1987 240 DL Wagon

Neil Moss

Great underrated ceramicist from Torrance, CA.

EBAY AUCTION: Dries Van Noten Suit 36R

$227.00. No bids.

Growing Kale

Kale is one of the single best vegetables for maintaining good health, offering much cancer protection and being especially rich in vitamins A, C and K. Conveniently, kale is also one of the easiest plants to grow, being extremely weather tolerant and low maintenance.

Sow in rich and loamy soil with high nitrogen content and water regularly until the plants are established. In Los Angeles, you should grow from fall to late spring.

EBAY AUCTION: Sunspel Riviera Polo

Outbid again. $66.00. Congrats to the winner.

March 6 LAMA Auction Lot

Beautiful Ettore Sottsass Rug

Ray Kappe's House

Pacific Palisades, California.

Woody Allen Is Not Ever Going To Milk A Cow

Interview with filmmaker Werner Herzog.

"Another skill Herzog has advocated for filmmakers (and, I suspect, pretty much anyone else whom he considers truly worthy of respect) is the ability to milk a cow: 'If an actor knows how to milk a cow, I always know it will not be difficult to be in business with him.' Herzog has also previously claimed that when he walks into a room, he can tell who in there has previously had hand to udder. Or, at the very least, would.
'I can tell from miles away, yes,' he confirms. 'Woody Allen is not ever going to milk a cow.'"

Read HERE. Thanks to Ryan.

Bill Haast, A Man Charmed By Snakes, Dies At 100

Legendary snake handler finally passes on. Perhaps the snake venom was the key to his long life.

Story HERE. Video HERE

La Prisonniere

Dream sequence from Henri-Georges Clouzot's only movie in color.

Home Sweet Home

These are some pictures from Nate's birthday party over the weekend. Echo Park has to be one of the most distinctive neighborhoods to live in in the world. It's as close to being in the country as you can get in this big city.

COOKING RECIPE: Lao Crispy Rice Sausage Salad

This is my first attempt. Turned out pretty well! Thanks to Chez Pim and various sites for this initial recipe.

Ingredients:
1tsp dried chili
2 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1tbsp galangal, finely chopped
3tbsp lemongrass, finely chopped
2tbsp garlic, finely chopped
2tbsp chinese fish sauce
1 egg

10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. ground pork
2 oz. pork skin, boiled for 8 min then sliced very thin
2 tsp salt

2 red onions, cut julienne
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1tbsp green onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup young ginger, cut julienne
5 limes, 2-3 limes squeezed into 6tbsp lime juice, 2 more limes cut into 1/4 pieces.
1/2 cup peanuts
10-12 dried chilis
1 head of lettuce, broken apart
1 japanese or english cucumber, sliced
2-3 tbsp chinese fish sauce



Directions:

The night before serving...
Steam 2 1/2 cups of Jasmine Rice.
Scatter the grains on a cookie sheet and let dry overnight on the counter.

Making the paste....
Pound the galangal, tsp dried chili, 3 tbsp lemongrass, red onions and 2 tbsp garlic in a mortar and pestle.
In a medium bowl, mash the above paste, egg and fish sauce together by hand.

Making the issan sausage...
Pound the 10 cloves of garlic into a paste
In a large bowl, mash together the garlic, ground pork, pork skin, jasmine rice and salt. Knead the mix into very small balls.
Add 2/3 cups of water to a pan.
Steam the sausage balls in the pan for 10 min.

Finishing...
Pat the paste into patties, each about 3 inch diameters and 1 inch thick. Fry these in hot oil until golden brown.
Fry the dried jasmine rice grains in hot oil until brown.
Quickly fry the 10-12 dried chilis, only for a few seconds.
In a large bowl, break up the sausage balls and mix in the 6 tbsp lime juice and 2-3 tbsp fish sauce.
Put slices of cucumber and lettuce leaves on plate as garnish.
Mix all the ingredients together, sprinkling the sausage, rice, green onion slices, ginger, cilantro, peanuts, fried chili and the pieces of lime.


Enjoy!

Birthday Gifts

Thank You All! I am a very lucky person.

EBAY AUCTION: 4x Børge Mogensen J-39 Shaker Chairs.

c1950s. Denmark. Lost another auction I wanted. $600.00.

Dr. Yi Pan

If you're ever looking for an alternative to Western medicine or maybe just a really good acupuncturist, I highly recommend the Chinese Healing Institute in Santa Monica, CA.


http://chinesehealinginstitute.com/

COOKING RECIPE: Chinese Steamed Fish

Ingredients:
White Sea Bass
Sugar
Salt
Rice Cooking Wine (or like a dry sherry)
Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce For Seafood (not regular soy sauce)
Ginger Root
Green Onion


Recipe:
1.5 cups of water in steamer.
Put sea bass in.
Sprinkle with 3.5cm Ginger, cut julienne.
Pour 1Tbsp of rice cooking wine on top.
Steam for 8 minutes.
Uncover.
1 pinch sugar.
1 pinch salt.
Sprinkle with handful of green onion, cut julienne.
Pour 1Tbsp of the smoking hot oil on top (hopefully the onions sizzle now and flavors sink into fish.)
Pour 1Tbsp Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce on top.
Serve with white rice.

The High Cost Of Buying "Cheap"

We don't need to add more to landfills.

>

Hiking Off The 33 (On The Way To Ojai)

Thanks to Ryan.

Three Masters Of American Filmmaking

The three undisputed masters of American filmmaking talk. It's interesting to see how as time changes, the American director personality changes with it.

John Ford: Cagey dictator. Very oldschool. He stonewalls all of the questions keeping his cards close to the vest.

Nicholas Ray: Martyred artist. A precursor to the beat generation, an idealist who believed art could change the world. He's forthright and emotional with his answers.

Michael Mann: Cagey salesman. Very intelligent and sociable but possibly cryptic.

Jacques Adnet Table

late 1940s. France

Found at Art Deco Masters