In 1999, the City of Los Angeles established DONE (which stands for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment -- municipal types love an acronym). DONE, in turn, established the neighborhood council system "to promote more citizen participation in government and thus, ideally, make government more responsive to local needs." This year I'm running in the Silver … Continue reading Los Angeles’s Neighborhood Councils
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Pan-Asian Metropolis — Robert Kinoshita & his Remarkable Robots
I've been a fan of science-fiction ever since I was a toddler. Well, to be more precise, I was more of a fan of a certain sort of space opera than proper science-fiction. I wasn't exactly reading Stanislaw Lem at that age. Lem has his spaceships but nearly enough shiny robots or laser battles to … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Robert Kinoshita & his Remarkable Robots
No Enclave — Exploring Somali Los Angeles
SOMALI AMERICANS Although the first Somalis in the US arrived as sailors on British vessels in the 19th century, the vast majority of Somali Americans arrived as refugees from the Somali Civil War, which broke out in the late 1980s and resulted in the collapse of the Somali government in 1991. The largest community of … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Somali Los Angeles
Nobody Drives in LA — Historic Los Angeles Transit Railways
I know that it's not the case -- but even the most recently transplanted Angeleno should know that Los Angeles was built around railroads. The first steam train appeared in Los Angeles in 1869, nineteen years after the city was incorporated. The first horsecar showed up in 1874. The first trolley began operation in 1885. … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Historic Los Angeles Transit Railways
California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Santa Barbara
INTRODUCTION A year ago -- over a year ago! -- my partner and I visited the town of Santa Barbara. I meant to write about our visit for California Fool's Gold sooner, but 2020 was the year everything went pear-shaped. When the pandemic hit, many suddenly found themselves with more time than they knew what … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Santa Barbara
The Most Popular Spotify Playlists
Although I have my issues with Spotify -- namely, it's run by two billionaires who enrich themselves off both musician's recordings and ads that feel like extortion -- I use it a lot. It has to be said, it's a pretty great product for consumers if not at all especially helpful for creators -- especially … Continue reading The Most Popular Spotify Playlists
Daphne Oram
Daphne Oram was a pioneering English composer of electronic music and musique concrète and inventor of early synthesizers. Oram was an eccentric, too, interested not just in experimental music but in esoteric knowledge, time travel, plant intelligence, and mysticism. She was a member of the Research Into Lost Knowledge Organisation and student of New Age … Continue reading Daphne Oram
Christmas Ghost Stories On Film
I'm not sure how widespread the practice of telling, reading, and watching ghost stories is on Christmas Eve, nor when it began. The custom appears to be almost unknown to most of my fellow Angelenos -- despite, you know, the most famous Christmas story, Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, containing new fewer than four ghosts. … Continue reading Christmas Ghost Stories On Film
𝕷𝖔𝖘 𝕬𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝕲𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈, 𝖆 𝕳𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕯í𝖆 𝖉𝖊 𝖑𝖔𝖘 𝕸𝖚𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖔𝖘 𝕱𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖆
It's almost Halloween. Surely one of the greatest holidays, Halloween is up there, in my estimation, with Burns Supper, Nowruz, Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving II. I keep reading and hearing, though, that Halloween is cancelled this year, thanks to the mismanagement at nearly every level of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surely you can't cancel a holiday, though, … Continue reading 𝕷𝖔𝖘 𝕬𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝕲𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈, 𝖆 𝕳𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕯í𝖆 𝖉𝖊 𝖑𝖔𝖘 𝕸𝖚𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖔𝖘 𝕱𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖆
Pan-Asian Metropolis — Q&A with filmmaker Elizabeth Ai about her latest project, NEW WAVE
If you're American and you recognize names like "Bad Boys Blue," "C.C. Catch," "Sandra," or "Modern Talking," there's a good chance that you, or someone close to you, is Vietnamese. For the uninitiated non-Viet Americans, those are the names of three German (and one German-Dutch) pop bands whose songs have been compiled, covered, and claimed … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Q&A with filmmaker Elizabeth Ai about her latest project, NEW WAVE
