’05 April

April 28

Downtown. ‘Everything’s waiting for you.’ A view from the bus.

A side door off the upstairs plaza at the cathedral.

Candles, letting God know, hey, listen up.

This is the bell tower positioned apart from the cathedral by a garden. The design of the bell tower reflects well I think the design of the rest of the buildings. Weird for a cathedral many think but every time I stop off here I still like it a lot.

When I looked back at pictures from other visits it was fun to notice how different my choice of shots were. It’s big, it’s dynamic, and well worth return visits.

It’s in LA all right.

Disney Hall, straight out of the camera. OK, except for maybe a little too much saturation.

Common wisdom says you love it or you hate it. I can’t say I love it but I do really really like it. If you want, do a ‘google-images-Disney Hall’ and you can flip through some of the probably infinite permutations of shape and color that this building presents.

More

And more.

Outside MOCA, The Museum of Contemporary Art.

Nancy Artz met me down here and we got the most amazing gift. A woman approached us offering to answer questions. She was a professional art curator and an employee of the museum and she was fantastic. She walked around the whole ‘Visual Music’ exhibit with us telling the what and why of each choice. It enriched the experience tremendously.

Without her I would have been like this: ‘WwHHhaat were they Thinking?!?’, and with her it was Art.

In this contemporary art world I really appreciate it when someone can give me a clue!

And aren’t we all a contemporary work of art?

After the show we walked to Olvera Street, ate a nice dinner, had a chat-fest, taxi-ed back to Nancy’s car, and she drove me home. What a great day!

April 26

Thankfully, I have not been struck by some dread disease.

I really like my doctor. He always tells me I’m just fine. Eat right, stay fit, and when you’re out there in the world don’t be stupid. Sounds about right.

So it seems I have become prone to allergies and I can take this for this and that for that and just know it will pass. Fine.

Back to some serious getting around in the last two days. I went downtown to go with Marsha for Monday night, then in the morning it’s downtown again and from there drectly to the doctor, then I had to pick up my Chinese visa in mid-Wilshire, then I went back downtown to go with Marsha to Rosi’s for dinner, then Marsha buzzed me over to the #1 for the quick hop home.

Out and about! This is a piece of the ceiling in the entrance dome of the 7th Street Metro, access to the Red Line and one of my new favorite places.

Downtown without much light. Freaky I think.

April 24

I’m fine again – just one day of sniveling. More pink! More naturally pink than the first one…

April 21

We did that ‘Trailhead 1 Mile’ hike off Sunset from before, we being me, Becky, and Brad Pitt. I didn’t recognize him of course but Becky assures me he did indeed join us for about two passing steps. I even did the traditional passing-hiker greeting-smile-nod. So now we’ve Met Brad Pitt?

Then I ate about 10,000 calories at the Thai place.

Yippie!

April 19

Happy Birthday Hartley!

His gift – a US State Quarters collector’s book. Fun for all! Lona had been saving quarters from the laundries so of the states already issued he had pretty much a full set.

Louise invited us over for my semi-annual Donmetz Update. Houses are turning over like there was no tomorrow at about 100% increase over when I left seven years ago.

It’s crazy out there in the world of Real Estate!

Margaret and I had another of our occasional dinner-dates in her living room. We eat snacks and chat it up.

She was feeling quite well and that was particularly good because as I have instructed her, she does need to live forever so that no one will build a hulking condominimum on my sunny side of the yard.

April 17

Awww, it’s sweet Cali-May! Our very own Southern Belle. Hi y’all!! Travis, Lainee, and sweet Cali-May!

Darryl scanned me up this pic when we went to join the gang for a walk down Ventura Blvd. in enjoyment of the Sherman Oaks Street Fair. Fun! We were D and Angela and Liz and Gary and Nancy and Sharon.

In a few days we might know if Liz and my grandbaby is a he or a she and then a name will follow so we can say Darryl and Angela and … And sweet Cali-May will get another cousin!

April 15

I rode the #2 to the #14 to the mta-761 and the 761 driver used Sepulveda instead of the freeway so he could drop me off right exactly at the front door of The Skirball Center where I met Darryl, Angela, and Al.

The baby got a nice hit of Baby-Einstein, we had a most informative tour, and a grand time was had by all.

Then I decided to walk the #14 portion of the way back and in so doing I found myself walking past the open gate of the VA Cemetery. Actually it’s called the Los Angeles National Cemetery.

Photo-Op! They make you get a permit at the visitor’s center and even that was an interesting experience.

Once a year for Veteran’s Day 4,000 Scouts flag every grave site and every time I’ve passed by before I’ve always said ‘oh, it’s not as great as then’ and consequently have never stopped. But if not now, when? Or rather, why not now?

Looking across the freeway to the Getty.

And Wilshire Blvd. to the south.

Up the hill. If you’re at all interested in the details the website associated with the link above is very thorough.

The more modern section of the cemetery has just markers embedded in the grass and as handsome as a wide flat lawn might be it just doesn’t do it like a good gravestone.

April 10

Jeanne treated a nice crowd of folks to Gospel Brunch at The House of Blues. What a fabulous treat!

So picture this: we’ve been eating for an hour from the all-you-can-eat buffet, chatting up our tablemates and generally having a jolly good time. Then, a down beat and a woman’s voice fills the room with several minutes of Gospel Call and Response We Are Here To Praise. Let me hear you PRAISE JESUS!

Then the curtain parts and before us is revealed…

…this woman, in flood-lit glory, and the effect is quite stunning. Gasping even.

These guys were more than a back-up band as they mostly lead the rest of the program.

There was a great segment of audience participation featuring four people from our table. She’s singing a chorus just taught to her by one of the men from the stage. She’s telling her companion ‘first you sweep in front of your own front porch before you go sweepin’ in mine. Ohh yeaaah.’

And a final farewell.

Our party included Jeanne’s tennant Shai, his friend Raya, Jeanne’s relative Phyllis, and Phyllis’s friend Freddy the Freeloader.

April 9

Out for a real hike to test out my new shoes for China and The Great Wall. So far so good. No ankle-twisty-thing, no pebble slipping, nicely ventilated. So far so good.

Were it not for the fact that my old ones have simply Disappeared(!) I would not have got new ones and the new ones are significantly better, so that’s good.

This season I have been most impressed by how wild flowers on the whole are small. I forget that every year.

Even the blooms on the bushes are small.

We were driving down Sunset looking for a place to hike and there was a sign ‘Trailhead 1 Mile’ so we went there, walked for 10-20 minutes and arrived here. I’m off to slog around China for a month but I get to come back here!

April 8

Finally, it looks like I’m getting out and still ok the next day. Phewww.

(If you have to be homeless somewhere…)

I don’t think these guys look like they’re puking. I think they look like really cool fountains. Public Art and all.

Basically, for what feels like for &*#@in’ Ever I’ve been off and on Not Well. This is Not Good. I’d go out and then stay in for a couple of days and then go out and then stay in.

My big sister took on her soon to be named matriarchal duties and brought me chicken soup. What a good big sister! So that’s been it. Some groaning, reading China guide books, listening to the radio and Mandarin cds, and scouring the internet for China travel tips. You’d think I’d be ready to leave tomorrow!

Fortunately one of those go out days was on the Sunday before Darryl’s birthday and I got to have plenty big fun.

We saw Stomp at the Pasadena Civic and it was truly a complete flat out blast. It was well executed, musical, awfully clever in both choreography of the individual segments and in creating an overall plot trajectory, and many a time we about bust a gut laughing, and there was not one spoken word in the whole production. No wonder it’s been playing around for more than ten years!