Coming to Kindle and Smashwords
November 2013
Dec 2, 2011
blade runner set...
Ennis House (Los Angeles)
Location for: Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner is supposed to be set in Los Angeles in 2019, but one of its most compelling settings is this Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterpiece from 1924 in the city's Los Feliz neighborhood. The Ennis House, also known as the Ennis-Brown House, serves as Deckard's home and — true to the future predicted in Blade Runner — the mansion began falling into disrepair after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
The Ennis House Foundation began a campaign to repair the building that was never truly finished. Businessman Ron Burkle purchased the Ennis House this summer for nearly $4.5 million. (Let's see someone try to afford that on a blade runner's salary.) According to the terms of the sale, Burkle will provide some form of public access to the home at least 12 days out of the year, but even if you're not lucky enough to visit Los Angeles on one of those dozen days, Wright's masterpiece is pretty visible from the street.
While you're there: Visit another beautiful building from Blade Runner -- the Bradbury Building. The Griffith Observatory (featured in The Terminator) is also a lovely place to spend an afternoon; it's open Wednesday through Sunday and admission to the grounds and observatory building is free.
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I would say there are seven life lessons I learned from "Star Trek" that I take with me to this day. These are lessons I hope to pass along to my own children someday--but for now, I will share them with the interweb.
- The best way to travel is to boldly go where no one has gone before. This is true for vacations, for self-exploration, for life itself. If you want your days filled with adventure, laughter, love, learning and the occasional mind-meld, follow this route.
- The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few--or the one. Sometimes you must make great sacrifices for the greater good. And, like the Genesis device, it will all come back around.
- Expressing your emotions is a healthy thing. Sure, McCoy seemed angry all the time when exclaiming, "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor not a mechanic/bricklayer/soothsayer," but he knew that by expressing his anger and frustration it wouldn't get the best of him and he could then perform at his peak capacity.
- When estimating how long a job will take, overestimate--and when you do better your captain will always be impressed. Replace the word "captain" with "teacher" or "mom/dad" and you'll see what I mean. Sure, Mr. Scott might have been telling the truth--maybe it would take six hours to get the warp engines back online in the heat of the battle. Or maybe he was padding things so he looked good. Either way, when the engines did come back on line, everyone was happy.
- Wearing red makes you a target. This is true of cars, dresses and, most especially, shirts. Red gets you noticed--which is good if you want to be noticed, bad if you don't want to end up vaporized.
- When you don't know what to say, pause. It will give you the time to figure it out. Or at the very least, you'll sound like you're being thoughtful. "But....Spock.....why?"
- The most powerful force in the universe is friendship. It's more powerful than phasers, photon torpedos, even more powerful than the force itself. With friends, you can accomplish any task, escape any perilous situation, defeat any enemy--and you get to laugh together when it's all over.
I am convinced that these lessons will serve us all, adults and children, well as we seek out new life, new civilizations, new experiences. In short, thanks to "Star Trek," we may all live long and prosper
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