Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom

Things that would happen if The Legion of Doom merged with the Swiss Family Robinson:

1. Cheetah makes the Robinson boys into men.

2. Mother Robinson sews Solomon Grundy a new pair of pants.

3. They combine to build this sweet house..

The first time I came across this place, I half expected to see Julie Andrews sweeping the front porch surrounded by little cartoon bluebirds. Turns out, that song ain't so very far from wrong. It was designed and built over a 24-year period by former Disney animator Lawrence Joseph and became a Historical-Cultural Monument in 1996.

Years later, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin would move into the neighborhood.

Lawrence and Martha Joseph Residence & Apartments
Dunn Dr. south of Venice Blvd.
Culver City

Chairs of Palms, Election Day Edition

Just in time for (and in celebration of) the end of the interminable election season, I bring you this piece of fine wicker seating.

Now you may be asking yourself...

"Self...what does this chair, fine as it may be, have to do with the elections?"

Well you see, this chair has a nearly presidential lineage. Once upon a time, it posed for a lovely prom photo with future First Lady Michelle (Robinson) Obama. 

As you can see, both have aged wonderfully.

By the way, please take a few minutes out of your Tuesday to vote.

Vote for someone.

Vote against something.

Just vote. Please. 

We Don't Need Another Hero

Yours truly has been quite busy. I've become the intrepid reporter. Mostly sampling high school football stadium snack bar cuisine. But it has given me more reason to be out and about during the day. After all you can never have too much vitamin D.

Well, actually you can. And it can cause all kinds of nasty symptoms. But it's pretty hard to do...like drinking coffee with a fork. But I digress...

Just a couple of days ago I was out on Driveabout, which can be either:

a.) The Los Angeles equivalent of Walkabout.

b.) A clever way to say I got lost trying to get somewhere else.

You decide.

Regardless, I turned a corner and came upon this.

Thinking I had perhaps stumbled upon a secret entrance to Thunderdome, I googled it (and the strange spaceship looking building that calls itself Samitaur) shortly after I got home. Turns out, it's the Samitaur Tower and is going to be an integral feature to one of the stops on the Expo Line.  It's also an event board, art show and performance space all shaped like a stack of stainless steel overstuffed Oreos. 

Since my mad prattlings can't possibly equate to the creator's vision of the tower, I'll shut up and let you read all about it now. SPOILER ALERT: There's no Thunderdome.

Samitaur Tower

Corner of Hayden Ave. & National Blvd.

Culver City

Chairs of Palms, the Revenge

When I saw this sofa sitting on the curb this afternoon, I paused for a moment of silence to remember my old college sofa - aka, The World's Greatest Couch. All foam, no frame. If I laid on it for more than 10 minutes, it was instantly naptime. Speaking of which...I feel a doze coming on. 

All Coop'd Up

They (whoever They are) say pizza is like sex. When it's good, it's very good. But when it's bad...it's still pretty good. If that's true, I'm sprung on The Coop.

As a lifelong California kid, I'm reluctant to acknowledge we're outdone by the N-Y-C. But I have to tip my hat to New York pizza. Sorry, Chicago...you may be my kind of town, but eating pizza with a knife and fork makes me feel un-American.

Every good neighborhood deserves a cheap, quality pizza place. Which is exactly how I described The Coop after first sampling their cheese pizza. It's hard to beat a large pizza for around $10. The only thing they don't have is a cool commercial. But if you can't do better than this epic spot, why bother trying?

The Coop

10006 National Blvd.

310.837.4462

On The Right Track

I have often said that if the City of Los Angeles decided to ever redesign its flag, it should feature a giant, orange construction cone. Honestly, it wouldn't be much worse than the city's current flag.

But every so often I'm reminded that construction can be the labor pains of progress - an idea that was especially encouraging when I saw this on my drive home from downtown this afternoon.

This, boys and girls, is the soon-to-be-completed Expo Line that will connect Culver City (and eventually the beach) to downtown Los Angeles and all of the other Metro lines therein. I know I mentioned recently how cool I think this is going to be when it's finally finished. But just in case you needed a visual representation of how I feel, just watch this.

My Night at the PNC

Being an election year and all (and me being unemployed and all), I have more time to try and wear my Concerned Citizen hat. So when I came across the website for the Palms Neighborhood Council, I figured it would be a worthwhile resource. After all, what better way to get to really know your neighborhood than going to a council meeting?

So I dusted off my trusty notebook and headed off to the monthly board meeting, feeling a bit 11th gradish and wondering if Mr. Hubbell was somewhere smiling. Though he never really smiled much. And when he did, it was kinda creepy. Like he didn't do it all the time and was still getting used to the sensation.

Anyhoo...

I slid in the side just a couple of minutes late, snagged a couple pieces of pizza and found a seat off to the side. Moments later, I was scribbling away in my notebook. But this time it was actual notes. Not like high school when I was pretending to take notes while actually dealing out a quick hand of Pusoy Dos.

While the kid in me curses the grownup in me for maturing enough to get some value out of a council meeting, the grownup in me felt like he was "in the know" for hearing about DWP's plan to refurbish its electricity transmission line from Olympic down to the Scattergood power plant near LAX. While the project is still in the idea stage, it's expected to take about a year to replace and refurbish a utility line originally set in 1976. There will be the expected road closures and street construction, but the end result means repaved roads and better electrical transmission with fewer outages.

Of course, there's no telling how that proposed construction could conflict with the expansion of the Expo Line of the Metro - perhaps the most exciting project on the Westside right now - that will stretch out to the beach. Traffic already can back up in Palms. It could certainly get worse...even if the end result is more accessibility to public transportation. No pleasure without pain, eh?

Speaking of which, there was mention of planning for a Palms-Culver City Film Festival. Would be cool, no?

Without going all High School civics, it was very cool to see a group of people who love my 'hood as much, or probably more, than I do. For anyone living or working in the neighborhood, they have open board meetings on the first Wednesday of every month. Or you can just keep up with them via their website.

I'll do my best to post any community events here. If you know of anything, definitely pass it on to the Council...and don't be afraid to cc me as well. Deal?