Ghost Trajectories:

Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Intersecting with

Robbert Flick and 16 July 2004

Philip J. Ethington

Pico 01

Pico Blvd. begins on the edge of the North American continent, at the measureless horizon of the Pacific Ocean, on Appian Way, namesake of Rome’s greatest highway.  Radio KFWB AM advertisement: Hummer, like nothing else -- a military vehicle made popular for civilian armor by the action-hero, California’s Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, who is currently playing a comic despot as Islamic Turkey’s Prince Hapi, in Around the World in 80 Days (Walt Disney 2004). Radio KFWB: “another headless body found in the Tigris River.”

Pico 02

The Tigris, ancient artery of our civilization--Babylon.  Los Angeles is the heart of a global empire--successor to Babylon, Rome, Istanbul, Paris, London, and all others.  Waning empire.  Empires are ringed with violent edges.  Pico intersects with these edges. Radio KFWB: The brother of a Filipino hostage shown alive on Al-Jazeera  say his family’s prayers have been heard.  On tape Angelo de la Cruz thanked his president for agreeing to withdraw their troops early.

Pico 03

Radio KFWB: Sopranos snuffed-out by The West Wing in three prior Emmy Award match-ups, will compete once again with the NBC political drama.  Global intersections construct the visual and aural landscape of Pico Blvd, an artery named for the last Mexican Governor of California, Pío de Jesus Pico.  Today the Angeleno gets an earful: a headless body, probably decapitated by Iraqi “insurgents” to protest U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afganistan, floats in the timeless Tigris. Radio KFWB: Also today, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Alawi announced a new security agency will be created to annihilate terrorists. “But we have the determination with the help of Allah to win the challenge.  And we are determined to counter this group of lost souls.”

Pico 04

The representative weapon of our age is the “car bomb.” Oleocapitalism:  the commercial empire of oil.  Oil for Los Angeles, the world capital of car culture. Radio KFWB: A day after the horrific car bombing in Baghdad, another car bomb, in the northwest town of Hadifa: ten people killed there.

Pico 05

Oil for the asphalt surface of Pico Blvd. Oil for plastic products in the “99c Only” stores and for the rubber tires.  Every little gasoline purchase on Pico Blvd. puts pressure on those violent edges of empire. Radio KFWB: “Greater Los Angeles, with millions of people, millions of cars, and hundreds of auto dealerships.  At Sierra Chevrolet…the dealership with the Giant Panda on it’s roof…The Panda Knows.”

Pico 06

KFWB Radio: “Plans for the U.S. government to rank you as to what level of terrorist risk you pose as an airline passenger are being left by the side of the road…”  How much terror can LA pose to Angelenos if Angelenos themselves are considered terrorists until proven otherwise?

Pico 07

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Segunda parte (1615) , Capítulo XXXI.   “Que trata de muchas y grandes cosas”:  “Cuenta, pues, la historia que antes que a la casa de placer o castillo llegasen, se adelantó el Duque y dio orden a todos sus criados del modo que habían de tratar a don Quijote; el cual como llegó con la Duquesa a las puertas del castillo, al instante salieron dél dos lacayos o palafreneros vestidos hasta en pies de unas ropas que llaman de levantar, de finísimo raso carmesí, y cogiendo a donQuijote en brazos, sin ser oído ni visto le dijeron: -Vaya la vuestra grandeza a apear a mi señora la Duquesa.” http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ESL0027/_P2G.HTM

Pico 08

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Volume 2 (1615), Chapter Thirty-One, “Dealing with many important matters.”  “Our history reports that, even before they’d gotten to the summer house, or castle, the duke rode on ahead and explained to all his servants exactly how they were supposed to treat Don Quijote, so that the moment the duchess and our knight arrived at the gates, out leaped two footmen,or grooms, dressed from head to foot in dressing gowns of the finest red satin, and before Don Quijote had either seen or heard them, they took him in their arms and said: ‘Your Highness, help our lady the duchess dismount.’” Translated by Burton Rafel, (New York: Norton, 1999), p. 521.

Pico 09

“Mytho, South Vietnam, Feb. 5 1968  A third of Mytho is destroyed.  Perhaps 50 per cent of this prosperous Mekong Delta city’s people have lost their homes…Most Americans here believe the bombing was necessary to save other sections of the city and the lives of thousands of people who had left their homes to camp in the streets and park on the southeast corner of the city.” --Lee Lascaze The Washington Post, February 6, 1968.

Pico 10

Radio KFWB: It’s victory for the prosecution that the blood-stained tee-shirt will be in evidence in front of the jury.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that there was a rape, that there was forcible conduct, but it certainly raises suspicions in the jury’s mind.

Pico 11

Radio KFWB: "Though our gas prices have been slipping southward a bit the price of oil stubbornly remains above the 40 dollar a barrel mark.  OPEC says in an effort to bring that in effort to bring they’re going to boost the daily production of oil by 2 percent, some half a million barrels…Analysts say OPEC’s move probably won’t lead to a plunge in prices since oil markets have been expecting the production increase and have factored that into the current price structure.”

Pico 12

Radio KFWB: Steal someone’s identity, go to jail.  Provide a fake ID to help terrorists, mandatory five years behind bars.  Those are the provisions the President signed into law today…     Are you losing your hair?  Is that bald spot getting bigger?  Is your hair getting thinner?

Pico 13

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Segunda parte (1615) , Capítulo XXXI.   “Que trata de muchas y grandes cosas”: “-¡Bien sea venido la flor y la nata de los caballeros andantes!  Y todos, o los más, derramab a npomos de aguas olorosas sobre don Quijote y sobre los Duques, de todo lo cual se admiraba don Quijote; y aquél fue el primer día que de todo en todo conoció y creyó ser caballero andante verdadero, y no fantástico, viéndose tratar del mesmo  modo que él había leído se trataban los tales caballeros en los pasados siglos.” http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ESL0027/_P2G.HTM

Pico 14

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Volume 2 (1615), Chapter Thirty-One, “Dealing with many important matters”: “‘Welcome to the flower and very cream of knight errantry!’  And then all of them, or at least most of them, lifted small flasks and sprinkled perfumed water on Don Quijote, as well as on his host and hostess, much to Don Quijote’s astonishment: finding himself treated exactly as he had always read that knights were treated, in ancient times, it was the first time he has ever fully convinced that he was a real rather than, somehow, an imaginary knight errant.” Translated by Burton Rafel, (New York: Norton, 1999), p. 521.

Pico 15

Radio KFWB: CitiGroup is weighing on the Dow:  The world’s biggest bank said Second Quarter profit fell 73% after it set aside almost $5 Billion for litigation related to WorldCom and other companies that sought bankruptcy. CitiGroup down 1.02 to 44.06, a share a drop of 2¼  percent.

Pico 16

Radio KFWB: “With LoJack our officers recover stolen vehicles with a 90% success rate…And usually within a few hours, honey! So if we are going to buy that SUV, let’s do what we can to protect it.”

Pico 17

Battling “Shiite insurgents” in the Battle of Karbala, fighting focused on an amusement park: “At 12:30 A.M., soldiers were drawn into an intense firefight, killing an Iraqi who had been lobbing grenades from the area of the pirate ship ride.  The man was carrying identification showing that he worked for an American-trained security force, the Facilities Protection Service.”  --Edward Wong  “U.S. Troops Start Major Attacks on Shiite Insurgents in 2 Cities.” New York Times 6 May 2004 A1. Radio KFWB: Kobe Bryant’s still holding us all hostage, as we await his highness’s decision about where he’ll be playing next: Lakers or the Clippers, the clock is ticking.

Pico 18

Radio KFWB: “More than 13,000 acres are now burned in two major Southland brushfires.  It’s 79 degrees in Tarzana; Walnut 86; Seal Beach 82; Glendora 81; it’s 82 degrees in downtown Los Angeles.” 

Pico 19

Radio KFWB: “Donating your old car …put food on the table of needy families, pay for childcare, …tax break into blessings for the less fortunate?  Children’s Fund.  Towing is absolutely free. 800 572 LIFE.”

Pico 20

Doheny Dr, namesake of Edward Doheny, founder of the Los Angeles oil industry and also of the Mexican Oil industry.  Doheny helped make Los Angeles a global city in the 1920s, inserting profits pumped from Southern California into the Gulf Coast of Mexico.  Doheny was a leader of the counter-revolution in Mexico, and ended his life in shame after his Elk Hills bribery was exposed in the Teapot Dome scandal.

Pico 21

Moment of silence: In memory of those killed in traffic on Pico Boulevard.

Pico 22

Radio KFWB: “1,000 firefighters covering the Pine Fire.…Looking for people who might have intentionally set this fire…“Oh yes, it was like a firestorm that came through here.  It’s amazing that we were able to save the house.”

Pico 23

“We know of some Iranian-born Jews who are being held under subhuman conditions, even worse than those found in third-world countries," said Sam Kermanian, the usually low-key secretary general ofthe Iranian American Jewish Federation in Los Angeles.  The Persian Jews, together with a larger number of Muslims from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria, were detained during a national registration process ofthose in this country on temporary visas or not in possession of green card work permits. The registration ended Monday and affected only men. Thousands of Iranians — Jews and non-Jews alike — protested INS tactics on Wednesday, Dec. 18, outside the Federal Building in Westwood. There are some 30,000 Persian Jews and more than 500,000 Iranian Muslims in Southern California.”  -Tom Tugend and Mike Levy  “Persian Jews Protest Recent INS Tactics, “ The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 20 December 2002  http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=9814

Pico 24

“The Spanish-language reality series…’Gana La Verde’ (Win the Green)…on Los Angeles station KCRA-TV, Channel 62…dangles the promise of immigration assistance for contestants who agree to perform on-camera stunts such as lying in a sealed plastic coffin with 500 rats or eating live beetles.” “Stunts for Green Card Aid Criticized,”  Los Angeles Times 13 August 2004 E1

Pico 25

“The Iraqui Jewish Community in Los Angeles celebrated the second Babylonian Heritage gala at Summit Bel Air Hotel on June 1, 1997.   About 270 guests filled the charming, richly decorated ballroom and the veranda of the hotel to honour our affinity to our common heritage and to confirm our continuous support to our Babylonian Heritage Center in Israel.” --Victor Ozair M.Sc., P.E. Yosef Hayim A publication of the Babylonian Jewish Community of Los Angeles,  Issue 2, Winter 1997 http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/losangel.htm

Pico 26

Radio KFWB:  Flames erupted near a waterfall popular with kids.

Pico 27

Radio KFWB: Alright the 60’s not OK, we’ve got a pretty bad accident on in Monterey Park on the East Pomona near Atlantic Boulevard.  Van tipped over in the two right lanes; gonna be there ‘til further notice.  Heading out of Orange Country on the 5 northbound Santa Ana Freeway from the 91 to the 605.  It’s going to take you about twenty-eight minutes to take that typical six minute ride.

Pico 28

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Segunda parte (1615) , Capítulo XXXV.   “Donde se prosigue la noticia que tuvo don Quijote del desencanto de Dulcinea, con otros admirables sucesos”:  “Pues en verdad, amigo Sancho -dijo el Duque-, que si no os ablandáis más que una breva madura, que no habéis de empuñar el gobierno. ¡Bueno sería que yo enviase a mis insulanos un gobernador cruel, de entrañas pedernalinas, que no se doblega a las lágrimas de las afligidas doncellas, ni a los ruegos de discretos, imperiosos y antiguos encantadores y sabios! En resolución, Sancho, o vos habéis de ser azotado, o os han de azotar, o no habéis de ser gobernador.” http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ESL0027/_P2K.HTM

Pico 29

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Volume 2 (1615), Chapter Thirty-Five, (“More about what Don Quijote was told, by way of disenchanting Dulcinea, together with other remarkable events”): “‘But trul, my friend Sancho,’ said the duke, ‘if you don’t show us you can be as meek as a lamb, you’re not going to get that governorship.  Good lord, how would it be to send my island a cruel governor, so hard-hearted that he couldn’t be moved by the tears of unfortunate maidens, so stiff-necked that he couldn’t be touched by the appeals of wise, powerful, venerable magicians and enchanter!  Oh no, Sancho:  either you have to whip yourself, or we have to whip you, or you can’t be a governor.’” Translated by Burton Raffel, (New York: Norton, 1999), p. 551.

Pico 30

Radio KFWB: A three-car banger here sitting in the middle lanes is beginning to really cause a backup.  In fact, the south Hollywood Freeway from the Hollywood Split to the Four-Level. That’s about a 40-minute ride thanks to this backup.

Pico 31

Camp Lima, near Karbala, Iraq:  “The camp as been housing Polish, Bulgarian and Thai soldiers, and the American soldiers are officially acting under the command of a Polish general.”  --Edward Wong, New York Times, 6 May 2004, p. A1.

Pico 32

“The name Byzantine-Latino Quarter was adopted to signify that the neighborhood had drawn from and was still the product of different cultures: Greek and Eastern Orthodox cultures had populated the neighborhood in the earlier days.  A Greek Orthodox Cathedral, built in the Byzantine style, is a major landmark in the areas, and draws from thousands of parishes and visitors from different corners of Los Angeles.  On the other hand, the neighborhood’s physical form and socialidentity has been largely defined by the Latino culture.” --Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris “The Byzantine-Latino Quarter: Creating Community in Los Angeles’ Inner City.” DISP 140 (2000), p. 17.

Pico 33

Radio KFWB:  A body without a head turned up in the Tigris River today and the question is whether the corpse in an orange jumpsuit was one of the Bulgarian hostages.  And California Indian tribes that don’t have gambling are joining forces.

Pico 34

Radio KFWB:  Soprano’s star Edie Falco reading the list of
those nominated for best actor in a drama series, Falco herself
nominated for best actress in the drama.  Also in that category, Allison
Janney of the ‘West Wing;’  Jennifer Garner from ABC’s ‘Alias;’ and two
first-time nominees, Mariska Hargitay from NBC’s ‘Law and Order: 
Special Victims Unit,’ and Amber Tamblyn for ‘Joan of Arcadia.’

Pico 35

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Segunda
parte. Capítulo XLIV.  (“Cómo Sancho Panza fue llevado al gobierno, y de
la extraña aventura que en el castillo sucedió a don Quijote.”) 
“ Dicen que en el propio original desta historia se lee que llegando
Cide Hamete a escribir este capítulo, no le tradujo su intérprete como
él le había escrito, que fue un modo de queja que tuvo el moro de sí
mismo, por haber tomado entre manos una historia tan seca y tan limitada
como esta de don Quijote…”
http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ESL0027/_P2T.HTM

Pico 36

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, vol 2.
Chapter Forty-Four. (“How Sancho Panza was taken to his governorship,
and the strange adventure experienced by Don Quijote in the duke and
duchess’ castle.”)  “It is said that, in the true original of this
chapter, one can read how, when Sidi Hamid came to write this chapter
(which his translator only partially rendered into Spanish), the Moor
penned a kind of complaint against himself, for having undertaken such a
dry and narrow history as Don Quijote’s…” Translated by Burton Raffel,
(New York: Norton, 1999), p. 586.

Pico 37

Radio KFWB: LAX, one of five airports testing a new
security screening system.. 2,000 United Frequent Fliers.  Pictures
taken of the irises of their eyes, as well as fingerprints, background
checks.

Pico 38

“Long troubled by infighting, the Los Angeles Iranian Jewish
community is working toward less conflict as three prominent Iranian
Jewish organizations recently merged with the hope of speaking with one
voice…. We are the survivors of a revolution," Fakheri said. "Our main
goal was to survive, so we did whatever we had to do to reach that goal.
Now our situation is way different than even a decade ago so we can do
more by putting our resources together." --Karmel Melamed, “Splintered
Persian Groups Merge,” The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 20
December 2002.  25 June 2004.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=12461

Pico 39

Radio KFWB: Congress moving forward with a multi-billion
dollar program to combat biological and chemical attacks …‘We need to
have drugs, vaccines, and antidotes…’

Pico 40

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Segunda
parte. Capítulo XLIX. “De lo que sucedió a Sancho Panza rondando su
ínsula”: “Todos los que conocían a Sancho Panza se admiraban oyéndole
hablar tan elegantemente, y no sabían a qué atribuirlo, sino a que los
oficios y cargos graves, o adoban, o entorpecen los entendimientos.” 
http://www.intratext.com/X/ESL0027.HTM

Pico 41

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, vol 2. Chap
49. (“What happened to Sancho Panza, as he patrolled his island.”) 
“Those who knew Sancho Panza were astonished, hearing him speak so well,
and didn’t  know what was responsible, except perhaps that serious
posts and professions can either improve the mind or utterly ruin it.
Translated by Burton Raffel, (New York: Norton, 1999), p. 614.

Pico 42

“The LA Fashion District (formerly known as the Garment
District) houses the largest concentration of fashion-related businesses
in the Western United States. This $8 billion hub of the Southern
California Apparel Industry rivals New York's garment district in size
and reputation for premiering trend-setting fashions. The District
attracts millions of wholesale and retail buyers every year.” -- The
Downtown Property Owners Association  http://www.fashiondistrict.org/

Pico 43

“The Downtown Property Owners Association (DPOA) … is dedicated
to making our community a clean, safe, and friendly place to work,
shop, and do business. The BID, a special services district funded by an
assessment on property, generates $3 million annually, funding an array
of services that directly benefit the district.” -- The Downtown
Property Owners Association http://www.fashiondistrict.org/

Pico 44

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, Segunda
parte. Capítulo LXXII.  (“De cómo don Quijote y Sancho llegaron a su
aldea.”)  “-Abre los ojos, deseada patria, y mira que vuelve a ti Sancho
Panza tu hijo, si no muy rico, muy bien azotado. Abre los brazos, y
recibe también tu hijo don Quijote, que si viene vencido de los brazos
ajenos, viene vencedor de sí mismo; que, según él me ha dicho, es el
mayor vencimiento que desearse puede. Dineros llevo, porque si buenos
azotes me daban, bien caballero me
iba.”http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ESL0027/_P3L.HTM

Pico 45

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote, vol 2.
Chapter Seventy-Two. (“How Don Quijote and Sancho came home.”)  “‘Open
your eyes, beloved homeland, and see that your son, Sancho Panza, has
come home to you, and if he isn’t coming home particularly rich, he’s
certainly coming well whipped.  Open your arms and welcome, at the same
time, your son, Don Quijote, who may be returning after a defeat in
battle but who has won the battle with himself, and that, according to
what he’s told me, is the greatest victory anyone could want.  I bring
money, and maybe I got a good whipping, but at least I rode like a real
gentleman.’” Translated by Burton Raffel, (New York: Norton, 1999), p.
637.