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Ricky stands with his camcorder, videotaping something on the ground at his feet. On video: A dead bird lays on the ground, decomposing. ANGELA (off-camera): "What are you doing?" On video: The camera jerks up to discover Jane and Angela staring at us. RICKY (off-camera): "I was filming this dead bird." ANGELA: "Why?" RICKY: "Because it's beautiful." On video: Angela looks at Jane, trying not to laugh. ANGELA: "I think maybe you forgot your medication today, mental boy." |
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| And now, the dead bird. Found July 17, 2004, on Downey Road where it goes under the BNSF Railroad just south of Washington Blvd. There were several other dead birds nearby, as well as a furry 4-legged creature. Vernon does not appear to be hospitable to wildlife. |
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2002: |
| July 28, cat in a box at Mission and North Main |
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| Okay, this isn't something dead, it's worse. August 11, 1st Street between Boyle Avenue and State Street. I think a dog swallowed a rag and it passed through undigested. Gut floss. Disgusting. |
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| August 14, squirrel, 6th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon |
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| August 18, rat, Beverly Blvd. |
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| September 19, rat in the carport behind our building |
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| November 2, cat, Slauson Avenue at the L.A. River. This is the most disturbing one of the bunch. |
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2003: |
| May 25, rat, Alameda Street in front of Union Station. The ants aren't as visible here as in the August 18 picture, but I thought the flowers were a nice touch. |  |
| September 9, on Beachwood Drive half a block from my apartment. I think this used to be a possum. Despite the appearance of feathers, notice the paw. |
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| November 30, Mission Rd. on the western edge of Alhambra. Decomposed beyond recognition. |  |
| November 30, San Gabriel Blvd. in San Marino. Yes, it's a skunk. Must have been there a while, it didn't have much fragrance left. |
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2004: |
| September 18, squirrel, Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. Two views, I can't decide which one is better, so I'm submitting both of them for your edification and bemusement. | |||
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| November 26, cockroach, Bandini Blvd. in Vernon. Why do cockroaches die on their backs? |  |
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December 11, possum, Florence Ave. in Inglewood. Appropriately, right outside a cemetery. |
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| December 11, turtle, MacArthur Park. |
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2005: |
| May 30, Memorial Day. Lots of dead critters today. First, a squirrel just a couple of hundred feet from home. |  |
| Next, this looks like it might have been a fish. Gower St. between Franklin and Hollywood Blvd. It's at a stage somewhere between a grease spot on the sidewalk and a fossil. Most likely it died elsewhere and was transported here. For what reason, we may never know. |
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| It's still Memorial Day. A pigeon, on Compton Blvd. in Compton. Nice feathers. |  |
| November 6, another pigeon, in a nice asphalt-and-trees park at District and Atlantic in Vernon. Even nicer feathers. | |||
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| November 15, cute little rat, on Del Mar Avenue in San Gabriel. Two views. | |||
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| November 27 in Hollenbeck Park. Your guess is as good as mine. Colorful, isn't it? I'm not sure this is a complete animal, or if it was an animal at all. Maybe a fruit or a vegetable? Maybe something Not Of This Earth. Maybe it came out of the sky. An Unidentified Splattered Object. The flies like it though. |  |
2006: |
| April 8, some sort of bird, a 2-dimensional snake, and a squirrel, all found in Turnbull Canyon and Oak Canyon. | ||||
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| May 6, skunk, off to the side of Lake Hollywood Drive, north of the reservoir |  |
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October 28, cockroach, somewhere on Soto St. |
| November 24, bird, alongside the L.A. River near Atlantic. |  |
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December 2, squirrel, on San Marino Ave in San Marino. |
| December 23, cat, on Gower St in Hollywood. | |
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2007: |
| January 7, a little bird, on Durfee Rd in the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. |  |
| January 20, squirrel, Montecito Heights. | |
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May 5, pigeon, I think. Imperial Highway in Willowbrook. |
| May 19, rat, on Alameda Ave in Burbank, where it goes under the railroad. | |
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| June 9, skunk, on Beachwood Drive, a little north of Franklin. |  |
| September 1, a bird maybe, on Willow St. in Long Beach around El Dorado Park. Looks like fur, but there are definitely feathers. 2 views, you be the judge. | |||
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November 29, just an unrecognizable pile of fur, on Wentworth St. in Shadow Hills. |
2008: |
| January 12, bird, apparently quite recently deceased, on Brand Blvd. in San Fernando. |  |
| January 13, pigeon, on Sepulveda Blvd. just outside the National Cemetery. | |
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February 23, skunk, at Fountain and Sanborn. The golf balls? I don't know, maybe a religious ritual? |
| March 9, cat, on Rosemead Blvd in South El Monte. | |
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| May 26, rat (in the beak of a bird which is not dead), El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. In the second picture the bird is just about to swallow the rat. Seconds later the bird flew off with a big bulge in its neck. | |||
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| June 15, dog, on East Olympic Blvd. between Alameda St. and Santa Fe Ave. Finally something else at the creepiness level of the cat from November 2002. |  |
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