los anjalis to anjuquerque

My latest post on LAist.com:  Tablacentric: Two-Week Long Residency Starts Tonight. Check out the events if you can, most of them are free. [And check out the LAist interview I conducted two years ago, with Robin Sukhadia, the organizer of Tablacentric].

Just renamed the blog. I think it’s self-explanatory, don’t you? It may change, it’s fluid right now, but the two cities aren’t changing. I’m in love with both and from now on will only live in cities I can play anjali word games with.

My good friends live in a mostly latino neighborhood just south of the prestigious snooty Hancock Park area in Los Angeles, and we’d sometimes drive through Hancock Park on our way back from outings or to just be snooty about the snootyness.  On quite a few occasions we’ve passed the Norwood Young house, and I’ve marveled at the numerous statues of Michalangelo’s David outside the white mansion [check 'em out on googlemaps street view]

Well today’s LAist post on Mr Young’s house — “Happy Holidays from Youngwood Court” — titillated me. I was so stoked to see this house decked out with Black Santa and Mrs Santa life-size decorations, beautiful lights everywhere, each of the SEVENTEEN David’s with red tops and no bottoms, and a life-size cutout of Norwood himself. I love the creativity that went into this decoration — probably one of the most unique christmas house decorations I’ve ever seen. And it makes me giggle that he does that in Hancock Park, pissing off many of the neighbors and making them worry about their property values. Koga, who wrote the post on LAist, linked to this article from 1997, about neighbors’ reactions to the ‘House of Davids’. The best line from the article:

“It is like spitting in somebody’s eye,” said Marguerite Byrne, a member of the Hancock Park Homeowners Assn.’s board of directors. “It is individualism run amok.”

Oh, the irony! The irony!

Anyway, Norwood Young’s website is a trip, with full episodes about his house, his costume parties, and his music. All this eccentric youngwood court history I didn’t know of when I lived in Los Angeles. Norwood Young and LAist, you made my christmas day.

I penned a piece for LAist.com on last week’s White House Regional Health Forum – held at the California Endowment in downtown Los Angeles, and the well-populated single-payer rally outside the event. Thanks to Dr Susan Partovi for the photos.

Check it out! If you’re a registered user at LAist, you can comment or recommend the post.

ok, second most, after my brother and my lovely friends: the wide varied options for experiencing live music on a DAILY basis, in this great city. Joshua Pressman, LAist music editor, threw down a sampling of this coming week’s live music.

this is the number 1 reason why we need more public transportation (and train stations) in los angeles. (cross-posted at Cure This, a website you should get to know)

This week on LA Metblogs, Travis Koplow wrote a post about his participation in/observation of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council. On the agenda for the meeting he attended was the issue of squatters in foreclosed homes. He said this:

But last night I went to my neighborhood council meeting for the first time and the discussion there raised an issue that I do think is worth us thinking and talking about more. Among the other topics on the plate was the growing number of squatters in foreclosure homes. There was a policeman present at the meeting, as I guess is usual, and he was talking about crime in Sherman Oaks, and one council member was asking him about people living illegally in empty homes. The policeman (I cannot bring myself to say “peace officer,” sorry folks) said that it was something to be on the lookout for, that if we suspected such a thing we should let the police know. There are several boarded up houses within a few blocks of my apartment and I get not wanting them to become crash pads for crack addicts or meth dealers. I get that. But then the councilman elaborates, saying that it’s important to be on the lookout, that sometimes it is hard to tell. Some of the squatters have kids and SUVs and dogs. Let me interrupt myself here to say, this post is in no way meant to disparage the SONC. It was my first time there, but I was made to feel welcome and the neighborhood council is clearly functional and positive and inclusive. But what I wonder is this: why is it so important to call the police on those families that look just like “normal” families? Is it so important that we protect capital itself? Is the protection of property is more important than the safety and protection of people?

Interesting. I know that squatting vs crime and other issues is a complex issue (for example, more break-ins into cars near an area where someone’s squatting at a foreclosed home can increase pressure on a community to better address these crimes and the causes of them) and I have great respect for the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, but I always find it refreshing when the question of priorities re: property protection vs protection of people is brought to the forefront of the discussion. Thoughts?

Damn. I’m moved by Rodney King’s forgiveness of the LAPD cops who beat him and who sparked the 1992 LA riots (killing 56 people and seriously wounding a city). Though I don’t forgive the cops for their brutality that continues through today (re: badly named “Safer Cities Initiative” and other forms of police brutality in Los Angeles).

Thanks to LAist for the video.

(Below is cross-posted a post I wrote over at LAist.com)

Photo by tao_zhyn on Flickr

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UHDR), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The 30 articles of this declaration were written after the Second World War and represent the first global expression of human rights worldwide. The UHDR is the most translated document in the world and has inspired many international treaties and laws.

Now is as good a time as ever to remind ourselves of the human rights issues prevailing abroad, in the US, and here in Los Angeles. Violence and human rights abuses exist around the world, currently in Zimbabwe, Mumbai, Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other regions. Millions go without clean water or enough food. And a global financial crisis is ever present.

It is easy to focus on human rights abroad, but here in Los Angeles we have our own slew of human rights violations, including a housing crisis, homelessness, ICE raids, police brutality, displacement of communities in the name of development, health care access problems, unprocessed rape kits, and an increasing disparity between the wealthy and the poor. At the same time, there is much reason for hope.

One shining local example of this is in South Los Angeles, the area formerly known as South Central LA, where a unique coalition of health care providers, promotoras, and dedicated community organizations recently teamed up to address “The Perfect Storm” – the combination of homelessness, the housing/credit crisis, public health, and law enforcement issues. The coalition, known as the Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Collaborative, conducted an exhaustive survey of homelessness in South Los Angeles. And in October, they announced the findings of a report — Taming the Perfect Storm — written by Dr Rishi Manchanda, Director of Social Medicine at St. Johns Well Child and Family Center and the coordinator of the collective. In addition to describing the problem, the report presents recommendations for human-rights based solutions to the crisis in South LA. The report is well worth reading and concludes with:

In the nation as a whole, persistent widespread homelessness and the health care crisis offer compelling evidence of a collective disregard for human rights. Few places exhibit the ill effects of this disregard like South Los Angeles. Conversely, no other community stands to benefit as much from a community-based human rights approach to health. With a firm understanding of the links between critical determinants of health like housing, public and community health resources, and law enforcement policy, we commit to build the political will and skills needed to tame this perfect storm of homelessness and poor health. In short, we commit to reclaim and redefine our community guided by the practical application of fundamental human rights principles. As an important stage of community dialogue on the right to health, housing, and security begins, we welcome all constructive comments and critiques of this report.

On a national level, our President-Elect Barack Obama has stated a commitment to shutting down Guantanamo, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, strengthening the United Nations, improving diplomatic relations with other countries, and paying attention to the global crises of poverty and HIV/AIDS worldwide. And on this 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the official website of the United Nations notes:

“Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and ‘to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.’”

On that note, I encourage you to read the 30 articles of the declaration. Aloud. To friends, family, anybody who will listen. In declaratory fashion. Try it. It’s quite compelling and a quick read. (idea inspired by my friend Linda who suggested this to me and 4 other friends as we were building and dreaming, during a break at a conference in El Salvador last year).

From LAist:

A group of classical musicians on their way to a Riverside Philharmonic concert this weekend were on the 91 freeway as the fire literally crossed it. They took this video (it gets crazy at 47 seconds in) and being orchestra geeks, most appropriately gave it the soundtrack of Shostakovich’s Symphony #10 (Mvt 2).

Press release of a community event against Prop 6 and 9 (more info on Prop 6). Sponsored by InnerCityStruggle.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SCHOOLS NOT JAILS

East LA & South LA Communities Unite to Get-Out-the-Vote for November Election

WHAT: Press conference to announce Get-Out-the-Vote efforts in East Los Angeles and South Los Angeles for Election Day, November 4th, 2008.

Community organizations, leaders and activists, representing thousands of East LA and South LA community residents, parents and youth will mobilize the community to vote NO on Propositions 6 & 9 and YES in support of Measure Q.

WHO: Hon. Mónica García, President, Los Angeles Board of Education Maria Brenes, Executive Director, InnerCity Struggle Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Executive Director Community Coalition Youth and Parent Leaders from East LA and South LA communities

WHEN: Thursday, October 30, 2008 – 10:00am – 11:00am

WHERE: Garza Primary Center, Front Entrance, 2750 Hostetter Street, Los Angeles, CA 90023

WHY: As the economy continues to decline, the people of California need to reprioritize its needs and spending. Currently, the state of California ranks 47th in education spending and 1st in prison spending as compared to the rest of the nation. InnerCity Struggle calls on voters to invest in SCHOOLS NOT JAILS by taking a NO position on Propositions 6 & 9. Californians must not lock away opportunities for our future doctors, teachers and lawyers- Props 6 & 9 threaten education spending. It is critical that voters in the City of Los Angeles support Measure Q. If passed, Measure Q will create over 270,000 new jobs needed to repair old classrooms and will provide funding to build new science labs across LAUSD to prepare students for a 21st century global economy.

VISUALS: To represent our future leaders, local high school students will be dressed as doctors, lawyers, teachers, and scientists. They will use images and props to demonstrate the choice Los Angeles voters will have to make between support for schools or prisons.

NOTE: If you would like to make arrangements in advance to interview any of the speakers listed above, or want more information about this event, please contact Lizette Patron 323-481-7346.

Last week I was a resident. This week, a fellow.

Ack! Suddently, I’m supposed to be smarter, more beautiful, more intense, and lots more fun. All that in wonderwoman style, with such a quick transition from Family Medicine resident to Family Medicine Fellow? Bollocks!

What in the world is a “fellow”? As always I first consult the handy dandy Wikipedia:

A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. Historically, the term fellow was also used to describe a man, particularly by those in the upper social classes. Nowadays, it is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who work together as peers in the pursuit of knowledge or practice.

Ah yes, elite. One would think that’s a bad thing after all the “elitism” thrown around about the Obama campaign. Anyway, I just completed an intense 3 year long residency training in Family Medicine (in early August i’ll take my Family Medicine boards exam, which means that after passing, I’ll be properly boarded in this field and if I want, I’ll be able to set up my own little humane, innovative clinic for low-income folks).

I made the decision to pursue a 1-year Fellowship in Faculty Development at my program in Los Angeles, with a focus on Homeless Health Care (and Resident Education). It’s a win-win situation for me. It’s not that I don’t know what i’m going to do and thus am stalling with a fellowship. No-ho-HO. I gave up a wonderful move to Albuquerque to do totally rad work there, I passed on a better salary and possibly more flexibility in my work in Los Angeles, to do this fellowship. It’s all part of a larger strategy for the 10 year clinic/neighborhoodchange/community-building/healing plan :>

I’ll post some of my goals for the year in another post (after I’m done narrowing them down — you have NO idea how long that list is right now!). But for now, this fellowship will afford me opportunities to continue to develop as a competent (and hopefully excellent – in the future) physician, opportunities to teach residents (and therefore really solidify my knowledge as well as develop my teaching skills), and opportunities to also work with homeless populations in Los Angeles and pursue some really rad projects with amazing folks in LA.

So it’s off I go, first thing tomorrow, to serve as a “preceptor” in the clinic in the AM (which means family medicine residents will present a story, if you will, of the patient that they’re seeing in clinic, and i’ll give feedback and suggestions and ask questions about what they plan to do for management of that patients’ conditions, before they go back in to finish seeing the patient and explain their thought processes to the patient to come up with a solution that both of them find acceptable). I’m excited and nervous, and stoked to develop skills to nurture, teach, and challenge doctors in training!

(I’ve also made the decision to try to blog more spontaneously here at Los Anjalis and on the community health justice blog Cure This, which turned one years old this past week!) Hope to share more of what inspires me, more on music, and more on strategy for community change, on a more regular basis.

Join a ton of optimists, fighters, crazies, and beautiful people (none of these categories are obviously mutually exclusive), at the Los Angeles Social Forum this weekend! I’m honored to be collaborating with some rad folks in Los Angeles on a workshop. Come share your thoughts, and let’s build together. Here are the details for our specific workshop:

“Media, Action, and Social Justice: Let’s Talk!”

Presented by the Downtown Women’s Action Coalition, make/shift magazine, LOUDmouth zine, and CureThis.

Join us to talk about the relationship between social-justice-oriented independent media and grassroots action. This participatory discussion will be a space to explore together how media makers and other community workers collaborate toward social justice. What works well? What’s hard? How can we collaborate better? Bring your experiences, questions, and ideas. This workshop will center the voices and work of women and trans people of color who are active in local, volunteer-centered media and action. All are welcome to attend and participate.

When: Sat, June 28, 2008
Session: W3 4:00-6:00pm Room: THH 213, University of Southern California
Los Angeles Social Forum

OF NOTE — there is an equally awesome workshop going on at the same time — The Real Cost of the War in Iraq — featuring inspiring doctor activists and peace workers and bringing the global down to the local (all the way down to the health care crisis in LA County). I wish I could be present for both workshops but I cannot. I’d highly recommend either, I know, I’m biased.

This weekend marks the long-awaited Los Angeles Social Forum, a unique opportunity where students, activists, local media-makers, and other Los Angelenos will converge upon the USC campus to learn from each other and build together in regards to local and global social justice issues.

Over 70 workshops on topics from local media to healthcare to electoral reform to prison reform to local immigration issues to global issues will be presented by an amazing array of local organizations and leaders. More than 50 local organizations from the Los Angeles area have sponsored the social forum, and folks are driving in from all over Southern California to listen, learn, participate. The events begin at 6pm on Friday, June 27th and end on Sunday, June 29th.

The theme of social forums around the world is simple and beautiful: “Another World is Possible”. The first ever World Social Forum was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January 2001. A whopping 20,000 people attended it. The most recent World Social Forum was held in Nairobi, Kenya, with an attendance of over 70,000. Most recently, a United States Social Forum took place in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007, and local state and city-wide social forums have been organized in various locations around the United States in 2007 and 2008.

Photo from World Social Forum (Nairobi) by Anjali Taneja (aka Los Anjalis) on Flickr

(Update: I blogged about the LASF (similar post) at LAist, a rad site about many things LA).

Tomorrow night brings a very special event. Los Angeles folks — if you’re free, come on out and support! It’s called NOT EXACTLY THE PIXIES and it’s at The Echo (1822 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles), doors @9pm, show starts @9:30pm.

Local LA musicians will perform songs from The Pixies, as a benefit for the Downtown Womens Center (a truly beautiful and empowering organization serving over 2000 homeless and low-income women). My brother’s going to be in one of the bands, playing geeeeetar! And my wonderful friend Jen DeMartino put together this event, found the performers, and organized everything, in her spare time. If you go, she’ll be the one MC’ing and she’ll be singing in one of the bands.

More details at this piece over at LAist.com. There will also be raffles and other fun things.

The venue’s NOT big and it’s going to get packed quicky, so come early if you can!

As performed by Saul Williams.

(original words from Not in Our Name’s Pledge of Resistance)

We believe that as people living in the United States it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government,
in our names

Not in our name
will you wage endless war
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions of blood for oil

Not in our name
will you invade countries bomb civilians, kill more children
letting history take its course over the graves of the nameless

Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms you have claimed to fight for

Not by our hands
will we supply weapons and funding
for the annihilation of families on foreign soil

Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us

Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples or countries to be deemed evil

Not by our will
and Not in our name

We pledge resistance

We pledge alliance with those who have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war or for their religion or ethnicity

We pledge to make common cause with the people of the world
to bring about justice, freedom and peace

Another world is possible
and we pledge to make it real.

(posted this on LAist earlier today)

Today will be historic. Throngs of voters will get out and vote NO on Proposition 98, a not thinly veiled attempt to destroy rent control and tenants rights. Of note, Los Angeles has the highest average rents (over $1500) of any city in the Western United States — even higher than San Francisco. In what direction will allowing the passage of Proposition 98 lead us?

Yesterday, Ross Lincoln wrote a fine post on LAist about the devil in the details regarding Prop 98 (and why we should vote NO). Today, we bring you a wonderful video that SAJE (Strategic Actions for Just Economies) developed to discuss the basis for and impact of Proposition 98. This animated story takes some of the confusion out of the proposition:

The video has been produced en espanol, tambien! Pass it on, and remind your friends and co-workers and family and passers-by — to vote NO on Proposition 98 TODAY.

And then, let’s celebrate in OUR streets.

I found out about Vote Both, a new website created by former Hillary Clinton staffers, from Amardeep at Sepia Mutiny.

Wow. I just took a look at the Vote Both website. There are lies and damned lies on it. On the VoteBoth website, the letter that they ask you to write to undeclared superdelegates includes the following talking point:

By including both amazing candidates, we will have a ticket that won 100% of the vote–not one who received less than half.

Fascinating. First of all, Obama is currently ahead in the popular vote (49.5%), the delegate count, and the superdelegate count. One of the VoteBoth founders, Adam Parkhomenko, recently admitted on a news interview that Obama will likely have at least 50.1% of the popular vote (and it will likely be even more than that). Second of all, since when did this qualification of whether or not a candidate receives half or more of the popular vote in a drawn out primary decide who should be on a ticket? (of note, Bill Clinton only received 52% of the popular vote in the 1992 dem primaries). Also, tons of polls in states like New York and New Jersey and California (states that Clinton won in the primaries) are as supportive of Obama in the general election (see Pollster for the actual results of recent polls in those states).

And third and most important, there’s an interesting trend here. We have people like George Stephanopolous (former Bill Clinton staffer and very loyal to the Clinton family) starting discussions on national television about the need for a “dream ticket” of both Obama and Clinton. And this VoteBoth site is VERY misleading — at the bottom of it there is a disclaimer:

PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY VOTE BOTH. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATES

However, both Adam Parkhomenko and Sam Arora, the two founders of the Vote Both website, were very recently staff on the Clinton campaign. Parkhomenko resigned from his campaign 3 weeks prior to starting this website (and had been the executive assistant to Clinton’s former campaign manager for years, and had also encouraged Clinton to run for president and was one of the first supporters of her PAC). Arora was recently a spokesperson for Clinton.

So sure the site’s not authorized by any candidate (and it’s very possible that Clinton has NOTHING to do with the site), but it’s definitely SHADY. And as the creator of Voteboth.org (a protest site to voteboth.com) states in the about section:

These “activists” claim to be a grassroots group but they are not. They are former Clinton staffers and organizers and they are pros. When professional campaigners pose as regular folk, it’s called ASTROTURFING.

The other site, the one that ends with a dot com, that was set up just ten days after Senator Obama won the state of Mississippi by 61.2%. Exactly one month and eleven days after Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis-Doyle stepped down. That other site is run by the two young men that organized a Draft Hillary campaign three years ago – one of whom was a former assistant to Ms. Solis-Doyle.

Look. This “Unity Ticket” jazz is exactly the kind of sneaky, wink-wink politicking that’s been the bane of our nation for the last 27 years. We don’t need PACS and 527′s telling us what to think and who to vote for. We the people, have the Internet now. We can start our own grassroots movement, thank you.

In addition, it’s just unfathomable that Obama, the candidate for “change”, would have an establishment anti-change candidate as his VP. It’s a farce to think that Obama would compromise his comprehensive 50-state strategy of winning back a progressive majority and turning red states blue, by teaming up with Clinton who has declared many states “unimportant” and has balked at Obama winning red states in the Dem primaries. It’s unthinkable that anti-Iraq-war-from-the-start Obama would team up with war-hawk Clinton, who recently stated wide-eyed that she would “obliterate” the COUNTRY of Iran should Iran attack Israel, and who has previously voted in the Senate to declare Iran’s national guard as a terrorist organization.

And it would be feeding into the Republican playbook to use Clinton’s words against Obama should they run as a ticket together. Recall Clinton’s statement back in March:

“Sen. McCain has a lifetime of experience, I have a lifetime of experience, Sen. Obama has one speech in 2002″

A short message to the recent Clinton staffers who created VoteBoth: Game Over.

A little more than a week ago, I interviewed Robin Sukhadia, an amazing and accomplished tabla performer and teacher, on his innovative artists residency in Los Angeles, called Tablacentric. The full interview is at LAist.com, where I’ve started writing. I’ve pasted it below too. If you get a chance, check out the event. Ok, interview here:

This month, from March 13th through April 12th, the folks at Machine Project are hosting Tablacentric — an entire month devoted to the concept and feel of not the snare drum, not the piano, but yet another form of percussion — the tabla — a majestic drum originating in South Asia.

For the entire month, 12 pairs of tabla will be setup in the gallery for all students and performers to touch and play. A series of classical and contemporary concerts featuring local and international tabla artists will help to present tabla in a performance context. Cooking classes, instrument invention workshops, film screenings and listening sessions will also provide cultural context to tabla and South Asian rhythm as well.

The concept is conceived and developed by Robin Sukhadia, a recent MFA graduate of Cal Arts’ World Music Program, who performs and mixes tabla beats, teaches tabla and other instruments, and sets up music education programs in other countries. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area but is spending the month here in Los Angeles as part of Machine Project’s artist in residency program.

LAist sat down and talked with Sukhadia about tablas, robots and tablas, giving tablas away to kids in other countries, and Los Angeles.
(more…)

I think I’ve watched this video now 6 times in a row. And cried each time because it’s so damn funny. And as my brother shares, it gives us hope. Hope — that Obama can wipe the floors with McCain if it’s the two of them running against each other for President. It also contrasts the positive WE message of Obama against the cynical dottering i’mtakingyoutohellwithme McCain message (while giving us a taste of how out of touch McCain is with reality). Thank you, smattering of Los Angeles area comics, writers, and musicians, for putting this together.

The best line is the one at the end, “McCain 08: Like Hope, But Different.”

Watch it!

I present to you, the awe-inspiring and shock-and-awe-ing quotes from McCain speeches, featured in the video:

The work that we face in our time is great
in a time of war
and the terrible sacrifices it entails
the promise of a better future is not always clear
there’s gonna be other wars
I’m sorry to tell you there’s gonna be other wars
there’s gonna be a lot of combat wounds
and my friends it’s gonna be tough
and we’re gonna have a lot to do
That old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran?
Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb…
I’m still convinced that withdrawal means chaos
and if you think that things are bad now
if we withdraw–you ain’t seen nothing yet
was the war a good idea, worth the price in blood and treasure?
It was a good idea
President Bush talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years
Maybe a hundred, that’s fine with me
I don’t think Americans are concerned if we’re there for a hundred years, or a thousand years, or ten thousand years.

Compare these, my friends, with the video and lyrics from the song “Yes We Can”.

Have I mentioned how much I love creative folks making and freely distributing video?

Tuesday is Super Tuesday AND Fat Tuesday! That means it’s time to vote (for 22 states, including California) AND time to party before Lent starts.

After voting, I’ll be DJing this TUESDAY evening at the Roxy, opening for DJ Rekha from New York City. DJ Rekha is a friend who I’ve djed with in NYC at our monthly MUTINY parties and who’s been running the famous Basement Bhangra parties in NYC for over 10 years. I’ll be djing from 9 to 10ish, probably a hoppin’ mix of drumnbass, grime, and hiphop. Join us if you can! YES WE CAN! (not so subtle Obama plug)

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 – “On the Rox with DJ Rekha”

Doors at 9pm
9pm to 10-ish: Los Anjalis (aka DJ Anju)
10-ish on… : DJ Rekha from NYC

The Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tickets: $8 advance, $10 day of show

Come say hi if you come out.
Si Se Puede! (another obama plug, I know, can’t help myself),
Los Anjalis

(photo taken by jslander via flickr)

Beauty has surrounded my drives in los angeles this week. This month I’m working at several clinics, some of which only serve HIV+ patients (I’m absolutely loving working with HIV positive patients!). My relatively traffic-free drives take me past the east side of Los Angeles, so I’ve been travelling from the west side of LA  and back each day.  The views of downtown LA, graffiti in east LA, hillside houses in alhambra, etc, are awe-inspiring. Love ‘em.

Since I haven’t taken a camera with me on these drives (i’m sure the drivers around me are very thankful i’m not doing that), I’ve included above an amazing photo that jslander took of Los Angeles in January (and that was featured earlier on LAist). And snow-capped mountains – oh my :>

Dick Price and Sharon Kyle of the Northeast (Los Angeles) Democratic Club, sent out an informal survey to a few hundred Los Angeles progressives recently, and almost 500 folks returned it, showing Edwards in the lead (at a time when an LA Times/CNN/Politico poll showed Clinton leading among California Dems). Dick and Sharon aren’t pollsters, and they admit that openly, but still, the results are interesting:

Senators John Edwards and Barack Obama lead the field among those taking the survey, with Edwards capturing 32% of respondents to Obama’s 26%. Senator Hilary Clinton trails with 15%, just ahead of Representative Dennis Kucinich at 12% and the undecided vote at 11%.

LA Progressive readers were invited to complete this eight-question survey asking their preference for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, which candidates they would not support in the general election, the most important issues helping them make that determination, and the likelihood they will volunteer for a presidential campaign. Results showed that at least 1,272 opened the email invitation, 574 opened the survey, and 498 people completed it.

The results are even more interesting when a subgroup analysis is performed, by race and gender — check out the full piece here. I’ll still maintain that Edwards has by far the most progressive agenda of the three leading Dem candidates. And in related news, although he was never considered a top candidate, sad that Kucinich has dropped out of the race. He is and will always be THE rockstar of all the Dem candidates.

Just a few days ago I was discussing the woes of Los Angeles’ near-freeway-construction with a colleague, and we were thinking about health and the built environment. We’ve known for a while that LA Unified School District schools have often been built dangerously close to freeways. And now good news arrives:

Making broad pronouncements about the need to protect the health of children in their care, the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday restricted the district’s ability to build schools near freeways and other sources of air pollution.

After a string of public speakers supporting the measure and impassioned debate, the board approved a resolution calling for the school system to study airborne pollutants up to half a mile from a potential site, rather than the current quarter mile requirement. It also seeks air quality health-risk assessments for all schools, including charter schools, although officials said it is unclear whether they could force the independently run but publicly-funded schools to do so.

“Basically I’m trying to push the envelope as far as we can,” said board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, who co-wrote the resolution with board member Julie Korenstein.

Flores Aguilar took on the issue after The Times reported in September that the district continued to build schools close to freeways, despite a state law discouraging it and recent studies indicating that children living near them showed signs of increased respiratory harm. About 60,000 Los Angeles Unified School District students attend campuses within 500 feet of a freeway.

Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder who plans this city. Obviously a group of people who can’t seem to connect the dots on the built environment and health.. I have grand hopes that all of this craziness can be reversed, and that with enough public pressure, future urban planning in this gargantuan sprawling city can be done right, with benefit to all (ok, most) involved.

Missed it missed it missed it. I totally forgot that the performance “En Un Sol Amarillo: Memorias de un temblor” (English translation “In a Yellow Sun: Memories of an Earthquake”) was in its last week at the Kirk Douglas Theater nearby (SO close to where I live). It looks powerful, beautiful, minimalist, and the theater is always a pleasure to see performances at. Above is a video clip from the performance.

From the description:

“Fusing actual testimonies with electrifying imagery, Teatro de Los Andes, one of the most influential and renowned theatrical groups in South American theatre, recreates the feverish atmosphere of Bolivia in 1998 when a massive earthquake rocked the country’s foundations. Timeless in its urgency, En Un Sol Amarillo sheds light on the calamity and corruption that followed. A gripping story told with wit, pathos, simplicity and creativity as it sounds an alarm for strikingly similar events both abroad and at home. (Performed in Spanish with English supertitles).

Y en espanol:
En una fusión de testimonios reales con imágenes conmovedoras, Teatro de los Andes, uno de los más respetados y prestigiosos colectivos del teatro latinoamericano, recrea la opresiva atmósfera que caracterizó a Bolivia ante el terremoto sufrido por ese país en 1998. Con una urgencia que traspasa fronteras temporales, En un sol amarillo arroja luz sobre la corrupción y las calamidades que se generalizaron a partir de ese evento. Se trata de una historia apasionante, narrada con ingenio, patetismo y simplicidad; una historia cuyos ecos resuenan hoy ante eventos similares, aquí o en cualquier parte. (En español con supertitulos en inglés).

Shoot! Well, I haven’t had success trying to find out if the performance group is touring in the US after los angeles (supposedly they performed in NYC in January), but if this is playing soon in your city you should see it…

Back to blogging, after almost a month. What an adventure the past month has been. Intense! (just the way I like it). During a two week vacation in October, I participated in an inspiring and totally radical Doctors for Global Health gathering in El Salvador (with a few of my close friends from LA and SF) — I liveblogged once from there, and hope to share some more experiences and photos from that inspiring trip.

I flew back to LA just in time to fly out to New York City in order to hang with the ‘rents in NJ and DJ the 10th anniversary of MUTINY, an event that a few other DJs and I put on every month for 6 years. It was HISTORIC to say the least. Again, hope to reflect on that a bit here.

Flew back to LA and started a super intense adrenaline-rush of a 2 week stint working in the hospital with very sick patients. It was a truly rewarding experience, and I spent 16+ hour days in the hospital, taking care of patients, thinking out my clinical management of their diseases, talking to their families, and discussing plans with the subspecialty consult services in our hospital. Outside of the hospital I saw MIA in concert with a few friends, it was an out of control 2 hour visual and aural onslaught! Saw Suzanne Vega in concert the next week, she was amazing too. And now, I’ve completed a week on my new rotation as Resident Clinic Director, where I’m managing the flow of patients in our family medicine clinic as a 3rd year resident in family medicine. I’m also triaging the walk-in/urgent care patients and doing some administrative work too. It’s a fascinating learning experience, and very valuable for me since I’m jonesin’ to start my own clinic someday.

Lastly, this thanksgiving weekend has been filled so far with goooood movies (Syriana, City of God), goooood homecooked vegetarian food, goooood quality time with the bro, and some nice LA exploring (first time at the Eagle on wednesday night, and heading to dinner and maybe some dancing tonight in silverlake or west hollywood). I’m excited about my new resolve to spend some more time in Los Angeles instead of flying around the country and the world, and about figuring out what’s next for me after residency finishes in June. Always an adventure, always an adventure :>

and now, back to near-daily updates here. It’s been a month, and it’s time to get back in the game. I’m reading TOO much and experiencing TOO much that I’m itching to share with others…

It’s that time of year in los angeles! (photo was taken on the day before halloween last year, at an anti-war protest in los angeles — hence the police officers on bikes)

M.I.A. just performed in NYC at the CMJ Music Festival (an awesome festival I used to go to when I lived on the eas’ coas’), and I’m excited to see Nate Chinen’s review of her show, given I’m going to see her in November here in Los Angeles (yay!):

Populism often takes the form of a battle cry for M.I.A., a k a Maya Arulpragasam, the former Sri Lankan refugee, longtime Londoner and part-time Brooklynite with a taste for head-rattling rhythm. The jostle of bodies seems to goad her on: poised at the lip of the now-crowded stage, she looked both elated and defiant. She sounded that way too, barking lines from “Bird Flu,” a standout single off her second album, “Kala” (Interscope).

The stage takeover lasted only one tune, but M.I.A. packed the show with others from “Kala,” reveling in a barrage of sampled third-world signifiers: tribal drums and air-raid sirens, singing children and machine gun reports. “Paper Planes” employed a loop from “Straight to Hell” by the Clash; its hook was made up of four shotgun blasts, a cartridge reload and a cash-register ring. This came after the Nigerian rapper Afrikan Boy bounded onstage to reprise his verses on “Hussel,” including a blunt challenge: “You think it’s tough now? Come to Africa.”

Obviously there’s something strange about any dance party this obsessed with social turmoil. But M.I.A. left little room for queasiness, whether she was darting about in her silver high-top sneakers, jabbing at a touch-screen computer or body-surfing the crowd. Even when her voice was swallowed by the thump of the music, her presence was huge.

She called for more outside assistance during the encore, and got it, from Rye Rye, a Baltimore rapper who had performed an opening slot with DJ Blaqstarr. But M.I.A. didn’t really need the help. She was unarmed but seemingly invulnerable, and the crowd was firmly under her control.

Nice.

Woohoo! Didya hear that? Los Angeles is the largest city in the US to pass a resolution against the war. Who you callin’ vain? It’s exciting — the city of West Hollywood already voted for a resolution like this, and now it’s big bad Los Angeles’s turn:

LA City Council Adopts Resolution To End Iraq War; Resolution Calls For Withdrawal Of All U.S. Troops From Iraq (msnbc.com)

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution Tuesday calling for an end to the war in Iraq, making it the largest city in the nation to make such a call.

“Today the city of Los Angeles is sending a message loud and clear -end the war in Iraq,” Councilman Bill Rosendahl said, drawing cheers from an anti-war audience packing the council chamber.

“We are calling for an immediate and complete withdrawal of United States military personnel from Iraq,” said Rosendahl, who introduced the resolution. “We have lost too many of our young men and women to this illegal and unjust war.”

The resolution passed on a 12-2 vote, with Dennis Zine and Greig Smith dissenting. Councilman Jose Huizar was not present for the vote.

Rosendahl said that among the more than 3,500 members of the military who have died in Iraq, 409 came from California, including 115 from the Los Angeles area and 25 from the city.
“Supporting our troops does not mean keeping them in Iraq,” he said. “Supporting our troops means taking them out of this war and bringing them home.”

Rosendahl said the expense of fighting the war has meant that more than $4.5 billion in tax revenues have been diverted from Los Angeles.

“This war has diverted funds that could be used for important domestic needs that would improve the quality of life for Los Angeles residents,” he said.

PJ Harvey ROCKS. The above video of her performing “Rid of Me” at the Big Day Out Festival in Australia says it all — angst and passion and sensuality and twistedness and an amazing performance. My brother and I off to experience a PJ Harvey performance tomorrow at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.

She’s already performed in New York City at the launch of this tour, and this is what the critics have to say about her most recent tour:

Looking like one of the Brontë sisters in a white frock dress, the indie rocker, now almost 40 (!), performed a motley mix of songs to a reverential crowd at her only scheduled show on the East Coast.

Sans opening act and backing band, Harvey played a 90-minute set drawing from all parts of her discography, with a focus on her minimalist but likable new album, White Chalk. Despite some time out of the spotlight and, well, the effects of aging, her vocal range still filled every square inch of the venue, on songs like the erotic “This Is Love” and the startling “Down by the Water.”

Harvey moved around the stage, which was decorated with a few simple Christmas lights, alternately playing the guitar and funking around with amps, keyboards, cymbals, and even a maraca. (2004’s Uh Huh Her featured Harvey on every instrument, save for the drums.)

It’s gonna be quite an experience. The Orpheum Theatre is an elegant venue, and the audience is never too far from the stage. My brother and a few friends and I saw Ani Difranco perform there last year — it was intimate and beautiful. I probably won’t go as crazy as I did with recording the Bright Eyes concert at the Hollywood Bowl (videos here), but I may get a photo or two at the concert, which I’ll share, of course.

Photos from pretty damn close to the stage, at the Hollywood Bowl (Bright Eyes + LA Philharmonic, M Ward performing):

Above:  Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst) and M Ward performing “Smoke without Fire” – Hollywood Bowl.

Above:  M Ward performing at Hollywood Bowl

Above:  Setting up the LA Philharmonic after M Ward’s performance and before Bright Eyes’ performance with the orchestra

“Lime Tree” performed by Bright Eyes and the LA Philharmonic — the last song of the night before the encore.

Bright Eyes and the LA Philharmonic made saturday night’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl such an emotional and beautiful experience for my friends and I. It was an added bonus that our seats were 30 feet away from the stage at a venue that fits 18,000 people! I got some good video (especially given my location), though it was taken on a digital camera that’s getting a bit old (soon, soon, i’ll try to think about investing in a videocamera). We were so close that we could see and hear EVERYTHING — even Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes’ singer) hitting his cowboy boot’s heel on the ground. Got some good views of the beautiful man all night too :>

M Ward and Yo La Tengo opened up, and both were great performances. I’ve uploaded a whole ton of video (almost 1 gigabyte worth) to my YouTube account, i’ll share some more videos here in upcoming blog posts.

Yes Yes! At the beautiful hollywood bowl outdoors (bright eyes will be accompanied by the LA Philharmonic!). Let’s just say we (my brother, friends, and I) are sitting up in the Pool Circle area. Yes, that’s SO close that I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up playing drums on stage. Ha! Below are some fantastic videos of Bright Eyes, M Ward performing. Enjoy!

“At the Bottom of Everything” (Bright Eyes and M Ward performing together)

Beautiful music video for “At the Bottom of Everything”

“When the President Talks to God” (Bright Eyes on the Jay Leno Show)

“Right in the Head” (M Ward)

In Albuquerque this past weekend, I was awe-struck while observing community-building through celebrating and partying (at a super-fun fundraiser for my friend’s innovative clinic). My friend Catherine Jones, who’s from New Orleans and was in ABQ for the month, shared that that’s how folks in New Orleans do MOST of their community building and fundraising — through parties. So the email I received from the group Drinking Liberally LA reminded me of this conversation, and made me very very happy. Drinking Liberally is an informal gathering of local progressive-minded folks — once a month — with NO set agenda. You’re supposed to show up, drink if you want to, and have some good down-home community building conversations with others around issues that matter to you. It’s a brilliant concept (check out the Drinking Liberally website for a gathering near you!). I received the following email about an event happening tomorrow night in LA. Do come join if you can:

Dear friends,

This is an invitation to the Los Angeles premiere of “When the Saints Go Marching In” this Tuesday at 7pm — the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Robert Greenwald and Brave New Foundation will present an advocacy video for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, who — two years later — are still fighting for their homes.

Kim Hill, formerlly of the BlackEyed Peas, will emcee as local politicians, activists, Katrina evacuees and concerned citizens convene at Fais Do Do to watch the short film. You’ll hear testimony from Katrina survivors. experience surprise musical guests with a genuine New Orleans DJ spinning traditional jazz,consume libations, and sign a petition urging the Senate to pass the Gulf Coast Recovery Bill (S. 1668).

The event is FREE and open to the public (with great New Orleans
appetizers!)

WHAT: “When the Saints Go Marching In” Los Angeles Premiere
WHEN: Tuesday, August 28th 7PM
WHERE: Fais Do Do
5257 W. Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
(valet available)

Come mix it up New Orleans style with producer/director Robert Greenwald and other Brave New Foundation staff while supporting the Gulf Coast residents right to return. May that “laissez les bon temps roule” feeling return!

Warmest regards,
Jamiah Adams
Outreach Director, Brave New Foundation

You’re going to be moved by this one.

At the AFL-CIO democratic presidential candidate debate this past week, retired union member Steve Skvara asked a simple health care question of the candidates.  In response, he received a STANDING OVATION from thousands of audience members in the stadium.  This is phenomenal, it is amazing how front-and-center health care is in the peoples’ minds, during this election.  Check out the video:

And Mitt Romney was challeneged on health care while giving a stump speech in a restaurant, where he mentioned his desire to export “healthcare diplomacy” to other nations, and a waitress really prodded him on the american health care system.  Video below:

Exciting.  Also related, not to health care but to the use of these technologies — the CNN/YouTube republican presidential candidate debate is coming up (september 17th).  Thanks to Pop and Politics for sharing sharing two YouTube videos that americans have submittedthese two videos submitted by viewers — good, solid, hard-hitting questions:

I’m so absolutely fascinated by videoblogging, YouTube, and other video/audio technologies, and especially with their use in politics and health.

In the meantime, I’ll be participating in tomorrow’s Great LA Health Care Rally sponsored by OneCareNow and other organizations, in support of universal health care in California, and hope to post some video footage from that event!

[cross-posted at Cure This]

Today I saw most of the Visible Vote 08 democratic presidential candidate forum online, LIVE! Some thoughts:

• The Visible Vote 08 website is TIIIIIGHT! During the live debate, they had live blogging, good photos, rapid video summaries of the candidates who had spoken just minutes prior, the ability for anybody to comment on the debate, good streaming live video with wonderful sound, a vote for which presidential candidate you support most on LGBT issues, and right after the live debate they put together video clips from all the candidates. Sweet! Ok, probably VERY costly to put together, but nicely done.

• Who won the debate? Hands down, I’d have to say the moderators. HANDS DOWN. I don’t care how eloquent Obama was, how not-angry Mike Gravel seemed, how personable John Edwards was. Gotta give it to the moderators. Melissa Etheridge took the candidates to TASK — remember, this is the JOB of a moderator. She asked personal questions, she came back at a candidate and asked for more clarification on a question if the candidate averted the original question, and she was spontaneous and on POINT. I’ll say the SAME about the other two moderators — Joe Salomnese (HRC) and Jonathan Capehart (Washington Post). (the head moderator was also good — margaret carlson, former white house correspondent). This debate really made me think about the role of moderator. The questions were SPECIFIC, related to actual things each candidate did or said in the past, and oftentimes related the issues to broader issues that the candidates had to answer to. With the exception of a few questions, I found myself going “wow, great QUESTION!” after almost each one. Looking back, these moderators were all queer, all personally invested and politically invested in the issues discussed. Here’s a radical idea — what if we required moderators of all debates to be personally invested or at least politically invested in the issues (not like wolf blitzer or anderson cooper)? I guess that was partially the direction that the CNN/YouTube debate was going in, but the candidates ended up having too much leeway to direct the answer away from the question.

• I really really appreciate the fact that all these candidates showed up to the debate. This is historic. In so many ways. Just a point of contrast, not ONE single republican candidate has agreed to show for a similar debate. If you will recall, only 2 republican candidates (and not any of the major ones) agreed to a YouTube style debate (like the CNN/YouTube debate for the dem candidates) in September. Notice I titled this post “LGBT presidential candidate forum”. I didn’t mention dems or republicans. What’s the point, the republicans aren’t making themselves visible.

• Senator Obama. Smooth talking. Somewhat from the heart. Had some good things to say about homophobia in the black community, about his commitment to LGBT rights, but as always was slimy (talking around the issue) when it came to his support or non support of civil unions vs gay marriage. He won the debate online (got 34% of the online poll) but I think he’s mostly a smooth talker.

• John Edwards. Oh he’s my man. Have I mentioned I *heart* Edwards and feel he is the most electable? As always he spoke from the heart. Was honest about not supporting gay marriage but supporting civil unions. Also spoke passionately about homeless gay teens in los angeles and how he was moved by their stories (after his recent trip to the LA Gay and Lesbian Center). Brought it back to the tale of two americas. Diplomatically refuted a question Melissa Etheridge asked about him being uncomfortable around gay people (NOT true!). He stumbled a bit through the forum, which isn’t like him these days. I missed the dinner/reception he was having at a local LA restaurant because I thought i’d get out of work too late. Heard it was good, from a friend.

• Kucinich. Wow. Ok, not really electable, but I *heart* him too. Let’s just summarize his time by the moderator’s comments to him: Capehart: “Is there anything that the LGBT community wants that you ‘don’t’ support?” Etheridge: “I hope you always run for president until you win.” But the funniest — moderator: “Congressman, you are so evolved for a member of congress”. Kucinich gets #2 in the online poll on the visible vote website. Supports equal marriage rights for LGBT couples.

• Mike Gravel. Took some xanax before the show? He wasn’t his riled up self! He was the uncle I want to have dinner with and talk politics with. It was really refreshing to see him casual and confident and pleasant. He’s a great guy, hands down. Check out some of his videos on the Visible Vote 08 site, some GREAT quotes there. Supports equal marriage rights for LGBT couples.

• Bill Richardson. Bumbling. Slow talking. Brings things back to his record on voting, which is a good tactic. But hardly answers any questions directly. And when asked if homosexuality is a choice or otherwise, he right away answers with “it’s a choice!” He answers so quickly that the moderator has to ask the question again (maybe you didn’t understand the question) and gives background on people who think homosexuality is a choice that can be mended, fixed. I lose attention here as he drones on about how he’s not a scientist, etc. BLAH. Didn’t have an answer for what he’d do if given a bill in support of gay marriage. How is he still in the race?

• Hillary Clinton. She’s a robot, she knows exactly what to say and when! You’d think she WAS president for 8 years already (instead of her husband). Gotta give her kudos for all that. She’s got good energy, and had quick responses back to the moderators. BUT, she REALLY tripped up when she mentioned that her non-support for gay marriage is a personal position but didn’t give any backup for that. And then she had another moment when she tried to defend her belief that gay rights are really an issue that should be left up to the states. Moderator Solomnese came RIGHT back at her, recalling that racists used states rights arguments when fighting against federal civil rights in the 1960′s. BLAM! gotcha. (see above mentioned winner of forum — MODERATORS!)

Phew! more than I thought I’d say. Check out the videos (already all up online with sections for each candidate — go online team!) at Visible Vote 08. Also check out the reportback from thebrotherlove. We were using Twitter together, sharing thoughts on the forum online as it was streaming live. We’re such geeks!
Over and out…

UPDATE: Anil Kalhan alerted me to a solid criticism of the moderators’ specifically and only asking the black candidate (Obama) about black homophobia and generalizing black homophobia in the first place (the entire black community does not think the way the black homophobes do, so it’s kind of a faulty term).