Italians Do It Better

I just spent an hour Googling '60s Italian actress Elsa Martinelli. Somewhere in the Book of Life, I'm sure it says that people are not allowed to be this good looking but apparently someone let this glamazon slide. Jeezus. Save some for the rest of us, Martinelli.

She first caught my eye on a movie poster for the amazing vampire flick Blood and Roses (sadly only available on used VHS.)
Blood and Roses is right up there with some of the best vampire movies I've ever seen. (PS: This list does not include Twilight. My bad!) Thanks to some kind soul who took the time to upload a filmed VHS version, you can pretty much watch the whole movie on YouTube but here's a preview of some of the trippiest scenes below...

Je Ne Sais Quois

Thibault de Montaigu - Un jeune homme triste (Fayard)
Uploaded by hachette-livre

I have no idea what this man is saying but I like it. This is Thibault De Montaigu reading from his book Un Jeune Homme Triste. I don't have a clue what the book is about (other than a "sad man?") This crude observation stems from reading fashion magazines and knowing Spanish. When I make the cross over to French literature, after I learn French in general (holla, Rosetta Stone!) this may be the first book I read... I literally cannot find any information in English on him or his books, outside of this on The Selby.

Based on the covers alone (a literati NO NO) I have a feeling his books are good. It's just a feeling.

He's Only Human

Here's a terrific interview with Mike Mills recently published in Dazed & Confused.

I like what he says right here:

"Especially when you're doing graphic design or anything like that, they tell you 'Build a portfolio to get a job!' I’ve always been more concerned with sort of a social consciousness; with what are you really doing in the public sphere."


I strongly encourage you to read the full interview, specifically during these times when finding a job in your creative field may not be an option. This is the best opportunity to do your own thing. Start a blog, make a T shirt, take some photos and Xerox a zine, collaborate with another down and outer. Don't get depressed- create! This is me heeding my own advice... Check out Mike's HUMANS project. Affordable and amazing. I bought the print below (Bruise) a while back, which I have yet to frame.

Also! Just read another great interview with Mike from my cohorts over at LA RECORD, where he expounds on an ongoing project photographing Los Angeles mountain lion corridors with photographer Takashi Homma.

"... it’s called Together and its about how we in L.A. live with the most wild of animals—mountain lions. It’s really about wildlife corridors. Places like bridges and horse tunnels where animals such as mountain lions can travel across freeways and around developments to re-connect different pieces of their increasingly fragmented habitat. It’s a very key issue right now—there are about ten lions in the Santa Monica mountains, but they are trapped by the 101 and 405. Unless something happens, and they can get access to more habitat to hunt and breed in a more diverse gene pool, they will become extinct in this area. While mountain lions scare us, they actually don’t want anything to do with humans. You’re more likely to die from lightning, bees or dogs than a lion in California. They are amazingly stealth, making their way around very populated areas—Brentwood, Tarzana, or the Getty—in the middle of the day while never being seen. If you want to learn more, the best meeting point for this issue is the South Coast Wildlands Project. I’ve been doing the book for years now with the photographer Takashi Homma. We trudge around in the bushes finding GPS points where collared mountain lions have been and taking pictures."

Good Idea

Are you a writer that struggles with wondering whether or not your stories suck? If so, you should check out this great online UK magazine called Bad Idea. Not only does it house intelligent blog commentary on political matters and current events, but you can easily submit short non-fiction stories you are working on to be reviewed by Bad Idea readers. PS: You should probably have tough skin in order to use this site to your advantage.

Case in point, this comment from the archives:

'This is one of the laziest, most poorly written and utterly pointless pieces of prose I have ever read. You have no writing talent whatsoever."

Just leave it alone

Neither evidence of the "Plath curse" nor proof of a "suicide gene." I'm starting to get really sick of journalists. My favorite (as in least favorite) thing that happens when some type of tragedy occurs is when lame writers try to get all PSA-like and act like they're exposing some groundbreaking, unproven truths that they will never, ever think about after they meet their big deadline.

He was a man and a marine biologist, too

It is difficult to separate the recent suicide of Sylvia Plath's son Nicholas Hughes from the plethora of tragic events that unfolded in the wake of Plath's own suicide in 1963 -- to dismiss his life as just another chapter in the great Plath/Hughes family curse.

However, it is not hard to understand why Nicholas chose the unilateral path of science and not one that involved even the smallest attempt to dissect the abstract matters of the heart. Let's not lump him in with all of the others on their winding roads to nowhere.

I am a secret agent

Once in a while I am visited by a time vampire who forces me to spend more hours than should legally be allowed lurking on other peoples' blogs. And once in a while it is totally worth it.

This video came across the LGA desk a few weeks ago and I just can't shake it. I'm pretty sure you could put an end to wars and instigate world peace simply by utilizing this video in any type of intense negotiation. It will all be ok.

In Bloom

When you live in Minneapolis, celebrating the first day of spring is a non-negotiable. Whether or not the weather will follow suit is another story. (It was still snowing here in the tundra this time last year.) Thankfully, there are birds chirping outside of my office window and squirrels incessantly breaking into my garbage and harassing Gizmo.

Katie and I have put together some springtime sets to entice Mother Nature to own this spring thing and keep it going. It's sort of like a modern day rain dance, a gift to the sunshine gods. So, if you happen to be in the downtown Minneapolis area tomorrow night, stop by Bev's Wine Bar and help us remain in the good graces of the vernal equinox!

Hemet, California

It's a place full of surprises -- a DIY wasteland of nouveau strip mall spirit sprinkled with a colorful homage to its dying Americana past on every corner.

Don't drink the Kool Aid

I'm back just in time to tell you about this happening tomorrow night at Cinefamily! You should definitely show up if you missed the MSNBC documentary that ran yesterday on the Family cult. I love this stuff... maybe a little too much.

Author Erik Davis ("The Visionary State: A Journey Through California's Spiritual Landscape") returns for another night of talks and films devoted to Southern California's alternative spiritual culture. Angelino occultism has many sources, but one of the most important is the cinematic imagination, whose mystic and psychedelic developments Davis will trace through a collection of clips and short films drawn from experimental (Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon), B-movie (The Trip), and mainstream Hollywood fare (Seconds, Head). The evening's second half will be hosted by Process Books publisher Jodi Wille, who will present unusual footage of LA's wild and wooly spiritual fringe, including rare clips from the Universal World Church and the Source Family. Other guest presenters include Maja D'Aoust (Philosophical Research Society), Paul Nugent (the Aetherius Society), and Kenneth Anger collaborator Brian Butler, who will show some ultra-rare footage of the notorious Angelino witch Cameron. The evening's program is held in conjunction with ModCom's "City of the Seekers" tour on March 13 (tour tickets available here.)

Co-presented by Process Books and L.A. Conservancy/ModCom
Tickets - $13

The Good Life

Readers! Sorry for the sans updates. I am temporarily in LA/San Pedro/Long Beach/Hemet visiting my sick and getting better grandmother. THANK YOU to all of the well wishers and good vibe senders. The highlight of this trip so far has been seeing her bright eyed and recovering yesterday and riding her "Go Go" scooter around the parking lot of her apartment building with Jen. I have become totally obsessed with palm trees and cypress trees. I think that is representative of me missing this golden Americana weather.

Hit me up if you wants to hang. I'll be here 'til Friday and I'm planning a trip to Sunken City to take more photos! xoxo Cam

It's ok to pray

If you're tired of God not answering your phone calls or Facebook messages, then maybe you're just a bit behind the pendulum swing. Thankfully, there's a direct line to him via dear-god.net.

This side project from The Cool Hunter started about a year ago and professes to be a nondenominational way to generate hope for your prayers all over the world. I like it. There's nothing a little good energy can hurt. Leave it to these fine purveyors of great taste to design a really amazing looking medium to reach the "Big Guy in the sky." And no, there is no association with the creators of the "Jesus is my homeboy" t-shirts.

You can pose your prayers according to categories like LOVE, SEX, CONFESSION, WORK, MONEY, FAITH, FAMILY, etc. This also means you can spend a lot of time on this party line to JHC by indulging in other people's prayers like a cheap tabloid, which I imagine is probably part of the point, since there appears to be a lot of careful art direction into the selection of accompanying photos, topics, etc. Oh, it's juicy... Don't say I didn't warn. This is not to say that there isn't some seriously visceral and moving stuff on the site, as well.

I pray they keep this up...
(All images courtesy dear-god.net)

Relics From a Heartbreak

I've received multiple emails over the past couple of weeks about "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry" by Leanne Shapton.

This photographic diary of the four-year relationship turned break-up between Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris is organized as an auction catalog of the former couple's tokens of affection toward one another, including the much utilized mix tape, vintage paperback books, a teapot shaped like a dog, Post It notes, Polaroids, etc.

I thought this was such an ingenious idea -- an amazingly designed, photo-heavy book that manages to read like a novel by cataloging the objects left in the trail of an ill-fated love affair. Following trends in voyeuristic archaeology, like Post Secret and Found Magazine, this fictional account of a good love gone bad is something we can all relate to whilst cleaning out closets and going through old hanger-on boxes of junk every time we move, at least I can. I still have one box of "memorabilia" that has been securely taped shut for at least seven years, despite being moved countless times. It's like a freshness seal for heartache that I don't tamper with.

Leanne Shapton is a virtuoso of several creative trades, including writing, illustration and book-cover design. She is currently an art director for the NY Times and has also published another book in the same melancholic vein called "Was She Pretty?" I can't wait to get my hands on both of these...

Leanne Shapton's Web site