In 2004, three years after his death on November 29, 2001, to remember George Harrison, the city of…read moreLos Angeles dedicated a three foot pine tree in his honor in Griffith Park near the Observatory. Dubbed, "The George Harrison Tree," the simple pine was a special monument to a man who had not only spent his last days nearby in Beverly Hills but who also was an avid gardener and amateur horticulturalist. The little pine tree, which is centered in a circular space, is now over ten feet tall with a distinctively curved trunk. A plaque, set into three large stones near the base of the tree, announces it as "The George Harrison Tree" (in uppercase letters). The inscription, just below the image of a lotus flower, reads, "in memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician, and a gardener." Below that, Harrison's own words connect the memorial to its surroundings: "For the forest to be green, each tree must be green." George Harrison was a humble man inclined toward privacy and spiritual pursuits. An ostentatious memorial in a more publicly accessible setting (such as on Hollywood Blvd) would have been inappropriate. To have this vital, organic one seems, somehow, just right. That it is so inconspicuously set aside on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory right next to a common parking lot speaks to Harrison's unassuming character (and to his sense of humor). He would have approved of the tree's location. Indeed, it is easy to miss with so many taller and robust pine trees just behind it and with visitors preoccupied with disembarking from their cars and walking uphill to the Observatory. On the day I was there, many tourists and visitors, in fact, walked right by it without noticing it at all. There is no signage that leads people to the tree, and the memorial plaque is near the ground and out-of-sight. Furthermore, I didn't see any buskers or fans with guitars either playing "Here Comes the Sun," "Something," or "My Sweet Lord" (or any of Harrison's many other well known songs). Instead, with my own private thoughts and reflections, I enjoyed that pine tree in peace just as George, I'm sure, would have wanted it. Die-hard Beatle fans may very well want to make the trek to the Griffith Observatory to see Harrison's tree for themselves; and, when they do, they should be prepared to visit a most unremarkable sight...one that is "hidden" and "lowly" (and one that is faithful to the spirit of a great man).

I'm a huge Beatles fan and George Harrison is my favorite Beatle. You can imagine how happy I was…read moreto finally visit the tree in George Harrison's honor. I've been to the observatory countless times and still can't believe how many times I've passed the tree with no idea of it's significance. The tree is at the entrance of the observatory parking lot. It's on the left. It's more of a shrub than a tree at this time. I read that the original tree was infested with beetles, the irony. Thanks fellow yelper for the info on the beetles! If you're a Beatles fan, you'll appreciate stopping by. The observatory is a beautiful LA staple. You can make a morning/afternoon/night of it and soak in all the gorgeous views after viewing the tree.

The history is so important. Went to a pop-up event held in a parking lot with my daughter. Only…read morestreet parking is available and we parked about 3 blocks away. The stalls were Filipinos who are small businesses selling their goods: Christmas ornaments, jewelry, clothing, small toys, etc. There was a DJ playing some rocking music. Next door was Hi-Fi Kitchen selling delicious Filipino food. Ube For U Bae was featured selling delicious homemade Ube desserts. We went home with a mini-feast. We had a good time and we even ran in to some friends. I'd highly recommend!

This particular mural is placed prominently on the corner of Beverly and Union. It's colorful but…read moreto use this as a landmark for the Filipino Town in Los Angeles doesn't really make sense to me. Why? The mural doesn't represent anything Filipino about it. It shows an astronaut in it but no Filipinos has ever been in space. There's also what look like a train but not sure what it symbolizes. I'd rather see a mural depicting a small barrio with a nipa hut, a farmer with his carabao, kids playing in the street, or people celebrating a town fiesta.

Last summer, I attended the Tofu Festival in Little Tokyo for the very first time. Since I do like…read moretofu, I was very much interested to see what creations they would come up. My palate was definitely ready for whatever challenge lay before me. Luckily, we got there early to avoid some of the intense heat that came in later on in the afternoon, plus we didn't have as many lines to stand in, which made it easier to sample quite a variety of tofu dishes. But before any sampling was going to take place, scrip tickets had to be purchased. With dishes ranging from as little as 1 ticket to the highest being 7 tickets, I figured that I'd do pretty good with $20 worth of tickets and believe me, I used every single one of my tickets. A perk with going with other people is that we also did a lot of sampling of each other's dishes. I can definitely say that I had more tofu that one day than I've had in an entire year. Along with the items you had to "purchase", there were also quite a few vendors giving out free samples. The samples were primarily various beverages, which were very much appreciated. Now on to the food. There were two soy products that were kind of unusual (at least to me). One was soy "croutons." Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of this product but upon sampling them from someone else's dish, I found them to be too dry and even a little hard, so it was definitely a miss for me. The other new soy product was soy jerky and I can't believe how much I liked it. You could tell that it wasn't meat, but it was still chewy and the spices they used really gave a lot of flavor to the dried tofu. As for the foods I really liked, one of them was a cold gazpacho soup with tofu. Yum! It was definitely appropriate for the hot weather, but the spicing of the soup was really good and the tofu kind of absorbed some of that flavor, so it made the tofu that much tastier. I also really enjoyed a Japanese eggplant curry with tofu. That curry was to die for. If only I had rice, I would have been a really happy camper. Other things I really enjoyed was deep fried tofu that came with a Thai sweet chili sauce and for dessert, my soy Chai Tea ice cream was heavenly. Misses for me included the tofu sausage in a lettuce cup. That sausage was really dry and there was no flavor to it and while I liked the creamy texture of the tofu appetizer from Maison Akira, the whole dish just had a fishy taste to it that did not appeal to me at all. When the tofu dish was good, it was really good. When it was so-so, it was really so-so. I can't say that there was anything innovative in regards to any of the tofu dishes, but overall, it was a very fun day and I would definitely make a return trip this year. To see pics of the 2006 Tofu Festival, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594257984707/

I love food festivals. Food, booze, music and being outdoors. That's pretty perfect if you ask me…read more(which you didn't.) I like a good tofu dish and that's just what this Occasion offered -- good tofu dishes. I didn't have much that touched upon the greatness that I craved but I did have a kick ass time. Blackalicious performed and they were wonderful (an odd booking but it was fantastic.) _C$

This mural is not kept up and fading. Don't waste your gas. I was disappointed to see this.read more

This is the Kobe and Nipsey Hussle mural. We are driving around Beverly Hills looking for different…read morepublic art and landmarks and we came across this big giant tribute. It's in black-and-white but it's a nice dedication to two individuals in LA that passed away.

This art installation, just a stone's throw from the Japanese American National Museum,…read morememorializes issei Toyo Miyatake's contraband camera, which he constructed to capture camp life at Manzanar during World War II. After Executive Order 9066 was issued, Miyatake smuggled a camera lens into the internment camp and began taking candid photos of his surroundings -- from the barbed wire, watch towers, and tar paper-covered barracks to the faces of internees making the best of the situation. His photos provide a rare perspective that the American government did its best to stifle at the time, producing several propaganda films showing Japanese-Americans happy to be imprisoned. His work is on par with Anne Frank's diary. The statue of Miyatake's camera stands in front of a former Buddhist temple and from time to time projections of his work appear from inside one of the building's windows. It's quite poignant. Not far from it is also the Go For Broke Memorial, another must-visit if you come by the museum for some Japanese American history.

Sitting below The Long Beach Museum's charming café, one can view the elusive movable sculpture…read more"Puff of Wind". Here is its story as printed in the local news and on YouTube: https://www.gazettes.com/entertainment/arts/outdoor-art-sails-into-long-beach/article_95a56070-6448-11eb-a1bb-03404587afa9.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP0v6pDUWrk

Jaume Plensa is such an innovative sculptor. Love his use of letters of alphabets from different…read morelanguages to create his iconic sculptures. Endless V addresses many languages in this piece, including English, Hebrew and Spanish. It is a commentary on how our differences can be brought together to help the process of understanding and create something beautiful.

Most Angelinos are familiar that billionaire Eli Broad is an avid art collector and patron, but few…read moreknow about the large chunk of his collection that sits just a few feet off the strand in Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood. Regardless of your personal opinions surrounding modern art, any art lover would agree that this staggering collection is worth the considerable effort needed to arrange a visit. (Although the Foundation building is a private facility, the galleries are open by appointment to museum and art professionals, art scholars and other qualified individuals.) This understated renovated 1927 building, once a switching station, now houses its world-class collection of modern art in well-lit, 16-ft gallery spaces with works on display by artists such as: Baldessari, Basquiat, Close, Haring, Warhol, Holzer, Koons, Lichtenstein, Johns, Hirst, and many more....all which are exhibited in this space when not out on loan to museums around the world or in storage. You'll view the exhibit by walking up a total of 5 stories, eventually making your way up to the rooftop sculpture garden which provides spectacular, unobstructed 360-degree vistas of Santa Monica, the Pacific Ocean, etc. Instructions on how to arrange a visit the foundation can be found on their website (under 'contact information.')