The Bear Reads a Great Chicago Blog

There are many great things The Bear enjoys and loves outside of California. The Chicago Bears, of course. Chicago pizza and dogs have a special place in our arteries.

The Bear also enjoys reading Chicago blogs. My favorite is Confessions of a Trophy Husband (mydaddoesnotwork.com). There you'll read about the adventures of a typical Midwestern family, with one atypical detail: the dad stays at home (and blogs while completing domestic duties) and mom goes to work. This is increasingly more common, but it is still a strange concept to many in our culture. In fact, today, the Chicago Tribune's business section had a story about this blog, and the writer pointed out some interesting details about how our society is strangely unprepared for this idea:

[Quoting the dad,] "A dad with a child doing whatever it is, people come up and say what a great job I'm doing. Men are held to a lower standard. The expectations are low."

Still, it takes self-assurance to be the only man at a swim class where the instructor tells the children to paddle to their mommies. He often finds himself the only dad in a room full of moms who assume he is out of work.

"Women have a puzzled look even when I explain what I do, that I'm a stay-at-home dad. There are just questions. 'Did he lose his job? Is he sick?'"

I highly recommend the blog. It's funny, well-written, and it reminds you that family life has a unique beauty that should be cherished. (There's also some cool posts about music that I really dig.)

The Theme Building and Encounter Restaurant

Last Friday, the always interesting blog CurbedLA offered a post (via retro_futurism) about the strange and captivating architectural delight at the center of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) known as the Theme Building (photo at left from the UCLA photo archive—see recent post). I grew up so close to LAX that I could hear the aircraft take off and land and sometimes smell the rubber from the tires hitting the landing strip. The ambient light emanating from the airfield is so bright that an eerie glow was constant at night in our neighborhood. I didn't see many stars in the heavens during my childhood. What I did see were aircraft lined in the sky to the east, approaching to land.

Living that close to the airport, we were always asked to shuttle friends and family to and from LAX. Thus, I was quite familiar with questions and comments about the Theme Building.
Does it rotate? No. Is it supposed to resemble a spider? Maybe, but probably not. Is it a movie set? No, but its exterior has been seen in probably dozens of movies and is rumored to have inspired the buildings on the TV show "The Jetsons." What's in there? A restaurant and maybe some offices and catering operations.

Most people assume it's an air traffic control tower, but never served that purpose. LAX recently built a new tower that's more obvious, so this mischaracterization will be less common. The Theme Building is tall, but it doesn't provide a view high enough for air traffic control, especially at an airport prone to runway mishaps. The view it does provide is quite compelling.

How do I get inside? Oddly, it isn't convenient from any part of the airport. A visitor has to leave a terminal, walk across many lanes of dangerous traffic, then find the elevator entrance. I've read that the original intent was to provide walkways to the structure from each terminal, and the building would have served as a hub. I'm sure that expense prevented that idea to take hold.

At present, the building is closed for renovation. According to a LAWA press release, "a 1,000-pound, 5-foot-by-10-foot piece of the stucco 'skin' was discovered to have fallen off the underside of the east upper arch," and repairs are expected to keep the restaurant closed for a while. The press release also notes some design information and history. The tops of the arches aren't structural (which is also why the damage mentioned above isn't too serious).

The release also notes that the "Theme Building was completed in August 1961 at a cost of $2.2 million. Architects Pereira & Luckman Associates, Welton Becket & Associates, and Paul R. Williams designed the building's 135-foot-high parabolic arches to symbolize the optimism of a futuristic Los Angeles in the space age. In 1992, the Los Angeles City Council designated the Theme Building a cultural and historical monument."

Have you been in there? Yes, but
not until I was in high school on a date. What's it like in there? Well, when I went there the first time, it looked different than it does now. Some entity that operates the restaurant hired Disney Imagineering designers to create a futuristic decor. The photo at right (from the retro_futurism blog) shows the results. It is a little too much to stomach, and I wouldn't suggest subjecting your rods and cones to this scene before a long flight to Hawaii or Beijing. I do wish that when I was there that I had taken the elevator to the top observation deck.

In the UCLA archive photo above, you can see the fenced observation area near the roof perimeter. It's now off limits due to post-September 11 security concerns. Bummer.

What kind of food do they serve? It's California cuisine, for the most part. What's that? Some kind of Pan Asian inspired vegetarian health food? Not exactly, but that's a good question for another post perhaps.

Can you drive me to LAX for a 5:35 AM flight to Amsterdam and then pick me up at midnight next week? No. Call Super Shuttle.

For more information about the building and its history, visit the Encounter Restaurant website or read a bit more about the development of the design and some of the architects at Wikipedia. Also, more links to photos here and here.

Governor and Pols Survey Griffith Park Damage and Tourists Return to Catalina

This morning I came across the Los Angeles Times: Political Muscle Blog written by Robert Salladay. In the blog, he quotes a report by Dana Bartholomew of the LA Daily News:

"'Schwarzenegger, accompanied by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Councilman Tom LaBonge, emerged from his van on the south slope of Griffith Park, directly above a historic nursery saved by firefighters.

'He trudged slowly, thoughtfully, silently, inhaling the pungent remains of what had once been lush ceonothus, toyon and sage.

'For nearly 100 feet, he walked, looking at scorched earth and listening to LaBonge's much-repeated description of how 'the fire danced like Mick Jagger on stage - boom, boom, boom!' How fire roared Tuesday toward Loz Feliz, threatening such mansions as the Lautner home once featured in 'L.A. Confidential.' How the fire had turned around and raced up Mt. Hollywood, torching Dante's View and its tree-lined garden. And how water-dropping helicopters had worked through the night to save the day.

'The governor then praised the work of firefighters who had coordinated their efforts to save some of the city's most famous landmarks, including the Griffith Observatory and the L.A. Zoo.

' 'This is amazing,' Schwarzenneger said, looking toward downtown L.A. in the distance. 'It (the fire) actually stopped there. This is the work of the firefighters. If you think about it, we had this really incredible fire ... and it didn't take everything out. Then he pointed to a partially burned oak and added: 'This is "

Schwarzenneger is right to praise the firefighters. Catalina is dangerous terrain for fighting fires. Though, it seems as though the locals treated the crews well.

But those fighting the Catalina fire may long remember this blaze — and not just because it was a life-or-death struggle against the elements.

Tired they may be, after three days of battling the inferno that at one point loomed ominously over the resort town of Avalon and its picturesque harbor. But with the blaze now well in hand, some firefighters christened it with a new name — the Ten-Pound fire.

That's how much weight the firefighters jokingly said they've gained, thanks to the generosity of island merchants. Instead of their usual spartan fare while manning the fire lines, they feasted on tri-tip steak Saturday night.

Still, even as the firefighters got a little relaxation, the narrowness of the resort island's escape from catastrophe was written into the hills framing the town as the sun rose Sunday morning. They were an ashy, dusky gray. Burned evergreens drooped lifelessly, and the thick carpet of cactus and scrub that once covered the hillsides was charred to blackened stalks.

One home was lost in the fire, along with six out-buildings back in the brush.

And finally:

Elsewhere on Catalina on Monday, life was continuing to return to normal. Tourists were trickling back to the island, and firefighters were leaving. Many left with leis made of sea shells or bright ribbons around their necks.

Debbie Avellana, owner of Debbie's Island Deli, stood by the dock to give the leis to the firefighters "as a token of my gratitude and the overall feelings of the people on this island."

I bet the next time things turn dangerous on Catalina, the firefighters will not forget how well they were treated.