Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Despite the amazingly low number of posts lately, I actually have been doing a lot of stuff, especially on the weekends. And it just so happens that some of those activities were on my list of Things To Do Before Leaving LA. Check 'em out.
Watts TowersMy super awesome girlfriend came out two weekends ago and we decided to tackle a few of the smaller things on the list. First up: the Watts Towers. Back in the 1920s, an Italian immigrant named Simon Rodia started building a "ship" on land out of concrete and broken plates, bottles, mirrors, and other sundrious household items. Some 33 years later his masterpiece was complete; a "ship" complete with three masts (the towers) and a cabin at the back which served as his house.
While we were waiting for the tour, Ginger and I walked into the visitors center which his apparently a political activist safehaven. The whole place was covered with artwork protesting the prison system and bashing the government in general. I'm pretty sure we both had the same thought going through our heads as we walked out two minutes later: "God damn hippies." Not that I don't necessarily appreciate their opinions, but their methods have become trite and overdone. Then on to the tour. We got stuck in with a group of Brits that had to leave 10 minutes after the tour started, so our guide was really pushy. She gave us about 3 minutes to wander the grounds by ourselves, then called us all in to the "gazebo" to read us the poem she wrote for the last seven minutes. Ah, California, land of the self-serving artists. To be honest, the lady must have been a second grade teacher at some point, because that's how I felt I was being treated.
Don't let my bitter recount of the tour deter you though. The towers themselves are actually very cool and worth seeing. It's impressive that one man could be so devoted to his work to spend over 30 years on it, and also to have a creative vision that was decades before its time. Hats off to you, Mr. Rodia. Also, what's really amazing about the Towers is the stark contrast to the neighborhood around them. For those of you who have never lived in LA, Watts is not the nicest of neighborhoods. It's obvious just from visiting the grounds that the area was a lot different when the towers were being built. Urban sprawl had not yet taken place and Rodia's "home" was probably isolated from the nearest homes. Now, it is merely another lot on a street with dozens of other houses, all built on top of each other. In fact, the city originally planned on demolishing Rodia's creation in order to build more houses, but was thwarted when people protested. Lucky for us!Ferris Wheel on Santa Monica Pier
Okay, so this one was a no-brainer having Ginger in town. Is there anything more fun than making out at the top of a ferris wheel? I propose that there is not. For a mere $9 the two of us were able to take in the awesome view of Santa Monica and the Pacific coastline. To top it all off, we had a delicious funnel cake. Is there anything more delicious than fried dough? I propose that there is not.The Getty Center
As an advocate of the arts, I couldn't not go to the Getty Center before leaving. My friend Maria and I went up on a Saturday afternoon. If you've never been, go check it out. It's located on the top of hill right off the 405 and has a great view of Santa Monica and the Pacific. On top of that, the architecture is pretty sweet. I mean, I'm no architecture major, but I enjoyed it. Very contemporary and very bright. They had a pretty sweet garden on the grounds, too, with lots of water and bridges.
It turned out to be a good day for exhibits as they were hosting several Degas prints. My favorite piece of the day was his "Title Here" (see pic). There was also an Impressionism wing with several Cezanne, Monet, and Manet pieces. We even got to see some Remington. I felt cultured.Amoeba
No, it's not referring to the single-cell organism. And no, it's not a club in Hollywood full of people with the intelligence of a single-cell organism (which was my first guess). No, it's a super-awesome music store in Hollywood. If you're looking for it, they've probably got it. It's so awesome that there's a man at the entrance to the parking lot letting cars in only when a space opens up. Maria introduced me to it. I ended up buying aCD and 3 LPs after spending like 2 hours in the store.
The Old Spaghetti Factory
I've been to the one in Louisville dozens of times, so I couldn't pass up the offer to hit up the one in Hollywood. And it was just as delicious as the one in the Ville for the same delicious price. The only complaint I had was that the bread wasn't the awesome brown bread you get in the Ville and they didn't give us garlic butter. What's up with that? The best part though is checking out the building it's in. They always pick an old warehouse or department store and the furniture is made from crazy bedframes or something. I highly recommend it if there's one near you.
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