Los Angeles was built around the walker. During the Last Glacial Period, the first humans arrived in Southern California, almost certainly by foot. As the glaciers receded, both these stone-age Paleoamericans and their non-human neighbors carved and shared trails through the green woodland, wetland, grassland, desert, and chaparral landscapes. Some 10,000 years later, the Tongva arrived … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Public Stairways, Stair Streets, and Walk Streets of Los Angeles
The Ultimate Directory of All-Female Bands
INTRODUCTION Back when I worked at Amoeba Music, I wrote posts about all-female bands from the 1910s-1950s, all-female bands of the 1960s, and all-female bands of the 1970s. This year, for Women's History Month, I had what I thought was the bright idea to combine them into one piece and update them. Then the COVID-19 pandemic … Continue reading The Ultimate Directory of All-Female Bands
3 March 2020 Los Angeles County Election Endorsements
Hello Angelenos! Are you generally happy with the direction Los Angeles is going? Do you like the thrill of living paycheck-to-paycheck, juggling part-time work with side gig hustles, and watching rent climb faster than your wages? Are you content with the growing number of unhoused Angelenos and the criminalization of poverty? Are you pleased by … Continue reading 3 March 2020 Los Angeles County Election Endorsements
No Enclave — Cuban Los Angeles
As of 2018, Latinos comprised an estimated 47.7% of Los Angeles's population. 75% of Latino Angelenos were of Mexican ancestry. Salvadorans comprised about 8% of Latino Angelenos. Guatemaltecos comprised about 5% of the Latino Angeleno population. Los Angeles is, additionally, home to the largest populations of Mexicans, Salvadorans, and Guatemaltecos outside of their respective homelands. I'd … Continue reading No Enclave — Cuban Los Angeles
Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography — The Google Maps
INTRODUCTION Over the years I've drawn maps, painted maps, and created digital maps. For the latter, I've most often used Google's My Maps program for several reasons. It's relatively easy, looks relatively good, has pretty good functionality (e.g. links to websites and decent customization) and because Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company) is the fourth-largest company … Continue reading Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography — The Google Maps
Happy Day of the Doors, Los Angeles
I love the Doors. I think I really got into them when I was fourteen. Around that time I developed a love for pretty much any rock band with lots of keyboards (eg ? & the Mysterians, The Animals, The Seeds, and The Zombies -- and a few years later, Inspiral Carpets and The Charlatans). … Continue reading Happy Day of the Doors, Los Angeles
Yao Su Rong (姚蘇蓉)
Yao Su Rong ("姚蘇蓉") is a Taiwanese singer and actress born on this day, 5 December, in 1946. Today she's still best-known for her 1969 hit recording of "今天不回家" ("Today I Won't Come Home"), the title track of a film of the same name. Her career was cut short at its peak by Kuomintang (KMT) … Continue reading Yao Su Rong (姚蘇蓉)
Where Fools Fear to Tread – A Snapshot of Barcelona
In August, Una and I went to Barcelona. It was the first time for both of us in that city, or Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya), the region of which it is the capital. Home to roughly 4.8 million, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area is also the sixth (after Brexit it will be the fifth) largest urban area in the … Continue reading Where Fools Fear to Tread – A Snapshot of Barcelona
Where Fools Fear to Tread — A Day in Detroit
A couple of weeks ago, my partner and I traveled to Michigan to reunite my sister with her cat, Iwashi Oda. Iwashi had been living with us for a little over a year whilst my sister lived in Kyōto. It was my first time back in the Middle West in several years and during our visit, we … Continue reading Where Fools Fear to Tread — A Day in Detroit
The Full Californian Breakfast — a California Fry-Up
I love breakfast. It's easily my favorite meal of the day (followed by second breakfast, elevenses, and supfast). When I die, if anyone wishes for whatever reason to celebrate my life, please do so with a "Brightwell Breakfast." Robert Burns gets his supper, after all, and surely if anyone deserves the sobriquet "ploughman blogger," it is … Continue reading The Full Californian Breakfast — a California Fry-Up
