Free, 99 Cents Only, and +1

Yesterday afternoon, I got yanked from the jury box. The weird thing is that while everyone else who got tossed practically skipped out of court with a big smile on his or her face, I felt rejected. Honestly, after hearing so many prospective jury members give their lame excuses I wanted the jury to set and get the case going. I was plotting to seize the foreperson position and orchestrate a decision, but never had a chance to make it happen.

Four or five other prospective jurists followed, which probably decimated the pool. I have a feeling that the judge is still coming up with a jury. The process will take longer than the case itself, which is a sad and expensive waste of time. But if that's what it takes to have as fair a jury as possible, so be it.

I noticed that all other other prospective jurors who were Asian got cut, too. What's up with that? It's true that English wasn't the first language for any of them, but that's no reason why I should get cut. Was I profiled? Maybe I should have answered the questions less decisively? Do I need a haircut? I'll never know, but I won't take the experience personally, either.


On Wednesday night, I saw From Monument To Masses play at Safari Sam's. I'm a big fan of the band's atmospheric and rocking instrumentals punctuated by sound clips from American and Filipino activists as well as other rabble-rousing dialogue. It's thought provoking and brainy stuff. I'd been listening to their CDs since the beginning, and have been corresponding with them for almost as long. Whenever they hit L.A., we were always in deadlines or I was busy. Finally, the stars aligned.

I asked my friend Ben to take some pics, and he took the band to the nearby 99 Cents Only store because that's where the best lighting was. As is often the case, the guys turned out to be really nice, and Ben actually had some mutual friends with them. FMTM is spread out between the Bay Area and NYC and don't play very often, so if you live anywhere near Pomona definitely check out the free show at the Glass House record store today.


Sort of headlining but going on before FMTM was Don Caballero. Damon Che is one of the most interesting drummers around--a huge force in the math rock genre. There are no vocals, but his sarcastic asides and attitude make him as legendary and divisive as Phil Collins or El Duce. A great show, always.