Catching fire.
Monday, October 23rd, 2006
Somehow while she was still driving, she bravely/foolishly captured this video of the car on fire as she passed by. So much for not being a rubber-necker! (It is a greate video - click on it to watch it.)
Archive for the 'L.A./ East LA' Category
Only in (East) L.A.
Tuesday, October 10th, 2006My daughter’s babysitter manages an apartment that is on the corner of two midly busy streets. Today when we went to pick her up I saw something that I believe only happens in (East) L.A. Looking half a block down one street was sometype of movie/TV production taking place - complete with gaffes, cameras, those big light reflection screens, a crowd of extras and what not. At the end of the other street, however, were over 10 police cars, investigating what I can only assume was a gang-related incident, considering the area and past activity. And unless you stood on that corner, you wouldn’t have known the one was happening next to the other.
Carlos Mencia Tonight!
Sunday, October 8th, 2006I’m off with my brother and a few friends to see Carlos Mencia’s Punisher Tour at the Gibson Ampitheatre at Universal Citywalk. I’m looking forward to some good (even if over-the-edge) laughs.
Even though Mencia is Honduran, we’re going to have some Mexican-style tacos at El Matador taco truck on Western & Lexington before the show.
Yesterday’s News
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006OK. So it was actually Sunday’s news. But when you read the Sports section during football season, yesterday’s news still works.
The other news that caught my eye was a editorial piece from the LA Times - Ticketmaster’s Cartel. I’ve already complained about this - this being extortion in my mind’s eye - to a top executive within the company. I’m not sure how much sway I had - you know those how those big-shot corporate execs are - but at least I tried.
Before. After. Nice.
Saturday, September 23rd, 2006Before.
P.S. Despite the visual effect of these two photos, the “job” isn’t yet done. Still got to paint all of the rest of the security bars, the trim on the edge of the roof, and then the porch steps. But this sure feels nice.
Championship Sunday - 2pm
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006I have to confess, I’ve been a little giddy this past week.
Winning, apparently, does that. And since this is my “I’ve - never - been - in - or - won - in - any - playoffs” experience, it has been a lot of fun.
Here is how we got here. (more…)
Like Mordecai at the gate
Monday, August 21st, 2006“I have heard members of the House of Representatives say, ‘Choking off the jobs of illegals will cause them to starve and force them to leave our country,’ I stand with hundreds of thousands of ministerial colleagues who will go to jail if necessary rather than to starve 12 million people and their 3 million American citizen children.”
This from Rev. Luis Cortés, Jr., president of Esperanza USA, at one of the Senate Judiciary Field Hearing on immigration in Philadelphia July 5, 2006, regarding the House Bill H.R. 4437 and the Senate Bill 2611. I’d love to know which members of the House he heard saying that.
*Post title reference
Decaying system = lost youth
Monday, August 21st, 2006“This is going to take years to correct because it took years to decay.”
This from Robert Taylor, new L.A. County Probation Chief for the Juvenile Detention Deptartment, talking about the state of California’s rehabilitation system, taken from today’s LA Times. Read the whole article.
yeah, why not?
Friday, August 11th, 2006On ESPN “Page 2″, Bomani Jones raises a valid question - in light of America’s love affair with athletics & scandalous stories (read: T.O., Balco/Bonds, Landis, etc.) - why hasn’t the recent Dept. of Justice lawsuit against Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling for housing discrimination - his 2nd such lawsuit - gotten more press?
If the charges hold true, how could the NBA, and its customers, not respond? And even until its proven, how is it that this kind of news isn’t getting any significant coverage? Considering how much grilling Mel Gibson got for a drunken tirade, this should be front page everywhere.
Cine Sin Fin
Friday, August 4th, 2006I posted about this last year. They are accepting submissions now for the film festival in November. Check it out.
CINE SIN FIN: 12th ANNUAL EAST LOS ANGELES CHICANA/O FILM FESTIVAL ~ Nov.6 -11-06′
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE <> CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
The Annual East Los Angeles Chicana/o Film Festival will be held the week of November 6 -11, 2006 at various locations throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. In addition, Cine Sin Fin continues its monthly screenings at Casa De Sousa Café located in the Historical Placita Olvera, Los Angeles; and at select national venues such as the Cheech Marin “Chicano Art Exhibit” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; also, Albuquerque, NM; Coachella; San Jose; Visalia; Pico Rivera and many more to come.
Deadline: September 16, 2006
Requirements: send any length (format VHS or DVD) film with synopsis and press kit (if available), to:
Cine Sin Fin c/o A La Brava P.R., Inc. 673 South Fickett Street Los Angeles, California 90023
All films submitted and selected will become part of our library and may be shown at all our venues; we will respect all requests to do otherwise. For further information regarding Cine Sin Fin submission guidelines, internship and volunteer opportunities, or to be a sponsor call (323) 265-2344 or for further information go to www.alabrava. com or contact at cinesinfin@hotmail.com
…but he is really funny
Friday, August 4th, 2006
I think he is hilarious. Check this out if you’ve never heard him. As “part of” my sabatical, I’m going to try to get some guy friends together to see him perform at the Universal Ampitheatre on October 8th. Let me know if you want to come.
Taco trucks, blogs & fines
Friday, July 21st, 2006Taco trucks are a reason to love LA. They may not carry the notariety that the Hollywood sign, Disneyland, or the beaches get, but if you really want to love LA, you’ve got to discover a few of the good taco trucks out there.
What I didn’t realize, however,.. (more…)
The 1% Problem
Wednesday, July 19th, 2006“Within four years of leaving the foster care system at 18, roughly one-quarter of youths are homeless, one-quarter are incarcerated and one-third receive welfare. Fewer than 1% graduate from college.” LA Times, July 19th, 2006
When you multiply that to 4,300 kids a year, that is an epidemic. When you couple that with the breakdown in education, we’re talking about a youth catastrophe. As the chief of governmental affairs for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Mitch Mason says, “Raising kids in foster care does not promote good outcomes. There are some kids that have achieved great success, but kids need families. They need permanency in their lives.”
Those are the statistics. Then there is my boy Davon.
Cool down coming
Friday, July 14th, 2006Not in the LA area - where it is expected to sit in the mid-90’s all weekend - but at least in my house. The A/C guys showed up this morning at 8:40am and are working to install central air… by tomorrow!!! Oh, to have our house back (from the heat.)
12:52 update: They just used a 100 ft crane to lift the A/C unit onto our roof. Wow. I wish I had my digital camera.
on getting A/C
Thursday, July 6th, 2006FYI - don’t wait until record-breaking temperatures to try to get central A/C installed in your house. It takes longer than a single heat wave to happen. Just so you know.
UPDATE: I was recommended to a guy who put A/C into a friends’ house last year. Not only did he give me a competitive quote, but when I shared with him a little bit about Isa, he moved around his calendar to move-up the start date to begin work on Friday. Sweeet Jesus!
Jury Duty Conviction
Wednesday, June 28th, 2006Even though I posted about heading into jury duty two weeks ago, I’ve hesitated about posting a response from my experience, since it turned out to be a very personal experience.
I went in to fulfill my patriotic obligation - to serve jury duty. Like most of you, in the back of my mind I was hoping I could find a reason to get dismissed, or that God would orchestrate something that would get me excused. After hearing the “jury-duty-is-a-huge-honor-and-a-great-service” welcome speech, I began to think maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
So I was curious in anticipation as my name was called for the first jury selection of the day. “Maybe this could be an interesting experience,” I thought, walking through a 2nd security checkpoint to the courtroom. “I wonder what the charges are?”
Not a full four days later, after returning a guilty verdict for 1st degree murder in a gang-related shooting, my conviction about jury duty had about-faced, and my head was swirling… (more…)
Made for Mariachi
Monday, June 26th, 2006Vero and I went to the Hollywood Bowl for the Mariachi USA festival on Saturday night. We had a great time, just relaxing and listening to at least 5-6 different mariachi groups play. The concert started at 6pm, but the Bowl really didn’t fill-up until 7pm. CPT? LST? Go figure.
It reminded me of when I started listening to and loving mariachi music. When I started learning Spanish 10 years ago, I was working full-time as a Work Comp claims adjuster, plus doing a volunteer gig with InterVarsity. There wasn’t a lot of free time in my schedule to learn a language. So… (more…)
Luxury Box at Staples + sizing up Shaq
Friday, June 23rd, 2006I guess there are some perks for working in public schools. Wednesday night Vero & I took our neighbors Laura & Chris Hull to see the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks beat on the Houston Comets, 75 - 55. Chamique Holdsclaw did whatever she wanted, scoring 20 points, 8 rebounds, plus 4 steals. We had a great time watching the game as the WNBA celebrates its 10th year.
I remember going to see a Sparks game way back when… when I still worked in Glendale for Fremont Compensation Insurance company. That was only the 2nd year of the WNBA and there were still a lot of questions about whether or not they’d prove to be financially viable. Guess so.
The great perk - courtesy of Vero working at a Staples sponsored school (yeah 10th Street El.) - was that we got to watch the game from a luxury box. Private area. Soft seats. Great view. And now that I know how the other side lives… I’ll still probably only catch games in the Staples from way up high in the upper deck. But it sure was a nice experience.
In the luxury box, there was a plaster print of Shaq’s hands hanging on the wall. He really does have huge hands.
Heating up
Saturday, June 17th, 2006Whew! When I woke up this morning at 6:30 - just before Isa decided to wake up - it was already 76 degrees. When I left to go play basketball at 9am, it had already crossed into the 80’s. Its going to be a scorcher. Fortunately, Isa & her entourage are going to an Asian buffet to celebrat one of my former student’s graduation (congratulations Karen!!) and then we’re going to USC for a wedding this afternoon. Hopefully there will be enough A/C everywhere to make it through the day.
juror #1
Monday, June 12th, 2006That’s me. I can’t talk about any of the details of the trial, which starts tomorrow, but I can say that it was really an intriguing experience being a part of my first jury selection process. Here were a few of the questions we were asked:
- • “Have you ever been arrested, or visited someone in jail?” - No personal criminal history, but I taught a bible study in the juvenile hall in Lincoln Heights the summer after my frosh year at Oxy. I shared that. It was in the “KL” ward - where the kids on trial for murder were. I forgot to share that. I’m also remembering the time I lived in Highland Park after my sophomore year and we called the police for one of our neighbors on a domestic violence case when the boyfriend was running around the apartment complex with a gun. I didn’t remember that one.• “Have you ever been the victim of a crime?” - Lots of people talked about stolen cars. A few people shared some pretty crazy stories. Me, I had to talk about the shooting in front of my house 6 years ago.
• “What do you think of gangs? Do you live or work in an area with gang activity?” - I remember hearing once that Boyle Heights had the highest concentration of gangs in LA, though there are many parts where you don’t feel the prescence of gangs much at all.
• “What is your feeling about gun ownership?” - I could tell this one would be a “swing vote” for whether or not people were excused from this trail, so I shared “thoughtfully” without oversharing.
Like I said, I’m “Juror #1,” so I’ll post more info after the trial is all done.
Maybe.
