Hey Elizabeth, that was another excellent portrait that you posted this morning. It is as professional a headshot as you would find anywhere, but more artistic than most! Really good, and that kid has The Look as you pointed out. :) I hope your project with him is coming along to your expectations, and to your friend Aaron's. I'm glad to see you back on FB. I don't know if you are back as The SB or not, and of course only you know for sure, but if you are, I'm right here. :) I saw one other post today, about Steve and Sarah playing in Scotland (which is really cool!). I hope you are having a good Summer yourself. :)
This afternoon I drove up to something called The Cascades. That's just a nickname for the entry point of the L.A. Aqueduct as it comes down the mountainside into the Valley. It is most famous as the location - the "sluice gate" if you will - that the engineer William Mulholland used in 1911 to stage the dramatic "turning on" of the Immense Water Spigot that made the possibility of the Los Angeles Metropolis into a reality. I have reported before that without that aqueduct bringing non-stop water 400 miles southward from the Owens Valley, L.A. as a big city doesn't exist. We get most of our water from up in Northern California, and it enters what you can call "Los Angeles Proper" right there at the top of Balboa Boulevard, just north of O'Melveny Park, where the water comes down the mountain at The Cascades.
I have seen The Cascades from Balboa ever since I was a kid (we all have), but I recently read a PBS post on Facebook describing how you could see it up close, so that's what I was attempting to do today. I drove all the way up Balboa (about a mile past O'Melveny), and I parked just past a driveway with a latched gate at the end, the main gate to The Cascades operational site. I wanted to take a pic or two, and I probably could have, but I chickened out because of the "No Trespassing" signs all over the place. They meant "no trespassing" past the gate, but I don't mess around with such warnings anymore, so I didn't even approach the gate.
What I did do instead was go back to my car and look for the legitimate trail further up the street that is supposed to take you even closer to The Cascades. I drove up a side street (Nicklaus St.) looking for the trail mentioned in the PBS post. I couldn't find it this time, but I did get a close up look at The Cascades coming down the mountain. On Nicklaus Street there is a little turn-out that overlooks the mountainside, and it is an awesome view of the Los Angeles water supply bubbling it's way into the city. It's very, very close, but the problem once again was "no trespassing", this time in the form of red-zone no parking paint jobs at every curbside, and the fact that the homes on Nicklaus are part of a so-called "private community". That is unofficial-speak for "don't trespass because upper-middle class people live here and also because we know you are only here because you want to see The Cascades". It's probably not strictly illegal, but I am too old to mess with that kind of stuff. What PBS fails to mention is that with a press credential you can go anywhere. They suggest that the reader try it him-or-herself, but don't mention that an ordinary person might get the cops called on them. But, they did mention another trail, so next time I go up, I will try to find it. It will be worth it to get an up close photo of The Cascades.
On my way back, I went for a short hike at O'Melveny, too. :)
No movie tonight, but I did watch an episode each of two great shows, "Rawhide" and "One Step Beyond", so I got my Western fix and my Supernatural fix all in one night.
Latest Beatle song learned is "Let It Be". Very easy to sing and play, even with my goofy fingers. I am developing the ability to "hide" the most bent of them, my left hand ring finger, and have begun to train my pinkie to take over the index finger moves. So I can still play, it's just that chords are a bit harder.
But singing and playing at the same time is easier, just because of Doing It.
So I am also practicing a Journey song in the car, just to increase my range. It is "When The Lights Go Down In The City" (if that's the actual title), and I only decided to try it to piss Grimsley off, vicariously, because he hates Journey so much and always tirades about them. I used to hate Journey myself, back in my 20s, and while I am not a huge fan now, I can appreciate the tunefulness and certain catchiness of their hits. And because I am trying to develop my voice, I use extreme examples to try and hit notes.
You don't want to be sitting next to me in the car when I try to sing like Steve Perry.
In fact, I don't want to be sitting next to me!
But I have to attempt it.
First, to bug Grimsley, even if he isn't present.
But more importantly, to develop my range and vocal strength and sustain, which I have already been working on for a while now.
So that's the news for today. Hope to see you tomorrow.
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