Esotouric crime tour & forensic event March 3 and 4

Forensic science and cultural history collide with LAVA's serial arson /
Downtown crime lore weekend

EVENT #1: Saturday, March 3, 12-4pm - Esotouric presents Hotel Horrors and
Main Street Vice, a Downtown double-feature bus and walking tour (departs
from Americano, formerly Cafe Metropol, 923 E. 3rd. Street, Los Angeles, CA
90013, $58/person)
INFO/RESERVATIONS: http://esotouric.com/hotelhorrors-3-3-12
TOUR PHOTOS: http://flickr.com/photos/richardschave/sets/72157623986634614

EVENT #2: Sunday, March 4, 12-4pm - Professor Donald Johnson, in association
with LAVA and Esotouric, presents a fundraiser lecture/tour benefiting the
CSULA Criminalistics graduate department "Inside the Mind of the Arsonist"
(at The Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at Cal State L.A., 1800
Paseo Rancho Castilla, Los Angeles, CA 90032, $36.50/person)
INFO/RESERVATIONS: http://lavatransforms.org/crimelabmarch4

There's just something special about the notorious crimes of
Los Angeles, the way they resonate in the consciousness, and continue to
fascinate years after the fact. In March, LAVA ­ The Los Angeles Visionaries
Association, dedicates a weekend to uncovering the reality behind some of
the city's most compelling and unusual true crimes.

These two remarkable events ­ Esotouric's historic Hotel Horrors and Main
Street Vice bus and walking tour exploring the criminal lore of a grand old
neighborhood, and a crime lab tour and lecture featuring the personal
experiences and research of Ed Nordskog, an active arson/bomb detective with
the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and author of the new book
"'Torchered' Minds: Case Histories of Notorious Serial Arsonists." The
program offers an opportunity to get behind the headlines and the hype and
explore fascinating true crime cases with a depth and seriousness rarely
offered to the public. This LAVA weekend is a must for intelligent crime
aficionados and those with a passion for the untold stories of Los Angeles.

ABOUT ESOTOURIC'S HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE TOUR:
>From the founding of the city through the 1940s, Downtown was the true
center of Los Angeles, a lively, densely populated, exciting and sometimes
dangerous place. After many quiet decades, Downtown is making an incredible
return. But while many of the historic buildings remain, their stories have
been lost.

That's why Esotouric, the eclectic bus adventure company whose tours reveal
the secret history of L.A. through crime, culture, literature and
architecture, is offering HOTEL HORRORS AND MAIN STREET VICE, a tour meant
to bring alive the old ghosts and memories that cling to the streets and
structures of the historic core.

The HOTEL HORRORS section of the tour is steeped in true crime and oddities,
featuring some of the wildest, weirdest, goriest and most memorable
happenings in historic hotels like the Alexandria, Hayward, Barclay, King
Edward and Cecil. Join the tour and you'll step inside several of these
legendary locales, and find out where Night Stalker Richard Ramirez slept,
which hotel saw a visit from the Skid Row Slasher, where two traveling
chocolate salesmen laughed so hard they fell backwards out a window to their
deaths. You'll also explore the fiery curse that repeatedly leveled the St.
George Hotel, and hear some light hearted stories to help the blood and gore
go down.

The MAIN STREET VICE section is a social history lesson celebrating the
ribald, racy, raunchy old promenade where the better people simply did not
travel, but kicks were had by all who did. Burlesque babes and dirty picture
parlors, mummified western outlaws and old time tattoo parlors, wax museums
and pawn brokers, "professors" offering sex lectures and magazine peddlers
with nudie Marilyn Monroe calendars under the counter, sophisticated steak
houses and nickel donut dives -- these were the pleasures and the people to
be found along Main during the first half of the 20th century, a street that
every Angeleno knew offered more (yet less) of what could be seen anywhere
else. We'll visit the scenes of some more unforgettable debaucheries and
share stories of crime, smut, passion and commerce.

Climb aboard for a time travel journey back to the downtown that's not there
anymore, and the surprising number of gems that survive.

ABOUT LAVA'S CRIME LAB EVENT: The March 4 event "Inside the Mind of the
Arsonist is a fundraiser for the Criminalistics graduate department at Cal
State L.A., the latest in a series of events at the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic
Science Center at Cal State L.A.

³Inside the Mind of the Arsonist² is an exploration of the scientific
investigation of fire-related felony offenses, revealed through methods of
evidence analysis, profiling and select case histories. Attendees will also
have an opportunity to tour Cal State LA's state-of the-art teaching and
research facilities in the Criminalistics Department of the Hertzberg-Davis
Forensic Science Center.

³Inside the Mind of the Arsonist² is hosted by Ed Nordskog, an active
arson/bomb detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and
author of the new book "'Torchered' Minds: Case Histories of Notorious
Serial Arsonists." Copies of Mr. Nordskog's book will be available for sale
at this event.

The presentation consists of two lectures from Ed Nordskog, with a related
breakout scientific workshop offering illustration of the concepts raised by
the lectures.

LECTURE #1 is an introduction to the six main motives behind the crime of
arson ­ spite/revenge, financial gain, crime concealment,
excitement/recognition (hero fires), extremism, juvenile fires
(curiosity/experimentation/vandalism)‹and to Ed Nordskog's investigative
specialty, a modification of the standard arson investigation in which he
"profiles" the arson scene in order to determine a "motive" for the crime.
He does this by determining the actual "target" of the arson attack and the
method of ignition for the event. This usually indicates a motive and the
level of sophistication of the offender. Because arson is a very personal
crime in which the victim nearly always knows who set the fire, it is
relatively easy to identify a suspect‹although proving they were involved is
not so easy.

LECTURE #2 focuses on select cases studies of convicted serial arsonists,
including nationally known crimes and cases on which Ed Nordskog worked
personally. Included will be discussion of Glendale arson investigator /
arsonist John Orr and the prolific Washington D.C. arsonist Thomas Sweatt.

Following this second lecture, attendees will have the opportunity to
purchase copies of Ed Nordskog's book "'Torchered' Minds: Case Histories of
Notorious Serial Arsonists."

By the afternoon's conclusion, attendees will have a deeper understanding of
the real work that's done in the field by arson investigators, and the tools
and techniques used to interpret crime scenes for the benefit of
investigating officers and juries.

ABOUT ED NORDSKOG: Ed Nordskog is an active arson/bomb detective with the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He has been a detective since 1990,
working specifically in the arson and explosives world since 1997. He has
conducted over sixteen hundred fire investigations and as of this writing
has personally arrested and interviewed over 250 persons who were convicted
of fire setting and related crimes. He has testified in court as a
recognized expert in this field on over fifty-five occasions. He has been
consulted by prosecuting attorneys on death penalty cases involving arson
and murder on three occasions. He has been personally involved in over
twenty serial arson investigations. The author has a master's degree in
emergency services management and is certified as a fire investigator by the
California State Fire Marshal and the California Conference of Arson
Investigators. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Arson
Investigation Course, the ATF Advanced Arson Investigation Course, the
Forensic Fire Death Investigation Course, and numerous other arson
investigation courses. He is involved in course development and teaches fire
scene investigation, major arson case investigation, serial arson
investigation, and arson murder/fire death investigation. He is a course
developer and instructor for the state of California's Arson and Explosives
Investigation Course. He is an instructor for the state of California's
Homicide Investigator's Course. In 2004, the author was named Arson
Investigator of the Year by the International Association of Arson
Investigators and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the International
Association of Special Investigations Units; both of these awards are for
his work as the lead investigator on a massive arson for hire scheme,
involving fifty-five burned properties. He has received over eighty-five
commendations, awards, and medals throughout his law enforcement career
related to successful criminal investigations. He is author of the book
"'Torchered' Minds: Case Histories of Notorious Serial Arsonists"
(http://www.torcheredminds.com ).

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour and LAVA special event schedule
Sat Feb 4 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Route 66
Sat Feb 25 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Lowdown on Downtown
Sun Feb 26 - Victorian Los Angeles Part Two (info at www.lavatransforms.org)
Sat March 3 - Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice crime bus tour
Sun March 4 - Inside the Mind of the Arsonist (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat March 10 - Weird West Adams crime bus tour
Sat March 17 - Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sun March 18 - East Side Babylon crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sat April 7 - Charles Bukowski's Los Angeles (weekend pass available)
Sun April 8 ­ John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill (weekend pass available)
Sat April 14 - The Real Black Dahlia crime bus tour
Sat April 21 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' L.A.
Sat April 28 - Maja's Mysteries: Rapture & Release
Mon April 30- The LAVA Salon at Musso & Frank featuring John Buntin (info at
lavatransforms.org)
Sat May 19 - Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles
Sun May 20 ­ Blood & Dumplings crime bus tour

For more info on Esotouric, visit http://www.esotouric.com

Esotouric's Richard Schave and Kim Cooper are proud members of LAVA - The
Los Angeles Visionaries Association. http://www.lavatransforms.org