Author: Eric Brightwell

Eric Brightwell is an essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener. He lives in Los Angeles, not because he was born here, but because he chose to... for all of the things for which its famous: its verticality, its mass transit, its diversity, its schools, its liminal spaces, its architecture, its wildlife, its museums, its night markets, its cinemas, its theaters, its enclaves, its restaurants, its bars, its libraries, &c

Swinging Doors — Club Tee Gee

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 5 Comments

Club Tee Gee is a long-standing bar in the Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Atwater Village. After the owner died in 2016, there were fears that it might be shuttered. After a sale and renovation, it reopened on 14 November 2018 -- and so in the interest of research, I headed over for a few … Continue reading Swinging Doors — Club Tee Gee

Nobody Drives in LA — A Parking Lot Pothole Garden in Echo Park

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 2 Comments

The private automobile is the scourge of cities. In Los Angeles, on an average day, such cars injure or kill 39 Angelenos. They pollute air, land, and water -- except for the electric ones, which rely on child slave labor to mine the precious materials required for their batteries. Electric or smog-box alike, they all … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — A Parking Lot Pothole Garden in Echo Park

Vegetarian and Vegan Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 24 Comments

As far as I know, there haven't been any comprehensive surveys of global vegetarianism and veganism. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that India is home to the largest population and percentage of vegetarians in the world, followed by either Taiwan or Israel. Vegetarianism is also popular in Austria, Australia, Brazil, and Germany. The US is not an … Continue reading Vegetarian and Vegan Los Angeles

Los Angeles Podography; or, A Guide to Podcasts About Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 1 Comment

What follows is intended to be an exhaustive directory to podcasts in which, broadly speaking, Los Angeles is the subject. I'd like to apologize for my neologism, "podography," but I'm not sure how else to refer to the podcast equivalent of a bibliography, discography, filmography, or webography. We can thank Ben Hammersley for coining the term … Continue reading Los Angeles Podography; or, A Guide to Podcasts About Los Angeles

Southland Parks — Visiting Elysian Park

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 23 Comments

INTRODUCTION The other day, I explored Elysian Park, because it was leading in the California Fool’s Gold neighborhood poll. When I created that poll, I hadn’t yet created Southland Parks. While Elysian Park is sometimes described as a neighborhood (e.g. the Los Angeles Times’ Mapping Los Angeles and Wikipedia) and there are a few homes … Continue reading Southland Parks — Visiting Elysian Park

No Enclave — Exploring Salvadoran Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 15 Comments

Metro Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Salvadorans outside of El Salvador, the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. Salvadorans comprise the second largest Latino population in Metro Los Angeles as well as the second largest foreign-born population. For this week of National Hispanic Heritage Month, they are … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Salvadoran Los Angeles

Those Useless Trees — The Valley Oak

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 3 Comments

A couple of days ago my friend Mike and I decided to go for a hike in Malibu Creek State Park. Having celebrated a friend’s birthday the previous night into the following morning, a good moderately strenuous ramble seemed like just the thing. We were both awed by the park’s stunning vistas as well as … Continue reading Those Useless Trees — The Valley Oak

No Enclave — Guatemalan Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 14 Comments

INTRODUCTION Metro Los Angeles is home to an estimated 273,000* Guatemalans (or “Guatemaltecos”), making it the largest such community outside Guatemala. On the other hand, comprising just 4.6% of the region’s 5,979,000 Latinos they’re largely overshadowed by the much larger populations of Salvadorans and Mexicans. They are the focus of this No Enclave, undertaken in … Continue reading No Enclave — Guatemalan Los Angeles

There It Is, Revitalize It — Visiting Peanut Lake

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 2 Comments

A few days ago I was wrapping up a semi-regular housesitting gig in El Sereno. Regular readers will know that that particular gig also involves taking care of a dog named Dooley, who during my stays accompanies me on explorations around the Eastside, Northeast Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel Valley. On the last day … Continue reading There It Is, Revitalize It — Visiting Peanut Lake

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Wilshire Vista

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 3 Comments

INTRODUCTION I finally visited and explored Wilshire Vista. I say “finally” because, at the time of writing, it’s the most voted-for neighborhood ever and has been for a little while now. OK, it’s only received nineteen votes — but even with about 800 total votes cast, there are so many Southern California communities that nineteen … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Wilshire Vista