There is no such thing as bad coffee

Coffee is the alpha and the omega of my day.

Just as red or white wines go with different types of meat, there are certain foods that require a cup of coffee. My brother’s mouth waters when he talks about Colorado Donuts’ excellent buttermilk donuts with their drip coffee—heaven for less than $2. This is one of his early morning pit stops. I like the 7-11 coffee with steamed milk from their hot chocolate machine. I discovered this after experimenting with all the extras they offer –from chocolate powder to a splash of hazelnut liquid. These additives were all too much for me, but the steamed milk—ahhh, perfect. Oh and you can prepare your coffee on the spot just like you want it, mixing, adding, starting over, until you got it right. I pick up the pots and take a whiff of its contents to see if I might want to try something infused—but no, its always the regular coffee for me.

Homegirl Café, The Pantry, Phillippe’s, Nick’s Café, The Brite Spot and Rinconcito del Mar are my neighborhood breakfast places, each with their own particular great morning brew. At Rinconcito coffee is served with warm pan dulce made on the premises. No fancy espresso machines in these places, just a basic and delicious cup of joe. What would a Noah’s breakfast bagel be without their special aromatic dark and delicious hot offering? There is nothing like it.
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2 Random Minutes on Whittier and Indiana

You think I’m done with these stupid random videos? Ha! Today we check out the hot action on Indiana, the street that divides Boyle Heights from East LA, and Whittier that other major Avenue that goes on forever. Yup, this is the Eastside.

Lately there’s been a few more pretenders doing the fake Eastside thing (they always send us press releases and fawning notes) and I’m about to get my chelas ready to go on another not-the-Eastside rant. Get ready for it okay?

Halcónes de Noche

I was at Georges Burgers Tuesday night grabbing dinner, which was a $1.50 hamburger, and as I was waiting for my burger I took a pic that reminded me of the Edward Hooper paiting, “Night Hawks.” Georges is a lot like the painting in that it’s frozen in time. I mean, most of the guys working there have been there for years. In fact, I asked one of the cooks and he said that the person with the least amount of time working there was 15 years. But that’s how it’s always been, the same guys cooking up fries and burgers for as long as I can remember. In fact, some of them have been there working longer than I have been alive. Despite the Mc Donald’s up the block, king taco, KFC/Taco Bell, Jack in the Box and a bunch of other restaurants around them, they’ve stayed in business all these years.  At this point, I’m looking forward to the day when I can take my kids there for a burger.

Dream + Act: Film, Videos, and Activism on Immigration

(To see a larger pic click here.)

In the on going discussions about the Federal Dream Act, Freewaves, Self Help Graphics & Art, La Causa and The East LA Society of Film and Arts (TELA SOFA) are convening artist, activist and film makers in a sort of free for all that discusses the issues around the Dream Act, immigration in the U.S., the connections between art and activism and the affects they all have in communities. These are all pretty broad topics as it is, but the panel discussion, which I’m on, the screening of short films and the discussion with the film makers will narrow down the conversations and encourage healthy dialogue that is lacking at times because of the strong passions Dream and immigration bring up. I won’t go into much detail about what is going to be discussed because even I don’t really know, but I know it’ll be good conversation none the less.

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procrastination


This Christmas tree was found on my street, a couple of weeks back, on a driveway to a delivery entrance for a restaurant.
Obviously the neighbor who just got around to taking down and throwing out their Christmas tree, three months after Christmas, didn’t want anyone to know who where they lived.
They may be procrastinators but at least they have some shame about it.

Eat. Pray. Love?

Saturday April 16 was the free community viewing of the long anticipated first Mexican-American museum in Los Angeles called La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which is located next to Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles church at Calle Olvera.

As a younger and inexperienced artist, one of my dream goals was to have my art displayed in a museum. I thought that would be the ultimate place where my ideas, voice and craftsmanship would be appreciated and cherished. I attended all the great museum exhibits–Van Gogh, Picasso, Tamayo, Siqueiros, Da Vinci, Kahlo, Warhol and so many more that I love— standing in front of their work (where they once stood), so hungry to see how they saw. Some of those artists were never even appreciated or successfully exhibited during their lifetimes.

Afterward, when a museum bought my work for a permanent display, instead of feeling accomplished—I felt like an oddity, a curio. I know it’s the nature of me, as an artist—I’m never satisfied, always looking for the next thing. As a producer/curator, a job that was imposed on me due to the lack of opportunities for my art genre,  I enter every exhibit with a critical eye.

In truth, museums began as cabinets of curiosities and collectibles that turned into rooms filled with stuff, which people were willing to pay admission to see. All these museums started as personal taste collections that were cherished by those who had the resources to give them importance.  I am not sure this system has even changed.

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Toques

icpiticayotl caja de audio toques transitio mx festival from arc-video on Vimeo.

The ancient Mexican tradition of electro (toque) therapy, once thought to have disappeared, is making a come back and is much needed in these dire times.
Toquero in Mex

A friend recently called me about info on Toqueros. I don’t even know if that is the correct term for men who would carry a small electric generator, and for a small fee, you can hold on to two metal bars connected to the generator and get an electric shock. My homie had looked around and didn’t find much. I told I would ask around. Then he sent me this site.
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How To Determine Windiness Levels

Here’s an urban survival tip for you to consider, which might come in handy at some crucial moment in your hectic life. If you want to determine how windy it is outside, say because you want to start a bbq or want to cut some tumbleweeds at the root to see them roll around all over the streets, measure the height of palm fronds on the sidewalk. Here we see a few inches of frond, which translates to a lil’ windy.

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