A Little Rock'n'Roll with our Elevenses

"5.4 earthquake rocks L.A. area"

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 shook large parts of Southern California, shaking a wide swath from Ventura County to San Diego.

The quake shook downtown L.A. buildings and was felt as far east as Palm Springs.

It was centered near Chino Hills, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The magnitude of the quake was originally set at 5.8. But Caltech officials downgraded it to 5.4 and said they doubted the temblor caused major structural damage.

Kate Hutton, a staff seismologist at Caltech, said 11 aftershocks were recorded at various places, with 3.8 being the largest and the only one felt.

O.K., a bit of overkill. This morning's tectonic rumba was a tad milder than the one Jeanette MacDonald, Clark Gable, and Fr Spencer Tracey re-enacted for us in 1936. I got everything cleaned up in 15 minutes and no one appears to be missing. But still exciting enough in its own way.