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/