

Make sure you Google the Red Baron! That was my favorite model. I actually won a blue ribbon for a model Camaro I built for a model car contest in 1970, which was held at a 7/11 (of all places). 7/11 was a relatively new enterprise back then, at least in the L.A. area, and this one had just opened and was one of the first in the West Valley area. I painted my Camaro a dark red, with sparkles.........took care to glue it using toothpicks, so no excess glue would show.

They hung all the entries to the model car contest from the ceiling of the brand new 7/11 store. Many kids entered the contest (and probably some adults, too). Model car building was a big thing for kids back then, and they let our contest entries hang for a while before announcing the winners. And do you know what happened in the meantime?

We had an earthquake!

Yep, that was the Sylmar quake, in February 1971. My first quake, and a big one, though nowhere near as bad as the Northridge Quake 23 years later. I had forgotten about my model at 7/11 in the aftermath of that experience, but nevertheless, I got a notification when the contest ended, probably by mail, that I had won a ribbon, so I went up there, to the 7/11......

and they gave me my model back, along with my blue ribbon, and the back axle had broken, because it had fallen from the ceiling during the earthquake. But other than that, it was okay. It had been hung in a plastic bag to keep it from dust, and after I got it back, I had that model back at home for many, many years, perhaps even into the 90s, and maybe even up until the Northridge Quake forced us out of our home. I think I may have had it all that time......  :)

The kicker is that I now live just up the block from that 7/11. It's been there 45 years now.

I think it's time they had another model car contest! If they do, I'll enter it.  :)

Because it's also about time I built another model car. ///

I had to tell you about it because your picture both reminded me and inspired me. Don't forget to Google the Red Baron (and Big Daddy Roth while you're at it).

I hope you had a nice day. Mine was quiet. I watched an absolutely classic Western this afternoon, "Virginia City", starring Errol Flynn, Randolph Scott and Miriam Hopkins. I had not heard of this one prior to a Google search for b&w Westerns, but it was stellar, and Flynn was great as always. More charisma you will not find in a movie star, he is one of my favorites. This evening was more reading of previously mentioned books, and of course my walk.

I also saw your post of your friend Annalisa's photo, and I really liked that too, because it's mountains and sunset - my kind of photo! :)

Well, Sweet Baby, that's all I know for tonight. Sweet Dreams and I will see you in the morning.

I Love You!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxo  :):)

Sunday Late Night Love

Hi, my Darling,

Happy Late Night! It's been a low key day around here, just reading my Stephen King book back at home after choir practice was over. We sang good this morning, always enjoyable for me. This evening, my friend David F. came over with his daughter for an Orange Grove walk. Not much else to report besides that.

I saw several posts by you today, the first being about the Miyazaki set. Now you know what to get me for Christmas, lol.......  ;) It is about time I re-watched some of the earlier Miyazakis, like "Kiki's Delivery Service", one of my favorites, or "Nausicaa". That was the one that first got him noticed in America. My favorite, still, is "Howl's Moving Castle", then "Spirited Away". I saw each of those with my Mom, at the theater, very special times indeed. Have you seen "The Wind Rises" yet? You probably have by now. That film just blew me away.

I also see that you were working on your video today, with your friend Shawn's band. If I remember correctly, he has been mentioning wanting to do a video for quite a while now, so I am glad it is finally happening. :) I hope you got the props you needed, and your color scheme all worked out accordingly. So now you have two videos in post-production, including your own. I look forward to seeing 'em!

That's all for tonight, my Baby. Sweet Dreams and I will see you in the morning.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Saturday Night Love

Hi, my Darling,

Happy Late Night. I hope your video shoot went well, and I imagine you are gonna shoot tomorrow, too. Or did you finish in one day? Just so long as you are getting the results you have wanted. I saw your post a couple hours ago, via Twig Noir, so perhaps she is a new model you are working with? Another guess on my part, but I do so because I've never seen you refer to her before, so maybe it's a New Project Thing for you guys. :)

My day was relatively quiet. This afternoon, I watched a movie by a French director named Marcel Carne, called "Port Of Shadows". Got it at the Libe, of course. Made in 1938, it's a nifty little existential noir (no pun or coincidence intended) about a diverse group of characters who all converge at a run down roadhouse at the edge of the ocean. Jean Gabin stars as an awol soldier. He was a big French movie star in the 1930s. I was very pleasantly surprised by this film, which also features some great b&w photography as well as fine performances by many other actors.

Marcel Carne, the director, also made a film called "Children Of Paradise", that in my opinion is one of the greatest films of all time. I own that one on dvd.

This afternoon I took the gang (me, Pearl & The Kobester) to Lake Balboa. The place was packed, as per Saturday in Summer. Then this eve, I watched the final episode of "Breaking Bad". What a show. Such great writing, great characters, and acting. I began watching in April, so it's been a marathon experience. I got so into the show that now I feel like jumping onboard another cable series (on dvd), but I'm not sure I'll find one as good. Maybe I'll research a few, but I don't wanna watch just for the sake of watching. It'd have to match up to the quality of BB.

Tomorrow morn is church, and so I will be here for a little while before we go, and then back at about 1pm, as always.

Sweet Dreams, and best wishes for your shoot tomorrow.

I Love You and will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Santo, SK & Shakespeare

Hi, Sweet Baby,

Happy Super Late Night. I hope you had a nice day and maybe a fun Friday evening. You are probably getting ready for your video shoot. I did not end up going on a hike. I was kinda tired because last night the sleep situation was not the greatest, but I will make up for it by doing two hikes next week. Gotta stay in hiking shape, after all. :)

What I did today instead was to just relax, and I tried to watch the Santo movie I just posted on FB : "Santo vs. Frankenstein". The problem was that it didn't have subtitles. I still tried to watch, thinking that I got the gist of the Shakespeare plays even though much of the fast, Old English dialogue went right past me, so maybe I could just watch the Santo movie and get the gist from the imagery, while absorbing - if not understanding - the Spanish dialogue. This approach worked for about a half hour, and then I gave up. Too many subplots that I couldn't decipher, and it was too bad because as I said on FB, it looked like one of the better Santo movies.

Now, I know you are thinking I'm a complete goofball for watching Santo in the first place, so I should explain that I got hooked on his movies as a teenager. They used to show 'em on TV on a Saturday afternoon, and on American TV he was called "Samson", but I remember watching for the first time, and here was this guy, a Mexican wrestler wearing a silver mask, and he was some kind of good guy Superhero who drove around in a Jaguar and fought monsters. In the first movie I saw, he was going after a cave full of Vampire Women. They had henchmen he had to wrestle, and that was the catch - whoever he was trying to stop, he would do so by wrestling them. The Santo movies are beyond cheesy and campy, but there is also something kinda cool about them.......I even have "Santo vs. The Vampire Women" on dvd. :)

And "Santo vs. Frankenstein" looked great, but I gave up because I couldn't understand what was going on, and I read my Stephen King book instead.

In a minor coincidence, there was a scene of wrestling in last night's Shakespeare play, "As You Like It". While watching, I found myself thinking, "Gee, I didn't know they had wrestling in the 17th century". There's that "time" thing again. The 17th century was 400 years ago, so it's gotta be ancient. Even though 400 years is only 20 generations, or "20 grandpas", as I call it. That's really not so many.

So 400 years ago is nothing, if you take away the technology.

Shakespeare might have liked Santo, too, had he been around today. Just sayin'. :)

Well, Sweet Baby, all is quiet, and we will head into the weekend with good prospects. You in particular are gonna knock your video out of the park, as always.

Sweet Dreams until morning, and I will see you then.

I Love You, Elizabeth!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

As You Like It

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

I went back to Los Encinos this evening for "As You Like It", and it was once again a stellar performance by SBTS. I could watch them night after night, and they have got me hooked on the plays of Shakespeare. Grimsley was there, too. He made both nights as well.

I hope your preparations for the video are coming along well. I guess you will begin shooting on Saturday, so I hope you're getting ahold of all the props you need. I saw your post earlier in the evening, via a musician named Ola Gjeilo. I don't know if you meant it to reference that you are working on your own music (cause he pictured a home studio), or maybe you are a fan. I checked his website and noticed he has a piece entitled "Madison". You probably know that. :)

Not much else to report for today. Tomorrow I will try for a hike. Not sure where yet, but perhaps down to Cave Of Munits again, or maybe Las Virgenes Open Space, both of which I hiked last year, and they are both relatively close by, too.

Sweet Dreams, my Baby. See you in the morning.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

The Tempest

Hi, my Darling,

Happy Late Night. I was glad to see your post earlier, that you have a music video lined up. Great news! That'll be three in roughly a year, with your own video coming up. I also like the motif and color scheme of this new one : a beach or lake theme, fun-in-the sun, etc. I am gonna guess that it's not a metal band? Whatever kind of band it is, it's gonna look great with those colors, and I hope you can get all the props you requested. As usual, I look forward to seeing it.

Tonight I went to Los Encinos Park, as reported yesterday, and I saw a performance of "The Tempest" from the Shakespeare By The Sea company. This was my second Shakespeare play, both by this troupe, and I am hooked on both. These people are fantastic. The actors are all so good, and I am amazed at the dialogue and the ability to memorise all those words. When I saw "Hamlet" last Summer, I had a hard time understanding not only the use of the English language (don't know if it qualifies as Old English or not), but also the rapid fire delivery. This time around, I was better able to follow it. I loved the play itself, "The Tempest", and tomorrow night I will be back at the same park for a performance of "As You Like It".

Grimsley was there, too, but I only saw him at intermission. I was sitting up front, as always, he was in the back. I could watch outdoor Shakespeare plays all Summer. Will you come with me to the next one?  :)

This noon, my sister Vickie finally came over, also as reported yesterday, and I met her and her tutor student at Lake Balboa, where we had a nice time walking the circumference of the lake and looking at all the different birds.

It's getting hot here, and I love it. August is real Summer.

I have a Complete Works Of Shakespeare book in a box somewhere in a closet of The Tiny Apartment, and now I wanna dig it out and start reading all those words. I really do need two of me, so much I always wanna do.

Sweet Dreams, Sweet Baby. I will see you in the morning......

I Love You!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

General Ad (late night love)

Good Morning, my Darling,

I am back home after dropping Pearl off at Golden Agers. Already took The Kobester on a CSUN walk, which I have taken to doing on Tuesday mornings when the cleaning lady is there (cause he barks at her). He had a blast going to the Orange Grove and Duck Pond.

I see your post, and I am glad you are picking up your camera! I don't know if you are doing it for a project, or pro work, or just for fun, but any reason at all for picking up your camera is a good one.  :)

Plus, it's just plain fun.

Also, I wanted to add, re: my blog last night, that I know that with some of my writing, the subject is generalised. Like when I say, as an Adultier Adult, to "just keep doing what you do", well, I know that is very general-sounding, non-specific advice (even though I mean it 100%).

This is due to time constraints and the nature of blog writing. I could also give you very specific information/advice/observations or what-have-you, if I were talking to you directly. When I generalise, I am never trying to just be vague or downplay the importance of a subject. It's just that, because of my work, and the hour at which I usually write, and the fact that writing takes longer than talking, I can only write so much in the given time frame. Hence, the often general nature of my observations.

However, I do try to put emphasis into those observations, and as you know, I can sometimes go on and on and on (Ad Nauseum, my long-winded nickname), so if it's specifics you ever need, just specify that, lol.

Also remember that your Mom is your direct, in person Adultier Adult, and she is in your corner 1000%.

I'll just keep doing what I do, part of which is writing, and whether it comes out sounding general or specific, I'll always do my best.  :)

That's all for now. Have an awesome day. Usual Tuesday schedule for me.

I Love You!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

(around all day, back in a bit)

12:15am : Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby. I hope you had fun with your camera today, if you did indeed shoot some pictures or video. Hope you got good results, too. I was reading most of the afternoon. I got the new Stephen King book from Northridge Library, and because I know I won't be able to renew it (too many people want it), I've gotta finish it in three weeks. I discovered today, though, that it'll be no problem. It's a real page turner. It's called "Finders Keepers", and is a sequel to his book of last year, "Mr. Mercedes". Both books are crime stories rather than horror, but because it's SK, he can't help but put some scary and gruesome stuff in there. So today, just reading, and then this eve I watched one of the final "Breaking Bad" episodes. Man, this show has gotten pretty brutal as it nears the end. Ruthless and cutthroat, but given the subject matter I suppose that was inevitable.

It sure is one heck of a well written, well acted show, though. It's like a Stephen King book, you can't wait to see what's gonna happen next.

Tomorrow night and Thursday night I am gonna go see two Shakespeare plays, "The Tempest" and "As You Like It", put on by the Shakespeare By The Sea company. You may recall I saw them last Summer, too. It was my first Shakespeare play, and I was instantly hooked. They do them outdoors, in this case it will once again be at Los Encinos, an old Adobe ranch that is one of the oldest properties in the Valley, a holdover from when California was a Mexican territory. Los Encinos is now a park, and it's a nice atmosphere for these plays. Each one will start at 7pm, so I will leave straight from Pearl's at 6:30 and get there with a few minutes to spare. The plays are free, though donation suggested.

Also tomorrow, my sister Vickie wants to meet me at Lake Balboa at noon, just because we haven't seen each other since about April, and also because she wants to bring a kid she tutors. So tomorrow will be a little bit "here and there", and I will have to postpone my weekly Wednesday hike til Friday, but I'll still be around in the morning and after about 1:30 in the afternoon. And then my usual schedule after the play is over at 9pm.

I will see you in the morning, then, my Darling. Sweet Dreams.......

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)