I’m not always successful, but whenever I’m biking around Los Angeles, I try to return a way different from whatever way I came and/or devote a little bit of my rides to exploring someplace new and/or at least revisiting an area I hadn’t been through in a while. Such was the case yesterday coming back to Silver Lake from a trip out to SPCALA headquarters near the Jefferson Park community that I ventured up through the Pico-Union area from Hoover, and made two discoveries.

The first is the hole-in-the-wall bakery pictured at right, seen just as I crossed Washington Boulevard. Looking up I spied that yellow banner hanging outside a Panaderia for the Bicycle Bread Company (BBC). While it’s true I hadn’t been on Union in about six months, unless this place opened during that time than I was guilty of never seeing it before. Because if I had seen it I most certainly would’ve stopped and bought something, given much I like bikes. And bread.

Sure enough: guilty. According the the BBC website it’s been in business since 2009. Also according to the website they’re hours in that space are limited to 5-8pm on Thursdays, but I apparently got both lucky and over-charged in that the place was open and I was able to come away with a one-pound round loaf of BBC’s cinnamon raisin whole grain sold by the panaderia owner for $5 (apparently there’s a hidden 25% commission surcharge above the $4 per-loaf price listed on the BBC website). Thankfully that extra dollar dinged didn’t detract from the absolute homemade milled-on-site scrumptiousness of the bread.

A little bit more about the BBC as well as a great mural found up the street, plus a bonus Victorian that surprised me after the jump.

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Will Campbell's Manzanar Photo - click through for post

Sure, Angelenos are no strangers to the concept of a makeover. But when it comes to an egregious error on the part of elected officials—decades in the past—is it possible to get a do-over? County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas thinks that it might be possible, at least, for the LA County Board of Supervisors to try to facilitate some healing regarding one serious misstep taken by the board in 1942.

Specifically, when our country decided that certain broad swipes of our populace could not be trusted based solely on their ancestry, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted 70 years ago to pass a resolution urging the President of the US and Congress to proceed with internment as soon as possible. According to one of his aides, current LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas will introduce a motion to repeal that resolution at the 5 June 2012 meeting of the board.

We’ve blogged about the internment at blogging.la before, here and here. (And by “we” I mean Will Campbell!) It is certainly a dark page in the past of our nation, and one that we would like to think is mostly behind us. Alas, in the post-9/11 attitude toward Middle-Eastern Americans and the ongoing atmosphere of racial profiling and harassment that thrives under Joe Arpaio, perhaps that page hasn’t fully been turned just yet.

Still, steps such as this move by Ridley-Thomas—which on its face may appear not to change much of anything—can help to push the dialogue of greater racial tolerance and perhaps prevent further injustice as we progress as Angelenos, as Americans, as humans. In fact, this move will help to highlight the progress Los Angeles has made in overcoming institutional racism, as current Chief Executive Officer of LA County, William Fujioka, and the LA County Board’s Executive Officer, Sachi Hamai, are both Japanese Americans.

That, and everyone’s favorite Japanese-American actor and celebrity, George Takei, will also attend the board meeting and offer testimony in support of Ridley-Thomas’ motion. Goodness knows he’s familiar with the challenges of being a second-class citizen.

In the gallery below, view the board’s resolution as it was passed in January 1942.

Tag numbers obscured to protect the guilty.

This Saturday, CreateFixate will be presenting a photography show in downtown LA as part of MOPLA—”Month of Photography LA.” The event sounds like a good time, with art, music, video, and so on. Find out more at the Create:Fixate site or just read a snippet from an overly-long press release after the break.

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Mustang in a "cast" click to embiggen

Sunday I ventured out to the Fabulous Fords Forever car show. Among the cars there was this recently wrecked Mustang in a “cast” for anyone to sign. First time I’ve ever seen that at a car show or on the streets.  Pretty clever.  Hope it gets it fixed soon without much hassle. Click to embiggen the image.

Another new LA-based theater company, Little Candle Productions, is getting all set to do a one-night only production of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” in June. Not only is it a one-time performance, but it will take place at Glendale’s historic Alex Theatre, a beautiful venue with a whopping 1,400 seats.

To help make this possible, Little Candle Productions is having a fundraiser this Monday—Shakespeare’s birthday the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death—at the Colorado Wine Company in Eagle Rock. See the flyer below, and click through to buy tickets.

Paseo Spring Fest Post Card click to embiggen

I’m not a fan of malls, but I am a sucker for a good fine art event.  At least Paseo Colorado is a semi-open mall.   Paseo Spring Fest promises to be among the better ones as it is a juried event, meaning the artists have to be reviewed by a jury panel to ensure they are accomplished at what they do.

During your time at the art show if you need a break and feel the need for a little libations do stop in at the Bodega Wine Bar.

Parking is fairly good at the Paseo.  It is about 6 blocks, an easy walk from the Gold Line Memorial Park Station which is a pretty good option if you are mass transit enabled.

Details: Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun 11AM-6PM, 280 E. Colorado Blvd.Pasadena, CA MAP HERE

M*A*S*H ambulance with recent paint job

Two of my L.A. area loves, hiking and filming locations, were married recently when I joined a group of hikers to tour the set of the television series M*A*S*H in Malibu Creek State Park. As a bonus, much of the original Planet of the Apes movie was shot there too.

More pics after the jump

No, that picture is not a still from a new J-horror movie that’s bound to be remade for US audiences, and Mare Nubium is more than just a trench on the moon; there’s a new show opening soon at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo, and we have FIVE pairs of tickets to give away! Here’s a description of the show:

Mare Nubium is the abbreviated performance of the kalpa, which was performed at the kick off of Pacific Standard Time at the Getty. In Sanskrit, kalpa means eons, or a long period of time. It’s said that once every hundred years, an angel comes down from heavens and swipes the surface of a stone with her silk sleeves until the rock disappears. Hiro Kosaka creates a symbolic parallel between the kalpa and the inevitable passage of time that slowly transforms our lives and the memories that we hold onto. Performers include Butoh (Japanese dancer) master Oguri, who leads a small company of dancers.

Find out more about the opening night show and how to win tickets after the jump.

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pay dragon logo

It launched this morning.  PayDragon is a free app for your iphone or android.  It hooks you up with a participating food truck or restaurant, lets you order and prepay cutting down the hassle of lines and worry if you have cash on hand.  Actually it does quite a bit of nifty stuff for you…

• QR reader: scan codes with participating PayDragon merchants to instantly begin a transaction
• A discover tab: locate nearby participating merchants
• A game layer: earn points toward incentives from merchants
• Exclusive deals: take merchants up on sales and food deals
• Facebook integration: tell your friends about the great meal you just enjoyed
• Receipts for transactions: keep track of purchase activity
• Notifications: receive alerts when an order or item is ready to pick up

Participating vendors include the sweets chain Beard Papa and a number of LA-based food trucks such as The Bun Truck, CambalaCHE’s,Auntie’s Fry Bread, Chunk n Chip, The Grill Sergeant, The Wien, and Rounds Premium Burgers.

You can get your free download for your iphone HERE and your Android HERE.  I’ve been told by the good folks that other formats…Blackberry and Windows are being worked on.

As seen on the southbound 101 approaching Woodland Hills Saturday (click to enlargify), all I can say is I have no idea what’s going on here. All I know is that last pair in the trailer looks like they’re holding hands and simultaneously hitchhiking, but who am I to judge?

Pasadena Earth and Arts Festival poster, click to embiggen

You’d think I live in Pasadena given how often I post about the place, I don’t, but they always have something of interest going on.  This Saturday its the 10th Annual Pasadena Earth and Arts Festival to be held in and around the Armory Center for the Arts across from Memorial Park.  Here’s the run down of things that will be at this FREE festival:

• huge eco-market place with exhibitors private and public helping you to live green
• The Green Truck and Coolhaus food trucks for sustainable noshing
• First ever sustainable beer garden with a biodegradable “little red cup” featuring the beer from Craftsman Brewing Company and Eagle Rock Brewery
• Fallen Fruit will be there with its jam making wisdom.  Feel free to bring in your found fruit from public spaces or your own back yard.

For gawds sake take public transpo to the Gold Line and exit Memorial Park Station…you’ll be right at the park and only a very short walk to the Armory Center.  Show your metro pass or ticket at the Transportation Booth and they will have a gift for you…well a gift as long as the supply lasts.  Beats the difficulty in finding parking in the area which can be expensive when you do find a space and don’t forget that PPD does patrol hard for scofflaws.

Details:Saturday April 14, 2012 11AM-5PM, 145 Raymond Street, Pasadena CA, MAP HERE

I like going out to the movies. And I like cheap stuff. Normally, however, the second-run theaters may have lower prices, but the experience can also be somewhat lacking, as well. (I did learn this weekend, though, that the cheap theater in NoHo has $1 hot dogs. Awesome!)

As of this month, Grauman’s Chinese has been a fine establishment for movie outings in Hollywood for 85 years. To commemorate the anniversary, they’re doing some low price showings of movies that are decidedly not first-run. Find out more from their flyer below:

Mobile Pixels Poster click to embiggen

The images from the cell phone have evolved, the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art has nearly 3 dozen photographers showing images taken with their cell phones. These promise not to be “instagrams” but rather documentation in an a sometimes digitally manipulated view of the world around us.

Mobile Pixels will run from April 12-May 5th 2012.  The show’s opening reception will coincide with the Downtown Art Walk on Thursday April 12 from 7-9PM.

Parking is brutal Downtown on Art Walk nights so I would arrive early if you must drive.  Public transportation is a better option given the lack of parking and traffic in the area, do yourself a favor and use the Red or Purple line to get yourself to Pershing Squares Metro station and walk the 4 blocks to this marvy show at LACDA.

Details: Opening Reception April 12 7-9PM.  Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, 102 W 5th Street, Los Angeles CA 90013.  MAP HERE.

Caine’s Arcade.

(h/t to Tony Pierce and Boing Boing)