Key Adventures

Some of the images from my last minute run to see as many sites as possible with my key to the city. While I didn't always get to follow the letter of the project, I feel I always got to be part of the spirit.

First stop, the southernmost point in NY, Conference State Park, in Staten Island. A path next to the building led down to the sea, and the site of my first lock of the day.

But when I got there....

...not only was it already open, the lock was missing. I thought that the Parks Department had removed the key early since it was a holiday weekend, but along the way, people at other sites told me someone had stolen it. Stealing is wrong, of course, but stealing something of no value simply to deprive people of a pleasure...well, if it weren't so amazingly beautiful there, it probably would have ruined my mood.

Next stop, Staten Island Buddhist Viara. At the end of a very unassuming street, I walked down a driveway to find this gate.

The sign was a welcome for the Key To The City participants and invited people to enjoy the garden. If you were having trouble with meditating, please come to the front door.

I spent about a half hour. I'm not sure if I did it "right", but it was extremely peaceful. The tree in the middle of the garden was a Bodhi tree and was, essentially, planted from a cutting taken from the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.

Heading north, I decided to stop at the Coney Island branch of the NY Public Library.

Their website had said it would be open,
but when I arrived, it was closed.
Fair enough.
So, figuring part of the project was to unlock areas of the city as well as the boxes, I headed over to Nathan's for a hot dog.





Then it was on to the Bronx. First stop PostNet where PO Box 136 was "our" mailing address.

Some of the mail - both left in the box & sent from other places.

If you can't read it, the original note says
"I'm in love with the girl next to me and she doesn't even know. :("
Others added the words of encouragement.

I really liked this postcard because the Louis Armstrong museum was another site in the project.

My contribution was that I finished the crossword puzzle (of course) and signed/dated it.

Next stop in the Bronx was Centro Cultural Rincon Criollo.
For some reason, the photos didn't save to my phone, but, here's the one from the KTTC site:

It's a community garden with 16 participants. This patch was brimming with cabbage, peppers, cucumbers & sunflowers when I arrived. A very friendly woman showed me her garden as well as the spot where they'd already harvested the potatoes, the pear trees, the peach trees, the chickens (that they let run around the place at the end of the season to eat the rest of the crops) and then gave me some of the sweet grapes that were growing on the trellises that covered the majority of the garden.

Last stop in the Bronx was The Point Community Development Corporation. They had taken a building and turned it into an artist's studio, inviting everyone who visted to contribute.

They started out with a bare space, the walls repainted white. The guy who was taking care of the site told me they were initially worried the space was TOO clean.

The site had been open about 3 months when I visited.

"I offered her sex and she chose to paint instead."

My contribution (the green things are my hand prints)

From there I went to Eddie's Sweet Shop in Queens. A truly old fashioned ice cream parlor.

My phone was not only full at this point, but running out of power as I'd also been using it as a GPS. To keep within the spirit of the project of having something to unlock, they had a small cashbox to open. It was FILLED with notes, mostly written on napkins about how great the ice cream was but also other sites to visit. I left a Teetsy sticker (www.teetsy.com) with instructions for someone to take it & place it somewhere else.

Oh, and I had pistachio pineapple ice cream. (I had the really adorable guy behind the soda fountain counter pick the flavor & surprise me.) Truly yummy.

Day 87, Jan. 8 - you never forget your first time

Finally, I feel the shake rattle 'n roll of California - my first earthquake!

I was working late, waiting for a screening & suddenly I realize that I'm swaying. I push my chair away from the desk, wondering if it's something about the equipment. Then I wonder if there's late night construction work going on in the building. Then, I realize that the room is actually swaying. (No comments from the peanut gallery, please.) I was thinking "is this what I think it is?" and then I hear voices in the hallway saying "Did you feel that too?"

It was a bit underwhelming, but, at the same time, entirely satisfying as I don't think I'd want the kind that is overwhelming.

I also found it funny that I, the one non-Californian, knew what was the correct protocal in this type of potential disaster.

And, for those that asked - the cats seemed no worse for wear, although I would have loved to see them at the moment of impact.

Also, initial reports said that it was a 5.0 quake, but the late news said it was 4.5 with severe aftershocks. People in the office say that is no big deal, especially since the epicenter was in "The Valley of the Inland Empire." (aka San Bernadino - and a little bit away from where I'm located.)

Still, I can now check something else off my "California To-Do List."

Day 73, Dec. 25 - god jul

The video was "inspired" by listening to the Dalai Lama's "The Art of Happiness" as well as attending a Kabbalah lecture recently.

Day 64, Dec. 16 - dream police

House of Blues, Sunset Boulevard.






Whoever said you can never go back again was WRONG.

And Mr. Seger was right.

Day 57, Dec. 9 - will blog for xanax

Of course the natural thing to be thinking about as the end of the year approaches is....baseball. And, as any Cubs fan knows, that means stress in general but now my husband is rumored to be in the center of a trade.

So, Mr. Hendry please take note of the following:

Notice that he has swung.

Notice that the ball is not in the catcher's mitt.

Why, because he HIT it. Something the Cubs need.

Find another way to get Peavey.

Please.

(and a belated thanks to Nikki for the photo!...see, it did go to good use)

Day 55, Dec. 7 - part deux

Okay....three earthquakes today around LA.

Or so I am told.

Oh, and the Bears won!

Day 55, Dec. 7 - Whole lotta shakin

Since I've been here there have, apparently, been two earthquakes. The most recent was a 5.1 aftershock of an earthquake that happened 9 years ago. I felt neither. But I did hear the sonic boom as Endeavor reentered the atmosphere. I figure I'm winning (so far).

Another good thing about LA is that the football games start at 10am, so I can watch them with coffee & the paper. Not your average experience, but it also doesn't take up the entire day.

Go Bears!

It's forecast to be 70 today.

Day 54, Dec. 6 - There and back again

Catching up for the last month is going to be pretty impossible. The short version is work, gym, silverlake lounge, part time punks, the breeders, Clifton's Cafeteria & Chicago for Turkey Day.

Starting with the election. It was a bit odd to be at the other end of the country as the election results came in. I was so used to waiting up for the left coast results to come in and out here it seemed like it was all over before I even got home. (Of course, that could have just been the candidate....) It felt great to watch Obama in Grant Park. (And am still jealous of Nikki for actually being there!)

The downside of the election was Proposition 8 (repealing the right of same sex marriages). Truly, I could not believe it passed. Still can't. I just don't understand how people can hold such hate within themselves.

This is one of my favorite responses, thanks to Julia (be aware that parents may want to preview this before letting their kids watch):

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

(Go to the funnyordie.com website & check out Ron Howard's Obama endorsement short.)

And then the city started to burn. Yet again, another event that is different up close. While it was too far away to smell or see it where I'm staying (photo was taken in North Hollywood), it was all still rather shocking. Especially the wildfires that spontaneously began one Saturday morning & burned most of the day, with news reports of people fleeing their homes as the fires "jumped" over freeways to their area. And unlike many of the fire reports I remember hearing over the years, this one was not destroying luxury homes but trailer parks. Perhaps I found it more devastating because I feel these people, like many of the Katrina victims will now be lost. And I suppose there's also the shift from having thought of fires as methodical events that could be controlled to something random, fast moving and....well, almost like it has the randomness of a serial killer. (And I am the one who hates anthropomorphism.)

But on to something pleasant. LA, and especially the area I'm staying in has a lot of street art.

On Sunset, near Silverlake Blvd.

Somewhere on Sunset in EchoPark.

On the gates of Subliminal Projects' store.

(where I spent 5 hours one Saturday waiting to get a limited edition, signed "Obama Hope" print.....for Julia. Yes, she does owe me!)

Also in my wanderings (okay, not so much wandering...really I was going to Target & decided to walk the 7 blocks instead of waiting for the bus) I found the building to the right. With so many random things in LA having big histories (like the steps near my house), and I was tempted to try to get inside, but I thought a six foot tall blonde climbing a fence might draw suspision, even on Santa Monica. So I googled it. (http://www.scottymoore.net/studio_radiorecorders.html) Elvis made history here and now it's shuttered up.

And then there's Thanksgiving.

As I've done for the past....5 (?) years, I went to the very excellent feast hosted by l.e.n. & jeff in Logan Square.

Even in White Sox country they rock the Old Style with true flair

I got an amazing flight/hotel deal, and ended up at the Hard Rock. They didn't quite rock my world, but I did stay on the Cheap Trick floor which amused me as that was the second concert I ever went to. (Bun E. Carlos was one of the reasons I wanted to learn how to play the drums.)

Another of the highlights of the trip....well, other than the glogg.......was the audio walking tour I did through Oak Park of the Frank Lloyd Wright houses. I thought it was a great tour, including notes about the prevailing architecture of the times (Victorian & Stick style) so you could see how disarming Wright's buildings truly were. I was motivated to do the tour mostly by a long standing admiration for Wright's architecture (something I share with my parents) but also because of a book I had recently read for book club, "Loving Frank." It is a fictionalized version of the true story of the affair that Wright had with the wife of one of his clients, Mamah Cheney (pronounced "maymaaa", for those keeping score). She eventually divorced her husband and the two of them ran off together, and he eventually built Taliesian in Wisconsin for the two of them to live in together. Wright never divorced his wife because his wife wouldn't grant him a divorce and so Frank & Mamah lived "without the benefit of marriage" until Mamah's tragic end. (A servant went berserk, burning the house to the ground & killing Mamah, her two children and several of the workers with an axe.)

So, of COURSE I had to go see the house that was the beginning of it all.

And somehow I have yet to mention Clifton's Cafeteria. It is hard to describe, I think you have to experience it. The short explanation is that it's, as the name suggests, a cafeteria. But it's a cafeteria with a grotto & a prayer "house" that patrons can use for 10 minutes at a time. (Needless to say, I did not go into the prayer house for fear of the extracurricular activities that may have been going on.....) But, actually, Clifton's is very cool & has done some really great work with the homeless, especially during the depression. (http://www.cliftonscafeteria.com/home.html) Jeff was actually the one whot introduced me to this establishment & if anyone comes to visit, I'll take you there.

Oh, the highly amusing thing about T'giving in Chicago was that I hadn't packed a winter coat to take to LA. For once, I was happy it didn't snow.

It was 79 degrees today.

Day 16, Oct 29 - And now, for something mundane

Work.

I started on Monday. Am enjoying the commute, actually. I haven't started reading on the bus as I'm still getting used to the route & don't want to miss a stop (especially on the rapid bus). But already, it's evident that there are regulars who have the same schedule that I do (which, for me, is actually an un-schedule as I seem to miss the bus I'm aiming for by about 30 seconds). The most fascinating so far is an unusually thin man who is rather well dressed, but always wears these very slim pants, which accentuate how thin he is. Add to this completely white hair with a deep tan and it's hard not to notice him. (No, not like THAT....)

And there's a group that always gets on at Santa Monica & Vermont who buy daily passes every day. Same people every day so far. Granted, it's only been 3 days, but since the daily pass is $5/day and a weekly pass is $17, I'm curious about their economics.

And the best thing about riding the bus is passing a lot of places that I'd like to go to. One of the most interesting is the Silent Movie Theater which apparently has a very intriguing past. (http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL123.htm and/or http://www.dearlydepartedtours.com/Deceased/a/laurenceaustin/silentmovietheater.htm) I'm planning to go there for their Halloween showing. It was either that, or seeing if Hollywood Forever was open late.

Day 8, Oct 21 - Yes, Virginia, there is public transport in LA

The car went back today. It was actually a relief to hand the keys over. No more searching for parking, no more trying to backtrack after missing my turn, no more trying to get across 5 lanes of traffic, no more worrying that I didn't lock the car...

Ok, I know...I worry about things most people don't think about. But, after the first few days of getting set up in the apt, I just felt like I was missing part of the city as I couldn't look at what I was passing because I had to keep an eye on the traffic. With a pass, I am looking forward to having more flexibility in travel with starts & stops as things look interesting.

So as my first foray into LA's public trasit system, I took the "flyaway" bus from LAX to downtown Union Station. It's a direct bus, no stops in between & costs $4. From there, a rapid bus got me back to Silverlake for $1.25. The trip, in total, took about an hour. Granted, this isn't an option when you have a suitcase, backpack, purse & two cats in tow, but it does show that the powers that be in LA are thinking about reducing the number of car trips needed.

They also have a "TAP" card system. It's a reusable, refillable card for bus & rail travel. One thing I like about it is that you can refill the card online & the balance is guaranteed against loss.

The thing I have yet to figure out is all the different bus & rail lines. Metro, Dash, Red Line, Orange Line, Metrolink. The good thing is that the buses have the racks on the front to carry bikes & bikes are also allowed on the rail system (for now, from what I've been reading.)

And, of course, the buses are all clean air.

So far, I'm impressed.

Day 7, Oct 20th - Close Encounter of the First Kind

Yes, I found THE house.

Now, I'd like to take credit for having amazing navigational skills. That I remembered the many times I had to look at footage of this place, along with aerials and was able to coordinate all of this information to zone in on her location. The truth is, I used Google Earth. Just entering "Kathy Griffin's house" into google came up with the results in google earth, including an aerial shot which is almost exactly the same as the ones used on the D-list as well as her exact address. On the internet no one may know you're a dog, but they can find you no matter who you are.

I find it amusing that, as editors on the D-list, we were made to choose shots that will not give away the house number or show the name of the house as if this is some closely guarded secret. About 15 minutes on the web gave it all away. Actually, I'm surprised it wasn't listed as a "local attraction" on my gps.


I also went to Griffith's Park & hiked up to the Observatory. On a clear day you can see....downtown?

It would have been a good idea if I had used the internet a bit more in scheduling my day. It's closed on Mondays.

And the weirdest thing I saw today was at a Starbucks....in a laundromat.

Day 4, Oct 17th - Things what I discovered today

Somewhere on Silverlake Boulevard

Too easy.
















.

The Silverlake version of Mr. Softee

No manic tunes!!

Just down the block from my apartment.
http://www.laurelandhardy.org/MusicBox.htm





























And....young master Otis

....and Mom.

Day 2, Oct 15th - Sweet Revenge

Most of the day was spent doing errands. Supplies, etc. Including buying a tv antennae. The irony of this place is that while there is a tv, it is only set up as a monitor for the DVD player. My "sublandlord" is an indie film maker and I guess one of those who "Does Not Watch TV." I respect that and have already become enamored of having Air America on in the background (off the computer mind you, because she also doesn't have a radio). However, I do like to watch the news in the morning (and, to be honest, Gossip Girl). I am looking forward to less dependency on cable.

But the big event of the day was going to Dodger Stadium.
For those of you keeping score, you'll know I was hoping for a different October, however, I was here, already had the tickets and figured I might as well go - especially because it could mean the downfall of the "Yankees West" club. It's been 50 years since Dodger Stadium was built and while it does look it, it is not in a bad way (like Shea). Very kitschy & in keeping with much of the architecture of the area. And a gorgeous way to see the game, with the mountains beyond the outfield & the sun setting. They have an old school scoreboard as well as a jumbotron. The announcer has been working with the Dodgers since they were in Brooklyn.

Tommy Lasorda & his granddaughter threw out the first balls. (The granddaughter did better.)

Lots of Dodger blue everywhere. Just about the only nod to the visiting team was the South Street philly cheesesteak stand.
While he was much ballyhooed towards the end of the game, it seems they don't really have a lot of respect for Nomar.At the end of the seventh inning, the exodus began. I know people have a commute, but still...it's a PLAYOFF game. But it was a really great game and I enjoyed it thoroughly. And, no, I did not wear a Cubs hat. (Hey, I'm brave, not suicidal.) I felt bad for the couple sitting next to me who had seen Dodger Stadium when it opened and who were extremely nice to me (even after I admitted I wanted the Phillies to win), and even though I would have liked to see Joe Torre be able to say "nyah nyah nyah" to Steinbrenner....I think I'll be using my Dodger rally towel to clean the floor.

Kathy stalking to start soon.....