Root Simple

Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni, The temptation of Saint Anthony, a detail of the polyptych with Coronation of the Virgin and Saints, Los Angeles, The Getty Museum.

I had ambitions plans this week to do blogging and house repairs but I managed to catch the COVID that’s ripping around Los Angeles this summer.

Minuncedda di Sternatia Ted Serios and Thoughtography 7 Masterworks of Land Art Hidden Across the United States

Screenshot of Little Free Library App I think I’ve invented a new and unadventurous fitness routine: walking between Little Free Libraries.

I’m just back from a month in Pomona pet sitting for friends and I thought I’d do a series of short posts about what I was up to during my sojourn.

The great California water conspiracy Bear troubles The gardener who took a Canadian city to court for the right to not mow his lawn Derek Jarman’s garden

In a recent post on acedia I took a look at this ancient concept, often oversimplified as “sloth” or, perhaps, “distraction” and considered how it applies to the struggle we all have with the siren-allure of social media, our phones and the internet.

DIY Cider Press Build a circle arbor The Hyperloop was always a scam

Pocket dump from Reddit user ymxyh.

Big Auto And The Death Of Traffic Congestion Reform ‘We sold everything off, even the semen flasks’: the film about the farming couple who struck gold by rewilding The Internet’s Final Frontier: Remote Amazon Tribes Bolwoningen: Living in Spherical Homes…

I started enjoying fungi when I stopped worrying about if they were edible or not.

Starting a Scrap Garden Daniel Hawkins’s Wild West Dream of a Desert Lighthouse Prayer for Good Humor by St.

I’ve got a long list of problems that rattle around in my head for which I’m woefully unqualified to even contemplate, let alone write about.

A Journey to Avebury, a short film by Derek Jarman A friend recommended Indian recipe website Erfurt latrine disaster How to avoid ultra-processed foods Guide to Middle Eastern food How The World’s Rarest Pasta Came Back From Near Extinction

How the Pre-Raphaelites Became Obsessed with the Wombat The life of a simple man who lives quietly alone in an old house DreamSpaces on Instagram

I feel the need to introduce two new (I think) hashtags with a related vibe to #Procrastibaking–that bad habit where you bake some elaborate cookie/cake/ instead of cooking a healthy dinner or cleaning the house.

How to Make Japanese Curry Roux Michigan woman found living inside rooftop store sign with desk and coffee maker Don’t be a palm, be an oak Happy Eurovision to those who celebrate Cat chase POV Cats with checkbooks

We have two senior cats.

You know those days when you spend many hours baking some ridiculous dessert instead of preparing a healthy dinner?

A harrowing and heartbreaking video from a very talented filmmaker, Brad Abraham about the late conspiracy theorist and artist David Dees.

I attended a hearing today in the case against Los Angeles City Councilperson Curren Price, who is accused of embezzlement, conflict of interest and perjury relating to business associated with his wife, a consultant who relocates tenants.

Kim Kardashian sued for saying her tables are authentic Donald Judds How scientists are learning to eavesdrop on the sounds of soil The Easterner Goes West in Three Early American Comics Willy O Winsbury

How’s that for a click bait title?

Before and after shots from SF Daily Photo.

Studies into the Past by Laurant Grasso.

Eclipse in LA as projected through my binoculars.

‘Les Animaux Mythologiques’ by Hinzelin Emile, (1857 – 1937) US spends billions on roads rather than public transport in ‘climate time bomb’ Amazon Ditches ‘Just Walk Out’ Checkouts at Its Grocery Stores Did Pope Gregory IX Order A Medieval Purge of Black…

Just one link today: the transcendent last few measures of Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal.

Ray Chan Photo: LA Department of Building and Safety The TV in the waiting room in the Kaiser ophthalmology department yesterday blared nonstop coverage of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal troubles (in between ads for Kaiser, ironically).

If you haven’t seen Dune parts one or two yet, I can summarize it for you: it’s about a family that moves from Portland to Los Angeles and gets involved in our local politics.

Unraveling the Mystery of San Francisco 7-Eleven Stores Selling Onigiri With the Mayor’s Face on Them The website of the artist behind the Onigiri prank An app that shows if a book you’re looking at on Amazon is at your local library How to Build a Small…

More pictures from our trip to Japan?

Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins were a husband/wife collaborative duo who worked in painting, conceptual art and poetry but are probably best known for their architectural experiments of the 1990s.

Print by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) high res scans available here.

We spent the past two weeks visiting a college friend of Kelly’s who moved to Japan thirty years ago and raised a family there.

There’s nothing like the unintentional horror of a 1970s era British public service ad.

The woodworking I do combines machines and hand tools.

Better late than never news from the flower/celebrity gossip world ‘A soul killer’: what’s behind the US’s critical veterinarian shortage?

I’ve been spending the past few months building an elaborate reproduction of a bed designed by Harvey Ellis.

What industry “secret” do you know that most people don’t?

I want to highlight one candidate and one initiative on the most complex and confusing ballot I’ve ever filled out: First I strongly support a vote for Karla Griego for District 5.

While I’m not a huge fan of ebooks, I read them out of convenience.

Root Simple friend Nance Klehm is doing some soil workshops this weekend at the Arlington Garden in Pasadena.

LA’s Corporate Class Wants to Reverse Progressive Gains Mindfulness in a Distracted World with Nate Klemp Driverless taxi vandalized and set on fire in San Francisco’s Chinatown Just gonna put this here and see if anyone can explain how it’s possible to j…

There’s two kinds of 12 volt landscape lighting: cheap, ugly and flimsy or expensive and durable.

This brand new video from YouTuber Internet Shaquille will resonate with anyone who owns a pizza oven and has tried to use it at a party.

Trevor Paglen is an artist and geographer who explores the blank places on the map.

In an effort to take off some pandemic pudge and eat more healthy we’ve been baking our own 100% whole wheat breads.

Our home city of Los Angeles is in the news for a series of heavy hitting winter storms.

A note on this photo: my wood shop is right on the street and I have a dog cookie jar for the neighborhood doggos.