The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets. University of Nebraska Press; 2005; 163 pages; $19.95. FROM THE DUST JACKET: "Kooser's Poetry Home Repair Manual is marked by impeccable clarity and focus of …
United States
The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets
Live from Marin County, California
Total Eclipse of the Big Yellow Ball The planets are coming, the planets are coming! I mean, they're disappearing. Sort of. It's a solar eclipse, babies. Everyone under his or her desks. Or is this …
April 14, 2005
Live from Marin County, California
Deep In The Amazon This is what happened. I wrote a book, submitted it to several publishers, and got rejected. I wrote another book, found a New York agent and a New York publisher. Within …
April 7, 2005
Live from Marin County, California
Fate is cruel. I think we can all agree on this one thing before I move on. Mostly cruel. Especially when one considers withering illnesses, rapid aging, death and taxes — all of which are …
March 31, 2005
Discover a showery 20-foot cascade in Coal Canyon, Orange County's premier wildlife corridor.
For at least three decades, the Coal Canyon diamond interchange on the Riverside Freeway through Santa Ana Canyon was a virtual joke, featuring ramps to and from nowhere. "Nowhere" might have been replaced by subdivisions …
March 31, 2005
Rachel Pink In Manhattan
Slice Of Paradise THURSDAY The last day of work looms and I'm glad to have a break. My nephew, that brilliant four-year-old ball of personality, is coming to stay overnight with just me and Chuck …
March 24, 2005
Before the Robot Ate Me
Before the Robot Ate Me played San Francisco's Make-Out Room March 23, the San Francisco Bay Guardian proclaimed, "Those who thought intelligent music could never come out of a superficial city like San Diego will …
March 24, 2005
The Great Boston Molasses Flood
Matt: Did you ever hear of the Great Boston Molasses Flood, sometime back in the 1920s? Lots of people drowned in a nasty, sticky, slow death. Details, please. -- Tim, not in Boston Just my …
March 24, 2005
Rachel Pink in Manhattan
WEDNESDAY In a desperate search for Febreze I headed to the Astor Place Kmart. I try to visit my not-at-all-friendly Manhattan Kmart on a quarterly basis. Something about visiting a chain store makes me guilty. …
March 17, 2005
March Madness
Head out the door, find a freeway, and drive to Lindbergh Field. Get on a plane and fly to Des Moines, Iowa. Rent a car, motor north on I-35, turn right on Highway 20, turn …
March 17, 2005
Rachel Pink in Manhattan
My blog, Rachelpink Rides the Bus, started as a lark over a long weekend. At first it was an exercise in self-restraint. I thought I was talking too much, talking all the time. I figured …
March 10, 2005
A Florida Newspaper Writes
A Florida newspaper writes, "Louis XIV, a San Diego foursome set to release its major-label debut on Atlantic in April, is better when it locks into a tight, retro groove: Big, dumb, loud rock 'n' …
February 17, 2005
Out and About
Between 2000 and 2003, the Metropolitan Transit Development Board closed down Dial-A-Ride programs around the county. As budget crunches hit, the transit board had to choose between cutting fixed bus-route service or the Dial-A-Ride programs …
February 10, 2005
Bound for Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America
Bound for Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America (George Gund Foundation Imprint in African American Studies). University of California Press; January 2005; 472 pp.; $29.95 FROM THE DUST JACKET: Paul Bontemps decided to …
January 27, 2005
L.A.'s Porter Ranch district features trails overlooking the wide San Fernando Valley.
Residents of the upscale Porter Ranch district of Los Angeles enjoy open spaces and neighborhood trails overlooking the vast San Fernando Valley. These are publicly accessible trails, so you don't have to be a resident …
January 20, 2005