Last week I went to Los Angeles. My first time back since I moved here to Brooklyn. Took some trips down memory lane – my old apartment, favorite coffee shop, neighborhoods and restaurants with good memories – and also remembered what a lonely and strange time it was. I’d arrived there just a few weeks before the first inklings of a new virus, and a couple months later, lockdown. Happy to be there, and remembered what drew me west, but lots of old emotions shook loose, rose to the surface.
I remember when I first left I had a feeling that I might need to go back at some point and try again. I’m not sure that itch is there the same way. I’d be happy to live there again, but it’s less… mysterious now? A known quantity for the right time of life, whenever that may be.
I rode in a Waymo for the first time while I was out there. It was such an odd mix of mind-blowing experience – wow! it’s really happening! – and just completely mundane. After a few minutes, it felt totally normal and safe and pleasant. Hard to imagine going backwards from here. (I think I also feel safer as a pedestrian, seeing how well it picked up on runners!)
I also had my first experience on a diverted flight when thunderstorms shut down JFK, and my first time visiting (a hotel on the fringes of) Detroit. Lucky that I don’t have more travel scars of this kind.
Art
California Copied from 1965 Painting in 1987, acrylic on canvas by David Hockney. Seated Male Figure, burnished ceramic with slip from Colima, Mexico ca. 200 BCE–500 CE.
Relative to the Getty and the Broad, I think LACMA – the We Live in Painting: The Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art exhibit was super-cool – and the Hammer Museum – really liked Rising Sun, Falling Rain: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts – deserve much more attention.
Books
The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV. Now firmly into Henry IV’s reign. I might keep reading history in this region or era for a while? I’ve enjoyed pairing with some LLM Q&A as I go along.
Running
Last week all of my running was in my old Santa Monica neighborhood. Mostly around 5am, to squeeze it in before work on east-coast hours. Nothing beats a run on a quiet moonlit street.
Around the Web
Why our house is a library.
“The beautiful thing about travel is that it teaches people how to enjoy themselves in spite of a near-constant stream of small disappointments.”
“Air conditioning use in European countries remains around 19 percent overall, with much lower rates in specific countries—only about 5 percent of homes in the UK have cooling systems, and just 3 percent in Germany.” And speculations on the class dynamics of air conditioning in Europe. I’m enjoying this beat.
Maybe trains are not abundant?
Music
Gabriela Ortiz, Yanga perf. Los Angeles Philharmonic cond. Gustavo Dudamel. I like the hand drums and general expansion of the percussion section, but I just could not get into this.
Marconi Union, The Fear of Never Landing. Final track – “Cloud Surfing” is one I had on repeat for a while.
Until Death Overtakes Me, Diagenesis. Gloomy droning funeral metal. I like it!
Mozart!
- Flute Concertos perf. Anna Besson, Clara Izambert, Reinoud Van Mechelen, A Nocte Temporis. The Andantino from the concerto for flute and harp is undeniable.
- Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 4 perf. Francesca Dego, Sir Roger Norrington con. Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
- Piano Concertos perf. Jeremy Denk with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. I used to read Jeremy Denk’s blog quite a bit, so a novel surprise to see this one pop up in search. Timpani adds so much to the opening of the D minor piano concerto – a punch you simply can’t get with just the strings and winds.
Nei giardini d’amore: Baroque arias for 2 alti perf. Carlo Vistoli, Hugh Cutting, William Christie, Les Arts Florissants. “Sempre piango e dir non so” was the stand-out for me.
Movies
Ingrid Goes West. The influencer cliches feel a bit dated and worn already, but luckily it’s more focused on the obsessive fandom turned sour. Good physical comedy, too.
Zodiac. I think this is the 4th time I’ve seen it? It’s so easy to watch this movie.
Drumline. Love seeing Atlanta on film. The main character is very annoying but loved Orlando Jones as the band director.
TV
Binging a new TV obsession one week, and then completely abstaining the next week.
Line of Duty, s2e6 and Line of Duty, s3e1–6. Interrogation scenes are consistently great in this show. Not sure I’ve seen many other TV shows use them as effectively.
Words of Wisdom
“One band, one sound!”
Mark Larson 