Deme Mis Tacos!

My beloved Los Angeles taco trucks are under fire, and, under no circumstances do I intend to let them go down without a fight.

A new law would prohibit them from parking in any one spot for longer than an hour without receiving a $1000 fine. Thank GOODNESS someone has stepped up to combat this madness. A pair of ex-Oxy roommates currently living in Highland Park have created www.saveourtacotrucks.org to mobilize taco truck lovers across LA. They have even declared May 1st taco truck night.

I will be visiting my own personal favorite-- Leo's on Eagle Rock Blvd in approximately 10 minutes to demonstrate my own solidarity with the movement. 'Ain't no one gets between me and my quesadilla de pollo con guacamole y limon. Especially not Antonio. It's ok for him to sleep around with Latinas, but when Angelenos try to buy a late-night snack from one, he gets his panties all in a twist? That boy's mama needs to smack some values into him.

I'll Let You Borrow My Panda if You Come to the Olympics

I'm sorry. This is too rich. In the midst of all the Olympic-torch-tibet-mania, this just in. According to an article today on the LA Times website,

Japan’s oldest giant panda, Ling Ling, a longtime star at Tokyo’s largest zoo and a symbol of friendship with China, died today of heart failure, zookeepers said.

Another Reuters article postulated that this could be an important chance for China's President Hu Jintao to practice panda diplomacy (perhaps some form of black and white loan?), when he visits Japan later this week.

I'm sorry. Did I miss something? I think perhaps Mr. Jintao might want to focus on a few more pressing issues of diplomacy involving men in red robes. Human rights abuses, anyone?

I Will Not Blog About the Gross Austrian Man

Enough said. Where's the gulasch?

Allergies, Smallergies

Revelers in Trastavere, Rome yesterday got down and dirty with an enormous pillow fight.

At this point, I can only express my severe and utter jealousy. If there is one thing Los Angeles needs, it is a giant feathers-flying, out-and-out. downright brawl of our pillows. A union of all things synthetic and down, a pillow fight is just the kind of out-of-the-box therapy Angeleans would benefit from. Even those bizarre pellet-filled viscose blobs would be helpful. Forget our manicures, our massages, our over-priced and not-always-so-tasty lattes. They obviously haven't helped us with our road rage or the release of our feelings. Italy has the right idea.

Even Spain understands. Bunol, Valencia is the host of the Tomatina (the tomato fight) in which boys align against girls for a day of slinging the red fruit back and forth until the streets are ankle-deep in pulp. Afterwards, everyone makes salsa with the pulp. Alright, that last part might be a lie.

Still, even India has the color war, Holi, in which everyone throws water balloons full of colored powder at one another. Or at least that's how it goes in the movies. Why do all these other countries have so much more fun than us?

According to IndianChild.com,

Festivals bring joy and happiness in our lives. If we celebrate all festivals alike we can spread the message of joy, happiness, brotherhood and humanity among one another and live as one family and community.

I'm not sure I would go that far, but I can't say I wouldn't mind putting on my pj's and slinging some pillows.

And I Always Thought I Was Mean To My Little Brother . . .

See Evan? Here you have it-- you had it easy.

Economy on Fire

According to an LA Times article today, people across the country have begun burning down their homes and crashing their cars in attempts to escape the constraints of their mortgage, home, and car payments. Given, the trend is still small at this point, but Insurance Fraud Investigators are sitting up and taking note, eager for their home institutions (if an insurance company could indeed be called an institution) to maximize their profits and deny as many claims as possible.

It's hard to ignore the parallel between the current trend and that of the suicidal Brooklyn Bridge Wall-Streeters of the great depression, albeit to a far lesser degree. Admittedly, our current recession hasn't yet spurred our economy into a downward spiral sharp enough to induce such a level of manic depression and sheer panic at the dire state of one's condition.

Perhaps this is because in our current state of economic downturn, the big guns aren't being held as responsible for the downturn of their businesses as they might have been in 1929. Take Bear Stearns for example. Even after their initial Fed bailout raised protests from some, the price per share paid by the Fed for the financial giant was increased voluminously.

Some Americans are being repaid in the form of tax breaks this year, but none on so grand a scale. According to a CNN.com article, the average tax return in 2008 will be about $2500-- far too small a sum to pay off the average debts of consumption-happy Americans. Furthermore, with a high marginal propensity to consume in the US, it's unlikely that whole check will be going towards paying off old debts. For many families, Uncle Sam may just be financing the purchase of a new Wii.

Back In My Day . . .

Things have come a long way since I was in high school. All I got in the way of a promvitation was a, "Hey gurl, Wanna hook up at prom next weekend? I can get us a good deal on condoms," scribbled onto a paper cafeteria napkin and stuffed into the vent in my locker when I wasn't looking. Sadly, my would-be-suitor forgot to sign his name, so I never got to take advantage of his once-in-a-lifetime offer.

Only kidding. My high school had a graduation ball rather than prom. Our parents all came. Nookie and intoxication were scarce. Still, if someone had invited me to the prom on Digg, had I known what it was, I probably would have said yes. I mean, this kid has cojones. Slightly nerdy cojones, admittedly, but cojones nonetheless. Talk about a potential for public humiliation. On that note, I sure hope she doesn't shoot him down.