The pride of Long Beach, Snoop D-O-Double-Gizzle has a new way to connect with fans– via a Tom Tom GPS unit. Even if you hot box your car, Snoop will stay in control and know exactly where to go…

Pepper’s World, a hand-painted mural by Saber in DTLA. More at jetsetgraffiti.com.

Detail. Click for larger version.

Detail. Click it to see larger.

“The World’s Shortest Railway” has re-opened after nine years of repairs and restructuring after a fatal accident. Above and below, historic pictures of Angel’s Flight from the UCLA archives.

1962

1955

Teen King of the 80’s, member of “The Coreys”, fast-liver and Hollywood reclamation project Corey Haim has died at the age of 38 in what is being described as a possible accidental overdose. The AP has more:

Haim had flulike symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications, Police Sgt. William Mann said. The cause of death is unknown, Mann said.

“He could have succumbed to whatever (illness) he had or it could have been drugs. Who knows?” Mann said. “He has had a drug problem in the past.”

Haim was taken by ambulance to the hospital from an apartment in Los Angeles near Burbank. The enormous complex is known as Oakwood and is popular with young actors, Kammert said.

Haim acknowledged his struggle with drug abuse to The Sun in 2004.

“I was working on Lost Boys when I smoked my first joint,” he told the British tabloid.

“I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack,” he said.

Haim said he went into rehabilitation and was put on prescription drugs. He took both stimulants and sedatives such as Valium.

“I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day.”

“The Coreys” in 1989

March 13, 2010

In yet another example of how dangerous it can be to walk in LA, The AP reports:

A Swedish hip-hop artist who ran down and killed a man at a Hollywood crosswalk was sentenced Thursday to 15 years to life in state prison. David Moses Jassy, who also uses the name Dave Monopoly, was sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court for the Nov. 23, 2008, death of John Osnes.

Judge Michael Johnson denied defense motions for a new trial and to reduce Jassy’s second-degree murder conviction to manslaughter.

“In my mind, there is no question that this is a murder” and Jassy “deserves every bit of punishment,” the judge said.

Defense attorney Alec Rose said he planned to appeal the sentence.

Osnes, a 55-year-old musician and pedestrian activist, banged on the hood of Jassy’s rented sport utility vehicle after it nearly struck him in a Hollywood crosswalk, prosecutors said.

Jassy got out, punched Osnes in the face and then gave him a brutal kick in the head as he bent to pick up his glasses so that he toppled to the ground, prosecutors said.

Dr. Jeffrey Pilcher, proud practitioner of the taco lifestyle, and one of the nation’s top taco experts has spent a lifetime researching and sampling Mexican and other Latin American cuisines. All the while, he’s been documenting taco innovations and compiling them in a forthcoming book that is sure to be a big hit in the taco community. Currently a professor at the University of Minnesota, Pilcher graciously agreed to an interview with TACO.

TACO: What are the earliest known origins of the taco?

Dr. Jeffrey Pilcher: Well, if you consider the taco as just a corn tortilla with something in it, then the origins surely go back fifteen hundred years, to the pyramids of Teotihuacan, where construction workers munched tortillas and beans. But if you’re asking, what have people actually called tacos, the story becomes more interesting. Basically, there are various theories on the origins of the word taco. Some people think it comes from indigenous words, but if you want actually documentary evidence, the term dates back no further than 1891. That’s right, 1891. Manuel Payno’s novel, Bandidos de Rio Frio, is the first definitive use of the word taco. And an interesting use it is, if you want to check it out. Of course, he didn’t invent the term. He just picked it up from street slang. So where did the term really come from? My research indicates that it was first used by miners in Real del Monte, a silver mine northeast of Mexico City, in the late 18th century. And what was this first taco? Appropriately, a stick of dynamite!

TACO: Have there been distinct phases in the development of the taco?

JP: Absolutely, after the tacos de minero of the miners, there were Mexico City tacos, mostly barbacoa, in the late nineteenth century. By this time there were also tacos dorados. These two versions of soft and hard tacos spread out all over the Mexican republic, adapting to fit the various regional cuisines of Mexico. But the real innovation came with the invention of the Mexican American taco. Glen Bell claims to have invented the taco shell in the early 1950s. Wrong! If you look in the records of the patent office, you will see that the first patent for taco shells was assigned to a man named Juvencio Maldonado. That’s why I insist on calling the taco shell the Mexican American taco, not the fast food taco. The only thing Bell invented was the corporate commissary.

TACO: We know that there are many influences on the original Mexican taco including European, Middle Eastern, and local flavors. What do you think are the “building blocks” or most essential elements of today’s popular tacos?

JP: Well, start with the indigenous tortilla. And salsa. Then add the Spanish pig. Next, the Lebanese tacos al pastor. Finally, the Mexican American taco shell. All are contributions, if they’re made fresh with sazon.


Dr. Pilcher in Mexico

TACO: What historical trends have propelled the taco from regional cuisine to global powerhouse?

JP: Well, I hate to say it, but gringos took a big role in carrying the taco around the world in the post-war era. Two groups in particular, appropriately, when you think about who was actually eating tacos back in the day: surfers and soldiers. The counterculture and the military are two groups of Norteamericanos who have a disproportionate love with Mexican food. I can’t explain it, but there you have it.

TACO: What does the phrase “taco lifestyle” mean to you?

JP: When I go to Mexico City, or most anywhere else with a substantial Mexican population, I have to decide whether to check into a hotel immediately, or schlep my suitcase to a good taqueria and worry about lodging later.

TACO: Do you see “Tacology” becoming a discipline in American or Mexican Universities in the future?

JP: There are a number of promising young scholars working on tacos in Mexico, and I think the first chair in taco studies will likely be founded there. There is a taco bell distinguished professorship at Washington State University, but it is in business management and therefore doesn’t count.

TACO: Look into your Crystal Salsa Bowl: what are the emerging trends in taco culture that will catch on?

JP: The salsa bar is spreading in Mexico, and while I am always happy with that creamy taqueria guacamole, I have friends who load up their tacos with all kinds of sauces and garnishes. I will probably lose all cred here, but I’m okay with fusion. If we can eat tacos al pastor, why not Korean tacos?

Good Magazine points out this fascinating study done by the ReBar group– they tracked down all the ingredients that make up a typical taco truck taco and traced where they come from. Their results are pretty interesting, more than 64,000 miles of travel are involved to bring you a delicious taco. From their blog post:

Last fall a group of CCA architecture students, led by Landscape Architect David Fletcher and Rebar art and design studio shared a meal together at a local taco truck for a class assignment. Our research seminar explored San Francisco’s food and wastesheds. Our premise was that a seemingly simple, familiar food like the taco truck taco could provide visceral insight into the connections between the systems we were exploring. By thoroughly learning the process of formation and lifecycle what it takes to make a taco, we would be better able to propose and design a speculative model of a holistic and sustainable urban future. What resulted was a richly complex network of systems, flows and ecologies that we call the global Tacoshed.

A piece on LA’s last drive-in theater in the City of Industry by Matt Schrader.

Restitution Press has been inspiring us for years and in fact his art (posters, paintings, and books) is one of the reasons we wanted to start TACO in the first place. Ryan Graeff is the man behind the Press, he took some time out of his day to answer some of our burning questions:

TACO: First things first: What is your favorite taco?

Ryan Graeff: TITO’S!

TACO: Based on your flickr stream, you are crazy productive right now, do you always work this much or are you on a hot streak?

RG: Flicker is not at all representative of my body of work neither is any social website. I have been crushing spots and zines for years. When I began the hand printed poster campaign there was nothing like it, now its the industry standard I gotta work hard to keep ahead.

TACO: When is your next gallery show?

RG: I’m not working with any galleries anymore. I’m creating a masterful body of work that is years in the making for museums. I have been working with the L.A Marathon and will hopefully be showcasing a giant 32′ ft. long painting at the finish line. There are two versions so far and prints. It illustrates the new one way route “Stadium to the Sea”. After its done I’m planning on pitching it to the city of LA as a new freeway mural in 2012.

TACO: Haven’t seen you up as much as the past, are you still active on the streets or is most of your energy on canvases right now?

RG: Yes thats right I’m in sixth gear right now. I have been for the last year focusing all my time and energy on becoming recognized by the City of Los Angeles for my art. When I get the key to the city I will unlock all the spots and become a lobbyist for public art. While running around like bat man doing all the dirty work.

TACO: Are you planning on releasing more books in the near future? Are the older ones still available at all?

RG: Vol. 17. is due out in March which will be premiere in store show in S.F curated by Flop Box Press. All other volumes are sold out.

TACO: What music do you listen to, if any, when you are working?

RG: GLK Kutmah, CRIME, Zachy Force Funk, DJ Nobody, Classic punk rock, new shit and new new shit.

TACO: What artists are getting you excited right now?

RG: MEAR ONE. If you haven’t seen his recent 15 foot sculpture your missing out. It is truly amazing what he has accomplished and will undoubtedly go down in history as a monument of human culture.