a resort for the rank and file...

Here in the great city of Los Angeles, there is an ongoing battle between those who feel the only way to preserve parks is to open them to developers and activists who believe in park preservation without conditions.

When Griffith J. Griffith deeded property to the City of Los Angeles in December, 1896, he inserted certain provisions... that entry to the park be free and open to all citizens of Los Angeles, or as Griffith put it... "it must be made a place of rest and relaxation for the masses, a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people.”

While the park has grown substantially over the years from the approximately 3,000 acres in the original grant, to the nearly 4,500 acres today, the need to protect this urban wilderness has not abated. If anything, the need for protection is much greater today than it was years ago. Forest Lawn Cemetery's attempt to occupy even more land and the potentially-destructive Universal Evolution Project will greatly impact the park. On the northeast side, there is a potential for even more development as the Zoo and Autry Museum attempt to further expand.

According to Wikipedia, Griffith Park is the tenth largest municipal park in the United States, and the second largest in California. It's home to a variety of different species of animals including horned lizards, a variety of squirrels, deer, skunks, small fox, the occasional bobcat, rattlesnakes... as well as a variety of different fauna (some of which can be found nowhere else in the area, including the threatened manzanita and berberis plants). It's home to the Griffith Observatory and Greek Theater (both were dreams of Col. Griffith and were completed after his death). Even though the park is surrounded by various municipalities, it's remarkable that this island of wildlife continues to exist fairly peacefully with its neighbors.

As I write, there is an effort to inject billboards and cell towers into this park (as well as other area parks). This topic will be discussed in another posting, but should we add to the pile of garbage now in the park?

Anyone utilizing the park for any length of time will witness firsthand the debris left by various city entities (as well as park users). The LADWP is renowned for using (and discarding) the enormous water tanks scattered throughout the park... although the Rec & Parks department has done little if anything to force them to remove these remanents of the past.

I say it's time to take a stand, force those city entities to clean up after themselves and make this a better park... and stave off those who would like to privatize this and other parks where "the masses" relax and enjoy a respite from the city.


Kayaker on the Los Angeles River near the Los Feliz Bridge in Atwater, 2009.
This area of the river is just east of Griffith Park.
He came just at the end of the yearly river cleanup in Los Feliz.

show me the nutcases...

So to speak...
Apparently there was a glitch with Google which meant I could not post for a few days.

I felt like someone took my computer away... it was just awful.

However, I'm finally back on (yea!) and while away, did some research into the partying that occurred just after the announcement of Osama Bin Laden's demise.

In an earlier post (May 1st), I pondered the rule of law... and whether it counted for anything in this "land of laws"...

I went to Huffington Post and came across some of the so-called "Christians" partying in front of the White House shortly after the announcement was made by President Obama.

Several things struck me as I looked at the photos... some of these images represent students attending Catholic University, some were from Georgetown (a predominately Catholic campus) and some were just "yahoos" out for a good party. Some carried the flag with the  "Don't Tread on Me"... which has been embraced by the current Tea Party membership.

I wondered if any of them thought back to the killing of four contractors in Iraq (September, 2005) and how horrible it was to witness celebrations of the killings in the aftermath.

As I recall, many in this country were outraged... yet where is the difference?


Photos from Huffington Post.

sunday at the dance

Sunday afternoon was spent downtown at the Dorothy Chandler watching the Mark Morris Dance Group perform and for those interested parties, this was a spectacular event... one I will remember with great pleasure.

My friend, Ines and I went to the pre-performance talk... and although I'd heard of Morris, I'd never attended any of the performances, much to my dismay (after the last on-stage bow).

What makes this troupe so unique is the melding of dance/live orchestra/operatic music to create a rich, flawless multi-layered effect... a spectacular, not to be missed sensory event.

Before the show, the (pre-performance) speakers talked about how people would sit in the audience and think, "I could do that... what's the big deal?" Well, I sat there and thought "These dancers are beautiful, strong, and even though they make it look easy, I wouldn't (in a million years) be able to do that..." There were moments during the performance where it looked like chaos... exquisitely controlled chaos... and that was when I remembered why I so loved to watch (modern) dance... that feeling of joyful abandon where gravity was the only reason they couldn't fly... although one sensed that if they could, they would lose themselves to the rafters (or even higher).

So, to those who hear that the Morris Dance Group will be performing anywhere in their area, run (don't walk) to the nearest ticket office and stand in line for the privilege of seeing these performers live! Trust me, you will not regret your decision.


Website info for the performance...

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Mark Morris Dance Group performs L'ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO, which features 24 dancers, the LA Opera Orchestra and Chorus as well as a quartet of world-class singers: sopranos Hei-Kyung Hong and Sarah Coburn, tenor Barry Banks and bass-baritone John Relyea.
With Handel's pastoral ode as the musical landscape, and set to the poetry of John Milton*, along with sets inspired by William Blake's later watercolors, L'ALLEGRO is a true artistic feat sure to captivate Music Center audiences. Morris' landmark work is presented as part of the first-ever collaboration between the Music Center and LA Opera.

Pictured: June Omura and Bradon McDonald. Photo by Nan Melville

tuesday

A great deal of speculation is flying around the city, the country, around the world regarding the demise of Osama Bin Laden... some of it strange, some not so much.

It's now being reported that when shot to death by special forces, he wasn't armed... he did not have a weapon in his hands. But, he resisted arrest, so I guess it's ok that he was killed?

Frankly, I have issues with the whole sordid mess, and the more I hear, the less I like what just transpired.

As I queried in an earlier post... are we not a land with values, and laws?

Am I the only one who thinks the polite thing to do would be to get permission from the country we entered (illegally?), looking for Bin Laden?

Worse, we Americans were extremely offended when after the destruction of the twin towers in New York, people were dancing in the streets in areas of the Middle East. But when it was announced that Bin Laden was dead, what exactly happened in areas of this country? Is anyone offended? I am.

Far too many questions... even worse, far too few answers.

More later.

dead or alive...

Tonight, after President Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden, Andrew Card (former member of the Bush staff) commented that George W. Bush wanted very badly to announce the killing of bogeyman/mass murderer, Bin Laden during his presidency.

That's kinda funny... when Bush was hosting a party not so many years back (while still occupying the White House), he thought it very amusing to look behind and under various pieces of furniture and comment... nope, he's (Bin Laden) not here, or here, or here... making a very serious situation, very unserious.)

When I heard his flippant remarks, I had the distinct feeling Bush didn't really care if Bid Laden was captured.

But what I really want to know is, could we have captured this man? Or was it in our best interest to kill him, rather than put him on trial for the murder of Americans on 9.11.2001...  God knows, he might have had some tales to tell...

And, by the way, now that we've decimated Iraq looking for the "killers," will we now extend a blanket apology to those living under our thumb? Or will it be business as usual for the corporations now stealing Iraq's resources?

This evening, as the news broke, parties erupted (spontaneously) around the country leading me to wonder, are we really celebrating the killing of this man, or is this just an excuse to party? Either way, what a pity.

What has happened to the rule of law in this country?

time to get real...

One would think we have nothing on the agenda, other than to worry about the real/imagined birth certificate belonging to the president of the United States.

The reality is... there are serious issues in this country that we refuse to speak to... the economy, the lack of jobs for many Americans, the state of the educational system, the crumbling infrastructure, minority rights... the list is vast, and endless.

However, none of this is on the table.

It's become more important to debate whether or not Barack Obama is the legitimate president of these dis-functional United States.

Frankly, I think it's time to grow up, and once and for all, begin to address REAL issues.