Warehouse (East L.A.)

East L.A. - Christmas Eve 2007

December 24, 2007: Jury Duty

Tomorrow, on what was to be the first day of my Christmas vacation, I will be deep in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, south of the 10, as part o f the jury pool for the Superior Court of California. I hope they don't ask me about my opinion of attorneys. Or maybe I hope that's exactly what they ask me.

Afternoon Update: First the Good News: It being Christmas Eve, the number of trials to be heard will be drastically reduced from 20 to 30 to three (3!).

If in the future your presence at 1945 Hill St. is requested, you're probably looking at a short, possibly one day misdemeanor trial. You'll get a brief, not exactly canned speech from a judge about your civic duty, a ten minute video outlining the process (which just about everyone ignores) followed by an open-ended amount of waiting in a room that is not as nice as what you find in an airport but serviceable.

Now the Better News: Without anyone being quizzed by a single attorney, we're dismissed at 12:05.

Bail Bonds

Wilshire

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"The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That's what poetry does."

- Allen Ginsberg

Woman Ordering Food

Iglesia Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles.

Tucked off to the side of Our Lady Queen of Angels church is the above mission adjacent to Olvera Street. Together they seem to form a hub of immigration services, first-of-the-month baptisms, AIDS quilts (when was the last time you saw an AIDS quilt?) and a memorial to neighborhood soldiers who have died on Iraq. Neither the church or the mission are to be confused with the bombastic Our Lady of The Angels cathedral up the road on Temple.

Mural ( Hand, Heart and Eyes)

Statue

Speaks No English Whatsoever...

...but was very grateful for a half dozen Chesterfields.

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The Kid Gets Back Up

Quote of the Night:

Lester (to McNulty) - "Life", you know what that is, Jimmy? That's the shit that happens while you're waiting for the moments that never come."

("The Wire", Season 3)

Meal of the Night - Red beans and rice

Ringtone of the Night - this

Mr. Mark

As near as I could understand, Mr. Mark is an aspiring cartoonist working on a strip that involves "Mr. Mark", a homeless cartoonist.

David

In the Seventies, he was an art student. After we talked, he showed me his drawings. "They're about redemption."

Writers Guild Strike is Kicking Ass

I'm not exactly objective about the Writers Guild strike but the writers have put out some tremendous videos. And it really is about corporate greed.

Fairfax High School

Desk In A Cage

Foggy Jogger

Tired Man Reads His Bible

From my several visits to "Our Lady Queen of Angeles/La Placita" I knew this gentleman reads only the Bible while constantly shaking his cup for donations. Noticing that he was now on The Book of Job, I asked him what he thought of Job's hard life. He shook off any comparison to his current state of affairs to that of Job's. "Job was a righteous man, a righteous man."

Flowers And Cigarettes In Silverlake

Alley In West Hollywood

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