South Pasadena Abstract #3

Okay, so this might not be technically abstract, but file it under modern, which is close.

I love the South Pasadena Craftsmans and Victorians ... but the mid-century modern homes in Monterey Hills are also wonderful.  These ginormous doors really sum up that middle of the 20th Century optimism, don't they?

I'm all about finding art in the ordinary, people.  (And optimism in doors.)

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South Pasadena Abstract #1

I feel like looking at things in the abstract this week.  Art is everywhere if you just know how to frame it.

(I found this as an entryway to a house in Monterey Hills.)

Want to say hi?  I'd love to hear from you.

Week of South Pasadena Noir... #1

"There are things known, and things unknown.  In between are the doors." -- Jim Morrison

I'm in a spooky mood leading up to Halloween, people.  Check in this week for a daily trick or treat featuring darkness and light.



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Noir Moderne

“I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we could define it, we wouldn't need to use a French word for it - but it seems to me it's more a way of looking at the world than what one sees.”

― Lawrence Block

Gates of Entry

"I am the dream and you my gates of entry,
The means by which I waken into light."

--Alec Derwent Hope

Monterey Hills Modern

It's all in the details...

Corridors To Another Dimension? (Probably just storage...)

Don't worry, I'll get back to posting lovely images of Craftsman details, heritage trees and sweeping views from the water tower. But for now, take a look at this odd little corner of town I found the other day. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what's behind those doors...

Settings: Part 35

I've wanted to play this game here for a while. So tell me, my darling readers with such interesting cinematic genius ... if this were the setting for a scene in a movie, what would happen here?

Executive Decision

I can just imagine the conversation when this entryway was being designed:

"I just can't decide," he said when he came back to the office. "I have seven different tile samples to choose from, but I can't pick one. I like them all."

"Then use them all!" She said. Her eyes sparkled, magnified by the bifocals she had worn for the twenty years she'd been his secretary.

"The Board wouldn't like it," he said. "The Board definitely wouldn't like it."

"But you'd like it," she said. Then, more softly, "And I'd love it. I'd absolutely adore it."

(Sometimes, the secretary is simply more powerful than the Board.)

Possibility

I love the old buildings on Fremont and I hate to see an empty storefront there. So let's do a twist on my favorite game -- and give me yet another chance to make you guys do all the work as I recover from this blasted cold:

If you were going to open a business in this spot, what would it be?

Caption this photo (#52)

Have at it, gang...

Distraction

Ever had one of those weeks where you find a South African brown widow spider with nest on your back door, get a property tax bill for twice as much as you were expecting, fret for three days tending a cranky daughter who has cold with fever, hear really sad news about an old friend, discover that your dishwasher is suddenly making noises that can only be described as a parrot trapped within and whistling the first few bars of Sentimental Journey, catch your daughter's cold, pass out asleep at 8:30 on a Friday night only to wake up with a headache at 1:30AM and the unsettling realization you haven't yet written your daily blog?

You too? Ah, that's comforting.

So look! Here's a pretty pathway next to a pretty gate with pretty plants and trees! (And a somewhat inexplicable, totally incongruous, teensie little picket fence -- but it's far too late and I'm way too much of a curmudgeon at this point to go into that thing.)

Just Guessing (Part 2)

It was still quite light out of doors, but inside with the curtains drawn and the smouldering fire sending out a dim, uncertain glow, the room was full of deep shadows.

--Kate Chopin

Noir in Pastel

No matter how much this alleyway wants to look tough, it just can't overcome that pistachio ice cream wall...

In the Pink

I used to think a certain blue gate was the most festive one in South Pasadena. But how do you beat a fluff of pink bougainvillea?

Hard-boiled Doors

Come on in -- there's nobody in here but me and a big bluebottle fly.

--Raymond Chandler, The Little Sister

Arch Rivals

So, all those many years ago when the builders were working on this place, I think a conversation went something like this:

"I started on the garage, boss."

"What do you mean, you started on it?"

"I went ahead and built the first doorway on the right. You know, nothing to it, standard square garage door. It's done."

"Dear God, man, the doorways are supposed to be arched! The owners have already special ordered the doors!"

Maybe the owners just never noticed the difference...

Grand Entrance

I don't know which I like most: the big red door, or the little black awning.

Retro Garage

I wonder if there's an early 70s muscle car in there?

Caption this photo... (#21)

Anyone?