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Latest Los Angeles Graffiti News

Graffiti vandal gets ride from NYC jail to Boston cell - Boston Herald

linked to tagging trains in Los Angeles, New York and London, is wanted on 21 charges of vandalism for causing $50,000 in damage to MBTA trains since 2005,according to T Police. “Graffiti is a total subculture.

L.A. County sheriff's officers arrest two suspected graffiti vandals - Los Angeles Times

Officers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Transit Bureau arrested two suspected graffiti vandals and are searching for a third suspect after serving search warrants Tuesday at their homes in Whittier ...

Famous LA Graffiti Artist Leaves Mark on Old Midtown Building - news9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Construction workers discovered something unusual while restoring an old building in Midtown. A famous graffiti artist from Los Angeles known as "XVALA" tagged the 99-year old building that is ...

Men accused of causing $300,000 worth of graffiti damage - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Lara was booked at the sheriff's Norwalk Station in lieu of $160,000 bail and Rivera was being held in lieu of $145,300 bail at the sheriff's East Los Angeles Station. All three were arraiged Thursday in Los Angeles ...

Graffiti documentary puts the ‘art’ in ‘street art’ - Daily Nebraskan

something that is called graffiti more often than not ... Guetta is a Frenchman living in Los Angeles when he discovers the beauty of street art while visiting his cousin, Space Invader, in Paris. It’s not long ...

On The Download: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - ‘Before Today’ - Access Hollywood

but Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’s biggest release yet has been a long time ... I know I’ve left my mark already,” the singer told the Los Angeles Times recently. “I know when somebody’s heard my music.

Food fight in Los Angeles - Financial Times

Meetings of the five-member Transportation Committee of the Los Angeles City Council tend to be ... truck with an eye-catching design that owed equal parts to LA’s graffiti art and custom-car tradition,

Documentary of Basquiat Opens at Real Art Ways - Hartford Courant

then working at a Los Angeles art gallery, struck up an acquaintance with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat ... and was nudged from graffiti artist to a full-fledged painter who could "paint with words" by curator and art ...

Chris Brown Hits No. 1, All Is Forgiven? - Entertainment Online

who recently received a thumb's-up from a Los Angeles judge as to the progress of his probation (he got five years' probation ... 2009's Graffiti , sold pretty crappily by Brown's previous standards, moving only ...

Colbert Urged to Counter Beck with ‘Truthiness’ Rally - EURweb

... his third album “Graffiti” in Dec. 2009 and it’s his lowest [...] *On Monday night, Aug. 30, the red carpet of the 20th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards at the Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles was a ...

Resolved Question: I want to move out of my crummy neighborhood, but feel really frustrated with a friend & neighbor, please help?

I live in an ugly, dirty, rough neighborhood. I have lived here for 4 years with my boyfriend. I hate it. I don't understand myself for staying because there is a lot of litter, graffiti, there have been some shootings, and we are not near anything convenient. There is something or someone, that if I move, I will cause some waves and I would like some advice. I have a neighbor who lives in my building who is a single dad with a special needs son. We are friends, however he does say one thing which makes me feel guilty and angry. He will tell me I am the only friend he has ever met in Los Angeles since he came here 30 years ago. He also will tell me that he doesn't know what he would do, if I moved. On one hand, I don't want to see what would happen if I did move. So I feel guilty. On the other hand, I feel really resentful because I know in my heart that I am completely unhappy about living in this neighborhood, and if he really were my friend, he would want to see me happy. How can I move past this situation? Why do I have such unhealthy guilt in regards to this situation? Thanks for your help! more

Resolved Question: What do you think City officials get cash, but illegal aliens gangs hold power Turf battles waged in L.A.?

BELL, Calif. | The gang graffiti that coats freeway overpasses, exit signs and the concrete banks of the Los Angeles River attests to a problem more alarming than the recent revelations of hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual salaries for public officials. Street gangs, a powerful prison gang known as the Mexican Mafia and even more powerful drug-trafficking organizations based in Mexico and Colombia operate freely in this small city and the similarly sized cities surrounding it. News reports in recent weeks have focused on three Bell city officials who resigned on July 26 amid revelations that they were being paid up to $800,000 per year in a city of 36,000 where the average annual household income is less than $40,000. California Attorney General Jerry Brown on Monday announced that he issued subpoenas to current and former members of Bell's city government, adding that his office also is investigating allegations of "possible illegal election conduct by Bell officials." But a central feature of life in Bell, and in neighboring cities Maywood and Cudahy — where city officials have engaged in their own turf battles in recent years and the politics can be as dangerous as the streets — is the presence and influence of criminal gangs. South and east about 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the scenery along Interstate 710 speaks to the density and roughness of this corner of the nation's most populous county. Power lines hover above shipping containers destined for the Port of Los Angeles, and beneath the freeway bungalows and mobile home parks are packed into a cluster of what are known as the Hub Cities. The Hub Cities once thrived as centers of manufacturing jobs, but as the auto industry left Los Angeles County and the immigrant population grew, the demographic shift brought a change in leadership in cities that had been run for decades by white bureaucrats who no longer were representative of the communities. Now most residents in these cities are working-class immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Many are in the United States illegally. Elected officials are second- or third-generation immigrants, often without much government or political experience. Local law-enforcement officials say at least four prominent gangs operate out of this area, their members tagging everything from street signs to city property. "Most of it gets cleaned, except for 18th Street," one detective wryly noted, referring to the markings of the 18th Street gang, the dominant gang in Cudahy. The 18th Street gang operates in 27 states and claims more than 30,000 members nationwide, according to the FBI's 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment. In California, roughly 80 percent of its members are illegal immigrants, the report states. Gang members are known to commit auto theft, drive-by shootings, gun trafficking, extortion and murder-for-hire. Story Continues →2-3-4-5 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/9/city-officials-get-cash-but-gangs-hold-power/ Just here for a better life ? Dream Act ? Amnesty ? more

Resolved Question: Is this picture worth a thousand words ?

After Thursday night’s NBA Finals, in which the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics, a large scale riot took place outside L.A.’s Staple Center. While the unrest was attributed to the actions of unruly fans, many of the rioters seem to have had another agenda. Many rioters could be seen carrying Mexican flags, just as we saw in the days-long violent protests in Phoenix, after Arizona passed a new crackdown on illegal aliens. Several small fires were set, bottles and rocks were thrown at police officers, stores were damaged and looted, and countless car windows were shattered in the melee. The violent crowd even smashed the windows of the YMCA at 11th and Olive, and tagged the building in graffiti. While the mainstream press is always happy to report on senseless violence, they are more than reluctant to do so when that violence is committed in the name of illegal alien ‘rights,’ as was the case with the violence committed in Phoenix. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-35821-Immigration-Reform-Examiner~y2010m6d19-A-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words more

Resolved Question: Did some gringo do this?

The following was a letter to the editor of the LA Times. Hector, I can't believe that a major metropolitan paper like the LA Times would publish drivel like your distortion-laden column I had the misfortune to read today. The citizens of Arizona passed a law that makes it necessary to prove you are in their state LEGALLY. They are tired of paying TWO BILLION taxpayer dollars a year in medical and educational benefits to people in their state ILLEGALLY. They are tired of the Mexican drug traffickers, kidnappings (389 last year), traffic accidents, and crime caused by ILLEGAL immigrants in their state. They are tired of citizens of a foreign country overcrowding and bankrupting their emergency rooms and schools. They have the ABSOLUTE RIGHT to defend their state when the federal government fails to do so just like I have the right to put three hollow-points in the chest of the guy who's trying to kick in my front door when the cops don't show up. It has been the law in this country since 1940 that foreign nationals be able to produce proof that they are here LEGALLY by way of visa, green card, etc. This "Produce your papers" and the allusions to Nazi Germany is a bunch of dishonest claptrap. If you took time to read the Arizona law (assuming you can read English) you would see that police officers may only inquire as to an individual’s immigration status in the course of a "legal contact". The problem with you and Mexicans like you is the fact that you have this sense of entitlement that you can enter OUR COUNTRY as you please. You come from a culture and a country with no respect for the law or the rule of law. The United States is a sovereign nation with the ABSOLUTE RIGHT to decide who does and does not enter our country. What amuses me the most is the fact that if our illegal immigration problem was due to the influx of SWEDES, you wouldn't have written ONE WORD in the defense of their rights? It is only because they are Hispanics like you that you leap to their defense. I find it ironic that you are truer to your Hispanic roots than you are to your American citizenship, especially since the Hispanic culture is a broke-dick, busted-ass, ignorant-ass, uneducated, going-nowhere culture and has been for the last 500 years, and in all likelihood, will be for the NEXT 500 years. When I moved to California in 1969, Los Angeles was a clean prosperous city. Now it's broke under the weight of massive entitlements. Now we need concertina wire to protect our freeway signs from Hispano-moron graffiti "artists'. What an enlightened culture you come from that believes that vandalizing another’s property is an art form. Over 400 California families have lost loved ones to ILLEGAL immigrant murderers. 40% of the criminals incarcerated in our prisons at CALIFORNIA TAXPAYER EXPENSE, are ILLEGAL immigrants. Thank you so much for our overcrowded ERs, schools and freeways. Thanks also for the gangs and the drive-by shootings. In all fairness though, I like the tacos. If I want to enter Mexico, France, England, Germany or ANY country on this earth, I need to produce a passport to do so. It's THEIR COUNTRY and I need to ask permission to do so. HOW DARE you and your brethren think that they have some God-given right to flout our laws and come into our country of their own accord. You and people like you are the textbook example of why the fewer Mexicans we have in our country, the better our country will be. We manage to produce a steady supply of home-grown idiots on our own, thank very much (Exhibit A - Obama) Good luck with your boycotts and your protests. Just remember amigo, 70% of the people in Arizona and 65% of Americans LOVE this law. Every time you put together thousands of protesters, you piss off MILLIONS of people like me. Hasta la vista, baby Tom Edwards more

Resolved Question: What should the title be I need the title now because I am going to make a series!!!??!!?

I need a title to the book I am creating. Its about girl who goes through her mom and dads divorce her dad dies and she has to live with her mom thats a prostitute and a druggie. Heres part of the first book and the beginning but the beginning still needs some changes please just help with the title nothing else:I walked in the room to see my mother crying and my dads piercing red face. I didn’t suspect anything wrong I just thought they had just finished there daily playing around I quietly snuck out the room so they couldn’t notice. I had to walk to school. I passed walls covered in graffiti and guys who kept staring at my ass and making rude comments about how I am curvy. I was used to this because I was in New York for crying out loud. I arrived at Martinsburg High. This was the worst school you could possibly go to in New York. The teachers had sex in the teachers lounge, and the kids had school on lock down at least 9 times a week and we only go to school for 5 days. “ Yo, Tess what’s up?” Some dude said. I didn’t know who he was but he sure know who I was. I unlocked my locker as he caught up to me. I should’ve known what was going to come out his mouth. “Tess will you come over to my place tonight?” He asked me with a smirk on his face. All guys thought i was a slut because i am always wearing shorts and tank tops that are to small. But I can help my breast are a C cup while the other stuck up bitches are stuffing there bra just to become a B cup. “No I will not come over to your house, what do you think I’m a slut?” I asked this boy that seemed like he only has had one girlfriend, and he’s a Junior, “ I don’t date weak guys” I finished saying as I squeezed his arm to see if he had muscle. I grabbed my stuff out my locker and ran to my class before i was declared late. I don’t want to be sent to the detention hall again. The day went by fast, I couldn’t wait to stop by my friend Alexis’s house. I believe she skipped school today so she could hangout with her boyfriend, Max. He doesn’t go her anymore cause he got kicked out. He was my ex but she can date that douche bag. Alexis’s house was just two blocks away from mine. I knocked on the door and waited for about 5 minutes for Elizabeth to tell me to come in her window where she was at. I slipped through the tight window and stood there to see Max kissing all over Alexis. “Yall sure do love to fucking kiss don’t ya? Why didn’t you come to school I hope it wasn’t to hang out with this douche? I said to Alexis. “No I’m…Ill tell you in the living room.” Alexis said as she motioned me to go now. I rushed into the living room as Alexis followed. “I’m pregnant!” Alexis mentioned. I was in shock. She was really pregnant by my ex, the douche bag. I couldn’t believe this. She began crying so I grabbed her hand and gave her hug and whispered in her ear, “Is the baby Max’s?” “Yes I’m pretty sure. I have to tell him but i don’t know how.” She explained to me. “Just go in there and tell him!” I said to her in a firm voice. We walked back into her room. She was still in tears. I had to go to my house. I arrived at my house and I saw few boxes and a suitcase sitting by the door. My mom was sitting on the couch crying. “Whose leaving?” I asked in a confused state. “Me and your dad are getting a divorce.” My mother told, I couldn’t help but cry. “What the hell did you do mom?” I asked. “It wasn’t me it was him, he cheated on me! And he’s moving to Los Angeles.” My mom said. I ran to the back to see my dad packing all of his things. This was actually happening, I couldn’t do anything about it either. He was leaving and this meant I had to have a split life one at my dads all the way in California and one in New York. more

Resolved Question: Teen book help? I this good?

Is this book good? What should I change? Please give me all the comments and anything you want me to add or take out. I walked in the room to see my mother crying and my dads piercing red face. I didn’t suspect anything wrong I just thought they had just finished there daily playing around I quietly snuck out the room so they couldn’t notice. I had to walk to school. I passed walls covered in graffiti and guys who kept staring at my ass and making rude comments about how I am curvy. I was used to this because I was in New York for crying out loud. I arrived at Martinsburg High. This was the worst school you could possibly go to in New York. The teachers had sex in the teachers lounge, and the kids had school on lock down at least 9 times a week and we only go to school for 5 days. “ Yo, Tess what’s up?” Some dude said. I didn’t know who he was but he sure know who I was. I unlocked my locker as he caught up to me. I should’ve known what was going to come out his mouth. “Tess will you come over to my place tonight?” He asked me with a smirk on his face. All guys thought i was a slut because i am always wearing shorts and tank tops that are to small. But I can help my breast are a C cup while the other stuck up bitches are stuffing there bra just to become a B cup. “No I will not come over to your house, what do you think I’m a slut?” I asked this boy that seemed like he only has had one girlfriend, and he’s a Junior, “ I don’t date weak guys” I finished saying as I squeezed his arm to see if he had muscle. I grabbed my stuff out my locker and ran to my class before i was declared late. I don’t want to be sent to the detention hall again. The day went by fast, I couldn’t wait to stop by my friend Alexis’s house. I believe she skipped school today so she could hangout with her boyfriend, Max. He doesn’t go her anymore cause he got kicked out. He was my ex but she can date that douche bag. Alexis’s house was just two blocks away from mine. I knocked on the door and waited for about 5 minutes for Elizabeth to tell me to come in her window where she was at. I slipped through the tight window and stood there to see Max kissing all over Alexis. “Yall sure do love to fucking kiss don’t ya? Why didn’t you come to school I hope it wasn’t to hang out with this douche? I said to Alexis. “No I’m…Ill tell you in the living room.” Alexis said as she motioned me to go now. I rushed into the living room as Alexis followed. “I’m pregnant!” Alexis mentioned. I was in shock. She was really pregnant by my ex, the douche bag. I couldn’t believe this. She began crying so I grabbed her hand and gave her hug and whispered in her ear, “Is the baby Max’s?” “Yes I’m pretty sure. I have to tell him but i don’t know how.” She explained to me. “Just go in there and tell him!” I said to her in a firm voice. We walked back into her room. She was still in tears. I had to go to my house. I arrived at my house and I saw few boxes and a suitcase sitting by the door. My mom was sitting on the couch crying. “Whose leaving?” I asked in a confused state. “Me and your dad are getting a divorce.” My mother told, I couldn’t help but cry. “What the hell did you do mom?” I asked. “It wasn’t me it was him, he cheated on me! And he’s moving to Los Angeles.” My mom said. I ran to the back to see my dad packing all of his things. This was actually happening, I couldn’t do anything about it either. He was leaving and this meant I had to have a split life one at my dads all the way in California and one in New York.And what should title be? Thanks in advance to all that answer.Yeah. I going to put Alexis's pregnancy towards the middle or like when Tess actually decides to live with her dad.Yea im going to change it a bit and elizabeth the name was supposed to be Alexis but I didnt catch that it still said Elizabeth.5 days out of the week they go to school! So the school gets on lock down more than once a day :P more

Resolved Question: Where are the nice graffiti walls in Los Angeles to take pictures at?

Someone once told me that the Art District in downtown LA had graffiti walls but I can't find how to get there. If you also know any meadows, dirt roads, or a place with a lot of green grass here in Los Angeles please let me know. Thank you! more

Resolved Question: Why is Phoenix now the number two kidnapping capital of the world?

"Phoenix Number Two Kidnapping Capital as Drug Cartel Wars Intensify" http://www.drugaddictiontreatment.com/addiction-news/drug-crimes/phoenix-number-two-kidnapping-capital-as-drug-cartel-wars-intensify/ Horrible images of kidnap victims tortured and held for ransom have long been the norm in Mexico, the number one kidnapping capital of the world. There, judges, police officers and others are targeted by the Mexican drug cartels and abductions are as common as graffiti-marked buildings. But the kidnapping problem has spilled over to the United States, specifically to Phoenix, Arizona. America’s fifth largest city, Phoenix has a population of 1.6 million people, and covers an area of 517 square miles (larger than Los Angeles). The threat is ever-present on Phoenix streets – and has been since 2005 when the metro area gained the dubious distinction of America’s kidnapping capital. With its numbers right behind Mexico, Phoenix is the number two kidnapping capital of the world. Numbers Tell the Story The kidnapping problem in Phoenix, however, as widely reported by various news agencies in the past year, involves victims who are either illegal aliens or connected to the drug trade. Some officials have commented that all the Phoenix kidnappings are connected to illegal immigration but that the actual numbers (359 in 2007, a 10-year high, 366 in 2008, and 302 for the first 11 months of 2009) account for just one-third of the reported kidnappings taking place in the metropolitan area. People are just not reporting all the kidnappings. The situation has gotten so bad that the fear is anyone who looks like they have money is in danger of being kidnapped. According to news stories, ransoms have ranged from $30,000 to $1 million. Some have even included demands for large drug loads. An L.A. Times story in February 2009 quoted Phoenix police saying that most every victim and suspect is connected to the drug smuggling world, usually tracing back to the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Phoenix police say many come from the Sinaloan towns of Guasave, Leyva, and Los Mochis. more

Resolved Question: Barbados Gangs. Watch urself!?

I dunno how many of you got this email but i found it very interesting and decided to share. PTA MEETING – MARCH 24th 2010 Allan Goodridge – PC 720 – Royal Barbados Police Force  Most gangs are well organised and operate by a particular code  The “wannabees” are the most dangerous as they are trying to prove themselves worthy of joining gang. These are the ones who would shoot or kill someone at random to prove how violent they are.  Most of the problems with gang members originate in the home i.e. lack of parental controls, rejection, lack of cooperation. Main Gangs Operating In Barbados (Other Minor Ones) Gang Origin Gang Colour Bloods Los Angeles Red Crips Los Angeles Blue Black Mobs Chicago OutLawz New York Panty Pudding Girls Local 313 Harlem Empire Harlem MS 13 South America Jamaican Posse New York, Miami , Jamaica  Some gangs practising voodoo/ demon possession  School girls becoming possessed (Minor gang known as “Gothics”)  Teacher at Springer School reprimanding 13 year old girl (whose voice was normally quite low keyed) and suddenly girl’s eyes staring and speaking in a deep male voice  Girls from My Lords Hill (Minor gang known as “Celebrities”) believe that they will become vampires. Wear all black, shave eye brows off and repaint them in black, draw fang marks on their faces  Some gangs use soft shoes as symbol e.g. BK shoes, normally known as British Knights but now used as “Blood Killers”  Roderick O’Brien Mayers aka OB, Leader of Bloods, deported from USA, deemed a menace to society in USA, sleeps with 4 body guards at the 4 corners of his house  Gang members wear scares, hats, beads as evidence of gang membership. Beads are worn and the longer the beads the higher the rank. Initiation  Burn 3 marks in the form of a triangle on back of right or left shoulder – this is known as the Dog Paw  Males are “beat-in”- surrounded by a group of gang members and each person delivers a vicious beating  Girls are “sex –in “– unprotected sex with at least 5/6 gang members. Some school girls reported missing on a Friday and then showing up on a Monday /Tuesday would have been initiated by “sex-in” during the weekend.  Potential new members required to kill someone at random, kill a rival gang member ( Bloods and Crips hate each other), commit a crime. Going to jail for such acts ensures certain bragging rights , respect in and out of Dodds and rise in influence in gang.  Each gang has a type of alphabet code which is disclosed to members. Some codes that children use while on the Internet o POS – Parent over shoulder o PORS- Parent over right shoulder  Drug /Gang Lords paying light bills, buying school shoes etc to ensure loyalty in a particular district. Panty Pudding Girls  All Girls Gang  Lesbianism (call each other “cuz”)  No underwear  Involved in Skin Out competitions – Club Extreme on Tuesday nights/other locations  Unprotected sex  Used by other gangs as bait to draw out rival gang members for execution e.g. guy killed by Central Bank recently was meeting a Panty Pudding Girl for sex but this was setup.  Guyanese girl used to draw “Tone” out of his house, he was executed using the 5 shot execution (both hands, both feet and head) and then his hands were cut off  Movada/ Vybz Kartel both came out of the 313 Harlem Empire Gang  Jay Z is connected with the said 313 Harlem Empire Gang. MS 13  MS 13 has been described by national Geographic as “world’s most dangerous gang”  Hang out in River Bus Stand and Fairchild Street Bus stands  Mostly Guyanese Recruits  Very vicious, extreme methods of exacting revenge. Hands, head cut off, abduction, torture, execution, house burnt down etc.  Gangs in almost every secondary school  Harrison College gang meets in Queens Park, including some former students.  Graffiti on walls tell stories about crimes (e.g. Nickname of gang member X, picture of a gun with bullets coming out of the nozzle and name of other person Y means that gang member X shot Y)  Some locations with Graffiti are initiation spots  Gangs have certain hand signals and postures which are recognisable only to gang membersBP - Hmm gang banging.......i seeeeeeee :p more

Resolved Question: What are some legal types of street art?

What are some legal types of street art in Los Angeles County? Other than light graffiti. more

Resolved Question: where to find graffiti art supplies in northeast Los Angeles?

Resolved Question: PLEASE HELP! Just contested a parking ticket, but should I still pay?

I recieved a parking ticket 20 days ago & it says I must pay it within 21 days of recieving the ticket. I believe it was wrong since the parking sign was hardly readable due to graffiti & there were many other cars that got tickets too. Anyway I just contested it, but should I still pay since my 21 days will be up tonight? Will I get reimbursed if my contest goes through? By the way I got the ticket in Los Angeles if that makes a difference. more

Voting Question: I am looking for good graffiti art in Los Angeles?

I am doing a photo shoot and am looking for some good graffiti art and their locations. It can be anything from general tagging to murals. more

Resolved Question: Is chris brown having a graffiti tour? If yes when does it come to los angeles?

Resolved Question: Is it true "graffiti" didn't really exist in the US until the 70's & 80's?

Let me just make one thing clear -- obviously there has been "graffiti" on walls/property for thousands of years. My uncle wrote his name in the sidewalk in the 1960's and it's still there. In the 1950's I'm sure kids wrote "Tom Loves Susan" on trees or benches. What I'm referring to is the graffiti we see today -- spray paint on overpasses, big bubble letters on freeway walls, billboards, rooftops, buses, all over the place... or graffiti "crews" -- groups of 20-30 kids that write all over the place. That didn't exist prior to the 80's and 70's. My dad grew up in Los Angeles, and he said he didn't start seeing widespread graffiti until the late 70's to early 80's. But in the 60's & 50's when he was growing up, he rarely saw it. And this was true for most of the US. I'm only referring to the US because that's all I'm aware of. I'm sure it was similar in Europe, Canada, Japan, etc. So, how come widespread spray can graffiti came about all of a sudden (70's, 80's, 90's, 00's), but didn't exist in the decades before then? more

Resolved Question: What album should I buy next?

Here's what I have now: Aerosmith: Aerosmith, Get Your Wings Alice in Chains: Music Bank Black Sabbath: Paranoid Cage the Elephant: Cage the Elephant Chevelle: Sci-Fi Crimes, Wonder What's Next Days of the New: I, II, III Eddie Vedder: Into the Wild Godsmack: Good Times, Bad Times Jane's Addiction: Nothing's Shocking Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy, I, II, III, IV, Physical Graffiti, The Song Remains the Same Metallica: Kill 'em All Mother Love Bone: Mother Love Bone Muse: The Resistance Pearl Jam: Backspacer, Ten Radiohead: OK Computer Rage Against the Machine: Rage Against the Machine, The Battle of Los Angeles Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magik Seether: Disclaimer II, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces, Karma and Effect Soundgarden: Badmotorfinger, Superunknown Stone Temple Pilots: Core, Purple System of a Down: Toxicity Temple of the Dog: Temple of the Dog Tool: Aenima, Lateralus, Opiate, Salival, Undertow, 10,000 Days I'm one of the few young folks who actually buy their music via albums. Hence, my relatively small music library. Based on what I have now, what would be a good 5-8 albums to introduce to my library next? I usually go for the most bang for the buck albums, in case you hadn't noticed, and I don't like compilation albums too much. They leave out a lot of good stuff. So yeah, any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks! more

Resolved Question: Los Angeles or New York?and why?

i pick L.A. cause that where alots good graffiti artist are and best place. more

Resolved Question: Los Angeles legal graffiti spots?

Are there any spots in LA County, or near it (OC, Rancho, San Bernadino) that you dont need a permit to spray paint or paint on? more

Resolved Question: What comes to your mind when you think of Ronald Reagan?

"Reagan's response to the 1981-1982 recession, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, was to declare ketchup a vegetable, release federal cheese surpluses, and shackle the strike leaders of the air traffic control union hand and foot and lead them off to jail. My most pronounced memories of the Reagan years are the three hour cheese line and the German care packages to unemployed workers in Detroit. In the first two years of the Reagan administration, his policy was a forced economic recession and de- industrialization of the United Stated. He cut federal low income housing funds by 84%; his tax cuts for the rich, his �trickle-on� the poor and working class economics ended up tripling all previously existing U.S. government debt. So, when I think of the Reagan legacy, I think of urban decay, crack, homelessness, racism, rampant corporatism and the destruction of the American dream. Amidst the growing homelessness and despair, I remember seeing graffiti all over inner-city Detroit that simply said: �Ronald Wilson Reagan 666.� Reagan�s policies so marked him as �the beast� in Detroit, blue-collar workers actually cheered when he was shot. The hottest song on underground radio was �Hinckley had a Vision.� The song�s refrain, �He knew, he knew.� When the mainstream media was analyzing Reagan's legacy and actively participating in the mythologizing of the 40th president, they conveniently ignored volumes of work by mainstream reporters. Wall Street Journal reporter Jane Mayer and Los Angeles Times reporter Doyle McManus documented Reagan's diminishing mental capacity" (http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0617-06.htm) This is exactly how I remember old Ronnie, and his addled Alshiemers mind. Distributing crack to all the Union workers that he forced out of jobs. more

Resolved Question: is reverse graffiti illegal in Los Angeles, ca?

based on the answer i got, i'm not sure everyone knows what "reverse graffiti" is. it's the process of CLEANING dirt and grime off of walls/tunnels/etc and leaving an image made of the clean area. this image may be a tree or a flower or anything. you leave a clean space amongst the grime. more

Resolved Question: Help me analyze this NYTimes Bob Herbert article!?

Op-Ed Columnist Behind the Laughter comments (245) E-Mail Send To Phone Print Share Close By BOB HERBERT Published: October 12, 2009 Conan O’Brien has been making some pretty rough jokes about Newark, which has led to a (mostly) mock feud between the late-night host and Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Bob Herbert Readers' Comments Readers shared their thoughts on this article. Read All Comments (245) » O’Brien joked that the mayor was establishing a program to improve the health of the city’s residents, then deadpanned: “The health care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark.” He did a video bit in which he praised the city’s “thriving arts scene” (while showing a graffiti-scarred wall); its “four-star lodging” (shots of abandoned, gutted, rusting vehicles); and its “world-class live theater” (a peep show). He threatened to form an alliance with the mayors of nearby municipalities, thus “creating a geographic toilet seat around the city of Newark,” making it possible to flush the city down the figurative bowl. The mayor came up with his own YouTube videos in response and, believe it or not, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton weighed in at one point as a mock peace negotiator. Conan seems like a nice fellow, and I doubt that he harbors any malice toward Newark. But he and his audience are having fun taunting a city that, like many others across the U.S., is in a desperately tragic situation: poverty-stricken, run down, often unsafe, its children and teenagers in too many instances going nowhere fast. Whether it’s Newark, Detroit, parts of Chicago, South-Central Los Angeles, Camden, N.J. — take your pick — we’ve looked the other way for decades as the residents of hard-core inner-city neighborhoods struggled with overwhelming, life-threatening problems and a chronic shortage of resources, financial and otherwise. We’re having an intense national debate over whether to move ahead with nation-building in Afghanistan and to continue protecting the population in places like Kabul and Kandahar while all but ignoring the violence that is consuming the lives of boys and girls in Chicago, America’s third-largest city. Dozens of boys and girls of school-age and younger are murdered in Chicago every year. One hundred were killed there last year, according to the police. The blood of the young is spattered daily on the stoops, sidewalks and streets of American cities from coast to coast, and we won’t even take notice unless, *******for example, we can engage in the ghoulish delight of watching the murder played over and over again on video.******* In Newark, where some of the streets do look as bad as the scenes that were part of Conan’s comedy bit, the unemployment rate is 14.7 percent. Keeping kids in high school long enough to graduate is difficult. Drug dealing is a fallback employment option for men and boys who can’t find legitimate work. Other cities have the same problems, some to a greater degree. So what are we doing? While mulling the prospect of sending up to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, we’ve stood idly by, mute as a stone, as school districts across the nation have bounced 40,000 teachers out of their jobs over the past year. That should tell you all you need to know about twisted national priorities. Even as teachers by the tens of thousands are walking the plank to unemployment, we’re learning, as The Times reported last week, that one in every 10 young male dropouts is locked up in jail or juvenile detention. As if that weren’t gruesome enough, we find that the figure for blacks is one in four. What would it take to get the perpetual crisis facing these young people onto the radar screens of the rest of America? Conan was just trying to be funny, but the reality behind his late-night humor is horrifying. In Detroit, the median sale price of a house has hovered around $8,000. Seventy percent of all murders in the Motor City go unsolved. Joblessness is off the charts. The school system is a catastrophe. I remember driving around Camden, which is right outside of Philadelphia, on a rainy afternoon. Young people with nothing to do — they had dropped out of school and had little or no chance of finding a job — were gathered on porches, saying little, staring the hours away. I had on a suit and was driving a nice car. More than one person that I approached thought I was either buying or selling drugs. The inner cities have been in a recession for decades. They’re in a depression now. Myriad issues desperately need to be addressed: employment, education, the foreclosure crisis, crime, alcohol and drug abuse, health care (including mental health treatment and counseling), child care for working parents and on and on and on. Conan’s jokes would carry a silver lining if they could somehow prompt more people to think more seriously about what’s really going on in cities like Newark. Can someone explain what He more

Resolved Question: Why is it so many Fundamentist Christians simply don't believe in World Overpopulaton?

We have six billion people. We have WAY too many people. You don't think so, come to Los Angeles. The place was overrun by 2 million illegal aliens and now nothing works. Anytime you hop on the Freeway, it's a traffic jam. Anytime you go to the emergency room, it's a five hour wait, while all the illegals use the emergency room as their free clinic. Go to the library? All computers taken. Take a bus? Crowded to the gills, with graffiti and all the seats ripped up and destroyed. Schools? 30% of the kids speak Spanish as the first language. Ask me if that effects what level you teach on. When I was a kid, you could go shooting guns a 20 minute drive from Los Angeles. Now you have to drive two and a half hours into the high desert to find a place that doesn't have housing tracts. The school I teach at had cows a few blocks away in 1989 according to an older teacher. Now you have a twenty minute wait in a mile long parking lot of a line just to get on the 210 freeway. It is a living nightmare of a hell of too many people. Yet every time I say there are too many people, some happy Fundamentalist tells me they have six kids and they drive a 350 horsepower SUV, they use 50 gallons of gasoline a week, and the world is just fine. Why is this related to Christian Fundamentalism? Why do they think this way?Most of the unihabited part of the Earth is uninhabited because no one can live there enonomically.You think 6 billion peopel could live in Texas? Texas has 20 million people. California has 36 million. Texas couldn't support the population of California. If it could, it would.Keep in Mind that Texas has 16 million people less that California, and 200,000 more people that California on food stamps. Texas can barely take care of its own.I think it is because people don't live by a seaport. I live in Los Angeles, the second largest port in America. I SEE how many ships have to come in to sustain our lifestyle. more

Resolved Question: Is Barcelona a Modern City?

I've seen pictures of it and it looks like there's a lot of old buildings, like in dirty alleyways and stuff like that, graffiti, is it anything like London, Sydney, Los Angeles etc or is it really old fashioned? more

Resolved Question: Guys: what do you think of a girl....?

im a 14 year old girl and i want to dress up as a guy this halloween...what do you think? more ideas? -baggy jeans -white oversized t-shit that says, "Man, SHUT UP!" in graffiti letters -an oversized blue jacket that has white and dark blue los angeles all over -a silver chain -another silver chain with a money sign on it -a ring that has 3 dollar sign -a wig (blond hair, like bruno's hair) -a gold tooth -gonna wear my bro's cologne -and idk about a bandana around my head? good or no? more ideas? more

Resolved Question: need help finding a place to Volunteer?

does anyone know where i can volunteer in the Los Angeles area, i have to do community service. and are there any programs that do work like cleaning up parks, removing graffiti, or any type of programs where i can volunteer more

Resolved Question: Did anybody else see this Los Angeles cops take on notorious Mexican Mafia street gang?

LOS ANGELES – A notorious street gang accused of terrorizing a neighborhood for years and killing a sheriff's deputy was the target of a coordinated assault by hundreds of law enforcement officials Tuesday. Local police working with federal agents carried out a string of early-morning raids seeking key members of the Avenues street gang, a long-standing group that claims as its territory a swath of northeast Los Angeles. About 90 suspects were named in a massive federal racketeering indictment detailing criminal activity spanning more than a decade. Officers in full body armor were seen at dawn Tuesday at a blocked-off staging area at the Dodger Stadium parking lot, where suspects were being processed at a portable booking area as media helicopters hovered overhead. Scores of search warrants were served at 4 a.m. from Los Angeles to Kern County, and all the suspects were quickly rounded up, said Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz. Within hours, several tattooed, shirtless men in handcuffs populated the parking lot. There is "ironclad evidence of the crimes," Diaz said at the staging area. "Our goal is to ... move these people out, occupy this community and support the law abiding people that deserve to live in dignity here." Aside from murdering rivals, dealing drugs, graffiti tagging and other gang crimes, the gang is accused of making threats and carrying out acts of violence against police officers, culminating in two attacks that rocked the law enforcement community last year. The first of these, in February 2008, saw Avenues gang members open fire with handguns and an AK-47 on Los Angeles police officers. Police shot back, killing 20-year-old Daniel Leon and injuring another man. Then on Aug. 2, 2008, off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Juan Escalante was shot dead in front of his parents' home in the Cypress Park neighborhood northeast of downtown. Even before the killing, authorities were investigating the Avenues, but his death increased the urgency of the operation. Earlier this year, police charged three men in Escalante's death and a fourth suspect remains at large. The indictment details several possible motives for the murder. Carlos Velasquez, one of the men accused of killing the deputy, was heard in a wire-tapped telephone conversation telling another Avenues gang member that he killed Escalante in retribution for the death of Leon, nicknamed "Clever." "Clever took one with him," the indictment states Velasquez said. The 222-page indictment also alleges Avenues members posted inflammatory remarks on Web sites, including "Avenidas don't get chased by the cops. We chase them," and, "Avenidas don't just hurt people. We kill them." Members of the largely Hispanic gang would also spray paint racist threats around neighborhoods to intimidate black people, according to prosecutors. "This indictment attacks a criminal organization that has terrorized a community for generations," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Brunwin, the lead prosecutor in the case. "With all of the information collected over the past year, we assembled an indictment that led to dozens of arrests this morning and will make a significant difference in the neighborhoods in northeastern Los Angeles." Tuesday's operation marks an ongoing focus on the Avenues gang, which gets its name from a series of streets running through the area. In June 2008, another federal indictment took aim at the Drew Street clique of the gang. Prosecutors said Drew Street was the most active and violent clique within the Avenues and it produced significant drug-sale revenues for the Mexican Mafia, a prison-based gang that oversees much of Southern California's street gang activity. That investigation resulted in the arrest of several of the clique's alleged leaders. Afterward, Mexican Mafia leaders attempted to re-organize the Avenues' presence in northeast Los Angeles by ending the clique rivalries within the gang and naming new Avenue leaders, Tuesday's indictment states. Though incarcerated, Mexican Mafia leaders are able to communicate with street gangs through conversations on cell phones that are smuggled into prisons, as well as by passing folded notes to visitors. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090922/ap_on_re_us/us_gang_raid more

Resolved Question: Are there any Art schools in middle georgia, i live in Macon, Georgia?

I live in macon and i need to know if there is any art schools. I came from Los angeles and i got into graffiti and now im good at it and want a career in it and in order to do that i need art classes more

Resolved Question: Hispanic Born Americans and legal residents, request your input(s)?

Illegal immigrants...please don't answer this question: Do any of you feel cringe when you see a massive amount of our social problems associated with illegals in this country. Overcrowded prisons, welfare/food stamps for illegals, health care, gangs, graffiti, crime, drugs-wars, our schools dumbed down(regardless of how much $$$$$ we throw at the problem), massive illiteracy, and a host of other financial liabilities due to the roughly 20,000,000 illegals in America. A lot of us have been sold the ruse that illegals are the only ones willing to do certain jobs. I don;t believe for a second that Americans are incapable of rolling up their sleeves to do a job, but I do know that corporate America LOVES slave labor, since with no overtime, vacations, 401(K), health care, etc, it's a win situation the grease balls running major corps)such as Wal-Mart. As an immigrant myself, who put myself through school(and graduated from university), I have to shake my head at what was once the beautiful City of Los Angeles that now resembles a 3rd world country, which is now trashed with garbage all over our streets and hwy's, smell's like garbage downtown, and just ghetto-land/mentality everywhere. You thoughts?Sorry Gringo...were NOT responsible for what goes on in the Middle East beyond our national interests(OIL!) more

Resolved Question: does anybody know graffiti store in los angeles?

Resolved Question: how are art classes good for children?

i am studying about graffiti in my college class. whether its vandalism or art. but i live in california and the question is how would the city of Los Angeles would address the problem? Since i am going to write about how graffiti is art, i need to back up my opinion and i need to know how how is art important for children's education. Also how is the economy affecting art programs or after school programs in California. if you think graffiti is vandalism and how could the city of Los Angeles should address this problem please let me know. thank you :) more

Resolved Question: Where can I get a professional graffiti artist around los angeles?

I wanna get my name with some quotes around it on my bedroom wall. How much do you think it is to do it? And where can I find one? Please help (:Btw, I dont live in LA, I live near it. Dont joke, please. Serious answers. more

Resolved Question: Why is there sooo... much graffiti in Los Angeles, CA & who are these taggers?

My family & I are vacationing in Pasadena, CA. When we drive into LA for the day, we IMMEDIATELY notice the blatant graffiti, especially on the freeways, why is this? It looks absolutely horrific! Some of the markings are soo... high up, I wonder how these people got up there. Who has the energy & nerve to do such things? What is the mayor/governor doing about this? I'm sure it's an ongoing fight! more

Resolved Question: What can represent the Los Angeles community?

I'm doing a project and I need 5 photos the represent the Los Angeles, California comunnity. If you do not know Los angeles, its kinda like new york. PLEASE PLEASE i need 5 things that represent L.A. i have one. A beautiful flower that is covered in dirt. Why? Because the flower is the community and the dirt is how ugly it turns out because of gangs and graffiti. I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE only answer if you have something. Make sure it's creative and good. If you want to say STUPID STUFF THEN GET THE FUK OUT. If you are helping, thank you SO much. :) THANKS! more

Voting Question: Which city has better graffiti, L.A. or N.Y.C.?

I personally think L.A., although graffiti did originate in NY I feel Los Angeles really heightened it to the extremes. What do you think? more

Resolved Question: What is there to do in Los Angeles, CA?

I'm a multi-cultured girl. From TX. Love music, reading juxtapoz, art, anything of the urban and rock genres. I've never been to California, although i've dreamed about going since a young age after falling head over heels for the band Deftones. My little brother is 16 and having neither parents, i try to feed him everything i know. From art, underground hip-hop, cars, music, scenes, graffiti. He not only eats it up like candy, but he's grown a deep respect for that of which he's never encountered in our small town lives. We are taking a road trip to Cali , just big sister and little brother, before the government cuts off our oxygen supplies (not litterally, but you know..)and i want it to be the most MEMORABLE experience he's ever had. I know i'll enjoy myself but i want to make sure he can enjoy it all too. Any help would be great. I'm really confused. more

Resolved Question: Where can Banksy's graffiti art be found in Los Angeles? Actual real locations in their original form. Thx?

Resolved Question: I need interesting topics that have ANYTHING to do with American history/culture that I can use in a report?

Literally anything. I just have to be able to write a persuasive essay about it. It could be about ice cream, if I could find enough info for a 10-page paper. The only rule is that it has to have had some sort of effect on American culture and life. Here are the topics I have so far: Censorship Book banning Influential music movements (jazz, Beatlemania, grunge, etc.) Gay marriage Endangered species protection Plastic "soup" in the Pacific Racism in modern America Nutrition (food additives, fast food, etc.) Cutting of funds for education (history, art, music courses, etc.) Increasing college costs Street art (graffiti, stickers, etc.) vs. vandalism Public colleges vs. Ivy League colleges Political activism (Hippe movement, WTO riots, Battle of Los Angeles, etc.) Sweatshops (high clothing prices and little manufacturing costs)I feel very strongly about the censorship, gay marriage, education funding and other more controversial topics, but I really want to make this essay interesting. People hear the pro-gay marriage arguments all the time, but they don't tend to hear the pro-graffiti arguments, you know? more

Resolved Question: Is it legal to go into the Los Angeles River to take pictures of the graffiti?

Resolved Question: Why would someone want to live in Los Angeles?

-Traffic -A lot of billboards in the sky -Graffiti -I hear a police siren everyday -Houses are close together -Rent/Houses are expensive I'm just wondering why anyone would want to live in LA?And its HOT all the time... more

Resolved Question: 8 "miracle" kids brought into poverty...what should we cheer for?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090131/ap_on_re_us/octuplets Here in Los Angeles, we pump more $$/per student than anywhere else in the country in the Public School system, yet we have greater than a 50% drop out rate. I wonder which culture embraces 19th-Century 3rd world mentality, in a 21st Century world? When I see our once beautiful Los Angeles peppered by graffiti, trash everywhere, ghetto-bling-macho mentality and shooting of 5-years old is a daily occurrence...welcome to the new "America", we sure can be proud of... A figure released by the Department of Justice states 80% of crimes committed in the United States is gang-related. Lot's of new prisons being build in our state...and jobs being created by social service's to help people too screwed up for life. But oh, yes, isn't the Govt paying for this, not you and me?(rolls eyes) Your thoughts?, please. more

Resolved Question: Any malls that have what i am looking for?

in the los angeles area, do u know of any malls that have booths or stores that you can customize your own graffiti hat, with like your name and they like spray paint it on there? i have been looking for a mall but i can not find more

Resolved Question: Where can I find a place in Raleigh where its legal to do Graffiti?

I have the crazy idea to take my boyfriend to a place where he can practice graffiti..but since I just moved to Raleigh I was wondering if there is any place where I could take him...He grown up in Los Angeles,CA and he its really good at it..and since I love art I think it will be a good way to spend time together..so please help me more

Resolved Question: Where can I find a place in Raleigh that its legal to do Graffiti?

Resolved Question: Custom embroidery in Los Angeles?

I want to get towels embroidered in a graffiti font! more

Resolved Question: How do I become involved with graffiti removal groups and Beach Clean up in Los Angeles or surrounding areas?

Hey all! I have wanted to help with graffiti removal for some time now, as well as become a part of beach clean up organizations, and I have found much difficulty closing in on these groups. I have googled it without much luck. Any ideas out there? more

Resolved Question: What Hip Hop Albums Have The Best Graffiti Album Covers?What Graffiti Crews Have The Most Fame In Your City?

For Example (Album Covers): Temple Of Hip Hop Kulture http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00002DEIW/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music Method Man-4:21...The Day After http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000FVBKWG/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0 For Example(Graffiti Crews Or 1ers): Los Angeles KOG http://www.50mmlosangeles.com/artist.php?artistId=3145 CBS http://www.50mmlosangeles.com/artist.php?artistId=595 ESTO http://www.50mmlosangeles.com/artist.php?artistId=629 BLACK http://www.50mmlosangeles.com/artist.php?artistId=3749 MSK http://www.50mmlosangeles.com/artist.php?artistId=2586 USC http://www.50mmlosangeles.com/artist.php?artistId=943 It Could Be Past Or Present. more

Resolved Question: Is Obama more hype than hope?

There seems to be this big "movement" of change happening today and I am asking for your opinion as to whether you think it's real or not. Example: I travel up to Los Angeles for school and work and everyone there seems to be in love with Obama. There's stores selling T-Shirts, graffiti art of him as Superman on the sides of buildings but then I go back home in Orange County and there's nothing that would make you think people favored one over the other. I do think that Obama supporters seem to be more vocal in person and through the media. So is it that McCain supporters aren't that loud? or evenly represented? If you conducted a Poll in Los Angeles it would look like Obama would win in a landslide but a Poll in OC might lean towards McCain. So what I'm asking is.. Do you think that all the hype around Obama is real? Or do you think on Election Day we will find out this race is even closer than we may think? and PLEASE!!! no useless ranting more

Resolved Question: MANUEL PADILLA JR. . . . . Does anyone know how he died?

Manuel Padilla Jr. was a beloved child actor who played the part of Jai in the Tarzan series, and also played in the Flying Nun Series. He also played many other parts in movies and television. As a young adult he also played the part of Carlos, the gang member in the movie, American Graffiti He also played the almost identical part in an episode of the 1970's television show, "Happy Days". Manuel Padilla Jr. known as BooBoo to his close friends and family was born on Sunday, May 13, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. He had mostly retired from acting but was still making ooccasional appearances at Celebrity events and sometimes in custom car shows. He died suddenly on Monday, January 28, 2008 in Pomona, California shortly after making an appearance at the Grand National Roadster Show at the Pomona Fairgrounds. Does anyone know the exact cause of death? Was it due to natural causes such as a stroke or heart attack? Or was it something else? more

Resolved Question: Where can i find great graffiti in L.A.?

I'm a photographer and really want to find some great street art in the Los Angeles area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! more

Resolved Question: can you help me with a story?

writing a short story and if anyone has any suggestions on what should happen next please send them. thanks. I staggered over to Juan Grigorio for the last of part of my initiation. Thirteen punches from thirteen members are how I would finally get into the gang. It is how I would finally have a family. I could taste the blood on my lips. The fog condensed in my head. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, waiting for me to fall to the ground. My life depended on this moment. I needed these people, because there was no one else for me. The last set of punches began. I couldn’t even feel them anymore. The last thing is remember from that night was the man who just beat me senseless, other wise known as “The Boss”, telling me that I was in. I was in MS-13 for life. Living where I do, it was no surprise to me that I would end up in MS-13. In the streets of Los Angeles either you are in a gang or you make sure that you never cross paths with them. My mom and I live in an apartment by ourselves. As far as a father goes, I never had one and it never bothered me because my mom and I were okay. At least that is what we try to make everyone think. The truth is she is addicted to crystal-meth. Since she is high all the time it is up to me to take care of us. Cooking our meals, working to pay the bills, and cleaning up the vomit from when she gets to high. At the age of sixteen I have taken on the role of mother in our house. To the rest of the world I am Eliana Hernandez, another Honduran trying to survive in LA. In the streets, I am known as Hoopz because I can beat any boy who likes to run his mouth on the court. When I was younger I remember watching the guys from my new family hustle other people from rival gangs, beat them up for walking in their direction, and even kill them for whistling at the women who were considered MS-13 property. I did not always approve of what they did, but since I was kid with no one to care for me I wanted a family. I wanted them because I knew that they would have my back no matter what. Juan “The Boss” Grigorio always took a special interest in me. Asking me to get candy or soda from the gas station down the street for them is how I came to know him and the family. They looked out for me even though I was not an official member yet. The protection increased after I became a member. “You are part of the family now. If you go anywhere there should always be someone with you. If the cops ever try to question you keep your mouth shut,” Juan said to me the day after my initiation. These were the two rules that I had to live by. I looked around to see everyone in the set sitting in chairs around me. We were sitting in the safe house which was decorated with graffiti of our gang symbols and pictures of the leaders who came before us. The rest of the members were here to celebrate my admission. There were four twelve packs of beer on the counter, and I could smell the smoke from the joints that Raul and Lorenzo were smoking on the couch. Life was one big party to us. We had no problems because we always got what we wanted, whether it was given to us or we had to take it. The next thing I knew Daddy Yankee was busting through the speakers of the stereo. I got up with the rest of my family and started dancing. While I was dancing I noticed that José Morales was staring at me. Jose was Juan’s right hand man and took care of a lot of business for the family. He was an athletic twenty year old who taught me everything I knew about basketball. The University of Southern California gave him a full scholarship, but his knee gave out during his freshman season and he ended up back in the streets. I looked at him watching me. His muscular arms folded across his broad chest and the mousse in his hair glistened in the light. A toothpick dangled from his mouth. His chiseled jaw matched his tough guy look perfectly. Since José has come back from USC we had been closer than ever and I could not help but have some romantic feelings for him. I knew Juan might disapprove of this because my feeling might get in the way of business so I kept them to myself. By the look on his face I knew that something was up so I made my way over to the wall he was leaning against. “So what’s the deal? Did something happen? I am family now so you have to tell me,” I said to him. He smirked at me and looked away. Disappointed I moved in front of his and made his eyes meet mine. His green eyes were normally intense and piercing but that day they were worried and a bit sad. I knew something had to be wrong because José was always had everything under control. I was not about to just give u p on one of my best friends. Besides, after one hundred sixty-nine punches, I think I earned my right to know what was going on so I held my ground. He looked at me softly, took my hands, and led me to the back room were the leaders gathered to discuss important matters. He sat down in his chair and buried is head in his hands. I had never seen him so stressed. Finally, after five minutes of silence he began to explain. more