Lime & Les Le Pages

Musician Nini Nobless died on 21 August 2023 from cancer at Hรดpital du Sacrรฉ-Cล“ur de Montrรฉal. She was 74 years old. Her death was confirmed to the CBC through her manager, Yvon Lafrance. Nobless was best known as one-half of the Canadian musical duo, Lime, in which she performed as Denis Le Page with her … Continue reading Lime & Les Le Pages

The Brightwell Guide to Seasonal Produce in Southern California

INTRODUCTION I grew up on what is what one could possibly describe as a "gentleman's farm." Not that we ever referred to it as such. I'd never heard that term as a kid -- and my mom, who ran show, would've no doubt rejected the title of "gentleman." My mother also mightโ€™ve objected to characterizing … Continue reading The Brightwell Guide to Seasonal Produce in Southern California

Seth & Eric’s Airconditionless Adventure — 9-21 August 1998

INTRODUCTION 13 August 2023 was the 25th anniversary of my first visit to Los Angeles. All those years ago, I wrote entries in a journal. At first, the accounts of the days' adventures had a diaristic air. After a few days on the road, however, I started just jotting down one and two-word notes with … Continue reading Seth & Eric’s Airconditionless Adventure — 9-21 August 1998

Southland Parks — The Beaches and Public Pools of Los Angeles

Since arriving in Los Angeles in the 1990s, Iโ€™ve always been surprised at how just many swimming pools there are โ€” and how infrequently most of them (especially the private ones) are seemingly used... other than as bee graveyards to be occasionally skimmed by some unfortunate charged with dragging a pool rake across their otherwise … Continue reading Southland Parks — The Beaches and Public Pools of Los Angeles

A History of 1717 Silver Lake Boulevard

This post was born out of a shorter post originally written for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council's "Ask Silver Lake" column. 'Ask Silver Lake' is dedicated to exploring the history and insights of our community. If you have questions or ideas you'd like us to consider, please drop a comment or send them to outreach@silverlakenc.org. … Continue reading A History of 1717 Silver Lake Boulevard

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Torrance

I finally explored Torrance. I say โ€œfinallyโ€ because it occupied the top spot, based on reader votes, for the longest time โ€” maybe since 2019. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happenedโ€ฆ and Torrance is sort of far from me and not that easy to get to. So, in the meantime, when I explored, I stuck to … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Torrance

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Miracle Mile

INTRODUCTION The other day, Mike Morgan โ€” a frequent companion in my neighborhood explorations โ€” asked whether or not Iโ€™d like to explore a neighborhoodโ€ฆ or to maybe go to a museum. He asked, too, what community was currently topping the California Foolโ€™s Gold readersโ€™ poll. I informed him that Torrance still occupies the top … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Miracle Mile

Pan Asian Metropolis — Cambodian Los Angeles

INTRODUCTION According to the Pew Research Center, there were, in 2019, about 339,000 Americans of Cambodian ancestry. More than one-in-three lived in just one state, California. Cambodians in California can be found in large numbers in cities including Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, and Stockton. Yesterday, for Songkran, I posted an … Continue reading Pan Asian Metropolis — Cambodian Los Angeles

On The Los Angeles Times’s “The Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf: 110 essential Los Angeles books”

In advance of the 2023 L.A. Times Festival of Books, 95 writers compiled a list of essential "Los Angeles Books." I reckon it's a good, if not very surprising list -- not that the number of surprises has anything to do with a list's quality. A few author, including Aldous Huxley, Joan Didion, and Raymond … Continue reading On The Los Angeles Times’s “The Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf: 110 essential Los Angeles books”

Where Fools Fear To Tread — A Snapshot of Seattle

The view from my airplane window as we descended into Seattle INTRODUCTION A week after Una, my sister, and I visited San Francisco; Una and I headed over to Seattle for a vacation we'd planned back in the summer of 2022 -- before my sister notified us that she'd be on the West Coast just … Continue reading Where Fools Fear To Tread — A Snapshot of Seattle