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Author Anna Stothard, in the center of the photo, writes in the UK Guardian's Observer that "Los Angeles is more spectacular, and more unnerving, than its cliché suggests." She picks up this perspective on an eccentric dash around town that begins at the Venice Beach Freak Show, takes in the Magic Castle, Esotouric's Charles Bukowski tour, the Wende Museum in Culver City and the Olympic Spa in Koreatown.
On my last night in Los Angeles I run into Almighty Opp, pontificating on subjects ranging from death to urban planning. "Just like everything in Los Angeles," the puppet nods earnestly to her audience, raising her wooden arms to her puppet-theatre sky, "you just have to find it". After a week taking advice from sword eaters, magician's assistants and drunken sound engineers outside liquor stores, it seems perfectly reasonable to take my last travel tip from a street puppet.
She does slip up by placing Marilyn Monroe's remains in Holy Cross Cemetery, instead of in Westwood.
Speaking of Esotouric: The company tweeted my way the other day about my post in 2005 that introduced the 1947 Project blog to many followers: "@laobserved It was 6 years ago today you pulled the city's sleeve to 1947project. Things got interesting, remain so." The blog led to the creation of the tour operator.