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Author Archives: El Random Hero
Pet stores suck
What’s wrong with this window advertisement ? Is it the fact that this months special is Iguanas for $9.99 plus tax ? Or the fact that these Iguanas are from El Salvador, which means that they have been smuggled or brought through some Iguana mill, much like puppy mills. If so, then that means that a lot of Iguanas had to die in order for the store to have the ones they have because those are the only ones strong enough to survive they’re horrific trip from El Salvador to Boyle Heights. I never liked the fact that people sell animals like novelties because they aren’t and with the way things are right now, no one wants to buy another mouth to feed. I can only think of what pet stores must be going through because they have to keep their “inventory” alive and healthy, costing them money everyday. The only thing pet stores are good for are buying supplies and food, not animals.
East L.A. meets Napa
Going into its fourth year, the Alta Med fundraiser East L.A. meets Napa brings Mexican food and fine wine together to cater to a crowd that likes a good chardonnay with their tamales. And why not ? I had the opportunity to go and not knowing bupkis about fine wine, I decided to go in with an open mind and empty stomach. Needless to say I was impressed not only with the wines, but all the delicious food available and what wines go good with what. All the pictures were taken by my gf Gamin.
Maricon
It’s a word I have used repedeadly in the past because I wanted to make fun of someone or make them feel bad. It’s a word that is casually thrown around in certain circles because we’re all a bunch of guys acting like guys around each other. A word my parents would use to describe our neighbor and his friends. Yet, after watching the movie Bruno, I saw myself through the eyes of an outsider if you will to realize how homophobic friends and family really are because it is the norm. Somehow it’s ok to use those kind of words with friends and joke about it with family because it was instilled by society, culture, religion or just passed down from within the family, being gay is the worst thing you can be. Often times I find myself around friends that use that word, along with a plethora of others in demeaning and derogatory ways because somehow it’s OK to use that word. Much like any other hot button word that cannot be said, except by a person of that race. Kinda like me calling a friend a wetback beaner. It’s ok for me to say it because I’m Mexican but let me hear someone else saying that and all hell will break lose. That’s only the tip of the ice berg of course. When you add how religion demonizes homosexuality and instills in others that being gay is evil and wrong, violence tends to follow. What I’m trying to get at is that society as a whole paints this picture that everyone is better than anyone who may be gay and that it’s OK to treat them like shit because they are gay. I stopped using those kind of words with said circle of friends a few years ago, but it takes a conscious effort, which I am ashamed to admit. I have friends who are gay and they are some of the most kick ass people I know. I may have gotten rid of those inclinations to use derogatory words referencing homosexuality, but whenever I’m around a certain circle of friends all I hear is, “Dude, you’re a fucking fag man. Why you looking at me like that? You looking at my cock? pinche maricon hahahahahahah.”
The 3rd Street Specific Plan
From the website,
“Four Discovery Workshops for Phase 1 of the Community Plan Update will be held in East Los Angeles beginning July 13, 2009 through July 25, 2009. The same material will be covered at each of the four workshops which will be held in different locations in East Los Angeles in order to be as convenient as possible for residents and business owners in East Los Angeles to participate in the process and help decide how the 3rd Street corridor should develop and appear in the future (Discovery Workshops Schedule).
The Discovery Workshops will be followed by a continuous series of all day design sessions called a charrette which will be held over a six day period. The charrette will occur the week of August 17, 2009 through August 22, 2009. During the charrette, all of the information gathered from early field work, stakeholder interviews and the Discovery Workshops will be shaped into a vision for the 3rd Street corridor, which will later be transformed into the 3rd Street Specific Plan.
Residents, business owners and other local stakeholders will be invited and encouraged to participate in the process. The exact location and times of the discovery workshops and the design charrette will be announced on this website, as well as in local publications and libraries, in the coming weeks. We look forward to your ongoing participation in this exciting community planning effort.”
DISCOVERY WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE AND LOCATIONS
~ Monday, July 13, 2009
Belvedere Community Regional Park – Social Hall 4914 East Cesar Chavez Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90022 (323) 260-2342 Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
~ Tuesday, July 14, 2009
City Terrace Park – Social Hall 1126 N Hazard Ave Los Angeles, CA 90063-1258 Phone: (323) 260-2371 Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
~ Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Ruben Salazar Park – Senior Center 3864 Whittier Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90023 (323) 260-2330 Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
~ Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saybrook Park – Recreation Room 6250 Northside Dr Los Angeles, CA 90022 (323) 724-8546 Time: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
I want to know…
what is a chicano ?
BABY KITTY !!!!!!!!!!!!
~ Mi Gatito~ Ofelia Esparza
So I’m walking home and I’m crossing the street and I see this couple crossing and the girl waving good bye behind her. I’m thinking she’s waiving to a friend but as I make my way across the sidewalk I don’t see anyone. I get to the corner only to see a BABY KITTY meowing under a sign for rotisserie chicken. Without even thinking twice about it I pick him up and the BABY KITTY starts purring and caressing me as if I was his mom. I’m an animal lover and when I saw that BABY KITTY standing there meowing, I knew I had to pick him up. I was going to go home and drop some stuff so I could take him to the animal shelter, but something interesting happened on my way home. Continue reading
The mural wars continue
I see this mural and I feel nothing. No connection to the history it has, the images depicted on it and what it means to the community and t artist responsible for creating such a beautiful work of art. It’s been there longer than I have been alive and seen Boyle Heights change and grow over the years. Everything I feel and see in that mural nowadays I learned to appreciate it. I walk by it almost everyday and I understand the history behind the streetscapers and the legacy muralist are continuing since the ’20s. My thirst for knowledge has shown me the rich legacy murals have in all of East Los and around the world for that matter, but that’s the trick. I wanted to know more about it. Then there are other residents that could careless about what they are, but appreciate it for what it is, art. At least that’s what I realized after Willie Herron III explained it to me from his point of view. He told me that even though I may not feel a connection to the images in the mural or understand it, we can all appreciate it. Murals like the “Corrido of Boyle Heights” may be the closest some residents will ever get to art. That alone merits appreciation in the murals, but mocosos still fail to grasp that. It’s the same arguments over and over again: If kids had a proper outlet they wouldn’t be doing shit like this or if the city had more arts programs for youth, taught them more history and appreciate their heritage etc. So does this post have a point? Maybe and maybe not. Maybe I just wanted to post up a picture of HOW STUPID PEOPLE ARE or ramble about a conversation I had today with Herron. Whatever the reason, the mural will survive. As Brandy Healy succinctly put it, “Well, at least its graffiti coated thanks to the restoration skills of Paul Botello & crew with support from CD 1 Councilman Ed Reyes. I hope the clean up folks come soon. Not only is this particular defacement completely void of any meaning or aesthetic, it’s just insultingly stupid.” And so the mural wars continue.
Tierra Mia Coffee House
First impressions are everything and let me tell you, Tierra Mia Coffee left me wanting more. It just sucks that it’s in South Gate, not that there’s anything wrong with South Gate lol, it’s a little too far off my regular route here Boyle Heights. So how did I end up in South Gate in the first place ? Well I was on my way to malandrinas show a few weeks back, which was totally awesome and I ended up going to go check out the coffee house with my date. And because my friend works there and he would hook it up. You know how I do. While I only took a quick pic of my chocolate chip muffin and Horchata Frappe, the place was awesome. I was joking with the bartistas that I was glad to be in a coffee house where grande meant large. The place just had a great vibe to it. I didn’t outta feel outta place or like I was getting the stinky eye, like when I roll with friends to a crapbucks or shitty bean. It reminded of my P3000’s post about not having certain foods in the barrio. I WOULD LOVE for Tierra to come to Boyle Heights and East Los. Then I wouldn’t have to go to Highland Park to Antigua for free wifi. There is a need for a great coffee house here on the East side and after visiting Mi Tierra, I WANT MY COFFEE and WIFI. Hold the gentrification.
Win tickets for the roller derby !!!!!
So who wants to go see the Derby Dolls this weekend ? for free ? Yeah that’s what I figured. Now that I have your attention, I am more than happy to give away tickets to the dolls bout this Saturday to LA Eastside readers because I’m a giving kind of guy. They hooked it up with 2 pairs of tickets for both the baby doll brawl and the main bout. You have to be 21 in order to get the tixs because it’s a 21 and only show. Another thing I would like to put out is that if you have gone to a bout, please don’t try to win the tickets. I would much rather have someone who has never experience the Derby Dolls go and have an amazing time like I did the first time I went. So I’m trsuting you guys and putting you on the honor system ok ? Ok puez. So here’s the million dollar question, what is the name of the derby doll I mention on my derby dolls post for being a bad ass jammer ? Send your responce through the contact page and be sure to include your EMAIL so we can hook you up with the information. A big heart felt gracias goes out to the LA Derby Dolls for hooking it up with tickets for their bout this Saturday.
“United”
D.R.E.A.M. Graduation at City Hall
I have been helping put this together the last few weeks and on behalf of Dream Team Los Angeles, I want to invite everyone reading this post to come to city hall on Tuesday and be witness to an amazing event.   From the press release.
Students Participate in West Coast DREAM Act Rally Day
Urge President Obama and Congress to Pass DREAM Act this year, 2009!
WHAT: DREAM Graduation Ceremony held in Los Angeles, CA in solidarity with the United We Dream Coalition’s National Day of Action in Washington D.C., in support of the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act.
The DREAM Act is a bi-partisan legislation that if passed, would provide undocumented college students a path to legalize their status after meeting strict requirements. These requirements include that the student must have entered the country before the age of 16, graduate high school or obtain a GED,  have good moral character (no criminal record), and have at least five years of continuous presence in the US. The students will then have six years within which they must obtain a two-year college degree or voluntarily complete two-years of military service, in order to have the chance to adjust their conditional permanent residency to U.S. citizenship.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 23, 2009
12:00 p.m. – 1:00p.m. – DREAM Graduation and Press Event
WHERE: Los Angeles City Hall Lawn
200 N. Main St. Los Angeles CA
WHO: UCLA student speakers will discuss the importance of the DREAM Act.
Undocumented students will provide testimonials of their journey as undocumented.
Wendy Carrillo, will be the Masters of Ceremonies
Kent Wong Director of the UCLA Labor Center will be the Key note speaker
Opportunity for interviews with members of the community, speakers, students and
allies.
WHY: Highlighting the achievements of our nation’s undocumented youth and the vast support for passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.