Scientific American

I was at the Farmer's Market on Fairfax eating at Du-Par's. They've only recently re-opened and I wanted a tuna melt. It was terrible. The people around me were terrible. I wanted a cigarette when I left, but restaurants don't give out matches anymore. Du-Par's is indicative of the entire Market which has been surrounded by an outdoor mall named The Grove. There is a certain variety of person who shops at this mall and he can be found anywhere in the country, from Mizner Plaza in Fort Lauderdale to the Westwood in Seattle. Du-Par's has died and business has never been better. The Farmer's Market is a left-over, the city has grown around it. When I first started eating at Du-Par's the Market was stranded in the middle of an enormous parking lot belonging to CBS. You could leave the Market and smoke a cigarette leaning on your car and gaze at the massive studios emblazoned with the unblinking eye.

I went for a walk. Walking is surreal in Los Angeles. Since one drives almost everywhere distance is measured only in time which is relative, depending on traffic, weather, and time of day. I walked up Fairfax to Beverly and thought about cigarettes, fruit salad, and television. The noise was surprising, another consideration not noticed while driving.

I looked into the movie theater at the corner and had seen every offering, it's a second run place. I'd never walked down Beverly and felt like seeing what it had to offer. There is a western apparel shack, really, a shack, called Kowboyz which has an amazing selection of boots, snap button shirts, and leather jackets. I'd never noticed the store before.

I was struck by a store named Empiric at 7918 Beverly. It sells home furnishings. An all encompassing store, Empiric offers couches, lighting, sand timers, urns, earth map globes, scientific measuring equipment, and vintage printed images of Los Angeles. I'd never noticed this store, either. Empiric opened six years ago selling only interesting-looking vintage laboratory equipment meant for display in the home. It was only in the past few years that more traditional items were added. There has recently been a demand for taxidermy, so vintage antlers and squirrels under glass domes have appeared. Empiric embodies a trend I've seen develop in this city which strikes a chord in me, but am afraid to name it. It's a mixture of modern urban design with the almost Victorian flavor of a cabinet of natural curiosities.

I left and turned right onto Fairfax. I bought a lighter at a gas station and smoked a cigarette on my way back to the CBS parking lot. I only had twenty minutes left on my validated parking.

Redondo Beach - 2/6/07