summer.

It's summer! There's much to do this week! And I'm heading into my final round of chemo and feeling the accumulative effects of a deeply lethargic body and somewhat scrambled brain. But I do have to get out of the house every once in awhile, or I'll cut my head off at the neck with a butter knife.

Here are many cool things I'd like to do, of which I may actually hit one or two. But that doesn't mean I can't share them with you, so you can do them, too. Here we go...

The Yamashiro Farmer's Market is in full swing, every Thursday from 5-9. It's one of the few seasonal farmers markets in L.A. (ends September 4th), with lots of food trucks and spectacular sunset views. You can park at the Mosaic Church on Hollywood at La Brea for $2, and take a shuttle up to Yamashiro.

This Saturday is NELArt's Second Saturday Gallery Night. Read: Highland Park's Art Walk. Art Walks usually give me anxiety--because there's too much to do and see--but there are a few shows that I'm excited for this Saturday.

Check out my friend Jeff Newman's work.

Also, the awesome Jen Gotch is showing her Polaroids at ShopClass LA. Her photos inspired me to start taking Polaroids (before camera phones, apps and the discontinuation of Polaroid film made it mostly obsolete) and her My Polaroid Blog influenced me to start this blog. Now Jen is the CEO of Ban.do, and one of the few chicks I'll admit to being a little jealous of. Mantra: don't be envious, be inspired. Repeat.

And Slow Culture is featuring the stunning photographs of Anthony Samaniego.

Photo via Anthony Samaniego.

It all sounds like fun.

And there's more. I would really love to take in The Scandalous Art of James Ensor at the Getty. It runs until September 7th, so I'll be able to make this one. Ensor was part Impressionist and part Avant-Garde painter--decades before there was an avant-garde.

The Skeleton Painter by James Ensor.

Another must-see is the Route 66 exhibit at the Autry Center. I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't been to the Autry, and I'm sucker for all things Americana (it's the Midwestern girl in me), so this is the perfect excuse to get me there.

"East 66/West 66" road sign from 1970s Arizona.

You know what else I'm loving right now--fish soup. I know it's a tad hot out for a big, steaming bowl of soup, but I'll suffer the sweaty forehead. I had the most amazing Ginger Fish Noodle Soup at the Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater Village along with a sweet and syrupy (but sugar-free) ginger iced tea. Ginger! It knocks cancer out.

Next up to try: Chuentong, or Korean ground mudfish stew. Sounds gross, but according to the LA Weekly, it's amazing. A somewhat rare delicacy, it's served at a handful of Koreatown restaurants.

Some other things to love right now:

Violinist Vadim Gluzman. I was introduced to him by Jim Svejda the other night on his show, tearing up the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. I thought it could only be Heifetz, playing at such an absurdly fast speed and was surprised to learn it was a modern-day violinist. I know the Tchaikovsky is a war horse, but I never tire of hearing its endless interpretations. And nobody can play it like the Russians. Guzman totally kicks it old school, like Oistrakh and Milstein, and I'm excited to hear more of his recordings.

Violinist Vadim Gluzman

Love that Barnes and Noble is having a 50% off sale on the Criterion collection throughout July. It's a good time to buy some all-time favorites for my library--like Children of Paradise.

Love this image of a peony and vintage camera.

And I leave you with this pretty lily.

  Thanks for reading, and as always, I'll be back soon.

beauty/horror.

Hello! Since we left off, I've been a couple of places, seen a couple of movies, started a new book and take a couple of photos. Let's take a look.

Was very excited for the opening of the new Echo Park Lake, and I got to go on Opening Day. It did not disappoint. Just as I remembered it, only much spiffier. Lots of people were out enjoying the new grounds, and everyone looked happy.

Because nothing says serenity like lotus blossoms.

Continuing my interest in Criterion-approved horror films, I checked out--not one--but two "Blah Blah...Without a Face" flicks. 

First up was Eyes without a Face. The images from this film have always scared the bejeezus out of me. But seeing the mysterious Edith Scob in Holy Motors left me intrigued. I decided it was time to face my fear.

"The most horrid horror film you could fear to see."

Eyes Without a Face has to be the most elegant horror film I've ever seen. It's the Christian Dior of scary movies.

 
Yet it is horror. No blood, no gore, no manufactured frights. Just a story that makes you shudder. Edith Scob was wonderful, and the basement full of dogs was the stuff of nightmares. Eyes Without a Face has a pretty fantastic ending, too...of course, I won't give it away.

Next up was Fiend Without a Face. This is one of those 50's-era, Atomic Age, drive-in standards. But the reason it's Criterion-approved is because it's one of the first sci-fi/horror movies to employ graphic, gory effects. And even by today's standards, they were pretty cringe-inducing. The joy of watching Fiend without a Face was thinking of the audiences of the time being completely grossed out. You could imagine the shrieks and gasps as you watched it.

"It's as if some mental vampire were at work."

Doing a bit of Googling on this film led me to an interesting blog, The Criterion Contraption, or "I'm Going to Watch Every Last DVD in the Criterion Collection." Roger Ebert even wrote an article on it.  I've thought of doing that myself--watching every film in the Criterion collection. However, author Matthew Dessem seemed to have stopped blogging at the end of 2012.

Come back, Matthew. Come back and watch movies and blog!

So, I started reading Demons by Dostoevsky. In a nutshell, it is a motherfucker. 700 pages total; I'm 200 pages in and have no idea what the hell is going on. Demons was recommended to me by a lovely, young girl named Joan, whom I met through my dear friend, Fran. Joan is 21, and said Demons is pretty much the best novel ever. And yes, it does rankle my ego that I can barely comprehend a book endorsed by a 21-year-old. But I'm going to stick with it.

This gal, Joan, intrigued me because she attends St. John's College. I don't think most people outside of academia are familiar with St. John's. It's is a not a place where you go to study Business Administration or International Relations. No. All you do at St. John's College is read. For four years straight. The great books of the Western canon. See curriculum below.

St. John's has two campuses (campii?), one in Santa Fe, NM, where Joan attends, and one in Annapolis, MD, where I lived from the ages of 10-16. Thinking of St. John's actually makes me a bit nostalgic for Annapolis--and for Maryland blue crabs. You haven't lived until you've feasted on these babies. The Hungry Cat is having a CrabFest on Sunday, July 14th, and I think I may have to go. Who's in?

Since I've been hiking a lot in Beachwood Canyon, I thought it was time to try to the lovely Beachwood Café. It's super sweet inside--like stepping into a gingerbread house. It perfectly captures the essence of the neighborhood, which is very much a little fairy-tale village. Lots of vegetarian and vegan options, and I had an excellent brown rice veggie burger.

After a gluten-free week, it's time for Cannoli Sunday. Bring it.

I also treated myself to a cannoli from the Farmer's Market. It's hard to find certain East Coast delights out here sometimes. Cannoli is one of them. Clams with the bellies attached are another, but the new Connie & Ted's has them, and I'm hoping to sample some soon. Connie & Ted's is a tough reservation, so wish me luck.

All images via Minimal Movie Posters.

I posted something last week about The Party and found a gorgeous poster of it on this tumblr, Minimal Movie Posters. I love a good tumblr. I could be on this one all day.

Here are a couple of designs from Sherlock, which you need to watch. Fun fact I discovered this week: there is a Benedict Cumberbatch fan club called "Cumberbitches."

Here are some beautiful flowers, because summer has kicked in here in SoCal. And while the heat makes me want to throw up most of the time, the flora soaks it in and looks amazing.

 #nofilter

One more thing...a song! "High School Lover" is my new anthem. I hear it on 88.5 all the time. It is the Rock Out in Your Car Song of Summer 2013. Courtesy of Cayucas, formerly known as Oregon Bike Trails. I love a band that brazenly changes its name after one of their songs hits it big.

Local boys out of Santa Monica. Image via npr.org

"You shoulda been my..oh ooo-woah..."

OK, that's all for now. Where are we going next, Isabel?

See you again!