Raven Jake Dawes

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

Michael White Adobe in the Titan Shield

Shout out to Camille Wang, student editor-in-chief of the Titan Shield (San Marino High) for her coverage of the Michael White Adobe open house:

Michael White Adobe Open House

Last night, we held the second annual Michael White Adobe Open House at the adobe on the grounds of San Marino High School during their homecoming game against Monrovia.

Over to the right is Jane, cleverly disguised as Maria de Rosario Guillen de Blanco. No family members turned up this time around, but we did have a bunch of folks from the community come by and take a gander, and we also had a PTA chair, a school board member, and reps from the Old Spanish Trail Association, the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America, the San Marino Historical Society and the Ramona Museum.

We also screened a 14-minute movie that I produced with Abby Shamray. She wrote and directed the piece for her Girl Scout Gold Award, I shot some and edited, and I've gotta say, she did a terrific job of telling the story of the adobe and ways to integrate it into the school curriculum. So way to go, Abby! More on that later when we iron out a couple of sound issues and get it posted to Youtube.

Don't forget to keep checking the official Michael White Adobe website, as more things develop.

Michael White Adobe on the cover of Spanish Traces

Michael White Adobe on the cover of Spanish Traces, the Old Spanish Trail Association newsletter,  Fall 2011!

Find out more at http://www.oldspanishtrail.org/

Michael White Adobe Open House Oct. 28

Hey Y'all - Just like last year, the Michael White Adobe will be open before and during the homecoming game against Monrovia at 7 p.m. on Oct 28. Jane and I will be dressed as Maria del Rosario and Michael White. All are invited to tour the historic home of San Marino pioneer Michael White and see the plans for its restoration. And there's a lot goin' on too - the Friends of the Michael White Adobe have shored up the most damaged wall (thanks to NewHaven Builders and Roy Tolles) and Abby Shamray will be unveiling her girl scout gold project - a video about the adobe's history.   Over to the left is me filming while Martin of NewHaven Builders bores a hole through a 2-foot-thick adobe wall.

Meanwhile, back at the library...

Alrighty, here I was last weekend for Charles Perry's talk about the rise of restaurants. It was awesome. Another one through the hoop for Mr. Perry.

Now if you've never been to the L.A. central public library, it's time. It's like a shopping mall but with books. Parking on the weekend is $1.  Book rental is free.

So here's the next one up for the Culinary Historians of Southern California -

Simply Quince: From Breakfast to Dinner for 3,000 Years

Saturday, October 8th, 2011 – 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

Barbara Ghazarian presents a tribute to the heirloom quince (Cydonia oblonga). Learn why no other fruit symbolizes the continuity of civilization quite like the quince. She traces the fruit’s migration from its origin in the Caucasus, through history and across the globe. Barbara discusses dishes from her cookbook, Simply Quince, especially as they relate to ancient recipes and flavor combinations that inspired many of them.

There will be a members-only Armenian Dinner in Glendale, on the Tuesday following the program.Where: Old Gyumri, 4441 San Fernando Road, Glendale, CA 91204When: Tuesday, October 11, 2011, from 7pm to 9pmWhat: Culinary Historians members are invited to experience a traditional Armenian dinner in the atmosphere of a traditional Armenian village at Old Gyumri in Glendale. We will have a sampling of 15 different appetizers, soup, three different types of kebabs, and a casserole, with soft drink, tea, or coffee included. Host Alex Mhkitaryan will explain Armenian food traditions and act as our guide to a varied, interesting, and little-known cuisine.Cost: $30 per person includes dinner, non-alcoholic beverage, tax and tip. We now accept PayPal! Click here to request more information or to make your reservation.

This event is open to current CHSC members only. Click here for a printable Membership Application.

Culinary Historians and Homebrew this Weekend

Folks, I'm back at school and by rights I ought to be studying my butt off with no side distractions whatsoever. And I'd be stickin' to that plan too, except now we're gettin' into the time of the year when stuff gets interesting. Real interesting.

For starters, SoCal Culinary Historian Charles Perry switched up his Saturday talk. Instead of Spanish BBQ, he's goin' for the rise of the restaurant.   Here's the skinny on that one:

Dinner in the Exploding City

Saturday, September 10th, 2011 – 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

Charles Perry presents…

“Dinner in the Exploding City: Los Angeles Restaurants 1830-1930″

Before the famous Hollywood restaurants of the 1930s, there was a restaurant scene in Los Angeles – in fact, a swift series of scenes, from tamales around the old Plaza and French restaurants in adobes to the Croatian-owned places of the 1870s and 1880s. In the 1890s there were temples of haute cuisine, 24-hour diners and Japanese-owned 10-cent dinner houses, and in the 1900s, L.A. spawned the cafeteria and the theme restaurant. Every decade seemed to forget the previous one … a pattern that has continued.

Charles Perry is a fourth-generation Southern Californian. After (or despite) majoring in Middle Eastern Languages at UC Berkeley, he was an editor at Rolling Stone Magazine from 1968 to 1976. In 1978 he returned to Los Angeles as a food writer and worked in the L.A. Times Food Section from 1990 to 2008. He is the president and a co-founder of the Culinary Historians of Southern California.

 Programs, except where noted, are 10:30 a.m. at the Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, 630 West Fifth Street, Los Angeles 90071-2002. For more information, please call (213) 228-7241. Parking at the Central Library on Saturday and Sunday is $1.00 during library hours at 524 S. Flower St., with a library card and validation from the Information Desk in the library. Library cards are free.

Programs are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.

You do need to bring an id to get your library card, but an LA City Library card, besides the fact that you can use it at a bunch of locations, also gives you access to a bunch of internet resources. Well worth having.

And then I'm going to study for the next 30 hours straight.

Now some time back, Jane's Uncle Doug gifted us with a bunch of brewing equipment. We've made mead of course, and some beer, but we could really use a refresher course. Our primary brew shop is the Home Wine Beer and Cheesemaking Shop in Woodland Hills, home to the Cellar Masters and the Maltose Falcons. But it's kind of a haul to get out there. So we signed up for a new place that just opened in Eagle Rock for a Sunday evening class. If all goes well, there'll be a post on that soon. If all goes badly, there'll be a post on that soon.

Raven Jake and the Rainbow

Nothin' like a summer storm y'all. I'm not sure what happened yesterday, but had you been standin' in my driveway, this is what youd've seen. 'Cept more rainbow. Apparently Bilröst is located somewhere between my head and Asgard, the realm of the gods. 'Course, it only lasts a few minutes, so you gotta enjoy it while you can - kinda like this last summer, which passed way to quickly for my liking.

Down there's the god Heimdallr blowing into Gjallarhorn.

Big Plans for L.A.'s 230th Birthday

Folks, it's L.A.'s 230th and the San Gabriel Mission's 240th this weekend. We got over to the mission last night just in time for the bell ringing, but there is a full-blown fiesta in effect with food and carnival rides and the whole works.

The San Gabriel Historical Association Museum will be open on Saturday, Sept. 3rd. 1:00-4:00. They just received a copy of an oral history of Eulalia Perez de Guillen Marine, and Helen Salazar let us take a sneak peak at it last night. It's a copy of the 1957 typed English translation, and it's in Eulalia's section of the museum. This one's got a little extra info in it, maybe things that other people don't think are as important - a little anecdote about buried treasure, and some funny little songs she sang to Thomas Savage when he interviewed her. If you ask me, that's the best part. Here's the address of the museum - I'm fixing to meet up with some of the Old Spanish Trail Association Rancho Chapter around 1, then headin' out to the mission.
546 W. Broadway, San Gabriel, Ca. 91776, Museum phone (626) 308-3223 

The mission website is down with a virus, but they've got a jam-packed schedule over the weekend. I'm hoping to catch the blessing of the kids and animals at 1:45. If y'all have a particularly cute llama or offspring, or just one that's in dire need of being blessed, you ought to haul it on down there today. The mission staff is very accommodating and can handle a blessing in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, and they've got support staff that can bless in Chinese, if that's the language your Pekingese understands the best. They even have a super-tall priest, if you're bringin' a giraffe. (Sadly, that ain't me - this year. But it's on my list)

I heard that there's a Tongva tour of the mission grounds at 2, and John Fantz, docent extrordinare, is telling a mission story at 5. So there's something for everybody. After 5 we've got to clear out, 'cause Capt. Tim Ream is heading back up to Oregon and we'll need to swing by Lucky Baldwin's to see him off. There's a bunch of stuff goin' on in the Pueblo too, if that's where you'd rather celebrate. Come by and say "hi!"  - I'm wearin' my red Scully gambler shirt, so you can't miss me!

The Time Before History and the Rotti-Bear

Jane was over at the Natural History Museum to check out the new hall of mammals exhibit, and that put me in mind of one of our favorite books by Colin Tudge (as unlikely as it sounds, we're huge fans) So here's a clip from "The Time Before History," and a big shout out to Arctodus simus, which he recons resembled a giant rottweiler, except it was almost twice the size of a grizzly and might have hunted in packs.