Category Archives: Los Angeles

R.I.P. Mrs. Death

I must confess that I like old cemeteries. I don’t perceive them as eerie, but as peaceful and tranquil. To those with open minds and eyes, cemeteries offer a glimpse into the lives of people who have long gone.

Here is a picture I took in a Southern California graveyard. Mrs. Death passed away 98 years ago, at the age of 81. Who was she? And how did she get that name? Surely, introductions at social gatherings would have resulted in some comical consternation.

I assume that Mrs. Death must have possessed a sense of humor — otherwise she would have changed her name at some point. (Quite easily accomplished in America, name changes are a time honored tradition among immigrants).

Peace be upon her.

R.I.P., Mrs. Death. Photo: Reinhard Kargl, 2010. Click to enlarge.

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Night Hike

Something I love about the Los Angeles area is that despite all its insane sprawl, it still offers the possibility of escape from the urban mess; to seek moments of refuge and relative solitude in the wilderness of the mountain chains surrounding the basin.

These pictures were taken on a night hike last weekend. (Click to enlarge).

Venus is hanging low in the east as the Sun is setting over the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Reinhard Kargl

Seen from Parker Mesa Overlook in the Santa Monica Mountains, the Moon has risen over West Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Bay. Photo: Reinhard Kargl

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Less Than Zero, Revisited

When I was a junior in college, one of my favorite books was Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis. I read the German translation a few years after it came out. At the time, the novel piqued my interest in Los Angeles and laid the basis for my perception of the anthropological circus that makes up “Hollywood”.

25 years after the novel’s release, Ellis has now revived its twisted characters for his latest book, Imperial Bedrooms.

Blair and Trent now have a loveless marriage. Clay is a narcissistic but successful screenwriter (“with occasional production credits”), who attempts to have Julian killed. And Rip, of course, is still a villain.

I’ll put it on the ever growing “must read” list.

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L.A. Noir at Musso & Frank

Here is a shot I captured during a cocktail hour at Musso & Frank, one of Hollywood’s legendary old joints. In its heyday it was a popular hangout for the Hollywood scene, including movie stars, film directors, producers and writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner and Raymond Chandler. Ernest Hemingway sipped cocktails here, and Orson Welles used to hold court.

Legend has it that Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, and Douglas Fairbanks raced each other down Hollywood Boulevard on horseback, the loser having to pick up the dinner tab at Musso & Frank.

This shot takes me to L.A. Noir. Perhaps this is Philip Marlowe‘s hat …

"Marlowe's Hat" • Photo: Reinhard Kargl

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