Best films of 2007

I saw the film "The Lookout" last night since it is nominated for a Spirit Award for best first feature and I am voting this year. The film itself has a few exciting moments - but it's Joseph Gordon-Levitt who really carries the picture as the male lead, with Jeff Daniels who also shines as supporting male. Gordon-Levitt, whom many of us remember as the kid from "Third Rock From the Sun", impresses with a vulnerability rare amongst actors his age. I'm sure we will continue to see him shine as his career further develops.

After I saw this film, I started to consider my list for best films of 2007. I came up with a list of five - mostly foreign language and all with deeply satisfying scripts that relate on an acutely human level. I have written blog posts about 3 of them and highly recommend them all. Check them out!

- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (blog entry)

- Blame it on Fidel (La Faute a Fidel) (blog entry) I'm shocked that this film was not nominated in the best foreign language category for the Oscars or the Spirit Awards.

- Two Days in Paris

- Caramel (which I just found out, will be playing at the Laemmle on Sunset and Crescent Heights) (blog entry) I don't know if this film came out in the US last year, since I saw it in Paris. It is by a Lebanese film maker and the movie is set in Beirut. Really lovely.

- The Kite Runner

Dolores Huerta supports Hillary

Dolores Huerta, labor leader and activist, supports Hillary Clinton for the democratic nomination. I remember seeing Dolores Huerta at Pitzer College 8 years ago. Si se puede!

Ted Kennedy wants change? Leave the Senate!

The Kennedy endorsement of Barack Obama is this season's juiciest hipocrisies in presidential endorsements. Ted Kennedy - the head of one of this country's oldest and most scandalous political dynasties - endorses Obama as a candidate of change.

Hello?! Senator Kennedy has been on the Senate for over 40 years. If he really advocates change, he needs to step down and allow another prospective young democrat to run for his seat. Don't advocate Obama as a "change" candidate when you are part and parcel of this country's ultimate political royal families. If you support Obama - don't say it's because he reminds you of your father, Caroline - Instead, point to proposed measures or historical precedent in his legislative history to recommend him. I wish Obama supporters would rely on their candidate's measurable merits, instead of this overhyped and drawn-out gimmick of change. It may work for a moment, but not for the long haul.

Don't flaunt him as a candidate of ideas and hope, if you don't back it.

Really want a change? Let's see a viable woman candidate on the democratic ticket. Now that would be a change.

LGBT OUT for Hillary

LGBT OUT for Hillary
& Friends

Please join

Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis
Eric Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party,
Helping Heroes Productions, and local LGBT Leaders

in support of

Hillary Clinton for President
East Los Angeles Location

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
6:00 p.m.

Eclipse De Mexico
4512 E. Cesar Chavez Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90022

Please R.S.V.P. to Joseph at 323/268-9442 or jopallan@gmail.com.

Refreshments will be served. * Parking is available behind the building.

After the program, we will be phoning in East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley and asking them to vote for
Senator Clinton to be the next President of the United States. Let's make history together!

Why I love neighborhood council meetings

A couple of nights ago, I braved the blistering rain that barraged the Valley to make it to a neighborhood council meeting I was scheduled to write about for the paper. I like driving in the rain. It's a challenge. The blurriness, the intensity of the wind shield wipers, and the necessity of being fully awake and aware, are all exciting to me. Of course there are a fair share of thoughtless drivers who speed accross puddles in the intersections, and bridges with staled rainwater, thereby covering my windshield with a temporary avalanche.

After some confusion over the location of the meeting, I finally made it to Colfax Elementary School - nothing fancy, and probably the perfect location for a run of the mill neighborhood council meeting. Of course, this wasn't Studio City, whose neighborhood council meetings are held at the CBS Radford Lot. This was the neighborhood council meeting for Valley Village - Studio City's "adjacent" neighbor further north of the boulevard. Of course, homes in Valley Village cost considerably less than homes in Studio City. And higher incomes make for higher.....egos....or more interesting personalities! Let me explain.

I attended Studio City's Neighborhood Council meeting last November for a news item in the Studio City Sun (the story is posted to the right). It was held in a room at the CBS Radford Studios - which felt like a city in itself filled with little streets and alleyways and what looked like condominiums. In fact, I even asked a security guard whether people actually lived in there. Dale Thrush, a representative for Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, attended that meeting to discuss the charette process for a stretch of Ventura in Studio City.

After speaking for a pre-designated amount of time, the board unleashed a hoard of questions and comments. At first, this attack made me uncomfortable, especially since it was all monitored to the minute by the board president, lest any one speaker took hostage of the time. I saw why Greuel herself was a no show. This board was fierce! And you know what? It made it for interesting community politics and interesting democratic participation. That's why I stayed around for over an hour and half, ate some pizza, grabbed a soda - over twice the length of time I stayed after the Valley Village meeting had finally started.

Wendy Greuel did attend the council meeting at Valley Village (I'm glad, since that was the only reason I wrestled the rain). And I could see why. The Valley Village board was much more polite than the Studio City crowd. They were much more apt to let someone finish talking before interrupting (although Greuel herself did talk over someone in the audience). And since Ms. Gruel herself does live in the Valley Village area (I believe), it seemed only fitting for her to be there.

But there were a lot of loose strings left over on the topic of public transportation, development, and especially on the issue of mansionization and a community of homeowners on Morella who are facing a troubling developer. Greuel gave her speech, the floor was opened briefly to a few innocuous comments, she replied with some innocuous and distracted answers, and that was it. Luckily, she was asked, very nicely, to stay around and listen to the Morella homeowners, but she failed to step up to the plate and take hold of the situation with any promised results. She referred the homeowners to stay in touch with one of her staffers, a gentleman who was acknowledged as the main liasion between her office and her consituents. Greuel actually seemed pretty eager to leave.

And that's exactly what I saw when I left the meeting about 5 minutes after Greuel did (although the meeting was still in process). Was that her I saw speeding off in a huge white SUV? If that was indeed her, I now understand a couple of the comments she made during the meeting.

For example, in making a case for public transportation and a more "seamless" system where people don't have to wait hours for bus connections, she mentioned that it takes 8 minutes to get from the west valley to the east valley, whereas a bus, filled with inconvenient connections, could take 40 minutes. Eight minutes? really? Now I know how she got that number. Ms. Greuel is a speeder! If that was indeed her, speeding off and taking a left turn on rain-soaked streets, then that all makes sense. I'm glad that by that time, the rain had ceded, otherwise, I'm sure she may have (unintentionally, I'm sure) splashed some water on an unsuspecting driver's windshield. Now if that was someone else and my eyes mislead me when I looked through her window, I apologize.

Maybe I'll see her at the next Studio City Council meeting. I don't think so. But this is definitely true - some of the best drama can be found at the local public elementary school (or CBS lot) where politicians show their true colors, homeowners get heated up over pizza, and community journalists try and find something interesting to write about it.

Cats find comfort in the familiar (even if its not comfortable)

This is Maosie. Her cozy pink bed used to be right next to my computer - an ideal location for her, since she likes to look on as I work. She especially likes to follow the mouse - the computer mouse. Since I moved her bed and replaced it with my 3-1 printer, Maosie assumes that her new bed was upgraded and she now takes to napping on the printer.

Obamas can't deal with political competition

I get this email today from Lady Obama. She says that Hillary uses "win-at-all-costs tactics" against Barack. If the Obamas are whining now, how are they going to prepare themselves for heavy Republican mud-slinging? This is healthy competition, Michelle. I suggest that Barack Obama try and pepper in a good deal of reality into his hopeful idealism if he wishes to make it in this election.
-----

Friend --

In the past week or two, another candidate's spouse has been getting an awful lot of attention.

We knew getting into this race that Barack would be competing with Senator Clinton and President Clinton at the same time.

We expected that Bill Clinton would tout his record from the nineties and talk about Hillary's role in his past success. That's a fair approach and a challenge we are prepared to face.

What we didn't expect, at least not from our fellow Democrats, are the win-at-all-costs tactics we've seen recently. We didn't expect misleading accusations that willfully distort Barack's record.

Barack Obama isn't relying on a former President of the United States to campaign for him.

He's relying on us -- you, me, and hundreds of thousands of people like us who are giving whatever they can afford to support this movement.

Please stand up in the face of these new attacks. Make your first online donation of $50 today and own a piece of this campaign:

https://donate.barackobama.com/reliesonyou

Barack's unwavering opposition to the war in Iraq, his outspoken support of women's rights, and his call for leadership that will transform our party and our country have all been mischaracterized in the past two weeks.

We've seen disingenuous attacks and smear tactics turn people off from the political process for too long, and enough is enough.

It's time for a change. It's time for a new kind of leadership and a new kind of politics in our party and in our country.

And while Senator Clinton has a former president in her corner, I'll put my faith in a movement of a whole lot of people who are ready for change.

South Carolina votes in 48 hours, and more than 20 states will make their voices heard in less than two weeks on February 5th. Now is the time for all of us to step up and take personal responsibility for making change happen.

Please make your first online donation of $50 now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/reliesonyou

Thank you,

Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" explores the beauty of the human spirit

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is a visual gem that accomplishes a rare filmic feat of pulling in the audience and involving us in a very real and visceral experience. Everything about this movie touched a sense in me, starting with the first 10 minutes – a difficult foray into the lead character’s realization that he has just come out of a coma. The screen is filled with distorted lights and bright blurry images and creates an unsettling disorientation of images that further pull us into this new world.

The story paints the painful journey of journalist and French Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who, at 42, was left largely paralyzed with a rare condition called “locked-in syndrome”, following a stroke. The results prove frustrating for the young Bauby, as it does to the viewer, since the beginning of the film is largely seen through his perspective. The uniqueness of his condition are that two things are not paralyzed – his imagination and his memory. In fact, Bauby’s mind is still very much everything it ever was, and the only way he can communicate is through one good eye. Through the assistance of a speech therapist, he learns to not only communicate in this way, but he writes the entire book off which the film is based.

This movie had me on the verge of tears as well as on the brink of laughter. Julian Schnabel’s superb artistic eye and direction could not have found a better subject or a better screenplay for the material. It works superbly here, whereas I didn’t find it as effective in his film “Before Night Falls” which starred Javier Bardem.

The film is also perfect in French, and I fell in love with the language doubly because of the tactile quality of the film. The actor who portrays Bauby has a beautiful three-dimensional honey thick voice that begs camaraderie and empathy.

Go see this movie – Jean-Dominique Bauby’s story is a testament to the unwavering will of the human spirit and an intense yet beautiful examination into what makes us all human. I felt his experience in my bones. Please go see this movie, instead of some crap playing to the fears of another terrorized New York City. Trust me.

Hillary Clinton impresses at electrical union training site in the city of Commerce on Friday

On Friday, I drove down to Commerce to see Hillary Clinton at the IBEW-ETI Training Site in Commerce. There were about 300 of us plus many from the local electrical workers union in addition to plenty of camera persons and members of the media. Mayor Villaraigosa, Speaker Fabian Nunez, Lt. Governor Garimendi and even Chelsea Clinton were also present. My ticket to fame was that I sat at the top bleachers, about 10 feet from the stage, and the man next to me got up and yelled" Hillary will you marry me!". My uncle later told me that he heard that sound byte on the radio.

I was very impressed by Hillary Clinton - her smarts, her ability to plan and the organization of her ideas - She spoke practically and not idealistically. She truly impresses as a politician and legislator - and no debate or soundbyte can adequately cover the intelligence and pragmatism she delivers in person. I saw Mitt Romney a few months ago and these two are like night and day. Romney really played to a mob mentality and spoke in rhetoric and spewed populist conversative messages that made me feel itchy just being in the room. Clinton, on the other hand, speaks like a professor - clearly and intelligently and straight to the point - There's no sugar-coating with her.

I was very glad she addressed her stance on the Revolutionary Guard in Iran (in response to an audience question) and distinguished the roles of the clergy vs. president in the Islamic Republic in Iran and that country's role in promoting terrorism abroad. Mostly, I admired her pragmatism and the so-called Stimulus Plan she put forth. Her plan addressed the importance of conservation and the promotion of alternative energy sources especially in the expansion of what she called "green collar jobs". She also would expand unemployment insurance to those who require it, and offer the health insurance packages available to members of Congress to the public at large. For a complete transcript of the event (applause and cheering witheld), there is a link on her website: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=5143

Shame on KTLA for airing adult animation during after-school hours

Shame on KTLA for airing "Family Guy" weekdays at 6PM. I just sent an email to the station managers appalled at their programming decision to broadcast an adult-themed cartoon so early in the evening when children may watch. Right now on January 14, the episode has cheerleaders taking off their blouses and kissing in a fountain - and this is just one scene amidst a slew of sexually provocative images meant to entice the misogynistic pervert Quamire.

Programmers seem to take for granted how far animation can take sexually-charged material and create images that can be even more loaded than anything real. I encourage other KTLA (channel 5 Los Angeles) viewers or those in cities where "Family Guy" airs on CW affiliates during the day, to contact your local station managers and comment on this situation. Despite the fact that a "viewer discretion" message appears briefly before each episode, what child is constantly monitored?

Also, KTLA has a history of airing intelligent cartoons such as "Animaniacs". I fear parents may not be aware of the adult content of "Family Guy" and trust KTLA to air animation that's more considerate of their viewers - especially at such an early time slot as 6PM.

"Family Guy" does have some humorous moments. However, these are murked by the sludge of sexual jokes created by a largely male (if not only) group of writers.

If KTLA chooses to keep the show, so be it. But air it at midnight instead of "Everybody Loves Raymond" which should be moved to 6PM - I mean, come on! As it is now, "Family Guy" has much more sexual content than the pared down PG version of "Sex and the City" which KTLA airs at 11:30 PM.

I like KTLA and am an avid Morning Show fan. It's a wholesome family program that surpasses every other local and national morning news show out there. If KTLA chooses to continue airing "Family Guy" in its current time slot, however, I will have to take my allegiance elsewhere.

LAUSD’s Monica Garcia unveils new district goals

Article in this week's Sun Community Newspapers - www.studiocitysun.com

LAUSD’s Monica Garcia unveils new district goals
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board President Monica Garcia addressed members of the Studio City Chamber of Commerce at their monthly First Friday Club meeting January 4 at the Daily Grill in Studio City.

The gathering marked Garcia’s first community appearance in 2008.

Garcia, 39, shared stories from her educational path growing up in East Los Angeles and attending UC Berkeley. “There were so many Garcias in the Chicano studies classes that I got somebody else’s ‘F,’” she recalled.

Garcia received a heavy dose of identity politics at the school, whose emphasis on pushing minority quotas led to her now-amusing realization that “I was a person of color, which I had no idea.”

She joked that she was “shocked that my life was so much in peril” growing up as a Latina in a working class family in the barrio – labels that identified who she was as a person.

The experience, she said, fuels her drive to “change the belief system” in the LAUSD to put the 50 percent dropout rate into perspective rather than just viewing it as a statistic.

Garcia, along with a school board that was newly elected last May, has worked with Superintendent David Brewer III to devise a strategic plan that would change the course of the LAUSD.

“We do a very, very good job in L.A. with some kids,” Garcia said, citing Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School downtown as one of 28 national blue medal schools.

But despite such exceptional standouts, LAUSD still failed to meet three out of 46 yearly California assessment criteria that included language arts for special education, language arts for English learners, and graduation rates. “LAUSD cannot stay the same,” said Garcia.

As a result, the board has devised an eight-part resolution to move LAUSD forward and bring about needed change. The resolutions include recruiting top-notch teachers, training principals and administrators, paying employees on time, and refocusing facility use.

To address the low graduation rate, the “Diplomas for All” resolution has set the bar high – a graduation goal of 100 percent by 2015. To keep the district in check, a system of metrics will be used to evaluate its progress during reports to the community.

“We have an imperative to change our graduation results. We have an imperative to be the district of choice for teachers and principals and parents,” said Garcia, who said she was excited to be involved in Los Angeles education.

Garcia said the LAUSD is currently waiting to hear from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, since 80 percent of the district’s funding comes from the state level. “Our challenge today, really, we have to wait for Sacramento to tell us how much pain we’re going to endure with this budget crisis.”

Concrete Frequency - A work in progress for LA Phil programmers

The Los Angeles Philharmonic presented “Concrete Frequency” on Tuesday, January 8, at the beautiful Walt Disney Hall in downtown. The event was a musical experimentation that showcased about 12 musicians who performed songs somehow influenced or reflective of city life. The stage was tres cool –designed like a hip living room – and all the musicians relaxed on mismatched chairs and couches in the softly lit background while one by one singers performed up front.

Some of the performers got it right. The group “Biirdie” started things off. The folksy foursome had a retro quality and smooth harmonies reminiscent of the Mommas and Pappas. Their song “Life in a box” was very apropos to the theme as it told the story of apartment dwelling. Although their performance was pleasant, they opened the night for what I would call a sea of mostly whiny folk rockers – men with high voices who sing from the back of their throats rather than from their gut.

There were a few glaring exceptions – performers who really had something special – such as Michigan native Annie Stela, a tougher millenium response to the frail 90's Fiona Apple. I liked the way Stela delivered her words - in the vein of Nellie McKay – somewhere between singing and speaking – happy and angry – which fit her metal city bite of an accent very well.

The evening was full of performers who could play and sing, but couldn’t speak worth a lick. Case in point – Angeleno native Money Mark, once keyboardist for the Beastie Boys, came quietly on stage, and if he even said his name, I certainly didn't hear him. But all bets were off when he started to sing. I was particularly blown away by his second number, “Color of my blues”, which for me, was the highlight of the evening. It had a self-described New Orleans feel - especially since he played on the piano - and reminded me somewhat of early Billy Joel but more current and relevant for today's generation.

The other standout of the evening was Norwegian Sondre Lerche who had all the physical components of a rock star. His silver glittery guitar strap, rock and roll coiffed hair and charismatic banter could really make any teenage girl swoon and want to learn Norwegian. I later looked him up and found that despite his young age, he not only penned the entire soundtrack for the film "Dan in Real Life", but already has numerous albums under his belt.

Most of the performers that night had a similar look - the men were in tight jeans and prepped out in button-downs or blazers or farmboy shirts, and the women looked extra-feminine, especially Zooey Deschannel – who wasn’t even able to introduce herself coherently and sang two songs that weren't connected to the urban experience (they were also not written by her).

Although it was a good try by the programmers of the series, I would recommend a better attempt in the future to create some sort of coherence between the performers so that the musical journey better follows the theme of the evening.

The addition of visuals could also be used to better evoke the theme of city-inspired tunes. I would also invite fewer performers, and allow musicians to bring out more accompaniment – the redundancy of solo performances - alone with their guitars, or on the piano – was a little much.

Musician sites:

http://www.myspace.com/biirdie
http://anniestela.com/
http://moneymark.com
http://sondrelerche.com

New Hampshire Debates - Applause for Clinton's bid for "change" as first woman president

There was a major shift in energy between the republicans and the democrats during the New Hampshire debates tonight. During round one, the republicans were largely focused and well-spoken, even Ron Paul, who everyone else snickered at. For the republicans, I was most impressed with Huckabee's knowledge of world affairs, his eloquence and his tempered manners - I am surprised at myself for being impressed with him since I know his religiously-fueled politics are not my cup of tea. McCain also came across well, which I think he always does.

During round two, all of candidates looked tired, and frankly, their lack of energy bored me. I don't blame them. After days and days of campaiging in Iowa and now New Hampshire, they all looked like they could use a nap. Also, Richardson completely distracts from the top three frontrunners. He needs to go back to New Mexico and focus on his UFO-museum. His myopia in foreign affairs makes him completely unsuitable for world politics.

None of the democrats jazzed me up. I was looking to be "fired up" by Obama, but instead found his words to be labored, although he does have a nice voice. He also looked so aged for a man only in his late fourties.

Clinton had some good moments (she also looked better than Obama). During the change vs. experience discussion, she rightly said that having a woman president presents a change in government contrary to anything the US has elected before. I'm glad she said it, because commentators have mentioned the fact that Obama would be the first Black president - a phenomenal feat for US standards - whereas in my opinion, having the first woman president would be an even greater achievement. I think people almost forget that Clinton is a woman - her long history in the political eye seem to connect her more to her husband than her own gender.

I look forward to seeing the results in New Hampshire. Based on the debates this evening, I'm more interested in the outcome for the republicans than the democrats.

Caucus in the west

Inspired by Louise Roug's article on Column One in the Los Angeles times today, I've decided to be a political tourist. In her article, she follows a local couple from Van Nuys who venture to Iowa to partake in a political process that we Californians often experience only in sound bytes. The couple in the article had such an amazing experience attending candidate events, running into Bill Clinton at their hotel, and all in all resparking their interest in politics. I contacted Louise Roug and am now going to plan my own political tour here in the west - Nevada in a couple of weeks. Anyone interested?

Happy New Year

Now let's watch the Rose Parade for 12 hours straight!

All the best in 2008,

Nazbanoo