
Why these photos of California's coast are not what they seem (via Los Angeles Times)

(Diane Rosenstein Gallery)
Amir Zaki’s pandemic photography on view in L.A., plus the CSULB art blunder, the Cheech opening in Riverside and more in our weekly arts newsletter.
Source: Los Angeles Times
The Water Witch of Simi (via Museum of Ventura County)

By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum
The frail old man, known to everyone in Simi as “Grandpa Stones,” practically had to be carried over…
Source: Museum of Ventura County
Leading the LA Marathon
The best space photos of 2021: Sparkling starfields to majestic nebula (via New Atlas)

The endless expanse of space is a beautiful and fascinating subject for photography. From the dramatic births and deaths of stars, to galactic glamor shots and planetary close-ups, here are some of the most breathtaking space photos of 2021.
Source: New Atlas
Bootleggers, Rumrunners, and Blind-Piggers: Prohibition in Ventura County (via Museum of Ventura County)

By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum
It was the opening day of duck season in October 1925. The last thing the hunters expected to bag along the shore east of Hueneme was dozens of 50-gallon barrels of pure alcohol…
Source: Museum of Ventura County
Remember 9/11
The House of the Angel (via Museum of Ventura County)

By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum
When two pirate ships appeared off the California coast in November 1818, it was a moment the governor of the Royal Presidio of Monterey had been dreading for six weeks…
Source: Museum of Ventura County
On Air with the Greatest Radio Station in the World (via The New Yorker)
WPKN-FM—on which you can hear a Stevie Wonder song performed by an all-women jazz septet or twenty minutes of Tuvan throat singing—moves to a new location in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Source: The New Yorker
Mosaic Side Table

This is my latest mosaic project. My wife Rodi found this cast iron table at a garden sale. It had plenty of patina (aka rust) which we didn’t want to touch. It was missing a top. I used thin-set mortar to adhere Morjo™ marble mosaic cutting strips to a 9 1/4″ acetate disk. These 6mm strips are what professional mosaic artists in Europe use to make ancient reproductions and fine art murals. The sides of the strips have a honed finish and are not polished. The colors become more intense when it is sealed. The end result gives the piece an almost cork-like look.