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
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
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Atwater Village
INTRODUCTION Moorish-inspired homes in Atwater Village Atwater Village popped up on my radar soon after I'd moved to Los Angeles in 1999. My roommate with a job had found us an apartment just across the Los Angeles River in Silver Lake (Ivanhoe tract, to be exact) but we all frequently headed across the river — usually … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Atwater Village
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Happy 30th, Criterion — May your next 30 be even better
Criterion is, without a doubt, the most loved video-distribution company in the video distribution game. No one (outside Korea) packages their films so beautifully and today they released a lovely, book (just in time for Christmas) of their "covers, supplemental art, and never-before-seen sketches and concept art" featured on their releases over the years called Criterion … Continue reading Happy 30th, Criterion — May your next 30 be even better
Eric Brightwell 