THEY SELL FLEAS HERE

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Rose Bowl Sunday flea market for the very first time. Considering that my Mom raised me on garage sales, it's hard for me to believe this was my first outing to this granddaddy of all secondhand marketplaces. I bought a slew of vintage postcards (mostly reflecting many of the national parks I've visited), a Smokey Bear stuffed animal, and a Japanese umbrella to shield me from the 100+ degree blazing sun. Here's some photos from my day.


This Marilyn Monroe image caught my eye. It's funny though that the woman in the background is mimicking the pose (albeit with a cell phone in her hand)

If this trash can wasn't so beat up, I probably would have bought it.

Growing up, these were my favorite drinking glasses. We still have a bunch stored somewhere in the house. They either came with the purchase of food at some fast food place or maybe from a gas station promotion? Speedy Gonzales and Porky Pig were my favorites.












This is the Smokey Bear I purchased.

These see through Nike Air look like they'd make your feet sweat like CRAZY.

I saw the Pee Wee Herman doll found a new home - this is the guy who bought him.


Remember President Carter's drunkard brother Billy.


This was an interesting find - this ruler is from Beverly Hills Transfer and Storage. My entire growing up, a Beverly Hills Transfer and Storage was on my corner (now it's a Mitchell Litt furniture store). The second building from the left on the ruler is the facade of the building - that still looks the same today. I would have bought it but it was $10 bucks. Kinda pricey for what was once a free promotional ruler.


This Busch Gardens purse took me back to my childhood. There used to be a Busch Gardens on Roscoe (near the 405) at the Busch plant. I remember going on the boat ride, seeing the birds, and touring the beer factory on a suspended tram. I used to have a sticker of Bud Man on my bedroom door. Ah those were the days, when Beer companies could have a friendly mascot to lure in the kiddies for future sales.

I would have loved to have bought this album, but it was really pricey - about $125 bucks. I've been to Wall Drug, it's a really cool (literally and figuratively) place.



Caution, don't get wet or feed after midnight!



self-portrait at the end of the day

JULIE ANDREWS TALKS ABOUT HER BOOBS

I spent Sunday at the U.C.L.A. Festival of Books. My main excitement over going was getting to see Julie Andrews speak at Royce Hall.

I met these two "bears" while waiting in the line that wrapped completely around Royce Hall.

My adopted Sharp family (Joyce and Serena) stopped by the line and hung out.

Julie looked great and had interesting stories to share with author Patt Morrison (who did a pretty good interviewing job). She mostly spoke about her early years in Vaudeville, the subject matter of her new biography, Home. It's # 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list as of Sunday. I don't have the book yet, but I'd like to read it.


I scored a great seat in the eighth row center and shot some little video with my new Sony T100 digital camera. In the video below, Julie tells a humorous story about getting fitted for a special cut away dress that would reveal her breasts in her husband Blake Edwards' film S.O.B. There's something just great about hearing Julie Andrews talk about her boobs.



This is an adorable dog named Tomi. He worked the K9 unit for the New York Fire Department and LAPD. He also the "co-author" of a book called The K9 Chronicles: Book 2.

I have no idea what this costume was for, but it looked really funny and lifeless just reclining across the stairs.

After the book fair was over, I went to the Venice Pier and caught the lovely sunset.






In the distance you can see the Ferris Wheel at the Santa Monica Pier.





Post Note:
I want to give credit to Squared 5, a free program that helped me convert the .mov movie files from my Sony T100 to mpeg4 so that I could edit them in iMovie. Without Squared 5, my movies were opening in iMovie without sound.

MALIBU IN BLOOM

All photos taken at Leo Carrillo State Park on April 26, 2008.

Kitesurfers photos taken with Nikon D40, all others Sony T100.