Search results for ""Santa Monica Press""

Revised and Updated in September 2020!Containing walks and detailed maps from throughout the city, Secret Stairs highlights the charms and quirks of a unique feature of the Los Angeles landscape, and chronicles the geographical, architectural, and historical aspects of the city’s staircases, as well as of the neighborhoods in which the steps are located.From strolling through the classic La Loma neighborhood in Pasadena to walking the Sunset Junction Loop in Silver Lake, to taking the Beachwood Canyon hike through “Hollywoodland” to enjoying the magnificent ocean views from the Castellammare district in Pacific Palisades, Secret Stairs takes you on a tour of the staircases all across the City of Angels.The circular walks, rated for duration and difficulty, deliver tales of historic homes and their fascinating inhabitants, bits of unusual local trivia, and stories of the neighborhoods surrounding the stairs. That’s where William Faulkner was living when he wrote the screenplay for To Have and Have Not; that house was designed by Neutra; over there is a Schindler; that’s where Woody Guthrie lived, where Anais Nin died, and where Thelma Todd was murdered . . .Despite the fact that one of these staircases starred in an Oscar-winning short film—Laurel and Hardy’s The Music Box, from 1932—these civic treasures have been virtually unknown to most of the city’s residents and visitors. Now, Secret Stairs puts these hidden stairways back on the map, while introducing urban hikers to exciting new “trails” all around the city of Los Angeles.

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The punk rock scene of the 1970s and ’80s in Southern California is widely acknowledged as one of the most vibrant, creative periods in all of rock and roll history. And while many books have covered the artists who contributed to the music of that era, none have exclusively focused on the vitality and influence of the women who played such a crucial role in this incredibly dynamic and instrumental movement. We Were Going to Change the World captures the stories of women who were active in the SoCal punk rock scene during this historic time, adding an important voice to its cultural and musical record. Through exclusive interviews with musicians, journalists, photographers, and fans, Stacy Russo has captured the essence of why these women were drawn to punk rock, what they witnessed, and how their involvement in this empowering scene ended up influencing the rest of their lives. From such hugely influential musicians and performers as Exene Cervenka, Alice Bag, Kira, Phranc, Johanna Went, Teresa Covarrubias, and Jennifer Precious Finch, to such highly regarded journalists, DJs, and photographers as Ann Summa, Jenny Lens, Kristine McKenna, Pleasant Gehman, and Stella, to the fans and scenesters who supported the bands and added so much color and energy to the scene, We Were Going to Change the World is an important oral history of the crucial contributions women injected into the Southern California punk rock scene of the 1970s and ’80s. Empowering, touching, and informative, Stacy Russo’s collection of interviews adds a whole new dimension to the literature of both punk rock and women’s studies.

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For nearly sixty years, Bud Furillo wrote and talked about sports in Southern California. As a reporter, columnist, editor, and pioneer of sports talk radio, the Steamer dished out insight and understanding to Southern California sports fans while Los Angeles grew into a sports empire. Here, Furillo's son, Andy, himself a longtime newspaperman, uses his father's lens to give focus to the city's rise as a sports empire. THE STEAMER is a history of a great sports town at its most dynamic, told from the point of view of a legendary reporter.

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From American Beauty (overrated) to The Night of the Hunter (masterpiece), this collection of Peter Rainer's film critiques spans the course of his illustrious 30-year career, which dates back to the early 1980s. Rainer covers films both well-known and obscure and writes in depth about many film auteurs - Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, the Coen Brothers, Mike Leigh - and up-and-comers, such as Sofia Coppola and Paul Thomas Anderson. The careers of actors ranging from Marlon Brando and Jessica Lange to Robert De Niro are also given an extensive examination.

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Anyone who has ever wondered where Dorothy's ruby slippers, the limo that JFK was riding in when he was assassinated or Michael Jackson's sequinned glove are housed will find the answers here. Hundreds of items from America's pop culture past - its history, its sports, its movies, crime and TV - are listed in locations as famed, diverse and downright odd as the Smithsonian Institute, the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Sing Sing Prison Museum and the Museum of Pez Memorabilia. Includes George Washington's wooden teeth, the piano from Casablance and John Wilkes Booth's thorax.

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Revised and Updated in September 2020!The hills of the East Bay contain one of the finest and densest urban hiking environments in the state of California—more than 400 paved pathways and public staircases lattice up and down the slopes of Berkeley and Oakland alone. Rising high above the city centers, with towering views of the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, and San Francisco itself, these elegant civic walking trails—many of them shaded in oaks and redwoods, and many unknown even to local residents—present a unique landscape for both the casual walker and dedicated hiker.Charles Fleming, the Southern California author whose bestselling 2010 walking guide Secret Stairs turned the hidden public staircases of Los Angeles into popular hiking trails, now turns his eyes northward. For Secret Stairs: East Bay, Fleming has designed more than 30 individual hiking loops. Linking multiple staircases into one-to two-hour self-guided strolls, these urban treks will delight the tourist, newly arrived Berkeley undergraduate, and veteran Bay Area resident alike.The circular walks, each calibrated by length, difficulty, and duration—and each accompanied by a detailed, easy-to-follow map—are sprinkled with fascinating facts about the historic staircases, the historic homes around them, and the famous Bay Area characters who gave them their names. Walk the walks of Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and John Muir! Climb Berkeley’s massive Fred Herbert and Tamalpais Paths, hike Easter Way, and summit Sunset Trail! Mount Oakland’s Oakmore stairs, then tackle the hills of Upper Rockridge and Crocker Highlands via the public staircases. And do it all within easy walking distance from BART or bus stops, free parking, and excellent Bay Area cafés.

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A work of cinematic archaeology unearthing titbits of the history of Los Angeles and the early film industry hidden within Chaplin's timeless films. Combines movie images with archival photographs, vintage maps, contemporary photographs and scores of then-and-now comparison photos to conjure the silent movie era from an entirely new perspective. Includes not only Chaplin's classic films, but his lesser-known short movies and early work, highlighting both the genius of the man and the evolution of the city that provided the backdrop for his art.

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This authoritative guide to those annoying and embarrassing tricks everyone grows up with (and maybe never outgrow) provides |sage| advice for the young and the young at heart. Arranged in encyclopaedic format, each of the more than 50 entries includes a formal definition of the prank, followed by tips for execution and counter-measures. A ranking system places each act on a scale of 1 to 10 for its degree of pain, embarrassment, annoyance and degree of difficulty. Fun and irritating tricks include the Burp 'n' Blow, the Rat Tail and the Marker 'Stache.

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Suffused with a unique brand of irreverent humour, this account recalls the author's autobiographical explorations of the most significant alternative communities, ashrams, gurus, shamans and consciousness-raising seminars of the past 40 years. Serving as a human guinea pig for many of the most popular cutting-edge New Age and spiritual experiments, Sobel recounts his intercontinental adventures in India, Israel, Brazil and Haiti. A witty analysis including brushes with cults, wild experiments with sex and drugs, and encounters with visionary madmen.

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Revised and Updated in September 2020!Secret Walks: A Walking Guide to the Hidden Trails of Los Angeles is a sequel to the popular Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles, and features another collection of exciting urban walks through parks, canyons, and neighborhoods unknown and unseen by most Angelinos. Each walk is rated for duration, distance, and difficulty, and is accompanied by a map.The walks, like those in Secret Stairs, are filled with fascinating factoids about historical landmarks—the original Bat Cave from Batman, the lake where Opie learned to fish on The Andy Griffith Show, or the storage barn for one of L.A.’s oldest wineries. The book also highlights the people who made the landmarks famous: the infamous water engineer William Mulholland; the convicted murderer and philanthropist Colonel Griffith J. Griffith; Charles Lummis, who walked from Cincinnati to Los Angeles to take a job on the L.A. Times; and tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney, who dug canals to drain the marshes south of Santa Monica and create his American “Venice.”Written in the entertainingly informed style that has made Secret Stairs a Los Angeles Times best-seller, Secret Walks is the perfect book for the walker eager to explore but tired of the crowds at Runyon Canyon or Temescal Park.

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WINNER OF THE GRATEFUL AMERICAN BOOK PRIZE! FINALIST FOR THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARD! Mattie and the Machine is a fictionalized yet historically accurate account of Margaret E. Knight’s fight to obtain recognition as a 19th century female inventor (she would eventually be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006). This entertaining tale is filled with romance, competition, and treachery, and features a feisty and brilliant female heroine who excels in STEM-related tasks. In 1868 New England, fifteen-year-old Mattie is a mechanic in Columbia Paper’s all-female bag division. With paper bag sales booming after the Civil War, her boss expands the division by hiring men from his old Army regiment, including the mechanic Frank. Sparks instantly fly between Mattie and Frank, and their budding romance has her walking on air—until she discovers Frank’s pay is higher than hers. In fact, all the men receive thirty percent more than their female counterparts. The boss’s rationale? Men are inherently better with machines. Determined to prove him wrong, Mattie proposes a bet: If she can build a machine that fully automates their paper-bag-making process, the women will receive equal pay. If she fails, she’ll resign as mechanic. The boss accepts, with one condition: Frank will also build a machine, and Mattie’s must beat his. Mattie’s determination as she struggles with the technical challenges she encounters while taking her invention from initial concept to working prototype—in addition to the overwhelming prejudice she faces in the workplace and, eventually, the courtroom—makes her story an inspiring feminist narrative. Mattie and the Machine also includes an appendix with Margaret E. Knight’s actual patent application and drawings for her Bag Machine.

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Can surfing change your life? For Ellie, it most certainly does. Vezna Andrews’ debut novel is set in 1980s Southern California, where sixteen-year-old Ellie discovers herself through her love of surfing. Born and raised in New York City, Ellie’s world is turned upside down when her father unexpectedly dies and her mother sends her to Manhattan Beach, California to live with her Aunt Jen and her Uncle Charlie—both avid surfers. Ellie’s new home is a sharp contrast to the loft in New York City’s garment district where she grew up. Heartbroken about her dad, and worried about her mom, who drinks too much, Ellie doesn’t fit in with the preppie girls at her new California high school, who eventually gang up on and bully her. Thankfully, with the encouragement of Aunt Jen and Uncle Charlie, Ellie discovers surfing, which becomes her passion and her refuge. While surfing California’s wild coast, Ellie experiences surfing's spiritual, healing qualities, including magical encounters with wild dolphins, whales, and sea lions. Eventually, Ellie finds a group of like-minded souls who show her what true friendship is—and she experiences first love. Though her relationship with her mom grows strained, Ellie becomes close to Aunt Jen, Uncle Charlie, and their community of surfers. Through surfing, Ellie develops the confidence and strength needed to navigate her own path in life—surfing literally saves her.

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Between 1943 and 1944, nearly 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were rescued from the Holocaust, including thousands who had already been rounded up and put on trains bound for death camps in Poland. Dominic Carrillo’s suspenseful novel Acts of Resistance is based on the true story of this incredibly heroic effort by the citizens of Bulgaria. In Carrillo’s powerful account, he skillfully weaves together a thrilling tale told by three alternating teenage narrators: Misho, Peter, and Lily.Misho, an 18-year-old Jewish boy, is a prominent archbishop’s driver, hiding his identity while helping his boss directly challenge the Bulgarian government’s pro-Nazi policies.Peter, 17, is determined to save his Jewish neighbors by confronting parliament members in the capital, then taking up arms to fight with a partisan rebel communist group.Lily, 19, works for the collaborationist government office in charge of evicting and deporting Jews to concentration camps. When she witnesses the evil results of her desk job, Lily becomes a spy who leaks information to Jewish community leaders in order to prevent further atrocities.As the characters’ lives become more endangered and their unsung roles in saving Jewish citizens are revealed, the reader is treated to a tension-filled adventure surrounding one of the greatest unknown acts of heroism associated with the Holocaust. Acts of Resistance will have you on the edge of your seat as Misho, Peter, and Lily face and overcome extremely perilous situations, ultimately triumphing as they each help to lead the people of Bulgaria to rise up against the Nazis and save their nearly 50,000-strong Jewish population from extinction.

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Role of a Lifetime is the story of the crucial role Larry Farmer played on teams that won three NCAA titles for UCLA under Coach John Wooden. Farmer’s record at UCLA was 89–1, the greatest winning percentage in NCAA history. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 88–2.) Role of a Lifetime also details how Farmer, a self-taught player from the playgrounds of Denver, managed to secure a full scholarship, make the varsity team as a sophomore, and ultimately become the head basketball coach at UCLA at the age of 30—the first black head coach for any sport at UCLA. The book chronicles the reactions of black leaders to his role as the first black head coach, as well as the inside politics that led him to resign after three years as coach, just days after accepting a two-year extension. Farmer also shares new insights about UCLA athletic booster Sam Gilbert and his role in the team’s NCAA probation. Farmer’s insider perspective during UCLA basketball’s most fabled period, combined with his natural ability to relate entertaining and informative anecdotes about legendary figures such as John Wooden, Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, Reggie Miller, and many other famous players and coaches from throughout the world of college basketball, makes Role of a Lifetime a must-have for all Bruin fans and fans of basketball everywhere!

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From cell phone users in yoga classes to Zoom yoga participants sneaking wine and cheese off camera to those folks who just can't help peeking during meditation sessions, The Lighter Side of Yoga presents the humorous and offbeat aspects of yoga through Mike Nevitt’s satiric comics.The many true-to-life situations in the book are based on Nevitt's experiences and observations over a 30-year period as a full-time yoga and meditation teacher. Aside from providing good laughs, Nevitt aims to gently poke those teachers and students who might have a tendency to take themselves and the practice of yoga a little too seriously.Yoga and mindfulness practitioners will smile knowingly as they recognize the all-too-familiar scenarios which Nevitt skewers throughout the book. So settle into your favorite yoga pose and let The Lighter Side of Yoga get your chakras spinning!

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In Pork Belly Tacos with a Side of Anxiety, Yvonne Castañeda shares vibrant stories of her childhood growing up in Miami as the daughter of humble immigrants from Mexico and Cuba . . . and how she came to develop an unhealthy relationship with food. To help ease her mami’s nervios, Yvonne becomes a perfectionist from a young age, achieving high grades at school and mastering the piano. But as her Cuban family members openly make comments about her awkward desarrollo, or puberty, Yvonne enters a new phase of self-consciousness that begins her obsession with weight. She abandons the piano for the high school cheerleading team, and reinvents herself, becoming both skinny and popular. However, as a first-generation adolescent born in the United States, Yvonne wrestles with the conflict between the cultural norms of her Hispanic/Latino heritage and American societal expectations. Plagued by doubt and low self-esteem, Yvonne begins a vicious cycle of weight gain and loss, as she battles Bulimia Nervosa. Beleaguered by feelings of guilt, shame, and inferiority, she develops anxiety, depression, and a reliance on dangerous coping mechanisms. Ultimately, sage advice from her dear abuela in Guadalajara, Mexico, guides Yvonne to a realization that shifts her perspective of herself and the purpose of her life, providing a foundation for inner peace, and la solución to her past struggles.

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A tale of teenage friendships set in 1970's suburban Los Angeles In the haze of a hot San Fernando Valley summer in 1970’s Los Angeles, Douglas and his friends—Hank, Weddy, and Ronnie—struggle with their awkward teenage years during a confusing and highly permissive era. Weed and alcohol are regularly available, and most of the boys freely partake as they each navigate their own family dramas at home. Meanwhile, Douglas must also sort through the ups-and-downs of his relationship with his not-quite-girlfriend, Natalia. When not in the swimming pool trying to beat the intense Valley heat, Douglas and his friends spend their summer vacation taking the RTD into Westwood to see Jaws, watching the Fourth of July fireworks at Balboa Park, seeking thrills at Magic Mountain, checking out the head shop and the turquoise jewelry at The Sixth Chakra, eating hot dogs and facing Koufax in the batting cage at Flooky’s, and playing plenty of basketball. Ventura and Zelzah is a funny, poignant, and nostalgic coming-of-age tale of teenage friendships in a blissfully unhurried, pre-digital era.

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The Thrilling and Emotional Memoir from Endurance Horse Racing Legend Sanoma Blakeley Chasing Dreams: The True Story of the Youngest Female Tevis Cup Champion is the incredible, action-packed memoir of Sanoma Blakeley’s 2019 Tevis Cup championship, won while riding her beloved horse Goober, and the tale of how she became the youngest woman to ever become a Tevis Cup champion. Beginning her endurance riding career at the age of seven, Blakeley writes about the years of training and teamwork required to win the most challenging and famous 100-mile horse race in the world aboard a horse she had originally acquired for free off of Craigslist. Blakeley places readers on the ride with her so that they can experience the thrill of the most exciting horse endurance race in existence. Blakeley and Goober survive narrow mountain trails winding through the Sierra-Nevadas, containing over 19,000 feet of elevation gain; three steep, grueling canyons; crossing the shoulder-high American River; riding at night with only the light of the moon to guide them; temperatures that soared over 115 degrees; and, most excitingly, the final neck-and-neck sprint to the finish against a four-time Tevis Cup champion and world class competitor after 100 miles of some of the most rugged mountain trails in the world.When Blakeley and Goober cross the finish line just a few feet ahead of their competition and Blakeley becomes the youngest woman in history to win the Tevis Cup, a lifetime of hard work that began when the author started training as a small child and who had long dreamed of winning the Tevis Cup was finally rewarded. Chasing Dreams contains action, heartwarming twists, and an epic ending that will leave readers in tears.

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Route 66 Adventure Handbook is your personal guide to the vanishing American roadside, with all of its exuberance, splendor, and absurdity. For this updated and expanded sixth edition, Drew Knowles has included it all: magnificent architecture, natural wonders, Art Deco masterpieces, vintage motels and cafes, unique museums, offbeat attractions, fascinating artifacts and icons, and kitschy tourist traps. The addition of more city maps, showing the multiple paths of Route 66 and displaying the exact locations of points of interest, is a major improvement over the already critically acclaimed fifth edition of the book. The sixth edition also includes hundreds of beautiful new photographs—including a 24-page center insert with stunning color photos and the addition of dozens of new attractions. Knowles has also added QR codes for certain locations that will enable the reader to access additional online material, such as more photos, video clips, and scans of vintage memorabilia. Additionally, GPS coordinates have been included for virtually all of the photos, so that travelers can plug the information into their smartphones and other navigation devices and instantly determine where each photo was taken and compare it to the condition of that particular site at the time of their visit. Filled with wonderfully quirky side trips and fun bits of trivia, Route 66 Adventure Handbook is the most authoritative resource for anyone looking to explore the Mother Road. Fasten your seat belts!

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An illustrated guide to the care and behaviour of rabbits with special needs. Provides information on topics as diverse as how to administer subcutaneous fluids to a rabbit and how sounds and colour help promote healing. Quotes from top rabbit veterinarians and alternative healing practitioners. The text is illustrated with both photos and drawings, making it easy for readers to follow.

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