Author Archives: Roberta Cruger
What LA Could Have Looked Like
Multiuse Apartment Building Plan Over 405 Freeway Last chance! This weekend is the last time to see the fascinating exhibition Never Built: Los Angeles at the A+D Museum. An imaginative look at 100 ideas, renderings, blueprints, and models of … Continue reading
Posted in Art and Design
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Squirrels Use Napkins
Squirrels polished off a bunch of figs from the tree in my yard this season. It was a bumper crop so I didn’t mind sharing. I’d watch as the critters held the fruit in their little paws and quickly chomped … Continue reading
Posted in Green ways
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Motor City Nails It
It’s the last day of the New York Auto Show and lots of new vehicles rolled out – including plenty of hybrids and electrics, and the zippy Ford Fiesta. I’m reminded of my report on test drives of green vehicles … Continue reading
Posted in Green ways
Tagged auto show, Ford, green cars, Malcolm Gladwell
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Dragonflies, Bugs and Finding Found Art
On the way to the Audubon Center at Debs Park in LA, a big blue bug looms at the entrance to Avenue 52 off the 110 Freeway. Standing about 20+ feet high in the grass of a front yard, the … Continue reading
Posted in Art and Design
Tagged animals, art, found art
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Spring Shopping on PBS
It’s easy to miss great programs on PBS with so many specials and so much umbrella programming, like POV’s documentaries and the American Masters’ profiles. If I don’t stay on stop of the schedule, I invariably regret missing something excellent. … Continue reading
Posted in Pop AnThrop
Tagged jeremy piven, makers, pbs, television
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He Got a Line on Me
While watching the “In Memoriam” part of this year’s Grammy Awards, among the many faces and names of musical talents lost last year, I saw Ed Cassidy flash past—he was the remarkable drummer of the band Spirit, which had a … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Pop AnThrop
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Getting “Square” at Buster’s
A ginger scone and organic coffee would taste delicious, I thought, rushing to meet a friend at 8 am a couple weeks ago at Busters in South Pasadena, a favorite local cafe for Fosselman’s handmade ice cream. But I’d forgotten … Continue reading
Posted in Media
Tagged 60 minutes, coffee, ecommerce, Jack Dorsey, square
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Taking Brian’s Photo at the 9/11 Memorial
“Would you take my photo here?” an Irish voice asked as I stood looking into the black abyss in the footprint of the South Tower, quietly paying my respects to those who’d perished. I gladly snapped the redheaded man’s image with the serene waterfall behind him. The simple black … Continue reading
Posted in Art and Design, Travel
Tagged 9/11 memorial, Irish, New York City, world trade center
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The Real Video Babes of Music Video
A panel of women, starting with Penelope Spheeris, regaled a packed house on lecture night at the “Who Shot Rock’n’Roll” exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography in L.A. The film director showed excerpts of her Decline of Western Civilization … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Pop AnThrop
Tagged Los Angeles, mtv, music videos, photography, rock and roll
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Women Designers Join the Cowboys at The Autry
Along with exhibits of Western landscapes and Hopi Katsina dolls at the Autry Center in Griffith Park, there’s a terrific show of 46 pioneering female artists: California’s Designing Women (1896-1986). It’s filled with 240 examples of elegant arts & crafts ceramics, sleek mid-century … Continue reading
Posted in Art and Design
Tagged design, Los Angeles, women artists
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