L.A. Stories
Alluring Inn
In its September issue, Fortune magazine put a new spin on the usual lists of the hip and happening by publishing a roster of the tried and true. Among the selections in the Top 40 list: Rolodexes, tuna fish and horse racing.
Landing in the No. 2 position (behind monogrammed shirts) was L.A.’s Hotel Bel-Air, which is wrapping up a two-year, $16 million renovation project.
The magazine takes a playful jab at the hotel (“the rooms are a little too precious, a little too pink, a little too Angela Lansbury”), then oddly extols its virtues by noting that it has “everything to make a 70-year-old horny afternoon tea, an 8,600 square foot herb garden and a lake occupied by four swans who eat only hearts of romaine.”
Ellen Thornton, director of sales, said the write-up was appreciated, though it raised a few eyebrows around the luxury inn, where guests are still required to wear jackets in the restaurant.
Water Wonders
Who thought water could be so interesting? The wet stuff has recently become the subject of a flood of art, exhibits and is even getting airtime on television.
Water is a major part of a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power exhibit at Ports O’Call Village in San Pedro, “Water and Power in the History of Los Angeles,” which runs through Oct. 6.
Meanwhile, “Liquid Art,” a photo project of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, is featured on an episode of “Road Trip with Huell Howser,” running on PBS stations this month.
The project consists of photographs of 20 works ranging from murals to gardens that demonstrate the tie between water and everyday life in Southern California. The show will be on tour through at least February.
“Every generation that has been here has had to deal with the issue of water and drought,” said Adan Ortega, vice president of external affairs for the MWD.
Psychics Wanted
Clairvoyance has gone cyber for one L.A.-based group.
The International Society for Paranormal Research is conducting a search for two clairvoyant “team investigators” by posting a 20-photograph test on its Web site, ispr.net.
Applicants are invited to analyze photos of various houses and provide, via e-mail, information on where the photos were taken, whether the house is haunted and who’s haunting the house.
“Some people will try to complete all 20 in one shot,” said Daena Smoller, investigator at ISPR. “People who are really using their abilities get tired doing things like this. They shouldn’t feel rushed.”
So far, ISPR has received 4,000 applicants since the test was posted early last month. The test will remain up until Nov. 17, after which ISPR officials will use more conventional methods, like conducting interviews for the positions by phone and in person.
“Larry Montz (the ISPR founder) has two investigators that excel at what this test is all about,” said Smoller. “I’m sure those two are going to be used.”
Geezer for Hire
While others turn to hair dye and plastic surgery to stay hip in youth-obsessed Hollywood, one actor is reveling in his maturity.
William Kerr, 54, isn’t hiding his age but emphasizing it in his search for an agent. He’s hoping to get back into acting after a decade-long hiatus, during which he worked in the construction industry.
“Seeking geezer-friendly representation,” reads an ad Kerr recently took out in Daily Variety.
A photograph shows a silver-haired Kerr with an expression that brings to mind the movie “Grumpy Old Men.”
“I think the honesty might be refreshing,” Kerr said. “I just happen to think there’s a market for geezers right now.”
Claudia Peschiutta, Darrell Satzman, Danny King.
The Roving Eye
Road Rules
Not getting enough of L.A. freeways during your commute?
The L.A. Freeway Game makes it possible to keep the action going outside of the car.
David Rizzo, better known as “Dr. Roadmap,” has created a game based on the local freeway system complete with all the usual obstacles, such as Sig Alerts, road construction and highway patrol officers.
Instead of a game board, players move their cars along a roadmap that includes several L.A. freeway interchanges. The goal is to make it from your starting destination to L.A. City Hall.
To slow down their opponents, players may pull people over and make them answer questions about the state’s traffic laws.
Rizzo, an L.A. native, says he was inspired to create the game while working as a traffic reporter for KABC-AM (790). He would often propose alternate routes to help drivers avoid traffic jams but realized many of them don’t know enough about the freeway system to make use of such information.
“People really got wigged out with the interchanges,” Rizzo said. “If they play this game, they’re going to see the relation of the freeways in their mind and they will be able to see what the signs are saying.”
Rizzo began discovering alternate routes throughout the area while working as a podiatrist and making house calls. He shares some of his secrets in “Freeway Alternates,” a guide to commuting in Southern California without using freeways.
The game sells for $19.95 on his Web site, DrRoadmap.com, but Rizzo doesn’t expect to make much money off it and he says that’s fine because he’s “having so much fun.”
“I love driving around L.A.,” Rizzo said. “I’m one of the few people who looks forward to it. I must be nuts.”
Claudia Peschiutta
