T$F H+R

Primm ~ Nevada

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January 01, 2008

“The nineteenth century was an era of significant change for Santa Catalina Island. The Island was host to Spanish ships, Native Americans, Russian and Aleutian otter hunters, miners, ranchers, and a company of Union soldiers. As the century drew to a close the Island’s history took an interesting turn when the fishermen and sheepherders were joined by entrepreneurs with the foresight and vision to develop the Island into a resort community. ” www.ecatalina.com

“At the time of first European contact, it is thought that the people living on Santa Catalina Island called their island Pimu and themselves Pimungans (or Pimuvit). They were excellent seamen and paddled their plank canoes skillfully across the sometimes treacherous channel to trade. After Spanish colonization, their apparently flourishing population declined drastically with the introduction of new diseases to which they had little immunity. As the mission system altered the economic landscape of Southern California, the Pimungans’ trade and social networks were disrupted.” www.catalina.com

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 ALOHA, TACO: I’m back from Hawaii, and I got the chance to experience some very fine island ganja. Very tasty, stinky, sticky Hawaiian skunk. It tastes and smells just like pinetrees, it’s OG outdoor kine bud… so good we smoked about 3ozs in two weeks. Stay Irie!!  

I took a trip down South a few months ago and volunteered to do a cursory report of the taco scene in Mexico, might as well have a reason to take pics of random taco stands! I should mention that as a longtime vegetarian I was completely unqualified for this task, and though I’m a fan of the taco lifestyle, you’ll not be getting any reviews of the tacos themselves, just some snapshots of the taco stand culture. If that’s okay with you, click ahead to start the tour!

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Since I joined the Taco team of Los Angeles reporters, I’ve gotten used to people staring at me in the streets of Los Angeles. “Why are you taking a picture of a pole? Everybody’s looking at us.” That’s my very embarrassed niece complaining on a night out in Boyle Heights. “I’m not taking the picture of a pole, I’m taking the picture of a rabbit. I think he’s a friend of ours.”

A bus driver stopped for me once then told me he wasn’t supposed to because this was a speed line. Why did he stop for me then? Because I was taking a picture of a newspaper vending machine. “No I wasn’t. I was taking the picture of a man with a party hat and one with a gun.”

Neither my niece nor the bus driver were impressed. I wasn’t surprised when I noticed tourists staring at me while I took picture after picture at a scenic vista point off of Highway 395. I knew what they were thinking. “Why are you taking a picture of this…

instead of THIS…

The Mono Craters in middleground. Do you see the resemblance?

I recently spent one week in the Owens Valley, home to the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I was driving North on Highway 14, nearing Highway 395, when the world became free of malls, brands, billboards, concrete. Unprepared for the sudden and radical change of scenery, I just lost my mind.

Red Rock Canyon Park, Highway 14, then off to Highway 395…

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On my way back home from Mono Lake, I stopped in Bishop bewitched by the sweet fragrance enveloping this Bakery…

Turned off by the herd of tourists inside, instead of taffies, I brought home some stickies…
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Memphis ~ TN

During a scorching 115º heat wave in August, “96º In The Shade“, Taco was touring Soulsville, USA, aka. Memphis, and taking in the Taco lifestyle in Tennessee. From barbecue to baseball, Beale Street to Stax Records, Memphis has it going on. Here is a glimpse of what we found.

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Bob Hope Airport ~ 2627 N. Hollywood Way Burbank, CA 91505

“Bloody Mary…Bloody Mary… Aahhhh.” Remember turning off the lights and standing in front of the bathroom mirror with your eyes closed, conjuring Bloody Mary with the beady red eyes? If you’re interested in what’s wrong with you (why are you locking yourself in the restroom with the lights off), check out folklorist Janet Langlois’ 1978 essay “Mary Whales I Believe In You.” Or, try South Park, episodes “Hell On Earth 2006″ and “Bloody Mary”. Now, our gruesome friend known as the “mirror witch” is unrelated to the iconic breakfast beverage. However, if you wake up one morning to find out that you, actually, are the mirror witch, I can recommend a remedy.

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