Had a great weekend hanging out with our friend Peter. We went and saw Corpse Bride; pretty entertaining and very well done. Peter and I were both wowed by the use of piano playing in the film... it was so well done and sounded so good that it really added to the sense of realism.
I had a couple of random thoughts that prompted lookups on Wikipedia:
1. The Hollywood Sign -- several movies make reference to it formerly saying "HOLLYWOODLAND" rather than just "HOLLYWOOD" -- did it really, or was that just such a good bit of myth that it showed up in several movies? Who built the sign, anyway? If it did have "LAND" at the end, what happened to it? I can't do as good a job recapping the history of the sign, and it's a short article, so you should just read it yourself if you're curious.
2. The Moody Blues -- my old roommate, The Captain, once told me that the Moody Blues recorded their orchestral rock as a last ditch joke at their record company's expense as their contract was about to expire... or at least that's what I remembered of the story when I thought about it. The true story is not far off -- Wikipedia says that they were in debt to their label, who offered to forgive their debt if they made a rock and roll version of Dvorak's New World Symphony as a demonstration of Stereo recording. They managed to instead do a hybrid rock/orchestra version of their stage show, which became the huge Days of Future Passed, and cemented their style. I am always creeped out by the guy in this picture with the orange coat on -- his eyes peer into my soul!
We were looking for a cool place to have brunch that was also close to Union Station in Los Angeles, preferably one that was vegetarian and vegan friendly. We found Alexander's Brite Spot at 1918 W. Sunset Blvd in Echo Park (at Sunset and Park just west of Sunset and Glendale). Just 2.6 miles from Union Station, and with a huge menu and tons of vegetarian fare. It has a very classic greasy spoon feel, but with a very classy vibe (it's been there since 1949). There is free parking at the bank next door on Sundays, and since it was Sunday afternoon, traffic was minimal. They are also open from 6 AM to 4 AM daily -- as Peter said, "They're open a lot!" We all really enjoyed it and will definitely be back. It was an awesome Sunday Brunch location.
Mon Oct 10 08:27:44 PST great weekend:
