Monthly Archives: December 2005

I spotted this while out walking in Sierra Madre today. I love the
feeling of it, as well as the attention to detail on the typography.
Great!

Saw this beauty in a Sierra Madre shop window the other night. I
couldn’t resist.

Here’s a snap of the root of the Monrovia Christmas tree. It is quite
a nice, root, methinks. Of course, the main tree (in front of the
library) has the mother of all root structures, but this had a nice
feeling to it. The garland leads up to the main string of lights.

Hardly anything cuter than a dog with antlers! So what if it’s not
original? If I were in Alaska I’d be tempted to hook up a whole team
of antlered Huskies to a sleigh and right around showing them off.
But then, I’d probably be expected to wear green tights and team up
with a corpulent friendly guy in a red suit….

Here’s wishing you a Merry Giftmas this year! It’s funny how around this time it seems like I see will see men who look like “Santa” everywhere: Walking down alleyways, shopping in Trader Joe’s, and lately, ringing a bell in a red suit. Men with naturally fabulous white beards suddenly achieve a certain cachet at holiday time. And if they have a bit of a belly, suddenly they seem like the real Santa trying to avoid the limelight. I sense that they know what I am thinking as they scurry past me in regular clothes, trying to fit in with the rest of us, maybe not be noticed, and making only the obligatory but brief nod. They have a guilty pleasure in knowing that they suddenly can have bestowed upon them in abundance attributes that normally they may only harbor in meager quantity. Does looking like St. Nick make you feel more jolly, generous and benevolent? Will this expectation create the result? Do children run up to you with their Christmas lists and plates of cookies to bribe you? And so, this begs the question, why did you grow out such a fantastic white beard in the first place, if not to impress the eager populus at least once a year?

Took this in front of the Shirley Hotel in Sierra Madre. Looks like
an attempt at a swanky New York walk-up, if you were a rich kid. I’m
not sure if the Shirley Hotel is apartments or not, as I don’t know
the history of this building, but it would be a cool place to live!

I noticed today that the King in the Nativity display on the corner
of Foothill and Myrtle looks remarkably like the scarey new Burger
King man. Even though their features aren’t that much alike, and the
one in the Nativity has a much better complexion, there is something
about them…maybe it’s just the crown…dunno….