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Costa Mesa - The Standing Ovation Capital of Orange County

Posted by Eric Brightwell, November 8, 2010 07:30pm | Comments (5)
Vintage Costa Mesa Postcard

This episode is about Cosa Mesa, which I journeyed to with photographer Jeanine Michelle and filmmaker Diana Ward. To vote for other Orange County communities to be covered on the blog, vote here. To vote for Los Angeles County communities to be the subject of future entries, vote here. To vote for Los Angeles neighborhoods, vote here. 

Map of Orange County Map of Costa Mesa
Pendersleigh & Sons' Official Map of Orange County            Pendersleigh & Sons' Official Map of Costa Mesa
 
Costa Mesa is a city in North Orange County, California, located on the coastal tableland above Newport Bay. It’s neighbored by Santa Ana to the north, Irvine to the northeast, Newport Beach to the south, Huntington Beach to the west, and Fountain Valley to the northwest. Originally an agricultural community, nowadays Costa Mesa’s economy is primarily based on retail, commerce and light manufacturing. There are a good deal of cultural events and centers for an Orange County town and Costa Mesa proclaims itself to be Orange County’s “Center of the Arts.” Nonetheless, it’s still Orange County and the biggest money maker is a mall; the largest employer is Mickey D's.
 
Costa Mesa Skyline
Costa Mesa skyline
 
The southwestern portion of the city is somewhat industrial in character. The area hemmed in by the 405, 55 and 73 is known as SOBECA – South on Bristol, Entertainment, Culture and Arts. The shopping area includes "anti-malls" The Lab and The Camp. Other areas include the
Theater & Arts District, the Metro Center, the City Center and the neighborhoods of Cliff Haven and Santa Ana Heights. 

Vietnamese New Wave - Part I - German Euro-disco

Posted by Eric Brightwell, January 8, 2008 10:14pm | Comments (20)
Vietnamese New Wave

Are any of my readers out there Vietnamese? I was turned on to this amazing genre by "the Jewel of La Puente," the one and only (OK, one of thousands but still one of a kind) Ngoc Nuyen. I have asked the experts here at Amoeba Hollywood about "Vietnamese New Wave" (also referred to as Asian New Wave at times) groups and no one seems even remotely familiar with any of them, with the exception of Chris Matthews, to whom "Modern Talking" sounds familiar ...

First of all, when people talk about Vietnamese New Wave, they’re not talking about Vietnamese artists (although there is Thu Thuy, Lynda Trang Dai and supposedly a tieng viet cover of a Night Society song), but rather a movement that includes mostly German Euro-disco, Italo-disco and English synthpop artists who acquired, through means that no one seems to understand (although it definitely involves mixtapes) massive popularity amongst Vietnamese in Cali, Texas and Canada (and maybe elsewhere).

And whilst there’ve been at least four or five documentarians who’ve explored the still supposedly strange popularity of Morrissey amongst Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, to my knowledge no one has yet delved into the mysterious “Vietnamese New Wave” movement in which (in addition to OMD, Pet Shop Boys and Gazebo's "I Like Chopin") four German performers, with no radio play, no MTV exposure, no Amazon recommendations, no local performances came, against all odds, to achieve stardom in the Vietnamese immigrant population.

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