Hats Off at the LA County Fair

I attended the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona today to enter some of my millinery curiosities. The critics were kind and though my hats were a bit more lavish and odd they were still well received. I took second place overall and the other two placed first and second in their categories.



The woman who took first place overall had a stunning red hat. Some African American women take great pride in their ‘church hats’. There are several books published about this subject and I find this particular culture both interesting and beautiful, if I could sit through church I would like to attend a service just to admire all the hats around me, unfortunately this is not enough to get me into a church. She took first place and enjoyed her time at the fair as her husband slept in a chair enjoying his own time at the fair.


Cute Lolita wears my prize- a small hat containing a gift certificate within it.


After the judging we walked around the fairgrounds that were crowded and offered every type of fried food imaginable, from deep fried oreo cookies to deep fried coke, don’t ask. Fair goers appear able to classify into two categories, those who attend to see the exhibits and those who attend to eat fried fat foods chased with Rolaids and 20 oz beers. I found myself somewhere in the middle and did enjoy a couple eight dollar 20 oz beers but found the food too nauseating to enjoy, ironically the fair is sponsored by McDonalds.

There were the cutest group of young girls in traditional Mexican dress performing on stage and I had to snap a picture of one in particular.


On a final note Alex found an event he is going to enter next year, get your papers ready.


I was happy to have attended and look forward to connecting with all the women I met today in the hopes of perfecting my craft.

Mannequins

These ladies are ready for the fair and as I stand before them waiting for them to come to life I realize I've watched Mannequin too much, that or I need to spend a night with a beautiful girl, or several nights with several girls.

Sunset for a Swan

It was raining last night, I believe it hasn’t rained in los angeles for decades, or so it feels. Upon this wet excitement alex poochinie and I trekked up the hills of Barnsdall Park and over several bottles of champagne and cigarettes we watched the sun set behind the clouds. This was one of those magical moments where red velvet curtains opened on a creaking wooden stage and if only for a moment we were able to see inside.

Gentrification Strikes Back!

I just had my coffee and read this article from todays LA Times. I found it so hilarious I had to write to the editor. You can the view the article here.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-silverlake13sep13,1,3454034.story?coll=la-headlines-california

L.A. parking plan a threat to hipness? – CA Section 9/13/2007

I had a good laugh after reading this article. The irony is that these residents are complaining about ‘more money being less hip’ or parking meters being too intrusive when over fifteen years ago the original residents of Silverlake- mainly low income Latino families, were displaced or relocated as a result of higher and excessive rent increases when new ‘hip’ residents moved in. Long gone are most of the Latino family owned restaurants on Sunset blvd to make room for trendy coffee shops and the Sunset Junction Street Fair, once free or on a donation basis, now charges an admission of about twenty dollars, keeping low-income native families from attending this ‘community’ event. Before the residents of Silverlake begin to complain about the changes to their hip little city they should consider whom they displaced when they moved in and the impact they had. I say put a parking meter right outside their front door. I think it is incredibly classist and racist that the impact of gentrification on low-income families was not mentioned in this article.

Sadie Ginger Jones

I don’t know the actual birth date of my dog however it was sometime in October of 1994. My dog will be 13 next month. Our trips to the park have gotten shorter as when we go she tends to just lay in the grass, when she is not eating it. Her hips are sore and her two back legs drag the ground when she walks. I have to physically pick her up to put her in my truck and she struggles to get up on the bed most of the time. I don’t want to think about life without her. She has always been there for me, to lay with me when I cry, to leave a mess for me when I get home from a long day of work, and to look at me with her head tilted when she knows I am about to do something wrong. I bet if she could speak she would save me a lot of time as she has watched me grow old alongside her. If you have a pet you know they become a regular fixture of your support system. I am most certain she will live to be thirty…