Hollywood Necromance

After the live shot this morning from L.A. to Boston, my friend Cat and I took a long walk down Sunset looking for breakfast. On the way, we passed L.A. Ink and some other landmarks that we recognized from TV and the movies. It's interesting how cameras tend to create an aura around people and places that make them feel either hyper real, or super fake (I'm not sure which), but when you see them in real life, they just...are. Film and video lenses trick our eyes into thinking things are something that they are not; the angles and depth of field make space feel longer, or wider, and frame rates create a feeling of present tense reality (29.97fps video) or past-tense fiction (24fps film).

On our walk, I spotted a folded chalk sign that had a coffee cup drawing on it, which meant breakfast was nearby. The owner, Yaron, was a sweet L.A. local who made us feel welcome in his shop and cooked a killer omelet.

It turns out, an obscure jewelry shop that Cat was looking for, Necromance, was right next door. The store was closed, but, according to Yaron, they sell jewelry and artifacts that are made completely from deceased animals including a human molar necklace charm and decorative monkey skulls. "Everything in there is totally real," he said, "it's freaky."

I found this immensely interesting: among all the studios and extravagant sets that try so hard to extend beyond "reality," there was a tiny boutique that was so real it made Yaron, an L.A. resident of 28 years, shutter. "I only went because the owners told me they just got a lion tail in and my horoscope is Leo. Otherwise, I would never go there, I can't even do hospitals."

I think Yaron's fear of modified dead things illustrates a key part of what Hollywood and its perfect weather is all about: a distraction from reality, a breath of fresh air from the mundane, an escapism from life's sometimes frightening inevitabilities.

I mean, it doesn’t even snow in this city!