http://mimlay.com/blog Freelance writer Michael Imlay blogs from/about his native Los Angeles on people, culture, history, landmarks, tourism, ghosts, legends and the offbeat. Links to his professional writing services. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:28:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en They say you never really appreciate what you have until it's gone. Moving into the neighborhood three years ago, I was at first mildly intrigued by this old shell of a gas station along Echo Park Avenue (left). Over time, I came to view it as just another languishing eyesore and wondered ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/23/be-careful-what-demolitions-you-wish-for/ Congrats to writing pal and fellow blogger Rebecca J. Lacko, author of the weblog Motherhood, Marriage and Other Wild Rides. Loathe as most bloggers may be to admit it, blogging is a passion, not a profession. The vast majority of us pound our prose out in relative obscurity. If we're lucky, ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/21/write-on-ms-rebecca/ This week’s pick for most interesting, offbeat and/or entertaining web video sharing themes with this blog… Searching: Daily Motion Keywords: “Los Angeles + History" PSA For Tequilla, The Wonder Drug... by SaveManny The Result: Daily Motion's search engine must be broken. As noted above, I entered "Los Angeles + History" and this is what popped ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/18/friday-flix-just-what-the-doctor-ordered/ An old gnarled trunk forms an eerie arch in the so-called "Badlands" of Elysian Park. Originally part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles' common lands, the 600-acre tract was officially established as the city's first public park in April 1886. Today the green space offers stunning city views and is home ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/18/photo-op-gateway-to-elysian-parks-badlands/ Famous as the film capital of the world and home to L.A.'s mythic "Boulevard of Dreams," Hollywood has come a long way since its founding in 1886. Carved from lands that once belonged to Ranchos La Brea and Los Feliz, the area was known to the region's Californios as "La ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/17/pop-quiz-hooray-for-that-famous-hollywood-name/ Don't call 'em a rehash. Think of 'em as Summer Reruns -- or better yet, "encore presentations." One of the downsides of blogging is posting an item you're really proud of, only to watch it slowly creep down your homepage and eventually disappear into the Twilight Zone of your site's archives, ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/16/summer-reruns-raiding-the-archives-to-bring-you-the-classics/ Postings to this blog may be light again this week as I focus attention on a number of pressing projects. First, cracking the code to add tagging features and a dynamic Blogroll page are proving more difficult than I thought. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time in ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/15/tuesday-scribblings-more-housekeeping-notes/ This week’s pick for most interesting, offbeat and/or entertaining web video sharing themes with this blog… Searching: YouTube! Keywords: "Los Angeles + Landmarks" The Result: How times have changed! Modern downtowners fret about hailing a cab to get from place to place. Nineteenth century Angelenos had to hoof it in every sense of ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/11/friday-flix-las-mean-streets-circa-1898/ Talk about art imitating life! When Echo Park's famous lotus flowers mysteriously vanished from the lake this year, a local photographer came up with a quaint solution: replace them with pictures. Which also promptly began (gasp!) disappearing. Honestly, neighbors, what did you think would happen? And in Other News... ... I may ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/09/blogobuzz-the-word-around-town-and-beyond/ The Film: Sunset Blvd., the 1950 film noir classic co-written/directed by Billy Wilder and starring Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson. The Scene: After leading two repo men on a high-speed car chase along a winding stretch of Sunset Blvd., down-on-his-luck screenwriter Joe Gillis (Holden) ditches them ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/08/pop-quiz-ready-for-your-sunset-blvd-close-up-challenge/ Well, the blog (and the world) survived the weekend as Dateline>City of Angels began some remodeling to update its look and feel. For now, most of the work is taking place in the background, so regular visitors will notice only minor changes. First off, I've added a detailed archive page that ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/07/monday-scribblings-tweaking-the-blog/ The 4th of July holiday just isn't the same when the Dodgers are on the road. It's not that I enjoy taking in a good ol' fashion American ballgame on the 4th -- I never do. Rather, unlike some of my Echo Park neighbors, I can't get enough of the ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/03/where-to-watch-the-rockets-red-glare/ Just a housekeeping note to advise readers that Dateline>City of Angels will take a short hiatus over this week's 4th of July holiday while I attempt several upgrades to the PHP code. Considering my feeble tech skills, this is always dangerous. For all I know, I could either crash my ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/02/warning-implosion-may-be-imminent/ According to Angelenic and other downtown blogs, the denizens at the heart of L.A. are growing restless. They want Hail-a-Cab, and they want it now. The plan, which would allow taxis to pull over and pick up fares outside of currently specified zones, sounds like a good idea on paper -- ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/02/hailing-a-cab-or-simply-more-whining/ Question: Ask someone where you'll find California's steepest streets and they'll likely guess San Francisco, where roadways like Filbert and 22nd sport a 31.5-percent grade. Hilly as the City by the Bay may be, however, it's got nothing on the City of Angels, which actually lays claim to not one, ... http://mimlay.com/blog/2008/07/01/pop-trivia-quiz-grind-your-gears-on-these-streets/