a day in los angeles

the california science center in l.a. is an interactive museum that encourages kids to take an interest in science in a fun and hands on manner. located in between usc and the coliseum, the science center makes science learning fun for everyone! exclamation points convey a sense of enthusiasm. this month, the science center’s special exhibit is… “star wars: where science meets imagination.” that’s right, the landspeeder that luke takes into mos eisley isn’t technological nonsense irresponsibly put together by lucas. it is science! the science center teaches us that the landspeeder was actually inspired by maglev technology, magnetic levitation technology. fascinating!

the exhibit showcased many costumes and droids from the star wars universe.

[even the medical droid from episode v was there (top); a wampa, or better known to southern californians as the abdominal snowman on the matterhorn (bottom)]

[marshall and jmar building their very own R2 unit (second from top); jmar creates his own city (bottom)]

the exhibit itself was pretty small. interestingly enough, i was more entertained by the interactive activities (building hover crafts, droids, and cities) than by the memorabilia that filled the room. aside from the worthless (optional) 15 minute movie about robots in the real world, the exhibit was alot of fun, and free admission is always a plus. if you live in the los angeles area, i recommend you check it out; i’m sure the lifesize millennium falcon cockpit will be more than worth your time (of course, we didn’t fork over the $2 to go inside it so we can’t give you a personal account of that). science learning for everyone!

after we visited the star wars exhibit and reveled in our geekdom, we decided to get some food at phillipe’s, home of the original french dip sandwich per recommendation of jmar. phillipe has offered delicious french dip sandwiches since 1908 and claim the distinction of creating this wonderful gift of a sandwich to the world. i definitely recommend phillipe’s, as the french dip i ate that day could have very well been one of the best french dip sandwiches i have ever had. but i guess they all tastes the same (<- counter productive anecdote). in my opinion, phillipe’s is a relevant piece of los angeles culinary history and should be visited immediately. after eating what i perceived as lunch (everyone else thought that we were eating dinner), we then made our way to south pasadena, home of the great. we walked down mission street and visited a few mom and pop stores. there is a classic drugstore that has all the necessary elements: ice cream, kitschy nostalgic toys, and drugs. after we bought some crack at the drugstore, we continued down the adjacent street and went into ‘out of the closet.’ jmar bought a sweet red flannel shirt, marshall bought a nice short sleeved shirt and a blazer, and alicia bought a magenta (?) skirt. i found a cool edith piaf record. all in all, a good day at the thrift store, wouldn’t you say? after stalking the town, we made our way back to jmar’s abode. marshall and jmar played some ‘gears of war’ which i must say looks very impressive. we were then treated to some ‘broasted’ chicken from charlie’s trio. mmm, just thinking about it makes me hungry. then again, i am starving right now. all in all, it was a very productive day in los angeles. next time, i want to go to the getty or the observatory.

today’s purchases:
-two water colored portrait postcard from the star wars exhibit, one of chewbacca and the other of billy dee williams.
– edith piaf record from out of the closet.