Category: Los Angeles

How NOT to Fix a Broken Arm, Part 1

The true story of how it took 37 days for my doctors to fix my broken arm, and I HAVE insurance.

On August 17, I broke my left elbow at the radius head. A very bad break for which there is no way to set it. The video that follows is the first in a series of how my insurance company and medical group completely screwed up my care. Bad doctors, terrible customer service, and no one seeming to care if my arm got fixed or not – it all had to be done by a system of rules that seem to change everyday.

This blog is about trips – usually travel trips – well this is a trip into the horror of American health care. BEWARE!!! It is very scary!! 






How NOT to Fix a Broken Arm, Part 1






		

		
			


	





	

		
		
The Hudson – Los Angeles- Restaurant Review
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
Recently had dinner and drinks at the Hudson in West Hollywood, a casual eatery featuring American cuisine on the corner of Santa Monica and Crescent Heights at 1114 N Crescent Heights Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046-5007.


First, how is it possible for a restaurant to open anywhere in LA and not have parking? Literally, there is no parking for customers, and the eatery is located on the corner of residential and commercial streets in West Hollywood. How does that happen?


This a cool thing. They have actually built the restaurant around living trees. You can dine, have a drink, or talk to friend in a restaurant with a full grown, stuck in the real earth, peel the bark off tree next to your table. Very cool use of space and keeping nature around.


Hudson Bar


The space has a very woodsy vibe with a lot of exposed wood and ceiling beams yet maintains a very cozy feel with booths along the walls, and tons of tables in the middle of the room with a small but lively bar area in the back of the building.


When my friend and I got there, the place was pretty empty for dinner. Yet, the host, while not rude, also just zipped us to our table, placed the menus on the table and was gone before we even sat down. Our waitress was nice enough, but was not very personable. She kept rushing away from the table to do something else. I just had the sense that the staff was trying to turn the table as fast as possible. We both felt like we were being slightly rushed the entire meal.


We started by sharing an Argula and Avocado Salad with parmesan, lemon, and olive oil. Very tasty and fresh, it was a good start to the meal. For the main course, she ordered the Hudson Brown Rice dish and I got the Pan Roasted Chicken with a lemon chill sauce. Both dishes were fine and professional prepared, but were kind of bland and not very exciting.


I like to check the service sometimes by asking for items on the side. This time I asked for the chill sauce on the side instead of on the chicken. The waitress acknowledged this and wrote it down, yet when it came the sauce was already on the chicken. I asked for more sauce on the side, and this created a real stir among the staff. The server went to get the waitress, who came to the table, then a bus boy came, followed by the manager. All of them telling me that the extra sauce (which was not extra) would take time because it had to be made to order for each chicken dish. I was almost finished with the chicken when a small dollop of lemon chill sauce arrived on my table. It had taken them 20 minutes to make this little bit of sauce.


We paid the dinner bill, again feeling rushed. To stretch the evening out, we decided to get a cocktail in the bar. What a difference! The bartenders were very friendly, made great cocktails, and while they were busy they actually tried to carry on a conversation with you. The cocktails are handmade and really very good. I was introduced to “white whiskey” something I had never heard of before. The bartender explained to me that whiskey gets it color from the barrels it is aged in, so this whiskey had not been aged for very long and that process had not been done in wooden barrels.


Trees growing right from the eatery


By the time, we got to the bar it was hopping. It had a real West Hollywood neighborhood feel to it with a very mixed crowd both by age and lifestyle. This a bar that I would come back to again.


Overall, not a bad dinner, but nothing to write home about. Bland food, confusion on the order, rushed service offset by a wonderful bartender and great drinks. So a real tossup as to whether to return or not. If you look at their reviews online, it is also a mixed bag. Great food and wonderful times for some, and sloppy bad service for others.


Check it out yourself and let me know what you think.


The Hudson 1114 N Crescent Heights Blvd, West Hollywood, CA. Call for reservations (323) 654-6686.

	


	





	

		
		
I had nothing to write about? – Los Angeles
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
I have just returned from an around-the-world trip – Europe, Middle East, India, through Japan back to Los Angeles. I took 1000’s of photos, visited ancient and modern cities, saw tons of castles, museums, and old ruins. Visited old friends, met new ones and saw people and places that I will always remember.


I also fancy myself a travel writer. I have a blog – tripswithjames.com. My readership is small but slowly growing. I have my website, a FB page, a Google page, and an Instagram page. I have tried to publish at least one article a week and on the recent trip I was up to two per week. I posted 100’s of photos on my sites and use an app called Hootsuite that can publish on up to 10 sites at the same time (to save time).


I try to take this new hobby seriously, so that it may one day turn into something real. Like a real business. That is why I was shocked when I went to start a new blog post a week ago, and had nothing to say????


While on my journeys I had posted 11 blogs about Iceland and parts of Germany. I had not even gotten to India yet (I could do 11 on India alone). Yet, on that morning as I sat at my desk and tried to write about Berlin (where I spent a week) – nothing. I did not even want to edit some photos and post those. Just blah!




Of course, I was back home and my “REAL” life was taking over again. My job as a college professor, my ownership of an Airbnb guest house, and editing my new short film as a film/theatre director slowly invaded the space that once was taken up with the next adventure and the next place to see and experience. Slowly, the journey was pushed out replaced by the need to have the dryer fixed, a new dishwasher delivered, and the carpeting in the apartment replaced with laminate flooring.


Yet blah?


Travel has been my increasingly important passion over the past 5 years. Something that I dream about and plan for and save for, so that I can see something I have not seen before and experience something that I have not done before. So why the writer’s block?




Then, I started to put pressure on myself for not writing. I would make plans to sit down and write, but always found a way to put it on the back burner. Always found an excuse or just plain forgot. What was going on? And the pressure built because if you are writing a blog – you have to be consistent to build an audience for your work. And I had made a promise to myself to be consistent. Yet, nothing. What was going on??


One night during an editing session on the new short film (called Fancy Meeting You Here) I mentioned this block to the writer/producer of the film. How I was so frustrated and stressed about not writing, and she said write about that.


What? Write about not writing? Why would anyone want to read that?




She told me that I am a creative person, and I am upset with not being creative. That I had just returned from a world tour for 6 weeks where my only responsibility was getting to an airport on time for my next flight. Other than that, I had no restrictions at all. I could do anything I wanted too. Now, my real life and all the things that entails was taking over and blocking out the journey and the ideas that it generated. The very jobs that make my current passion possible were getting in the way of that passion.

Further, she explained, is that I have a blog about travel but also all the things related to travel. Wasn’t it ironic that the very things that made the blog possible were keeping me from doing the blog. So write about that frustration.


Great, I get that I acknowledged, but who wants to read about a travel writer who cannot write. Who cares?


The problem was not unique to me, my friend pointed out. Everyone gets overwhelmed by daily life. The mortgage, the kids, the job, the car, the repairs, the in-laws, your boss. It all adds up to take us away from what is really important to us. You have to make an active attempt every day to focus on what is important to you, because no one else is going to make that space for you. Some days you get the time and other days you don’t, but you have to always try to find the space to create or whatever it is that is important to you. And that is what you should write about.


Then we went back to editing the film.


So that is what today’s blog is about. Finding the time to do what it is that you want to do. It won’t be there every day, but if you plan for it and make space for it, most days it will be. Daily life is going to happen regardless. Your responsibilities, your obligations and society all work to take over your moment to moment life. Your daily obligations can overwhelm you, and soon you may not realize that you have lost control of your own day to day existence.




It would be very easy to put off writing for a day that turned into a week, into a month, into three months, finally into six months I forget that I have a website at all. Me, myself, and I have to make the space, the time, and effort to get to do what I want to do. Some days I will have it and some days not, but I will not blame myself for not doing it – I will just make sure that I do it the next day. One day at a time – make the space to do what you love to do.


Peace!

	


	





	

		
		
Peace and Quiet at Lake Hollywood – Los Angeles
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
Right in the middle of Hollywood, under the world-famous Hollywood sign lies a truly beautiful and peaceful lake known as Lake Hollywood or the Hollywood Reservoir. The reservoir is located in the Hollywood Hills, which are part of the Santa Monica Mountains just north of the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.




The reservoir was created by the Mulholland Dam, built in 1924, designed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, then named the Bureau of Water Works and Supply, as part of the city’s water storage and supply system.


The surrounding recreational area is known as Lake Hollywood Park, and is open for walking, hiking, and jogging. The reservoir is encircled by a flat, paved road that is suitable for walking and bicycling.




This 3.5-mile loop circles a peaceful fence-enclosed reservoir in the hills below the Hollywood Sign. The lake has several coves and inlets that give it a natural look. When standing on the Dam/bridge on the opposite side from the lake side, you get a sweeping view of Hollywood through a thick pine forest.




There are at least 3 entry points to the Hollywood Reservoir. The northwest gate is easily accessible from both the 101 freeway and Burbank. Just follow Barham Blvd. to Lake Hollywood Drive. Follow the winding road up to the top of the hill to the intersection of Wonder View Dr. and marvel at the wonderful panoramic view of the lake and the dam with Los Angeles in the background. Start down the hill to the gate, and you will find available roadside parking on both sides of Lake Hollywood Drive. The proper address to find the North Gate is 2600 Lake Hollywood Dr., Hollywood, CA 90068.






A second entry point to the lake would be the Weidlake Gate. This is an alternate gate located on the Hollywood side of the lake. This South Gate has a nice parking area but it is full of ruts and pot holes so be careful. It is right next to the dam which is the most scenic spot of the lake, but getting there is more difficult. Take North Cahuenga Blvd. to Dix St. Left off Dix Street is Holly Drive and follow that up into the hills until you come to Weidlake Dr. Follow Weidlake to the end and you will find the parking lot, the gate, a porta-potty, and the scenic dam.


 The third entrance point is off of Tahoe gate off where Lake Hollywood Dr. meets up with Tahoe Drive. The entrance is the eastern most gate and the parking is limited to available spaces in the neighborhood. You can reach Tahoe gate by a few different ways that take you up Beachwood Canyon Drive. But the easiest way is to follow Lake Hollywood Drive past the North gate, continue around the lake for about 3/4 quarters of a mile and you will find the Tahoe gate. (pictured above)


 






A landslide forced crews to close portions of the trail in 2005. The road to the east of the reservoir reopened in 2009, but the western side remained closed for repair work until 2013, forcing walkers, runners, cyclists and anyone else who entered the area from the East Gate off Lake Hollywood Drive or Weidlake Gates to turn around instead of completing the loop.


The landslides occurred after 35 inches of rain saturated soil along the perimeter road. The slides damaged private and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power property, requiring $9.5 million worth of repairs on the hillside and road.


Source: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Lake-Hollywood-Reservoir-Trail-Loops-Gate-Reopening-202512361.html#ixzz4gunC9VdR




Lake Hollywood is closed at night. The gates are open Monday through Sunday, sunrise (about 6:30) till sunset. Be careful in the winter months because the sun sets early and so the park closes earlier as well. They lock the gates and it is really hard to get out. I have been stuck inside for an hour after closing myself. LADWP does have a guard who stays and checks the locked gates for knuckle-heads like me, but they are not pleasant about it. There are signs with the specific times for opening and closing at each gate so check those before you start out. Also dogs are not permitted on the Lake Hollywood trail at all.


(Research for this story is courtesy of Wikiapedia, NBC LA, Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.)

	


	





	

		
		
Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden – Pasadena
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
On a wonderfully beautiful Los Angeles Sunday, my friend and I drove up the 110 and got off on Orange Grove Ave., and turned left toward Arlington Drive. We were going to visit and hopefully experience the calm and beauty of the Japanese Gardens.




HISTORY OF THE GARDENS


The property was originally owned by Charles and Ellamae Storrier Stearns, who were wealthy patrons of the arts and cultural heavyweights in the civic life of Pasadena. In 1935, they hired a famous Japanese landscape designer named Kinzuchi Fujii to construct a formal Japanese garden with a Tea House on their 2 acre lot. Now most formal Japanese gardens are rather small in square feet but a chance to create such a huge canvas for his work was something he could not pass up.


So starting in 1935 until 1942 when he was taken away to an interment camp for the Japanese during World War II, Fujii worked on the garden for the Stearns. During the 7 years of construction, the Stearns would invest more than 150,000 dollars into the project. First Fujii had to remove two tennis courts and dig out areas for the two koi ponds and waterfall. By moving tons of dirt around the lot, he was able to construct a hill area where there was none, two large ponds, and areas for the tea house and contemplation. The garden was so unusual that it became locally famous. It is the only example of a formal Japanese garden created before the war that still exists in Southern California. However, like the rest of Fujii’s gardens in the Los Angeles area which are all gone now, things did not look good for this garden site.




Ellamae died in 1949, and the mansion and property were put up for auction. Gamelia Haddad Poulsen, an art/antiques dealer, attended the auction for the Storrier Stearns estate. She was hoping only to buy two Louis XV chairs. However, when she realized that no one was bidding on the whole property, she impulsively made a bid. To her amazement she ended up as the owner of the entire estate. She sold off parts of the estate but kept the garden and an area to build a new home for her family.




In 1975,  Caltrans used eminent domain to seize a strip of property on the easternmost side of the garden for use in building the extension of the 710 freeway. An easement was also taken, since expired, to create an access road for trucks to use during the future construction of the freeway. It would have sliced directly through the middle of the garden.


Believing that the garden was lost, Gamelia let it fall into disrepair and sold off some of the valuable artifacts. The final blow came when the teahouse burned down under mysterious circumstances in 1981. Gamelia died in 1985 at which time the garden ownership passed to her son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Connie Haddad.




The garden continued to languish until 1990, when the Haddad’s decided to restore the garden to its former glory. Progress was slow through 2005 until Dr. Takeo Uesugi, professor emeritus of landscape design at Cal-Poly Pomona and one of the leading experts on Japanese garden design in the United States, undertook the management of the garden restoration. To ensure the restoration was accurate, Dr. Uesugi followed Kinzuchi Fujii’s original plans, documents and photographs taken during its first construction.


On February 15, 2005, the restored garden was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and listed as a California Historical Landmark on the California Register of Historic places. Additionally, the garden was recently awarded a Historic Preservation Award, in a ceremony in the garden, by the City of Pasadena.




NOW


The Haddads still maintain the garden and it has become a culture center in Pasadena for meetings, weddings, events, and afternoon strolls. It now features an 11 foot high entrance, two large interconnected ponds, two water falls including a 12 foot high that falls into the larger pond, and a new tea house to replace the one that burned down in 1981.


The garden is open every Thursday from 10 AM to 4 PM. The fee is $10 for adults and $7.50 for children 12 and under. They feature different jazz musicians on the 2nd Sunday Jazz series (check the website – www.japanesegardenpasadena.com for the schedule) and they are also open the last Sunday of every month. During the 2nd and 4th Thursday, they offer a Japanese Tea Service where you learn the history and meaning of the traditional Tea service. See the website or call for reservations.




ADDED BONUS


Right across the street on Arlington is Pasadena’s Arlington Park. Such a beautiful well-maintained public park filled with old and mature California friendly plants which make up quiet and restful areas all through the park. Well worth the drive just to see this park for free. But the combination of Japanese culture and California plants, it a beautiful day not to miss.


Enjoy!!


(Much of the information in this article was taken from the Storrier Stearns website, www.japanesegardenpasadena.com.)


 

	


	





	

		
		
Road Trip to Nowhere – Death  Valley and Palm Springs
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
I was looking forward to driving up to Death Valley from LA during Easter weekend and catch a bit of the desert super bloom before it was all gone. I have lived in California for 30 years and had never been to Death Valley. I had passed the turnoff to it many times has I drove up to Mammoth on US 395 but I had never turned right on to California 190 to see where it goes. But this time I was.










Entering Death Valley National Park


So on Friday morning I got up early and packed. I ran a couple of errands and managed to get on the road by about 11 o’clock. I wasn’t pushing it too hard and drove up Interstate 5 to California 14 that goes through Palmdale and Lancaster across the high desert until it meets up with 395 at Bradys, California. Then about 25 miles later, the turnoff for California 190 appears on your right. It was about 3:30 PM and I stopped to get some gas before heading into the Valley. On 190 you drive about 15 miles and meet up with California 136 coming south from Lone Pine. The two highways merge and you follow 190 further in driving through gulleys and gulches between solid rock formations, and always the immense sky above you.










High Desert from California 190


Just before you begin your descent into the Valley there is an observation point off to your left and from there you get how dramatic the drop is into Death Valley. I recommend that you stop here to see the amazing view because from that point you will drop about 4100 feet over a distance of 9 miles. You are leaving the high desert at 4000 feet above sea level and dropping down to 100 feet below sea level.






View down into Death Valley




Now I have a fear of heights and California 190 is like most old state highways that go back to the thirties and forties. They are almost always narrow 2 lane roads built on the edge of a mountain or cliff with no guard rails. They wind back and forth, and snake around so much that you wonder sometimes how they’re were even built there in the first place. And if you are riding in the outside lane it is possible to look out and see nothing but a 2000 foot drop and no guard rail. For me that starts to trigger my panic attacks, but as long as I am moving forward I can pretty much keep it under control. Yet, that particular Friday, someone decided that it was time to do some road work on the highway and traffic was stopped in certain places and began to back up.
































Inyo Mountains toward Dusk


I took the 15 to the 215 through San Bernardino picking up the 10 East on its way out to Palm Springs. Driving into town about 9:30 PM, I decided I would treat myself and stay at a great hotel. and I pulled into the Hyatt Palm Springs only to find that it was the weekend for Coachella, the huge fashion-conscious rock festival held out in the Coachella Valley area every April. According to the receptionist every hotel in a 100 miles was full that night.























	


	





	

		
		
The Culver Hotel – Old Hollywood Glamour in Culver City – Los Angeles
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
You are ready for a night on the town, but you would like an upscale place so you can dress up like a real adult. A place with no cover, live jazz, great drinks, friendly bartenders and elegant, historical architecture, does such a place exist anymore? Yes, Virginia, it does. It’s the Lobby Bar at the Culver Hotel.




Music playing is an integral part of the Culver Hotel experience. As the evening begins, the hotel’s Grand Lobby transforms into jazzy supper club. Vintage armchairs, classic movie projections and up-and-coming artists help create an ambiance of old Hollywood and modern times helped along with handcrafted cocktails, tasty fare and musical pleasure. You can order a ‘Good Witch’ or a ‘Cucumber Mule’ cocktail while you sit back and enjoy different interpretations of Jazz, every evening of the week after 7:30 pm. Shared appetizers or a three course dinner are just an order away. (Culver Hotel)




Alternatively, If you are in the mood for something equally “Culver-esque” but with a more contemporary playlist, go past the lobby and up the stairs. You will find the Velvet Lounge reminiscent of a 1920’s ‘Speakeasy’ with a twist of Parisian boudoir. Chic and eclectic, dark and whimsical, The Velvet Lounge is open Thursday through Saturday after 8pm and offers plenty of secluded corners to enjoy a cocktail, wine or bottle service. (Culver Hotel)




TripAdvisor.com calls the Culver Hotel the # 1 Hotel in Culver City. The Lobby Bar is a popular place where 30 somethings and older like to hang out because of the atmosphere and the drinks. The price range for food is between $11 ane $30 per person. I would judge the food good, but not great. They do take reservations and have take-out available but do not do delivery. They accepts all major Credit Cards, and while the dress cord is casual, the ambiance is classy. There also is a wonderful outdoor patio which also features the full dinner menu and drinks. Valet parking is right outside, while there are city parking garages within a short walking distance.


HISTORY


The Culver Hotel is a national historical landmark in downtown Culver City, California. It was built by Harry Culver, the founder of Culver City, and opened on September 4, 1924, with local headlines announcing: “City packed with visitors for opening of Culver skyscraper.” Originally named Hotel Hunt, and later known as Culver City Hotel, the six-story Renaissance Revival building was designed by Curlett & Beelman, the architecture firm behind renowned Art Deco buildings throughout Los Angeles, including downtown Los Angeles’ Roosevelt and Eastern Columbia buildings. (Wikipedia)




But the hotel is most famous for its long and tangled history with Hollywood and its stars. Built in 1924, the property has also housed countless Hollywood legends over its 90-year history. And Greta Garbo, Mickey Rooney, Ronald Reagan, Judy Garland, and Clark Gable are just a few stars who actually maintained part-time residences at The Culver Hotel. Charlie Chaplin was even the owner for a while until, legend has it, he lost the property in a poker game to John Wayne. Dwight D. Eisenhower even had a campaign office in the hotel during his run for President in 1952. Modern celebrities who have stayed there include all 4 members of the boy band 98 Degrees, Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms, Countess Luann de Lesseps from Real Housewives of New York City. (Wikipedia)




The Culver Hotel may not be an A-list actor herself, but she has appeared in the background of close to 80 projects. The historic hotel has been used in The Wonder Years, Cougar Town, The Last Action Hero, Marvels Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and many more. Numerous television shows, movies or commercials shoot in and around Culver City, and the hotel’s exterior and interior have stood in as a street in London, an apartment in Barcelona, and a café in Paris. (Travel and Leisure)


During the 1960’s, the hotel began to decline and fall into disrepair. In the 1980s, it was boarded up for a time and at risk of demolition. In the 1990s, the hotel was partially restored and reopened, joining the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, but the Culver Hotel’s modern comeback truly began after a hotelier family bought the ailing property in 2007. Since 2007, the hotel’s entire plumbing and electrical systems have been upgraded, each of the guest rooms and public spaces have been redone, all 140 handmade windows in the guest rooms have been replaced, and the public spaces have been entirely re-imagined all the while maintaining the property’s architectural integrity. The flatiron-shaped building is next door to the historic Culver Studios and a few blocks from the former Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM), now Sony Pictures.




Casts from movies like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz stayed at the hotel during filming, including the more than 100 actors and actresses who played the Munchkins in the Oz film. (wikipedia) Which will lead to another column about the Culver and its notorious place in Hollywood history which earned it the nickname, the “Munchkin Hotel”.


Culver Hotel is a must see for Hollywood History, and a great nightspot in Los Angeles!




Hours For the Hotel








Mon
7:00 am – 12:00 am





Tue
7:00 am – 12:00 am





Wed
7:00 am – 12:00 am





Thu
7:00 am – 1:00 am





Fri
7:00 am – 2:00 am





Sat
7:00 am – 2:00 am





Sun
7:00 am – 12:00 am







 



	


	





	

		
		
Christmas at the Grove – LA
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
Looking for somewhere different to spend the pre-Christmas or post Holiday time. Consider the destination mall, the Grove. The Grove is a retail and entertainment complex in Los Angeles, California, built, owned, and operated by Rick J. Caruso and his company Caruso Affiliated on parts of the historical Farmers Market. (Wikipedia)


TripAdvisor. com lists the Grove Mall as the #17 thing to do in LA out of 506.


The Grove features a large center park with an animated fountain designed by WET. Its music-fountain show plays every hour, though the feature has a non-musical program in between shows. The water’s choreography is reminiscent of the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas—also designed by WET—but on a much smaller scale. (Wikipedia)


The property also has a statue, The Spirit of Los Angeles. Live shows are often performed there – on the grassy area by the fountains. (Wikipedia)


The Grove is adjacent to the iconic Farmers Market and is a modern contrast to the homey historic market and it’s collection of lower end stores and common eating places. By contrast, The Grove is a collection of elite establishments, including Nordstrom’s, Apple, Coach, Nike, and others among some very nice and swanky restaurants.




At Christmas time, the Grove becomes a beautiful place to hang out with thousand of decorations including the Grove Christmas Tree. Usually up to 100 feet or more, it is the tallest Christmas tree in the city of Los Angeles. The tree is lit every evening starting in November, beginning with their annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. The tree remains lit every evening for the remainder of the holiday season.




During the holiday shopping season, fake snow is produced periodically every evening. The mall also features an elaborately parkway with a giant Santa House where you can tell the old man what your secret wish is. There are loudspeakers playing non-stop Christmas carols, free live music in the street, and the double-decker trolley ride. An internal transit system uses electric-powered trolley cars to link The Grove and the adjacent Farmers Market with a nice 3 minute ride. It is great fun for kids, and kids at heart. In truth it is a great area for all ages with its good shopping area and eating facilities.


Enjoy! And Merry Christmas!!


 


 


 


 


 


 

	


	





	

		
		
Rogue One Premiere – The Night Before
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
Los Angeles is a very famous city and the most famous part of LA is Hollywood. The Movies and their premieres are a huge business here in Tinseltown. Disney just blocked off Hollywood Blvd. and part of Cahuenga for a huge Hollywood premiere party, the opening of Rogue One, A Star Wars Story. Two streets are blocked off, there is a full size x-wing fighter in the middle of Hollywood Blvd., in front of the Pantages Theatre, and there are huge tents that cover an entire block of street for all the celebs to arrive and mingle with each other.


The Pantages is a 2700+ seat live theatre that Disney has rented and put in a state of the art projection and sound system.  And this is the holiday event of the Christmas season for Disney.


I was up on Hollywood Blvd. on Friday night and the photos that follow are what I saw. The party tents and the red carpet and the X-Wing Fighter take up two blocks on Hollywood Blvd.


They do everything big for the Movies in Hollywood.


May the Force be with you!





	


	





	

		
		
Doctor Strange – Journey into Philosophy
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
So a movie can be a trip or journey of the mind, and last night, I went to see a sneak preview of Dr. Strange, the newest Marvel movie from Disney. It was truly an amazing film on so many different levels. Yet, the most astonishing thing about the film was the deep philosophical bent that the movie had. Nothing amazingly profound, mostly every day statements that you can read on Facebook or hear your yoga practicing friend tell you over coffee/chai. But this is deep stuff for a comic book movie, and it gives the film characters footing as they go about their missions of good and evil.


Visually, the movie is stunning, and the acting matches the visual effects. The main cast of Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, and Mads Mikkelsen are excellent in their various roles which are not just typical good guys and bad guys. The story is deep and all the characters are interwoven in complex ways that make this much more than your basic Superhero movie. I will not bore you with the details of the plot except to say that it is worth your time and money.


4752591-dr_strange


My connection to Marvel comics and films is long and personal. It started over 50 years ago when the oldest son of my father’s business partner gave his comic collection filled with DC and Marvel comics to me. I fell for the Marvel stories and humor and realistic life problems that those characters had much more than the black and white view of the world that DC seem to have. Plus I had most of the Silver Age comics in first editions. Hulk, Thor, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Captain America, Avengers and so many other characters were to become my friends and companions. I had problems focusing on reading so those comics got me reading – which is my great passion to this day. Because my family moved so many times when I was young, a shy kid in a new town turned to the escape and adventure that these heroes and stories offered.


I saved my comics for years. My collection was filled with premiere issues, and I kept them in pretty good shape. But my collection was not stored in plastic to never be read. Mine were constantly read and re-read, so they were in only fair condition. Yet, in a time of financial hardship, I was able to sell them and they provided me with the funds to survive for a couple of months.


Later, I would appear in a Marvel film as an actor. My lines and scene ended up on the cutting room floor as they say, but if you are quick and know where to look you will see half my face in a crowd scene for about one second. And even that little amount was a total thrill.


So I am biased for Marvel vs other comic franchises, but the proof is in the movies themselves. Marvel’s characters, no matter how far fetched they may seem, they still have real daily problems like how to pay the rent or problems at school. While DC comics and their characters never seemed like they changed clothes, went to the bathroom or had acne. Marvel had humor and depth, DC was bad/good, black/white with nothing in-between which led to boring most times.


That still plays out in the humor and interesting characters of Marvel films and the dark, depressing nature of the current slate of DC based films. It all goes back to the source material and a sense of real life (in a really made up world).


Go see Dr. Strange!! It will entertain you and maybe (just maybe) nudge you to think about something in your own life. You cannot ask more from a movie than that!

	


	



	
		

	



	

		


		
	




	

			

		

		

				
		
	
								
		
		












	
	
			

					
		
Verified by MonsterInsights