ย The Natural History Museum and Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography's map of South LA's Westside In one week I found myself heading to the Exposition Park neighborhood in South LAโs Westside to visit the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County โ a stately structure built in 1913 with Romanesque andย Beaux Artsย elements that film and … Continue reading Southland Parks — Exposition Park gets a little parkier at the Natural History Museum’s North Campus
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Happy Birthday, X Minus One – radio’s greatest sci-fi anthology!
Today is the 57th birthday of X Minus One, a science fiction anthology that debuted on NBC radio on 24 April 1955. It began as a sort-of revival of pioneering sci-fi program, Dimension X and the first fifteen episodes were remakes from that series. The remainder of the episodes were originals from staff writers Ernest … Continue reading Happy Birthday, X Minus One – radio’s greatest sci-fi anthology!
Restored and renovated Rancho Los Alamitos ready to return
Members of the press were recently treated to a preview of the historic Rancho Los Alamitos, in Long Beach. The public re-opening will take place on June 10 although special events will afford interested parties an opportunity to enjoy the site before then. Rancho Los Alamitos is a deeply significant historic site โ home to … Continue reading Restored and renovated Rancho Los Alamitos ready to return
Happy Birthday to Night Watch – radio’s first reality show
With a few, shining exceptions (Blind Date, COPS, ElimiDate, Jersey Shore, Joe Millionaire, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Shahs of Sunset, The Bachelor, The Real World seasons 1 and 2 (true stor-ay!),ย and maybe a couple dozen others, tops) I hate reality television. To me, most reality shows are endurance-defying and totally … Continue reading Happy Birthday to Night Watch – radio’s first reality show
No Enclave — An Overview of Black Los Angeles
Diversity has long been part of the fabric of Los Angeles and Southern California. Humans first arrived hereย at least 13,000 years ago and more thanย twenty Native American nations made their home here before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish pueblo of Los Angeles was itself founded by people of Native, African, European, and mixed ancestries and … Continue reading No Enclave — An Overview of Black Los Angeles
Those only live to get radical – or – Little hand says it’s time to rock and roll
A new compilation of SoCal bands titled Who invented the Mirror has just been released and is available exclusively at Amoeba. One of the bands featured thereon, Those, recently released their debut, We Cure Nothing, just before Christmas. The name of the band, Those (assuming it's the plural pronoun of "that" and not the village … Continue reading Those only live to get radical – or – Little hand says it’s time to rock and roll
Happy MLK Day – Yo, whatever happened to peace?
Today the USA celebratesย Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As we all know, Dr. King preached nonviolent activism in the global civil rights movement. Ironically, the other two persons honored with national holidays are Christopher Columbus and George Washington, two powerful slaveowners who advocated (and in Washington's case, waged) genocidal violence against people who fought for … Continue reading Happy MLK Day – Yo, whatever happened to peace?
Happy Birthday, The Life of Riley! – or – What a revoltin’ development this is!
On 16 January1944, The Life of Riley, premiered on the Blue Network (later ABC). The Life of Riley began with an audition taping on 25 July 1943 after its creation by Irving Brecher. Over the course of roughly 320 episodes, it established itself as one of the most enduringly funny sitcoms on Old Time Radio. … Continue reading Happy Birthday, The Life of Riley! – or – What a revoltin’ development this is!
California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Pasadena, The Crown City of Roses
INTRODUCTION TO PASADENA The Pasadena skyline from the San Rafael Hills Well, I can now admit (now that I'm finally done with it) that I honestly waited and prayed that another neighborhood or community would pass Pasadena in the polls. At the time of writing, Bunker Hill (in Downtown Los Angeles), El Monte (in the … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Pasadena, The Crown City of Roses
My Reawakened Love of Christmas Carols and this Year’s Top Ten
"That's someone shooting Tiny Tim for his PS3" Of Christmas, the wise Ebenezer Scrooge cynically but rather sensibly wondered, "What was Christmas but a time for running into debt and getting one year older without getting even one hour richer?" That was 1843 and not even the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come could foresee … Continue reading My Reawakened Love of Christmas Carols and this Year’s Top Ten

