Pastey Whyte

Wall art, Melrose Ave., Los Angeles.

Pastey Whyte.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Los Angeles, CA; Nov. 2012.

Jon Spencer.

Wall Art

Wall Art, Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

Grenade.

Curb Appeal

Everything you need, right here.

Bag It Up

The awesome store bag for Secret Headquarters comic shop, Los Angeles, CA.

Secret Headquarters store bag.

Free Humanity

Sidewalk art, Melrose Ave., Los Angeles.

Free Humanity.

Jah Love

Wall art in Los Angeles, CA.

Eat More Gyros

Gyros signs of southern California: "Eat more gyros."

OK!

Laguna Beach.

Los Angeles.

Knife Day

[From RW...BS's "Knife Day"]

I have 2 knives of note -

1. My first knife ever:

My first knife ever.

This was a gift from my father when I was 6 years old or so. The little metal plate says "Old Timer" and I've placed it on a bag of small flour tortillas for scale.

It is notable for not having a safety lock, so if you're not careful, the blade can close on your fingers while you're cutting something. Strange choice of gift for a six year old child. It taught me at a very early age to be careful when using knives.

2. Ulysses' Death Knife:

Ulysses' Death Knife.

I acquired this knife in Los Angeles when Ulysses (the guy who rented the basement of Miski's house) moved out and left it stuck in a tree. Miski didn't want it, but said I could have it. It is also placed on the same bag of small flour tortillas for scale.

I still use knives when needed, but I don't always use cutting boards. Somewhere along the line, I've acquired the habit of cutting vegetables while holding them in my hand.  I did this with a bell pepper at my Chinese Professor's house when she invited the class over and she was startled and horrified.  I keep my home knives pretty dull, but hers was super sharp, so that's probably why she over reacted.

[Originally posted on The Real World...Blogger Style!, Sep. 3, 2005]

Danbai

While I was in the bathroom taking pictures of my mouthwash, I thought My bottle of Danbai shampoo from L.A.'s chinatown was also worth a post.

Danbai.

It only looks girly on the outside. It is actually a very hardcore shampoo that smells a lot like burning plastic when you rub it into your scalp. I almost think it was mis-bottled.

The label is mostly written in Chinese, but 4 points are clearly emphasized in English:

1. Unnecessary to add other protecting elements. It is very convenient to use.

          Comment - True. It IS easy to use!

2. Containing rare herb...and more than ten kinds of amino acid...making the hair easily combed. Keep hair black forever and soft.

          Comment - Forever!

3. The function is moderate and safe.

          Comment - Not my usual function.

4. Full of sweet scents of fresh apple.

          Comment - No, it smells like melting plastic.

[Originally posted on The Real World...Blogger Style!, Sep. 1, 2005]

Fan Hat

It's a hat:

Hat.

It's a fan:

Fan.

It's a fan hat:

Fan hat.

A hat that collapses into a fan! A fan that expands into a hat!
Folds up to fit in your back pocket!
Beat the heat in style.

Aerial view.

Thank you, Chinatown!

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, June 22, 2005]

Leaving Los Angeles

My new rental in Orange County is good to go. I'll be driving carloads of stuff over there next Wednesday. MLIS classes start back up in a couple of weeks.

Leaving East Los Angeles behind, I will really only miss the amazing late night taco trucks and food stands. Best tacos ever, no contest.

I guess I will also miss the commercial murals that are painted on many of the local independent stores to advertise products.

Like this one:

Cat in a stew, pig serving sandwiches.

 And their blatant disregard for copyright law:

Tweety bird with a giant glass of juice.

Winnie the Pooh with a beverage next to a cornucopia of fruit.

Tube of Colgate over the store entrance door..

One guy used to have Wolverine painted on his liquor store, but it has since been painted over.

A weird, fairly common, motif is to show happy animals being cooked, like there will be a painting of a cow or pig being cooked in a pot over a fire with a big smile on their face.

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Jan. 15, 2004]

Xmas Party

I have to go to the company Christmas party today goddammit. I had no intention of attending, but my boss is shrewd and will be giving out paychecks at the Christmas party. If you skip the Xmas party, the office is closed the rest of the week & you're assed-out on your check. I'm still not so sure I'll go though. Maybe I'll flip a coin.

**UPDATE**

OK, I'm going to the company Christmas party. Ready to walk out the door right now. I'm bringing my gift, it's a hand flipping the bird. Can't wait to see who gets randomly chosen to receive my gift:

Merry Christmas, fucker.

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Dec. 22, 2003]

Ceiling Tile Art

In Los Angeles, we were invited to paint on the ceiling tiles of a band practice room.

Here are my contributions:

New Sweater.

Introducing Red.

Welcome.

Bok Bok.

Grass.

Bonus:  Here is a photo of a knife stuck in the ceiling of that same band practice room:

Knife in the band room ceiling.

Shonen Knife

Shonen Knife @ the Knitting Factory, Los Angeles, CA: 2003.

Shonen Knife.

What's Good About Hollywood?

Superheroes in the streets!

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Dec. 24, 2003]

Art Contest

We just had an art contest.

Miski's entry:

"Girl Standing In Chinese Smoke with Shrink Wrap Stockings."

My entry:

"Something for Nothing."

 It's a 10 cent lettuce sandwich on a day-old bun.

Who won?

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Jan. 7, 2004]

Chinatown Sticker Machine

This is a sticker sheet depicting me and Kelley trying to figure out this Japanese sticker machine in Chinatown. We accidentally snapped the photo while sifting through border options.

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Dec. 19, 2003]

Cheap Thrills: Fire & The Dictionary

In Los Angeles, whenever we were looking for something to do, we often turned to the dictionary. A random word could spark all sorts of fun associations.

One time, we used it to see what we’d write on our tombstones: Sarah's would say, "Faithless," mine would read, "Snake," and Miski's would be "Uncontainable."

Another fun pastime was playing with fire. One night, while cleaning the house, we got frustrated with all our clutter and decided to start a big bonfire in the backyard to burn anything we didn’t need. It turned out we had a lot more to toss on than we thought! After an hour of tossing in old dish towels, ugly clothes, random objects of questionable origin, and even a traffic cone (which took ages to melt), we started to wonder if we really needed any of it at all. We were all pretty drunk, which only added to the hilarity of the situation—after all, we could have easily ended up burning everything we owned!

Sarah Vaquero burning a shirt in the backyard.

When someone brought the dictionary over to the fire, it shifted our carefree vibe. None of us had the heart to toss the dictionary into the flames, so we decided to incorporate it into our game instead.

The rules were simple: one person would stand by the fire, ready to choose something to burn, while two others acted as judges on the sidelines. The person by the fire had to justify their choice for burning that item. But if they paused for more than five seconds or lost their train of thought, the judges would randomly pick a word from the dictionary and shout it at the speaker. The challenge? They had to weave that word into their justification in a coherent and meaningful way.

It was a fun game and it inspired some great arguments for burning shit.

This is what we all looked like in those days.

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Dec. 11, 2003]

Paper Uderwear

I don't endorse many products, but cheap, disposable, paper underwear from L.A.'s chinatown is an exception.

$1.75 for a 5-pack and that will get you through a work week.

It also looks hilarious when you wear it because it's see-through.
It's also surprisingly just as comfortable, if not more so, than cloth underwear.

I've test-worn them a few times, but consider them mainly a novelty item.
I still have some if anybody wants any.

Caesar & Sarah receiving the gift of paper underwear for Christmas.

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Mar. 27, 2004]