Miles Erickson

Movin’ On Movin’ On It is with the greatest reverence that with this issue, Long Distance Listening Party comes to an end, at least in its current form. I’ve begun anot..Read more Vague Intentions Vague Intentions This week “vagueâ€� is the operative word. The longer I live outside of Topanga, the more I appreciate it. Topanga is a place that doesn’t chang..Read more 72-Hour Watch 72-Hour Watch This week I’m taking a deep dive into the world of mental health facilities. I’m doing this by placing myself under an involuntary 72-hour watch a..Read more   The Long Road Ahead… Or Was It Behind? Part 2 The Long Road Ahead… Or Was It Behind? Part 2 After getting stranded In a state park somewhere near Perris, California, my friends and I had become unwitting participants in a civil war reenactmen..Read more The Playlist is the Piece The Playlist is the Piece “Long Distance Listening Partyâ€� is a new column by me, Miles Erickson. Its vague intention is to discuss topics framed in the context of what Iâ€..Read more A Topanga Days POV at 25 A Topanga Days POV at 25 Miles Erickson As I trudged up the hill to the Topanga Days Fair, already shimmering under sweat, I heard some Van Morrison covers in the distance, which is par for ..Read more   The Long Road Ahead... Or Was It Behind? Part 1 The Long Road Ahead... Or Was It Behind? Part 1 This story begins in Perris, California, the morning after a long night spent sleeping in the back seat of a car. The situation was pretty simple...Read more Spotlight for Two Spotlight for Two This playlist is available on Spotify, search my username, Mileserickson-354, New songs will be added every two weeks. TV Dinners, MJ Lenderman Se..Read more One Liners One Liners The average person swallows eight spiders a year. Most people swallow 0 spiders, but Robert Green of North Carolina eats like 40 spiders a day so heâ..Read more   THE EXTRA TERRESTRIALS AMONG US THE EXTRA TERRESTRIALS AMONG US It was by chance that I came upon a book titled “UFOs Over Topanga Canyon,â€� which sent me down a rabbit hole that ultimately introduced me to the ..Read more Topanga Elementary’s Halloween Play: ‘SAW 3: Sawsical the Musical’ Topanga Elementary’s Halloween Play: ‘SAW 3: Sawsical the Musical’ The Canyon Chronicle and Topanga Elementary would like to invite you to come spend a spooky evening, enjoying Topanga Elementary’s new play, SAW 3, ..Read more The Bong Wizard, Part II The Bong Wizard, Part II In the previous issue, I left off in the middle of a party off Fernwood. We now pick up about four hours later, late into the night as everyone is hea..Read more   The Bong Wizard, Part I The Bong Wizard, Part I It was the summer of 2016. My friend, Spenser, and I had just been let out of school, a Friday night but still about a week or two off from summer bre..Read more What Barfing Dogs Have To Do With a Playlist What Barfing Dogs Have To Do With a Playlist This past month I was dog sitting for a friend. I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not really an animal person and this experience pretty much so..Read more It Doesn’t Take a Genius… It Doesn’t Take a Genius… My family constantly clowns on me for the time I called my mom crying asking to be picked up from summer camp. I was 11 and the video, Halo 3, had jus..Read more   Comedy is a Divine Power Comedy is a Divine Power I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the price of comedy. By Miles Erickson There’s a somewhat obnoxious platitude that says, “comedy is..Read more Whack as Heck! Whack as Heck! There’s a common cliche that says every song is either about love or death. I think the worst thing about love is that it inspires people to want to..Read more Meet HALEY Meet HALEY Recently my friend with a gluten intolerance introduced me to gluten-free pop tarts. They were pretty good, but my friend with the intolerance said th..Read more   Lifetime Learning Curves Lifetime Learning Curves Being an adult is like an endless parade, except instead of floats it’s things I don’t wanna do. When I was a kid I did things solely because the..Read more One Thing Leads to a Rabbit Hole One Thing Leads to a Rabbit Hole This week I was tasked with writing a story about Topanga Days, the yearly music and arts festival that takes place over Memorial Day weekend. My dire..Read more Facing Consequences Facing Consequences Apologies for the short opener this week. I used up all of my allotted words ranting about Steven Tyler. When I was a kid, I had nightmares about D..Read more   Boyhood Memories Boyhood Memories Earth Day is upon us. Enjoy it. The earth’s natural resources have been almost completely depleted. We’ve got a solid five or six more Earth Days ..Read more The Stuff of Personal Development The Stuff of Personal Development You may have noticed that the last issue of the paper contained a bit more of my work than usual. Because of this, I have been completely drained of i..Read more Canyon Chameleon Canyon Chameleon In the last edition of this column I mentioned that I would be briefly moving back to Topanga, and, in the time since the last volume’s publication,..Read more   Family Matters, Mediums & Psychics Family Matters, Mediums & Psychics This week I was talking to my cousin who made me aware of two facts regarding my family to which I had been previously ignorant. Fact number one: we h..Read more Starbucks to Replace Topanga Library Starbucks to Replace Topanga Library The Topanga public library has been scheduled for demolition this coming June, to be replaced with a drive-thru Starbucks. The library, which has b..Read more