Take it to the streets series - Part 2

The Streets of Los Angeles

I grew up in Los Angeles, in the Hollywood area, and I have lived here all my life. When I tell people that (if they didn't themselves grow up in LA) they usually respond with some sort of derogatory comment about how bad it is here and how much better it is where they came from. This may or may not be true and may be why I like it here so much (some kind of ingrained attachment to your home-town which sticks with you) regardless of anything you can say that's bad about it. For me the reason I love it here in LA is the climate, the fact that you can go snowboarding the same day you sunbath on the beach, the fact that you can find basically anything you want to here, at anytime of the day or night, the entertainment industry, including some of the best theatres in the world and when you skate, there's an unlimited supply of concrete here.

Here is a list of some of my favorite places to frequent, in LA (these are not listed in any particular order):

Universal CityWalk is one of my favorite places to go to just catch a movie and eat. There's a wide variety of good places to eat and plenty of shops to look around in (to buy stuff you probably don't need). The fact that there are so many screens also means that even if you don't check what's playing or what the times are you most likely will find something playing that you want to see.

Melrose Avenue is basically where I grew up and I went to Fairfax High School which is on Melrose Ave. This street became popular while I was growing up and is now (and has been for awhile) one of the trendiest places in LA. One relatively new addition has been the Church of Scientology Mission of Melrose.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR). Though I have to admit I haven't been there that many times, it is a place you need to visit if you're making a trip to LA. They have a state-of-the-art Museum that was featured on CNN. The Museum features 14 documentaries with statements from a number of health professionals, attorneys, educators and other experts; both historical and modern-day footage of psychiatry's barbaric treatments; and interviews with victims of psychiatric brutalities ranging from electroshock and involuntary commitment to political torture, psychosurgery and the devastating effects of psychotropic drugs. They have a whole bunch of information on Celebrities (including Kurt Cobain, Marilyn Monroe, etc.) and how their abuse and deaths are directly related to Psychiatric brutality.

Hollywood and Highland is also a cool place to see movies as they have the Kodak Theatre and are right next door to the Graumans Chinese Theatre. They also have a Hot Topic, Banana Republic, Cold Stone Creamery and Johnny Rockets.

Celebrity Centre International which recently hosted its 37th Anniversay Gala. The guest list included many of the Church’s well-known members, including John Travolta (the man), Kelly Preston, Jenna Elfman, Leah Remini, Giovanni Ribisi, Jason Dohring, Anne Archer, Sofia Milos and Nancy Cartwright. The legendary guest performer Chaka Kahn entertained guests including parishioners of the Church, local and federal government officials and community leaders.

Just as a little background, Celebrity Centre was founded in 1969. And there are mony other Celebrity Centres are located around the world including New York, Paris, Dallas, Nashville, Vienna, Florence and London. Celebrity Centres, like all churches of Scientology worldwide, are open to the public. I'm very familiar with Celebrity Centre International, in particular, as my best friend growing up lived there and I would play around there after school. Back in those days it wasn't as beautiful as it is now and a lot of the grounds were just dirt hills and ravines. Perfect for a kid to run around in, throw rocks at each other and build forts. Anyway, it was built as a luxury hotel/apartment house in 1929 and in 1992, the building and grounds were exquisitely restored to a level that exceeds its original design.

These Celebrity Centres are the arts and cultural branch of the Scientology religion and as such work with those whose broad visions for social enhancement are the catalyst for positive change in society. L. Ron Hubbard was the founder of Scientology and he held artists in a very high regard. L. Ron Hubbard’s words from 1951, “A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists,”

As far as skate spots, I would have to say all up and down Wilshire Boulevard from the beach to downtown LA, has a wide variety of choice, spots. From stairs to handrails to ledges to all kinds of random stuff. For some reason Hollywood High has been a popular place for the past couple years and you'll almost always find skaters out in front. I would have to say that almost everywhere I go in LA I can find something to skate. Even if it's just a little random curb that doesn't look like anything particularly, I may find myself skating there for hours. One of my daily skate routines used to be skating down Hollywood Blvd to Vine and then skating down Vine, which turns in to Rossmore and then all the way down hits Wilshire. From Wilshire I would skate down to La Brea and then down to Olympic to a friends house. Sometimes from there we would literally skate up to Santa Monica and then skate all the way down to Santa Monica beach and then up and down the coast, Venice, etc. And always hitting the good spots along the way.

Anyway, enough of this, I'm going skating...