SELACO - Southeast Los Angeles County Pendersleigh & Sons' Official Map of Southeast Los Angeles County Introduction to Southeast Los Angeles County One of my favorite aspects of the Southland is that there is no single, dominant center. Whereas many bemoan the region’s sprawl, I prefer to think of it as a vast, occasionally smoggy … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold – a Southeast Los Angeles primer
Mummy Dearest — Mummies in Movies and Games
Mummy films are unique among classic monster movies in that they're neither primarily based upon myths or literature. Only Isaac Henderson's 1902 play, The Mummy and the Hummingbird and Bram Stoker's 1903 novel, Jewel of the Seven Stars, have inspired cinematic adaptations (the latter spawning four to date) with its subject of an archaeologist attempting … Continue reading Mummy Dearest — Mummies in Movies and Games
Share this:
Easter Promises – Every Sin Leaves a Mark
Hello friends, it's Easter once again. And no one does Easter better than Amoeba. Yes friends, Amoeba is known for our selection that simply can't be beat. So after gorging yourselves on low quality milk chocolate lupine effigies to honor a pagan fertility goddess, sit back in the easy chair and let those calories do … Continue reading Easter Promises – Every Sin Leaves a Mark
Share this:
Elli et Jacno… et Lio — Les electro-ye-yes
Denis Quillard (born in 1957) came from an eccentric but distinguished family in Champagne. A chainsmoking fan of Gauloises, he was known to some as "Jacno," after Marcel Jacno, the illustrator who designed the cigarette manufacturer's logo. Jacno had learned to play flute at a religious school in Margency, Notre-Dame-de-Bury. As a child his musical … Continue reading Elli et Jacno… et Lio — Les electro-ye-yes
Share this:
From the women’s picture to the chick flick
I wrongly assumed that it would be easy to fire off a blog briefly summarizing the history of women’s pictures. When I began, I quickly realized that it is a genre that’s simplistically treated as synonymous with both weepies/tearjerkers and their near opposite, the rom-com; it quickly proved to be more than I bargained for, which … Continue reading From the women’s picture to the chick flick
Share this:
Fleeting and Forgotten Female Folkies — Women’s History Month
Lately, whilst reading about unfamiliar folkies popping up on my Pandora folk station, I sometimes feel like I'm reading the same thing over and over when it comes to a handful of female artists. I doubt that the reasons were the same, but several new (to me) discoveries had similar careers involving under-recognized talent, followed … Continue reading Fleeting and Forgotten Female Folkies — Women’s History Month
Share this:
Happy Nowruz!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today, for most observers (but tomorrow for others), is Persian New Year, variously and roughly Anglicized as Navrus (Tajikistan), Nawroz (Afghanistan), Nevruz Day (Albania), Nooruz (Iran), Nov Ruz Bairam (Kyrgyzstan), Nauryz Meyrami (Kazakhstan) and Novruz Bayram (Azerbaijan). As with the Lunar New Year, which is often referred to in the media as … Continue reading Happy Nowruz!
Share this:
Ya Hoidz Me? – Talk About Bounce Music
For some reason, the Bounce scene, born nearly 20 years ago, seems to be undergoing a minor critical reassessment as it inspires curiosity in a new generation of fans amongst the young, the Euro, the old and new. I can only guess why. I suspect that part of it is a development of the ongoing, … Continue reading Ya Hoidz Me? – Talk About Bounce Music
Share this:
Women of the Western — Female-centric Horse Operas
Since the dawn of film theory, film critics have loved the Western; probably because its engagement with formula and its psychological subtext are so obvious, so close to the surface, that theorizing about westerns is a bit like kicking gravel and striking oil. The genre bears a similarity to tales of knights errant, who … Continue reading Women of the Western — Female-centric Horse Operas
Share this:
The unsung heroines of Punk/Post-Punk/No Wave/New Wave
Since its beginning, rock music has been a male dominated affair. Women, such as Wanda Jackson, were not just anomalies but curiosities. By the '60s there were plenty of girl groups, female soul singers and a few female-fronted rock bands, but the few actually female-dominated rock bands like Ace of Cups, Fanny, The Girls, Goldie … Continue reading The unsung heroines of Punk/Post-Punk/No Wave/New Wave
Eric Brightwell 