About 3 months ago, we moved three blocks to a loft. We have twice as much space - all in one enormous room with concrete floors and lots of windows. I was going to post a mega post of photos, which is why I haven’t posted anything.
Instead, here are two photos, to give you a feel for the place. The first is from the beginning, looking from where the couch and tv are to a huge open space.
This is the same space, but from a different angle. We saw this comically enormous table on sale at Ikea and bought it on the spur of the moment.
These are the exhibits I’ve been to so far in 2013 – not bad considering it is only February 8. As is my fashion, I went to a few of these close to or on closing weekend, so you may have missed out.
Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection – This was so much fun. I hadn’t remembered about her wardrobe of pins; most of them are costume jewelry, not fine jewelry at all. The exhibit is over, but there is a book about the collection with some great stories.
Giant Robot Biennale 3 – Yeah, you missed this one too. I love this show; I’ve been to all three and they are full of originality, creativity, and fun. If you haven’t been to the JANM before, you really need to check out their ongoing exhibit on the history of Japanese Americans, Common Ground: The Heart of Community.
Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and his Legacy – Stunning work; the curators did a great job of telling the story of Caravaggio and how deep his influence went. The show closes this weekend and will be crowded, so get there early.
Stanley Kubrick – True confession: While I respect and admire the work of Kubrick, I’m not really a fan of his films (with the exception of Dr. Strangelove. which I adore). I went to this show primarily because I am always interested in the process of creativity and how an artist puts together the pieces to create a work of art. It’s particularly fascinating in film, since the process is so complicated and requires so many people. My favorite part of the exhibit is the large case of photo lenses and the rare photos of his first job as a photographer for Look magazine. There’s still plenty of time to make it to the museum for this show; it is open until June 30, 2013.
I’ve walked passed this tiny park dozens of times, and even stopped to look at the timeline, but today I took the time to dig a little deeper.
Grandma Mason was brought to Southern California as a slave, sued to win her freedom, and through frugality and good decisions became a wealthy entrepreneur and one of the first African-American women to own land in Los Angeles. She was a founding member of the First A.M.E. Church and was known for her philanthropy.
This tiny park with its fountain/sculpture and timeline of her life carved into a wall is tucked between Spring and Broadway, near the place Ms. Mason owned her first home. Learn more about this extraordinary woman.
Sometimes you learn something amazing by stopping and looking around.
I really enjoyed the comics series Love and Capes by Tom Zahler & the book Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton. I listened to several books this year, usually while doing housework, and I have to give special notice to the full cast recording of American Gods, written by Neil Gaiman.
Most of the books I read this year were in an electronic form – even the comics. I find it convenient to read on the iPad or Kindle, and even on the iPhone. I like reading paper books just fine, I just happen to mostly read eBooks or listen to audiobooks.
Even though I didn’t meet my goal of 50 books last year, I’m going to try again this year. You can follow along and make your own reading goal at GoodReads.
I’ve done a horrible job of keeping the blog up to date, and I’m making no promises for the next year. However, I am going to post some lists of my favorite books and music from the past year – maybe some other lists too. Because, lists!
Below is a playlist of songs representing some of the albums I enjoyed this year:
This plastic-clad mass is a 340-ton granite rock on it’s way from a quarry in Riverside to the LACMA to be a part of the installation Levitated Mass. The 11-day journey made a weekend stop in Rowland Heights, and my parents and I drove up to check it out. It is stopped in the middle of Pathfinder, near the park, and traffic is routed around to either side of it.
On my way home from a meeting in the Antelope Valley, I had a few extra minutes as the sun was setting to stop at Vasquez Rocks. It probably looks familiar from innumerable science fiction and western movies and television shows. Click the picture to see a 360 Panorama.
It’s no secret that I love living in Los Angeles. One of the best things is going to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market year round. I haven’t made it there for a few months, but managed to get myself up and out to get some fresh, organic produce. I’ve even made a meal plan for the week to make sure we eat it all – check back next week to see how we did.
I read 43 books last year, seven short of my goal of 50. My favorite fiction titles were 
by Gillian Flynn, 
by Robin Sloan, and 
by Dorothy Hughes.
by Jon Ronson and 
by Howard Blum.
by Tom Zahler & the book 
by Kate Beaton. I listened to several books this year, usually while doing housework, and I have to give special notice to the full cast recording of 
