Sunday, April 29, 2012

HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY



On my way back to NY I stop ed in Los Angeles and did a little more exploring.This time I combined my love of cinema,stars and cemeteries,paying a visit to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.





This is the final resting place to more of Hollywood’s founders and stars than anywhere else in the world. Originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, this is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles. It is located in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, adjacent to the north wall, or back, of Paramount Studios. Founded in 1899, Hollywood Forever Cemetery is now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Visitors come from all over to pay respects to Johnny Ramone, Cecil B. DeMille, Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, and hundreds more of Hollywood’s greatest stars.









The cemetery is active and regularly hosts community events, including music events and summer movie screenings on weekends,bringing an average of 3.000 people.

















One of my all times favorites




How fitting for all this stars to be buried under the Hollywood sign in the background

A bientôt,

Pierre Candra
for NicNat Chat!
            


Thursday, April 26, 2012

HAPPY HOURS !


When in vacation,other then the sun and the pool what I really enjoy when in Palm Springs is the ritual of happy hours and specially the fact to go in the yard and pic-king up the grapefruits off the tree and start the cocktails.


The official drink in my house is the Sea Breeze but doing it with fresh juice  make all the difference.


Sea Breeze Cocktail

1 1/2 oz vodka
4 oz cranberry juice
1 oz grapefruit juice

Pour vodka over ice into highball glass. Add mixers. May be garnished with a wedge of lime.

This trip I came up with a new drink,could not find anything approaching on the web,it’s a variation on a Mojito,so I call it Palm Springs Mojito.


Palm Springs Mojito

1 part Malibu Rum
2 parts grapefruit Juice
Club Soda

How to mix the drink
In a glass pour the grapefruit Juice 1/2 tea spoon of sugar,muddle 6/8 mint leaves.Fill with crushed ice,pour the Rum and finish with some Club Soda.
If you like strong drinks just add some rum and if your grapefruits are really sweet forget the sugar.


Enjoy around the pool...

A bientôt,

Pierre Candra
for NicNat Chat!
            




Monday, April 16, 2012

CABOT YERXA Pueblo Museum


If you have been following me for a while you know that I love Art & Craft.
While in the California desert I did stumble on a wonderful story,Cabot Yerxa story.


Before settling in the California desert, Cabot Yerxa led an adventurous life, traveling to Mexico, Cuba, Alaska and studying art in Paris. 



In 1913 Cabot homesteaded 160 acres in what is now Desert Hot Springs. Pressed for water, he dug a well with pick and shovel, discovering the now famous hot mineral waters of Desert Hot Springs.
Cabot began construction on his pueblo-style home in 1939 and worked on it until his death in 1965 at the age of 81.


The structure is hand-made, created from reclaimed and found objects. The lumber is all "recycled". Poles were retrieved from mountain floods, many railroad ties were used and some timbers came out of the Metropolitan Aqueduct tunnels. Bent and rusty nails were saved to straighten and use again.






The Pueblo is four-stories, 5,000 square feet and includes 35 rooms, 150 windows and 65 doors. Going through the house you will notice many unique features: including windows and doors collected and reassembled from abandoned homesteads (loved the strange window paneling), old telephone poles, wagon parts and many other materials used creatively. Unfortunately I was not authorised to photograph the inside. The Pueblo was abandoned after Cabot’s death. 





A Desert Hot Springs businessman and acquaintance of Cabot Yerxa, Cole Eyraud (1921 -1996), purchased the property and helped restore the Pueblo to its historic state. 




 After Eyraud's death, his family donated the property to the city of Desert Hot Springs to continue the legacy of a historic museum and art gallery.


A bientôt,

Pierre Candra
for NicNat Chat!
             





Tuesday, April 10, 2012

2012 Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival in New York City



In 1933, American songwriter Irving Berlin wrote the music for a revue on Broadway,It included his song "Easter Parade". The song became a standard, and fifteen years later was the basis for the film Easter Parade,a  movie I discoverd growing up in Paris.I will always remember Judy Garland strolling 5th Avenue in her best Easter outfit, and wanted one day to do the same.

Hat Master Stephen Jones.

The New York City Easter Parade has been an annual tradition since Civil War days and features marchers in elaborate Easter finery, including some of the fanciest Easter bonnets imaginable.Home mades,stores bought,retro styles,men and women wore all type of bonnets.
From little kids to draqueens,all of New York was strolling 5th Avenue
















The Easter parade is an American cultural event consisting of a festive strolling procession on Easter Sunday. Typically, it is a somewhat informal and unorganized event, with or without religious significance. Persons participating in an Easter parade traditionally dress in new and fashionable clothing, particularly ladies' hats, and strive to impress others with their finery. The Easter parade is most closely associated with Fifth Avenue in New York City, but Easter parades are held in many other cities. Starting as a spontaneous event in the 1870s, the New York parade became increasingly popular into the mid-20th century.








An old Irish adage stated "For Christmas, food and drink; for Easter, new clothes," and a 15th-century proverb from Poor Robin's Almanack states that if on Easter Sunday some part of one's outfit is not new, one will not enjoy good luck during the year.



The bests dressed award go to this two ladies,they knew how to work it.


And for the lucky one who are in NYC, you have until April 15 to go see the wonderful exhibit : « Hats : An Anthology by Stephen Jones «  at the Brad Graduate Center.One of the bests costume exhibit ever.


A bientôt,

Pierre Candra
for NicNat Chat!