One highlight of Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles was speed dating along Metro’s Red Line. I’m not much for speed dating but couldn’t resist experiencing our transit system’s attempt at playing cupid. Kudos to Metro for its innovative thinking around the role of transit in a city. Continue reading
Happy New Year!!!
A belated but heartfelt wish for the new year. Thank you Grand Park (and the LA County powers that be) for hosting a public celebration that didn’t require a $30 cover charge that was easily accessible by public transportation. Sure there were some hiccups which hopefully will be improved upon December 31, 2014… but it really was a pleasure to ring in the New Year with 20,000 of my closest friends.
So, dear Grand Park, considering I’ve celebrated your grand opening, your first birthday, Dia De Los Muertos, I look forward to more Grand Park celebrations in 2014!!
Thanksgiving
I not only indulge in the amazing feast spread out over 
Thanksgiving but I relish in the family stories shared over a long weekend with the family. Stories shared over Thanksgiving have more time to soak, marinating over multiple nights so that the next day’s conversation is richer (…almost as rich as the soft warm cinnamon rolls my aunt made for breakfast :). StoryCorps has dubbed the day after Thanksgiving a “National Day of Listening.” I’m glad StoryCorps has given a name to this unspoken holiday tradition in my family. This year’s Turkey Day shed light on my great aunt Jan, my grandmother’s sister. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine anyone bossier than my grandmother, but her younger sister just might qualify. Continue reading
Encumbered @ Echo Park Lake
I finally finally walked all around Echo Park Lake today! I live on the lake and was heartbroken when I broke my foot a week before the lake reopened in June. All summer, I’ve watched from my window everyone paddle along the new cleaned-up lake…feeling like a kid sequestered in summer school while friends frolic away their summer vacations. Continue reading
Grannies Squared
I had a lovely Saturday visiting several Westside-ish landmarks (& friends) with mom. We started with brunch at Ray’s at LACMA, followed by the Granny Squared exhibit covering the entire Craft and Folk Art Museum building. Continue reading
Never Built Los Angeles
Before I even saw the exhibit, I loved the concept of Never Built Los Angeles. It’s such a simple idea, yet no one has ever asked and answered this question with an exhibition. Continue reading
Musing about really old wedding cake
In her work at the Huntington Library, mom discovered a 100-year-old piece cake stored in a tin tucked away in an archive. The old piece of cake struck a very popular chord on tumbler, inspiring the Huntington’s institional archivist to expand upon the cake, its original owner and the role food plays (or doesn’t play) in an academic archive. Continue reading
Reynar Banham Loves Watts Towers
Last night, the Echo Park Film Mobile screened “Reynar Banham Loves Los Angeles” on the grassy knoll in front of Watts Towers. The film was part of Echo Park Film Center’s summer series that screens classic films in cinematic locations across Los Angeles. I’ve seen Banham’s BBC documentary several times but wanted to see it with an audience…going to Watts Towers for the first time was an amazing added bonus. Continue reading
Bullock’s Wilshire Tour
Last weekend, we took a wonderful tour of the historic Bullock’s Wilshire. When technology advances so that we forgo wall paper for 3D projected images onto our walls, I’m projecting the interiors of this Art Deco landmark. Thank you Southwestern Law School for being such a wonderful steward of this iconic building!
1953: Touching the Atlantic Ocean
Sixty years ago today, my mom touched the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. In 1953, my mom, her sister and their mother drove to New York to pick up my grandfather, who had been working in New York for a year. They made a long vacation out of it, touring New York sites and then driving up to New England. Continue reading
