The TAPture!

As you may or may not know, The Militant loves using his TAP Card as his preferred fare media during his various transit journeys around his City. He's been rocking one since June of 2008!  All has been going well until one recent day when he TAPped his wallet against the TAP target on one of the Metro Rail turnstiles, and instead of the usual "Go" green screen, he got the red screen you see on the left:

STOP
Expired Card
Purchase New Card

Hmmm.

As it turned out, there was a group of three other passengers after him who all TAPped and got the same screen.

Could this be?

It may or may not be...

The TAPture!

Now, The Militant, who was in quite a rush to get to his Downtown destination, either went back and bought a paper ticket or just illegally TAPped ahead on the unlocked turnstile and on to his train... Buuut all that is sort of irrelevant to the story. The whole point was...HIS TAP CARD EXPIRED.

Which is kind of odd, since the ticket vending machine, after TAPping to get the TAP Card Status, indicated that it expired on June 30, while the taptogo.net webiste, where he has his TAP card registered online, said that his card doesn't expire until early September 2012.

Hmmm.

Of concern to The Militant was the fact that his expired TAP card still had about $7.50 in stored value. Could he transfer that balance to a new card, or is it gone forever?

The Militant called Metro's Customer Service number and tried to find out for himself. His terse response:

"Sir, we don't handle TAP card issues. You would have to call 866-TAPTOGO."

Alrighty then. So he called the other number and got someone who sounded much more satisfied with their job. She told The Militant that he could go to a Metro Customer Service Center, buy a new TAP card for $2, and have his $7.50 stored value transferred from the old card to the new card (it would take up to four days to transfer though...). It is not gone forever in to the ether of space and time.

Phew!

Later that day, The Militant happened to be in close proximity to the Metro Customer Service Center at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall, so he merrily walked in with his TAP card and asked to have the old balance transferred to a new card.

"Umm, sir," the woman in the window said in her 'I Hate This Job' monotone Customer Service voice. "We cannot do this right now. You need to call TAP and have them send us a fax confirming that they have transferred the balance to your new card."

Whoa, hold it there. FAX?!?! WTF?!?!

Isn't the high-tech, 21st-century RFID-laden TAP card on the cutting edge of fare media technology? Why does one have to send a fax?!? WHO SENDS FAXES IN 2012?!?!

The fact that it was already 5 p.m. and the TAP center had already closed for the day didn't help things much.

The Militant asked Customer Service Drone Lady if he could just buy the TAP card for $2 and have the funds transferred later. She told him, "We can only sell you the card with a pass or stored value."

(The Militant only had $2 cash on him...)

"Can the balance be transferred online?" The Militant innocently asked.

"No," she replied.

Both The Militant and Customer Service Drone Lady briefly stared at each other with a, "I can't believe you're such a f'ing idiot" look on their faces.

The Militant told her, "The Militant had no idea this was so complicated."

"The Mill what?" Customer Service Drone Lady asked.

"Never mind," said The Militant, on his way out the door.

The next day, The Militant called up the TAP customer service line, where people sound much more happier and much more willing to help you out, and reiterated his dilemma.

Basically, all The Militant really had to do was buy another card at a Metro Rail ticket vending machine, pay $1.50 in stored value, and call the TAP customer service again, give his two TAP card numbers, and wait for the remaining $7.50 to transfer from the old card to the new one within four days.

The Militant had no idea this was so simple.

He asked the happy TAP lady if she worked for Metro.

"No, this is a call center, we work for TAP..."

Hmm, there is no such company as "TAP," but Militant research points to a San Diego-based company called Cubic Transportation Systems, which manufactures and operates similar contactless fare card systems around the world.

But The Militant was able to replace his TAP card after all.

The Militant took one for the team. Just to make things painfully simple, to avoid this mess, this is all you have to do when your card is within a couple months of expiring, in three easy steps:

1) Let the pass period expire or the stored value go down to $0.
2) Buy a new damn TAP card.
3) There is no Step 3!

Curious, The Militant compared his old TAP card (circa 2008; top) and his new one (circa 2012; bottom):

The older TAP card has a slightly more teal tint, whereas the older one has that "Expo Line" shade of light blue goin' on.

On the back, the differences are more pronounced; the older card has a bigger "TAP" logo and single column rules and regulations table. The new one has a smaller logo and a two-column table, with additional bullet points.

(Dude, was that being transit geek right there or WHAT?!)

So why do the cards expire in the first place? The Militant had a conversation with a fellow transit-using, technologically-literate Operative, who told him that the TAP cards have an RFID chip embedded near the edge of the card. Being a hardware device, the chip has to become obsolete over time so that the TAP system's software can eventually be upgraded with new features. So, it's assumed that with each generation of TAP cards, they embed a newer version of the RFID chip.

The Militant won't have to worry about updating his TAP card until July 2015 (according to the TAP card status feature at the station ticket machines)...or is that June 2016 (according to the taptogo.net website)?

Oh, The Places He'll Go: Celebrating Five Years of Militancy on the Blogosphere!

It was five years ago this very month when a mind-mannered, yet proud and literate native Angeleno was surfing the web and felt disturbed and disgusted by the lack of local pride and knowledge that the local blog scene was dispensing. He was so disturbed and disgusted, he took a long bike ride to the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and ventured on a long hike up towards the Angeles National Forest, where he encountered a wild California black bear who bit him on the leg.

Hours later, he felt himself change and adopt super powers. He then logged back on to the Internet, and started to drop his own knowledge and pride of Los Angeles on the blogosphere. From then on, that mild-mannered native Angeleno adopted an anonymous, third-person identity and became THE MILITANT ANGELENO.

The Militant has taken you on quite an adventure during the past five years, so he recently sat down and took inventory of all the places he's been to and written about on This Here Blog since June of 2007. You can visit each location by navigating this interactive Google Map, where you can zoom in and click on each point of interest, and click on any of the blog posts that visit the location:


View The Militant Angeleno Map (Part 1) in a larger map

But wait...there's more! It seems The Militant has been to so many places in This Here Blog in the past five years that one Google Map cannot hold everything! So there had to be a second map!


View The Militant Angeleno Map (Part 2) in a larger map

Even with all those locations, those maps still are not a comprehensive representation of all the places The Militant has blogged about. Those maps do not include multi-location tour/map posts like his legendary Epic Militant CicLAvia Tour (Original Version and Updated Version), Militant tours of the Metro Gold Line, the Metro Expo Line and Los Angeles historical maps showing locales relevant to Michael Jackson, President Barack Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The maps are also useful to The Militant for (what may or may not be) the next five years, as it also gives him a visual clue as to which locations he hasn't yet blogged about (can you see a "South Bay Week" in the near future?)!

What were your favorite Militant Angeleno posts in the past five years? Are there any places you'd like to see covered in the next five? Has The Militant Angeleno changed your life or rocked your world? Please share them in the comments!

With great power comes great responsibility! But it's been an honor to serve you as your Friendly Neighborhood Militant!

STAY MILITANT!

The Militant's Ultimate (M) Expo Line Tour!

This Wednesday, the first phase of the (M) Expo Line will be officially complete with the opening of the long-awaited Farmdale and Culver City stations. To celebrate, The Militant will take you on a tour of the interesting and obscure locales along and near the Expo Line route! He did the same for the Gold Line, uncovering farmer's markets, bird zoos, swallow nests, ginormous sandwiches and even a UFO.

This time around, The Militant shows you an in-depth guide to the line and its surrounding points of interest. Oh sure, others have done something similar and just blog about stuff they see near the stations, and just hop back on the train, but let's face it, no one can offer the historical and cultural knowledge of Los Angeles like The Militant Angeleno can!

Did you know along the Expo Line you can find surviving remnants of the old Pacific Electric Railway? A pretty cool French cafe and bakery? Los Angeles' Belizean district? Read on and re-discover the (M) Expo Line, Militant-style!

7th Street/Metro Center

1. "Metro Center"
For over 20 years, Metro Rail riders have used this station without even knowing why it's called that way. The story really isn't what is here as much as what isn't here - or at least what was supposed to be here. Taking a cue from the Washington D.C. Metro, this station is named for a major transfer station in the system. It was also the intended headquarters of the transit agency -- back then, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (one of the forerunner agencies of Metro) was located nearby  on 818 W. 7th St. But not much long later, the LACTC merged with the Southern California Rapid Transit District (RTD) to become the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (a.k.a. Metro) and instead built their own "Metro Center" in 1995 in the form of the Gateway Plaza at Union Station.

Pico/Chick Hearn

2. Convention Center/Site of Georgia St. Streetcar Facility
This site is home of today's Convention Center and what may or may not be tomorrow's Farmers Field, but it was also the Georgia Street Shops - a major streetcar maintenance facility in yesterday's world serving trolleys for the old Los Angeles Railway (Yellow Cars). After the system ended in 1963, the large swath of land became a prime location for the city's Convention Center, once proposed to be located where Dodger Stadium now stands.

Training ground for future Cable Guys on Washington & Flower.

3. Los Angeles Trade Tech College Pole Climbing Yard
Whatup with those utility poles on the corner of Washington and Flower? Is it some sore of abstract art installation? Naw, it's part of Los Angeles Trade Tech College across the street. It's a training ground for lineworkers taking classes or workforce development courses at the college to hone their skills.

23rd Street

4. Site of Washington Park/Chutes Park
The first permanent baseball field in Los Angeles isn't Dodger Stadium, nor was it South Los Angeles' Wrigley Field nor the Fairfax District's Gilmore Field. It was here at Washington Park, located near Washington and Hill, where the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels of Los Angeles played from 1893 to 1925 (the first Washington Park stood from 1893 to 1912; the second was in use from 1912 to 1925. It was torn down in the 1950s. William Wrigley, the team's owner, left Washington Park after he was denied permission to build an underground parking garage. He then moved his Angels to his own Wrigley Field in 1925. Washington Park it was also one of the home venues of the USC Trojans football team before the Coliseum. Adjacent to Washington Park was an amusement park named Chutes Park that stood on the land where the municipal courthouse now stands.

5. Cathedrals at Figueroa & Adams
At the intersection of Figueroa and Adams stands three cathedrals built in the 1920s - Two to Christendom and one to the automobile. On the northwest corner is the Churrigueresque-style (Think Million Dollar Theater)  St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, built in 1923 and designed by local architect Albert C. Martin, Sr., who also designed today's Los Angeles City Hall. On the southeast corner is the Neo-Romanesque St. John's Episcopal Cathedral (1925; designed by brothers Pierpont and Walter Davis) and on the southwest corner is the Automobile Club of Southern California's Spanish Colonial Revival headquarters, built in 1922 and designed by Summer P. Hunt and Silas R. Burns, who also designed the Southwest Museum.

Jefferson/USC

6. Felix Chevrolet
This long-standing automobile dealership has stood at Figueroa and Jefferson for years, Named after founder Winslow Felix, who originally established his dealership at 12th and Grand in 1921, the famous cartoon cat became part of the branding image of the car lot thanks to Felix's friend, Pat Sullivan, the animator who created the animated feline.

7. Figueroa Tunnel
This short subway tunnel under the Figueroa/Exposition intersection was originally designed to keep the Expo Line immune from street closures resulting from the Los Angeles Marathon, which traditionally ran its course through Figueroa. Since then, the route has drastically changed, but the alignment remains, and all the better - if not for the tunnel, the soon-to-open LACMA Levitated Mass exhibit would have had a difficult time navigating through the Expo light rail catenary power lines. It's the only curved light rail tunnel built for the entire Metro Rail system (the curve near the Gold Line's Memorial Park station was a originally built for Santa Fe Railway trains and adaptively re-used for light rail).

Expo Park/USC

8. USC Widney Alumni House
The original building of one of Los Angeles' most prominent institutions of higher learning (one of the schools which The Militant may or may not have graduated from) stands just yards from the Expo Park/USC station at the relatively new entrance of the University of Southern California, on Exposition Blvd and Pardee Way. The Widney Alumni House is the oldest building on campus, built when the university was founded in 1880. Though it has moved a few times from its original location, it's considered a sacred historical artifact by the university.

10. Exposition Park
It bears mentioning origins of the light rail line's namesake. Built in 1872 as "Agricultural Park" (when much of Los Angeles was farmland), it was given its present name a century ago. Not because it hosted a World's Fair/World Expo (it never did), but because it was part of the late 1800s-early1900s "City Beautiful Movement" urban planning philosophy that created beautified streetscapes and monumental structures in cities across North America. The 160-acre park in its present form began with the establishment of the Museum of Science and Industry (now California ScienCenter), the National Armory, the Natural History Museum and the Rose Garden (at one time the largest rose garden in the world).

11. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
You already know this venue as Los Angeles' most revered and historic, yet most neglected, athletic stadia. It's the only building in the world to host The Olympics (twice, in fact), the Super Bowl and The World Series. It's served as home base for the Rams, the Chargers, the Raiders, the Trojans, the Bruins, the Dodgers and even the now-defunct Aztecs and Xtreme. The Lakers, Kings and Clippers also played on the Coliseum grounds. The Militant was personally there to see the world's largest-attended baseball game evar and the Lakers' 2009 championship celebration. This is the home of Los Angeles sports, baby.

It's also hosted everything from religious ceremonies to porno videos, from motocross to concerts (This was where, in 1981, the opening act for The Rolling Stones was boo'ed offstage by the crowd...it was some dude named Prince).

That said, it's in desperate need of new seats.

But from now on, you have absolutely no need to park at or near the Coliseum for any of its events!

Expo/Vermont

12. Masjid Omar ibn Al-Khattab
This masjid (mosque) opened in 1994 but took nearly 20 years to build. In 1977, a Muslim woman who visited her children, both of whom were students at USC, bought the land on the northwest corner of Exposition and Vermont, but became ill and died. Members of the local Islamic community contributed the funds to build a masjid on the land in her memory. It's one of the most visible houses of worship in Los Angeles' Muslim community.

Expo/Western

Tracey's Belizean Restaurant - one of the local Belize community businesses in the Expo/Western station area.

13. Belizean District
Did you know that Los Angeles' Belizean district (not officially designated)  is located near the Expo/Western station? Most of the city's 50,000 residents who claim heritage form the Central American country of Belize live in the South Los Angeles area, and the Western Avenue corridor (and nearby vicinity) from Jefferson to Manchester has a number of Belizean restaurants, markets and cultural institutions. Most Belizeans are Garifunas, who are of West African ancestry and are Spanish-speaking, so the historically black, increasingly Latino South Los Angeles has become a place where most in the Belizean community can easily blend in. Want a taste of Belize? Drop by Tracey's Belizean Restaurant on 3810 S. Western, just a half block south of the station!

Expo/Crenshaw

14. West Angeles Cathedral
The large bronze-colored building on the northeast corner of Exposition and Crenshaw is the West Angeles Cathedral, home of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ, one of the largest houses of worship in Los Angeles' African American community. The church was nice enough to lend its parking lot to Metro Rail commuters during weekdays, and the music is known to be pretty kickin' for Sunday services; music legend Stevie Wonder is known to regularly attend and sing there.

15. Earlez Grille
If you haven't had their jumbo turkey hot dogs, veggie chili cheese fries or dessert selections, you probably should. Just feet away from the Expo/Crenshaw station, you might as well just hop off the train and eat here. Earlez Grille should be to the Expo Line what Langer's is to the Red Line.

Farmdale

16. Dorsey High School
This high school was named after Susan Miller Dorsey, the first female superintendent of the LAUSD (circa 1920). Some of its famous alumni include MLB manager Sparky Anderson, U.S. congressmembers Diane Watson and Julian Dixon (who was instrumental in building our Metro system, incidentally), The Beach Boys’ Mike Love, The Fifth Dimension’s (and Solid Gold host) Marilyn McCoo, USC and NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and California Angels DH Chili Davis, among many others.

17. Rancho Cienega Sports Complex
Located next-door to Dorsey HS is this city-run recreation center, complete with ball fields and a swim stadium. In February 2007, Senator Barack Obama made his first presidential campaign appearance in California here to a modest crowd of about 500 people.

Expo/La Brea

18. The Village Green

Just a couple blocks southwest of the Expo/La Brea station is The Village Green, a 64-acre condo community (originally called Baldwin Hills Vilage) built in 1941 by architect Reginald Johnson and planner Clarence Stein. Now a National Historic Landmark, this planned residential complex with its emphasis on green and open space at the foot of the Baldwin Hills was regarded as rather innovative when constructed in World War II-era America.

Normandie Bakery Cafe, a magnifique French bakery/restaurant near the La Brea station.

19. Normandie Bakery Cafe
Just a short five-block walk west of the La Brea station, on Jefferson and Cochran, is this seemingly random restaurant/bakery/café with outdoor dining right off of Jefferson. Run by French chef Josette LeBlond, the Militant had a pleasant experience having lunch here one day, having himself a nice sammich in the sidewalk patio. He even got a baguette to go. You need to check this place out!

Expo/La Cienega

20. KABC/KLOS/KSPN Radio Facility
The radio towers seen from the station platform is home to one of Los Angeles' longest-running radio broadcasting facilities. Long before it was the home of Ken and Bob Company (EGBOK, y'all) and Mark and Brian (okay, maybe just Brian soon), it started out as KFVF-AM in 1925. Car salesman and local radio mogul Earle C. Anthony, who founded KFI-AM, bought KFVF in 1929 and turned it into a sister station KECA (his initials, you see...). KECA started operations amidst the oilfields on La Cienega and eventually became KABC 790 AM and KABC FM (which became rock radio institution KLOS-FM. The towers are KABC's 5,000 watt transmitter. KLOS' transmitter is high atop Mt. Wilson. The facility is also home to KSPN 710 AM, but their transmitter is located in North Hollywood, next to Los Angeles Valley College.

21. Sees Candies Factory
Canadian confectioner Charle See, along with his wife Florence and his mother Mary, founded Sees Candies on 135 N. Western Avenue in what is now known as Koreatown. Though now headquartered in South San Francisco, the La Cienega facility, built in 1946 and clearly visible from the station, is home to the company's main kitchen and factory. So if you see tanker trucks roll in, remember that they're filled with chocolate (please resist the urge to hijack them). It also has a factory store, which like totally boomed with business on April 28 of this year...Hmmm...wonder why...

Incidentally, Sees Candies is owned by mega-conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, and the guy who arranged the purchase in 1972 was some dude named Warren Buffet.

21. La Cienega South Design & Arts District
Not to be confused with its long-established sibling to the north on the West Hollywood/Los Angeles border, the corridor of South La Cienega between Venice and Jefferson is emerging with its own spin on arts and furniture design, stemming from its industrial roots on the Culver City/Los Angeles border. Art galleries, design studios and associated shops and cafes have been springing up here in the past 20 or so years. Keep an eye on this place, it's likely to be the next arts district to blow up. And the Expo Line can take you there for their art walk.

22. Expo Bike Path
Remember when we first heard of a bike path along the Expo light rail line? And how we thought it's goon look all pretty and neat and all and look something like the Orange Line's bike path? And remember how we all got pissed when most of it ended up just being a striped bike lane on Exposition itself?  Well, take your bike to the west entrance to the station, on the south side of the tracks...there's the bike path you originally thought would get built...all 0.8 miles of it.

Hopefully there will be more bike path for Phase 2, but, c'mon, that's obviously kinda jacked for the South Los Angeles communities, right?

The old Pacific Electric bridge over the Ballona Creek still stands under its successor, track intact!

23. Pacific Electric Bridge
Everyone knows that the Expo Line was once the Pacific Electric Railway's Santa Monica Air Line, and that the century-old tracks and infrastructure was removed to make way for the modern light rail route. But did you know a small piece of the old Red Car line still remains? The old wooden bridge that spans the Ballona Creek is still intact, located directly below the Expo Line's elevated structure. 


24. Ballona Creek Bike Path
Definitely more than a measly 0.8 miles, this 6-mile bike path will take you all the way to Playa Del Rey. The Militant has taken it many times before. It's Summer now, so...you know what to do.

The Hayden Tract's Samitaur Tower welcomes you.

25. Hayden Tract
As your westbound train descends from the elevated structure after the La Cienega station, do look to the left side of the train for a set of architecturally-unique buildings. That's Culver City's Hayden Tract, a collection of offices, art galleries, design firms and entertainment and tech industry studios. What was once Culver City's oldest industrial district, architect Eric Owen Moss and developers Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith created the Hayden Tract in 1986 as a redevelopment project and economic development engine fueled by arts and design. The result is buildings known as "The Beehive," "The Stealth" and "The Umbrella," a dance studio known as Conjuntive Points, Moss' own design studio and one of Los Angeles' most innovative design centers.

Culver City

26. Pacific Electric Ivy Substation
Downtown  Culver City is already rich in retail and artistic activity, and has a bevy of well-known eateries, like the popular Father's Office. The Militant can cover that in its own post (and kinda already did before). But welcoming people to Downtown Culver City along Venice Blvd, a block from the Culver City station is an appropriate link to the past - the Ivy Substation. The single-story Mission Revival-style structure served as a powerhouse for the Pacific Electric Railway from 1907 to 1953, when the Expo Line's predecessor, the Santa Monica Air Line, ceased operation. Today, it's a 99-seat venue for The Actor's Gang theatre company, renovated in the early 1990s. How interesting that a building originally built for transportation infrastructure was repurposed into a building for the arts, which in turn attract people using the new transportation infrastructure.

Enjoy your complete Phase I Expo Line! The Militant may or may not revisit this tour with a sequel post in 2016 covering the other half of the line!

Kings Of The World!

In case you may not know already, the Los Angeles Kings ar...

naw, naw, naw...let's do that again.

In case you may not know already...


THE LOS ANGELES KINGS ARE THE 2012 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!!!!!1

 Dude, this is like...history!

The Militant can't reveal where he was watching the devastating 6-1 victory over the New Joisey Devils, but later that evening, he wanted to bask in the glory of victory somehow, so he took the (M) Red Line to Downtown and walked down Figueroa.

No, he wasn't there to cause any trouble, and in fact, aside from a few minor incidents, there really was no riot to talk about whatsoever. A damaged newsstand and an overturned illuminated traffic arrow trailer (pictured left) were pretty much the extent of the irresponsible celebrating.

The Militant passed groups of straggler Kings fans, held out his palm and got free high-fives as he walked past them. A few horns honked, and the few that were still out on the streets, whooped and hollered in accord.

Some three hours after the game ended, and the crowds have cleared, the Staples Center, once a roaring beast earlier in the evening, was now darkened save for a few parties going on in the patio level.

The Militant went across Chick Hearn Court and stared at LA Live's characteristic near-seizure-inducing video displays, which bore the words, "CONGRATULATIONS LA KINGS - 2012 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS."

The Militant just stared at those words for a few minutes, as if to have it sink in. As if, to verify for himself this was no dream or he had stepped into a bizarro-reality wormhole somewhere. But...it was real.

As the frequent Staples Center visitor has noticed, there is ia bronze likeness of former Kings player Wayne Gretzky, a man who, though still worthy of his "Great One" nickname, failed to make this night happen 19 years ago, and besides, never actually played inside the Staples Center (to be fair, neither did Magic Johnson, who is similarly immortalized. Gretzky was basically just a draw.

One would wonder which is the next Kings player to be immortalized like that. Jonathan Quick? Dustin Brown?

Of course, this victory was a team effort by all accounts. Still, that image of Gretzky looking across the street has a different meaning now. He was looking towards a future, a (albeit near-seizure-inducing) future brighter than what he was able to see. Because no matter how great you are, eventually there will be someone (or more) that will shine even brighter.

But Gretzky looks happy anyway, and that's all that really matters, right?

Victory Signs

The Militant wasn't kidding when he opened his last post, a paean to The Los Angeles Kings Fan, with a "May Or May Not" in terms of predicting a Stanley Cup clinch on Wednesday.

Now that the game has gone back on the road (which isn't a bad thing at all), and speaking of roads, The Militant noticed a couple street signs in town lately. As you know, The Militant is obsessed with our City's street signs. And then some. And this isn't the first time a sports team has been revealed through our City's street signs.

Along Beverly Boulevard, there is a "Kings Road" (pictured above) It takes 16 wins in the NHL playoffs to get Lord Stanley's Cup.

Since the Kings are playing the team representing the East, we head east. For 16 blocks, one block representing a playoff win.

So what street do we hit 16 blocks east of "Kings Rd?"

The Militant kids you not.

The Kings are also undefeated in Game 5s during the Playoffs.

We be gettin' the cup.

Go Kings Go!

A Destiny Fit For A King(s Fan)

By 9 p.m. tonight, the Los Angeles Kings may or may not have won their first Stanley Cup title (and if not, it will happen within the next few days…)

This one's for you…

The Los Angeles Kings Fans.

For 45 years (and today marks 45 years to the day the Los Angeles Kings hockey team was born, at the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft) you have proudly worn your purple and gold (or silver and black), hoping to taste that sweet glory of victory.

For the past 45 years other Los Angeles teams have basked in championship glory: The Lakers, the Dodgers, the one-time Raiders (whom the current Kings color scheme borrows from), even the Galaxy, the Sparks and the freaking Los Angeles Xtreme have won titles for their respective sports (The Clippers might soon be the only ones assed-out in this department...).

And oh for shame, you have even stood on the sidelines when your regional rival, the Anaheim Ducks, won the Stanley Cup (We need not remember that...).

Speaking of the Lakers, your team has been the forgotten, ignored little brother, and have lived in its shadow for all of those 45 years. From the Sports Arena to the (Fabulous/Great Western) Forum and now to the Staples Center, it's always been Lakers this, Lakers that. Granted many of you are Lakers fans as well, but even when you cheer at a home game and look up at the rafters, you're constantly reminded that the Lakers have 16 Championship banners, and the Kings still have none (Never forget though, for it was the Kings who donned the Purple and Gold first!)

The Militant, being a hardcore Dodger, Laker and team of his unspecified local Pac-12 University fan, will say this once and for all, with no qualms whatsoever:

Los Angeles Kings fans are the most hardcore fans of any of our local teams.


Though The Militant is by no means a bandwagon fan (For the record, he has been going to Kings games since the (post-Gretzky) late '90s, and in fact even blogged about going to one miraculous comeback game against the Dallas Stars in '07, he doesn't deserve to be considered a hardcore Kings fan either.

(Maybe until just recently) people who wear Kings gear wear it with total pride. It's quite possible for someone who rocks a Kobe 24 jersey around town to not know how many Championship rings his shirt's namesake has won, or someone wearing a blue "LA" cap to know the difference between a Kershaw and a Koufax.

Championships are great, but they do (and this is true of every team) load up The Bandwagon…which is good, since that's how fan bases grow. There's nothing wrong with jumping on a bandwagon…it's the jumping off of it that makes you suck. The loyal fan never jumps off, and never plans to.

Another advantage over other local sports fans: Los Angeles Kings Fans are the best at using transit to their games.


The Militant started noticing it in the fall of 2001, just but a few months after the Red Line was completed to The Valley. He spotted one of his operatives, in full Kings gear, sitting on the train. And he wasn't alone. There were more than a handful of them on the train, headed to Staples. And this was just a regular season game. Lakers fans?  Maybe during the playoffs you might take transit, but most of you find a way to park Downtown. As for Clippers fans...are you even around during the regular season? The Dodger Stadium Shuttle might have had high ridership, but most of that is out of spite for The Team's Former Owner Whose Name Will No Longer Be Mentioned, rather than a genuine concern to reduce traffic and pollution. The Kings fans, it's like they didn't need to be told.

This is a team of destiny. A goaltender named "Quick." A defenceman named "Martinez," who, despite being of European Spanish heritage and hailing from Michigan, is as Latino and local as you can get in the NHL for the Los Angeles fan base. And for goodness sakes, there's a guy on the team named "King."

But most of all, though this squadron might boast a Kopitar Hero and a Brown that wears the captain's crown, there seems to be a noticeable deficit of egos and an abundance of strength, heart and chemistry. This is a team.

You Los Angeles Kings Fans are hardcore. You followed the actions of ancient prophets like Vachon, Dionne, Taylor, Robataille, Gretzky. But only until now are you being led to The Promised Land.

So what if no non-athletic goods stores in town carry Kings gear? So what if the New York-based NBC network refuses to air the Stanley Cup Finals home games in the Los Angeles market (If they did, knowing, the pea(sized)cock network, they would air the games on 3-hour tape delay)?

That's not gonna discourage you. Because you're hungry, hardcore and you're getting what you've pined for for the past 45 years:

Lord Stanley's Cup.

The Militant proudly and honorably raises his fist to the Los Angeles Kings Fans.

Go Kings Go...And fulfill your destiny.

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!

Bobble On and On

It was a nice day and excuse to go to a ballgame, the Militant's second since Opening Day and his first in the Post-McC*urt Era on Tuesday night.

Of course, the other 51,000 people were here to get themselves one of them free bobble heads, featuring the classic Dodger Big Blue Wrecking Crew infield of 1973-1981.

It was also a day to the a return of Beast Mode to The Stadium, fresh off his recovery from the Disabled List:

Despite a 9th-inning double that seemed to spark a rally, the Boys In Blue lost to The Brew Crew 2-1. But The Militant had his first Magic spotting at The Stadium:

Yes, that's Magic in the front row, and that's the recently-unemployed Mickey Hatcher sitting to the right of Tommy Lasorda, with some of the Guggenheim Baseball Management jefes sitting in between.

North Atwater Park: Up Close and Personal with the Los Angeles River

Oh, it's been one of those blog lapses again.

Very well. Moving forward...

It was an ordinary Saturday...The Militant was dropping off some E-Waste at a local Los Angeles City S.A.F.E. disposal center when he ventured around the area out of his own militant curiosity. He found himself on Chevy Chase Drive in Atwater Village and the voices inside his head his militant instinct told him to venture forward, to the road's end. It was there where he saw it: North Atwater Park.

There was a small parking lot along with a bicycle parking rack, so he knew he was in the right place. Any beyond the lot was an open area with picnic tables, benches, a clay dirt path and various California native plants. But beyond that...

...The Militant found his personal El Dorado.





It was the Los Angeles River, flowing, running wild and pure. Yes, he had encountered The River before. But this time, there were no fences or railing to encumber him.

This is what nearby Griffith Park, just yards away, past The River and the the 5 Freeway, was meant to be like over 60 years ago. A peaceful parkland that welcomed one to the Los Angeles River, interrupted due to the aforementioned freeway. All but realized until recently.

On this day, there were several people painting along the banks of the river. No, not taggers or graff artists wielding spray paint cans, but people holding brushes, painting on canvases set up in locations to their liking (pictured left).

According to one of them, they were all enrolled in Barnsdall Art Park's 3-hour Plein Air painting class, where they were assigned this week to show up at North Atwater Park and paint their subjects along the riverside.

The Militant was in awe. He could hear the river water rush just inches away from him. He walked further south along The River's east bank, passing by some people chatting, one of them greeting The Militant, and an Australian Shepherd dog who seemed to take a liking to him. He saw ducks walking in the standing water along the concrete riverbed, watching them march hurriedly towards the water as The Militant approached.

It was the perfect scene that was marred only by the sound and occasional sight of cars whooshing by on the 5 Freeway on the other side of The River. If not for that, The Militant would probably never leave (which may or may not be problematic, as he couldn't blog again if he did).

Next to the native plants area was a large dry ravine, with native wildflowers, which ran diagonally towards The River (pictured right). It's gated off by temporary fencing, but there are stairs leading down to it, so it might be accessible in the future. The purpose of the ravine, according to an informational sign, was for a means to allow runoff water from the nearby water treatment plant to cleanse itself naturally by entering the local water aquifer. It seems that sustainable water runoff treatment is the in-thing these days.

This is Memorial Day weekend, and most of you have better things to do than to real local blogs (unless you're looking for something to do). If you're like The Militant and don't get leave town (or at least never publicly admit to doing so), he recommends spending a few hours chilling here by The River at North Atwater Park. It's free to visit, after all. Our river is a link to both our past and our future. A pedestrian/bicycle/equestrian bridge across The River here will begin construction next year.

Most of all, The Militant found his new Happy Place. You may or may not see The Militant here sometime. But if ever you do, please turn off your cameras/recording devices and raise ya fist!

Deux Ducks.

The Militant makes a new friend.

Save for these motorcycle remains, The River was amazingly clean and junk-free!

Rapids transit.

The Militant, For One, Welcomes Our New Dodger Overlords

Take a good look at the picture above, grabbed from the official website of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Just like that, the 8-year McCourt Regime has ended and new leadership has taken over today!

Welcome to Los Angeles sports, Guggenheim Baseball Management. Of course, one of them needs no introduction, having been one of the most celebrated athletes and businessmen of our city.

In fact, he may or may not get his own bobblehead soon:

In closing, The Militant would like to sincerely thank Mr. Frank McCourt --Thank him for being the butt of many of the Militant's jokes. Adios, suckaaaaa!