The other day, Una and I went to the 素食夜市小吃園遊會 Happy Lantern Green Night Market -- a 100% vegetarian (and mostly vegan) Taiwanese street food festival which took place in Alhambra. If that sounds on the surface impossibly niche, consider the following. Taiwan is the cradle of the night market. Taiwan is, after India, likely the second … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — 素食夜市小吃園遊會 Happy Lantern Green Night Market
Swinging Doors — The Stardust Club
The other night I went to the Stardust Club in Downey to see San Francisco Bay Area band, Starry Eyed Cadet. Before leaving home, I was fairly sure that I'd been to the Stardust before previously to see Zip Code play there. As I got closer, heading down Firestone Boulevard, I was certain that this was … Continue reading Swinging Doors — The Stardust Club
California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Sandberg
One of the pleasing ironies of Los Angeles County is that even though it's the most populous county in the US as well as the core of the nation's most densely populated metropolis -- it is also a region so vast and varied that it supports dozens of hamlets, ghost towns, and de-populated places which … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Sandberg
Thiên Hương (aka “Tiny Yong”)
Thiên Hương -- better known as "Tiny Yong" is a French singer associated with the yé-yé scene of the 1950s and '60s. She was born Tôn Nữ Thị Thiên Hương on 8 February 1944 in Phnom Penh -- the capital of Cambodia since 1865 but then part of French-Indochina. Her father was a doctor and … Continue reading Thiên Hương (aka “Tiny Yong”)
Thanksgiving II; or, a Super Bowl Party for people who hate the Super Bowl
Last Sunday, the Super Bowl took place. For the 98.7% of the world's population who didn't watch this televised spectacle; it featured billionaire Enos Stanley Kroenke's Rams in competition with billionaire Robert Kraft's Patriots; the musical stylings of the Empress of Soul (Gladys Knight), Proactiv's Maroon 5, Kardashian rapper Travis Scott, and Big Boi; as … Continue reading Thanksgiving II; or, a Super Bowl Party for people who hate the Super Bowl
Where Fools Fear to Tread — A Snapshot of Japan
INTRODUCTION On 1 June of this year, I visited Japan. Despite my sister having lived off and on (currently on) in Japan for many years, it was my first visit to the country. I'm always excited to travel to any new country, but with Japan, my impending trip seemed to produce a great deal of … Continue reading Where Fools Fear to Tread — A Snapshot of Japan
No Enclave — Exploring Vietnamese Los Angeles
Metro Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam. About two-thirds of the metropolis's population lives in Orange County -- home to the nation's oldest and largest Little Saigon. Los Angeles County, on the other hand, has the third largest population of Vietnamese-Americans but one which is less than half … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Vietnamese Los Angeles
