ANAHEIM - There are over ten million stories in Southern California, and here are four of them wrapped up in music.
Rilo Kiley - Glendora
Manic Hispanic - East Los Angeles
Rikk Agnew - OC Life
Thee Midniters - Whittier Blvd.
Showing posts with label East Los Angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East Los Angeles. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Four Tunes About Southern California: Mix Tape #1
Rilo Kiley - Glendora
Manic Hispanic - East Los Angeles
Rikk Agnew - OC Life
Thee Midniters - Whittier Blvd.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Four Things To Do Beside Watch The State of The Union
LOS ANGELES - It is that time of year where President Barack Obama will give his State of The Union address on Tuesday to a rather catty, cliquey joint session of Congress. The State of The Union has turned into the equivalent of a high school pep-rally with all the cliques bringing all their "cool friends" trying show up everybody else. After all, invites to this year's affair include Fort Lee, New Jersey Mayor Mark Sokolich, Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson and Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity.
Let us face it, most of the president's speech has leaked out and most of it will be things he has been said before. About the only real revelation is Mr. Obama will likely announce he will use his Executive Order privilege to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 a hour for government contract workers.
Adding to the high school pep-rally feel are some lawmakers clapping at everything the president says during the speech, and at times looking around awkwardly wondering if they should give the president a standing ovation. Then there are other lawmakers who refuse to clap sitting there acting like an angry child. Surely the reaction of some lawmaker during the State of The Union speech will get the attention of the news cycle and trend online with some catchy hash-tag.
This whole thing has turned into a bunch of theatrics, and so here are four other things to do beside watch the State of The Union:
1. Go To The Record Store!
Support your local record store. In fact, if you have not got around to it check out Jungle Beat Records in Montebello. A lot of great records at great prices, and the owner is an awesome guy.
Jungle Beat Records
2461 W Whittier Blvd
Montebello 90640
Dial (323) 725-0940
2. Go To This Show at The Detroit Bar
Go see Let's Drive to Alaska, Robot Work and AtariSUNSHINE at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. If you have not heard of these bands then go check them out, because you will not be disappointed. Also, the show is free, but it is 21 and over.
Detriot Bar
843 W 19th St
Costa Mesa 92627
3. Go Volunteer!
This of course does not have to be during The State of The Union, but consider volunteering and making your community a little bit better of a place (let's see some sour face lawmaker not stand up and applaud that). A lot of people want to do this, but not too sure where to even start. Well, Volunteer Los Angeles, One OC and Volunteer Match: Riverside-San Bernardino Volunteer Opportunities, are very good places to start.
4. Go To This Art Museum
Go to The Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College (yes, that Vincent Price). Among featuring work from many up and coming artists the museum also features a collection of artworks from ancient civilizations in Central and South America. This museum is one of these hidden gems in Southern California and it is highly recommended you check it out. The museum is open until 4 p.m. and admission is free.
The Vincent Prince Art Museum at East Los Angeles College
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Monterey Park 91754
Dial (323) 265-8841
As for The State of The Union, you can always read the transcript of it at the White House website. If you really want to torture yourself you can listen to the cable news noise channels and what the many pundits believe the speech really meant.
Whatever you decide to do, hopefully you have a very good day.
Let us face it, most of the president's speech has leaked out and most of it will be things he has been said before. About the only real revelation is Mr. Obama will likely announce he will use his Executive Order privilege to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 a hour for government contract workers.
Adding to the high school pep-rally feel are some lawmakers clapping at everything the president says during the speech, and at times looking around awkwardly wondering if they should give the president a standing ovation. Then there are other lawmakers who refuse to clap sitting there acting like an angry child. Surely the reaction of some lawmaker during the State of The Union speech will get the attention of the news cycle and trend online with some catchy hash-tag.
This whole thing has turned into a bunch of theatrics, and so here are four other things to do beside watch the State of The Union:
1. Go To The Record Store!
Support your local record store. In fact, if you have not got around to it check out Jungle Beat Records in Montebello. A lot of great records at great prices, and the owner is an awesome guy.
Jungle Beat Records
2461 W Whittier Blvd
Montebello 90640
Dial (323) 725-0940
2. Go To This Show at The Detroit Bar
Go see Let's Drive to Alaska, Robot Work and AtariSUNSHINE at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. If you have not heard of these bands then go check them out, because you will not be disappointed. Also, the show is free, but it is 21 and over.
Detriot Bar
843 W 19th St
Costa Mesa 92627
3. Go Volunteer!
This of course does not have to be during The State of The Union, but consider volunteering and making your community a little bit better of a place (let's see some sour face lawmaker not stand up and applaud that). A lot of people want to do this, but not too sure where to even start. Well, Volunteer Los Angeles, One OC and Volunteer Match: Riverside-San Bernardino Volunteer Opportunities, are very good places to start.
4. Go To This Art Museum
Go to The Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College (yes, that Vincent Price). Among featuring work from many up and coming artists the museum also features a collection of artworks from ancient civilizations in Central and South America. This museum is one of these hidden gems in Southern California and it is highly recommended you check it out. The museum is open until 4 p.m. and admission is free.
The Vincent Prince Art Museum at East Los Angeles College
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Monterey Park 91754
Dial (323) 265-8841
As for The State of The Union, you can always read the transcript of it at the White House website. If you really want to torture yourself you can listen to the cable news noise channels and what the many pundits believe the speech really meant.
Whatever you decide to do, hopefully you have a very good day.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Did You Know This About Olympic Blvd?
LOS ANGELES - One of Los Angeles' major, and perhaps not quite as iconic, roadways is Olympic Boulevard, which is a heavily traveled East-to-West, or depending on your view, West-to-East arterial.
What some people may not know is that Olympic Blvd. is longer than the more famous Wilshire Blvd. as it stretches from Santa Monica all the way across the city to East Los Angeles into Montebello.
There is more to the story of the boulevard, and what a lot of people may not know is, like many other streets in L.A., Olympic Blvd. was not always called Olympic Blvd. In fact, it was once called Tenth Street.
So how and why did Tenth Street become Olympic Blvd.?
In 1932 L.A. was selected to host what would be the Games of the X Olympiad, or rather, the Tenth Modern Olympics. To honor the occasion the L.A. City Council voted to change the name of Tenth Street to Olympic Blvd (See what they did there?).
As you may know these days a city bidding to host the Olympics is a major competitive event in and of itself with a lot of wooing and impressing International Olympic Committee officials. Of course, and here is something else you may not know, L.A. did not have a lot of competition in bidding to host the Tenth Modern Olympiad. By not having a lot of competition that is to say L.A. had no competition in bidding to host the games, because L.A. was the only city to bid to host the games.
Why was L.A. the only city to bid for the games? Well, when the selection was made at the 23rd IOC Session in Rome, Italy, in 1923 it was on the heels of the end of a major world war and a lot of countries were broke and tired.
It did not help matters that by the time the 1932 Olympics came to the City of Angels the Great Depression was fully underway.
The depression was so bad that many nations and athletes just simply could not afford the trip to L.A. to compete in the 1932 Olympics.
With the Depressing going on these Olympics were not even consider important to President Herbert Hoover, because he did not make the journey to L.A. to see the games. Mr. Hoover would be the second U.S. president to miss the Olympics in the United States held during his term behind President Theodore Roosevelt who refused to attend the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, because St. Louis Mayor David R. Francis declined to let Roosevelt help officiate the games.
As another interesting side-note, Olympic Blvd. was once a highway of sorts, California State Route 26.
So now, when you are stuck in traffic at Olympic Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd., you know how Olympic Blvd. obtained its name and you know a unique bit of the history of the modern Olympics.
What some people may not know is that Olympic Blvd. is longer than the more famous Wilshire Blvd. as it stretches from Santa Monica all the way across the city to East Los Angeles into Montebello.
There is more to the story of the boulevard, and what a lot of people may not know is, like many other streets in L.A., Olympic Blvd. was not always called Olympic Blvd. In fact, it was once called Tenth Street.
So how and why did Tenth Street become Olympic Blvd.?
In 1932 L.A. was selected to host what would be the Games of the X Olympiad, or rather, the Tenth Modern Olympics. To honor the occasion the L.A. City Council voted to change the name of Tenth Street to Olympic Blvd (See what they did there?).
As you may know these days a city bidding to host the Olympics is a major competitive event in and of itself with a lot of wooing and impressing International Olympic Committee officials. Of course, and here is something else you may not know, L.A. did not have a lot of competition in bidding to host the Tenth Modern Olympiad. By not having a lot of competition that is to say L.A. had no competition in bidding to host the games, because L.A. was the only city to bid to host the games.
Why was L.A. the only city to bid for the games? Well, when the selection was made at the 23rd IOC Session in Rome, Italy, in 1923 it was on the heels of the end of a major world war and a lot of countries were broke and tired.
It did not help matters that by the time the 1932 Olympics came to the City of Angels the Great Depression was fully underway.
The depression was so bad that many nations and athletes just simply could not afford the trip to L.A. to compete in the 1932 Olympics.
With the Depressing going on these Olympics were not even consider important to President Herbert Hoover, because he did not make the journey to L.A. to see the games. Mr. Hoover would be the second U.S. president to miss the Olympics in the United States held during his term behind President Theodore Roosevelt who refused to attend the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, because St. Louis Mayor David R. Francis declined to let Roosevelt help officiate the games.
As another interesting side-note, Olympic Blvd. was once a highway of sorts, California State Route 26.
So now, when you are stuck in traffic at Olympic Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd., you know how Olympic Blvd. obtained its name and you know a unique bit of the history of the modern Olympics.
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