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

Where Fools Fear to Tread — A Cabo San Lucas Snapshot

CABOHOLICS, CABO WABO, AND CABO RULES!!! So I recently went on a much-needed vacation to Cabo San Lucas with a motley assortment of friends. Cabo San Lucas was chosen because it was a friend's birthday, a friend whose father owns a bar, Happy Ending Cantina.   To be completely forthcoming, Cabo San Lucas has never … Continue reading Where Fools Fear to Tread — A Cabo San Lucas Snapshot

California Fool’s Gold — A South Los Angeles Westside Primer

LETS SHOW THESE FOOLS HOW WE DO THIS ON THAT WESTSIDE Just as Los Angeles has two Eastsides (one being the largely Latino enclave east of the LA River and the other being South Los Angeles east of the 110 and/or Main St) it also has two Westsides. One Westside is a collection of LA's westernmost … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — A South Los Angeles Westside Primer

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring San Gabriel, A City with a Mission

INTRODUCTION TO SAN GABRIEL For this blog entry, I ventured to the city of San Gabriel. Accompanying me were veteran three traveling companions. Cheryl Anne, a designer, hadn't appeared since her Season 4, episode 10 debut, "Gardena - The South Bay's city of opportunity." Artist Chris Urias made his debut appearance and regular audiences are … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring San Gabriel, A City with a Mission

The Spooky Show & a Monster Party

On 15 October, 2011 (this Saturday if you're reading this in a timely fashion), the very cool indie toy store & gallery, Monkeyhouse Toys and Gallery (for kids whose sensibility is more Roald Dahl/Tim Burton than Bratz/Hannah Montana) is opening an art exhibit, The Spooky Show. It's curated by Terri "Tooter" Berman and features Halloween-appropriate works … Continue reading The Spooky Show & a Monster Party

Happy birthday Bronze Buckeroo – Herb Jeffries turns 98 today.

HAPPY 98th Today is the 98th birthday of actor/singer Herb Jeffries. Although not widely recognized today (especially among non-black audiences, during his heyday in the 1930s and '40s he was an enormously popular singer and the first black actor to star in Westerns. I'd probably know nothing of him except for my tenure in the Black … Continue reading Happy birthday Bronze Buckeroo – Herb Jeffries turns 98 today.

Happy demotion day, Pluto – Pluto and other Trans-Neptunian Dwarf Planets in animation, games and TV

Today is the fifth anniversary of the demotion of Pluto from "planet" to "dwarf planet." PLUTO Pluto was first discovered in 1930. Part of the reason it was accepted as a planet was due to the fact that despite some behavior not fitting a proper planet it was assumed to be larger than Mercury unti … Continue reading Happy demotion day, Pluto – Pluto and other Trans-Neptunian Dwarf Planets in animation, games and TV

California Fool’s Gold — A Westside Primer

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN WEST SIDE LA -- THE WESTSIDE A view of the Westside from my dirigible Around the world, the mere mention of the word "Westside" prompts people to throw up a "W" hand sign, in imitation of many west coast and west coast-affiliated (Tupac was, after all, a native of East Harlem) pop-rappers … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — A Westside Primer

3Ball Pursuit – An LA Weddo in King Kumbia’s Kourt

STUMBLING ONTO A SCENE Three years ago I went to a party in Echo Park at a friend's home near the New Hope Mission Methodist Church. I don't remember what my friends were playing but outside the downstairs neighbors were bumping some amazing dance music. It was a variety of Cumbia, which I've always loved … Continue reading 3Ball Pursuit – An LA Weddo in King Kumbia’s Kourt