Alexander Stuart

One of a series of photographs by our friend Dwayne Moser from behind the Hollywood Sign.  Photograph copyright ©  Dwayne Moser. I've lived in many cities in my life, and visited many more. I love the memory of Marrakech, Havana, Hanoi, London, Brighton, Rome, Sydney, Miami Beach (as it was in the 1990s) and, above all, the city that has occupied my imagination , sleeping and waking dreams and heart for most of my life, and my actuality for about 15 years of it, Los Angeles.   I love living in Santa Cruz  now, because it feels like how I imagined Malibu might have been in the 1960s, when it was loose and groovy and surf-crazy and just easy going.  My daughter and me boogieboarding on the beach in Santa Cruz. Photograph  copyright © 2016 Alexander Chow-Stuart. Now I find myself facing the possibility of San Francisco , and with all apologies and respect to those of our friends who live there, I just don't get it as a city.  A couple of days back,

A very happy me hanging out with Wolf Alice. Ph otograph Copyright  ©  2015 A lexander Chow-Stuart. Wolf Alice are playing the Roxy in LA tonight and, given this very late notice and the fact that they're rightfully sold out, do whatever it takes to get in and see them! Wolf Alice at The Independent in San Francisco.  P hotograph Copyright  ©  2015 A lexander Chow-Stuart. They are the single most exciting band I have heard in a very long time, and seeing them - and briefly meeting them - last week at their gig at The Independent in San Francisco only reinforced my mounting excitement about Ellie Rowsell's beautiful voice, the band's equally beautiful and totally dynamic music, and the explosion of sound, energy and sheer joy they create. Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice.  P hotograph Copyright  ©  2015 A lexander Chow-Stuart.   Just check out this YouTube video of their single Giant Peach, from their upcoming debut album, My Love Is Cool (Available to pr

The most exciting band of the year, Wolf Alice, is playing The Independent in San Francisco this Thursday, May 14. See them if you can! And listen now on SoundCloud to their truly explosive song, Giant Peach:  https://soundcloud.com/wolfalice/giant-peach

Anemones. P hotographs Copyright  ©  2014 A lexander Chow-Stuart. The California Academy of Sciences really is one of the wonders of California.  Located in San Francisco's beautiful Golden Gate Park, just across from the Japanese Tea Garden, the Academy's building alone is worth the visit.  Photograph by WolfmanSF, courtesy of Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons. P hotograph Copyright  ©  2014 A lexander Chow-Stuart. Designed by Renzo Piano , the Academy's stunning $500 million ecologically sustainable structure , with its multi-domed "living roof," is both highly distinctive and, hopefully, earthquake-proof - the Academy having suffered two major losses of structures and parts of its collection, in the great  1906 San Francisco earthquake  and in 1989's  Loma Prieta earthquake , after which the Piano building was commissioned.  P hotographs Copyright  ©  2014 Alexander Chow-Stuart . The Academy&#

And so, as we say our fond farewells to the impeccable staff of the Peninsula Shanghai - who have pampered us, cared for us, and, when needed, overlooked so much (not least Paradise's pet white mouse and Husky Go-Go's antics) - we prepare f or the long journey by air and  sea back to California, where I must write and be otherwise occupied for a time. First to the frenzy and humidity of Hong Kong, then a Flying Clipper to San Francisco, then onward up or down the California coast, as the whim may take us. The Boeing 314s are a wonder to behold: flying boats that offer the true meaning of luxury, with a perfectly elegant dining area staffed by chefs from four-star hotels (my one bone of contention: why not five-star hotels?), plus dressing rooms and bunks for overnight accommodation. They are so large, these flying boats, that a man - a mechanic - may stand up inside the wing while in flight and perform maintenance, should it be required. One