LACMA

The Pompeii exhibit displays magnificent pieces from the wealthy resort cities on the Bay of Naples, which were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Objects include sculpture, frescoes, and decorative arts. Naturally, photos were not permitted inside the exhibit, so I cannot show my favorite aspect of the exhibit; the hair. The sculptures all featured luscious curly heads of hair, kind of outrageous looking by today's standards, yet so very pretty!

Here is a slideshow from LACMA's website featuring photos of the exhibition galleries: http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/pompeii2/Pompeii%20and%20the%20Roman%20Villa.html


An entire dining room of frescoes from the site of Moregine, to the south of Pompeii, is on display in the exhibit. Entering the room, I felt as if I was stepping back in time. The frescoes feature Apollo, patron of the arts, surrounded by the muses on either side.

Lamp post installation outside at LACMA. Amazing!

http://www.lacma.org/

El Conquistador

We had my birthday dinner at El Conquistador, a very festive colorful restaurant in Silverlake with great art on the walls and super friendly staff. We ate mole enchiladas and enchiladas with an avocado cream sauce. Yum.

For dessert they brought me flan with a birthday candle in it and 3 of the staff joined in singing me happy birthday. The margaritas were superb!

http://www.elconquistadorrestaurant.com/

La Brea Tarpits

Tar Puddle. Tar puddles pop up in various parts of the tar pit park. Visitors can poke a stick in the tar to feel the texture. Be careful though...my sister got tar on her leg from leaning onto the grass by the puddle and the tar wouldn't come off for 2 days!
Visitors even make tar graffitti with sticks dipped in the tar.
This sad mammoth (?) floated back and forth. He must be mounted on a barge. Fat gas bubbles come to the surface of this oily lagoon every few seconds. Slick!

Los Angeles!

Los Angeles! I visited for the first time in years, soaking up the ambiance by spending lots of the day in the car. Although...we did walk from the Los Angeles County Art Museum (LACMA) to The Farmers Market for lunch. The streets just don't feel the same there for walking. I'm accustomed to the wide sidewalks of San Francisco, whereas L.A. streets are wide, while the sidewalks are narrow. The colorful image above is an installation at LACMA.

The Virtual Museum of Iraq

http://www.virtualmuseumiraq.cnr.it/



The Virtual Museum of Iraq just debuted and its fascinating. What a great way to feature museum collections. It mirrors the experience of being a casual visitor in the galleries. Unlike many online museum collections where visitors need to know what they are looking for to access the collections in a meaningful way. The zooming effect towards the objects makes me dizzy, but its worth it for all the fascinating information you get when you click on an object.



The museum has not been open regularly since 2003, when the museum was seriously looted in the midst of the Iraq war. The virtual museum gives international visitors a chance to see these amazing treasures from the cradle of civilization.