May 22, 2022
Neutra Homes In Silver Lake
A week ago I headed into Silver Lake for a tour of homes designed by Richard Neutra. It was part of Modernism Week which seems to take place three times a year now. This tour started at the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences at 2300 Silver Lake Boulevard. This was Neutra's home and office. There are nine homes designed by Neutra in the immediate neighborhood. The tour started with the interior of the Neutra VDL Studio, followed by a walk-by of the other homes, concluding with an interior tour of Reunion House at 2440 Earl Street, which the Neutra Institute took possession of just this past February. The complete set of photos is here. These are some samples:
Neutra VDL Studio and Residences.
Neutra's remains are interred in the courtyard of the house.
They let us climb these apparently insubstantial stairs to the penthouse.
Balcony overlooking the courtyard.
The gate to the Sokol House at 2242 Silver Lake Boulevard.
L to R: the Inadomi, Kambara and Yew Houses on Silver Lake Boulevard.
The entrance area for the Inadomi and Kambara houses.
Yew House at 2226 Silver Lake Boulevard.
Ohara House at 2210 Neutra Place.
Reunion House at 2440 Earl Street.
Filed under Architecture,California,Cities/Urbanism,History,Photography | May 22, 2022 at 05:43 PM | Comments (0)
I opened up my Voter Guide
Joker Candidates For U.S. Senator From California
- Obaidul Huq Pirjada submitted no text for the Official Voter Information Guide, but did list his contact information, including his website: https://sites.google.com/view/obaidul-huq-pirjada
So, yeah, you have to type that whole thing in (or copy it from me). How can a candidate for office not realize the importance of a short, easily typed URL for their website? Pirjada.org was not taken. Go to his website and you'll see he lists his 19 goals and objectives. He includes no specifics for how he would accomplish any of these goals. For example, "1. To help Californians so that the grocery, gasoline and power (electricity) prices do not go up, rather to make sure the prices go down." Or, even better, "9. Help Central Valley farmers so that they may receive uninterrupted supply of water." Yeah, why hasn't anyone thought of that before? He's got a video on his site where he tells us he is an attorney. He reads his written statement badly, rarely looking at the camera. He seems to have difficulty reading, which is surprising considering he claims to be an attorney. What he reads is nearly the exact text that is displayed on his single-page site, so the only purpose of the video is to show what a poor, uncharismatic speaker he is. - Douglas Howard Pierce used to do someting, but now he's running for the Senate. He doesn't say what he used to do, but maybe he was a private investigator. "I took on the perils of solving homicides across the nation, including cold cases." He does not claim to have been with any law enforcement agency. Caution: something on his website triggers background music that I could stop only by refreshing the site. He has a "platform" with "SPECIAL MESSAGE BLACK-AFRICANS" which is blank except for a generic 17-second video that plays music and says nothing. It's the same for "SPECIAL MESSAGE REPUBLICAN" and "SPECIAL MESSAGE YOUNG VOTERS 18+" and "SPECIAL MESSAGE ASIAN AMERICANS" and "SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS" and "MILITARY SERVICE - PROTECTORS OF FREEDOM" and "GREAT NATIVE INDIAN TRIBES." For "LGBTQ PRIDE AMERICANS" it's the same 17-second video, but he also throws in a couple images with rainbow colors and a photo of the L.A. LGBT Center. For "SPECIAL MESSAGE LATINO-HISPANIC" he translates the statement on the front page of his website into Spanish. He's got two YouTube videos. In the first, the phone follows behind him as he slowly limps towards a helicopter. He stops before he gets there, turns to the camera, does a weak little wave and then reaches out to take the phone from whoever is holding it. The other video is nothing but still images, including selfies, of him in Mexico.
- John Thompson Parker is the Peace And Freedom candidate as well as the Socialist Unity Party candidate, according to his website. He doesn't have a lot of info on his website, but he does have four "Statements." Three of those express his support for Russia and his opposition to Ukraine in the current war there. So much for peace and freedom.
- Dr. Akinyemi Agbede is one of those candidates who doesn't understand what a U.S. Senator is. "I will be focusing on ensuring that we invest the state’s revenues in the right policies and programs that help the common man," he says. He should run for state treasurer or maybe governor. He claims to have a "Ph. D. in Mathematical Analysis from the world most prestigious Ivy League University, University of Cambridge England, United Kingdom." Here is the list of Ivy League schools: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale. You may notice that all of these are in the United States. They don't travel to England to play American football against Cambridge. But this is the best sentence on his site: "[S]ince being in the United States, I have tremendously used my super genius brain to the benefit of the American students by instilling in them skills, confidence and competence in solving ANY Mathematical problems."
- Chuck Smith is a Republican and might be smarter than most Republicans. While he does support the usual things Republicans falsely claim to support like limited government, restraint in taxation and fiscal responsibility, he avoids any racist statements or dog whistles. He says nothing about Trump or immigration.
- Dr. Cordie Williams is also a Republican...and a chiropractor. He mentions being a doctor frequently, but only specifies he is a chiropractor once. COVID seems to be his top issue, but he's not specific about what he would do. He opposes Critical Race Theory. He thinks there is voter fraud, but is not specific. "Cordie will work with his California colleagues to end the current vote by mail system immediately." That's outside the scope of a U.S. Senator's job. Maybe he wants to be a state senator. He claims to be "the only military veteran who volunteered for combat." Let's just call that an obvious lie. On the subject of homelessness "Dr. Cordie is committed to creating a task force to study these issues and finally help." Oh, a task force! Does that come with electricity, running water and a lockable door? He wants to restrict property ownership to citizens and legal residents. He is endorsed by the California Tea Party Caucus.
- Don J. Grundmann is officially no party preference, but on his website he says he running as the Constitution Party candidate. His top issue seems to be homophobia - he's all for it. His website is not much more than bigotry and a lot of broken links.
- Eleanor Garcia is also no party preference, but is the elected leader of the Socialist Workers Party. She has no campaign website, but simply points to themilitant.com where we learn that the SWP is supportive of Ukraine and opposed to the Russian invasion so, therefore, more sane than Socialist Unity Party.
- Mark P. Meuser, Republican, fought to let COVID run rampant. He's got the Republican Party endorsement, so that tells you quite a bit. "Meuser is a prolific reader, on average reading one book a week." I'm not sure he knows the meaning of "prolific."
- James Conn, Green Party. He wants us to stop using wood. Yes, really. "Before the abolition of slavery our country collected taxes on the sale of slaves. That money still exists in our federal reserves." Wow! The little I can find about a sales tax on slaves indicates that tax would have been levied by the state or local government, not the federal government. He supports free medical treatment for Type 1 diabetes (the kind one is born with), but he says nothing about Type 2.
Filed under California,Politics | May 22, 2022 at 05:13 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2022
Mountain Lion M317
The track of a young male mountain lion since he was collared in March 2022.
News story here. He has managed to traverse the 5, 241 and 91 freeways! The news article says there are no female mountain lions in the area, as if humans have 100% perfect knowledge of the location of all mountain lions. I think what they mean to say is that we don't know of any female lions in the area, but the article suggests there are other males in the area. One wonders how and why there are so many male lions in the area if there isn't even one female?
UPDATE: M317 spotted in Newport Beach.
Mountain lion seen in Port Streets is capturedBy City News Service and Hunter Lee
A mountain lion spotted roaming around the Port Streets neighborhood in Newport Beach, the same cat seen earlier this month in Laguna Beach, was captured on Friday [May 20, 2022]. The cougar was seen in the community near Andersen Elementary School on Friday afternoon, according to Newport Beach police.
The school was put on alert while authorities searched for the mountain lion, which authorities believed to be M317, a collared cat that was seen in Laguna Beach earlier this month and at an Irvine shopping center in late March. The cougar is one being tracked by a UC Davis research group.
On Friday evening, Tim Daly of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed the Newport Beach visitor was, in fact, M317.
“The lion appears to be healthy, and is currently being transported to nearest suitable habitat, in the Santa Ana Mountains,” Daly said.
Christy Labarthe, a Port Streets resident, said she was aware that a mountain lion was in the area after receiving several alerts from authorities. She moved her dogs indoors and kept her eye on the backyard.
Around 1 p.m., Labarthe noticed a tree rustling from something that was “definitely bigger than a squirrel.”
It was the mountain lion, she realized — a big one.
“It appeared to have blood near its leg, probably from a tranquilizer dart,” Labarthe said. “It was up and walking around my backyard, jumping on and off the (embankment) for awhile, before it finally started falling asleep.
“My dogs were barking the whole time,” she added.
Labarthe waited for authorities to arrive. Once they
did, they confirmed the lion had been shot with a dart, and after about an hour, the cougar was removed from her yard.
Drones were used to aid in the search, Daly said. And after sheltering in place, the Andersen students were safely picked up, said Annette Franco, a spokeswoman for the Newport- Mesa Unified School District.
Though M317 has been hanging around for at least a couple of months, officials believe the recent Coastal Fire in Laguna Beach may have pushed some wildlife from their natural habitats into urban areas.
Anyone seeing a mountain lion should stand tall and wave their arms above their head, make noise, act defiant and unafraid — and slowly back away.
Filed under California,Science | May 21, 2022 at 09:43 AM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2022
That Was A Nice Slam!
Heard it coming. Felt it coming. And then it came. Most distinctive slam of an earthquake that I've ever felt. It didn't sound like I had any damage. It was small, but sharp. I'll get you the numbers as they become available.
It was in Long Canyon, within walking distance (a long walk). 4.27 miles (6.87 km) from me, measured on a direct line according to Google. Some boulders have moved.
USGS info. Currently estimated at 3.8. Noticeable.
Filed under California,Coachella Valley,Desert Hot Springs,Science | May 15, 2022 at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2022
County Health Inspectors Busy In Coachella Valley
From the Press-Enterprise:
Pho Na 92, 14220 Palm Drive, Desert Hot SpringsClosed: May 11
Grade: 75/C, failing
Reason: Cockroach infestation. The inspector saw live and dead roaches throughout the kitchen, as well as egg casings on the dishwashing sink and roach droppings under the food-prep table. There was also a dead roach in the sanitizer compartment of the dishwashing sink, which was filled with dirty water and food equipment. Among the 13 other violations, an employee didn’t wash hands after handling raw shrimp and eggs, raw eggs from an unapproved source were left at room temperature, and the facility needed cleaning, including a cooler that had food debris and a mold-like substance inside.
Santorini Greek Cafe, 68375 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral CityClosed: May 10
Grade: Not graded (most recent was 90/A on April 4)
Reason: Cockroach infestation. During the April 4 inspection, there were two roaches crawling on a wall and some roach casings in a storage area. During this week’s follow-up, the inspector saw a live nymph cockroach and several dead ones on the walls, and also noted some holes in the walls as well as food debris and standing water that could be attracting pests.
Bill’s Pizza, 119 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm SpringsClosed: May 5
Grade: Not graded
Reason: Overflowing sewage. An inspector responding to a complaint found an active sewage overflow from the facility’s shared restroom. The restaurant had already self-closed and a plumber was on site.
Reopened: May 6
Jalisco Market & Deli, 17725 N. Indian Canyon Drive, North Palm SpringsClosed: May 3
Grade: Not graded
Reason: Operating without a valid health permit. A health department spokesperson said it was long-expired.
The Del Taco at 14290 Palm Drive in Desert Hot Springs was inspected May 12 and received a failing grade of 77/C with two critical violations. An employee used a lid that had just been rinsed but not washed or sanitized. Also, there was an issue with food not being hot enough. Among the 11 other violations, there were flies throughout the facility, an employee didn’t wash hands, employees didn’t know proper cooking temperatures and multiple surfaces needed cleaning.
The Denny’s at 82120 Highway 111 in Indio was inspected May 11 in response to a foodborne illness complaint. It received a failing grade of 83/B with 14 violations. Among them, some food was at unsafe temperatures, including items in a prep cooler that was impounded for not keeping cold; the men’s restroom soap dispenser wasn’t working; and surfaces and floors throughout the kitchen needed cleaning.
Tacos Los Olivarez, a food truck based at 83711 Peach St. in Indio, was inspected May 5 while it was at a “Concerts in the Park” event at the Palm Desert Civic Center. It received a failing grade of 84/B with one critical violation. The truck’s hot and cold water weren’t operational. Staff chose to self-close and leave the event, so this was not counted as an official health department closure, a spokesperson said. Among the seven other violations, food was not being kept at safe temperatures and there were numerous flies in the vehicle and in the open flip-top salsa unit, which didn’t have a screen on it and was available for customer self-service, which is not permitted.
Filed under Food and Drink,Health | May 14, 2022 at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2022
Real Livestock Return To L.A. County Fair
I've thought that the absence of genuine, California farm livestock at the L.A. County Fair to be a form of surreal entertainment. The fair does have livestock of all the usual kinds, but they've been hired actors. Now, the Press-Enterprise reports that the fair is bringing back real livestock with actual competitions. They even want to bring back the 4-H and FFA. The article says the fair has gone 15 years without genuine livestock, but it says nothing about how that came about. Did somebody forget to invite the cows and pigs one year?
Filed under California | May 13, 2022 at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2022
Various Slides
In Quebec, 1994, Kodachrome.
Don't know which beach, undated E6 slide.
Saguaros near Tucson, 1988, Kodachrome.
"Peace Through Chemistry Bronze" by Roy Lichtenstein at the National Gallery of Art, 1992, Kodachrome.
Filed under Architecture,Art,Cactus,Photography | May 11, 2022 at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
May 9, 2022
More Slides
Sunning on the top deck of the Provincetown II ferry from P-town to Boston, late 1980s.
"The Struggle of the Two Natures in Man" by George Grey Barnard at the Met, 1994, Kodachrome.
Frank Lloyd Wright at the Met, 1994, Kodachrome.
On the Washington Arch in Washington Square, New York. 1989, Kodachrome.
Filed under Art,Photography | May 9, 2022 at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
