Primera Taza

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Remember a while back ago when I posted my thoughts on Tierra Mia in South Gate and how impressed I was with not only the store but with the quality and variety of coffee they had ? I wish I could say the same for Primera Taza, but I’m being too critical of the place considering it just barely opened up on Friday of last week. So, with only a few days open I can understand that Taza is still finding its bearings and learning as they go. Having had a father that was a creative entrepreneur all my life, I know what it takes and what goes into running your own business. With that in mind, let’s find out what Taza has going for itself.

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Southern California Anarchist Conference

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http://www.anarchistconference.org/

The Southern California Anarchist Conference– a weekend long conference centered on anarchist and its anti-authoritarian tendencies as uniquely manifested in the southern California. Collectively we hope to show past & present examples of anarchist ideas in practice, through speakers, panels, workshops, images, theater, music, film and non-coercive socializing as they intersect in the everyday struggles against coercive power, capitalism and the state.

Saturday, August 1st 2009 CONFERENCE
(workshops, strategizing and networking sessions)
12:00-8:00PM at the SoCal Library
6120 S. Vermont Ave. L.A. 90044
$5.00 suggested donation; no denied entry.

Sunday, August 2nd 2009 FERIA LIBERTARIA
(Art, music, theater, food, tabling, and more!)
12:00-8:00PM UCLA Downtown Labor Center
675 S. Park View St. L.A. 90057
FREE!

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Casa de Sousa getting evicted

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When I stop and think about days of future past and dealing with landlords evicting my family and I from our home/apartment, I remember what it felt like. To have to turn off everything in the house/apartment to make it seem like no one was home. Getting on all floors and looking through the crevace the bottom of the door waiting for the shadows to leave all the while hearing knocking on the door and the manager say, “when are you going to pay your rent ? I know you’re in there. You need to pay soon or else I’m going to have to kick you out of the house/apartment.” I felt that same feeling of uncertainty when I was talking to Conchita Sousa and Fernando Cruz about Cafe Casa de Sousa receiving an eviction notice from the manager in charge of the Placita Olvera merchants and stores.  However the circumstances and reasons for Casa de Sousa receiving that eviction notice last week still remain unclear because no one from the management has given them a proper reason for the notice, even after Sousa and Cruz tried talking to them to come to reasonable out come and work things out civily. No dice. Continue reading →

Thanks Bwana, but what do we now call the parts of Boyle Hts and Lincoln Hts that vanished?

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Thank Goodness we on the LA Eastside have the LA Weekly and Drew Tewksbury to determine where the actual LA Eastside is. Up until I read his article below I always thought the western boundary of the LA Eastside was either downtown at first and Broadway or the more accepted “east of the LA River”.  Now I realize how naïve I have been all these years and can pay homage to Drew Tewksbury for setting us all straight in the LA Weekly. The Eastside is east of the Golden State Frwy (I-5), and the parts of Boyle Hts, Lincoln Hts, that are now part of something else be damned! Hey at least we picked up Frogtown in the deal!

 

“ It’s not quite east of the 5 (just short by 0.2 miles), but there’s no dispute that Boyle Heights’ Eastside Luv embodies the Eastside vibe. “

 

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East of the 5: Spreading the Eastside Luv in Boyle Heights

By Drew Tewksbury in Live in L.A., Nightlife and Events

Friday, Jul. 24 2009 @ 11:45AM

 

Believe it or not, Echo Park and Silver Lake are not the Eastside. Gentrification has erroneously recalibrated the orientation of Los Angeles. The real Eastside lies past the 5 freeway and the L.A. River, where underground and established music venues thrive under the radar. This week, West Coast Sound goes eastward to investigate what lies on other side of the 5.

El Banquetazo

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Most of us know that East L.A. has a unique and colorful character all of it’s own. I thought I’d seen everything in Do-It-Yourself entrepreneurship in my old Barrio, until today. “La Crisis” has spawned so many forms of creativity to make financial ends meet that nothing really surprised me anymore. That is until I heard the latest “Chisme” while visiting my Mom in the Eastside. “Have you heard about those people down the street who are running a full on restaurant on their front lawn?” she asked. “Holy Crap!“, I gasped. “This I gotta see“….. Continue reading →

Thee Eastside Theme Song Poll

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When you think of the Eastside, what song(s) do you think of? Is there one definitive tune that can be called the Eastside Anthem? I’ve been trying to find the answer to those questions and I’ve come to the conclusion that there are too many factors to consider before attempting to define a song that embodies the broad richness and historical flavor of our Querido Eastside. For one thing, we must consider the era that holds the strongest meaning to us. Would you favor the “Classic” Eastside era of the 60’s and 70’s or beyond? And of course we must also filter our choices by the unique tastes of the various subcultures and cliques found in our community. The Cholo types might  have certain musical preferences as would the Low Riders, Old Skoolers, Cruisers, Disco era types, Rockers, Punks, Hip Hoppers, Regionals and so on. Do we consider if it’s a cruising song? or perhaps a dance number or a song just for kicking it Eastside style? Continue reading →

I Feng Shui’ed by Desk!

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I love oriental ancient wisdom and philosophy—it amazes me that parallel to western ways, there’s a non-abrasive system to work on the whole physical body, including its surroundings, and (the best part) most of it cost nothing. I know for some who have been deeply ingrained with Christianity, there is nothing more a poor unconnected person can do, but suffer and die. I made up my mind early in life that suffering was not my identity. I began to dabble in many non-traditional ways of creating good around me and using whatever methods I could for manifesting positivity.

About a month ago, after having a sore throat for months and huge piles of projects that I hadn’t gotten to, on my desk—it struck me that I had forgotten to use my non-traditional knowledge for assistance. I could create the peace I wanted in my life by creating a serene work environment using Feng Shui. Feng Shui (pronounced “Fung-Shway”) is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven/astronomy and Earth/geography to help improve one’s life by bringing in positive energy called qi (pronounced “chee”). Continue reading →

What’s in a song

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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 ?

The last few years

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First they came for our taco trucks. Then they deported some family members, a few friends, and some other paisas that lived down the street. On the weekend they went to TJ and had some fun, it wasn’t so bad. Yeah, One Love. Then they paid us to mow the grass and wheel out their fucking trash cans. Sometime way before any of this they threw out some po-mo ramblings and tossed the Eastside moniker up in the air, up for grabby grabs, but I just remembered so this timeline might be off by a month or two. Afterwards they demanded we bring them the food already, cuz they’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes. Right around this time some asshole ran for mayor under the English Only/ Down with the Wetters platform. But the chittichangas were good with guacamole and they decided to forget that foray into the Old Ways. Then they decided that taco trucks were actually a good idea, maybe even kinda cool, and the proper people also liked them, so yeah, lets not enforce that arbitrary law. Then they wanted to do that whole 187 thing against children of immigrants again, you know, for old times sake. It’s part of that grab bag of ideas they put into rotation when things go bad; they’re just not that creative.

And now, dipping back into said bag, they want to ban roosters, again. This shit has got to stop. No pasaran. Stand for California. The buck is in the sand, the line stops near here, or something of the sort.

Let the chickens be.

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Attn Punks!

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Tired of all those soap, egg, and gelatin concoctions you keep trying to perfect those liberty spikes? Well say hello to moco de gorila, imported from Mexico this is “el producto para todo tipo de peinados exagerados.” I got myself a bottle of “estilo punk” but haven’t tried it yet, I’m waiting for the weekend to turn into a punk. Cuz everyone loves weekend punks.

I’m sorta amazed that someone rubbed some gorilla snot in their hair to find out it made for a strong gel. But what I really want to know is how they collect the stuff!  Now available at your local Big Saver for $2.50, in the dripping moco shaped bottle.