I'll build a geodesic dome and sail away

Spent last weekend in Santa Fe/Albuquerque/Taos, after driving straight from Los Angeles. Too long to drive without a sleepover somewhere.

First impression...nice architecture in the Santa Fe central area. After a few hours, though, the sameness wears thin, sorta like Santa Barbara with the highly regulated theme architecture. There wasn't much time to take it in, but I much preferred the redeveloped warehouses in the Railyard District.

Now I have Beat and the Pulse by Austra stuck in my head...it was playing on the radio when I was halfway sleeping on the ride into Santa Fe.

Them Dukes were in Taos...

Good

Indian Alley

Goonies never say die

El Chapulin Koreano

He's looking after Koreatown...

Superstar

Yesterday I picked up a cake at the Porto's Bakery in Downey and had a few minutes to stop by the to the apartment buildings bought in the '70s by Karen and Richard Carpenter. Only Just Begun and Close to You face each other on opposite sides of the street. Not sure if the properties are still in the Carpenter family, but they're in great shape.

Aside from snippets on the radio, my main memory of the Carpenters songs is from the mid-'80s when Richard Carpenter was hawking a best-of compilation (probably K-Tel) on television. When you're a kid watching those commercials every day, you eventually expect to hear the songs in a specific order. Did he get crap for those ads in those days? And look up the old footage...he looks like Mark Wahlberg.

Mas Moss

I ran a red light today on the way to work. I don't make a habit of running reds, and I wasn't purposely sneering at the law, but I have to admit I'm often distracted by the roadside scenery. Luckily no cars crossed my path, and luckily no Sheriff's deputies were around.

I often crane my neck while driving eastbound on the 10-freeway for a quick look at the Petal House by Eric Owen Moss, but Saturday I finally drove in for a close up. An asset to the neighborhood.