Four Days in LA

Bryan on Hollywood Blvd.. Picture by Trevor Snillor

SUNDAY
We are having a gorgeous 70 degree day outside. Just completed my 3 mile hike at White Rock, and now feel the need to catch up on my blog. I have several topics in queue but today I’ll talk about my Halloween trip to LA.

Los Angeles 3rd Time Around

In 1984, I visited LA for a weekend vacation following a job interview. I took a Star Line tour and visited a couple of night clubs.. I was inebriated most of that trip, but recall that I liked it and vowed to return. I returned in 2009 with my friend Eric, some 25 years later and sober (but not as serious) as a judge. It was an enjoyable trip, although we didn’t extend our scope much beyond Hollywood and Venice Beach. I caught a bad cold on that trip so the fun was curtailed.

We came back (Eric, my brother Bryan and I) for Halloween week, 2015. We stayed at the Dixie Hollywood on a slightly down-scale block of Hollywood Blvd, but the experience was great again.

We did standard tourist things: Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Paramount Studio Tour and Hollywood Celebrity Cemetery. I must say that Lucille Ball’s star on the Walk of Fame deserves better than its location near Pep Boys and a homeless shelter. Paramount Studios made me realize what a shallow sham our TV shows are… I wanted to believe that Cheers was filmed in a Boston pub. It is amazing what illusions (even in recent sci-fi) can be effected on a small studio set.

We looked at the Brady Bunch house near Studio City. It’s nicely maintained and I can only imagine that the current inhabitants are annoyed by the tourists snapping pictures all day. Shame on us! The owners might consider making it a museum tour – “This is where Greg took a puff.. This is where Marcia was hit by a football”.

We explored Laurel Canyon, Mulholland Drive (don’t drive there drunk at night), UCLA and Century City. LA is such an awesome sprawl that there are still many things we didn’t touch on: Universal City, Disneyland, the Tate-La Bianca houses, an updated Star Line tour. I honestly think the city is large and lively enough to justify a couple more visits.

We checked out the wacky Venice Beach and also the LA Farmers Market which is actually a luxuriant shopping mall with an eclectic open air food court attached. We looked at one of the few brick-and-mortar CB2 stores which has cool housewares at cooler affordable prices. We priced Hollywood real estate and marveled at how Dallas prices are catching up. On the whole, we had lots of fun doing a variety of things.

Conclusion

My travel companions and I pulled off a trip without having a fight or an argument – that in itself is pretty amazing. Maybe we’re just getting too old and the fire is gone. I doubt that we’ve matured that much. LA is fantastic if you’re star-struck like me. Also, the late October weather was near perfect with azure skies and highs in the low 80’s. If you want a fun, exciting place to vacation in an urban location you can hardly beat La La Land. I took about 100 digital photos, not one of which have I posted, printed or labeled. That should be a forthcoming activity if I ever catch up at work. These could a visual enticement to what awaits in Hollywood Land.

© 2015 Snillor Productions

Detroit on the Volga

Best foot forward .. Poster courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
CURRENT NEWS

I love Pope Francis, but we have had Pope Overload the last 3 days. I’ll be glad to get back a normal news cycle. I’m sorry to see John Boehner leave as the GOP Speaker of the House. He was one of the last reasonable Republicans – I have to wonder who will replace him. Donald Trump and Ben Carson are still miles ahead of the other GOP contenders. This race fascinates me the same way NASCAR fascinates, with possibilities of a wipeout or explosion.

EXPORTING RAYMOND

This past week I watched a good documentary, Exporting Raymond. In it, producer Philip Rosenthal was tasked with bringing the Russian version of Raymond to life in Moscow. He had to travel to Moscow (after securing Kidnap-Rescue insurance) and meet with Russian TV czars to recreate the hit show -- Everybody Loves Kostya. Russian tastes are different – they demanded a better looking, more macho Raymond. Russians don’t like wussy men. They made Kostya’s family more upscale – Russians don’t like to see shows about working class riffraff. Also, a few Raymond shows delved into more subtle, psychological humor. Russians like more physicality and farce. There was a lot of reworking the scripts.

Rosenthal was initially horrified by some of the turns his show (based partly on his own life) took in Russia. Ultimately though, they made good casting decisions and honored his directorial advice. The show was a big hit, topping the ratings shortly thereafter.

MOSCOW – SIDESTREET VIEW

This documentary fascinated me for the unofficial Moscow Travelogue it provided. Most pictures I’ve ever seen show the beautiful tourist areas (like Red Square in the picture). What does Moscow look like away from the glitzy government buildings and historic areas? Raymond gave us a view that answered the question.

DETROIT ON THE VOLGA

The street scenes were gritty, gray commercial districts with dense traffic and billboards. The cold, gray, wet weather didn’t enhance the view, but mostly it looked like warehouse buildings and non-descript office buildings.

Russia’s 2nd biggest TV studio is housed in a single building – it looks maybe like a Chase Bank building we would’ve built in the 1970’s. That, except for the mile high weeds and large piece of façade fallen off. The inside fares no better – big pieces of plaster chunking off the wall, a wire cable precariously stapled along one wall. Rosenthal commented that being in this building actually raised his fear of being kidnapped.

Everybody Loves Kostya was pretty well received and got bumped over to Russia’s #1 TV Studio across town. This facility looks like an abandoned US military base from the 1950’s. Beige brick buildings surround a weedy parking lot. Stray dogs eat out of a trash can. The facility is large – size-wise it might compare to Universal Studios in Hollywood. The soundstages are rudimentary by US standards and there is no studio audience. Overall my impression would be that their TV industry trails ours by a couple of decades. In fairness, they put a lot of emphasis on ballet and “legitimate” theater. In fact some Russians look disdainfully at TV, almost the way we would look at soft-core porn.

YARD CREW?

Nonetheless Russia – have you ever heard of a lawn crew? They maintain the landscape of public areas. What about handymen and carpenters? In America, if a chunk of a building falls off we put it back asap. We don’t say “Whatever”. I will say we have a US analog to this. The USPS center nearest me looks oddly like the Moscow TV studio. It’s a 1950’s beige brick building surrounded by yard-high weeds and fast food containers. Both share the common trait of government oversight. This impression may take way from my Socialist leanings. Workers of the world unite, but first mow the damn lawn and rewire the wall!

If you have a chance, watch this excellent documentary. You will learn as much about Russian property management as you do about television tastes worldwide.

© 2015 Snillor Productions

San Antone Christmas

Cousin-in-law with little one - Pic courtesy of L. Stevens

by blogSpotter

Today’s blog is a little bit of retrospective, being the last day of 2013. I came down with a horrible cold over the holidays and even as I type this I cannot breathe through my nose. I’ve been housebound drinking fruit juice and soup for 3 days now – cursing the zinc tabs that had no influence on my cold.

SAN ANTONIO

In spite of the cold, I had a terrific Christmas vacation in San Antonio. It was down-scale by some peoples' standards.. my brother and I stayed at the Days Inn right on Loop 410. Semis whooshed by through the night but the fan blocked out most of that. My brother described the lobby as smelling like “pooh/curry” though I didn’t really notice that. We dined at iHop and Whataburger across the highway most of the time. We visited our young cousins in Bandera, TX and I reaffirmed that I’m not excellent with toddlers.

Highlights of the trip were:
o Christmas dinner in Bandera with extended family
o Christmas Fireworks later that night
o Visiting Market Square and the Alamo with cousins
o Dining at Little Gretel in Boerne, TX and exploring the arts district

San Antonio is a beautiful city – Bandera Road is every bit as fetching as Austin’s FM 2222. It appears that half my family has relocated to West San Antonio, so who knows where I might settle in retirement. My heart is still with Austin, but no telling.

If you go somewhere with an A-D-D 3 year old, minding the toddler will take major precedence over anything else like shopping or eating. I must hand it to young parents everywhere – that’s a test of both sanity and endurance.

BYE to 2013

I guess it’s been the best and worst of times. We had a disastrous health care roll-out and also a government shut-down. But we’ve also had resurgence in the stock market and auto industry. From a personal standpoint, I’m a bit nervous about starting a new project at work in January .. I guess that makes our lives an adventure to shake it up sometimes. I really like my comfort zone though.

Here are some things in Big D we can look forward to in 2014:
o Completion of the DART Orange Line to DFW Terminal A
o Completion of the beautiful new Parkland Hospital
o Repeal of the Wright Amendment at Love Field
o Completion of the Love Field Modernization project

The above items should add attractive options and flexibility to our lives. Happy New Year to my couple of readers ;-) Now pardon me while I take some more cold pills.

© 2013 blogSpotter

One Mile High

Bronco Stadium at 55mph- Picture by blogSpotter

by blogSpotter

It's Colorado rocky mountain high

I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky

Friends around the campfire and everybody's high

Rocky mountain high
-- John Denver

Last week I went to Denver, Colorado for my annual vacation. My brother Bryan and friend Eric were my traveling companions as always. Because of our busy schedules and tight budgets, we opted for a city that’s nearby and affordable. I must say I was impressed with this beautiful mountain metropolis.

MILE HIGH CITY
Denver began as an encampment for gold miners in 1858 -- settled near the South Platte River. First known as Montana City, Denver evolved into the 23rd largest city in the USA, and is now a bustling center for manufacturing, energy and real estate companies. Thinking of a comparison … I once described Seattle as a “gussied up” San Francisco. I likewise would say Denver is a cleaned up Dallas. It shares much of the land-locked, big-city character of Dallas, but Denver has maintained its beautiful Victorian buildings. The city is also remarkably tidy and well zoned. There’s very little tag art or decayed areas like you see all over Dallas. We stayed at the Red Lion Inn on the eastern edge of town – near the site of the old Stapleton Airport (now razed and replaced with upscale housing). Once we figured out the Quebec Avenue-to-Colfax route, the city was highly traversable.

WEDNESDAY OCT 24
Eric and I met up with Bryan at the beautiful but daunting Denver International Airport. The facility is worth a trip all by itself, but might confuse people with all its tram cars and far-flung terminals. We checked into our hotel which resembles a dental college and headed downtown for dinner. A freakish norther blew snow and sleet into Denver for just the 4 days we were there. It didn’t stick to the streets and started to melt on day 3 so we endured. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory that night and went back to the hotel.

THURSDAY OCT 25
We drove to Colorado Springs, which is less than 1 hour from Denver. We visited the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods and drove through Manitou Springs. We toured some neighborhoods that Bryan and I recalled from living there in the late 1960’s. We headed back to Denver and met Bryan’s old friend Karl at a place called Racine’s. From here, Karl took us on tour to a couple of nearby pubs. The city is extremely friendly and unpretentious – the people don’t give off any “Dallitude” which is a nice change.

FRIDAY OCT 26
We drove to Boulder which is all of 35 miles north. There we toured the Pearl Street Mall, which was fun. Boulder is so picturesque it looks like a snow-globe city or a Thomas Kincaid painting. I managed to spill a chocolate ice cream all over my jacket and pants -- drat! We had to stop at Super Target on the return trip so I could replace my messed up pants. We explored Colfax avenue upon our return. That evening we ate at Benny’s Tex Mex (a Denver standard) . Bryan returned to the hotel; Eric and I did some more pub hopping.

SATURDAY OCT 27
Saturday, we looked at Golden, CO which is really more a suburb of Denver. Golden has the look and feel of an old saloon town; its main claim to fame is the Coors Brewery.. we walked all around and snapped photos. Didn’t quite have time for a Coors tour. Later that afternoon, we stopped by in Denver to visit Karl (from Racine’s). Karl has a beautiful 1912 bungalow with a 3 car garage and new kitchen. That evening we ate at an Olive Garden in Lakewood CO. Yes we traveled 1000 miles to eat at an Olive Garden! ☺ It was good as always.

SUNDAY OCT 28
We were a little late checking out so we had to catch breakfast at the Village Inn, on the way back out to the airport. The return trip went well for all of us and I look forward to Denver Part II. 

CONCLUSION / ODDS AND ENDS
We ate all our breakfasts at the Stapleton iHop – I didn’t have one meal under 1000 high fat calories. The weather returned to 65 degrees the day we left. We looked at a nearby group of open houses – they’re pricier than Dallas but you get a full basement in Denver. There was a trade show called Feast of Blades at our hotel – some kind of fun geek fest. Goth looking people were selling game board pieces that looked like characters from Star Wars. Someone explained it to me and I still don’t understand what it was. Denver is historic, beautiful and yes – fabulous. It’s almost like getting the charm of Montreal or historic feel of San Francisco only way closer and cheaper. We already have a closer-in hotel picked out for the next visit.

© 2012 blogSpotter

Living on Tulsa Time

Philtower was built in 1928 -- Picture by blogSpotter

by blogSpotter
Last week, I took a computer training class in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. Have to confess I’ve never visited Oklahoma even though it’s a close neighbor to North Texas. Have always thought of Oklahoma as an extension of North Texas -- Maybe North North Texas. With its flat, dry bramble-scape and Republican politics I didn’t think it had much to offer beyond what I’ve already seen in Amarillo or McKinney, Texas. Tulsa, with a population of about 490,000 proved me wrong, in a most pleasant way. Northeastern Oklahoma where Tulsa is situated is actually the start of Oklahoma’s “Green Belt”. It has gentle, green hills accentuated by the wide, rushing Arkansas River. The area has quite a few more trees than DFW and they aren’t transplanted trees. The “flat, dry” crown will probably have to go to Dallas after all.

Economically speaking, Tulsa was founded on oil profits. Its most prominent museum, Philbrook, is a 1927 Italianate Villa donated to the city by Waite Phillips of Phillips 66 fame. The city is clean, modern and well maintained. It has some striking new buildings (e.g. the new BOK Sports Arena) but it also has many outstanding examples of Art Deco surviving from the 1920’s and 30’s. Tulsa has nurtured and maintained its treasures where Dallas would surely pummel these into the ground to make room for Krogers, Walgreens or an Office Depot. It’s interesting to note that Tulsa, a city which embraces capitalism, didn’t see a need to sacrifice its architectural integrity on the Altar of Near-term Profits.


Boston Avenue Church, circa 1927 -- Picture by blogSpotter

A coworker who previously lived in Tulsa told me it was a “little Dallas”. I saw some definite parallels … Utica Avenue easily offers as much luxury as Highland Park. Peoria Avenue captures the spirit of our Lower Greenville and the Blue Dome district is a mirror to our hip Deep Ellum area. The Arkansas River Park is a beautiful ribbon of parkland that rivals our White Rock Lake. Nothing is necessarily as big in square blocks or miles, though quality matters as much as quantity -- “little Dallas” actually is a good way of summing it up.

Other things that strike me about Tulsa are its conservatism and slower pace. At prime evening rush hour, there was no rush hour -- I probably counted ten cars poking their way down South Boston Avenue. I easily navigated their freeways in my Ford Focus rental car. The home of Oral Roberts University, Tulsa doesn’t quit on religion. On one city block I counted five churches, probably a record for anywhere I’ve been. If you’re atheist, agnostic or Unitarian Universalist you may be feeling the implied burn of Hades while visiting.

That said, the people are very open and friendly. In some ways Tulsa reminded be of Dallas 30 years ago. Young men were sporting short hair and pastel Polo shirts while some of the women resembled young Delta Burkes with bigger-than-Texas hair. Nobody seemed to have tattoos or piercings, at least not that I noticed. There were a very few homeless people but nobody making me fear for my life or duck into a store entrance. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tulsans leave their doors unlocked and dispense somewhat with security alarms. I visited a Luby’s and found it remarkable that the employees engaged so well with the customers… “I missed you at church last week. How is Suzy doing?” This kind of familiarity and concern wouldn’t even be feigned in Dallas at any establishment I’ve visited.

Tulsa joins Austin, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico on my very short list of favored “laid back” cities. Each of these towns have their separate muses for quiet and calm. For Santa Fe, it’s fine arts and American Indian history. For Austin, it’s doobies, liberal politics and progressive country music. For Tulsa, it’s Jesus. Not all of these muses are necessarily my muses but it’s no matter. These are cities where people drive unhurriedly at 35mph, go home from work while it’s still daylight and have long, relaxed weekends in places of geographical beauty. I love the phrase, “Wear the world like a loose garment”. And I love cities like Austin, Santa Fe and Tulsa that encourage you to do just that.

© 2011 blogSpotter

The Ghosts of Campbell House

Greetings from Hugh and Hazlett -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
In 2006, a friend and I visited St. Louis Missouri. I had never been to that fabled Gateway and enjoyed my visit thoroughly. We stayed near the downtown area and saw most of the sights including the famous Arch built in 1965 as well as the fashionable Delmar Avenue district. St. Louis is a fusion place for several American traditions. The jazz bars and BBQ joints call to mind the Deep South while gray squirrels and blustery North wind put you back into a Yankee state of mind. With blocks of deteriorating brick mansions and rows of defunct 19th century warehouses, I can’t help but think how an ambitious developer might want to gentrify all of it. Saint Louis is like a fading, but still beautiful dowager queen -- a city that once was the center of American commerce. I would heartily recommend it for someone wanting a substantial slice of American history and culture.

One site is little known or talked about and yet it made the biggest impression of all -- the Campbell House Museum near the downtown district. Campbell house is the meticulously restored mansion that once belonged to 19th century banking tycoon Robert Campbell and his family. The 1851 Federal style house was purchased by the showy Campbells for $18,000 in 1854. 18K was a bundle for that era. Campbell died with a net worth of $2 million and also was known for his dabbling in real estate, gold and the fur trade. He and his wife, Virginia entertained lavishly and even once hosted a dinner party for Ulysses Grant and retired General Sherman.

The house itself at 20 Lucas Place, was state-of-the-art for its time. It had servants’ quarters, a carriage house and (most impressively) indoor plumbing. The kitchen counter was crudely hewn wood and the upstairs toilet was also made of wood. We have to recall that those were once rooms of service and function -- not the luxuriant spaces we have now with granite counters, wine racks and garden baths. The Campbell’s had the house from 1854 until 1938 when the youngest son Hazlett died at age 83. The home was subsequently converted to a public museum and most of the Victorian-era furniture (sold in estate auction) was tracked down and repurchased. Wallpaper, paint and other effects were meticulously restored using photos and letters as reference points. The house now serves as an incredible venture into mid-19th century decadence if you will. With some minor adjustments, you might just love living there now.

But for all the beauty of the building, the human ghosts of Campbell house are by far the most gripping part of the story. From its beginning, the story has an eerie feel. Robert proposed to Virginia and she flat-out turned him down. After Robert pleaded with her in person and via mail (over some months), she finally caved and married him. The very fact that the marriage was conceived in an act of practicality and exasperated “settling” is something that did not bode well for the future…

The Campbells had 13 children -- but here is where their wealth oddly did them no favors. The indoor plumbing drew its water from a common supply that wasn’t treated for contagions. 10 of the 13 children died from various diseases -- cholera, diphtheria and typhoid. Only 3 boys survived to adulthood -- Hugh, James and Hazlett. All 3 boys were tall, athletic and handsome -- they attended Ivy League schools and traveled through Europe in the 1880’s. But the cold wind of fate wasn’t near the end of its course… James caught the flu in his early 20’s and died from that. Hazlett started having mood swings and erratic behavior in his early 20‘s -- later these might be diagnosed as manic depression or schizophrenia. He was actually treated with cocaine (labeled vials were found in his estate) -- cocaine was a legal and approved treatment for “melancholia” in the 19th century. But Hazlett remained unemployable and cloistered the rest of his days, cared for by his older brother Hugh.

Hugh actually survived into old age in a state of good health and mental soundness. In earlier years he entertained, gave to children’s charities and was a congenial, man about town. But Hugh never married or had children. None of the boys did. In his middle age, Hugh became nearly as reclusive as Hazlett -- neighbors observed that only servants and delivery people were ever seen entering or leaving the house. Hugh died in 1931, prearranging Hazlett’s care by paid nurses. Hazlett died in 1938 with no living heirs, thus setting the stage for a Campbell Museum.

Thus you walk through the Campbell’s living room, regaled by stories of civil war generals, amazed at the beautiful Victorian davenport in authentic red fabric. You love the carriage house, replete with a carriage. But then in the dining room, you gaze at the photo of three robust young men in Paris. Whom did they marry, what dragons did they slay? There must be 15 grandchildren and 50 great grandchildren. In so many families that would be imperative. But here, the sad thread, the weird curse of Robert and Virginia Campbell has its final, quiet close. The Campbell House has so many stories to tell, and so many other stories left unspoken.

© 2011 blogSpotter

Leap Vacation

A vacation to remember -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
PERSONAL JOURNAL

I'm on the last day of an extremely fun family vacation. We had a family reunion in Corpus Christi, Texas and I may finally get the names straight for my many cousins and second cousins. We had a boat ride through Corpus Christi Bay -- it was very invigorating (and slightly bruising). We also had a couple of cookouts and lots of reminiscing.

My trusty iPad kept me current with all my email. In fact, the iPad did something no other device has done -- it invited an accusation from a relative: "You'd rather sit with your iPad than visit the old neighborhood!". My iPad has become that much of a distraction. We're back in Round Rock tonight, looking at available videos on demand. That brings me to our blog topic ...

MOVIE STUFF

In days of old, I used to read TV Guide, where I'd enjoy the wit of movie critics Judith Crist and Cleveland Amory. I remember Crist in particular described one movie as an enjoyable "trash wallow". She went on further to elaborate that movies do not have to justify themselves...

Paraphrasing Crist, movies do not have to educate or edify. They don't have to send a message or inspire noble thoughts. They certainly don't have to win awards. Trashy movies that immediately spring to mind are "Valley of the Dolls" and "Plan 9 from Outer Space". These movies are entertaining more than anything else -- they've helped forge a new category of movie, one so bad that it's good.

If the movie stimulates belly laughs or provokes any kind of curiosity it has done its main thing -- take the viewer out of humdrum existence and transport him to a new place. Think of it as a virtual, two hour vacation. I love cult movies ("Rocky Horror") and silly movies ("Step Brothers"). It's also hard to go wrong with any of the Ace Ventura movies floating around. Sometimes silly will surprise you with some wisdom or life lessons you didn't expect (sort of like Cocoa Puffs with vitamins added). "Step Brothers" actually had a good message about misplaced priorities.

For the last part of the vacation, my brother and I visited my mother in Round Rock, Texas. We watched two movies -- "Leap Year" and "Hot Tub Time Machine". "Hot Tub Time Machine" was purely juvenile and maybe no redeeming qualities. That being said, it's worth the rental fee if you like a comedic twist on time travel laced with the F word. "Leap Year" is a romantic chick flick which matches a tightly wound, American priss (Amy Adams) against a laid back Irish pub owner (Matthew Goode). Their car trip to Dublin is an odyssey fraught with cows on the loose, car problems, highway robbery, missed trains and other mishaps. All is set against the beautiful backdrop of Ireland -- a green, hilly utopia that I need to visit some day. The movie is a classic formula, served up with terrific nuance and originality. You know how it will end, but enjoy the ride nonetheless.

I feel the need to apologize for not being more current with the blog. I'll be back in Dallas shortly, and have burned through all my vacation -- should be good for a steadier blog schedule as soon as I get back.

© 2010 blogSpotter

Hollywood Vacation

Eric near a Venice Beach emporium -- Picture by blogSpotter

by blogSpotter
I’m at the Knox Street Starbucks as I write this, sitting on the outside patio. We’re having a beautiful late Indian summer day -- 80 degrees outside. Have been feeding the sparrows; they appear to like peanut butter cookies. They almost seem more like pets than wild birds -- very cute.

I’m WAY overdue for my LA trip report. My brother Bryan, friend Eric and I went to Los Angeles and Palm Springs two weeks ago. While there, I had the “bizarre allergy attack from Hell” where my nose ran like a faucet and my eyes stung as if someone had thrown acid in them. Everyone speculates that it was the pollution. Mercifully that attack (and ensuing head cold) didn’t come ‘til about halfway into the trip. In spite of all that, I had a very good time -- especially in LA.

NOBODY SLEEPS IN LA
We actually landed in Laguna Beach, a luxury enclave where $5 million haciendas occupy green hills, overlooking a teal blue Pacific Ocean. I have total envy of these people, and had a really good peanut butter milk shake at the Orange Grill on their main drag.

In LA, we stayed at the West Hollywood Ramada on Santa Monica, perfectly situated near the most popular bars, cafes and gyms. The Santa Monica Starbucks has 10 people in line all day long. The unemployed actors need their $4 lattes. The cafes start to get crowded at 3PM and stay crowded ’til 3AM. This is a town I could love. The people are superficially beautiful which is absolutely terrible except to look at. Popular shirt: athletic fit tee shirt with plunging Vee neckline (for men). Popular car: 2010 convertible Mustang in red or silver. We dined at various places -- the Tango Grill, Bossa Nova and Skewers were all great.

THE ABBEY
This is THE most popular bar in West Hollywood. It’s a former restaurant, bakery and bar in a large court yard enclosure. There are different rooms with generous fireplaces and couches -- it looks like somebody’s sprawling Spanish Villa where you’ve been invited for the weekend. To keep with the religious theme (it is called The Abbey after all), there are some iconic statues of the Virgin Mary. The crowd is an amazing hodgepodge of West Hollywood habitués, groups of young ladies, and middle aged couples (maybe film producers and their wives?). Everyone is festive and I likened it to a crazy prom night where you’re not sure who will walk through the door next or what they might do. I could probably just live at this place, it was that fun. Maybe I’ve been in Dallas too long.

We did many of the touristy things (Farmers Market, Getty Museum, La Brea Tar Pit). We didn’t do Universal Studios because it was expensive to buy the tickets and an all-day commitment. We enjoyed window-shopping on Rodeo Drive also, but the standout for me was Venice Beach. This lengthy stretch of boardwalk has every imaginable thing you might see on a garish carnival midway. There were jugglers, musicians, magicians, weight trainers, skate boarders, contortionists and vendors galore. The LA weather was gorgeous, balmy high 70’s, so this was a perfect afternoon.

Alas the LA leg of the trip came to an end and we went to Palm Springs for the last 3 days. At this point I was battling a cold, so in fairness to Palm Springs I wasn’t feeling well.

PALM SPRINGS
Palm Springs is a sleepy retirement community of 42,000 people, one hour east of LA. In its “hey day” it was a second home for movie stars. Nowadays it’s known for golf and occasional white parties offered up by the resident gay community. It reminded me of a military base with it’s grid-like streets, and sterile look-alike Spanish-contemporary buildings. Our guest house (La Dolce Vita) was nearly a ghost house with few other visitors -- understandable since we were there in an off season.

We did a few touristy things (mountain aero tram, Palm Canyon tour) but mostly just flaked out while we were there. I was battling my new cold, and the desert air was all I really wanted for my convalescing efforts.

CONCLUSION
My cold and allergy problems impacted some of this trip, but the LA portion made a big impact. I’m currently shopping for some vee neck shirts and looking at Mustangs. I wonder if any bars around here have that Spanish Villa ambience? In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy the Knox Street crowd here in Dallas and think about what to do on my next trip to LA.

© 2009 blogSpotter

Waltham Adventure

Waltham on the Charles River -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I don't usually do trip reports as blogs, but am running so far behind on things it'll have to suffice. This has been my summer of extreme events and unusual business. As all the dust settles, I should be back to my sedentary, sit-behind-a-computer lifestyle and catch up on things.

Ab Initio Training in Boston 8/4 thru 8/7 -- Mini-trip report

I attended the 4-day Basic Training for Ab initio (data warehouse ETL software) in Waltham, MA. Waltham is a suburb @ 13 miles NW of Boston. It has affluent homes, office parks, hotels to the north and a blue collar neighborhood to the South. The south part also has Waltham's downtown which has a very lively avenue called Moody Street. Moody Street has a lot of hustle and bustle -- ethnic restaurants, Indian grocers, used book stores and Tapas bars. It reminds me a bit of 6th Street in Austin.

Ab Initio HDQ

The facility looks like it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright -- ultramodern, built into a wooded hillside. The grounds look like a botanical garden. The facility is fairly small -- looks like they only have parking for @ 300 employees. (SWA has 2000 at HDQ alone). My class only had 3 (!) students and I was the only external student. The other two were Kim from documentation and Nancy from testing. Felt a lot of pressure on me to pay close attention and ask intelligent questions, being essentially the "student guest of honor". I held up my end of that bargain, except after lunch when it's normal for me to have a sleepiness attack.

Ab Initio provides gourmet-quality snacks throughout the day, and gourmet lunches at lunch time. The dining room is about as big as one of our conference rooms -- no more than 30 people can be seated at once. The dining room overlooks the gorgeous outdoor hill view.

The class was pretty much a boot camp -- giddyap time. The instructor was a no-nonsense 40-something guy who vaguely (to me) resembled Phil Silvers. If you don't know who Phil Silvers is, it's a testament to your youthfulness. Anyhow he covered every damn chapter in the book, we did every damn exercise and he kept us a few minutes late most days. Whatever happened to the slow, gentle approach?

Hotel and Car

I rented a bright red Ford Fusion from Enterprise -- it rode very smooth and had a V6 engine which gave it lots of power. These cars are in high demand right now in the "Cash for Clunkers" program -- I can see why. Manchester NH Airport is only 45 minutes away from Boston. The airport is small and no-hassle; the ride is scenic and beautiful. I'm not sure but what Manchester isn't a better way to go even after SWA opens Logan next week.

I stayed at the Waltham Extended Stay. The room was like a small efficiency apartment with a kitchenette. It was nicely decorated and overlooked the pool. My only kvetch was with the girl at the front desk ignoring my phone calls -- maybe she had a needs-to-talk-to-a-friend emergency. (That's what she was doing when I came down in person, when the calls were ignored). After I got my coffee maker (missing at first) and settled into my room, all was forgiven and it was a really nice stay.

BOSTON

I'm very happy to say I had a good, touristy visit of Boston 5 years ago. This visit, I drove to downtown one night during the week. Parking and traffic are a nightmare even in non-rush hour. Also I was tired from a day of boot camp training anyway -- so the Boston tourism didn't really happen on this trip.

In general, it was a great trip -- I enjoyed seeing Waltham, Manchester and the surrounding area. The temperature topped out at 82 degrees, so I know I wasn't missing the Dallas weather. All things considered, it was a great experience and a little bit of an adventure for an old-timer like me.

POST SCRIPT

Forgot to mention -- I used the Nuvi extensively, it saved the day. (See previous blog, below). I fear that GPS navigators may have the same effect as pocket calculators. I quit doing even simple arithmetic in my head once I had a device that would do it for me. I noticed in Boston that I was ignoring landmarks, failing to remember street names and basically letting Nuvi take over. If I could've given it the steering wheel I probably would've. There were a few glitchy things due to the odd layout of some old Boston 'hoods but overall Nuvi worked like a champion.
© 2009 blogSpotter

DC Vacation

The enormous Lincoln Memorial -- Picture by blogSpotter

by blogSpotter
Following is a short diary of my 4-day vacation to Washington D.C. over the July 4th weekend. I went with my friend Eric and my brother Bryan who flew in from Seattle and met us there. The city is incredible and we had a good time. Following are all the details. Enjoy!

THURSDAY JULY 3RD

Eric and I caught an early 8:20 flight (had to get up at 4:45, egad) to DC. We checked into the Hotel Rouge near Dupont Circle at @ 2PM. Hotel Rouge is a gray brick 1950's building that's been completely gutted and remodeled in a contemporary style (all furniture in shades of orange, pink and red). It's a great location, close to Union metro, fashionable clubs and restaurants. We visited Kramer Books on Dupont Circle. Kramer’s is college-oriented and very trendy -- it also has a historical footnote as the bookstore subpoenaed by Ken Starr for Monica Lewinsky's purchase history. Eric and I had a late lunch at Kramer's sidewalk cafe called Afterwords. We were served by a flaky aging hippy but the quesadillas were excellent.

We then took the metro to the National Mall where I was overwhelmed by the huge proportions of it all. The mall must be a minimum of 2 miles in length and you can easily wear down walking the whole perimeter. We just took in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and returned to our hotel for 'disco' naps. Bryan arrived shortly after that and we met up at Jack's Cafe on 17th Street. Bryan was served a beer he didn't like; it was comped. Then, the waiter spilled a glass of tea on Eric. As we left, we remarked that the beer was on the waiter and the tea was on Eric.

We went to some nearby clubs on 17th street right after this; I must say I like the ambience of DC. The clean cut J Crew look is still popular -- we saw very few people with the extreme tattoo look we see in Dallas. Pleasant change in the scenery to say the least. We went to one club later in the evening that was horribly overcrowded with a very young crowd. The Fire Marshall should be after that place; I left and went back to my room after @ 10 minutes of that. Stopped by the all-nite CVS for mandatory junk food and called it a day.


The Korean War Memorial -- Picture by blogSpotter

FRIDAY JULY 4TH

We had waffles and eggs at a great "greasy spoon" place, Luna Grille, recommended by the hotel desk clerk. We then walked down to the National Mall and toured the WWII, Korean and Viet Nam memorials. We saw the Lincoln Memorial which is huger than huge -- easily 200 feet high. We stopped and noshed on greasy, over-priced hot dogs and then looked at the beautiful American Indian Museum (completed in 2004). This one is worth seeing for the building as well as the artifacts. Rain started falling, so we caught a cab back to Hotel Rouge.

Timely interjection: Washington is very temperate; it has pleasant weather and frequent rainfall -- very green and verdurant. There were towering trees the whole way from Dulles to DC. I remarked to Eric that they have more trees on a random square acre than we have in a square mile of Dallas. We were rained on 3 times but they were quick summer showers that came and went.

That afternoon we attended the Hotel happy hour. Bryan had red wine; Eric and I had Izze pomegranate soda which tastes kind of like champagne -- very good. That night we had a sampler plate dinner at Meze Turkish Cafe in Adams-Morgan, also good. It was pricey, but DC is pricey as a rule -- have to be ready for that. After eating, we went back to the 17th street clubs. The clubs were crowded and fun again. We did stop by one sleazy joint that I tolerated for only a few minutes before calling it a night and returning to the hotel.

SATURDAY JULY 5TH

I had coffee and newspaper at Caribou Coffee, before Bryan and Eric even awakened. Caribou is a trendy coffee place a la Starbucks but less expensive. Very nice crowd and the coffee was good. After joining up with Eric and Bryan we got on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour at Union Station. For much of the ride we rode on the open upper deck and enjoyed the cool air rushing over us. We stopped at National Cathedral and then in Georgetown. Georgetown is an upscale district where we went to Martin's Tavern -- place where JFK proposed to Jackie. We got back on the bus and debarked at Arlington National Cemetery. This cemetery was Robert E Lee's plantation prior to the Civil War -- amazing in its size and grandeur. The Lee mansion still sits impressively on a high hilltop. Here we saw, JFK's grave and the Tomb of the Unknown soldier among other things. The cemetery was the last part of our tour, and we returned to the hotel for a much needed rest. A bit later we met up again for dinner. We had light meals (walnut salad for me) at the 17th Street cafe and went back to the nightspots. The crowd was less good, or maybe I was tired. We took a cab over to a club across town but I couldn't get in wearing flip-flops. I took a cab back to the hotel and took the nightclub's rejection as a sign that I should call it a night and relax in the hotel room.


Bryan sympathizing with the cheetahs -- Picture by blogSpotter

SUNDAY JULY 6TH

We had a repeat breakfast at Luna Grille; this might be a habit if I lived there. Luna Grille is near Dupont Circle, gets a fun crowd and has good food at reasonable prices. From here, we took the metro to the Holocaust Museum where we spent a good 2.5 hours. I've seen much of the subject matter before on PBS specials and such, but this was pretty overwhelming. One exhibit showed a huge pile of victims' shoes recovered from the ovens (they were sooty but still recognizable as shoes). After this thought provoking albeit disturbing museum, we took the metro all the way up to Woodley-Park where we saw the National Zoo -- one of the best in the nation. By the way, did I mention that all these exhibits are FREE? In DC, most of the museums have permanent endowment funds that allow tourists free access.

The National Zoo was gorgeous -- we spent lots of time at the panda exhibit since that's one of the main attractions. It started to pour rain so we grabbed a cab and went back to Hotel Rouge. We regrouped and later went out to dinner at La Tomate. La Tomate is a pricey, fashionable Italian bistro on Dupont Circle where Chelsea Clinton went on her first date. These tidbits of history made everything more interesting. The food (seafood fettuccine for me) was good but you get small portions for the grand price. We went back to our same clubs this night and we figure it was just an off night -- everything was kind of dead. Called it an evening pretty early since the next day was a travel day.

MONDAY JULY 7TH

Bryan wanted to experience Kramer's Cafe so we went back there. The service was slow again, but the food and crowd made it worth the wait. Alas, Bryan checked out and departed the Hotel at 10:30 to return to Seattle. Eric and I still had a whole day to kill prior to our 8:30PM flight. We went to see the White House -- turns out you can't just buy a ticket anymore. Since 9/11, you must get a letter from your Congressman, six months in advance. In place of that, you can go to the White House Visitors' center (cattycorner to the real deal) and see exhibits of everything. From here, we walked over to the Smithsonian Museum of Flight and Aerospace. This museum oddly had the biggest crowd of all. Apparently a lot of people are excited by planes, missiles and rockets. They also had rides and simulators that appeal a lot to kids.

From here we went back to Hotel Rouge and the Hotel provided us a Lincoln Town Car limousine as our return vehicle. (No extra charge for the limo). Eric and I enjoyed the luxury. Our plane was delayed an hour due to weather, but we finally got back to Dallas @ 1AM central time.

OVERALL

DC is a beautiful city; it is fitting that the most powerful nation on earth should have at least one city with such grandeur and such impressive architecture. In places it reminds me of the grand boulevards you might see in Prague, Paris or Berlin. It turns out that much of the original city was designed by a French-born architect (and urban planning pioneer) Pierre L'Enfant. Everything is larger, grander in scope than I ever imagined just from postcards and history books. I figure that a city like this would be very livable. We all enjoyed our trip and would easily go back to catch the hundred things we missed on this one.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Seattle State of Mind

My brother's new house in Capitol Hill district -- Picture by blogSpotter

by blogSpotter
I have mid-October writer’s block for whatever reason. I know Bush just vetoed health insurance for children and the Mexican Consul General has received death threats here in Dallas, for wanting to help illegal immigrants. Those are bloggable topics, but probably somebody else needs to give them the attention they deserve. I will say this about people who've threatened the Consul General. Nothing shows your naked insecurity and the ultimate lameness of your argument more than making death threats. These people need to get a grip. In another news area Al Gore just got the Nobel Prize he richly deserves, but again -- I'll leave it for the Sunday pundits to discuss in detail.

I just returned from a terrific vacation in Seattle. It's the second time I've been there, so my friend Eric and my brother skipped the tourist areas that we saw back in 2001 and explored the local ‘hood. My brother just moved to the Pike Street area near downtown – I think it's called the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Seattle is a beautiful city with many well-restored neighborhoods; newer housing frequently is done in the arts and crafts style of the early 20th century. The city is tidy and well-kept; the cool temperate climate is friendly to all kinds of plants. I thought magnolia trees were exclusively southern, but saw excellent examples up there. The city is home base to Starbucks and Microsoft's HDQ is in nearby Redmond. Techies and smart people abound.

What goes along with the cool weather is the cool attitude of the locals -- they are liberal and laid back. Cashiers are a bit slower to check you out, and restaurants may have you wait a while prior to taking your order. It’s very nearly a European quality in our Pacific Northwest. I now have relatives living in two of the nation’s best cities: Austin TX and Seattle WA. Combine that with flight benefits where I work, and I can take some really nice, cheap vacations. Flying stand-by sometimes wears me out, but the savings is considerable. A round trip to Austin would be $244. Dallas is flat, dry and hot but it has a vibrant job market and a low cost of living. I think what I’ll do for now is stay put and use Dallas as my “hub”. I can always fly away to the Pacific NW when I have a Seattle state of mind. My apologies for not making today’s blog political and contentious. I think travel fatigue got to me – stay tuned and we will stir the pot in my upcoming blogs.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Quelle Heure, Estelle?

Sun worshippers at the Place des Beaux Arts -- Photo from blogSpotter's collection

by blogSpotter
I don't really do travelogues, so I'll just talk a bit about my recent trip to Montreal, without going into stultifying dull trip details. Eric, my good friend from college, and I went to Montreal for 4 days this September. Following are some observations.

Profiling

At the Montreal airport, all visitors have to go through customs where you hand over your visitor card; it states that you're not bringing livestock or more than 10K dollars in cash. It's usually a rubberstamp procedure that takes 5 minutes. I was very tired and got tripped up on where I was going (Hotel Bourbon, Rue St. Catherine). Could remember neither at first and then confused them -- Hotel Catherine on Rue Bourbon? The agent thought I was suspicious and sent me to the Immigration services line. This line was mostly populated by Middle Easterners and other ethnic minorities. Of 50 people in line, maybe 5 were Anglo. Hardly anyone spoke English. The one customs official who spoke Arabic was fully occupied the whole time. When I finally got up to the window after 1 hour in line, I was asked a few additional questions about whether I had ever been before a judge for crimes in the United States. (Answer "no"). I was out of there after 5 minutes, but not so fast for the others -- it looked like they were getting searched on Interpol, asked into the next room, and maybe having cavity searches. I could only remark that this is liberal Canada doing all of this. Note to self -- remember name of hotel next time.

Montreal

This was my 2nd trip here -- last one was 6 years ago. Must say, the thrill is gone on the 2nd time around. The city is beautiful but there was really nothing going on. We did repeat views of the Old Port district, Mount Royal itself and the fashionable MacGill shopping area. I think that the profiling event set me on the wrong foot for the whole trip. Eric was very sympathetic. "They should profile anyone who stammers and can't recall the name of his hotel". Thank you, Eric.

French in Quebec

A bar patron told me that French Parisians are horrified by New World French. They suspect that Quebecois are actually speaking English. Such snobbery from Paris -- it's to be expected. Quebecois are actually fiercely proud of their French heritage. They really have to fight for it considering that ...

1) Their national government speaks English
2) They have a giant Bush-loving neighbor to the south that speaks English
3) Half of their TV stations are English language
4) Half of their popular tunes played in bars are English language

Mon Dieux!

Food Poisoning

I capped off the trip by contracting food poisoning at an Italian restaurant. One plate of fettuccine alfredo wreaked extreme havoc. I threw up for 2 hours on Saturday night, had Montezuma's revenge for the next 2 days, and am still not completely back to normal. I have to remark that this trip was rather awful in retrospect. Profiling and food poisoning will do it to you. Next note to self -- when you've already been to a city and seen its wonderful sites, they won't be so full of wonder the next time around. Will I ever go there again? Maybe, for a conference or something. I'll skip the French course (all the hospitality people speak English), remember my Hotel, and stay away from that certain Italian bistro that gave me the heaves.

© 2006 blogSpotter.

Four Americans in Paris

(Left to Right) Me, stepdad John and Mother

PREFACE

I usually don't do personal bio material because my life isn't that exciting and I'm not photogenic. So on this rare occasion, enjoy!

TRIP IN A NUTSHELL

I spent 5 days in Paris with my mother, stepdad and brother. We stayed at the pricey Axial Beaubourg Hotel near Rue de Rivoli/Notre Dame in the heart of Paris. The US dollar is at an all-time low, and Paris is expensive anyway, so the high prices were sort of to be expected. We did the standard touristy things: visited the Notre Dame Cathedral, Latin Quarter, Eiffel Tower, Ecole Militaire, Champs Elysee, Napoleon's Tomb. We took a day trip to see the palace of Versailles, and we also took in L'Arche de Triomphe as well as the newer L'Arche de la Defense. On the last couple of days, we also took in the Louvre Museum, the Moulin Rouge (just looked at it from outside), Sacre Couer Church and the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried. I'm not spell-checking any of these French names, so beware! :-)

LOUVRE MUSEUM

To see the Mona Lisa, you have to walk down the hallway of Italian painters. My mother took strong objection to two of the pictures. One showed the baby Jesus being nursed by Mary. Problem was, Jesus appeared to be five years old. Am not thinking it was anything kinky myself, just artistic license. Then another picture showed Mary cradling the crucified body of the adult Jesus. For some reason, in this one, her breasts were exposed. My Mother wondered how relevant Mary's breasts were to the topic at hand. I have to admit, there is something weirdly oedipal about these two paintings. I'd have to give Mother the "John Ashcroft" award, because I have a feeling she would be covering up some of the paintings if she could.


Field Marshall Bryan and Mother at Versailles

FIELD MARSHALL BRYAN

The whole time we were there, my brother Bryan was in speed-walking mode. He is physically fit, and likes to cover a lot of territory by foot in one day. Problem is, I'm not so fast, and we had two people in their 70's with us. My Mother has bunions and arthritis, so she was definitely not walking fast. I have this silly thing about vacations - I like to take my time and enjoy the scenery. Like to window shop. Don't like to be rushed! My brother and I "had words" over this. My Mother was about to have heat stroke from too much walking, and we had to use the Metro anyway. My brother was disgusted by all the slow people, and opined that our 72 year old Mother needs to "get in shape" (I guess that means cross train) for a possible trip to Rome next year. Oh, that we could all be obsessive compulsive speed walkers.

JIM MORRISON

Jim Morrison is buried in an old, well-established cemetery. The cemetery has other celebrities (Yves Montand (sp?) and Colette) and many wealthy people are interred there. Instead of gravestones, many graves have monuments - small buildings and statues. Morrison's grave was very modest by comparison - but there were easily 20 people visiting it, and the grave was covered with flowers and votive candles. His grave stone said "James Douglas Morrison 1943-1971". Then below, it had a cryptic Greek phrase that means "fighting the devil within". (Which he was I guess, he overdosed on drugs). What was odd was that there were many new graves with shiny new statuary and dates like 2003 or 2004. How could there still be space in such an old cemetery? A friend at work informs me that French graves are rented! You keep the plot and monument as long as you have survivors or an estate that's willing to pay rent. When the rent stops, the bodies are exhumed and put in a public burial place, wherever that is. One can only imagine what the spirit world thinks about this! Maybe we should all get cremated.

THE FRENCH THINK DIFFERENT

I was amused by some of the Frenchiness I witnessed. In multilevel buildings, the ground level is 0 not 1. Confusion aplenty to someone from Texas. I went to a cyber cafe to send an email to friends in the US. Easy enough -- I'll just use my Yahoo account or AOL Mail web interface, right? Turns out the French keyboard doesn't use QWERTY layout. Furthermore, they have 3 characters per key on many keys! You have to press an 'alt group' key to get the 3rd character -- took me a long time to figure all this out. The trendy French love Apple computer and dislike Microsoft. Guess they have a counterpart in the US (We call them Mac-heads) but over there it seems more universal.

The French use a comma where we use a decimal, so we might be thinking that a shirt is 60,00 Euros, way too expensive. Clearly, you would get used to all of this, but 5 days is probably enough for me en France.

CONCLUSION

We all had a good trip, and my Mother was thrilled to see it all. People could tell we were American a mile away, and I'm still not sure what was giving us away. The Parisians were generally very cordial and welcoming. We had one waiter tell us that he loved us, "but not George Bush". On the next trip, we clearly need to get some cardiovascular training, or my brother will leave us all behind.