Out With The Old, In With The New

Effective January 1, 2010, this blog will no longer exist. Hijo de E-Ho has been re-branded and is moving to a new location. The new blog is called elsongeles.

The URL for the new blog is: http://elsongeles.elsongs.com

I figure it's a great way to start anew...see ya on the other side!

A Change Is Gonna Come...

This is my first attempt at blogging, but with too many gaps between posts, I'm gonna go re-tool this thing and come back fresh with a slightly different angle and direction. So on January 1, 2010, look for my new blog - I'll post the link here.

'Community' Comes To LACC

On my way biking back home on Heliotrope after being interviewed today at City College Cafe by a Cal State LA Sociology student on community issues in East Hollywood, I passed by Los Angeles City College and saw the peculiar-looking sign pictured atop, which read, "GREENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE."

Being a Hollywood-area native, I knew what was up without even guessing. It was obviously a prop for a film shoot. But the odd thing was, there were no film crew trucks nor cameras anywhere in sight.

Just to be sure, I knocked on the "concrete" sign. Yup, sure enough, it gave me a hollow tone, which meant the thing was nothing more than wood and plaster, constructed by a prop house.

I did briefly confirm with a campus security guard, who told me, "We're still LA City College, don't believe the hype." I asked him what was the filming for and he said he thinks it's "Greendale Community College."

Sure enough, while walking past the TV this evening, I see a promo for an upcoming NBC sitcom called "Community." After a trusty Google search, I learn that the series premieres this Fall, and stars comedian Chevy Chase. And lo and behold, the synopsis mentions a "Greendale Community College." Eureka!

The NBC website also created a mock Greendale CC website for the school, meant for promoting the show. Hollywood comes to East Hollywood. So there it is - "Community's" Greendale Community College is LACC. At least they're filming something in my neighborhood besides "The Shield."

Off The Wall: E-Ho Remembers Jacko!

After his shocking, sudden death on June 25, it didn't take long to memorialize the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson - depicted in his '80s Thriller-era look - at this wall at Hel-Mel (Heliotrope at Melrose). The mural is an aerosol piece by David "Rabi" Torres of dtladesigns, who also did the new Villaraigosa mural at Santa Monica and Madison.

"Michael Jackson's music has always been the shit! When I was about seven I wanted to be him....along with everyone else in the world," said the artist. "His message was love and happiness. So when he passed, I remembered that Michael."

Rabi also added that he spent seven hours on Friday, June 26 - the day after Jackson died - making the mural.

The wall stands next to a storefront that was once the 1980s home of DMC Records, a record store catering to DJs, which moved a few miles west down Melrose in the early 1990s.

Speaking of the '80s, this mural stands right across the street from where another iconic '80s scene, from the movie Breakin', was filmed.

Our Farmer's Market Is Finally Here!

Today Kaiser Permanente's Los Angeles Medical Center Farmer's Market made its debut, to a lunchtime crowd of medical staff, nearby employees and members of the community who perused the stalls set up at Barnsdall Park's street level parking lot to enjoy their new weekly market.

In keeping with Kaiser's "Thrive" program, promoting healthier lifestyles, the market features fresh, mostly-organic produce (grown in Southern and Central California), baked goods, flowers, food stalls and live entertainment.
I bought some sweet strawberries ($6 for a 3-pack box), some lettuce and arugula, and lunched on Fijian Soul Food - a tasty fusion of Polynesian, Indian and African American cuisine. East Hollywood seems like the perfect place to have a diverse dish, of course!

The new farmer's market is open year-round every Wednesday from 12 noon to 6 p.m.

Remembering the Amrenian Genocide

Today across East Hollywood, Glendale and elsewhere in Southern California, Armenian-owned businesses will shut their doors in honor of the 1.5+ million who were killed in the Armenian Genocide.

April 24 marks the anniversary of that day in 1915 when Ottoman Turks arrested over 200 community leaders, intellectuals and influential men in the Armenian community, who were subsequently jailed and later executed. Many historians believe the systematic killing of Armenians started many years before 1915, but this event, which was intended to weaken the community by removing its thinkers and leaders, marked the symbolic and obvious beginning of what was to unfold over the next eight years.

Thousands in the Armenian community will wear black and take to the streets of Little Armenia (along Hollywood, Normandie, Western and Sunset) in a march and rally at noontime today to call to the attention of the occasion, and to protest the Turkish government's longtime refusal to officially recognize the Genocide.

Though the observed start of the Genocide was in 1915, the issue still makes headlines today, especially weeks ago when President Obama visited Turkey. The handling of the issue caused much controversy both in and outside the Armenian community.

Tomorrow, during the East Hollywood Earth Day Festival, at 11:00 a.m. a Canary Island Pine tree at Santa Monica and Vermont will be dedicated to the memory and legacy of assassinated Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

Celebrating Songkran on Hollywood Blvd

The sixth annual Songkran - Thai New Year Festival today attracted over 100,000 to Hollywood Boulevard in Thai Town to eat, drink, see, dance, paint, buy or just hang out on a nice warm Spring Sunday afternoon. It's hands down the biggest yearly party in East Hollywood!