Thursday, June 21, 2007

 

Three great stories in one newspaper!

Took a quick break from my workday schedule to finally pick the LA Times up off my front doorstep today. Expected to see the normal melange of stories about Iraq, the clusterf&*k for the White House in 2008, and the like.

Sure, that's all in there, but looky here! There's some good stuff in this paper today. Take that, Tribune Company! Even your short-sighted dismantling of the most-read paper on the West Coast can't stop the occasional fascinating piece from trickling through the cracks.

First, there's this:

Turns out that one of the University of California campuses not too far from my home (the one in Riverside) has the world's foremost science fiction library, to which I can only say, "Kick Ass!"

I'm not much of a sci fi fan, but as a serious geek-minded guy, this is pretty cool. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that someday, when Our Woman in LA and I have little Wielands, I'm hoping that one will go to UC-Riverside. Not only will it save us some serious money (and it's not like UC schools are any slouch), but also I'll have a better than average excuse for ditching a campus tour to check out this part of the library. I'm just saying.

This, of course, will never work out. The wife and I both attended fairly expensive private universities, so appealing to any future children with the "Save your folks some dough and let Dad go see the sci fi books" strategy . . . well, it's never going to work.

Then there's this:

That's a fantastic photo of poor schlep Sergio Zavala, a traffic scofflaw who got one too many speeding and parking tix. Love it.

Finally there are these stories:

The Times has been covering this the last few weeks. L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, it seems, has been doing his best to out-corrupt the folks back in Our Man in LA's former home of Cook County. He's an amateur, sure. Nobody's gotten whacked. There's no reference to the Outfit or "trucking firms from Bridgeport."

Nope. It's about parking and cars and baby-sitting, stuff like that.

First, we learned that Delgadillo's wife used one of the GMC Yukons they reserve for him - just to run some errands. And then she wrecked it. And then it turned out that she didn't have insurance (required by law in California).

Then it turned out that neither of them actually had insurance for a couple of years. Now today, we have reports of Rocky asking his staff to baby sit, to get his dry cleaning, and take his kids on field trips to local museums. LA Times columnist Steve Lopez has offered to be official driver for the Delgadillos (he has insurance), and you should be able to find that invitation pretty easily at latimes.com.

Anyway, it's no Operation Silver Shovel, I'll grant you, but we're new at this big city evil stuff out here. You can read about Rocky and his peccadillos at the link above. Fun stuff.

Friday, June 15, 2007

 

What was that? Another Spurs championship.

So here's the question of the day. If the San Antonio Spurs fell on the Cavaliers and won a championship in the woods, but nobody watched, did they make a sound??

Or something like that?

While you weren't watching last night, Tim Duncan led the Spurs to their 4th NBA championship in 9 years, this time over superstar LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

And nobody noticed, more or less. Actually, a few people noticed. But like Our Man in LA, they mostly noticed that nobody noticed.

It's actually a pretty incredible feat. The NBA has 30 franchises, and only three of them - the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers (who have won both in LA and in their former home of Minneapolis), and the Chicago Bulls - have more titles.

Think of that. There are only four teams in the NBA that have four titles or more. I looked it up. There are only nine teams that have more than one. Contrast that with baseball, which is older, sure, but where there are eight or nine teams with 10 or more World Series appearances.

Still, the Spurs are like a revolution. You know, cause they sound like a whisper.

One more crazy stat. Because of last night's win over the Cavs, San Antonio 3-point God Robert Horry now has seven NBA championship rings. Seven! Want to know who has more than seven?

Well, there are about 7 or 8 guys, actually. But they all played on those Celtics teams from the 50s and 60s that won 11 titles.

Know who doesn't have seven? Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Irving, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwan, Rick Barry, Isaiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman, and all manner of fly basketball players from my youth. Hell, Ewing and Barkley don't have any. Championship-wise, those guys might as well be Craig Ehlo.

So sorry to the Cleveland fans, and hooray for the San Antonio fans. As for the rest of you, you didn't miss a lot.

By the way, when did this blog become the all liberal politics all the time blog? Did anybody notice? I'll get some comics and entertainment in here next week.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

 

Camp, Anyone?

Guest Blogger here. It's Our Woman in L.A.

Okay, so last night, Our Man in L.A. and I watched JESUS CAMP. Have you seen it? It's a documentary about an Evangelical Christian summer camp for kids. Whoa. I mean, really, whoa. We had to pause the movie a few times because we literally could not believe what we were hearing. A few examples:

"George Bush is Jesus' representative on Earth."

"We don't have to justify the way we feel about gays, the Bible tells us what's right and wrong." (spoken by Mr. Ted Haggerty)

"Global warming is a lie."

"Harry Potter is a warlock, and it doesn't matter that he's a hero because God will strike him down." (This one was my personal favorite.)

Look, I am in no way "anti-religious." You want to believe in something, you go for it. I support your right. But, come on, telling seven-year-olds to take a hammer and smash mugs - mugs that were supposed to represent the evils of the "liberal political system?" To seven-year-olds? At summer camp? At a religious summer camp? Really?

Did anyone see this movie? No doubt, it was awesome. It made me think. I just want to hear what YOU thought of it.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

 

What's next - Flintstone.net?


By the way, just a post-script here. So I was searching for the picture of the Flintstones that I used on the post below this one. And the one above. Which I think is hi-larious.

Easy, right?

Only I came across a little tidbit of knowledge on my way to the pic.

Did you guys know that there's a Flintstones Christmas Special?

Yeah. I didn't know that. And I found myself saying, "But they're . . . CAVEMEN . . . they didn't have Christmas yet . . . cause it didn't come around till . . . aw, screw it."

I'm over-thinking this, aren't I?

 

Not a Top Five, not a Bottom One, but Some Much Needed Answers


If I were any kind of consistent blogger at all (which I'm not), I would have been back yesterday with a typical Tuesday Top Five. I probably could have pulled one off, too, but I just didn't get to it.

No good excuses, no flashy punchlines. It was just a busy day. Sorry. Feel free to contact our complaint department. Seems to me I have their address around here someplace . . .

Anyway, if I'm not going to have the Top Five, I shouldn't have the Bottom One. Because, you see, that would be unbalanced. And while that might work for our friends at Fox News, we Californian types like yoga, wine, nice weather, and balance in the universe.

What I do have is something better! That's right! It's the answers to Our Man in LA's Conservative Call-Out, dispatched earlier this week. We have real answers to my questions from a real conservative! And not just any real conservative, but one who lives in the Bible Belt of the American Southeast!

Beat that!

All right, fine, the answers are from my father-in-law. He's the only conservative who wrote in, which probably means I've disgusted the rest of them.

But in case you were wondering . . . here's them answers!

Yesterday I wrote the following:

I invite anyone - ANYONE - to write in and explain to me how they believe any of the following:

1) That evolution is a myth, or at the very least a theory no less supported than creationism. Anyone who believes the world is 6,000 years old or that man and dinosaurs lived together is invited to explain this to me. Seriously. No joke.


CONSERVATIVE RESPONSE: There is proof. I submit . . . THE FLINTSTONES. How about that, hippie?!

So noted. Professors Hanna and Barberra are among the finest scholars of our time, though I never cared much for Bam Bam. Pebbles was too good for him. I'm just sayin'.

Then I wrote:

2) That we as a country would really be better off with less gun control than what we have now. I read a columnist online who suggested that the Virginia Tech massacre wouldn't have happened if we had fewer gun controls in the US. His reasoning was that if more people were packing heat, that fewer violent criminals would do anything less than law-abiding. Really? Explain this to me. Seriously. No joke.

CONSERVATIVE RESPONSE: BLAZING SADDLES!

That's right! "Dem town peoples sure took care of dem bad guys!"

Uh . . . OK. Bit of a non-sequiter, but no more or less so than a column written by Ted Nugent and carried on CNN.com calling for no gun control at all.

Then I wrote:

3) That global warming is not caused by carbon emissions, and that it's a theory put out there to discredit the oil companies and steal money from big business. Or something. Seriously. No joke. Explain it to me.

CONSERVATIVE RESPONSE: Leave my BBQ alone!

I would, honestly. If you weren't grilling up endangered species . . . I know baby seal tastes like chicken, but so does chicken.

And then:

4) That Iraq is working. Or that Al Qaeda and Saddam were linked at all. Seriously. No joke.

CONSERVATIVE RESPONSE: Where is Iraq?

Heh. Have to say that I sort of expected this one.

And then finally . . .

5) BONUS FOR THE LIBERALS! If you believe, like Charlie Sheen and Rosie O'Donnell, that the Bush administration engineered 9/11, I'd welcome learning more. Seriously. Explain it to me. Probably no jokes.

CONSERVATIVE RESPONSE: You got me on this one.

Yeah, you got me, too. Nice to find something we agree on.

So everyone clear?

Monday, June 11, 2007

 

A Call Out to the Conservative Types

All right, guys. Last week, Our Woman in LA and I had an influx of in-laws come out to the Left Coast to see FREEDOM BOUND, the show that she directed for City at Peace - Los Angeles. It was a good time, full of good food, fine wine, and, of course, an opportunity to hear about how liberal I am.

This is nothing new, of course. I'm pretty well aware of how liberal I am. And I know that it can be annoying to check in for another Our Man in LA posting, just to hear me spout off about something political. Shouldn't I be talking about Paris Hilton? What about that last episode of THE SOPRANOS? Didn't it suck?

Not today. Maybe tomorrow. Seriously. Maybe tomorrow.

But today, we're having the first-ever Our Man in LA Conservative Challenge. Here's the sitch --

You might have seen one of those Republican debates a couple of weeks back, where three of the potential candidates for the GOP Presidential nomination volunteered on national TV that they don't believe in evolution. To my sensibilities, that's sort of like being the first grader who admits that he likes to eat paste.

But apparently not.

According to a Gallup Poll released in the last couple of days, Americans don't generally believe in evolution like I thought they did. Check out these numbers:

* Dems — 57% believe in evolution, 40% do not

* Independents — 61% believe in evolution, 37% do not

* Republicans — 30% believe in evolution, 68% do not

And 25 percent say they believe in both evolution and creationism. By which, I hope they mean that they believe in God and evolution, but I really don't know.

This sort of thing makes me crazy, mostly because I feel like I'm at a place in American history where our country is bitterly divided, and it's not possible for one side to understand the other. Which brings me to the nitty gritty of the challenge.

I don't think we can have meaningful conversation about the direction of this country unless we understand each other. And I don't understand the country's arch-conservatives. I invite anyone - ANYONE - to write in and explain to me how they believe any of the following:

1) That evolution is a myth, or at the very least a theory no less supported than creationism. Anyone who believes the world is 6,000 years old or that man and dinosaurs lived together is invited to explain this to me. Seriously. No joke.

2) That we as a country would really be better off with less gun control than what we have now. I read a columnist online who suggested that the Virginia Tech massacre wouldn't have happened if we had fewer gun controls in the US. His reasoning was that if more people were packing heat, that fewer violent criminals would do anything less than law-abiding. Really? Explain this to me. Seriously. No joke.

3) That global warming is not caused by carbon emissions, and that it's a theory put out there to discredit the oil companies and steal money from big business. Or something. Seriously. No joke. Explain it to me.

4) That Iraq is working. Or that Al Qaeda and Saddam were linked at all. Seriously. No joke.

5) BONUS FOR THE LIBERALS! If you believe, like Charlie Sheen and Rosie O'Donnell, that the Bush administration engineered 9/11, I'd welcome learning more. Seriously. Explain it to me. Probably no jokes.

I'm not interested in hearing from people who just happen to be pro-life, or who just think that Democrats raise too many taxes and believe in big government. I understand. We disagree, but I get it. If you think all politicians are liars, I understand that point of view, too.

In exchange, I'm happy to explain any strange liberal opinions I have - about the War, the environment, evolution, and so on. I'll probably do it anyway, but I'm happy to schedule something special.

Just let me know.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

 

Anaheim: Center of the Sports Universe??


Ahem.

All right, we all know that Our Man in LA likes him some sports, and that he doesn't follow hockey as religiously as he follows some of the others. Maybe it's because it's the only major pro sport that didn't make it to Ohio during my childhood. Maybe it's because the hockey team in Chicago . . . well, suffice it to say that the Wolves minor league hockey franchise regularly outsold the NHL Blackhawks franchise.

And the LA Kings, well . . . do they play anymore?

More to the point, I've never known how to feel about pro hockey in places outside the major Canadian cities and the Northeast and Rustbelt towns of the US. Does Florida or Phoenix hockey really sound right? Discuss amongst yourselves.

But now there's a new Hockey Town in . . . town . . .

Doesn't sound right, either, does it?

Whatever. Here's the deal. Just two days after Our Woman in LA, her family, and I ventured to Anaheim to watch baseball's Angels put a 16-3 beatdown on the Minnesota Twins, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (see above) won the Stanley Cup, defeating a team from Ottawa, which happens to be the capital of Canada, where hockey is the national pasttime.

Eat that, Mounties!

For the record, the Ducks don't use the above logo anymore. They use one that's about as manly as you can have for a team called the Ducks. They don't use Mighty in their team name anymore, either.

But tonight, hockey fans, as they raise the Stanley Cup and celebrate being the first West Coast team to win the cup since 1925*, they are mighty indeed.

So viva Anaheim, Center of the Sports Universe! No longer do your teams take a backseat to those in LA proper! Your baseball is better, and your hockey. One day, maybe you'll have football and basketball . . . but for now, you're just as good by having nothing at all.

Go Ducks!

* - the last West Coast team to win the cup, FYI, was the Victoria Cougars (logo not available), located in Victoria, British Columbia. It's north and west of Vancouver. That's Vancouver. In British Columbia. In Canada. North of the U.S. That's the United States. Sigh. Stupid education system!

 

Sixteen runs!


Sorry for the couple of days off, folks. I've been away from LA (just up the coast in Santa Barbara), celebrating Our Woman in LA's 30th birthday. That's right, everyone! I'm much less of a cradle-robber than I once was. Take that!

Anyway, onto the post o' the day. Our Woman in LA (aka, Birthday Girl) and I took our first trek down to Anaheim to see the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties on Tuesday night. Steph's dad and stepmom were in town, and regular readers will remember that my father-in-law does not recognize the existence of a National League franchise in the Los Angeles area.

"They stole my childhood," he'll tell you.

So a trip to Chavez Ravine was out. On to Anaheim!

Gotta say, I was pretty impressed. Nice stadium, decent turnout of fairly devoted fans, good food options, ample parking, and a perfect night for a game.

And did I mention that the Angels scored 16 runs?

Sixteen! In one game!

I have to admit that I was hoping to see the Rally Monkey (see above), the Angels' mascot and secret weapon, that night. But he was not necessary to put away the Minnesota Twins.

Of course, it was a bit of a disappointment to Our Woman in LA. A birthday without a monkey is not nearly as good as a birthday with one, after all. So we had to make do with presents, a trip to Santa Barbara, and a lot of wine.

Seriously. A lot.

So much wine, in fact, that this morning, we probably could have used our own . . .

Wait for it . . .


Wait . . .


Rally Monkey!


Didn't see that coming, did you? Go Angels.

Monday, June 04, 2007

 

Three particularly good nights in June

Not a ton of time today to re-hash, speculate and wax poetic, so I'll get right to it.

FREEDOM BOUND - the City at Peace-L.A. performance directed by none other than Our Woman in LA - had its run this weekend at the Nate Holden Theater. There's not much that I could say to quantify how great the show was. Take 100 Tuesday Top 5's, multiply by 1,000, and you're maybe within spitting distance.

There we were - all of us in the audience - watching 45 teens from all over LA, from really diverse backgrounds racially, culturally, economically. Listening to them tell us about the issues that concern them, the monsters (both real and theoretical) that haunt them. Learning about how a generation of teens - none of whom are old enough to remember the Rodney King riots - are preparing themselves to deal with racism, sexual identity, violence, media saturation, and the repercussions of all manner of abuses.

Heavy stuff, but delivered with charm, energy, and even occasional humor. And great songs.

It hasn't been an easy year for City at Peace - L.A. Right after Our Woman in L.A. was hired as artistic director there, the company considered shutting down for lack of funding. City at Peace backers, including my bride, fought that. They argued that Los Angeles needed City at Peace, that the kids who benefit from it couldn't be left behind.

So the program held on, but Steph would be required to put together their show in six months instead of 10. So what'd she do? First, she did extensive outreach, expanded the cast from 20 to 45. Then she brought on extraordinary support - a music director and choreographer from the Debbie Allen Theater, an assistant director with a bunch of credits to his name.

It wasn't always easy. Try getting 45 adults to do something. Hard, right? OK, now try with kids between the ages of 13 and 19. You know, the ones with the hormones and the righteous anger, but also the belief that maybe - just maybe - they can take control of their own worlds and make a change.

The result? Three great shows, 45 kids learning to work together, and some 800+ audience members getting a sense of what it's like to be a teen today.

I know I've posted this site before, but if you'd like to learn more about City at Peace, or check out stills and whatnot from the show (they should be posted relatively soon), check out their website:

http://cpnational.org/la/index.html

Beyond that, I'll leave you with one last thing. The in-laws are in town, you see, and Our Man in LA's got work to do. There are a million touching things to tell you about the weekend, and a million funny things (including the First Official Our Woman in LA Imitation Contest, but I digress).

The night of the premiere show - Friday - Our Man in LA worked backstage and watched the kids at work. I heard my wife tell them before the curtains opened that she was honored to learn from each and every one of them, and that although this had been the hardest year of her life as a director, it had been worth every moment.

On Sunday, as the show closed and artistic staff were invited onstage with the kids, I heard the teens chanting Our Woman in LA's name. "Steph-a-nie! Steph-a-nie! Steph-a-nie!"

Calling her Our Woman in LA was a bit unwieldy, I guess.

This way seemed better, anyhow.

Later . . .

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?