For starters, if you ever doubted my ownership of LA, look—I used my magic Narnia door to kick everyone out of the city!
...or else it’s just a quiet Saturday morning in downtown a few months ago, when Rob and I came to the Disney Concert Hall. (Still, nice Godspell effect, I think.)
Rather than spend a beautiful day inside, we headed to the upstairs amphitheater to see On Ensemble as part of the music center’s World City program. On hybridizes taiko music with rock, electronica, hip-hop, and more, which is why you’re seeing not only traditional Japanese instruments but a drum kit, a melodica, turntables, and even Indonesian gong chimes. What a way to kick out the jams and kick off the summer!
The Asian acculturation didn’t stop there, however. Shortly after Disney, we visited Echo Park, in the shadow of downtown’s skyscrapers, for the annual Lotus Festival. Unfortunately, budget issues meant no dragon-boat races this year, but at least there was the usual gauntlet of vendors and food booths. What’re we doing first, Rob? Looking at toys? Having tempura? Getting ice cream?
...Chinese dance presentation? Oh, fine. But we better be going for candy after this.
Weirdly, Rob developed a sudden interest in succulents after seeing what the Lotus Festival plant sellers had to offer, so soon we were off to Cactus Ranch in Reseda for supplies. It was like wandering into a spontaneous patch of badlands in the middle of suburbia.
What? Is there something behind me?
Turns out metal dino sculptures are merely part of the Ranch’s decor. A whole pack of ’em, actually—besides my new stalker, they had a stegosaurus, a spinosaurus, even a parasaurolophus! I don’t see those every day.
Er. Yeehaw?
And from that point on, we were kind of all over the place, starting with our own neighborhood. I’d actually never seen the Capitol Records Building, onetime home to countless recording acts and such a local landmark that the blinking light on the spire even spells out “Hollywood” in Morse code. Rob says this was the first circular office building in the world and was intended just to look cool; the fact that it resembles a stack of vinyl records is apparently a coincidence.
Hey, Rob? I’m not sure I know what vinyl records are. I barely remember what CDs are.
And from where we took that photo, we looked down and found the star of one John Bunny, looking a little neglected. I had to go to IMDB to find out who he was: a major silent-film actor who died fairly young, with the New York Times saying at the time, “The name John Bunny will always be linked to the movies.”
Um...yeah. Perfect example of why it’s a good idea to keep your iPhone handy on the Walk of Fame. Or “Fame,” as the case may be. Not everybody out here is a Chaplin or Keaton.
In fairness, though, how many people see their work endure fifty, seventy, a hundred years? At least John Hughes is solidly on his way—a free open-air screening of Sixteen Candles at the Century City mall can still draw a very healthy crowd on a balmy weekday night!
But for me, the biggest highlight of the summer involved an older film icon and was a little closer to home—both literally and personally.
Oh yes yes yes yes yes.
After all, the Hollywood Bowl is always fun, but what better reason to go than the LA Philharmonic performing the scores of Bugs Bunny cartoons? Quite the turnout, too—look, even Friar Tuck showed up!
The LA Phil performed a number of classics, including “Rabbit of Seville,” “Long-Haired Hare,” and, naturally, “What’s Opera, Doc?” What a fantastic evening. I had delusions of grandeur for a week afterward.
Then for a change of pace, friends recommended Heritage Park in Cerritos, with its American Revolution-themed play island. Tired of conventional playgrounds? Bring the kids here, where climbers and jungle gyms are housed inside miniature replicas of colonial-era Boston buildings! I couldn’t believe my eyes until I saw Old North Church outfitted with a pipe slide.
Any last requests, my red-coated friend? Is that all? Denied. Fire!
In fact, Cerritos doesn’t appear to skimp on the municipal facilities, period. This is the first public library I’ve ever seen that seemed to be modeled directly on Xanadu—I was surprised the librarians weren’t wearing roller skates and ribbon barrettes.
And the adjoining sculpture garden ain’t too shabby either! I can has fake flame?
So that was a very full afternoon, but other daytrips—such as Redondo Pier—were a little more whirlwind.
Yeah, I see the sign. Do you see me moving?
In fact, that visit was basically just Rob running in and out a few of the shops while I waited idly.
What the...? I’m a rabbit—I should automatically rate Love Machine on these things.
For that matter, one funny thing about being a rabbit in a human world is that often people are so thrown when they see me out and about that if I tell them I’m a dessert inspector, sometimes they’ll just go with it. And here’s a real score, two specialties of Patisserie Chantilly in Lomita: their signature choux puff with black sesame cream and an equally tasty mont blanc garnished with gold foil. Talk about a classic moment of indecision!
Then over at Bombay Sweets in Artesia, we have some fine samples of Indian barfi, but don’t let the Urdu name throw you—it’s just condensed milk and sugar cooked into something like shortbread but with the density of cheesecake. Here we have both chocolate and pink coconut varieties...and more indecision.
Finally, to wash it all down, let’s swing by Stewie’s at the Americana in Glendale for some shaved ice—they have even more flavors than advertised, but during our latest heatwave, a classic fruit blend of raspberry, blueberry, and lemon was just perfect!
And as it happens, right across the street from the Americana is the Left Coast Wine Bar, where Rob’s friend Donna performs as a jazz singer. I’d heard her music at home, but this was the first time I’d seen her live. She does Joni Mitchell proud!
Let’s see, what else have we been up to—well, everyday chores, I guess, but those hardly count. Give or take Rob sneaking the occasional candid shot.
Man, Kristen Stewart needs to eat a burger. That salad does look awfully good, though...oh, I’d better put a divider down.
Nor am I counting the things I hoped to do while we were on the go but ultimately couldn’t...like serenade the shoppers at Nordstrom! Thwarted.
I can’t believe they actually locked the piano when they saw me coming. I was only gonna do one sonata.
But obviously, summer has to end sometime. I mean, climatically LA has about six more weeks to go, but already some of the leaves are turning brown, family vacations have ended, and the year is moving on. Soon all we’ll have are photos, fading memories, and the idiosyncratic spelling of “California Gurls” giving way to the grammatically incorrect chorus of “California Dreamin’.”
Good thing we have Christmas to look forward to, then!
Ohhhh, man. Oh, dude. The last train left without us. We gotta take your dad’s flying car to school.
Oh, and I also went to the Getty, the county fair, and several botanical gardens this summer, but the essay assignment was only for 1,000 words and I’m very, very, very, very...very...done!
