Yesterday Margit & Persijn dropped by. We were at the postgraduate Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam at about the same time. They're staying in the US for six months. They'd been travelling through the US with a truck and a caravan and now they're staying and working in Los Angeles untill halfway through september. It was really nice to see them again. They live closeby so I'll visit them soon.
The Maxes made a barbeque which was quite elaborate with chicken, pork chops, chillibeans, coleslaw and such.
I saw so many people I just wanted to hang out by myself today, so I just started driving. First stop was 'Amoeba records', one of the biggest recordstores I've ever seen but they kind of disappointed me a bit in terms of second hand vinyl. Nevertheless I spent way too much money there. I don't think I've ever spend so much money at the same time on records. I bought ten records, some doubles, three second hand ones, mostly psychedelica compilations on colored vinyl. This store is just way too dangerous, I couldn't help myself. Luckily I don't spend anything on clothes ($3 is the most I spent in that division up to now - and that was a vintage 60's dress!).
Then I decided to just follow Sunset Boulevard (Amoeba is on Sunset). Sunset is about 35 kilometres in total and starts closeby RAID, in Downtown. It ends near Santa Monica beach. It changes all the time: from being just a more or less boring wide street into a businessstreet, into a very chique street (at Beverly Hills), into a mountainroad. I stopped at the first guy selling a 'map of the stars'. I bought an old map for 5 dollar. The new map was 10 and the only difference was the location of Michael Jacksons real house - where he died, but I've had it with MJ for now and my primary focus was now completely on Steven Spielberg.
His house is in a street further down Sunset, but it was much easier to find than I expected. I wanted to write him a note.
I've always been a big Spielberg fan, his 'Close Encounters of the IIIrd Kind' was immensely important for my work because of the way light is being used. When I watch 'Schindler's list' I always cry at exactly the same scenes. I even really like 'War of the Worlds', except for the fact Tom Cruise is in it. But what Spielberg did to the most recent Indiana Jones is just horrible. Last year I took my friend Jess to 'Indiana Jones and the Chrystal Skull' for his birthday and I've rarely seen anybody so disappointed after watching a movie. I also was quite shocked. And now Spielberg is busy doing a new Indiana Jones...
So I wanted to write him a note; a genuine expression of my (and Jess') admiration but also with a small remark concerning this Indiana Jones thing. I took out my drawing paper and my pens and sat down in front of the house next to one of the electrical fences. There was some landscaping going on in his garden so trucks drove in and out all the time. I didn't see anyone except for the workpeople.
I started 'drawing' this note when behind me a voice from this security voicebox asked me: "Can I help you m'am?". I had to move up to the voicebox to explain what I was doing: "I'm drawing.".
"Are you drawing the house across the street?" (I was facing the other side of the street). Offcourse I told him the truth (I'm a bad actor).
"No, I'm drawing a letter to mister Spielberg. This is his house, isn't it?"
"I can't comment on that m'am." the voice spoke
"I'm just going to sit here and draw, is that ok?"
"Alright"
So I continued the drawing/letter, which turned out quite nicely - a bit graphic novelly, some humour, nice colours. I must have been busy drawing for quite a while, maybe an hour when I decided it was almost finished and I needed to make a photo of it before I would hand it over to, well, the securityvoice. This was a mistake.
I quickly took two photos of the drawing, they were both not in focus but I didn't get a chance to make another one because immediately the voice from the voicebox said:
"M'am, you have just crossed the line, we're calling 911 right now and you are to leave the premises immediately."
I tried to explain to the voicebox how I didn't care for the house, but just for the drawing but the voicebox wouldn't give in so I quietly went back to my car. I really had to go to a bathroom anyway, otherwise I would have waited - maybe - to find out what would happen. I don't think they actually called 911, I think they just got tired of keeping an eye on me and I was hanging out way too long in front of the house. So I'm going to go back to the house next week or so and try to get the drawing/letter to mr. Spielberg somehow.
Well, I went back to the car - I needed to find a bathroom, some Starbucks would be best, I thought - when some guy on a racing bike started talking to me: "I just have to say that you're incredibly sexy, I'm soandso and I'm a moviedirector, here is my businesscard."
It was such an idiotic situation that I got a bit pissed off, so I explained to him not so nicely that I'm really not interested in getting into the moviebusiness (the guy was pretty old and not very attractive anyways, haha). Then he tried to tell me that he made a documentary about some wheelchairrace but, like I mentioned before, I had only a bathroom on my mind.
Which I found back on Sunset, where I hung around a bit. I didn't feel quite comfortable at this area. Too much money. The local supermarket was alright though. They didn't have any good fresh pasta - it is almost impossible to find fresh, undried pasta (not of Buitoni, that's horrible 'fresh' pasta) and this quest is my next priority. Tomorrow I'm going to try to find fresh pasta!
