Category: Hugo Torres

The Market, It’s Grand

One Saturday a month my sisters and I would be packed into my parent’s mini-van and trek from East Los Angeles to the Grand Central Market to pick up bread, tomatoes, Little Debbie snack cake, bananas, lentejas, fish, mangos and a myriad other groceries. The day was a test in patience and endurance as my mother touched and smelled her way through the market seeking out the best eats at good prices. In those days, the market was hot, overtly busy and a mix of people.
Things have changed dramatically in 20 years.
Today I took my children to experience the market and I wasn’t prepared for the experience. Though the building and stands not changed dramatically, the market had a sense of calm, a unique variety of eating options and the prices were still a bargain. I found myself marveling at the business professionals and youthful 20 somethings that strolled up and down the wide aisles seeking a gourmet bagel, a fresh smoothie or a decadent taco. It was wall there in an un-chaotic atmosphere that blended the experience of gourmet food-trucks with the hustle of a thousand transactions a minute.
My kids loved looking through the fresh produce stands and choosing treats for the day. Their allowances got actually allowed them to buy a good selection of joy that they enjoyed with glee as they strolled along with me.
This is a MUST have experience for today’s Angelenos. It’s lost the bustle that I semi-enjoyed as a kid but it’s gained a welcoming approach that lets all walks of life to congregate and add their favor to the cacophony.

We’ll certainly be back for more…


People Moving
Must Have

Mmm Chipotle

Baby Kake Salad? Yes Please

huh!?



My Review: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

The Library accomplishes it’s objective. It tells the story of the life and times of President Reagan in an interesting and engaging way.

He was a man who lived a full life and his time in front of the camera helps tell his story in entertaining visuals. There is so much to see at the library and I like the way that the lay out helps a visitor follow a tight narrative.

Like all Presidential libraries, it is not conducive to children under the age of 10 who do not understand the history of a man who served in the white house over 30 years ago. This is certainly a place for adults who will take the time to read and reminisce.

One of the darkest part of the Reagan story is the assassination attempt and this is presented in a jarring and dramatic fashion. The little ones were truly affected at this part and it does remind the visitor that the attack put his life in real jeopardy and that others risked and lost so much in their duty to protect the Commander in Chief.

In contrast, visiting and walking through Air Force one is an inspiring highlight by all means of the imagination and the plane does not disappoint. It is showcased in the most fantastic of ways and brought goosebumps to my arm when I first laid my eyes on it.

My one concern with the library is that it paints to rosy of a picture of the policy results of the Reagan years. Little to no mention is made of the scandals that plagued the presidency and the interactive monopoly style games towards the end of the tour are too simple in their treatment of Reaganomics. I would encourage curators to take more risk in this regard for I don’t feel that it would tarnish the reputation of a well beloved head of state.

Altogether, I am a fan of the library and will return to it again when the kids are older.

Replica of Ronald Reagan’s Oval Office

My Book Review: I Am Legend

I Am Legend and Other StoriesI Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Once upon a time I knew “I am Legend” as a zombie story (made into a film)and after the outstanding fun of World War Z I decided to give the written version a try.

It should go without saying then that I was truly surprised and jarred some when the story’s antagonist spoke, interacted and shared the dark gift of the vampire.

This unexpected turned at first seemed off putting but as the protagonist mental and physical decay started to unfold I really began to care about his particular lot and the story became involving.

The ending was surprising. Different from the film, it took a tragic turn that Hollywood is too chicken to take. That as well impressed me.

The stories that accompany this tale did not grab me and so as a whole I feel the lower rating is needed. I am Legend on its own is sad, creepy and a page turner. I recommend it over the flick.

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A Book Review – John Muir: Magnificent Tramp by Rod Miller

John Muir: Magnificent TrampJohn Muir: Magnificent Tramp by Rod Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It is apropos that I finished the audio-book experience on this work on Earth Day and that I had the opportunity to incorporate it into my Toastmasters Speech today on Water Conservation.

John Muir is a named that I have heard ever since I became aware that the more beautiful places on earth (and there are many) must be protected from those among us who believe progress trumps nature. Even then, in adolescence, I knew that there once was a man who fought with zeal for the majestic and the small and his legacy adorned the marquees of local high-schools, some local peaks and the cool Sierra Club stickers that adorned my old Jeep.

What I learned from this book is that Mr. Muir was an international wanderer and whose travels were beyond what I could have ever imagined. This was a man who pursued his love for the unseen path ahead and in his quest to wander gained fame and influence that is still revered and emulated by many.

Our global community is at a crossroads and though many will not read many of Muir’s original writings, a biography like this provides insights into a time and a man when mankind became aware that our combined actions affect so much more than we could have imagined.

Muir’s story is simple, harrowing, uncompromising and tinged with bitter-sweetness. After all, humankind fights the very earth that houses it and it takes reverence for our home-earth to fight our kind and maintain it.

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Sex on the Brain | 12 Lessons to Enhance Your Love Life – A Book Review

Sex on the Brain: 12 Lessons to Enhance Your Love LifeSex on the Brain: 12 Lessons to Enhance Your Love Life by Daniel G. Amen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A healthy brain is a sexy brain. That is the main take away I pulled from Sex on the Brain from Daniel Amen.

That is not a bad thing as the book does a terrific job of delineating the importance of a healthy noggin’ in sex and life in general.

I enjoyed reading the many interesting anecdotes and stories of people who are afflicted by a variety of imbalances and I found a new understanding of how fetishes and compulsions may function. It certainly gives some insight and it makes the argument that in order to enjoy a more complete sex life it is important to shy away from drugs/alcohol and also to seek help from professionals when a perceived issue arises.

The book is heavy on lists and at time this becomes tedious.

Overall, a good reminder that a loving sexual relationship doesn’t happen by change. It takes lots of work and care.

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The Conviction of Richard Nixon – Book Review

The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon InterviewsThe Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews by James Reston Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jon Stewart has made the argument in the past that he shares a legacy of satirist who over the years have had the unique position to ask the question that others can’t.

This is the thought that continued to creep up time and time again while I read this marvelous tale of an event that I knew hardly about but that meant so much to the American people in a time when answers were scarce from their former Commander and Chief.

James Reston Jr.’s recollection of the months prior to this interview of disgraced former President Richard Nixon is ripe with intrigue, drama and a retelling of the perils of underestimating an opponent.

Time and again I wished that today’s best satirist (like Stewart)would take on the challenge that current members of the journalistic community seem unable to take. To ask the hard hitting questions, to draw out truths with wit and seek candor from political figures who make a career from obscuring it.

I marvel at the height from with President Nixon fell but understand that he is not alone in sharing disgrace. The better story is how Frost and his team helped the President realize truths that perhaps he had never seen before.

A terrific read for our time.

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Donner Lake

In early September 2001 we went camping in Northern California.

We were carefree and the world we lived in was a relatively simple place.

For a week or so we camped, hiked, took photos enjoyed the water and each other.

Then we packed our truck and came home.

On the day of our return….the world changed. For us, for everyone!

Pictures taken from 9/07 to 9/10/2001

Teeth

The three of us had been sitting impatiently for over an hour. Trying not to wrinkle the clothes that she had pressed and fuzzed over earlier in the day.

My mother paced the living room. Constantly looking at the clock and cursing under her breath. Though I could still hear the occasional swear word.
He arrived, he had been drinking. HEAVILY!
I remember the moment that her disappointment and concern turned into scorn. The afternoon meant an important Mexican celebration and we were late and he was unstable.
She raised her voice in protest and after a few minutes of berating him she asked us all to get up. We would go to the event without him.
That lit the fuse.
He was a Mexican detective and his side arm was at the ready. With instinct on his side he swiftly drew the weapon and brandished it toward her.
My body went numb with fright.
He yelled. He had been disrespected and that was unconscionable.
Like a charging bull he sped towards her and she was unable to move from the incoming force. With the full force of his arm he let the full weight of the weapon’s steel smash at my mother’s mouth.
In an instant, her jaw was mangled and to this day continues to have issues with her teeth.
My sisters and I rushed outside and looked on to them for an eternity from a window.
He sat her on the couch and he placed himself in front of her. Their dialog only available to them.
The effects of earlier excesses eventually led to sleep and allowed his captive to sneak away and gather her frightened children.
—
On a side note. My dentist called today. My teeth need to be looked at.

The UT Job – Deep Archives

I haven’t written in ages. I miss it.

Sometimes it seems that I forget about it due to laziness. Or sometimes I’m so involved in making the aspects of my life coexist in merriment that taking the time to jot down a few words seems trivial. But now I sit here waiting to know how my financial future will play out and in order to get my mind away from it I come back to my little journal to carp, cry and ponder.

It’s windy on this Wednesday April 15th. I’ve been officially out of a job for 4 days and in the hunt for a Staff Writer position at the University Times. It seems that my party days are threatening to hurt me here.

I am perfect for this position. I write well, I love the spotlight, I know the campus and I like the people. But my past is the Achilles heel for me. I’m vulnerable in that area….

LOST the Transcript