Category Archives: Rant

re: Bratton

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anarcoming
(One can dream!)

I’m going to keep mum about what I really think, mostly because I never cared for Bratton. Politicos and most media sources are falling over themselves to heap more praise, which is to be expected. But La Crisis is intensifying, not diminishing. Crimes of necessity are going to come back in style.  And I bet that pesky little narco war is going to spill over into LA sometime soon. Rich folks need their supply of fun.

But this is what I really think: he is leaving now because things are about to get really bad. Better to leave before the stats turn negative.

Discuss.

What’s in a song

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California Love

I woke up this morning and put my tunes on shuffle. “Sweet Home Alabama” comes up and I ponder to myself, what is the equivalent of that song but for L.A. Cheech and Chong have “Born in East L.A.” a great jam. I was always partial to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers “Under the Bridge” and La Cindy says that Randy Newmans “I Love L.A.” is also a good choice. Hmm… I’m curious. I want to know what are some of the best songs that when you hear them, you think L.A. Any suggestions ?

Pet stores suck

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iguanas

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.

Highland Park in the NY Times

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highlandpark
These residents don’t count when the New York Times is discussing Highland Park “culture.”

It’s been making the rounds, The New York Times did an article on the new “culture” of Highland Park and you can guess who and what culture they are referring to. The vast majority of Highland Park residents will never read this article nor would they care about it but I can imagine the boutiques and gastropubs featured and interviewed couldn’t be more thrilled about this kind of validation.

Funny though, Highland Park has always been a place of community activity and art. Back in the 90s, it was ground zero for the Chicano cultural renaissance due to spaces like (De)Center, The Popular Resource Center (bands playing here: Quetzal, Ozomatli and Rage Against the Machine), pirate radio station Radio Clandestina, community garden La Culebra and the wonderful Arroyo Bookstore. The area was buzzing with art shows, concerts, poetry, political events and other happenings.
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Maricon

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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.”

BABY KITTY !!!!!!!!!!!!

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~ 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

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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.

Boredom is…

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boredom

On my daily commute to work I spotted this on N. Broadway.  Now this side of town is not without plenty of graffiti/bombs/tags but this meanders into other territory.  It’s not just a ‘tag’ but in a way someone trying to engage us and express his “boredom” with an act of creativity! Of course bored is spelled as borred, which makes one wonder as to whether this was intentional or not. And even the last “D” looks like a “b,” further changing an interpretation of this piece.

But frankly, on a purely visceral level I love this. Reminds me of all those million punk songs that sing about being young and bored. Even Søren Kierkegaard, Dutch 19th century existentialist, wrote about the nature of Boredom. For example he said in Either/Or,

Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings.

And also:

Boredom rests upon the nothingness that winds its way through existence

So, whoever did this is in good company in being bored…but as the Internationale Situationiste also said:

Boredom is counterrevolutionary.

OH! Who would’ve thought being bored had such existential implications!

For The Record…..

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whatever-you-moron-posters

In regards to this whole Eastside vs. Westside discussion, I want to restate something that keeps getting ignored and lost in the scuffle. I have said this many times in the past, but I thought perhaps, this merits it’s own post. SOME people seem to need to have things plainly spelled out for them (and even then, ‘stan pendejos sometimes!). I shall repeat this for the LAST TIME. Speaking for myself, my point of view and belief is that…..

THIS IS NOT AN EASTSIDE CHICANOS vs. WHITE PEOPLE THING!

THIS IS NOT AN EASTSIDERS vs. WESTSIDERS THING!

THIS IS NOT AN EASTSIDERS vs. NEWBIES THING!

THIS IS AN EASTSIDERS vs. A FEW IGNORANT AND/OR INSENSITIVE SCHMUCKS THING!

…THE LAST TIME I CHECKED, I FOUND THAT ABOUT 90% OF WHITES AND WESTSIDERS (and even most NEWBIES) HERE IN L.A. ARE TOTALLY COOL HUMAN BEINGS WHO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ALL OF THIS!

I hope this provokes some of you to rethink your oversimplistic conclusions. As for the majority of you readers who do get it, Thanks! 🙂

EXTRA! BREAKING NEWS ON EASTSIDE-WESTSIDE CONTROVERSY!

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labonge

Al Desmadre here, reporting from Silver Lake, CA. This evening, (Wed. June 10, 2009 at approximately 7:00pm PST) at a public meeting of the SILVER LAKE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION held here in Silver Lake, 4th District City Councilmember Tom LaBonge made a stunning and revealing statement that I believe calls for an L.A. Eastside Extra! AY! Witness News Report!

But first, a little background on Councilmember LaBonge.….

Thomas J. LaBonge born in Silver Lake, Ca., he is a member of the L.A. City Council and represents the 4th district. His district stretches from North Hollywood to Hollywood and Griffith Park and Wilshire Blvd. He is Chairman of the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging committee, Vice Chairman of the Public Works Committee, and member of the Audits and Governmental Efficiency Committee and the Ad Hoc River Committee for our city. Before he was councilman,  Tom LaBonge was Director of Community Relations at the Department of Water and Power, Special Assistant to Mayor Riordan, and Chief Deputy to Council President John Ferraro. Tom LaBonge calls himself the Cheerleader of Los Angeles. His reputation for adding history lessons in City Council meetings is well known. A graduate of John Marshall High School, Tom LaBonge received his Bachelor degree in sociology from Cal State L.A. Some call him “Mr. Los Angeles“. Believe me, this man knows and loves this city like no other.

So, tonight, as Councilmember LaBonge spoke to those of us in attendance describing how a number of Westsiders have been moving into his and Councilmember Garcetti’s 13th District, he was heard to announce;

“By the way, THIS IS NOT THE EASTSIDE!, Silver Lake, Los Feliz,…That is not THE EASTSIDE.”

WOW! HA! HA! Well, you could have knocked me over with one of the empty paper cups from INTELLIGENTRIA Coffee Shop that I find strewn on my lawn every day!!!… So- I couldn’t wait to spill this news here! Requests have been made to Mr. LaBonge to follow up on his statement, and I will add any additional info from him as it becomes available. In the meantime, all of you hipster wannabees in SL/EP/LF calling yourselves eastsiders, can continue to BITE ME! 🙂

What happened to Broadway?

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dsc01030

I am kind of sick of all this gentrification speculation about the Eastside being white-washed. It will take a lot more Clorox and wood-fire baked pizza to change East Los than yuppies have yet to offer in the American Southwest, so I don’t sit at home biting my nails that Nana will be evicted (well actually, she won’t, the house was paid for by Tata’s VA loan for pre-storming Normandy in WWII).  Even so, chuppies (chicano yuppies, a.k.a.  chicanos with degrees) have already gentrified these areas, but they are ingrained in the cultura and still buy elotes, so it isn’t as much a hard fit (in fact, I would say the same about Whites who are genuinely down with these areas).  Not that the genuine concerns of locals doesn’t matter or isn’t valid, but I think we need to focus on the tangible changes gentrification has already brought to the Latinoscapes of Los Angeles, specifically the Eastside’s center of gravity: Downtown.

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I am actually ALL for the demographic diversification of Los Angeles; even my beloved Eastlos with all its sheltered ethnic enclave delights.  The truth is the quality of life in East Los has degraded since its multicultural times of yore, and although ignorant pundits of conservative mantras have tried to pin it on Mexicans since the decline coincided with the rise in Latino immigration; it is much more obvious that the downward slide had much more to do with the middle class drain on the community that began with White Flight and continued with the ban on segregated housing covenants in 1955 (thats when my grandparents moved to the newer Maravilla housing tract on the Monterey Park/East Los border, as did many East Los middle class residents).  Along with the decline in more economically stable residents, came the decline and eventual outright withdrawal of Corporate America, and the amenities that come with them, from this area.  This decline in economic revenue as well as citizens with the resources to devote their extra time and energy to improving the community had a devastating toll on the community.

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