Not the Usual Usual

I’ve already written (in other blogs and my “autobiography”) about how my life has seemed like a movie lately. In the past nine months, I’ve birthed a journalism career that has taken off almost precariously.

Last week, I was in New York’s Times Square covering a story about protesters wanting to “Free Tibet.” Five days later, I was standing in Down Town Los Angeles, the site of a presidential speech outside of the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex. As I was driving to school that morning, I heard on KNX 1070 that President Obama was on his way to Pomona. Little did I know, I would be headed to Pomona an hour later, and catching a glimpse of a skinny black man wearing a suit and waving. It was Obama. I, along with Frank and Magali, captured the Village Academy Students (also enrolled in courses at Mt. SAC) on film. They walked outside of the electric vehicle plant across from the high school victoriously after having met the President. A joyful vibe of excitement was in the air as they shared their stories.

We headed out to Los Angeles, covering a crowd of supporters and protesters outside of the Complex. There were Obama fans, political activists, and a couple loonies. A man with a black suit, a diamond grill in his mouth, and an Obama mask stood on a fire escape hovering over the crowd. When unmasked, he said that he was there to speak against the crime in Los Angeles. A man selling tamales had recently been killed near the area.

A woman dressed in patriotic red, white and blue sold, “Barack-in-the-Box” a jack-in-the-box toy with an Obama doll inside. She created the contraption that her and her husband sold on the Internet.

One of the more serious groups at the site, The Armenian Youth Federation, was chanting, “Recognize genocide…Obama keep your promise.” Shunt Jarchafgiam, 22, central executive adviser, said the Armenian protesters wanted Obama to keep his promise on formal U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Waltzing through the crowds was a short-haired man in a white suit. He carried a loudspeaker in hand, voicing his message. “If you need to get the government’s attention, you know what to do. There are hundreds of numbers to call to reach the white house.” He called himself H.R.M.S. Cesar Saint Augustine de Buena Parte (“His Royal Magesty Supreme”).

Buena Parte said he runs a movie prop business, a Church (Las Cirisis Church Group) and gives people advice on anti-aging. Buena Parte said he did not support President Obama, and that he himself came up with several ideas that would have helped the housing crisis.

Buena Parte said he has ran for president many times, since 1996 while listed under the federal elections committee. He complained that the country is being controlled by a view dominant, wealthy groups-The Williamsberg Aschiatic Group, Bilderberg Group and The trilateral commission.

He had a few good points, but his eccentricity made you wonder….

“1996 I declared war on the United states symbolically. I sent video tapes of my program, I had a program on cable axis TV and told them, that I over threw the country. I declared war first, gave them 30 days to answer. They didn’t answer, so I became the emperor of the United States, and you’ll find me on the internet with that title.”

Buena Parte added that he had renamed the United States of America.

“It’s no longer America. I renamed it in 1996. It’s The United States of Turtle Island.”