As you can tell from the photo, this “Lucky Penny” souvenir of Los Angeles is substantially larger than the real thing. It’s also so incredibly heavy that I suspect if I melted down it could pay for someone’s college education. Although it’s dated 1920 it was made in the 1960’s. I’m not quite sure what the tie in was between a penny and Los Angeles but I’ve always felt incredibly lucky to live in LA so I maybe it’s just as simple as that.
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Categories:
Financial,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Travel souvenir
Protected under a Creative Commons license
The title of this post is somewhat misleading as although I really did go to the largest exhibition of Marilyn Monroe’s personal artifacts ever I assumed it wasn’t cool to take photos inside the Hollywood Museum where it took place so I only took my camera out to snap a few personal photos of my own. As I was driving home I was kicking myself that I didn’t break the rules and at least sneak a shot of Marilyn’s gigantic 1961 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine with her gloves and purse still lying on the back seat and the cap owned by the chauffeur, who owns the car to this day, still on the dash. There were checks written by Marilyn, personal notes, clothes, scripts, magazine covers including huge original photos of her Playboy spread – she graced the cover of the first Playboy ever – and anything else you could have ever hoped to see of Marilyn’s. The star, of course, was not here to celebrate with us having left the planet over 40 years ago but look who was wearing a gown that Marilyn wore to entertain the troops in Korea in 1951:
Categories:
Architecture,
Celebrity,
Health & Beauty,
Hollywood,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Memorabilia
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As Kitschmeister General I love, love, love the San Fernando Valley, just inches from the center of Hollywood and pumped full of Kitsch like a buffet line at Trader Vics. This is the first in a series of short films I’m making glorifying the Kitsch monuments that abound around me for bigisgood.tv. Part 1 features everything from Roman architecture and giant submarine sandwiches to clowns, frog families, volcanoes, giant fish, horses, shoe cars and very happy houses.
Categories:
Animals,
Architecture,
Art,
Crafts,
Creativity,
Food,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Nature,
Sculpture,
Self expression,
Transportation,
bad art,
video
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Last night I went to the launch party for the new season of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters at Street, the restaurant I co-own in Los Angeles and home base for one of the competing TCMasters, Susan Feniger.
Categories:
Food,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Party,
Street,
TV/Radio
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Nothing like using a clown to sell inebriates to get a kid revved up for adulthood. This 26 foot high sign has been a landmark in North Hollywood, CA., featured in enough movies to get a horse drunk. I’m happy whenever I drive by it but still think mixing an icon of childhood with liquor probably happened because the store owner was drunk when he thought of it.
Categories:
Forgot to Categorize,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Place,
Sign
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Mr. Wah Wah, the prized work of Bubbles the artist, has become the symbol of the Sound Of Soul fundraiser I throw every year in conjunction with Pacifica Radio Archives. This year it’s tomorrow and I’m going nuts trying to get ready for 300 people storming my house to eat outrageous soul food from Mom’s Barbecue House, peruse my collection of Pop Soul artifacts that the Godfather himself, James Brown, encouraged me to turn into a museum when he first saw it in the 1980s, and to celebrate the end of the first national tour of The Color Purple. (Second national tour begins in two weeks with a brand-new production and cast.)
Categories:
Afro,
Art,
Creative process,
Hair,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Party
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Fantasia as Celie. Fantastic cast, many from the original Broadway production. Five years of my life into the making of this baby. I’m very proud of it. If you’re in LA come to the Pantages.
Categories:
Afro,
Art,
Awards,
Book,
Celebrity,
Civil Rights,
Creativity,
Dance,
Hats,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
LPs,
Los Angeles,
Music,
Nature,
Self expression,
Songwriting,
empowerment
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These three beauties are the real deal, the kind that used to bake in the sun in Florida in the 1950’s glory days of pink flamingos, not the hideous shocking pink plastic repros that proliferate in catalogs today. These gals are made of solid concrete and weigh a ton; even the baby is a 10 pounder.
Categories:
Birds,
Los Angeles,
Nature
Protected under a Creative Commons license
Nothing more elegant than an astroturf encrusted dolly hauling a rickety paper flower doused cart with a box of flyers tacked on like a realtor would nail on a for sale sign. Not to mention it’s parked in an industrial section deep in the San Fernando Valley of LA. With this said, it seems like a perfect place to check out for a Kitsch lovers’ Cotillion. I can only hope the catering services within carry items like grilled Velveeta sandwiches, PB & Js and desserts made with Twinkies. That actually is my kinda place.
Categories:
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Transportation
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Today’s KOTD was supposed to be the launch of “Pigmy Will”, my new animated series on YouTube, but Facebook seems to be having stomach problems and I don’t want to risk a malfunction on the Pigmy’s big day. So instead, here’s a car I’ve always wanted to buy. Two front ends so you’re moving forward whichever way you go.
Categories:
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Los Angeles,
Transportation
Protected under a Creative Commons license
