Pasadena Poly grad Joe Mathews, above, is the author, with Mark Paul, of the new analysis of what ails the Golden State, “California Crack Up.” Joe spoke to the annual fundraiser for the Charles Cherniss Tournament of Toys the other day at a lunch at Smitty’s on South Lake — that’s architect Andrew Sussman in [...]
I remember in 1982, in graduate school at Thunderbird in Glendale, Arizona, pulling over to the side of the country road when my 1972 Volvo 145E’s odometer rolled over to 100,000 (analog) miles and taking a (film) picture of it … So the other night, when my 2003 Mini Cooper did the same, I pulled [...]
My father, E. Milton Wilson of Claremont, painted this version of a puro de Habana on one side of a postcard and mailed it to me after penning a poetic lament on the back, including this: “Hey, those missiles are gone / No nuclear dawn / Flashed red as we awoke — / So, please, [...]
When I was growing up in Altadena, this home and garden on Mendocino was where family physician Dr. Haines lived, across from the Town & Country Club. Now it’s one of the five houses that will be on tour in a benefit for Saint Mark’s School the evening of Friday, Dec. 3 and from 3 [...]
Lousy (cell phone) photograph, but let me assure you, the real thing looks worse: A temporary cell tower placed in the far northwest corner of the central Arroyo Seco to help with the one day a year when the area is clogged with too much mobile traffic: Jan. 1. But I saw the thing being [...]
Former Caltech HR boss Tom Schmitt moved back to Westport, Mass. when he retired, and sends along via former Tech VP Bob O’Rourke this photo of a giant fork in the road that looks suspiciously like the one that for a time graced the traffic island at St. John’s and Pasadena avenues here in town [...]
A reader found at a local farmers market this classic jar of Zor-Honey, harvested from the hives behind the Zorthian Ranch way above Fair Oaks Avenue in the days of yore. I have a couple such honey pots myself. Mmm — tastes like Altadena. Dabney and Jirayr are gone from us. But Alice, Alan and [...]
My snapshot here is from artist Rebeca Mendez’s mesmerizing “At Any Given Moment, Grass 2 With Burnt Wood” in the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery at Art Center College of Design’s Lida Street campus. The burnt wood, not pictured, was gathered from a canyon above La Canada swept over by the Station Fire where Descanso [...]
They see and do things differently at the Esalen Institute on the cliffs at Big Sur. We were there last weekend to celebrate co-founder Michael Murphy’s 80th birthday. This sign in the dining room of the main lodge speaks volumes about … something. A gestalt view of the world? Read the Full Story at Larry [...]
Last Thursday night David Feau, the new chef at the Langham Huntington Hotel’s renamed Royce restaurant, gave a sneak preview of his talents to a few locals and L.A. foodie types. Verdict: get any beef he grills on a hibachi. Actually, all the passed pupus I had were great. The new room is over-the-top elegant. [...]
