Ethnic Iced Dessert Quest - Part 7: Break On Through To The Nam Kang Sai!

As you may or may not know, it's pretty freaking hot this weekend! Which inspired The Militant to re-visit his Ethnic Iced Dessert Quest series he did Back In The Day.

If you're a longtime reader of The Militant, you know what's up. The Militant went on a quest around Los Angeles to find some cool, refreshing ethnic desserts based on ice. He took you from South Korea (Bingsu) to Singapore (Ice Kachang) to Taiwan (Chhoah-Peng) to Japan (Kakigori) to Indonesia (Es Kampur) to Mexico (Raspados) -- and he didn't even have to leave town!

Nearly five years later, The Militant picks up where he left off. Unfinished business! This time, he took the Red Line to Thai Town and became a Thai-Iced (Militan)-T!

He found himself at Bhan Kanom Thai (or "BKT" as the locals call it) sweets shop on Hollywood Blvd, where they made him a Nam Kang Sai - a Thai shaved iced dessert consisting of your four choices of jellied Southeast Asian fruits, a mound of shaved ice, some colored sweet syrup, and a glazing of condensed milk. It might have been the heat outside, but it was pretty awesome!

The syrup flavors were more subtle, and not the diabetic shock, HFCS-laden stuff you'd find at a Sno-Cone stand. The red color smelled of jasmine.

It was placed in a large cup, the same size you see at your favorite Fro-Yo joint. The Militant was ready to pay like $5-$6 for this cup of sweet frozen joy. Until he heard the price.

$3.

THREE BUCKS?!?!? Like WOW! That's pretty freaking awesome! You can't beat that anywhere!

Not only that, but the place is open 'til 1 a.m. every day! And it's just like two blocks from the Hollywood/Western (M) Red Line station!

So on a hot day like today (or tomorrow even), cool off, Militant Style with some Nam Kang Sai or any of the wonderful ethnic iced dessert treats around town!

Mini-Adventures In Lil' Brazil

Qualé? (That's Portuguese for "Whatup?!")

The Militant was riding the Metro Rapid on Venice Boulevard around the Palms/Culver City area not too long ago when he happened upon a single-story building on the southwest corner of Venice and Westwood boulevards that called itself the "Brazilian Mall." The Militant instantly did a "O_o" face and vowed to return for a Militant mission to see more.

The Portuguese-speaking Brazilian community (many of them consider themselves "expatriates" rather than "immigrants') in Los Angeles may be an asterisk within our local Latin American demographic, but there's a healthy community of them who have called the Palms/Culver City area for some 30-40 years, with restaurants, markets and other Brazilian-owned shops along the Venice Blvd corridor between Sepulveda Blvd and Motor Ave.

This Brazilian Mall has actually been around for some 20 or so years. The building, home to some half-dozen businesses, is topped by a skylighted atrium structure, where dining tables are set up underneath, for a Brazilian pizza restaurant which has only been around since 2010. It is a 'mall' in the true sense, as all of the other businesses also have entryways from the atrium.

Admittedly not as familiar with Brazilian culture as he is with others, he wanted a quick, inexpensive taste of South America's largest country, so he checked out Supermercado Brasil.

Typical of our local ethnic markets, this one also features nearly everything for the homesick, including snack foods, beverages, cooking ingredients (the brands Yoki and Soya are well-represented here), and even CDs/DVDs, flags, t-shirts and (this being Brazil of course), bikinis.

Although, it doesn't matter what country an ethnic market represents, you will always find Italian panettone for sale. Is The Militant right?

Having not too much money in his pocket, he was still able to get a little taste of Brazil. He got a bag of plantain chips, a bottle of maracuya juice (Though he learned "maracuya" is just a fancy Portuguese way of saying "passionfruit") and a bag of Batata Palha, or potato sticks, which is considered a side dish rather than a snack food in Brazil.

The woman who was in line before him pointed to a fancy dish of bonbon-like confectionaries under a glass, and asked for a few which were placed in a plastic bag. The Militant was naturally curious and asked about them.

He was told they were Brazilian hand-made candies, made either out of chocolate (brigadieros) or coconut (beijinhos), each for $1.50.

He got a beijinho (pictured left), which was chewy and sweet, with the taste of coconut, sugar and condensed milk. Apparently they are made for birthday parties in Brazil.

For more of that Brazilian flavor, you can check out some of local restaurants in Lil' Brazil on Venice, such as Cafe Brasil or Kikafulô (formerly Zabumba) -- both within walking distance of the Brazilian Mall.

Also, don't forget to check out the Brazilian Day festival later this Summer on Saturday, September 7 at Hancock Park, right by the La Brea Tar Pits.

Ficas Militante!

The 2011 Low-Dose Festival In Echo Park

OMG! THE LOTUS PLANTS HAVE FINALLY RETURNED TO ECHO PARK LAKE!!!!

Pysch. :(

Los Angeles has many cultural festivals, but The Militant is particularly fond of The Lotus Festival, for several reasons. First of all, he's been going to it ever since he was a Lil' Mil, it symbolically marks the middle of the year and most of all, its attendees reflect the total diversity of all that is Los Angeles.
Recently, the ups-and-downs of the Festival almost seem to be a direct reflection of the City government's financial health.

And of course, The Militant Angeleno has been covering The Lotus Festival every single year.

So here we go with the 2011 edition...

Right after The Militant arrived in Echo Park on Saturday, the whole thing was summed up in two words: SCALED DOWN.

Hey, the bird vendor exhibit was really popular though.

Though no one's boycotting The Lotus Festival, like nearby Dodger Stadium, crowds were visibly smaller. Not as packed, and the Festival grounds were a lot more compact. Even the entertainment wasn't as loud as it usually is.

The food court was sorely lacking in variety. You had like eight Thai food stands, four Mexican food stands and one Korean BBQ stand (Guess where The Militant ate at...nothing against Thai or Mexican food, he loves them too, but give us some more choices, sheesh!), and that was it. Gone were those crazy USC students selling Okinawan dangos. The Vietnames banh mi was more like banh M.I.A. And likewise for anyone looking for Indian, Hawaiian, Filipino or Chinese food...you were out of luck this year.

The two most fun events of the Festival - The Saturday night fireworks display and the traditional Dragon Boat Race - were absent from the Festival for the second year in a row, for obvious budget reasons.

Even though the Festival is no longer exclusively run by the City's Department of Recreation and Parks, the Lotus Festival Inc. nonprofit that operates it now isn't exactly oozing with money either. The fireworks display, normally performed by a Rialto-based pyrotechnics company, costs over ten thousand dollars to produce.

The Dragon Boat Race, a benefit event raising scholarship money, run by participating local businesses, nonprofits and offices of elected officials, using privately-owned boats, is also a victim of the budget crisis. According to one operative, the City's Rec and Parks Department charges the boat race organizers $4,000 just to use the Echo Park lake's jetty, and an additional $2,000 to tranport the boats out of storage.

Sure the City needs some extra cash, but will $6,000 in revenue really make a difference in the $336 million budget deficit? And why all that money just to use the dang jetty, when the lake will be shut down on Tuesday for a 21-month rehab project anyway (more on this next week)?

Speaking of which, this will be the last Lotus Festival until at 2013 or 2014. The organizers have previously toyed with the idea of moving the Festival to either Lincoln Park or nearby MacArthur Park, but have decided it's best to just go into hiatus again and stay put.

Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. is your last chance to enjoy the Lotus Fest (and Echo Park Lake itself) for quite a while. This year, the featured culture is Thailand, and on Sunday only they will have a muay thai kickboxing ring set up in the park (According to another operative, it's not the same ring as the one at the Songkran Thai New Year festival). So get your kicks while they last.

Lotus Fest, The Militant will miss ya, but do come back strong.

Long Beach Week: Khmer Down To Cambodia Town

The Militant Angeleno has long been a supporter and admirer of Los Angeles' designated ethnic neighborhoods - from Chinatown to Little Tokyo to Little Ethiopia to Little Armenia to Historic Filipinotown to Little Bangladesh to Koreatown (Little Ethiopia, don't worry, The Militant will show some love for ya soon!). As it turns out, Long Beach has one of its own -- Cambodia Town, and one of the reasons for The Militant to put on his Long Beach Week! was to go check it out.

Like Los Angeles, Long Beach is a pretty diverse community itself. After all, its motto is "The International City."

Long Beach is home of the largest Cambodian population in the United States, many of whom came here in the late 1970s as refugees escaping the genocide brought on by the tyrannical rule of the Khmer Rouge party. Nearly four years ago, on July 3, 2007, the Long Beach City Council officially designated a one-mile stretch of Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero avenues as "Cambodia Town."

Unlike the designated ethnic communities in Los Angeles, there is no sign welcoming one to "Cambodia Town," but the sight of Khmer script (pictured right), murals (pictured above) and the presence of markets, restaurants, mechanic shops, jewelry stores, money remittance offices and video stores (many of them referencing places in Cambodia) were abundant.

After The Militant got off his Blue Line train at Anaheim Station, it was a simple matter of walking eastward on that street to explore.

His first stop was Kim Long Market (pictured left), just a couple blocks east of Long Beach Boulevard. It was a colorful, bustling supermarket which had the requisite produce, meat, fish, snakes, canned goods and small to-go food section typical of many ethnic markets.

Though it was a Cambodian market and most of the clientele were Khmer-speaking, the products were pan-Asian in nature: Items were imported from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Japan and other countries, though hardly any from Cambodia.

But the Cambodian community doesn't exist in a vacuum. Long Beach is home to people from those above ethnicities after all, and likewise the country of Cambodia itself is influenced by its Asian neighbors.

In many ways, Cambodia Town is similar to its cousin 25 miles to the north, Los Angeles' Thai Town: Both encompass a single commercial street, both feature large, successful New Year festivals in April. Of course, Thais and Cambodians share many similarities -- similar basic customs, a related language/alphabet and Theravada Buddhism.

The food is similar. In fact, most Cambodia Town restaurants advertise themselves as "Thai-Cambodian Cuisine." Generally speaking, Cambodian food is the slightly-less spicy relative of Thai cuisine.

Speaking of which, all this walking has gotten The Militant kinda hungry...

The Militant found his food stop after a mile of walking: Siem Reap Restaurant, on Anaheim at Rose Ave. It had gotten a great reputation on Yelp, so The Militant figures it wouldn't be a bad choice at all.

The restaurant (named after the Cambodian city and province where the famous Angkor Wat ruins are located) was spacious and not very busy on this Thursday afternoon. A video screen playing a DVD of live Cambodian music and comedy performances was playing in the background. The Militant went on to order the amok trey, a seasoned fish and vegetable stew cooked inside a coconut, and a jackfruit shake. After telling the waitress it was his first time sampling Cambodian cuisine, he was also hooked up with a free pork and chicken soup and a small sample of sach ko angh - a beef skewer with papaya salad. It was all real good, and The Militant hopes to come back here again with some of his operatives!

Determined to walk the entire span of Cambodia Town (not to mention to walk off his lunch), he continued farther down Anaheim until Junipero Avenue, the easternmost end of the community. There stood the United Cambodian Community center (pictured left), a large building designed after traditional Khmer architecture.

On the windows of many of the businesses were many of the same posters promoting community events, like concerts, dance parties, fundraisers and even movie premieres, such as one that happened this week for the film, Rice Field Of Dreams, a documentary on the first Cambodian national baseball team (hey, they seem to bleed blue too).

The Militant had a great time exploring Cambodia Town, he hopes to return here again. You, too should Khmer and visit this place. Just take the (M) Blue Line down to Anaheim Station, and walk or bike east until Junipero Avenue (just a few blocks past Cherry Avenue). Or, you can take the Long Beach Transit lines 45 or 46 bus (Fare is $1.25).

All Seoul'd Out: The 37th Los Angeles Korean Festival

The Militant passes through the Olympic/Normandie intersection at least once a week and has been hearing of the big 37th Los Angeles Korean Festival for the past few days. The epic, four-day-long cultural extravaganza from this past Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. sounded like something not to miss.

But a busy weekend with tons of unspecified extramilitant activities caused the Militant to miss the free concert by the insanely popular K-pop group The Wonder Girls on Friday night (not surprisingly, the most-attended night of the festival) or the Bibimbap Fest on Saturday (free bibimbap to the first 1,000 attendees!). Dang!

But the Militant was able to check it out on Sunday night. Expecting the show to be over and lots of booths already packing up, the Militant's expectation was totally wrong. Having arrived at around 7 p.m., the festival was still very much alive!

Perhaps it was perfect timing and true (non-hipster) irony. On the very day the Dodgers formally ended their dream of defending their NL West title for the third straight year, the Militant arrived at this festival, situated over the diamond at the Dodgers-built Dream Field at Seoul International Park, located right across the street from the Korean Pavilion Garden (covered in This Here Blog a couple of years ago).

Of course, this event was a pleasant contrast to the disappointing Dodger season (Deport McCourt!). The festival had much action, joy and...Seoul.

Most outdoor cultural festivals have the usual: Entertainment stage, check. Booths, check. Food stands, check. Kid's Area, check. Beer garden, check.

But this one was different. You actually felt like you were in another country, and that's not a knock on the festival at all. In fact, that's what made it totally awesome.

First off, the Militant, in all his terdysumthin years existing in this great City, had never attended a festival that was situated upon thousands of white plastic panels (pictured right). No, really -- the panels were obviously put in place to minimize dust and protect the park's (and the aforementioned baseball field's) surface, but the look and feel of it all made the experience slightly other-worldy. Seriously, when was the last time you attended an outdoor festival on top of thousands of plastic floor panels?

Next was the fantastic night bazaar that took place on most of the festival grounds. Booths hawked everything from therapeutic footrests to ginseng to t-shirts to cellphone accessories to DVDs to cosmetics. People in product stalls hawking their products repeatedly via bullhorns, microphones or at the top of their voices in rhythmic, repetitive cadences, mostly in Korean, but sometimes in the Korean-English-Spanish linguistic triumvirate of K-Town. Accompanied by the cool air, you didn't have to try too hard to imagine that you were in the Land of the Morning Calm.

And the food? Of course, this is Koreatown, and like the Militant always says, You can't spell "Koreatown" without the word "eat." Korean BBQ? There's plenty of that on Olympic, Western and other streets. Outdoor festivals don't have the infrastructure (nor adequate ventilation) for that, but there's tons more K-food to shake a (stainless steel chop-) stick at.

With so much grub and so little time (not to mention stomach capacity), the Militant went for the Choonchun Dakgalbi booth (pictured right), where he had a nicely-stacked $5 trayful of chicken galbi mixed with cabbage, sweet potato, red sauce and cheese.

The Militant wanted more but was short on cash. No prob! Most of the food booths gave away free samples! Everything from Korean-style popcorn chicken to blood sausage to pajeon seafood pancakes. Still hungry? Just come back later, grab a toothpick and sample away!

The night - and the four-day-long festival - concluded with a pretty kick-ass awesome performance by the Tal Taekwondo troupe (pictured left) - which combined the iconic Korean martial art with traditional dance, drumming, acrobatics, b-boy hip-hop moves and Cirque du Soleil-style theatrics. The performance featured some sort of storyline depicting a Crips vs. Bloods-type Korean folkloric battle. Or at least there were these people dressed in blue pitted against people dressed in red...

Even the ever-native Militant admits that the 37th annual Los Angeles Korean Festival was his first, and wonders why he slept on the past 36 fests. but Los Angeles is always like that. The things you take for granted and don't consider much one moment will smack you upside the head and blow you away the next. The Militant will definitely be back for the 38th.

Putting the 'MA' In Mardi Gras

Today is Fat Tuesday - Mardi Gras, and no doubt the home of the World Champion New Orleans Saints have an even bigger fete this year.

Tonight, the Militant will be going to a private Mardi Gras party at the house of an operative of Louisiana heritage!

No doubt, the focus is on New Orleans today. But being the Militant Angeleno (as opposed to the Militant New Orleanian), he's gonna take you from "L.A." to "La." - and back.

The Militant has been to New Orleans before (the photo above was taken by the Militant during his visit there), during an unspecified year in the last decade. As usual when he travels, he likes to immerse himself in the destination city's culture, and also learn about its people, urban life, infrastructure and layout - and usually compares and contrasts between the destination city and his own.

Believe it or not, though the tiny Crescent City is vastly different than the ginormous City of Angels, there are a few things shared in common between them (yes, aside from Reggie Bush).

Both cities were founded by a river, have a "Mid-City" district, are important coastal port cities and are multicultural cities that have spawned fusion cuisines. Both cities have a huge Catholic influence. Interstate 10 runs through both The Big Easy and The Big Orange. And singer/songwriter Randy Newman has written songs about both cities - he grew up in both of them.

But here's something interesting the Militant discovered: Both Los Angeles and New Orleans have streets named "Rampart" and "Carondelet" that are not only parallel to each other but just a couple blocks apart, with both Ramparts located to the northwest of the Carondelets. Both pairs of streets in both cities run in a diagonal direction, from the southwest o the northeast. In New Orleans, the streets are located in the Downtown area, in Los Angeles, they are located in the Historic Filipinotown and Westlake districts.

Perhaps it was intentional -- in what is now Historic Filipinotown, just behind the former Rampart Police Station (which was on Benton Way and not Rampart Blvd), lies Hyans St, which was the first block in Los Angeles where African Americans were able to own their own property.
Being that most African Americans who settled in Los Angeles in the late 1800s-early 1900s came from places like Louisiana and Texas (and prior to World War II, they settled in places like Mid City and Jefferson Park), they probably not only brought the names of places familiar to them, but familiar architecture as well.

Along Hyans St, Benton Way and Council St in the aforementioned block, a few "shotgun" houses (pictured left) can be seen, and are hardly found anywhere else in Los Angeles. These narrow houses, designed without a shared interior hallway, are a familiar sight in the South, particularly in Louisiana. Their name derives from the fact that one can fire (in a straight line) a shotgun from the backyard to the front yard, provided all the doors of the house are open.

But enough of the history lesson for now, it's time to party! laist.com recently listed places where one can get their Mardi Gras on this week.

But the Militant is also familiar with some other places that will garon-tee you a lil bit of dat N'awlins flava:

Harold & Belle's - this Jefferson Park restaurant serves up some of the finest Creole cuisine in Los Angeles for over 40 years. The Militant celebrated his birthday with some of his closest operatives a few years ago and everyone was both happy and extremely full. The menu is a bit on the pricey side, but it's more than worth it considering the portions they give you. The Militant ordered the fried catfish, and well, had enough fried catfish to last him until lunch the next day. The desserts are divine as well, do try their bread pudding. 2920 West Jefferson Blvd, (323) 735-9023

La Louisianne - another fine-dining Creole restaurant, located just over the Baldwin Hills near Inglewood. The gumbo is spectacular. Drop by at night and check out the live jazz, blues and soul music entertainmenr. 5812 Overhill Dr (at Slauson), (323) 293-5073.

New Orelans Fish Market - Not a restaurant, but if you're into doing your own cooking, check out this store in Jefferson Park for your ingredients and seafood needs. One of the Militant's operatives, who's a damn good cook, goes here for his crawfish supply all the time. 2212 West Vernon Avenue (at Arlington), (323) 296-3817

And while you're at it, you can groove to the sound of the Los Angeles-based, New Orleans style brass band Critical Brass!

Laissez les bon temps rouler! Where y'at?!

Los Angeles Kicks Off African American Heritage Month

Say it loud! The Militant's black and he's proud! Okay, keeping his ethnic identity (or identities) ambiguous to his readers, he may or may not be. But he still didn't want to miss the City's African American Heritage Month celebration at City Hall on Friday.

Earlier that morning, the City Council honored radio and TV host Tavis Smiley, singer Chaka Khan and actor/comedian/singer Jaime Foxx in the council chambers.

After council got back to usual business, the attention went straight to the South Lawn of City Hall along 1st St where there was a mini-festival featuring entertainment, info booths and of course food. The host of the festivities was KABC 7's Leslie Sykes (who grew up in Compton).

Tavis Smiley (pictured left) got up and spoke for a couple minutes, speaking about being honored earlier in the morning and mentioning that he once worked for the City as an aide to Mayor Tom Bradley (America's first African American mayor of a large city who headed Los Angeles City government from 1973 to 1993, for all you n00bz) back in the 1980s.

Incidentally, working at the Mayor's Office wasn't
Smiley's only experience with City government. He ran for Los Angeles City Council in a 1991 special election to fill the vacancy by the death of longtime 9th district councilman Gilbert Lindsay, which was ultimately won by Rita Walters (The Militant, by the way, knocked on doors in South Central Los Angeles as a campaign volunteer for an unspecified candidate in that election).

Afterward, the crowd was treated to a 5-song live set by Grammy-winning gospel duo Mary Mary, (pictured right) who rocked the crowd with their tunes, which get heavy airplay on KJLH (one of the Militant's favorite local radio stations, in fact). The two sisters (literally, they're siblings) from Inglewood even got some members of the crowd on the dancefloor in front of the stage.

But a good portion of the crowd was on the other side of the South Lawn, queuing up for summa dat free soul food being served up for all guests. Unfortunately, the Militant had an appointment to make at that time and couldn't partake in the free lunch. But it sure smelled good.

The Militant did find out some info he'd been meaning to pass on to you readers for sometime. A group called the Our Authors Study Club, Inc., dedicated to preserving African American history and literature in Los Angeles, puts on an annual Black History Bus Tour of Los Angeles around this time of year. The Militant and one of his operatives took the bus tour a few years ago and learned a ton about the rich history of African American Los Angeles.

This year's tour is next Saturday, February 6, and the tour buses leave at 8.a.m. from the Consolidated Realty Board of Los Angeles, 3725 Don Felipe Drive (off of Stocker St.) in the Leimert Park/Baldwin Hills area. This tour is FREE and is by all means MILITANT APPROVED. Got that? The tour lasts until 4 p.m. and covers the area stretching from the Crenshaw District to Hancock Park to Downtown Los Angeles to South Central (the real South Central, that is). The tour covers houses of famous black Angelenos, community institutions and even places that don't exist anymore (the old Sugar Hill district, now obliterated by the Santa Monica Freeway). If you're into Los Angeles history like the Militant is (or aspire to be), this tour is not to be missed. For more information on the Black History Bus Tour of Los Angeles, call (310) 854-6967.

Pain, Anger and Sorrow In Little Armenia

Today an entire community banded together in solidarity to commemorate the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which was known to have lasted from 1915 to 1923, where 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were systematically killed by Ottoman Turks. Businesses closed down, people wore black and marched on the streets (The Militant was there last year).

The red, blue and orange tricolor of the Armenian Flag are prevalent throughout the streets, along with the color black. Many a people have been wronged throughout history, and their presence in this country is an after-effect of it. But no other community bears their pain like this one.

The Militant spent his afternoon in Little Armenia to see it all.

Preserving America In Thai Town

Sunday in Los Angeles was a huge-ass mutha of a day in terms of our multiculturalism. So much, that even the Militant couldn't even cover it all. There was Thai Cultural Day in Barnsdall Park, L.A. Commons' BBQ Adventure in Little Armenia, a Central American carnival on 7th Street in Westlake.

Ultimately the Militant settled on Thai Cultural Day, not only because of its relative proximity to the Militant's compound, but because one of the Militant's Thai community operatives invited him personally to attend an historical moment in the community.

In July, Los Angeles' Thai Town was given a nationally-recognized designation as a "Preserve America" community. That designation is a federal initiative, overseen by First Lady Laura Bush to support and recognize localities across the U.S. that preserve its cultural heritage.

Obviously you would think that various East Coast burgs named after battle sites that pop up in the Revolutionary or Civil War chapters of high school history books would be the sole recipients of such a designation. And they were probably the first ones named. But to have the federal government - mind you, a bunch of suits in the D.C. Beltway - recognize the part of Los Angeles known for silk shops, massage spas, pad see ew and Thai Elvis as a culturally-significant slice of the US of A is a HUGE deal. Heck, recognizing any part of Los Angeles in that way is a huge deal.

There are some people who dare call themselves "Angelenos" who aren't fond of the cultural enclave thing. They say it's "exclusive." They say those communities "build walls." They claim their denizens inherently "breed criminal elements." They believe such designated ethnic communities "discourage assimilation." They maintain such communities "divide" us.

The Militant knows they're all wrong.

Those kinds of people fail, or refuse to recognize that these communities never actually shut people out. Exclusive? These are low-income communities. The last thing they want is for others to stay out. Building walls? They build bridges. Criminal elements? Sometimes, but that's only because the powers-that-be want these places to be out of their radar. Discourage assimilation? Uh, these places are where assimilation begins (Los Angeles used to have a "Little Italy," which all but vanished because assimilation went a little too well). Divide? Why not see what these places have to offer -- they'll probably teach one that we're more alike than different. The only ones doing the "dividing" are the ones who shun these places out of fear.

The Militant's Thai community operative ezplained to the Militant that the application process for this designation was no easy feat, but Thai Town's application had enough substance to convince the feds that this was the real deal.

On Sunday afternoon, in the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, a two-hour program featuring various politicos (Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Councilman Bernard Parks), various representatives and other community folk culminated in the unveiling of one of the signs (pictured right) that will welcome those who enter Thai Town in the near future, reminding them that this place is a "Preserve America" kind of community.

But aside from signage, these communities are also entitled to special federal grants for community development and tourism efforts. Thai Town may have been designated by the City nine years ago, but it's still a dynamic work in progress, especially in these economic times, and most especially since only two buildings in all of Thai Town are actually owned by Thai American entities.

Elsewhere in California, places like Monterey have already gotten this designation. Locally, it will by no means stop at Thai Town. Los Angeles' Chinatown has also gotten this designation, and the rest of the designated Asian enclaves (Little Tokyo, Koreatown and Historic Filipinotown) will follow suit.

Most Angelenos know that these ethnic communities are the benchmarks of our City's diversity. But for them to be recognized on a national level means so much more than pretty aluminum signs and a few redevelopment grants here and there. It means that they are benchmarks of this entire nation's diversity - forged right here in Los Angeles.

Though despite the federal accolades, it'll still be months before you'll see the signs go up on The Boulevard. See, there are these city signage ordinances that need to be followed, and another lengthy application process to get signage put up...and a budget to have the City install them...Yes, friends, City Hall can give you an even harder time than the White House.

Get Cultured This Weekend!

It needs not be said that Los Angeles is the most ethnically-diverse metropolis in America, and perhaps the world. But the Militant said it anyway. This weekend, whether you want Southeastern Europe or Southeast Asia, or crave paidakia or pancit, this weekend is for you.

L.A. Greekfest 2008, Byzantine-Latino Quarter: This festival celebrates a decade's worth of feasting and promises a Hellas-good time at the Byzantine-Latino Quarter; specifically on the grounds of St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Normandie, near Pico. As usual, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson will kick off the festivities (despite the fact that Hanks has no Greek ancestry whatsoever - he's actually partly of Portugese stock - it's just that he and his wife are members of the St. Sophia's congregation). Friday 5-11 p.m. (free); Saturday 1-11 p.m. and Sunday 12-10 p.m. ($5, under 12 free).

Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC) , San Pedro: Celebrating their 17th year, this festival, which the Militant covered last year, and even walked right past the Franklin Avenue crew (without them knowing it, lol), is an annual celebration of Filipino American arts which happens at the cliffside Pt. Fermin Park. Live music, dance acts, cultural presentations, former American Idol finalist Camille Velasco and even YouTube celeb Happy Slip will be there. Saturday-Sunday 10a.m. - 6 p.m. ($7).

Live From Little Tokyo, It's Tuesday Night...

Though still towards the start of the week, Tuesdays seem to be ripe for variety and artistic expression. The day isn't normally tied with any regular athletic, commercial or religious ritual, so anything goes on Tuesdays really. You can go to a Highland Park farmer's market on that day, and Sheryl Crow and friends found Tuesday nights lucrative enough to jam together at a Los Angeles recording studio in the early '90s and make a Grammy-winning album as a result of it.

Last night, the Militant recently stumbled on a Tuesday night activity in Little Tokyo - A bi-monthly event called Tuesday Nights at the Cafe, which takes place at the Aratani Courtyard in front of the Union Center of the Arts on Judge John Aiso Street (the northern reincarnation of San Pedro St on the other side of of 1st). This event, which attracts a predominantly twenty/thirtysomething-aged Asian American crowd, is a showcase that offers a mix of artistic expression, entertainment, multimedia and community activism, so naturally the Militant just had to check it out.

The locale is interesting in its own right; the Union Center is on the site of the former Japanese Union Church of Los Angeles, built in 1923 for its Japanese American Christian congregation. After World War II broke out, You-Know-What happened and the congregation vanished. Slated for demolition in the decades following the war, the community rallied to save the Classical Revival-style brick building, though the 1994 Northridge Earthquake did some foundation-shaking of its own. Renovated in 1998, it immediately got an adaptive reuse as a theater and home base to three arts-related non-profit agencies. The steps of the center form the stage, and the entire area sits in the shadows of LAPD's Parker Center and City Hall, no less (symbolically, of course, as there aren't really any shadows at night...).

The "Cafe" the event's name refers to is the Tokyo Cafe (though the organizers of the event
mentioned that it's changed hands and names over time since the event started 10 years ago), which lets out into the courtyard. Most of the customers, though, don't come for the coffee, but its offering of Japanese food and inexpensive beer ($5 for a large bottle of Sapporo? HAI!)

This past Tuesday night's event featured a singer-songwriter, a taiko drum ensemble (pictured left), spoken-word poetry, a classical guitarist and an avant-garde electronic duo on guitar, shakuhachi flute and laptop. Numerous references to Japanese American, Filipino American and Vietnamese American culture were represented in the performances.

The event was also tied into a community awareness angle, spotlighting the efforts of a group called J-Town Voice, which seeks to preserve Little Tokyo's Japanese American traditions in the face of current commercial and residential gentrification. The event's host even exclaimed at one point, "Let's stop these hipsters from taking over the world!" You know that brought a smile to the Militant's face (On the other hand, the Militant did take issue with their group's action of "Resistance," which emphasizes eternal victimization. Though the Militant agrees with their goals and vision, the Militant eschews tired, old, activist model of victimization in favor of all-out empowerment, which means asserting ownership of the community, and making, even forcing, others work with you on your terms, rather than the sociopolitical equivalent of crying "mommy." Insistence works better than resistance. Try it sometime. But the Militant digresses. Anyone can be radical, but few can truly be militant...).

Nevertheless, the event is a great way to spend a warm Summer Tuesday evening, and seeing true local artists perform and express themselves, from a cultural perspective almost never seen in the mainstream (or even the mainstream underground), in a public space Downtown. Tuesday Nights at the Cafe occurs on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from March to October. The next installment of Tuesday Nights At The Cafe is on September 2nd.

A Great Day At The 2008 Lotus Festival

It was a nice day to chill on a relatively muggy Summer Saturday in Echo Park at the 31st Lotus Festival. The Militant rode in on his bike and cleverly circumvented the traffic hassle that usually blossoms around the lake's perimeter annually.

What didn't blossom, as we all know, is the normally-flowering Lotus bed, the largest outside of Asia. Last year the Militant lamented its truncated bloom, but this year, not a single lotus hath flotus.

The City did, however, put up a little kiosk right by the short of the lotus bed area that explained this year's loss. Apparently an engineering and environmental consulting firm called Black and Veatch (be very careful mentioning that to people) was hired to find out what was going on, and they had posterboards bearing PowerPoint slides discussing the cuprit, and a planned, winter's-long process to get the lotuses back.

According to the display:

"Sediment accumulation has over-insulated the plant roots, keeping them too cool and resulting in decreased vigor of the plants...Sediment (metals) and water conditions (nutirents, pH and depth) may be reducing vigor...clonal population may be becoming senescent and losing vigor. likely no sexual reproduction (from seed) of new individuals."

So, basically, junk in the water has made them plants lose their mojo, and they need a prescription of some lotus viagra.

Well, the treatment won't quite go that way, it would involve collecting dormant rhizomes (stems), cultivating them outside the lake with a little T.L.C., cleaning up the lake and re-planting them by March. So hopefully, you can has lotus again next year (that is, if the Lotus Festival will go on next year...operative sources report to the Militant that due to City budget cuts, the event will go on hiatus in '09 and bring it back in 2010 (don't worry, it's happened before...)).

Lotus or not, the Militant still enjoyed himself, having him some Japanese yakisoba noodles and Hawaiian shave ice, as right during sundown, throngs of people settled in around the lake for a vantage point for the 9:00 p.m. fireworks show. With the Downtown Los Angeles skyline as the backdrop, and a half-moon hanging overhead, the crowd's second dose of July pyrotechnics shot up the lake courtesy of Pyro Spectaculars of Rialto and echo'ed about the namesake lake. Kinda like this:

Overlooked Los Angeles: A-Pagoda

Standing on a triangular property at the northeast intersection of Normandie Ave and Olympic Blvd in Koreatown stands a curious structure (despite the Militant's usual attempt-at-a-pun title, it's technically not a pagoda, since it's not a multi-tiered structure) that paradoxically looks out of place with its western urban environs (especially the neighboring day-glo LAUSD-moderne Mariposa-Nabi Primary School), yet is totally at home with the cultural identity of the neighborhood.

The Militant has passed this property by car countless times and has seen it in various stages of construction, yet never had the opportunity to visit it up close until he made a Militant bike mission to it recently.

The property is the Korean Pavilion Garden, dedicated in 2003 to commemorate the centennial of Korean immigration to the United States. The structure, which is referred to as a pavilion, is an exact replica of the Aeryunjeong Pavilion on the grounds of Seoul's Changdeok Royal Palace and was designed.

According to the descriptive marker on the property, the pavilion celebrates Korean American heritage but also symbolizes harmony with the other cultures that represent Los Angeles. On the south side of the garden are twin pillars of light which symbolizes the Korean community's partnership with the other cultures of the region. Hmm, wonder if the new owners of Little Tokyo Shopping Center across town embrace that same message...

The garden, sponsored by individuals and businesses in the local Korean community, whose names are all graciously immortalized in marble, is protected by an iron fence, built low enough not to detract from the aesthetics of the public space. The fence is also open during business hours for people to walk through and visit.

Just another example of the overlooked gems of this town that one tends to miss while encapsulated in an automobile.

Riding Hye in Little Armenia

The Militant spent part of Sunday checking out the Armenian Independence Day Festival on Hollywood Blvd, in front of Barnsdall Park. The festival commemorates Armenia's May 28, 1918
independence from the Ottoman Emprire and the creation of a Democratic Republic of Armenia, (which was short-lived after its annexation into the Soviet Union two years later). But hey, any cause for celebration is something the Militant is down for.

In its third year, it's nowhere near the size and scope of the nearby Songkran (Thai New Year) Festival, though an Armenian community operative who was somewhat involved with the festival informed the Militant that previous years had a much larger attendance.

It was largely a chill affair, with an entertainment stage on the east end with traditional Armenian music and a lively line of people dancing along (pictured right), two rows of food, information and product booths in the middle and a kids' area on the west end.

The Militant spent most of the time hanging out with his Armenian community operatives in an unspecified booth as he ate his chicken/lule kebab combo plate from the kebab tent. There weren't too many choices, but aside from the kebab vendor, the soujouk (think Armenian torta) booth was pretty happening.

The one thing that the Militant found intriguing was that a row of tables and chairs were placed in the middle of the street, and many people took to them, just to converse (one of the Militant's operatives was caught up in a 2 1/2-hour socio-political conversation with a local resident) -- a fairly common scene in Armenian cities as they are great users of public space. The Militant noticed that this cordoned-off section of The World's Most Famous Street functioned as a bona-fide public space, if only for a day.

The Militant took a relatively short ride over to the festival, but saw many other people walking their bikes through the festival area and notices a few other operatives doing the same. Speaking of bikes, there was a booth for the other kind of bikes (the big, noisy ones) organized by an Armenian American motorcycle club called the "Hye Riders" (pictured left). Too awesome.

The nearby Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center had a health info booth and gave away free HPMC t-shirts in Armenian (incidentally the logo of the hospital's Korean owner, CHA Health Systems, bears the same red-orange-blue tricolor as the Armenian flag). One of the Militant's operatives informed him that it just read, "Together we're Little Armenia." And yes, the Militant, ever the lover of free swag, got one.

Big March in Little Armenia

If you had your craving for Zankou Chicken today only to find their doors closed, there's good reason.

Every April 24, Armenian businesses in Little Armenia, Glendale, Pasadena, North Hollywood and elsewhere close down for the day to observe the Armenian Genocide, a series of mass killings of some 1.5 million Armenians in the early 20th century by the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

Though the Genocide ranged for a number of years (between 8 and 29, depending on scholars), April 24 is recognized as a day or remembrance in the community as on this day in 1915, around 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul were rounded up, taken out to the desert and stoned to death, making it easier for the Ottomans to mass-exterminate the rest of the Armenian community. Without the intellectuals and leaders, many of the remaining Armenians, misled into believing they would be safely relocated or drafted into World War I, were easily killed off.

Decades later, as a direct result of the Genocide, most of the surviving Armenians went off to Greece, Persia, Lebanon, France, Russia and the United States. The Boston area is where the American end of the diaspora first settled, and soon spread to farming communities such as Fresno, CA. From there they arrived in the city to form the community that exists today.

At around 11 a.m. this morning, some 30,000-plus Armenian Americans of all ages, most clad in black, marched through the major streets of Little Armenia, waved flags, banners and signs and chanted slogans like, "1915 Never Again!" "Shame on Turkey!" "Turkey Run, Turkey Hide, Turkey Is Guilty of Genocide!" "We Want Justice!" and the equivalent in their native language. They were led by chant-leaders riding in PA-equipped pickup trucks that slowly rolled along the march route and fellow pedestrians shouting through megaphones. Several hundred more, circling the neighborhood in search of parking (the Militant got there easily on his bike, of course), used the time to cruise around in their cars, nearly all of them adorned with blue-red-and-orange Armenian-flags.

Their concern and anger is rooted in a singular 93-year-long frustration: That the Turkish government of today still refuses to admit the Genocide ever happened. Unlike modern Germany, who long ago atoned for its Nazi sins during the Holocaust, the Turkish government simply wouldn't budge. Which makes the issue even more complex than making a simple token apology: Today's post-9/11 America likewise refuses to exacerbate an issue that could risk losing one of their few allies in the Islamic world. But of course, had Turkey dealt with the Genocide issue been dealt with years ago, that wouldn't be an issue today.

Earlier this week, the Militant had a long conversation with one of his trusted Armenian operatives to talk about the issue and to get his thoughts. Like many things, nothing is simple.

The Operative did the march years ago, but doesn't much care for it today. Not that he doesn't share their sentiment -- the operative is very proud of his Hye heritage -- but that he felt it sends a wrong message.

"Many of my non-Armenian friends ask whether we won a soccer championship. I don't like how it portrays us. It's almost like a party atmosphere. I prefer the march to be a silent one," the Operative said.

But then it goes even further than that.

The operative recalled when another non-Armenian friend of his witnessed the march.

"She said, 'I see so much hatred there.' Is this how we solve the issue?" The Operative said.

To a passer-by, it does look like a classic case of long-running ethnic strife: Iranian vs. Iraqi, Catholic Irish vs. Protestant Irish, Korean vs. Japanese, Palestinian vs. Jew, et. al. But the Operative explained it wasn't even as cut-and-dry as that. The average Turk recognizes the Genocide. Turkish intellectuals recognize the Genocide (at times, that action costs them their lives). The Operative also explained that hundreds of Turks were killed in the Genocide as well -- because they refused to kill Armenians. It is the government that does not budge. But, the Operative added, many Armenians today easily overlook that.

The Operative told the Militant a story a few years ago when he worked at an unspecified book store. A female customer with an Armenian surname (fyi to those that don't know, generally ends with the letters "-ian" or "-yan") on her credit card made a purchase at his register. He said he ttempted to speak to her in Armenian but met a, "Sorry, I am not Armenian" reply. She went on to explain that she was in fact Turkish, who happened to be married to an Armenian.

The Operative gave her a pretty generous discount on her purchase. He recalled that she asked him, "Why are you doing this for me?"

"It is because we are neighbors," replied the Operative, who sent her off with an embrace. Tears of gratefulness and relief proceeded to fill her eyes.

Nearly a century later, as an entire community marches in the streets again and long-standing cultural sentiments refuse to budge, an individual can go much further and make a difference with a simple gesture.

Songkran-tastic: Thai New Year On The Boulevard

Though The Militant keeps his personal life a secret, it's no secret that he's totally down for the variety of cultural festivals this great City has to offer.

So despite the 92-degree weather beating down on the heads of a Dodger Stadium-capacity sized crowd, the Militant was definitely there on The Boulevard to take part in this year's Songkran, or Thai New Year Festival.

[Warning: Militant Cultural Lesson Ahead!]

Now, the term "Songkran" does not mean "new year" in Thai (that's "pi mai"), but rather, "to pass or move into," which refers to both the astrological origins of the new year date (the movement of the Sun into Aries) and the cleansing and renewal rituals that accompany the holiday.

In Thailand, Songkran is celebrated during the hottest time of the year. Certainly in that regard there was more than a hint of authenticity in both the festival and climatic atmospheres. Fortunately for this festival, a pair of women in front of The Stone Bar splashed cold water no passers-by, a man standing outside the Siam Square import store spritzed the crowd with a bottle and large water vapor fans kept the Singha Beer garden patrons cool. The splashing of water is part of Songkran tradition, both as a cleansing gesture and to keep people cool.

The Militant will just say this: Of all the cultural festivals in Los Angeles, Songkran is perhaps the best of all. Not only is there the expected cultural entertainment, arts & crafts, commercial vendors and food (yes, there was chicken satay, but c'mon, this is a freakin' Thai festival, after all), but sports (Muay Thai kickboxing, pictured right), a beauty pageant, a parade and dancing (pictured above). This year the festival nearly doubled in size, extending this time to the entire length of the designated Thai Town area (the strip of Hollywood Blvd from Western to Normandie avenues) and, for the first time incorporating a 5K benefit race and a Curry Festival (which, like its processed soybean cousin in Little Tokyo, was a fundraiser for a local nonprofit). It was an action-packed festival for young and old alike. It functioned as an annual convening nexus for the Southern California Thai community (which the Militant may or may not be a part of), numbering about 60,000, and as a taste of the culture for non-Thais (another group which the Militant may or may not be a part of).

The Militant also gave the festival massive points for being extremely transit-accessible, as the (M) Red Line Hollywood/Western station was practically part of the festival space, with riders from all over the Southland emerging out of the station every few minutes. In fact, as the Militant left the festival for the first time, there was a long-ass line to get to the sole pair of ticket machines in the enture station (pictured left). There were also scores of bicycles securely tethered to not only the Metro station bike racks, but numerous sign and light poles all along the Boulevard. People who did opt to take the auto were guided to various off-site lots and shuttled in. This is how it should be done.

For those who ignored all of the above and ended up crawling around the cordoned-off streets the whole day, vainly hoping to score a parking space -- sucks to be you!

Granted, the sheer heat coupled with the plethora of activities left the Militant quite overwhelmed, and instead just decided to chill with operatives in a shaded area, as many attendees did. Basically anything that cast a large shadow anywhere functioned as shade. The Militant also anticipated stuffing his Militant mouth with the product of the more than two dozen Thai food vendors who came from all over SoCal, but instead just settled for some mango and sticky rice and, yes, a stick of chicken satay.

The festival gradually shut down as 6 p.m. drew nigh and the Militant left the festival to take care of some unspecified matters. He did return at about 7:30 p.m. just to bask in the too-awesome warm post-sunset climate, which bore a good helping of humidity, which, with some imagination, made the Militant feel just like he was in Thailand -- a place which the Militant may or may not have visited. There were still a few stragglers in the crowd as the tents went down, the vendors packed their wares and street traffic was haphazardly re-introduced into the Boulevard. The Militant kept on imagining, dreaming of a Songkran After Dark, lights strewn around the street and people still on the Boulevard, still walking, talking, browsing and eating, all basking in the warm evening air as the glow of the purple-orange sky lingering to the west provided the ideal backdrop. One day...

But as evidenced in the sleep-deprived weariness of many of the Militant's operatives who actually worked the festival, maybe that would be too much to ask. The Militant gives a (camo) hats-off to all who put this festival together -- a jorb well done. Suksan wan Songkran!

Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnndddd noooowwwww it's More Pics Time!

The Obligatory Street Crowd Shot: Ya know it!

Two Down, Two To Go: The newly-installed Apsonsi #2 stands guard over the festival. After nearly one year, Thai Town Gateway symmetry finally achieved!

School Is In Session: Native Angeleno and rockstar Thai chef Jet Tila teaches the ogling foodie masses how to make chicken curry.

Don't Hate Them Because They're Beautiful: Contestants for the Miss Thai New Year 2008 contest pose before the crowd; The Militant tries in vain to get the attention of the one in dark blue.

Art On A Platter: Amazingly-detailed Thai fruit carvings go on display.

Spring Cleaning: A festival-goer customarily cleanses a Buddha shrine with water.