GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY OBSERVED

Took the family to the Observatory Sunday. We met up with the Ginsbergs -- kids Lauren and Benjamin are schoolmates of Olivia and Emmett, while dad Harold is knee-deep in this family business. It was a strangely organized and orderly trip. With all the grand re-opening hype, cars aren't allowed to park at the top of the hill so we took a shuttle from the zoo. Not much has changed in the main area, but at least when you push all the buttons, everything lights up and moves like it's supposed to. I must note that the docent kiddies are somewhat asshole-ish rather than helpful. After we bought tix for the Planetarium show, Emmett had to make a last-minute visit to the loo. We didn't get back until after the show started and they wouldn't let us back in. Some short dweeb with a stupid tie informed us smugly that the doors were locked from the inside or some such thing and we were out of luck. It would have been nice to have seen visible signs posted so we'd have known the consequenses of nature's call at ill-opportune moments.

Having said that, the new exhibits were fresh and cool and smartly interactive and the cafeteria was decent, but pricey, to justify the Wolfgang Puck brand name (now how again did Wolfgang Puck put his imprint on my Greek salad?). Of course, the views of the city are always amazing (though it was a bit hazy on Sunday) and the memories always come flying forward. I'm always reminded of stoned trips to Laserium, late-night makeout sessions with a parade of different women, and a memorable Observatory rooftop interview I conducted with Beck in 1996.

Of course, the disembodied head of James Dean still lords over the proceedings. All in all, a nice balancing act between classic Observatory and the future, a place I'd be happy to take the kids for years to come. But I'll wait until the hoopla dies down and the docent dweebs learn a little public relations before going back.