(no subject)
Sgt. Pepper and Pie
So, as some of you might have read in another response, I made up for not going to see The Wall at the Arcligh by treating myself to some old school delights at Mel’s diner in Hollywood… this of course included pie.
Since I was in the area, I wandered over to Virgin and raised their discount bin and grabbed some real classics. One of which was the movie Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band … a real piece of crap from 1978 that starred The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton basically as the Beatles, but not really, and then a whole host of other amazingly bad performances that just make it a joy to watch. Two actual performances actually stand out as good… this robotic (literally) version of She’s Leaving Home, and Aerosmith’s cover of Come Together. Worth watching, even if you have to borrow it from me.
One thing I was reminded of during the band’s trip to LA, Los Angeles used to be really damn smoggy. I don’t think people realize how bad it really was in the 70s and 80s before we cleaned up our act out here, but it was nightmarish. People who moved here within the last 15-20 years think it’s bad now, but this is spotless in comparison.
To give you an example, when I was in school, we used to have “smog days” like kids in the Midwest had snow days, because the air was so bad we couldn’t go outside! I can remember days downtown where it was socked in by smog and times when my family and I were coming down from our cabin in Big Bear and you could see an actual “smog line” from up above.
When I was in college, I worked at a Radio Shack in Arcadia, where all the smog goes to die, and we had to dust things constantly, not from actual dirt, but from smog. I’d pull up rags covered in soot and just shudder at the idea that we were actually breathing this stuff.
But now it’s better… I mean a lot better. I also realize that doesn’t mean we can stop. We obviously need to keep it up and do more, but it’s kind of nice to know that a difference was made. I’m running in a 5k in Santa Anita/Arcadia on Saturday and my lungs thank you for the effort.
J.
So, as some of you might have read in another response, I made up for not going to see The Wall at the Arcligh by treating myself to some old school delights at Mel’s diner in Hollywood… this of course included pie.
Since I was in the area, I wandered over to Virgin and raised their discount bin and grabbed some real classics. One of which was the movie Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band … a real piece of crap from 1978 that starred The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton basically as the Beatles, but not really, and then a whole host of other amazingly bad performances that just make it a joy to watch. Two actual performances actually stand out as good… this robotic (literally) version of She’s Leaving Home, and Aerosmith’s cover of Come Together. Worth watching, even if you have to borrow it from me.
One thing I was reminded of during the band’s trip to LA, Los Angeles used to be really damn smoggy. I don’t think people realize how bad it really was in the 70s and 80s before we cleaned up our act out here, but it was nightmarish. People who moved here within the last 15-20 years think it’s bad now, but this is spotless in comparison.
To give you an example, when I was in school, we used to have “smog days” like kids in the Midwest had snow days, because the air was so bad we couldn’t go outside! I can remember days downtown where it was socked in by smog and times when my family and I were coming down from our cabin in Big Bear and you could see an actual “smog line” from up above.
When I was in college, I worked at a Radio Shack in Arcadia, where all the smog goes to die, and we had to dust things constantly, not from actual dirt, but from smog. I’d pull up rags covered in soot and just shudder at the idea that we were actually breathing this stuff.
But now it’s better… I mean a lot better. I also realize that doesn’t mean we can stop. We obviously need to keep it up and do more, but it’s kind of nice to know that a difference was made. I’m running in a 5k in Santa Anita/Arcadia on Saturday and my lungs thank you for the effort.
J.