Having spent a hair shy of the last two weeks in LA and Culver City, I was hoping to have a bunch of hometown pics to post. The one I really wanted to get was the boat and the green-screen set erected in a parking lot a block from my parents' house, because that kind of thing is fairly emblematic of my old neighborhood.

But I did manage to snap off a few random shots.

Here's Flynn's Arcade in downtown Culver City, or at least the building used for the exterior shots in Tron. Actually, it's a restaurant. It's been a string of restaurants for a long time, and before that it was a bank. For most of the time I lived in Culver City, downtown was kind of sad and seedy, with a couple of rundown theaters, some bars, some nasty hotels, a liquor store, that kind of thing. Now it's bustling and trendy and I don't even mind all the hipsters so much.

From Hometown

Helm's Bakery, now home to cutting-edge furniture and interior design shops and a few good casual restaurants. There also used to be a fencing school there. Before that, of course, it was a bakery.

From Hometown

UCLA's Royce Hall. I took my first Shakespeare class in there, and also saw Ian McKellen perform in Richard III. Notice the asymmetry of the tower windows. That's because only God is perfect. Sir Ian's performance, however, was perfect. My Shakespeare prof was pretty good too.

From Hometown

Also at UCLA, Kerckhoff Coffee House. This is where I cultivated my addiction to caffeine.

From Hometown

From Hometown

And back to Culver City, this was taken a couple of blocks from my parents' house on the street where my aunt and uncle used to live. This crazy house used to be a wall, I think, where I sometimes bounced a tennis ball. I don't think the house is quite nailing the effect it's going for, but I can't blame a person for aspiring to whimsy.

From Hometown