Yesterday, while taking down a co-workers phone number, I found myself freaking out (with joy) over his 213 phone number. See, we’re a dying breed, us hangers-on to the 213 area code. It’s too often I’ve seen people knocking phone numbers associated with central LA and (God forbid!) Downtown. I’ve spent lots of time selling cell phones, and when setting up new accounts, found myself time and time again defending the 213 customers were randomly assigned, after facing their disappointment over not getting 323. I had a friend change his number to a 323, after holding his 213 cell phone number for several years, in good part because he said 323 just looks better when handing it out to those in the music and/or entertainment industry. But my  phone number ties me to my city, helped me take root in Los Angeles and not give in to becoming one of its many more transient or temporary residents.

I got my first cell phone from the Radio Shack by USC when I first moved out to California for college. And, of course, I was given a local 213 number (this was back when I thought it would be important for locals to be able to call me without incurring long-distance charges). I grew attached pretty quickly. (more…)

Garcetti and a few of his pals on the LA City Council have put together a motion that will adversely affect the growth of the arts in LA by eliminating dedicated funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs. Specifically Motion 56 will divert the funds currently going to them from the hotel tax back to the general fund.  There is no provision in the motion to reinstate the funding at a later date.

What can you do to help prevent this from happening? Attend a Letter-Writing Party tonight hosted by the Angels Gate Cultural Center and the Grand Vision Foundation in San Pedro. Everything you will need from pre-drafted letters to pens for your signature will be provided. If you care to write your own custom letter, or can’t attend tonight’s letter writing party, visit Marshall Astor’s blog here.

The impact of this move is far reaching. It isn’t entirely about robbing one source to pay another. Should it pass staffing (IE more direct unemployment) will result as well as end grants that support local artists and arts organizations. Rippling out will be the loss of art for the community and jobs that are related to promotion and sale of art.

Time is of the essence as it is to be presented and up for vote on February 3.  If you can’t write, plan on attending and stating your position and with supporting arguments if possible.

Hat tip to Marshall Astor at the Angels Gate Cultural Center for alerting me to all of this.  I’m working with him for additional information on why this is such a bad idea and will post additional information when it is available.

Details: Feb 1, 5:30-8PM, the Grand Annex 434 W. 6th St.San Pedro 90731

UPDATE 6PM.  I asked Marshall Astor 5 questions to better understand why Measure 56 is important and how it will affect the city and him.  I got answers to that and more.  There may be one additional letter writing campaign tomorrow night.  To read the 5 questions you need to make the jump.

Update 2/2 Phone bank information and numbers to call added by Marshall Astor in the comments.  Don’t miss you chance to be heard.

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Thanks to everyone who made Classic Eats #8 a smashing success! What a great way to start the Classic Eats New Year!

We started at Langers at 2:30, Metblogs signage in hand. We waited for a few minutes until Mr. Langer himself came out to greet us, then we were bumped ahead of the line (sorry!) to a table that expanded to hold 16 of us!  We gorged on delicious sandwiches then some of us moved on to Cole’s at 6th and Main.

It was a great time, great stories, lots of history and delicious food!

Save the date for Classic Eats #9: February  27.

Click past the jump to see more photos and hear more about the afternoon/evening.

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Last August, the L.A. 3-D Club participated in the Downtown Film Festival and presented an international program of 3-D shorts. Since then, the organization has worked on forming a partnership with the Downtown Independent Theater to provide a venue to show independent 3-D movies. Thanks to a generous silver screen donation from USC and the club’s recent acquisition of a pair of large venue projectors, the theater is fully outfitted for 3-D.

Tonight, the L.A. 3-D Club’s Movie Division is holding an “Open Screen 3-D Movie Night.” Anyone is invited to bring their stereoscopic video content to add to the mix. The club will continue to curate monthly public screenings at the Downtown Independent. By the way, if you haven’t checked out this theater yet, you are missing out. It’s gorgeous and has a fun vibe.

LA3D Movie Division “Open Screen 3-D Movie Night” is TONIGHT!
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010, 8-11pm
Downtown Independent Theater
251 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Admission to the event is $10 at the theater box-office, free with USC Student ID. Paid parking is available at many lots in the area. The theater is about a 10 minute walk from the Pershing Square Red Line station.

See the event page on Facebook for details such as file formats if you’d like to submit material to screen.

The O.G.

If this weekend’s food trucks-for-Haiti event proved anything, it is that people will show up to eat street food.  In fact, they’ll show up regardless of the reason why these trucks have gathered a la Fast and Furious: Food Truck Edition.  Case in point: at least half a dozen people I talked to on Saturday had no idea that the purpose of the event was to raise money for Red Cross’s efforts in Haiti.  Upon being told, most said they’d maybe buy an extra something to support the cause.  Ah, slacktivism at its finest.

On February 13th, there need not be any pretense: over 30 trucks will gather for no reason other than to celebrate cheap food.  Shawna Dawson and Sonja Rasulaover (of Unique LA) have organized the first ever Street Food Fest at the LA Center Studios downtown.  Unlike the Haiti fundraiser, it looks like it won’t just be the circa-2008 food trucks in attendance.  No, note the name of the festival: it’s not a food truck festival, it’s a street food festival.  The organizers promise to showcase a close-to-complete picture of street food in Los Angeles, from NoHo’s longstanding Antojitos de Abuelita truck to Thai street food from the Wat Thai Temple to the shiny new kids on the block like the Flying Pig.  Here’s hoping that Echo Park’s churro lady makes a surprise appearance as well, because I miss her every single time I’m in the area. Because this is coming from the home of Unique LA, there also will be pop-up Unique LA-esque booths, with local artists and designers selling their pre-Valentine’s Day wares, if you are into that sort of thing.  It’s about time everyone got together for a little street party.

EDIT: Shawna tells us in the comments that there will be a donation-based cash beer and wine bar, the proceeds of which will support the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank.  The event also will go to 5pm, not 4pm as originally planned.  Sweet!!  More time, more food!

The First Annual Street Food Fest is Saturday, February 13th from 11am to 4pm 5pm at the LA Center Studios (500 S. Beaudry Ave.).  Because there’s all this open air food, no doggies allowed.  I know, total bummer.

Photo courtesy ddjewelz via the Metblogs Flickr pool.

Quick reminder that we’ll (hopefully) see a lot of you tomorrow, Saturday, January 23rd at 2:30pm at Langer’s. They know we are coming and are very excited about it. LA Metblogs Classic Eats is at the top of their news page!

When close down Langer’s at 4pm (when they close), we’ll proceed to Cole’s around 4:30 – 5pm where you can either eat more deli meats or have an early cocktail or two. We’re not fussy.

What then: Some people may be off to the Derby Dolls, some people may stick around. It’s entirely up to you!

Can’t wait!

Langer’s
Cole’s

In 1995, one of the most shocking cases of modern day slavery unfolded in Los Angeles’ backyard. 72 garment workers were discovered in an El Monte compound living in captivity and under squalid conditions, producing clothing for such major labels as Anchor Blue, Clio, and B.U.M. A majority of these garment workers were of Thai descent.

Modern day slavery and trafficking fuels an underground economy that goes unnoticed to many. Victims generally labor in the garment, toy manufacturing, agricultural, and sex industries as well as serve in households cleaning homes or providing childcare to the families of their slaveholders. Every year, at least 17,000 people are trafficked in the U.S., with the majority of victims consisting of women and children. Los Angeles serves as one of three main points of entry.

As part of an effort to utilize the arts to raise awareness about this seldom discussed issue in the Asian Pacific Islander American community, East West Players (EWP) and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) are presenting a special event this Thursday evening that is free and open to the public:

Excerpts from: THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons, a staged reading directed by Jeff Liu

Featuring:
Dante Basco (Hook, Take the Lead)
Fran de Leon (Dogeaters at the Kirk Douglas Theatre)
James Kyson Lee (NBC’s Heroes)
Camille Mana (UPN’s One on One)
Tamlyn Tomita (The Karate Kid II, The Joy Luck Club).

Thursday, January 21, 2010
7:30 PM – show
Panel Discussion & Reception to follow
Tateuchi Democracy Forum in the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
(Across the parking lot at East West Players next to the Japanese American National Museum)
111 N. Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
RSVP to (213) 625-7000 or on Facebook

This is just one of several events for CAST’s monthlong “From Slavery to Freedom” campaign.

The voting is now closed and the winner, showing a clear mandate for pastrami, is the Downtown Deli Smack Down! 67% of the 61 votes went to the Langer’s and Cole’s event. Let’s go to the details:

What day: (this) Saturday, January 23rd

What time: 2:30pm start at Langer’s for what Jonathan Gold calls the best pastrami in the country and Langer’s themselves call best in the world.  When we get kicked out of Langer’s at 4pm (when they close), we’ll proceed to Cole’s around 5pm where you can either eat more deli meats or have an early cocktail or two. We’re not fussy.

What then: Some people may be off to the Derby Dolls, some people may stick around. It’s entirely up to you!

Langer’s has been family owned since 1947 and serves what many people say is the best pastrami in the country. Let’s find out! (Langer’s is old school and closes at 4pm so we’d need to get there early.) Cole’s has been around since 1908 and recently went through a refurbish and kind of rebirth. Some of you think it’s a great thing, some of you don’t. Put your vote where you opinion is and let’s see how well that $1.6million was spent.

Langer’s
Cole’s

Looking forward to the first Classic Eats of 2010!

Not a traffic stop; the officers were inside enjoying their lunch. Bigger with a click.

For months I’ve been meaning to write something about Eastside Market & Deli (careful with that link, it’s got obnoxious auto-play music and no mute button.) If I recall correctly, I first heard about Eastside Market here at MetBlogs a few years ago. I’ve been a fan ever since, and thought it worth posting again to spread the word about the great sandwiches and other menu items.  This is not that post. I’ll just recommend the Number 7 (pastrami & roast beef) and lots of napkins. It’s a heart attack on a roll, but at least you’ll die happy. Very happy. I also recommend that you go for lunch, as Eastside Market closes at 3:30pm.

Same red curb, different day. Click to embiginate.

Though I don’t go to Eastside Market often, it seems that every time I’m there I find a LADWP truck or (usually) a LAPD patrol car parked at this red curb right on the corner of Alpine & Centennial. Sure, it’s the most convenient spot to park; it’s only a few steps away from Eastside Market’s front door. The curb is red for a reason, though. This is a bit of a blind corner to begin with, and having a vehicle (especially a big truck) parked there makes going around that corner downright dangerous.

This is a ringing endorsement for Eastside Market. In case you didn’t know, if you find a place that a lot of police frequent you know the food is going to be good. On the other hand, what makes city employees (particularly the ones charged with enforcing the law) think that parking laws do not apply to them?

Get yourself over to Eastside Market sometime soon for a great lunch. Don’t park next to the red curb, though. Apparently, that spot is reserved for Los Angeles city employees.

Alongside the headlines of the horrific devastation of the Haitian earthquake are the headlines about how “digital fundraising” is providing a rapid flow of dollars, showing the importance of technology in providing new avenues for relief efforts.

For anyone who is technologically-minded, and even those who are not, if you want to lend your hand to a good cause, you should check out CrisisCamp Haiti in LA tomorrow at USC. CrisisCamps are hosted in a barcamp style where great minds come together to share their knowledge and expertise for social good.

This Saturday, the USC Annenberg School will be hosting CrisisCampHaiti Los Angeles to bring together volunteers to collaborate on technology projects which aim to assist in Haiti’s relief efforts by providing data, information, maps and technical assistance to NGOs, relief agencies and the public. Chad Catacchio will be leading up a team.

Project Proposals for CrisisCamp Haiti
1. Base layer map for Port Au Prince: This project would create a new collection of imagery and a new base map for NGOs and relief agencies. Post available imagery to share with the public for open source applications.
2. Family locator systems: Uniting efforts of interested technologists, developers and communications experts to provide technical assistance.
3. Tech Volunteer Skill Matrix/Volunteers: Create a role of volunteer as well as
4. Managing News Aggregator: Provide content channel management to coordinate data feeds
5. Defining the Collective: Create what we are and why we are doing this. Coordinate and post historical timeline/archive for the CrisisCamp efforts.

This will also been happening in London, Washington D.C., Denver, and Northern California.

h/t: Browyn on the BarCampLA list