I feel old whenever I see kids coming out of gigs, dance parties and kick backs now adays. I remember when I was part of that scene. Hanging out with friends kicking back and getting crazy in the pit. I reframed from drinking 40s or getting high because its not my thing, but that didn’t stop everyone else. On a good night I would end up going home smelling of beer and weed still laughing at all the stupid shit we saw or did while at the show.
A quick joke, What do bicyclist and skateboarders have in common ? They both hate people in unicycles…chirp…chirp… The City of Los Angeles is updating it’s bicycle routes through out the entire city and it’s asking for public comments and suggestions to make improvements. According to the site, “The following documents provide a summary of public input gathered from February through April of 2008.  This information is being analyzed and used as a reference as we conduct fieldwork and develop policies and programs for the draft plan. Additional comments and suggestions will be accepted throughout the process.” There are links to lamp route suggestions, route suggestions, commuter routes, and a survey report of people willing to take their time to answer questions like, “Are you a bicycle rider ?” and “30. If you checked yes to question 8 or 9, please provide the following information…” I gave the site a quick run through and the Eastside is practically ignored. In the bike route list, there is a link that reads “Eastside,” but if you click on it, this is what your are linked to. I think that the Eastside bike club will have something to say about that. Anyone interested in the cities plans for adding and updating bike routes should go to the site and speak their mind and tell the city to improve and in our case add new bike routes.Â
I was waiting for the bus today after work listening to music thinking of how bad I hate my job sometimes. As per usual I was craving some sort of treat for a hard days work and from the corner of my eye what do I see ? A paletero walking up behind me ringing his magical bells like a pied piper. I quickly grab my board and catch up to him. Making my way to him I noticed the killer dubs on his carrito. I grab myself an ice cream sandwich and I compliment the vendor on his tricked out ride. I ask if I could take a picture of his carrito and he agrees. Seeing the huge smile on his after I asked, I knew this was a man who took pride not only in his carrito, but in his job too. I took a bite of my sandwich and wished him the best. Ring, Ring, Ring is all I heard as he continued on his way selling paletas and ice cream in one pimped out carrito.Â
That sandwich hit the spot.Â
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. Continue reading
There is a trend among immigrants that shows that more and more of them are moving to more mid-western areas of the U.S. rather than living in major cities like Los Angeles. My family is proof of that. This weekend I’m visiting my parents here in the greatness that is Utah after leaving the nest egg to find my own way through life a year ago. There’s nothing like a 14 hour road trip to calm the mind and spirits. It’s also a good time to reflect and rethink things in life like school, work, relationships and all that good stuff. The change of scenery and clean air certainly are a welcomed changed as well. Life in L.A. is hard and fast. It’ll drain you of your youth and spirit and leave you a husk of a person bitter and brittle. That’s why they decided to move.
“Por la Quince hehehehe,†sums up the latest installment of Casa 0101’s production of “El Verde.†That’s because “La Quinceanera,†played by Ramona Pilar Gonzales, steals the show in an unexpected turn of events. Gonzales does a terrific job of playing “El Verdes,â€Anthony Aguilar, most nefarious foe. Like any scorned woman, she is driven by the heart ache of a past lover, detective Johnny Angel, Gabriel Guillen. This is the fourth installment in this on going serious revolving around the origins of the shows major characters “El Verde†and “La Quinceaneraâ€.
Just who is “El Verde” ? How did he come to be ? What’s his favorite kind of tamal ? Those are all questions that will be answered when “El Verde” returns to Casa 0101 this weekend. I had the opportunity to interview Anthony Aguilar, who is the writer and actor behind “El Verde,” to explain some of the shows conceptual origins. For those of you who aren’t familiar with “El Verde,” the show follows the heroic/comedic escapades of Arturo Sanchez, who immigrated from Mexico to live a normal life, but had his world forever changed when he was involved in a freak elote accident, turning him into “El Verde.” Continue reading
 Say hello to my little friend, Passer Domesticus AKA chirpy-boy or as the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services knows him, A0968416  N  . I found chirpy-boy Friday night while walking back home when I saw him/her in the corner of my eye. Chirpy-boy was on the floor next to a wall. I walked up to him/her and instead of flying away, he/she bounced away and that’s when I knew something was wrong with him/her. I chased him/her a little bit more to make sure and he/she could fly away and he/she didn’t. I also noticed how small chirpy-boy is, so I knew he/she was still a baby. I managed to corner chirpy-boy and grab him/her with my hand. In my hand I could feel all of chirpy-boys body trembling and his heart pounding. It felt as if my whole hand was throbbing at a high rate. At the same time when I picked up chirpy-boy he/she screamed and bit my palm as hard as he/she could, it didn’t hurt. One thing you have to understand about me is that I’m an animal advocate,lover and owner of a black lab (Harley Quinn) that saved my life and helped me lose 20 lbs. Animals and advocating for their welfare is something close to my heart. I have written about the horrors of puppy mills/pet stores, at my schools news paper and have helped other’s realize/understand that if they decided to take in an animal, adopting is always the best bet. (This could go on for days so yeah, I’ll stop now). With chirpy-boy in one hand and my birthday cake on the other, I headed home and made arrangements for chirpy-boy spending the night until the morning, when I would take him to the North Central Animal Shelter.Â
I need some help. The man in the picture below is a complete mystery to me. He may look like an ordinary man riding his bicycle, but he’s not. I have come across this man before and I haven’t been able to get a clear picture of him, till now. Even though he’s missing half his arm and leg, you can get a good view of the man who rides around yelling and performing acrobatics/dancing on his bicycle.
A few weeks ago I noticed something odd about the voice that announces the stops on the bus, it was happy. For those of you who haven’t been on the public limo, there is a voice that announces upcoming stops to passengers in a cold and robotic tone of voice, kinda like a Mr. Spell and Speak. I was in Hollywood with a friend and during our ride I noticed that voice was ecstatic when announcing the Hollywood stops. It’s something that stands out right away to any regular bus rider because the voice goes from its boring,deep, low tone to a energetic,happy high tone right away. I pointed it out to my friend and she noticed the difference as well. Well once I got home later that day I sent Metro an email on July 2 asking a few questions about the voice recording and how it works. On July 21 I received the following reply, (Note: I removed my real named and replaced it with my blog name)
Dear El Random Hero,
The stop announcements are manually recorded, but they are triggered automatically when the vehicle comes to a stop. When a stop is established, the stop is geo-coded (lat/long location) that defines the stop. The lat/long location is used to create a trigger box (typically 100-250′ from the lat/long point). Whenever the bus enters the trigger box, the vehicle will make the announcement (assuming the operator is running a schedule that uses that particular stop). Some trigger boxes are longer than others to account for a stop which may be a very heavy transit stop and shared by many lines (transit centers, airports, USG, etc.). We appreciate your inquiry and this opportunity to respond.
Metro Customer Relations
In my questions I neglected to ask about the voice recordings accent and tone of voice because I didn’t think it would be an appropriate question to ask. If I did I would basically have to ask “Why does the voice sound sad and depressed when announcing ethnic streets in more urban areas and sound high class in fancier areas ?” My hypothesis is that it’s because it’s the Hollywood line. I imagine the city wants to keep some sort of quality control to keep tourist coming back and to not scare them away. But honestly, you would think that someone involved in the recording process must have corrected the person recording on how to properly pronounce a simple street name, that’s what dictionaries are for right ? Either way I still get a kick out of that voice botching up names like Cesar E. Chavez, Rampart and of course Hollywood !!!  Â
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Walking down Cesar Chavez yesterday to go see my friend at work I was thinking, “Man I could sure go for a churro right about now. That sweet,greasy stick always hits the spot anytime, anywhere.” Just as I think my hunger for churros will go unfulfilled, I see a man and his cart standing in front of the Big Buy full of churros. 
Four for a dollar he yelled and like Batman to the bat-signal, I grab a dollar from my pocket and with a smile on my face I asked him to help me fulfill my sugary craving. The vendor was an older looking man, late ’40s early ’50s, he had a light beer smell to him, possibly budweiser and looked as if he just crawled from under a pickup truck. Despite his rugged appearance I didn’t hesitate as I took a bite of my churro, still warm and soft as it was recently made. The man told me that his suegra had rushed him out the door to go and sell after she finished making them. He asked her if he could have one more beer before he left the house, but no dice. Across the street from him other people were selling other various foods and random items. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday it gets packed on that side walk with people buying food and just enjoying themselves. However I digress from my point, which is that no matter what your craving there will be someone in a cart or stand selling what ever your craving for a reasonable price and extremely delicious. I <3 Boyle Heights. Â
Going down the street of my neighborhood is a daily routine. I skate/walk up and down everyday whether I’m coming/going to work or I’m on another of my misbegotten adventures in L.A. Everyday I see the same cars and houses and everything is pretty routine and bland.
Needless to say I was surprised the other day when I say two talented graffiti artist taking up their spray cans to paint something across the street from where I live. The bright colors and beautiful koi fish swimming on the wall seem out of place, but they are welcomed over tagging any day.