Pretty, isn’t it?
Take a step or two back.
Griffith Park will need more than one Spring to recover from last year’s fire.
The scars are too deep.
Category: Places
"A Hundred Years Or More"
„You see, the final result is going to stand on that hill a hundred years or more. Long after we are gone it will be pointed out as the Ennis House and pilgrimages will be made to it by lovers of the beautiful from everywhere.”
(Frank Lloyd Wright in a letter to Mr. & Mrs. Charles Ennis 1924)
Yes, pilgrimages are being made there. Ennis House, the largest of the four residential houses F L Wright built in the Los Angeles region, is beautiful and awe-inspiring by its sheer volume, sitting there on its ridge, overlooking the city below.
Thanks to the Ennis House Foundation, which came into being in 2005, the building will hopefully still be around once the “hundred years or more” mentioned above have passed. The ravages of time have not treated the building well; after the Northridge earthquake and water damage during the winter of 2005 the house was in danger of collapse. The worst damage to the façade, the foundation and the retaining wall has been repaired. Missing concrete blocks have been reproduced and replaced.
It will take many years to restore Ennis House to its full splendor and glory inside and out. But then even more lovers of the beautiful will come to see what F L Wright in 1924 was rightly so proud about.
The Importance Of Having Water
A rather rare sight – the temporarily drained Silver Lake Reservoir – reminded me once again how important water is to Los Angeles.
It is true that water is important to all regions and everyone, but Los Angeles could only become what it is today because of an engineering feat: The 233 m long Los Angeles Aqueduct, projected and overseen by William Mulholland (1855 – 1935).
Once the water came to the city, from 1913 on, the city started to grow at a fast pace. So fast, that Owens Lake, where the water came from, was completely drained by 1928. This fact led to the legendary Los Angeles Water Wars, upon which the movie “Chinatown” is based.
Mr. Mulholland continued on to find new sources for water to bring to the city. He was a highly esteemed and revered character, who once was even considered to become the mayor of Los Angeles. However, when asked whether he would run for office, he reportedly said: “I’d rather give birth to a porcupine backward.” Smart guy.
Sadly his career ended rather abruptly with the tragedy of the St. Francis Dam. After this catastrophe he lived the few remaining years of his life in self-imposed isolation.
Today Mulholland Drive and the fountain at the corner of Los Feliz Boulevard and Riverside serve as a reminder of the man who played a major part in shaping the city of Los Angeles.
Shopping and Science Fiction
Sunday is always a good day for grocery shopping. On the list today was some stuff from Trader Joe’s and from Whole Foods. I love Trader Joe’s. The stores are cheerful places, both for shopping and for meeting people. I also like the philosophy of providing the average Joe and Joette with products a bit off the beaten track at very reasonable prices with an increasing emphasis on organic food. The true deciding factor – how can I not love shopping somewhere with palm trees in front of the door?
With Whole Foods I have a bit of a problem. Every time I step inside one of these places I have a flashback to John Brunner’s “The Sheep Look Up”. Those who know the book know what I mean; those who don’t should go out and get a copy. One of the things Mr. Brunner describes in his book is the chasm which (in the near future seen from the viewpoint of 1972) has emerged to separate the rich, healthy, and privileged from the poor, sick, and oppressed. Seen against that background the Whole Foods philosophy of providing everybody who has a lot of money to spend with food mostly uncontaminated is a bit – well, let’s put it like that – the near future is the present already.
So, why do I not stay away from their stores? They carry my favorite toothpaste and cheese. What can one do?
Heaven In Many Ways
We have always had a soft spot for the Vinoteca. And that has nothing to do with the fact that we were the very first two customers ever to step through the door after the place opened (which is a whole story all on its own anyway).
Vinoteca offers a wide selection of wine plus a few carefully selected beers on tap, an interesting menu of Italian and Brazilian food and most importantly – a wonderful atmosphere. The place is what we had been missing in our little quarter of L.A., a wine bar where one can wander in and feel at home. We celebrated birthdays there, met with friends, saw in the odd New Year or two, we basically went there for months on end every Friday evening after the place opened. We even watched the opening game of the last Soccer World Championship there, by courtesy of the manager, who invited us over to watch the game on the big screen over breakfast.
Then the inevitable happened – word got around, the place was written up by the local papers and Vinoteca took off in quite a big way. We were very happy for the owner that his bar had become a success. We, however, had to let go of our Friday evenings there, it became a bit too crowded and too loud for our taste on weekends.
But on any other day it is still delightful in the way we like it. Good wine, good food, interesting guests, very friendly staff. We just know that it will be a pleasant hour or two – just by wandering in, sitting down at the bar, chatting with our favorite bartenders, having something nice to drink and to eat.
That’s how it was even yesterday, when we had simply forgotten that it was Valentine’s Day. And yes, the place was crowded, and yes, we wanted to leave, and no, they would not let us go. They found a nice spot for us. After a long and gruesome day, filled with lots and lots of work, it was a perfect evening.
That is heaven indeed.
Pipesmoker's Paradise
Super Bowl Sunday. Wile the nation was getting ready for several hours on the sofa with beer/sodas, popcorn/chips and a lot to say about the action on the TV screen, we were getting ready for a foray into the wonderful world of good tobacco. Which in Los Angeles means – Kramer’s on 9531 Santa Monica Blvd, right there in Beverly Hills.
Kramer’s is known among pipe smokers as something akin to paradise. In 2008 the shop can look back proudly at 59 years of dealing in everything a smoker might want, but especially for a small but superb selection of finely blended tobaccos. The story of Kramer’s can be read here. For the full experience one should head here:
The signature pipe tobaccos at Kramer’s are all hand blended and quite unique in their way. From the straight English blend to the fabulous “New Mixture” with its delicious spiciness from a hint of added Perique (considered the truffle of pipe tobaccos) there is something to suit the taste of every pipe smoker worth his pipe.
Similar to the tobaccos the delightful atmosphere at Kramer’s is unique. Considering that the store is usually closed on Sunday it was no problem to drop in, as the owners – when we called them beforehand – said: “We are in today anyway for some stocktaking – yes, by all means, do come by.”
Thank you, Kramer’s, for being there and being what you are – a small shop with a long tradition of making many, many pipe smokers very, very happy.
Stranded Ducks
Rain. We are having rain. The much needed rain has finally arrived and we are loving it. The hills are slowly putting on their green winter coats, lawns sparkle emerald green, and it is time to check on the river and the waterfowl.
The river carries a lot of water. It has changed from a comparatively gentle waterway to a rushing torrent, complete with the appropriate noise. The Los Angeles River roars.
One should assume that the mallards and all the other birds are loving it. But actually – they don’t. They are hanging out up and down the banks of the river, looking slightly puzzled.
Their islands are flooded, the current is too swift to keep up with. Any bird brave enough to hop into the water gets carried away at an unprecedented pace.
The only ones to get their feet wet are the black-necked stilts.
I swear, they are looking quite smug. Right, they seem to be saying, you lot are always snickering at us because we prefer wading to swimming. With our long legs we can still wade. Can you swim?
LAX
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate.
( Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.)
Dante / “Divine Comedy” 1308 – 1321
LAX has made it. It pushed Heathrow off the top position on my personal list of airports to be avoided at all times and under any circumstances.
Congratulations – not.
Delayed By Parcel In Burbank
Sometimes a trip to the airport can be an interesting experience, provided one does not need to catch a plane. Today was one such example, attempting to drop off friends who had to fly home. As they did have to catch a plane, they could have done with a lot less of “interesting.”
Apparently a suspicious parcel had been found in the terminal. That resulted in an evacuation of the building and the surrounding area. A bomb squad moved in and took care of the parcel, which was found to contain a small TV set. (This information is unconfirmed, but was given by an airline employee.) Suspicious parcel-scare over, business returned to normal and the whole incident didn’t last too long anyway.
The interesting fact however was this: The day before an anime convention had begun at a hotel near the airport. So amongst the many passengers milling around outside the airport waiting for some kind of information about their flights were quite a few convention goers who for some reason or other had to leave earlier. They were easy to spot, they wore full anime regalia.
Which leads to the question: What rattles a check-in employee more – a bomb scare or Mituki Shinomiya and Itachi Uchiha turning up at the counter?
Christmas Tradition
Yes, it is that time of the year again. Christmas, the perfect day to take a stroll on the beach. Why on Christmas? Because one can.
Because the waves are nice.
Because the sandpipers are fun to watch.
Because one can climb dunes and enjoy the view over the sea.
Merry Christmas.