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!
Check the poles.
It is odd how things come to ones mind out of the blue.
Last week I met this homeless man who inspired a poem for really no reason, now I am no poet but the words just came to to me while text messaging with a friend.
He appeared in my sight after we got out of Bar 107 on so called “Reggae Night”. After calling it a night we headed out the joint towards Main st, no matter what if you in the area your most likely gonna get hit up for change by the homeless population left in the vicinity. One of my friends knew a few of them from working in the area so it was pretty normal. I myself never really been scared of homeless, I usually am real curious about their lives and many times I like to talk to them.
Photo from Google
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.
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
Botanitas is an ongoing feature bringing you stories and news from various sources, upcoming events and other bits of ephemera that might be of interest to LA Eastside readers. Suggestions welcome!
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
Shit is going down in Cudahy in the name of keeping the political status quo.
Since 1999, Cudahy did not have contested elections until 2007, when two newcomers, Daniel Cota and Luis Garcia, ran for positions in the City Council and lost by a few dozen votes. A third newcomer, Tony Mendoza, was forced out of the race after receiving death threats against him and his family.
A year after that election, Cota and Garcia decided to run for office again and set up their 2009 election website a few weeks ago. Last week, Garcia’s house was firebombed (video taken by a security camera), burning the outside of his home and one of his trucks. Below is a picture of Garcia and the damage done to his truck, from the L.A. Now blog.
What’s incredible is that this is the SIXTH time since the past election that he has been vandalized at home. His truck has been showered with gallons of paint four times and two weeks ago, a brick sailed through his window. Continue reading
There are many things that can go wrong in the course of our lives. For the most part, we overcome them and soldier on. Of the many misfortunes transpired within our forgotten pasts, there is one particular pathos that we can never seem to fully erase. We never forget the day we lost our bike. Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I had breakfast with a friend at a restaurant in South Gate. After breakfast, we were in the parking lot, saying our goodbyes and all the pleasantries, when all of a sudden she asked me, “What’s that noise?”
“The plane?”
“Yes, the planes!”
“Oh yeah, I live under the approach to LAX.”
“So you’ve heard this every day of your life?”
“Yeah, but it’s not bad. You get used to it. Besides, I don’t live in Lennox, where the planes are about a hundred feet above.” Continue reading
Coelhos Negros-Belo Horizonte, Brasil
I know a lot of people hate on myspace and for good reason, there are millions of kids, teenagers and adults who spend waste way too much of their computer time on the site. But like all things in the world, things are what you make of them and personally, I’ve been able to use myspace for what it was originally intended to be, a social networking site. In fact through one of my numerous myspace pages, :dos lunares, I’ve met and visited Gypsy music fans in Mexico City and hosted Gypsy music DJs from Switzerland here in Los Angeles. Besides using the site as intended, it’s also allowed me to pursue some of my not so flattering tendencies. I can be, how would one put it, extremely curious (okay, nosey) and a tad bit voyeuristic. And I must admit, myspace can provide hours of satisfying entertainment. What I often search for are the strange little subcultures that exist in the world but are not widely known. I’ve spent many a night visiting pages of friends and friends of friends that have included: almost-out-of-the-closet cholos, bizarre art groups, French nu-ravers, Romani gangstas and hardcore Anarchists. And I have to say, I’ve learned so much!
“Amazonas, que viva America Latina”
