Wordless Wednesday featuring Camila and Gabriel (New Years Edition)

Wordless Wednesday featuring Franz (Christmas Edition)

Live! At Largo at the Coronet!

Ah, Largo. Owned and booked by just one man, its very independence gives it the right to be a bit eccentric. One might even call the ticket procuring process byzantine. Even so, after attending two performances there last week I have to give it a grudging thumbs up over venues like the Wilturn operated by Live Nation or some other mega-conglomerate. My reasoning? Access!

I never did brave Largo when it was at its tiny former location on Fairfax Avenue. I wasn't dedicated enough to get in. But now, in the quaint old Coronet Theater, Largo seats 250 people. Better yet, it doesn't matter who you are. We showed up early to get our tickets the night of Aimee Mann's Christmas Show, and guess what? Fourth row center. For all I know Ben Stiller might have been there with Oprah Whinfrey. I wouldn't know, since they would have been seated far behind us if they had shown up later. It truly seems to be first come, first serve. This was borne out later in the week when we returned to see genial comedian Paul F. Tompkin's show. This time the folks behind us were talking loudly about the various T.V. shows they appeared on. A zoo keeper given better seats than industry insiders? At Largo it seems possible.

It was a happy day for the Coronet Theater when Largo owner Mark Flanagan took an interest in it. Without his intervention it would have been demolished and turned into an Urban Outfitters, another chunk of Los Angeles history preserved only in photos. The fact that it was saved seems important to me. As the photo at the right shows, Bertold Brecht and Charles Laughton rehearsed here in 1947. The small bar next door, now incorporated into the Largo courtyard, was once the original Troubadour where Woody Guthrie used to play.

In its day, the Coronet was apparently quite grand. Works by Picasso and Chagall lined the walls. Legend has it that Igor Stravinsky helped paint the lobby. Eugene O'neill, Jimmy Stewart, and Charlie Chaplin attended performances. The photo at the left shows Chaplin with his fourth wife Oona.

I wonder if they're sitting in our seats?

Wordless Wednesday featuring Franz (2nd Edition)

I Won! I Won!

It's hard to believe, but true! I actually won a blog give away. I used to say that never happens to me, but that isn't an accurate statement anymore. The beauty part is this: I really, really, wanted to win this one. I mean, just look at these gorgeous earrings from Jacaranda Designs.

Who wouldn't want to win these, especially right before the holidays? I can't wait to wear them to any and all holiday festivities. The rest of Jacaranda's things are lovely too. Check out this cute bracelet, for instance.

You might also want to check out her classy blog. And if you do, you might just find some luck, or at least some stunning jewelry. As you can see, I'm quite happy with mine!

The Story of One Shallot's Teeth

I work at a zoo. I don't know why, but many people seem to think that zoo = place to drop off unwanted pets. Let me assure you, this is not the case. True, the zoo I work at houses a large number of rescued parrots and primates. So many, in fact, that we can barely keep up with them all. But unwanted pets? Well, when was the last time that you saw a house cat in a zoo exhibit?

Even so, many animals are abandoned by our back gate every year. Bunnies are a particular problem where I work; at one point someone dumped about 50 of them in the park next door! Everyone did their best to get them to a rabbit rescue, but not before they were traumatized by dogs, cars, and who-knows-what-else!

So I guess it was only a matter of time before I ended up with a hard-luck rabbit of my own. We already have something of a menagerie at our house. But this guy was just too pathetic to trust

to fate. So I took him home and named him Shallot.

Shallot is blind in one eye, was emaciated, and has terrible problems with his teeth. His front teeth grow so crookedly that they curve in four different directions, with the top two growing backwards into the roof of his mouth. No wonder he was so skinny! He couldn't chew vegetables at all. He was surviving by picking up small pieces with his tongue and pulling them into his mouth. He lived with some other bunnies at the zoo for a while, but it was obvious that he couldn't compete with them. So I finally brought him home.

Turns out, he's a wonderful guy! I was afraid that the fact that we have to take him to the vet every two or three weeks to get his teeth trimmed would make him skittish. Far from it! He roams my studio, grooming my ankles while I work at my desk, and generally brightens up the place. He doesn't seem to mind his carrier, and has been designated a "well-mannered bunny" by my vet's office staff.

Now that he is healthier and more robust, the next step is to trim all his teeth. For that he'll have to stay at the vet all day and be mildly sedated. I'll probably still have to dice up his food really finely, but it should improve his ability to chew. So wish Shallot luck! Hopefully by 2010 he'll be eating almost like a normal rabbit.

Wordless Wednesday featuring Inca