THE LOST ROAD TRIP PART II: BEING THERE

Continued from Part I.

I love the way the Pacific time zone makes me feel like a normal human. The world's 8 o'clock is my 10 o'clock, but in California these merge flawlessly. So on Tuesday I woke up ready to get out there and see something new and unusual— morning.


Our single rule was that we could only travel streets that are mentioned in popular songs or film titles, so we started on Ventura and made our way to Mulholland Drive (seen above). I'm joking about the rule, but I'm sure it's possible. Really, all I wanted to do was have some fun... until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard. Actually, we drove up to Hillside Manner sometime after 2 AM and talked a little while about the year. Baaah, I must stop. But it really was a good day. I didn't even have to use my A.K. Okay I'll stop!

Speaking of Mulholland, how does this house have the D from the old Disneyland sign!?! (UPDATE: see the comments for more info, thanks Giddy Girlie!)

This is the product of blindly holding my camera out the window while driving. Not bad considering.

The Hollywood Ripley's is one of the few I haven't been to. Next time.

As you may recall I had asked comedian, L.A. resident, and host of the LOST art project Paul Scheer where we should go during our precious hours in the city. Concerning lunch, he asked me if I wanted the best Taco in the world. This forced me to reveal my shamefully narrow culinary tastes, so instead he suggested a diner called Fred 62. An eatery with the name of a person followed by a number sounded plenty exotic to me, and the place turned out to be great...



He told us that this lunch choice would conveniently position us on Vermont street which is home to a bunch of cool shops including one of his favorite book stores...


Not to mention the Dresden as seen in one of my most favorite flicks, Swingers!...

Remember the couple at the keyboards and drums (Marty and Elayne) singing the Bee Gees' Staying Alive? The whole speech about the bunny with the fangs and claws? That scene took place in the Dresden.

The Y-Que Trading Post had a hefty supply of Accoutrements novelties and novelty T-shirts. And they burn incense and play house music just like Sound Warehouse did when I was a teenager.

Vacation vinyl music around the corner on Hollywood Blvd. was a great surprise. They had a nice selection of new and used records and the store is beautiful. (Not to mention their logo that so elegantly apes/celebrates the classic "Open" sign.)

My brain was not prepared for what came next...


How has this place escaped me? I've heard of La Luz de Jesus gallery. It's said to be key in the development of the "Lowbrow" art movement...




But I was surprised to find it hidden behind all of this...


It has to be the most comprehensive novelty/pop culture store I've ever encountered. There's an emphasis on books (My Amazon wish list has changed dramatically since my visit) and toys, including a lot of designer toys. And again there was Archie Mcphee stuff all over the place.


Anything looks great on teal pegboard.


My timing couldn't have been better because the current temporary exhibit (and sale) was by Shine Gallery, a dealer of vintage, unsold store stock!


Chris and David at S.S. Adams turned me on to Shine Gallery's drool-worthy web site years ago, so it was amazing to be surrounded by their wares...






I love how they combined products and printed materials in these inspiring vignettes...


Don't fret if you missed the exhibit, it's all still available at ShineGallery.com


Before I left Wacko I even discovered some of my own handiwork dwelling among it all. (I'm the proud designer of the dog mess packaging)...


Wacko, I will be backo. (pure hilarity!)

Suddenly it was almost time for the art show. We arrived to find an enormous line. The folks in the front had been there for twenty-six hours! Their devotion was rewarded with pizza from ABC television, prizes (like pairs of LOST tennis shoes), and visits from LOST writers Damon and Carlton.



There were lots of video crews there. G4, CNN, and the LOST DVD extras team...


As we entered we were each handed a print of the final poster (by Tyler Stout) from the series that had been slowly revealed since late summer...

It's awesome, but I must admit that mine's going up on ebay to recoup some gas money.


One of the first things I saw in the gallery was the black velvet painting that kicked off the whole project at Comic Con last summer.

The wall on my right featured the sixteen LOST prints. Here are a few...

by Olly Moss

by Methane Studios

by Ken Taylor

And around the congested corner were the original pieces...

by Ben Strawn

by Lauren Gregg

by Jeff McMillan

by Dan Lydersen

top left: Julian Callos, top right: Dan May, bottom left: Leontine Greenberg, bottom right: That's mine!

They also had these great custom painted statues by a bunch of different artists. If you want to see all the art then just go HERE.


The place was hopping, but we all know what the real draw was...

LOST writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. Of course the place went nuts when they emerged.

After a very long and claustrophobic wait, this was my triumphant next-in-line view. As soon as he finished shaking this guy's hand Damon leaned aside and had a coughing fit. The expression on his face that followed was sort of a shocked look of "Whoa, that was rough." With that he walked over to Jensen the curator and patted him goodbye.

You know all that stuff about being patient and courteous? It's bunk. From now on I'm gonna be all "fortune favors the bold!"

But I did have the honor of meeting a guy who's worth fifty Damon Lindelofs. This is Brandon, and he had just purchased a print of my Johnsons family portrait...

No Brandon, 'tis you who deserves a thumbs up. Thanks.

I also got to meet the extremely talented artist, Daniel Danger, seen here caught in the death ray that is my camera's flash...


As well as LOST producer Bryan Burk, along with some of the other super-nice folks at Bad Robot.


What really made my night was seeing the little red "sold" dot go up next to my piece. For that I have "ReverendMilo" to thank. He's ringleader, webmaster, and the die-hardest of the die hard LOST ARGs community. May you enjoy the piece for many years Milo! Your payment will go towards the parking ticket I discovered on my windshield after the show. Yeah, this little beauty was hovering high somewhere down the street...


It was a classic Midwestern-kid-gets-chewed-up-by-the-big-city moment. But lets not end on a sour note. For this is how I will always remember the show...

From left: Paul Scheer, Me, Jensen Karp