Los Angeles. Sept 2010

Los Angeles.  Sept 2010

My trips there always seem too brief.  Once again my friend’s home was open to me. We had two nights of shows and fun and having our diet Cokes never run dry.  We met an online friend for lunch and had a lovely afternoon.  I wandered the shops in San Pedro in my never-ending search for dark coffee to bring home as my souvenir.

Scarlet Grey at St Rocke

The Grove-Anaheim SKA night

 

This time I got to see a bit of Hollywood, where the kid was living.    VERY interesting exhibition of street fighting with Dog Brothers Gathering Of The Pack 2010.   Watching your child in a school play does NOT prepare for watching him fight with knives and sticks.   When it was his turn, I was so focused on getting some photos of him that I didn’t have time to worry.  Afterwards, we went to have lunch and a few beers at a local pub.  Met one man I had been watching fight.  He was very good.  Like the kid, a computer geek!  I think the best part was seeing these guys in their street clothes:  Skinny, blobby, dorky, nerdy with glasses.  Just the types that others want to pick on.  Knowing that they could/would hold their own in a fight made me smile. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTKqYkvmdkU

Then a bit of driving around.   Interesting houses.  Interesting people living inside them.   Yup.   Drive bys are fun.   ;-)  Maybe next time I’ll stop and take some pix. 

The kid is back in town now, and with no shows planned in L.A. in the near future I don’t know when I’ll return.   But I can dream….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN3GbF9Bx6E

RIP Continental Airlines

A moment of silence for a friend’s passing. I became acquainted with you in 1982 when I moved to Texas.  I have known you intimately for nearly 12 years.  Your proud name will be consumed by one that brings bad manners and a checkered past.  It is with great sadness that I see you go.

May your tail someday rise again.

My "secret place" in SFO

This is my review for our company magazine:

San Francisco, California, USA
The Mosser Hotel
54 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
800-227-3804

Date of stay: Several times since 2005


 “I almost hate to give away my ‘secret place.’ TheMosser is an independent family-owned property in the heart of SFO.
Located on 4th Street at Market, directly across from the Marriott, but
at about one third the cost. It’s a very short walk to the BART and cable
car turn-around. But best of all, it provides a safe and welcome respite
after a long day of hiking those hills. As a single, female traveler, I
always feel safe there. The doorman and reception staff are friendly and
helpful. The rooms are quiet and clean. The hotel is eco-friendly and
nonsmoking, and very "family friendly". You can get en suite or down-the-hall bath, and robes are in your room. The morning coffee is divine. Next time you are in the City by the Bay, give the Mosser a try.
But don’t tell anyone.)”




Other information: The hotel has 112 deluxe rooms and 54 rooms with
a shared hall bath. Originally opened in 1913 as the Keystone Hotel,
this historic property underwent a major renovation in 2003.

How cool is this?

A FULL PAGE of my Ramblings in the neighborhood newsletter! This, along with my SFO hotel story, make me a "published writer". Not paid, just published.

Coming Soon...

Sunny Seoul and the Narita Nightmare.

International day

Man and I saw Swedish movie (GREAT The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) Then Vietnamese dinner (with V'ese iced coffee after). Now I need a Belgian chocolate. :-)

Charlotte Pinewood Cemetery

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Here’s a joke from my childhood. “Why is a cemetery like the toilet?

 “Cause when you gotta go, you gotta GO.”

Arriving in Charlotte, NC a day earlier than needed, I found little to do or see in the immediate walking area near my hotel.  Just next door was a cooking school and I suppose I could have gazed longingly through the windows as the students prepared foods.  They might be used to it, but I felt embarrassed and moved on with only a passing glance.  

Five minutes more and I was at the Elmwood/Pinewood Cemetery which originally opened in 1853 as a 100-acre plot that included Pinewood Cemetery, a segregated African American cemetery, and Potter’s Field, a pauper’s cemetery. It is one of Charlotte’s oldest public cemeteries. 

Prior online research prepared me for some of the tombstone symbols I had wondered about.

 

The cemetery was quiet, although along one side trains lumbered by periodically. The city skyline rose over a few larger tombs. On the paths were joggers and a dads with strollers and small children walking.   The weather was cool and calm.  I paid special attention to the different funerary art, but something else struck me as I wandered.  

No matter who you are, or what you do, sooner or later you “gotta go”.