I don’t have a Valentine this year which means I don’t have to worry about finding the perfect card and gift. And I also don’t have to pretend to like some gift that will just collect dust in the corner. (No, I’m not bitter. Really.)

But Valentine’s Day isn’t only for those in relationships. Single folks can celebrate like we did in elementary school: by passing out silly cards, drinking punch and eating heart-shaped sugar cookies.

This year, I’ll pass out Rio Yañez’s great cards once again. Rio’s new set of cards feature dramatic duos like Biggie and Tupac, Frida and Diego, and Dylan and Brenda as well as some iconic figures.

Rio encourages you to share the cards with “your friends, enemies, shorties, sanchos, and booty calls.” Just make sure they’ll appreciate the genius of a card featuring Antonio Gonzalez declaring that he’d “lie under oath for you.”

To check out more of the new cards and some from Valentine’s Day 2007, go to the flickr set, Rio’s blog or click the image above.

During my last week of vacation, I made it a point to check out some of LA’s museums. On Thursday, I went to the Murakami exhibit at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Entrance to MOCA is free on Thursdays after 5 pm. As a result, there were a lot of people in the museum. I know little about Japanese anime, contemporary art, or Murakami so I tagged along with one of the cute guides (by the way, he was Latino, but he didn’t have a goatee).

The next day, I attend First Fridays at the Natural History Museum. Sea Wolf was headlining the event. My friend and I arrived a little too late for the lecture on mammals and brains (or something like that). We opted to wander around the museum, check out the exhibits and learn something. We figured we could do the nerdy thing on campus by just sitting in on a biology lecture or something.

I must have had Murakami on my mind, because an ancient Peruvian figurine reminded me of Kaikai and Kiki, two Murakami characters.

When I showed the photo at work, one my co-workers said the Peruvian figurine was more Stitch than Murakami. What do you think?

Emmanuel “Meme” del Real of Café Tacuba and Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters

Long lost brothers?

If you guys aren’t downloading the latest issues of Puro Pedo Magazine, then you’re missing out. I think it’s funny, but maybe that’s ’cause I’m biased and I contribute to the magazine. Even if you don’t read it, I think it’s quite nice to look at.

To get the pdf version, click the cover to the right or click here.

To pick up a the glossy, full-color copy, visit any of these locations:
Nahui Ohlin
1511 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park, CA 90026
T. 213.202.6550

Teocintli
2701 E. 4th Street, East Los Angeles, CA 90033
(across from Roosevelt High School)
T. 323.266.2117

Imix Bookstore
5052 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041
T. 323.257.2512

Antigua Cultural Coffee House
4836 Huntington Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90032
T. 323.539.CAFE [2233]

For future news and info on when the latest issue is released, subscribe to the email list (subscribe@NOSPAMpuropedomagazine.com). We promise we won’t send spam.

Next time I complain that I’m overwhelmed with all I have to do, just tell me to shut up.

My advisor is right, I do get everything I ask for, which probably isn’t a good thing. Thanks to my good luck in getting what I want, I know have to deal with being a full time student, having two jobs adding up to about 30 hours a week, and serving as the external vice president for the graduate students association. Now, that’s just the formal stuff. I still want to have a social life with my family, significant other, friends and have time to take the dog out for a walk. Phew.

¡Se me olvidó! Somewhere in all those formal and social activities, I also want to be able to write on a couple of blogs and read others’ thoughts and opinions.

I recently added one more thing, I’m a writer (plus distributor and fundraiser!) for a Chicano satire magazine, Puro Pedo Magazine. I was asked to join late in the summer and just contributed my first article for the third issue. The first two issues have been great, but it’s a small operation and the philosophy from the editor and the rest of the PP collective is that we want to remain autonomous (following the lead of the Zapatistas) and not solicit advertisements. However, we also want to give the magazines away since we believe information — and satire — should be free.

So yeah, that means we not only have to think about bringing cultural/political satire to the masses in a way that will make them pee their chonis, we also have to find a way to stay afloat without digging in to our own anorexic bank accounts.

Right now, Puro Pedo has concentrated on print distribution, but we’re also working on getting a PDF version out for the December issue. That way, you all can read it, decide you love it and donate some of your hard earned dollars.

For more information on Puro Pedo Magazine, check out the MySpace page. If you want to know about donations or have other questions, email us.