Pasadena Gold
Last Sunday, Mike and I braved the crowds to get a free ride on the Metro Gold Line from the Lake Street stop to Chinatown. The Gold Line goes from Sierra Madre to Union Station but we decided to check out the new Mountain Bar between Hill and Broadway in Chinatown and forego the inevitable crowd in Union Station.
Mountain Bar, owned by local group of architects and artists, was empty at around 5 pm on a Sunday afternoon. The place had red walls with dripped paint textures and cool triangular tiled floors. I liked my mojito and Mike's plum martini was a bit strong. Sitting in the bar was both relaxing and surreal as we checked out the scene outside through the huge windows: Kids flicking those popping firecrackers to the ground, couples dropping coins on the wishing well outside, and families in their Sunday best walking around. When we were done with our drinks, we reluctantly walked back to the Metro.
Here are some observations I had on the Metro Gold Line:
• If it's free, tons of people will come.
• Not a lot of hand rails available for the vertically-challenged.
• Strollers are too big and cumbersome to carry one teeny-tiny little baby.
• The term "squishy toes" can only be uttered by a new and eager mom.
• Huge crowds = too much germs = laryngitis and flu-like symptoms the next day.
• There wasn't much barrier between the homes in the Highland Park area and the railway. It's an accident waiting to happen, as we saw a lot of young children playing around the area.
• Pasadena Dads* are not above getting a free ride on the subway.
*Pasadena Dads, as opposed to Silverlake Dads, are those guys who must have belonged to a fraternity in college and at present are successful businessmen who enjoy the good life: Golf on the weekends, dinner at fine restaurants, etc. Can usually be seen wearing white or beige pleated shorts, leather belt, logo-bearing sport shirts and boat shoes up and down Colorado Street in Old Town Pasadena.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Mars Sighting
In the beginning of August, the planet Mars will be easier to see from this little home we call Earth. The Red Planet will be at its brightest on August 27th, where it will reach the closest it can to Earth. This phenomenon won't happen again until the year 2287 -- so don't forget to check out the skies a little longer in August.
If you want to know more, a friend e-mailed me this:
Hot off the press:
Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular. This month and next Earth is catching up with Mars, an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.
Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years -- but it may be as long as 60,000 years. The encounter will culminate on August 27th, when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August, Mars will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But by the end of August, when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human has seen in recorded history.
Mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this! No one alive today will ever see this again.
In the beginning of August, the planet Mars will be easier to see from this little home we call Earth. The Red Planet will be at its brightest on August 27th, where it will reach the closest it can to Earth. This phenomenon won't happen again until the year 2287 -- so don't forget to check out the skies a little longer in August.
If you want to know more, a friend e-mailed me this:
Hot off the press:
Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular. This month and next Earth is catching up with Mars, an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.
Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years -- but it may be as long as 60,000 years. The encounter will culminate on August 27th, when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August, Mars will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But by the end of August, when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human has seen in recorded history.
Mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this! No one alive today will ever see this again.
Stay for the Bowling, Not the Food
The L.A. Times foodie S. Irene Virbila checks out the new Lucky Strike Lanes at Hollywood and Highland, and suggests avoiding the food, which she calls messy and barely above fast-food level.
Site of a recent CBS press tour party, Lucky Strike was much smaller than I expected, but the bowling was good. Latest computer graphic scoring system, cool neon-colored balls and a hipster vibe... but odd that the entrance is a small door out on the street, away from the center court of the Hollywood and Highland center. And Virbila notes a lane costs $55 an hour to rent-- I suppose OK if you have at least five or six people, but it sure makes me miss the old 24-hour Hollywood Star Lanes. That bowling alley-- famous for its scenes in "The Big Lebowski"-- was torn down last fall by the LAUSD to build a school.
As a nod to the old bowling alley, Lucky Strike has hung the "Hollywood" part of the Hollywood Star Lanes sign on its wall. And lane 16 of the old alley has been turned into Lucky Strike's bar.
The L.A. Times foodie S. Irene Virbila checks out the new Lucky Strike Lanes at Hollywood and Highland, and suggests avoiding the food, which she calls messy and barely above fast-food level.
Site of a recent CBS press tour party, Lucky Strike was much smaller than I expected, but the bowling was good. Latest computer graphic scoring system, cool neon-colored balls and a hipster vibe... but odd that the entrance is a small door out on the street, away from the center court of the Hollywood and Highland center. And Virbila notes a lane costs $55 an hour to rent-- I suppose OK if you have at least five or six people, but it sure makes me miss the old 24-hour Hollywood Star Lanes. That bowling alley-- famous for its scenes in "The Big Lebowski"-- was torn down last fall by the LAUSD to build a school.
As a nod to the old bowling alley, Lucky Strike has hung the "Hollywood" part of the Hollywood Star Lanes sign on its wall. And lane 16 of the old alley has been turned into Lucky Strike's bar.
An Apology
Don't you hate those assholes who loudly gab into their cellphones while shopping in public, as if their conversations are so important that the world needs to eavesdrop?
There was this guy at the Whole Foods Market in West Hollywood last night who just kept talking while picking out his dinner for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't even important -- or remotely interesting stuff. Most of the time he was loudly going on about how much he loved Whole Foods. What was this, a bad commerical?
Oh yeah, that was me. Jerk. To anyone shopping at the Whole Foods between 8:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., I apologize.
Don't you hate those assholes who loudly gab into their cellphones while shopping in public, as if their conversations are so important that the world needs to eavesdrop?
There was this guy at the Whole Foods Market in West Hollywood last night who just kept talking while picking out his dinner for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't even important -- or remotely interesting stuff. Most of the time he was loudly going on about how much he loved Whole Foods. What was this, a bad commerical?
Oh yeah, that was me. Jerk. To anyone shopping at the Whole Foods between 8:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., I apologize.
A Question of Architecture
The latest preservation battle is being waged in the Miracle Mile, just down the street from Variety, where a developer wants to tear down a 54-year-old, two story building that now houses an Office Depot and Sav-On.
But back in the day, it was a department store and remains one of the last examples of L.A. architect Stiles Clements' California design.
Or is it? An Art Deco architecture expert hired by Legacy Partners (which wants to build an apartment complex there) claims the structure -- once known as the Mullen & Bluett building -- is a fraud.
Mitzi March Mogul, stressing she isn't a sell-out, claims the building wasn't built by Clements, and that it isn't even a representative design of the Miracle Mile neighborhood.
Everyone agrees, by the way, that the LAUSD was out of line recently when it tore down a verified example of Clements' work, the 1936 former KFI studio on Vermont Avenue. His other work includes the Wiltern Theater.
The latest preservation battle is being waged in the Miracle Mile, just down the street from Variety, where a developer wants to tear down a 54-year-old, two story building that now houses an Office Depot and Sav-On.
But back in the day, it was a department store and remains one of the last examples of L.A. architect Stiles Clements' California design.
Or is it? An Art Deco architecture expert hired by Legacy Partners (which wants to build an apartment complex there) claims the structure -- once known as the Mullen & Bluett building -- is a fraud.
Mitzi March Mogul, stressing she isn't a sell-out, claims the building wasn't built by Clements, and that it isn't even a representative design of the Miracle Mile neighborhood.
Everyone agrees, by the way, that the LAUSD was out of line recently when it tore down a verified example of Clements' work, the 1936 former KFI studio on Vermont Avenue. His other work includes the Wiltern Theater.
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