Little Country Church of Fire

My Little Project in Hollywood called The Little Country Church of Hollywood was completely destroyed on Christmas Eve. The church is a beautiful serene oasis in the center of Hollywood. With lush terraced gardens, tall palm trees, the quaint chapel is gone. Its knotty pine walls, its collection box, its organ, its steeple, its clapboard siding is no more. I mourn for my Little Church.

CBS caught the blaze in action from street and air. http://cbs2.com/local/Christmas.Eve.Gutted.2.617473.html

The LA Times had a blurb about the Landmark. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-briefs25dec25,1,746175.story?page=2&cset=true&ctrack=3

HOLLYWOOD

Historic church damaged in fire

Fire gutted the Little Country Church at 1750 N. Argyle Ave. on Monday night.

The blaze began shortly before 6:30 p.m. and caused the two-story, New England-style sanctuary to partially collapse before L.A. city firefighters extinguished the flames.

The church was designated a city historic-cultural landmark in 1992. Religious ceremonies were halted there five years later because of a dwindling congregation.

Since then, the site has suffered damage from vandals and squatters, who are suspected of setting a fire that damaged the building in 2004.

Earlier this year, a developer announced plans to convert the building into a combination bar, restaurant and church.

Officials were investigating the cause of the fire.

Big Broccoli Ocarina:Angels We Have Heard On High

Fun with Veggies

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

A little A Capella to set the Mood for the Holidays....

Pink is Profound.

The Lower 9th Ward

One of the most forward-thinking leaders of my generation - Brad Pitt was on the news this morning promoting his Purpose:
To Help The Displaced People of New Orleans.

I couldn't help but post about his latest project called The Pink Project. I admire his integrity, compassion and tenacity to make - things - right.

The way it works: Each Pink house represents a potential home for victims of the Hurricane. Donations can be any amount from $5 for a CF bulb or $25 for low VOC paint, to $150,000 for the whole house. It is a beautiful idea that I can get behind.

Check out his website: http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

Terreform on Ecology Design

Eco-Morphological-Design... a 2,000 year old concept but done in a 21st Century way. TeReForm grows the building with the trees. It's awesome!

To learn more about this innovative company: Te ReF orm

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/20/video-grow-a-living-treehouse-with-terreform/

http://terreform.org/

Cheese!!! It's not just for Breakfast anymore...

My Doctor called me today with my Blood test results from last Friday. Good news overall. Cholesterol is good, Triglycerides and Iron levels are okay but one thing that surfaced was a low Vitamin B12 Count. Mine is 348 and 1100 is Normal.

Symptoms are fatigue, numbness and tingling in hands and legs, memory loss (hey that might explain a few things). She recommends a B12 vitamin supplement from Trader Joe's that melts under my tongue or a monthly B12 shot in the arm.

So after I hung up, I immediately googled B12 and found this out:

"Most people get more than enough B₁₂ from eating meat, eggs, milk, and cheese."
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/vitamin-b12-deficiency

This goes out to everyone who hasn't been or have been delaying in seeing their Doctor for their annual physical or signing up for Health Insurance for that matter. You know who you are! I hope I can be an inspiration. It's not that bad. You may even find out that you can eat more Cheese.

Andrew Bird - Episode # 01 - Imitosis

8:00pm December 7, 2007, Friday night venue at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, I experienced an Awesome show by an Incredible, Phenomenal, Intense, Electric, Talented beyond words Performer, Instrumentalist, Vocalist and Whistler named the one and only Andrew Bird.

Bar none, IT was the BEST performance I've seen all year, perhaps this decade!!!!!!!!!!! (Sorry John Doe, I love you too, but Bird blew you away!)

Arthur Phillip's Prague

I finished reading Prague by Arthur Phillips last weekend. It took me three days after reading the last chapter to get the book's basic premise.

I enjoyed the characters and their deep, inner twined stories. It wasn't until a few days later as I was pondering the book (missing the characters because the book ended) that I had an AHA!

It isn't about WHERE you are. It is HOW you choose to experience and LIVE in the present, no matter the locale.

http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2002/06/20/phillips/#share

I N F P Introverted Intuitive Feeler Perceptive

Being an INFPer means that I love starting projects by myself that I feel strongly about that I have difficulty finishing and that contribute in a large way to the betterment of myself and the world around me.

To categorize oneself...

INFPs generally have the following traits:

Strong value systems
Warmly interested in people
Service-oriented, usually putting the needs of others above their own
Loyal and devoted to people and causes
Future-oriented
Growth-oriented; always want to be growing in a positive direction
Creative and inspirational
Flexible and laid-back, unless a ruling principle is violated
Sensitive and complex
Dislike dealing with details and routine work
Original and individualistic - "out of the mainstream"
Excellent written communication skills
Prefer to work alone, and may have problems working on teams
Value deep and authentic relationships
Want to be seen and appreciated for who they are

HOLLYWOOD CHINESE Red Carpet at AFI FEST 2007

AFI FEST RED CARPET...

Hollywood Chinese Premiere at AFI

Canstruction

Cool construction with Cans by Architects and Engineers...
The iCan is great...

After the competition, cans go to food banks for the homeless and/or needy.

http://www.canstructionla.com/index.php/cans/
http://www.canstruction.org

Autumn in LA

So it is fall now. The clocks fall back one hour tonight. And if you're like me, your thoughts also fall back to unresolved New Years resolutions. What haven't we completed or even begun on our list? Two months are left of 2007 and we'll be on to the next year with new or rolled-over resolutions from the previous year. In January, I posted a condensed list of resolves on a small piece of paper that I taped to the front of my computer. It has been and is a daily reminder of all my hopes to accomplish in 2007.

I have done my best but fell short of completing only three of the 10. These will definitely show up on next years list:
DOUBLE SAVINGS. (fell short by xK).
CLEAR MIND (I'm not even sure how to accomplish this but it sounds good).
CLEAR SKIN (found a facialist, so I'm on the right track).
EXERCISE MORE (isn't this always the goal).

New goals in 2008 would be:
FIND LOVE
KEEP LOVE
TRAVEL MORE
WORRY LESS
BE YOUNGER

The Boiler Room Time Forgot

Dead Can Dance Yulunga

AFI Film Fest 2007- HOLLYWOOD CHINESE

AFI Fest 2007

- Special Presentation -
November 7, 2007
Arclight Theaters, 6:45pm
6360 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
www.afi.com/afifest/2007

In attendance: filmmaker Arthur Dong; cast members Nancy Kwan, Amy Tan, Justin Lin, Lisa Lu, James Hong, Tsai Chin, Mai Lon Gittlesohn & Marcella Wong-Yasuhiro (daughters of Violet Wong, star of the 1916 film, The Curse of Quon Gwon), and James Leong, Jr. (son of James B. Leong, producer/writer of the 1921 film, Lotus Blossom). Post screening discussion moderated by Randy Haberkamp, Director of Education and Special Events, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (affiliation listed for informational purposes only)

The hidden ingredient in relationships...

Twenty years ago this week, I met my first love. It was my first year at college and I was a bright-eyed freshman. I wore my jeans jacket with a heart-shaped peace symbol pendant proudly displayed on the lapel. It was lunchtime, and we were in line at the Sandwich shop. I stood by myself behind his crowd of friends and we exchanged purposeful glances at each other. He walked over to me, and after a few quippy comments, a conversation ensued. He told me later it was my peace pendant that melted his heart. Before I knew it he was sitting beside me, eating sandwiches together.

He and I were together for a total of 7-1/2 years after that singular moment. The break up was difficult. We didn't talk for 5 years after. We still are in communication after all these years. Distance and time have mended all the wounds and tempered the feelings between us. He is married now with a child. He lives 12,000 miles away. Yesterday via email, he reminded me of our "20 year anniversary" of the day of our momentous meeting. He thanked me and wrote: "you played a very big role in my development and I thank you for the seven and a half years we shared together." I smiled on the inside. He sent me a beautiful and unadulterated wish: "...that you do find ...someone wonderful and deserving of your amazing warmth and passion for life." I smiled on the inside and out.

What are the critical ingredients of a successful relationship? What is it that makes a long term committment last? Is there such a thing as an effortless relationship? I will explore these topics and more in my upcoming blogs...

The Los Angeles Railway Route Map

An anonymous blogger pointed me in the direction of this old map of the Los Angeles route map for the electric cars and buses. The CRA could take a cue from the historic routes...

My dad remembers riding the Red Car rails regularly as a little boy, traveling mostly from Inglewood to Chinatown. Back in the 1940s, it was easy to be car-less. A popular mantra in Northern California: "One Less Car" is not feasible in Los Angeles. It would be good if an increase in gas prices triggers a reduction of gas consumption, but I can only hope!

It remains to be seen if the Subway to the Sea, the Expo Line to Culver City and the Extension of the Gold Line improves the traffic situation in Hell-la! Again, I can only wish....

The Largest Electric Railway in the US (LARY)

My favorite topic - Mass Transit is on my mind again....

Today, transportation in Los Angeles is definitely driven by the car, however for 90 years (1873-1963), the city boasted the largest railway system in the United States. LARY (Los Angeles Railway) covered 600 miles of tracks, and operated over 1,200 cars at its peak...."The Los Angeles streetcar system was by far the largest streetcar system ever constructed, and was instrumental in shaping the early development pattern of Los Angeles."

So.... what happened? Freeways happened. And that is another story...

The CRA-LA (Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles) has a plan to resurrect the Red Car line in areas of Downtown LA. With all the converted work-live lofts in downtown, the neighborhood would greatly benefit by the revival of this public transportation infrastructure. It would revitalize the community and enrich the urban fabric of downtown. In 2003, San Pedro successfully implemented the Red Car Trolley line at the Port of Los Angeles. Why isn't LA following suit?

It could be that the owners of the converted condos are not actually living downtown. They are investors. As speculated by a urban designer I know at Moule Polyzoides, the real community will be in a few years after the initial turn-over occurs; the second owners will reside in the heart of downtown. Hopefully, they will have one family car, take the subway and ride the street car. They will shop, work and live in downtown.

...And So it Goes

A quote from one of my favorite authors. Simply put, it sums up the futility and the lack of control we have in life. Especially when it comes to a Force Majeure.

Malibu was on fire when I went to bed last night. I woke up this morning and four more fires sprung up overnight, sprinkled all over the southland. It seems as if Los Angeles county is on fire.

The only Castle in Southern California... Princess Lilly's "Castle" is one of the causalities of the Malibu Fire. While it may be a surreal, postmodern hodge podge of a design, it housed priceless artifacts. It represented one woman's dream of royal-dom and embodied her visions of a privileged philanthropist. It is burnt to a crisp. The stone walls are smoking rubble. The fairy-tale is in ruins.

http://www.malibucastlekashan.com/

Wakefield

I listened to a short story told by Andrew Sean Greer on Writer's Block.

http://www.kqed.org/arts/writersblock/episode.jsp?id=19465

It was a variation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wakefield but told in a different city (not London) and a different time (not 1850s. ) The plot was nefarious yet in an innocent way. The main character, Wakefield did not even understand his own motivations and why he whimsically chose to leave his wife and move one block over from his house to live a separate existence. He doesn't know why he didn't return for 20 years to his loving and devoted wife and his cozy fire.

It is a common fantasy to detach oneself from one's life, to, in effect, be dead to the world, yet to see the effect of one's death to those around you without being seen. Is that enough motivation for a person to become absent for an extended period of time? It is the Rip Van Winkle complex. That the people who count on us and who we count on can be ripped from us in an instant? Life, love and its bondage is fleeting and mysterious. Yet when we least expect it, can all come back again in a heartbeat.

Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral...

I watched an important documentary that EVERY American needs to watch!
If you don't know who he is....learn!

Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train.
http://www.howardzinn.org/

A Great Man of Impeccable Integrity and Fervent moral and humanistic beliefs.
A Passivist and a Teacher.
A Voice for Peace and Social Justice

Speaks for the Powerless.
Advocates for the Weak.
Writes so we Don't Forget.

Changing One Mind at a Time....

Everyday habits of the Average American

Change your current mindset, change the world.

Habits are easy and being a creature of habit is comfortable. ....however I encourage you to
Push your comfort level and try something different. Use your right brain by giving your left brain an impossible task. The left brain doesn't like paradoxes, so the right side will take over.

Here are some right brain exercises...

• Take mass transit whenever possible

http://www.mta.net

• Not Driving and non-parking in Los Angeles
  

http://www.parkingdayla.com

• Turning off lights prime-time on a Saturday night

http://lightsoutla.org/

For the avid reader...

Found this cool image on the internet while searching for "floating bookshelves". Very impressive span ...Here's the info...

A bookcase, measuring 50 meters (164 feet) long, is suspended 10 meters (33 feet) above the floor in a bookstore in Nanjing, capital of east china's Jiangsu Province, February 8, 2006.

Narcissism vs. Self Esteem

Narcissism levels are higher than ever before, according to an article I read in a psych magazine last week. The reference in the article was to a research paper called "Egos Inflating over Time: A test of two generational theories of Narcissism using Cross Temporal Meta Analysis." I really want to read this paper, because it may explain the rise of apathy and lack of empathy in our society. This may well be America's downfall. Our unjustified self-importance and arrogance could lead us into more illegal wars and a crippling depression unless we are self-corrected. How will the self correction occur? It remains to be seen.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is defined as "...first and foremost by a positive and inflated view of the self, especially on agentic traits (e.g., power, importance, physical attractiveness... is associated with social extroversion, although narcissists have relatively little interest in forming warm, emotionally intimate bonds with others... involves a wide range of self-regulation efforts aimed at enhancing the self. These efforts can range from attention-seeking... taking credit from others... and opportunities to achieve public glory. Narcissists also lash out in aggression when they are rejected or insulted."

I'm sure we ALL know people who fit this description....(hmmm - G.W. Bush)

Maybe this blog is endemic of an inflated ego? Highly unlikely. Because if you know this writer, it comes from a place of healthy self esteem and with a voice of sincerity and integrity.

Quintessentially Angeleno

Driving down Crenshaw Blvd south of the Santa Monica Freeway (the 10), cranking the radio station Indie 103.1 and listening to cool alternative music when I hear David Lynch doing the Daily Weather Report.

http://www.davidlynch.com/dailyreport/greeting3.html

Single Life Demystified

I am a single woman and I live in Los Angeles.

While mulling over the pros and cons of the single life in this huge city which is the size of a small country, I came across an interesting statistic. There are more single guys here than single women. On the online dating site that I belong to, there are over 90,000 men looking for women and only a little over 30,000 women looking for men. The odds of finding a man are good for me. hehehe

Check out this US map above of single men vs. single women population which is out of the National Geographic magazine.