Yes, yet again, 2 random minutes showcasing the mundaneness that is modern life, this time at the intersection of what and who cares. Circa December 14th around 5pm.
Cherish the moment.
2 Minutes on Olympic and Alvarado
5
The Magic Christmas Tree
The Magic Christmas Tree (1964)
My favorite Christmas movie and I’ve never even seen the whole thing! Filmed in La Verne and looking like it was made for $12 bucks, it’s absolutely creepy in the most mundane and sinister way. Most of it used to be up on Youtube but unfortunately, has since been removed. There is a weird slapstick chase scene at the end where the little boy, star of the film and probably the producer’s kid, has been granted wishes and drunk on power, causes mayhem and havoc in his small suburban town. Think old runaway cars, pies-in-the-face and mad dashes – La Verne must’ve been some place in the 1960s! There are also witches, giants and a sassy talking, tinsel Christmas tree that has “the voice of an irritated antiques dealer.”
I was introduced to this movie through this NPR segment a few years ago called The Best Merry Scary Christmas Movies by Mark Jordan Legan. Follow the highlighted link to listen to the hilarious piece. The bit about The Magic Christmas Tree starts at 4:16.
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Will.i.am
Will.i.am on The George Lopez Show discussing growing up in Estrada Courts and name dropping DQ’s, Roosevelt and Garfield. (h/t Jimmy Alvarado)
“Snowcones? Raspados, foo!”
Resistance Is Fertile: O Come All Ye Faithful
Life in Hell
Spotted on the 60 Fwy heading west
5 minutes of fame
As of late, I’ve been getting some attention online because of an essay I wrote for Zocalo Public Square. I got published on Dec. 5/6 and since it went viral on facebook and twitter, I’ve been getting emails and messages from other undocumented individuals whose life mirrors mine and from supporters to keep up the good work and that they enjoyed reading the essay. I was also fortunate enough to have an old high school friend connect with me again after reading the article, that’s how far it got. Secretly though, I was kinda hoping that some of the xenophobes and nativist that troll blogs to leave negative comments would spit their vile, but no luck yet. But someone did leave this comment, which I think is the best one thus far because of what it means, “I am a white republican american citizen and after reading your article I do look at the situation differently. You have put a personal story to the DREAM ACT and made me reconsider my position.”
La Crisis: Tamalada On A Budget
Why throw away money when you don’t have to? This here is my little contribution to helping you save maybe a dollar or two while you gather your ingredients for your tamalada, gleaned from my gathering of ingredients earlier today.
First up, Maiz blanco, base for your own nixtamal. For some stupid reason, my local Big Saver stopped carrying this item in the bulk bin, now they just have a few small bags at $1.99 a lb. Outrageous! I head over to El Mercadito where you can usually find everything at a good rate, but it turned out they were selling their maiz at $3 a lb! Now that is straight out gouging, knowing that people are going to be stopping by for their ingredients. Boo, Hiss! Chale, I ain’t having none of it. I drove down the block to El Super on Brooklyn and Lorena were the same maiz was being sold for $1.29 a lb. Now that’s a bit more reasonable.
ya llegó!
A fine photo from the LA Eastside Flickr pool. Add your photos and you too can be featured on the blog. Thanks for all the submissions!
Sidewalk Stamps
A collection of sidewalk stamps I’ve photographed on pedestrian dérives around Lincoln Heights, Highland Park and Downtown L.A. Exact locations have been forgotten.
For more on sidewalk history, see this previous post.
“Fun, Guns, Alcohol, Liquor”
Maybe its me, but given the violence throughout Mexico with the Cartel wars and the fact that more deaths related to this war have occurred (28,228 since 2007) than in Iraq—is a gun to suck on really appropriate now? “Fun, guns, alcohol, liquor” are the actual search engine words for this product on-line. I understand that this is a commemorative limited edition tequila, meant to celebrate the 100th year of the Mexican Revolution, meant to sum up who we are as the children of that revolution–but, as represented here, is violence and aggression our only legacy?
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Lincoln Heights Xmas Parade 2010
There were rumors that it wouldn’t happen this year, some sort of infighting or some budget issues with the Neighborhood Council. But it looks like something was figured out because it did go on as usual. (Sadly, that wasn’t the case for this years East LA Xmas parade, it didn’t happen.)
So yeah, I went.
Bye Bye Big Buy
Another fine contribution from guest contributor Jessica2cents. Check out her awesome new blog Mis Neighbors!
According to Big Buy’s Manager, Tom Rumack, Walgreens Pharmacies will be replacing the long-time grocers. Big Buy Foods, Inc. leased the property after the Walgreen Company bought it a couple of years ago—but the lease is up at the end of the month, and Walgreens did not wish to renew.
“We’re very sad to leave our customers,†said Rumack. His father and uncle opened the family-owned business-turned-corporation in 1962, when Boyle Heights was a predominantly Jewish community. Today, working-class Latinos make up most of the population and see Big Buy as a part of the neighborhood landscape.
As for the official closing date… “We’re taking it day by day but I’m pretty sure we’ll be closed by the end of this week,†said Rumack.
-Jessica Perez