Julia's Mexico City

Whew, what a week it was! You read about most of the highlights already: my new gig writing for Metroblogging Los Angeles and also being included in the Slideluck PotShow on Friday night.


But before that, I spent Thursday evening listening to some fellow bloggers at the LA Bloggers Live event at Tangier Lounge. This was created and hosted by leahpeah. The evening was splendid. I got to meet again with David Markland (who "hired" me on blogging.la) and Will Campbell who I met back in March at LAX. Cybele was also there. She writes for Blogging.LA as well but is known for/famous for Candy Blog. I also met Clifford who blogs at Asymptotia (and who has a very appetizing picture of tacos on his site today and now I'm getting hungry.) I look forward to the next live event and will definitely be reading something then.

Blogging is a new world for me. I started my bookshelf blog in late 2005 as an exercise to see what blogging would be like. I realize that starting a blog is like getting a tattoo. You have to really know what your focus is, just like you need to know what exactly your tattoo will be. A blog is probably slightly less permanent, but no less important. (Yes, I have tattoos, and yes, you can see most of them if you ask me.)

I started this one last year as a way to share pictures from Mexico City while I was working. Little did I know what this would all lead to. (What is this all leading to?) I didn't expect I would make more friends through it. I didn't expect to get to know LA better through it. I didn't expect to be much more community oriented through it. But I have and I love it.

And now back to the recap...

Friday Night at the Slideshow. The place was packed and the potluck was great -- a wide range of delicious homemade and restaurant bought food. This was a new experience--joining in a crowd of artists in a new world I know not much about. I know the movie world, am getting to know the bloggy world, but art and photographer? Stamp a "NEW" sign on my forehead. Make that "n00b".

There were 30 artists in the show and I was in the second half of the presentation.

I was proud and pleased that my work stood up next to the group. There were professionals and amateurs alike represented, some very commercial and some quite arty, all fascinating in some way.

Being in this show is going to help me focus my photos into collections and prepare for future shows, be they SlideLuck PotShows or actual gallery events. I have no idea how to make it happen, yet, but I will start asking a lot more questions.

++++++++

Oh boy. This is a rambly post for a Sunday. But I'm hitting "post" and moving on because I have to:
Call my niece for her birthday
See a movie (probably Die Hard)
Update our bills/quicken
Wash clothes
Prepare for WORK tomorrow. (Yes, I got a short job, at an office, and I have so few "office clothes" these days....)

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Labels: blogs, los angeles

Without a garage to park in and living almost under two major freeways, one's car gets dirty. I splurged and went through the drive through.

Labels: driving, los angeles

While driving home from donating platelets on Monday, I saw this car ahead of me at the intersection:


My old car. Probably not my actual old car, but exactly like the one I had.
1991 Honda CRX HF.
I have been fortunate enough to have a car my whole driving life. I inherited my sister's car when I was in high school. It was my first car, my first love. A Honda Civic 1500dx. 1980? 1981? This is the closest I could come to finding a photo of it in the same color:

(thanks to this flickr page.)

5 speeds, no AC, crank windows, 2 doors, I hatchback, kick-ass cassette stereo (well, sorta.) and man I loved it.

I kissed it good-bye in college and since I was essentially living in LA at that point, I inherited my next car, a 60's-something VW Bug, from my stepbrother. I got a $100 paint job (no body work) at Earl Scheib and it was now shiny and red! (Thanks for the help with that, Randy.) Only 4 speeds this time (I sometimes surprised myself on the freeway, yanking her in to 3rd, thinking I was in my Honda with the 5 speeds -- wakes you up quick!), no AC, crank windows, 2 doors, trunk in the front, probably the same kick-ass cassette stereo and I soon loved that bug. Best part about a bug? (Aside from that ever-specific engine sound?) If it wouldn't start, you could jump-start it by sitting in the driver's seat with the door open, pushing the ground really hard with your left foot a few times, then popping the clutch, you were on your way. Oh and if you ever locked your keys in your car (gee, not that I ever did...) you could rattle the little triangle windows hard enough to open them.

{I'm off looking for a photo....}

There she is in all her LMU glory.


I drove that lovely bug until 1991 when my grandmother, who was very generous, loaned me the money to buy the CRX. I bought it, brand spanking new, for about $10,000 out the door. 5 speeds, no AC, crank windows, 2 doors, a hatchback, kick-ass cassette stereo then later three kick-ass CD players (two of which got stolen). The Honda CRX was/is the only car I have ever dreamed of owning, I WANTED that car all through high school. And the 1991 was the last model year of that car. I got the last one. It got stolen once around 1997, but found two days later, luckily with only the seats and stereo missing. I owned it for eight years and only sold it because I really wanted four doors and a trunk. And air conditioning.

So I thanked that wonderful car, said good-bye and bought a 1999 VW Passat in green. 5 speeds (yes, still manual, baby, I like to drive!), Air conditioning! Power Windows (and locks)! 4 doors, FOUR! A trunk! And a kick-ass six CD changer/stereo. Oh I felt grown up. I even had a real car payment this time. But, it only lasted about a year. I got laid off from work (well, I engineered the lay off, so I sort of quit in a way that worked better for me) and realized that I would rather have the freedom of the freelance lifestyle than a new car, so I sold the Passat to relieve myself of the payments.

I was really really really bummed for a day. I don't know if you are aware, but Los Angeles is a car-centric town and you are usually indentified with your car. I can tell you what all my friends drive. I can tell you what most of my colleagues drove when I worked at Sony. Kind of ridiculous, actually. But still being wrapped up in that place in life, I felt somehow "less-than" for a while without that shiny new car.

Then I Rented a Wreck while I found a "new" car to buy and suddenly felt free. It was a 92 Nissan something or other, not fancy in any way shape or form. Driving that car for a few weeks really made me realize that I am not my car, or by extension, my bank account. I'm me and I didn't want to be living that "what do you drive" lifestyle any more. A good friend sold me his 93 Acura Integra and I bought it happily.

5 speeds (manual!), air conditioning (thank you), power windows (manual locks), 2 doors, a hatchback and a kick-ass original cassette player that I replaced with a CD player, which has been stolen, so back to the original cassette player. The car has 173,650 miles on it and works very well. I know it will last a lot longer, though the paint is looking not as good as you's like in some spots. Where is that Earl Scheib $100 paint job now?

Do I have a dream car these days? Not really. A Mini would be fun and a Prius is good for the green life, but I don't want a car payment. I am soooo happy to drive my Acura into the ground until we have enough $$ made and saved to buy a new car. Because it's not about the car anymore, it's about the driver.

Labels: driving, los angeles, platelets

Did you know hummingbirds prefer showers to sit-down baths? This is not something I have thought about. Ever. But I learned this as I was watering plants at a friends house the other day. I was in their backyard, giving all their potted plants a drink (the friends are on holiday) and this hummingbird kept coming over to check me out. I wasn't sure if it was a territorial thing or if it was attracted to my visor (which has brightly colored flowers on it) or if Timmy had fallen down a well and only the bird knew about it. Soon I figured out she was after the water and began to dance around in it. I held the hose steady and she darted in and out, up and down and got a bit soaked, then flew up to a wire to lather up then came back down for a rinse.

I didn't have my camera with me (dang it!) but thanks to Flickr and to photographer Pisco Bandito specifically, you can see a bit of what I saw:


I was mesmerized by the little beauty. They seem to have no fear for such a tiny creature. We need to put our hummingbird feeder back up.

This morning while blogging about hummingbirds and having coffee, I heard some loud squaking and realized it was a wild parrot. I looked out my window and saw these two dudes hanging our for a minute:

(Check out the little bird about to land in the middle -- click the picutre for bigger image.)
Close up:


They looked like they were on their way somewhere but were having a fight because they never sat any closer to each other.
"Why can't we get pancakes?"
"We got pancakes last time, I would like an omelette for once."
"You are so selfish!"
"Me? You're the one who woke me up early to go out and said I could pick the place!"

Okay, maybe they weren't arguing over pancakes. What would parrots argue about? This article about the Amazon Parrot in LA says that parrots mate for life, so that could have actually been a couple, out for breakfast...



Someday in the not too distant future, I will have a new camera with a longer lens......can't wait!

Labels: backyard, birds, los angeles

From LAist I learned about LAPD's E-Policing program. You can sign up here. They will email you with updates what kinds of crimes are happening in your area and after you sign up, the site will take you to a map and show you crimes within the last two days within a mile of your house.

Labels: los angeles

I just got my KPCC email newsletter and saw a link for what looks like a fascinating event called Slideluck Potshow. It started in New York but they are now doing an evening in LA on June 29.

I want to go and I want to participate, but will have to put off participating till the next event as I don't have time in 4 days to do what I would like to do with my photos...

As I'm writing this post I'm also IMing with my friend Emily in NYC. She and I are discussing Slideluck Potshow and she's telling me to just go for it and submit even with 4 days notice. She's so right.

COME ON! Where did my boldness go? Since stepping out of my visual effects comfort zone I feel like I am such a (say it!) pussy. Yes, I've been writing and have finished a couple of things I set out for myself but now I'm mired down in fear. So time to get moving and take some more chances and go FORWARD!

So here I go.

Thank you Emily, you are a huge inspiration and help.

Labels: art, los angeles, photos

I drove friends and their kids to the airport today. They are off to Hawaii for some fun in the tropical sun.

We commented on the Theme Building's current renovation after a 1000 pound chunck of stucco fell from one of the arches. The scaffolding is impressive and after I dropped everyone off and made my way around the airport, I DWP* and so you could see too (click to....):


After that photo, I caught the people waiting in the security line for terminal 7:


I felt a small pang of "Where are we going to travel next?" but then was glad I didn't have to stand in line this morning. I'm looking forward the sunflowers and daisies I'm going to plant today.

*Drove (or driving depending on the verb tense I need) While Photographing

Labels: LAX, los angeles

I headed out for my morning constitutional, exiting through the backyard gate, as per usual, and this is what greets me when I step out:


WTF? I look over toward the intersection in front of our house and it is full of cops. Being the safe and sane citizen that I am, (and my mother's daughter) I go running back inside to get my camera and race back out take photos of the flares and then head over to see what's up. There were no guns drawn and none of the cops seemed to be moving very quickly, so I figured they weren't going to tell me to get back into the house (like when my mom was visiting*). My neighbors were out so I walked over to them first and they told me it was a suspicious package and sure enough, here comes the bomb squad:


But they were all done, no problem, move along, nothing to see here. Apparently there was a suitcase near the 10 fwy overpass down the street from us. I appreciate that someone is paying attention, but I see so much crap piled up there from time to time I don't pay any attention. I'm not sure what that makes me, lazy? Not a True American? Whatever. I proceeded with my morning walk.

And by the way, have you noticed that it is really summer time now? Hardly any June gloom at our house (4 blocks east of the 405) and it is staying warm at night. Time for the summer bed linens!

*Oh, and about my Mother. She's always up for an adventure. When there were HUGE storms on Maui and all the power would be knocked out for days and the roads flooded, school cancelled, etc (awesome good times!) we would listen to the battery powered radio and of course the officials would say what roads were closed or flooded and to please stay home unless it was absolutely necessary. That was my mom's cue: "Let's go look!" And we'd jump in the car and drive into town to see what was up. So much fun. Recently, she and my stepdad were here visiting and while we were eating take out in the living room, 3 or 4 police cars go flying past on our smaller side street (we live on a corner), lights ablaze. Mom looks at me and barely has "Let's go see!" before we are running out the door and get about 20 steps to the sidewalk in front of our house and look down the small street and there are TONS OF COPS in full gear, shotguns out saying "GO BACK INSIDE!" So we did. We then lay on the floor to better dodge bullets and laughed nervously. Okay, we didn't lie on the floor, but we did laugh. Good times.

Labels: los angeles, mom

In 1992 I broke up with Los Angeles and left her for another city.

I got here in the fall of 1985 to begin my freshman year at LMU. I was in the big city going to film school! I loved my time at LMU, the roommates, the dorms, the crew team (crew rules, by the way), the film classes. Oh the film classes. I remember my first day of an intro to film class and it was in a movie theater. Okay, we say screening room now, but back then--holy cow I'm in a movie theater for school!!!11! The other great part about going to LMU was that I had four protective years to get to know Los Angeles. From the comfort and safety of school life, I could explore LA at my own pace. I grew up in a small town and so while I couldn't wait to get to LA, it was still a bit intimidating. Best way to get to know Los Angeles? Get a job as the Editorial and Animation classes Teacher's Assistant and drive from LMU to FotoKem twice a week -- no freeways. My little red bug and I just cruised it and I learned how to drive in LA. I'm a very good driver, definitely a good driver.

After graduation in 1989 I went on a backpacking trip to europe with friends, then came back to start living the high life in film! Okay, not so high at first. But after two years of work I got a job as visual effects coordinator at Boss Film Studios (RIP) on Alien 3. I was stoked to have a great job on a big movie. It meant I could save money and travel again! So I saved and saved and told everyone I was going to travel again and the show came to an end and I went. My bosses at Boss complimented me highly by asking me to please stay and work on Cliffhanger, but I said no. I had to travel, europe was calling me back.

That was 1992 and while I love to travel, that trip was also the camouflage for my break up and running away from LA. I didn't know how long I would be in europe and I decided I was going to move away from Los Angeles when I got back. Why? Because I hated it here. That is what I told myself. I missed the small town feeling of where I grew up. I missed knowing exactly where to go to find a windshield wiper or my favorite foods or my favorite beach. The beaches here are so big and impersonal. The last straw was that I got into an accident. I was the last person in a line of 4 rear-end smashes on the 405 north/101 interchange -- you all know about that severe right lane slow down. Luckily, no one was hurt and I did all the right things, my insurance was good so it was all covered. Then came the morning when I woke up at 6am to someone knocking on my door "Julia Rivas?" "Yes?" "You've been served." I was being sued by one of the people two cars ahead of me. I was so mad. I thought, if this had happened where I grew up, I would know someone in the accident or the cops or someone related to someone. And NOBODY would sue me! Furious. Of course, I found out a bit later, I had been on the business end of an insurance scam.

I'd had it with this big, impersonal, harsh, hot, dry, brown, too-sunny, lame-ass city. Fuck the movies, I was out of here.

I moved to Seattle since it was someplace I had been to once and liked and I knew some people from LMU there. And it was completely different than LA. They have seasons, but more importantly, they have *weather* in Seattle. It rains there. A LOT. And I love rain. Love it. It even snowed enough in the winter to be fun, not harsh. And the fall, oh the colors! And the spring--Oh man, the flowers bloom all over the place! I was in heaven. I found a place to rent with a nice roommate and found two part-time coffee jobs, neither of which was at Starbucks. I was a barista and made about $850 a month and lived a very nice life on that. Incredible.

A friend in LA introduced me to a friend who lived in Seattle, a guy named Mark. Nice guy, he was into film and photography and taught school in Seattle. I came to his class one day and talked to students for a little while. He asked if I would help him with a photography project and I said sure. So we met at an empty warehouse and he had a reel of 35mm movie print. (It's called "sound fill" which is so old-school analog of me to say.) Here is what we came up with (click for bigger):



He called it "The Unbearable Lightness of Being Julia." I called it Woman in Film. The print he gave me is dated 5/93.

I lived in Seattle for about ten months (August 1992 -- May 1993). I stayed in touch with all my film friends in LA and knew about all kinds of job possibilities. I never stopped loving the movies and really had no idea what I would do in Seattle. Then in April of 1993 I had an epiphany. I had an amazing two weeks where my eyesight, my third-eyesight, became crystal clear. If felt physical, like the lenses in my eyes were being manually focused so I could see sharply as I never had before.

In that two week period songs came out at me -- two very important songs. One was Johnny Nash singing:
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day.

What I love about that song is that is based on reality -- the obstacles in life aren't gone, they are stiil there, but now I can see them clearly.

The second song that spoke to me loud and clear was by 10,000 Maniacs called These Are Days (from the album Our Time in Eden). The lyrics are:

these are days you'll remember

never before and never since, I promise
will the whole world be warm as this
and as you feel it, you'll know it's true
that you are blessed and lucky
it's true, that you are touched by something
that will grow and bloom in you

these are days you'll remember

when May is rushing over you with desire
to be part of the miracles you see in every hour
you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky
it's true, that you are touched by something
that will grow and bloom in you

these are the days
that you might fill with laughter
until you break

these days you might feel a shaft of light
make its way across your face
and when you do
you'll know how it was meant to be
see the signs and know their meaning

you'll know how it was meant to be
hear the signs and
know they're speaking to you
to you

The signs were speaking to me and I decided to move back. Once I decided, things fell into place crazy fast. My roommate found another place to live, no problem. I called my old landlady in LA and she just had someone vacate her rent-controlled studio apartment in Santa Monica (two blocks from Montana) and did I want it. Um, YES! I called friends and lined up job interviews.

By the end of May 1993, I got back together with Los Angeles, realizing that it wasn't LA's fault, it was my own. The problem had been in my brain and heart and soul all along. I wanted my small town life and big Hollywood career all at the same time. And I finally figured out I couldn't have it both ways. Most of all, I wanted to make movies. This photo of me wrapped up in film is apropos and I'm going to frame it and hang it in my office.

I don't ever want to be without the movies and without my city, La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles.


Did LA and I instantly kiss and make up? No. That's not how relationships work and that is a blog post for another day.

Labels: los angeles, movies, seattle

After Reading to Kids yesterday, Debra and I stopped at Govinda's Buffet for a yummy lunch near our homes in West LA. You must go. It is $7 for all you can eat buffet and all the food is made fresh in their kitchen. The menu is all vegetarian with many vegan choices as well. There is Pizza, a beautiful salad bar, many entrees, two kinds of rice, cookies and vegan cakes. There are sandwiches as well. And it is all soooooo tasty. You can sit indoors or out on their large umbrella covered patio.

You haven't heard of Govinda's? Or you have but have been afraid to try it because it is part of the Hare Krishna temple? Be honest now....

Just go there and eat delicious soul satisfying food. And after you are done eating you can go and buy indian clothes and books and candles and jewelry and shoes and decorative items for your home in their import store.

Don't worry, it is nothing like Scientology. Nobody pays you any attention at Govinda's except to smile and help you have a great meal.

Picture of Hare Krishna Gods:

from this site.

Labels: food, los angeles

My friend Debra turned me on to a volunteer program called Reading to Kids and yesterday was our first day to go. We went to Gratts Elementary School which is just west of the 110 downtown. We got to read to first graders and I really liked it. You might know I LOVE reading so any chance to share that love is exciting.

Since Debra and I were new, we were each paired up with a veteran reader/volunteer. We lined up with our students and walked over to our classrooms to begin the morning program. First we had an icebreaker and everyone said their name and a little something about ourselves. Okay, this is not super easy when you are starting with six and seven year olds. So we pressed on, asking them who their teacher was and if they liked to read. Then it was time to start reading. The other volunteer and I took turns reading pages from our book:


And it looked something like this:
(This is a picture from their website.)

The kids in our group were Sky, Anabel, Daisy, Hector, Jorge, Ana and her 3 year old cousin Diego, and Linda. They were fantastic. Once we got rolling, they began to loosen up and respond when we asked questions about the book and what we were reading along the way. The program is designed to inspire kids to read more and also to improve language arts. Most kids at Gratts are Latino and are being taught in English and so the idea for us volunteers is not to have the kids read, but to improve their listening and communication skills. So how appropriate is that for somone like me who is not shy and quite happy to yak away to help in this area!?

After the book reading was done, it was time for crafts. All groups are provided with paper and crayons and glue sticks and scissors and we decided to make our own books. So each one drew pictures and glued in shapes that the other volunteer and I cut out (stars, etc). This is when the kids really started chatting! Diego, only 3, was drawing lots of circles and Ana, his cousin, found some yarn and made him a bracelet with stars on it. Nice! Jorge didn't want to draw anything I suggested until I said, what do you like to draw? POWER RANGERS! Go for it Jorge! He did, and boy did he draw a nice power ranger. Sky drew her house full of hearts and labeled them Mom and Dad. Sweet. Everyone kept saying "Teacher! Teacher!" and would show me what they had done. I just wanted to eat them all up!

When the crafts were done we got to hand out a book for each student to take home and then we returned to the auditorium for a raffle giveaway of a new laptop computer. This was a huge deal and very exciting. While we were waiting, we sat on the floor with our students and Ana told me that Diego wanted me to read his new book to him. Um Okay!! So I read his book to him and he just sat their and listened very patiently. As did Ana. More reading! Nice.

Then it was all done and we were excused. Most exciting Saturday morning I've had in a while. Thank you Debra!

The great thing about the program is that it is more than just inspiring kids to read. It reaches out to their families and the whole community. Here is a section from their site:
Reading to Kids is a grassroots organization dedicated to inspiring underserved children with a love of reading, thereby enriching their lives and opportunities for success in the future. To this end, Reading to Kids gathers about 600 children and 220 volunteers at reading clubs on the second Saturday of every month at six Los Angeles elementary schools.

At the monthly reading clubs, pairs of volunteers read aloud to small groups of children, while their parents receive training on how to encourage their children to read at home. Kids, parents, teachers, and school libraries receive book donations at the end of the Reading Clubs. These are important donations, as 60 percent of low-income homes do not have age-appropriate reading materials for children.

Since its inception, Reading to Kids has given more than 40,000 books to children who attend the reading clubs and donated more than 6,600 books to school libraries.

I highly recommend signing up for this if you can spare one Saturday morning a month. If not, there are other ways you can help on their website.

Reading IS Fundamental.

Labels: los angeles, reading, volunteer

This just in from a CNN Breaking News Email:

-- A judge orders Paris Hilton back to jail, CNN confirms. She was taken from court screaming, The Associated Press reports.

Wil Wheaton is pleased.

Labels: los angeles

Super high winds in LA today and yes, they did cause some serious damage and car accidents (1 fatality) and a fire that torched 3 houses. Sympathy all around.

That being said, seriously, how embarrassing is the TV news in Los Angeles? ("Rain Victims" anyone? Sarah? When it does actually get around to raining here, the news becomes highly entertaining.) But today's high wind reporting takes the cake. I was watching ABC (channel 7) and a guy was reporting from Lancaster. He was in a supermarket parking lot and started his story off pointing out the SHOPPING CARTS THAT HAD BEEN BLOWN OVER BY THE WIND!!!!

OH THE HUMANITY!


Ahem.


Really though, there are so many funny things to say about "weather" reporting in LA, it is hard to know where to start....okay, the ABC 7 weather guy's name? Dallas Raines. I sh** you not. ABC 7's special weather machine? "LIVE MEGA DOPPLER 7000 HD". (No, Paddy, I'm not kidding!)

I do love it. LA. I do.

Labels: humanity, los angeles, weather

Where I grew up (also click photo), we didn't have much in the way of seasons. We didn't even have daylight savings time. It got a little cooler and rainier in winter and a little hotter in summer, but basically, the weather reports remain the same all year round:


Highs in the 80s
Lows in the 60s
Mauka showers
Tradewinds 10-15 mph

The only way to know when spring (and soon thereafter SUMMER VACATION!) was coming around was the school calendar -- easter break, prom, school elections. It was all on paper, nothing actually looked different.

But then, one day, out of nowhere it would seem, I would catch a glimpse of something like this:

And my teenage soul would sing out -- Summer is coming! Then a moment later my old soul would catch its breath because the trees are so beautiful. Not long after that first sighting, the roads would be alive:

And my school campus would look like this:
(Though this was actually taken at UCLA.)
I didn't know when I moved to LA for college that there were Jacarandas here. I got here in the fall and imagine my utter joy and delight to see them exploding all over town as the school year came to its close. Even in the darkest days of my loathing LA, the Jacarandas would make me smile.

Now, with no school calendar running my life anymore (we don't have kids yet), and even though I live in a place that has only a marginally bigger seasonal change than Maui, I have come to recognize the steps that lead to spring (and then to summer).

First of all, the calla lilies always surprise me by coming out in January and February. Then, the mockingbirds would start piping up.

Soon, what were just a bunch of sticks wrapped around your trellis becomes this:


The Jacarandas will not be far behind and I will be so glad that I get to be home this summer to make up for all the BBQs and parties we didn't have last summer (see the beginnings of this blog-June, July and August 2006 to see why). I can't wait to sit outside on warm nights -- warm but still cool enough to light the fire in our funky outdoor fireplace. I missed it so much last year.

With the wisteria blooming, that also means time to start getting our veggie garden in order -- basil, tomatoes, flat leaf parsley.

Spring!

Labels: calla lily, flowers, jacaranda, los angeles, maui, seaons, spring, summer

North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, to be more specific.

Dig the grafiti. I wish I could have been stopped directly across from it, but traffic must keep "moving."


I love old signage.


And then this. Not sure why.



I was curious to see how my camera phone performed in the twilight.

Labels: dusk, los angeles, signage, vermont