Summer

Los Angeles Union Station

Summer is here. The weather in the past few days has been nice. Los Angeles usually gets hit with a heat wave during this time of year. When Summer arrived last month that's actually what we got.

I usually don't go into downtown that much and especially in the evening. My friend invited me to a free concert at Grand Performances (the venue is in the middle of a corporate plaza). Tonight's show was a tribute to Nina Simone. (It would have been her 80th birthday). Before we got there we took a detour to Union Station (the kids needed to use the restroom). I love Union Station. You feel like you're in a different time period. We then continued on our way to the venue. We got there half an hour before the show started so we ended up sitting at the top of the terrace. It was a nice casual atmosphere. Everyone brought food and drinks. Those who sat on the floor brought a blanket to sit on (the one thing we didn't think to bring. Not that it was necessary).

My friend brought her kids so we ended up leaving early--too many people and no room for them to run around. Still a great night. The weather was perfect, there was plenty of food, and the music was great, too.

field trip, part 2

the sky cleared up by the time i left in the late afternoon.

back to the museum...in front of the museum is chris burden's piece. at night, the lamp posts are all lit and it's a beautiful sight. the exhibition i went to see, the james turrell retrospective, visitors are not allowed to take any photographs so all i got were images of other pieces in other exhibitions. however you can read about his work and see images here. the sculpture above is centaur by pablo picasso. i also love the giant screen (image 5) in the museum's courtyard.

i highly recommend the james turrell retrospective though. i definitely want to make another trip.

field trip, part 1

some time last year i went to lacma (los angeles county museum of art). i took these photos and never posted them. i am posting them now because i took another trip to this museum yesterday and took more pictures. the photos from last year will help tell the story of the whole trip.

the first photo i took while waiting for the metro. (yes, l.a. has a metro). as you can see, not as busy as other metros around the world. the berlin wall piece was actually located across the street from lacma and is part of the wende museum's program, the wall project. the last picture is just the backside. i'm glad i walked up to it last year because now the lawn has been taped off so you can't get up close anymore (although you could just walk over the tape, if you want. there was no security in front). sadly, i don't think people are aware that it is a piece of the berlin wall as they are driving by it.

from the wende museum website:

"...the Museum conceived and produced The Wall Project, a public art initiative which commemorated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Garnering press in over two-dozen countries and broadcast live in Europe, The Wall Project’s culminating event on November 8, 2009 was the largest of its kind outside of Berlin."

i still can't believe i was in france for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall.  it was a nice surprise to see this a few years after my return home.  the irony that i see it in l.a. and not in europe.  there is also a smaller section of the wall at the richard nixon library and museum in yorba linda (california). i got to see that piece when i was in college as part of a class trip.

twitter art exhibit mini update

i just checked the facebook page. my piece has 5 likes. nice way to end the evening. the show is january 12th. not sure if i'll be able to attend the opening but still exciting. i also have some other things planned that i want to get done before the reception. can't wait to reveal that.

update: just checked the facebook page again. on another album where all the pieces are posted, my piece has 4 likes (different people from the other one) plus one person shared the image.

public bike sharing is coming to l.a.!

digital rendering of a bike sharing station in l.a. - love the design of the bike.  image by bike nation

a velo'v bike sharing station in lyon, france.

i can't believe it.  i've only heard how the city wants to do this but i didn't think it would be happening this soon.  we just don't have the money for it.  now it is happening thanks to a private company, bike nation.  i just hope the bikes look better than the velib of paris.  unfortunately this is not county-wide, yet.  they are only concentrating on four areas right now: hollywood, westwood, venice, and downtown.  4,ooo bikes.  their rates are similar to other bike sharing systems around the world:  $6 for the day, $1.50 for an hour or $4.50 for 90 minutes. Trips shorter than 30 minutes will be free; one-year passes will run $75.  yes, i know these bike sharing systems also have to worry about theft which is why there is a tracking device built in each bike and a registration fee involved for each bike rider -- just like in other cities that implement this bike sharing system.  even if you just want to ride it for a few hours you have to register first and the registration fee is around $300 (the price of one good bike).

here's the whole story.

jamie oliver and los angeles

i posted this on my other blog but it's something that needs to be shared again.

please watch this video:  food revolution for a healthy america