El Centro After the Rain

A simple street corner, a little rain, a setting sun. Nice how something so ordinary can seem so ... extraordinary.

Exploring the Medium

Sometimes you really have to experience the artwork from a different perspective. This kid has the right idea ... literally joining the exhibit of botanical mobiles created by other children at this summer's SPACE Art Camp.

Ordinary Place

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."

--Elliot Erwitt

Caption This Photo (#94)

I really need help with this one...

Carrot Noir

Whenever I drive through Monrovia, I can't help but smile as I think about the hard boiled novelist Raymond Chandler living there with his wife in a sweet little bungalow. (Yes, it's true. Chandler lived in Monrovia!) I always wondered what they cooked in that sunny kitchen while Philip Marlowe's dark fate waited on a blank sheet of paper in Chandler's typewriter? (Angel food cake, perhaps?)

Author and smart aleck Mark Crick gives us a better idea in his fantastic book Kafke's Soup: A Complete History of World Literature in 14 Recipes. All the recipes in Crick's book are delightful, but I am partial to the one included below. Okay, wise guys. Let's eat:

Lamb with Dill Sauce (à la Raymond Chandler) 1kg lean leg of lamb, cut into large chunks 1 onion, sliced 1 carrot, cut into sticks 1 tablespoon crushed dill seeds, or 3-4 sprigs fresh dill 1 bay leaf 12 peppercorns Half a teaspoon salt 850ml chicken stock 50g butter 1 tablespoon plain flour 1 egg yolk 3 tablespoons cream 2 teaspoons lemon juice I sipped on my whiskey sour, ground out my cigarette on the chopping board and watched a bug trying to crawl out of the basin. I needed a table at Maxim’s, a hundred bucks and a gorgeous blonde; what I had was a leg of lamb and no clues. I took hold of the joint. It felt cold and damp, like a coroner’s handshake. I took out a knife and cut the lamb into pieces. Feeling the blade in my hand I sliced an onion, and before I knew what I was doing a carrot lay in pieces on the slab. None of them moved. I threw the lot into a pan with a bunch of dill stalks, a bay leaf, a handful of peppercorns and a pinch of salt. They had it coming to them, so I covered them with chicken stock and turned up the heat. I wanted them to boil slowly, just about as slowly as anything can boil. An hour and a half and a half-pint of bourbon later they weren’t so tough and neither was I. I separated the meat from the vegetables and covered it. The knife was still in my hand but I couldn’t hear any sirens. In this town the grease always rises to the top, so I strained the juice and skimmed off the fat. I added more water and put it back on the heat. It was time to deal with the butter and flour, so I mixed them together into a paste and added it to the stock. There wasn’t a whisk, so using my blackjack I beat out any lumps until the paste was smooth. It started to boil, so I let it simmer. I roughed up the egg yolk and cream and mixed in some of the hot sauce before putting the lot back into the pan. I put the squeeze on a lemon and it soon juiced. It was easy. It was much too easy, but I knew if I let the sauce boil the yolk was gonna scramble. By now I was ready to pour the sauce over the meat and serve, but I wasn’t hungry. The blonde hadn’t showed. She was smarter than I thought. I went outside to poison myself, with cigarettes and whisky.

--Mark Crick

Floor Show in the Sky

Sure, it's pretty, but this daytime moon has nothing on the 2012 Perseid meteor shower. The astronomical event kicked off Friday night but it expected to hit its peak tonight. In fact, NASA says it's supposed to be "the best meteor shower of the year."

Those NASA scientists aren't known for hyperbole, so I say we all look up and watch the show. Depending on sky conditions, we can expect to see 60-100 meteors an hour. Not only that, but the brightest planets Jupiter and Venus are lining up for a center stage position. We will even be able to see the red giant Alderbaron adding a touch of color. (How like a star to wear red to a black tie event...)

It's nice of the solar system to offer some nature-made fireworks after the recent excitement of the Mars rover Curiosity. (Honestly, after Curiosity landed the other night I think I heard the cheers from JPL all the way down here in South Pas!)

Go outside and look up tonight, everyone. If you can get out of the city you'll have a better view. Check out the Dark Sky Finder map for the best spot to avoid light pollution. Bring your smartphone and play Citizen Scientist: NASA wants your help counting meteors!

(With everyone looking up tonight, maybe someone will finally figure out what the heck is going on in the night sky above our neighbors in Studio City...)

Look Up!

August skies are trying to get your attention.

(For the mother load of ethereal Arroyo Seco sky images, check out Shanna Galloway's blog View.)

Caption This Photo (#93)

Hmmm...

NSFW (if you're a robot!)

No, that's not quite right.

Anyone?

Trippy Dustbusters

Who says cleaning house can't be artistic? Or, at least weird?

You, too, can pick up one of these psychedelic creatures, er, feather dusters in the cleaning section of Ralphs.

Avant Carred

You all know how much I love photographing old cars, but new cars can be pretty fun to snap at, too. Especially if you zoom in on some of the shiny details.

I'm such a lazy modern artist. I just cram pieces of someone else's beautiful, well-planned design into my own haphazard little square.

Hey, whatever works. Right?

Caption This Photo (#90)

Anyone?

Stumbling Over Brilliance

Do you think nature gets irritated that we take beautiful things like this for granted? I mean, really ... just look at this flower!

Inspiration. It's right under our feet.

Camphor Tree: macro

Ah, beautiful camphor trees. The shade is amazing, the leaves smell like Vicks Vapo Rub, the berries are parrot food and the bark is worthy of a photo. (So here's one.)

Cloud Painting

Have you noticed the skies around here lately? Wow! Mother Nature has been getting her creative freak on with beautiful, ever changing results. For anyone who thinks Southern California skies only offer images of smog and chem trails, here's a little evidence to the contrary.

Everyday Objects: Great Design

You'll find these metal things on concrete benches and curbs all over the San Gabriel Valley. They are placed to discourage skateboarders from using public spaces as ramps. Yeah, the idea is kind of a buzzkiller, but I can see the point. Besides, skateboarding wouldn't be nearly as punk rock if it were accepted everywhere!

I digress.

Establishment-placed anti-skateboard thingiemabobs may serve the purpose of restraining our rambunctious teens, but they also give us an example of lovely design. We're surrounded by elegant, everyday objects like this, but probably don't take much time to notice them.

Larry Wilson wrote a great piece on two South Pasadena designers responsible for some of the objects we use and take for granted every day. I had long known that Henry Dreyfuss -- creator of the iconic Honeywell home thermostat and one of the world's most famous industrial designers -- called South Pasadena home until his tragic death in 1972. Larry points out that another designer, Henry C. Keck of Keck-Craig, also hails from our fair town. Read all about Keck's contributions to utilitarian design, as well as a few tidbits from his self-published memoir, in Larry's column here.

Strawberry Tops

South Pasadena's Farmer's Market is great for fresh produce -- and for inspiration! Even these strawberry tops are beautiful. Trash or art? (Why not both?)

Shadows (#6)

You can find art in the most unexpected places.

I am wrapping up Shadows Week today and tomorrow. Just a few more shots playing around with light and dark.

Shadows (#5)

Shooting pictures in the late afternoon is one of my favorite things to do. Just look at all of those shadows!

It's all about the shadows this week here at Glimpses. Join me as I have fun with light and dark.

Eggsactly This:

And may your chocolate bunnies be solid, never hollow.

Caption This Photo (#89)

Anyone?