LA Eastside

In a moment of historic drama in the Capitol and on Wall Street, the House of Representatives voted to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry. ~ New York Times 

BAILOUT FAILS; STOCKS PLUNGE Dow Loses 777 Points After Vote ~ New York Times 

Washington Mutual Bank Failure Biggest in U.S. History ~ LA Times

On my way home Sunday from work I made it a point to stop by store and take a picture of it. It seems that “La Crisis” just keeps getting worse and worse. Even if that Obama poster is a bargain at $14.99, I’d rather use that money to buy food. I may not know much about the stock market or fully grasp what’s going on right now, but I do know that it’s going to get worse before it gets better. On the brighter side of things, “The Doyers” are in the playoffs. One way or another I feel a riot coming on.

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I told Chuy90023 that his comment on Daniel Hernandez’s post regarding his flip-flop on the Eastside definition was worthy of it’s own post, and being the typical humble Eastsider, he put his response in the comment of a previous post. Vato, you need to learn from these paid journalists; the only thing that makes their words more meaningful is that they act like their words have more meaning. And since I know Chuy’s words really do mean more than those of guys that get paid to write, I’m reposting his comment here as its own post, on a website that doesn’t rely on web traffic as a source of revenue.

I posted the comment below on Daniel Hernandez’s Intersections yesterday but el Chavo and I thought I’d repost it here since probably not a lot of LAEastside.com readers visit the other site:

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Really? Really! At least according to LA City Beat, which picks “the best things in your neighborhood” in it’s latest issue. Who is it? Why, it’s Ron Gormon…whoever the fuck that is. Since you probably don’t know him either, here is the fascinating entry:

Boyle Heights
Ron Garmon
There used to be a real swing to Boyle Heights, they tell me. Most of this was just a quick whoosh of air from people ducking behind walls and flowerpots and lampposts and fat people when they saw Hunter S. Thompson coming toward them. Oh, it was also the case that Thee Midniters and Los Lobos brought wild nights and neighborhood pride to clubs that have since (of course) been murdered most foul. These days, there is little to commend in the sad, dingy nabe – except for one bright shining star: our very own Mister Ron Garmon.

You can see him, with his gleaming pale mull-hawk and fierce blue peepers, striding purposefully for a bus. (Just look for the guy who looks like Sting, or Rutger Hauer, or Rod Stewart, but mostly Sting.) You can see him, focused furiously on a far horizon, mostly because he’s on drugs. You can befriend him! He has many friends! He is kind, and handsome, and a man of talent and taste. Ron Garmon? So recommended. 5209 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (323) 938-1700. (RS)

Oh, I guess he writes for them. Hey, and checkout his handsome face. Ay que chulo! Now I know who to congratulate for being the best thing someone could scrounge up about that “sad, dingy nabe” where I grew up.

Is this supposed to be a joke? Jaja, muy chistoso cabron.  If the media, blogs, westsiders, and newbies weren’t so consistently dismissive and confused about this part of town, maybe I’d laugh too. But reading such Dude-Bro humor as I was trying my first PinkBerry dessert (cuz I want to understand you Westies and your ways) just made me want to spit my yogurt out as an act of defiance. Thanks LA City Beat, you really made my day!

PS. The yogurt was good, but you Westies go crazy over nothing.

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This weekend I came upon a gem of an article in the LA Times that described what steps you should take when you’re unemployed.

Jobless? Tips for Survival.

And here are a smidgen of some of the great tips:

“Leftovers are also great — I have barbecued chicken today, and tomorrow it’s in my enchiladas and then it’s in a chicken salad,” said Marguerite Womack, director of economic and workforce development for United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

I’ve seen the United Way office. It is next to the Starbucks where a policeman harassed me for looking homeless. There is a big sign by that building around 5th street in downtown and on the building it says: Don’t give the homeless money, because they’ll just ask for more…ok it doesn’t say that exactly, but pretty close.

Here’s another crumb of advice:

Jessica Hodgdon, 24, was out of work recently for six months. To save money, she moved into the East Los Angeles apartment of a friend, who waived rent in exchange for Hodgdon’s help cooking and cleaning.

Free rent please.

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Biting off Chavos post about the swap meet I figured I would dig up an article I wrote about the swap meets history and the vendors there. As an East Los Angeles College student I will be posting a few ELAC related post from time to time because so many people have and will come through here. ELAC has been around since 1945 and needless to say there is a long history. To me, ELAC is the school of second chances because it’s here that I was able to put my life together and start on the path of making something of myself. If it wasn’t for ELAC, I would be out there in the streets doing God knows what. The pictures are pre-solar panel days.    

The ELAC swap meet has been catering to the shopping needs of students and the surrounding communities for the last 22 years. The swap meet was formed from a combination of necessity and community growth. Martin Garcia, who is a full-time Biology instructor at Los Angeles City College, has been a vendor since the swap meet’s inception in 1986 with his two brothers Sergio and Jose Garcia. Garcia and his brothers primarily sell heavy metal music CDs along with miscellaneous objects they might have or that people specifically ask for.

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The Center Theater; A Date With Destiny. Commemorating the 38th Anniversary of the E.L.A. Chicano Moratorium Demonstrations and the Murder of Ruben Salazar on August 29th 1970.
It was a roasting, sweaty Saturday. I was on summer vacation from elementary school. Mom had been edgy all day with all that news coming over Canal 34 and KWKW radio about the “Chicano Riots” coming down Whittier Blvd…. (more…)

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I was going to go to the SiteLA’s (SiteLA is a Quicksilver marketing campaign) Heya party on Friday, August 22nd.

The transportation event sponsored by Toyota??!!!! I know. How could I NOT comment on that? How can I NOT make fun of SiteLA (I’ve got nothing to lose I’m not in Quicksilver’s demographic. Black girls don’t surf.) I think it’s fab that inspired people who are getting nonunion wages to make a very long commercial are doing inspiring things, but come on.

On Friday evening I was going there to make fun of the “random” coolness (and get free beer,) but then I got an email with a bit from Tina Dupuy.

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Those of us close to E.L.A. and who know it first-hand are likely to view with pride the more positive aspects of our communities and recognize the successes rather than dwell on the failures. Nevertheless, we seem to perpetually suffer from dismal public perceptions that tend to focus on the negative. (more…)

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Now I know that I’m stretching this post a wee considering this event took place in Downtown so please bear with me. No matter where you live, there is no shortage of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and other religious advocates preaching the word of their savior. I have no objections with their views or criticize their religion in any negative way. We all have the right to worship who ever we want without being burned at the stake. I just don’t appreciate it when they choose to take that love out of their homes and feel like sharing it with others, whether we like it or not. (more…)

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While walking in Echo Park today, I discovered this little free fold-out map & shopping guide…. (more…)

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