Street Art - Monday 6/8/2009

Very cool street art at the corner where Highland dumps into La Brea.

Field Trip to San Gabriel - Wednesday 5/27/2009

Oh, the things I do in service of my writing. I mean, really, it takes a lot of commitment and research to write a blog. This is part of the wonderful Vietnamese meal Braveheart, Antipasta and I shared today. We wrapped these meats and veggies in rice paper and dipped them in various dips. Yummy!

Wish I knew what the name of the restaurant was. It was on Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel and "pho" was part of it. If you've been to San Gabriel, you'll know that this doesn't help much.

Before this, Braveheart and Antipasta introduced me to Chinese-Style Herbal Foot Soak! I'd never even heard of this, but Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel is packed with foot soak/massage places... and noodle houses. A little bit of heaven!

We went to a place called China Tibet Foot Soak, where we sat in big reclyners. The attendents brought out big wooden buckets filled with very hot water laced with fragrent herbs. I put my feet on a little platform in the bucket, the massuesse put a towel over my legs and the bucket, and I steamed for a while. Really hot!

Then cold water was poured into the hot water until it was tolerable to soak in and I soaked a while. Although Antipasta said last time she was there, the television was on, it was nice and quiet today.

I had my first professional reflexology foot massage. (I think my brother, Texaco, tried to give me one a long time ago after he came home to Indiana from Vietnam or California, but I'm pretty sure it tickled too much to be effective.)

When my massuesse started pounding on my legs but Antipasta and Braveheart's weren't doing it yet, I almost laughed out loud. It just seemed too funny that one person could get really rough treatment and the others not. But sure enough, they both got a drubbing too!

It was really really intense, but I decided to let her do it as vigorously as she wanted to, to see what the experience would be like, and to let the reflexology work if it works. It wasn't very relaxing because it was pretty much painful. Next time I'll forgo the intensity and just get a nice wimpy foot rub.

Next was the neck and back rub, which was terrific. A person can really whale on my back and I love it.

All this took about an hour and 45 minutes and cost only $35.

Braveheart pointed out a place where you can get the same treatment for $15!



This one's for you Boise. Even though it's blurry, it's the best shot I could get of an L.A. kook on the move. Can you see this?

It's a guy riding his motorcycle on the transition from the 5 to the 14 at sundown, wearing a leather top hat and carrying a big white German shepherd on his lap.

Yeah, that's right, a big white dog. Who didn't look very comfortable, and who kept shifting back and forth, making the bike wobble beneath them both.

I was about to call the police on them when they exited the freeway. It's really not fair to the dog or to the people that might have the terrible experience of running over either of these fellows.

Photos I Missed - Tuesday 5/26/2009

This detail from the door of Our Lady of Los Angeles Cathedral is brought to you by the two photographs I didn't take today:

Belongings

Four rounded bags of cloth and who knows what else rested on the sidewalk outside the Studio City Branch of the LAPL. The muted grays and blues were terrific together, small holes providing accents in lighter tones.

I almost went back to the car for my camera, but decided they would still be there when I got back. They were, but their owner was also there, and I didn’t want to bother him. I can’t imagine how he carried them. There wasn’t a cart in sight.

Out Patient

As I drove by about a block from Kaiser-Permanente Hospital in Panorama City, a 30-something man in a blue hospital gown crossed the street in front of my car with a bottle of soda in his hand. The wind rippled through the split in his gown and his flip-flops slapped the pavement as he headed back to the medical facility.

Wonder what he was in for.

Sometimes It Needs To Be Danced To - Tuesday 5/19/2009

I pulled into Lucy's to pick up some ceviche tacos to take to my writing group meeting when this car pulled up next to me with music thumping. Three teens and their parents jumped out and started dancing in the parking lot.

Pan Pacific Park - Wednesday 5/13/2009

I stumbled upon Pan Pacific Park today while looking for parking near an event I was going to. It's on the site of the former Pan Pacific Auditorium. It was still standing when Hydra and I arrived in Los Angeles, and they were trying to find a new use for it.



I'd forgotten that it burned down in 1989. I figured it had just been another victim of L.A.'s general disregard for its architectural history. (Click on the photo for a link to the site where I found it.)


As you can see, the architects of the recreation building located at the park paid tribute to the original design. Very nice.


These tiles depict various architecturally interesting buildings in Los Angeles.



Tiles with images of Pan Pacific Auditorium.





More tiles inside the building. There are classrooms and a couple of gyms in here, and some surprisingly well-maintained bathrooms.

Echoes of children's voices in here reminded me of visiting the Huntington YMCA pool when I was a little kid.

You Can Forget All Your Cares and Go Downtown - Monday 5/11/2009

Antipasta, Braveheart and I ventured into downtown Los Angeles for the day to visit some museums and soak in the atmosphere. Central Los Angeles doesn't have the kind of street culture that other major cities do, but it's still pretty wonderful.

I'd driven by the new(ish) Walt Disney Concert Hall but I hadn't been up close or inside. It seemed rather sharp to me, but it's quite sensuous when you see it up close. As Braveheart said, the building itself evokes the movement of music. I really wanted to put my hands on those walls. And maybe even try sliding down them!

We went inside and there were tours offered, but they didn't offer a viewing of the auditorium. Antipasta and Braveheart were mildly shocked that I haven't been there yet. There they go, setting the cultural bar a little higher again.


Above the entrance to Our Lady of Los Angeles Cathedral. I love that her toes stick over the edge of the platform.

Oddly, I didn't take a photograph of the outside of the cathedral. You can get an idea of it from the church's architecture page. It felt very uninviting to me. Layers of shingled concrete give the impression that it's like an armadillo ready to roll up at the slightest provocation.

Maybe this armored effect is a symptom of the struggles the Catholic Church faced during the time when this structure was designed and built, as it was under siege of so many accusations of sexual abuse by its priests.


A noon mass began as we stepped inside the gigantic sanctuary. See the three-dimensional cross in the window?

The windows were probably my favorite part of the cathedral. The thinly cut natural alabaster lets in a most benign light.

I happened to take a shot almost identical to the cathedral's own representation.


One of the small chapels that line the corridor outside the sanctuary. The Cathedral commissioned some truly lovely artwork.

All in all, though, the cathedral feels like a mausoleum. Cold and impersonal. I wonder if it will resonate for people in a hundred years when it has had time to absorb the hopes and fears of those who worship here.


It was just a little misty up at elevation. This building is on 4th Street near Olive.


Our next stop was MOCA [Museum of Contemporary Art], where it's okay to photograph exhibits from the permanent collection.

I like the sculpture on the left. It's called "Soft Scissors."

See it now?

I like art that doesn't take itself too darned seriously.



Number 1, 1949 by Jackson Pollack surprised me. When you are in the room with this piece, you can follow all the different colors and layers in succession and see so much.

It struck me that it's like looking out at the whole amazing universe and simultaneously inward into the heart of the atom.


We explored the performance room part of the Dan Graham exhibit.

Braveheart's response to most creative challenges is to remove her shirt.

Me?

I take pictures or notes. Or both.


Well-walked and hungry, we arrive at Grand Central Market to seek out lunch. It was after 2 p.m. by then and some of the stuff on the steamer tables honestly looked a little crusty. But we scoped it all out and came up with a shared lunch of teriyaki chicken, ceviche tostada, scallop burrito, and tilapia.




The tilapia plate, served with rice, beans, shredded lettuce and corn tortillas. Mmm.



And we're off to Los Angeles Public Library's Central Library. This building and the services it provides along with all it's branch libraries are one of the truly great things about this city. I use it all the time.
Along with books, interesting architecture and literary events, it houses a gallery on the 2nd floor and an exhibition space on the 1st floor.

This is a self-portrait of Richard Neutra, a California architect whose designs had a great impact on California. I have to say that I am not a huge fan of the sharpness of his building designs, but I was very impressed with his artwork.

Antipasta pointed out that there were early 1930s style cars parked in front of his futuristic looking buildings in many of his renderings. Interesting!



Stairs up from 5th Street to 4th, across from the library. There's usually water running through the rocks on top of the bannister.



These kids aren't fooling around. They know how to get around downtown.


We search in vain for a Pinkberry...


Yes, my toes are a little tired. After yesterday's calf-stretching climb up and around Vasquez Rocks, they've had a bit of a workout.

After the Rain - Monday 2/9/2009

I am pretty sure that I had a clear idea of why I wanted to take a photo of my coffee when I was doing it, but I can't for the life of me imagine why now.

As I was taking this shot outside the Studio City branch of the LAPL, a guy waiting for the light on Laurel Canyon hollered out, "Don't for get to take it off!"

Not so many years ago I would have assumed this was a double--or maybe even a single--entendre.

Today I recognized it for the simple kindness it was, a nice man not wanting me to forget the cup until I heard it crack on the pavement behind me. I waved and nodded, and stopped myself from saying, "I'm actually pretty focused on it."

Ha ha.



The Facebook Photography Contest this week was "Skyline." It was a gorgeous day for it, the rain and hail having scrubbed the air. I pulled off of Laurel Canyon and drove up Selma Avenue into the Hollywood Hills to get this obstructed view. Too late to enter the contest, but here you are.


It's writing group night! Yay!

Clearly the animals at Braveheart's house are deeply unnerved by my presence.

In my experience, domesticated animals have an uncanny memories when it comes to people with the right length of fingernails who are willing to use them on haunches and bellies.

Field Trip! Clifton's Cafeteria - Wednesday 2/4/2009

OneL and I have been vowing for more than a year to go to Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria in downtown L.A. for lunch. Today there was a story about it in the Los Angeles Times, and we both had a gap in our schedules, so we went!

It was meant to be. After passing several parking lots that charged $4.00 an hour with a maximum of $14-18, we found an open parking meter. After scrambling for coins, I put in a nickel and it read FAIL. Aaah! Called the parking authority to report the broken meter, and she confirmed that as long as it said FAIL we would get a ticket. Score! Free parking!

It was so impromptu that I was sans camera. Well, actually, I had my Cannon A560 backpack camera with me, but it's apparently dead dead dead now, so these were taken with my cell phone.

Boy 1.3 mp photos sure upload faster than 10 mp ones!


The cool terrazzo sidewalk on the way into the cafeteria.



When this place was built in 1931, City Hall was the tallest building in Los Angeles.



There's always room for Jello!


It's a lot smaller inside than I'd realized. OneL and I sat in the balcony at table whose top was a crossection of a redwood. Another crossection downstairs is labeled 1400 years old.

Next time I want to sit at one of these terrace tables.

Clifton's was built to give downtowners a sense of being in the woods. I'm thinking that Walt Disney must have eaten here more than a few times and carried away with him some of the inspiration for Disneyland...especially Bear Country Jamboree.


The moose has a calming effect on the diners.

What did we have? OneL had mac & cheese (amazing) which she shared with me. I had fried pollack which instantly took me back to the amazing fish sandwiches we used to get at Azar's Big Boy in Fort Wayne when I was a kid. Also fresh strawberry pie. And a side of spinach, which I accidentally doused in soy sauce. Why in the world Clifton's has soy sauce is beyond me. I thought it was red wine vinegar. Sigh.

If you go, go after 5pm or on the weekend, when you can find plenty of flat-rate parking for $4.00-5.00.

If you have time, click on the Los Angeles Times reference in the first paragraph and read the article about the history of Clifton's Cafeterias. They've done a lot of good over the decades.

Destined for Stardom? - Thursday 11/20/2008

These guys were filming outside Papoo's Hot Dog Show when I drove past them on my way home. I actually circled the block to go back and get this shot.

I think the one guy is a waiter and the other guy is going to don the French fry costume.

There was only one other guy on this shoot. He grinned when he saw me taking the photo. Wish I'd been able to include him. (He's to the left.)



Apparently, it takes a lot of prep to play French fries.

He should maybe come down to the acting studio that took up residence next to my office and try the Meisner Method. I think hollering "My carton is red!" at a fellow actor for fifteen minutes would help him.

My Turn!

This time it's my turn to take the train!

I'm headed for Albuquerque on the Southwest Chief. Same route Kitty took home a few weeks ago. I'll get off at Albuquerque, though, and meet up with my friend, Diver.

She and I took one look at each other in kindergarten, decided we were the cutest kids we'd ever seen--we looked so much alike that our teachers mixed us up--and became best friends. We were very close all the way past high school, and then our paths diverged. She became a nurse and moved to Cleveland, then Florida. I became a theater person and minor league vagabond and moved to California.

We kept in touch. She came for a visit 13 years ago and we drove up the coast to San Francisco together. This year we decided it had been long enough, so we planned to meet up in New Mexico and explore it together.

I was so excited that I hardly slept on the train. Amongst the people in my car were a kooky guy that rambled in two different voices, a couple of brothers on their way to Chicago to get their mother to move to L.A. to be near them, and a woman on her way to a Sound Healing convention in Santa Fe.

I spent quite a bit of the evening in the observation car writing, and then talking with a woman who had lived in L.A. for 30 years and now lives north of Santa Fe. She and I both worked at Skylight theater in the 80s. She as a lighting designer, I as a lightboard operator. Not the same show, but that's pretty close! We had a great time watching the desert go by, glowing under a full moon, and chatting.

I think I'm in love with the train.

Random Cuteness

And now, we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

This was posted on the telephone pole next to where I park my car at work. It's a nice welcome back!

Fondest of Farewells

This is the Post Office annex, glowing in the evening light.

Shortly after sampling the quince, which we both liked, we headed once again for downtown Los Angeles. The drive was smooth, especially since Google Maps showed me a new way--taking the 5 all the way to Mission and entering downtown away from the madhouse tangle of freeways that I used to tackle every time.

[Ooh, speaking of Google Maps! Click here and when you get to the site, click on Barack Obama's Journey and John McCain's Journey. Really interesting tour of the important places in their lives.]


Oui! Kitty began her California visit with a trip to Phillippe's and ended it there, too. She likes the turkey dip, I like the beef. We split potato salad again.

I picked up a pork dip to take home to Hydra, who has never actually set foot on this hallowed ground. (Does anyone smell a field trip!?)


I had to run back to my car--parked in the passenger loading zone--to grab my camera and get this shot. Union Station is just too beautiful! (And Kitty ain't bad, either!)

She won't get home to Indiana until late Friday night. Hope it's a smooth trip.

Her visits always refresh my spirit. I'm a lucky, lucky kid.

Trains, Trailers and Automobiles

Mom's train was supposed to arrive at 8:15 this morning. But it didn't.

First there was an engine problem and they crawled into Albuquerque, NM. Then they had to wait in Kingman, AZ to replace the crew who had been working too long. Then they hit rail traffic as they approached Los Angeles. I learned all this from the nice lady in Amtrak customer service.

So Hydra came home early, and we packed up the trailer and he headed for the campground to meet up with our Songmaker friends. I followed a little way in the Echo and then peeled off to head for downtown L.A. and Union Station.

She's supposed to arrive at 4:04!



I love the seats at Union Station. I'm not so wild about the fact that now they say the Southwest Chief isn't going to arrive till 5p.m.


It was a warm day. Every so often a breeze blew up. There's a nice little public space around this gazebo at the end of Olvera Street.

There are a lot of homeless people downtown. I'd forgotten what that's like. You just have to think a bit about how you engage other people...like, a lot less freely.



This woman was the only person dancing to music played by a flutist who accompanied a recording. It was kind of lovely to watch her spin and dip, her purse and a shopping bag near her feet.


Three friends have their photo taken.

Around this time Mom called to let me know the train wouldn't be arriving until 6 p.m.

Hydra's always thinking about another guitar.

Ooh, I could have had his name painted on one of these--in any color!



This particular specimen does, indeed, look superior. I walked to the far end of Chinatown. Went to the fabulous Wonder Food Bakery for a couple of egg custard tarts. Don't be fooled by their location amid trinket shops, they have wonderful baked goods.


I walked under the dragons on the way out of the district.


Just as I started to cross Alameda at 5:40 I heard something about the Southwest Chief arriving! I went inside and no one could tell me what track it had just arrived on.

We found each other after a few trips up and down the long corridor for me. It's just exciting to see people pouring into the station from all those entrances.


By 6:15 we were seated at a table at Phillippe's! It's only a couple of blocks from the train station. What a nice way to avoid the last of the heavy traffic draining out of downtown. We split a beef dip, a turkey dip and some potato salad.

What's even more amazing is that it only took an hour and fifteen minutes to get all the way to Fillmore. I almost missed the exit to the 126 from the 5, the traffic was moving so well. After traveling more than 48 hours on the train, Mom was gracious about being whisked off to a campground.

We ate the egg custard tarts in the car. Tender and delicately flavored, they flaked all over us.

Gotta say, it was much nicer for Mom to be stuck on a train than a plane, and it was much nicer for me to roam downtown rather than pace the baggage area at LAX.

We win!