Forever Stamp

I just learned that the US postage stamp with the liberty bell is known as the "forever stamp" - meaning that no matter what the price increase from now to 2028 and beyond, this stamp will always be valid for the basic first class rate of a letter weighing less than one ounce. This stamp was issued in 2007. So stock up on forever stamps and know that even though they don't say how much they are worth, they will forever be worth it.

Author explores Jewish-Cuban population

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI in this week's www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

I was already familiar with the term “Jewban,” the catchy moniker meant for people of both Jewish and Cuban origin. But at a February 12 book signing at Barnes and Noble in Encino, I discovered that this term reflects a specific community that lives in Miami and represents a sort of bridge between the Jews of South Beach and the Cubans of Havana.

Cultural anthropologist Ruth Behar has put together a collection of stories and photographs documenting the small population of Jews in Cuba in her new book, An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba, published by Rutgers University Press.

Jewish origins on the island go back to the turn of the twentieth century when small numbers of Americans migrated there, soon followed by an influx of Sephardic Turks and later Ashkenazi Jews from Poland and Russia. Strict immigration quotas in the 1920s had forced many aspiring to live in the United States to settle in Cuba instead.

Luckily, Behar said, many fell in love with their life in the tropics and established a strong presence by building synagogues, community centers, businesses, and planning a future on this unlikely island home. In the 1950s, the population of Jews in Cuba grew to about 15,000.

Behar’s interest in this unusual group is not purely anthropological, but also deeply personal – Behar, who is of both Turkish and Polish Jewish decent, was born and raised in Cuba until the age of four, when the Castro regime convinced her family to emigrate. During that time, she said, the Jewish community experienced a sort of exodus, with about 90 percent opting to leave, mostly for the U.S.

“Jews didn’t leave because they were Jews. They left because they were Cuban,” Behar stressed to her audience. The majority left their homes because of the nationalization of property, including small, Jewish-owned mom and pop stores, and a general dislike for working for the new government. Currently, the Jewish population in Cuba is about 1,000.

Behar, who moved with her family to New York, spoke Spanish at home and experienced a melding of her unique cultures growing up as an American. “We celebrated Passover, and then the next week we would go and eat at a Cuban restaurant,” she said.

Behar recalled her early inability to relate with other Jewish Cubans, especially those in Miami, because many had no intention of returning to Cuba. Behar, on the other hand, yearned to go back and was even discouraged by her own family – “that chapter of our diasporic wondering is over,” she remembered hearing.

This set her off on a “spiritual journey” where she began making regular trips to Cuba through the 1990s. The personal relationships she created there and the stories she heard became the source of An Island Called Home.

Ruth Behar is a longtime Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and recipient of several grants including the MacArthur Foundation genius fellowship and Fulbright award. She received Ph.D. from Princeton University, and is currently a visiting distinguished professor at the University of Miami.

Yaroslavsky slams density bonus law at Valley VOTE

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI in this week's www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky addressed land use and the state density bonus law SB 1818 at Valley VOTE’s (Voters Organized Toward Empowerment) February 21 meeting in Van Nuys.

Yaroslavsky criticized the Los Angeles City Council for failing to fully discuss controversial issues before voting to adopt the law, calling SB 1818 the first step toward reversing several important planning restrictions enacted in the 1980s and 90s. These include Proposition U, which Yaroslavsky helped pass in 1986, aiming to tighten the reigns on property developers.

“In the absence of people speaking out to their elected officials, the elected officials will do what comes naturally – and they go to meet business,” Yaroslavsky said.

SB 1818 was passed as a state law in 2004 entitling developers to obtain density bonuses if their proposed projects include at least five percent affordable housing. Such bonuses, or what Yaroslavsky terms “exceedences,” include increased height, a smaller number of required parking spaces, and side yard and rear yard set-back reductions.

The definition of affordable housing is determined by a federally devised schema based on very low, low and moderate percentages of the median annual household income, in addition to senior citizen housing.

Yaroslavsky noted that rent-controlled units could be demolished to build high-end condominiums, forcing out residents unable to afford a new home. This was the situation in a West Los Angeles building he cited whose so-called affordable units were priced around $500,000.

Although Yaroslavsky said he supports high-density projects along public transit lines, this ordinance would affect single family home neighborhoods by clogging up street parking, allowing large, multi-family projects, and discouraging eco-friendly home improvements such as the installation of solar panes – which would be made ineffective due to shadows cast by tall buildings.

The Supervisor said only two entities have the power to refute the bonuses awarded by the planning office – the developer himself and “the sucker who has to live next door.”

He called the City Planning Department, headed by Gail Goldberg, a “new regime” caving in to the pro-growth platform of the mayor and City Hall.

Yaroslavsky urged neighborhood organizations to speak up to counter developers and their attorneys, who have been vocal at city council meetings.

“They’ve used this as a pretext to promote greater density, greater height, all under the guise of affordable housing. It’s a bad ordinance. It’s a bad law,” he said.

Also at the meeting, Valley VOTE member George Truesdell addressed plans for Los Angeles city clerk Frank Martinez to take over the monitoring of neighborhood council elections.

Update

In case you are looking, the jpgs for a couple of my recent articles are not yet uploaded, but are on their way. I will also have articles coming out in a few days, so look out for those too!

Don't be quick to count out a Clinton

By NANCY BENAC, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON - History shows the folly of counting out a Clinton.

If Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is looking more and more like the Titanic, she may yet prove to be the unsinkable Molly Brown.

Ask Mike McCurry about the Clintons' resilience. McCurry worked for Bob Kerrey, one of Bill Clinton's chief rivals in the 1992 presidential campaign. He remembers the day details broke about Clinton's efforts to avoid the Vietnam draft, just weeks after allegations had surfaced of an affair with Gennifer Flowers.

"He's toast," McCurry told co-workers on the Kerrey campaign. "He's never going to survive this." McCurry went on to become Clinton's chief White House spokesman.

Hillary Clinton was a huge factor in her husband's 1992 victory — and in any number of other recoveries during his agony-and-ecstasy political career. Now, she's the one attempting to rebound from 11 straight primary and caucus losses to Barack Obama.

Obama is well aware of the Clintons' supersized survival instincts. Aides say privately that's one reason the Illinois senator has continued to go after her so directly rather than adopting a traditional front-runner's strategy of ignoring his rival.

"I'd hold the obituary" for Clinton, says David Gergen, who served as an adviser to four presidents, including Bill Clinton. "She, like he, has enormous inner reserves upon which to draw. That's why, no matter what else happens, you can't discount the possibility that she's going to bounce back."

She's already done it once this year, pulling off an upset in New Hampshire after taking a shellacking in the leadoff Iowa caucuses.

"We're going to keep pushing as hard as we can," she promised after placing third in Iowa. She's been saying much the same thing as she fights for victories in Texas and Ohio next week to revive her candidacy.

Trite as that may sound, it's part of the secret to the Clintons' success.

"They never say die," said Mary Matalin, who served as deputy campaign manager of the unsuccessful Bush re-election campaign in 1992. "In all the years I've been watching them, it never occurs to them to throw in the towel. There's no 'What's my graceful exit strategy?' They don't have that gene."

Democratic strategist Jennifer Palmieri, an eight-year veteran of the Clinton White House, sees the same mettle.

"They take a very long view of things, and they expect to win," said Palmieri. "It's something that not enough people perhaps on the Democratic side do — expect to win."

The notion of a former first lady running for a Senate seat from a state in which she had no political connections was written off at first, but now Clinton is in her second term holding the New York Senate seat once occupied by Robert F. Kennedy.

The Clintons' boom-and-bust cycle began long before they arrived on the national scene.

It started with a bust: In 1974, Bill Clinton made an unsuccessful run for Congress at age 28. Two years later, he bounced back and was elected Arkansas attorney general. And two years after that, at 32, he became the nation's youngest governor.

Then, defeat again: In 1980, done in by what he admitted was the arrogance of youth, Clinton lost his bid for re-election to a second term as governor. Two years later, redemption. He pulled off a comeback and never lost another race.

Along the way, the Clintons proved themselves to be tough street fighters.

In 1990, when Gov. Clinton faced a strong re-election challenge, it was first lady Hillary who crashed a news conference held by the opponent and undercut him with documents showing he had praised Clinton's performance as governor.

"That is a group that can take a punch and they can lay a punch," said Palmieri. "They are smart and they're fearless, but they're not reckless."

The Clinton roller coaster ride was far from over.

The 1992 presidential campaign amounted to a running revival show for the Clintons, and the presidency unfolded like a sequel.

It was almost always a team effort, and Hillary Clinton had a starring role in one early and prominent defeat, the ill-fated health-care reform effort.

In 1994, after Paula Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against Bill, it was Hillary who first interviewed lawyer Robert Bennett about helping fend off what Clinton insiders were calling the latest "bimbo eruption." There were other problems, as well. The Whitewater mess had followed the Clintons north from Arkansas, and Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr was investigating.

The midterm elections that year, in which Republicans seized control of the House and Senate, served as resounding repudiation to the president.

By mid-1995, the Clinton presidency was in free fall. Internal polls found that two-thirds of Americans ruled out voting to re-elect him. Aides cringed when Clinton felt compelled to insist at a news conference, "The president is relevant."

Through it all, Hillary Clinton was "a steadying force," Gergen said. "One of the reasons this marriage has worked for both of them is that he could always look to her for help in getting through things."

Bill Clinton was chastened but forged ahead, adapting to the changed political dynamic. In his 1996 State of the Union address, the president who had come to office promising to do so much instead declared, "The era of big government is over."

Voters in 1996 rewarded him with re-election, and he set out to exceed the low expectations set for second-term presidents.

Those efforts were overshadowed by his involvement with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The ensuing investigation and impeachment melodrama tested the Clintons' resilience and their marriage as never before, but they persevered and Hillary Clinton emerged stronger than ever.

She gave a hint of that last week when she told the audience at a Democratic debate, "I think everybody here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life." And that may explain her ability to press forward when the odds appear so daunting.

When it comes to the Clintons, says Palmieri, "The one thing you can almost always say about whatever situation you're in is that you've seen worse. So they don't get rattled. They have a much better perspective about how to deal with difficult days."

___

Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler contributed to this report.

Exploring Mystical Turkey

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

Exploring Mystical Turkey
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI


At 6 a.m. I awoke to the passionate call of a man’s voice, filled with a soft urgency, transmitted by electronic megaphone from somewhere outside my hotel window. As a first-time visitor to Turkey and the Middle East, this traditional call to prayer was my initiation into the Muslim world. A fitting prelude, I thought, for my pilgrimage in honor of Jalaluddin Rumi, the mystical Sufi poet whose 800th birthday was the purpose of my recent trip through the country.

Sufism is the mystical arm of Islam practiced by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Local Angelenos might be familiar with the Sufi practices of the whirling dervishes, a group of whom have performed at UCLA, and whose methodical turning in their long white robes and tall brown hats represents a means of getting closer to the Divine. UNESCO officially designated 2007 as the year of Rumi and celebrations were held in the city of Konya in south-central Turkey, the poet’s place of birth and burial. The city was brimming with scores of pilgrims from as close as neighboring Iran to as far as China and the United States.

As I traveled with an Istanbul-based Sufi music group, my journey was shaped around all things mystical. I felt this in every area from the tombs of well-known Sufi sheiks (teachers) to the Rumi-inspired knick-knacks in the bazaar shops. More than anything, I witnessed it when our bus broke down on the first day of the bayram holidays that mark the end of the Ramadan fasting period. A humble family in the countryside welcomed us into their modest home, offered us tea and fresh goat’s milk, and exemplified the hospitality and warmth I often witnessed across the region.

Istanbul itself is an enigmatic city and the only one of its size to straddle two continents – Europe to the east and Asia to the west. I saw this melding of east and west in the modern, retail-filled streets of the cosmopolitan Taksim area that teemed with youths eager for the nightlife. I saw it too at the striking Hagia Sophia, a house of both Muslim and Christian history, which welcomed tourists daily and beckoned seagulls every night to circle its grandly lit dome.

Before setting off on my trip, I had heard a lot of good things from friends who had been to Turkey. I discovered this has less to do with place and more to do with people. One member of the music group I traveled with – a German native who married the group’s founder – said something I found particularly fitting. She told me that the people of the Occident think with their heads, while those of the Middle East think with their hearts. Whether suitable or not in politics, it proved a pleasure in travel.

Obama Camps calls this the 11th hour? How does that make Pennsylvania feel, Senator?

So the Obama camp, after always claiming victory even when he was an underdog, is now calling this the "11th" hour when still may states are left to vote - even through the month of May. He likes where he is, thank you very much, and doesn't feel much like competing anymore. My friend in Pennsylvania, who is a democrat and still undecided, represents scores of voters in the remaining states who, I'm certain, would not appreciate BO's attitude.

The most troubling stance the BO camp has taken is the stiff disacknowledgment of Florida and Michigan voters. Since when should bureaucracy stand in the way of the voice of the people? ''Now, when they believe it serves their political interests, they're trying to rewrite the rules,'' Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, told reporters in a telephone call. ``Now, at the 11th hour, the Clinton campaign is trying to rewrite rules that were firmly established, and I don't think there's a lot of appetite for that in the country or a lot of appetite for that at the DNC.'' (Taken from Miami Herald)

Hmmmmmmmmmm...doesn't sound very unifying to me. I would urge the Obama camp to find a way not to disenfranchise Florida and Michigan voters. Obama wants a change in Washington? How will he do that when he upholds rules that disenfrance voters and doesn't propose an amendment, an alternative, or a means to voice their votes? How can he talk change, when he can even do it in his campaign?

Firecracker Run pictures - Where's Naz?

The Chinatown Firecrack Run results and pictures are now posted on the event's website at www.firecracker10k.org . I just want to point out that I found myself in three pictures. Now, if you have a few minutes, here's how you can find me.
Go to the website. Click on the multimedia link on the lefthand navigation. Select the first album that says 2008 Firecracker Run (Year of the Rat). Now click on the album for Pre-Race Photos. I'm in photo numbers 100, 101, 102 - I have the orange bandana, white cap, and army print sleveless.

Villaraigosa plays fairweather politics

So Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa endorses and campaigns for Senator Clinton, but now that the heat is on, he gets all ambiguous and supportive of Obama on the Tavis Smiley Show? It's unfortunate that he can't step up to the plate and support Hillary when he is considered one of her main supporters, especially now when she needs it. Obama and Clinton are not the same, and the cause for supporting a democratic candidate should not trump supporting the individual based on their ability, strength, and merit.

This is the time when Mayor I'm-not-voting-for-him-next-time, and other supporters, need to keep their word and learn how to follow-through and speak smartly and coherently on behalf of those they campaign for. Villaraigosa's ambiguousness and equal praise for both candidates made him appear as a fairweather supporter who would back anyone who was ahead in the polls. Shame on you, Villaraigosa. Get it together and use these media opportunities wisely, or get out of the way.

Artwork for Valentine's Day - Fragonard at the Getty Center

Show off your charming intellect by taking your sweetie, or your own sweet self, to the Getty this weekend for the opening of the painting exhibition called "Consuming Passion: Fragonard's Allegories of Love". Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French artist from the late 18th Century.

The exhibition runs through May 4, 2008.

Here are some of the paintings on exhibition. These images were taken from the Getty.edu website.

Hate Springs Eternal - OP-ED in today's NY Times

Hate Springs Eternal
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 11, 2008
taken from NY TIMES

"Most of the venom is coming from supporters of Barack Obama, who want their hero or nobody. His campaign seems dangerously close to becoming a cult of personality."

In 1956 Adlai Stevenson, running against Dwight Eisenhower, tried to make the political style of his opponent’s vice president, a man by the name of Richard Nixon, an issue. The nation, he warned, was in danger of becoming “a land of slander and scare; the land of sly innuendo, the poison pen, the anonymous phone call and hustling, pushing, shoving; the land of smash and grab and anything to win. This is Nixonland.”


The quote comes from “Nixonland,” a soon-to-be-published political history of the years from 1964 to 1972 written by Rick Perlstein, the author of “Before the Storm.” As Mr. Perlstein shows, Stevenson warned in vain: during those years America did indeed become the land of slander and scare, of the politics of hatred.

And it still is. In fact, these days even the Democratic Party seems to be turning into Nixonland.

The bitterness of the fight for the Democratic nomination is, on the face of it, bizarre. Both candidates still standing are smart and appealing. Both have progressive agendas (although I believe that Hillary Clinton is more serious about achieving universal health care, and that Barack Obama has staked out positions that will undermine his own efforts). Both have broad support among the party’s grass roots and are favorably viewed by Democratic voters.

Supporters of each candidate should have no trouble rallying behind the other if he or she gets the nod.

Why, then, is there so much venom out there?

I won’t try for fake evenhandedness here: most of the venom I see is coming from supporters of Mr. Obama, who want their hero or nobody. I’m not the first to point out that the Obama campaign seems dangerously close to becoming a cult of personality. We’ve already had that from the Bush administration — remember Operation Flight Suit? We really don’t want to go there again.

What’s particularly saddening is the way many Obama supporters seem happy with the application of “Clinton rules” — the term a number of observers use for the way pundits and some news organizations treat any action or statement by the Clintons, no matter how innocuous, as proof of evil intent.

The prime example of Clinton rules in the 1990s was the way the press covered Whitewater. A small, failed land deal became the basis of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar investigation, which never found any evidence of wrongdoing on the Clintons’ part, yet the “scandal” became a symbol of the Clinton administration’s alleged corruption.

During the current campaign, Mrs. Clinton’s entirely reasonable remark that it took L.B.J.’s political courage and skills to bring Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to fruition was cast as some kind of outrageous denigration of Dr. King.

And the latest prominent example came when David Shuster of MSNBC, after pointing out that Chelsea Clinton was working for her mother’s campaign — as adult children of presidential aspirants often do — asked, “doesn’t it seem like Chelsea’s sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?” Mr. Shuster has been suspended, but as the Clinton campaign rightly points out, his remark was part of a broader pattern at the network.

I call it Clinton rules, but it’s a pattern that goes well beyond the Clintons. For example, Al Gore was subjected to Clinton rules during the 2000 campaign: anything he said, and some things he didn’t say (no, he never claimed to have invented the Internet), was held up as proof of his alleged character flaws.

For now, Clinton rules are working in Mr. Obama’s favor. But his supporters should not take comfort in that fact.

For one thing, Mrs. Clinton may yet be the nominee — and if Obama supporters care about anything beyond hero worship, they should want to see her win in November.

For another, if history is any guide, if Mr. Obama wins the nomination, he will quickly find himself being subjected to Clinton rules. Democrats always do.

But most of all, progressives should realize that Nixonland is not the country we want to be. Racism, misogyny and character assassination are all ways of distracting voters from the issues, and people who care about the issues have a shared interest in making the politics of hatred unacceptable.

One of the most hopeful moments of this presidential campaign came last month, when a number of Jewish leaders signed a letter condemning the smear campaign claiming that Mr. Obama was a secret Muslim. It’s a good guess that some of those leaders would prefer that Mr. Obama not become president; nonetheless, they understood that there are principles that matter more than short-term political advantage.

I’d like to see more moments like that, perhaps starting with strong assurances from both Democratic candidates that they respect their opponents and would support them in the general election.

Boyle Heights Latinos for my girl Hill - In today's Los Angeles Times

Steve Lopez:
In Latino neighborhood, Clinton's experience counts
From today's LA TIMES

February 10, 2008

Nick Frousakis went to his grave in December, and one of his most loyal customers, Raul Sousa, followed him into the ground the very next day, old age doing both of them in.

"Nobody wants to sit there now," said Diego Romero, pointing to where Sousa used to hold forth at Jim's Burgers, State and 1st in Boyle Heights.


But the gang still shows up most weekdays to carry on the tradition despite the absence of Frousakis, a Greek-born businessman who had the good sense to put tacos up on the board next to hamburgers.

They drink coffee from Styrofoam cups. They soak up the sun. And they talk.

Life, death, sports, women, politics.

It was the last of those subjects I wanted to hear about last week. Latinos turned out as never before in the California presidential primary, accounting for 30% of the Democratic vote. As a group, Latinos sent an early valentine to Hillary Clinton, voting for her by a 2-1 ratio.

I wanted to know why, but first I had to find some Clinton voters. So which candidate did these guys like?

"Clinton," three men said in unison when I sat down Thursday.

"Clinton," said three different men when I took a seat at the same table Friday.

Altogether, four of the six said they had actually voted. One is a legal resident but not a citizen, and the other just didn't make it to the polls.

The state's Latinos are overwhelmingly Democratic, and none of the Jim's crowd even considered voting for a Republican, even though Sen. John McCain supported a path to legal status for many illegal immigrants.

"They're for the greedy corporations," said retired landscaper Feliz Botello. "They don't care about us and our people."

He might get some disagreement from the estimated 10% of the state's Republican voters who happen to be Latino.

So why Clinton instead of Obama?

"El sabe menos [He knows less]," Roberto Luz, a mariachi, said in Spanish of Barack Obama.

"¿Que ha hecho, él? [What has he done?]," echoed Joaquin Vega, who used to run the auto repair shop across the street.

Most of the comments were similarly straightforward. It didn't hurt that L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa supported Clinton, said the men.

But if I had to list the top reasons the men liked Clinton over Obama or a Republican candidate, the order would go something like this:

She has more experience than Obama. The Clinton name is trusted. Times were good under Bill Clinton, and Hillary is cut from the same cloth. Too much money and too many lives are being wasted in Iraq while things fall apart at home.

Jaime Regalado of Cal State L.A.'s Pat Brown Institute told me by phone that some of Clinton's enemies on the right are seen as enemies of the Latino community, particularly on the subject of immigration. She was smart, Regalado said, to use Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in TV ads and link herself to the slain Kennedy's support for Cesar Chavez and farmworkers.

Regalado was surprised by just how strong the Latino turnout was. But in retrospect, he said, the gloomy economic news, the war and the possibility of ending Republican rule were something of a perfect storm, and Latinos were eager to make their voices heard.

"The last factor is that in the Latino community, as in all communities, there is a certain amount of prejudice," Regalado said, and some Latinos were probably more comfortable with a white woman than a black man.


Even a black man who said illegal immigrants should have driver's licenses and that immigrants can't be blamed for problems in some black communities?

Yes, and yes again.

"He's a very good speaker, and maybe he would be better than Clinton," said Vega, who agreed that younger Latinos seemed a little more inclined to connect with Obama. "But I like Clinton."

I pointed out to Vega, Bill Escarsega and Botello that they don't exactly come from a matriarchal culture. So how did these old-school caballeros suddenly get so comfortable with the idea of a woman in the White House?

"It's not black or white, male or female, it's experience," said Vega.

"My grandfather? Macho, macho, macho," said Botello. "My father? Macho, macho, macho.

"I don't believe in that B.S. anymore. You know why? I'm civilized. I went to school."

When the men talked about all the lives lost in Iraq, and Botello said his cousin was killed in combat, I reminded the kaffeeklatschers that Clinton had voted to support the war.

"And she should be held responsible," said Vega, but that doesn't mean she's not the best candidate.

"Bush lied," Botello charged. "Bush and Cheney lied to everybody, including Congress."

As we spoke, a Latin beat warped and wobbled out of a music shop across 1st Street, and a man came along pushing a battered old bicycle someone had just given him. It needed some love, he said, but it would be fine.

So who did he vote for?

"Clinton," he said immediately, and with that, the former first lady had swept the corner of 1st and State streets in Boyle Heights.

The Chinatown Firecracker Run

I just got back from completing the 30th Annual Firecracker Run in Chinatown Los Angeles. The event is a celebration of Chinese New Year and is composed of a 5K, 10K, and 1 mile kiddie run. I participated in the 5k, and let me tell you, if any uninformed observers thinks L.A. is flat, just have them do this course.

The run started in Chinatown where we received a spectacular send off with dragon dancers, and a long line of firecrackers crackling from where they hung on the start banner all the way to the ground. I knew about the initial hill up Broadway, but was unprepared for the series of steep climbs that followed. 10K runners continued those hills bravely through Elysian Park until they reached Dodgers Stadium. The 10K version is considered one of the most difficult 10K courses.

The royal court of Chinatown princesses was in tow giving winners their medals.

So although I added to my last 5K time, now I know to pump up my hill training. And believe me, there are plenty of hills in the southland to go around - for any doubters out there.

Happy year of the rat!

http://www.firecracker10k.org/

Jose Made in Spain

So I'm back home from a three-day stint working for the American Bar Association (ABA) in the Divison of Policy Adminstration during their mid-year meeting here in Los Angeles. The ABA has one of its main offices in Chicago which is where the policy office is located. I spent a few days with some of the nicest people, further convicing me that I need to go back to Chicago since the last time I was in Chi-town, there were cows on parade - a fantastically whimiscal public art exhibition throughout the city - about 10 years ago.

Now that I'm home, I'm also convinced that I need to make my inaugural trip to Spain. I just caught a show on PBS called "Jose Made in Spain" which is essentially a cooking show about Spanish food. But it is more than that -a blend of simple culinary recipes and travels throughout Spanish towns - it is hosted by a down-to-earth Spaniard, Jose, who the show is named after.

Just watching the show, and the comraderie of the Spaniards, reminds me why this is still a spot on my "to see list". So maybe first a stop in Chicago and then off to Spain? I think I have the makings of my next vacation.

http://www.josemadeinspain.com/

Veteran musician recalls career at First Friday Club Meeting

In this week's Sun Community Newspapers www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

Veteran musician recalls career at First Friday Club Meeting
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

A lesson on quantum physics might have been the last thing Studio City Chamber of Commerce members expected February 1 during their monthly First Friday Club breakfast meeting at the Daily Grill.

But that was what featured speaker Ray Colcord said he had in mind: “I’m sure the same questions are running through your mind that are running through mine. Who the hell is Ray Colcord? How do I write a really good blues tune? And, dude, what’s up with this quantum physics thing?”

Colcord, who has composed music for over 700 television episodes spanning shows including “My Two Dads,” “Silver Spoons,” and “Facts of Life,” is a Studio City resident, past president of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and former A&R executive for Columbia Records. He said he discovered such acts as Aerosmith, Jim Croce and Bonnie Raitt, but failed to convince Columbia Records head Clive Owen to sign them on at the time.

“This isn’t the Wichita, Kansas Chamber of Commerce, this is Studio City,” said Colcord. “You see actors everyday – you know they’re nuts.”

As promised, Colcord shared his formula for crafting a good blues tune. He first advised coming up with a good opening lyric. “‘I got a good woman’ is a bad way to begin a blues song unless you stick something nasty in the next line – ‘I got a good woman with the meanest face in town’ – now we’re talking,” Colcord joked, also adding that blues lyricists should mention cars such as Chevys, Cadillacs, Fords and broken down trucks. Volvos, BMWs, SUVs and hybrids would all be frowned upon.

Other pointers? Something really good to complain about, Colcord suggested. “A man with male pattern baldness ain’t the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is the blues,” he said, garnering audience laughter.

Colcord then provided an unexpected lesson in quantum physics, showcasing the depth of his knowledge on the topic. He used poster board diagrams, flash lights, a basketball and other visual aids to show the evolution of a wave-based model of light to a photon-based model. “The rest of the day compared to this is going to be so easy for you,” he noted.

At the end of his speech, Colcord shared anecdotes from his experience touring with Lou Reed as a keyboard player at age 21. He discussed the difficulty of life on tour, when he cherished the rare days he could sleep for more than three hours between gigs during a hectic schedule. He also addressed how the development of the internet and web-based sales in the music distribution industry has resulted in the shutdown of brick-and-mortar record stores. But Colcord said he didn’t see this having a negative impact on the live music scene.

“As far as I know, boys are still interested in girls, and they need something to do…There are things that are just more enjoyable shared with another group of human beings.”

Washington state's caucus-ballot primary confuses

So Washington state's current primary system isn't just caucus or ballots, it seems to be a combination of the two. But upon further examination into the the document provided by the Secretary of State, I was able to find one clear sentence out of many unclear ones:

"The Democratic Party will base 100% of its delegate selection on the results of the caucus system."

So although there is a caucus on Febuary 9th, and a primary on Febuary 19th, and an oath seems to be involved, the delegate count is based on the caucus results. Huh? I'm posting the document below. And, any light that can be shed for our Washington state voters, and curious Washington state voting policy observers, is tremendously appreciated.

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/2008/WAsCaucusesandPrimaries.pdf

Growing Up...And Liking It

Check out a review I wrote:
http://www.speechspeech.net/Whitefire_TheatreReview.jpg

Debates, California, and Occidental's most famous absent alumni

In her speech today from New York headquarters, Hillary Clinton congratulated Obama on his delegate gains and expressed excitement to continue their debates now as the election season moves forward. According to CNN.com, Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson said the campaign has already accepted 4 invitations for this month on such forums as CNN and FOX (non-cable TV would also be appreciated by people like me who are holding on to their rabbit ears until the last moment).

I hope the Obama campaign makes a decision soon to participate in these debates. These are the best venues for voters to gather insight and information about those running. I also urge voters to attend rallies in their areas. I am registered on most of the major candidate websites for both parties, and get frequent updates on So Cal events. Although, I must admit, the Clinton crowd - both Hillary herself and her supporters - are much more organized in getting rallies and groups together locally. I was surprised to find out that Obama wasn't even at the recent UCLA event where Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver stumped for him. It's no wonder that California is voting overwhelmingly for Clinton (although less than half of the precints are reported thus far). In the past 3 weeks, I had at least 3 opportunities to see Hillary in person. I'm guessing that Obama knew his efforts would be better spent on TV ads, which were a-plenty round the clock yesterday. So goes political campaigning.

Now that our primary is over, I guess we won't see him anymore at all. All I can think of is...poor Occidental College! Obama attended the Eagle Rock school for 2 years (not 1, as I previously thought) and they bank on him as one their most notable Alumni. Couldn't he have made a trip out there? If he gets the nomination, I hope he doesn't forget them in his campaign.

Primary and Caucus Dates - We stil have a ways to go

2008 Presidential Primary/Caucus Calendar

JANUARY 2008
• January 3: Iowa
• January 5: Wyoming (R)
• January 8: New Hampshire
• January 15: Michigan
• January 19: Nevada, South Carolina (R)
• January 26: South Carolina (D)
• January 29: Florida

FEBRUARY 2008
• February 1: Maine (R)
• February 5: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho (D), Illinois, Kansas (D), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico (D), New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah
• February 9: Louisiana, Washington (caucus), Kansas (R)
• February 10: Maine (D)
• February 12: District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia
• February 19: Hawaii (D)*, Washington (primary), Wisconsin

MARCH 2008
• March 4: Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont
• March 8: Wyoming (D)
• March 11: Mississippi

APRIL 2008
• April 22: Pennsylvania

MAY 2008
• May 6: Indiana, North Carolina
• May 13: Nebraska, West Virginia
• May 20: Kentucky, Oregon
• May 27: Idaho (R)

JUNE 2008
• June 3: Montana, New Mexico (R), South Dakota

*Taken from RocktheVote website

What monstrous creation is this?

So my favorite new coffee place in Pete's Coffee. I don't like the actual location of it as much as my Starbucks or Coffee Bean, or lovely lovely Literati, but Pete's surpasses all of them in that they brew the best cup of joe. And I mean keep you awake for 24 hours coffee - that good. But the one I have started to frequent is quite dark and not suitable to intense Shakespeare reading, or laptop writing, and besides, it closes at 6PM.

But what the title of this blog entry really alludes to isn't any of that - but a particular baked good sold there. It's an artichoke muffin. I think it was low fat, and it looked disgusting. Like a monster. An abnormal mutant hybrid of two good things that yielded something disfigured, and I'm quite sure, ostracized by it's more normal baked good neighbors. In fact, Pete's doesn't even include this artichoke creation on its website. I wouldn't either.

I asked the man behind the counter what the artichoke muffin tasted like, and he admitted to never having eaten it before. My recommendation? Not all good things need to be combined. An artichoke is best by itself, with a nice vinagrette to dip it in. It has no place in the muffin world.

Now if anyone has actually tasted one of these, please let me know.

A Hllary by any other name...

I firmly believe that Hillary Clinton would have still gotten involved in the political life had she been Hillary Rodham Gonzalez, or Hillary Rodham Bakker, or just plain Hillary Rodham. Her status as first lady to former President Clinton does not automatically lend her the credibility - her own intelligence and strength does that for her.

At a Superbowl pary yesterday, I got to talking politics with a group of largely older Iranian women (plus one older American gentleman - sorry Bernie, but you were it!). This one lady asked me whether I was supporting Hillary because she was a woman - whether that was important to me. I said that yes, that it was important. And, no, I would not have supported Diane Feinstein for a presidential bid, and probably not even Senator Boxer. I support Hillary. The fact that she is a woman adds to her qualifications and my support for her.

Let's face it, it's not easy being a woman. And for a country that supposedly espouses equal rights, this is still true of the US. After all, we can't soon forget that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) did not pass nearly three decades ago. We also can't deny that other countries - even Pakistan - has had a woman leader and we have yet to take this next obvious step.

I also believe that women bring in a different conciousness to politics. Women are not the same as men, and equal rights does not translate into a woman reaching equality with a man. Why should women be encouraged to be like men? Why establish that men have set the bar and women need just to reach it? Why isn't it the other way around?

As women, we offer our own insights into the political discourse. Women are more intimately familiar with issues of elder parent care (Hillary's mother lives them). Women are more involved in the raising, education and healthcare of children and their families. Women bring in this extra heightened understanding of issues that are so important to daily life. The personal is political.

Also, I will be honnest with you, I want a woman president. I need a woman president. But it's not only me. It's scores of young girls and young women who are led to believe that they can accomplish anything. Really? How can we back this up when our country can not even train, empower and elect a woman president? To make change, we have to create change that will not only affect politics but people. Let's do this.

Rally venues reveal difference in candidates

I'm just glad to point out the following difference in the two democratic front-runners: While Obama spoke in Pauley Pavillion at highly-ranked UCLA in Westwood, Hillary Clinton has been speaking in humbler Cal State venues from the Northridge to Los Angeles campuses. Chelsea was in Cal State Dominquez Hills, and Bill was in a south central Church. The difference is significant and I'm glad to see Hillary speaking at the Cal States and exposing these deserving schools to the media.

By the way, why doesn't Obama do a favor to Occidental College, his freshmen-year alma mater, and speak at the Eagle Rock university?

Kitty Humour

New city transportation plan could cut traffic, Greuel says

Article in this week's Sun - suncommunitynewspapers.com

New city transportation plan could cut traffic, Greuel says
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

City Councilmember Wendy Greuel addressed the need for L.A.’s new transportation-focused strategic plan at the January 23 meeting of Neighborhood Council Valley Village held at Colfax Avenue Elementary School. The plan, unveiled in December, would set guidelines for transportation projects in Los Angeles over the next 20 years.

“We think it’s so critically important that we have a document that says, ‘here are our priorities,’” said Greuel, 2nd district representative and Chair of the City Council’s Transportation Committee.

A cohesive plan would benefit not only community members, she said, but also unite the City Council itself, whose 15 members each hold different views on the issue.

Greuel outlined the city’s three-phase approach to the strategic plan process, beginning with the initial stage of gathering community-wide feedback at neighborhood meetings and via the second council district’s website.

Phase two will require an assessment of current traffic conditions and future traffic needs – focusing on areas of job concentration and projections of growth. Phrase three will see through the strategic plan’s implementation.

Greuel discussed a list of objectives the city wants reflected in the plan, such as upholding environmental sustainability – a goal toward which city government has already started preliminary work with the Environmental Defense Fund. Other goals include safety and reliability, and quality of life issues in neighborhoods.

The reduction of traffic congestion on the flow of goods and services would also promote economic growth by encouraging major industries to do business in Los Angeles, she added.

The councilmember emphasized the creation of a “seamless” system – a goal that may prove difficult since it involves reorganizing a disharmonious public transportation system already firmly in place.

She admitted it’s even difficult for her to get to the Universal MTA stop from her home near Laurel Canyon and Moorpark, to take the subway downtown. The MTA unwisely limited parking at the Universal station in order to encourage all around public transportation use – a decision that did not take into account the lack of efficient connections.

Greuel stressed that all levels of government must contribute to finding a solution to traffic and transportation problems.

“[The city is] responsible for your roads and streets; we’re responsible for your DASH buses, commuter express, for your signalization, for your speed humps – those are the kinds of things that we have,” she said, noting that the city does not have control over the freeways or the MTA, but has “to coordinate and be part of a solution with those other levels of government.”

After the discussion, Greuel was asked to stay and swear in a newly elected board member, as well as listen to a group of discontented Morella Avenue homeowners opposed to new developments in their neighborhood.