Tarnished Lady

An Echo Park Silent Film Tribute/ 100 Year Anniversary!

A Tribute to Edendale and the 100th anniversary of the first L.A. film studio

The Echo Park Historical Society and the Echo Park Film Center invite
you to attend an outdoor presentation and silent film screening at
Echo Park Lake to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first
Edendale film studio. The free event will be held on Saturday, July 25
at 7 PM on the north end of Echo Park Lake near the bridge. Bring
snacks and a blanket to spread out on the grass and enjoy the evening
show.

The presentation begins at 7 PM and will be followed at 8 PM with the
screening of silent film shorts accompanied by live music. The
Edendale tribute is the featured attraction of the EPHS quarterly
meeting, which is free and open to the public. Here is the movie and
music line up for Saturday night:
* Edendale Follies:The Bear Essentials (EPFC Youth Film Class homage
to Sennett with a recorded soundtrack by the one and only Bob Mitchell
from a live performance in 2007)
* Making A Living - Charlie Chaplin; music by Non Credo
* Mabel's Married Life - Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand; music by Marshweed
* Barney Oldfield's Race For A Life - Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand;
music by Team Andrew
* A Muddy Romance - Mabel Normand, Keystone Kops; music by Professor Cantaloupe
* Lonesome Luke - Harold Lloyd; music by Magic Gas
* Law & The Outlaw - Tom Mix; music by The Grizzly Owls

Firsts

Jasper has had some good ones these past few weeks...

First live show at the Hollywood Bowl. Check out the Hollywood sign up & to the right of the amphitheater shell! We went for Father's Day- Matt's first!- to picnic and listen to Santigold & headliner Femi Kuti with opener Raphael Saadiq.

First concert & first signed cd (gifted to him by jazz diva extraordinaire Barbara Morrison post show)...

First time to Disneyland (and in this snap you can see another first...teeth!)...

We have been having such a great time with our little man.

The Bowl on Father's Day which was also Summer Solstice was perfect.
Here Jasper pulls his signature raspberry...

I love my boys and you can really see how much they enjoy each other's company.

Jasper taking a post-picnic catnap before the show...

Making friends at the Bowl pre-show...

He loves his bunny...

Lookit those teeth <3

Good times. Happy Father's Day Matt.

Throw me something Mistah!

We weren't able to make it down to NOLA this year so we made our own Mardi Gras celebration.

Don't you just love Jasper's Mardi Gras Baby Legs? They have the cutest little fleur-de-lys on the bottom.

Ladies Man

We went to a winter solstice dinner at a friend's on December 21st- the longest night of the year- and were encouraged to bring the baby as they have a baby girl Lilith who is 6 weeks older than Jasper is and she would be there. Also, there was another baby girl named Eve (same age as Lilith) and a wee one only 2 1/2 weeks old named Novie.
We ate lots of delicious deep fried turkey and cornbread stuffing along with a Mexican Christmas specialty, tamales.

We simply had to get all the babies together for a photo op which was hilarious.

The two girls on the sides of Jasper began leaning in towards him and touched him.

He quite liked the attention we thought as he didn't cry and got very animated.
The rest of the cute set and a little video is on my Flicker page HERE.

Luau up in the valley

Sometimes I don't make any posts for a long while and it becomes in my mind a bore and a chore.
Then I am reminded of all the fun stuff I have been up to and posts come easily.
So, yeah I am having a bit o insomnia and therefore have a few posts to churn out.

We went up to Lauren's for a belated birthday luau party that was insane! Her husband Kenny had completely constructed this whole tiki bar in their backyard and was pouring Mai Tais from Trader Vic's original recipe. Ahhh, if only I could have had one. I love authentic Mai Tais. Most people dislike this drink because they think its a sweety-sweet one. Its only sweet when people make them wrong and drown them in grenadine and too much sugary juice. Yuck.
If you have never been to Old Hollywood staple Trader Vic's, you have not experienced a real Mai Tai in this town.
Here is the skinny straight from Trader Vic's lips back in 1970 on the creation:

I originated the Mai Tai and have put together a bit of the background on the evolution of this drink, which has earned worldwide identification and acceptance.  There has been a lot of conversation over the beginning of this drink.  Many have claimed credit, including Harry Owens. 

In 1944, after success with several exotic rum drinks, I felt a new drink was needed.  I thought about all the really successful drinks; martinis, manhattans, daiquiris ....  All basically simple drinks.

I was at the service bar in my Oakland restaurant.  I took down a bottle of 17-year-old rum.  It was J. Wray Nephew from Jamaica; surprisingly golden in color, medium bodied, but with the rich pungent flavor particular to the Jamaican blends.  The flavor of this great rum wasn't meant to be overpowered with heavy additions of fruit juices and flavorings.  I took a fresh lime, added some orange curacao from Holland, a dash of Rock Candy Syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat, for its subtle almond flavor.  A generous amount of shaved ice and vigorous shaking by hand produced the marriage I was after.  Half the lime shell went in for color ...  I stuck in a branch of fresh mint and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night.  Carrie took one sip and said, "Mai Tai - Roa Ae".  In Tahitian this means "Out of This World - The Best".  Well, that was that.  I named the drink "Mai Tai".

This drink enjoyed great acceptance over the next few years in California and in Seattle when we opened Trader Vic's there in 1948.  In 1953 the Mai Tai was brought by me to the Hawaiian Islands, when I was asked by the Matson Steamship Lines to formalize drinks for the bars at their Royal Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels.  Any old Kamaaina can tell you about this drink and of its rapid spread throughout the islands.

In 1954 we further introduced the Mai Tai when we included it among other new drinks in bar service for the American President Lines.  It is estimated that several thousand Mai Tais are served daily in Honolulu alone, and we sell many more than that daily in our eighteen Trader Vic's restaurants throughout the world.  I have let Eddie Sherman, the columnist on the above mentioned Honolulu Star Bulletin, know who originated this drink and think it is time the general public knows that these are the facts of the evolution and growth of the Mai Tai.

Anyway, Kenny was pouring the real deal so Matt had a few of em to make up for Wombat and I.

Lauren looking beautiful in her lei and Hawaiian dress.

We had a yummy chocolate cake to celebrate Lauren's birthday from the month before.

It had been over 100 that day and even in the moonlight, it was hot hot hot.