My "Fair" Lady- Directly from the West End, London at the Music Center LA

I have been seeing a lot of theater lately and tonight was My Fair Lady at the Music Center in Downtown LA. It was fair, as told my boyfriend it's more Broadway than Broadway; More The Phantom of the Opera than The Phantom of the Opera. It was a safe, good, old- fashioned production. I am not sure why they are promoting as a huge revival, because it was a standard big production. They did get a full house standing ovation.

Maybe because I have been seeing too many independent plays and they had affected my judgment on larger productions. Not sure...I am sure there will be more plays to come; it was worth 40 bucks for the tickets.

LAzy!

It's been almost a year since I blogged but am back now or should I say "I will be back by before leaving for Budapest, Hungary May 17th."

I am planning for a head- on full blog during my 4 weeks in Eastern Europe. It's very exciting to be doing my Artist in Residency program in Budapest. It's really one of the last places I thought I would be doing art but it's going to be wonderful!

I will also be leaving for Taiwan on May 15 and returning on May 3o. It will be diffcult but I will try to submit a blog or 2 during my stay. Also stay tune for a new Flicker and a fully updated benjaminpage.net

Beautiful purple snow along Del Mar Ave. west of Lake Ave.

City of LA is now banning several species of trees such as Jacaranda and Mexican Palm are on the black list.

so Enjoy Them Today Before They Are Gone Tomorrow!

Why you asked??? According to The Times; because they are too messy and hard to maintain. I don't think they bother most people in Pasadena.

Amtrak- It actually works!!!!

This past weekend I went on a little trip to Ventura to see my friend Stephanie and her father Efrem in Hamlet; with the gas prices and unpredictable traffic looming over me, I decided to take Amtrak. It was my very first time being on a long distance train (OK somewhat) in the U.S. and with all the bad PR in the long history of Amtrak in mind I thought disasters are just lurking around the corner.

WAS I WRONG!!!!!

First, a short walk to Goldline's Del Mar Station with a friend and for $1.25 each way we got off at Union Station. We than proceed to the ticket counter and got our boarding passes. It cost $51.00 round trip for two (they had a Ventura special, buy one get one free). Wow I said, it beats driving at $3.45 per gallon plus wear and tare on your car. It actually came out cheaper than driving! The ride was pleasant and the train was clean with tons of leg room and they even sell beer on the train! The trip took 1 hour and 45 mins which is not bad at all considering driving will take at least 1 hour and 10 mins.

We arrived in Ventura; walked 1 1/2 block to our downtown Hotel. The entire weekend we walked because Ventura's small manageable size.

Needless to say the Play was perfect.

"People's" Repulic of China in Rose Parade '08

How ironic is China's official name? Also, not to be confused with Republic of China (Taiwan). According to Pasadena Star News the larger China will have a "Olympic-themed float" in next year's Rose Parade. This is the first entry for Mainland China and I am sure most people will still be confused why the other tiny China's (Taiwan) float entry China Airline is not actually China but Taiwan. Oh yes, its all so very confusing... If you paid attention in any of your High School's History classes you might actually know what I am talking about.
Aside from the 2 Chinas, 1 China, 1 China and 1 Taiwan.... we will save that for a later date.

Tar- Jay Downtown

Anyone noticed how hip our Downtown Target is "becoming"? I was told my friend Brendan "if we round up all the Hipsters in the the store we would have a really cool Lounge/ Bar that will surely surpass Magnolia on South Lake Ave." Instead of the Starbucks out in the back we should turn it in to Bar Tar- Jay. Best time for hipster viewing is in the evening after 8pm (locations: house ware, decorating, checkout lanes, electronic, fashion and bedding Departments).

Ta- ta... I need a drink!

No longer the Bastard Step- child of Los Angeles!

How lovely and fortunate that we live in Pasadena! Where we have both urban and suburban lifestyles and be as close (or far away) from the real urban experience our city has to offer!

This blog is devoted to everything Pasadena; from architecture, design, shopping, dining, culture transportation to strange encounters, parking tickets, and the burst of our giant real estate bubble if it ever happens (median home price is now about $575,000 depends on which report you read).

We welcome all post from Pasadena lovers or haters. We also love to have spy readers across town to give us the latest juicy gossips of what's going on in our city.

Enjoy!

Benjamin