San Pedro Artist's Community in MORE

I was hoping to get some feedback from all of our readers and loveable smart-ass word smiths of Life on the Edge about the recent cover article in the More, San Pedro.

I was very sad to hear about losing a few of our town's great artists to New Mexico and Inglewood because of the soaring rents. It's really scary to think about how it will effect many more of us in the coming months and years. I really don't want to move away from San Pedro; I love it here. Luckily, I have a studio at Angels Gate that is below the going commercial rate, but what about where I live? What happens when our rents sky rocket so high, we get pushed out? So far, the process has been very slow for me, but eventually I too will be faced with the same dilemma these other artists have been facing. Where else will artists go within Los Angeles if they can't stay here?

Artists have given the magic touch to so many great neighborhoods like Echo Park, Silverlake, Pasadena, East Hollywood, Eagle Rock, Highland park.... We start to put the cool into these places, then once Daddy Warbucks moves in, we get bupkis, and are pushed out with the working class poor, and the article touches on this ongoing phenomenon.

But the article ends with a fair dose of optimism. However, I am not so sure it's a very realistic, or inclusive stance on the artists who do not have a supplemental income. Most of the artists I know do not own property. They are not able to sell enough art to get by even if the rents weren't going up.

Marshall is quoted in the MORE as stting that art was bought hand over fist during the 1980s, but I'm not so sure this included all the artists we never heard of. I'm sure they did better than their previous average, but eventually most artists had to leave NYC too. Is it logical to think this is going to happen again with art anytime soon?

What kind of town are we looking at in a couple years from now? The lure that brought the investors down here will not be the one that made this town special in the first place. If the pioneers get the shaft and are ejected out of Pedro, then what will San Pedro be without it artists?

What do you think about this?

Woman Falls to Death off Point Fermin

4AM this morning - a 19 year old woman accompanied by her friends fell 50 feet to her death. Both the Times and the Breeze have the coverage.

Who's Cuisine Will Reign Supreme: Hamburgers!

I've traveled far and wide, and I've eaten a lot of hamburgers. I've driven down lonely roads looking for legendary burger stands with lightening striking all around (That Bobcat Bite burger up top is the very legend itself). I'm a burger snob who's easily inflamed when I can't get a burger so rare I can hear the echo of the cow's heartbeat. An annoying customer who forces lazy butchers to grind whole chuck roasts to get the perfect meat for his own evil experiments in hamburger excess.

Yet, I live in a burger desert. Sure I've eaten all of the local burgers, and I've got some junk food love for a few of them, but I have no love, no desire for any of them. I do not awake in the middle of the night, covered in sweat, hungry for any of them...

If I had to pick a favourite San Pedro burger, I'd have to choose In-N-Out. I'm not the In-N-Out devotee that many are - I think there are far better burger chains, but at least the kids up on Western can deliver something I can respect. Were there no In-N-Out in Pedro, I don't know what I'd choose.

So is there a burger in San Pedro that's worth jawing? Some secret spot I'm not aware of? A hidden gem that deserves another try?

Awesome Eagle News

From the general good news department, as seen in the Breeze. Eagle chicks were born without human assistance on Catalina Island over the weekend. Read the article for the scoop. Hooray for eagles! Eagles Good! DDT Bad!

Photo by biologist Peter Sharp, cribbed from the Breeze.

Pacific Avenue Pushers

Click to embiggen. Click here to embiggen more. I shot this photo of two people pushing shopping carts full of school chairs across Pacific Avenue, and I really like the angle of Pacific, and it's a weird scene, so I'm sharing it. Enjoy.

Then and Now Versions of Seaport Homes Front Page

It's nice to see Seaport Homes change their website to reflect geographic reality. Congrats to Banditos for bringing attention to the issue.

Old Seaport Homes Website














New Seaport Homes Website














Note - the development is obviously still pimping itself in relation to Palos Verdes. Buyer beware.

Their overview graphic has gone through three versions.

First version with "faux golf course Ponte Vista", and no mention of San Pedro, which is 90% of the viewing area.
























Second Version without altered graphic for Ponte Vista area, still not mention of San Pedro.
























Third version - actual color, and they mention both San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes.

Seaport Homes is obviously still pimping itself in relation to Palos Verdes, but at least they've backed off from their made up descriptors and their fake "park/golf course" next door. Also, I wonder what they're telling their potential buyers about Ponte Vista. Are they saying, "well, you may be next to a huge brownfield forever, since it's going nowhere" or "You may be buying a house next to a super dense community that may or may not have two high schools attached to it"? It's almost deceptive not to show an overlay graphic showing all the changes that development will bring to the immediate area.

Slideshow at the Aquarium Tonight

Just spotted this item by blogging.la's Cybele. Click on the link for the full details, but the gist goes thusly - Joe McKinzie, local postcard collector and author will be giving a presentation of images from his collection at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium at 7:30. Apparently there's a causal meet and greet dinner at Baja Cabana at 6 PM before the presentation, as well.

New York Times on art in Los Angeles

I know this is a bit bigger than Pedro, but as the 15th District has five of the Department of Cultural Affairs twenty or so facilities, it's in our local interest to know what's going on at the general city level. The DCA is still without a permanent head, and has been struggling for years. New York, London and Paris get 10-15 million cultural tourists per year, and we get 2.5 million. There's nothing shocking or groundbreaking in the article, but it's worth reading for those of us of an arty bent.

Read the article here. Both the New York Times and the New York based arts magazines have been paying a certain amount of unusual attention to Los Angeles lately, as they try and puzzle out exactly what's going on out here on the West coast.

Who's Cusine Will Reign Supreme: Mexican!

Snakes brought this up in the comments of our pizza post. So who is the top dog when it comes to Mexican food in this town. I have three favourites, in this order.

1) The taco truck in front of True Value on Pacific - they've always had great tacos al pastor and a really solid lengua.

2) Pronto's on Pacific. Although the new one on Western just doesn't have the quality or the selection to bring me back for a second visit, the Pronto's on Pacific makes a dandy burrito, and is one of the only places in town where you can really get a torta.

3) Las Brisas, at Gaffey and Channel. Always great for late night people watching, and they've always had a really addictive carnitas.

Who's Cuisine Will Reign Supreme: Pizza!

I was eating a slice of Buono's disturbingly good/shockingly unhealthy Pizza Mexicana (pictured above) last night, and I was wondering... I know who I think has the best pizza in Pedro, that being the aforementioned Buono's, but I'd like to know what everyone else thinks on this matter of great community importance. So who do you think has the best pizza in town? Who has the worst?

Berth 87 in Panorama

I was down on Berth 87 on some Angels Gate related business this morning and I shot a series of reference photos that I stitched together into two panoramas that didn't turn out too bad. The best way to view them is in their original versions, where you can actually make out some details. Warning - they're big images - probably not friendly to anyone using a dial-up.

Panorama 1 (above) - Berth 87, Cruise Ship Terminal, Vincent Thomas Bridge, Evergreen Docks, Main Channel.


Panorama 2 - Berth 87 Restroom, Ralph J. Scott, Main Channel

Enjoy!

Half Assed Graffiti on the Warner

I don't think I really need to say anything about how much the above pisses me off. Had to share, vent, etc... Click to embiggen.

More Mojo

In case you haven't cruised 7th Street yet to get a look at our newest piece of public art, here's some daylight shots of the installed Mojo. It's not in operation yet, I saw someone playing around with the wiring in the base of the sculpture this morning.



above - closeup of the "robot arm" part of the sculpture. I like the security camera keeping an eye on the plaza.



above - here's what it looks like from the corner of 7th & Centre. Click to embiggen.

San Pedro Flickr Group

It's a slow week, I'm still getting back on time (thanks weird off schedule meaningless DST adjustment), etc...

Enjoy some San Pedro images in the San Pedro Flickr Group! There's a few Flickerites who are shooting San Pedro, Honeypossum has great Port and Lane Victory Images, Phill's got your Mojo and your ILWU bathroom graffiti covered, I'm shooting signs, Angels Gate has shows, Carol's got art, Shanty Cheryl covers the punk scene, etc... There's more for the searcher - but keep an eye on that Flickr group as it develops. And props to M1k3 H.F. for starting the group.

Last 3 Days

It's my duty to mention that it is the last 3 days of my show at the Torrance Art Museum. I have an installation there of little drawings I made directly onto the wall with little sewing pins and thread. There are a few more pictures on my site here and here.

And while I'm at it I have to mention that I just opened a show at the George Billis Gallery in Culver City that features paintings and a new handmade artists' book. The reception is on the 17th of March from 5-8 PM so I hope some pedroans can come represent.




That is all.

Your Chance to Bitch Directly to the Breeze!

Just saw this on the Breeze website - their stories are now taking comments. These experiments by newspapers tend to end up either heavily censored or don't last long. Have at it while you will.

Oh, and on another tack, I'm back from Thailand. If anyone's interested, I'll be writing about my trip on my personal site, and posting what's likely to be a zillion photos on my Flickr page. I made a special trip to visit one of the main ports in Thailand, and I'll cross post about that here when I get to that part of my photos, as I think us local crane-heads will find that of interest.

Good Lord, why? Tell me why!

I remember this thing being talked about a year or so ago. I don't mean to bash the artist here; maybe I do the developers, but either way, can someone tell me why this is a "great idea?" It's a little nightmarish if you ask me. (Which you didn't.)



"Mojo" is the name of this interactive robot thing that is going to beam a spotlight on people as they walk by the Centre Street Lofts. It's going to be installed at the base of the building and it will get its beam-on-you information from a couple of surveillance cameras that will also be installed on the roof of the building.

German artist Christian Moeller is the designer of this monstrosity. The developers actually think this is going to make the art scene more of a hot place to be in San Pedro. It doesn't seem like a desirable feature for Downtown San Pedro to me, but what do I know? Maybe it's G-rrrreat! It seems like bad mojo to me, but I'd like to know what others think about it. Do tell!

This comes from LA Curbed, which in turn used the image courtesy of the full NY Times article. Me, I just took it. ;)

Three Questions

I've been thinking about posing these for a while. I'll be out of town for the next week or so - I'd love to see everyone's views on these three questions.

1) Downtown - What does it mean to you? How often do you go there?

2) Waterfront - What is wrong with the waterfront as it currently exists - what about the "Bridge to Breakwater" area drives you crazy?

3) Chinese food - Without disparaging my current San Pedro Chinese eatery of choice, I need more satisfaction than I'm currently getting in my local Chinese food. Who's got the best?

The News

Some local news of interest.

1) From the Breeze - A $117 million cleanup of Machado Lake and the Wilmington Drain in the Harbor Area was approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council as part of a sweeping package of citywide water quality improvement projects. There's also $6.1 million for improved drainage in Peck Park. That's Proposition O money at work. One question - couldn't someone come up with a better name than the "Wilmington Drain"?

2) Republican Presidential candidate/Senator John McCain & Der Governator made a staged public appearance in the Harbor yesterday. The theme was environmental issues, with McCain taking swipes at Bush's environmental policies.

Times Coverage

Breeze Coverage

3) Democratic Presidential candidate/Senator Barak Obama brought his Obamarama to LA yesterday (LA Times Coverage), and Jacob Soboroff got some tape of Janice Hahn at one of the events. This may be a dud news item, as I can't seem to get the video to properly load in any browser on this computer, and when I saw it yesterday, I didn't have speakers at my disposal, but here's the link anyways. If someone can find a better link - please put it in the comments.

4) Board of Education Candidates Forum. Don't forget there's an election on March 6. On February 24, from 2-3 PM, there will be a Candidates Forum for those vying to replace Mike Lansing's seat on the Board of Education. What are these guys all about? Find out on the 24th.

5) Lastly, a big reminder that the 28th is the last day to submit comments on what they're now calling the San Pedro Waterfront Project. You can submit comments via E-mail at ceqacomments@portla.org. Let them know what you think!

Breeze Coverage of the Scoping Meeting

The Breeze has a great article covering Tuesday's scoping meeting. It's totally mandatory reading.

Read the whole enchilada here. Sounds like they blew it on this one. Based upon what I've seen from the article, heard on the streets and read elsewhere, it looks like the plan is so laughably bad as to be capable of pleasing no one, let alone inspiring any measure of vision.

Almost all of the 25 speakers derided the plan. Among the more colorful project descriptions hurled at Tuesday night's meeting: B.S., a "drive-by" waterfront, piecemeal planning, a subsidy for the cruise ship industry, urban planning without imagination, a cookie-cutter version of other ports, absurd, disjointed, superfluous.

In what seemed like an impossibility, objections to the new plan were so widespread that they drew together former adversaries in a rare show of unity. Low-density and high-density proponents at this week's public hearing all appeared united in their disdain for the new plan, though perhaps for different reasons.

"Some people have dreams, but it looks like someone had a nightmare here," longtime San Pedro resident Ray Patricio said of the plan.