One Hundred Days / One Hundred Thoughts... Or So: TWO THINGS

August 31, 2016

I took my time roaming today. The first thing I saw, I heard first.. Big rumbling. Someone showing off the rumble of an expensive car! Sounded like a kid. A gorgeous yellow Viper (whatever that is.. I'll look it up..) roared down Glenoaks and passed me. I appreciate hot cars, but laugh as loudly as I can when possible because it is obvious to me that the driver has ego issues and they are bolstered by having an expensive car. Oh.. it's a Dodge! "The 2016 Dodge Viper is a hand crafted sports car focused on lifestyle & performance. Explore the V10 engine..." Starts at over $87,000!. The point is that when folks spend that kind of dough on a car, they must have lots of it. Jealous? Sure. A little, I guess. The guy in the Viper was not a kid.. He was an old guy with a white beard and a cap who loved racing his engine and cruising.. He made a couple of quick reckless turns. I thought that he might have seen me make a little tiny gesture as I passed him. Two fingers. Not one.

The best thing I saw today was at the Los Feliz Costco. There is a woman employee there who is tall and thin with long dark hair. She looks like she might be from the Eastern Bloc? Russian or Polish? Mostly she cruises the store straightening displays or sweeping up with a little broom and pan. I sat in one of those big comfy chairs while I was waiting for my photos to be processed. I had full view of a big bin with "53 inch Bears" in it. However, the bear standing by the bin was easily seven feet tall! It was made of that microfuzzy stuff that somewhat creeps me out. This bear was a BIG guy and if there was a price on him, I didn't see it. As the Costco woman walked up the aisle, she stopped and literally threw herself into the arms of the bear and buried her face in his neck. For a moment there was complete trust and true love. I wished that I had been ready with my camera. She is about 5'10" tall and the bear towered over her. She just gave herself to the hug.. completely.

I liked that part.

///

Driving back from errands in Burbank, I stopped and tried an experiment at the Disney Studio entrance on Alameda. It was difficult to see the Seven Dwarfs/Caryatids who stand holding up one of the main buildings, I was unable to get a great shot of .. I think.. Grumpy. Then, on a dry erase board, I tried sketching the same view. Did this three times, shooting photos of the sketch and erasing after taking each photo.

My rendering skills are marginal (to be generous).. but I liked the idea of the original artwork being so ephemeral and destroyed immediately after being made.