Top 10 Take Off on Outer Space Related Tourism Destinations in Los Angeles

I was reading "What If We Made Space Travel Practical?" by Curtis Hill and I began to think about the top ten destinations in the Los Angeles area that could take you on a NASA inspired journey in greater Los Angeles.  Now Curtis Hill's theme of his just released book is how one could go about drastically reducing the cost for a reuseable spacecraft (the Star Horse Project concept) with a focus on weight reduction, and it was coincidental that this week, there was an announcement on a privately funded flyby space flight to Mars, and now another SpaceX flight to the orbiting space station. So with thanks to Curtis Hill for inspiration to write this post, and to encourage one to visit his website, where one might find out when he might be doing a presentation and book signing, I present to you the ExperienceLA top ten ways to reach for the stars in Los Angeles.

Six Degrees of Treme

Ironically, the last wedding anniversary I celebrated with my late wife Karen was at a Los Angeles Central Library ALOUD program on June 6, 2011 that featured Eric Overmyer, co-producer of HBO's Treme, that celebrates New Orleans culture post-Katrina, with the Treme neighborhood being a symbol of the rebirth of New Orleans, available as a podcast here.  Karen and I had visited Louisiana and New Orleans, eleven times all post Katrina, and we ourselves had been witnessing the rebirth of New Orleans. We first heard about Treme at the very beginning of filming in New Orleans, when David Mills, the other creative partner from HBOs The Wire unexpectly passed away. We were having a fabulous Friday lunch at Uptown's  Patois in early 2010 discussing HBO's filming of Treme with our server and at  an adjacent table, Robert D. Peyton, the restaurant critic of New Orleans Magazine.  The server told us that the production team from Treme had very recently eaten at this nationally recognized New Orleans restaurant and she was stunned to learn of his sudden passing.

Summer Ideas: "The Wilshire Slides, 1978-79" #Free

Take a visual historical tour of Wilshire Boulevard at this free event this Saturday at the Central Library!  These photo slides were donated to the Los Angeles Public Library in 2010 by Annie Laskey.

The photos were the outcome of an after-school project by then-teenager Laskey and her mother in 1978-1979.  The assignment?  "An informal photo survey of Wilshire Boulevard from downtown to the ocean."

Uncover the literary side of Los Angeles

To honor Los Angeles' literary contributions, this year's Silver Lake Jubilee Festival will host a Literary Village. Never been to one? Neither have I. So what can one expect? More than just books. More than just newspapers. More than just printed text on paper. (Pictured at left: David Shook, poet & curator of the Literary Village. Photo by Julie Towner of Crown Jules Photography) 

A tent where festival attendees passively engage with product would not do justice to what Los Angeles has produced for American literature. Instead, David Shook, a poet himself and curator of the Literary Village, along with festival organizers are planning what they hope to be a much more immersive experience. In addition to publishers having their material and printed works on display, writers and poets will read excerpts from their creations. Student works (including newspapers and short anthologies) from the 826la after school program will also be featured. There is also talk of a spontaneous literature project, which will be in collaboration with the Art Village, though no details were available at the time of this writing. However, David did hint that it would be an opportunity for festival-goers to contribute to LA's literary heritage.