A cold reception for Mallard ducklings as the first batch of '07 breaks out over the weekend at Echo Park Lake. Photo by Martin Cox.

Meanwhile, Martin Cox emails me news of international aquatic border politics between Spain and Britain over Ruddy ducks, of which we have six at Echo Park Lake. Spain and Britain agreed to shoot Ruddy ducks in order to protect the bloodlines of a rare duck in Spain. Perhaps Echo Park Ruddies can count themselves lucky. (Though not luckier than the lake's solo Muscovy duck, who hangs out near the playground, nor the dozens of other domestic, or "restaurant," ducks who make EP lake their home.)

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I picked up a copy of Artillery magazine's third copy the other day at Chango coffee house. Artillery is edited and published by Echo Park residents Tulsa Kinney and Charles Rappleye, both long-time -- now former -- LA Weekly workers. The third issue contains news/reviews and gossip from New York, Los Angeles and Warsaw. I liked "Outer Spaces," about an installation at the LA River. According to Frank Rodriguez, the installation was made by:

A talented individual, evidently named Shizor, [who] has created a whimsical water garden in front of his Gilligan's Island style live/work space. Using found objects [toys] ... and indigenous rock formations.... Just look at the garlands of fake dollars hanging from the trees if you don't think this is political. It's only a matter of time before lawyers from Disney and McDonalds send their "cease and desist" Nazis to save their sacred images from the hands of the homeless. So run, don't walk to see this now.

Another theme turns out to be the temporal nature of art in a semi-man-made river bed, as a coda to the article informs us: "Artillery learned at press time that Shizor's camp was closed down by the city. It's gone."

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As of Sunday, January 14, no news of Laguna Castle's big snake, which most likely has retreated from the cold into a (hopefully warm) den.