Headlines about Boris Yeltsin greeted West Coast readers on 1/1/2000

Ah, wasn’t life simple then? The biggest national concern was Y2K, and that almost seemed secondary to the excitement of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to witness a new millennium dawning.

Now, the first decade of the 2000s is nearly done, and what a different world we live in now. People and events making an impact since then include Barack Obama, Osama bin Laden, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, the deadlocked 2000 U.S. presidential election, the New England Patriots, and Web 2.0.

I’m a pack rat as far as retaining news clippings, pictures, etc. And my above shot of the Jan. 1, 2000, editions of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register (I was working at the Register then) showed that Boris Yeltsin stole the show as the clocks turned on the new decade. And this pic shows the look of CNN.com in those days.

And for me, it was the most eventful 10 years I’ve been through. Maybe that’s standard for those of us lucky enough to keep getting older in good health. Still, I don’t think I’ll ever compile more meaningful memories in a 10-year span. In no particular order, my top five events of the past decade. (I’m sharing them now before everyone gets absorbed with Christmas presents and the BCS.)

– Moving back to Atlanta: Hardest decision EVER, after 12 years in The OC and 22 in SoCal. Few big decisions are open and shut, and so it was here. But being a UGA grad, it made sense at the time, especially since I’ve visited and kept contacts open during all the years. The collapse of the SoCal real estate market since then is some solace for missing beach time in the winter.

– Cruises to Mexico: I took three — 2003, 2004, 2006 — and each was memorable. Being in a floating city with no cell-phone use is the ultimate getaway, and you could feed a small country with all the food on board. Mexico is a beautiful country, but very poor. The magnificent scenery and culture is mixed with the tragic sight of children selling trinkets to cruise-ship passengers as they go to and from the city in Ensenada. It gets worse than the US, folks. (Honorable mention: two trips to Las Vegas, including one to see Celine Dion.)

– News media changes: My career was forever altered after the 9/11 terror attacks and resulting ad downfall forced massive downsizing at the Register, as well as other papers and industries. The silver lining: I and others had to use other talents. I proved I can pass the difficult Series 7 licensing necessary to be a stock broker/financial planner,and I got two company-paid training trips to San Francisco. Who knows, I may get back into it someday, and I can effectively write about it.

– California as visitor: It was a real tonic to go back to the Golden State  this month for the first time since moving away. Dismal headlines and TV reports do not tell the whole story. Sunbathing in November and being able to watch TV shows after “Monday Night Football” are things you can’t do just anywhere. And I knew all the right spots to hit in Newport Beach for a gooey cinnamon roll and Christmas gifts for family.

– Becoming a new media aficionado: This is somewhat different than the previous media category. When a door closes, another opens, but no one is sure which one. I’ve gotten heavy into social media since returning to Atlanta in 2007. I even spoke on a social media panel that the AJC assembled in March for newsroom personnel, and CNN has included my Tweetup videos in news coverage. Everyone likes recognition.

That’s all for now. It would be interesting to hear others’ memories of the past decade, and I plan to offer some predictions for the coming years.

Appena in tempo per (500 giorni) insieme, in uscita oggi nelle sale italiane. Commedia romantica post femminista dove i ruoli di coppia sono invertiti: lui, Tom, innamorato cotto e alla fine mollato; lei, Summer, pragmatica e da “ogni lasciata è persa”. Film indipendente dello stesso produttore di Juno, in arrivo dal Sundance Film Festival, costato meno di 8 milioni di dollari, ne ha incassati 32. Le recensioni promettono bene. E davvero bella la colonna sonora. Dagli Smiths a Simon & Garfunkel fino a Regina Spektor, i Feist e gli australiani Temper Trap. Non sorprende che il regista sia Marc Webb, autore di videoclip musicali alla sua prima prova cinematografica. Dedica un bell’articolo al soundtrack  Pop & Hiss, il blog di musica del Los Angeles Times.

While Americans are stuffing themselves with large quantities of bird meat (or, in my case, giant bowls of Vietnamese soup), another hunt for protein is on in Antarctic waters by Japanese ships.   The L.A. Times has an excellent blog post on this topic, dating from November 19.

courtesy Los Angeles Times

CNN covers the annual controversy from Tokyo in a 2008 report:

Meanwhile, the American satirists Matt Parker and Trey Stone are winding up their South Park show with a predictably offensive depiction of crazed Japanese whalers.  Of course, as I’ve described before, this kind of depiction of Japan is quite popular among certain Chinese netizens.  Ecorazzi, a kind of quirky West Coast website, takes apart the  whaling episode and its connection to World War II memories.   Nationalistic cartoonist Kobayashi Yoshinori defends Japanese whaling in an English translation by the Tokyo-contemporary-culture aggregator Tokyo Damage Report [东京灾害报告].

Whales: ancient, wise, and all-too-tasty.

In a memo from the Los Angeles Times Standards and Practices Committee, Los Angeles Times employees have been advised to watch what they post on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or any online social space. “Integrity is our most important commodity: Avoid writing or posting anything that would embarrass The Times or compromise your ability to do your job,” the committee stated. Most interesting, the committee stated that employees should “assume that your professional life and your personal life will merge online regardless of your care in separating them.” Privacy tools that determine who can see and read what you post, the committee stated, have little meaning when publishing on a public Web site. Being a part of any online group, the committee stated, means an employee adheres to that group’s beliefs and opinions. Reporters were told that “friending” a professional contact may publicly identify that person as one of their sources. In those cases, reporters must identify themselves as a Times employee. The committee also warns employees about third-party subpoenas for retweets. “For instance, any information might be turned over to law enforcement without your consent or even your knowledge.” From an operations standpoint, the Times committee did state it does not want employees to release information that would allow its competition to be scooped.

http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2009/11/23/daily3.html

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx try to get away with some loot from the Disney Theater.

(DreamWorks) Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Nelsan Ellis, Rachael Harris, Stephen Root. Directed by Joe Wright

Friendships can sometimes be formed in the most unlikely of places between the most unlikely of people. These are the sorts of friendships that can be life-altering for both of the parties involved.

Steve Lopez (Downey) is a successful columnist for the Los Angeles Times. While his marriage is on the rocks (to his editor Mary (Keener) no less) and he has been injured in a bicycle accident, his career is at least doing well.

One afternoon he hears music coming from Pershing Square near the Times building and discovers a homeless man sawing away on a two-stringed cello and making astonishing music. This is Nathaniel Ayers Jr. (Foxx) and as Lopez later discovers, he was once a prodigy who studied at Julliard before his schizophrenia forced him to drop out of school and essentially from life.

Intrigued, Lopez writes a column about Ayers. A reader, touched by the story, sends a new cello for Ayers which Lopez delivers. This touches off a friendship between the two as Lopez acts as something of a guardian angel for the highly erratic and sometimes explosive Ayers. Lopez follows Ayers to a shelter in downtown L.A. (filming took place on Skid Row where the shelter is located and actual homeless people were used as extras) and inspired, writes a series of articles on the homeless situation in the City of Angels.

This leads to awards and acclaim for Lopez but he feels conflicted about this – like he’s profiting on the plight of his friend. He tries to help him, sets up recitals and an apartment for the former prodigy but Ayers’ mental illness is once again getting in the way. Will the demons in Ayers nature prevent him from leaving the mean streets of L.A.?

Like real life, the movie doesn’t answer this question because this true story is continuing. The real Nathaniel Ayers still lives in Skid Row and while his fame has allowed him to leave the streets, he still grapples with his mental illness.

Director Wright (who previously directed Atonement) has a good eye for detail and uses his L.A. locations to make a gritty, grimy portrayal of the streets which exist in a truly tragic juxtaposition within blocks of the glamour of the Walt Disney Theater in downtown L.A. Oscar-nominated (for Erin Brockovich) screenwriter Susannah Grant has the thankless job of trying to capture Ayers’ madness without compromising the story’s realism and for the most part, she succeeds although she does wander into maudlin territory from time to time though not enough to torpedo the movie.

At the center of the film is the relationship between Ayers and Lopez; if the actors can’t capture that then the film is a disaster. Fortunately, Wright cast two of the better actors working today in Downey and Foxx to tackle the roles and they both do stellar jobs. Downey has the more nuanced role in Lopez; he’s flippant and cynical but with a soft heart. He’s not the stereotypical driven and ambitious journalist; he’s more of an observer than a reporter.

Jamie Foxx resists the urge to over-dramatize the mental illness of Nathaniel Ayers but still manages to effectively portray the demons that torment him. This performance required a master’s hand to pull off and fortunately it got one. I don’t know if this is Foxx’s second Oscar-winning performance (it’s unlikely – the movie was postponed from its original November 2008 release date and relegated to the relatively barren April, when few films get any Oscar consideration) but it certainly merits a look.

Wright and Grant set out to make the movie as real and believable as possible and except for a few hiccups were successful. I like that the movie ended without tying things up in a neat package. I also admire the performances of the lead actors which are so compelling that some fine character actors also cast here are almost shuffled off to the wayside not through any fault of their own.

This movie, possibly because its release date was mishandled, didn’t get the kind of box office love it should have gotten (and might have gotten if the studio had stuck to a fall release date). Still, if you didn’t see it in theaters (and you probably didn’t), this is worth seeking out on home video.

WHY RENT THIS: Both Downey and Foxx turn in outstanding performances. The relationship at the heart of the movie is believable. The resolution of the movie is not really a resolution but ties the events together nicely while ringing true to the realism of the story.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The story occasionally meanders into the maudlin.

FAMILY VALUES: There’s a good deal of crude language, some drug use and the overall theme of mental illness and homelessness might be a bit much for children.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: During the final concert scene in the movie, the real Nathaniel Ayers Jr. can be seen in the front row of the concert hall.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: There is an interview with the real Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers Jr. in which the interplay that the actors modeled the relationship on is clearly visible. There is also a feature and an animated short on the situation with homelessness in Los Angeles which has one of the largest homeless populations in the world.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

TOMORROW: The Astronaut Farmer

I wouldn’t imagine that there are too many coming across this post who might remember the day – May 6, 1937 – that the short-lived original era of passenger zeppelins came to an end with The Hindenburg Disaster.

But everyone has seen the famous newsreel footage of the fire and crash in Lakehurst, New Jersey along with Herb Morrison’s famous radio report (“Oh, the humanity!”), broadcast after the fact and for years thereafter.

In fact, most of us probably have no reference point for the rigid airships other than the foursome of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones – obviously known as the original supergroup Led Zeppelin – and their debut album cover, featuring the Hindenburg.

Turns out that Count Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin was the first to establish passenger airline travel 100 years ago last month and the concept of selling tickets to fly in a zeppelin is coming back around again.

The Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei has been offering passenger travel in Germany since 2001 (with over 60,000 customers, according to their website) and, here in the States, a newcomer called Airship Ventures is doing the same up and down the California coast.

The Los Angeles Times blogs about the return of the zeppelin to L.A. skies with a piece on Airship Ventures that will make you want to get up in the sky with them and exorcise the images of the Hindenburg forever.

They have actually flown over 5,500 ticketed passengers in their 246-foot zeppelin, called the Eureka, and are adding additional sightseeing rides to their scheduled routes.

The view from inside the Eureka

It looks like an incredible experience, though (not surprisingly) carries a steep price tag.  As an example, $199 gets you just 30 minutes of flight time.  $950 per passenger allows you two hours in the air.

But, hey, if you’re having a small birthday party or wedding – the zeppelin carries up to 13 passengers – and have the $5,500 for the chartered flight, then by all means get yourself up in the Eureka.  How about that for a destination wedding?

So now you can add a zeppelin ride to your “bucket list”.  Grainy newsreel footage and breathless radio broadcast not included.

• Be sure to check out The CW’s site for all the new video content this week.
• Media Life Magazine has an interesting Q & A on the future of The CW and the Huffington Post has a much harsher take on it.
• Beverly Hills 90210 season 8 came out on DVD today.
• The Los Angeles Times has a feature and (a spoiler-filled) photo gallery on 90210’s fashion.
• The Gossip Girl threesome made Zap2it’s list of Top WTF? Moments for November.
• Gossip Girl’s season 1 Thanksgiving episode made Zap2it’s list of “classic Thanksgiving episodes and specials.”
• Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) stars in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, which comes out Friday.
• Lively appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night.
• Parade.com has an interview with Lively.
• Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) recorded a Christmas song.
• Meester appeared on It’s On With Alexa Chung today.
• Examiner.com has another article on Sophia Bush (Brooke, One  Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) participating in an USO tour.
• There’s a quick reference to The O.C. in this recap of last night’s Heroes episode.
• Fringe, starring Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) will be going on a 7-week hiatus.

I can’t keep blogging every time a major newspaper releases fear-driven social media guidelines. But once again, I can’t resist.

The Los Angeles Times is the latest major news organization to apparently tell its staff to beware the dangers of social media. I don’t have time to critique this in the same detail that I did the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post guidelines.

But I count 19 words of mild general encouragement to use social media and more than 600 words of thou-shalt-nots and warnings of the terrors lurking below the water, including subpoenas.

Without looking, I knew that these policies were written by people who don’t use social media much. But I looked. I couldn’t find Editor Russ Stanton, who released the guidelines on either Twitter (tried searching for Russ, Russell and “Rstanton”) or Facebook  (several Russ Stantons there, but none that I could find identifying themselves with the Los Angeles Times in their public profiles).

At first, I couldn’t find Assistant Managing Editor Henry Fuhrmann, who also signed the guidelines, on Twitter. So I tweeted that neither of them used Twitter. Then Chris Krewson tweeted that Andrew Nystrom might have had some input and he’s a regular Twitter user. I messaged Nystrom and he pointed out that Fuhrmann tweets as hfuhrmann (at the time he listed his name that way in his profile, but he spelled it out after I pointed that out to Nystrom). Fuhrmann’s profile identifies him as overseeing the Times copy desk. He has tweeted only 71 times (three this month, four in October), so I think it’s fair to say he’s not a very active Twitter user. Fuhrmann has 491 Facebook friends, so I’ll guess he’s more active there.

Fuhrmann has more social media experience than some editors who have developed misguided policies. But I feel safe in saying that we again have inexperienced, fearful editors telling staffs to be very afraid of social media.

Nystrom tells me in an email (responding to my mocking of the subpoena fear), “our legal folks do take the potential implications of social media very seriously.”  I should note that I misread this fear in one of my mocking tweets, after reading a story about the policy and before I had read the full policy. Still, throwing in subpoenas does add to the “reefer madness” tone of the whole policy. I have been subpoenaed frivolously, long before social media were part of journalism, so I don’t take subpoenas lightly. Journalists should always be careful and social media don’t change that.

The Times policy warns: “Your interactions could be subject to a third-party subpoena. The social media network has access to and control over everything you have disclosed to or on that site. For instance, any information might be turned over to law enforcement without your consent or even your knowledge.” Yes, and so could information you publish on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. With the exception of personal messages, social media content is public anyway. Some good judgment in use of personal messages is advisable. But so is some perspective.

Some of the issues raised are valid and some of the advice is good. But the tone of fear, the failure to give more than passing lip service to the importance of social media and the unwillingness to trust journalists’ judgment reflect the same cluelessness we saw from the Journal and the Post.

For wise policies in social media, check out NPR or the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

As I’ve said before, newsrooms need lots of conversations about the wise use of social media. And those conversations should stress the opportunities and the value of social media. But first we need more editors to learn about the opportunities and the value.

Found an interesting post from the Los Angeles Times‘ green blog, Greenspace, about women and minorities being left out of green jobs.

Although I was not surprised to learn about the low numbers of women and minorities in the green economy, I was appalled by the criticism the LAT and the writer, Tiffany Hsu, received from those who commented. The overall complaint was that the Times and writer were leftists who where overreacting.

Check out the video by the Applied Research Center, a racial justice think thank, and let us know your thoughts. Is the Times and Hsu overreacting? Are you surprised about the low numbers of women and minorities in green jobs? What should be done to allow these people into this emerging field?

Damn good article in the Los Angeles Times from Scott Timberg titled, “Cormac McCarthy’s rugged road to respectability.”

The writer had been dismissed as an eccentric with ‘horrible’ style and a hacky, regional view. Now, the much-anticipated film ‘The Road,’ based on his Pulitzer-winning novel, opens Wednesday.

I gotta tell ya, Glamfans, I get so excited to open my email in-box every day to see all the fantastical Adam Lambert news and pictures! Today was by far no exception!!

From The Gossip Girls, tons of rockin’ pictures of our boy Adam (including the one above) entering the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles yesterday for his AMA rehearsals. Check ‘em out: http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/adam-lambert-turns-up-for-ama-rehearsals-212433/. Does Adam not look like the ULTIMATE rock star in these photos??? 

From Limelight, photos of Mr. Lambert at his AMA rehearsals looking so fine: http://neonlimelight.com/2009/11/19/photos-adam-lambert-rehearses-for-2009-american-music-awards-performance/ !!! This is like watching fireworks, people…going off everywhere, I don’t know where to look first!!!

Lucky Margaret Wappler from Los Angeles Times got to sit in on a bit of those rehearsals and had this to say: “A Lambert performance, we were reminded, is not a place for demure displays of postmodern dance. As for the panther himself, he took a few leisurely leaps to various levels of scaffolding, singing into a phantom mic and writhing with whatever dancer was around. On the top level of the scaffolding, a band of indeterminate numbers played keyboards, a flying V guitar and other gadgets, all of which collude to formulate the glam-rock pyramid that Lambert mightily prays to on a seemingly daily basis.” Hee, hee hee! I’m getting giddy here! Here’s the rest of the article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/11/adam-lambert-kicks-off-rehearsals-for-the-american-music-awards.html. Fantabulous!

And from MJ’s Big Blog, rehearsal footage from Adam’s upcoming music video For Your Entertainment from Access Hollywood and YouTube:  http://mjsbigblog.com/adam-lambert-for-your-entertainment-video-behind-the-scenes.htm !! AAArgh! I’m goin’ crazy here- yummy!!!

One last final note…from me to Adam (and I’m sure gazillions of devoted fans feel the same way)…

I’m sure you’re feeling a bit of pressure about your upcoming AMA performance, the release of your new album, your new found fame etc, etc. No matter what happens, you will always have a huge fan in me.  You’ve already given me so much more joy than you can possibly imagine, and I will be forever grateful for that. Break a leg up there on Sunday, and know that I (we) will be watching with love in my heart and a HUGE smile on my face!!!!

Loving Hugs,

Claudia

Some excitingly great reviews of Adam Lambert’s new album For Your Entertainment came my way within the past couple of days!

Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times writes: “The first single and title track from Adam Lambert’s soon-to-be-dropped debut album couldn’t be more of an announcement. “For Your Entertainment” strides into the room, snaps its fingers and declares 2010 the year of Our Gorgeously Airbrushed Overlord.”

Read the rest of her review here at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/10/snap-judgement-adam-lambert-for-your-entertainment.html.

From Entertainment Weekly, a B+ review (I’ll take it on a freshman album!!): http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20320921,00.html!

From the Associated Press: “Review- Finally a True Idol Emerges in Lambert” at http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9128571!!

From the Houston Chronicle, “Adam Lambert Provides Fun, Fierce Entertainment” at http://blogs.chron.com/peep/2009/11/adam_lambert_provides_fun_fier_1.html!!!

And finally, not a review, but very funny…Is Adam ticklish?? An adorable article from MTV’s Jim Cantiello (love him- includes VIDEO of Adam): http://newsroom.mtv.com/2009/11/19/adam-lambert-ticklish/! 

Kisses,

Claudia

Los Angeles Times editorial

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is warning the District of Columbia Council that the church will stop contracting to provide social services if the city approves same-sex marriage as planned. To which the only valid response is, “OK.”

read more



My first assignment for the Los Angeles Times was a portrait of Native American basket weavers June Pardue and Carol Emarth-Douglas at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles at The Art of Native American Basketry exhibit. I was a little nervous and I forgot to bring a soft box and an umbrella so they turned out a little shinny, but all in all I really like the photos and the Times editor did too.

Last Friday I covered my first high school football game since being laid-off from the Greeley Tribune for the Los Angeles Times in Westlake Village. The game was Westlake vs. Moorpark and both teams were 9-0 and the winner would decide the Marmonte League champion. Both teams were talented, Westlake was more of a passing team while Moorpark kept it on the ground most of the game. In the end Westlake’s passing game and defense was too much for Moorpark with a final score of 38-14. I wish I would have had more time to shoot some features, but with my deadline I missed the last two minutes of the game and the on field celebration. Shooting this game makes me remember how much I like shooting high school sports though. The athlete’s really care and are so passionate about the game.

Andrew Malcolm must be stupid or out of touch or both. He wrote a smear article about Sarah Palin whereby he mistook her for a porstar on Oprah, if only briefly. How funny! Those crazy newspaper bloggers. Palin was on Monday. Jenna Jameson was on Tuesday. Malcolm got them mixed up!? Crazy, I know. And he wrote a full blog article that was posted on one of nation’s biggest, and most failing, newspapers on getting confused. If only for a moment. It’s like a really bad sitcom. Fun!

And this is what passes for journalism in this country now.

Interested in a new release that includes Dave Grohl’s “whomping” drums, Josh Homme’s “desert-rat guitar” and John Paul Jones’ “nasty” bass?  Yeah – me, too.

And that means that today’s release of the self-titled debut from new “supergroup” Them Crooked Vultures is one to immediately run out and buy, download, or figure out how to get your hands on.

John Paul Jones, Josh Homme and Dave Grohl of Them Crooked Vultures. (Dustin Rabin Photography)

The descriptors of the respective Vultures in that first paragraph come from Rolling Stone’s 3 1/2 star review (and accompanying 4 1/2 star user rating).

And why wouldn’t it be getting great reviews?  Honestly, from the moment I heard of this project, I saw no reason that it wouldn’t work in a big way. 

Dave Grohl, ex-Nirvana and current Foo Fighter, is a life-long fan of Jones and Led Zeppelin (as evidenced by this funny recounting of his trio of Zeppelin tattoos).

And Grohl has worked with Homme in the recent past, memorably as the drummer in Homme’s Queens of the Stone Age for the amazing “Songs for the Deaf” album and tour.

You can’t fake chemistry and these guys have it – as evidenced by this interview with Steve Appleford of the Los Angeles Times that goes a long way toward revealing exactly why this is working.

Enjoy this collaboration while it’s hot.  Grohl and Homme will inevitably get back to their primary responsibilities soon enough. 

Nothing at all wrong with that, of course, but it’s always rewarding to get bonus material like this out of three artists committed to creating more great music in their lifetimes than any of us probably have a right to enjoy.  So go enjoy it already.

By Chuck Ring (GadaboutBlogalot ©2009).

Quote Freely From The Article – Leave The Pseudonym Alone

The Los Angeles Times (LAT) carried a short story yesterday focusing on another video from James O’Keeth and Hannah Giles where they video taped another acorn facility and at least one of its employees.

BigGovernment.com carried the same story with a video of the visit along with a written narrative by Mr. O’Keefe. Mr. O’Keefe pointed out that although the employee did not throw them out of the facility, he also didn’t seem to mind that they were in the prostitution business. That is, until O’Keeth mentioned that the prostitutes were underage. The employee said that ACORN does not do anything outside the law and he would not help them for the underage prostitution scheme.

In his written narrative O’Keeth seems to praise the employee, but I believe it was faint praise and a set-up for what will be more revealing video. In the meantime, access the video with the link above and wait to see what if anything follows.

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