I had been reading about the David Lynch “Festival of Disruption” that had been held this past weekend in Downtown Los Angeles at the Ace Hotel’s United Artists Theater. It was a musical event with various interesting acts hand-picked by David Lynch…
It sounds like it could have been a cool event (see here: link to the festival’s website) to attend, but I didn’t really pay attention or know about it beforehand. Tickets went fast. But the good news was that my social media feed let me know that the pop-up shop situated in what would have been the ticket booth was going to be around for the following week (which is now this week). And it was in DTLA, just a brisk walk away from where I work. So YEAH, I was making my way there…as long as jury duty and/or work didn’t get in the way. Happily, I wasn’t summoned to attend jury duty this week but still may have to go next week; and work is in a small in-between phase, so today during lunch, I did the walk over there. It was so great, and happily not many people around at that time. And of course, I got SWAG. Here are the pics I took:
The United Artists Theater ahead
2017 can’t come quick enough
View of the booth – red curtains present
Thumbs up, Coop!
No more bags left for purchased swag.
I love that this angle ended up giving me shining rays of light coming out from my head
All my swag
Matchbooks from the Great Northern
Cool coasters with the Fire Walk With Me speech
A little OWL patch
Coffee cup with the key Twin Peaks ingredients
The back of the T-shirt I bought
and the Front
Still so excited for the return of this amazing show next year. I honestly have no idea what to expect, and fully realize it could be a crazy-ass trainwreck. But with David Lynch and Mark Frost both involved, I’m excited whether the results are good or bad.
This is just so fun to watch. I’d suggest clicking on the vimeo link so you can then put this full screen. The random zooms-in are a bit annoying at times, but I can see why they do it as it shows off how hi-res this video is. Lots of great shots of DTLA and the beach…and a quick and pretty Glendale view along with the 134 at night near the end.
With last week being my return to a regular work schedule (and with no company holidays in sight until Memorial Day), it ended up feeling like a very long week. This weekend ended up being a lot of fun, although I think I drank more beer than I should have? This morning was certainly rougher than expected.
As for yesterday, we drove down into the Downtown LA Arts District, which is certainly a very “hip” neighborhood, with it having a ton of hipster bars and restaurants while also nestled up against one of the worst parts of town, Skid Row. So edgy! 🙂 Anyway, we drove in over the Fourth St bridge and luckily found a parking spot in the lot, and proceeded to enjoy the Brewery offerings. Of course I drank the beer while Larry just had to deal with me. It was awesome to get to see the old crew all together again (sans Nicki & Brian though) and it just reminded both Larry & me that we have some fantastic friends – it’s just that we don’t get to see them daily. 🙁 Welcome to the 30s, Tawny!!!
Jan 9, 2016 – Tawny’s Birthday at Arts District Brewery
Driving across one of the awesome LA River bridges
This is the Fourth Street Bridge
There’s DTLA!
Not sure what that all is
The very long Arts District apartments
Inside the Brewery
Our selfie
Carey & Paras
Larry & Me
Skeeball cast its allure to Larry
The exterior of the Brewery
This get-together had been an afternoon affair, so Larry & I ended up getting dinner back close to home at Jax. The jazz was still fun to listen to, although it had vocals so I think Michancy would have hated it. There was an amusing woman in front of us at the host desk who was absolutely PISSED that her wishes to be near the music were not conveyed in the reservation. She demanded to know when she’d get a table and when the host finally guessed an hour after getting badgered by her for that answer, she immediately demanded to know why it would be an hour. Bitch, STFU. Anyway, Larry & I didn’t care about being next to the music and got her table. Food wasn’t all that much to write home about, but it was good enough.
Finally, this morning, we did another Griffith Park run! I explored a little and ran west initially and discovered the bike path doesn’t go that much further west just yet. I do know that there are plans to make the path go the entire length of the river, but we’re not there yet. Thanks again to Fitbit guilt for getting me out on that run. Here’s hoping to continuing that trend and getting my health in check.
One part of the Metro system that I haven’t experienced though, and one I’ve wanted to at least try, was the Gold Line.
It’s a Light Rail system that reaches from DTLA into Pasadena. It extended a few years back further into East LA. Next year in 2016, the Gold Line will be getting a further extension in the San Gabriel valley, getting stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte and finally terminating in Azusa. There’s hope that one day it’ll go even farther, but I think at that point, you’d be better off taking a Metrolink if you’re really interested in coming into DTLA from way out in Montclair or Ontario Airport.
So I have been seeing the Gold Line whenever we drove the 210 out to visit mom or when you drive the Pasadena Freeway, and I always see it while doing my Metrolink thing at Union Station. Since I had today off and needed to get out of the house for the housekeeper to do her thing, I decided this was the day. And it was pretty great – I rode it out to Pasadena of course, enjoying the route it takes through Chinatown and then through the Highland Park area. It’s a very peaceful route and it really trucks along as there seems to be a bit more bridges and track superiority there. I got out at the end (Sierra Madre Villa station), took some pictures, did a brief walk (FitBit guilt), and then got back on and headed back to Union Station. I didn’t explore the East LA extension this time, because I was more interested in riding the Gold Line as it was before next year’s extension. I’m very curious how that’ll be when it opens.
Upon my return into DTLA, I ended up saying to myself that Phillipe’s would be a great lunch idea, so I made it so. YUM. Even at 11:15am on a Wednesday, it’s crowded. Did get lucky when I got back to Union Station as a train that passed through Glendale was leaving within 5 minutes. AWESOMESAUCE.
Alright, picture time!
Dec 30, 2015 – Gold Line Groovin’
View of the Metrolink tracks from the Gold Line station
Where Union Station tracks have to go
DTLA view from the Gold Line station
View from the Gold Line bridge over the LA River
Emerging onto the 210 Freeway
End of the Line – Sierra Madre Villa Station
Bridge over the 210 Freeway
Westbound 210
Looking at the station – you can see the Gold Line extension ready to go
It really was a fun few days. Michancy came down and had her first visit with us in a long time (perhaps Thanksgiving 2014?), and it went well. We actually did some work to make our office able to handle the queen-size air mattress. To do that, we got rid of the clunky TV that Larry’s been carrying around with him since the 80s (I kid, only slightly) and got a 40″ inch flat panel from Sony. Super light weight and pretty inexpensive, and we were able to mount it on a wall. Then I got some furniture sliders and put those underneath the legs of our credenzas, allowing us to slide them out of the way. Voila!
New TV for the Office/BedroomOur guestroom kinda fits the queen bed!
Christmas Eve – Michancy Arrives!
She made it down a little early to avoid bad traffic (which unfortunately would be inescapable on her return journey) and so it was just her and I for a little, and we discovered we had no vegan snack food. Off to Ralph’s we went, and by the time we got back, Larry was home too. Wine drinking ensued, and then we went and got sushi at nearby Akuma. After that, I made Michancy watch Spy on Blu-Ray and I was pleased and surprised to discover it had an Unrated version that has significant additions and changes to scenes, making it even more funny. I’m actually kind of shocked the scenes reviewing the assassin’s camera were even longer….so to speak.
Christmas Day – Morning Prep
Making mac & cheese
Larry not only made his excellent mac and cheese to take with us to Mom’s, he also made a vegan version of shepherd’s pie. I did not partake in that dish. 🙂
At Mom’s
We spent the afternoon and evening at my mom’s house, along with Stacie & Trent. It was a lot of fun and we ended up opening our gifts there too. I had picked up the LEGO Big Bang Theory set for my mom; I picked up the BB-8 robot for Larry. He got me a Fitbit which I’ve finally set up last night and I’m well on my way to tracking my fitness all day and night! My mom got us some great Star Wars mugs too. More drinking occurred, along with watching the Adele special on NBC, and of course plenty of dancing. 🙂
At Mom’s
Finally Home
Larry got to put BB-8 through its paces and we watched the best Christmas movie ever, Die Hard.
Day After Christmas Fun: The Broad
Well, we first made our way to the Granville Cafe to get some breakfast and bloody marys, but after that, we thought about heading down to DTLA and visiting a new museum. The Broad has just recently opened and it’s still fairly popular – especially since it’s free. Also, there’s an Infinite Stars exhibit that people are all crazy for and which we ended up not getting to see as you have to get to the museum early and sign up for an appointed block of time. Kinda like “Breathing Light” at the LACMA when it first opened. Larry & I will have to try again as it does look like a cool thing – BUT, after waiting about an hour to get in, I think all three of us were happy to have visited the Broad as it’s a great collection focused on modern art. Lots of fun stuff to see, like Koons sculptures (some of which were previously at the BCAM wing of the LACMA – it’s also a Broad-owned wing, hence the “B” in the name), Warhol art, and some awesome Lichtenstein pieces. Modern art can be sometimes ridiculous, but it can also end up being quite interesting.
The Broad’s Veil
Up close to the Veil while waiting in line
LA City Hall zoomed in
About to enter
Heading up the entry escalator
Koons
More Koons
The neighboring Walt Disney Music Hall by Frank Gehry
Walking Grand Blvd and Grand Park
After seeing the museum, we walked along Grand Blvd towards Grand Park, passing by the Walt Disney Music Hall and the area around the Ahmanson. Lots of great cultural venues all co-located in this area! Grand Park is a place Larry and I had visited but it’s still situated in a very interesting location with the famous LA City Hall positioned at one end. We ended up having a much-needed Starbucks break before continuing our walk back south.
Looking down Grand
The Music Center
The view while walking down Grand Park
The Grand Park fountains near the DWP
Makes me think of 500 Days of Summer
Angels Flight, Grand Central Market, Pershing Square, the Oviatt and Bottega Louie
The end of our adventure took us by the closed-down Angels Flight funicular, through the exciting Grand Central Market, over and through the Pershing Square area and past the upcoming site of our nuptials, the Oviatt Penthouse. The final destination was over at Bottega Louie, which has become a very happy place to grab dinner in DTLA. It’s just so good and such a great vibe.
The still-closed Angels Flight funicular
The entrance – alas, you have to walk
Inside Grand Central Market
Pershing Square
Oviatt from a distance
Zoomed in to the US Bank Tower
Dinner at Bottega Louie’s!
Festive
Then it was time to go home! After some time relaxing back at the apartment, we ended up going back out to enjoy some of our local nightlife at a restaurant/bar called Jax. It’s known around here as a place where live jazz is played every night – and of course Larry & I hadn’t gone yet since living here. But hey, we made it under a year! It was a lot of fun to go though and while I didn’t know what to expect (I DID expect it to look kind of like where Effie White sings in the Dreamgirls movie when she gets her first break on her comeback – I was wrong), it was pretty cool to get a seat right by the jazz group and just drink and enjoy the night.
Jazz setup at JaxInside Jax for some jazz and drinksJazz Legacy was playing that night
On Sunday, Michancy was headed home. We also had an appointment to meet with a wedding photographer which seemed to be a success way out in Simi Valley. We had left at the same time as Michancy, and so when we got back and started cleaning up the room, we discovered Michancy had left her laptop bag. Not good for her to not have that especially when it’s her work bag. D’oh. So she unfortunately had to turn around after being past Yermo on the drive to Vegas – we helped make it not too painful by driving out to Fontana to kind of meet halfway. But yeah, she ended up having a horrific drive back as there was unreal traffic going to Vegas yesterday. I’m still not sure why, as you’d think the main traffic pattern would be coming to LA, but I do indeed remember one holiday driving back to Vegas and it took me close to 7 hours because of snow on Halloran mountain. UGH.
Anyway, it was a good visit and now I’m off for a week. Thanks, PwC! I better enjoy it as we all hit the ground running upon coming back as it’s busy season across the board. FUN.
