'Best in Low' (lowriders), Los Angeles

Slow down! We're cruising, not drifting.

Over by the La Brea Tar Pits on Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles has a giant museum (temple) dedicated to the admiration (worship) of the automobile. Detroit may have built them, but they were built to be driven in LA, usually with the top down bathing in the sun, driving down Sunset Blvd. to the Santa Monica Bay. It's not very far, and if Sunset is too full of cruisers cruising American Graffiti style, it's east to jump on the Interstate 10 Freeway all the way down to the Pacific. The boulevard is called Sunset because this is where the sun sets, just as it rises on the Big Apple, a reference to forbidden carnal knowledge in the Garden of Eden. On the eve of Independence Day for Mexico, many Chicanos are having their cars on exhibit with a parade or caravan of vehicles to show off their slick rides near Little Ethiopia (Fairfax).

Cruise? It's time to peel out and get out!

(Petersen Automotive Museum) If you're lucky, you live in a town with a regular lowrider cruise, so you're familiar with the unexpected pleasure of seeing something glittering and striped in the next lane suddenly lift up like a stinkbug and drop low enough to drag sparks across the intersection.

Lowriding is a community activity like no other automotive subculture. The cars aren't built to be lightweight or quick in the canyons. They aren't for early morning drives or secret late-night meetups; they're designed to turn heads on the main street in town during prime time.

The goal is never to cross the line first, but to do it with the most style. At their most basic, lowriders are conversation starters; at their highest level, they are showstoppers.

All of this makes lowrider culture perfect for a museum exhibit, where those familiar with the art form can appreciate the chance to look more closely at cars they've only seen in motion, and those new to the scene can marvel, slack-jawed, at the incredible imagination, artistry, and history that goes into making the perfect lowrider.

Let's eat street Mexican food (cenavegan.com)

The new exhibit, "Best in Low," at the Petersen Automotive Museum (petersen.org) in Los Angeles is not the museum's first look at lowriders, but it is its best.

Walking through the gallery is like visiting the gemstone section of a natural history museum. Everything is sparkling and glowing, and a person could spend a whole day on a single car and not see every magical detail. More: Best in Low exhibit

Who cares about lowrider cars and culture?

• Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles (petersen.org); WAR; Cypress Hill; Korn; Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Invest in Elon Musk-free solar car: Aptera

Is this EV really a car? It only has three wheels and runs on solar power. It's a spaceship.

This Aptera EV is not yet a flying car but, like Icarus, it goes for the sun in a big way.

I may be losing money, but the government will give me more to replace whatever I lose.

.

Tesla EV electricity comes from burning fuels.

Yes, but does it fly? Electric vehicles (EVs) are growing. Bloomberg projects that electric vehicle sales will increase in one decade from 1.7 million vehicles in 2020 to 54 million by 2040. Aptera is looking to earn a significant portion of that growth.

Coal power is dirty. Mineral mining adds to dirty

Aptera was created from the ground up with one purpose in mind — energy efficiency. Its unique shape allows Aptera to slip through the air using 30% less energy than other electric and hybrid vehicles on the road today. That efficiency allows Aptera to have a much longer range than competitive electric vehicles, with a range up to 1,000 miles. Aptera (invest.aptera.us)

I got rich by working for the US gov't.

The real Tesla was ET smart.

• Aptera; Sheldon S., CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Cheap supercars for broke boys: QtrLife Crisis

Ideal Media, March 3, 2022; Team T (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

There's room for all ages and genders on this ride.

Consider the fact that our hormones, patriarchal societies, the ways we're raised don't change so much. At the time of the Buddha, rich kids raced around in cool chariots with parasols and white stallions. Why? Image, chixdiggit, ego, testosterone, competitiveness, vanity, memories of life in the lower heavens (planes of existence in the deva worlds of the Sensual Sphere), who knows? But they did. And many people do it here and now, no longer limited to rich boys. Think of the new lowrider law in Los Angeles, California. Every kind of person in our U.S. car culture gets sucked in at least a little. Some a lot, but everyone a little. This is the Sensual Sphere (kama-loka). We aim for rebirth in the Fine Material Sphere or, at the very least, the sensuous heavens. Some more wisely aim for an end to rebirth or rearising in the hard-to-conceive Immaterial Sphere (the formless realms). Here, in the world of form (rupa), we want to experience things viscerally, corporeally, in the gut, on the skin, in the nether regions. We didn't make it that way. The karma of the being reborn here make it that way. So, given that we're wealthy and in the West with all its excesses, let's look at cars before they become illegal and we all go EV and start drag racing Priuses in tubes through our smart tubular cities, like that massive one being built in the desert. Kids, don't try this at home; ask a parent instead. But, you know, Knowledge and experience come from choices, and bad choices seem to yield the most knowledge and experience.

Cheap supercars for broke boys

(Ideal Media) Let's look at some not so expensive supercars for less than anyone thinks! Get in a 500 HP, 200 MPH beast that smokes a friend's BRZ. Some cheap cars make one look rich, from the Sl55 AMG, Fisker Karma, Aston Vantage, and Lotus Elise to the Dodge Viper, these cheap rides will make a statement wherever they're being driven. OK, OK, what's "cheap"? That depends. What's a "supercar"? That depends, too. Shut up. The average new car in America costs $50,000.00 so "cheap" varies.

Join The Ideal Fam at bit.ly/IdealMembership.  #dodgeviper #supercars #cheap

Gas prices rise but a SOLUTION exists

Cameron Kiszla, KTLA, 9/12/23; Sheldon S., CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

I have a Tesla, so I'm not part of the problem...most days, unless I run out of juice and use gas.

.

Gas prices soar higher in Southern California

Don't drink it; pore it in the tank

Buckle up, Southern California. Overly high gas prices are back with a vengeance [just as was predicted years ago to align with Big Oil's plan to milk the endless supply of polluting petroleum, which German scientists proved grows naturally in the ground by the magic of microbes in the soil and is not coming from old dinosaur fossil deposits. But it takes a long, long time to replenish and is very toxic and polluting when brought up and burned into the atmosphere. Big Oil also doesn't want anyone to know that clean, natural alcohol can be a gas as a byproduct of natural yeasts and microbes eating sugars].

Daryl Hannah and her alcohol-powered ”Kill Bill” come to downtown (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Los Angeles County [the self-proclaimed Capital of the World because what happens here eventually happens everywhere else] prices are up to an average of $5.56 per gallon.

A month ago, that price was $5.22, according to AAA. That’s higher than the state’s average of $5.46 and far higher than the national average of $3.84.

[They'll have us all in 5G remote controlled electric vehicles, which will be more polluting to fuel up even if less polluting to operate, by outlawing internal combustion engines that run on petroleum in the name of climate change alarmism. But sourcing rare earth minerals to make batteries on an industrial scale then burning coal to make electricity to power them is known to be far more polluting than the system now in place.]

[Though devices and techniques to get 100 MPG have been around for 50 years, they will not be allowed because that would bankrupt Big Oil, which has a graph and prognostication on how much money they are going to make from the remaining amount of peak oil at their disposal, over how long, and at what price at the pump.]

[They will not be deterred by engineering innovations, better fuel efficiency standards, alcohol as a replacement fuel, solar, wind, methane, free energy (which is not even allowed to mention), hydrogen fuel cells, or systems yet to be brought to market or dreamed up. But Big Oil will bow out to make room for "smart cities" and an agenda of greater government surveillance and control.]

It's already working as detailed in Blume's book

It’s also higher than this time last year, when a gallon was $5.41 on average. 

However, it’s still lower than the highest local average ever for L.A. County, which was recorded a little over a year ago:

On June 14, 2022, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $6.44. Despite the climbing costs, deals can still be found. GasBuddy.com shows prices as low as $4.69 in the greater Los Angeles area. More

Solution? Alcohol fuel from sugars

A plant goddess (bhumi devi) knew all along

(David Blume, alcoholcanbeagas.com) ...We can reverse global warming. Since alcohol is made from plants, its production takes carbon dioxide out of the air, sequestering it, with the result that it reverses the greenhouse effect (while potentially vastly improving the soil).

Recent studies show that with a permaculture-designed mixed-crop alcohol fuel production system, the amount of greenhouse gases removed from the atmosphere by plants -- then exuded by plant roots into the soil as sugar -- can be 13 times what is emitted by processing the crops and burning the alcohol in our cars.

• Why alcohol fuel? The 2-minute summary (David Blume)

A peaceful solution? No "blood for oil"?

We can revitalize the economy instead of suffering through Peak Oil. Oil is running out, and what we replace it with will make a big difference in our environment and economy.

Alcohol fuel production and use is clean and environmentally sustainable, and will revitalize families, farms, towns, cities, industries, as well as the environment.

A national switch to alcohol fuel would provide many millions of new permanent jobs. No new technological breakthroughs are needed. We can make alcohol fuel out of what we have, where we have it....

Unlike hydrogen fuel cells, we can easily use alcohol fuel in the vehicles we already own.

Unmodified cars can run on 50% alcohol. And converting to 100% alcohol or flexible fueling (using both alcohol and gas) costs only a few hundred dollars.

Most auto companies already sell new dual-fuel vehicles.

This would've bankrupted us and Bush Dynasty

Alcohol is a superior fuel to gasoline! It’s 105 octane, burns much cooler with less vibration, is less flammable in case of accident, is 98% pollution-free, has lower evaporative emissions, and deposits no carbon in the engine or oil, resulting in a tripling of engine life. More

• Alcohol Can Be A Gas! - Fueling an Ethanol Revolution for the 21st Century [to Avoid Toxic Coal and Nuclear Fallout]
• The Plant Goddess Landscaping, California
• GreenGoddess.com

Police State: Korrupt 'n Killer Kops (video)

KHOU 118/32/23; Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Nothing to see. We've accused, judged, and convicted him. Now it's time for punishment.

I wanna move there to get respect!

(KHOU 11) No way, 20% of the people in Coffee City, Texas, are on-duty police? Math is hard, but this Texas town has about 250 people living in it -- and it has 50 sworn police officers (50/250=0.20 or 20%).

Wait, is that Texas, China? No, it's Trump Country, the Lone Star State in the U.S. of A. And it's making so much money in traffic ticket revenue, that it may have to hire a few more men and women in blue. Aug. 31, 2023: KHOU 11's Jeremy Rogalski looks into the Coffee City police department.

Are you going to shoot me? - Yes

Blendon Township cop executes pregnant Black woman for disobedience

‘Are you going to shoot me?’ Black woman asks before policeman shoots her

(NBC4 Columbus) Is it a power trip -- standing in front of a running car and pulling a gun out against it, itchy finger just looking for an excuse to execute some Ohio street justice? Or is racism, white supremacy, bigotry, discrimination, or unconscious implicit bias? Footage from body-worn camera shows a young, pregnant, Black woman asking police, “What, are you going to shoot me?” seconds before one of the officers investigating her for shoplifting alcohol fatally shot her outside a grocery store. Learn more: nbc4i.co/3QYTF9e

Retired police sergeant goes to execute wife, decides to kill 'em all

Former active-duty cop goes on attempted mass murder spree, shooting 9 in bar, executing 3, shooting his wife through jaw

It's not illegal when we do it as a cop gang.

Cook's Corner used to be a little hideaway bar between Los Angeles and the OC, out in the pre-suburbs, more rural and ranch like than crowded with upper-middle class homes. A 30-year veteran of the police force, promoted to and retiring as sergeant, decides to intimidate and murder his wife with his legally possessed firearms. He brings a bunch to the bar so he can shoot her in the jaw. He shoots others and goes to get more guns and ammo to perhaps execute anything that moves. Killer cops arrive and execute one of their own. Maybe they didn't realize he was a cop on a killing spree from another precinct. In any case, they're lauded as heroes, good guys with guns. Should police be banned from owning weapons once they leave the force?

(KTLA 5) Cops detail how cop's mass shooting unfolded: Trabuco Canyon

(KTLA 5) A retired Ventura County police sergeant traveled from Ohio and targeted his estranged wife during his mass shooting spree at a popular Orange County bar that left three people dead Wednesday night, officials detailed. Chip Yost reports for the KTLA 5 News at 5 on Aug. 24, 2023.

Killer cop commits mass shooting at biker bar: 4 dead, others injured in Orange County, CA | LiveNOW from FOX

(LiveNOW from FOX) Aug. 23, 2023: A mass shooting at Cook’s Corner, a popular bar in Orange County, California (near the eastern end of LA County) leaves at least three humans dead, according to officials. There was a heavy police presence at and around the bar in Trabuco Canyon. The Orange County Sheriff's Department said in addition to the three people murdered, the suspected gunman has been shot to death by responding officers.

More LiveNOW from FOX streaming video Subscribe to LiveNOW from FOX! youtube.com/livenowfox?... Where to watch LiveNOW from FOX: https://www.livenowfox.com/ Follow us @LiveNOWFOX on Twitter: https://twitter.com/livenowfox Raw and unfiltered. Watch a non-stop stream of breaking news, live events and stories across the nation. Limited commentary. No opinion. Experience LiveNOW from FOX.

Remembering Los Angeles' own lion, P-22

Xochitl, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; LAist 89.3 FM (scpr.org), 2/4/23

Why did you have to kill me on purpose, why?

Los Angeles lost its lion, Puma 22, to its favorite sport -- driving too fast on the freeway. P-22 could cross on his own, but 200 ponies were too much for him to absorb. His injuries led to erratic behavior and misguided veterinarians euthanized him. They give their reasons, couched in compassionate terms, but he could have lived. And this past weekend, he was eulogized at his former home, Griffith Park. The Greek Theater is on the other entrance to the park, behind the hill where the Hollywood sign shines. It was full of well-wishers and many beautiful speeches in memento mori, simulcast live by the local NPR affiliate (scpr.org).

• More: P-22 Memorial: Thousands gathered to remember LA’s famous mountain lion (LAist)
• What the death of P-22 means for Los Angeles, and how its life can teach us to better care for our big cats
• We rename P-22 the mountain lion on Off-Ramp for 2015 (AUDIO: "Puma Thurman," "Felix," "Pounce de Leon"?)
• The hunt for killer mountain lion P-45, what to do with CA's 102 million dead trees... (KPCC/SoCal NPR)

The Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory by day, with the Valley (SFV) behind the hill.

LA's "Central Park" connects to the Santa Monica mountain range, home to wild cats.

Maybe we're taking this too far? Suddenly everyone loves a killer in the city? Save our wildlife!

Going AMISH: living among them (video)

Eric, Tommy (Seek Discomfort, Oct. 1, 2021); Pat Macpherson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Don't tell our parents, but we're on Rumspringa, partying in the big city of temptation.

We lived three days among the Amish

(Seek Discomfort) Oct. 1, 2021. Eric and Tommy decided to join an Amish family for a weekend to see what it's like to live without modern technology.

Who are they? They believe that life can be as fulfilling as we wish, so long as we're willing to seek discomfort. And they make videos about it. Exclusive challenges on Instagram: instagram.com/yestheory.

Seek Discomfort is Yes Theory's second channel. For those who don't subscribe, check it out here: youtube.com/yestheory. To join the Yes Fam Facebook group, which is 100,000+ of their most engaged and bad*ss community members, one can apply here: facebook.com/groups/yesfam.

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Business inquiries: partnerships@yestheory.com For community inquiries: hello@yestheory.com instagram.com/yestheory, twitter.com/yestheory, facebook.com/yestheory. Join their texting community: +1 (323) 310-5420

LA, OC car chase ends in crash, shots fired

Fox 11; KTLA, Josh DuBose, KTLA 11/9/22; Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Suspect arrested after chase through L.A., Orange counties ends in crash, shots fired

A dangerous pursuit of a driver who stole several vehicles and led authorities on a chase through L.A. and Orange counties crashed into a gas station in Hacienda Heights, where he was surrounded by police.

Cpt. John Radus, with the Fullerton Police Department, said the pursuit started near the border of Fullerton and Buena Park with an attempted stop for unknown traffic violations.

The pursuit suspect had been driving a stolen white van before bailing the vehicle and stealing a white pickup truck from a home in Whittier where he scuffled with residents and their dog.

(Fox 11 News) Owners of a truck stolen from a Whittier home during a wild

police chase say they'd just gotten the truck for business a few weeks ago.

The pursuit suspect was reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour on surface streets, crashing into other cars, driving on the wrong side of the road, crossing over center dividers and blowing through red lights.

In La Habra, the driver turned into a cul-de-sac with police behind him. He appeared to be trapped, but then whipped the truck around and weaved through several police cruisers and back onto surface streets.

Near the end of the pursuit, in Hacienda Heights, sparks could be seen coming from beneath the truck. The driver crashed into several cars before rolling to a stop in front of a gas station, where police rammed the vehicle.

The driver attempted to back up, but was surrounded by police, who fired shots.

He was removed from the pickup truck, seemingly able to walk on his own, and arrested. Video from Sky5 showed police placing the suspect onto a gurney, into an ambulance and being taken to the hospital. More (ktla.com)

Spacey, cops and Batmobile, Alex Jones (TJDS)

Voice artist Mike MacRae (mikemacrae.com), Jimmy Dore, Kurt Metzger, Jackson Hinkle (The Jimmy Dore Show); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Try Not To Laugh Challenge (video)

Extreme Idiots of Internet; Road Rage N. America; Sheldon S., Crystal Q., Wisdom Quarterly

No one can say that Americans are stupid. We are. But no one can say it better than these clips, each of which are worth a thousand words. The challenge is try not to laugh. It's not just schadenfreude because often we recognize ourselves in the folly of others. It's a time-dump, so move on to something more important, like your meditation. But how to meditate when you can't meditate?

Machine slaves: Automation (comedy)

John Oliver Last,WeekTonight, Mar 3, 2019; Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Automation: Last Week Tonight

Automation often seems like a scary new problem, but it’s neither entirely scary nor entirely new. Connect with Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Subscribe to the YouTube channel for more almost news as it almost happens: youtube.com/lastweektonight. Find Last Week Tonight on Facebook like your mom would: facebook.com/lastweektonight. Follow on Twitter for news about jokes and jokes about news: twitter.com/lastweektonight. Visit official site for all that other stuff at once: hbo.com/lastweektonight.

Painting my car (in 23 dimensions)

Adam Rogers (wired.com/story); Seth Auberon (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Inside the 23-Dimensional World of A Car’s Paint Job

Painter Coco Gonzalez (Christie Hemm Klok)

Hue. Saturation. Luminance. Sparkle. Fixing a door ding is about way more than color. (Also: Why the sky is blue and clouds are white).

Adalberto Gonzalez may well be one of the best painters of cars in Northern California.

He doesn’t work in the eye-popping sparkle-and-shine mode of Cali low-rider culture, and he only rarely finds himself refinishing an Italian exotic.

Gonzalez, who goes by the nickname Coco, runs the paint room at Alameda Collision Repair, a high-quality shop that fixes slightly more than 13 cars every day, six days a week.

Painting a panel, from a simple ding to something much, much worse is the last stop in a car repair, which makes it a bottleneck.

What makes Gonzalez so good is that he's fast. He is an artist at uncorking the bottleneck. But unlike most artists, if you can perceive even the faintest hint of his work, he has made a mistake.

You’re thinking, big whoop. A car comes in, a 2015 Toyota Camry, let's say, in Ruby Flare Pearl (that’s red) needing a bashed-in door Bondo’d and sanded. You just go to a shelf and take down 2015 Toyota Ruby Flare Pearl, click a canister into an airgun, and swoosh, you’re back on the road, right?

 

Nope. Car companies have put 50,000 to 60,000 car colors on the road, but even a big body shop like Alameda Collision Repair has just 70 or 80 colors on its shelves. Turns out Gonzalez isn't just a fast painter, he’s a fast matcher. “I get the closest one,” he says, “and then I match the color.” More

Ordinary alcohol works like gas (petrol)

Wisdom Quarterly; David Blume (alcoholcanbeagas.org)

Running cars on alcohol is better than hydrogen or non-solar electricity (ACBAG)

 

Anyone can become energy independent with alcohol fuel. Reverse global warming. Survive the end of Peak Oil. Alcohol fuel is "liquid sunshine" not controlled by trans-national corporations.
 
Anyone can produce alcohol for less than $1.00 (1 USD) a gallon using a variety of plants and waste products from algae to stale donuts. It is a much better and cleaner fuel than gasoline.

Motors were invented before gasoline (petrol) was, originally using alcohol. That is what car engines were invented to use. It can go into cars right now! No adjustments or modifications are needed. But Big Oil has scare tactics and powerful lobbyists.

Alcohol can also generate electricity. Alcohol burns so cleanly that, by law, gasoline must be added before using it in cars. It must be denatured so that people will not drink it. Brazil already uses it widely in as high as a 90% mixture. Ethanol would be added in the US, but the petrochemical industry worries about how that would affect its bottom line.

Alcohol fuel production is ecologically sustainable, revitalizes farms and communities, and creates huge new opportunities for small-scale businesses. Its byproducts are clean and valuable. Alcohol has a proud history and a vital future.  Learn more with the 5-minute video "Alcohol Fuel Overview," or view the Two-Minute Summary, and see the Alcohol Can Be a Gas! book and DVD.