Brainwaves of Sken

From April in Long…

I consider it a triumph that I didn’t forget my tripod in the car on the way to the airport, but really, nothing went wrong on my entire trip.

I arrived on Tuesday and met with Mark to pick up the camera I’d fed-exed, and it wasn’t destroyed in any way; the incense and fervent plea to any and all gods, as I tore open the packaging, was entirely unnecessary.

I’d rented a small SUV with a GPS to haul my equipment around, and it was both peculiar and annoying – the Hertz GPS system is counterintuitive, and inputting an address is an exercise in frustration. I found my way to the pretty Renaissance Long Beach, though, and had an entire afternoon and evening to just mess around.

From April in Long…

I had a quick dinner at The Auld Dubliner down the street. Bangers and Cheese boxty, which was terrifically tasty. fried potato pancake with cheese and irish bacon… I was gaining weight just looking at it. Oh, I dipped it in the ranch left from my salad, too. Muhahaha.

From April in Long…

Woody lives only a few miles away, so he picked me up and took me to another pub where his friends meet once a week, and they were awfully friendly, with loads of suggestions on how to spend my free time in Long Beach. The first thing they said was, “do you like dark beer?” When I nodded noncommittally, a full glass was thrust at me, and kept full the entire evening. In fact, I drank more beer that night than I think I have on any evening, ever. I’d say no one seemed to notice, but I have a tendency to declare that kind of dorky fact when I’m tipsy.

It was Business Time the next day, and so Mark (the reporter) picked me up in his press car and we drove an hour and a half to our first interview. At 90 years old, the two gentleman were slow speakers – they had some fascinating things to say about Datsun and Nissan, but I wonder how much will be useful in video.

After a lunch break (thanks again, Mr. Crain) we went to an engineer’s house for a much more entertaining interview, but let’s forget that for a moment.

This guy’s art was incredible. His work (on its way to a gallery as we speak) consisted of extremely accurate paintings of bamboo in the forest. I could have spent all day staring at his work, and after I complimented his use of light, he took me downstairs to see the piece he’s currently working on. This is easily the best part of my trip.

I did a slow zoom on the work with my video camera, and I might as well have been in a bamboo field in asia, it was ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome.

Mark got me back to the hotel before 4pm, but I was on the road long enough to experience the glory that is Los Angeles traffic. “Rush Hour” isn’t from 4-6, it’s from 3-8pm. Ouch.

From April in Long…

Woody was determined to keep me entertained in my free evenings, so he took me to Chen’s, a little hole-in-the-wall chinese restaurant where they plied us with so much food, I sent Woody home with two and a half meals. I had both the fortune cookies because Woody has had enough fortune in his life, and felt like his last cookie had the creme-de-la-creme of fortunes, and could not be topped.

From April in Long…

On Friday, I met up with Mark at our final subject’s house, and together the three of us went to a park with an original Datsun Z and the new Nissan GTR, its descendant. The interview went great, and Mark peeled out for the exit.

For the intro, we reenacted an intro to an old racing movie I never saw by pulling out of the exhaust pipe as he did a voice-over. I got plenty of opportunity to smell 1972 engine while crawling on the pavement.

Of course, I was excited not by the car but by my final L.A. meal coming up – Roscoe’s Chicken n Waffles.

From April in Long…

As it was my second experience at RCnW, I felt free to explore beyond the titular dish. Instead, I had a chicken and cheese omelette, which I applied over the liberally-buttered waffles for a tasty new treat. The waiter was pretty insistent that I had to have gravy over the omelette, and I am totally relieved that I stuck to my guns, because that would have killed me, and I would not be dominated by my own meal. I waddled out victorious, fat and sassy.

My trip home was fairly uneventful, except that the guy on the plane next to me talked about his relationship for the entire ride. I didn’t get a chance to nap, but I did give some well-received advice, so I guess I did some good for some random bloke. One wonders if that random experience will affect my life (or someone else’s I know) somehow, which is entirely possible since he’s originally from Royal Oak. In fact, he once did a gig for 80’s night at Luna, how random is that?

I didn’t get home until 2 am, but I arrived to find Lucy waiting with a slow-roasted french dip, cooked to perfection, waiting for me.

I hate to sound like it was an entire trip of meals, but it kinda was, y’know?

~ by Skennedy on April 8, 2008.

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