Mild introduction to a new chapter of life

Last week I was able to complete the last item on my Los Angeles bucket list - something I'd been meaning to make time for, for the past few years: visit the Getty Villa.  Not to be confused with the main Getty Center, the Getty Villa requires (free) ticket reservations and is located 5 miles north on Highway 1 from Santa Monica.

I learned that heavy Greek and Roman architecture, sculpture, and overall artifacts are not my favorite styles.  That said, I'm glad that Getty took on the project of tying together his modern design approach and incorporating his historical interests; it makes for an interesting experience.  Many more geometric designs than I anticipated, and which I associate more with Arabian design; I loved the inlaid stone floors!

With my Los Angeles bucket list completed for the time being (items can always be added!), I packed a few bags (more than I should have) and walked out my front door, hopped a train, bus, and then a plane.

I embarked a journey that will take me to fjords in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, tropical beaches, markets of the last thousand years, and more.

Utilizing planes, trains, ferries, automobiles, bicycles, and, of course, my Talaria (shown here) I charge forth!

Much like this little child / kuros, I press onward in my journey of life, trying to interpret the world through the eyes of someone more wise, and learn along the way!

My first stop takes me across the International Date Line to Auckland, NZ, where my host neighborhood offers a wonderfully sporty method of controlling automobile speeds: two-way working chicanes instead of speed bumps/humps.

The photo below is taken looking straight down the street, and note the angle of the van exiting the chicane; clearly a poor execution that focused on the optimal trajectory for the first turn, ignoring the second turn and making impossible a more preferable exit from the obstacle.

Tsk, tsk, van driver.  Slow down earlier, line up optimally for your final turn, and accelerate into the straightaway.

There's also a super-awesome, hand-spinnable kinetic sculpture in town that plays with light and wind nicely:

Nicely polished welds on unpolished, raw stainless steel (?) left the piece with a beautiful raw-yet-refined finish.

Friday night Gallery show

Thought we'd take a quiet Friday night to introduce our latest resident artists' new art pieces!  Let us know which ones you like!

Eternal Flame

Follow me.

Bengali Detective

 

Hammockil Halo

  

Too Cheesy

  

FancyAnts

 

Cact-astrophy!

 

Octo-fringe

 

Oh!  It looks like you're not quite finished...

 

It's easy, just do this!

 

Thanks for coming to the show!

HB's Birthday - Explore LA!

I've really been enjoying a bit more free time lately to enjoy all the great happenings that LA has to offer.  Last week I enjoyed sunset at the Griffith Observatory, including seeing the Tesla Coil fire, camera obscura 360, and their awesome foucault's pendulum.

Photo: http://www.nytimes.com/

View of historic "Hollywood" sign from the Griffith

Telsa coils are awesome.  So was Tesla, himself.

Photo: http://discoverlosangeles.com/

Then a few days later we watched the sunset from the top of Mount Wilson, while eating a snack and taking in the great views of the greater LA basin.  Super beautiful.

Photo: http://www.khurramhashmi.org/

For my birthday, I explored LA's new Metro EXPO line which transports passengers from downtown (7th St. Metro Center) towards (but not quite yet to) Culver City.  We took our bikes and explored all over, though our main attractions were right next to the Expo line itself.

First stop was the California Science Center.  We had a superb afternoon with all of the hands-on science, though some 'hands-on' stuff didn't really teach WHY or HOW things were happening (no cause-and-effect).  Maybe the folks at Iridescent Learning have some lessons that the Science Center could use?

Super simple physics game to motivate balls into a goal, with mechanical claws, controllable ramps, and bursts of air.

Far-Infrared camera showing cold-blooded animals crawling around (tortoises, lizards, etc.)

We also went into the Butterfly Pavilion - a spring/summer exhibit outdoors in a netted area where many, many (hundreds?) of butterflies hang out, get fat and happy on flowers and fruit, and also some caterpillars and cocoons, etc.

Sorry for the lack of focus on these -- there were tons (okay, not literally), everywhere!

Then we went to the LA County Museum of Natural History Museum and saw and touched real dinosaur bones, as well as learned more California history.  Super awesome.

We came on the last "First Friday" of their season to host speakers and musicians.  It was an excellent use of space, and we'll be back next year!

The music was provided by KCRW DJs (Thanks Garth, and Anthony!) as well as Cut Chemist and Superhumanoids.  We danced out a bundle of energy, and then returned home via the Expo Line, Red Line, and Gold Line, followed by a mini-bike ride.  Long, awesome birthday!

The speaker was Jonah Lehrer, who is an excellent writer and speaker, and had some fun insights into how humans find solutions to problems, based on academic research.  Reminded me a bit of Malcolm Gladwell - just as engaging, and applicable.

Spring Break 2009, Part 2

Part 2 of Spring Break took place in the greater LA area when a friend from Notre Dame came to visit from Chicago.

Who needs dreary days that have a high of 18 degrees?

We decided to stay on the Queen Mary, which is now a hotel. While it was designed to carry about 3000 people, it holds the record for most passengers in one vessel: 16,082 (Learn more about this fantastic ship at Wikipedia.)

We took a tour of the haunted ship for a few hours, and tried to conjure up spirits, along with just enjoying the various parts of the boat. We were let into the bow cargo hold and engine room among other.

The next day we headed inland to see the Cabazon Dinosaurs. (These dinos achieved fame in "PeeWee's Big Adventure, a movie made in 1985).

They were fun to see, and climb in, but we had trouble learning from the creationist museum on site. (The museum shows medieval soldiers pelting dinos with rocks, and has plans to build a replica of Noah's ark. Ugh.)

Next up was lovely old town Pasadena. Perfect sunset, architecture, food, and the arts.

Dancers at the public library, displaying traditional Mexican dances.

Last stop of ArtNight (highly recommended!) was the Norton Simon museum, with some amazing Degas and Monet pieces, along with an exhibit on Asian religions. Love it.

No visit to LA would be complete without a stop at Venice Beach where we saw a busker jump over 9 people (the guy on the left, the 10th, moved out of the way).

Venice Beach drum circle at sunset on a Saturday night. Much better in person (or YouTube).

Katy and I enjoying the arts a bit more on Saturday night at a local community theatre performance of The Secret Garden.

Finally, the Santa Monica Farmer's Market for some ridiculously big quesadillas and a few strawberries and fudge, to keep our strength up!
(No fozzies were hurt in the making of this coat.)