All day A/C, a busy community pool, and the annual disappearance of those Lakers car pennants (at least until the next time the bandwagon starts filling up) all point towards summer kicking into full gear. One of June’s highlights for me is the annual Highland Park Auto Show. Just in case I might have forgotten it was Sunday, the roar of engines and squealing of car alarms woke me up early. Since my dog is getting a little fat, I decided to take her out for a walk and enjoy the sights on Fig between Avenues 51 & 57. Scalp tattoos, custom paint jobs that might be illegal in Utah, and vendors lined the street while hip-hop and Banda music mixed into a culturally appropriate milieu. Note: You may want to avoid looking at the second to last picture at work.
Enjoy the photos:
“Elbows up side to side”
What a color!
The rug really ties the car together…
‘Scarface’ Trim
Second best paint job of the day
El numero uno
(LAWeekly)
Not an import in sight
Last night I made one of my rare pilgrimages west of the 405 for nightlife thanks to a friend’s birthday. I quickly remembered why I don’t go out in the beaches often. Sweet Child O’ Mine, Livin’ on a Prayer, and Don’t Stop Believingare all fine songs but listening to a bunch of drunks screaming the lyrics with their forefinger and pinky raised unironically in the “Rock On” salute makes me want to puke. Then, you’re crushed against a sea of guys with spiked hair, black collared shirts with the vertical stripes, and a lexicon that seems to be mostly “dude”, “dawg”, and “bro” who are all trying to prove they’re having the most fun by screaming the loudest, smiling as broadly as possible, and singing all the lyrics to California Lovin’. I suppose I could just be jaded, and these people arereally having a good time, but it reeks of performativity. Did I also mention that I payed a $5 cover for the opportunity to experience all this? I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: SIT ON IT WESTSIDE.
The point of this article though is the conflicting juxtaposition of Highland Park public relations lately. Friday and Saturday boasted page one, above the fold stories in the LA Times making Highland Park out to be a breeding ground for murderers. However, what I failed to mention in my previous post relating my experience with the LAPD was that while I was waiting for the officer to write my ticket, I leafed through the new issue of Los Angeles Magazine and found that their Street Smart section dedicated two pages to our neighborhood. There I was, a small fish caught in a police dragnet, reading how Highland Park is “officially on the up and up”. Unfortunately, when asked “you live where?” for the third time with It Aint No Fun blaring in my eardrums at the beach bar, no one had seen the LA Magazine piece. Everyone, knew where it was when I referenced the Times story though.
If you happen to read this site and are from out of the area. Treat yourself to the March issue of Los Angeles Magazine, and use it to schedule a day in Northeast. Here’s your itenerary: Grab coffee and a cachito at Antigua Bakery before taking in the views and natural beauty of Debs Park. For lunch, swing into El Huarache Azteca for the adobada and some of the aguas frescas. Spend the afternoon taking in some Los Angeles history at the Lummis House or see if there’s an art gallery exhibition that piques your interest at www.nelaart.com Have dinner at the York and enjoy their beer selection before tipping back a few more at the Verdugo (if you like anything, their license allows them to give it to you ‘to go’). Then, before letting your designated driver hit the road, sober up enjoying either Leo’s Taco Truck on Eagle Rock Blvd. or Tacos La Estrella (four spots in the area). All this and you’ll be out less than $50. Then, you can enjoy empty freeways back to the westside and tell all your friends over brunch the next day how you survived your night east of the 5. Enjoy!
Not two days after writing an article extolling Debs Park, I get a filming notice taped on my door for “The Ultimate Warrior”. Is Hollywood remaking the Robert Clause (Director of Enter the Dragon) campfest with Yul Brenner and Max Von Sidow traipsing through a post apocalyptic New York City? Will Debs double for Central Park? Will plague victims appear on the big screen limping through the avenues? I have to work tomorrow, but if anyone has the chance to check out the action at Debs Park, let us know. The flyer promises “gun fights”, “explosions”, and other celluloid pandemonium.Then again, this all could just be a movie on the old WWF wrestler. But why would he be in a park? Maybe The Honky Tonk Man and Sergeant Slaughter have bivouacked in the Audubon center with his Intercontinental Belt. Only time will tell.
