In the last couple of years, the Culver City section of Los Angeles has gone from being one of those ho-hum places where people just kinda lived to a place where there are cool bars and restaurants with one-word names. When this happens, civic officials and local corporations naturally get all excited, and the next step — not unlike marriage after falling in love — is some sort of potentially perverse piece of public art. Since The Wizard Of Oz was filmed on the MGM-turned-Sony lot in Culver City, and since literally fuck-all else has ever happened in Culver City, the natural choice was an enormous rainbow.
This rainbow is approximately 94 feet tall, weighs 100,000 pounds, and cost about $100,000. At about a dollar per pound, it’s potentially a pretty good value. Also, the bill’s being footed by Sony, so in case you were in the mood to bitch about taxpayers’ money being wasted on rainbows, you’re not going to be able to do it at this exact moment. Culver City Mayor Andy Weissman told the L.A. Times that he hopes his city’s new multi-hued resident “captures imaginations and people want to come and see it.” He added that the rainbow would be “prominent. Not prominent like the Great Wall of China, where you can see it from space,” but prominent enough to, like, be seen over fences?
Well, we think it’s a good first step that he doesn’t think it’s going to be as big a deal as the Great Wall of China, and the fact that he knows no one will see it from space indicates he is clearly a man living in reality. But here’s the thing. Rainbows are totally magical, and this guy has to realize that this magic is about to enter his realm, so maybe he should start dreaming about the impossible.
