The famous 1954 thriller â€THEM†about the giant ants, changed by an atomic bomb blast and who migrated and set up their colonies in the LA storm drain system, filmed in the LA River and Lincoln Hts. I watched them film some of those scenes in the river with actor James Arness before he became Sheriff Dillon in the TV series “Gunsmokeâ€
As a kid, I also witnessed some filming of the movie “Six Bridges To Cross†starring Tony Curtis and Sal Mineo, done on Sichel St. and around the Main St Bridge in 1955.
In the 1950 film noir classic “DOA†there’s a scene shot on the old wooden pedestrian bridge that took you from Elysian Park to Dog Town. Continue reading →
If you’ve ever been fortunate to spend 4th of July on the Eastside (or in the vicinity thereof) you’ll know that shit gets crazy as soon as the sun sets. Of course people bring in the always popular “safe and sane” fireworks that are available in some of the neighboring cities (like Alhambra) but there seems to be a preference for those very illegal fireworks, the type that fly and explode into a rainbow of colors. You know, the fun ones.
Some people complain about illegal fireworks and get all worked up about it, but it doesn’t matter: I’ve yet to see a 4th without these illegal fireworks. The video above is quite terrible in capturing this holiday and you can’t really hear the non-stop rumble of endless explosions, but it’s a sorta glimpse, via the bad-but-works video feature on my camera.
Click ahead for some after the fact pics from Lincoln Heights.
It’s about time. Piñatas finally achieve a structural advancement that is worthy of note for all Party People and Pachangeros alike. Maybe this has been around for some time but I didn’t get the memo, I found out about it by accident and by paying attention to all the significant things that happen in the world around me. Err, maybe it wasn’t an “accident”, let’s just call it approved-but-focused-violence. Above we see some weak kids crying about the fact they are going to have to bash and destroy their piñata friend, cuz that’s how they learn to grow up to be strong individuals that can take on the world. Rites of passage, they just need to be done.
Oh yeah, click ahead for the break-through (har har!) innovation that will turn parties upside down!
East L.A – Lakers Celebration 2009 by Eriksarni.com
In case you missed it in the comments section, LA Eastside compadre Erik Sarni captured the joyous and peaceful Lakers victory celebration on Whittier Blvd in East LA last night. Looked like fun, that is until the cops kicked everyone off the street.
I don’t think Smokin’ Mirrors Productions and Pocho Hour of Power will not mind if I share one of their films with the LAEastside readers. Maybe it’s because I know all the locations or the players, or because I like Zul’s writing that I find this hilarious each time I see it. I’ll check it out again in 30 years to see if it stays “classic.” See if you can find LAeastside.com blogger Pachuco 3000 making a cameo in this—LOL!
Is it tomorrow yet? Yeah, I was hoping to post these earlier pero que se le va hacer, I’m not racing against some clock. We try to get posts up here regularly but you know, people gotta do stuff. Besides, even if its a week late, where else would you find these fine videos (and a few pics) from East of the river? I thought so.
When I first saw Made in L.A. last year after it won an Emmy, it hit a soft spot in me to say the least. When my father first came to this country way back in the ’90s to pave the way for the rest of the family to make it over, he worked in one of those garment factories. I remember those days because of where we lived, how we lived and my father telling us later on, in his drunken ramblings, how much he hated that work when he was doing it. Yet, he did it and put up with it because that was what he needed to do in order to get the job done, so to speak. Continue reading →
Good Friday, Jesus Christ crucified for for speaking the truth to the money changers in the temple, it’s said he died for our sins. Who’s going to die for our latest sins?
Will there be a resurrection this time or is it the end of civilization as we know it? People freaking out all over the country and killing their perceived demons. As an old viejito once said “Society is losing our minds!”
Maybe the old David Bowie song was a clue to our present circumstance. Continue reading →
A new and scary low for humanity, Sheriff Joe marches shackled immigrants through selective neighborhoods of Phoenix to heighten the impact and gain some publicity for himself.
Does the right wing want Mexicans to be tattooed with an ID number and have to wear a symbol of their ethnicity? Maybe a star of Davidlike the Nazis had the Jews wear on their clothing in Europe?
Last year in Maricopa county Arizona during Easter Sunday Sheriff Joe set up roadblocks in Chicano neighborhoodssurrounding churches and stopped and questioned every “Mexican looking†family on their way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Could this happen here? If Walter Moore gets elected Mayor he already has his “Jamiel’s Lawâ€, written upto “legally†profile Mexican Americans. It seems the failed right wing is looking to scapegoat the Mexican American population and use the issue of immigration as a wedge issue since they have nothing else to whip up enthusiasm for their “causeâ€
Sheriff Joe Arpaio Marches Immigrants Through Public Square
New America Media, Commentary, Douglas Rivlin, Posted: Feb 05, 2009
Editor’s Note: On Wednesday, Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio marched shackled immigrants through the streets of Phoenix as a show of force and to promote his Fox Reality Channel television program. Meanwhile, former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, the new Secretary of Homeland Security, has called for a review of Homeland Security immigration enforcement measures, including 287g, which allows local police to enforce federal civil immigration law. Maricopa County has entered into a 287g agreement with the federal government that gives Sheriff Arpaio greater latitude to go after immigrants, whether or not they are accused of committing criminal offenses. Douglas Rivlin is communications director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan pro-immigrant advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
