(Click on pic for larger flyer)
On Saturday September 27th, the We the People Festival 2008 is scheduled to take place over in that stretch of park between Chinatown and Lincoln Heights. And guess what? We have a few tickets to give away! Click ahead for the exciting details!
UPDATE: The Winners Are In!
(Horse riders on the San Gabriel River. Photo by permission of myself.) If you want a soundtrack, click play on the video below.
—————————————————————-
There’s nothing like a tragedy to remind us that we are all on borrowed time, and hopefully we’ll try to make the most of the remaining stretch. Here’s a few blogs and posts I’ve been reading that put things into context.
Moon over at French Benefits writes about missing the 111 Metrolink train yesterday, that same one that hit a freight train and is now a fatal wreck. She worries if some of the fellow passengers she’s come to recognize are okay.
Miguel of The Los Angeles Eastside Scene sent out an email announcing that “life has gotten in the way of my blogging” thus he will no longer be hosting the monthly Latino blogger meetups. I know his site recently slowed down but I hope he doesn’t stop posting for good.
Alice Bag is putting her autobiography in process online over at her Violence Girl blog, and she’s up to her Stevenson Jr. High days. Retracing your steps to see where you have been in this life must be a good way to estimate what it’s all about.
On a similar note, Evil Chavo (no relation to yours truly!) recounts his experiences about life in City Terrace, casting himself as a “Survivor from the streets of ELA“. It’s sad that surviving your childhood neighborhood is such a common thread when Eastsiders write about their life stories, but that’s just the way it is. Still, I’d like to see more Eastsiders jotting down some notes about life on the Eastside, it definitely helps to fill in the wide gaps in the missing history of our part of town.
I went on a drive-by shooting today, click ahead to see the devastating results. Above, one of my targets: the Sombrero and Cap Gang out on an early mission! (BTW, all the following pics can be clicked to be seen in a larger size. Oh yeah, and the photos are kinda big, so the page may load slowly.)
Oh look, that newspaper subscription I keep meaning to cancel has put out a new magazine. Hmm, maybe this time it’ll be a little more reflective of the larger Los Angeles and stop being so Westside Provincial? Haha. As the cover says: Dream On!
According to Javi of lincolnheightsla.com the fairly new carousel in Lincoln Park is set to close on Sept 28 due to low ridership. There’s no mention of it on the official park site but you can trust Javi with this info, he knows what’s going on around LH. From his email:
Due to low ridership the LP carousel will have its final spin on Sept. 28, 2008. So if you haven’t seen or taken a ride then do so before it’s too late. I encourage everyone to visit and take a spin.
That’s kinda sad but it did seem like many people were unaware of the new ride. You really might want to heed that warning and go take a spin. I took some pics less than a year ago over at my site if you want to see a bit more. Or click ahead for a short video clip.
I haven’t put anything on layaway in awhile, I think the last time was at the Kmart in Commerce back when they offered that program. (Maybe they still do?) But that was in the past when I just needed clean socks and maybe some school supplies. My needs are different now that I’m moving up in the world with my successful business of adding rocks to my recyclable cans and bottles: my profit margin is thru the roof! I haven’t decided on what kinda piece I’ll choose but at least I know this Highland Park shop has me covered!
Click ahead to see where I’ll go should I hit on hard times!
Yeah, I know, this is old news, but it’s new to me: one of the ELAC parking lots has been outfitted with a whole bunch of solar panels and is now producing about 45% of the electricity the school needs. That’s a pretty good idea. And I bet it helps keep cars cooler. But even better, us swapmeeteros can now rummage through the goods without roasting our necks! Click ahead for a few more pics.
I’d been to this eatery maybe a year or so ago, when it was simply called La Tia and they were trying to specialize in tamales (no doubt to compete with the Eastside institution next door known as Tamales Liliana) but the food was just okay and it seemed like they were still getting things in order. About a month ago a friend told me that they now carried “all kinds of moles” and that it was under new ownership. Could it really be the same place? Only one way to find out!
If you take even a casual interest in some of the literature about Los Angeles (you know, like in books) you’ll eventually run across references to the Eastside that are properly located and don’t play around with those coy and “fluid” demarcations that have been the rage amongst the newbie set; its East of the river, y punto. I come across these references every once in awhile and I get a tiny jolt of satisfaction seeing them in print, an insignificant validation of what most of us already know. That glee quickly turns into a sigh when I think about it for a second; this shouldn’t even be an issue. Que se le va hacer?
Well, this is what I plan to do: instead of getting angry about yet another careless use of the term by people that don’t matter, I’m hoping to occasionally post some quotes, references, or pictures that give the communities East of the River the respect they deserve. Easy enough, que no?
Rolo submits this video asking the obvious question, what exactly do worms have to do with organ donation? I can’t figure it out. DMV- leading the way in surreal advertising.
I have to hand it to those crazy fools that can ignore all common sense and have no problem saying me vale madre to any troublesome situation or issue that might arise. It must be kinda liberating to be able to ignore the concept of responsibility and consequences, and it either requires some hardcore guts or just a total lack of reason. Whatever it is, sometimes I wish I could be that carefree, at least in a small dose. Ignoring the flashing lights from the cops behind me. Tossing aside the 3 day “pay or quit” notice from the landlord. Cooking up those week-old beans even though my nose sez no. Saying “fuck this, I Quit!” after yet another ridiculous request from that overbearing boss with a little man complex. I guess I am a bit familiar with that last one, but still, I wish I could add a few more “a la brava” tricks to my repertoire. Like for instance, this superb example above of some young ladies saying mind-yer-own-business on the Hollywood freeway.
Okay kids, lets lower those voices, class is about to begin. Ahem. Thank you all for showing up to yet another lesson in the Eastside 101 lecture series, an online extension program of the UGTWHTUPAY4 university. For those of you that have been taking notes, this series was started some time ago over at blogging.la as a way to shine some light on the life of those on the Eastside, that seemingly invisible place just on the other side of the river. Though the original mission of this series seems to have served its purpose (namely, defending the definition of the term Eastside) I still have a few insights and tips to share with all of you that might be interested. I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t unintentionally give away some secrets!
Oh yeah, the subject this time is Elotes!