Life in a Criminal Subculture

You probably will not find the brilliant new book Siberian Education at The Battery, a new used bookstore just steps away from the Mission Gold Line station.  But if you hurry, you may find it at a bargain price at your local Borders, now that it is--sadly--going out of business.

The publisher calls Siberian Education a novel. The author, Nicolai Lilin, claims it is a memoir of his childhood as a member of strange but powerful criminal minority, the Siberian Urkas, one of several groups that preceded the current "Russian Mafia" by generations. 

Siberian Education reads like a memoir.  Written in first person, the author looks back at his early years in a lawless small town on the western edge of the former Soviet Union.  There his life was enveloped in a strange mix of violence and hyper-devout Old Russian religion.  The Siberian Urkas saw themselves as "Honest" criminals, stealing from the rich and/or powerful, brutalizing foes, and killing enemies, especially the local police--all in the name of their own vision of justice. 

The early part of the book is didactic as Lilin explains how his family and this subculture functioned.  Certain weapons are sacred.  Prison time is expected.  The vulnerable, including the mentally ill, are protected.  Even children as young as six or seven are participants in the violence--but also expected to be loyal to their group and very respectful of their elders.

After the fall of the Soviet Union and some time spent in a youth prison, the author discovers a way out, only to end up being drafted into the army and sent to Chechnya--moving from one violent world to another.

Siberian Education is fascinating, especially in light of how today's Russian mafia has spread its tentacles around the globe.

Meanwhile, back at the Mission Gold Line station in South Pasadena...  After you have visited The Battery bookstore, cross Mission Street and go a half block west to "My Sweet Cupcake" and indulge in a yummy creation by a winner in the Food Channel's Cupcake Wars.



For more about South Pasadena go to www.pasadenaneighborhoods.com/south_pasadena.htm

Pasadena plans for a park over the 210 Freeway

I recently received a survey from the City of Pasadena about the proposed update for the Pasadena General Plan.  It was a long survey and fairly complicated.  As I read through it two items immediately leaped out at me.

One was a proposal to build parks over the 210 and 110 Freeways.  Parks over the freeways!?  I don't know what they are thinking.  Perhaps the idea is that parks over the freeways will make the city "greener".  But parks over the freeways would cost enormous amounts of taxpayer money and, worse yet, could become a serious health hazard.  It's difficult to envision any caring parent taking his or her children to play in an area where freeway fumes billow up and around the edges of the park poisoning the air.  I certainly hope this proposal never comes to fruition.

The historic Castle Green in Pasadena

The second item was not quite as stunning, but still seems to be highly questionable.   In this proposal, the city would allow six story buildings on the south and west sides of Central Park.

Right now, the Castle Green stands on the north side of the park.  I suspect that the height of the Castle Green was used to justify the overwhelming height and bulk of the "Mustard and Ketchup" Archstone apartments surrounding the Del Mar Gold Line Station.  These apartments are completely out of character and scale for Pasadena.  Now, apparently, they are considering compounding the issue by proposing to complete a wall of tall buildings around Central Park.

Apartments at the Gold Line Del Mar Station.

Using a historic building to justify equally tall buildings nearby, if carried to a logical extreme, could mean that ten story buildings could be built along the Arroyo Seco because the historic 9th Circuit Court of Appeals building is already there.  We all know that won't happen, of course.  Owners of nearby multi-million dollar estates would be screaming at City Hall if that was suggested.

Fortunately, the proposals in the survey have not yet been locked into the updated General Plan.  When the survey results are tallied and published we will see if these two proposals survive wider public scrutiny.


For more information about Pasadena go to http://www.pasadenaneighborhoods.com/

The LAPD was not amused at the Pasadena Chalk Art Festival

The Pasadena Chalk Art Festival wrapped up on Sunday afternoon. 

Apparently the LAPD did not consider this image even slightly amusing.  On Monday morning after the Festival, this "art work" had been completely erased.  A couple of others nearby had also been removed -- by whom I am not sure.



But to give you a quick overview of the Pasadena Chalk Art works...

Two artists attempted to create the illusion of depth in their art works.  One created the image of a boy clinging to the edge of a well.   

The other drew the terracotta warriors as they were found buried in the earth in China.  Trivia:  the first emperor of China who had the terracotta warriors buried to protect his grave, put a curse on anyone who would dig up his tomb.  And even the Communists won't touch it -- over 2000 years later!

Two other artists looked to mother and child for inspiration -- with very differing images.

And as for the young woman who was splashing poster paint all over her square yesterday, well, she added a chalk art pig to her utterly untraditional background.

There was also a car show yesterday, Sunday, in front of Paseo Colorado.  It really was a big festival weekend in Pasadena.

Pasadena Chalk Festival -- Breaking with Tradition

It seems to be festival day in Pasadena.  The two-day annual Chalk Festival is underway at Paseo Colorado.  A small music festival is at the plaza next to Macys on Lake Avenue.  And something is happening on El Molino at Colorado Blvd. in the Playhouse District -- I'm not sure what is it, but El Molino is closed.

But back to the Pasadena Chalk Festival ...

The first chalk art festival I saw was at the Santa Barbara Mission about 15 years ago.  The plaza in front of the Mission was covered with very detailed copies of great religious paintings of the Renaissance.  Quite beautiful and this established my idea of what a chalk festival was.

One artist at the Pasadena Chalk Festival is working in that tradition--but many are opting for more contemporary works.  Some are even going all in and creating their own images--not copies of anyone else.

Early on Saturday morning, most of the works were just getting started.  One, however, that was already completed was a humorous comment on the LAPD.  Well, I think it was intended to be humorous.  And it certainly was an original design.

Anime is another source of inspiration for quite a few of the artists.

Another original design--but this one disregards the lines that are traditionally supposed to be the edge of each artist's work.   I noticed a couple of others who were treating the lines as suggestions rather than firm limits!

But the real break with tradition has to do with the medium.  It's supposed to be chalk!  Last year there were two people who were "painting with chalk"--this year there are many.  It sure is faster, but the look is definitely not the same.

But the real radical -- a revolutionary in the world of chalk art festivals -- is an artist named Sasha K who decided to do splash art in her square.  No messing around with those little sticks of chalk.  Just mix up some kids poster paints in plastic buckets and splash them on the plaza in front of the Convention Center across from Paseo Colorado.




The Pasadena Chalk Art Festival continues tomorrow June 19th.  Stop by after you have taken Dad out for brunch.

Grafitti Street Cred at PMCA

It has been over 30 years since Keith Haring began throwing up his cartoon-influenced art on unused billboards in the New York subway system.  It earned him fame and fortune as a so-called graffiti artist.  Many others, including Haring's friends Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat, followed right behind. 

Also inspired were tens of thousands of other would-be graffiti artists around the world.  Before long, any teenage kid who threw up tags to mark his gang's turf fancied himself as an artist.  In fact, these kids were simply defacing their neighborhoods and creating fear.  Carried to an extreme, a week ago a 13 year old in L.A., part of a graffiti crew, was killed for tagging on another crew's turf.

This death casts an even darker shadow across street graffiti -- in contrast to current exhibitions at the Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) and the Geffen, both of which celebrate graffiti. 

The group of California artists whose work is now at PMCA began their art careers armed with spray paint cans and blank walls around Los Angeles -- rather than with the extensive art college training that Haring had.

The aim of this exhibition, called Street Cred, is to show the current works on canvas and in sculptures along side photos of their street art.  Chaz Bojorquez's work are not far from his street tags.  On the other hand, there is not even an echo of street art in Craig Crayola Simkins current work.  It is both brilliant and disquieting. 


Retna's art work on the exterior of PMCA



Perhaps the most striking art of all is the graphic by Retna which covers the entire front of PMCA. Like Bojorquez's work, it is not distant from his street graffiti and his current canvases.

I wonder what the directors of PMCA would have thought if some local tagger had voluntarily spray painted the front of the building.  Probably not happy at all. 

The Street Cred exhibition is in the back room of PMCA.  In the primary exhibition space are works by The Clayton Brothers.  Their cartoony paintings obviously show the hands of two people, but nothing seems to be gained by the duo act.  It is quite uninteresting. 

These exhbitions run through September 4th.  PMCA is located at 490 Union Street in Pasadena.  Open noon to 5 pm, Wednesday through Sunday. 

And if you would like to see what Kenny Scharf has been doing recently, just drive into the PMCA's ground floor parking garage.  Scharf was commissioned by PMCA to create the art all over the walls of the garage.

Rickshaw Run -- a dash across India for charity

The Rickshaw Run may be one of the craziest, most hilarious, maybe even among the most dangerous races on our planet.  But it also can be great fun--and all for a good cause.

I can already hear you say "Rickshaw?  Isn't that a little two wheel cart pulled by a man in Asian cities?  Sort of a precursor to a taxi?"  And the answer is "Yes".  But these Rickshaws--now retired from city street duty--have had a motor and a third wheel in front added but they are still not much larger than a golf cart.

This 2000 mile race, sponsored by the British group, The Adventurists, happens three times a year in three parts of India. Potential entrants must raise a Thousand Pounds (about $1600.00) for charity to be considered -- and hundreds more people enter than are actually chosen to run the race.   

So how does it work?  Well, first there is a big party the night before the start, for example at Shillong in the tea growing hills of eastern India.  Then two weeks later, another big party at the end of the race, in the desert region of Rajasthan in western India.  They can take any road they choose to cover the 2000 miles in between those two parties. 

Racers are completely on their own from beginning to end.  If the Rickshaw breaks down, they have to fix it.  If they get lost, they have to find their way on their own.

Some entrants really aim to win the event and map out the fastest route--which can be primarily on major highways.  Being shoulder to shoulder with huge cargo-ladened trucks is only for the brave or the utterly fool-hardy!

Other racers, including the couple who told about their Rickshaw Run adventure at the Distant Lands book store  in Pasadena, make the race simply a two week backroads trip across India.

On their circuitous route they took videos and still photos of people and places in rural India.  They showed us the gorgeous scenery. They showed us "motels" in tiny villages with holes in the floor for toilets. They showed photos of a tiny Rickshaw surrounded by heavy-loaded trucks rolling by just inches away.  They showed engine breakdowns repaired by so-called mechanics in remote towns.  It was a picture of India as I have never seen it. 

And the prize at the end?  Being able to go to the party and then go home--in this case to Pasadena--to talk about the Rickshaw Run for the rest of their lives. 

For all the details about the Rickshaw Run and the other real life amazing and crazy fun races The Adventurists sponsor, go to http://www.theadventurists.com/   (Photos courtesy The Adventurists.)

And thanks to Distant Lands (http://www.distantlands.com/) for their Monday evening travel programs.  Distant Lands is located north of the Del Mar Gold Line station on Raymond Ave. in Pasadena.

La Grande Orange -- memories, memories

"I'll have deviled eggs, Moroccan chicken with a side order of spatzle, and a bottle of LGO extra virgin olive oil to go."

At La Grande Orange, located at the Del Mar Gold Line Station, you can place that order any day of the week.  The menu reads as if it is a list of someone's favorite foods recollected from his or her childhood -- a trip down memory lane served up on a plate.  The fact that its menu has no consistent theme is quite refreshing.  For example, if you have a hankering for  Brussel sprout salad or handmade English muffins--well, now you know where to go to get it.

You will also find many traditional items on the menu--Caesar salad, shrimp ceviche, prime rib and tenderloin steak.  There is also a pizzeria, called The Luggage Room, sharing the seating space but with a separate kitchen.

I went to lunch with a French friend who is an outstanding cook.  After being seated on the covered patio, we discovered that we both remembered deviled eggs from our childhoods--with decidedly different recipes in France than in America.  And different still from La Grande Orange's recipe -- so different that we decided not to try them.

When it came to actually ordering we took a conservative approach and ordered good old American cheeseburgers with fries.  When they came, they were mountainous!  A huge hamburger with a fistful of grated cheese on top--super delicious to match its size.  It was lunch and dinner for me. The burgers can be ordered on their handmade English Muffins, if that's what you remember from your Mom's kitchen. 

We will be returning to La Grande Orange--maybe for a more adventurous lunch. 

La Grande Orange is located in the old train train station at the Del Mar Gold Line station.  Two rooms inside and an covered patio surrounded by shrubs facing onto Raymond.

Coming soon on this blog:
Review of the Clayton Brothers and graffiti art at PMCA
What the heck are they planting along Colorado Blvd.
Photos of the Chalk Art Festival June 18,19
Distant Lands' travel programs

In the meantime visit http://www.pasadenaneighborhoods.com/

Jacaranda in Pasadena

This year the Jacaranda trees along Del Mar in Pasadena are significantly more beautiful than last year.  Except for the very last one at Del Mar and Lake Avenue which is the only white jacaranda in Pasadena--perhaps in all California.  The white jacaranda is very rare and this tree seems to be being neglected by city gardeners.  Perhaps the city gardeners are just too busy installing hideous palms along Colorado Blvd.

Natives of a hot part of Brazil Jacaranda trees were introduced by a Director of the Los Angeles Arboretum over a century ago.  An Arboretum factoid:  the Arboretum was founded by a West Side dermatologist who funded expeditions to seek out flowering trees from other parts of the planet. The first Arborerum Director headed off to Australia and came back with  the trees, including the brilliant yellow acacia and red flowering eucalyptus, you can find in the northern part of the Arboretum.

To see the mile long stretch of jacaranda, take the Metro Gold Line to the Del Mar Station.  Go a half block south of the station to Del Mar and turn left.  You will see the gorgeous blooms immediately.

Coming soon to this blog: 

Photos of the Chalk Art Festival in Paseo Colorado on June 18 and 19th.
A review of the Clayton Brother show at PMCA
A restaurant review of La Grande Orange--you'll love this one!!

In the meantime visit http://www.pasadenaneighborhoods.com/