Actually the tearing down of modest, respectable houses and the erecting of big, stupid houses is going on all over L.A. and has been for some time. A drive down any residential street is a potential gagfest. They call them Stucco Colossi. Hideous Creatures, them houses.

You should have taken a picture of the jell-o! That would have been cool beans.

Tigereye, I’m digging your blog, and wanted to chime in.

I experienced a similar phenomenon in a little part of Los Angeles called Tujunga (ET was filmed there). I used to own a beautiful craftsman-style house on a double-lot for a number of years… I liked my neighborhood, it was funky and inconsistent because there were several styles, from log cabins to small ranch-style homes (Tujunga bumps right up against the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains). Most were built on lots close to the size of mine. Well, in the mid-90s, folks started coming in and knocking down the old stuff and building between one to three monstrosities on the same size lot, with no architectural integrity (your fountain and cherubs comment resonated with me, BTW). They looked like hell, and while there were often several members of the same family living there, there was very little maintenance or upkeep done once they got there, so things would fall apart quickly.

I must admit, I did take advantage of this at one point during the winter months when the nasty, garish fountain water was cold and stagnant… I got a large, commercial-sized bag of lime gelatin (so it would match their house) and went to town. The next morning as one of their many dogs attempted to drink, everyone got a big ol’ surprise. Giant wiggly green fountain water! Totally worth it… they never found out who did it either, since all the other disgusted neighbors (and there were several) alternately played dumb or took the credit.

As they say, I guess there is always room for Jell-O.

I don’t think this species of people has the awareness required for seeing what they are doing to the neighborhood community. They might even imagine they are making it better somehow…because their concept is skewed. Urgh. Gross materialist status gestures.

A friend of mine that I had known since high school moved into a too big house in a cul-de-sac years ago with other new too big houses. I worried that she would become her environment. She did for a while. There were creepy Stepford barbeques there where the neighbors got together and chattered about their acquisitions. Well, there was that one. The last time I visited.