Photos: Hank Tovar/picturesthatmove.com
West Is Eden
Ken McAlpine’s latest book “Together We Jump” was praised by Sunset Magazine as “lyrical, evocative and deeply moving … a luminous American novel.” He is also the author of the novel “Fog” and the non-fiction works “Off Season: Discovering America on Winter’s Shore” and “Islands Apart: A Year on the Edge of Civilization.” His magazine articles have earned three Lowell Thomas awards, travel writing's top award. He is based in Ventura, California.
West Is Eden:
Did it or didn't it? The end of the world, or a new beginning?
West Is Eden:
Looking for the perfect Holiday gift? Here it is, courtesy of a Benedictine monk with a marvelous sense of humor.
West Is Eden:
In this world where so many things are going wrong, so many things are also going right -- like this choir program in Ventura County.
West Is Eden:
The end of Jalama Road in Santa Barbara County may be beautiful, but dawdling along it can be just as rejuvenating.
West Is Eden:
I whistle as I drive because this road makes me happy, and long ago I ascertained that getting lost presents no problem if you don't care.
West Is Eden:
Should you travel to Morro Rock (and you should), you are apt to meet Bob Isenberg. He's been there, off and on, since 1969. He's easy to find. In his words, "Look for the guy with the tripod."
West Is Eden:
In this cacophonous age when almost everyone is shouting to be noticed, quiet speaks loudly.
West Is Eden:
There's so much debate, din, and shouting in politics. But beneath all the noise, I hear the whisper of things lost.
West Is Eden:
Something is seriously wrong when our most important asset -- the education system -- has to ask for money.
West Is Eden:
"I want to go away and see things," she told me. Many people say this sort of thing. Not so many have Stage 3 cancer. She had a bucket list, she said. Ambling around the country, going nowhere in particular, was on it.
West Is Eden:
Should you visit Piedras Blancas beach, I advise you visit in the evening's last light. There is something bizarrely ethereal and comforting about the gloaming that drapes itself on this stretch of sand seven miles north of San Simeon.
West Is Eden:
I'm betting that the issue of homelessness gives all of us pause.
West Is Eden:
This natural glory so close to civilization, the Santa Monica Mountains are a wonderful weirdness.
West Is Eden:
The new science of "surfonomics" is now attempting to place a dollar value on waves, but there's no dollar amount one can put on the experience.
West Is Eden:
A Ventura filmmaker and artist is making a documentary on the man who had creative ADHD and forty-eight hours in his day.
West Is Eden:
Life is short, and Ventura author Ken McAlpine shares a handful of simple, yet important lines of advice he once shared with a friend's son.
West Is Eden:
On average, less than a dozen humans are killed by sharks each year, and it feeds worldwide fear and media fascination. But an estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year by fishermen.
West Is Eden:
Little things are often more interesting and, if you pay close attention, they sometimes dole out lessons applicable to very big things.
SoCal Focus is a daily blog about the people, places and issues in and around Southern California.
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