Dateline>City of Angels

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Being a journalist myself, you’d think getting quoted in the morning paper wouldn’t faze me. Still, I have to admit some giddiness at being included in a front-page Daily News article exploring the untold vastness of L.A. County’s archives.

Entitled History in a Box, this morning’s piece by Troy Anderson offers an intriguing look at “the millions of historical objects, documents, records, books, photographs, vehicles, artwork and items of natural and cultural significance stashed at 108 warehouses and facilities around the area with 1.6 million square feet of storage space…” Read more

Today being Easter Sunday, I can’t resist taking a trip down Memory Lane over lamb, that traditional spring holiday dish.

I love lamb now, but that wasn’t always the case. My first encounter with lamb on the dinner table (as opposed to in a petting zoo as a kid) was at St. John’s Seminary in the 1980s. (Yes, it may come as a shock to many, but I once studied for the priesthood.)

Back then the seminary was still somewhat regimented, and students and faculty were expected to take meals together in a large refectory. (Picture the dining scenes from Harry Potter, only without all the magic…) To escape this communal dining experience, a seminarian had to first gain permission from the Dean of Students and then “sign out” with the kitchen so they would have an exact count for dinner. If you forgot to do so, you were required to attend meals even if you ate nothing. Sneaking out was difficult; the Dean kept a careful eye on attendance. Read more

Swamped with pressing deadlines, I should’ve stayed locked indoors working like a dog today. Instead, I did what hundreds of other Angelenos decided to do on this glorious Holy Saturday and literally took a few hours to go to the dogs — and cats, and parrots and every other creature imaginable.

Yes, today was the annual Blessing of the Animals at Olvera Street, an El Pueblo tradition that dates to 1930, although it is rooted in a Catholic custom thought to have originated with St. Francis of Assisi in the 12th Century.

This was my first year attending the event. Believing the ceremonies would start promptly at noon, I arrived an hour early to watch the menagerie take shape. The crowds were already trickling in with a variety of animals — mostly dogs — in tow. Mariachi music and the smell of grilling carne asada filled the plaza as kids visited a make-shift petting zoo containing a turkey, roosters, small livestock and a disinterested-looking camel near the old Pico House.

Over on nearby Sanchez Street, volunteers decorated carriages with crepe paper and flowers in obvious preparation for the coming procession. Across Los Angeles Street people and pets were already lining up in a shaded staging area to await their sprinkling with holy water.

Meanwhile a large white pig and his human companion drew a throng of gawkers as they meandered past the Plaza bandstand, which was surrounded by booths representing animal service organizations ranging from the L.A. Zoo to a “reptile-sitting” business.

Thinking my two Dobermans would become overly agitated by such a wild kingdom, I had left them home. I now regretted the decision. It was surprising how well all beasts great and small got along — as if intuitively respecting the religious nature of the occasion.

Alas, I never actually saw the procession for blessings, which I learned didn’t actually start until 2 p.m. As I said, I was pressed for time and unfortunately had to move on before then.

Nevertheless, the pre-celebration mingling was a lot of fun — and well worth even a quick visit. (For a better view of the photos I snapped, click on the thumbnails.)

Next year I’m making a full day of it and bringing my pooches. After all, they could use a good blessing.

Normally my Monday Melange posts are dedicated to humorous items I find on the Internet. But my speaking engagement today for Las Angelitas del Pueblo was such a great experience, that I wanted to use this post to extend a personal thanks to the group.

All in all, I hope Las Angelitas members enjoyed my talk on Angeleno Ghostlore as much as I enjoyed presenting it.

We covered 10 local Angeleno haunts, several of which I’ve written about here on my blog (click on the City of Ghosts category for all my “ghost posts.”) In the coming weeks, I plan to add more such posts — especially since a number of Las Angelitas volunteers expressed interest in this Website… Read more

Welcome to Monday Melange, a new (hopefully) weekly feature where I survey the L.A. blogosphere as well as greater cyberspace to bring you my recommendation(s) for a fun pick-me-up to make the first day of the work week a little less miserable.

This week’s pick? Paul Davidson at Words for My Enjoyment takes clever revenge on the telemarketers who regularly call his home. Apparently gifted with a very quick wit, Davidson turns the tables on clueless marketing agents representing AT&T and other corporate entities by adopting foreign accents, multiple personalities and other comedic devices to get them to hang on the line, chat nonsensically, re-explain promotional offers, and even re-read trivial legal disclaimers over and over again.

At a certain point you almost feel sorry for Davidson’s victims as they become hopelessly mired in the quicksand. (It goes to show just how desperate they are to earn their commissions.) The full collection of Davidson’s podcasts can be found here.

This week I’ll be spending a lot of time in front of the mirror. Yes, I admit to a little vanity now and then, but I won’t be working on my appearance per se. Rather, I’ll be nervously polishing my delivery skills for a talk I’m presenting to a local historical group, March 17.

The topic is “Angeleno Ghostlore,” and the audience is Las Angelitas del Pueblo, the large, dedicated organization of docents that coordinates the educational programs and walking tours of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Monument, which includes the original town Plaza, world-famous Olvera Street and several early Los Angeles buildings with a few ghost stories of their own.

I’m both excited and a little jittery. It’s been a while since my last public speaking engagement, and considering the nature of Las Angelitas, I wouldn’t want to disappoint. (The group describes its membership as having “a deep knowledge and love of the history of Los Angeles” and a commitment to sharing this passion with others.)

My talk centers around my contention that in addition to their spooky entertainment value, our region’s phantom tales also boast historical-cultural value that’s all too often ignored. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, as a form of “urban legend” Angeleno Ghostlore offers a window into the city’s past and a fascinating prism for viewing our unique culture and frequently bizarre “sense of place.”

Drawing from personal investigations and interviews, I hope to reveal L.A.’s “shadowy side” while sifting through the fact and fiction surrounding a number of legendary and obscure haunts, including City Hall, the Bradbury Building, Houdini Mansion, Hollywood Sign, and of course, Griffith Park.

Although I confess to some minor stage fright, I’m really honored by the opportunity to share this passion of mine with Las Angelitas — and I look forward to learning from them as well. Despite the topic, it promises to be a lively event.