Site of the Flying Saucer on Miracle Mile

Site of the Flying Saucer on Miracle Mile
Originally uploaded by Snap Man

I was in the old neighborhood on Sunday, and stopped to take a photo of the old Flying Saucer site, on the northeast corner of Wilshire and Cochran.

From the 50s into at least the 80s, the Flying Saucer restaurant was an institution on the Miracle Mile, at the northeast corner of Wilshire and Cochran - serving barbecue spare ribs, chicken, and burgers at reasonable prices. The spare ribs, with cole slaw and fries, were the preferred local takeout for my family when I was growing up, two blocks away - and as Andrea Graham (a fellow devotee) has noted, the place never changed, never remodeled. That cole slaw - tangy, no mayo - was the best I've ever had.

It was torn down in the 1990s, replaced by a Staples office supply store, which paid homage to the original site by maintaining the Flying Saucer motif (pictured here).

Photo August 5, 2007 (by klk).

My 60th Birthday party

My 60th Birthday party
Originally uploaded by Snap Man

I knew only that David and Kenlyn were coming over - but then the food and drinks started rolling out, and came a knock on the door: Darryl, Angela, and Kaitlin, with Liz, Gary, and Jeanne, saying "Surprise!" Now I knew what Darryl meant the other day when he said he and Angela had "plans" for the weekend! Robin proceeded to lay out a spread of chips, veggies, dips, clams, mussels, sardines, and fruit. Then grilled portobello mushrooms and salmon off the grill. Finally, cake, ice cream, and watermelon. Thank you sweetheart! I had a GREAT time!

The President's Oath

Andrew Sullivan has it right:

It needs to be stated again and again that the fundamental job of the president is not to protect the people of America, but to protect their constitution. This president has gotten things exactly the wrong way round. In a terror war, we have to acclimatize ourselves to the fact that many Americans may have to die as a consequence of a collective decision not to become a police state or a presidential protectorate. A free country that remains free in the face of terror will necessarily have many casualties. A police state would have fewer casualties. Given a choice between a loss of life and retaining constitutional liberties, what would you pick? And what would the first Americans have picked?

We've slid a long way, haven't we?

L. A. Times to put ads on the front page

More evidence of the sad decline of a once-excellent paper.

More bad news about our food supply

In The Dark Side of Soy, Mary Vance offers words of caution:

Soy is indigenous to Eastern Asia, where it was once considered toxic and used only as a cover crop. It was eventually fermented for better digestibility; it had long been known that soy caused extreme digestive distress if consumed raw or undercooked. Fermenting soy deactivates these harmful constituents and creates health-promoting probiotics, the good bacteria our bodies need to maintain digestive and overall wellness.

...Asian populations may have had success with soy because they are consuming primarily the fermented forms.

Soy is everywhere in our food supply, as the star in cereals and health-promoting foods or hidden discreetly in processed foods...

Agri-giant Monsanto obtained FDA approval to market GM soy in 1996, and by 2004, a staggering 85 percent of the US crop was genetically modified...

Soy's naturally occurring phytates block absorption of essential minerals such as zinc. This is most worrisome for vegans and vegetarians consuming soy as their main source of protein, and for women in menopause who may be further upping their soy intake through supplements. The highest risk population is infants...

Idyllwild

It seems like it hasn't changed since the last time I was here, in 1990 - still quaint, arty, and quiet - no chain stores or restaurants allowed. We stayed two nights in a one-bedroom "rustic cabin" that had a stone fireplace, kitchen, and wireless internet connection(!).

Picnic dinner at Barnsdale Park

We packed a picnic and set out for one of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Screenings -but the cemetery was so jammed that we had our picnic at Barnsdale Park instead, and then went to see "Sicko" at the Arclight. Robin, James, and Cynthia, June 30, 2007

April in the West Indies

A Caribbean cruise, and a few days in San Juan, Puerto Rico, celebrating Robin's and my 15th anniversary. I took a few pictures, of course.

Looking for someone to love

Peter Rashkin writes

I'm getting excited about politics, and that's rare for me. The thing is, my congresswoman died, and there's a special election June 26 to replace her in this totally safe Democratic district. Some liberal SoCal Dem is going to congress, where she'll probably stay for the next 20 years. So for the first and perhaps only time, I get to have some input into who will represent me in Congress.

Right now there are two leading Democratic candidates, and I just met one and talked to her briefly. I told her I wanted to be involved and I was preparing some questions to help me decide who to support. She took my card and said she would get in touch with me. I will try to contact other leading candidates as well.

I've started a blog about this at 37th Congressional District - 2007 Election. I've posted my list of questions there, but I'm still working on them and would appreciate any input on them at this time.

You'll notice that there's nothing about Iraq, abortion, gay rights, healthcare or labor rights. These are all moderately liberal democrats or they couldn't be viable candidates here. I assume they will all basically agree on these core issues. (Maybe I should include a few questions on these issues to be sure I'm right.) I could try to tease out nuances, but I'm looking for issues I care about where there may be some differences. For example, if I could send someone to congress who could lead in getting us out of the drug war quagmire, that would be the greatest thing.

If you do or don't think these are good questions, I would be very glad to hear about it now, and to hear your suggestions. I basically agree with Susan Sontag, that if you study history you can't take politics seriously, but if I ever can, this is it!

I agree with Peter: this is an interesting opportunity.

Celebrating Darryl’s birthday

Unbelievably, Darryl is 38! A good caliber year.

James & I joined Darryl, Angela, Kaitlin, and Cynthia at D & A’s place in Sherman Oaks – and walked from there to the Clay Oven, an Indian restaurant on Ventura Blvd., for dinner. Good food, good conversation, and good behavior on Kaitlin’s part (considering that she’s just eighteen months old).

Kaitlin’s such a cutie! She's on the verge of talking: babbling, nodding, and gesturing, as if she knew what we were talking about.

Meanwhile, Robin's recovering from a back spasm that has her taking it easy until Monday...