How do I not appear exploitative?

Thanks Mr Drummond.

Thanks Mr Drummond.

I went to the LA Art Show and saw three lectures. One was with Leimert Park based artist Mark Bradford, the other was with Mat Gleason of Coagula, and another was with Marlena Donahue of Otis and friends. It was an interesting group of lectures that I will discuss more at length later…the one with Marlena was about diversity and how the art world excludes women. Good points were made on Marlena’s lecture BUT if I were running anything that talked about diversity I would make sure to include as many walks of life Continue reading

My Favorite Burrito: Jim’s Burgers Sunrise burrito

Lately I’ve been going to work early in the morning, 6 a.m. early and that’s WAY too early for this hibernating bear. Even though I only work three days a week thanks to “La Crisis.” That’s why I stop at Jim’s Burgers and grab myself a sunrise burrito and a cup of joe. I know I’ve mentioned them before, but the burrito is soo good that it deserves a post of its own. Sometimes it’s so cold in the morning that I can see the steam float from the burrito at every bite. Almost as if the taste/aroma of the burrito is enticing me to take another bite outta of it, like in old looney toons cartoons when the aroma would form a hand and grab the character and smack them up side the head. That’s how it feels eating a burrito of this caliber so damn early in the morning. Hell, by the time I get there, there’s already a few old timers eating and talking shit like it’s just another day on the job. Last week as I was scarfing down my burrito, I noticed a father and son walk outta the place together. The kid was about seven to 10 years old. Both him and his dad got into their truck getting ready to deliver tortillas. Just watching them pass me by like that took me back to the days when my father and I were hustlin’. Getting up early to beat the traffic, getting our shit together and grabbing a bite to eat before we had to handle the days business. Amazing how the simple act of eating a burrito early in the morning can evoke such powerful memories and emotions. Damn that burrito is good.  

Jim’s Burgers

1901 E 1st St.

Los Angeles, CA 

(323) 266-3886       

Saladitos, Food of the Playground

Before Flaming Hot Cheetos, Eastside kids coveted these – especially the saladitos with chile. They were sometimes eaten a little at a time and some of the macho kids bravely managed to consume them whole. I’m sure you can still find these all over the place but this package was bought at one of the last Japanese-American markets in the South San Gabriel area, Tozai Foods.

Whats Cooking?

I was out driving a few minutes ago, when I started noticing an aroma not unlike someone cooking Chinese Food. I kept looking around at the storefronts, sniffing and asking:

Maybe there’s some kind of big outdoor Stir Fry Wok Style BBQ going on around here“. Always on the prowl for any new sources of Tragazón, I became more intrigued.

It all got stranger as the aroma continued to fill my car as I drove further on. After a couple of miles more, I was really puzzled until I looked at the car in front of me and figured it out. It was one of those old Mercedes with the Bio-Fuel converted engine. The exhaust smells like old cooking grease. Fooled again!

I see quite a few of those cars around my Westside neighborhood. I’ve heard that it costs as much or more than gasoline to run them and that you don’t always pass the Cal Smog Check with the converted engine.

I hope they’re helping the environment anyway. And I hope we can start coming up with more alternative energy cars real soon. We could use them.

Free fruit trees @ Proyecto Jardin this Saturday


This is “Hank.” I adopted him in 2007 at Placita Olvera during some event. This was through the cities tree give away program. I still have “Hank” with me and in a bigger pot because he’s growing up before my eyes. I remember when he was just a baby. I would water him after I fed the dogs and put him in sunlight if the day wasn’t to brutal. I made a promise to “Hank” that I would plant him when I have a place of my own, so far no luck yet. But if you want your own tree to name head over to Proyecto Jardin this Saturday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to pick up your choice of an apple, apricot, nectarine, peach, plum and citrus trees. However I will stress that the tree give away is intended for local area residents. There’s only going to be around 250 trees available and I would much rather see them around MY neighborhood than somewhere else. So, for those of you that live within the Boyle Heights, area come on down and grab yourself a tree. But don’t just come down like chusma, only people with available space to house the tree should come down. Other wise it would just be a waste of a valuable tree.  

Proyecto Jardin 

1718 Bridge St. 

Boyle Heights, 90033

Thoughts on the Kingdom Day Parade and Obama…

I’m not going to front. I have never been to the Kingdom Day Parade. The times I thought about going I got this response from my bourgie black girfriends, “That’s real ghetto Browne, let’s just do brunch.”

Girl on 92.3 the Beat float.

Girl on 92.3 the Beat float.

This year I decided I was going, but then I decided I wasn’t because I had gotten drunk the night before.

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Tricks Are For Kids 101: Arsons and Daughters

Tricks Are For Kids is a series based on the ramblings of an LAUSD substitute teacher. A former “regular” teacher in East L.A., CT opted for the mercenary-for-hire approach, after realizing Saturdays and Sundays also did not belong to him. Less cash money but more time to waste, he means, for himself. Tell him the options, again? He made his choice and there is no going back. “I’m going in!!” Now, live and uncut, so far, a drop-out teacher drops dime on the nonsense.

Dumb Interviewer: You’ve been in show business for awhile, so how old are you?
Dana Carvey: I’m 33 but I read at a 35 year old level.

So, the Miss had to leave prematurely due to a health situation. Old-school vet of some thirty years, most of ’em at Rooselvelt.

Could be seen as stoic and in fact some students, mainly girls, described her as this curmudgeon. Most boys got along fine with her. Her stoicism, when broken with a gigantic smile, was funny. I never really got a grip on her background but believe she had some Eastern European blood (thinking Serbian), and her manner sometimes reminded me of Eastern European Olympic athletes.

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