Digital Ink Los Angeles

For most L.A. Westsiders, the 25th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival happening this weekend in Venice, California, is like a little New Orleans Mardi Gras mixed with Austin’s South-by-Southwest Music Festival.

Abbot Kinney was a visionary and a conservationist, but he was also a businessman. More than likely he would be proud of the current gentrified state of affairs on the street named after him — Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

Abbot Kinney’s dream of a “Venice USA” beach recreation development opened on July 4, 1905.

Though Abbot Kinney tried to create a bohemian mecca for arts and culture, the residents were more inclined for social parlors and sports activities. Even with some of the most astute lecturers and performers of this era providing a cultural beacon, Kinney’s artistic endeavor was a financial loser.

According to Westland.net, “By December 1905, Kinney knew his dream of creating a great cultural Mecca had failed and, ever the astute businessman, he turned his attention to accommodating the wishes of the public. The character of Venice succumbed to the beach goers and summer holiday guests who frequented the community’s many amusement attractions and Venice came to be known as the ‘Coney Island of the Pacific.’”

“By mid-January 1906, an area was built along the edge of the Grand Lagoon that was patterned after the amusement thoroughfares of the great 19th and 20th century expositions. It featured foreign exhibits, amusements, and freak shows. Trolley service was available from downtown and nearby Santa Monica.”

“Visitors were dazzled by the system of canals complete with gondolas and gondoliers brought in from Venice, Italy. There were ornate Venetian-style businesses and a full sized amusement pier. Around the entire park was a miniature steam railroad along a 2 1/2 mile track. Kinney and some of the nearby residents were aghast at some of the low-class shows that Venice began to offer, but it was considered the best congregation of amusement devices on the Pacific Coast, and it made a handsome profit.“

Eventually Kinney gained control of city politics and had the name changed from Ocean Park to Venice in 1911.

Today, Abbot Kinney Boulevard has replaced the beach boardwalk as the center of arts and culture in this seaside community. The 25th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival is a celebration of the man from New Jersey and his dream for a Utopian arts and culture mecca.

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Administrator 21st Century Culture, Stylio, The Good Life Abbot Kinney, artists, arts, California, celebration, cutlure, festival, fun, GOOD, Los Angeles, social, Venice

Los Angeles’ Topanga Canyon has a special venue for theater with
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

Thanks to FlavorPill’s Tanja Laden for the info:

In the ’50s, blacklisted actor Will Geer opened a theater on his Topanga property for fellow performers ostracized during the McCarthy Era. After landing the role of Grandpa Walton in the ’70s, Geer officially opened the nonprofit Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, which remains one of LA’s most beloved professional repertory theatres.

This summer, in addition to a trio of plays by Shakespeare and The Miser by Molière, the outdoor theater stages a clever retelling of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Adapted by Heidi Helen Davis and the play’s leading lady, Geer’s daughter Ellen, the play is reset from turn-of-the-century Russia to the heels of the Civil Rights Movement in 1970s Virginia, highlighting the timelessness of Chekhov’s last play.
–- Tanja Laden

Theater’s cool. And socially responsible.

But not socialism. Just social. Societal GOODness.

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Administrator 21st Century Culture, Social Responsibility, Stylio, The Good Life, writing acting, art, artisan, artists, arts, California, Chekhov, Los Angeles, plays, social, society, theater, Topanga, writing

According to the venerable web-lopedia Wikipedia:

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.

In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority.

Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.

US employers cut 216,000 jobs in August, pushing the unemployment rate up to 9.7%, a 26-year high, official figures show.

Unemployment in California is now above 11%, and this figure would be much higher if not for the largest penitentiary population in the United States. Total U.S. unemployment stands at 14.9 million.

This Labor Day, celebrate your job, if you have one, stay out of prison, and please give to Jerry’s Kids.

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Administrator 00s, 21st Century Culture, New America, New Economy, Social Responsibility California, change, Congress, economy, employment, Jerry's Kids, job, labor, Labor Day, New America, New Economy, Obama, progress, social, unemployment

The Cherokee word for “Fire” is a-tsi-la

Northern Los Angeles is on a-tsi-la right now.

The Los Angeles Times coverage has been pretty good.

Thanks to the LA County Fire Department for saving lives and risking their own.

Michael Martin Murphy had a big hit in the 70s called Wildfire — even though it’s about a horse named Wildfire lost in a blizzard , it still seems appropriate at this time.

Administrator 70s, Earth, Fire, Heroes, Social Responsibility, Water California, catastrophe, danger, Fire, firefighters, forest, heat, inferno, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times, risk, social, wildfire

Smokey the Bear’s been around for 65 years.

Smokey Bear’s message “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” was created in 1944 by the Ad Council. In a recent study, 95% of those surveyed could finish the sentence when given the first words.

The heat and dry air in California’s definitely a scary proposition for Smokey and his shovel.

California’s unable to pay any of its bills, so fire preparedness is not too good right now. Only who?

Administrator 21st Century Culture, Fire, Social Responsibility aware, bear, California, caution, danger, Fire, Forest Service, heat, nature, smoke, spark

Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing is happening this week at the always entertaining Huntington Beach Pier in Huntington Beach, Ca.

Surfline forecasts are calling for a nice southerly swell of 4-6 feet to start Friday and continue through Sunday, apparently the latter end of a southern Pacific storm from last weekend.

The U.S. Open of Surfing has made its home in Huntington Beach, Ca. since the early 60s, beginning with the south pier competition in the 50’s. According to the Hurley website:

“Fifty years at the Pier began in 1959, when the West Coast Surfing Championships (WCSC) became the biggest surfing event in the country – if not the world. HB local Jack Haley won the first event while the legendary Linda Benson took women’s. This was the beginning of a long tradition of competitive drama along the 300-yard stretch known as the ‘South Side.’“

Good buds and tasty waves in the warm July, Southern California sun. Check out 18-year old, lady surfer Coco Ho as she rides her way into the weekend heats.

Administrator 21st Century Culture, Athletes as Artists, Stylio, The Good Life, Water action, athletes, beach, bikinis, California, competition, culture, extreme, fun, GOOD, goodness, Huntington, pier, popular, soul, sports, sun, Super Good, surf, surfing, waves

One-hundred and ninety years ago this summer, the two-wheeled “Dandy Horse” became popular with several London and Paris townies who were looking for a little freedom from their idea of bipedalism: walking. These riders shuffled their feet along the ground, much like Fred Flintstone, to achieve mobility and forward progress. Unfortunately, the lack of a crank-shaft and custom-sizing prevented the two-wheeler from catching on.

However, in the 1860s, the French vélocipède bicycle was created by attaching rotary cranks and pedals to the front-wheel hub of a “Dandy Horse,” and the bicycle was born.

Nowadays, around the streets of Los Angeles, there’s a dramatic increase in the numbers of bicyclists, and the trend is led by myriad groups of spirited “Fixed-Gear” bicycle riders who like traveling without the luxury of brakes. See the LA Times article here.

Thanks to DoobyBrain.com and their assessment of current “Fixed-Gear” trends in the illustration here to the left. The image reflects the funny, quirky culture of fixed-gear enthusiasts.

The following link has some great Fixed-Gear bike images, because it is a Fixed Gear Bike Gallery.

July 2009 marks the 106th year and 95th racing of the Tour de France.

Get out and ride! Live Strong!

Administrator 21st Century Culture, Athletes as Artists, Stylio, The Good Life, Uncategorized bicycle, California, exercise, fixed-gear, fun, GOOD, hobby, legs, Los Angeles, racing, summer, Super Good, Tour de France, transportation, wheels