Raven Jake Dawes

More Chuntaro Boots

This just in from Marcello at Guanabee: (sensitive readers, there's some language involved but it's impossible not to get excited about chuntaro boots)

 

Supply and demand, bitches; you covet awesome chuntaro boots, and now a manufacturer by the name of Rancho Hipster is here to take care of you.

Dude, these guys ARE NOT fucking around. You want a pair of pointy boots so long and pointy that they'll practically poke your own eyes out? They can make those. Wanna bedazzle your name on some cowhide with LEDs, gold or diamonds? That can be done. Or what about stitching religious artifacts -- Virgen Marias, rosaries, Santa Muertes -- anything so that you may ward off evil chuntaros? Not a problem. How determined is Rancho Hipster to please its customers? "We'll can do anything that's humanly possible," is what they've written on their Mercado Libre (an ebay or sorts) ordering page:

What? You think your loved ones would rather get a box of chocolates as a bday present instead of an awesome set of chuntaro boots? Rancho Hipster doesn't think so:

And you know what? They are 100% right.

Blessing of the Animals Sat April 7

Folks, I was strollin' down Olvera Street just the other day when I saw a banner announcing that the annual Blessing of the Animals is coming up. Right before Easter. So if the critter in your life is a devout Catholic, or just plain bad, you might want to take the opportunity to launch a pre-emptive strike.

Over at the left, you can see that this Wookie is up to something. Now I'm not sure if a Wookie is technically an "animal" or more like another race of hominid, or if space aliens count as animals as far as blessings are concerned, but I do know this: You can't be too careful when it comes to Wookies. Or Bigfeet. Or Bears. Or rattlesnakes. Git 'em all blessed and let God sort 'em out.

Food Obsessionals: New Orleans and the French Connection

Well alright folks - I'm plugging another Culinary Historians of Southern California event 'cause I like 'em so much. This one I'll be missing, since I'm going to be playing an astronaut who's been abandoned on a space station for 20 years in a short film. Talk about typecasting! Jane'll probably show up for it, though.  Hard to say "no" to New Orleans cuisine.

Saturday, March 10, 2012, at 10:30 AM at the Los Angeles Public Library

Mark Taper Auditorium, Downtown Central Library, 630 W. 5th St.

Free and open to the public

Albert Sonnenfeld speaking on…

“Food Obsessionals: New Orleans and the French Connection”

The Louisiana Purchase was as good a deal as the purchase of Manhattan, especially for the culture of food. Mark Twain wrote of New Orleans that to understand its culture one needs to imagine what French society would be like in a genial climate and in the freedom of a new country; Sherwood Anderson apostrophized New Orleans as “dear city of Latins and hot nights.” The “Big Easy” is above all a “Catholic city” in its view of the pleasures of the bedroom, table and kitchen, a refuge from Cromwellian austerity, that curse brought upon our land by a Puritan heritage.” I call this “the French Connection.” Though the architecture of the Carre or Quarter is Spanish; the food culture is FRENCH Catholic.

As Marcelle Bienvenue asked (without answering): “Who’s your Mama, Are you Catholic and can you make a Roux?”

The talk is a small unsweetened beignet of cultural history…

Albert Sonnenfeld calls himself a cultural historian. He is a free-lance journalist, restaurant consultant and reviewer, and for many years literature professor at Princeton (1959-1986) and USC (Chevalier Professorship, 1986-2004).

Sonnenfeld’s edition of Food: A Culinary History (Columbia University Press, November 1999) attracted media attention. Since 1999, he has directed the series, Arts of the Table: Studies in Culinary History for Columbia University Press, where he has published Culture of the Fork (2001). His edition and translation from the Italian of Il Cibo come cultura (Food as culture) appeared in 2006.

Four times decorated by the French Republic, most recently as Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres (1997), and as Chevalier dans l’ordre du mérite agricole (2003). He served four terms on the National Board of Directors of The American Institute of Wine and Food, whose L.A. chapter he co-chaired. In 2002 he was named editor of The FCI Review by The French Culinary Institute of New York. He was food columnist and restaurant reviewer for Westside News Publications and Brentwood Media Group and he is syndicated by “Critique Guides Series.”

Upcoming Events

Folks, I'm off to visit Tecopa Tom for a couple o' days while attending the Sierra Club conference and the Old Spanish Trail Rendezvous. Here are the Facebook event pages: http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/187301418036211/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/330052833706236/

Should be a pretty great weekend, since everything in Tecopa / Shoshone is pretty great. (As you can see I'm waiting for Jane to finish her business, as usual. Time makes a man patient.) So if y'all are in Death Valley, come see me at the potluck on Saturday night. If you want to make a weekend of it, drive to Baker, get yourself some alien jerky, then go up that alley behind the Mad Greek for about an hour or so and you'll be in Shoshone.

Next up -  LA Heritage Day 2012 is on Sunday, April 29th from 10am to 4pm.

This year's event will take place at El Pueblo Historic Monument along
the historic Plaza in partnership with them. This is great because it
is near Olvera Street and Union Station, so it has many public transit
& parking options. It also allows for a number of museums & LAHA
members  to see increased patronage and exposure. (See the site here:
http://elpueblo.lacity.org)

I don't know if we'll be representing the Old Spanish Trail Association or the Michael White Adobe or both, but the LA Heritage Alliance has about 250 member organization from folks who are preserving buildings, to the culinary historians and the citrus industry historians to different museums, so there really is something for everyone. 

AKC Hit Picks for 2012

I'd like to send a shout out to my two favorite freaky little dogs, the Xoloitzcuintli (the Mexican hairless) and the Norwegian lundehund (the Norwegian puffin hound), for receiving the American Kennel Club's recognition as distinct breeds fit to compete in the AKC's Non-Sporting Group at dog shows nationwide. 

Over here at the right, we've got the best of their kind. According to the LA Times caption: "Namina, a Xoloitzcuintli, left, and Eowyn, a Norwegian lundehund, at the AKC's offices in New York City on Jan. 26. Credit: Gary Gershoff / Getty Images for American Kennel Club."

The Xoloitzcuintli pronounced "show-low-eats-queen-tlee" has been around in Mexico for at least 3.000 years and was a card-carrying member of the AKC until 1959. Nice to have you Xolos back. They come in two flavors - hair-on and hair-off and three sizes: small, medium and venti (which isn't really large, it's just bigger than medium, as anyone who's ever bought their coffee at Starbucks can tell you.)

Now the other one, the Norwegian lundehund, also comes from a proud tradition: this one of snaking puffins (like a penguin, but even cuter) off their nests on the sides of freezing cliffs on the Arctic Sea and bringin' them home for supper. To manage this they developed some unique physical characteristics, and here's what Lindsay Barnett has to say about that:

"they have extra toes on each paw (most have six toes on each foot, though some have seven), making them especially surefooted; thick double coats that allow them to thrive in cold weather; extremely flexible necks and shoulders; and ears that can fold closed to protect the ear canal from debris. When puffin hunting fell out of favor, the dogs did as well, and the breed nearly died out until a concerted effort to revive it was undertaken in the years after World War II."

They also have  fully articulated joints, meaning they bend like crazy. All cartillage, no bone. Frugal Fanny says:

"While today's Lundehund has many unique traits that are usually only found sporadically in other dog breeds, it bears a similarity to the Varanger Dog- a canine specimen found in Lapland, Russia, dating back 5000 years. Many scientists believe that the Lundehund is the original domesticated dog, and that it is living historical relic from before the last Ice Age."

So there you go. That picture above? Last thing a puffin ever sees. So congrats Namina and Eowyn, good luck with the competition and all your future endevors.

 

Protest SOPA & PIPA

Folks, I was going black for today, but Typepad hasn't gotten with the protest. Just know that I'm against anyone or anything trying to take away our first amendment rights.

Many websites are blacked out today to protest proposed U.S. legislation that threatens internet freedom: the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). From personal blogs to giants like WordPress and Wikipedia, sites all over the web — including this one — are asking you to help stop this dangerous legislation from being passed. Please watch the video below to learn how this legislation will affect internet freedom, then scroll down to take action.

 

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Old Spanish Trail Meeting on Saturday

Folks I'm a great believer in alternative energy, but I'm not a believer in giving huge tracts of pristine desert to power companies so they can ruin public land for a profit. This is becoming a huge problem all over the California desert and we're going to have to band together to do something about it.

Now some of the land that's supposed to get windmills and solar panels all over it is part of the Old Spanish Trail, specifically the Tecopa part of the trail, so I'm going to be at this meeting, and if you're going too, please RSVP with Paul McClure.

Here's the forwarded message:

Please join us on Saturday, January 21, 2012, for a very important meeting!

An OSTA Alert

Old Spanish Trail Faces New Threats in the Mojave. What Can OSTA Do? Help Us Find the Answers… Proposed solar energy and wind farm projects endanger the Old Spanish Trail corridor in some of the most sensitive and unspoiled areas of the Mojave. The Hidden Hills solar plant and the Silurian Valley wind farm would both require massive grading and erect huge structures (twin 750-foot high towers at Hidden Hills; more than 120 windmills from 250-400 feet high along Highway 127 in the scenic Silurian Valley near Death Valley). Both projects would impinge on the Trail and destroy unspoiled desert vistas.

Join with Tecopa chapter leaders and OSTA members from California and Nevada on January 21, 2012, to plan an effective response that makes sure the Trail is protected now that the U.S. is locating renewable energy in the desert. The Tecopa chapter is established with regulatory agencies as an “Intervener” and is actively engaged on these two projects, as well as ongoing research on the Trail. This is your chance to become involved. 

When: Sat., Jan. 21, 12:00 noon to 3:00 PM

Where: Gallery auditorium of the Workman-Temple Homestead Museum 
15415 East Don Julian RoadCity of Industry, California 91745 
Phone: (626) 968-8492 
Web: www.homesteadmuseum.org
Who: All OSTA members in CA and NV

Refreshments: 
Sandwiches and drinks will be available
Cost: Free to OSTA members and guests with advance registration 

The Program

OSTA’s Jan. 21 Strategy and Action Planning session will:

Review proposed projects and evaluate possible mitigation measures 

Consider proposing efficient alternatives, such as placing power generation where the population is. This can be achieved by installing rooftop on industrial and large government buildings, warehouses, and parking lots in our cities. 

Plan and organize OSTA monitoring and participation in the regulatory and environmental proceedings for each project, contacting elected officials, and coordinating with other historical and environmental organizations 

Offer you the chance to get involved with ongoing OSTA projects, including: 

Field location and recording of the 1829-1848 mule trace being conducted by the Tecopa chapter 

Archival research to document the OST in CA and NV 
Preparation of OSTA field and archival data for Geographical Information Systems (GIS) presentations. 

Register for this free event by return e-mail to Paul McClure ([email protected]) or by telephone at 909-305-0505. Please include names of all in your party who plan to attend. This is so that we can prepare an attendance list and order the right amount of food and drinks.

One City, One Book: the Sherlockian

One day perhaps I'll pull an Oprah and start (or maybe even join) a book club. That day ain't today. Mostly, I don't read novels. But on Thursay, Jane and I were off at the Crowell Public Library in San Marino doin' our thing with the Friends of the Michael White Adobe board and well, one thing led to another.

Before I could even say "mysteries are lame," Jane had checked out San Marino's "One City, One Book" for 2012, which is "The Sherlockian" by Graham Moore, and we'll be reading it over the next couple o' weeks.

The concept of "One City, One Book" was started in Seattle in 1998, and since then about 400 different cities across the country have joined in. The idea is that everyone in a community is encouraged to read the same book, attend discussions or maybe meet the author. Sometimes the book chosen is written by a local, or the story is set in that town. Sometimes they just go for a classic like "Grapes of Wrath" or "To Kill a Mockingbird." Anyway, it's supposed to encourage the community to read more, support the local library (or community center or city hall or whoever's promoting the event) and get people talkin' about books. The Library of Congress keeps a list of who's participating and what they're reading, but it's pretty badly out-of-date.

So we don't really read a lot of novels, or who-done-its, but that's not really the point of being in a book club, is it? You can read what you want to read any old time, this is about getting out of your rut and reading something different. Apparently young Graham Moore, over there on the left, is an LA guy, so maybe we'll be running into him one of these days.  So here's one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2012: Join the City of San Marino in reading "The Sherlockian." Can't hurt, might help. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

__________________________________________

Sherlockian update: I like the idea of a community book better than I like the execution, however, at least in this instance, I was surprised. I'd planned to give it the benefit of a 50-page pity read and just see if I wanted to keep going. The whole concept of a socially awkward Sherlock Holmes nut just wasn't doin' it for me, quite frankly. Then after about the fourth chapter we were totally hooked. Spent all of Sunday reading the entire book cover-to-cover out loud in bed. Got done a little after midnight. It's a page-turner, I assure you. The Crowell Library in San Marino has a bunch of Arthur Conan Doyle / Sherlock / mystery events planned culminating in the arrival of author Graham Moore in mid April. Hate to say it, but I can't wait for his next book!

Happy Kwanzaa Y'all

Well folks, we're right in the middle of the holiday season and it seems like that season gets a little longer every year. At this point, I'm pretty sure "happy holidays" means "happy everything from Halloween to Valentine's. And you know what? That's something I can get behind. Celebrating, I mean - I think most holiday stuff is too commercial and not meaningful enough or even fun enough. Nothin' FUN about being in a shopping mall the week before Christmas. Raven Jake don't cotton to that.

And that's why I like Kwanzaa. Nothin' wrong with another reason to celebrate. Now many people think that Kwanzaa is only for African-Americans. Not so. 1) it's a secular holiday, and that means that you won't be offending a god you don't subscribe to by participating and 2) it's a good idea and no one race can own a good idea. Good ideas belong to everybody. However, the terminology is a bit tricky.

So - Kwanzaa starts on December 26 and is devoted to the concept of Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles, or if you like, a little something to meditate on each day as you warm up for the New Year.

The first day, today, December 26, is Umoja, (oo–MO–jah) unity. Unity with family, friends and community.

Dec. 27 (Tues.) is Kujichagulia, (koo–gee–cha–goo–LEE–yah) self-determination. Goes without sayin.' Take responsibility and fix what's wrong with your life. 

Dec. 28 (Wed.) is Ujima, (oo–GEE–mah) collective work and responsibility. Some things are too much for one person to fix. You've got to play nice with others.

Dec. 29 (Thurs.) is Ujamaa, (oo–JAH–mah) cooperative economics. This is about sharing the harvest - sharing the work, sharing the bounty. Giving back to your community and being charitable, in both material and spiritual ways.

Dec. 30 (Fri.) is Nia, (nee–YAH) purpose, finding meaning, moving forward.

Dec. 31 (Sat) is Kuumba, (koo–OOM–bah) creativity, a little somethin' to get you going on New Year's Eve

and Jan. 1 (Sun.) is Imani, (ee–MAH–nee) faith, 'cause you've gotta belive that things are going to get better.

Happy Kwanzaa Y'all

 

Fela! at the Ahmanson Theatre

Remember my New Year's Resolution for 2011? It was that I'd start tellin' y'all about stuff I was going to do BEFORE it happened, instead of just tellin' you that you missed a great party. Now obviously a lot of stuff happens in my life that's just spontaneous - I can't rightly say "meet me over at the Revivals in Cat City and we'll see if any of my old furniture has come back to haunt me. Maybe pick out a nice string tie for you..." but if I know I'm goin' to some official sort of event, then I'm making a better effort to get the word out.  

Case in point: I'm going to see Fela! on Jan. 6. at the Ahmanson Theatre. It's a musical about Fela Kuti, his life, political activism and music. Get yourself a ticket, come on down. You can bet I'll have plenty to say afterward (and I actually am a huge fan of Nigerian drumming) but since the show only runs through Jan. 22, you might want to make your move now.

http://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/productiondetail.aspx?id=15491