Little Tokyo Blossoms -- Figuratively

The Militant took the (M) Red Line Sunday to the Civic Center station and walked down to Little Tokyo to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival Southern California which took place this past weekend.

Unlike other Little Tokyo Festivals, like the summertime Nisei Week, a decades-old tradition celebrating Japanese American culture, and the Tofu Festival, a fundraiser event benefiting the nonprofit Little Tokyo Service Center, the Cherry Blossom festival is a relatively new festival, organized by the Japanese American cultural organization Ryoma, which only started the event in 2002 in Pasadena and moved it to Little Tokyo just last year.

Inspired by more well-known Cherry Blossom festivals, the SoCal version also celebrates the arrival of Spring (yay, Winter sucks) and the blooming of the sakura, or flowering cherry tree. Which is a wonderful concept, only...that...there aren't very many of them in Little Tokyo.

Luckily the Militant was able to spot at least one sakura on the festival grounds (pictured above), tucked unceremoniously behind the Kid's Crafts tent on the northeast corner of 2nd and San Pedro. Fortunately there are more sakura planned for the neighborhood, as the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension's Little Tokyo / Arts District station will have a row of them right next to the light rail platform.

Speaking of Metro, the festival, which had the transit agency as one of its sponsors, was very good at promoting transit usage to the festival, and even provided an incentive to Metro riders -- anyone who produced a rail ticket or day pass at the information booth got a free poster. In the Militant's case, he got a watercolor reproduction of a pond of koi goldfish signed by artist and actress Kellye Nakahara Wallett. Other events should learn to follow suit and give a little something extra to Metro riders.

The rest of the festival, which didn't have the requisite Wells Fargo and chicken satay tents (it was, though, sponsored by US Bank and Union Bank of California and did have the requisite funnel cake and kettle corn vendors) had the aforementioned Kid's Crafts pavilion (with origami lessons), Ondo dances (pictured left), local nonprofits and organizations, a martial arts exhibit with live demonstrations, a Hawaiian Village (Many Japanese Americans, and other Asian Americans historically cherish the islands as a geographical and cultural gateway to the US), a main entertainment stage and food vendors hawking the usual festival fare (minus the satay) and Japanese favorites like sushi, takoyaki (fried octopus balls) and yakisoba. Though there weren't very many Japanese food booths, this event was located in Little Tokyo after all - so many restaurants were within short walking distance.

Parts of the festival also spilled into Japanese Village Plaza, which also had its own entertainment stage just outside of one of the Militant's favorite desert shops. One-Man Band Arthur Nakane, who has to bee seen to be believed, performed there to the delight, disbelief and "WTF?" of the crowd.

Though the sun played peek-a-boo all day, and the Militant lost his sunglasses after leaving the subway station (d'oh!), not to mention the apparent lack of the event's namesake trees, it was clear that Spring had finally arrived. With the Militant looking forward to the Songkran Festival in Thai Town next weekend (check out that promo!), Militancy is once again in full bloom.

The Westside Ride

Friday night found the Militant venturing into The Westside on bike, to join roughly a hundred cyclists on the monthly Ride-Arc edjumakational rides through various sectors of this great City.

The theme for this month's ride was "Community / Public Space/ Security" - a demonstration of the various uses of public space and security, in how there are various classifications of public and private spaces which people may or may not use (no, really, seriously) according to their intended purpose. Additionally, the ride also touched on how public and private spaces are utilizing surveillance methods (i.e. cameras) for a (true or false) sense of security.

The 22-mile ride, which circled mostly in the Westside, started at the parking lot of the U.S. Federal Building in Westwood, home to various protests, passport renewals and a place to park to take the Hollywood Bowl shuttle bus.


Mile 0, Westwood: "Hey what you guys got going on here? Looks like fun!"
- Middle-Aged Male Passer-By

The Federal Building and the nearby VA Hospital grounds were pointed out as government-owned and funded public land which the taxpaying public was entitled to use -- yet the public largely does not use it.

After circling the vast VA grounds - a virtual community unto itself - there was a large iron gate blocked off to automobiles but open to pedestrians, which the cyclists funneled through. They then made their way through Century City into Beverly Hills, where they stopped at Rodeo Drive (pictured left), with a few rich folks walking around with "WTF" expressions on their faces.

Mile 7, Beverly Hills: "Hey, I wanna join you guys...I got a bike!"
- 20-something well-dressed female on sidewalk

Then it was on through Burton Way and 3rd Street, popping out of the Westside for a bit into the Fairfax District where the cyclists walked their bikes through Main Street Carusoville, an example of privately-owned public space, but The Grove's security went looking for Alex, the ride's leader, and told him he wasn't allowed to address the crowd on this tour stop. So the pack continued on across the street to Pan Pacific Park (we seemed to have been here before...) where they were able to stop, at a publicly-owned public space, though in contrast to the Grove's crowds, there was hardly any non-Ride-Arc'ers in sight.

Later the pack filtered through the wide sidewalks of West Hollywood and into the swank residential neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, which, ironically, are ideal cycling streets. After making a stop near some celeb homes, the group headed back out to Wilshire and through to Bel-Air.

Mile 18.5, Holmby Hills: "What are you people doing in my neighborhood?"
- Some dude in an SUV

After a brief stop in front of spacious Holmby Park, the pack rode up to the gates of Bel-Air. No Fresh Prince to be found, but the riders were briefed on a little bit of the community's history a once the home of Los Angeles' uber-rich, now relegated to the home of regular rich folk. It was on the way back out that a few cyclists took some spills and had some minor collisions with each other on the curving, unlit streets.

Eventually the ride went to the UCLA campus, which, as many of you may or may not know, may or may not have been the Militant's alma mater. The riders rode through Dickson Plaza and Bruin Walk, the Militant may or may not have had nostalgic pangs of pride. Finally, the group stopped in between Pauley Pavilion, home of the recently-eliminated Bruins men's basketball team (yay or boo), and the Intramural field, which is a large open space on the campus which campus security frequently discourages its use. This ended the ride, which left the riders either returning back to the Federal Building or heading home through various means. The Militant, too headed back to the compound via unspecified means.

As always, the Ride-Arc rides provide an excellent educational tour, as well as a way to discover not only the streets of the City but some awesome cycling routes. Many of the previous Ride-Arc rides retraced familiar treading ground for the Militant, but, though rarely wandering into the Westside, he was totally down for exploring some never-explored-before streets.

'Center' of Attention

So what's it gonna be, Angelenos?

Who knew the response to the Militant's be-all,end-all treatise on the whole Eastside-Westside-Something-In-Between dealio would be so huge? To date, 37 replies (okay, so some of those were the Militant's responses to previous replies), a new record here (Props to Blogging.la, Ryan J. Bell and Big Action for all that linkage goodness).

He thought the lot of you would be irate gentrohipsters trying to state their case for all Eastsidedom into the depths of futility but it wasn't the case (They probably don't read Miliant Angeleno anyway...). So it looks like Rev. Militant got a chorus of "Amen"s from the choir that he was preaching to. Testify, Angelenos!

As the Militant mentioned, he is entertaining names for our urban center, as illustrated above.

Suggested names include:

- The Center
- Da Center
- Central Los Angeles
- The Base
- The Capital (Sacto people would take issue with that)
- The Core
- The Cynosure (?!?)
- The Eye
- The Focus
- The Heart
- The Hub
- The Mecca (In post 9/11 America?)
- The Nucleus (Jam on it)
- The Seat
- The Middle
- The Creamy Middle
- Middle Earth
- El Corazon
- The Core Zone (get it?)
- H.O.L.A. (Heart of Los Angeles)
- The West Eastside
- The East Westside
- Center City
- The 21323
- The City (F.U. San Franciscans!)
- Bullseye!
- __________?

Got a name? Post it in the comments. The Militant will find a way to buy some Diebold voting machines and rig, er, determine which moniker will be the name of the center of the City. Either that, or you can text in your votes to see which dancer gets booted off the island

Vlogstyle Contest: A Winner Is You!

Militant congratulations to Robert Joyner of Monrovia who correctly spotted city councilman Tom LaBonge popping into the frame at 2:31 on the Militant's latest "Vlogstyle!" episode at the Dodgers' Coliseum game last weekend.

For those who missed it, LaBonge shows up on the lower right-hand corner of the screen? (viewer? app? YouTube thingie?). Known for being quite the shutterbug, the councilman, camera around his neck, walks towards the left of the screen and at 2:35 approaches Dodger VP Howard Sunkin, who points to the McCourts to his left. LaBonge steadily sets up his camera, dashes towards the McCourts and at 2:43 he suddenly pops out, in total fanboy mode, to snap a picture of Dodger president Jamie McCourt .

As the winner of the Militant's contest, Robert wins a pair of field level Dodgers season tickets a 2004 limited-edition Tommy Lasorda Collectible Coin (still in its original packaging) and a 2008 Dodgers Pocket Schedule with Brad Penny and Don Drysdale on the cover. Okay, so the Militant picked these up for free at the stadium at various times, but the Lasorda coin is currently fetching $6 on eBay...

So congrats, again Robert and Stay Militant!

Fireworks On The 4th (Of April?)

Can't wait until July? We're gonna have a fireworks show on the 4th...of April that is. According to operative reports, turns out that at about 7:15 p.m. Friday night, there will be a fireworks display at Dodger Stadium.

[Reader 1: Oh great, Commando Boy's doing another Dodger-related post!]

[Reader 2: *facepalm* ]

[Reader 1: Why doesn't he just rename the blog, "Stupid Dodger Fan Boy Geek" or something?]

[Reader 2: Go Angels! ]

[Reader 1: Go Padres! ]

[Reader 2: LOL! ]

No, it's not to celebrate rookie 3rd baseman Blake DeWitt's first career grand slam (though at the rate he's going, it's gonna happen soon), as the Boys in Blue will be in Kitty Litter Park this weekend, but apparently there's some filming going on at The Stadium and the filmmakers are pullin' out the pyrotechnics.

So for those of you Center-dwellers who live within a couple miles radius of Chavez Ravine, enjoy the fireworks show and don't let your K-9 units freak out.

Shoppin' A!

The Militant is, first and foremost, an urban animal. Even if you plucked him out of his native environs and (forcibly) transplanted him into another metropolitan area, after the kicking, screaming and inevitable sedation, he would likely, as he does here, not want to venture out into the suburban netherworld.

So when it comes to word association, the Militant responds accordingly. Say, "Non-Burger Joint" where the expected answer would be "Chick-fil-A" and the Militant will rattle off hundreds of ethnic eateries. Say, "Bulk Discount Shopping" where the expected answer would be "Costco" and the Militant will respond with "Smart & Final" and "99 Cents Only Store."

Say, "Pan-Asian Grocery Mart" where the expected answer would be "99 Ranch Market" and the Militant will suggest A Grocery Warehouse in Echo Park.

He's passed it by, on bike, bus and car countless times in his life, yet only recently "discovered" the place, on a recent ticket-fetching trip to Dodger Stadium (Ha, you thought you could get away from any Dodger/baseball references, eh?). The Militant discovered it to be a veritable immigrant Asian food paradise, with everything from pallets of Yeo's Chrysanthemum Tea cans from Malaysia, the ever-ubiquitous Vietnamese American Thai hot sauce, Sriracha ($2.29 per big squeeze bottle) , purple ube ice cream from the Philippines, a pickled vegetable deli, an entire aisle devoted to noodles, an entire refrigerated section devoted to tofu, a Great Wall of Tea, a produce section with local and international fruits and vegetables (everything from oranges and tomatoes to Korean pears and Chinese cabbage), a meat and seafood section (one of the Militant's operatives goes here frequently for the big-ass bag of fresh shell oysters, currently selling for $30 for a bag of 60), pots, pans, bowls and teacups, and various sizes of rice cookers and dispensers. Another one of the Militant's operatives was recently able to find a full-sized durian fruit here.

About the only thing Asian you can't find here is Japanese nori or rice crackers (again, this is a market catering to Asian immigrants, not Asian expatriates), but one can find that stuff a couple miles southeast anyway.

What makes this place rock is the sheer value. You know those chopped coconut "containers" filled with coconut juice you get at the local Thai restaurant for $3 or $4 a pop? You can find 'em here -- for 89 cents each.

There's even a small "food court" counter in the middle of the market that serves tropical fruit smoothies and cane juice (with the obligatory boba option) and various fried street-food appetizers.

The Chinese-owned establishment is popular with the local Cambodian, Filipino, Thai and Vietnamese population in and around Echo Park, but it even stocks tortillas, spices and canned goods catering to the neighborhood Latino population. It even stocks the requisite dairy and paper goods products found in mainstream supermarket chains, so it functions as a full-fledged neighborhood grocery, no matter what linguistic group you might hail from.

Therein also lies the beauty of the place: At any given moment, you can hear at least five different languages spoken inside the market: The market staff chat in Mandarin, a mother talking to her young son in Spanish, two middle-aged women gossiping in Thai, an Asian American couple chatting in English and a Filipino man having a cellphone conversation in Tagalog.

Surely the sterilized suburbanite who would naturally prefer a Ranch 99 would scoff at this place and call it "ghetto," with its makeshift layout consisting of three distinct storefronts whose adjoining walls were torn down at one point, as well as the funky "intersection" where the Sunset cross-street (McDuff St) seemingly becomes part road, part parking lot driveway. But if you don't get it by now, you probably never will.

So what does the "A" in the "A Grocery Warehouse" name stand for? "Asian," "Awesome" and "All That."

A Grocery Warehouse, 1487 W. Sunset Blvd in Echo Park. Checkit.

Another Stupid Cyclist vs. The Extremist

DISCLAIMER: On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, the Militant's blog was freakin' h4x0r'd. No one claimed responsibility, save for someone named "Extremist New Yorker." WTF? Oh well, the following words are written by "The Extremist" and not by your favorite Militant.

On Monday evening, the Extremist was just minding his own business, crossing Bleecker Street right by La Guardia Place when ZOOM! just inches away...another stupid lower-life form riding those lame two-wheeled contraptions. WTF?

The same thing happened to the Extremist weekend before last as he crossed 6th Avenue en route to his favorite Chinese restaurant (Sammy's Noodle Shop makes the best eggrolls in the world!) when ZOOM! some Williamsburg hipster apparently from across the East River missed the Extremist by about 2 inches.

What is with these people? Don't they know that bikes don't belong on the street? Streets are only for four kinds of vehicles: cars, buses, taxis and trucks. You have to be crazy to ride a bike in New York City. Besides, you got the Subway and cabs, you don't need anything else.

You readers of The Extremist know his well-documented hatred towards bicycles. They're for kids, for goodness sakes. No one over 16 should be riding them.

They should probably know that riding bikes on New York City streets is illegal, and if it's not illegal then it should be.

A Dampened Opening

DISCLAIMER: On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, the Militant's blog was freakin' h4x0r'd. No one claimed responsibility, save for someone named "Extremist New Yorker." WTF? Oh well, the following words are written by "The Extremist" and not by your favorite Militant.

The Extremist normally loves rainy weather, but he makes an exception if it spoils the Yankees home opener. No big deal since the Extremist wasn't able to score tickets to the big game on Monday, but hopefully we'll see some action on Tuesday, since he has an unidentified Tier Box seat in The Stadium. So maybe the Extremist will go to Opening Day after all! He can't wait to see what will transpire for the team under The New Joe (especially since the old joe headed out west to that traitor team that deserted New York City 50 years ago...how fitting). But regardless, the Extremist is sooo excited at the start of another season of Bronx Bombers dominance and come October, the Yankees will return to their rightful position as World Champs. GO YANKS!

Burritos: What's The Big Deal?

DISCLAIMER: On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, the Militant's blog was freakin' h4x0r'd. No one claimed responsibility, save for someone named "Extremist New Yorker." WTF? Oh well, the following words are written by "The Extremist" and not by your favorite Militant.

One of the Extremist's co-workers, "one of those people" who originally came from out there in California kept whining about how he can't find a decent burrito in New York City. After his self-absorbed self finally shut up, the Extremist, who never really had this Mexican food before, wanted to see what was all the rage.

So first up, the Extremist Wiki'ed up "Mexico" and discovered that it was a real country after all, located south of the USA (if you wanna consider places like Texas, Arizona or California the USA, LOL!). All this time the Extremist thought "Mexico" was some fictional place invented by Hollywood. Cause let's face it, everything that comes from that place is fake, and have you ever seen an actual Mexican?

But anyway, while walking down 34th St. on his lunch hour on Monday, the Extremist happened upon a placed called "Qdoba Mexican Grill" so he dropped by to see what it was all about. He ordered an Ancho Chile BBQ Burrito, which took forever, but when he had it, it wasn't very impressive. Is this what Californians pass for food? Come on! No wonder why they don't make any decent pizzas out there. They don't know how to appreciate real food.

One of the Extremist's Queens-based accomplices tells the Extremist that there's some good Mexican joints near his part of town, as he went to college out west, but the Extremist is just gonna pass for now.

ZOMG, Dodger Opening Day Magic!

The Militant doesn't have to tell you that the Dodgers won 5-0 against the hated Frisco Giants in their 50th home opener. The Militant also doesn't have to tell you that the game had stellar plays by returning favorites like Rafael Furcal, Jeff Kent, Brad Penny and Takashi Saito, or equally impressive first impressions by folks like Blake DeWitt, who left the game with a nice souvenir and a great first game by new skipper Joe Torre The Militant also didn't have to tell you that the game was preceded by a dramatic pre-game ceremony featuring legendary Dodger greats from all-time.

Even the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke was impressed. Everyone's favorite Dodger was there -- surely the ones from the Militant's childhood were on the field on Monday -- unless you're under 25 or so.

Make no mistake, the Militant thought it was a magical moment. Surely Koufax, Snider, Newcombe, Garvey, Cey, Valenzuela were rightfully there.

Of course, representing the '90s Dodgers...Eric Karros and Matt Luke.

Now Karros, a Dodger broadcaster employed by KCAL-9, had to be there anyway. Luke? Well he sells real estate these days, so the onetime first baseman and outfielder from a decade ago probably said "yes" before the Dodger staff even started to ask. The Militant isn't so much as criticizing the talent and impact of those players as much as he wonders why, of all the five consecutive Rookies of the Year from that decade, only one of them showed up. Hey, Mike Piazza probably didn't have anything better to do this week. It certainly would have been a kick to see Raul Mondesi again.

And how about the '88 team? Okay, granted half of them are on the Angels' coaching staff now, but what about the two most notable players associated with that team? Kirk Gibson's may still be occupied as a Diamondbacks coach, but surely Orel Hershiser could have made the trip. Unless of course he's just trying to keep a low profile these days because of some music video made 22 years ago that's gotten some viral attention as of late.

But the Militant ain't whining. It was the Militant's second consecutive Opening Day game, so it's great to finally see the team kick of the year with a win, and when Chin-Lung Hu got a single late in the game, to hear someone in the Militant's section chant, "Hu's On First! Hu's On First!" was classic.

But then again, this is the 2008 San Francisco Giants, who have already been mathematically eliminated from this year's playoffs, and who lost an exhibition game to their own farm club last week. So this opening series is like shooting fish in a barrel, basically. Only time will tell until the Dodgers fare against real teams.

So Go Blue and Stay Militant! It's gonna be a great season.