This weekend there will be Sobriety and Driver’s License Checkpoints 

on Friday, 10/9/09 in Hollywood 

and Saturday 10/10/09 in North HollywoodPlease use caution when going out this weekend, especially if yuo plan on being in these areas!

This week there’s a lot jumping off in LA… but first we want to tell you about a new editorial on our site about the LA City Council’s ban on new fast food development in South Los Angeles.

Slow Down Fast Food .. read it and join our site to leave a comment!

HAPPENING THIS WEEK

10/6

Dim Mak Tuesdays @ Cinespace - Hollywood

 Pearl Jam Concert – Universal City

10/7

Taste of Downtown – Downtown LA

City of Inglewood Planning and Commissions Meeting – Inglewood

Mucho Wednesdays – Downtown LA

10/8

Artwalk – Downtown LA

RAW: Natural Artists presents NEW BLOOD – Downtown LA

LA Harambee Farmer’s Market – Crenshaw

Chocolate - Pasadena

There will also be TWO SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS this weekend in LA that we’ll post to the Bliznog as they approach..

but you can always visit PLUG LIFE for more info now.. as well as join and add YOUR events to our calendar and to be included in our socket to the scene!

So Im working on this feature about the Harambee Farmer’s Market, in the mostly black LA neighborhood of Crenshaw, which led me to Merced, Ca. HOW, you ask? Well- The Farmer’s Market on Crenshaw and Slauson features the produce of one sole farmer, Larry Williamson, of Los Angeles. Though his farm is located in Merced, 4 hrs away, Williamson still lives and works in LA.

I visited his farm for my story on the Harambee market because I am fascinated at how healthy eating options in the black community don’t last long wither due to availability or visibility. This trip opened my eyes to just how accessible good produce is to black folks. Not only does Williamson make his crops available for purchase every saturday WITHIN the community, he offers them at competitive rates.

At the farm, we talked about institutional barriers within the agriculture industry that make it hard for farmers to survive, as well as the heightened access to foreign produce, imported from nations with looser pesticides restrictions than the US..

Williamson is also the first farmer in California to grow TEFF, a grain indigenous to Eastern Africa, that has been more scarce lately because of a massive water shortage. He hopes that by growing this staple food crop, he can also help people in the global community, as well as the black community.

Overall, Williamson stressed that even though the people need him more than he needs the people, he is dedicated himself to serving the community fresh produce and hopes he is still alive when folks realize his importance.

He was a bit long winded, so I have a lot of audio to go through. While I do that, check out the photos I took on his farm!

Today I posted an article in response to LAPDs arrest of a rioter/looter, months after their 2009 NBA finals victory, using social sites, like Flickr.
CAMERAS WERE SHOOTING YOU LOOTING

I am curious as to how they are able to make the link using the web 2.0… And even more curious to see how/if this plays out in court.

ALSO! A bunch of events have been added to the calendar at Plug Life | Events

Tonight tho… Wild Wednesdays Urban Comedy Experience is happening downtown for free! It is a good room for comedy, especially if you don’t like door charges and purchase minimums that exist at other clubs. I’ve played there and the room is great for both performers and spectators!

Tomorrow, I meet with our graphic designers, the folks at Untangled Solutions to work out some issues with the site, like how events can’t repeat and don’t have end time, for example. I’ll also be working on some little suprises on the site, so stay plugged in. Of course, if you notice anything wrong with the site or your ability to comfortably use it, email us ” PlugLife’s Email

Don’t forget to Follow Us On Twitter

But I would soon find out I wasn’t the only one irritated by this Jerk movement, sparked by rap duo The New Boyz radio hit, “You’re a Jerk.” On September 11, a producer who works with the Pack played me an unreleased track, titled “Swagger Jackers” by the Pack, calling out the New Boyz on their unoriginality. While I haven’t been able to get a hold of the track (it’s actually a cool song), I did stumble upon this madness on YouTube, confirming that there is a situation between these two camps:

Apparently, Stunnaman of the Pack is spearheading the anti-jerk movement. My sources tell me he has called out the New Boyz in all sorts of media, and in person in their hometown of Victorville, Ca in real “King Kong” fashion, but after watching this, I wonder if it’s really worth the hassle. Sure, the Boyz might have imitated the Pack some. I was always told that “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery,” meaning these guys were probably fans of the Pack at one time. These folks should be getting together on tour or something more constructive that will help BOTH groups do well in the current hip-hop arena (where they both don’t command much respect from older listeners).

Too Short, who was instrumental in the success of The Pack, inspired countless artists who emulated his “out of the trunk” sales model as a part of their record label strategy. If Too Short took issue with anyone who sold music out of their car, or said the B-Word like him, he would be at odds with an entire industry. That is to say, everybody borrowed a bit from Too Short, but he welcomed it because he must have known that nothing beats an original.

My sources tell me that The Pack has moved to LA to record their next album. At the rate this fairly new “beef” is cooking, however, there might be a tragedy before there is a celebration. I plan on uncovering the real issues between these ctas and trying to see if there isn’t some common level of respect between these camps who, as I said before, should be touring together. Or at least telling the story..

Here’s Lil B of the Pack’s diss song towards the New Boyz

Also, here is our JERKIN story on PRX

Yes- I was back on the bus!.. When I first moved here to LA, I relied heavily on the Metro bus system to get from point A to B. But now, after being the master of my own chariot for several months, I was quite reluctant to just get on the bus.

“How am I supposed to plug into the scene from the bus?,” I asked myself. “Getting around in traffic is annoying enough, now I have to get in traffic with 30 other folks!”

Catching the Metro downtown:
I caught the Metro 42 downtown to go to work. My normal commute of 25 minutes was doubled to about 50, thanks to my new transportation method; a little bit of bus, a little bit of strut. Getting back home to Ladera Heights that night, however, would prove to be more challenging. I arrived near the same bus stop that drooped me off earlier that day, thinking that because the sign at the stop included the #42, I would simply have to wait there for it to be on my way. 2 hrs and several non-42 buses later, I would find out that this was incorrect. “After a certain time, the 42 doesn’t run downtown,” an operator of the fourth #40 I’ve seen informed me, “you have to catch it on Crenshaw and Stocker!” I asked the driver if this bus gets me to that intersection (only two stops away from the stop nearest to my home). She informed that not only does she make that trip, she didn’t have all night to make it, so I rushed myself onto the 40.

I asked when the 42 stops operating downtown, and you would have thought I asked the driver some personal tax questions. “I don’t know!,” the driver said to me dismissively. I was so pissed off at her, it took everything within me not to express my irritation with her attitude. I, instead sarcastically apologized for bothering her with such silly questions.
Finally, at 10:45pm, I ended my 3hr.,nerve-wrecking return to public transportation.

Days and several bus rides later, I am waaay to ready to get back on the road. Metro service is slow and the drivers are rude, at best. For many, this statement is like saying, “The grass is green and sky is blue.”

What isn’t being said is how this commitment to poor service can effect the condition of road safety as well as harmful emissions into the Eco-system. With service like Metro’s, I can see why a large number of motorists risk driving unlicensed and uninsured. I also can see why people will still waste energy on short trips. Metro, and its poor service, are the enemies of clean air and safe roads.

What do you think?

JOIN PLUG LIFE!

I thought this would make a great radio story. “A black farmer’s market that goes unnoticed by it’s target demographic; black folks, suffer high rates of diebetes and hypertension due to poor diets.” Etea Robinson, the merchant operates the produce booth, offering fresh grapes, okra, watermelon, and corn, among other things. She is a former school teacher who told me that she believes poor diet also “causes some of the violence that we experience in the black community.” It makes sense that someone would do great harm with a stomach full of cheetos, or whatever.

Upon my trip back to the market, there was a live band playing.. So it seems this place just became a hidden treasure… Hopefully not for long!
Harambee Farmer’s Market

If you haven’t noticed, This activity on this blog has been pretty non existant as of late. That is because We have launched our public beta site, Plug Life dot Org.. check us out and sign up to post any events you are excited about happening in Los Angeles County.  Right now, we’ve got to go socket to the scene! but Join us!

Stay tuned here for updates from King Anyi, the site’s founder, for a behind the scenes glimpse into the development and evolution of Plug Life!

but join up and plug in http://www.pluglife.org

The week is still new, you should celebrate it by plugging yourself into some good fun! These events are in Hollywood and right near each other, if you really want to have an adventure..

If you’re into wine and FREE live jazz, the Hollywood and Highland Center and KJAZZ 88.1 FM are having their 6th annual Wine, Jazz and Moonlight series.
Enjoy some of the country’s top jazz performers 7 to 9pm in the Central Courtyard of Hollywood and Highland Center(6801 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028). The event is FREE to the public, but a wine tasting donation of $10 to Project Angel Food gets you two glasses of wine and a box of cheese and crackers to enjoy during the performance. Yes, you should set up that hot date.. do it NOW! (Ah-nold voice)

If you want to party a little harder, Dim Mak‘s weekly Tuesday throwdowns a Cinespace are always the livest party of the week. The way these guys get busy on a Tuesday will makes you want to party with extreme caution on the weekends; It’s WILD! for starter, the venue is serving up free vodka until 11pm, so get in before then and get double fisted. It’s $5 before 11pm with an RSVP.. do it b4 6pm!..email names to PARTYLINE@DIMMAK.COM Do it NOW!

maybe you don’t want to party at all. Maybe you want to enjoy a quiet movie. Well the Cinemaniacs are screening and discussing Batman Begins tonight at the LA Film School. The screening is FREE to the public when you RSVP to DDAVIS@LAFILM.COM. 6363 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028 @ 8PM

This comes to you from Public Radio Makers Quest 2.0, an initiative of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, Incorporated. This project is made possible with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Prices are creeping up on u.. again… It is for that very reason that you don’t want to pass by the gas stations above when you see them.  And you definitely want to steer clear of the stations below!.. Pennies saved= Dollars earned.. It all adds up!