Attention Tudor fanatics: This new novel by Hilary Mantel, winner of the Man Booker Prize, is a fascinating take on Henry VIII’s early reign. Brawling, brilliant Thomas Cromwell, the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s loyal dogsbody, is the central character who rises literally from the mud of the London dockside to Henry’s right hand. Meanwhile, Katherine of [...]
We recently caught up with the creative whirlwind otherwise known as Zofia Kostyrko. She’s one of the Altadena artists behind the now-famous Fork in the Road at Pasadena and Bellefontaine avenues, pulled in by Ken Marshall to create “Photoshop voodoo” to visualize his wacky idea. After designing the Put a Fork in Hunger logos, T-shirts, [...]
On of the more obvious places to find unique holiday gifts (and get a deal) is the Rose Bowl Swap Meet, held the second Sunday of every month. The PCC Swap Meet (first Sunday of the month) is free, smaller, almost as fun and great for quirky holiday gifts, but as they say, the granddaddy [...]
Not to be confused with Green Street Restaurant (why, oh why do restaurants do this to us?), Green Street Tavern just may be Old Town’s best-kept secret, a cozy, upscale bistro (it’s not actually a tavern) located on relatively quiet Green Street. The tiny indoor space is sculpted with Art Nouveau curves and consists of [...]
I just came across a book that has become The One I Give to New Parents So They Do Not Lose Their Minds Reading the Same Thing Over and Over. For years I gave new parents/children the charming and quirky George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends by James Marshall. I am convinced [...]
Got the impulse to spread holiday cheer beyond your immediate family? There are many ways to help others in the San Gabriel Valley at Thanksgiving, the winter holidays and all year round. You can give your time or donate food, gifts or green stuff (and we don’t mean mistletoe) to benefit folks in need. We’ve [...]
The other day an entering ninth-grader confided that he was excited to begin the year at a school that really valued learning; he was looking forward to being a student in a place where he did not have to keep his intellectual curiosity a secret. That warmed the nerdy cockles of my heart – and [...]
A true daughter of the San Gabriel Valley, Trish Albright grew up in Pasadena’s Hastings Ranch, escaping her hilly suburban neighborhood to romp in the wilds of Eaton Canyon and catch polliwogs in the streams of Sierra Madre. Her mother says, “Her nose was always in a book,” and Trish used to teased her friends [...]
It’s been a fun few weeks on my bedside table, starting with Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips, a silly romp that puts a dysfunctional, dissipated and dispirited family of Greek gods in a dilapidated house in contemporary London. Aphrodite is a phone-sex operator, Artemis is a dog walker, and a couple of innocent mortals [...]
It’s time once again for a new installment in our series about worthy little restaurants that will feed you well for not too many dollars. This week we venture west to Eagle Rock to the home of “slow” fast food. The Oinkster It used to be a drive-through; with a near-complete minimalist makeover that preserved [...]
