Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

Next Mayor? Jan Perry and my mother.

 

Mar Vista is a neighborhood located in the Westside of Los Angeles containing parts of well trafficked streets: the famous Venice Blvd which spans from downtown to Muscle Beach, the infamous Sawtelle Blvd – the bottom portion from the “Sawtelle” neighborhood, the secret artery – Palms, and Centinela which connects both Santa Monica airport to LAX. All neighborhoods have plenty of streets, each having their important characteristics, Mar Vista is part of that lore.

There’s been signs on the idyllic Charnock Avenue near where my parents live (yes there are garden islands on this two lane street) advertising a Block Party. It takes place annually just one block from my parents house. My father said he visited just once and the inevitable question from me, “were you the only Asian person there?” He answered, yes. I’ve always been curious at how block parties worked, yet never felt compelled to visit one.

I’ll admit, I’ve never been a great neighborhood guy. I like neighborhoods, but never cared to get out and purposefully meet with neighbors. My doors are shut, windows blocked off – same with my entire family. From mother’s doing, we decided to check out the “Potluck Picnic”. Joined by my aunt and uncle, myself, cousin and his girlfriend, we rolled seven deep to our first Block Party. What would it be like?

Walking in the blocked off street, it’s exactly how I’d picture it. Covered areas for food, picnic tables, a BBQ in front of someone’s house, a musician playing a keyboard and singing hits of years past, plenty of people standing and sitting, kids, bikes, a fire engine and fire men, the local neighborhood association members and even politicians. If the area was somehow uplifted and placed somewhere desolate, this would could be our lives in Smalltown, America.

Local announcements began by praising the efforts of the local organizers and the specialness of the area followed by the words of the “mayor of the area,” Councilman Bill Rosendahl who’s as charismatic as he is “the local regular guy”. He brought along three strong mayoral candidates, Jan Perry, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel. It turns out my mother is a fan of Jan Perry, from who knows where or how and even gave her a hug. My mom has met George Harrison, Harrison Ford, Eric Clapton, Brian Wilson, and even John Candy and treated them like logs of wood, yet a local politician to her is a true rock star. Meanwhile, Eric Garcetti and Giant Robot have a great history in the arts. Although plenty far from their council areas, they made the trip just to say hi and perhaps the grab some votes for an election a year away.

My mother brought inari sushi which she placed next to various potato salads, veggies, baked beans, hot dogs, pizzas and burgers – yes much out of place on the food tables, but it was her touch on Americana. It was soon devoured. The vibe was welcoming and pleasant, the contributions of food was excellent – some of it entirely home grown in the area. Pitfire Pizza donated their “pies”, someone made great baked beans, the homegrown salad was perfect, and the chicken was grilled just right.

My mother was excited to have Starbucks Coffee and made me get her a refill.

 

 

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The Internment vote was rescinded, which for some is a big deal. Of course it does nothing to pay back additional sums for losses, etc. Yes imagine, houses, cars, possessions were all lost and taken by others… For 110,000 folks, you just can’t pay that back correctly – even for those who are still alive. Yet, this is righting a wrong even if it’s 70 years later. “In January 1942, the then-supervisors unanimously approved a resolution to urge President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proceed with the internment, saying it was difficult “if not impossible to distinguish between loyal and disloyal Japanese aliens.”” (LA Times – Rescinded)    
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Everyone has friends who are in bands. But who hangs out with judges? Next week, original O.C. punk Joe Escalante (The Vandals, and more recently the Sweet and Tender Hooligans) is on the ballot to serve on the bench as Judge of the Superior Court for the City of Los Angeles. He’s a smart and realistic guy—and good friend–who wants to do it for the right reasons. It all started with a legal advice radio show that stemmed from his working in entertainment law, representing his own record label as well as working for CBS. I’m voting for him and if you’ve ever been to a show at the Cuckoo’s Nest, Perkin’s Palace, or Fender’s Ballroom (or even visited Club 33) you might want to support him, too.

MW: Is judging something you’ve always wanted to do? What do you like about it?

JE: I applied to become a Temporary Judge in 2008 to broaden the amount of stuff I can cover on my radio shows. I usually only give “showbiz” legal advice on the radio, but I thought for job security I should brush up on the kind of stuff that more people need like small claims, traffic, and landlord-tenant stuff.

After doing it for a few years I’ve started to like it more than all the other stuff I do. I am able to use my brain, help people, and help the county, and I’ve met a lot of great people who are judges, prosecutors, clerks, translators, defense attorneys, bailiffs, etc. (Not my world until then) And I think I’m good at it.

You can have fun on stage or recording music, but are you really helping people? Maybe, maybe not. And is your brain valued? Or is it your looks? Can you grow old gracefully in a band? You certainly can on the bench.

Traffic Court is often joked about as a punishment for low-level judges. I love traffic court. We’re in Southern California and it’s a car culture in a big way. The rules of the road are on everyone’s mind every day. To be the final arbiter of a traffic dispute is a big honor. I love being involved in it. Everyone wants to make a difference. I think I can on the bench.

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