THE GETTY VILLA
In the hills of Malibu sits an Italian villa full of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. The villa is adorned with marble floors, tiled walls and painted ceilings. The garden features fountains, statuary, flowers, herbs and a view of the Pacific Ocean.
The Getty Villa and grounds are beautiful and we had perfect weather on our visit three weeks ago. We were there about four hours, strolling from one gallery to the next, brushing up on our Greek and Roman mythology and pondering object that date back to 6,500 B.C. In addition to jewelry, coins, and Grecian urns, there are many fantastic sculptures.
There‘s also one controversial statue that I read about in Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink. Gladwell writes about the value and validity of “snap” judgments and the first chapter of his book is all about a statue at the Getty Villa that cost millions of dollars to acquire. Scholars have studied the piece carefully to verify its authenticity. Unfortunately, without the benefit of any research, many are convinced the statue is a fake because of their first impression or gut feeling. Judge for yourself.
If you want to see the controversial kouros in person, or visit a one-of-a-kind museum you won’t soon forget, click on the link below to order free tickets. http://www.getty.edu/visit/
SANTA MONICA
After lunch at the Getty Villa, we headed down to Santa Monica to meet our friend JJ. In addition to a walking tour along the ocean, we also stopped in to the Tudor House for a proper English tea.
DAVID SEDARIS/ROYCE HALL-UCLA
If you listen to NPR or read The New Yorker, you might be familiar with author David Sedaris and his stories about growing up in Raleigh, NC with his nutty family, living in France with his partner Hugh, and working as one of Santa’s helpers at Macy’s. If not, you can sample his work here http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/sedaris.html
During the presentation, he read three completed stories--including one about a religious discussion between a sheep and a crow featured is in this week’s New Yorker. The fourth piece was an unfinished essay that he will debut at Princeton for their upcoming commencement address. Lucky for us, at each stop on his tour, he has been testing the address and editing his speech based on the audience reaction. Like everything else he read, this got huge laughs, too, so I expect the Princeton audience will enjoy their guest speaker.
MOVING/THE DESERT
After a few false starts, my Uncle Carl found the perfect house for himself and his dog Jake. We helped him move the weekend of the 22nd, and are still marveling at the awesome views he has of Joshua Tree, San Jacinto, San Gorgonio, and Saddleback Mountain.
LATIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
Even though the weather was warmer and the crowds were bigger, the festival was just as good as last year’s. Every genre was represented including mystery, sci-fi, culinary, biography, travel, arts, self-improvement and many more. Several booths were dedicated to the art of writing, the business of getting published, and the support organizations available to aspiring writers.Of the 300-plus authors appearing this year, the big names included Joan Didion, Dave Barry, Joyce Carol Oates, and Ray Bradbury. Getting into some of these discussions is like trying to get autographs at Super Soap Weekend. Instead, we just walked the festival and bumped into folks like Rhea Pherlman, Henry Winkler and special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen. We joined a crowd that was doing a giant crossword puzzle and Daryl got the final answer.
http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/
HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM
One of the booths had a calendar tracing the history of a barn that sits across the street from the Hollywood Bowl. The barn was used in Cecil B. DeMille’s silent film The Squaw Man, the first full-length motion picture to be shot in Hollywood. Over the years, the barn was moved from its original location and used in films such as Fear Strikes Out and TV shows such as Bonanza. It was designated an historic landmark in 1956 and now houses the Hollywood Heritage Museum. Take the virtual tour at http://www.hollywoodheritage.org/
You can see that it’s not that big, but the museum staff is knowledgeable and committed to preserving the artifacts and architecture from the early days of California’s film industry. They do movie screenings, history tours, and historical conservation. Details are on their website.
VISITORS
Our friend Paula came over from Vegas to hang out and see LA sights like Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Olvera Street and Sidney Bristow’s apartment from Season One of Alias.
Our friend Yogi was working at Disneyland at the beginning of the month. I met him after work and we were able to do Tower of Terror, Mike and Sully to the Rescue, California Screamin‘ and a trip on the Disneyland Railroad.
STAR SIGHTINGS
At the Sedaris reading, we saw Joel Grey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her husband Brad Hall. While on the way to lunch Friday, we crossed the street with Ewan McGregor. He was dressed completely in leather and carrying his motorcycle helmet.
And now, I must sign off to prepare the apartment for friends arriving on Wednesday.
Until next month,
James & Daryl
