Oh. Hollywood rediscovers Echo Park. In the L.A. Times editorial pages today. You may have seen it. I'd sputter, but there's really nothing terribly wrong with this editorial. I'm just not sure why it was written. I didn't know the up-or-down, cool-or-square, factors of individual neighborhoods were a matter for the opinion pages. But, then again, those measurements ARE a matter of opinion. I just don't hope the neighborhood doesn't end up with a terrible sun burn as J. Lo's cameras get their fill.

It should be noted, however, that Echo Park lived through the 1980s Michael Ventura feature film of the same name (starring Tom Hulce and Susan Day -- sp?), and we can't even find our scars. Not to mention Alison Anders' Mi Vida Loca.

In the meantime, I received an email from some peple I didn't know at first about their harvest of shiraz grapes in Echo Park. There were a number of photos included, and the people looked familiar. But it wasn't until I saw a photo of Lucy the dog nibbling grapes that I realized they were my neighbors, whose names I never knew before. Everyone in my part of the hood knows Lucy, a big bear of a dog, who trots around in front of her house, on ocassion wandering. The harvest and crushing of grapes at my neighbors' city-plot hillside vineyard looked like hard work. They say they harvested 250 pounds of grapes, all picked at their home in Echo Park.

I hate to be all doggy-expert, but I have heard that grapes are toxic for dogs. Though if your yard is full of the fruit, and your dog looks lively, I'm not sure it's time for drastic measures.