MIA

Doc Vox here,

The blog is out of action for the moment. Be back soon though…

Add comment | July 14th, 2008

American Airlines, Fairfax & Hollywood

Flying domestically in the US is quite an experience, one to forget as fast as possible really. The flight from NY to LA is about 5 hours, which can seem very long when flying AA. Its not like other carriers the rest of the world may be used to, its like flying 10 years ago. Seats are tiny, leg room is a painful fantasy, and everything other than basic refreshments is price tagged e.g. crackers and cheese- $4.00. The food didn’t really worry me since what they offered was as tasty as renal failure, but paying for beer was where my ass really tightened. Having it free the way over could’ve been a reason to balance it out and pay for a couple, but maybe it was being wedged in between big drooling sleep man and little smelly old frail guy that made me want to reduce the amount of straddling and isle leaping as possible. ‘Trapped’ I thought to myself, and then the seat in front of me reclined. No matter, soon enough I fell asleep and somehow 3 hours or so passed. That was great, but theres nothing like waking up to crampy legs in between drooling sleep man and little smelly frail guy.

Not soon enough the flight is over and I proceed through LAX. I get a shuttle taxi and with a couple of dudes talking about Vegas, a quiet girl and a movie guy. The dudes talk at length about obscene entry fee’s to clubs and frat boy hotel rooms, movie guy is on the phone. He’s talking the producer talk about a script that they’re trying to get Ridley Scott to direct. That is the big difference about LA, everything is about that shit and its totally normal.

Eventually it comes to my stop, 603 North Fairfax- The Banana Bungalow. H’yeah. I’m right in between Beverly Blvd and Melrose, lots to see on those two streets themselves, but Fairfax also has a lot to offer. The next block over I find a string of great sneaker stores, the Turntable Lab, Canters Deli and Damanaies Pizza. My first destination is a pharmacy all the way up on Sunset and Fairfax, about 15 minutes walk. The pharmacy is crazy. I’ve never seen health food and vitamins a few isles away from so much alcohol. Huge bottle of Absolut or Bushimills for 20 bucks, but this isn’t a binge drinking kinda week so I settle for a 6 pack and some essentials to take back to the Bungalow.

Next I head out for Roscoes Waffle and Chicken to meet Heike, an old friend of my wife’s who lives in South Central LA but tonight is working at the Hollywood Roscoes. On my way in I walk past a girl sitting on the hood of a stunning old white Pontiac convertible. Its a like a still from some movie, already I’m being swept up in the nostalgia of this place and the culture of Hollywood. Once I’m in I explain to the head waiter that I’m here to see Heike and he leads the way. We greet and she says she’s taking her break now, all the guys who work there start making jokes about what kind of break its going to be. She takes me outside and says that her friend from Germany is waiting here for her. We walk straight up to the girl on the Pontiac and meet Deniz. Straight off the bat this girl is such a character, she’s petite but kind of blokey and speaks a little like Depp’s version of Hunter S. in Fear and Loathing. We all settle down in a Starbucks nearby and Deniz tells us of her recent experience with a Shaman who administered her first dose of DMT. According to her, thats one of the main services of a Shaman in LA, of course they do all the other things like massage and spirituality teachings etc. but they also bring some Dimethyltryptamine to the party.

We head back to Roscoes and I order a huge meal consisting of fried chicken, greens and waffles. This food is so good, but the size of the meal is staggering. Deniz says she needs to get ready to go out to a club and says I should come too. She has to get ready so she offers me a ride up to her place in the Hollywood Hills to chill there before we go out. LA’s laid back magic flow is starting to become more and more visible and I can’t wait to get in that car.

We jump in and she pumps the stereo and drives very fast. She tells me more about Shamans and how its been a long time since she’s seen Heike. We talk some more and she explains some of the surroundings, we are now on Mullholland Drive and can see glimpses of the city as we turn the hills. We are the only car on the road and its dark now, the city lights are glimmering and the air is cool and I look up at the sky. The next moment happened so quickly, but in that quick moment was a stretch of time that I’ll never forget. A shooting star passes so close I am convinced I could’ve stolen it had I been quick enough. It trails right over the middle of the car leaving two gaseous smokey tails. As it speeds ahead it burns up and dissolves right in front of us leaving iridescent particles for a moment. Deniz and I look at each other, shock and excitement hit at the same time. She’s never seen a shooting star in LA the whole time she’s been here. I’m beginning to see that tonight is all made up of random rare occurrences, a very special night indeed.

But thats all for now, be back on for more LA soon.

Doc

Add comment | June 16th, 2008

Schooled on vintage

So down in the Lower East Side there are many vintage shops to check out, there is great stuff in these places, all of it is well looked after and loved. One of them grabs my attention and I wander in. I’m busy browsing through and none of it is for me really but as I’m about to leave I see a pair of shoes that appear to be identical to the ones I’m wearing- Black Adidas Sambas. I remark “hey I’m wearing vintage and I didn’t even know it” and within a second the girl at the counter scans me and says

“they’re actually pre Adidas WW1 German sports shoes, they’re what your shoes aspire to be”

Bam! I raise one now to both my ignorance and her knowledge of old shoes.

Be back soon, stay close.

Doc Vox

4 comments | June 6th, 2008