Raven Jake Dawes

Raven Jake Goes House Shopping

What do y'all think of my new house? This beauty just came up on the market, but I'm about $2.7 million light. Too bad, too because besides being the ultimate luxury Watusi Village   I've always wanted, it also comes with some fine African art and a flock  of flamingos. 

This house, which ought to have a name if it doesn't already, was the abode of  Lindi Biggi founder of Loving All Animals . Besides
being the ultimate party house with two full-sized patio bars, an amazing swimming pool and a small putting green, also provided a perfect habitat for her animal rescues which included a pack of small dogs and as many as 80 exotic birds. There's an aviary right outside the master bedroom that would make a perfect sloth habitat, but maybe that's just me. You wouldn't have to be an animal lover to live there, but it sure wouldn't hurt. 

73179 Joshua Tree Street, Palm Desert CA

... is going to be my new address after I win the lottery. But until then you can still see ol' Raven Jake in less fancy surrounds. 

     

 

Adios, Dredlocks

By the time I was done with Wasteland, I was done with dredlocks too.  Life is short and I don't have time for all the foolin' around that they entail. I spent the better part of the year trying to make em look like somethin' but I don't have the genetics or the time to make it work. So one fine autumn day, I sat out in the yard and cut 'em all off and then went out and got a decent haircut. This ain't it, by the way. You'll see the difference. Now I can brush my hair with a towel instead of messing around with sprays and wax and crochet hooks.  Shout out to my boy Shara at Anew Luke.

Anew Luke Salon

2418 Honolulu Ave
Ste F
Montrose, CA 91020
(818) 248-1316

Raven Jake at the LA County Museum of Art

In the next post down, you can read me ravin' about Noah Purifoy, but there's a lot of other stuff going on to commend the LA County Museum of Art as a terrific way to spend a hot summer afternoon. You'll be hearing me talk  about the Raven Jake Austerity Plan  and how LACMA is helping us out:  On weekdays, after 3 p.m. to museum has free admission for LA County residents.

At the moment you check in, make sure to ask for a reservation to see the James Turrell piece "Breathing Light."  I guarantee you've never seen anything like it. If you go on a Friday, the museum is open til 8 and there's free jazz concerts. Grab a blanket, pack a picnic and you're all set for a romantic evening on the cheap. 

Over there on the left, you'll see I'm standing very close to (but not touching) Duke Kahanamoku's surfboard. How cool is that? He rode goofy foot, just like me. It's part of their "best of" 50th anniversary show. 

They also have all kinds of art from some hard-core Polynesian cannibal  ritual artifacts to some European Renaissance to modern conceptual art and everything in between. Like photography? They've got that too.  I'm pretty fond of a huge Richard Serra piece called Band. It's another one you've got to see to believe. 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323 857-6010 | 

http://www.lacma.org/

Raven Jake at the Autry

Folks, I'm making a conscientious effort to go and do some stuff.  It's been one year since my double bypass surgery, and I  still ain't 100%. But I ain't dead, and we've got a whole world to go explore. Raven Jake is on the "I'm in if it's free" plan, which is all about my budget and not the value of the experience.

Case in point: it's been a few years since I've been to the Autry. And that's a shame. 'cause they've got some great stuff goin' on. Their big exhibit right now is Empire and Liberty: the Civil War and the West, but Kim Stringfellow's photo exhibition on Jackrabbit Homesteads taken in the Morongo Valley is also terrific and I was especially drawn to The Balance of Power on the American Frontier, which is largely about the weapons of the historic Old West. And, of course, many of their exhibits explore the boundaries of the perception of the American West and the reality of the American West, exemplified by their emphasis on movie westerns, now including The Lone Ranger. 

The Autry is developing into a terrific museum and well worth the $10 fee but, in fitting with the Raven Jake Austerity Plan, it is free to the public every second Tuesday of the month.

4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462

Phone: 323.667.2000

https://theautry.org/

100 Mules for the LA Aqueduct's 100th Anniversary

Y'all, last weekend I got an unexpected treat. Jane and I headed over to the LA Equestrian Center with Greg and Sigrid and Sherri to celebrate the arrival of 100 very special guests. These mules walked down the length of the LA Aqueduct to commemorate it's 100 year anniversary. Notice I didn't say "celebrate." The Owens Valley got the bad end of that deal. 

It ain't often you get to see 100 of any kinda critter together like that, and even though they might'a beena bit shy of 100, it was still something to see. After they showed off their synchronized walking routines, the skinners removed their packs in record time and they got the opportunity to frisk around, roll in the dirt and enjoy some "horseplay." I had such a terrific time watchin' them mules cavort, I'm still smiling. Now I can't wait for Memorial Day weekend for Mule Days in Bishop.

Hell Raisin' Good Time

Seems like zombies are everywhere these days - even in the mirror this time.  As you know from a few posts down, I was in a zombie video for Canadian country-rock singer Tim Hicks a few weeks back. Well, it's all cut together and ready for the public now and it turned out to be a lot of goofy fun. 

In other zombie-related news, we watched Warm Bodies the other night, and I gotta say it's one of the better flicks I've seen in a while.  It's very loosely based on Romeo and Juliet - Rrrrr and Julie in this case, a zombie boy trying to connect with a human girl in a post-apocalyptic not-too-distant future. 

In my own apocalyptic not-too-distant future, I volunteered to be by friend Suzanna's guinea pig for the make-up artist class she'd teaching next week and guess what? The theme is "zombie." Y'all will be seeing more pictures of me undead than alive.

Down there, I'm in the straw hat behind Tim's right shoulder a little left of center.

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Zombie Jake

The hummies have left the building

Near as we can figure, that hummingbird probably started nest construction while we were out in the desert, round about the weekend of April 20-21. Not sure, 'cause we didn't even see the nest (despite the fact that it was on the lamp chain near the front door) until sometime later that week. Didn't think there were any hummie kids in that nest either - they were real quiet and their mom was never around. Then a couple of weeks ago they started getting big and on Monday - Memorial Day - they just up and moved out. Gotta admit I was expecting a little more practise flying and whatnot, but no - bam, they were gone. Down below is the runt lookin' around a little before making his move. Ain't been back since. Good luck and god's speed, little hummies.

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Hummingbird Chicks!

Hummingbird Chicks!

Y'all, when we came back from the desert a few weeks back, we were kind of surprised to note that there seemed to be an inordinate amount of hummingbird activity on the front porch. Turns out one of 'em had built her nest in the lamp chain, which is a pretty unlikely spot for a bird's nest but it is well-protected and pretty much predator proof. That bird gave me fits. If she'd been a human mom, I would'a called Child Protective Services and had her hauled off to jail. But despite the neglect, the kids are doing fine.  They're starting to feather up (there are two of them) and beak out and they're just as cute as can be. Won't be too much longer before they're flying. 

This article about the ancester of hummies and swifts is kind of interesting

And I stand corrected: it seems that hummingbirds are kind of infamous for building their nests in weird places. This one isn't an isolated case. Seth Inman blog

Congratulations to Harold Kast

Last night the La Cañada City Council honored my friend,  17-year-old junior assistant Scoutmaster  Harold Kast, for earning every merit badge there is. That's right. Every one of them. Harold's dad Martin, Scoutmaster of Troop 509, chartered by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, simply explained it the best, "There have been 110 million Scouts in the past century, he explains, and only 190 have earned every available merit badge. That's one in a million; Harold is one in a million." Now that he is, and I ain't sayin' so just because of this badge thing. Harold is one of only three youths in the 103-year history of the organization to have as many as 135, according to meritbadgeknot.com, which tracks, verifies and celebrates the achievements. He had an edge there - they didn't used to have so many of them. 'Course Harold earned his Eagle when he was just 14, and his sisters set the bar pretty high too - it's a committed scouting family - so he really had to distinguish himself. And that he did. Harold's turning 18 in a couple of weeks, takin' off for Fullerton in the fall, and I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next for young Mr. Kast.

Aloha Hula Ho'ike 2013

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to be the invited guests of Susan McLeod and her husband Jerry Smith  to Aloha Hula Ho'ike 2013 at the Orpheum Theater downtown. The Orpheum has had a major makeover and looks great, by the way. The Ho'ike showcases the work of the Aloha Hula Dance Studio in Granada Hills where Susan has been taking lessons over the past few years. What an amazing show - 300 dancers on the stage and around 2,000 people in the audience. Three hours of Polynesian dance. All the girls did a terrific job - even the little teenies. I was pleased that a lot of boys are getting into dance - dance class was one of my favorite things as a youngster, and boy did I take some heat for it. Good to see things are changing. Of course, the best offence is an awesome Haka -  just ask the New Zealand All-Blacks. 

The San Dimas Ho'olaule'a is comin' up on June 8-9 and it goes to support the San Dimas Canyon Nature Center