About 2 miles into the park... things start to get strange. A forbidding padlocked wrought-iron gate, surrounded by a low lying stone wall sits nestled on the edge of the trail.... Strange rusted debris starts to appear on the side of the paths. What looks like an old water filtration system, broken pieces of farm equipment, half buried sinks, strange concrete slabs with graffiti . A lovely little steam appears and makes delightful background noises, lizards and birds scatter about your feet. And then you see it. A burned-out overgrown concrete building completely covered with graffiti. Cartoon of Hitler? Check. Declaration of undying teenage love? Check.... The bunker of the building is exposed and filled with trash; a metal cage sits menacingly in the corner, and outside a series of stone steps wind up to what seems to have once been a sustenance garden. The steps then continue all the way to the top of the canyon (3,000 steps in all) and ghosts of America Nazis patrolling the wilds fill your head. Baby, we aren't at the Grove anymore... We are at the Los Angeles Nazi Compound! Well, it's actually
the ruins of a small community built by Nazi sympathizers, in
the hills outside of greater Los Angeles.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Mar 19, 2012 -
50 comments
When he was 32, his life seemed hopeless. He was bankrupt and without a job. He was grief stricken over the death of his first child and he had a wife and a newborn to support. Drinking heavily, he contemplated suicide. Instead, he decided decided that his life was not his to throw away: it belonged to the universe. Buckminster Fuller embarked on "an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity." If the architect, author, designer, inventor, and futurist
Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller were still alive, he would be 115 years old today. Though he died in 1983, his legacy grows on through
recordings of his ideas and
the Buckminster Fuller Institute.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jul 12, 2010 -
32 comments
With the economic downturn and
a steady downward trend in family sizes,
the end of the McMansion could be at hand. Some people are
living in and
building tiny houses (
previously) to decrease their impact on the environment, while others can't afford more (or wish to own something small instead of paying off something big).
Sergio Santos saw his
small budget and limited space as a challenge (
gallery), maximizing his 77 square foot space as a bedroom, office, and mini-kitchen.
Claire Wolf lists the four pieces of living small: building, gadgeting, decorating, and coping. If these spaces are too small for you,
Dan Maginn suggest 900 square feet for a 2 bed, 2 bath house, and
outlines how to design your own small home (his tips: think "events" more than "rooms," and don't forget the cupboards and water heater closet).
posted by filthy light thief
on Sep 1, 2009 -
95 comments
