2015

LA Dinner and a Cruise

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I’m on a long weekend to La-La Land, with planned visits to a couple of galleries and museums.

After locating a cozy restaurant in the neighborhood (see photos of our focaccia bread with tapenade and ahi tuna appetizer) and delighting in a meal of watercress, pine nuts and parmesan salad, angel hair pasta, and hazelnut ice cream in a waffle tart, my next venture was “cruisin’ along Wilshire by foot the following day.

The LA Metro, located within one block of our hotel near Universal Studios, turned out to be a great option and asset. It allowed us to maintain our public transit-first approach to travel. Gee Kin took it to his business meeting and I took the red and purple line to the museum. The La Brea Tar Pits and the LACMA are located along the Museum Mile on Wilshire Avenue. The 3-4 mile walk from the Wilshire-Western Station to these destinations got me back in the groove of getting exercise while “cruisin’ along” plenty of new shops and sights. The screen shot shows the Metro route in red (without the purple extension that I took one way); the blue dotted line is what I walked.

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The Metro in LA, while a fairly new invention, is very accessible and easy to use. Most tourists would not consider using it, but it in fact does its job in a very modern, non-LA sort of way. It may not be your first thought, but if you give it a try you will find it’s a pretty good solution to getting around LA. While it’s still not a natural thought and takes work, it gets everyone out of their cars! So, why not??

Starting my walk with Korea town, I traversed the residential area of Wilshire Park, where the golden 30’s era chateaux and mini mansions seemed frozen in time and space. All the stars of yesteryear felt at home here. Amidst tree-lined streets (reminiscent of those in Sacramento from my November post last year), stripped palm fronds lay at the foot of stately trees like abandoned children torn from their parents. Similarly, stumpy, sagging and dated Art Deco buildings bleated for love but got little attention.


Just as I wondered if anyone had the uncool nerve to carry an umbrella in LA for sun shading, I suddenly saw someone doing exactly that. Finally, I thought, some practical minds at work. You wouldn’t be caught dead doing that in San Francisco with its perpetual foggy bottoms and rare temperature highs. The irony is that I dived into a Rite-aid to buy an umbrella but not for this purpose. I had lost an umbrella last year and heard from Gee Kin that the coveted little device came from Rite-aid. The design, size, sturdiness, and all features were priceless. (Tip for today: get one of these in your travel repertoire!) So much so that I beat it to the first Riteaid I have seen in 9 months (which happened to be in LA on this walk), faced the wrath of the cashier who stared at me like I was a stark raving idiot, and carried it around for a day in 90 degree weather (with no intention of using it for sun shading–I’m from San Francisco, after all!)

But I digress. See the next post for what I really did.

2015

Overboard on Opera

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Why do I like opera?

Here’s a typical synopsis: Boy meets girl. Boy is king in disguise. Father of girl is banned from kingdom. Father wants daughter to marry another boy. But girl is in love with a third boy. All get called to war and sort it out after the tribal war. This is the material of opera, a mirror of life.

What’s your favorite? A musical? Poetry? Symphony? Art? Technical perfection? As a novice to opera, I found that it combines all of these forms into one efficient, elaborate, and exhilarating performance.

Songs are stitched together to make a story. The stories are not always realistic, but they end up being strangely irrelevant anyway. The pacing builds the drama and time slowly sucks the viewer into revelation, rapture, and eventual addiction. That’s what opera has done to me. These are true confessions of a hopelessly vulnerable opera fanatic. Maybe you know one.

Or perhaps you relate to another passionate persuasion. Being or knowing a skier? Snowboarder? Card player? These are obsessions that keep us going. After this week in New York, I can say opera is mine. Like anything, it grows with commitment.

For those of you just dipping into the scene, here are a few tips I can offer:

1. This is an expensive sport, just like golfing or skiing. Rather than get cheap tickets in the beginning, choose one opera and the best seats you can afford. Bad seats, especially in the balcony, will put you to sleep. You need eye contact with the performers on stage, no more than 80-100′ to stay engaged. I like the ones on the sides of the orchestra. After you have seen the same opera a couple of times, you can then buy the cheaper tix.
2. Rest or take a nap before the performance (you have to quit your job first).
3. Knowing a little Italian, French, or German will really enhance your experience. One of the reasons I am learning German is for this purpose.
4. Watching Metopera high definition movies is definitely the best way to learn and appreciate opera. For the price of the balcony seats live you will get a much better experience seeing the performers close up (heaves, sweats, and bad makeup), but you will learn from interviews with performers what inspires them to perform. You can imagine being a composer like Rossini or a performer like Anna Netrebko, and vicariously live their lives? What wouldn’t I give to be one, short of talent and dedication???

If you really don’t intend to commit to live performances, you can see plenty of excerpts on YouTube. Look for Anna Netrebko or Jonas Kaufmann. I learned about them from the Metopera Movies, and they are currently among the best in the business and highly sought after.

You can also see and hear clips of the Donna del Lago Met performance I saw today with Joyce diDonato and Juan Diego Flores at http://www.metopera.org/opera/la-donna-del-lago-rossini-tickets#. Where else would you find a Mezzo-Soprano won by another Mezzo soprano in a male role in a kilt skirt over the King of Scotland?!? A good starter.

2015

Brooklyn Fashion at the Legion of Honor

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Being a contributing member of the Fine Arts Museums not only gives you reciprocal membership at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, but over 100 other museums throughout the U.S. So if you intend to hit major museums like I am within one year, it’s a worthwhile membership. It includes the MOCA in LA other key museums in lesser traveled cities.

Last night we attended the opening of the new exhibition at the Legion of Honor. Sponsored by the Brooklyn Museum, it featured fashion from the 20th century. Here were a few of the displays:

The well attired attendees were worth seeing and viewing, along with one of the room collections in evening splendor.

2015

Man Oh Manon!

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My last night in New York was topped off by seeing the third opera I booked, Manon by Massenet. There are two operatic versions of this story. Puccini wrote a version known as Manon Lescaut. They can easily be confused with each other. It must be a well-known French melodrama to warrant two operas of the same story!

Watching this production live in New York with Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo could only be the ultimate experience. The story is complex and dense. It takes place in Amiens and Paris, and inside the church at St. Sulpice. It portrayed 19th C. France at its best and worst, with many social pressures and expectations surrounding all classes of society.

I was first drawn to this opera listening to the music in the Sirius Metopera Channel. The excellent staging and acting make going to the opera a complete experience. If you looking for lesser-known operas and have the opportunity to catch it, I highly recommend investing in this one. It’s a bit risqué and even blasphemous, but contains all the lust and drama to engage us yet remind us how normal and healthy we are today.

You can see an X-rated clip of the 3rd Act with another diva (and my favorite), Anna Netrebko, in the lead role at http://www.metopera.org/video/2014-15/manon/watch/manon-act-iii-finale-anna-netrebko-piotr-beczala/1532430307001#play. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an exact video of the opera stars who performed last night, but this gives you an idea of the intensity of the act. Des Grieux has joined the priesthood in St. Sulpice and Manon comes back to find her spurned lover there. Note the clever way the columns are erected–askew–to reflect the instability of the situation. Brilliant artistry!

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If you thought opera was boring, this will change your mind. I’ll sign off with this thought and the Manon curtain call. Adieu (to God?)!!

Sadly, this is my curtain call for a week’s venture to NYC opera, theater, and museums. Please look for posts from the Dresden Music Festival in May (my fourth in four years!) when friends from Switzerland will be meeting Gee Kin and me. We plan to include side trips to Prague, Czechoslovakia, and revisits to favorite cities Weimar and Moritzburg, both in Germany. (Auf Wiedersehen! Or ’til we see each other again!)

Post a comment or send me an email if you have questions about any details.

2015

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York City

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Until you’ve been to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, you won’t really have a good grasp or perspective on dinosaurs and the age in which they proliferated. The extensive displays, educational material and timelines were fascinating. Embarrassingly, it was my first time there, but I’m glad I finally made it up to myself and others.

While dinosaurs were found throughout the world, I had only heard about the dinosaur fossils and bones that were discovered in North America. Many of the intact fossils were found in swampy areas where the dinosaurs got stuck in the mud (literally). After the mud solidified to stone over millions of years and their bodies disintegrated, the dinosaurs became fossils. This enabled paleontologists to access many complete sets of bones for research. One of the early elephants, known as a mammut, was found locally in Newburgh, NY, in the back yard of Vassar!

The above photo shows a early rhino-like dinosaur. Below are photos of the mammut (with the elephant tusk), an early moose-like dinosaur and other pretty creepy looking animals. It seems that a huge meteor that hit somewhere in the Yucatan caused the extinction of dinosaurs around 65 million years ago. Only the birds that could fly were among the survivors, yet they too met an eventual decline.

Many of you familiar with San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park may not realize that it was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. He also designed New York’s Central Park. There are many similarities in shape and proportion, but Golden Gate Park is actually 20% larger. At the same time, the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco must have modeled the displays of animals after those in the AMNH. The displays of taxidermy (“stuffed animals”) reminded me the ones we took our kids to sketch in the Academy. (Kids can now stay overnight at the AMNH, just like in Ben Stiller’s “Night at the Museum” movie).

It’s no wonder that Teddy Roosevelt was so awed by the scale of these living creatures and initiated the National Parks so more people could see them. The Alaskan Brown Bear, bison and Alaskan moose were among my favorite exhibits, shown below.

2015

I’m in a NY State of Mind…

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Although Billy Joel has been performing at Madison Square Garden, I wasn’t able to see him because he’s off during the time I’m here. Nevertheless, the weather, cultural riches, and access to all forms of public transportation have sucked me in to see it, do it, and think it just like a local New Yorker.

On a recommendation from New Yawka Peter (who lives in HK), I was inspired to head back down to Nolita’s neighbor, Chinatown. The new Museum of Chinese in America was recently coined by Maya Lin, the young architect who designed the Vietnam Vets Memorial in Washington, DC. Tracing Chinese American history and seeing the Chinese diaspora felt like going home to an old but familiar story. Just like popular Italian operas, you recognize the tunes, the stories, the characters. Only the comedic element was missing.

Nevertheless, the timeline was well presented. The history of the railroads, promises of gold, through days of war, Nationalism, and Communism in the home country were captured efficiently. I learned about the achievements of many Chinese Americans whose names were not familiar to me. They included an astronaut, a prominent AIDS researcher, and a female pilot. Maya Lin and the museum curators did a decent job highlighting the right amount of information for visitors.

Photos, from top, left to right:
1. Display area
2. Restored storefront of Chinese shop
3. Sign that bears a chilling similarity to the anti-Islamic protests currently in Germany

This museum is worth a visit, for content and the Maya Lin oeuvre. You can see and hear her talk about it at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=976o62w45zg.

On a lighter note, the rest of my afternoon was devoted to seeing another theater production, “It’s Only a Play”, with Martin Short, Stockard Channing, and Matthew Broderick. Sorry to say, (to friend David, who was anxious to hear), that despite the big names, the script failed to keep the audience engaged. The actors were skilled at their craft, particularly my favorite Stockard Channing (from Grease and Six Degrees of Separation), but the story of the failure a Broadway play felt weak and contrived. It’s sad to think that the talents of so many were put to the task of delivering an uninspiring story, that ironically was the topic of the play.

The highlight of the evening was having a delightful dinner at Blue Hill on Washington Square with fellow architect Rik. We shared stories of being in the “order”, keeping up with the new techies, and fast-forward Chinese students. The food and service were impeccable, so definitely worth the cost of being entertained. Highly recommended.

Photos, from top, clockwise:
1. Thousand Year-old Egg and Pork Congee, Chinatown lunch
2. Mustard Relish for Bread, radishes from Stone Barn, and kohlrabi with cheese at Blue Hill;
3. Blue Hill dessert, sponge cake , apple crisp and ice cream

Coming up: Natural History Museum, Manon, and maybe the Neue Galerie on the final day in The Big Bad Apple.

2015

Random Acts of Mindfulness

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Take a look at some amusing signs I discovered on my brisk three mile walk this morning from Midtown to Nolita.

This shop caught my eye with a rare “full figure” mannequin next to a normal one. The detailed explanation earnestly states that a popular bra size is an H cup, the largest up to Size 56 with an N cup! (It’s worth tapping the photo to get a full screen reading of this public display). Amazing what you can learn on a morning stroll.

image I thought it was admirable for this supermarket to openly share their mission and core values with their customers, but I’m not sure how many have read it.

imageIn contending with this morning’s thaw, I thought it was ironic that this company couldn’t do much for improving the 25 degree (below zero in degrees Celsius) weather, even though they must be fine technicians.

2015

Holita Nolita

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I was up early today, and had a light breakfast in the hotel. The Cafe serves pastries and bagels from Balthazar and Ess-a-Bagels, both famous institutions in themselves, so I am in breakfast heaven (ironically I ordered steel cut oats!).

I headed down to Le Labo in Nolita for custom mixed fragrances from Grasse (the home of French perfumes) and ordered two scented candles and a musky flavored spray.

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Next I managed to get a seat at Balthazar for a bar lunch of scrambled eggs and mushrooms in a puff pastry and a glass of champagne.

Cafe Balthazar

I ripped back up to the Theater District to catch “the Heidi Chronicles”, then returned by subway with relative ease to the Ramen Lab for a quick dinner. After waiting outside in line for over an hour, I finally was able to get a seat at the bar at the Ramen Lab (what’s with these “labs”?). It was worth the wait, since I wasn’t dying to get home or go anywhere else. The noodles were decent but the miso soup and the pork belly were superb. The seat at the bar was moot, as the restaurant is so small. All 10 seats are “at the bar”, with no chairs, no stools, nada.

When the chef heard I was from San Francisco, he asked me if I had heard of the Ramen Shop in Oakland. He had worked there last summer for three weeks. The hostess told me she loves Tartine and Bi-Rite. She goes there every time she’s in SF. I was tempted to ask her if she had imported the idea of long lines from there to create hype for this place.

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People in photo above showing the noodle bar appear to be seated, but in fact they are standing. The bowl of noodles looks innocuous, but was delicious, particularly after waiting in the cold outside for so long. A guaranteed thumbs up no matter what the food tastes like, eh? All of these food and mood shops are within walking distance of the Spring Street Station Number 6 line near NY Chinatown.

My last destination, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, was no where to be found. In its place, I discovered a spanking new building just before hitting Nolita. It looked a little out of place among the old brick warehouses along the Bowery. It turned out to be the new campus of the Cooper Union.

I ventured inside and asked whether anyone knew who the architect was. The guard and a student shrugged their shoulders and one finally out of desperation uttered that they thought it was some blankety blank architect from CALIFORNIA. The style and design looked familiar, but the name danced on the tip of my tongue. When I found out later who it was, it seemed obvious. Anyone willing to guess?!? (Hint: we have a building in San Francisco by this well-known architect).

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Photos above: exterior and interior of the Cooper Union, by___.

Footnote: the Heidi Chronicles started out on a light note, but ended up being emotionally draining for me. In that respect I enjoyed it. It’s a boomer story of a woman who studied art history at Vassar (hmm…). After recounting each decade of her life with familiar friends, the lead character tries to make sense of being a woman in a male-dominated world. Maybe not for all, but I could relate to this story.

On the menu tomorrow: “It’s Only a Play” with Martin Short” and Blue Hill with Rik

2015

The Mighty Mets

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My focus for the Metropolitan Museum was to see the Central Asian and Silk Road related items to reinforce my understanding of the intercourse between East and West.

(You can tap on one photo to get full screen views in a slide show. Give time for them to upload.)

Islamic calligraphy from the Koran.
Moroccan courtyard
relief of royal figure
islamic calligraphy
Sitting figure

These are examples of Central Asian Art, beginning with the establishment of Islamic religion around 700AD through the reign of Timur or Tamarlane around 1350. If you remember from my travels in Samarqand and Bokhara, Timur’s base was there but he and his descendants conquered Iran, India, and everything in between.

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At the museum, huge scale entry gates, temple facades, and rooms or courtyards installed in large rooms or areas help visitors understand the architectural scale and context of various cultures. Above is the neo classical facade of a U.S. Bank from Wall Street. Below is the description and view of Assyrian entry gateposts. The map shows the location of various products traded throughout the world, including slaves from Africa, spices from East Indies, and chocolate from Mexico.

description of Assyrian temple source
assyrian stone images
Map showing trade routes and products traded

Here are a few selected Chinese items from the extensive Asian wing (only the first item is Silk Road related):


1. Horses and camels were coveted from Tang period when they were first traded from the Ferghana Valley, the narrow passage between China and Today’s Uzbekistan. The woman wears headgear to protect her from sand and dust.
2. Ming scholar’s room displaying furniture from period.
3. Bronze wine vessel that depicts serpent on cover and handle. Steam comes out of mouth when wine is hot.

Another “MET” addendum, from the Metopera: curtain call for Don Giovanni by Mozart. 19th century writers admired Mozart as one of the first musicians to tackle deeper psychological aspects of human triumph and tragedy in the main characters.
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Photo: Opera cast with Kate Lindsey and Peter Mattei, and Guest Conductor Alan Gilbert congratulating his orchestra.

Sorry, sports fans, I didn’t make it to any NY Mets baseball game, as the season hasn’t opened yet (Or that I am aware of; unless they are training elsewhere I don’t think they schedule games on snow-covered baseball fields!). Otherwise I coulda hit a triple!

2015

British Prime Ministers in Jeopardy

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imageIn a stunning performance as Queen Elizabeth in the Broadway play, “the Audience”, Helen Mirren nailed it again. In dialogue with some of her “Dirty Dozen” prime ministers, the queen exposed her confidence, flaws, and insecurities, along with her opinions of each prime minister. Despite her need to support each PM, she clearly had her favorites and nemeses.

This was one of the best Broadway plays I have ever seen. Perfect diction, dialog, and pure entertainment, with teachable moments thrown in for a total winner.

To test your knowledge of the string of PMs, try the following Jeopardy category. Give the questions to the answers (provided at the end.)

If you are a little rusty on British history, see “the Audience” with Helen Mirren on Broadway!

Jeopardy Category: BRITISH PRIME MINISTERS

Answers:
1. He committed troops to fight in Iraq in 2003 (1£)
2. Appointed special guardian to Princes William and Harry on death Of their mother Diana (5£)
3. Current and youngest PM since 1812 (100£)
4. Longest serving Prime Minister for 150 years (500£)
5. Churchill’s successor and Negotiator of the Suez crisis in 1956.(1000£)

Good Luck!

See questions to answers below:

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