2006-12-30 - 2:52 p.m. So the Echo turned out to be a nice li'l club, in the hilly Echo Park 'hood, and yielded at least one good performance, by the band Princeton, a nerdy bunch of kids in sweater vests playing Zombies-esque pop. (They were preceded by a band whose name I won't mention who seemed to have read an article about the Arctic Monkeys and said, "Duuuude, we can totally do that, dude. Here, put on these tight black jeans...") Then on Friday, I went to the LA Zoo (did you know there was one?) and gawked at animals, in a private tour conducted by Helen, a friend of my host who is a zookeeper there. (Did you know that most zookeepers are female nowadays?) It was a lovely and illuminating jaunt--you don't really appreciate animals until you hear them described by someone who has a personal relationship with them. "My guys," is how she'd refer to her gibbons, chimps, and crazy-looking mountain goats. Unfortunately, the photos didn't really come out, but here's a semi-clear shot of a gibbon: And a nice moment when Chimp met Human: And here's another chimp: And some more primates, after Mexican food at the colorful El Conquistador in Silver Lake: That's it for now....I am at the peak of my vacation state of mind, where I feel completely happy and at peace and detoxed... My host is an old friend from college...looking at photos from those days is disorienting. I unknowingly went to school with a bunch of people wearing 80s clothes and hairstyles. At the time, I didn't notice. thoughts? (2 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact