">HomeOwnerNut

This is not about taking off your shoes, putting your laptop in a plastic bin, and walking through a radiation device. This is about Home Security.  Up here in the foothills, most of my friends own firearms. Now that’s home security. I’m moving soon to a rural community where no one locks their front door and they leave their car keys on the driver’s side floor mat.

Still, home invasion is nasty, and I’d advise everyone reading this to take whatever measures necessary to feel secure in the burg where they live.  There’s a distinction between common sense and paranoia. Let us observe the difference:

Common Sense

If you live in London, say, a Prikka strip may make for common sense. Europeans have a fine tradition of embedding shards of broken glass atop brick walls to prevent intruders.  According to Solon Security in the U.K., these sharp strips can be nailed or screwed into your outside walls. They come in a range of colors. However, laws in England require you to post a warning sign for would-be burglars that you have installed the barrier.

My Friend Flicker

Why leave a television blaring in your home while away when you can fire up this efficient TV impersonator that uses only 2 percent of the power? Of course, it’s available for purchase at Hammacher and Schlemmer.

Fake It Til You Make It

Why fake the television when you can fake a snarling dog? For $99, the Electronic Watch Dog plays the gentle, in-house sound of the rainforest when a guest approaches, but to an intruder, it sounds an alarm and the threatening growl of a watchdog.  Plus: there are no shots required or a nasty visit to the vet to shorten the wires.

Paranoia

If you must have the real thing, go all the way! Follow the lead of Anna Studer of Tell City, Indiana, and invite Shahzarah, queen of queens, home for a side of beef.  Now that’s peace of mind!

I’m not a TV junkie, but I have to admit to a certain sudden attachment to the Mad Men series, where advertising executives in 1960s America flaunt their demons. What I love most about the show are the sets and costuming that recall the America of my childhood.  The era, as characterized by the Oakland Museum of California, celebrated the “Birth of the Cool.”

Mad Enough for Me

It’s the narrow ties and the short haircuts and the cocktail dresses that get to me. Plus, everyone smokes as if it’s good for you!

Birth of the Cool

If there’s a single chronicler of the decade to remember, it’s certainly photographer Julius Shulman, who caught the Bauhaus and jazz inspired homes of mad men and Southern California hipsters. Take a good look at these cool cats! That, friends, is a Hi-Fi!

Decked Out

When they weren’t jousting in the board room, Los Angelino trendsetters cut deals and chased each other around the pool. This Shulman photo reveals the So-Cal beamed architecture of the era.

Darkness Falls

In May 1960, Shulman captured architect Pierre Koenig’s vision of a hip LA pad nested over the lights of Sunset Boulevard. Read more about Shulman in LA Magazine.

Valley of Dreams

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and had friends with parents in the entertainment business. (Didn’t everybody?) This Shulman photo shows where they cooled out with martinis after their commute over the Sepulveda Pass.

Blue Horizons

The Oakland Museum’s “Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury” celebrates Miles Davis, Van Keppel Green furniture, hard-edge abstract paintings, and this photo taken by Shulman during the era. Read more about the Oakland exhibit.