Wall Murals in the Factory District of L.A. in April 2014

like the rest of downtown Los Angeles, the formerly scary Factory District is more lively and bright. There is a very prosperous "Urth Cafe" tucked in among the factories, garages and lofts.

Perspective

Time-Out for Book-Talk

Half a dozen volumes backed up on the shelf, without commentary! A few weeks ago I finished "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. He has a skill for melding and weaving historical accounts in a way so his books "read like novels". If you are from Chicagoland, you already know the interesting story of architect Daniel Burnham's efforts to plan, organize and execute production of the World Columbian Exposition of 1893. It's pretty amazing. As if that's not enough, there is a creepy crawly murderous serial killer at large just blocks from the Fair; a handsome and apparently wealthy con-artist and maniacal killer of mostly naive young women who innocently fall victim to his charming ways; this demon really existed, some think of him of the first "modern day" serial killer. Hubsy is reading the book now. Last week we visited Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History for a special exhibit "From the Vaults" of the 1893 Fair. Tho interesting, it was not exactly what I expected: you must keep in mind that most Americans in 1893 had not seen dinosaur fossils, taxidermy, large meteorites or exotic cultures from far away. By now, most of us are familiar with these--so the relics of 1893 are not so impressive. In some ways, how far we have come.

Butt...

the leggings craze shows no sign of passing. It was too hot for me to wear mine in California; I saw many people in all shapes and sizes sporting them.

Icon

Not such great photos of my favorite delicacy of art deco architecture in LA, the Eastern Columbia Building on Broadway. Lavish, butter-blue terra cotta, laced with gold trim! A mountain of eye-candy, at least.

Anna

L.A. Cafe for Breakfast, then off for a walk

On our first early morning walk, we discovered the LA Cafe on Spring Street and had a great breakfast and coffee; then we walked nearly all morning to explore the resurging downtown district. Most of the old financial service buildings of earlier times are now converted to loft apartments for young professionals or students. So there seems more vibrancy; definitely more places to eat.

Seen at the Graduation...

fanciful, pretty and artistic young maidens and adorable little children abounded that afternoon.

The Art Center...an Interesting Place

Grad students have desks and work space in a structure that was originally built back in the 1950's as a wind tunnel for the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena; it is cavernous and cool in there. The main campus of the school is located miles away on an airy hill overlooking the town.

We Took a Trip to Los Angeles....

Our youngest son got his MFA from Pasadena Art Center and for once, we attended the graduation. More lavish, sundrenched, richly colored photos to come.....