"L.A.'s Essence": Coda

IF WE WERE having class this week, I would have pointed your attention to a dust up that's occurring in real time out here in the journo-world. The New York Times has been publishing a series of pieces by Verilyn Klinkenborg about Los Angeles, many of which haven't been sitting well with us "laid back" folks.

It's not so much what he is saying in these delicately appointed pieces about L.A. -- it's what he isn't saying, and the tone. There's always the tone.

Last Sunday, the Times published an editorial "Haunting Los Angeles" in which Klinkenborg explains that he is at a loss to understand Los Angeles' essenece: "The iconic glimpses don't help me in my quest -- not the sudden view of the Hollywood sign I get from the Hollywood Freeway, not the view of downtown almost floating in the sunset from Pasadena. Every now and then, I turn a corner and think that something essential is about to be revealed. The feeling intensifies all the way up Venice Boulvard into Culver City, and then I'm on National taking one of those curious hidden freeway entrances and suddenly the feeling vanishes"

Vanishes.

Klinkenborg, for all of his hesitation in his impossible quest for Los Angeles' essence concludes:

"If I had an extra lifetime to live, I'd live it here. I don't mean one lifetime lived, in the usual way. I mean a lifetime living within a block or two of the insurance shop on Venice Boulevard with the wrap-around neon facade. Another watching cars turn off National onto the 10 . . . . Perhaps then I could grasp what always escapes me here. Then I'd know whether it was worth looking for in the first place."

It's the final line that has created the dust up -- "worth looking for in the first place..." that has set off bells and has become an impetus for posts, tweets and columns this week (see Hector Tobar's piece in this week's L.A. Times.)

What it all said to me was exactly what we've been trying to move toward in this class. Many of you know the essence already and can articulate your corner, your street, the intersections, the essence -- without qualification or apology.

Go forward.

You know what you're looking for. And it doesn't escape you. It's in you.

-- L.G.

(photo credit: Robert Adams, courtesy the Getty website)

The Venture to Venice… Alone

PEOPLE-WATCHING one of my favorite things to do.

But before I completely creep you out, and you leave your computer thinking I’m a stalker, let me just say that I’m more of a “passive observer” than anything. And that’s what we communication studies majors do best right? We watch and observe people; a glorified “people watcher” if you will.

Another favorite pastime of mine is to ride the bus. And if you’re from LA, you’re probably doing either of two things right now: thinking I’m crazy or thinking I’m lying. (Both of which call into question my past attempt at making “people-watching” sound normal). The first time I ever rode the bus in Los Angeles, I was completely, utterly, and intentionally lost. I waited at the stop on the corner of 83rd and Lincoln for 20 minutes with black clouds of exhaust fanning my face before realizing that the benches at the stops aren’t really meant for sitting at all. Aside from the nasty graffiti scratched into the real estate agent ad on the back, unknown and highly questionable liquids made three matching puddles on each seat.

Finally when the bus arrived, and the doors flew open, I rushed to a much (but relatively) cleaner seat than the bus waiting station offered.
That’s when the scowling bus driver turned his head and scrunched his eyebrows. “Excuse me, excuse me miss!”
“Yes?” No need to shout.
“Are you gonna pay or what?” By this time the wrinkles on his forehead multiplied, making them too many to count on one hand.
“Oh yes, here you go.” I did bring a dollar bill for the ride. I’m not stupid.
“We don’t take dollar bills. Change only.” Seriously? A dollar bill is still valid U.S. currency Mr. Blue Bus Driver Man. And I don’t have change right now… This is ridiculously embarrassing, isn’t it? This is just like that El Pollo Loco in Redondo that only takes bills smaller than a 20. Sorry pal, my bank only gave me a 50 this time. Don’t give me that face, it’s not like I have 50 dollar bills just floating around, so don’t think I’m a spoiled rich kid so fast. In fact, this is the only money I have to my name. Can I just get my burrito please? Thanks. All I’m trying to do is ride this dumb bus.
“Well, I only have a dollar bill. Here, I’ll ask someone for change for my dollar bill.” I’m trying to be accommodating here.
“Step behind the yellow line! The bus is moving!” Snapping his head forward and grasping the steering wheel, Mr. Bus Driver Man finished the conversation.
As he steps on the gas, I trip backwards and stumble into the aisles. Fine, if he wants to be that way, I’ll take the free ride. Two can play this game.

So, I scan the bus for an open seat, trying desperately to pick the least disgusting one. And luckily I found a clean one (again, relatively speaking here). As a take a deep breath and look around, that’s when I realize that I was today’s entertainment for the bus ride audience. Everyone was staring. After my little paying problem, I might as well have put a sticky note on my forehead saying “I’VE NEVER RIDDEN THE BUS BEFORE AND I’M A COMPLETE IDIOT”. I couldn’t have sent a clearer message really.

But I’m not completely inexperienced on roaming Los Angeles; it’s just that I normally have a car. I go on these little “escapades” a lot actually. I tend to get in my car and not know where I’m going and just look for a road that I haven’t driven down before. But since I no longer have a car at my disposal, I’m forced to find other ways to get off the bluff. So today I decided to get on the bus and listen to 5 songs on my iPod and then get off. And if you think that sounds a little impulsive, you’re right; it’s something I literally decided when I woke up this morning. It’s a Saturday, so I walked two blocks to the nearest bus station on 83rd, hopped on and then after public embarrassment and 5 tunes later, I’m standing on the corner of Rose and Lincoln in the heart of Venice Beach.

Great.

Don’t get me wrong; Venice is fine – when you have a large group of people with you. For one, walking along the boardwalk alone only makes you more susceptible to persistent vendors and shopkeepers. They see that you’re alone and like vultures they surround you, feeding off your vulnerability.

And I like to take pictures of my adventures, but snapping pictures when you’re on your own only makes you look like… well, a creeper. But after a couple of minutes of unsuccessfully trying to indiscreetly get some pictures, the Venetians were on to me. Some vendors approached me and told me to pay five dollars for taking a picture of their stand. And that one man who had a petition to save the endangered leatherback sea turtles of Costa Rica wanted to know why I took his picture, demanding me to delete it in front of his eyes. I also tried to get a picture of the beach with the infamous “roller-skater” man with his white turban in the background. He spotted me from across the sidewalk and skated over to tell me he charges $10 for a picture (but he was willing to cut me a deal if I got 2 of his Bob Marley t-shirts for eight dollars).

Photographer Anne Fishbein said everybody gets nervous when you pull out a camera, and here in Venice they get greedy too. I’m actually impressed more than anything really, what a great idea to charge for pictures. If I were that man, I’d probably do the same thing. All those characters in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater expect payment for pictures, so why shouldn’t the characters of Venice do the same?
But at the same time, there was this one picture where all I wanted was the beach. That’s it. And then some guy walks by and tries to charge me for taking his picture. He didn’t know that I purposely zoomed in to make sure he was out of the frame. Even after showing him the pictures he wouldn’t leave me alone. This is a moment where I wished I hadn’t gone alone.

But as kooky as Venice is, this is the LA I love. LA’s like that sibling you love to bag on, you love them to death and they might hate you for it, but they’re just so easy to make fun of. It’s so easy (and fun) to complain about how awful the air is here, and how unreliable the bus system tends to be, or how weird people are down on the Venice boardwalk. But truth be told, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

-- Nicole Ryan



(photo credit: Nicole Ryan)

A Polyglot Effort to Keep L.A. History Alive

LOS ANGELES TIMES columnist, Hector Tobar filed an interesting column that ran in yesterday's paper about the city's ethnic core and how many immigrants who by simply inhabiting the historic buildings making up mid-city are ensuring that Los Angeles built history is preserved.

-- L.G.

photo from L.A. Times

Losing Los Angeles

AS I SEARCHED searched Yelp for the hours of a frozen yogurt place in Culver City that I always have wanted to try, I saw a comment that caught my eye. Yelp user Robert H. writes, “Culver City is officially gentrified.” Though this is an area I have frequented over the past two years, I admit that at one time the only thing I knew about Culver City was the Fox Hills Mall which before the remodel, I was told, was not a good area.

On the surface, it’s hard to believe that gentrification is not always positive as it results in the cleaning up and modernizing of areas. For example, I live in an apartment complex in Playa del Rey that I love. It’s new, has wonderful amenities and is close to the beach. Yet recently I learned that my own area was a center of gentrification and many people were unhappy about this change.

Looking deeper it makes sense. Bringing in popular chain restaurants pushes out small family-owned restaurants. Building large infrastructures changes the view that residents loved about their home. Tearing down old apartment buildings to make space for new ones removes thousands out of rent-controlled apartments.

Although these changes may be good for some, mostly the more affluent, what happens to the rest of these Angelenos? After being kicked out of their homes and losing their neighborhood, they are forced to move somewhere that is often dramatically smaller and further from everything they know because they can no longer afford their area. Gentrification also means that Los Angeles is quickly losing its character and history. By ridding L.A. of establishments and housing that show the real L.A., we end up with track homes and apartment complexes and a general world that all looks the same. Yet, as someone who lives in a gentrified area and frequents Culver City establishments, I’m certainly not the poster child for saving historic L.A. But I am one citizen who is starting to see that I don’t want to lose the things that I love about my city.

-- Emily Day

(photo caption top: "Art Tower," Hayden Tract, Culver City, photo credit, lavocado; bottom caption, "Ghost Phantasim -- "Boo Yuppies" Traction Avenue, Omar Omar flickr creative commons)

Step Away From the Mirror

LOS ANGELES TENDS to be an image-obsessed city. Whether it be the fascination with celebrities or fighting for the table outside at the Ivy so you can "be seen: these are things we encounter daily. Yet L.A. reached a new low for me when I went to Chevron and purchased a few energy bars and large water bottles—aka finals survival fuel. While standing at the cash register, the cashier looked me up and down and told me that “if you want to keep that body you shouldn’t be eating these candy bars.” Though I tried to explain that they were indeed energy bars, he wouldn’t listen. Although my annoyance was on my mind at the forefront, it made me think that if we can’t even go to the gas station without our image being put in check, then where in Los Angeles can we go?

The homeless shelter. For an eye opening experience of the real people of Los Angeles I spend time volunteering at a homeless shelter which will not be disclosed due to privacy restrictions. It is here that the plastic surgery, fast cars and monetary obsession fade away. These people of Los Angeles could care less about it and make you feel that you should too. Their greatest concern is whether they will be able to find a place to finally take a shower.
And yet, so often as Angelenos, we pass these people on Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade or at the end of the freeway, begging for their livelihood. And what happens? People speed by in their $100,000 cars without giving them a second thought, except to maybe ensure that their doors are locked.

One thing I am proud of is that the city of Los Angeles has finally taken an interest in homelessness and the rate has dropped 38% since 2007 due to the $100-Homeless Prevention Initiative. But living in a city where so many have so much, we could reduce this number further and possibly eradicate it. As celebrities give to important relief efforts oversees, I wish we could remind them that here at home we can really make a difference too. Maybe it’s time that Angelenos stop looking in the mirror and start looking outward.

-- Emily Day
(photocredit: omar omar, flickr creative commons)

Los Angeles Lakers Fans- One Generation After Another

ALTHOUGH I WOULD not consider myself an avid Los Angeles Lakers fan -- and admit to having been to only one game -- I could not help but become inundated with their successes this past week in the news of their recent win. It seems as though I couldn’t get away from the hype of the popular team -- sportscasters on the news feeding the details of who shot the most points and who saved the game and even a stranger asking me, while sitting by my apartment complex pool this past weekend, if I knew the score. Shortly after, I realized that this obvious Lakers fan had asked me because his young son had probably dragged him up from the couch while watching the game to soak up some sun at the pool on a beautiful April afternoon. What struck me most was that despite this little boy’s strong urge to be playing outside rather than on the couch, he was just as interested to know if the Lakers were winning and when he found out that they did he couldn’t have been happier.

It became clear that Los Angeles Lakers fans pass on their pride and respect from generation to generation which helps maintain such a strong loyalty for so many years. It would almost seem taboo for someone in a family of Lakers fans to stray away from the pack and adopt another favored team. Despite its location and whether the home of the Lakers resides at The Forum in Inglewood or the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, the Lakers will always have fans --both young and old. The team represents so much more than just the game. The Los Angeles Lakers represent a community, a city and generations that will last as long as Angelenos and fans allow it. The team would be nothing without its fans and the fans would be nothing without their team.
-- Jayme Dolan

photo credit: "#1 Laker Fan" by jvnuag, flickr creative commons

Abbot Kinney

The New York Times recently put up a travel posting on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, Ca. You can see the slideshow here

Abbot Kinney, a wealthy tobacco businessman, was the founder of the city of Venice, and had a vision for the coastal stretch of land as a "Venice of America." He envisioned gondolas and performers, and all sorts of other cultural attractions to allure people to the area that he loved so much. Today it has become a cultural icon for different reasons- as a trendy and hip example of the Los Angeles beach lifestyle. An eclectic group inhabits the beachy city, where a breeze always seems to be blowing, and boutiques and small cafes with barely visible names printed on the windows in minimalist fashion, line the streets. Abbot Kinney Boulevard has materialized into a street with an identity uniquely its own, and is attractive for a variety of reasons. Restaurants like the newly opened Lemonade (with its delicious variety of unusually flavored lemonade), Abbot's Pizza (a small store front with a big variety of delicious and creative pizzas), Joe's Cafe, and many others offer great food in a relaxing environment, not to mention the various "taco trucks," serving a variety of food much more than just tacos, which frequent the street. The palm trees that border the sidewalks make the orange and pink sunset in combination with the variety of shops even more picturesque on a warm summer evening. In a strange way, the magic of the street- maybe becuase of the name, or the people, or even just the vibe, make you almost want to say "my street is cooler than yours"- almost.

-- Posted from NYT story by Kimberly Dennis
photo credits: ricardodiaz11, vmiramontes, flickr creative commons)

A Day in Downtown LA

SPRING IS IN the air in LA, and what better way to celebrate the coming of the season of sun than a day in LA? Suggested by HiddenLA's founder, Lynn Garrett, this little excursion is a great way to become acquainted a little better with downtown LA, and it shows just how much you can do in a few hours in the city.

Start by going to the only running railcar in Los Angeles, Angels Flight, right off the 110 at 3rd and Hill Streets, and ride it up to the top where you will find a little park nestled in the square of a block, called Angels Knoll. It has been featured in several films, including most recently 500 Days of Summer, and it offers a beautiful view of the city. You can sit and relax on the park benches in the cool shade of the trees, and observe the lovely LA architecture for a while, working up an appetite on the meditation of the antique fire escape railings and the stone details of the apartment complexes in front of you, and then make your way to the Grand Central Market. Literally right across the street from the bottom of Angels Flight, it is a verifiable goldmine of food, from fresh and inexpensive produce, to Mexican and Chinese food that will make your mouth water just by walking/looking/smelling it. Walk through the market and out to the other side of the block, and you will be on Broadway St.; directly across the street will be the Bradbury Building, an absolute beautiful structure, with a glass ceiling (no pun intended), and wrought iron railings and open elevators that line the open atrium of the space, now used as office buildings. After this, feel free to stroll around the streets- plenty of people will probably be doing the same-oh, and don't forget to enjoy yourself.

-- Kimberly Dennis

(photo credit, Grand Central Market, Angeles Flight ricardodiaz11, flickr, creative commons)

A.O. Scott on Chinatown --

A few weeks back, the New York Times' film critic, A. O. Scott looked at Roman Polanski’s 1974 film noir “Chinatown.” Mr. Scott calls the film, which explores corruption in 1930s Los Angeles, “much more than the sum of its parts.” He says that Mr. Polanski “pushes beyond the conventions of the genre to give us a stark encounter between a powerless individual and monstrous evil.” Please share your thoughts on “Chinatown.”
-- L.G.

(photo credit: cinemaisdopedotcom.)

Survey L.A.: One Building at a Time . . .

FOR THOSE OF you interested in going even deeper, the City of Los Angeles has embarked on an expansive project to ensure that Los Angeles' built history is properly counted and cataloged.

Survey L.A., a project launched by the city's Office of Historical Resources, is an expansive, multi-layered endeavor that christens the city's first comprehensive preservation program.

Eighty-five percent of Los Angeles's structures have not been cataloged. Unlike most big cities, Los Angeles hasn't had an organized and systemized way of keeping track of what's on the ground. Survey L.A. is training and paring teams of architects, historians, students and volunteers to traverse the city and catalog each and every structure. The idea behind this effort is to begin to understand Los Angeles's history through the various structures (and the various uses of those structures over time) Ken Bernstein, head of the Office of Historical Resources told me during an interview for an L.A. Times story I was working on that one of the primary impetus of this program was the constant "11th hour fights" to save historically significant buildings from being torn down under the cover of night. Once a building is counted and cataloged in the database it will be easier to find out more about what its historical relevance is without scrambling at the last minute.

Moreover, Bernstein hopes, is that we begin to understand our city's history through its neighborhoods, subdivisions, industries and distinct melange of architecture. For those of you who might like to participate in learning about your city literally from the ground up click here .
Below is part-one of a series of three videos that will tell you a little more about the project.
-- L.G.