Gravestone Photo

Lucia Frontino
1888 - 1926

East Of West LA

My website, East of West LA, is now up and running. There might be a glitch or two but overall, I'm very happy with it.

Feel free to leave comments.

Requiescant In Pace

Question of the Night: In yesterday's New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote the following:

We got to know Barack and Michelle Obama, two tall, thin, rich, beautiful people who don’t perspire, but who nonetheless feel compassion for their squatter and smellier fellow citizens.

Did Brooks call the Obamas "uppity"?

In my opinion, he did and I just sent a letter to the NYT telling them so.

Eroding Gravestone

Little Glen

Magnolia In Woodlawn Cemetery

Fourth Street Bridge

Union Station

Backyard Jesus

Motel

Christmas In July

Window With Flag

Midnight Man (Venice)

Venice, Late Night

Venice, Early Morning

Sunrise On Seventh St. Bridge

Evergreen Cemetery

Oldest cemetery in Los Angeles, and one of the largest.

Garage In East LA

Desk Set

"She"

L.A. River With Junkyard

Sunrise On Hollywood Blvd.

Under The Boardwalk #2

I've posted this before but after a week with a sprained back, here it is again:

"Be grateful for the non-toothache."

Thich Nhat Hanh

Liquor (Santa Monica)

Join Me In L.A.

Venice

Hot Day in East LA

West Hollywood Wedding Tent

As same-sex marriages are no longer illegal in California, mass weddings were held Wednesday in West Hollywood, the epicenter for gay life in Los Angeles.

Fence (Santa Monica)

Tim Russert

Tim Russert seems to have been an exceptionally fine
husband, father and son. I don't discount that at
all but he in no way can be considered the excellent
journalist that his co-workers are claiming him to
have been. I can't recall, and I haven't been able
to find anything on the Internet, in which he broke
or even challenged any kind of story despite operating
during a time when Washington was rife with scandal and
incompetence.

As a matter of fact, the endless recapping of his career
this afternoon is virtually empty as to any examples of
hard news that he uncovered. A savvy Washingtonian without
doubt but as to any pre-war skepticism, any Walter Reed-type
expose, it just never happened. And let's not forget about
the retired military men who were constantly brought out
for their supposedly objective analysis. Never a word
as to their current employment with defense contractors.
Russert was the head of NBC's Washington bureau and
said nothing but that would be expected as General
Electric, a big defense contractor itself, owns NBC.

Think of him as fine human being but not an especially
good journalist.

Wilshire Alvarado Swap Meet

Dirty Chair ("Once Upon A Dream")

Broken Gargoyle

Man With Blanket

Buddhas In Candlelight

[click to enlarge]

Sometimes Chaos Can Be A Beautiful Thing

Jesus Saves

Bench In East Los Angeles

Franklin Canyon

This weekend I paid $72 to have my cat groomed. My plan to "Go Vegan" for 7 days lasted for three hours. I really enjoy the political columns by Glenn Greenwald.

Happy Birthday, Matt.

Last week I wrote about my letter to the editor of Harpers Week in Review. This week, they printed it. I'm listening to "Emotional Rescue" by the Rolling Stones from 1978, perhaps their last great album.

Echo Park

Under The Boardwalk

[click to enlarge the photo]

It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City

1.) Dear Harpers magazine:

This is an unedited excerpt from your latest Week In Review:

".....Brazilian football star Ronaldo picked up and was blackmailed by three
transvestite prostitutes, and an eight-year-old boy in Arizona died after a goal
post fell on him during a soccer game.  An Illinois newspaper carrier rescued
an elderly woman whose leg had been pinned for four days under the dead
body of her obese 77-year-old husband."

How is an eight year old getting killed even remotely
appropriate to these other two items?

(I wrote you an e-mail harpers-weekly@harpers.org but
you still haven't responded.)

2.) California's having an election next month which
means prepare to be scammed by the propositions that
are not what they appear to be.  Example: Proposition 98
appears to be about eminent domain  but it will also
phase out rent-controlled apartments.  Vote "No"

3.) Brown rice sushi is a bad idea.

Chair (near Lafayette Park)

At My Desk With Coffee (#16)

Sick. All Week.

Dark Night At The Market

Happy Earth Day

Bryson (And Royale)

East Of West L.A.

Sunrise (Blind Man Selling Candy)

L.A. River

Musicians (Boyle Hts.)

Broken Madonna