Part of the Community
I got up early this morning so I could make it down to USC for the LANI (Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative) Community Forum. I know about LANI because they manage one of the BIDs in Los Angeles that is part of the BID Consortium and so I met Monica there who works for LANI and she is so nice. I had been invited to the forum before but this was my first time attending.
As soon as I got there, I ran into people I knew, including a friend from the City Clerk's Office and one from the Office of Community Beautification. So I sat down with the latter for the free breakfast and the keynote speaker, who was Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries. Now, you all probably know how I normally feel about people with religious titles affixed to their names, but this guy was really inspirational. His company helps former gang members become productive members of society, getting jobs and educations. He had a lot of really wise things to say about how without kinship, there is no community or no peace and that you can't think of "us vs. them" if you want your community to work - it needs to just be "us."
The first seminar I went to was about converting corner markets - convenience stores - into markets with fresh produce and healthy foods. There are areas in Los Angeles known as "Food Deserts" where the availability of real foods (not packaged stuff like chips, candy and soda) is rare or difficult to reach. These areas are usually low-income and the people who live there often walk to the corner markets to buy their food, and there is little or no healthy options there. So, some organizations have been working to convert these stores so that they offer vegetables, fruits, and other healthy options as well as educating the community on how to cook and use the vegetables. It was really inspiring. Unfortunately, I didn't think I could probably apply it within the Media District since we have several grocery stores around us but to a smaller scale, I think it would be good to try to encourage people to cook and use fresh produce, and to try to get the convenience stores we do have to offer better choices.
After that we had lunch and I sat with a guy who knew one of my former board members so we talked about that, and development in Hollywood. When I was finished eating, I saw one of my other former board members, Jim and his wife Dorothy, so I went over and talked to them.
The afternoon seminar I went to was about Gridlock and ways that different organizations are coming together to look at ways to reduce traffic in Los Angeles. It was very informative and interesting. In a weird coincident, I recognized the names of one of the panelists and it took me awhile to figure out that she had called me a few years ago asking some questions about Business Improvement Districts. I talked to her afterwards and she was so surprised that I remembered her from that phone call years ago.
I went back to the office for what was left of the day and then we had boot camp afterward at Runyon Canyon.
We had to hurry home and shower after that so we could make it downtown to the Art Walk. Robin was having an exhibition as a fundraiser for his Leukemia/Lymphoma Iron Man Triathlon, which I had already donated to but wanted to support the event. Dylan even bid on a photograph, but he was outbid and didn't want to go any higher. Many of our friends ended up there, including Tiger and Luther who both had donated pieces for the show, and Brandon, Angie, Marc, Viktor, and some guys/gals from boot camp. I had three glasses of wine, which was the first drinks I had had since I started boot camp.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 132
"Hysteria" by The Human League, cassette tape. As I mentioned yesterday, "Hysteria" was the first Human League album I ever bought and I remember at the time being disappointed because I didn't recognize any of the songs. The lead single, "The Lebanon," was not played on the radio in Kansas or MTV, most likely due to the fact that it was very guitar-heavy and didn't sound like the Human League, and also because back then - as now - bands come and go out of the spotlight so quickly. It's funny to think that Dare was such a huge, world-wide best selling album and then hardly anyone here in the states paid any attention to the follow just a few short years later. Anyway, this album has a strange feel to it that's difficult to get into, but there are definitely some good songs on here. I always loved the photograph in the inside artwork, which was supposedly taken in Phil's house.
As soon as I got there, I ran into people I knew, including a friend from the City Clerk's Office and one from the Office of Community Beautification. So I sat down with the latter for the free breakfast and the keynote speaker, who was Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries. Now, you all probably know how I normally feel about people with religious titles affixed to their names, but this guy was really inspirational. His company helps former gang members become productive members of society, getting jobs and educations. He had a lot of really wise things to say about how without kinship, there is no community or no peace and that you can't think of "us vs. them" if you want your community to work - it needs to just be "us."
The first seminar I went to was about converting corner markets - convenience stores - into markets with fresh produce and healthy foods. There are areas in Los Angeles known as "Food Deserts" where the availability of real foods (not packaged stuff like chips, candy and soda) is rare or difficult to reach. These areas are usually low-income and the people who live there often walk to the corner markets to buy their food, and there is little or no healthy options there. So, some organizations have been working to convert these stores so that they offer vegetables, fruits, and other healthy options as well as educating the community on how to cook and use the vegetables. It was really inspiring. Unfortunately, I didn't think I could probably apply it within the Media District since we have several grocery stores around us but to a smaller scale, I think it would be good to try to encourage people to cook and use fresh produce, and to try to get the convenience stores we do have to offer better choices.
After that we had lunch and I sat with a guy who knew one of my former board members so we talked about that, and development in Hollywood. When I was finished eating, I saw one of my other former board members, Jim and his wife Dorothy, so I went over and talked to them.
The afternoon seminar I went to was about Gridlock and ways that different organizations are coming together to look at ways to reduce traffic in Los Angeles. It was very informative and interesting. In a weird coincident, I recognized the names of one of the panelists and it took me awhile to figure out that she had called me a few years ago asking some questions about Business Improvement Districts. I talked to her afterwards and she was so surprised that I remembered her from that phone call years ago.
I went back to the office for what was left of the day and then we had boot camp afterward at Runyon Canyon.
We had to hurry home and shower after that so we could make it downtown to the Art Walk. Robin was having an exhibition as a fundraiser for his Leukemia/Lymphoma Iron Man Triathlon, which I had already donated to but wanted to support the event. Dylan even bid on a photograph, but he was outbid and didn't want to go any higher. Many of our friends ended up there, including Tiger and Luther who both had donated pieces for the show, and Brandon, Angie, Marc, Viktor, and some guys/gals from boot camp. I had three glasses of wine, which was the first drinks I had had since I started boot camp.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 132
"Hysteria" by The Human League, cassette tape. As I mentioned yesterday, "Hysteria" was the first Human League album I ever bought and I remember at the time being disappointed because I didn't recognize any of the songs. The lead single, "The Lebanon," was not played on the radio in Kansas or MTV, most likely due to the fact that it was very guitar-heavy and didn't sound like the Human League, and also because back then - as now - bands come and go out of the spotlight so quickly. It's funny to think that Dare was such a huge, world-wide best selling album and then hardly anyone here in the states paid any attention to the follow just a few short years later. Anyway, this album has a strange feel to it that's difficult to get into, but there are definitely some good songs on here. I always loved the photograph in the inside artwork, which was supposedly taken in Phil's house.
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