Back to L.A. but this time with a different head

Usually I get to Los Angeles after about a year. I come from Italy, so I exchange pasta and pizza and parmigiano for Indian and Chinese and Thai food, American coffee, cakes, sandwiches.

I also exchange tiny little European streets in the town I live in (Perugia, Italy) with huge freeways, large houses, big cars, everything looks huge compared to here.

Also....there is a lot of constant activity that is different from the activity here, more phonecalls, more appointments to see people at restaurants, lots of walking around the neighborhood seeing different things that are going on, dogs being walked, people jogging. It is all different.

But this time......................

but THIS time.................

it's going to be even more different.

That is, I am different. I recently got back from CHINA.

So...whereas when I used to go to LA. and everything seemed huge, this time, I am not so sure that it is going to seem that way. And when I used to go to LA and it seemed that everything worked so much better than here in Italy, well, after China, I am wondering if it is going to make the same impression (in CHina things work very smoothly, it is just amazing!).

I don't like to generalize, it is dangerous to do so. You can't take a country and say "this country does everything perfectly, or this country doesn't work at all". That shows a mind that isnìt being realistic, a way of thinking that just can't be right.
But anyhow, this time, going to LA.will be different for me, because after China, like I said, I am different.
Should be interesting.

Halloween in LOS ANGELES

Halloween in LOS ANGELES 

In 2012 I was in Los Angeles and also in Portland Oregon, so I got a very good 

taste of the holiday.Television newscasters know how to have fun on that day...here in

 Channel ABC, one of the most well-known stations, showing what was going on around Los Angeles, on Halloween, Oct 31 in the year 2012. 

From L.A. back to Perugia

Just starting to get back into this lifestyle in Perugia, Italy, so so different from the one in L.A. Just returned last night.

The trip from L.A. to Italy was long, as usual. Even longer since I went thru Paris airport.
But first, I had to leave L.A.

Tom Bradley Airport is totally incredible, like one of the magnificent hotels in Vegas, I couldnt believe what they have done in the inside, lounges, amazing digital films on the high walls, could have stayed there rather than catch my flight. Videos of dancing girls, legs and shoes that went around like the hands of a clock but with ten or more hands (legs). Amazing and creative, beautiful and captivating.

 Then, flight to Paris, airport nice, but no time to admire it, just to get a sandwich (they did have famous quiche Lorraine too, and lemon tarts, etc) but I was a little beat to visit the airport and caught my plane, Air France.
Wonderful airlines, felt like the service was that of a nice restaurant. I started with a glass of champagne, and yes, they uncorked the bottel while I thought "is the cork going to pop thru the ceiling perhaps?). After that  nice meal, meat was excellent, fruit salad, cheese, etc. Then, after having a little bottle of red wine, finished up with the most delicious pear liquer. Now I realize why I got such a good sleep on the plane.

Next flight from Paris to Rome, on a small plane, bumpier ride but ok. Just a drink, and a few crackers.
I started to lose my patience of flying only at the end of the trip. But then, when you arrive in Rome, you still have to drive to Perugia which is another 2 plus hours.

Now I am back. Listening to music and organizing photos on my computer. Quiet, rainy, but interesting, the change from the fast paced Los Angeles to our country town, Perugia.

To be continued....................

Los Angeles Christmas

Here is one of my special photos taken during Christmas in Los Angeles 2011. 

They really love their old trucks, and they love to decorate for the holidays.

There is an area around my parents' home called Candy Cane Lane where

 everyone decorates to the max. That is where this truck was parked,

 everyone getting out of their cars to photograph it.

THE END in Los Angeles

When I lived in L.A. when young, I enjoyed seeing the old signs from the 50's and 60's, the cars, the palm trees, old cars, interesting ways of dressing, thrift stores, wild hair fashions, funny shoes, strange advertising, and road signs. I also used to love to see big trucks and the fancy way they are painted, or decorated, as well as Christmas lights, exaggerated yards with fancy decorations for the holidays. One of those holidays was Halloween, when anything and everything was done to make houses look scary.

NOW when I go to visit Los Angeles, I still like the same things. And I like to photograph them.

This photo was taken while driving with a neighbor. I saw this sign and WOW, I just had to take the picture of it. How could I NOT want to do so.

The end. The end of what? And did they really have to tell me that this street ended here? It doesn't really look like it did.

Or, did they just want to give people the chance to photograph it.

That is what I really think.

I mean, this is L.A. And anything and everything is possible there.

Really, it really is.

Culture shock

How can one NOT have culture shock when one minute you are seeing this, feeling the thrill of flying above the clouds, in a dream-like world, surrounded by fluffy whipped cream clouds, past memories, silence, things forgotten and things to come....how can you NOT feel that you are in a dream, and that you don't even really know where you are and what you are about to experience, after almost two months in the USA, coming back to the OLD country, Italy..............

and then...........
walking in the center of a midieval town, in the center of Italy. The silence, the un-festive Christmas, only apparent in the elegant lights placed high above the center street, without many people out, due to the cold and to the lack of money to spend. Here I was, cold hands, and trying very hard to feel warmth from boots and a padded coat, trying to feel the feeling of the holidays, but not with ease.
But instead, culture shock set in.
From a pre-Thanksgiving Christmas, apparent in every store, with holiday music, pubblicity, colors, lights, and an array of decorations already on sale, to the quiet, sort of sad holiday feel that is not really apparent in our little country, Italy. Trying to do something, but having a hard time getting through the hard shell of reality, the lack of jobs, money and desire to celebrate.
And on top of this culture shock!

Gonzales Framing in L.A.

This is the great frame store where I had my pieces framed in L.A., Gonzales Framing.
These two young girls posed for me for this shot in front of just a part of the many frames to chose from.
Good service, nice work, nice people.
Great when this happens and when you are satisfied. And always a plus to work with people who you like.

Thanks girls for being my models here, and thanks to Gonzales Framing.

THE COLOR RED.............and Los Angeles

RED

like the cars you see at fairs, like the apples in the markets polished with wax

like the nailpolish girls wear, and older women wear too, and their red lips, many done over by surgery

RED

like the tomatoes, not as good as our Italian ones, but none the less, pretty good if you can find those special ones, especially in the Armenian markets -- the Europeans know what a good tomato is like

RED

not like the sunsets in L.A., but like we have seen them here in Italy, like tomato soup covering the sky!

RED

like the stripes in the American flag

RED

like the candies they sell during Christmas time, candy canes, and all those other junky but fun candies I used to buy, when as a kid the dentists would give you a lollypop after your visit to the dentist office.....smart thinking, it worked, and so did he..........................

RED

the colors you see in L.A., red being only one of them. No color is missed, they are everywhere, at stores, on tables, in patterns all around you, during Christmas and during the year. Colorful city, colorful people!

California living

This is one of thousands of photos I just took in California. They probably are thousands, I don't know. I just  saw so many unusual scenes, so many interesting people, and at this Dia de los Muertos fair, so many wonderful colors!
This woman blended in perfect with her make-up and clothing, and the car in front of her. I asked her to pose. It is easier when one speaks the same language. She spoke English, probably of Mexican descent. In the San Fernando Valley where I grew up, is where this fair was. I was in heaven! Old antique cars done up the way they do them in Los Angeles -- perfectly taken care of in every detail and such fun and entertainment to see.
Later I will put more of the cars on the blog, as soon as I get things organized back home, here in the ol' country.
Yes, living between two worlds is interesting. Los Angeles is super stimulating, so much to do, see, eat, hear, and everyday offers something new. Europe, Italy, Perugia, offer old beautiful wonderful art, panoramas that continue on and on forever. There are things to discover here too, but it is another kind of discovery. The cities for sure offer more stimulating fun events, but one must search them out more. In the States, they are there and one just has to chose WHICH ONE!!

Food food food...............

It's fun, coming back.
Coming back to where I began.

Why did I leave the States when I was young?
If I sum it up in one word, it would be CONSUMERISM.

I was young when I left the States. I looked around and saw too much buying, and wanting things, and waste. I was looking for a more simple and natural life. AND I found it: in Italy.

Now, when I come back and see the consumerism, rather than bother me, I am somewhat delighted.
Not REALLY "delighted" but entertained. It is funny and fun!! I still don't agree with the waste, how can one really?? But it is like watching a television series, with absurd scenes, with interesting characters, with exaggeration. It is SO SO different from what I see in Italy, and things that are different, to we artists especially, are stimulating and fun.

Last night went to the SOUP PLANTATION. What a place.
It was like being in Vegas, in those places where you can eat as much as you want (a buffett) for a certain price.
Last night the price was $8.99. Not much for a dinner out.

First there was the salad bar. A long row of cut-up vegetables that included croutons, salad dressings of many kinds, and already dressed salads, as well as sunflower seeds, raisins, onions, and just about every vegetable you can imagine (raw mushrooms, beets, etc etc).
I filled my plate, making a small, let's call it, HILL.

Others created monstrous MOUNTAINS. And not only that, but you could COME BACK as many times as you wanted and create mountain after mountain of food!!

B U T
the food-fun did not end with a salad. Further into the restaurant was the soup bar -- clam chowder (delicious) barley potato, onion, chili!!, some kind of pea soup, vegetable, and others. Of course there was stuff to put on the top of this -- crackers, or topping or you could ask for more. But of course, after this there were baked potatoes with more garnish, and next to that (Italians would have DIED SEEING THIS!!) pasta, being tossed around in creamy cheesy perhaps, sauces. I stared, not wanting to seem too much like a real foreigner, but it was very interesting...how all of that GOO could be absorbed by that spaghetti and still be edible!!
I know I missed plenty here, what was next to that! Ah yes, brownies, corn bread, other little sinful fattening cakes or breads to eat along with...whatever!!
If you turned around 180 degrees you would find the most disgusting toppings for icecream that you could OOZE out of a machine. It made a tiny little mountain shape that you would pour into a cup. The toppings were caramel sauce, chocolate, and to one side was a hideous pink goo that looked like cottage cheese dyed pink, smashed up. There were broken cookies, peanuts, toffee chips, and other various snack foods to sprinkle for a delicate effect over your ice cream or your pumpkin whatever-it-was kind of apple crisp.   I had a small amount on ice cream from an ice cream  machine....when I asked my sister HOW DO YOU DO THIS? she cleverly replied STRAIGHT AHEAD!! Instructions just like a commander of a ship!! The command worked, and my ice cream hill squeezed out, which I then decorated with toffee bits and caramel sauce that really was delicious!!

I saw people (I saw myself as well) go back and get refills of anything they wanted, and they kept going!! Plates of food were filled, many empty but you can imagine the waste as well. It was fun for me, but just as I have seen in other food orgy places, there still is a lot of waste of course! How can one fill their plate and expect to finish every single bite. It is not "human" to chose the right amount, people want to take as much as they can get when it says ALL YOU CAN EAT, and always people's eyes are larger than their stomach.


So, here I am in front of the computer writing about this food-adventure. And now the question is: what is for breakfast?

USA ELECTION ON TV -- OBAMA!!!

VERY exciting to watch the election coverage on Los Angeles TV
Here are my photos taken of the screen at home.
CONGRATULATIONS OBAMA!!!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS -- Canoga Park, San Fernando Valley

Marvelous day  at the Fair of the Dead in Canoga Park, Los Angeles.
So many wonderful happenings going on today, in the streets in Canoga Park, just a few miles from my parents' home. Face painting, car show, food, music, dance with ritual performance, and here above, a stand where they took pictures of you (in this case me), with the candidate of your choice. They also took them with their camera, asking you your email address, and later I should receive another photo taken by them.
After that they offered you a cup of coffee in the cup color of your choice (blue for Obama, red for Romney).
Very entertaining, and lots of fun.
A wonderful day to commemorate the dead, and when I get back to Italy I plan on posting more photos.
Thank you to all who planned and organized such an interesting and cultural valuable event.

PRESS RELEASE - photography show in Los Angeles

Yes, I am having a photography show in Los Angeles.
Flying out of Italy on the 5th, putting the show up on Oct 14 and the reception will be on the 20th. Here is the news. Would be great to see everyone there!

The Olympics - and Italian commentators

The Olympics


For me, this is a subject that is close to my heart.

My father was in the Olympics, in London, in 1948. He was a Silver Medalists in the Javelin Throw.
There is a link about him at the bottom of the page , for those interested.

I went to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and it was great to have the feeling, a little of the feeling my father must have had many years before. My father is no longer alive, but I know he would have been emotionally moved, as I was, last night when I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics in London, after all these years, back in the city my father competed in many many years ago. (link regarding my father, down below)

I thought the ceremony was stunning. Absolutely incredible!!! I love how history was shown, and how the staging of people, and things and lights was so original and breathtaking. I found it was much more meaningful from other ceremonies I have seen. There was more "soul" to this one, and there was more emphasis to normal factors in our lives, but presented in fantastic and emotionally moving ways. 


BUT....after all of my positive comments, and how I felt about this presentation, I was shocked to hear how the Italian commentators presented the event.

In the beginning and also throughout the whole event (though definitely moreso at the start) there was SO MUCH TALKING, so much explaning of what the public was seeing. The voices of the commentators was in the foreground, and the music and any speaking done by the performers was in the background!!!
It definitely was interesting information, but I ask you, "Is it necessary, it is a positive factor, to have voices and explanations cover up the beauty of the music and the original voices heard, and make one believe that they are forced to listen rather than just enjoy the visual, and feel the emotions conveyed by dancers, scenery, colors, light, that actually need no explanation at all?"

I would have thought that IF someone was interested to know about the history, or have more explanations, they could easily have been advised during the show of a link where to receive this information, but AFTER the show, after the presentation of this marvelous event.

I just spoke to a friend in the States who said that he believe the commentators did a superb job in their reporting. I would not say the same here in Italy!!

This is the not the only time this kind of "jabbering" has ruined cultural events. I have noticed the same kind of behaviour during ice-skating performances, when beautiful dancing on ice, lovely costumes and peaceful or exciting music is covered up by the constant commentators telling us what we are seeing. IS IT ALL REALLY NECESSARY????

Do we have to be told that what we are seeing or who we are seeing has years of experience, or that they come from a certain city, or that their coach.....do we have to listen and not just enjoy the event in silence in order to get into the mood that particular performance is trying to set?

Only after the first half hour or so, did they start to lessen their talking. Or else I was getting used to it and blocking it out in order to enjoy the celebration.

It was a beautiful show, and so wonderful to watch the parade of the many countries, their costumes, their glowing smiles, their pride, and all the differences you could see of the many faces from around the globe. But for one day, they were all the same, all united, all together. It was a joy to be part of this opening presentation, and to feel a part of mankind.


Here is the link regarding my father, Stephen A. Seymour, Olympic Medalist 1948.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Seymour

LOS ANGELES offers loads of delicious MEXICAN FOOD

One of my favorite foods....MEXICAN!!! And this, in Los Angeles California, is really delicious!!

Uno dei miei cibi preferiti....MESSICANO!!! E questo, a Los Angeles, California è davvero delizioso!!

LOS ANGELES....and its interesting people

Ecco Los Angeles, dicembre 2010 alla spiaggia di Venice Beach

Lezioni di salire sulle corde come al circo

Lesson of climbing up cords, like at the circus

Dicembre a Los Angeles

December in Los Angeles

Artista, veramente buffo a Santa Monica

Street artist, with a strange array of costumes and masks

Spettacolo con i coltelli

Show with knives

E' vera oppure no.....

Is she for real....

L'artista di strada

The street performer

Skateboarder

Ragazzi moderni con lo skateboard

Modern boys with skateboard

OBAMA!!

Cicada Club Los Angeles

In downtown Los Angeles there is this marvelous club where they do swing dancing, the Cicada Club.
We went with our friend Jackie and everyone was dressed in clothes from the 30's and 40's. It was great! Here are some of the performers walking down the stairs ready to perform.

A Los Angeles c'è un club meraviglioso dove la gente fa il swing dancing, the Cicada Club.
Ci siamo andati con la nostra amica Jackie e tutti erano vestiti con vestiti degli anni '30 e '40. E' stato bellissimo! Ecco sono delle ragazze che scendevano le scale per andare a fare spettacolo.

BLIMP in L.A. - Dirigibile nel cielo di Los Angeles

There were always blimps in the sky of L.A. when I was a kid
so I was thrilled to still see one silently gliding above Los Angeles, with the name "Farmers" on the side.

C'erano sempre dirigibili nel cielo di Los Angeles quando ero ragazza, perciò ero felicissima a vederne uno che viaggiava silenziosamente sopra il cielo di Los Angeles con il nome Farmers scritto su un lato.

Westfield shopping mall San Fernando Valley, L.A.

Great shopping malls in the Valley and great shopping value
I centri commerciali nella Valley di San Fernando (L.A.) sono spettacolari ed anche i prezzi sono imbattibili.

Los Angeles International Airport Jan 15, 2011

Three hours in the airport, walking, taking pictures, eating.
Tre ore nell'aeroporto, camminando, facendo delle foto, mangiando.