Feb 23, 2008

Furry Pigs

The mangalitsa, aka mangalica, is an ancient Hungarian breed of pigs, descent straight from wild boars. I had known of them for a long time, but I used to think they were just a curiosity like the Hungarian longhorn cattle that is kept around in the Hortobagy National Park for the entertainment of tourists. However, thanks to Michael Ruhlman I've learned that this furry piggy is also the source of superior tasting gourmet meat.

It turns out that there is a farm in California that not only raises these pigs but does it in a sustainable and organic way. You can learn all you want about them from their home site
or blog. There are even a bunch of video clips of the pigs doing things that pigs do. The piglets are incredibly adorable.

Feb 9, 2008

The low rider is a little higher

It was a beautiful day today so I decided to go out and maybe photograph something. I was just driving around without any set idea. I drove west on San Fernando Road for a while, then started zigzagging around. I was cruising past a park when I was blinded by chrome. There were a bunch of beautiful restored old cars in the small parking lot. I had to pull over and take a closer look.
I grabbed my camera and strolled up to check out the cars and the gathering. There was even a DJ playing groovy tunes of the likes of WAR. I was told he was Steven Chavez from EastLARevue.com. The crowd itself was interesting too, there was a few white people, but mostly Latinos. There were some great faces and facial hair, including a few stunning handlebar mustaches. And hats, hats were big, as were bandanas. There was even one gentleman in a full zoot suit.
I found out that the event was organized by a couple of auto clubs, and the some MTV shoot was supposed to happen later on. A walked around, took some pictures and realized that the cars were not only classic, beautifully restored, but also they were all low riders! I happen to think that low riders are the silliest car fashion, but these babies were hot.
"All my friends know the low rider
The low rider is a little higher

The low rider drives a little slower
Low rider, is a real goer

Hey

Low rider knows every street, yeah
Low rider, is the one to meet, yeah

Low rider don't use no gas now
The low rider don't drive too fast

Take a little trip, take a little trip
Take a little trip and see
Take a little trip, take a little trip
Take a little trip with me"
(WAR)

Feb 3, 2008

The Case of the Stinky Woman

You gotta love old ads. They sum up the attitudes of their era better than any scholarly study could. The heroine of this beauty is a young woman with marriage on her mind and only one thing standing in her way...
I love a happy ending. Oh by the way, this ad reminded me of Madmen - an excellent tv series on AMC.

I had to cut up the original ad and rearrange the panels to fit in this space and be readable the same time. Bellow is the original layout. Clicking on it will open a larger copy.
Of course it's far too easy to pick on old ads. Their manipulations seem so clumsy and obvious from the distance of time. The same is commonly overlooked contemporary advertising, but it's all there if you just look hard enough. I once saw a billboard advertising beer. There was a surfboard, the name of the beer in huge letters, a bottle, and a woman, or rather, part of a woman. She was present from crotch to boobs, no head, but I guess all the important bits were there. The headless female torso hawking beer seemed bizarre to me, but didn't seem to get much reaction from anyone else. I wish I took a photo.