Food as a Link to the Past

I attended the Japanes food festival in Los Angeles, CA on November 7, 2010.  I realized how food is a link to the past.  Take away the processed foods of modern times, and many of the foods we eat were eaten by our ancestors.  The nigiri sushi in Japan is a rather young food - it might be the original fast food.  During the Edo Period, Edo was a fast paced city and people wanted their food fast. Viola! the food vendors placed toppings (usually a slice of raw fish) on top of rice, wrapped it with a band of seaweed, and it was the pre twentieth century version of fast food.  

Secret Passages Bookstore in Long Beach, California

Secret Passages is a new independent bookstore in the East Village Arts district of Long Beach, CA that specializes in horror/sci-fi/fantasy/anime.


If you are looking for a huge mega-store with everything under the sun, you won't get it here.  What you do get is a small, inde shop, the type that makes for great browsing.  I came across some interesting titles in the used section that are probably out of print. The owners are friendly and knowledgeable about the genre they represent.

Not only are they a retailer, but they are community minded and support literacy, and the owners love for this genre, and using that as a base to promote literacy is a great. I grew up reading comic books, and many times, I found words from the weekly vocabulary list from English class used in comics, and I'm sure reading comics helped develop in me, my love for reading and writing.

If you are in the area, visit them at 406 East 3rd Street, Unit A, Long beach, CA.

And now for the shameless self-promotion: I am a featured local author on their website.

Here is the link to the featured author page on their website:

http://www.secretpassagesbooks.com/?page_id=249