Category Archives: July

LA Central Library

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“I imagine heaven
must be some kind of library.”
Jorge Luis Borges

Today the Los Angeles Central Library is celebrating its centennial anniversary. This headquarters for the Los Angeles Public Library system, includes a total of 72 branches of libraries. The Central Library complex is the third largest public library in the United States in terms of book and periodical holdings. Its subject departments contain more than 2.8 million books, 5,000 magazine subscriptions, more than 3 million photographs, 10 million digital access U.S. patents, plus language learning and multi-media materials. It also has nine subject departments that provide a variety of reference services over the counter, by telephone, mail, e-mail, or chat. Materials can be ordered by patrons throughout the city and shipped to the borrower’s local branch.

The historic Central Library opened July 15, 1926 to rave reviews and has been welcoming Angelenos and visitors ever since. On opening day, the building featured 538,000 square feet of space on eight floors, nearly 89 miles of shelves, and seating for more than 1,400 people. Hailed as an architectural gem, the building is renowned for such iconic features as the tiled pyramid on the roof; the vast, mural-lined Rotunda; and its more modern Atrium wing, which opened in 1993.

The historic Central Library Goodhue building was constructed between 1924 and 1926 and is a Downtown Los Angeles landmark. Designed by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, one of Los Angeles’ most elaborate original Art Deco and Beaux-Arts structure. Goodhue was born in 1869 in Pomfret, Connecticut, and became widely known in California for his influential masterplan and building designs for the Panama-California Exposition held in San Diego’s Balboa Park in 1915. For the Exposition Goodhue developed an ornate version of the Spanish Colonial Revival style.

His library design with its rectangular forms layered against a central tower, could only be experienced one facade at a time. The interior is even more spectacular than its exterior. Goodhue created an interior that centered on a great domed rotunda surrounded by stacks and reading rooms. Decorations consisted of mural paintings and patterning stenciled directly on the main ceilings. 

The entrance with its sculptured concentrated on portals with sheer surfaces and pylon-like shapes resemble ancient Egyptian temples. Together with the pyramid that crowns the tower, it makes the library an early example of the Egyptian flavored version of early Art Deco style. The unique Central Library design, echoes of sources of inspiration that range from the Ancient NearEast to the Mediterranean as well as Native American southwest.  Sadly, Bertram Goodhue died of a heart attack a year before the completion of one of his architectural masterpieces. 

The library is having a month long celebration. Included in the celebration, is the opening of the 1926 time capsule they placed in the entry pillar during their opening ceremony.

I’ve lived in California over half a century and never visited this library. But, that will soon change. I certainly will be taking the time to visit this beautiful iconic LA Central Library.

Shine One

Yearning To Breathe Free

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“Give me your tired
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me
Lift my lamp beside the golden door”
Emma Lazarus

Statue of Liberty

Most American’s don’t know who Emma Lazarus was or why she’s very relevant today. They don’t know she was an American author of poetry, prose and an activist for Jewish causes. Emma’s fame came not from her writing and activism but from a few words on one of our countries most iconic symbols for freedom.

Emma Lazarus was born on July 22, 1849 in New York City, the fourth of seven children. Born to a wealthy Sephardic Jewish family of Portuguese descent, her father, Moses, was a successful sugar merchant who made certain his children got the best education.

Her siblings and she studied with private tutors and learned multiple languages including German, French, and Italian. Excelling in academics, by the time she was seventeen, she had already written a book of poems called Poems and Translations: Written Between the Ages of Fourteen and Sixteen.

As she continued to write, she used her poems and essays to speak out against the persecution of Jews in Europe and growing anti-Semitism in the United States. She publicly proclaimed her identity as a Jewish poet and advocated for Jewish issues internationally. Lazarus wrote in various publications promoting Zionism and a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In addition to her writing, she also met with immigrants and refugees, volunteered at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and helped establish the Hebrew Technical Institute in New York to provide Jewish immigrants with vocational training.

In 1883, Lazarus formed the Society for the Improvement and Colonization of East European Jews. That same year, she wrote The New Colossus, to be presented at auction to raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The organizers decided to print the poem in the Catalogue of the Pedestal Fund Art Loan Exhibition at the National Academy of Design to inspire continued work on the statue. Then late in 1883, one of the lines from Colossus was inscribed on a bronze plaque, and in 1903 wss installed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

The last stanza of the sonnet was used by many creative people. It was set to music by Irving Berlin in his song “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor” for the 1949 musical Miss Liberty, which was based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty Liberty Enlightening the World. The stanza was also set by Lee Hoiby in his song “The Lady of the Harbor” written in 1985 as part of his song cycle Three Women.

From what I’ve read about Emma, those words on the Statue of Liberty are among her proudest accomplishments. She was a champion in helping immigrants. She knew first hand immigrants experiences coming to a new country and assimilating. She knew how badly they were treated. Her work always produced sensitivity and enduring lessons regarding immigrants and their need for dignity. She contributed toward shaping the self-image of the United States as well as how the country understands the needs of those who immigrated to the United States.

As we celebrate the 250 Anniversary of this country, Emma’s words must be embraced. Because in the current climate of this country, our democracy, our freedom of speech, our immigrants and future immigrants are all in danger.

Now and perhaps more than ever in this country’s history, the inscription on Miss Liberty, rings true for all of us. Especially our immigrants, most of which were our own parents, grandparents and great grandparents. None of us are native to this country except all the Indigenous people.

She never married or had children. Sadly, she died at the young age of 38 years old on November 19, 1887, from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her short lived life was dedicated to her family heritage. Her tour de force in life was helping those like herself, yearning to breathe free.

Shine One

The Pandumbic

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“If you laugh with somebody,
then you share something.”
Trevor Noah

 

Trevor Noah

When the Coronavirus pandemic began, all the late-night shows such as The Tonight Show, The Late, Late Show and even Stephen Colbert began broadcasting their shows from home, usually their significant other filming their host husbands.

There was one show I had not watched before and that was  The Daily Show with host Trevor Noah. However, that changed when I began watching Trevor along with the other daily YouTube late night shows.

If you’re not familiar with Trevor Noah, he’s a 36-year old South African comedian, political commentator, writer and television host of The Daily Show. Born in Johannesburg, he began his career in 2002 as a comedian, presenter, and actor in South Africa. After coming to America in 2011, he became the first South African comedian to appear on The Tonight Show in the summer of 2013. As his popularity grew and Trevor became a recurring contributor on The Daily Show, he replaced Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show September 28, 2015.

I was a fan of Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show but I must admit I stopped watching after he retired. I didn’t even give Trevor Noah a chance to show his talent. I now regret I did that, after becoming a diehard fan of Trevor.

After a few months of watching him on the Daily Show, I read his 2016 book, Born A Crime. He writes about growing up in South Africa, a child of interracial parents and apartheid South Africa. Trevor was kept mostly indoors in his youth by his mother, for fear that at any moment the government could take him away from her because of his interracial status. In South Africa before 1985, it was a crime to have interracial marriages as well as have an interracial child, hence the title of the book, Born a Crime. Against all odds, this smart, handsome, talented young comedian has made his way to the top. In my opinion, Born a Crime should be required reading for all young people.

If you don’t have cable, you can watch him on YouTube. Here’s a recent segment of  The Daily Social Distancing Show from July 22, 2020 he calls, The Pandumbic:

Shine On

Captivating Comet

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“Science is an ongoing process. It never ends.
There is no single ultimate truth to be achieved,
after which all the scientists can retire.”
Carl Sagan

 

NEOWISE Comet

NEOWISE Comet from Mt. Hood, Oregon by Daniel Springer –  July 2020

A few weeks back, a good friend asked if I had the opportunity to photograph the comet, NEOWISE in the skies over Redondo Beach. Unfortunately, because of overcast evening skies, I have not been able to get a good photo of the comet. However, I still have time since the comet will be visible through mid-August.

This fairly large, 3 mile across comet was first spotted by The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on March 27th. NEOWISE is named after the JPL space telescope used to first discover the comet, the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer aka NEOWISE. To learn more about the NEOWISE JPL Mission visit, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/neowise/

The newly discovered comet might become known as the Great Comet of 2020 because it won’t be returning to our neck of the world for another 6,800 years. Why? Because, that’s how many years it takes this comet to complete its journey around the sun. It’s also one of the few comets visible without the use of a telescope or even binoculars. According to JPL, NEOWISE is the brightest comet since Comet Hale-Bopp visited us in 1997.

Joseph Masiero, NEOWISE deputy principal investigator at JPL, said in a recent interview that, “. . . by combining the infrared data with visible-light images, we can tell that the comet’s nucleus is covered with sooty, dark particles left over from its formation near the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago.”

If you’re interested in capturing a beautiful photograph like the one my friend’s son Daniel took at Mt. Hood in Oregon, start looking up at the sky about one hour after sunset. According to the Sky & Telescope magazine, you’ll find the comet just over the northwest horizon as the last of twilight fades into darkness. Look about three fists below the bowl of the Big Dipper. The comet has also been getting brighter and brighter in the early morning sky as well.

Good luck my fellow Blogaholics in photographing or just experiencing this captivating comet.

Shine On