Loop-De-Loop: Temescal Canyon Travels

I walk. Every day. One hour. No questions asked. Many answers found. I consider it my "Me" time. Generally, I stick to the same route. This can sometimes get boring. And that, calls for adventure.

Ever since I went to Yosemite National Park in September, I've been motivated to seek out more of the 'wild' of Los Angeles. Even in the most urban of areas, there are plenty of local hikes where I can play make-believe adventure. I just have to be willing to seek them out.

Temescal Canyon Gateway Park is one of those places. It's been on my list for awhile. Nestled in Pacific Palisades, Temescal Canyon is a popular hiking area. From the map, I could see that the park was right off Sunset Boulevard, just west of the fringes of Will Rogers State Park. Parking inside the park is $7.00. As suggested from other online hiking sites, however, I easily [and surprisingly] found street parking just outside the park. [I'm a person that hates to spend money on the idiocy of parking my car.]

The main Temescal Ridge Trail rises steadily above Sunset. Suddenly you'll find yourself high above the Pacific Ocean. It's a dramatic view, especially on a clear sunny day. I didn't find the hike to be tremendously strenuous, but it does require more effort than a leisurely stride so you should be in decently good shape before attempting it.

There is an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet. ( In comparison, my hike to Upper Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park had an elevation gain of nearly 3,000 feet... enough to make me both nauseous, dehydrated, and crabby. Yet, I was never so proud as when I completed that hike in its entirety!)

In addition to the view, which gets better with every step you take, there are also plenty of wildflowers and little critters to see along the way-- including grey squirrels, birds, and lizards.

On my descent, just past the waterfall, I happened to see a rattlesnake stretched along the path. I find reptiles fascinating and all, but I don't mess around with rattlesnakes. I stopped and gave him space. Within moments, I saw a female jogger bounding down the trail, full speed ahead. I raised my hand high and yelled a warning to alert her. She was extremely grateful. We both paused and stared at the rattler in awe. Eventually, he slithered away-- evidently bored with our company.

I'd highly recommend a daytrip to Temescal Canyon. If you take the main trail and stick with it, eventually it'll loop around, resulting in a pretty awesome roundtrip hike. After the hike, you can get back in your car and zip down to the beach, if you're so inclined or take a cruise down Pacific Coast Highway. It's also not to far from Brentwood and Westwood.

Here are some other tips:
- Bring sufficient water and snacks, especially on warm days.
-Apply sunscreen and wear a hat, whenever possible.
-Be aware of your surroundings. Rattlesnakes do live in this area (According to forest rangers in the area, rattlesnake numbers could be high this season, so be on the lookout!)
-Take pictures!

For more information about local hikes in your area, check out: Local Hikes

©2011 by KLiedle

A grand legacy of classic film: Sidney Lumet

You were at the helm of some of my all-time favorite films:
Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
Thank you for sharing your film legacy!

SIDNEY LUMET
1924-2011

Posted by KLiedle

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. : How It Came To Be

Thinking It. Wanting It. Seeing It. Touching It. Liking It. Doing It. Loving It. Wanting More... [chapters in Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.]

Much has been written of Audrey Hepburn and the iconic film, Breakfast At Tiffany's. In most, we're stylishly whisked away into the world of Holly Golightly. Living alone in a brownstone in Manhattan. Cha-cha-cha, isn't she just marvelous? Oh, Darling, don't you wish you could be her? Romance. Cat. Oh, poor Cat! We do belong to each other...

We're hooked and we've sunk in one smooth move. In love with Holly and all she represents, we're doomed. But Holly is a riddle. She is, by definition, impossible to define. And that is, above all, her greatest charm. Truman Capote made it so.

Sam Wasson's newest book, Fifth Avenue 5 A.M. [Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast At Tiffany's and The Dawn Of The Modern Woman] digs deeper than any other book on the subject I've read. And I've read many. Most books focus on the film and its iconic status, but Wasson takes us through more: the beginnings, the struggles, the fears, the conflicts, the contradictions and the ultimate success of the Breakfast At Tiffany's we've come to know.

As with any creative endeavor, Breakfast At Tiffany's didn't just come together. It was gestating for a long time before it was words on a page [and images on a screen in the Hollywood adaptation.] And at any given point, it could've easily fallen apart.

Would audiences coming right out of the '50s embrace a main character who, in the very simplest terms, is a high-society call girl? Played by Audrey Hepburn? Paramount Pictures was uneasy. According to Wasson's book, film producers Marty Jurow and Richard Shepherd, optioned Capote's novella, without "the faintest idea how the hell they were going to take a novel with no second act, a nameless gay protagonist, a motiveless drama, and an unhappy ending, and turn it into a Hollywood movie."

They don't end up together in the end, you know. The boy and the girl. Holly and Cat. It's not the romantic chiffon of an ending that you might have been expecting. Not in Capote's world. Holly goes on being Holly. In the novel, Cat is last seen, "flanked by potted plants and framed by clean lace curtains...seated in the window of a warm-looking room." His new owner's room. A place where, finally, he "may have arrived somewhere he belonged." And gotten himself a name. Holly leaves the brownstone behind and jets to Brazil, giving no forwarding address. She may still be there. Or in Africa. No one knows, least of all, Holly.

In the early 60s, Holly Golightly changed the game and no one even knew it was happening. She made it not only glamorous, but acceptable for a woman to be independently-minded, stylish, and God forbid-- unmarried. Holly did what she wanted. Fifth Avenue chronicles how she pulled it off and how numerous Hollywood personalities allowed her to exist well beyond the pages of Capote's novella.

Through countless interviews and research, Fifth Avenue touches on the personal details, the conflicts, and the controversies [Yunioshi anyone?] that otherwise would be nearly forgotten in the light of Breakfast At Tiffany's success since. It's that rare book where even the sources and notes in the back are fascinating subject material (and motivation for further reading.)

Loving It. Wanting More.




More Mancini Music From Breakfast At Tiffany's

Post ©2011 by KLiedle

It's Always Smoggy In L.A. - "One Noir Night"

It's a dark and rainy evening here in L.A. - a perfect time to indulge in "One Noir Night," the latest in a string of shorts in the web series, It's Always Smoggy In L.A.

If you like this video, please VOTE on Funnyordie and share with friends.

It's Always Smoggy In L.A. - "One Noir Night" - watch more funny videos

Japan 日本 Someday...

On my bedroom wall, next to a map of the world, I taped up the following: At least once in your life visit Japan. It's from a travel advertisement, I'm a sucker for a good slogan. I felt compelled to tear it out and keep it. It's a hope, a daydream, a dare, and a promise...

In 7th grade, I had a Japanese pen pal from Shizuoka, Japan. That experience led me to doodle Japanese characters all over folders. I learned to fold a tight origami crane. I even taught myself traces of Japanese. Some of it stuck, like gum to the bottom of a forgotten pair of shoes.

By college, the fascination had bubbled up again. I applied to the JET program [ Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme], completed all the requirements, got my recommendations, and promptly chickened out completely. I wasn't ready to travel overseas to such a foreign culture for such a long time.

In recent years, I've reinvigorated this desire for Japan-- learning more of the language and trying to commit to learning some hiragana and katakana (phonetic Japanese characters.) After New Zealand won out as my last travel destination, Japan was next in line... rising like the sun as my near future destination. Now, I discovered, I am a bit older, more knowing of myself, more confident in delving into such a foreign culture from my Western upbringing. Now, I am ready.

Unfortunately, Japan is not.

***

The crows were circling. At the end of February, Christchurch, New Zealand was hit with a powerful earthquake. Petra Nemcova, the Czech supermodel that famously survived the deadly 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia was announced as a contestant in this year's Dancing With The Stars. Charlie Sheen went off the deep end and we watched him drown. Then on Friday, March 11, Battle: Los Angeles opened at the cineplex. Destruction brought on by alien invasion was fine by us. We ate it up like popcorn, despite bad reviews. We wanted to see destruction, armageddon, fire, death until-- until it all became too real.

It is with great sadness that I watched with the rest of the world [what seemed to be never-ending] footage of destruction in Japan the weekend of March 11. The nuclear radiation fears, the torturous tsunami-- all of it set forth by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake that alone, would've crippled any other land, including my own.

This past Sunday, I braved heavy rain to attend the Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I'd been looking forward to gathering information about an upcoming trip to Japan. With hundreds of exhibitors from around the world within my reach, I found no travel exhibitors from Japan. There were no tour operators pushing trips to Mount Fuji. No, Japan was eerily silent. They had a presence, but it was one of peace and hope and unity. At a booth near the front, volunteers sat quietly folding origami cranes from colorful paper. Others stood, hands outstretched, collecting Japan relief money into tin canisters. I dropped some money in, as I walked by.

"Arigato," said a Japanese woman, her head bowed to the ground.

"Douitashimashite," I said, smiling back and giving a little bow myself.

At least once in your life visit Japan.

It's a hope, a daydream, a dare, and a promise...

Help Japan 日本

©2011 by KLiedle

First episode of 'the Web' ~ A Smoggy spin-off series...

First episode of 'the Web' leaked to Youtube.

[ We think it was that Tyler kid... he seems a little passive-aggressive.]

the Web #1

Love,
It's Always Smoggy In L.A.

Why Being On Set Is Like Being On A Deserted Island

If you were stuck on a deserted island... What would you bring? Your favorite book? A movie? Your ipod? A notepad, a notebook, crayons? Who would you want to accompany you?

It's the standard 'deserted island' scenario, but being on a film set is much like being on a deserted island. For one, you don't know how long you'll be there. Certainly, you have a general idea of how long your day might be (at least 12 hours), but even if you swim away, you might end up back there tomorrow. In reality, you don't get to leave until they, ' get it' and 'getting it' means everything.

Secondly, you generally don't get to choose the people you're stuck with. Sure, you might recognize them from other projects or learn to like them or even forge fast friendships or relationships, but if you weren't stuck on this filming island, chances are, you'd have no reason to talk to most of them-- not that some of them aren't nice people, but day in, day out-- you have these same people to talk to. It's like being stuck with the people on your airline flight for days on end; A mix of personalities thrown into a test tube. All of them, including yourself, really wants is to go home. We can only be Gilligans for so long until it gets old... really, really, old.

There is waiting and waiting and waiting followed by serious bouts of busy-ness and then waiting and waiting and waiting again until those rare moments of exhilaration when things go particularly right. Everyone wants to make the day-- accomplish all the day's work before time runs out. Since any moment may require your attention, even after hours of nothingness, you can never venture too far from the flock.

Sometimes, you'll get into deep conversations with people and just as mysteriously, one of you will abandon (with a call on the radio) or else you'll just stop talking for no particular reason and go back to your book or your crossword. I have a standard activity kit in my backpack for such occasions. It's not too different from the activity kits any parent has packed for their kid before a long car trip. I have books, magazines, my ipod/charger, notebooks, paper/pencils, etc. Anything you might bring for a long journey. I even taught myself to crochet which has proved useful.

No matter what you end up doing during those long stretches of nothingness, you'll eventually start wandering around the set (i.e. island.) The thing you have to remember is: You're never entirely sure what's real and what's not:

Is this a real wall?
Oh, whoops-- there is no longer a way into this room that used to exist.
So, that's where they put the dummy body for the morgue...

You'll find books with real hardcovers and no text inside, notebooks with blank pages. Calculators that look good, but don't work. I was doing some artwork on-set and was elated to find a huge box of glue sticks-- exactly what I needed. The problem? Even the ones still wrapped in plastic were completely dried out and useless.