Monday, February 01, 2010

Ah, January. Snow. Ice. Slush. Gray skies and grumpy legislators, jonesing for a junket to the Bahamas. No, wait. That's Back East.

Cut to Los Angeles, where Spring officially starts on January 2nd. It's true. The tulip magnolias and crab-apple trees are already blooming, while the pomegranates are still on the trees. Alas, no forsythia or hyacinths, save for the bunches for sale at Whole Foods and in the flower district, downtown.

Ah, downtown L.A. ... Locals know that's not an oxymoron. We have blocks of old movie palaces from the 1920's, a Chinatown that was shoved a half-mile North during the Depression (to make way for an Art Deco train station), and a burgeoning artist district that has almost been priced out of its original, formerly decayed, industrial zip code. Budget-conscious Latino families swarm Broadway looking for deals at the swap meets, and odd, huge, electrified signage from the 20's and 30's lights up the night sky from atop still more Deco skyscrapers.

When I first arrived, I shot on film. I need to find the director I gave those stills to - the former foundry we shot in, full of huge wooden casting forms and ankle deep in coal dust, is now just another clutch of trendy creative lofts. But the old, sometimes abandoned train tracks (where my co-workers unwittingly flipped their Volkswagen) are still there, as are the warren of turn-of-the-20th-century alleys and still-working, grand industrial shacks - urban barns for 19th century technologies.

I'm catching up on some long-overdue reading, John R. Stilgoe's "Outside Lies Magic," a companion tome and more-or-less Cliff Notes version of Stilgoes' Harvard classes on our collective visual environment. In it, Stilgoe extols the wonders of aimless outdoor wanderings, often leading to living clues on urban history, if not personal epiphany.

It's making me wish I took his class, but not just to contribute to the odd quote on his facebook appreciation page. I'm a geek, and Stilgoe's admonition to wallow in nonlinear wandering for free discovery's sake is, well, right up my alley.

Live in a dreary, sunset-technology town, deep in the grip of deadest winter? No problem, Stilgoe cheers - cold weather sends the weak indoors, and out of your way! Pack a thermos of hot cocoa in your pack, put on a decent hat and gloves, leave your iPod at home, and set out to get lost somewhere on purpose, preferably on foot.

I suspect Stilgoe may have a bit of the Tao of Pooh in him, since he is hell-bent on opening one's eyes, noticing, and having a sense of humor. Bring a notebook, or a tape recorder. You may find yourself having flashes of brilliance.


http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~stilgoe/

Photo credit: http://lacreekfreak.wordpress.com/2008/09/