The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas

This December at MOCA, visit a diverse array of exhibitions and gain additional insights through enlightening discussions, workshops, and screenings. Currently at the MOCA in West Hollywood at the Pacific Design Center, the Emory Douglas exhibit of posters and print offer a unique insight into the Black Panthers. Last Saturday, I stopped by the WeHo Library where I spent considerable time at the exhibit; impressed with the vast display of powerful graphic works that defined a party and mobilized a nation.

Give Good Green

Leave it to Barneys New York on Wilshire Blvd. to go green for the holidays! For those environmentally minded, they have prepared a list of “gifts for him” and “gifts for her” for all discriminating tastes. Prices range from cool to red hot! Happy shopping! Pictured here is their window decorated with recycled stuff. http://barneys.com/

Salvador Dali at LACMA

Throughout his life and career, renowned surrealist Salvador Dalí maintained a deep connection with film as an artistic medium. He collaborated with movie greats such as Luis Buñuel, Alfred Hitchcock, and Walt Disney, and created works influenced by Cecil B. De Mille and the Marx Brothers. Dalí: Painting & Film, coming to Los Angeles, the epicenter of film, aims to illustrate the cinematic influences and elements that are present in Dalí's work as well as the contribution he made to cinema. The exhibition brings together a variety of key pieces from Dalí's oeuvre, incorporating painting, film, photography, sculpture, and texts. Currently at LACMA through January 6, 2008. Pictured here with Deborah Avren, D.A.'s Office Event Planning under the eye.

A Happy Guest

Dear Wendy
I took the time to replay to you just to let you know that out of the thousands nights I spent in hotels around the globe. This is the very first time I got such a mail.
Great, simply great.
Sincerely

Ouri Shifman [Wieder Shifman]

Saul Leiter at M+B Gallery

Another marvelous show at M+B Gallery. The color and abstracted forms have a painterly quality in his photographs. Martin Harrison, editor and author of Saul Leiter: Early Color, writes, "...for him the camera provided an alternate way of seeing, of framing events and interpreting reality. He sought out moments of quiet humanity in the Manhattan maelstrom, forging a unique urban pastoral from the most unlikely of circumstances." The show goes through December 8, 2007.

The day after Thanksgiving

Q: What do you get after you're stuffed from turkey and trimmings?
A: Dessert, of course.
Enjoyed a magnificent dinner with friends. Karyl and Ali outdid themselves again this year. Each of our place cards revealed one word that we had to use in a sentence as we went around the room giving thanks. "Beauty" was written on mine and so many ideas swirled in my head.

Happy Thanksgiving

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

- Marcel Proust

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving.
Q: What do turkeys like to eat on Thanksgiving?
A: Nothing. They are already stuffed.

Cafe Rodeo Compliment

Ciao Wendy,
Again you showed us your warm hospitality. Friday night was divine and I must thank you as well as Jennifer for the wonderful treatment we and our guests had. They were very impressed with the dinning room and said they will be back for business lunches.
Thank you for all you kindness. Have a great Thanksgiving Day and hopefully we will talk soon.

Warm regards,

Kay Mansour [Mansour Travel, Beverly Hills]

Lights, Music, Merriment

The spangled crystals of the UNICEF Snowflake and the twenty Baccarat chandeliers on Rodeo Drive were lit by spectacular fireworks from the rooftop of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Saturday night. It was the annual Beverly Hills Lighting Ceremony on Rodeo Drive that brought out the best in family entertainment. I even saw Santa! If you didn’t have children in tow, there were open-houses at some of the best shops. With snowflakes falling around us, pictured here are hotel friends, Georg, Nadine and Michael leaving Porsche Design and heading for Garrard. Cheers!

A Happy Guest

Hello Wendy,It has been a pleasure meeting you at the [Bow Wow Beverly Hills] dog show!I enjoyed my trips to LA and of course much more when I stay at the Luxe!I just miss a swimming pool!!When do you built one??!Have a nice week end,Best,Adelaide [Adelaide Thomas, Eres]

Learn About Wine: French Night at Facconable

Ian Blackburn brought his 'no snob' approach to wine education for an evening of French wine and Champagne tonight at Faconnable Beverly Hills. Faconnable declared 'French style lives here!' as guests mingled among images from the new limited edition book, Paris 1962, offering a collection of photos depicting the exclusive world of 1960's Paris fashion. Thank you to the students of the Cordon Bleu Culinary School of Pasadena, Free the Grapes and Deborah Rogers, Store Manager, for a remarkable evening. Pictured with me is Ian Blackburn. http://www.learnaboutwine.com/

Bow Wow Beverly Hills

From November 16th to December 2nd, participating Two Rodeo and Beverly Hills Boutiques are hosting pet adoptions and offering luxury silent auction items. The holiday, pamper a pooch and lend a paw by adopting an orphaned dog. This evening was the runway show of dogs available for adoption through The Amanda Foundation which is dedicated to the rescue, care and adoption of homeless pets. Thank you to everyone for their loving concern.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, here's a thought for the day.

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.
George BurnsUS actor & comedian (1896 - 1996)

Brevity

A couple of weeks ago, Australians in Film hosted a screening of Lars and the Real Girl. We had a great time. Highly recommended. Here's Lance and the Real Chia.

Murakami Exhibit

The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA features more than 90 works by Takashi Murakami in various media spanning the early 1990's to the present. Thank goodness that I'm a member of MOCA or I would have been standing in line for an hour to get in, instead of getting a small silver sticker and motioned to the front door. Murakami definitely challenges the Western idea that fashion and fine art exist on different levels. While walking through the show, I was surprised by a freestanding Louis Vuitton boutique within the exhibition space. The mixing of art and commerce (salespeople selling LV-logo handbags created by Murakami for the show) left me feeling he was Japan's answer to Andy Warhol. On the other had he's made himself accessible to all while incorporating contemporary Japanese popular culture in the forms of animation and comic books into his works along with sources from Buddhist imagery. Highly recommended. Through February 11, 2008. http://www.takashimurakami.com/

Omega Presents

Omega celebrated 50 years of the Omega Speedmaster and its many contributions to space exploration at their Rodeo Drive Boutique last evening. There, I got a chance to meet legendary moonwalker, Brigadier General Charlie Duke, one of only 12 men to have walked on the lunar surface. In 1972, Apollo 16 astronaut, Charlie Duke, became the tenth man to walk on the moon. He and John Young had a record-setting 71 hours and 14 minutes stay. The view over one shoulder was filled with a brilliant full moon and over the other hung a crescent earth - a thin sliver of blue and white. “Fantastic!” Charlie would exclaim again and again upon his return. Despite freezing temperatures and zero gravity, the Speedmaster did not fail them, nor was Duke's charm lost on this admirer.

Cold Season - thought for the day

According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in the course of a year, Americans suffer one billion colds.
Rest, especially while you have a fever.
Drink plenty of fluids like water, fruit juices and clear soups. Fluids help loosen mucus. Fluids are also important if you have a fever because fever can dry up your body's fluids, which can lead to dehydration.
Don't drink alcohol.

Barbie party

A friend of mine who did marketing for Barbie dolls at Mattel told me once that she did a brief survey and found that little girls leave their Barbie dolls naked when they're not playing with them. Shannon, you were absolutely right. Chloe has a shoe rack full of them - all naked. They were my favorite doll when I was her age and I know she cherishes every bare and clothed moment with them.

Dracula

Q: Why wasn't the vampire working on Friday evening?
A: She was on a coffinbreak.
I tried to scare my two nieces, Maclaren and Chloe, when they got off the bus on Friday afternoon. But instead I made them laugh and run. All of their friends on the bus were laughing too. And probably talking about this crazy Aunt Wendy.

Welcome to Nashville

Welcome to Nashville! Last week I attended a travel show in Nashville, TN. They greet arriving and departing travelers at BNA Airport with some good ol' country mucis. It certainly made standing in long lines a lot more foot stomping.