Life Style & Travel

UNITED STATES—Regrets, I’ve had a few, but not too few to mention. In fact, regret has been a dynamic force for change and improvement. I will even go so far as to say that it is one of the secret secrets of success: of course you must put shoes on regret and walk forward with the knowledge so painfully acquired. One...

UNITED STATES—It is easy to see why there are optimum times to prune, and just as easy to see when pruning should not be done. Generally, deciduous plants prefer to get pruned while dormant and bare. They should not be pruned when actively blooming or making new foliage. Roots are of course not so easy to see. Do we...

UNITED STATES—Two thousand dollars was an unusually small amount for a trust deed. For that amount I had sewn up as collateral the whole ramshackle six-unit apartment house on 47th St. The payments came from Gus Morales as regular as clockwork, thus vindicating my faith in Gus and his family. There came a time when I would leave Los Angeles...

UNITED STATES—I ran into a post from @theshaderoom on Instagram that discussed how Demi Lovato recently shared her DNA ancestry results on social media and received some backlash for it. According to the post, it turns out that the starlet has Spanish, Irish, British Scandinavian and Native American ancestry. Additionally, Lovato revealed that she is also 1 percent African....

UNITED STATES—They are weeds for a reason. They grow like . . . well, weeds! By definition, they are unwanted. Yet, they typically proliferate and grow faster than desirable plants. They aggressively compete for space, sunlight and resources. Many weeds start to grow through winter, and get established while other seedlings are just beginning to germinate, or other plants...

UNITED STATES—What if it really did rain incessantly for 40 days and 40 nights? Most scientists would tell us there would be flooding but nothing like the “Great Flood” encountered by Noah or the one depicted in the blockbuster disaster movie, 2012. The situation would, however, certainly require some rethinking in terms of daily transportation. To that end, here...

UNITED STATES—Money in the bank--that's what this new iteration of the screenplay way.  Confident, buoyant, even a little cocky. It was heady to be working on it with an accomplished filmmaker, and it gave me something to talk about at parties. But I just realized something: because of my native thrift I had plenty of money now, thanks to property...

PALM SPRINGS, CA—It is our distinct privilege to present our sixteenth Native FilmFest organized by the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum. The Museum is a non-profit organization with the mission to inspire people to learn about the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and other Native cultures. We keep the spirit alive through exhibitions, collections, research, a variety of cultural...

UNITED STATES—Cherry blossoms are such an excellent tradition in Washington D.C., as well as in Japanese neighborhoods of the West Coast. 'Kwanzan' and 'Akebono' flowering cherries in Japantown of San Jose are glorious when they bloom early in spring. They are less common, but just as spectacular in Los Angeles. More varieties grow in the cooler climates of Sacramento,...

UNITED STATES—I have friends in high places. One of them is Jesús of Hollywood. He recently told me I was due a big payday. That reminded me of a motif running throughout the house management days. That would be the seductive idea of having it made. The quixotic idea of 'having it made' comes from gazing hungrily and enviously at those...