SoCal Minds

Hot stuff around town to cut the chill and gloom

From Art Center College of Design, Japanese American National Museum, the Autry, Skirball & UCLA

With the gloom and a bit of a chill descending on the metropolis just before the weekend, it may be hard to get some gas in the old tank to get up and go partake of activites. But there's plenty, including the annual Car Classic in Pasadena, a celebration not only of the automobile but also its underlying technology and especially the care, craft, thinking and design that goes into a great vehicle. Of course education itself can take some curious twists, as a scholar will explore in a converation about the ignominious history of American Indian boarding schools, which will be part of a busy Saturday in Griffith Park, where there also will be a big show and sale of vintage American Indian baskets. In Little Tokyo, they'll be rockin', jammin' and takin' in lots of jazzy sounds as the Asian American Music Festival blows into town today and Saturday, when docents will launch a two-day class on the comrehensive history of Japanese Americans. And by the way, Caldecott-winning author Allen Say (aka James Allen Koichi Moriwaki Seii) will be launching, selling and signing 'Boy in the Garden,' his latest, beautiful looking book for kids on Sunday in Little Tokyo. This might be a good weekend to scoot over to the Westside to catch up and maybe even contribute to the global 1000 Journals project and exhibition, a unique opportunity to enjoy and share outstanding examples of quality writing, art, poety and other stuff shared in a special, personal medium. And for thos who insist they can best rest when they're dead, here's a different look at how Korean shamans once escorted, danced and conducted ceremonies to get folks out of here.

In Westwood, $7.9 million to plan a souped-up Internet

From UCLA

RIP, Internet, we hardly knew ya? It's hardly obit time for one of the most ubiquitous technologies of any time ever. But the folks in Westwood, who, like Al Gore, claim their share of the provenance of the profoundly altering data location and transmission system that we know as the 'net, say they're deep into plans -- with the help of $7.9 million  from the National Science Foundation -- to revamp and re-imagine the Internet and how it works. The net, which the Bruins say carried its first message transmission in 1969 from Westwood, has become a force in modern life. But scientists say that for it gain more efficiency and to remain robust, it needs new approaches and architecture, a key part of which they dub 'named data networking.' How all this stuff works exactly eludes our sometimes Luddite minds. It has to do, though, with an altered idea for moving stuff, from a focus on 'where' to 'what,' a switch that would put the importance on 'naming' content rather than identifying locations it moves between, as with internet protocol (IP) addresses. This notion has grown more key as net security issues grow, as mobile devices proliferate and as opportunities open for rich, streamed media and whole buildings or locations with 'smart' technology installed, the experts say.

New approaches, architecture sought to boost net's efficiency, keep it robust

What does Google do when it wants a fresh take on ads?

And speaking of the seemingly ubiquitous and the internet, the design folks in Pasadena have posted interesting stuff on an apparent turnabout by some execs at Google about advertising and promotion. The everywhere, every time technology company hasn't always been hot on the idea of its own ad spending but when it decided to undertake some, it followed its own unique path, among other things, hiring on fresh creatives from a dozen select schools and giving the talented young a free hand at a variety of projects. Results? You judge.

Click here for 'Tale of the Google 5'

*The call was fluid, dynamic; now he's a designated 'genius'

From Caltech & Art Center College of Design

OK, so those generous-to-a-fault folks in the Windy City can figure out who's a genius and who is not but they can't Google or use the ol' white pages? Well, not quite. But the MacArthur Foundation did break its usual practices by sending a 'call us' e-mail to a super bright engineer in Pasadena, because they had one-digit wrong in a cell phone number. And so that's how the recipient of that computer message -- John O. Dabiri (shown in a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation photo at right) -- started to get the news that he had received one of the annual $500,000 'genius' grants. Dabiri's a world-class expert and innovator in fluid dynamics. Among his notable efforts: while watching schools of fish move in the water, he noticed that they left whirling vortices in their wake, some twisting clockwise, others counterclockwise. And as naked Archimedes reportedly said on leaping out of an overflowing tub: Aha! That observation led Dabiri and colleagues to suggest a more efficient way to construct turbines for wind farms -- with whirling vertical rather than horizontal blades, thus, saving the land and space the devices normally command because the wind patterns they create can hinder each other. Dabiri, who cannot swim, is studying the formidable ways jellyfish jet through water, which may result in new propeller designs; his examinations of the motion of the most minuscule sea-borne critters may cause a rethinking of how water mixes in the oceans.

A $500,000 MacArthur award for Rose City engineer

*Updated 9-29-2010: The folks over in Pasadena, of course, weigh in to remind that alum Jorge Pardo, a notable L.A. installation artist, also was honored with a MacArthur.  And they point to the foundation video about him:

Cool stuff to take in on a sizzling autumn weekend

From Art Center College of Design, UCLA, the Huntington, Getty, Japanese American National Museum, CalArts

Phew, it's Harvest Moon festival time and officially autumn but suddenly a blast of summer-like heat sweeps the area. Must be a signal to get out and about to take in all the cool stuff going on. Like a green business conference, co-sponsored by the art-design folks from Pasadena. Or how about an indoor viewing on the Westside of performances that, heretofore, have been staged by 'Superclogger' for L.A. commuters stuck in traffic jams. Or perhaps it's the weekend to get to San Marino to go deep on the history of science  as part of the robust season of public lectures and conferences. The freedom to move around and to enjoy life isn't something to be taken for granted, after all, as a gathering in Little Tokyo will remind, as folks there will discuss, analyze and recall the Japanese American internment, particularly the Heart Mountain, Wyo., camp in a weekend conference. They'll also recall the bizarre events that overtook a hapa (mixed race) flyer during World War II, when he was busted in rank and sent off to be with Nisei fighters in the famed 442d. And, by the way, the venue downtown also will host a 'Frame by Frame' animation showcase by alums from Valencia. And, lastly, for a cool contemporary thought or two about scoring an ancient classic, here's composer Bonfire Madigan talking about her work on 'Elektra.'  

Pssst, here's unraveling of 2 longtime creative mysteries....

From CalArts & Art Center College of Design

Woo-whee, it's an eye-opener to learn what constitutes a professional mystery worth putting some effort behind to solve: For some talented and creative types in Valencia and Pasadena, the resolution also comes with a chuckle and some fun. So, in the Didja Know category, here's passing on two artistic 'secrets' -- why, thanks to so many animation alums across the industry, especially at Disney/Pixar, the number 'A113' pops up in a yellow egg shape in so many features, along with a sly wink; and how the same fella who was schooled in Pasadena and came up with the iconic flying horse symbol and ornament for the Mustang also designed what was considered a mad, sexy car for its day, the Ford Capri.

Ding-a-ling, it's the 'chatter phone' decoding about an element of Valencia visual lore

After four decades, an answer to a lingering question on classic car: Who designed the Capri?

Click here for more on Capri at Hemmings collector blog

Click here for blog where a daughter digs through fact, lore surrouding dad's car designing career

For Long Holiday Weekend, Lots for the Calendar

From Autry National Center of the West, USC, UCLA, Japanese American National Museum, Art Center College of Design

It's a long, last holiday weekend of the summer so take advantage of the drop in heat and smoke from the wildfires to get around. Put a few things on the calendar:

In Griffith Park, there will be lots and lots of attention paid to the stoic and iconic Western movie hero Gary Cooper, who will be honored with a commemorative stamp that will be unveiled Thursday.  His daughter will be present for the free, public ceremonies for the actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and who won two Oscars, one of which, for the box-office hit "High Noon," will be on display. That movie also will be screened.

Free, Public Ceremonies for Unveiling of Gary Cooper Commemorative Stamp

In Westwood, the first of three fall exhibits that will give insight into African and African-American life opens Sunday, focusing attention on the myriad ways that people across Africa employed basketry techniques to create other kinds of objects, including masks, combs, fish traps and beer straps. These all had the same complex social, religious and political aspects that wooden and other objects carried. The other exhibits, opening later, will display photos of the basket-making gullah people -- East Coast Americans of African descent who, because of geography, language and other circumstance, did not assimilate as many of their contemporaries did; there also will be a major display of coiled basketry, explaining how this African art spread through and influenced the Americas.

African and African-American Baskets, Basket-Making on Display

In downtown Los Angeles, musician and artist Mike Shinoda gets the spotlight on his latest creations -- paintings, digital works -- and, yes, a custom Honda Fury. This show, "Glorious Excess (Dies)," which already has opened, is a followup to a previous exhibit, "Glorious Excess (Born)." While better known probably as a member of the band Linkin Park, Shinoda studied at the Art Center College of Design and has been active in charitable and community endeavors, including in creating the custom, fund-raising cycle which has only a little more time at bid on E-Bay.

'Glorious Excess (Dies),' an Exhibit by Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda

Click Here for E-Bay Fund-Raising Sale of Shinoda-Custom Honda Fury

Shinoda on His Art Center Experience and Who Is Mike Shinoda?

In Exhibition Park, over on the Trojan campus, there will be the promised memorial concert for clarinet icon Mitchell Lurie. The deadline has passed to RSVP for the Sunday afternoon program, for which there is a suggested donation of $25, with money going for scholarships and to issue a heritage release of the clarinetist's notable recordings. Lurie, discovered as a teen-ager by conductor Fritz Reiner, was principal clarinetist for the Pittsburgh and Chicago orchestras before moving to LA, where he taught for decades at USC and became the top studio clarinetist, playing on soundtracks for countless movies.

Memorial Concert for Clarinetist Mitchell Lurie

Who Was Mitchell Lurie? The Times Obit

It's Green, Green, They Say, from Pasadena to Downtown LA

From the Art Center College of Design & Los Angeles Trade Tech

Because millions of us motor around in some fashion to live in this region, it's worth noting the tremendous energy, study under way here to figure cleaner, better, more sustainable ways to do everything -- inlcuding being mobile and in our future work. Just two of the many examples to keep an eye on -- the Art Center College of Design recently concluded its annual summit on `mobile sustainability,' and Los Angeles Trade Tech is training the folks who will do lots of the heavy lifting (figurative) in tomorrow' green technologies. As is to be expected from a place with design in its name, the Art Center offers a snappy web site or two on its summit and related issues, with more posts there to come; Trade Tech's effort also is mighty snazzy.

Art Center Mobile Sustainability Summit

Trade Tech's Green Jobs