los angeles

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Los Angeles Smog

Posted by ksquaredno15 on March 18, 2011
Posted in: Health, Lifestyle. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 comments

Usually being number 1 is a great achievement, but in this case it’s a big embarrassment. Los Angeles is known as one of the smoggiest cities in the nation.

Los Angeles Smog in 1943

As bad as you think LA’s smog is today, if you look back at the history of smog in Los Angeles, you will find that it was much, much worse back in the ’40s, ’50s & ’60s. The photo above was taken back in 1943 in the downtown area. The city hall is the tall building on the left side of the photograph.

When I was in elementary school, the teacher would let us out for recess, and after being outside and running around for a few minutes, my eyes would burn and tear up and my chest would feel tight and whenever I breathed I would make wheezy noises. So yes, I can attest that our smog levels were much more toxic back then. I remember the city use to have smog alerts, which meant us kids were kept indoors for recess.

Fortunately, our city and state has made great strides in reducing the amount of pollutants in the air by mandating stricter pollution laws for motor vehicles and factories and in 1958, banned backyard incinerators that were used to burn household trash.

Automobile_Vehicle_Exhaust_Fumesfactory_industrial_smogsmog_check_logo

The smog use to be so bad in Los Angeles, it became the butt of a joke among travelers to the city. Some enterprising person or company capitalized on that and sold smog in a can back in the late 1950′s. What a great souvenir to bring back to your loved ones back home.

Smog In A Can

50 Years of Progress Toward Clean Air:
http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/Archives/History/50th_photos.htm

Griffith Observatory

Posted by ksquaredno15 on March 4, 2011
Posted in: Entertainment, Places of Interest, Technology. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 comments

Griffith Observatory

Since I grew up in Los Angeles, and lived less than 3 miles away, I was very familiar with the Griffith Observatory. For a good part of my childhood, I kept hearing my mom say to us kids–if you ever get lost, just look for the observatory and head in that direction. It’s not like we lived at the base of the hill that the Griffith Observatory sits on, but I guess her thought was it would point us in the general direction of our home–I guess. : |

When I was young and much more energetic, I remember riding my bike with friends from my house to the observatory. Mind you, this was no small feat considering the observatory is purched high on a hill and I only had a single speed bike. If I had to do that trek again on a bike today…No way!, no chance!. :)

The Griffith Observatory is a very interesting place to visit if you’re interested in all things to do with astronomy. I even think it would still be of interest to people that have a natural curiosity of how things work, because there are things here that you won’t find anywhere else. Some of the things that I remember from my younger days are still there today. One such item is the large pendulum, that I now know is called the Foucault Pendulum, that’s suspended from the ceiling. It’s purpose is to demonstrate the rotation of the earth. Rather than me write about it here, you can read exactly how it works and see what it looks like at this link from the Griffith Observatory website: http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/brotunda.html

On a recent hike with some friends, I took the following photograph of the observatory from a great vantage point, high on the hill. Ahhh, breathe in that thick blanket of Los Angeles smog!

Griffith Observatory from on top of hill

We almost lost the observatory. On May 8, 2007 a major wildfire burned more than 817 acres, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. The fire burned right up to the Griffith Observatory, but the fire was contained and the observatory was spared.

fire near griffith observatory

I’ve been back to the Griffith Observatory within the last year and a half. Me and a handful of friends went on a nostalgia outing which started at Pinks hot dog stand (see my post at http://yesteryearremembered.com/?p=48) and ended that evening at the observatory. A great place to see the lights of the city.

Griffith Observatory website:
http://www.griffithobs.org/

More details at wikipedia.com:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffith_Observatory

Grease-The Movie

Posted by ksquaredno15 on January 27, 2011
Posted in: Entertainment, Movies, Music, Places of Interest, Television. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Grease-The Movie
Back in the 70′s, my high school was invaded by scores of studio movie trucks and trailers. They pretty much took over our track & field area for what I believe to be a week to 2 weeks. You see, I went to John Marshall High School in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, California and they filmed the carnival scene that appeared at the end of the movie at this location.

As a side note, John Marshall High School has been used for other movies, television series and commercials throughout the years, such as, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Boy Meets World, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Raiders of The Lost Ark, Boston Public and Transformers, to name a few.

john marshall high school

Grease Carnival 1
Grease Carnival 2
Grease Carnival 3
Grease Carnival 4

The grassy area of the field was dotted with carnival rides, a fun house, people and cars.

For those of you who are reading this post who have not heard of the movie Grease, it starred John Travolta & Olivia Newton John and was released in 1978. It was a musical about two lovers in a 1950s high school.

One of the more recognizable songs from the movie (You’re the one that I want) was filmed at the school during the carnival scene and was sung by John Travolta & Olivia Newton John. According to a web source, it took a half a day to film this one sequence.

Olivia Newton John’s black spandex pants are alive and well (thank you very much). She brought them to show Oprah during her interview at the famous Sydney Opera House in Australia. The following link shows those famous pants that Olivia Newton John wore during the carnival scene. http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Memorable-Moments-Australia-Adventure-Finale/8

If you’re into movie ‘Goofs’, I’ve listed several here that I got from IMDB.com. If you want to see the whole list or want more movie details about the movie, follow this link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077631/

- Anachronisms: The jukebox in the diner is a 1973 Wurlizter 1050 (which copies the design of the famous 1015), yet movie is set in 1959.

- Continuity: In the diner, Vai turns off the lights with her elbow, despite missing the switch by six inches.

- Boom mic visible: The boom mic is reflected in the jukebox when Danny tells Sandy he has an image to protect. (In the just-released Rydell High edition (10/06), the boom mic has been digitally erased).

- Continuity: When Frenchie is about to pierce Sandy’s ear, the bottle of wine switches between Jan and Sandy in between shots.

- Continuity: Sandy’s “R” streamer on her sweater at the pep rally.

- Revealing mistakes: Marty’s kneepad exposed when sliding at the end of the big dance.

- Continuity: In the closing number, “We Go Together,” Doody and Frenchy switch places between the lines, “When we go out at night/And stars are shining bright.” Also, the blonde guy to the left of them goes from a sitting position to a standing position in the same error.

- Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the final sequence while singing “You’re the One That I Want,” Danny and Sandy spin twice in the amusement park walk through (The Shake Shack). On the second twirl, you can tell that it is not perfectly in sync with the music.

- Continuity: As Rizzo being escorted into the dance hall by the leader of the Scorpions, he removes his sunglasses. In the next shot, we see him remove them again.

- Continuity: During Summer Nights, Rizzo’s shades repeatedly jump between her face and her hand between shots.

For more details, visit wikipedia.com: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall_High_School_(Los_Angeles,_California)

The photos of the carnival scene included in this post were obtained from the following website:
http://www.seeing-stars.com/locations/Grease2.shtml

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House

Posted by ksquaredno15 on September 7, 2010
Posted in: Places of Interest. Tagged: , , , , . 6 comments

Frank Lloyd Wright Falling Water-Frank Lloyd Wright



One of my favorite Frank Lloyd Wright homes is Fallingwater in Pennsylvania (pictured above), which was built in 1935, but unfortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to visit the house, so it’s not going to be the subject of this post.

The Frank Lloyd Wright home that I remember, is located at 2655 Glendower Avenue in Los Angeles, California. On many occasions I would ride my bike in and around neighborhoods close to where I lived and just by chance, I came across the Ennis House (photo below). At the time, I had no idea what the story was behind this house, all I knew was it was a neat looking house. On this particular bike ride, I rode onto the driveway/courtyard area of the house, walked up to the window by the front door and peered into the house to see what it looked like inside, but couldn’t see much from my vantage point.

The Ennis House was built as a residence by world-famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright for Mabel and Charles Ennis back in 1924. The house is listed by the U.S. Department of the Interior in the National Register of Historic Places, it has been declared a Cultural Heritage Monument by the City of Los Angeles, and it has been designated a California State Landmark.



Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House

It’s really unfortunate, but the Ennis House Foundation has decided to place the Ennis House on the market for sale to a private owner because the house needs more stewardship than a small nonprofit can sustain. Hopefully, someone or some entity will step up and take on the long term care of the property so it will continue to be around for generations to come.

See more details about the Ennis House at wikipedia.com & the Ennis House Foundation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_House

http://www.ennishouse.org/