Category Archives: fashion rules the world
Imagination, Intellectual, and Style Capital of the World – by Gary S. Smolker
Introduction
Los Angeles is a land of promise, imagination, and dreams.
Los Angeles is a city in which creativity and cultural and ethnic diversity thrive.
In Los Angeles a conglomeration of people with different cultural backgrounds and life experiences live, play, entertain, serve, appreciate and work well with each other.
In Los Angeles an incalculable diversity/variety of businesses thrive.
The Los Angeles that I know is a bubbling over seething hub of cultural and human capital fully engaged in the peaceful exchange of ideas, beliefs, perspectives, thoughts, opinions, customs, practices and the production of artistic creations.
The Los Angeles that I Know
- Los Angeles is the hub of commercial trade routes that span and connect the entire world.
- See photos below of food trucks on Ventura Blvd. serving foods from all over the world; specialized restaurants and cafes; bulls fights; Sumo wrestling matches, etc.
- Los Angeles is the most open society in the world. See photographs below of paintings painted on commercial buildings in Venice; paintings painted on commercial buildings in West Hollywood.
- Also see photographs below of T-shirts women are wearing in Los Angeles and the messages printed on those T-shirts.
- Los Angeles is the world capital of creativity and entrepreneurship. See photographs below of the interior of retail establishments; see photographs below of signs in cafes and restaurants.
- Also see photographs of signs on sidewalks in front of stores in Los Angeles.
- All over Los Angeles are examples of untrammeled creative entrepreneurship in a action.
- In Los Angeles people from all walks and from all countries in the world live together in peace.
- The people I associate with in Los Angeles feel like Los Angeles is an extension of their hands, their feet, their souls, and their minds.
Human Spirit
The current Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court has publicly announced that she taught her daughters to not waste opportunities.
In “What I told My Daughter – Lessons from Leaders on Raising the Next Generation of Empowered Women” (by Nina Tassler), Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye is quoted as having taught her daughters to follow rules strategically when they were younger.
Difference and Grit Are Constantly on Display in Los Angeles
The current Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court is the first ethnic “minority” and second woman to hold that position in California.
After law school and the bar exam in 1984, her only plan was to get a job.
With no leads, no connections, this Filipina youngest child with two dominant brothers and no holds barred applied for a job everywhere.
During her trial court tenure, she became a wife and a mother. For a few years she put the legal community on hold and went deep undercover into nursery school, Brownie troops, basketball and gymnastics and let everybody know she was putting family first and they should too.
After reflecting on her career path, she has offered her now college age daughters this career advice: Ignore the rules of the common career trajectory. Work hard. Maintain a good attitude. Serve the public – and never forget to follow your inner Heelys.
There are lots of people showing their grit in Los Angeles.
Below is a photograph of me standing next to a Sumo Wrestler at an international championship sumo wrestling match held in Long Beach.
Below is a photograph of the program for that match.
Japanese food was sold at the refreshment stands and by vendors walking around the bleachers at the Sumo Wrestling match.
Below is a photograph I took at a bull fight held in Artesia.
Portuguese food was sold at the refreshment stands and restaurants at the bullfight.
Long Beach and Artesia are two of the 88 separate cities in Los Angeles County.
Beautiful Man Made Creative Things Are Right in Front of My Face in Los Angeles
On Easter Sunday (March 27, 2016) my sister Toby Salter sent me a photograph (via email) of the view of the sun setting at nightfall on Easter Sunday (March 27, 2016) from the balcony of her room in Hawaii.
See photo below.
I in turn sent her an email in which I said:
Toby,
That is an absolutely gorgeous view.
Nature creates things (including sunsets) of absolutely gorgeous beauty, and so does man.
There is beauty everywhere if you know where to look for it and how to look for it.
For example, at the Terroni Italian Restaurant on Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, Leah (my youngest daughter) had a ricotta & mascarpone cake with almond crust espresso chocolate sauce drizzle and an espresso after lunch yesterday.
Gary
I might have added:
- In Los Angeles I see examples of unbounded creativity everywhere.
- In Los Angeles I have seen paintings on the walls of commercial buildings that take my breath away.
- In Los Angeles many creative people have left their footprint.
- I know from personal experience that Los Angeles is a place where creativity, imagination, individuality and freedom of expression flourish and are appreciated.
The photo below is a photo of my youngest daughter Leah looking at the cake Leah and I enjoyed for dessert and cups of espresso coffee we drank at the Terroni Italian Restaurant on Beverly Blvd. in West Los Angeles on Saturday, March 26, 2016.
Currently Leah is attending law school in Los Angeles, a student in law school. As an extra-curricular activity, Leah writes a travel blog.
Recently a reputable Himalayan tourism company read Leah’s blog, was impressed, and informed Leah the company is setting up a meeting to consider giving her an offer.
The photo below is a close up picture of that cake.
Below is a photograph I took of a painting on the wall of a commercial building fronting on North Highland Blvd. in West Hollywood, while I was with Leah on Saturday, March 26, 2016.
Below is a photograph of another painting on the wall of another commercial building fronting on North Highland Avenue which I took on North Highland Avenue in West Hollywood while I was with Leah on Saturday, March 26, 2016.
Free Expression and Creativity Are Alive and Well In Los Angeles
Below is a photograph I took on February 4, 2016 of a painting on both sides of a doorway into a restaurant on Rose Avenue in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, California.
Below is a photograph I took on February 17, 2016 of a sign on the sidewalk in front of a store on Rose Avenue.
Below is a photograph I took on February 17, 2016 of painting on the wall in a men’s room above a line of urinals in a restaurant on Rose Avenue.
Below is a photograph I took on February 17, 2016, of an exterior staircase from street level to the second floor of a commercial building on Rose Avenue.
Below is a picture I took on February 16, 2016 of that building.
Below is a photograph I took on February 16, 2016 of a painting on the wall of a commercial building abutting a parking lot on Rose Blvd.
Below is a photograph I took on March 2, 2016 of a sign in the Lady Chocolatt cafe on Wilshire Blvd., in West Los Angeles.
Below is a photograph I took on December 5, 2016 of a painting on the wall of the Unurband coffee house on Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica.
Below is a photograph I took on February 16, 2016 of a commercial sign painted on the wall of a coffee shop on Main Street in Santa Monica.
There Is An Untrammeled Spirit of Entrepreneurial Adventure in Los Angeles
The end product of the endeavors of people from all over the world who are doing business in Los Angeles is a smorgasbord of experiential delight.
Below are photographs of our office manager Tamara Jones and assistant office manager Leslie Gonzales living life sweetly on Thursday, March 10, 2016 while they holding packages of assorted mini-cupcakes I bought for them that morning from a food truck in front of our office on Ventura Blvd., in Encino.
I bought the mini-cupcakes shown in the hands of Tami and Leslie at the Dreamy Creations Cupcake Truck shown in the photographs above, at a food truck, which was located literally on Ventura Blvd., directly across the street from the office building in which I work.
The packages of mini-cupcakes shown in the photograph above contain a strawberry mini-cupcake, a banana caramel chip mini-cupcake, a cinnamon square mini-cupcake, a campfire (marshmallows) mini-cupcake, and either a birthday (rainbow sprinkles) mini-cupcake or a black and white mini-cupcake.
Below is a photograph of the Dreamy Creations Cupcake truck from which I purchased those packages of assorted mini-cupcakes pictured in the photographs above.
You may learn more about Dreamy Creations Cupcakes at http://www.dreamycreations.com. Phone 1-818-882-0120. Dreamy Creations’ bakery is located at 19451 Business Center Drive, Unit 114, Northridge, CA 91324 USA.
Below are a series of pictures I took on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, of one of Lady M Confection’s menus at the Lady M Confections Boutique store located at 8718 West 3rd Street, in the West Hollywood, California.
I am told that the Lady M. Confections is owned and run by a Japanese man.
While in the Lady M Confection’s boutique cafe I was given two menus listing cakes served.
On the shorter menu were listed 10 different signature cakes, two different seasonal cakes, and two different individual deserts that were/are for sale in that store.
Below are two photographs taken by me which show ten “Signature Cakes” on one of Lady M Confections’ West Hollywood’s boutique cake store’s menu.
On the larger Lady M Confections menu was/iss listed seven different “Mille Crepes”, six different “Chocolate Cakes”, eleven different “Assorted Cakes”, four different “Cheesecakes”, three different “Tartes”, and six different kinds of “Individual Deserts.”
While in Lady M Confections boutique cake store, I had a slice of Lady M Confections’ “Couronne Du Chocolat” Signature Cake and a cup coffee.
It was delicious. It consisted of alternating layers of moist chocolate sponge cake and dark chocolate mousse.
In addition to its West Hollywood boutique cake store, Lady M Confections has three boutique cake stores in Manhattan, one in Boston, one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore.
For further information about Lady M Confections go to http://www.ladym.com.
Below are photographs of a few of the many food trucks I have seen across the street, on Ventura Blvd., when I have walked out of my office building at lunch-time on week days (Monday through Friday).
Below is a photograph of the rear of a food truck serving Middle Eastern Food which I took when I walked out the door of my office on Friday, March 4, 2016.
Below is a photograph of the menu posted on the side of the food truck facing the sidewalk.
Below is a photograph of a food truck serving “Polish food” I took when I walked out of my office a few days before I took the photograph above.
Below are two photographs of the menu attached to the “Tomski Sausage” food truck.
Below are photographs of a food truck serving/selling Japanese comfort food on Ventura Blvd., across the street from my office.
Below is a photograph of another food truck on Ventura Blvd. across the street from my office which was selling Texas Smoke House dishes which I saw when I walked out the front door of my office.
Below is a photograph of a food truck selling lobster rolls.
Below is a photograph of a menu on that food truck listing products being sold from that truck.
Directly across the street from my office, on Ventura Blvd., late on Friday morning, March 4, 2016, as I was walked out of my office building to take a “coffee break”, I saw a food truck [owned and operated by two young and beautiful women] selling Gourmet Brazilian Bonbons – handmade Brazilian truffles.
Below is a photograph of their food truck, taken by me from across the street.
Below is a photograph of the two owner operators of the food truck, Catalina Guasco and Stella Stoianov.
They call their business Brigadeiro Truffles. They sell individual bonbons and packages of bonbons.
Below is a photograph I took of a package of their bonbons.
Their motto is: “We make life sweet.”
Below is a photograph I took of the menu Catalina and Stella had on their food truck.
You can find out more about Brigadeiro Hand Made Brazilian Truffles at http://www.brigadeiroandco.com, phone 1-818-415-2494.
Creativity Permeates the Air in Los Angeles
Creativity permeates the air I breath in Los Angeles.
On Saturday, March 26, 2016, I went with my 28 year old daughter Leah to the JAMES PERSE store located at 1128 North Highland Avenue, in the West Hollywood section of Los Angeles.
James Perse is a clothing designer. His store on North Highland Avenue takes up an entire converted warehouse.
Advice: Spend An Hour Walking on North Highland Avenue in West Hollywood
While driving down Highland Avenue I saw various paintings painted on the commercial buildings next to and within a block or two of the JAMES PERSE store.
Below is a series of photographs I took of a single painting on a single wall of one of those buildings.
More Advice: Wander into the “Free City” Store Across the Street from the James Perse Store on North Highland Avenue in West Hollywood
On Saturday, March 26, I left my daughter in the JAMES PERSE store, and crossed the street.
Below are two photographs of an exterior wall facing the parking lot of a building across the street that caught my attention.
I took the photographs below photographs while in the parking lot of that store.
I entered that store through a door next to the parking lot.
Below is a photograph of the entry which I walked through to enter that store from it’s parking lot.
When I got inside that store I felt like I had felt when I saw Tomorrow Land at Disney Land when I was a child.
Below are photographs of some of the thinks I saw inside that store.
Below is a photo of a giant canvas on the floor of that store.
The “hoodie” shown on canvas below is in stock and being sold in that store.
Below is a photo of a giant canvas hanging from the ceiling rafters in that store.
The hoodie depicted on that canvas is for sale – is also being sold – in that store.
The canvas in the photograph (below) is hanging from a wall in that store.
The “Artist Wanted” T-shirt depicted on that canvas is for sale in that store.
By the way, the price of the “Artist Wanted” T-shirt (shown in the picture below) is $150.00.
That store appears to be a converted warehouse.
The interior walls of that store are covered with banners, framed artwork, movie posters, album covers, and merchandise for sale in that store.
My eyes couldn’t stop traveling from signage and objects d-Arte on display to the colorful display of the merchandise being sold.
Below are photographs of some of the things I saw in that store.
Here Is What You Will See Around the James Perse Store
Below are a few of the photographs I took on Saturday, March 26 of painting on the walls of building on North Highland Avenue I saw within a block or two of the JAMES PERSE store.
See photos below.
Artistically Enriched Environments
In Los Angeles a wide variety of artists are at work each day using their skills and know how to creatively enrich public and private places.
I am a beneficiary of that.
For example, below is a photograph of a set of window coverings an artist (Jan de Swart) gave me as a surprise thank you gift one day.
Jan made those widow coverings on his own initiative. They are of his own design. He made them himself with his own hands.
The brightly colored banners (shown in the photograph below) are sections of sailboat sails Jan cut and sewed together.
Without telling me he was going to do so, on his own individual initiative, Jan came over to my condo at the beach in Playa del Rey one day with a crew of workers, after calling to make sure I was home, and installed those banner window coverings over the twenty foot high windows in my living room, and also installed the brightly colored plastic panel in one section of one of the windows in my living, and also installed a 17 foot high sculpture shown in the pictures below. — The brightly colored block covering the window is a large piece of plastic upon which Jan had glued individual shaped and colored pieces of plastic he had manufactured. Jan did all of this on his own initiative.
Below is a picture of my eldest daughter Terra and me siting on a couch in my living room in front of those banners. The bottom of the 17 foot high sculpture Jan created is also shown in that photograph. Jan designed, created, built and installed those banners and sculpture on his own without any input from me. He gave me the sculpture and and installed it in my living room as a surprise gift — it was/is a gift that was/is not tied to any date or event or occurrence.
Below is a close up photograph of a section of that sculpture.
Jan also gave me, among many other things, a free standing object d’ Arte which is shown in the photograph below.
By the way, Terra is now married, has children, and has a job.
- Terra has a husband and two children: a fourteen year old girl and a twelve year old boy.
- Recently, Terra gave a presentation in Atlanta attended by 4,000 sales people from all over the world who work for the software company as Terra.
My Advice: Don’t Let the World Pass You By
If you allow the convenience of doing the same thing over and over again trap you – if you stop doing anything new [whether because you are pressed for time and/or because you are lazy] – the world will pass you by.
Life is meant to be lived.
Don’t go to the same places time after time, all the time.
Going to the same places all the time is stultifying.
Go to new places.
Go to mentally stimulating events.
There is an amazing variety of things a person can see and and an amazing variety of things a person can do in Los Angeles at all times.
The number and variety of things a person can do in Los Angeles is astounding.
For example on my calendar on April 5, 2016 I saw the following:
- I have been invited by the international Mintz Levin law firm to attend (via the Internet) a program on bio-similars presented live in Mintz Levin’s Washington, D.C. office on September 7, 2016.
- I have been invited by the Los Angeles Times and the American Bar Association to attend book signings on Saturday, April 9, 2016.
- I have been invited by the Pacific Council on International Policy to attend an event on foreign policy on Tuesday, April 12, 2016.
- I have been invited by Cornell in Silicon Valley and the Cornell Club of Los Angeles to attend a program on “Virtual Reality” on Wednesday, April 13, 2016.
- I have been invited by the California Institute of Technology to attend a Jazz Concert on Saturday, April 16, 2016.
More Advice: Be of Exuberant Spirit
To live is to dare.
All living things either grow and keep growing or stop growing and rot.
SUMMARY
People from all over the world bring their knowledge, their ideas, their experiences, their customs, their habits, their traditions, their cultures, their heritage, their tastes, their foods, their native clothing, etc. from their country of birth with them when they arrive in Los Angeles.
As a result of that, it is easy for me to be exposed to new things on a daily basis in Los Angeles.
As I was exposed to the “knowledge”, different ideas, different tastes, different foods, different clothing, different beliefs, different heritages, different opinions and different points of view of people I met from other parts of the world while I have been living in Los Angeles I noticed several things happened (a) my humanity became more fully activated, (b) my creativity was stimulated, (c) my ability and inspiration to innovate increased, (d) my imagination was stimulated, (d) I had more energy (e) my life became richer, and (f) I became more worldly, cosmopolitan, refined and cultured.
Bikinis That Are Well-Behaved Seldom Make History
Below is a picture of a swimsuit carry bag I saw in the store window of a swimwear store fronting on Beverly Blvd. (in Los Angeles) I walked by on Saturday, March 26, 2016.
My Lunch with My Daughter Leah on Saturday, March 26, 2016
After Leah finished “window” shopping at the JAMES PERSE store we left.
As we were driving back to my house we looked for a place where we could stop to have lunch.
By pure unplanned chance, after we left the JAMES PERSE store and while we were on our way back to my home Leah and I stopped to have lunch at the Terroni Italian Restaurant located at 7605 Beverly Blvd.
Neither Leah nor I had ever eaten at the Terroni Italian Restaurant in Los Angeles before.
Below are pictures I took of the food we ate and of Leah enjoying her lunch.
Leah and I got together on Saturday to discuss “A Man for All Seasons”, a book Leah had been assigned to read in her jurisprudence class
Below is a picture of Leah looking at a speech made by Sir Thomas More in “A Man for All Seasons” and of the bottle of the Kromback Weizen beer Leah had ordered to drink to drink with the pasta entree she had ordered.
Kromback Weizen is a light German beer.
Leah is a woman of considerable refinement and cultivation.
Leah explained to me that in Berlin, Germans drink beer (not wine) with pasta.
That was why Leah had ordered a bottle of Kromback Weizen to drink while eating pasta.
Leah had Linguin Vongole as an entree for lunch.
Below is a picture of the Linguin Vongole Leah had for lunch.
I had a sip of the beer Leah ordered and then ordered a bottle of that beer for myself.
That is why there are two bottle of beer in the picture above.
Below is a photo of the pasta entree I ate for lunch — Canna a Mare.
Below is a close up photograph of that pasta dish.
Additionally, Leah and I shared a Piatto A Stutare.
Below are two photographs of that dish.
For desert we shared a ricotta & mascarpone cake with almond crust espresso chocolate sauce drizzle and each had an espresso.
See photo below of the Torta di Ricotta cake Leah and I shared for desert..
See two photos below of our Torta di Ricotta cake and our two cups of espresso.
Leah wanted more caffeine.
After lunch, we walked next door to a coffee house owned and operated by Koreans a few feet away (Andante Coffee Roasters) where we each had a Latino Latte.
Los Angeles Is the Ideal Place for Industrious Creative People to Thrive
The ideal environment to nourish creative people is one that encourages and permits a free uncensored exchange of ideas.
Creative people cannot stand to be patronized.
Creative people do not permit themselves and do not allow themselves to be considered conventional in any way.
Check out the photographs below, taken by me on March 12, 2016, while I was on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, California.
The picture below is painted on the side wall of a store on Abbot Kinney Blvd.
The photograph below is of the entry to a store on Abbot Kinney Blvd.
The photographs below are of paintings I saw painted on the walls of buildings on Abbot Kinney Blvd.
The photographs below were taken of me while I stood in front of various buildings on Abbot Kinney Blvd.
The Kind of Society Where Talent and Extreme Individualism Can Flourish
Los Angeles is a society and an environment where talent and extreme individualism flourish.
My idea of a well rounded healthy life style includes (a) eating dreamy creation cupcakes (see photographs shown above), (b) eating gourmet chocolates (such as those shown in photographs shown below), (c) drinking authentic Turkish coffee (see picture of me drinking authentic Turkish coffee in a Bosnian cafe in Los Angeles, shown below), (d) eating gourmet cakes, and (e) being exposed to the life styles and pleasures people other parts of the world enjoy. I believe that is part of what life is all about.
Enjoying the Art of Life
There is something extremely satisfying to me about seeing women enjoying the art of life in another part of the world as depicted in the picture below.
The women in the picture below are relaxing, they are mellow, they appear to be relaxed and worry free.
Cultivating the Creative Mind – Clothing
The clothing we wear and everything we do sends a message, is a statement, which identifies who we are, what we believe, what is on our mind, what we are thinking, what is important to us that we want to communicate to other people, what is happening that is of importance to us, etc.
Below is a photograph I took in a coffee shop across the street from where I work.
Below is a photograph I took in a elevator in the high-rise building in which I work.
Below a photograph of a woman wearing a T-shirt I took on March 8, in front of a coffee shop across the street from where I have my office in Encino, Los Angeles County, California.
The photographs below are of the front and back of a T-shirt a French runway model (Femme Fatale) who has lived in Los Angeles for the past 23 years recently sent me.
High Style and Chocolate Connoisseurs in Los Angeles
Below is a photograph of of a hipster with his mother which I took on March 7, 2016, in a coffee shop across the street from where I work.
Below is a closeup photograph of that hipster.
Our office manager Tamara Jones is an extremely stylish woman.
Below is a photograph I took of Tami’s fingernails on the same day I took the picture of her holding the two packages of mini-cupcakes I gave her.
I am a man who wears many hats.
Below are two photographs of me taken on March 2, 2016, at Lady Chocolatt in West Los Angeles.
Lady Chocolatt is a great place for Belgium hot chocolate, freshly imported handcrafted Belgium chocolates, chocolate bars and bars of marzipan.
Below is a photograph of Lady Chocolatt’s hot chocolate menu.
Below is a photograph of a bar of imported Belgium chocolate purchased at Lady Chocolatt on March 2, 2016.
Below is a picture of a bar of Marzipan bought at the same time in that store.
Lady Chocolatt
At Lady Chocolatt chocolate is an art form.
You can vicariously enjoy that experience I had at Lady Chocolatt on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 by looking at pictures I took while there. You can see those pictures at https://garysmolker.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/chocolates-in-an-art-form-by-gary-s-smolker/
Below is a picture of one of the fun informative signs posted at Lady Chocolatt. I took that photograph, while I was in the Lady Chocolatt cafe on March 2, 2016.
Below is a picture of some of the candy that was on display on March 2, 2026, while I was enjoying myself reading poetry, tasting chocolates and sipping a latte at Lady Chocolatt.
Lady Chocolatt is located in West Los Angeles, at 12008 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California.
Californians Have A Spirit of Freewheeling Enterprise
The atmosphere here, in Los Angeles/California, is an atmosphere that seeks out originals, that prizes originals, that prizes originality, that appreciates and encourages creativity.
Unurban Coffeehouse
Below is a photograph of picture painted on the wall of one of my favorite coffeehouse in Santa Monica, California.
The lady who owns and manages the Unurband Coffeehouse in Santa Monica, is very clever.
See the photograph below of the sign she has posted above her one day old pastries.
Harry Truman, 33rd U.S. president once said:
A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities, and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.
All of the people who work at the businesses I’ve described above (i.e., the people who own and the people who work in the gourmet Brazilian hand made truffles/bon bons food truck,the lobsta food truck, the imported handcrafted Belgium chocolate shop, the Unurban coffeehouse) have contagious enthusiasm about what they are doing, about their products.
Each of those people made seemed so excited about their business, where they work and what they are doing that they might jump out of their skin right in front of me.
They are each a living example of the opportunities that make the American free-enterprise system work.
In Los Angeles Poor Taste Is Considered to be Worse than Poor Diplomacy
Stylish women of wealth in Los Angeles, and there are many of them, own and wear many pairs of sun glasses because they don’t want to squint.
Squinting causes wrinkles.
It is not unusual for a stylish woman of wealth in Los Angeles to own 20 or more pairs of sun glasses.
Stylish women of wealth in Los Angeles wear sunglasses when they are outside, in the sun.
They wear sunglasses when they are inside in a restaurant.
Below are photographs I took of three woman (who were complete strangers to me) sitting “inside” [in an enclosed patio] at a table at the Aroma Bakery Cafe in Tarzana/Encino, California, one morning – where I ate breakfast after my work-out at the Providence Hospital Tarzana Cardiac Rehab Facility.
The below photographs were taken at the Aroma Bakery Cafe at 18047 Ventura Blvd., Encino, California.
I saw approximately 20 women in the Aroma Bakery Cafe while I was eating my breakfast.
Nineteen of those women were wearing sun glasses.
Speculation: The one lady who was not wearing sun glasses probably forgot her sun glasses at home.
The Mantra of Stylish Women in Los Angeles is:
- Poor taste is worse than poor diplomacy.
- Why live life half-way?
- Exude sensuality and intelligence.
- Be liberal and avant-garde.
- Take affirmative action to avoid having wrinkles.
When I asked one of women, whose photograph is shown above, if she owned more than one pair of sun glasses, she told me she had brought two sets of sun glasses in her purse with her.
She also told me she needs to have many sets of sun glasses. She needs a different one or two sets of sun glasses to complement each of the outfits she wears; just as she chooses shoes that go along with the clothes that she will be wearing each day, she also selects which of her sunglasses she will wear to go along with the clothes she will be wearing.
Health Living Takeaway:
- Women in Los Angeles wear sun glasses because they don’t want to squint.
- Squinting causes wrinkles.
There is An Incandescent Celebratory Spirit in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, I find myself surrounded by people who are personable, extremely friendly, extremely outgoing, people who have a forward thinking fun and hospitable attitude, who have contagious enthusiasm, who want me to have joy in my life and to be efficient and productive.
For example, on Friday, February 26, 2016, while at an appointment with my skin doctor Millard H. Zisser, M.D., Dr. Zisser gave me a recipe for hot chocolate.
Dr. Zisser has an extraordinary sensitivity to everything going on around him, is really into what he is doing, and has an intellect that is extraordinary in its own way.
The recipe Dr. Zisser gave me was written by famed Pastry Chef Jacques Torres.
Spiritual Elixir
I frequently eat lunch at a Thai restaurant on Ventura Blvd. located a few blocks away from my office.
On, Thursday, February 18, 2016, a beautiful young Thai waitress — who I don’t know except as a waitress — told the man seated at the table next to the table in the Thai restaurant in which she works that I am her future ex-husband.
Forward thinking, forward acting, witty and creative working women like her abound – here, in Los Angeles.
On Monday (February 22, 2016) I went back to that restaurant,
I asked her if I could take her photograph.
She said okay.
I asked her to stand still while I photographed her.
She did.
I then asked her to smile.
She told me she didn’t want to smile.
I asked her why she didn’t want to smile.
She replied: Smiling causes smile lines. It cost $300 for a Botox treatment to remove those lines. Smile lines are “wrinkles”; I don’t want wrinkles.
As a personal favor to me, she stood still to be photographed and smiled. See photos below.
Today, Los Angeles is the world center of popular culture, the world center of “cool” and “being cool.”
Los Angeles exports popular culture to the rest of the world.
“Cool”
“Cool” is an art not a science.
There is no rule on what is “cool.”
“Cool” is intuitive. It is a feeling you have.
Being “cool” is being a rebel.
- But, you don’t have to be an outcast to be a rebel.
- You just have to break a small rule to be cool, but only a small rule, i.e., you can’t be a rapist.
- You have to have a sense of sheer glory-bound joyousness to be “cool.”
- You have to manifest a sense of self-belief in order to be “cool.”
There is a feeling of care-free celebration in Los Angeles.
- The people in the new civilization that has taken root in Los Angeles have a confident imperturbability.
- The principal organizing principle in Los Angeles is that “it has to be fun”; everything has to be fun.
Having a society that permits people to be “cool” (a) stimulates diverse thinking, (b) brings about change, (c) brings about evolution, (d) changes the dynamics of existence, (e) changes the dynamics of relationships, (f) brings about a questioning of what you want to be.
“Cool people” emote the jauntiness of a ship’s captain and all the optimism of a man embarking on a voyage he had planned for all of his life.
“Cool people” are invested with the spirit of carefree celebration.
“Cool people” deliver a bright new message, often their message is a bright new message of existential unconcern.
Being “cool” is a lighthearted declaration of independence.
Being “cool” its playing a little on the uncautious side.
If You Want to Tap Into Your Inner Cool Go to Los Angeles
“Cool” matters.
“Cool” is important.
The concept of “cool” — what drives cool — drives the global economy.
T-Shirts
T-shirts are an expensive visual luxury item in Los Angeles.
Stylish women, in Los Angeles, spend hours searching for the perfect T-shirt, whose finely woven and slightly transparent thread make it feel like cashmere.
Grown women and girls of all ages wear stylish T-shirts in Los Angeles.
Below are photos of two young ladies I took on Saturday morning February 20, 2016, while I was on a coffee-break at my local Starbucks Coffee Shop.
The photos below were taken by me with my iPhone at the Starbucks Coffee shop located at 14431 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys, California (a lower middle-class neighborhood a few blocks west of Van Nuys Blvd. on Burbank Blvd.).
The above pictures – taken inside a neighborhood Starbucks Coffee Show – are are example of the style consciousness and “coolness” of the people you will see everywhere in Los Angeles.
Everyone is style conscious and fashion conscious in Los Angeles.
See photographs below of T-shirts, each of which have a great deal of imaginative flair, which were displayed on a counter in a store on Main Street in Santa Monica, I visited on February 17, 2016.
The name of the store in Santa Monica is “Hip-Tique”
Hip-Tique is located at 2727 Main Street, Santa Monica, California.
In Los Angeles, as well as in all other “hip” places all over the world, T-shirts are considered chic attire, especially when they have a witty message.
Fashion and style consciousness (as it applies to what people wear) is in the air everyone breathes in Los Angeles.
What people wear is a form of status and social awareness in Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, the style of your goods transparently signals your social position.
However, Los Angeles has a rich, generous and diverse culture and therefore in Los Angeles, there is no simple link between one’s level of conspicuous consumption and one’s social status.
For example, on Sunday morning (February 20, 2016) a female friend took me to a Bosnian Cafe in Los Angeles to enjoy “authentic” Turkish Coffee with her.
That was a “priceless experience.”
Sunday Morning, February 20, 2016 at A Bosnian Cafe in Los Angeles
I spent Sunday morning (February 21, 2016) with my lady friend of mine [who by the way was born in Persia/Iran and speaks many languages and has friends all over the world and from all over the world] at Aroma Cafe, a Bosnian Cafe, in West Los Angeles, located at 2530 Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. 90064.
The photograph below was taken when I just began drinking Turkish Coffee.
The photograph below was taken after the Baklava I ate arrived while I was drinking Turkish Coffee.
The Turkish Coffee was served in a copper container on a copper plate.
Below is a photograph of the container my Turkish Coffee came in, the coffee cup I poured my Turkish Coffee into and the spoon I was given to stir my coffee.
The coffee cup came with two cubes of sugar in it.
The custom is to put one cube of sugar in your mouth before you pour the coffee then sip your coffee after you have put one sugar cube in your mouth.
The coffee dissolves the sugar cube in the coffee cup and the sugar cube in your mouth dissolves while you sip your coffee.
Below is a close up of the container full of Turkish Coffee in which my Turkish Coffee was served.
Below is a close-up of the ornate coffee stirring spoon.
Traditionally Turkish coffee is served with a piece of sweet.
The pink square in the photo below is the “sweet” that was served with my Turkish coffee.
The Baklava was incredibly sweet and moist.
The copper plate on which the coffee container was presented was very ornate.
Many grocery items sold in Bosnia are now also sold in this cafe.
Below are photos of some of those items.
Strong Turkish Coffee at a Book Swap in Los Angeles
If you like strong authentic Turkish Coffee I strongly recommend you try a small cup of authentic Turkish Coffee at that cafe. the Aroma Cafe in West Los Angeles, located at 2530 Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, California.
If you were in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 12, 2016 you could have gone there for an evening of conversation, fun and a book swap.
Churros Calientes
Churros Calientes is located at 11521 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90025.
Below is a picture of a cup of hot chocolate I had at Churros Caliente.
The hot chocolate was so thick it was served with a spoon.
After drinking the hot chocolate pictured above, I drank an iced mocha drink (photograph below) to clear my throat.
Below is a photograph of the Churros Calientes menu posted on a wall in the Churros Calientes Cafe and a photograph on the wall of hot chocolate being poured into a cup.
So far, my favorite hot chocolate is the hot chocolate served at Churros Calientes in West Los Angeles.
A Taste of Traditional Food
Los Angeles is a cosmopolitan city with people from all over the world who grew up with every “traditional” food imaginable.
The photos below were taken at a local family restaurant in Los Angeles (the Guelaguetza, located at 3014 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90006, phone 1-213-427-0608) on Sunday, March 6, 2016 by a friend of mine while eating dinner there with her family.
Soul
For creative people, being cool is more important than the accumulation of material wealth.
What you do, how you do what you do and what you possess signal your discretion, your refinement, whether you are “cool” and your capacity to navigate life.
The people I am surrounded by value embodied wealth (such as strength and vitality, i.e. good health), relational wealth (i.e., social ties), intelligence, cooperativeness, leadership, creativity, emotional stability, positive attitude, good “values” (including the ability to delay gratification) multifaceted tastes, connoisseurship and having “soul.” They believe time you have devoted to your soul is the best use you have made of your time.
A lot of people loose the goodness of their soul on the way to success or in the struggle to stay alive. That is what Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye is talking about in the “What I Told My Daughter.”
According to an email I recently received from a “cool” person,
On his death bed, Alexander the Great summoned his army generals and told them his three ultimate wishes:
- The best doctors should carry his coffin …
- The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery …
- His hands should be let loose, so they hand outside the coffin for all to see.
Copyright © 2016 Gary S. Smolker, All Rights Reserved
Gary S. Smolker 