Welcome to Twin Peaks Happy Twin Peaks Day! It was on this date, 24 February, back in 1989 that FBI Agent Dale Cooper first rolled into Twin Peaks, a Washington town located "five miles south of the Canadian border, and twelve miles west of the [Idaho] state line." The time was 11:30 am. Twin Peaks, … Continue reading Happy Twin Peaks Day
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Ask Silver Lake — Black Pioneers of Silver Lake
This piece was originally written for “Ask Silver Lake.” “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. Silver Lake, in its early years, was essentially off limits to black Angelenos. Unlike nearby … Continue reading Ask Silver Lake — Black Pioneers of Silver Lake
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Mapping Pee-Wee Herman in Los Angeles (and Beyond) on the Anniversary of Large Marge’s Passing (Which Should Probably Be Designated Pee-Wee Herman Day)
It was on 11 January 1974 -- every fan of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure knows -- that Large Marge died in the worst "accident" that many had ever seen. The sound of the crash was evocatively compared to that of "a garbage truck dropped off the Empire State Building." Ten years later, an apparently quinquagenarian truck … Continue reading Mapping Pee-Wee Herman in Los Angeles (and Beyond) on the Anniversary of Large Marge’s Passing (Which Should Probably Be Designated Pee-Wee Herman Day)
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No Enclave — Moroccan Los Angeles
INTRODUCTION Morocco is playing France today in the World Cup semi-finals. It's a huge game for several reasons because Morocco are -- and have been -- massive underdogs. But that didn't stop them from knocking out Iberian neighbors Spain and Morocco. And now, as they did in the 8th century, the move on to France. … Continue reading No Enclave — Moroccan Los Angeles
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No Enclave — Croatian Los Angeles
INTRODUCTION Today, on 13 December (St. Lucy's Day), Argentina and Croatia will face off in the World Cup semi-finals. It's safe to say, most Angelenos who care at all about association football (aka "soccer") will be rooting for Argentina. Los Angeles is also home to the nation's second-largest Argentine community -- although it is smaller … Continue reading No Enclave — Croatian Los Angeles
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California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Dayton Heights
I was recently contacted by Dave Stoelk from Spectrum News. He originally wanted to do a segment on the Silver Lake Croquet League for his segment, "That's So L.A." After talking for a few minutes, though, he thought it might be fun to instead do a segment about my maps that I make, as Pendersleigh … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Dayton Heights
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No Enclave — Tongva Los Angeles
INTRODUCTION The Tongva are a people indigenous to the American Southwest. When the European conquest of that region began, they were the dominant people in what came to be known as the Los Angeles Basin. At that time, their realm spanned more than 3,000 square kilometers of land and sea. For over 1,000 years, had … Continue reading No Enclave — Tongva Los Angeles
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No Enclave — Oaxacan Los Angeles
INTRODUCTION There are no reliable figures of how many Oaxacans live in Los Angeles but, suffice to say, it is almost certainly a larger community than in any other US city and one of, and perhaps the, largest outside of Mexico. There have been efforts for at least ten years to get the city to … Continue reading No Enclave — Oaxacan Los Angeles
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Fastfood Undead — Chains That Are No Longer Chains
A week and a half ago, it was announced on Dos Burritos' Facebook page that the Mendez Family had made the difficult decision to close the last location of their restaurant, which was once part of a small, local chain. Dos Burritos was founded in 1977 and, at its peak, there were locations in Downtown … Continue reading Fastfood Undead — Chains That Are No Longer Chains
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Swinging Doors — Los Angeles’s Cider Scene on Johnny Appleseed Day
Today is the birthday of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. It is celebrated, in some places, as Johnny Appleseed Day. Other locales celebrated it on 11 March. I'm not sure how the March date was chosen. It's exactly one week before Johnny Appleseed died -- which seems like an odd thing the celebrate … Continue reading Swinging Doors — Los Angeles’s Cider Scene on Johnny Appleseed Day
