I Love L.A.: Day 4 (Oct 5th) Egyptian Theatre

About 68 years before I came into the town in my little brown Fiat Spyder (convertible, of course), Sid Grauman opened the 2nd of his Los Angeles movie palaces in 1922 (and if you want to see how apt that description is, find some photos online of these theaters), the first in Hollywood. It would be the first of his three themed theaters on Hollywood Blvd, with the El Capitan (1926) and the Chinese (1927) following. I'm sure some might think the Chinese would rank higher, but I actually don't like to see movies at the Chinese. The floor has too gentle of a sloop and there is no balcony which to my thinking all the great ones need.

The Egyptian wasn't even in operation when I arrived, having fallen into disrepair as much of the rest of Hollywood had at this point. Then in 1996, the City of LA sold it to the American Cinematheque for one dollar in exchange for a commitment to restore it. After $12.8 million, it was ready to be reopened on Dec. 4th, 1998. With the exception of some premieres and current films shown with Q & A's with the filmmakers, most of the movies shown under the incredible Egyptian motif ceiling are revivals of classics, genres (they have yearly festivals for film noir and monster movies) and foreign films. At the moment, they are running new foreign movies that haven't been distributed here yet.

It was also at the Egyptian where I had my own "brush with greatness:" I was there for a screening of Ben Hur from a rare type of print with Moses himself, Charlton Heston doing the Q & A. At the intermission, I was lined up to use the restroom when a voice caught everyone's attention: "Excuse me, fellas, but could I jump to the front here so I can get back in time?" Like the Red Sea we parted, and he slipped in. Michael Moore lost a lot of points with me when he pulled that punk-ass ambush of Heston in Bowling for Columbine and I am so glad I have this later memory of Chuck Heston to remember him by.

If you live in L.A. and claim you are a film fan, you have no excuse if you haven't seen at least movie at this jewel of Old Hollywood.

And they have a balcony.

I Love L.A.: Day 3 (Oct 4th) Gene Autry Museum

Seventeen years is an embarrassing long time to have to admit I waited before discovering the Autry National Center (but many simply call it the Gene Autry Museum to this day), one of best museums in the country. Luckily, when my mother came to visit for the holidays in '08 I needed to find something she hadn't seen on one of her dozen odd other trips to see her eldest child.

The Autry is actually several museums and one is currently closed (Southwest Museum, devoted to the study of three Native American groups by geography, has seismic infrastructure issues). In addition to the permanent exhibits, the Autry also has a large hall that features an ongoing series of shows. The first time we went, Bold Caballeros Y Noble Bandidas was devoted to the art and pop culture involving the outlaw in Mexican culture some tie-ins with the Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) festivities. When I returned with newly minted Angeleno Mary Orrell the next summer, there was a show devoted to the memorabilia collection country music icon Marty Stuart who seemed to have known and gotten knick knacks from every major country star from 50's - 70's. There was interactive section that resulted in the picture to the left.

But the two permanent halls that really held my interest were the expected traditional Western history (the original Museum of the American West founded by Gene Autry in 1988 which is divided into "Opportunity," "Conquest" and "Community") and the hall called "Imagination" which traces how the West was depicted in culture, which started almost from beginning. Even before there were movies, radio and TV shows, the folks back east were fascinated with West in plays, pulp books and some of the most outlandish furniture that hasn't been bought by Nic Cage.

As with all great institutions like this, what you really walk away with is new insights and knowledge. For one thing, for their time, stage coaches were actually rather luxurious and high tech. The better ones had glass windows, leather straps that acted as shock absorbers, dust covers for the luggage and even clockwork odometers to gauge distances traveled.

So, if you haven't, go.

Pictures: Top, armchair with bison horns; Middle, Gene Autry & Champion statue near entrance; Bottom, Doc Coppock before a show.

I Love L.A.: Day 2 (Oct 3rd) Trader Joe's

Well, there was no way this wasn't going to be one of the first. Not only was it one of the first things I raved about after moving here (back when no one on the East Coast had heard of even Two Buck Chuck), but it all started with a chain of stores around Los Angeles called Pronto Market owned by Joe Coulombe. In fact, I just discovered that a store in Pasadena I use all the time was in fact the first store with the Trader Joe's name. They are still headquartered in L.A., out in Monrovia although the chain was bought by a German outfit that also owns Aldi back in '79.


Back when I first started going there in about '92, there was no produce or meat sections. I mostly went for the dried fruit, smoothies, fresh juice and whatever ridiculously cheap gourmet items they had gotten a deal on in Eastern Europe (the Aldi angle makes that more clear now). These days, whenever I get a big paycheck, I reward myself by heading to either the wine or scotch section for a bottle to splurge on. The new one in Hollywood is one of my favorites because it has free parking and makes for a cheap eats when I have work in that area.

I Love L.A.: Day 1 (Oct 2nd) LAX's Layout

This whole challenge started when I was picking up a client from the airport and thinking about how easy it is to get around (especially when you know a few key shortcuts and hell no I'm not saying what they are here). Yes, some of the terminals are in dire need of refurbishing, the police still seem to be rejects from LAPD (at one time, literally true) and the actual experience of coming through here apparently gives us one of the lowest satisfaction grades of any world airport, but for in terms of car & foot traffic none can beat that horseshoe double-decker layout.

Keep in mind, this is the 6th busiest airport in the world, 3rd in the states by passenger volume. Yet, no terminal is more than about 300 yards from the others. Arriving and departing traffic is kept separated (with arrivals further bifurcated). Unlike other airports, LAX is actually in the city not way out (try using Dulles) right on the Pacific, which makes for very scenic takeoffs (and a good reason to listen closely to those "in case of water landings" speeches). Show me another airport with a freeway that's a one minute drive from the last terminal. With carpool lanes, downtown (which few non-business visitors stay in) is always about 25 minutes away.

Plus, there's the no-it's-not-the-air-traffic-control-tower Jetsons-like Theme Building with Encounter restaurant with it's retro space age design, good food and views of the planes.

The "I Love L.A. For 30 Days Challenge"

(how could I NOT call it that)

For about a decade now, close chum & Los Angeles native Derek Lewis and I have had this running argument on whether L.A. is a "real" city. And by "real" I mean by comparison to other metropolises of the world that can be identified by their name alone without further elaboration unless you are movie producer (you know, the ones who feel the rubes of Peoria need England after London, Paris followed by France or Jessica Alba in anything that isn't going directly to cable). I have lived in two of these other actual cities (London & NYC) and have visited almost every major burg of both the US and Western Europe, so naturally I feel I have a base of knowledge of what constitutes a fully realized city. Lately, it is usually prompted whenever one of us gives a City Tour and discover how long visitors are spending here versus elsewhere. The one that really gets Derek's goat is when they come here for 3 days, then head off for a week in Vegas.
It was after the last round of texts over "Example #348 why LA is not a real city" (Disney Hall in DOWNTOWN cannot have concerts past 10pm because of the residents nearby. All 100 of them) that Derek rebuked me with comment that he couldn't remember one instance where I said one positive thing about the city I have called home for 20 years now. Apparently the closest he could remember was him mentioning the weather and me agreeing we pretty much have the entire world beaten by our weather.

So, I am going to treat this slight as a challenge. For 30 days that started on Sunday (when I thought of the first one and also because I know what day 30 - the 31st - will be), I am going to list the ways that the City of Angels endears itself to me . For this exercise, LA is defined not only by actual city limits, but what is assumed by outsiders to be part of it (like Santa Monica, Long Beach, Burbank, Pasadena). Which is pretty generous considering one of my points in our debate is that these areas aren't really L.A. As someone once put it, L.A. is forty towns in search of a city...

Pic O' Day - Labor Day

Minus A Best Friend (Jan 17, 1999 - August 20, 2010)

Some people like to think their pet's the best, a breed above more common types. Either out of pride for their animal companion, boost to their own egos or some combination they like to think they have the superlative one.

I never had to ponder it - it's all anyone has every said about the yellow lab I first met in the spring of '99. Strangers, friends, vets, passersby would repeat the praise so much had she been human, there's little chance she would have remained the sweet, humble pup she was for the last 11 years. Outside of the chewing period all Labradors are prone for until about nine months, this was a dog who seemed to think she was the breed's ambassador to the World.

I could go through the checklist, but you already know the list of accolades this canine was blessed with.

For those who don't know, Gretchen was diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks ago after a month of rather benign signs that seemed like just old age and perhaps some sort of digestive issue. There was some discussion of surgery, but there seemed to be some question whether she would survive it to then start an immunology study that is currently be conducted. She wasn't in any pain, so I put off euthanizing her until it seemed appropriate. Last weekend, we took her with us camping in Sequoia National Park and the altitude so affected her I thought I was going to have to take her in.

Yet, once back down, she improved so much she put herself in her favorite spot: sitting up between the seats of the Jeep. Although she spent most of the day laying or outright sleeping, until today she could get to her feet when needed (albeit sometimes with great effort). Even this morning, she would follow me around the place. But by late this afternoon her labored breathing was getting worse than up in the mountains.

We went to the Hollywood Bowl tonight and I knew there was a good chance I would come home to find her gone. I try to resist the urge to anthropomorphize, but considering how agitated she got a few times in the last week when she couldn't stay near me, I do think she waited until I returned from being away all day to give up the struggle. Whether by some sort of fauna-design or happenstance, even her end was generous: I didn't have to make the call to put her down and didn't have to witness the last moments. Or been subjected to trying to find a vet on a Friday night while she struggled with those final breaths.

I'll leave off with this exhibit in support of how great she was...

About a year or two after I got her, I went home for Christmas and decided not to take her. I left her with the family of a friend, Lewises, who lived in a house with a yard. They also had 2 dogs of their own. When Derek brings her back on my return, he tells me that she was a big hit. In fact, he's good-naturedly annoyed that there was some competition over who got to walk her while their own pets do not get this attention. They would even ask when I was going out of town so Gretchen could come visit again.

A couple of months ago, there was a wedding of a relative just few blocks from where I live. I was driving the bride & groom after to their hotel. When I saw how excited they got knowing Gretchen was nearby, I had my roommate drive her over. And while everyone else is doing post-wedding things, the assembled Lewis family is taking a group photo... around a yellow, block-headed Labrador retriever.

She was the best... and she will be very, very missed.