Outside of the high mountains and high desert, we don't typically get a lot of ice and snow in the Chaparral-dominated landscape of Southern California. For some this is all the necessary proof that there are no seasons in California -- and most certainly no winter. In reality, all climates have their own sorts of seasons … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold Guide to Ice Skating in Los Angeles
Month: December 2014
California Fool’s Gold — Exploring San Diego’s Little Italy
In Los Angeles, nearly all of the city’s officially-designated ethnic enclaves are for Asian ethnicities. Eurasia’s Armenian community has Little Armenia and Russians in eastern West Hollywood have earned it the nickname “Little Russia” but French Town, Greek Town, and Little Italy have all faded into assimilation and obscurity albeit acknowledged with the odd street … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring San Diego’s Little Italy
Nobody Drives in LA — Visiting the Pasadena Model Railroad Club
With bicycles, buses, ferries, planes, rideshares, sidewalks, subways, taxis, and trains at Angelenos’ disposal, why would any sane person choose car-dependency? Nobody Drives in LA celebrates sense and sensibility in transportation. There are numerous model railroading clubs in Southern California, all devoted to various scale standards, and spread throughout a region not especially well-served by actual passenger rail. I recently … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Visiting the Pasadena Model Railroad Club
California Fool’s Gold’s Guide to Los Angeles’s Revival Cinemas
No city on Earth is more closely associated with motion pictures than Los Angeles. 10% of all movie theaters in the entire country are located in California and Los Angeles County is home to over 100 of them. Although most of Los Angeles's theaters, like those throughout the country, showcase only the latest Hollywood product, … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold’s Guide to Los Angeles’s Revival Cinemas
Exodus shocker — the latest Hollywood Bible cartoon isn’t very realistic
The other day I found out that some people are outraged by the casting in a Hollywood film -- in this case Ridley Scott's latest effort, Exodus: Days of Future Past (or whatever its full title is). They're apparently so upset that they're boycotting it, which is something I do with all but one or two Hollywood … Continue reading Exodus shocker — the latest Hollywood Bible cartoon isn’t very realistic
California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Terminal Island
TERMINAL ISLAND The other day I explored Terminal Island with Matt. Terminal Island is a fairly large (11.55 km2) island that is administered by the cities of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Although most of its area is dominated by container terminals (APL Container Terminal, APM Terminals Pier 400, Pier T Container Terminal, Seaside Container Terminal, … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Terminal Island
There It Is, Revitalize It — The Southland’s Wetlands
Most of Los Angeles's climate is chaparral, similar to that of Mexico's Baja California, Chile's central region, South Africa's southwest, parts of Australia's southwest, and most of the Mediterranean Coast. Many folks refer to the climate as "Mediterranean," although that suggests to me a Eurocentric outlook -- and one which wrongly implies that the Mediterranean … Continue reading There It Is, Revitalize It — The Southland’s Wetlands
One album wonders: The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977) In the early 1980s, when I was in elementary school, I remember asking my father what mental illness was. This was the era of deinstitutionalization, when most of the nation's mental institutions were emptied onto the streets which were at the same … Continue reading One album wonders: The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
The Nobody Drives in LA Guide to CicLAvia South LA
With bicycles, buses, ferries, planes, rideshares, sidewalks, subways, taxis, and trains at Angelenos’ disposal, why would any sane person choose car-dependency? Nobody Drives in LA celebrates sense and sensibility in transportation. ***** "CicLAvia comes to South Los Angeles for first time" read the headline of the Daily Trojan -- which is true if you believe the hype that USC isn't itself … Continue reading The Nobody Drives in LA Guide to CicLAvia South LA
One Album Wonders — David McComb’s Love of Will
David McComb is best known for having been the singer of The Triffids, unquestionably one of the greatest rock bands of all time and one that released quite a few albums of their fourteen year existence. As a solo artist, however, McComb recorded just one record, which is the subject of this week's One Album … Continue reading One Album Wonders — David McComb’s Love of Will
Eric Brightwell 