LA Scene: Downtown Central Library

Forteenth in a series of occasional posts about Los Angeles life



Hanging out at the library was something I did as a kid. I haven't done it very much as an adult.

The photo above is from the Central library in downtown Los Angeles. It is quite something to see.

It was nice to visit the famed library and get a little tour from my friend who works there with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.

Seen on the Web: Obi-Wan Cannoli your my only hope...

I am probably a little late on this but it finally got to me.

This item arrived in my emailbox.

It's hilarious!

Anyway, this parody of Star Wars applied to the Organic Foods Movement is creative at the very least.

Enjoy!

Rene

@ the movies: Crash

I'm curious how the Los Angeles based tale Crash is being received outside of Los Angeles?

My review is up over at my other blog site.

Of the films I've seen so far this year, I'm thinking Cinderella Man may get some Oscar consideration, in particular the performance of Paul Giamatti for supporting actor. I also have to say that somebody on the Crash ensemble cast might get a nomination as well. But which person? There were many great performances in Crash. Crash might get a writing nomination for the intricate story and for music score as it is mesmerizing without being too intrusive.

Right number, wrong number

In all of sports, there is nothing quite like these words: Game 7.

After four blow-out games, there have been two close games.

Will Game Seven be high drama or anti-climatic?

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are dialing the wrong number: eight losses in a row, Gagne getting a second Tommy John surgery, sixteen runs in eight losses.

Horray for Horry!

Howdy Ms. K:

Well, as a Los Angeles sports fan, I am rooting for the Spurs. Yes, it was a long time ago when Detroit dueled with the Lakers. I remember the long march to the 1989 NBA championship which took three successive seven-game series with an especially brutal set of games against the Pistons. 1n 1990, the Lakers were going for the Three-peat but Byron Scott and Magic Johnson got injured and the Pistons swept the Lakers.

Yes, that is all ancient history but the memory of sports fans are long and so the Pistons of today are still not at the receiving end of love from LA fans.

And of course, the Spurs have Robert Horry who came up big time in tonight's win over the Pistons in the usually pivotal game five. Laker fans still have memories of Horry doing that for the purple and gold of the Lake-show so it was exciting to see him hit the big shots against the dreaded Pistons!

Meanwhile, this LA Dodger fan is turning blue. Swept by your Royals and swept by the White Sox, the season maybe a lost one soon. The Dodgers face NL West leading Padres for seven games in the next two weeks. The Dodgers could be done for the season by the end of June. I'm hoping that they will turn it around and take the two series against the Pods and bring themselves back into the race.

Rene

June 6, 1944

I hope to visit the D-Day museum someday.

President Reagan spoke to and of that great generation in the famed speech at Pointe du Hoc in 1984. It bears repeating and remembering.

Excerpt:

....... We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers--the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.......