Signs of sad times

Many of the signs and banners are fading after recent rainstorms, including this one for shooting victim Jesse Childress, but more are still being added.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors to the memorial say their handwritten messages seem more heartfelt, and have more staying power, than tweets and Facebook postings.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

People carry a cross to be placed next to a memorial set up across the street from the Century 16 movie theater where the mass shooting occurred on July 20.  (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Kristin Britt, Annabelle Britt and B.J. Britt walk past a cross adorned with photographs of victims of the mass shooting at the Century 16 movie theater. James E. Holmes, 24, is accused of killing 12 and injuring 58 others during a shooting rampage at the theater at a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.”  (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)