hollywoodland

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originally built in 1923 as an advertisement for the segregated “hollywoodland” real estate development in the surrounding hills, the sign was eventally left up due to popular demand & is now a los angeles historic cultural monument. the original sign was studded with thousands of lightbulbls, which flashed “holly” “wood” “land” on repeat. it wasn’t until 1948, when the hollywood chamber of commerce contracted with the city of los angeles parks department to maintain the sign, that the “land” section was removed to reflect the entire surrounding neighbourhood & not just the housing development.

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in 1978 the formerly wood sign was rebuilt from steel after spending decades in disrepair. the campaign to restore the sign was led by playboy magazine founder hugh hefner, who donated money to the cause. the new sign was unveiled as part of a cbs television special commemorating the 75th anniversary of the incorporation of the city of hollywood.

it is now one of the most visited tourist attractions in los angeles.

chasing rainbows

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recently I learned about a place called rainbow valley. this is a section of the northeast ridge route up mt. everest, located within the infamous “death zone” at an altitude of more than 26,000 feet. fascinated by the places that lure us, I had to write about rainbow valley. listen below to learn more about mt. everest’s “death zone” & hear my poem, chasing rainbows.

Music:
Sad Trio by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4314-sad-trio
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

nap queen to marathon finisher

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on sunday I finished the LA marathon. if you’d have asked me, even a single year ago, if I was the kind of person who did things like running 26.2 miles willingly, I would have laughed in your face.

I initially started running in spring of 2019 because I thought it would be a “cheap” fitness hobby. I began running one single mile at a time & it was exhausting. after a few months I worked my way up to 2 miles.

then in june I ran my first ever 5k. those 3.1 miles were the longest I had ever run in my entire life. when I finished I thought, as a joke: ok, but what if I did a marathon?

so I found a beginner marathon training plan online & started running. it was something of a pipe dream, but it gave me something to do, a goal to work towards. I think I probably still thought I wouldn’t actually do the thing.

well, this past sunday I did the thing.

I was a lot slower than I wanted to be, a full hour above my goal time. there was a moment at mile 18 where I really thought I wasn’t going to be able to finish. but I pulled myself together & I finished that race.

now I’m planning my next one. pasadena half marathon, here I come!

neons

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spent a few days last week in my hometown on a rare visit. drove past my elementary school & high school, wandered the old neighbourhoods, & revisited some historic haunts. I’ve always had a thing for interesting & vintage neon signs.

the neon sign for powell villa in outer se portland was likely installed in the late 1950s.

avalon theatre, opened as the sunnyside theatre in 1912. the avalon sign likely dates from 1925.

signs

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women’s march la, 2020.

very dissapointed that the women’s march la organization refused to work with black lives matter los angeles. none of us are free until all of us are free.

a few more photos>>

doin' it for the kittens!

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the only thing in this world that could entice me to this much cardiovascular activity is cats, so this spring I’m running the los angeles marathon to raise money for kitten rescue!

you can help me reach my goal of raising $700 for this amazing organization by donating on my fundraising page. do it for the kittens!

DONATE

obsession: giulia tofana

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I recently learned about giulia tofana, a 17th century poisoner. she is believed to have provided the means for the death of over 600 men between 1633 - 1659. her infamous poison, named aqua tofana after her, was comprised of mostly arsenic & lead & was sold disguised first as makeup & then as devotional holy oil in honour of st. nicola of bari. after being turned in to papal authorities by a remorseful customer, she was executed alongside her daughter & three assistants in july 1659.

virtually nothing is known about her life prior to the mid-1600’s, when she appeared in southern italy as a beautiful widow selling cosmetics. her mother, thofania d’adamo, was executed for the murder of her husband in 1633 & may have passed the aqua tofana recipe down to her daughter. there are no records of giulia’s marriage & no surviving portraits of her.

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ruminating on how I can expand her story. women in history were so much more than housewives embroidering cushions…

green(s)

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green with
(envy)

holding on
like a breath
before
falling.

g(r)o(w)ing
toward
the light.

insagram poetics.

sometimes things won't lift

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a hobby of mine recently has been finding used clothing on the local thrift store’s “dollar day” & altering it to conceal or work with its existing stains, tears, or general misshapenness. I’ve tie dyed designer tee shirts, bleach splattered men’s work jeans, & cut up blouses & button downs. there’s something I find fun in remaking a garment which would have otherwise reached the end of its life.

of course, this doesn’t always work. recently I found a discounted pack of plain black socks at a department store & thought they might be interesting if I were to bleach tie dye them. I brought them home, rolled & twisted & knotted them up with tiny rubber bands from the dollar store & dropped them in a bucket of bleach.

nothing happened.

I left them submerged for well over half an hour & yet the socks remained steadfastly black. not even a hint of variation in shade. I checked the materials—natural fibers, not colourfast—& double checked the expiration date on my bleach. no explanation to be found for why my boring black socks were still their original hue.

I think this is probably a lesson. a metaphor perhaps? sometimes even if all the conditions are right, the colour just won’t lift & there’s nothing much at all you can do about it. sometimes you can’t move the mountain.

note: this is the first in a new series I’ve decided to work on called “failure blog”. if you know me, you know I love & appreciate failure more than lots of people & also have some probably silly philosophical ideas about the act of failing. maybe that’s me just trying to make value from the fact that I’ve failed a hell of a lot over the course of my life (& will likely continue to do so), but I think there’s something to the act of failure. especially as a creative. so failure blog will exist for my ruminations on this stuff. for better or worse.