Iggy and The Stooges on Jimmy Kimmel

A fan sneaks up behind Iggy during his performance on Jimmy Kimmel tonight. See it if you can. More to come.

Photograph by Lisa Jane Persky

Where do record executives come from?

Jimmy Walker (not to be confused with J.J.) was Mayor of New York from 1926 until he resigned under threat of prosecution for corruption within his administration in September 1932. The photograph below is dated 8/19/32. Within a month, he had fled to Europe to avoid the possibility of jail. He had returned by the 40's and became head of Majestic Records (Louis Prima's label at that time). He died two years before the label in 1946.

The movie "Beau James" is loosely based on his life and Bob Hope stars in his only dramatic role.

The picture below is exactly the kind of photo that draws me in. For you actors out there, we know that this depicts the ultimate "trust exercise". One man stands over another with a sharp blade at his neck. The second man seems clear on the fact that he is just getting a shave. So clear, in fact that he reclines, his eyes closed, his chest serving as a table for the foam castings. His hands appear to be relaxed. There is a woman standing in the shadows of the background smiling broadly. Other delicious details include the page-a-day wall calendar, a man's straw hat, the telephone. Without knowing that this is Mayor Walker, the information in the photograph is dramatic and compelling, and then there is the story of the photograph:

"WALKER GETS A SHAVE AND GETS NICKED"
ONE OF THE TIRELESS PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO HAVE PURSUED MAYOR WALKER SINCE HIS OUSTER HEARING AT ALBANY, FOLLOWED THE MAYOR INTO A BARBERSHOP TODAY AUG. 19 FOR A FEATURE "SHOT". THE MAYOR HAD NO OBJECTION BUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S FLASH BULB EITHER DAZZLED OR UNNERVED THE BARBER; RESULT, A SLIGHT NICK IN THE MAYORAL EAR. HIS HONOR MADE LIGHT OF THE INCIDENT. HERE IS THE PICTURE. MAYOR WALKER IS BEING SHAVED BY BARBER DAN RAMUNDO IN THE (presumably here is the name of the barbershop which is not legible due to disentegration of the paper). 8/19/32

and the story behind the photograph of a man who is probably under the greatest stress of his life and career.

A memorable example of this kind of moment in photography is Stephen Shames photo of Angela Davis outside the courtroom during her trial. She looks glamorous and relaxed in spite of the pressure she had to have been experiencing. The photograph itself is full of grace and completely uncontrived. It can be seen at the Steven Kasher Gallery 521 W. 23rd St. New York through May 26th. If you have a chance, you really should see this show.

Bureau photo of NY Mayor "JIMMY" WALKER

I recently purchased some old news bureau photographs.
More on this one tomorrow.
Or: You tell me. Comments?

Nashville Eats

This is where you will eat the most delightful homemade banana pudding--BUT only on weekdays.
Weekends are bp free at Elliston Place Soda Shop.

On to the next Bardo

Everything about life invites more questions than there are answers. He knew and enjoyed the challenge of that:

Tupper Saussy 1936-2007
Curious Modern

by me: Lisa Jane P.

Hollywood

Congratulations, Milena Canonero

People think it must be fun to wear all those beautiful clothes that costume designers provide actresses with. I've always loved working with the costume designer but wearing the clothes is another matter. Milena is a perfectionist and if you work with her you know that your clothes will be authentic to the period, right down to the underwear. Which brings us to Cotton Club, where Milena and I met. Imagine wearing stockings rolled up with wire bands like ladies did in the twenties. Imagine wearing them for up to eighteen hours a day. For a modern woman who loves her jeans and comfort, this takes alot of getting used to. Nevertheless, with Milena in charge, you will look and feel the part and the era day and night, which can give a tremendous boost to an actors performance. So she deserves alot of credit and the Oscar many times over. These awards are highly political. If they were a bit more democratic she would have many more. See her credits for yourself!
This is the dress Milena Canonero designed for me to wear in the scene where I come to the Cotton Club to confront my husband, Dutch Schultz (played by James Remar) about his mistress (played by Diane Lane). This is a bias-cut dress, beautifully executed by John Schneeman. At that time, bias-cut clothes had been out of fashion for many decades and very few people knew how to cut or make them. This was an amazing example of the style. The fabric and the cut gave the dress a kind of liquid movement. It is one of the few costumes I have ever wished I could have kept. You can also see that I am holding new script pages. Changes happened by the minute on that film but I always knew what I was going to be wearing and that it would be perfect for me. The photo is a production Polaroid.

Photograph of Milena Canonero by Lisa Jane Persky. All rights reserved.

Swingin' Squirrels

CLICK TO VIEW SOFTCORE SQUIRREL MOVIE

I've made a little video of some randy squirrels experiencing the rite of spring in the dead of (California) winter. It's up on youtube for anyone who is interested in animal antics. Some may say it's exploitation but HEY, these guys were using my hammock. I saw unnatural movement of the thing when I happened to glance out the window. Upon further examination, I found what you will see in the posting. I just happened to have a camera. I would advise against showing this video to children unless you want to answer more than the usual number of questions. Otherwise, only the window I took the pictures through is dirty.

Disclaimer: No animals were harmed during the making of this movie.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

image by lisa jane persky copyright 2007

Show me the "reel" Lisa Jane Persky

One of the tools of the acting trade is a "reel". Mine was made by a really terrific editor named Richard Prince. If you're looking for someone who is a great collaborator with a point of view, I recommend him. Have a look at the many moods of me along with the other fine work he has done on the Sample Reels page of his website. Click This

back in the day (a cringeworthy expression)

Why, just scads of people aren't lucky enough to see the so-stated apex of their era enshrined in their own lifetime--or unlucky enough. However it seems/feels to you, no one ever gets it quite right. It's the Rashoman nature of memory. In spite of the fact that BLONDIE, TALKING HEADS, TELEVISION and other bands of NYC's downtown scene never wanted to be called PUNK (unless, sensibly, they started making money being called it) Deborah Harry writes the intro. The picture of her on the adjacent page is more Debbie the Disco Princess but in most of the book, MOJO gets it right. It's heavy on the photos and a few of them are mine. You might want it. So here it is: PUNK: The Whole Story

Reddy Killowatt

Scroll down to my list of Blogs of interest and visit Mark Evanier's page to see a television spot featuring one of history's greatest brand characters: Reddy Killowatt!

electricians emoticons

can a colonoscopy be far behind?

As words go, medieval and medical are close. Very close. Had a mammogram lately?

Here's what the magical gizmo looks like.

It squishes, mashes and pulverizes as you watch your familiar flesh distorted to unrecognizability under plexiglas. All the bells and whistles of a radioactive device and convienient floor pedals for pressing pleasure. Inviting, huh? Women are used to feeling like meat but this baby makes you feel like the whole cow. It's not even prewarmed, friends. I had my pictures taken today by a tech who was. Warm. She kept telling me to relax. This is the most expensive feel I've ever been given but has the side advantage of being the cheapest boob job in town. If you walk in there with no breasts to speak of, by the time you leave, they will be stretched and pulled into something more, believe me. I kept wondering about the men who come in for mammograms. Yes, guys are supposed to have them too if there is a family history of breast cancer. So listen to your Uncle Lisa and go and get one. Very important. Seriously, if you are due, you gotta do it. Just so you can be in the club. The benefits of this secret handshake can be life saving.

Put the pedal to the metal, guys.

road 'o' snow

great flavors

and a dessert called
"Delights of the Naked Stranger":

Tubular Alarm Bells

I will never buy this kind of toothpaste tube again. At sea level, it oozes and runs like a boil and at high altitudes (say 1000 ft. and up) it is likely to gush and spew. Somebody or perhaps an entire committee thought this was an attractive solution to the wrong problems. Does everyone lose their screw top? Does anyone want to stand their tube on its head as this is meant to do? These are the only reasons I could come up with for such a phenomenal waste of plastic. If you use this, what do you do to keep the thing clean? Should I ignore the pooling pile of blue grit, the fact that you can't even squeeze the last inch or so of toothpaste out because of the hulking piece of plastic that the top presses into (which is rigid and can't be manipulated). You have to just let it run out into a puddle on a plate or something if you want to use it up. I won't, of course. I'm just going to throw it away and write this. Imagine the energy required to produce this piece of garbage that will be with us forever. It's true function is as a thing of waste. It's a tubal monument to bad design and it should just screw off.

You sir, Friendly.

I once participated in a paid (100 smackers) car forum at the L.A. Civic Center. I'm not sure how I got on the list but it was an interesting day spent with a few hundred other people getting in and out of all kinds of vehicles, inspecting them for flair, comfort and functionality and filling out surveys that asked for our responses. I needed alot more blank space for comments than they provided. I knew what I didn't like, what didn't work well for my aesthetic, my size, my needs. I don't think they took my comments too seriously because the next car I bought, though pleasing in most ways, still had the air conditioning vent that blew primarily on the driver's hand.

Design is usually decided by committee and that might be the best system we've got but the "too many cooks" syndrome can cause the group to miss the most obvious flaws. Design is a fascination of mine and this is an interesting interview in Newsweek with a guy I knew nothing about named Bill Moggridge. In his new book "Designing Interactions" he interviews other people who design our tech. In the Newsweek piece he quotes a venture capitalist, David Liddle who describes the "three phases of the adoption of technology", the first being enthusiasts, the second, the professional and the third the consumer.

If your range of responses to new tech design go from "How did they do that?" to "What on earth were they thinking?!" this should all be of interest. By the time something gets into the mainstream, to a customer/"consumer" with no special technological expertise (me), it is often still bloated with the complexities and sometimes the flaws of the first two levels of user. I would much rather be dubbed an "enthusiast" or a "professional", wouldn't you? Consumer sounds so leech or locust-like. Regardless of definition of terminology, if some of the hard and software were a bit more transparent and less flabby not only would I be enthusiastic, but I might even appear to be professional. Yeah, that’s what a consumer (read: novice) wants, isn’t it, the appearance of professionalism? Another thing Moggridge mentions in the interview is something Will Wright (SIMS creator) calls "loops of engagement" which include an easy to operate device that draws you in and further provides you with something to do that you can accomplish quickly and yet another slightly more complex phase and on and on. I love this phrase even if only because it sounds a lot deeper and more sinister than just providing levels of entertainment and difficulty. Remember the book of photos of advertising that supposedly had subliminal messages in the pix i.e.; the Howard Johnson’s plate of fried clams that supposedly looked like naked people writhing in delight? Remember when psychologists were saying all this internet technology was isolating?

The simple human requirements for the future in regard to design of the equipment we use are much the same as the past; communication leading to engagement, community, understanding and interactivity--except more of it and in an ever increasing range of ways. I'd hope and bet that most designers are really aiming to make every device as pleasing and simple and satisfying as an iPod or email.

It's now almost impossible to live unconscious of design in our daily lives. I'm one consumer who would like to be a more interactive part of the design process. When it comes to the product I need and/or want, I'm sure I'm an enthusiast if not a professional. Show me the Beta. I know I'll be reading Moggridge's book.

We WILL. Don't we?

Best article I’ve read this week. Maybe it makes you think. Maybe you do it anyway.
by Dennis Overbye in the New York Times on the matter of FREE (?) WILL

our local fox

2007

ew!

view from the road

Recommended Reading

Being in recuperative mode has it's rewards. I read Moby Duck by Donovan Hohn in the January 2007 issue of HARPER'S. This is an adventurous, thoughtful, philosophical piece that begins on the currents of the Northern Pacific, traverses the fluid definition of childhood, illuminates the environmental price of plastic and so much more. I don't want to spoil it for anyone. It's an enlightening adventure.

getting some reading done

I've been overcome by some creeping crud of late and it has me way down. Not the flu but some other character.
I haven't had an ounce of energy for blogging. My apologies to those of you who keep checking in. I hope to be well and posting for the shiny new year.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year

new picture

Van Smith, DIVINE.

Van Smith created Divine's look. His make-up and costuming skills have been widely imitated but he would happily admit to having copied from others including Jayne Mansfield and Clarabelle the Clown. He was my roommate in 1975 -- A great one, too. He made me read The Secret Life of Plants, laugh alot and always eat a sensible dinner. He passed away on Dec. 5. More about Van in this well written and researched obit from The Guardian.
This picture was taken by me in the dressing room of the Truck and Warehouse Theater on East 4th Street, NYC, where Divine and a cast of 11 (including myself) were performing 8 times a week in Tom Eyen's Women Behind Bars.

IT IS SASOUN!

Today, I’m telling you in no uncertain terms that if you love lamb and bread as much as I do that you must leave your computer now and go to SASOUN BAKERY (5114 SANTA MONICA BLVD. LOS ANGELES, CA 90029 and order some Lahmajune. No kidding around. There are other treats to try but get the Lahmajune as it comes out of the oven (which it does over and over for many hours each day) and you will achieve the kind of culinary satisfaction worthy of a three star listing in the Michelin guide.

Lahmajune is an Armenian “fast food” sometimes called Armenian Pizza. The crust is so crisp and thin that the usual pizza toppings would be insupportable. The ingredients are simple (lamb, tomato, onion, parsley, green pepper) and do not involve lard. They have an "A" in the window for more than just good hygiene. And look at the smiling people behind the counter. Irresistable.

See you there.

Judas Priest! It's Gary Valentine.

Since people are coming to my blog looking for Gary stuff, here is this (never before seen) Whisky photo and below that (never before read) Whisky fiction.