Archive / We Love Long Beach
“My superhero character is all about new adventures and taking care of wrongdoing in the world,” says Reed Greenfield, alter-ego of comic-book superhero Z-Blade XX. Greenfield and friends recently released their first crime-fighting comic book, loosely based on Greenfield himself. “I, like others, am a struggling actor, and so I decided to create something new for myself. We needed another African-American superhero,” he says.
While working at Universal Studios as the Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein, Greenfield met Guy Lemae, a fellow actor and art illustrator. “We started talking about comic books, which led to some sketches, and soon we compiled a creative team,” Greenfield recalls. He says the experience has been the most exciting time of his life—and has triggered a new found creativity.
For Greenfield the comic book was incomplete without its official superhero costume, which has become an essential element to marketing Z-Blade XX. “I now get to dress up as Z-Blade for local signings. All the kids are enamored and blown away by the suit. It’s an amazing feeling to see the kids smile,” he says. And this is only the beginning of Z-Blade: “In the end I want Z-Blade to inspire change in the world. I just want Z-Blade to represent justice in the world.” SCOTT JONES
We Love Long Beach is bringing in the New Year with the Wrigley Neighborhood! Please come and get to know your neighbors, and enjoy free pancakes, eggs, sausage, fuit, oj, and coffee. We will have vegan options as well!
There will be face painting for the kids, a live DJ and a few giveaways.
Please stay posted.
The date is TBA
“It is very difficult to find pants that fit when you are this tall—which puts great pressure on my favorite dwindling corduroys,” says Jon Mansen, a 6’11” recent transplant from Seattle. Mansen visited Long Beach in March to see his brother and quickly fell in love with the people. “I had a deep desire in my heart to move to Long Beach and to be a part of the community, and so I did, much to my former landlord’s dismay,” he says.
But the transition to Long Beach has not been entirely easy: “My first prospective employment position was a self-serve dog-wash center on Ocean Blvd., but that didn’t pan out like I had hoped.” Instead, Mansen has made use of his free time by getting to know the city better—and practicing piano. “My finger reach is around an octave-and-a-half on the common forte,” he laughs.
And about his size: “The advantage is that I can see a lot of bald spots, and the disadvantage is that people tend to discriminate against me at concerts, yelling, ‘Down in front, Goliath.’” But at least his height is an icebreaker: “I look forward to the many new relationships that I will [form in Long Beach]. It’s not hard to begin a conversation when you’re nearly seven feet tall.” SCOTT JONES
“As an outdoor personal trainer, I need to be so much more innovative and creative with my surroundings,” says Jed Miller, owner of Level 9 Personal Training. “We don’t go heavy out there. I have learned from my experience that it is much safer to use your own body weight, rather than bulky gym weights, and yet still produce the results that my clients want.”
Upon graduating high school, Miller joined the army—an experience, he says, that helped his understanding of how people can accomplish great feats as a team. “When people share common goals and realize they don’t have to do it alone, they work harder and stay focused,” explains Miller, who has taken his military lessons and has applied them to his fitness training. “My clients naturally push and feed off one another and celebrate their accomplishments together.”
Having moved to Long Beach just this past year, Miller says he’s quickly fallen in love with the city. “The people in Long Beach have been very warm and welcoming to me. I feel like I was absorbed into this city like a sponge,” he says. His desire is to begin expanding into more areas in the city: “I am looking forward to 2010. I feel the responsibility to bring health and fitness to people that might not typically have the opportunity to be educated and experience fitness at little to no cost.” SCOTT JONES
Here is the Jed’s website: http://www.level9personaltraining.com
Patchwork is a unique event showcasing emerging crafters, delicious food, and local music. Some items include home goods, clothing for men, women & children, paper goods, accessories, affordable artworks of all kind. We Love Long Beach is proud to co-sponsor with Patchwork at this event, and hopes that you can tell others. Please come out and support over 60 local vendors. Thank you! Let us celebrate our city!
SIDES: written by Miles Clements
Giving, it seems, is often only a yearly occurrence, a single surge of goodwill propelled mostly by the holidays. Local food banks that are dry during the other nine months of the year suddenly see a swell in supply that correlates precisely with the giving season and disappears as soon as it’s over. But in these notoriously stingy times, those who can afford to spare some staples from their pantry should consider helping those in need—especially considering that food banks are suffering through an overall drop in supply and a marked increase in demand. Long Beach agencies, for example, are reporting a 60% rise in local needy families. To that end, all-around do-gooders We Love Long Beach have partnered with Food Finders for a pre-Thanksgiving food drive to benefit Long Beach’s hungry. The joint undertaking began October 19 and extends to November 20, with drop-off options located all over the city, including Belmont Shore, Bixby Knolls, Retro Row, the Broadway Corridor, CSULB and downtown. Suggested items include canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, jellies, rice, beans, canned soup, pasta and other long-lasting foodstuffs. Of course, Thanksgiving doesn’t have to signal the end of our generosity; we can make it a year-long effort.
“It all started when I was driving through Anaheim and noticed day after day the poverty all around me. I knew that I needed to do something about it,” recalls Arlene Mercer, founder of the non-profit organization Food Finders. Twenty years later, Food Finder provides 50,000 meals a day to people in need, sharing over 76 million pounds of food with the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
Essentially, Food Finders stems from two modern-day challenges: 1) Many restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores throw away perfectly good food every day that can still be eaten; and 2) food banks and homeless shelters are always in need of more food. The challenge for Mercer is to bridge the gap in-between. In her first year, Mercer—working out of her home with the help of family and friends—transported over 1,000 pounds of food per month to three Long Beach needs-focused organizations.
“Love is the answer to everything” she says, smiling. Now based out of Food Finders’ main office off Wardlow and Atlantic, Mercer is preparing for the holiday season. “There are too many people falling through the cracks,” she explains. “We seek not just to feed people, but to help them to build a better life.” Over 150 volunteers assist her in picking up and delivering food and helping out at Food Finders’ thrift stores. Even so, Mercer recognizes that Food Finders alone can barely scratch the surface of poverty in the city. “There is so much more need and so much food being wasted. I believe that together we have the power to do more for our neighbors.” SCOTT JONES
Come support AIDS Foundation Long Beach
Pick up a copy of Long Beach Magazine at Borders or Barnes & Noble in Long Beach.
Hey LONG BEACH check out this “yummy” FREE Breakfast joy!!!
We want to come to your neighborhood too!
So let us know!!!
Our Email: info@welovelb.org , so please hit us up! Read the rest of this entry »
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