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Tracy Carbone
Understanding pareidolia: seeing faces everywhere you look
When you look around, do you see faces smiling at you? Grins and smirks in clouds or cookies? For me, this has always been a pleasant part of my personality, a creative gift that amuses me to no end. For others, it can be overwhelming. Humans like to define everything, so for your edification this perceptive ability is called pareidolia.
Earth Day: celebrating the positive impact of solar panels
One surefire way to help save the planet is by relying on solar power over gas, oil, or coal. In the past, installing solar panels on your home could be very expensive. If you want solar panels, costs can be high though there are a lot of programs to help you afford them.
Grain-free diets: exploring the risks to your dog's health
During the pandemic we lost three dogs. This wasn’t due to COVID-19, obviously. One dog passed at 16 from complications of dementia (Anna in the middle) and an enlarged heart. The other two on the ends though should not have died that early. Lily was an eight-year-old Yorkie and Mabel a ten-year-old Cattle Dog mix. So what happened?
Exposing the dangers of ear cleaning, part 2: the pros and cons of ear candling
This article is part 2 in a series on cleaning, or not cleaning your ears. Part 1, Exposing the dangers of ear cleaning, park 1: Q-tip history, and practices to avoid and many other sites state the importance of nature-created earwax, and that if you leave it alone, it will protect your ears from bacteria and fungus.
Experience delicious food and Hollywood history at Bob Morris' Paradise Cove Beach Café in Malibu
When my daughter was in high school, we flew from Massachusetts to San Diego so she could tour colleges. After a visit to San Diego State and some sightseeing, we drove up the PCH to Santa Barbara.
Exploring California's past: a visit to Strathearn Historical Park and museum
Simi Valley’s population is roughly 126,000 but it feels more like a small town than a city. This is largely due to the vast amount of green space. Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District (RSPD) is a separate government agency from the City of Simi Valley, technically its own district. Formed in 1961, RSPD specifically set out to provide parks and recreation activities to the community. Since that time, it’s “established 50 parks and preserved over 5,600 acres of open space that is now used for hiking, biking, horseback riding and wildlife preservation.”
Exploring the history of chocolate Easter bunnies, to ecstasy-filled candies in Belgium
Belgium is known for its chocolate, so a shipment of chocolate Easter bunnies traveling through the airport is not a surprise. But this week, a Brussels airport inspector found something a little extra when he scanned a batch of chocolate bunnies.
Experience deep relaxation and healing with gongs and crystal singing bowls
Though our culture is deeply rooted in pharmaceutical medicine to cure all ills, people are starting to question other methods of healing. Before modern medicine, practitioners healed their patients for thousands of years using alternative remedies. This article isn’t promoting a departure from traditional medicine, but instead offers up supplement therapies that can make a big difference in your physical and emotional health.
Exploring accidents in candy factories: the sour side of manufacturing sweets
The recent explosion at the R.M. Palmer factory on March 24th ended in death for seven people and severely injured ten. Additionally three buildings around it were condemned and “Videos recorded at the site showed flames and thick clouds of black smoke engulfing the building and billowing hundreds of feet into the air.”
The last free place on earth: Slab City, California
With rising interest rates, looming recession, and ever-increasing house prices, it’s no wonder that homelessness is still an issue throughout our country. Those who choose to live in RVs, vans, or converted trucks out of necessity or as a life choice, quickly learn campgrounds can be costly, and staying on the side of the road, in a parking lot, or the woods, can be dangerous and illegal. Living “freely” without the chains of convention is never actually free.
Salvation Mountain: the inspiring story of Leonard Knight
There’s a cultural belief in our country that to be content and respected, you must have a full-time job, a house, a car, the right clothes, and even the right thoughts. But what of the subset of people who live outside the confines of traditional society? One such community of vibrant, colorful, and brilliantly creative people have settled in Imperial County in Niland, California about 90 minutes from Palm Springs.
Uncovering California's hidden fountain of youth: The Fountain of Youth Spa Resort in Niland
The second thing that may come to mind is the 1985 film, Cocoon, which features a nursing home’s elderly residents becoming magically youthful when using the swimming pool that contained alien cocoons with restorative powers.
Feel good story of the day: dog saved from meat trade provides love to dying author
Several years ago, the late Dennis Etchison, an award-winning author in the horror genre, visited our home with a new dog. He and his wife Kristina (Kris) already had one dog, Ylla, but their friend Marc Ching, owner of several gourmet pet food stores, Petstaurant, and founder of Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation, told them about another who really needed a loving home.
Feel good story of the day: elderly man gifts house to single mom tenant
A good friend of mine posted a true story recently on social media. She gave me permission to share this inspirational story of kindness. Names and locations have been withheld for privacy, and the original post has been revised and expanded.
Solve the mystery: unexplained loud boom rocks Simi Valley on St. Patrick's Day
Tonight, a little after 7pm, St. Patrick’s Day, in Simi Valley, California, a loud BOOM shook the house. At first I thought someone had crashed into the house. I ran into the other room and my family members were all looking to each other. We went outside and encountered all the neighbors walking toward the bridge on the wash/arroyo between Morley and Elizondo streets.
Exploring Simi Valley history: the giant cross on Mt. McCoy
If you’ve ever driven through Simi Valley, California, you’ve likely noticed Mt. McCoy (formerly Mt. Verde). Per Wikipedia, it’s a “1,325-foot-high peak in Simi Valley, California known for its characteristic 12 foot white cross on the top.” The cross sits in a 200 acre nature area operated by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District but the immediate surroundings are owned by the Simi Valley Historical Society.”
Origins of superstition part three: pennies, mirrors, and sneezes
Whenever I see a penny on the ground, I immediately bend to grab it, saying the familiar, “Find a penny, pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck.” I pocket the coin and smile, knowing something great is about to happen. If I see it on tails, I stop in my tracks. No bad luck for me, thanks.
Tracy Carbone
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I'm a California based writer, blogger, and painter who strives to post local and national articles to inspire and engage my readers.
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