Another picturesque spot to do some reading: in Morro Bay, looking out at The Rock. King Ottokar’s Sceptre, which introduces us to the Balkan nations of Syldavia and Borduria, sets the scene for some of Hergé’s richest inventions, from the two nations’ cross-border rivalry to the maddening diva Bianca Castafiore. The travel brochure which Tintin […]

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I think you’d really have to stay at the Madonna Inn for a week or so to get the full effect, switching rooms every night to get a better sense of the variety of decor. Our “Bit of Solvang,” or a “Study in Blue,” as it could be called, was fine, but fairly unremarkable. The […]

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After attempting both new Santa Monica beer places for a special “end of a long week of jury duty” lunch — both the Fifth Amendment and West 4th/Jane were closed, despite advertising that they’d be open — I ended up at Le Pain Quotidien for lunch, where I enjoyed a tasty prosciutto sandwich and mint […]

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In my quest to find a different place to eat lunch each day that meets my requirements of shade and breeze, I headed to the spot where the pier begins, amidst the crush of equal parts tourist and homeless folks out on a slightly muggy day. Cigars of the Pharaoh, which includes Tintin’s first brush […]

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I ventured a little further afield today, as the temperature had dropped a bit today, down to a more comfortable Santa Monica cool. I walked five or ten minutes to the beach during lunch and found a breezy, shaded area to read my book and eat my lunch, marveling at the relative emptiness of the […]

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I moved a short distance from the County Building today to a shady tree in front of the Santa Monica Civic Center to spend my lunch break. Next up in the Tintin Canon is Tintin in the Congo the most controversial Tintin book – for good reason – and another one that I only have […]

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My new job could be a lot worse. I get to work in Santa Monica, my commute is pretty short – ten or twelve minutes – I’ve got free parking, I only work five hours a day, I’ve got an hour and a half for lunch, and I don’t take my work home with me. […]

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A quick update on our weekend, before I settle into my first full week of jury duty: I went for a six mile run Saturday morning, finally starting to stretch things out a little from my normal daily routine, as I eye some fall mountain races and a February half-marathon. After that, I headed down […]

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I spent the last three days of last week killing time in Santa Monica as I waited for the process of jury selection to unfold. And as the third day drew to a close, I couldn’t decide, was I feeling lucky, or was that a sense of doom? Turned out “doom” was on the money, […]

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It’s tough to believe it’s nearly September, but here we are. So the weekend before last we were in Alaska, taking advantage of the seasonal non-stop flights on Alaska from L.A. to Anchorage, and returning for our second go at the Snow City 5k. I wasn’t as fast as I was last year, but at […]

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We’re in the middle of another brief, enjoyable trip to Alaska. We all ran the Snow City 5k this morning, and followed it up with a tasty lunch at the Moose’s Tooth. We’ve spent the rest of the time seeing the new sights around town – the Museum downtown, a new beer bar out our […]

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I spent the weekend cleaning up the office, breaking in my new running shoes, and taking in a few exhibitions around town that would be closing soon. On Saturday, I visited the Central Library for the first time to see the exhibition of drawings by Richard Neutra. The show was terrific, and featured drawings of […]

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My second Movie Week has come to an end, another enjoyable tour around some of Los Angeles’ most interesting movie-going venues. After the first time I tried it, late last year into this year, I had a list of a number of theaters I didn’t visit, ready for the next opportunity. I made it to […]

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Vista Theater Funny People Wednesday 8/5/09, 6:30 pm Price: $9.50. Concessions: Some M&Ms from Cap ‘n Cork up the street. Audience: 20 out of 638 seats, not great but still more than I expected for a movie that seems not to have found its audience. Trailers/advertising: First, the Vista’s usual ad for popcorn, in which […]

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