May 30, 2006
In South Central Los Angeles, there stands a place of great beauty: one of the largest community-tended gardens in the world. The garden, located at 41st and Alameda, has been tended to and cared for by the people of the South Central Los Angeles community since 1992. However, the garden’s longevity has recently been threatened by potential sale of the land on which it resides.
The land on which this garden sits is zoned for commercial use and has recently been offered up for sale to Wal-Mart for use as a distribution center. The property has been embroiled in a bitter land dispute between the farmers and the land owner and the land owner is pressing to sell the land to Wal-Mart which, inevitably, will turn South Central Los Angeles into a distribution hub for Wal-Mart. However, there is a way to protect and preserve the garden and keep it open to the residents: to purchase the land.
As of this email, $11,000,000.00+ has been raised, $5M of that in the last week, to purchase the land and keep the garden from being wrestled away by Wal-Mart and their developers. The fundraising has been spearheaded by Julia Butterfly, a well-known environmental activist, and is supported by an impressive list of public donors including Darryl Hannah, Ben Harper, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Morello, and Ron Kovic. They are only around $5M short of their goal of $16M, an amount that the developer has agreed to accept for sale of the land.
If you or anyone you know would be willing to make a donation to preserve this precious natural resource of the South Central Los Angeles community, please have them go to the website or contact me via email discuss matching contributions of any amount. The company I work for, Sarathan Records, has made a substantial donation towards the purchase price of the land. If you can help, please do.
If you’d like more information on the South Central Farmers Feeding Families, the website is at http://www.southcentralfarmers.org
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May 29, 2006
I know I’ve been hinting around some big changes, and now I can safely make this announcement to my friends and fellow readers. As of Tuesday, I will be employed full-time as the Internet/New Media Consultant for Sarathan Records. Sarathan is an independent label based in Seattle with a small but powerful roster of current and new releases forthcoming, including DVDs from the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players and the Heavenly States, a feature-length documentary about Lamont Dozier (of the famed Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team), and CDs from Shane Bartell, Two Loons For Tea, the Airpushers (two members of Black Eyed Peas band), and others. I am proud to have been invited to work with this up-and-coming label and look forward to seeing where things lead for us both.
Come check out Sarathan Records on MySpace and keep your eyes peeled for changes as they come about.
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My friend George has just returned from nearly 1.5 years in Japan. I’d like to write something about how he’s doing great and how he’s at the top of his game, but I just can’t. He definitely has a story to tell, but I am worried that he will be too lazy to actually take the time to write about it — having a Japanese gangster girlfriend, running nightclubs for Ethiopians, getting his jaw split in three places by a psycopathic Yakuza after getting caught in the middle of a loan dispute — and all before reaching the age of 23. While his jaw is wired shut recovering from maxillary surgery for the next six weeks, I hope he looks at this post about once a day and remembers to sit down and start writing about how a nice kid of above-average intelligence from a good home in Memphis can wake up to find himself halfway around the world caught in the underbelly of Japanese nightlife and culture. If he won’t write about it, someone probably should. I’m glad you’re home, G.
Now write the book.
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May 27, 2006
May 26, 2006
Regardless to anything you may have heard to the contrary, I’m not hiding, I’m fine and I think most of you know that. However, a number of you have called and emailed wondering why I haven’t exactly been hanging out trying to be “Johnny on the spot” the last few weeks, and an explanation is certainly due.
My life happened, and it’s a damn good thing it did.
First of all, to anyone who I haven’t intentionally blown off, I apologize. To anyone I have, I don’t. To everyone else, the answer is forthcoming and I think you’ll be as pleased with the answer as I was shocked to receive the news. I can say that feel extremely fortunate to be both taken seriously and to be paid what I’m actually worth to do something that I am experienced in doing. That’s as far as I can go with the big announcement until next week, but it means big changes and opportunities for several of the folks in my life.
Stay tuned and I’ll fill you in. I guarantee you’ll hear it here first.
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NOTE: This show has been postponed due to a booking conflict.
May 18, 2006
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Seating is limited!
Dorothy K. Hohenberg Auditorium
For more information call 544.6208 or e-mail diane.jalfon@brooksmuseum.org
 THIS SUNDAY, MAY 21 | 2 pm
Film: Two Soldiers
Exclusive Screening with C. Robert Holloway, production designer for the film
39 minutes
Free with museum admission!
Based on a short story by William Faulkner, Two Soldiers is a heart-warming story about two poor Mississippi brothers, one only a kid, the other old enough to volunteer for the war effort shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The younger brother doesn’t want to let his older brother go, and he sets out on a quest to enlist in the Army himself. With excellent cinematography and creative artistry, Two Soldiers evocatively captures the feeling of the country during this period.
Have lunch at the Brushmark before the film! For lunch reservations call 544.6225
Mark your calendar!
Undiscovered Gems on Tuesdays
A series of monthly films
The Brooks Museum is pleased to be launching “indieWIRE: Undiscovered Gems,” a series of monthly films presented in association with the New York Times and the California Film Institute. These films are chosen from indieWIRE’s annual list of the top 15 films from major festivals around the world that have yet to find a theatrical distributor.
The museum will screen one film per month from indieWIRE’s annual list of top festival picks. Look for these Undiscovered Gems on the last Tuesday of every month through November, 2006.
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TUESDAY, MAY 30 | 7 pm
Film: Puffy Chair
A film by Jay and Mark Duplass
Not Rated, 1 hour 25 minutes
$5 Brooks members, $7 Not-yet members
Seating is limited, purchase your tickets today!
Call 544.6208 or e-mail diane.jalfon@brooksmuseum.org
Josh’s life is pretty much a mess. He’s a failed NYC indie rocker, and a failing booking agent. He decides to purchase a 1985 Lazy Boy on eBay, just like the one his dad had when Josh was a kid. The plan is to drive cross-country, pick up the chair, and deliver it to his father as a surprise birthday gift. But when his friend Rhett ends up coming along for the ride, and an ex-girlfriend joins along the way, the van suddenly seems way too small.
“Disarmingly sweet and consistently funny; it’s insightful, unpredictable and unexpectedly poignant. In other words: it’s a low-budget winner.” –Efilmcritic.com
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Events subject to change. Click here for a complete calendar of events.
Credit lines: Brook image - bottom
Copyright 1990 Jeffrey Jacobs/Mims Studio
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