tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1520164 2011-10-31T17:23:22-07:00 I was born, raised and educated in the Midwest; lived in New York City for several years; and now, I live in Los Angeles. TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54fb3acaa88340162fc0d1d64970d 2011-10-31T17:23:22-07:00 2011-10-31T17:26:20-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with this grand tradition, the goal here is to either hold (or photoshop) the previous year's pumpkin picture in the current year's offering. This procedure is inspired by a noble tradition started back 19 years ago by our friends Chris and Alysia. And when I say noble, I really mean it. They've put a tremendous amount of care, dedication, and art direction into creating one of the best things you can look at on the internet.

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54fb3acaa883401538efe05d4970b 2011-06-06T10:23:59-07:00 2011-06-10T11:03:30-07:00

Great news for Southern California hikers: The western entry to the Angeles Crest Highway has reopened to vehicle traffic.

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54fb3acaa883401538ed355f6970b 2011-05-30T11:34:46-07:00 2012-02-13T21:40:26-08:00

This weekend, we finally got around to taking the absolutely delightful, 10-mile Bridge to Nowhere out and back. To reach the Bridge to Nowhere trail, you take highway 39 straight up into the mountains, passing two giant dams and reservoirs. Looking at these structures, it's easy to imagine how L.A. was prone to cataclysmic flooding in its early years.

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-54734264 2011-05-09T21:00:00-07:00 2011-05-09T16:56:58-07:00

Freeman spins a great biographical yarn about Chandler, and she manages to illuminate some interesting corners of L.A.'s past and present while she's at it.

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-67591443 2011-04-06T09:18:00-07:00 2011-04-30T17:13:02-07:00

One of the very few frustrations of not living in New York any longer is missing out on the new music/performance pursuits that my friends are up to. Case in point -- The Dead Sextons... Joe Sullivan on sax. Here's...

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54fb3acaa88340147e0925214970b 2010-12-10T16:06:20-08:00 2011-06-11T09:17:07-07:00

It's about 30 degrees here and everyone looks to be suffering from some malicious combination of malnutrition, stress, and anxiety.

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54fb3acaa88340133f5718863970b 2010-10-31T10:02:23-07:00 2011-06-22T13:21:44-07:00

That didn't stop us from selecting a fine, orange gord while snapping a picture for the third year running. The conceit here is to either hold (or photoshop) the previous year's pumpkin picture in the current year's offering.

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-61362024 2010-07-22T02:57:00-07:00 2011-04-30T17:16:28-07:00

I'd been meaning to read Mother's Milk ever since Elizabeth Spiers gave it her enthusiastic endorsement back in late 2005. Three years and $.94 plus shipping on Amazon later, I finally got around to checking out this worthy entry into...

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-66803507 2010-05-13T22:51:00-07:00 2011-04-30T17:15:00-07:00

During a recent visit to the Descanso Gardens, I came across a most-curiously-named species of flora: The Sticky Monkeyflower. Although I was disappointed to learn this plant wasn't named as a botanical cross-promotion with the Austin Powers franchise, it does...

bd tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54fb3acaa88340115708d89e4970c 2010-04-11T02:22:00-07:00 2011-07-11T08:37:14-07:00

Jessica saw a funny ad in the New Yorker the other day for a book called "Sixty, Sexy, and Successful." We were considering passing it on to some friends as a gag gift, so we looked it up on Amazon....

bd