Monthly Archives: February 2009

On the LA Times Map and Patt Morrison

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rivercrack

On the LA River, a tear in the fence.

There’s been lots of mention today of the LA Times map, a work in progress that attempts to define the various neighborhoods in this city. Of particular interest to many of us on this blog, and of course, many people East of the river, was their designation of the region known for a long, long, time as the Eastside. I have to hand it to them, they did the smart thing and stuck with a safe approach, with only Lincoln Heights, El Sereno, and Boyle Heights making the list. Mind you, we all know that East Los Angeles (the unincorporated part of the County) is also part of the Eastside, but it’s not part of the city proper so that makes sense. But Eastside it is, through and through. To the map makers, I raise my glass and toast you some light praise.

Even though Highland Park and some other nearby neighborhoods were appropriately placed in the Northeast region it could be open to some interpretation of it sorta being on the Eastside. I don’t really think so, but it’s possible. But the Northeast and Highland Park are not having an identity crisis, so there’s really no need to figure out if it is or isn’t.

But speaking of identity crisis…

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Where you from !?

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Looks like the Eastside debate is heating up once again. Not to add fuel to the fire, but this morning I happened to come across Patt Morrison’s piece on where the Eastside really is and how haters need to stop frontin’, “What lights my fuse is the attempted rebranding of Silver Lake as the “Eastside,” mostly, I think, by people who stand to make a buck by appropriating the name of one part of L.A. and slapping it on another.” What lights my fuse are those sexy hats she likes to wear hahahaha.

Ed also gets into it and talks about the The L.A. Times trying to map the city, but as he points out, the arts district got the shaft. I also noticed that there’s a South Los Angeles and a Historic South Central Los Angeles. I don’t know exactly what they’re smoking over there at the Times, but in my mind there’s only ONE South Central Los Angeles and that’s the one I lived in on and off as a kid. For anyone who feels inclined to voice their two cents about the map, they also allow you to correct them by submitting a geocomment, which lets you define your hood in the little map they provide.

The Garden, a Film on the South Central Farmers Nominated for an Academy Award

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Kenneth Turan, Times Movie Critic says in his review (August 28, 2008) “‘The Garden’ is a case study in how hardball politics is played and why it is so difficult to take on the system. Not that anyone has given up the fight. As a story in the L.A. Times this week pointed out, the battle over this piece of land is far from over. What ‘The Garden’ does is demonstrate what it’s all about and why it’s important.” Turan’s title of this piece on The Garden, a 2008 academy award nominated documentary on the 6-year struggle of the South Central Farmers is “The Garden, Turf wars flourish in South-Central L.A.” Ouch! Here we go again—diminished from urban ecological pioneers and community healers to gang banging discontents. (sigh)

I haven’t seen The Garden yet, but have heard many good things about it and the director, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, especially from friends involved in the film, Gabriel Tenorio and Domingo 7 of East LA who co-wrote the musical score with seasoned soundtrack composer Doug DeAngelis. One of the reasons the film has been difficult to catch up with for me is that it seems to be on tour, rather than part of the usual distribution schedules in local movie houses. Daryl Hannah even hosted a screening of The Garden as part of the National Democratic Convention programming. Continue reading →

New Design for Sixth St Bridge

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Sixth St Bridge – photo courtesy of LAPL.org

According to the Los Angeles Times, the unveiling of the new design for the Sixth St bridge was met with disappointment by Boyle Heights residents and the 6th Street Viaduct community advisory committee. Many feel the bridge is too modern and spare looking and lacks historical continuity.

“I said as far as I am concerned, if you are going to put this bridge with cables there, you might as well not put a bridge there at all. I would rather not see one there,” said Victoria Torres, a board member of the Boyle Heights Historical Society. “It’s very disappointing when the city is trying to push something on you that you didn’t agree with.”

The bridge is in a state of irreversible decay and is plagued by some kind of “concrete cancer” that can lead to a collapse in a heavy earthquake.

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Disrespect

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WAKO from Breed St. doesn’t realize what he did when he defaced the mural Ernesto has been working so hard to restore. At the risk of getting jumped, FUCK HIM. I’m on my way to school this morning and I see that stupid green paint on the mural, that isn’t even done yet and it’s frustrating to say the least. It’s like a never ending cycle that keeps going all because some idiot banger doesn’t have respect for murals that are older than him. At the same time since ELAC is under construction one mural already got trashed, the olympics mural that could be seen driving by Cesar Chavez Ave. Now there’s talk going around that since our library is going to get remodeled, the mural from the East Los Streetscapers is in danger of getting destroyed. I’ll be damn if I’ll let that happen. Stay tuned for updates.

Parking Rate Increase Decreases Parking

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As many may have noticed, the City has decided to jack up the price you pay at parking meters, and those increases have been showing up all around town. In Lincoln Heights, the parking lot behind the 99¢ store and the Payless Shoes, has gone crazy with those crazy fees: the price for an hour has increased by 400%.  One dollar an hour might not seem that much to some, but it’s really exorbitant for many working people.

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$550 Billion Disappeared on September 15, 2008 “Electronic Run On US Banks”

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Well it didn’t disappear, but a bunch of rich somebodies took there money out of the bank within a few hours. I find that strange. I also find the lack of coverage on this strange. I unfortunately don’t have the resources to check this out, but someone who does: Maybe some unemployed journalist with some free time and an employed spouse or trustfund could check this out. Continue reading →

Hipster Racism Revisited. And Africa is still not a country.

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The topic of Hipster Racism (a phrase originally coined by Carmen Van Kerckhove) has been visited in the past by me on LA Eastside, Cruel Secretary over at Racialicious, and by Angry Asian Man over at Angry Asian Man.

Why do people think this kind of thing is clever or smart? There is no difference between this and a thirteen year old boy telling fart jokes.

Maybe we can blame this on Canada since Alanis Morrisette messed up the definition of irony.

Just because something is trying to be ironic it doesn’t mean it’s not racist.

by Browne Molyneux
H/T to Macon Dee over at Racialicious who watches TV and movies, so I don’t have to.

Eastside Greasers

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Lincoln Heights Greasers

El Chavo originally spotted these youngsters a few months ago. Today they were out and about looking for something fun to occupy their time.

Me: Can I take your picture?
Them: Sure!!!
Me: What do you call your style?
Them: Greasers
Me: How long have you been into this style?
Them: Four years
Me: Thanks! Have a great day!
Them: You too!

If you look carefully, you’ll notice they are chomping on Flaming Hot Cheetos, the #1 snack on the Eastside.

La Crisis 2009. A look at 15 companies that you may know.

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A look back at California's History.

A look back at California

 

Companies that might not survive, with fun commentary put in by me, so you won’t be bored.

Rite Aid. (Ticker symbol: RAD; about 100,000 employees; 1-year stock-price decline: 92%).
This is unfortunate. I will now have to walk all the way to the downtown Ralph’s to get the mind numbing kind of alcohol that makes your forget everything. They should have stayed Thrifty’s. I still call it Thrifty’s

Claire’s Stores. (Privately owned; about 18,000 employees.) On the rare occasions I do go to the mall, where will I get my cheap jewelry from? I need cheap jewelry and hair accessories made in a random third world country to go along with my  Hot Topic t-shirt of a band that started before I was alive. Who is this Pink Floyd? Who cares, they make a cute T-shirt. Continue reading →

Valentine’s Day Nopales

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Image via Google (but could of been mom’s backyard)
“Valentine’s Day Nopales” or maybe not! but since that so called special is coming up why not pretend they are “Valentine’s Day Nopales”. Forget all those fake expensive dinners, long lines, cheesy teddy bears and over priced flowers. I personally do not care much about Valentine’s Day but on the other hand my honey Raul (whom I been with for five years) does care about Valentine’s Day. I told him he could stop worrying about that day a few years back and that I don’t need any of the commercialism of Valentine’s Day. He still would insist we do something, so to make him happy we just cook a small dinner together.
For those planning making dinner or something Valentine’s Day or any day try this recipe I  got  from a good friend who loves nopales and has many  really good recipes using nopales.
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