Mr. Pupularity

It's too soon to post about Boz again. I know. But this is big news.

Boz won third place in One Colorado's pet popularity contest! He even gets a prize! I don't know what it is yet but I'll find out next week. And although Boz is clamoring to find out ("what'd I win? what'd I win?") I know it's not the loot that matters to him. It's the love.

The other winners will receive their prizes today at One Colorado's Pet Day from 1-4pm. Boz has to miss the festivities because he's not a crowd-loving guy. But he sends his congratulations to the winners: runner-up Kirby the Bunny, and the champ, Sophie the cat!

In a side note, I've known Sophie's person for about 12 years. I've never met Sophie, of course. Her star entourage is impenetrable.

By way of a segue, there's a new photo blog in town called Seeing Sierra Madre. Blogger Adele is fun and funny and even seems to think I could get away with something called Boz Daily Photo. Of course, she's got Spencer.

Vindicated

I love One Colorado. It's a beautiful part of Old Town Pasadena where late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century historic buildings surround a courtyard. Rather than have these wonderful structures torn down they've been refurbished and are now shops and restaurants.

Even the One Colorado parking is okay. It's across the street at Union and Fair Oaks. The lot is well lit, easy to drive around in. Usually there are plenty of spaces.

Bit these days the lot is automated and the payment system is, shall we say, less than transparent. The machine has a mechanical voice. Pleasant guy. He tells you what to do. You do it. Then a little sign lights up and tells you to wait. You wait. The line behind you gets longer.

There's something else you're supposed to do at this point but the machine doesn't tell you what it is, nor does the sign. You have to guess. You have to hope your intuition will guide you through the final steps of the process.

At first I thought maybe it was me. Maybe I couldn't figure out the machine. Was I (oh no please no) getting old? You know, like I said I never would? Would a 21-year-old know what the last step is?

I had thought the parking garage was automated to save money on employee costs but when I took this photo there were two employees sitting in an office to the left. An office with a window. A window that looks out at the payment booth. This payment booth. Where this line continued to get longer because people were waiting while the machine didn't tell them what to do.

It's a relief, actually.

Arc-en-ciel

Today might be a good day to head over to One Colorado and see what we have in common with Paris.

It's A Rainbow in the Sky, an installation by the legendary artist Daniel Buren. When I say legendary, I'm talking about the Colonnes de Buren, those black and white columns you may know about if you've seen photos of the Palais-Royal. You might love them. You might hate them. Either way, if you know Paris you know them. But what's not to love about rainbows?

Built in 1629, the Palais-Royal was originally the palace of Cardinal Richilieu, who bequeathed it to French royalty upon his death. Some amazing people have lived there over the centuries. Louis XIV, for one, lived there as a child. Several members of the house of Orleans inhabited the place at one time or another. In more recent times, Jean Cocteau and Colette each had apartments there in the 20th Century. And the Palais houses two historic theatres.

One Colorado isn't quite 400 years old, but much of it is Pasadena's version of ancient architecture. The square above is surrounded by some of our oldest existing buildings. Old Town is full of lovely turn-of-the-20th-Century architecture and a decent dose of public art. It's well worth a tour. Do it soon, though. Unlike Buren's Palais-Royal columns, the installation at One Colorado is as temporary as a rainbow. It's here, thanks to the Armory Center for the Arts, until November 15th.