Y-Que Shirts Take on Trump: 'Trumpacabra' and 'Lock Him Up' For Sale

It's been a while since we checked in with one of our favorite Los Feliz shops, Y Que, and its infamous t-shirts. But over the holidays we were in the neighborhood and stopped by, and were pleased to see the Y Que t-shirt game still going strong.

Of course, the hot topic of the resistance is front and center, via this "Trumpacabra" shirt and others addressing the current inhabitant of the White House. There's also a "Lock Him Up" shirt and, in the vein of Y Que's classic "Free Winona" shirt, a new one for Melania Trump. (Although, as we've learned in recent months, she is complacent in all of this.)

But as we first wrote about 10 years ago (!), we still really gravitate toward Y Que's wide selection of Los Angeles neighborhood shirts, featuring designs — sometimes humorous, sometimes spot-on — relevant to the area. Just a few examples:

The "Happy Foot/Sad Foot" Silver Lake shirt may be my favorite. Check out their website here for more shirts, and our past Franklin Avenue coverage of Y Que here. Y Que is located at 1770 N Vermont Ave. in Los Feliz.

Scenes From The Women's March 2018 In Downtown Los Angeles

We had to miss last year's Women's March, as I was flying to the Sundance Film Festival that day. With no Sundance for me this year, we weren't going to miss it again. Maria, the Blogger Kid 2.0 and I all donned our "Feminist" t-shirts (thanks to "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee"), the kid made a sign ("Women and Immigrants Make America Great"), and we took the Metro Gold Line from Highland Park to Little Tokyo.

And what we saw was as inspiring as we hoped. Women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Amazing young girls marching together, chanting. Men and boys showing their support. People of all walks of life marching together. Some highlights:

These girls may have been our favorite of the entire march.

"Worst 'Black Mirror' ever."

Good use of cheetos.

More amazing young women.

Loved seeing this female cop talking to these young girls about using their voices.

Another great scene: Women with "Love Trumps Hate" signs surround a few awful hatemongers in the crowd.

Ten more months. Ten more months.

KCRW's The Spin-Off: TV in the Age of Trump and Media Trends of 2017

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I were joined by Vulture's Maria Elena Fernandez, and we discussed, well, what else? TV under Trump.

In our first episode recorded under President Trump, the Spin-off crew looks at the ways Trump and the world of television are colliding. In addition to his obsession with ratings, on the creative side of things, we're already seeing showrunners offer their take on Trump, and there will be more to come, especially in the world of comedy. And, the year ahead will see the continuing evolution of streaming television, starting will CBS All Access getting their big scripted original push next month with ‘The Good Fight.' Plus, will Viacom be able to revive any of their troubled properties? Comedy Central may face less of a battle than MTV.

Listen below!

For Kids, Donald Trump is the Bogeyman

The Blogger Kid 2.0's summer art camp asked the kids to design a "scary monster" with clay. Unprompted, several chose to depict Donald Trump. (Our guy made a ghost. But still, Trump fear is real.)

The Southern Poverty Law Center lays it out:

It’s producing an alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color and inflaming racial and ethnic tensions in the classroom. Many students worry about being deported.

Other students have been emboldened by the divisive, often juvenile rhetoric in the campaign. Teachers have noted an increase in bullying, harassment and intimidation of students whose races, religions or nationalities have been the verbal targets of candidates on the campaign trail.

Educators are perplexed and conflicted about what to do. They report being stymied by the need to remain nonpartisan but disturbed by the anxiety in their classrooms and the lessons that children may be absorbing from this campaign.

Anecdotally, I know the 11 year olds that Blogger Kid 1.0 hangs around with now bring up Trump when they want to invoke something scary. But they're honestly nervous about this. This presidential campaign is causing real distress among kids.

License Plate of the Day: Mystery Trump Edition

OK, I definitely need your help with this one. A Donald Trump reference? Or something to do with this driver's "rump"? Place your guesses in the comments!

It's Official: The Ambassador Hotel School Will Be Named After Robert Kennedy

It obviously makes sense that the high school rising from the ashes of the late, great Ambassador Hotel be named after Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy, of course, was assassinated at the hotel in 1968, moments after giving a victory speech for winning California's presidential primary.

The historic value of the Ambassador was one of the arguments used in the attempt to save the hotel from destruction. Students might have once been able to go down to the actual pantry where RFK was shot; instead, they'll have to make do with knowing they're on the same grounds.

The Kennedy family weren't so nostalgic about the site, having put their weight behind tearing the hotel down in order to more quickly build a school.

On the bright side, there does seem to be an effort to at least pay tribute to history. The school itself has been built over the exact same footprint as the hotel -- which means it takes the same shape as seen from the street. And the LAUSD has restored the old entryway to how it once looked.



Here's the details from the L.A. Times:

he education complex at the site of the once-grand Ambassador Hotel will be named in honor of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was killed there by an assassin in 1968. The long-expected honor, approved by the Los Angeles Unified school board this afternoon, faced no opposition. The discussion quickly evolved into a tribute to the senator, who was cut down as he celebrated his win in the Democratic presidential primary at the storied Wilshire Boulevard hotel.

“We can now continue the legacy of Robert F. Kennedy,” said Kennedy friend Paul Schrade, who has worked with local allies for years to create a school as a fitting memorial for the senator.

The Ambassador school project has become “a symbol of hope for so many of us,” said board member Nury Martinez, who like others struggled to keep her composure.

The effort that resulted in the Kennedy complex began in the 1980s, when the school district battled over the decaying Ambassador Hotel with developer Donald Trump, who wanted to build the world’s tallest building on the site. That tug-of-war persisted for more than a decade, even after Trump ceded his interest to other developers.

I guess that's one other bright spot -- thank goodness Trump's nutty idea of building the world's tallest building on the site never got anywhere.

Partying With Trump... And the Sultan of Dubai

When you suddenly get an invite to a party thrown by Donald Trump and the Sultan of Dubai, well, you gotta go, right?

I was all set to watch the Blogger Kid on Saturday night while Maria headed off to see Donna Summer (!) at the Hollywood Bowl (and she's got a great story to tell too -- more on that later). But after receiving the Trump/Sultan invite, well, I had to call a sitter.

The event was thrown at a massive mansion in Bel Air to celebrate the launch of the Trump Intl. Hotel & Tower Dubai. It also was an opportunity for developer Nakheel and Dubai to show off their continuing plans for the region. Man made islands, countless skyscrapers, loads of pricy real estate. To say they're floating in money there -- and plowing it into some unbelievably extravagant projects -- is an understatement.

Watching the multimedia presentation hyping the future of Dubai, I felt like we'd been transported to the opening of a James Bond movie. You know -- people gathered at an expensive gala, not realizing that something secret was actually going on.

Variety's party man Bill Higgins wrote up a good roundup of the event, here's his take:

Donald Trump threw the Middle East version of a wine-and-cheese real estate showcase Saturday night when he hyped his Trump Intl. Hotel & Tower Dubai with an L.A. party full of shock and awe.

Informed estimates put the tab at $5 million-$6 million, all to show off a real estate project 8,000 miles away during the last week of August -- not exactly primetime for Hollywood movers and shakers.

The 700-guest party produced by Obscura Digital was held in a massive Bel Air property (industryites would recognize it as the late Tichi Wilkerson Kassel's estate) and featured a geodesic dome theater with models and 360-degree video projections of the Dubai project. The replica of the Trump Tower was so large, one guest quipped, "Ed McMahon could live in there."

Christina Aguilera was on hand to sing a four-song set. Also spotted: Kate Walsh, Hayden Panettiere and Omarosa. Yes, Omarosa.

I brought along my friend Leslie, who snapped some shots with her camera phone:


The Trump Tower in Dubai -- the model lights up.


The party scene


The Epcot-style dome where the mock-up of Dubai was housed


Dubai, projected above the party inside the dome