Life In The City

Earlier in this series of blogs I wrote about the closing of the Century City Borders store. At the time, it was on a list of about 200 stores to be closed, out of a total of 600 in the Borders bookstore chain. The remaining 400 were supposed to be saved for at least another year or so by going through a bankruptcy. Unfortunately, things didn't work out, and now the entire chain is being closed down. As of tomorrow, customers' accumulated earnings on their Borders Rewards cards will expire (the Borders Bucks, I believe they were called). This truly is the end of Borders.
I remember a time, not too many years ago, when there were a number of bookstore chains. B. Dalton, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Brentano's, Crown Books, Waldenbooks, Dutton's, etc. Now, as far as I know, the end of Borders will mean there is only one book chain left, and that's Barnes and Noble. It's sad to think that one company will own all the major bookstores left in the USA, even though it is a very good company to be sure. I can only hope there are still enough people who appreciate books and the experience of shopping for books IN A STORE and not online, so that this one last chain will stay in business for many years to come.

Labels: bookstores

A while back, I reminisced about the St. Regis in Century City. Back when I first stayed there, it wasn't a St. Regis yet, it was the Century Plaza Hotel Tower. For whatever reason, the Century Plaza Hotel decided they didn't need a second building anymore, and that building became a St. Regis. It doesn't exist anymore, The Century Condominiums are there now, but I still have a couple photos of the old CPHT. This pic was shot inside one of the rooms while I was on vacation back in 1999. Does anybody like the blue furniture? I love it!

Labels: vacation

On the evening of July 15, the news was full of dire warnings about something called Carmageddon. The 405 freeway was going to be shut down around 7:00pm, and supposedly the traffic around Los Angeles was going to come to a standstill. Everyone on the TV newscasts was telling everyone to stay home, don't get on the road and get stuck in Carmageddon. I decided to be brave and venture out anyway. I took a bus out to Hollywood to the Egyptian Theatre to see a double feature. I saw David Cronenberg's THE FLY, and John Carpenter's THE THING. I won't go into detailed reviews of the movies themselves (that's what my movie blog is for), but I will say that going to the Egyptian Theatre, and Hollywood in general, was a lot of fun. The theatre is awesome, I would go there every day if I could, just for the ambiance of the place. Hollywood Boulevard is fun not just for the theatres, but also because of the Walk Of Fame with all the stars on the sidewalk, and all the interesting people. When I took the bus for the return trip, I rode with Elvis most of the way down Fairfax. Well, he looked like Elvis anyway. Photo above originally created by John Rice.

Labels: Carmageddon