Hollywood Forever Cemetery

I added Hollywood Forever Cemetery to my To-Smite List in 2006 after it appeared in a friend's Facebook photos. In a macabre way, the idea of walking around and perusing the final resting places of famous people felt like a fascinating way to spend an afternoon. Well, yesterday afternoon, I finally got my chance.
Normally, when hosting an international traveler, one does not pick a cemetery as the entertainment destination of the day. However, when the visitor is your brother, who has just got himself a new camera and is feeling rather indecisive about what to do, cemetery ho!
I won't give the bit-by-bit details of every tombstone and name label we saw, but what struck me most about this historical place was that, despite being a repository for the dead, it was still being created. Death dates ranged from the 1930s to last year, and there were still blank spots in the mausoleum waiting to be filled. It's strange to think of a place like this as being incomplete.
The variety of tombstones also caught my eye, as well as their being designated into sections by ethnicity: Armenian, Russian, Thai, Celebrity. The Armenian ones in particular, with the photorealistic faces of the formerly living, etched into their reflective fronts. From an anthropological perspective, it would be tremendously useful; from a regular Joe's perspective, a little creepy. There were a few that did not quite capture their occupants' best side, and indeed, what a sad, sad thing to have a mug shot on one's final resting place.
All in all, I thought this cemetery was absolutely beautiful: well-kept, well-landscaped, and surprisingly full of life: squirrels, ducks, swans, and peafowl. And oh, were there crows. My brother commented that if a murder of crows is an omen of death, then clearly they picked the wrong place to warn anyone. Despite crossing this off my To-Smite List for having explored it, I think I would like to go back and explore a little more, or even attend one of the much-acclaimed monthly screenings of The Room. Should you find with a little extra free time around 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, by all means, check out Hollywood Cemetery.