A bunch of folks, including Hegel Exercises (from whom I stole the title), have expressed interest in a weekly thread in which we can share the longreads that have kept us looking busy at work and prevented us from noticing … Continue reading What Has It Got In Its Pocketses?
With apologies and thanks to dear Monty. My old friend Ford was in Los Angeles on business, and as I had recently been rendered superfluous and essentially persona non grata at my job due entirely to the vehemence and churlishness … Continue reading The Game of Bear
Talk about that new funnybook movie here. Continue reading Spider-Man: Far From Home Spoiler Space
Hi everybody. It’s my birthday today. I’ve been working on a novel, and below, hidden with the spoiler tool, I have posted a few hundred words of a scene from that novel. It’s still very much a work in progress, … Continue reading The Beneficence and Munificence of the City Day Thread
There is a Chipotle fast casual restaurant that appears once a year on Larchmont Boulevard, almost at the intersection with W 1st Street. It will not appear if you enter Larchmont from the east, and it will not appear if … Continue reading The Chipotle on Larchmont Boulevard. No, Not That One, the One That’s Only There Once a Year.
Tell us about the things and places that are gone and are never coming back. Let’s keep people and pets out of it; I’m thinking more of stores you loved shopping at that closed, or restaurants you used to eat … Continue reading The Gone-Away World
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) was a Greek-French architect, composer, musical theorist, and engineer. His studies cut short by the Italian invasion of Greece in 1940, and the German invasion the following year, Xenakis joined the Greek People’s Liberation Army, the armed … Continue reading The Iannis Xenakis Day Thread
I threw this clumsy tribute to M.R. James together at work today. It’s not much of a Christmas present, but it’s home made. The Lawyer’s Ghost Story My college friend Pete, whose personal and professional successes had acted as … Continue reading A Ghost Story For Christmas
Hello folks! Welcome to the next installment of an occasional series about travel. Last time, we looked at the ideal one day visit to your town. Today, I want to ask you something a bit different. What is a completely … Continue reading The Travel Bug With Robert Maitland
All right, welcome to part two of our game of Exquisite Corpse. Last week, Romanes Eunt Domus got us off to a cracking start. We’ll put up each chapter as a new post, and aggregate them into a Google doc … Continue reading The Exquisite Corpse of Ava Cotto: Part 2
Last week, while joking about airport novels and first edition Iliads,Romanes Eunt Domus proposed that we should launch a game of Exquisite Corpse here on the Avocado. I thought it was a great idea, and, well, here we are. Exquisite … Continue reading The Exquisite Corpse of Ava Cotto
Here’s a fun little time waster. Let’s pretend that someone who’s never been there before is coming to visit your town for one day. What restaurants do they have to eat at? What museums do they have to visit? What … Continue reading The Travel Bug, with Robert Maitland
If you know anything about me at all, you know that I like modernist design and architecture, contemporary classical music, cities, cars, and broccoli on pizza. But what I bet you didn’t know is that I absolutely love going to … Continue reading Unknown Pleasures
Hey everybody, let’s waste a bit of time today by sharing pitches for horror movies we’d like to see made. I’d like to see a vampire movie set in the Massachusetts Bay colony in the middle of the 17th Century. … Continue reading Pitch Your Horror Movie
Today is my birthday. I’m turning 48. I’m serving as a pallbearer in my uncle’s funeral today. In fact, by the time this goes up, I will have already left for the service. There’s only one thing this universe promises … Continue reading The Memento Mori Day Thread
Welcome back to Los Angeles, folks. I’m glad you could join me on this beautiful June morning. What do you say we grab a bite to eat and take a look at one of the signature architectural styles of the … Continue reading The Googie Day Thread
In the waning days of World War Two, anticipating the need for inexpensive but well designed homes for the millions of returning soldiers and their new families, Art and Architecture magazine began to solicit plans from some of the leading architects of … Continue reading The Case Study House #22 Day Thread
Just half a mile west of the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Boulevard is a magnificently odd little bit of architecture known as Crossroads of the World. Designed by Robert V. Derrah, Crossroads of the World was built in 1936 as … Continue reading The Crossroads Of The World Day Thread
The Los Angeles Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of the historic architecture of Los Angeles County, was founded in 1978 in response to the threatened demolition of LA’s historic Main Library building in downtown. That … Continue reading The Los Angeles Conservancy Day Thread
OK, let’s get back in the car and turn around. We want to head south on Vine. Pull into this parking lot and we can make a left; you can’t make a u-turn at Yucca. There you go. Now keep … Continue reading The Cinerama Dome Day Thread
Exit the 101 Freeway at Hollywood Boulevard and head west. Drive past the Fonda Theater and the Soul Cycle and the Frolic Room and hang a right on Vine Street. Pull over halfway up the block and park. This is … Continue reading The Capitol Records Building Day Thread
