Featured image credit: Amé Kali LA’s transition into a winter wonderland is subtle when compared to a lot of other U.S. cities. Maybe it’s all that year-round California sunshine. Sure, we have the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade, falling on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving since 1928. Then there’s the more recent tradition of the Pershing […]
Category: Misc.
The Last Bookstore Provides a Reading Refuge for Its LA Community
Featured image credit: vagueonthehow “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” No, that’s not exactly right. “We were somewhere around LA on the edge of downtown when the drugs began to take hold.” Interesting, but no – still not it. “The man in black fled across the city, and the […]
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Revives “Lost” Nature Dioramas… and Adds Some New Ones
Featured image credit: Maarten Heerlien The next time you visit the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, keep in mind that some of those taxidermied animals behind the glass are over a century old. That’s right, the museum’s nature dioramas just turned a century old. And to commemorate the milestone, the museum re-opened a dormant […]
Christmas in Palm Springs Lost Some Magic When RoboLights Went Dark
Featured image credit: RoboLights Facebook Page Christmas in Palm Springs is a special time where time-honored tradition intersects with yuletide camp in a distinctly sweet seasonal cocktail you won’t find anywhere else. But for many longtime residents of the Coachella Valley, it’s not quite Christmas without Robolights. If you’re asking ‘What’s Robolights?”, there’s no way […]
It’s Christmas Year-Round at Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead, One of the Most Nostalgic California Amusement Parks
Photo credit: SkyPark at Santa’s Village Christmas comes but once a year (to the disappointment of many children and relief of many bank accounts)… but there is one remote corner of the Los Angeles-adjacent Skyforest where that’s not quite true. Since the early 1950s, Angelenos have recognized that Christmas is a daily event at Santa’s […]
There’s No Place Like Dome: Why Isn’t the Dome House a More Popular Design Model?
It’s unfortunate that the dome house never really caught on as a viable alternative to boxier living. At first glance, dome houses seem like they’d be more trouble than they’re worth. We’re just too accustomed to more traditional home designs. But after reviewing the benefits and drawbacks of dome home life, it seems that it […]
You Could Call the Nethercutt Collection a Museum for Rare Cars. You’d Be Half Right.
Featured image credit: ZR1748 Southern California is spoiled by its automotive museums. We of course have the Miracle Mile’s Petersen Automotive Museum. Then there’s the Mullen in Oxnard. But one that enthusiasts frequently overlook (likely because of its out-of-the-way Sylmar location) is the Nethercutt Collection and Museum, a breathtaking collection of classic, antique automobiles with […]
Bob Baker Marionette Theater Provides Unique Entertainment for Angelenos of All Ages
Featured image: Bob Baker Marionette Theater Finding meaningful things to do in Los Angeles with kids can be challenging at times for families. The city has a distinctly adult focus. Just visit Disneyland, Universal Studios, or Knott’s and count the adults compared to the children. But Los Angeles has its own distinct flavor. So when […]
Is There a Reasonable Solution to the Onslaught of Hostile Architecture in Los Angeles?
You know things are bad when even the architecture is against you. Yet, most Angelenos express at least a passing familiarity with a concept called “hostile architecture.” Alternatively known as hostile urbanism or, by those supporting its use, defensive architecture, hostile architecture strives to use streetscapes and designs in public areas to put up some […]
Ranking the Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil Residency Shows
Featured image credit: Hermann Luyken Cirque du Soleil has become such a fixture of the Las Vegas experience that it’s hard to recall that the first permanent venture was a major risk. Up until then, the expectations of Las Vegas nightlife were drastically different. While most will agree that Siegfried and Roy did the heavy […]









