Faces, Messages and More on My Nightly Walks

Some shots from my nightly evening walks around the neighborhood. Along with the NELA Safari I mentioned in a previous post, these sights have made my COVID walks enjoyable and memorable.

Farewell, Happy Foot/Sad Foot Sign

As Curbed LA and other outlets have reported, the Sunset Foot Clinic is moving — and with it, that means the infamous Happy Foot/ Sad Foot sign will be leaving as well. The iconic sign has become a bit of a modern meme in Silver Lake, and even now adorns t-shirts and jewelry that you can buy. The sign has delighted residents for years thanks to its, well, silliness -- depicting a sad foot, with crutches, on one side, and a happy, healed foot on the other.

Alissa Walker writes on Curbed:

The Sunset Foot Clinic is moving, and so is the two-sided sign known as Happy Foot Sad Foot that has spun from its high-profile perch on Sunset Boulevard for 37 years.

Just reading the news is like watching the famous sign rotate in real time. The clinic needs a bigger office (happy!), will be leaving its current location (sad!), is taking the sign with them (happy!), but the sign won’t spin anymore (sad!).

The impending loss will be most acutely felt by a group of tight-knit neighbors in the immediate vicinity who use the sign to tell people where they live. Due to the fuzzy demarcations between Silver Lake and Echo Park, the neighbors started referring to their community as Happy Foot Sad Foot or, in full neighborhood-branding mode, HaFoSaFo. The designation was made quasi-official when the neighborhood social network Nextdoor dubbed the area “Sunset HaFoSaFo” on its LA map.

Sad foot, indeed.

A Sign That I Am... Old

This sign excites me. I'm sorry. /old

Porn Billboard on Sunset: Scandal, or Yawn?

The porn site Porn Hub is making a big deal about its first-ever billboard on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. But this billboard is mighty tame compared to plenty of billboards we've seen on the Strip over the years. Big yawn?

Only In L.A.: A Little Weed With Your Gas?

Sign of the times: A dual gas station/marijuana dispensary near USC. One question: Why isn't this place called "Gas 'n' Grass"? C'mon people! Do I have to think of everything?

California's Swimming Pool "Poop Signs" Are Pretty Gross

What's the only thing more gross than seeing this sign (above)? Seeing it next to a buffet table of food (below).



I caught this at a party the other day around the rooftop pool at Petit Ermitage in West Hollywood. These "poop signs" have been required around public pools in California since 2012.

Weird Billboard Alert: This Samsung Ad Gets A Tragic Makeover

My apologies, this is a bit hard to read, but it was the best I could do as I drove up Virgil. Spotted at the corner of Virgil and Santa Monica Blvd., this billboard for the Samsung Galaxy took on a tragic tone after some artist added their own extra touches.

Specifically, someone glued an actual text message conversation to the phone in the ad. So now, the billboard features a strangely sad text message that reads, "your father passed away last night." The response is "OMG, what?" Clearly, a strange conversation to conduct over text, but perhaps that was the point of the artist who posted it.

Why I *Definitely* Won't Be Attending This Renaissance Faire

You may have seen these billboards popping up around town for the "Renaissance Pleasure Faire." Yes, this is real, not a parody. But I mean... that guy. Urging you to "Join Us!" I had no desire to attend a Renaissance Faire, and this billboard just cements it.

Sign of the Times: I Hate to Think What This "Bathroom" Actually Is

Spotted this weekend in Little Tokyo: This sign's use of quotes leads me to believe that this "bathroom" is actually something else. I don't want to know.

Retro Friday: Home Movies of Los Angeles, Circa 1977-78

Wolfgang Gegusch took this film (no sound) of a trip to Los Angeles in 1978. (L.A. starts about 1 minute in, after a drive on the freeway.) Check out some of the old downtown scenes (Pershing Square in greener times!) and a lengthy visit on the Universal Studios tram ride.

Below, Mackenzie Rough shares his home movie of a 1977 visit. My favorite part is when he starts focusing in signs of the era. That includes a sigh ridiculously (well, for now) gas prices:



Here's Rough's film:

The Most Confusing Los Angeles Parking Signs Yet

Spotted on Wilshire Boulevard. I dare you to figure out how and when to park here. (I managed to, having found this spot at 7:30 p.m. on a Wednesday -- and left without a ticket!)

Weekend Snapshots: Eagle Rock

The Islander Motel Drive-In



Juice Mural



The only other outpost of Chicago's Permanent Records, right here in Eagle Rock.



Formerly Larkin's, the brown bungalow on Colorado Blvd. is now being remade into "Food Beer & Wine." Oops, I thought that sign looked familiar -- it actually is left over from Larkin's. According to a commenter and Grub Street, the eatery Little Beast is taking over the spot.

Spotted: "Normal Person" Seeks Room

Spotted last weekend at Griffith Park's Trails Cafe: "Nice, Normal Person Seeking Room to Rent." Well, "normal" is in the eye of the beholder yes? (I love how she waits until the 4th graph to bring up her poor, 7-year-old cat with Lymphoma.)

Beware of Flying Coconuts

Spotted by my parents during a recent trip to Hawai'i: "BEWARE: FALLING COCONUTS."

Grossest Business Sign Ever? Spotted In Highland Park

Nothing says "come visit my business" like a sign touting a giant, labeled digestive system. (Seen on York in Highland Park.)

Los Angeles Ad Town: Southwest Airlines Edition

The latest commercial for Southwest Airlines features "employees" traveling around L.A. with cameras and snapping shots of iconic signs -- including the "Coffee Shop" logo from Swingers Coffee Shop; the "EAT" sign at the Los Feliz Golf Course; and Jones Hollywood's light-bulb sign on Santa Monica Boulevard. Put together, and the letters spell out "SALE," natch. More pics below.

Ssign of the Ttimes

Spotted on Wilshire in Koreatown: Perhaps this is the kind of sign you approve after too many glasses of Merlot. "Wine Bbar." Hey (hic!) I see two 'B's!

Sox and the Century City

Imagine acquiring a kiosk at the Westfield Century City mall. To sell socks. You're brainstorming a name for your little business. So of course you've got to make a "sex"/"socks" pun. I imagine the owner sitting back, throwing on a pair of Argyles and quietly muttering to himself or herself, "Nailed it!"

By the way, the title of this post? Yep, nailed it!

Please Do Not Toss A Baby in This Dumpster

Strange timing, given this story currently in the news. But I spotted this dumpster today behind the flower shop at the intersection of Sunset and Hyperion: "No babies," please.

Perhaps somebody was watching this classic episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

The Tagger Movie Critic: Not a Fan of Tyler Perry

The Typo Terrorist is behind the tagging on this Silver Lake billboard for "Good Deeds." "Stop letting him make movies," the TTT pleads. Here's hoping somebody listens.