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So much for my attempt to sleep in past 6 Am. Didn't happen. I ended up going across the street to the iHop for a short stack and a cup of coffee, then got the car, did a loop around downtown past the civic center and through Little Tokyo, even though everything was closed so early on a Saturday morning. I found my way to the freeway and headed south to Santa Ana, having heard from Tangwystl that there was a show at the Bowers Museum that I should check out.
I must have scored some karma points somewhere along the line because I was stuck in line behind three women who decided they had to buy memberships from the only person behind the counter at that entrance. I waited. And waited. And waited, and the woman directly in front of me turned around and handed me her extra ticket which paid for my entry.
OMGWTFPRETTIESSSSS!!!!!! And of course, no photography permitted in the special exhibition. The area leading to the Silk Road exhibition featured ethnic costume of the Miao, combining silver work, several types of embroidery, and a type of batik so fine it makes Balinese batik look like finger painting. The Silk Road show featured a variety of artifacts and three mummies in astounding states of preservation. A docent found me bouncing up and down in a corner at a T'ang Dynasty funerary offering in the shape of a game board. Why was I bouncing up and down? It was a miniature sugoroku (backgammon) board that's a ringer for the one in the Shoso-in repository, right down to the crescent moon motif.
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sengokudaimyo 's website.) He and I got to talking, he told me about Dr. Barber, who was the consulting curator who worked on the textiles in the exhibition (a number of which resemble some of the Shoso-in and Horyuji pieces in Jodai Gire).
The mummies, of course, were the stars of the show. The baby, lovingly draped and swaddled in bright red and blue wool with a soft blue wool cap, was a heart breaker.
And wouldn't you know it was the final week of the exhibit and they were out of exhibition catalogues. I just tried to order one online as instructed by the nice lady at the shop and got an "out of stock" message. At least I have the title and ISBN written down. I plan to keep trying.
I did get a couple photos from other parts of the museum. The lighting was problematic.
By the time I left the Bowers it was about noon. I-5 turned into a parking lot in Anaheim and looked like it was just plain going to be pure hell no matter what I did, so I toughed it out as far up as Venice Boulevard and decided to head west on surface streets, maybe find a bite to eat and someplace on that side of the world to kill some time until James' flight got in. Traffic on surface streets was slow, but at least the drive was more interesting. I somehow managed to find the apartments where Dad stayed during his guest professorship at UCLA a few years ago, over in Marina del Rey. Grabbed an imitation bagel at a Noah's, then headed south on Highway 1 (Sepulveda Boulevard), found a Borders in El Segundo and hung out there until it was time to go to LAX.
The airport police decided I was "it" for their random security stops. I killed the engine and already had pulled out my keys as the officer asked if the back of the truck was open. I hopped out, opened it up, said I was a historical re-enactor. I asked if they wanted me to take anything out. They looked at the piles of stuff. The monkeys were in plain sight, as was the lantern basket with koi banners hanging out of it. They looked at me. They said "Have a nice day." I said it back.
James' flight got in on time. Hungry, unsurprisingly. We found a Coco's and got something to eat, then we went up Sepulveda to Wilshire and took that back into town, figuring it would be more interesting than trying to do a freeway. Got him checked in - at which point I heard the idiot boy receptionist tell him that there was complimentary breakfast for guests in the breakfast bar next door. He didn't tell ME that last night. Moron.
We took a walk down to see where the convention center is, then came back to the hotel. He's two floors down and I hope he's getting some rest.
I must have scored some karma points somewhere along the line because I was stuck in line behind three women who decided they had to buy memberships from the only person behind the counter at that entrance. I waited. And waited. And waited, and the woman directly in front of me turned around and handed me her extra ticket which paid for my entry.
OMGWTFPRETTIESSSSS!!!!!! And of course, no photography permitted in the special exhibition. The area leading to the Silk Road exhibition featured ethnic costume of the Miao, combining silver work, several types of embroidery, and a type of batik so fine it makes Balinese batik look like finger painting. The Silk Road show featured a variety of artifacts and three mummies in astounding states of preservation. A docent found me bouncing up and down in a corner at a T'ang Dynasty funerary offering in the shape of a game board. Why was I bouncing up and down? It was a miniature sugoroku (backgammon) board that's a ringer for the one in the Shoso-in repository, right down to the crescent moon motif.
(Photo ganked from sengokudaimyo 's website.) He and I got to talking, he told me about Dr. Barber, who was the consulting curator who worked on the textiles in the exhibition (a number of which resemble some of the Shoso-in and Horyuji pieces in Jodai Gire). The mummies, of course, were the stars of the show. The baby, lovingly draped and swaddled in bright red and blue wool with a soft blue wool cap, was a heart breaker.
And wouldn't you know it was the final week of the exhibit and they were out of exhibition catalogues. I just tried to order one online as instructed by the nice lady at the shop and got an "out of stock" message. At least I have the title and ISBN written down. I plan to keep trying.
I did get a couple photos from other parts of the museum. The lighting was problematic.
By the time I left the Bowers it was about noon. I-5 turned into a parking lot in Anaheim and looked like it was just plain going to be pure hell no matter what I did, so I toughed it out as far up as Venice Boulevard and decided to head west on surface streets, maybe find a bite to eat and someplace on that side of the world to kill some time until James' flight got in. Traffic on surface streets was slow, but at least the drive was more interesting. I somehow managed to find the apartments where Dad stayed during his guest professorship at UCLA a few years ago, over in Marina del Rey. Grabbed an imitation bagel at a Noah's, then headed south on Highway 1 (Sepulveda Boulevard), found a Borders in El Segundo and hung out there until it was time to go to LAX.
The airport police decided I was "it" for their random security stops. I killed the engine and already had pulled out my keys as the officer asked if the back of the truck was open. I hopped out, opened it up, said I was a historical re-enactor. I asked if they wanted me to take anything out. They looked at the piles of stuff. The monkeys were in plain sight, as was the lantern basket with koi banners hanging out of it. They looked at me. They said "Have a nice day." I said it back.
James' flight got in on time. Hungry, unsurprisingly. We found a Coco's and got something to eat, then we went up Sepulveda to Wilshire and took that back into town, figuring it would be more interesting than trying to do a freeway. Got him checked in - at which point I heard the idiot boy receptionist tell him that there was complimentary breakfast for guests in the breakfast bar next door. He didn't tell ME that last night. Moron.
We took a walk down to see where the convention center is, then came back to the hotel. He's two floors down and I hope he's getting some rest.
