Naz in L.A.

Cats will fit in anywhere to get cozy

2011-12-16T16:38:00.001-08:00

(Image from ASPCA Facebook site)

Santa may not find them useful, but I find them brilliant.

2011-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

The (not so strict) Vegan Diet

2011-08-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

In my attempts to add something challenging to my daily life, I am going vegan for one month. I can't pinpoint what made me decide, except that a perusal through PETA's website has the power to convert any meat-eater to veganism for at least daylight hours. Cows are kept pregnant all year round? Some enriched sugar is siphoned through charred animal bone? What?!?!

Although I have maintained a pescatarian diet for about three months, it's not easy to go all-out and eat vegan. I started nearly a week ago, and I can't be sure whether the bread I have eaten was devoid of all dairy - in fact, it probably wasn't. But aside from that, I have maintained the diet pretty well. After speaking to a friend who was vegan for a year, I have added a B-complex vitamin and take this and other supplements daily. I've noticed changes in digestion, and am adding more fruits and vegetables to ensure I get the fiber I need. I was eating a lot of cheese prior to this, so although I no longer have that as my go-to snack, it's probably for the best. On the whole, I feel pretty good, and may even take it longer than a month.

But let's get through the month first.

Vegan truffle from Whole Foods.

We should all be so fortunate

2011-05-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away."

Ms. George Eliot, Victorian novelist

The Best Year of Her Life

2011-04-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Best Year of Her Life by Gerald Locklin

When my two-year-old daughter
sees someone come through the door
whom she loves, and hasn't seen for a while,
and has been anticipating
she literally shrieks with joy.

I have to go into the other room
so that no one will notice the tears in my eyes.

Later, after my daughter has gone to bed,
I say to my wife,

"She will never be this happy again,"
and my wife gets angry and snaps,
"Don't you dare communicate your negativism to her!"
And, of course, I won't, if I can possibly help it,
and of course I fully expect her
to have much joy in her life,
and, of course, I hope to be able
to contribute to that joy --
I hope, in other words, that she'll always
be happy to see me come through the door--

but why kid ourselves -- she, like every child,
has a life of great suffering ahead of her,
and while joy will not go out of her life,
she will one of these days cease to actually,
literally, jump and shriek for joy.

"The Best Year of Her Life" by Gerald Locklin, from Men of Our Time. (c) University of Georgia Press, 1992.

"This is the true joy in life...

2011-04-05T16:53:00.001-07:00

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
Irish playwright and critic

A Vitality

2011-04-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening

that is translated through you into action,

and because there is only one of you in all time,

this expression is unique.

If you block it,

it will never exist through any other medium

and be lost.

The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is;

nor how it compares with other expressions.

It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly,

to keep the channel open.

You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.

You have to keep it open and aware directly

to the urges that motivate you.

Keep the channel open.

No artist is pleased.

There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.

There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction;

a blessed unrest that keeps us marching

and makes us more alive that the others.

Martha Graham to Agnes De Mille as shared to me by Ronald Alexander

Antilamentation by Dorianne Laux

2011-03-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Regret nothing. Not the cruel novels you read
to the end just to find out who killed the cook, not
the insipid movies that made you cry in the dark,
in spite of your intelligence, your sophistication, not
the lover you left quivering in a hotel parking lot,
the one you beat to the punch line, the door or the one
who left you in your red dress and shoes, the ones
that crimped your toes, don't regret those.
Not the nights you called god names and cursed
your mother, sunk like a dog in the living room couch,
chewing your nails and crushed by loneliness.
You were meant to inhale those smoky nights
over a bottle of flat beer, to sweep stuck onion rings
across the dirty restaurant floor, to wear the frayed
coat with its loose buttons, its pockets full of struck matches.
You've walked those streets a thousand times and still
you end up here. Regret none of it, not one
of the wasted days you wanted to know nothing,
when the lights from the carnival rides
were the only stars you believed in, loving them
for their uselessness, not wanting to be saved.
You've traveled this far on the back of every mistake,
ridden in dark-eyed and morose but calm as a house
after the TV set has been pitched out the window.
Harmless as a broken ax. Emptied of expectation.
Relax. Don't bother remembering any of it. Let's stop here,
under the lit sign on the corner, and watch all the people walk by.

"Antilamentation" by Dorianne Laux, from The Book of Men. (c) W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.

Word of the Day - And something I am sometimes good at, sometimes achingly not so much

2011-02-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

Sitzfleisch

PRONUNCIATION:
(SITZ-flaish, ZITS-)

MEANING:
noun:
1. The ability to sit through or tolerate something boring.
2. The ability to endure or persist in a task.

ETYMOLOGY:
[From German Sitzfleisch, from sitzen (to sit) + Fleisch (flesh). Earliest documented use: Before 1930.

NOTES:
Sitzfleisch is a fancy term for what's commonly known as chair glue: the ability to sit still and get through the task at hand. It's often the difference between, for example, an aspiring writer and a writer. Sometimes the word is used in the sense of the ability to sit out a problem -- ignore it long enough in the hope it will go away.

Taken from Wordsmith.org

Navigating Office Politics

2011-02-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

Taken from the New Yorker

Poem

2011-02-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

Thank you Garrison Keillor and your daily Writer's Almanac emails - without which my poetry intake would be severely limited.

Driving Montana, Alone by Katie Phillips

I smile at the stack of Bob Dylan CDs
you are not holding in the passenger seat.
Storm clouds have gathered. My "Wow" rises
over the harmonica for your benefit,
but you cannot see that one sunlit peak

in the midst of threatening sky. The road turns
wet at the "Welcome to Anaconda" sign,
and I pat my raincoat, loosely folded
where your lap should be. "Anaconda was almost
the state capital," I say, but that's all I know,

and you don't ask for more. You wouldn't mind
my singing and swerving onto the shoulder
for more snapshots over the car door.
And it's only when I get just south of Philipsburg
that your not being here feels like absence.

I want you to see these dark rotting barns,
roadkill of Highway One. It seems only you
could know why my eyes fill the road
with tears again when a flock of swallows
swoops through an open barn door
and rushes out the gaping roof.

"Driving Montana, Alone" by Katie Phillips, from Driving Montana, Alone. (c) Slapering Hol Press.

Not sure I understand it, but I think that's why I like it.

2011-02-16T16:15:00.001-08:00

"The Blind Old Man" by Robert Bly, from Talking Into the Ear of a Donkey.

I don't know why so much sweetness hovers around us.
Nor why the wind blows the curtains in the afternoons,
Nor why the earth mutters so much about its children.

We'll never know why the snow falls through the night,
Nor how the heron stretches her long legs,
Nor why we feel so abandoned in the morning.

We have never understood how birds manage to fly,
Nor who the genius is who makes up dreams,
Nor how heaven and earth can appear in a poem.

We don't know why the rain falls so long.
The ditchdigger turns up one shovel after another.
The herons go on stitching the heavens together.

We've never heard about the day we were conceived
Nor the doctor who helped us to be born,
Nor that blind old man who decides when we will die.

It's hard to understand why the sun rises,
And why our children are mostly fond of us,
And why the wind blows the curtains in the afternoon.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

Love is gentle, love is kind....But above all, love is paranoid.

Picture from the Washington Post.

Fred is Dead, Long Live Fred

2011-02-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

The Mystery Bookstore is closed. I finally bought a "Dead Fred" pen holder. This was at their cash register, and it was so popular that they started selling them. I'm keeping mine on my desk at work. Seems appropriate since Valentine's Day is coming up :b

Pulling from the Archives

2011-01-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

So since I don't get published regularly anymore, I'm pulling an article from my archives. I was very proud of this one - I wrote about all the political activity in the Valley during the 2008 season. I interviewed an assortment of interesting movers and thinkers - from a buttoned-up conservative democrat organizer in Lake Balboa, to a button-less yogi-turned Ron Paul activist in Studio City, and a whole mess of hardcore Clinton groupies (some crazier than others - myself included).

This was my last major article for the Sun Community Newspaper and represented a sort of climax in my political involvement too, since I was active in promoting Hillary Clinton. I was very involved with her on-line community, made phone calls from the Valley office, "bribed" friends with Clinton gadgets and gizmos (to no avail) and anything else to promote her candidacy. Alas, this created some friction among friends and family (you know who you are).

I was heartbroken when she lost, mildly consoled by Sarah Palin's potential in unraveling the effects of Obamania, and have yet find political love again. Sigh. Maybe I'll open my heart in 2012 - That Bobby Jindal is a looker.

Grassroots Campaigners Sprout in the Valley

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

It’s the day before the Texas primary election, and a group of largely female volunteers are making last-minute phone calls at a Lake Balboa office used by Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Hitomi Heap-Baldwin, a volunteer from Tujunga, sounds like a seasoned campaigner on the phone. “Did you also know there is a caucus going on in the same day?” she asks a Texas voter. “Can I spend one minute telling you about it?”

This is Heap-Baldwin’s third day as a volunteer here. She is only 16 and a junior at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada.

Heap-Baldwin is one of many young activists involved this election season. For her, volunteering means making phone calls – even if that means skipping track practice. “I can’t just let someone else win if I’m interested in it. I have to do something about it,” she says.

Young adult professionals such as Burbank native Valerie Rothenberg, 26, are also active volunteers. Sen. Barack Obama inspired her involvement in his presidential campaign. “I think Obama especially inspires people to organize,” Rothenberg says. “He said, ‘this is your campaign, you can make a difference.’”

Her grassroots efforts started with 15 people in a friend’s Porter Ranch living room last spring, and grew from there. She was a precinct captain in her neighborhood, traveled to Nevada to campaign for Obama, and organized phone banking sessions at a North Hollywood park. Despite her dedication, Rothenberg, who is a freelance costume designer, has no intention of entering politics professionally.

Grassroots-level volunteers like Heap-Baldwin and Rothenberg are often the most effective agents for a candidate. Their active role is helpful with engaging voters who may be detached from the political process.

Bob Blumenfield, a democratic candidate for the 42nd Assembly District, believes that voters are more receptive to volunteer campaigners. “There’s a passion that’s there – not that paid staffers don’t have that passion; they do – but it’s undeniable as a volunteer,” he says.

Blumenfield has recruited high school volunteers from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys and Oakwood School in North Hollywood. He is planning another recruiting session at Van Nuys High School. He counts on the energy and enthusiasm that young people bring to his campaign.

Republican Tony Strickland also recognizes the importance of young volunteers. “It is extremely encouraging to see young people get involved in the political process at the grassroots level,” says the former Assembly member and current state senatorial candidate for Tom McClintock’s termed-out seat.

Some young activists simply have politics in their blood. Rothenberg’s father, Peter, is a coordinator for the Valley For Obama group and convened the Obama delegate caucus for Brad Sherman’s district in mid-April. Heap-Baldwin’s father, an Obama supporter, would clip news-related articles and hide them in her backpack.

Ashley Ingram, 22, was also raised in a politically active family in Burbank in the 1980s, when her parents volunteered for Ronald Reagan’s campaign. Ingram is a passionate young republican – one of a group that is not as easy to find in a largely democratic electorate like Los Angeles.

“It’s hard to come out of the republican closet, as I’d like to say, especially in the Valley,” says Ingram, who said she often felt singled-out in high school because of her conservative views.

Ingram is sharp and poised with an impressive grasp of California politics. She has already been a paid staffer on two campaigns, including her current position as Deputy Campaign Manager for Tony Strickland. She previously worked for the Rudy Giuliani campaign. She cites the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks and Giuliani’s role in the tragedy’s aftermath as factors fueling her desire to enter public service.

Many political activists refer to both September 11 and the Iraq War as the major events triggering political activism in teens and young adults. Damian Carroll, an experienced grassroots campaigner and current staffer for Assembly member Mike Feuer, says young people are more mobilized today than they were eight years ago, mainly because of those two events in addition to Hurricane Katrina.

“It brought people up to this idea that public service was important; that we had a character as a nation where we could pull together and make a difference,” Carroll says.

Cameron Silverberg, 14, is an 8th grade student at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, and a volunteer for the Obama campaign. “I just think Obama has the ability to really unify a divided country,” says Silverberg. “He has the unique ability to restore what’s broken about America right about now.”

He mentions the Iraq war and its affects on the economy as one of the main issues he cares about. The other is climate change. “He (Obama) really does understand the importance of dealing with it right now as opposed to leaving it to people like myself and my generation where we’d have to deal with it.”

Chad Jones is president of Valley Grassroots for Democracy, an organization that evolved out of a coming together of Valley-based Howard Dean and John Kerry supporters in 2005. At the time, Jones says they weren’t sure whether they wanted to create another democratic club in the Valley but then they realized something.

“If you’re trying to change the democratic party,” Jones says, “which was something we wanted to do – to make it more responsive to the grassroots - the reality is that we had to become part of the system and change it from within.”

He says that teenagers and young adults don’t join as members or participate in club activities as much as he would like. Those who are active are more likely to join the Young Democrats. “We do tend to skew older – 50 plus,” says Jones, who at 37, says he is one of the youngest members of the group.

For those young people who are disinterred in the presidential campaign, the Internet has served as this season’s power tool in reaching out and mobilizing them.

The online presence of Barack Obama has been a major asset in his courting of young voters. His personal page on the social networking site Facebook, for example, has nearly 770,000 supporters listed – about five times the number of supporters listed on the Hillary Clinton page.

“It’s not a top-heavy campaign,” says Carroll, 31, who ran as an Obama delegate in Brad Sherman’s congressional district. According to Carroll, the campaign has done so well on the grassroots level because they encouraged supporters to spread Obama’s message in a personal way. In response, supporters created videos, posted them on YouTube, and emailed them to each other – a tactic more effective than receiving an email directly from the campaign.

When Carroll first got involved in politics in 2003, he used the website Meetup.com to connect with fellow progressives. He recalls his first meeting at Dupars restaurant in Studio City, a gathering that eventually resulted in his involvement with the Howard Dean campaign.

The internet has also been important in strengthening Congressman Ron Paul’s popularity. Steven Vincent, a Studio City yoga instructor, used Meetup.com to organize Ron Paul supporters in Burbank and North Hollywood. He says one of his groups now has about 300 members.

Vincent does not look like a typical republican. On a recent day, he is wearing a neon yellow T-shirt with a Ron Paul slogan emblazoned across his chest. Although Vincent is in his 40s, he has a youthful energy that befits his political activism.

“If you had told me before March [of 2007] that I was going to register republican and campaign for a republican candidate, I would have told you that you were really crazy,” Vincent says. He mentions Paul’s “unrehearsed quality” and his Gandhi-inspired writings on peaceful non-intervention in foreign policy as traits that appealed to him.

Vincent represents a group of people not necessarily young in age, but new to grassroots politics. Grassroots work, such as phone banking or precinct walking, can be a catalyst for volunteers who continue stay active beyond their first political campaign.

Vincent, who jokingly admits he had always been a “lifelong member of the no-confidence party,” says he will continue his activist work despite Paul’s defunct bid for the presidency. He plans on participating in a grassroots distribution of Paul’s forthcoming book, The Revolution Manifesto. He also wrote an article on Paul for the February issue of LA Yoga magazine and plans on doing more writing. “It’s a movement; it’s not a political campaign,” he says.

Heap-Baldwin is also active in her community. She started her own website called Teensthinkgreen.com to promote eco-friendly lifestyle alternatives for teenagers.

For the young activist interested in a career in politics, grassroots training provides an invaluable foothold. Ingram’s training gave her experience no bachelor’s degree could replace. “We all had to pay our dues and put in our free pay and interning and getting beat up for a while, but it was completely worth it to do what we do now,” says Ingram.

Seasoned grassroots campaigners often tout the importance of passing on their training to the next generation to keep their political party or organization alive.

When Carroll first got involved in politics, the then-president of the Young Democrats of the San Fernando Valley encouraged him to get involved in local groups. Carroll ultimately became president of Young Democrats and now remains on the executive board as communications director.

“I don’t feel representative so much anymore,” Carroll says. “I’m looking to find who are the young people in our club who are up and coming – who are ready to take on more of that leadership.”

Since he first joined in 2003, the club’s membership has increased from roughly 40 to 300 members. Their budget also reflects that growth.

Ingram says college republican groups often fall apart when a president or a core group graduates. She made sure that the club she founded at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita had stable leadership before she left.

For Blumenfield, there is an innate sense of duty to mentor and recruit young people.

“I got involved in politics when I was very young,” he says. “You know, it changed my life in many ways – and I want to help other people have a similar experience.”

My Current Article in Carnegie Mellon Today, January 2011

2011-01-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

As the Crow Flies

Two Carnegie Mellon students board a flight from Pittsburgh to New York, the first stop on their trip. For Jen Horwitz, who studies public policy and management, traveling isn't a big deal. The East Coast native has been abroad. But she has never been to Bangladesh. Neither has computer science student Anthony Vel†zquez. That's the final destination for their internship.

After New York, the pair touchdown in Dubai and meet up with two classmates from the Qatar campus: Brian Manalastas, studying business administration, and Aysha Siddique, a computer science and information systems student. They exchange hugs. This is their first meeting, though they've taken a videoconference course together.

The interns are in flight again as part of the TechbridgeWorld Innovative Student Technology ExPerience project. Through a 10-week internship, iSTEP provides students a chance to apply their knowledge and skills for creative problem solving outside the classroom, and, in this case, many miles from home. The multi-faceted problem awaiting this group entails developing an educational tool to enhance English literacy among pre-college students, and to determine features for a standalone Braille writing tutor for visually impaired children.

The interns land in Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh, and have a chance to unwind at a nearby rest house during a six-hour layover. On the cab ride there, they witness the "organized chaos" of Bangladeshi traffic. Eventually, the group arrives in Chittagong, where even in the middle of the night it's more than 90 degrees.

They soon meet with their primary partner, Young Power in Social Action, to start determining what they could best accomplish during their stay. A few weeks later, Horwitz, in her role as needs assessment and evaluation coordinator, leads the visit to the Chittagong Government School for the Blind. The school has just one computer allocated for the students; it runs on DOS and is subject to sporadic power outages, a challenge for all of Bangladesh. The team uses its collective computer science knowledge to make the limited technology work for the iSTEP Braille learning game that is based on animal sounds, a game first implemented by iSTEP in Tanzania.

The interns encounter yet another problem as they work with the Bangla elementary school children sent here from across the country. In Tanzania, the game included sounds from a pig, an animal not common in the Muslim world. So, for the Bangla version, the iSTEP team adroitly substitutes a crow instead. The students gleefully recognize its squawk. Lesson accomplished.

After multiple visits to the school, the internship ends. It takes nearly 45 minutes for Horwitz and the others to leave amid the children's hugs and good-byes.
-Nazbanoo Pahlavi (HNZ'03)

TEAM CATS - Center for Assault Treatment Services Official LA Marathon Charity

2010-08-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

I am excited to be a team captain of Team CATS this year. the Northridge Hospital's Center for Assault Treatment Services (CATS) has been selected one of 63 official charities of the Honda Los Angeles Marathon on March 20, 2011. Tonight was our initial meeting, and we had a great turnout, with 9 people registering with Team CATS! We have partnered with Alpha Running who will providing the training support on Saturday mornings in beautiful Griffith Park. I am excited to support our team in their fundraising efforts. The minimum fundraising goal is $250 - Only $250! That's a piece of cake! If running your first marathon for such an amazing program as CATS, you will find people to support you - I promise!

Please let me know if you are interested in joining Team CATS to Race to break the silence and end the abuse. CATS provides the only 24 hour, 7 a day week program for victims of sexual abuse and assault. Unfortunately, more than 50% of those treated are children. Instead of being taken to an Emergency Room, waiting around for hours to be examined and questioned by police in a hospital setting, CATS offers a comforting location with nurses trained in forensics, who are dedicated to the cause of victims of sexual abuse. We are the only program that serves San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys.

Support Team CATS!

My First 5K and Yours too

2010-06-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

My first 5K was a charity run in 2007. I was covering a lecture for the Sun Community Newspapers in September- An event at the El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana hosted by an affiliate group in support of the Jewish Home of the Aging. I had recently started running seriously, and the goal of a 5K two months away was both feasible and exciting. I liked the Jewish Home too and wanted to help with this worthy cause. I set up my fundraising site through kintera.org and by that December, I had raised $500 and set an all time PR with my first 5K.

It isn't difficult to raise money when you are promoting a good organization and putting your feet where your mouth is. I had fun that first race, and it eventually led to many more 5Ks, 10Ks, a couple of half-marathons, and three marathons.

Would you like to set a goal to complete your first 5K? If so, I encourage you to do so at the Lexus Santa Monica 5000 on September 12, 2010 and choose the John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI) as your cause. Just like the Jewish Home for the Aging, the JWCI also has affiliate groups that support the mission of the institute. Partners in Progress is one of these groups. They help raise funds that promote institute functions not commonly supported by charitable donations such as lab and specimen maintenance and education & outreach.

I raised $500 when I ran my first 5K. How much will you raise?

First, register for the Lexus Santa Monica 5000 on September 12th. Then, set up your http://www.firstgiving.com/ fundraising page, or use the one Partners in Progress has established for the group. Then, start contacting your friends and family. You will be surprised at all the people in your life who will support YOU and the your cause.

And let me know if you sign up!

Happy running,

You're still looking over here?

2010-04-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

So even though I do not write in this blog anymore, I still manage to get a whole lot more hits on this site, than on my more regular runner's almanac blog. This is probably because I have a lot of my published pieces on here, in addition to other blog postings that are not writing related. Also, if anyone searches for me, they are brought here. So if you are directed to this blog and see that the last posting hasn't been since November 2009, and a picture only at that, feel free to check me out on runnersalmanac.blogspot.com . Until I find other interesting non-running things to write about, I'll be over there. BUT, I do have happy news that crosses pop culture and running....Yesterday, I found out that I was accepted into the ING New York City Marathon 2010! First time application..and accepted! I don't have an exact number of how many people apply, but one number I found was upwards of 100,000 people who attempt to run.

I was happy...thrilled...to get in! Le the happy dance continue!

And as always, read my runners almanac. Even if you are not a runner, any comments on the prospects of running, walking, exercising, or any other form you use your body in a positive way, is appreciated.

2009-11-30T09:04:00.001-08:00

2009-11-17T11:40:00.001-08:00

Runner's Almanac - 18 miles and a fall

2009-11-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

I had been trying to mentally prepare for today's 18 mile run, including hydrating the day before and getting some good protein in. Aside from getting to sleep early though, my mental preparation wasn't at the level I had hoped for. When I got to the starting line today, it didn't feel like I was about to run 18 miles. Maybe that's a good thing. Since daylight savings had ended, it wasn't dark this morning at 6:00am, but it was cold, and it remained cold for much of the morning. Our first three miles felt pretty great, and our mentors kept us at pace, if not a little below. I became fast friends with my running buddy next to me, and I commiserated with him over the fact his iPod was acting all funny and he wasn't able to listen to the songs he had meticulously chosen the night before for today's run. Eventually, his iPod did work. When I turned my iPod on around mile 5, I was happy to have it, but about 4 or 5 miles later it went kaput. That was ok, I'm happy to run with the playlist in my head. At one point, a girl behind me was singing the lyrics to a song she was listening to, so that was enjoyable as well.

We ran through Santa Monica and into Venice and continued South to Marina del Rey. We navigated past the Cheescake Factory at Mother's Beach, and past the Ritz Carlton, where sadly, no one was outside eating pancakes over which I could salivate. We then went further into the Marina and made it just till Fisherman's village, when we had to turn around. On our back, unfortunately, my running buddy took a nasty fall and when I turned around to see what happened, I saw he had stumbled in a narrow passageway between the parkinglot and the street. When he got up his finger was bleeding badly, and he mentioned that he was afraid he had broken it, after recently recuperating from breaking it just recently. I gave him a sanitzed wipey I carried with myself and a gulp of my water for his cut. One of our helpers, Larissa, stayed behind with him. I felt aweful. Especially, since he had mentioned his wife was recovering from a running fall of her own. Hope he got better and will see him next week.

There is a point during these long runs when we seem to lose people. By the time we got to mile 17, the group seemed to dwindle a bit, and there was a point when we were less than a mile a way, when my right knee was bothering me. I thought of stopping and walking the rest as well. But I stuck it out, and after that incline from the Pier back up to Ocean, it was a good feeling to be done with the run.

The hardest part today, aside from my partner's injury, was working on my mental stamina. My body was able to do it - It was mind that I was working on. Running, even in a group, can be very singular. It's just you out there on the road.

I got home and immediately drank some post-run chocolate milk, recommended after a long session. Then the aches and pains started to settle in. All morning 18 miler, 3 hours and 40 minutes. Now I am catching up on some tv.

Runner's Almanac - Day 70, 16 miles

2009-10-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

It's 6:00am and I am standing in the dark beachside in Santa Monica with a handful of others like me waiting for a long 3 hour journey ahead of us. Equipped with shorts, my gear belt and my "Gu" belt, I do some mild stretches. I'm excited and ready to go. Soon, other journeymen join our group and we are nearly 30 people. Our goal today is 16 miles. A few of us will do less, and some will join us when we pass our first 3 mile mark. One of our mentors, John, will turn around for 8miles since he training for the NYC Marathon next weekend.

It's lucky that we start at 6:00am - It is early enough and still dark that I am running in a partly dream state. We make our initial 3 mile loop after which I turn to my running buddy Teresa and ask, "That was only 3 miles?" She sympathizes. Sometimes 3 miles feels more than 3 miles. But like any long distance, the beginning can often be the hardest. Once we get going, the sun will come out, our doubts will subside, and some of us may even experience a few moments of that "runner's high". And some of us do...at about mile 14. Luckily, it can be contagious.

The route today takes up through Santa Monica and Venice and then south to Marina del Rey. We run by the marina, pass the chic brunch crowd eating their twenty-five dollar croissants at the Ritz Carlton, and carefully navigate alongside the fancy gold colored fire hydrants on the sidewalk. Mother's Beach comes and goes, and we pass by Cheesecake Factory early in the morning. Some parts of the Marina route are less interesting that others - it's a lot of parking and pavement, but the unusualness of it makes the run less dull. On our turnaround point at the Marina Yacht club, we take a different route back and I find myself running along a canal in Venice, on a trail of packed dirt snug in between the water and the front gardens of some lovely homes. The scents of rosemary and lavendar are a welcome treat, and the stairs along the dirt corridor add some cross training. I'm really loving this part. It's hard, but I'm loving it.

After we cross the bridge and get back to Venice Beach, I see more running groups out and about including the LA Roadrunners and their large groups and a smaller AIDS running group. Just like the first few miles, the last few miles can also be difficult. We keep our brief walking breaks in each mile. Teresa and I agree that a walk, however brief, only reminds us of our body aches and pains and makes it more difficult to find our stride. It's at this point that I really feel the bones in my body. It's not soft and gentle and cushioned - but hard and skeletal. Thankfully, a runner in our group (whose name I have now forgotten) DID get a case of runner's high and passed it along to a few of us. By the time we get back to the Senior Center in Santa Monica, we are pooped. We also learn that our 16 miles measures about 15.8. But we all agree that this is only a technicality and the walk back to our cars should make up for the remaining mileage.

Thanks to all who ran in the 12 minute/mile pace group on Saturday - the group energy was really great.

Happy running!

San Jose Rock n Roll Half-Marathon rocks!

2009-10-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

The night before the run, I lay all my necessities out on the credenza in my hotel room. For anyone who knows me personally, you knowI don’t decide on my outfit to work the night before, or anything like that. But then again, I’m not usually excited to go to work. So onto the credenza I organize my belt (no bottle attachments, just a pouch), a hand full of Gu with a Gu belt, race day outfit, hat, glasses, gloves, kerchief, Band-Aids, tissues, a plastic baggy just in case. Now I just make sure my alarm is set so I remember to wake up in the morning.

The day of the race, I make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pack up, and head downstairs. On my way to drop off my bags and check out, I pass elite runner Meb Keflezighi and his crew in a small lounging area in the lobby. Meb looks focused and ready (he ends up setting a 20K record later that morning and winning the race). It is packed with expectant runners outside and the air is crisp and nice for a long run. I find a volunteer to help me pin the 2:30 pace bib on my back, and I go searching for the pace group amidst the crowded corrals – which are all roped off before the start. Everyone is excited to get started. Some local notables greet us and a fabulous singer delivers her rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”.

Although this is the Rock n Roll half marathon, there is no band at the start and looking back, I don’t recall any DJ or noticeable music at all. If there was a DJ, it was more background music than anything else. I also decide not to use my iPod since I want to take in all the sights and sounds. Since this is a destination run for me, I want to explore everything about my trip. Soon we start off, and it is about 4 minutes into the race by the time our corral makes it to the official start. After leaving the downtown area, the route is pretty residential and weaves through many neighborhoods – It reminds me of the pretty yet cozy streets of Pasadena actually. Although I was told that this is a popular even in San Jose, there are not a lot of fans out, compared to the LA Marathon.

The first 4 or so miles go by very well. I actually have to check myself since I want to go at a faster pace – The excitement can do that to you. But I know if I want to make it to the end, it’s smarter to stay with my pace group. I become familiar with the other runners around me. There is an elder gentleman with a biblical quote on his back about God giving him strength. It’s always good to run close to a man of God, so I keep him in my sights. At some point, Sharky who is the mascot for a local sports team, also decides to run with us. But we outrun him – Poor shark.

Around mile 7 or so, one of the other runners in our pace group strikes up a conversation with me. Her name is Laura, a San Jose local and alumni of Santa Clara University, completing her first half marathon. She had run with Team in Training before, doing a triathlon in Hawaii. Laura just had a baby 6 months ago, and although she “hated” running, it really helped her lose weight, and she was very happy about it. We ran together for about 3 miles, and I give her one of my Gu's. I’m thankful to have a buddy for these few miles, and around mile 10 or 11, she falls behind a bit and I rejoin the pace group.

I should mention that although we take walk breaks with the LA Leggers training back home, I decide today only to take walk breaks at water stops or when I absolutely need to. I end up walking for about 2.5 minutes total. I am reminded of our walk breaks at the LA Marathon and how it was more difficult to start back up again after walking even for a minute. It seems those few seconds walking are enough to register any pain in the body.

The last couple miles are the most difficult, and once I make it past the finish line, I have to hold back the tears. Any runner knows that it takes as much mental stamina to run a long distance as physical endurance, and this is no exception for me. My final time is almost spot on my goal: 2:30:05! I accept my finisher’s medal – which is rather heavy, but snazzy – and check out the booths at the finish line. I also see another LA Legger, Patricia, as she crosses in her pink LA Legger shirt. I love to cheer on runners after I’m done with a race, so I walk backgrounds and cheer and congratulate the runners and walkers who finish after me.

The best part now? An hour and a half live performance by rock/blues performer Jonny Lang. This guy is amazing.

So will I run San Jose again next year? Maybe. It is a great crowd and the weather this time of year is really ideal. I would prefer more music along the route, but I guess you get what you can get. The bands are spaced out about every mile or so, and that mile with no musical distraction is noticeable running along quiet streets. The course is also nice – mostly flat with a couple of inclines – but as it is largely residential, the atmosphere could be more varied if possible. Would love more spectators, but unfortunately, running doesn’t seem to get as many as other sports. San Jose is a lovely city and this is a great race and distance for a first timer.

Runner's Almanac - Day 41, 12 miles

2009-09-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

I'm posting my long run from my Runner's almanac today.

Today was our scheduled 12 mile long run. I have not run 12 miles since the LA Marathon, and only a few times before then, so I was apprehensive this morning when I finally got out of bed. It was a “race day” like feeling – excitement mixed with a little bit of fear, mixed with a little bit of “what the hell am I doing?”. I have a passing notion of not going at all. After the run, I have an afternoon of working my second job – a lot of standing on my feet after hours of pounding on them. But in my running, I am determined, and know I need this mileage before my upcoming half-marathon. When I do finally wake up, it is about half an hour past my intended get-up time. Yikes! My mind races on everything I will need to carry – strap on here, stick in that pocket there. Water, food, sunglasses sunblock, Band-Aids, alcoholic wipes. I grab extra Band-Aids just in case. You never know.

I hope the day is not as warm as the unexpected autumnal heat trend we have been having this week. Of course it is never that hot by the beach but even a little bit of sun can make the difference between slightly pleasant and slightly unbearable. Once there, I join my group – we are about 25 today – and introduce myself to my running partner, Theresa. Soon, we are off. Within a mile of our run, it happens, what we all fear (no, I didn’t get hit by a car) but I did I trip on a rock, fall down hard and scrape my knee. Luckily, my fall did not create an avalanche of other runners becoming beachside road kill. As I get up and prepare to rejoin Theresa, a runner behind me wisely recommends I take some time. I look at my knee. Blood is gently spilling from the small wounds. Hmmm… He’s right. I grab the alcoholic wipes and Band-Aids I brought and start cleaning it up. Unfortunately, the Band-Aids don’t stick since the blood hasn’t ceased. I decide to run the mile back to the senior center and get some additional first aid. Although I would have probably just run in that condition, I didn’t want to scare any of the children with my blood spattered knee. Not a good early morning sight. So I clean up and meet up with the group at the 3 mile mark. If I had to fall today, at least it happened early in the run – Now I have 9 miles to go!

Aside from that adventure, the run was great. Really really great. I had never run to the Marina and the way the sun sparkled off the water was truly pretty. We went a little further before realizing we missed our cut off point, so our total mileage for the day was a little over 12 miles. The last couple of miles was difficult, and it helped that I played musical chairs with my racing buddies – More distractions make for running to go by that much quicker.

Once again, the route was filled with different runners, most notably the various Roadrunner groups who recently started their training. You can’t miss them with their orange shirts. And you can’t miss us with our shirts either. But I gotta say, I do like orange. I guess that’s where the extra $60 in the roadrunner membership fees goes.

After the run, I meet up with a co-worker who happened to be in the area. After that? I collapse…as in fall asleep. I have the whole afternoon to work – so much for an all day recovery! But as far as being ready for the half-marathon next week? I’m sure I won’t be the only one with a scraped knee.

Happy running!

Running blog

2009-09-23T06:15:00.000-07:00

Reminder that although I still occasionally post to this site, please check out my running blog which has updates for each day. http://runnersalmanac.blogspot.com

Happy running!

Orange County Outing

2009-09-11T01:11:00.000-07:00

It's Labor Day weekend. My plan was to get away on a road trip somwhere up the coast like beautiful Cambria or laid back Monterey. My friend Adam also has planned to get away this weekend to Mammoth with the hopes of cross country skiing. For our separate reasons, our weekend California adventures were not to be, so we decided to enjoy a daylong California trip somewhere nearby. We may not beHuell Howser, but we were both eager for get away for a few hours somewhere new in California. So Adam picked me up around 9:30a and we headed south, to Orange County.

Although a little over an hour away on the freeway, we both agreed that Orange County was foreign enough territory to be considered a mini-vacation. For me, it was the multitude of tanned blondes. For Adam, it was men in untucked Hawaiian shirts. But like Los Angeles, Orange County is a pretty diverse place. We were mainly in Alisa Viejo/Laguna Niguel so maybe the percentange of blonde Hawaiian shirt wearing locals is higher than the OC population as a whole.

Our trip focused on three activities. Hiking, yoga, and "other". The "other" consisted of checking out a popular Orange County natural foods store that Adam raved about called Mother's. If you are ever in the area (they have a ton of OC locations) and you are a health food afficionado, this place is awesome. Try the green goddess juice on the menu. I'd ask for extra spinach if I were you.

We took a class at Core Power Yoga. Now, Core Power yoga is one fancy studio. The bathrooms alone are spa-quality. The not so nice surprise was that all of the yoga classes are held in the heat. I had never done a heated yoga class before, so I was expecting passing out somewhere between the sun salutation and the namaste. Although we both made it through the induced heat exhaustion, I felt that the class was lacking in enough instruction especially for more beginner yoga practitioners. The teacher didn't offer enough variation for those of us who couldn't balance our body weight on our hands. New customers do receive a full week of classes for free. So if you're in the area and can pretty much do your practice on your own, check this place out.

After our yoga class, we headed for more fun in the heat, this time outdoors. We trekked nearly 4 miles in the Aliso Creek trail in the Aliso and Wood Canyon Wilderness Park which has approximately 3,900 acres of open land. In addition, it is home to plenty of many plants and animals. For me, the highlight of our walk was the delightful and unexpected sight of a beautiful deer up close and personal. The deer was so still when I locked eyes with it, it looked like a statue. Once I got out my camera phone, here's a a picture I took of the creature walking away from us into the cooler shade of the trees:

Despite the labor day weekend, we were one of very few walkers that afternoon and the trail was more popular among bicyslists. It was a hot summer afternoon but thankfully we were helped along with several cool breezes. Finally, I committed to a long walk after Saturday's long run. Orange county has many areas for hiking in the form of parks, trails,and marshes, all of which can be explored at the excellent website OC Parks.com. Check it out;

Happy walking!

In search of new favorite books series

2009-09-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

I finished my last Odelia Grey book yesterday, and now since the Sue Ann Jaffarian-helmed mystery series is not coming out with another installation until 2010, I am in need of another mysteries series to read, inhale, adore, etc... Of course, I have some requirements. Not any mystery series will do. Before the Odelia Grey series, I read the three books in Lisa Lutz's Spellman Files series (also waiting for her next book out in 2010). Before that, it was Sue Grafton, who, granted, has books in her beloved ABC murder mystery series which I still haven't read and can always grab as a last resort. But as for a new series, here are three key points that will grab and sustain my reading attention:

1. The main character in most of my favorite books, and all of my favorite mystery books, are strong women characters. So, the heroine in any series, has to be just that, a heroine. Someone who isn't too girlie, just a smidgen socially awkward, feisty, adorable, and who isn't afraid to speak what's on her mind. Some semblance of a love life is good too.

2. I like some comedy in my mystery. The Lutz series doesn't have any murder, but the comedy and mystery is recipe for addiction. Jaffarian's books are full of murder and the humor compliments it quite nicely.

3. Several months ago, the folks at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood were helpful when I walked in with a desire to read something set in 1800's Great Britain (where did this desire come from? Can't remember) I started a book that was recommended, but it turns out that I am not so into period murder mystery pieces. I prefer modern day - 1980's (a la Grafton) are OK too.

4. Give me a city that I know, and that's a bonus. As much as I like the idea of reading a mystery set in another country (and, yes, Cara Black's Parisian set mysteries are on my radar, and since I consider Paris a city I know pretty well, I should start reading these), I generally prefer a series in the US. I may also be open to something set in Canada. Those Canadians can be pretty funny...and murderous.

Send any suggestions my way. In the meantime, I'll read, as seen on public TV's Wayne Dyer's "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life."

Running into Cats

2009-08-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Have not been posting here since I started my running blog last week. However, some relevant news for cat lovers. I just saw on the back of a Big Blue Bus that the Cat Show is in town today and tomorrow at the Santa monica Civic Auditorium. Now, I've seen snippets of a cat show on the Animal Channel, and the cats are really judged on being pretty. They don't trounce around like dog shows accompanied by their masters. Now if I go to this thing, will I require binoculars? Will it be worth it? I could always just drop by the animal shelter and give some attention to those cats in the cages - Now those are some animals looking for some much needed attention. Looks from the website though that any cat can enter to be judged - pedigreed or not. Check it out! Here's the website for the Santa Monica Cat Club Cat Fancier's Association Cat show.

New Running Blog

2009-08-16T11:15:00.001-07:00

I've started a new running blog at http://runnersalmanac.blogspot.com If you're a runner at any stage of the game, drop by and leave a comment. Thanks!

She moves in mysterious ways...Women mystery writers in California

2009-08-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

So I finished the latest in the Spellman File books – a mystery/chick lit/none of the above comically-leaning series by Lisa Lutz - about a month ago, and now I am ticking off the next of my latest favorite mystery writer, Sue Ann Jafarian and her Odelia Grey series. My interest in mysteries started with Sue Grafton’s ABC mysteries which I started reading about 8 or 9 years ago (also did a couple of books on tape). Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone became one of my favorite all-time heroines, and only recently did I start reading other woman-helmed stories of the same genre. I first read another mystery besides Grafton after I met writer Joan Blacher at the LA Times Festival of Books and read her book “Murder Canyon” which I blogged about on this site. I found out that she hasn’t written another mystery since, but it’s a good one to spend some quality time with.

I don’t remember how I came to read the first of Lisa Lutz’s book the Spellman Files, but after starting the first book and seeing her speak at a couple different events, I fell head over heels for her no-nonsense brash (and yes, alcoholic) 30-year old heroine Izzy Spellman and her adventures in the streets of San Francisco. Izzy has some definite similarities with Kinsey, and it’s probably here that I find both of these series so attractive. Neither are girly girls – more fond of jeans than any time of skirt or dress – and both have an honest get to the point personality (except when they are obviously lying to get what they want from their sleuthing efforts). Spellman books are more comic and less murder providing interesting adventure based around a family of private investigators - including a mother and father who believe that running a credit report on Izzy’s latest love interest is routine business. The third Spellman book didn’t disappoint mainly in the area of romance brimming between Izzy and detective Henry Stone. The first book is still written the best, I think, but I’m definitely looking forward to book number four, which is supposedly coming out next year.

I met Sue Ann Jafarian at a book signing event at the LA Times Festival of Books this year. She is the author of the Odelia Grey series which is a definite murder mystery series whereas Lutz’s books are more mystery-inspired. Odelia is a middle-aged BBW (Big beautiful woman) from Newport Beach who is a paralegal by day with a hobby of solving murders by night. The beauty of this series is the comedic charm of its main character, the ease with which we can relate to the characters, and the somewhat over-the-top nature of the crimes. I’ve read the last and the first in the series so far, and both books have mysteries with a sexual natural – Not as disturbing as CSI – Special Victims Unit – but still content appropriate for more adult readers. I'm also a big fan of California based books - Grafton's are set in a Santa Barbara like community, the Spellmans live in San Francisco, "Murder Canyon" is in Ventura, and Odelia is based in Orange County. The best part so far is the relationship between Odelia and her wheelchair bound lover Greg – “handicapped” romance has never been so scintillating! I just started reading “Curse of the Holy Pail” and laughed from page one – Which is a nice break in the day from work. Sue Ann Jafarian is speaking at a panel tonight at the Hawthorne Library on comedy mysteries. Check out her blog . I’m looking forward to the book launch for her new series in September at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood

LA Marathon - Less show more substance

2009-07-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

The LA Marathon has been officially moved back to a Sunday in March for 2010 - March 21st - which may just fall on the spring equinox (aka the first day of Spring - which may also be Norooz depending). I was happy with the memorial day Marathon this year, although many other runners supposedly were not. The date change threw off training schedules and many expected an unbearable run in the heat. On the contrary, the weather was beautifully overcast and it fell smack on on a milestone birthday for me - which made it the perfect inaugural marathon for your truly.

Apart from the date change, LA organizers also changed the course to the (Dodger) Stadium to Sea (Santa Monica) proposal which recently won approval from the Santa Monica City Council. According to the LA Marathon website, the course will now go through iconic parts of LA including Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. Personally, I loved this year's course and enjoyed going through downtown and other parts of the city that I wouldn't visit. Beverly Hills and Santa Monica? C'mon - I'm there all the time I don't need to run a marathon through there. The experience of running through the neighborhoods in south Los Angeles was unique and touching - especially the crowds of fans - big and small - who greeted us. They haven't posted the official course online yet, but I'm hoping that it'll go through Silver Lake, Echo Park, and spend more time in parts of LA that may not be the "iconic" spots the Marathon wants to re-affiliate with. Chinatown wouldn't be bad either.

I also liked this year's Marathon course because of the loop of the race - We started in downtown and ended in downtown. The logistics of starting at Dodger Stadium and ending in Santa Monica is something of a nightmare. Are runners expected to park to the start and hitchhike back with sore legs, sore bodies and potential digestive problems that plague long distance runners (believe me, it's not pretty)? When the course went from Universal Studios to downtown in years prior, theorganizers could at least tout the metro system as a convenient way to get around This is SO not the case with Santa Monica. I hope that the organizers keep these kinds of problems in mind when they decide to manage the course in the process of confirming the LA Marathon as a legimitate 26.2 mile race that keeps runners in mind first rather than showy external appearances. The good thing about the loop course was that spectators could travel along the metro system to a degree and watch the runners. I feel like this stadium to see course should have received some sort of community feedback before its confirmation for next year's marathon.

I would also recommend extending this philosophy to the expo event the weekend before race day. This year's LA Marathon expo was underwheling and a sad representation of what a true marathon convention should be - It was a poor showing in comparison to Pasadena's Expo. In Pasadena, the organizers culled from local community running clubs and organization, wheras the LA Marathon expo was all about the sponsors and some internet-based resellers. The impression was that it was very costly to get a booth at LA, whereas Pasadena was very much community-focused.

In truth, I loved the Pasadena Marathon, eventhough I did the 5K and found the parking situation a bit confusing - But the vibe of that event (DESPITE the fact that the rain was merciless) was all about the love and fun of running. I may just decide to run Pasadena this next year, but we'll see.

Cat socializing for the day

2009-07-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

It was my first day as a volunteer at Pet Orphans. This is a an independent "orphanage" for cats and dogs in beauutiful Van Nuys! I spent the day with the cats in the two room cat house that was fully airconditioned (otherwise, it would have been a hair-raising coughing congested experience in the valley heat). It seems that more volunteers spend time with the dogs so I'm happy I got the two rooms largely to myself for about an hour. There were all kinds of cats - black, calico, long haired, short haired - But what really distinguished each of them was their eyes. Two of them had the saddest eyes - as if they had misplaced something but they didn't know what it was - It broke my heart. For a few moments, I just sat and observed the territorial behavior of the cats - particularly amongst diva-esque Tilly - a super friendly cat to people, who doesn't get along with any of her fellow felines. When I checked her name info card outside the door, I noticed that she had actually been returned from a home - possibly because she didn't get along with the owner's other cats. One cat was sooo incredibly thin she was all skin and bones - A beautiful little calico who I believe was called Priscilla.

Please visit the petorphans website and see if any of these beauties speaks to your heart. There are also little kitties in the "Not Feline Well Center" who are getting strong enough for adoption. Of course, there are also dogs of all sizes - and their photos are all on the website as well:

www.petorphans.org

Don't be fooled by the picture below - Although Tilly looks victimized by the black cat, she was actually on her way to get another cat who was up behind the TV (can't see in this photo). It was like gang warfare for a few moments in the cat house!

An online UC system could really rake in the dough...

2009-07-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Dean (Edley) of Boalt Hall - The UC Berkeley Law School - had an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education about adding an 11th UC campus - one that is virtual. Think about it - No parking, no commute, no inconvenient class schedules for working students and a great idea (in my opinion) for today's tech-savvy university system. There are so many tools that can make a virtual class great including the blackboard module and all of the nifty student-friendly accessories - including discussion forums, the ability to post documents online, and even uploading video. I had an online component to GIS class once and it worked very well. Mr. Edley says that teacher's will be pooled from the UC system and the admissions process will still be "selective"; although I would think not as competitive as UCLA or Berkeley given that most out of high school college students would probably prefer a live in-person college experience. This option would probably work best for the working student, either out of high school or returning after some sort of absence.

Here's the link the article:

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/A-California-Dream-Saving/7249

Just one question: What will this UC be called? UC Silicon Valley? UC Virtual? Mr. Edley wants it called UC XI. Let's just call it UC Matrix and get it over with. Any suggestions?

No wonder this is just a comic

2009-06-22T14:59:00.001-07:00

If this were true, I'd be wildly popular because of my ability to be magnetically indifferent.

The Los Angeles Time Festival of Books

2009-04-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

I had been looking forward to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books for a while. For the first time ever, I even bought panel tickets (Highly recommended to compliment your festival going experience, by the way). The tickets became available at noon on the Sunday prior to the weekend event, and I went online about two hours in. The Michael J. Fox panel tickets were already sold out, but I got everything else I searched for - Young Adult fiction, mystery women writers, and even a panel with Pat Morrison and James Ellroy (more on the incomparable Reverend Ellroy later).

I attended both days - although I preferred Saturday when the air was a little crisper, the atmosphere more expectant and the excitement more palpable. I spent about 5 hours walking around campus, visiting booths, talking to writers, spennding money and getting signatures. I met Sue Ann Jafarian whose work I had read about online and have started her newest book "The Booby Trap" which features big and beautiful heroine Odelia Grey. I walked by the Target tent and listened to a few minutes of Tori Spelling out promoting her new book "Mommywood" (I saw her mother Candy at another part of the fair at a booth signing copies of her own book - but no one was in line for her when I walked by).

The Sunday atmosphere was different - Like the day after a night of heavy drinking or perhaps even a rave (although a literary rave)- The weather was a little warmer, the atmosphere a little less fresh and the crowd more chaotic. But I came back for two reasons: The first being to meet Sandra Tsing Loh at the Vroman's Bookstore booth and have her sign my newly purchased copies of "A Year in Van Nuys" and "Mother on Fire". Loh is an NPR commentator, writer and humorist. She was friendly and charming and her writing is hilarious. The second reason was to attend the Ellroy/Morrison event. For anyone who attended that particular panel, I think you can agree that it probably wasn't what you expected unless you are familiar with the author's peculiar personality. In that case, you probably got exactly what you bargained for.

Pat Morrison is great - She was dressed in a hot sky blue number with matching hat. As a fan of hers on KPCC, I looked forward to her interview. But the event turned out to be more of a pulpit for Ellroy (author of "LA Confidential" and other LA-based noir bestsellers) - Pat only gave an introduction (but a very good introduction) and let the author out like a wild untamed animal. He preached to us about how great he is as a writer - aggrandized his publisher as God to his own Jesus (publisher being Alfred Knopf) and promoted his book. It was all done like a performance piece filled with cursing and shouting. it was entertaining but I came away from that panel with an affirmation of what I had always known - Writers are a weird bunch.

Now, for anyone who has not attended the Los Angeles Time Festival of Books, well what have you been waiting for?! There is no way you can fathom the largeness of the event without attending. Despite the fact that I was there a total of 8 hours both days, there were so many booths that I never even walked by - areas of the festival map my path never even crossed, and waves upon waves of genres that I didn't even get a chance to investigate. There is an amusement park quality here, except the rides are talks by authors, book signings and the interaction with some of the weirdest people on the planet. Joy!

Running on the Sun – Victory for Victims 8K

2009-04-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

I expected the day to be hot but my expectations were exceeded when I stepped outside at 7:30am on Sunday morning to an uncharacteristically sunny morning. If it was warm at 7:30am, how will it be a whole hour from now?

The sunny day piqued my concern since I was about to run an 8k race(about 5 miles exactly) in Encino for the annual Victory for Victims run. It's a charity race whose proceeds benefit the Child Assault Treatment Services of the Northridge Hospital. Since I live in Santa Monica and usually run early in the morning or at dusk, I am not really trained for running in the heat. But since I am planning on doing the LA Marathon in late May, I’ll need to get accustomed to it – Sooner or later.

Lake Balboa is a beautiful place to run. The lake itself reminds me of the Bois de Boulogne Forrest in Paris which has an immense lake nestled within its trees. In France, the lake is used for all sorts of recreation. I’ve seen runners looping around its circumference, lovers renting paddle boats and rowing downstream, and a group of dog therapists taking their pooches out for a walk. Lake Balboa is smaller, but it is also a favorite with local residents. There are paddle boats for rent here too. And unlike the dogs I had seen on regular visits in the Bois, the Encino lake is home to a large flock of geese.

Although the run started near the lake, it was mostly kept through running pathways away from the regular park crowd. One particularly long hot stretch was smack in the middle of a small field of dry brush. Around mile 3-4 was in a pretty arid area and the only thing that kept me going was the dream of an oasis – Some sort of water station up ahead. I would recommend organizers to add a water station here if it is as hot again next year.

My time was a little over what was expected but at a pace of about 10:26, I finished in around 51:43 minutes. I had to include a few brief walk breaks - It must have been 80 degrees.

Country music DJ Shaun Parr and the appearance of KTLA’s Commander Chuck Street (and his helicopter!) added to a great atmosphere. Next time – more country music!

Check out my photos - from fotojack.com

This is me at the home stretch.

Kara Goucher wins third place in Boston Marathon

2009-04-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in order for Kara Goucher who placed third for women in the Boston Marathon. I wish she had won, but the impressive finish for USA (along with the near win for Ryan Hall on the men's side) is better than not placing at all. Check her out in this month's Runner's World.

Pasadena Redux (As in Attempt # deux)

2009-04-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

So I’ve been meaning to write about my experience at Pasadena Marathon Redux, the inaugural but second attempt at a marathon in the beautiful city of Pasadena, CA. The first attempt in November was cancelled due to poor air quality resulting from the fall fire storms. I had only planned on joining as a spectator back then but when the run was rescheduled to March 15, I decided to join in myself for the 5K.

Based on the two weeks leading up to the 15th, race day should have been beautiful – Clear, sunny, not too warm. And even when the forecast predicted rain the day before, I’m sure everyone involved hoped it would just be a drizzle and nothing more. But the day started out dark, gloomy and rainy, and the rain stopped only briefly (during my race thankfully). The marathoners and half-marathoners had to run in thundering spouts of rain which eventually cleared up as the day progressed. They were prepared in rain gear and the can-do attitude runners have.

There were sponsors and exhibitors and even a stage featuring musical performances - But I didn't stick around much longer after I saw the winner of the half-marathon. In fact, I was standing next to him after his win as we huddled with a bunch of others under one of the canopied-shelters as a momentary reprieve from being soaked.

This first attempt at a Pasadena race has had a lot of obstacles. This includes lack of organization in the wee hours of the early morning where a throng of driving runners (myself included) had no idea where to park and were given no guidance by the traffic coordinators.

The last race I had done was the Frontrunner's Pride 5K in June, so it had been a while since I participated in any kind of competitive run. So despite the problems (which also included a house catching on fire nearby!), it was just nice to be out. I find runners to be very positive people - on race day at least - and I definitely got some good energy from them. Even though I didn't make my goal time, I proudly hang my medal from my car rear view mirror. Hopefully, I'll have one from the LA Marathon hanging next to it soon.

I did the Bruin 5K a couple of weeks ago and have the Victory for Victims 8K in Lake Balboa this Sunday. Maybe one day a marathon in the Valley? Hmmm....if Pasadena can do it, I'm sure the San Fernando Valley can too!

Any jealous disgruntled writers in our midst?

2009-04-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

2009-04-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Broad Education

2009-03-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi (HNZ'03)

In April's Carnegie Mellon Today
Camp counselor isn't an uncommon teenager job. But Camp Iroquois director Dave Sherman doesn't allow just anyone to join his staff. Leadership is important. So is the ability to connect with disadvantaged children. He also wants someone he thinks will be inspired by the experience.

In his search, he considers the students at the Elmira, N.Y., high school where he is a gym teacher. He approaches Sarah Coon, a sophomore, who is active in sports and school clubs. She agrees to become a summer counselor at the upstate New York camp.

Youngsters—identified as high-risk by the New York State Sheriff's Association—are bused in each week. Coon learns many of the campers haven't had ideal childhoods. Don't they deserve a chance, too, she wonders? "I just knew instantly that this was the group of people I wanted to work with," she says.

It has been 10 years since she felt the need to list camp counselor on her résumé, but it established her career path, which she began in 2001 as a Teach For America teacher. In addition to classroom work, she's accumulated education policy and management experience, and in 2006 she earned her MPM in education policy from Heinz College.

Last year, she was chosen for a two-year Broad Residency in Urban Education, which places residents into top-level management of urban school systems. Only 31 residents nationally were selected, which represents less than 5% of the applicants. All have advanced degrees. Coon's residency is at Achievement First, a charter school management organization with 15 schools in Connecticut and New York. She is director of evaluation and organization development.

My latest Netflix review

2009-03-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

I have recently enjoyed the easy dvd rental outfit called Netflix. Prior to my membership, I had know acquaintances who were big fans, and after receiving a two-week free trial, I decided to be a member myself. It was better than watching the same re-run of "Seinfeld" on my cable-less television.

I've been watching some good 80s movies recently. I saw "Kiss of the Spider Woman" which was mainly a character study between William Hurt's old movie obsessed Molina in search for his leading man, and Raul Julia, as the tortured political prisoner who finds happiness in the unlikeliest person. I just now finished watching "St. Elmo's Fire", which for 80s cult classics is probably mandatory viewing. A Pittsburgher also wrote the screenplay, so it seemed I had to see it and judge for myself.

The theme song is beautiful and, unfortunately, the rest of the movie nowhere near gets as good as those musical interludes (although I did enjoy Rob Loewe's sax playing scenes). The relationships between the characters were forced and contrived - their inside jokes didn't even come off as something natural between good friends (it didn't even make sense). The characters were lacking in meat and many were not well developped at all - Poor Emilio Estevez was a wierdo stalker obsessed with Andie MacDowel - Who doesn't seem to mind the little creep following her and banging on her door late at night.

The sentimental 80s cheese was a bit much and taken outside of its context; this movie would be laughed at today, and not for the right reason. The characters are all self-obsessed, except maybe Mare Winningham who goes to the other extreme as the Mother Theresa of the bunch. For a much better rendition of self-obsessed 80s film, I'd see Whit Stillman's "Metropolitan".

Next up, I get Mike Leigh's "Happy Go Lucky", just out on dvd!

Obama says Happy Norooz

2009-03-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to Obama's remarks on Norooz to Iranian-Americans, and to the "Islamic Republic of Iran". The highlights of the message are his quote from celebrated Iranian poet Saadi, and saying "Eid E Shomah Mobarak", which means "Happy New Year". He also commented on the achievements of Iranian-Americans. Unlike Bush, Obama pronounces Iran the correct way - With a long "a" rather than a short "a".

It's a nice message, although it shows that the President likes any chance to wax a little poetic.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/Nowruz/

Food For Thought

2009-01-12T23:43:00.000-08:00

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi

in January's Carnegie Mellon Today

It can't be avoided. It's on every network, on every cable news station, in every newspaper. The map. Red states versus blue states. Conservatives against liberals. George W. Bush may have won the presidency, defeating his opponent, John Kerry, but to Fritz Haeg it felt like everyone lost—and not because of which candidate won. His malaise went well beyond politics. He would articulate it three years later in the preface to a project that unknowingly to him began to germinate on November 2, 2004.

"We watched as the media informed us that the United States had just split into red and blue. I was devastated by the results of the election, but I was also alarmed by the popular story that our country was cleft in two, with supposedly irreconcilable opposing points of view. For us or against us; it seemed like the lines had been drawn and you were meant to take a side."

It's often said by artists—writers, musicians, painters, actors—that to gain perspective of your country, you have to leave it. Not long after the 2004 presidential election, Haeg left the United States for a six-week residency in Australia.

"I wanted to use this break as an opportunity to consider the direction of my work."

Haeg's work wasn't easy to define. He was schooled as an architect, earning his degree from Carnegie Mellon in 1992. But during his collegiate days, it became evident that he wouldn't end up in an office of some skyscraper. In his final year, having fulfilled his requirements, he mostly enrolled in art classes.

The course selection didn't mean he abandoned his future as an architect. The profession had been his life's ambition since he was a youngster going to middle school in Minneapolis where, for fun, he studied copies of Architectural Record at the local public library. His dad noticed his son's interest and took him to meet an architect working downtown. Haeg remembers it distinctly, "the endless grid of fluorescent lights and little desks and drafting tables." And he remembers thinking, even then, that wasn't exactly what he wanted.

In search for what he was looking for after graduating from Carnegie Mellon, he worked and taught for a number of years in Connecticut, New York, California. Along the way, he became difficult to label professionally—architect, environmental designer, artist, teacher. Not long after settling in Los Angeles in 1999, he initiated Sundown Salons, which were a series of community gatherings for knitting, reading, dancing, drawing, performing, and conversing. At the University of Southern California, he taught "Workshop in Architecture" for non-majors and an interdisciplinary course, "Manifesto," at the Art Center College of Design, where the class "read the writings and manifestos of 20th-century artists and designers" culminating in the class having to "orally present our own manifesto on the final day of class."

Haeg was a man who had more depth than simply being classified as someone blue or red. Yet, as he left for Australia, the country was defining itself by only those colors. He recalled his misgivings, politically and culturally, before embarking on his trip of introspection:

"In spite of my migrations, I realized how limited my experience of my own country was. I was also beginning to feel uneasy with the insular, self-referential, and hermetic nature of the contemporary art and architecture community, of which I consider myself a part. Are we elitist, separatist, or just disinterested? Today's media climate allows you to filter your news and stories to only those with which you agree. Have we given up on any sort of real dialogue and returned to our corners to talk among ourselves? What is the appropriate response to the current state of the world, its politics, climate, and economics? What should I do next?"

During his stay in Australia, Haeg explored Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, the Queensland's Daintree Rainforest, and the nearby Great Barrier Reef. It's there his country began to come into focus; what it was, what it could be—the political divisiveness of Americans back home and the interdependence of the indigenous organisms in Australia that thrived on collaboration. The germination of what would become his project had taken another step—to transplant onto the American landscape, in a unique and socially conscious way, that spirit of nature's collaboration.

"I realized how completely interdependent each organism is upon the others. Remove one and the whole system can eventually degrade and collapse. This seemed to be a good lesson at a time when our obsession with independence is perhaps naïve and oversimplified. Sharing resources—water, air, streets, neighborhoods, cities, countries, and a planet—all of our destinies are more intertwined than ever."

He had his creative direction—wanting his next project to symbolically engage all Americans in a space we collectively occupy. The question for him was in what medium. When he returned to Los Angeles in 2005, he was unsure what his project would entail, but he knew where he wanted it to start—in the center of the country, the heartland, the symbolic starting point for an American project.

From there, a serendipitous sequence follows. Haeg, known for his hybrid projects in diverse media, is invited to speak at an event at Grand Arts in Kansas City. He meets curator Stacy Switzer, to whom he mentions his intended geographic starting point. Some months later, Switzer is asked to curate an exhibit on food and eating at the Salina Arts Center in Salina, Kan., about three hours west of Kansas City. Switzer immediately thinks of Haeg, whom she contacts to submit a proposal. Haeg doesn't know anyone in Salina, but being very near the geographic center of the country, the location is just right, and he jumps at the chance to participate. He flies out for a site visit to see where Salina will guide him creatively.

Once there, Switzer and Haeg take a drive through the countryside. Although Salina is a cultural hub for the towns nearby, this city of 50,000 residents is very much agricultural, with classic vistas of prairie plain and farmland—a unifying landscape connecting disparate homeowners—a precursor to the manicured lawns that have taken over the American landscape from New York to California in the post-World War II era. In fact, it is on the front yard in suburban Minneapolis where Haeg remembers spending hours mowing the lawn in the '80s—a stretch of green space, which like a farm takes great amounts of labor, but without an accompanying harvest.

"I think the front yard is a space that we take for granted in this country, and it extends from coast to coast, and we all collectively share it across all geographic, political, religious, and economic boundaries in this country. It's one of those rare geographies that really connects us," he says.

While it was on the front yard where Haeg worked the earth for the aesthetics of perfectly tended grass, it was in the vegetable garden his mother planted in the backyard where his family reaped benefits in the tasty forms of beans and squash used in summertime meals.

After that drive in Salina, Haeg knows the specific medium for his next project. He will comingle the interdependence of nature he witnessed in Australia with his mother's garden and the untapped potential of the American front lawn. The plan is for him to revive the Victory Gardens that Americans were encouraged to plant in their homes more than half a century ago to reduce the pressure on the public food supply and boost the country's morale by giving them a sense of empowerment and self-determination.

Haeg will design, prepare, and plant an edible garden on the front lawn of willing local residents Stan and Priti Cox. On July 4, 2005 (the day of independence), with the support of the Salina Arts Center, is the unveiling of the Coxes' front yard Victory Garden, which Haeg christens Edible Estates.

"An Edible Estate can serve to stitch communities back together, taking a space that was previously isolating and turning it into a welcoming forum that reengages people with one another."

The Coxes' front yard garden will include many herbs and vegetables that come in handy for Priti Cox's Indian dishes. Eventually thriving are okra, green chilies, Swiss chard, a curry leaf tree, eggplant, and tomatoes. Stan Cox reports that reaction from neighbors and sightseers has only been positive. He recounts one of his neighbors being interviewed by the media. "She told ABC cameras, 'Well, when they started tearing up their yard, I thought, what the heck's going on over there? But once they got it done, I liked it.'"

Clarence Ridgley's home is nearly 1,500 miles from the Coxes', located in a Baltimore neighborhood. When Ridgley decides to expand his small backyard garden in 2008, he comes across Haeg's Web site while surfing the Internet for some how-to gardening tips on planting blueberry bushes. He learns that the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore is sponsoring an Edible Estate. Ridgley applies, and Haeg flies to Baltimore to meet with him and eight other applicants in person because it's important to Haeg to select homeowners who have some gardening skills and will be articulate spokespeople for their garden. Ridgley is the one Haeg chooses.

Ridgley, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, knows his neighbors but mainly through hand waves and head nods. Once his front yard becomes an Edible Estate, though, he finds his neighbors regularly dropping by to visit. One neighbor down the street even uses Ridgley's garden for her own crops.

And when local middle-schoolers come by as a part of a field trip, some of the students are surprised to learn that tomatoes grow on vines. "They must think tomatoes grow in a supermarket," Ridgley laughs. Now the neighborhood kids like to pick and eat fruit from his garden; his strawberries are the most popular, and because he doesn't use any pesticides, no washing is necessary. Ridgley and his neighbors hope to work together so that they diversify what plants they grow on their respective properties in an effort at collective gardening across many front yards.

In the past three years, other Edible Estates have bloomed across the country—Maplewood, N.J.; Austin, Texas; and Lakewood, Calif. There is also one in London, England. With each Edible Estate, Haeg works closely with the homeowners to create a garden endemic to their needs and wants, both in the architectural design and in the selection and diversity of the edibles. Local neighbors, arts students, and friends help with the planting.

In the process, he says, people get to know each other—Republicans, Democrats, Independents—it doesn't matter. They are bonded by a common interest of how to best use a previously manicured residential resource. And, by the way, they're eating more healthfully and reducing their grocery bills. The evolution of his project is detailed in the book Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn (Metropolis Books, 2008).

Like its creator, Edible Estates defies labels—it's part social activism, part gardening, part art. It caught the attention of the curators at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art, who invited Haeg to be one of the artists of last year's Biennial, calling him "one of the 81 most interesting contemporary American artists currently working today."

For the Biennial, Haeg created an offshoot of Edible Estates—Animal Estates. He built homes for animals that are having difficulty sharing Manhattan with their nearly 2 million human neighbors. For the displaced native species, he created a 10-foot-diameter bald-eagle nest, a barn owl nest box on a telephone pole, a wood duck nest box over a beaver pond, a big brown bat house, an opossum rock pile, and a bobcat hollow tree trunk. After the exhibit, many of the animal estates were donated to a Manhattan public park where the animals have rent-free digs.

Meanwhile, the seeds of Edible Estates have taken hold. The author/architect/gardener/artist plans to continue impacting the country—in a way that Fox News and MSNBC can never match—by helping to create more Edible Estates in the United States, not in the red and blue states.

Nazbanoo Pahlavi (HNZ'03) is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.

Deferred Appreciation Investment

2008-11-04T02:09:00.000-08:00

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi

in Carnegie Mellon Today, October 2008

After graduating from high school, Wayne Cutler, like many of his Long Island classmates, decides not to stray too far from home. He enrolls in a state school in upstate New York and plans to study psychology but ultimately switches to economics. Into his sophomore year, his academic interest hasn’t waned. He even meets with his high school guidance counselor and tells him how much he enjoys his major. After hearing that, the counselor suggests he consider transferring to Carnegie Mellon.

Unlike his counselor, Cutler hadn’t heard of Carnegie Mellon or of its reputation in business and economics. He follows the advice, however, and decides to apply for a transfer.

Evidently, being an excellent tennis player doesn’t hurt his chances for admission. "That probably helped me get in," says Cutler. It definitely helps him become captain of the Tartans’ tennis team—playing number one singles in his senior year. He also takes on a challenging course load in managerial economics. "I didn’t have a lot of time to hang out, watch TV, and eat Sugar Smacks," he recalls.

He does make time for Deirdre Maloney, who is in Pittsburgh completing an internship in her field of vocational rehabilitation. As their relationship grows, he admires her dedication to helping people with disabilities.

Cutler comes up with an idea to help people, too. He knows that many of his classmates are bright, but they lack training in personal money management. So with his roommate and friend David Gustin (HS'84), he makes plans to start a club that will teach hands-on the principles of investing. Instead of seeking start-up funds from Student Council, Cutler and Gustin make some phone calls. They get financial support from Mellon Bank, Federated Research, Value Line, and other financial institutions. He and Gustin raise about $10,000, and in the fall of 1982, about 100 students show up for the kick-off of the Investment Club.

Today, Cutler (HS'83) continues to give strategic advice, primarily to banks and wealth management institutions as co-founder and a managing director of Novantas, an international management consulting firm whose corporate office is in New York City. He also is helping Carnegie Mellon students who have an inspiration like he and Gustin did. The Deirdre Maloney Cutler Memorial Undergraduate Research Fund, named in memory of his wife who died from cancer four years ago, provides opportunities for undergraduate students who have a vision for a project. Additionally, Cutler says the initial $10,000 charitable gift is his message to undergraduates about helping people–a lesson he says he learned from his wife.

When future award recipients ask about the grant namesake, Cutler promises that either he or one of his three children, Shaynna, Brendan, and Wesley, will eagerly share stories about Deirdre Maloney Cutler.

"She was always outward focused," says Cutler. "To me, that's one of the greatest values you can have, focusing on others, not on yourself. That really embodied her spirit."

The Band Played On

2008-10-28T09:32:00.001-07:00

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi

in Carnegie Mellon Today , October 2008

On the road home to Pittsburgh after a football game against the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats in Lancaster, Pa., a bus filled with Carnegie Mellon students stops for dinner at a family steakhouse. Diners exchange funny looks. The students may not look out of the ordinary during football games in Gesling Stadium, but they stick out in this crowd. They are Kiltie Band members. And about 100 of them, dressed in kilts, wait to order steaks in a line that goes all the way out the door.

Trombonist and Kiltie Band President Laurel Farmer calls the group a low-key "typical little ensemble," but there's a touch of playfulness in her voice. After all, the Kilties have a loud presence. During their routines at football games, they perform showtime shenanigans, back-and-forth antics with the Kiltie Cheermaster, and the occasional do-si-do. Farmer's outfit alone—complete with knee-high socks and a sporran, a fur-adorned ornamentation hung below the waist—screams Tartan pride. On her red band jacket, she exhibits 30 pieces of personal "flair," buttons and ribbons with such phrases as:

I robots.
Love your body.

In Lancaster, the uninitiated are puzzled, but in Pittsburgh, fans and alumni chuckle, especially when the Cheermaster calls out: "Ye Olde CIT Cheer" after the first offensive play of the game. In response, a horde of Kilties, mostly engineering and science majors like Farmer who share classes during the week, yell lyrics that include:

Square root
cube root
log of e
water-cooled slipstick
CIT!

Fans and former band members who know the words cheer along from the bleachers.

In her hometown of Cincinnati, Farmer was a self-described band geek who practiced disciplined, core-style marching. In Kiltie Band, she isn't required to compete or memorize her music, and the group's director for life, Associate Dean of Student Affairs Paul Gerlach, doesn't expect members to practice beyond two weekly rehearsals. But what the Kilties lack in musical polish, they make up in boisterous energy. And on game day, Farmer and her bandmates like to play their music the way they like to dress—really loudly.

The Kiltie Band is celebrating its centennial anniversary. Since 1908, one element has remained constant—the group's school spirit. If Farmer stays in Pittsburgh, she plans to join the group as an alumna, which is often the case with graduates who remain in the area. That way she can continue to spend time with about 100 of her closest friends.

Naz in Ojai

2008-10-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

just arrived in Ojai for a wedding this weekend. I love the drive up north as the scenery smoothly evolves into farmland and countryside and little stores - I haven't been to Ojai before - I should remark that I did see a McCain/Pain yard sign on my way here, whatever that means.

Pulling from the Archives

2008-09-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

In the past 5 months or so, I have been busy working full-time, one job in an office plus two others on the ground, and now that I am back in graduate school, my time to concretize my thoughts onto this blog, have been limited. I have a lot I want to write, especially about the recent political discourse regarding democratic vs. republican in the 2008 presidential election. I have witnessed how Obama supporters have reacted to the pick of Governor Sarah Palin as McCain's VP; and some of the reactions I have observed have been rather hypocritical especially in the way they react to her "conservative" positions (I put it in quotes, because I think this dualistic semantics such as conservative vs. liberal, amongst others, is dangerous and convoluted). As I mentioned to my supervisor yesterday, I question Obama as a presidential candidate just like I question (or ideally should question) anyone running for office - but it's the Obamaniacs who really make me worry - So once I get all that together, I will probably do a blog posting. In the meantime, I'm reaching into my archives and pulling out a post from March, still on the subject of politics, and hope you find it edutaining. Look out for 2 articles upcoming in the October issue of Carnegie Mellon Today as well.
----------------
Obama and Schwarzenegger - The artful dodgers

Contributed by: Nazbanoo Pahlavi on 3/14/2008

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep conducted an excellent interview of Senator Obama that airs on NPR today in which he presses on the issue of Michigan and Florida. After Michigan's vote, I remember Obama's comments that Michigan's vote should not be counted, and yet on the program today, he says that he has "constantly" wanted those delegates seated. Really? Because that is not what he said 5 weeks ago. In fact, his tone was pretty unwavering when it came to this. Steve Inskeep asked three, yup, three times whether he would support a re-do. He asked three times because the Senator kept dodging the question. Oh, politicians are such artful dodgers aren't they?

Listen, what the Democratic Party decided on Michigan and Florida is a moot point- why? Because sometimes it is OK, even noble, to break the rules to bring about real change. I don't agree with those who say rules are rules (rules that, according to Obama, even his six year old could have followed) when those bureaucratic decisions superimpose the voting rights of ordinary people. Are you kidding me? And now, Obama complains that those states don't want to pay for it and that's a reason a do-over should not happen.

Shame on politicians for citing money as a factor in allowing the disenfranchisement of Michigan and Florida voters. This is not a Clinton or Obama thing. This is about those voters and Obama should be fighting to get those voters' voices heard. Now, that would be impressive. That would signify that sometimes achieving change means not following rules - especially when those statues are meant to get states like Iowa and New Hampshire extra exposure.

Hopefully, this political squabbling will soon find it's own detente.

In the meantime, I hope that the media will spare some extra coverage on California's atrocious budget crisis. Teachers have already been laid off . One of my classmates in my weekly Shakespeare class who has been teaching for 20 years, got her slip yesterday. She says that 40 are expected to be laid off in the Beverly Hills Unified District alone which includes only one high school and 5 elementary/junior high schools. I am furious that Governor Schwarzenegger cut the education budget - but then again he is a politican (who better than an actor!) who knows how to spin his words - like when he masterfully dodged accusations of his fuel pollution commuting via private jet almost nightly from his home in Brentwood to the office in Sacramento, because he wants to spend more time with his family (what, the state capital isn't good enough for them?). And I am frustrated that California voters opted against the telephone utilities tax to provide a source of funds for public bodies like firefighters and police officers. When it comes to education - we need to get on the money. When it comes to police and firefighters, we need to get on the money - when it comes to individual voters' rights, we need to get on the money. It's a no-brainer.

Man of the Year

2008-07-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi
Carnegie Mellon Today, July 2008

A few hundred Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descend under the buzz of a helicopter. Nearby streets are blocked off. The target is a New Bedford textile factory that has federal contracts to produce camouflage uniforms for soldiers in Iraq. The agents expect to find about 400 undocumented immigrants, who will be questioned and detained. An hour after the raid begins, the local police chief tips off Marc Fallon (HS'92), a clergyman and advocate for the Mayan community.

Although Fallon considers his Spanish second rate despite the years he committed to his Hispanic ministry, he knows those seamstresses, and he knows their hearts. And he knows that many of the parishioners struggled through civil war in Guatemala and won't answer to any man in uniform who questions them about the whereabouts of their children.

The law-enforcement officials won't divulge names of those taken away, so Fallon and another pastor, Richard Wilson, figure out who didn’t come home. They determine that 121 children are left behind.

The pastors share their list with advocacy agencies, and a community-wide effort takes root. A temporary shelter is created in the basement of Wilson's church. Community college students volunteer to help. So do the YMCA and area lawyers. And an investment banker in Boston, Mass., even matches bail bonds for about 40 of the detained migrants. "People simply decided to trust one another," says Fallon.

Most of the detained caregivers were reunited with their children within two weeks. For their humanitarian work on behalf of the Mayan community and the 361 undocumented workers detained after the March 6, 2007, raid, Fallon and Wilson were co-selected as Man of the Year by The New Bedford Standard-Times.
—Nazbanoo Pahlavi (HNZ'03)

City Coucilwoman caught styrofoam-handed

2008-07-02T10:25:00.001-07:00

City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel was caught by KTLA's news crew with a take out lunch in hand full of plastic and styrofoam - just after L.A. City Council has discussed the issue of banning such materials in an effort to curb excess waste and promote eco-friendly products. She was like a deer caught in headlights, but like any savvy politician, she blamed it on the lack of resources in place to promote eco-friendly alternatives. Really? Ever heard of bringing lunch from home in Pyrex or tupperware, Ms. Greuel?

Faithful blog readers will remember some months back when I "caught" Greuel speeding away from a Valley neighborhood council meeting in an SUV gas guzzler. Public transportation? Eco-friendly alternatives? Until politicans put in action what they preach, why should anyone else follow suit?

There is a serious chasm between eco-friendly lifestyles and styrofoam, plastic, private cars and other self-promoting tools by which we have grown accustomed to as a culture of personal convenience. I hear lots of eco-talk, but when I go to Peet's Coffee or Coffee Bean, I still see people buying coffee with disposable cups, rather than bringing their own reusable cups or thermos. Are people just too cheap to spend the $19.95 on a designer coffee cup?

Once politicans, celebrity "do-gooders" (cough, cough) and others start bridging the hole between what is convenient for them and what is sound for the community, we can not reconcile eco-friendly actions into our lifestyles.

School raises “green”-minded students

2008-06-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

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

Amongst the apartment buildings and Mexican restaurants that line Victory Boulevard just east of Woodman Avenue in Valley Glen, Laurence School stands out as an ecological haven.

Established in 1953 as a kindergarten through 6th grade co-educational school, the campus is filled with green spaces and flowers, miniature ecosystems and exotic plants.

Laurence has been involved in green education for 25 years, according to Lauren Wolke, Associate Head and Director of Admissions, but they have placed an even heavier emphasis on the subject since the school’s expansion in 2004. Now Laurence practices a “Go Global Go Green” motto in campus design, work ethic, and classroom curriculum.

In addition to the beautiful “greenscaping,” the expansion plans made an effort to incorporate green materials in building construction. The floor of the sports court, an outdoor basketball area, is made of recycled tires. Eco-friendly carpeting and non-toxic VOC paint were also used in the classrooms.

For Principal Gary Stern, it is important that students not only learn about conservation and environmental protection didactically in the classroom, but also through hands-on approaches as well.

“I think it’s probably the most timely and compelling issue,” Stern said. “The overarching goal of the program is for the children to develop an appreciation and an understanding of the importance of the beauty of preserving our natural resources and treasures, so that the planet they inherit can be one that can be self-sustaining.”

The administration encourages students to bring “zero-waste” lunches that include reusable utensils and napkins. Small incentives are also used to limit waste, such as a green flag on top of refuse cans when the garbage level is noticeably low.

Students are taught to compost non-dairy and non-meat items such as fruit peels from their lunches. They then use it to fertilize a student-run edible garden. The goal of the garden is to grow herbs, plants and flowers based on chosen themes, which are then sold at a farmer’s market in the spring.

“It shows them the full cycle of life and where foods come from and plants and products and they can see how the cycle goes back into the garden,” said Wolke.

Many students – some as young as six years old – also assume a specific responsibility according to their grade.

Josh, a 5th grade student in teacher Rochelle Robinson’s class, recalled his fourth grade duty. “When you came in to carpool they would collect extra bottles and cans you had,” he said. The fourth graders exchange their recyclables for cash to buy thesauruses and books for a disadvantaged school in the area.

Wolke and Stern shared their techniques at the Green Schools Summit that was held in Pasadena in December. They also strive to integrate their green initiative on the business end by reducing paper use and utilizing flash drives to share information.

“It’s a conscious effort,” Wolke stressed.

The school’s farmers market, which was held May 18, was managed by the 5th grade as their community service project and attended by Laurence School family and friends.

Robinson said she was pleasantly surprised that her students took to the selling aspect of the market, using math skills and even negotiation techniques when interacting with customers. “I think they’re enjoying it,” she said.

The funds raised from the sale were donated to TreePeople, a local environmental non-profit organization that helps plant trees in Los Angeles.

Stern said he was especially proud of a group of third graders who initiated their own “Eco-Team” to do more for the environment beyond the scope of the school’s program. The students held a bake sale and raised money to purchase a kumquat tree they then planted in the garden.

“They themselves are taking a leadership role outside of school in terms of protecting and preserving our environment,” he said.

The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival June 1

2008-05-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

Villaraigosa downplays gang crime spike at Valley VOTE

2008-05-23T06:31:00.000-07:00

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

In this week's Sun Community Newspapers

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke to Valley VOTE members and guests about public safety and education May 12 at Galpin Ford in North Hills.

Villaraigosa stressed the importance of listening to concerns unique to the Valley, which he said has “always felt like the weak sister or step-child in the family.”

“I try to be here, I try to be present, I try to be responsive,” he said.

The mayor said that although gang crime went up by 160 percent last year, that statistic should be viewed in perspective. “You got to understand what that meant. The numbers had been so small before that they went up – it wasn’t that we have now an epidemic necessarily,” he said.

Villaraigosa discussed cuts in the city’s anti-gang initiatives, an issue that he addressed in Canoga Park earlier that evening at the West Valley Family Guidance Center. As a result of two studies – one done over a six-month period by the Advancement Project, a self-described “innovative civil rights and policy action tank,” and another by City Controller Laura Chick – the city decided to reduce anti-gang initiatives and instead focus on “targeted areas to spend limited resources,” he said. A program in the West Valley was cut as a result of the initiative’s restructuring.

The mayor also discussed public education and his highly-publicized attempt to take over the Los Angeles Unified School District. As a result of his efforts and an ensuing lawsuit, Villaraigosa will have control over nine schools and about 18,000 students starting in July.

He said he aims to focus on integrating charter schools into the fold and cited the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a non-profit charter management program with Richard Riordan as board chairman, as a model to emulate. Villaraigosa said he wants to “really show people what we can do if we have high expectations for kids – spend money locally, cut bureaucracy and really focus on achievement.”

Discussing the budget, Villaraigosa said roughly 767 positions – performed by 350 city employees – will be eliminated due to fiscal restraints. He is seeking six mandatory furlough days to offset the possibility of more cutbacks, although both labor unions and the Los Angeles city council oppose such temporary layoffs.

“One thing about me is that I’m not afraid to make a tough decision,” Villaraigosa said.

The mayor also touted the expansion of airport flyaway shuttles and the success of the Van Nuys airport service where travelers can check in their baggage and acquire boarding passes en route to the airport.

Run run Santa Monica

2008-05-04T11:18:00.001-07:00

I am happy to report I successfully completed my first 10KM race today at the Santa Monica Classic in support of Heal the Bay. The course started around Barnard Way near Ocean Park and went through Main Street for a bit before heading onto Ocean Avenue and then up San Vicente to 11th street and then to the Pier. Since I am a local resident, I was familiar with the course, especially San Vicente, and had trained on the incline that was prevalent through much of the race.

Of course, about 5 minutes before 8AM (go time) I had stomach cramps and considered heading back home, kicking myself for not bringing my Alleve - but I persevered and once we got started, the energy of the crowd washed away any pains. I finished in about 1 hour.

Unhappily, there were hardly any cheerleaders along the beautiful course. I like running, but the lack of interaction between runners and no supporters on the sidelines can emphasize the super-singularity of the sport. Towards the end, I found myself cheering myself on, and then was happy to know that I wasn't alone. One participant actually said "Get your ass moving, you have 3/10 of a mile to go". She was talking to herself.

I encourage sports and running enthusiasts to attend races as cheerleaders. Bring your signs and cheer us on!

I did catch up with one of the runners who was in my pace range at the end of the race at the after party on the pier. She told me about a non-profit - check it out here www.climbinc.org

Happy running.

Grassroots campaigners sprout in the Valley

2008-04-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

It’s the day before the Texas primary election, and a group of largely female volunteers are making last-minute phone calls at a Lake Balboa office used by Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Hitomi Heap-Baldwin, a volunteer from Tujunga, sounds like a seasoned campaigner on the phone. “Did you also know there is a caucus going on in the same day?” she asks a Texas voter. “Can I spend one minute telling you about it?”

This is Heap-Baldwin’s third day as a volunteer here. She is only 16 and a junior at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada.

Heap-Baldwin is one of many young activists involved this election season. For her, volunteering means making phone calls – even if that means skipping track practice. “I can’t just let someone else win if I’m interested in it. I have to do something about it,” she says.

Young adult professionals such as Burbank native Valerie Rothenberg, 26, are also active volunteers. Sen. Barack Obama inspired her involvement in his presidential campaign. “I think Obama especially inspires people to organize,” Rothenberg says. “He said, ‘this is your campaign, you can make a difference.’”

Her grassroots efforts started with 15 people in a friend’s Porter Ranch living room last spring, and grew from there. She was a precinct captain in her neighborhood, traveled to Nevada to campaign for Obama, and organized phone banking sessions at a North Hollywood park. Despite her dedication, Rothenberg, who is a freelance costume designer, has no intention of entering politics professionally.

Grassroots-level volunteers like Heap-Baldwin and Rothenberg are often the most effective agents for a candidate. Their active role is helpful with engaging voters who may be detached from the political process.

Bob Blumenfield, a democratic candidate for the 42nd Assembly District, believes that voters are more receptive to volunteer campaigners. “There’s a passion that’s there – not that paid staffers don’t have that passion; they do – but it’s undeniable as a volunteer,” he says.

Blumenfield has recruited high school volunteers from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys and Oakwood School in North Hollywood. He is planning another recruiting session at Van Nuys High School. He counts on the energy and enthusiasm that young people bring to his campaign.

Republican Tony Strickland also recognizes the importance of young volunteers. “It is extremely encouraging to see young people get involved in the political process at the grassroots level,” says the former Assembly member and current state senatorial candidate for Tom McClintock’s termed-out seat.

Some young activists simply have politics in their blood. Rothenberg’s father, Peter, is a coordinator for the Valley For Obama group and convened the Obama delegate caucus for Brad Sherman’s district in mid-April. Heap-Baldwin’s father, an Obama supporter, would clip news-related articles and hide them in her backpack.

Ashley Ingram, 22, was also raised in a politically active family in Burbank in the 1980s, when her parents volunteered for Ronald Reagan’s campaign. Ingram is a passionate young republican – one of a group that is not as easy to find in a largely democratic electorate like Los Angeles.

“It’s hard to come out of the republican closet, as I’d like to say, especially in the Valley,” says Ingram, who said she often felt singled-out in high school because of her conservative views.

Ingram is sharp and poised with an impressive grasp of California politics. She has already been a paid staffer on two campaigns, including her current position as Deputy Campaign Manager for Tony Strickland. She previously worked for the Rudy Giuliani campaign. She cites the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks and Giuliani’s role in the tragedy’s aftermath as factors fueling her desire to enter public service.

Many political activists refer to both September 11 and the Iraq War as the major events triggering political activism in teens and young adults. Damian Carroll, an experienced grassroots campaigner and current staffer for Assembly member Mike Feuer, says young people are more mobilized today than they were eight years ago, mainly because of those two events in addition to Hurricane Katrina.

“It brought people up to this idea that public service was important; that we had a character as a nation where we could pull together and make a difference,” Carroll says.

Cameron Silverberg, 14, is an 8th grade student at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, and a volunteer for the Obama campaign. “I just think Obama has the ability to really unify a divided country,” says Silverberg. “He has the unique ability to restore what’s broken about America right about now.”

He mentions the Iraq war and its affects on the economy as one of the main issues he cares about. The other is climate change. “He (Obama) really does understand the importance of dealing with it right now as opposed to leaving it to people like myself and my generation where we’d have to deal with it.”

Chad Jones is president of Valley Grassroots for Democracy, an organization that evolved out of a coming together of Valley-based Howard Dean and John Kerry supporters in 2005. At the time, Jones says they weren’t sure whether they wanted to create another democratic club in the Valley but then they realized something.

“If you’re trying to change the democratic party,” Jones says, “which was something we wanted to do – to make it more responsive to the grassroots - the reality is that we had to become part of the system and change it from within.”

He says that teenagers and young adults don’t join as members or participate in club activities as much as he would like. Those who are active are more likely to join the Young Democrats. “We do tend to skew older – 50 plus,” says Jones, who at 37, says he is one of the youngest members of the group.

For those young people who are disinterred in the presidential campaign, the Internet has served as this season’s power tool in reaching out and mobilizing them.

The online presence of Barack Obama has been a major asset in his courting of young voters. His personal page on the social networking site Facebook, for example, has nearly 770,000 supporters listed – about five times the number of supporters listed on the Hillary Clinton page.

“It’s not a top-heavy campaign,” says Carroll, 31, who ran as an Obama delegate in Brad Sherman’s congressional district. According to Carroll, the campaign has done so well on the grassroots level because they encouraged supporters to spread Obama’s message in a personal way. In response, supporters created videos, posted them on YouTube, and emailed them to each other – a tactic more effective than receiving an email directly from the campaign.

When Carroll first got involved in politics in 2003, he used the website Meetup.com to connect with fellow progressives. He recalls his first meeting at Dupars restaurant in Studio City, a gathering that eventually resulted in his involvement with the Howard Dean campaign.

The internet has also been important in strengthening Congressman Ron Paul’s popularity. Steven Vincent, a Studio City yoga instructor, used Meetup.com to organize Ron Paul supporters in Burbank and North Hollywood. He says one of his groups now has about 300 members.

Vincent does not look like a typical republican. On a recent day, he is wearing a neon yellow T-shirt with a Ron Paul slogan emblazoned across his chest. Although Vincent is in his 40s, he has a youthful energy that befits his political activism.

“If you had told me before March [of 2007] that I was going to register republican and campaign for a republican candidate, I would have told you that you were really crazy,” Vincent says. He mentions Paul’s “unrehearsed quality” and his Gandhi-inspired writings on peaceful non-intervention in foreign policy as traits that appealed to him.

Vincent represents a group of people not necessarily young in age, but new to grassroots politics. Grassroots work, such as phone banking or precinct walking, can be a catalyst for volunteers who continue stay active beyond their first political campaign.

Vincent, who jokingly admits he had always been a “lifelong member of the no-confidence party,” says he will continue his activist work despite Paul’s defunct bid for the presidency. He plans on participating in a grassroots distribution of Paul’s forthcoming book, The Revolution Manifesto. He also wrote an article on Paul for the February issue of LA Yoga magazine and plans on doing more writing. “It’s a movement; it’s not a political campaign,” he says.

Heap-Baldwin is also active in her community. She started her own website called Teensthinkgreen.com to promote eco-friendly lifestyle alternatives for teenagers.

For the young activist interested in a career in politics, grassroots training provides an invaluable foothold. Ingram’s training gave her experience no bachelor’s degree could replace. “We all had to pay our dues and put in our free pay and interning and getting beat up for a while, but it was completely worth it to do what we do now,” says Ingram.

Seasoned grassroots campaigners often tout the importance of passing on their training to the next generation to keep their political party or organization alive.

When Carroll first got involved in politics, the then-president of the Young Democrats of the San Fernando Valley encouraged him to get involved in local groups. Carroll ultimately became president of Young Democrats and now remains on the executive board as communications director.

“I don’t feel representative so much anymore,” Carroll says. “I’m looking to find who are the young people in our club who are up and coming – who are ready to take on more of that leadership.”

Since he first joined in 2003, the club’s membership has increased from roughly 40 to 300 members. Their budget also reflects that growth.

Ingram says college republican groups often fall apart when a president or a core group graduates. She made sure that the club she founded at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita had stable leadership before she left.

For Blumenfield, there is an innate sense of duty to mentor and recruit young people.

“I got involved in politics when I was very young,” he says. “You know, it changed my life in many ways – and I want to help other people have a similar experience.”

Children's Art Project of Marrakech

2008-04-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sponsored by
ONCE UPON A TIME ON PLANET EARTH

I received this email today from Ron Modro, an American friend who lives between Paris and Morocco. He is in the process of creating many collaborative and globally-focused projects included this one focused on artwork and the children of Marrakech.
--------

The traditional arts and crafts of every country tell a unique and powerful story of the culture that created them. When those arts and crafts are lost, a large part of the culture is lost as well. Therefore, it is with great enthusiasm that we announce the creation of THE CHILDREN'S ART PROJECT OF MARRAKECH, to encourage and promote the traditional arts and crafts of Morocco, as part of the ONCE UPON A TIME ON PLANET EARTH mission to create positive change through education and dialogue.

There are many children in the villages and communities around Marrakech that come from disadvantaged families with little money, and are unable to buy even the most basic school supplies. Some parents are barely able to make a living, while the richest families send their children to private schools.

THE CHILDREN'S ART PROJECT of MARRAKECH will soon begin accepting donations of ART SUPPLIES (i.e. paint sets, drawing paper, easels, colored pencils, coloring books, crayons, paint brushes, etc. No monetary donations can be accepted...yet).

The project will sponsor ART CONTESTS in local schools for the promotion of cultural and educational activities, designed to help students adjust to the world of technology and globalization, while maintaining and sharing their own culture with the rest of the world.

Each participating school will host an art contest and choose the top 10 submissions for the final round of competition. The winner of the competition will be awarded New Art Supplies to encourage and promote their interest in the traditional arts of Morocco. The finalists and the winner of each contest will be photographed along with their submitted artwork, and then displayed on my web-space ( http://solitashouse.spaces.live.com ) for people around the world to see. Through this project we will hopefully encourage the students to become interested in pursuing a career in the traditional arts of Morocco, and to share their incredible culture with the world.

THE CHILDREN'S ART PROJECT of MARRAKECH will also be accepting donations of school supplies (i.e. writing paper, pencils, pens, chalk, etc. everything you would buy a child for the first day of school), to be distributed to the schools of disadvantaged communities in and around the City of Marrakech. For more information on where to send your gifts, please write to ronmodro@littlebookofman.org

Please feel free to forward this announcement to your friends and colleagues.

Peace,
Ron Modro
(Founder)
ONCE UPON A TIME ON PLANET EARTH
http://www.littlebookofman.org

Dare not to drive

2008-04-22T08:48:00.001-07:00

It's Earth Day. Take the bus, ride your bike or walk to work. Go ahead, I dare you.

David & Layla screening at Noor Film Festival

2008-04-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

The film David & Layla will be presented at the closing event for the 2nd Annual Noor Film Festival. The film starts at 6:30PM and will be screened at the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills. For more information, go to http://www.noorfilmfestival.com/films.html#DandL

The candidates take a stand on US presidential boycott of Beijing games

2008-04-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

Although I think that the Olympics should be focused on athletics instead of political demonstrations, I am reminded of the Berlin Games in 1936. If anyone had taken a stand against Hitler, we can only fantasize how history may have unfolded differently. I think that in hindsight, the US would be foolish to say they did the right thing in participating in Berlin. In life, we can't always departmentalize different areas when politics is so often infused in everything we do.

Hillary Clinton is advocating that Bush take a presidential stand and not attend the opening ceremony in Beijing because of China's rocky relationship with Tibet and the country's support of the Sudanese government.

Obama has said he is of "two minds" on this subject. This may just be a convenient way for him to not piss anyone off.

I can see the pros and cons of Hillary making this statement. I am impressed that she takes such stands, because it shows she is not of "two minds" and will make bold and resolute choices. In such a position of authority, the president has to make difficult decisions.

This issue of the president's boycott of the opening ceremony will not affect US domestic policy or many issues such as the economy or healthcare that make us worry.

But if Obama can't make up his mind on something relatively insignificant, I question how he will act when it comes to serious US concerns.

For my part, as much as I want the Olympics to focus on the hard-working athletes, we're kidding ourselves if we think the this is some kind of lovefest where political activity has no part. It's a competition! And if there's nothing wrong with athletic competition, there's nothing wrong with peaceful political competition that opens dialogue on important world-wide issues.

If you think about it, it's really the best opportunity for it.

Zine criticizes proposed DWP and trash fee increases

2008-04-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

In the week's Sun Community Newspapers

Los Angeles City Councilmember Dennis Zine (3rd District) and Board of Public Works Commissioner Ernesto Cardenas spoke at the Valley Vote meeting held in Van Nuys last month.

Zine candidly addressed what he sees as flaws in our city works structure.

“We know that our system’s collapsing, the infrastructure is very, very old,” he said on the need to upgrade the city’s aging water system.

Zine said he does not currently support a rate increase until measures are taken to provide dedicated oversight to ensure DWP money is not transferred into the general fund to cover the city’s current $37.7 million deficit – a shortfall that will swell to a staggering $460 million starting in July for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Zine is also critical of the suggested trash fee increase to $38. He said that in the last few years it was increased from $11 to $26 to free up general fund money to hire more police officers, but since the money has been “diverted,” proponents want to increase it again because the general fund is in a deficit. Zine said that other cities pay $38, so it’s easy to accept this increase.

Zine said he wants to be honest with voters that the money is going to be used for what they say it will be used for. “We have to be candid with the people who vote,’” he stated.

According to Zine, Los Angeles’ budget crisis is in line with the nation’s economic downturn and he predicts a hiring freeze for the city in addition to layoffs if city employees don’t accept a reduction in their compensation packages.

Board of Public Works Commissioner Ernesto Cardenas, who was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to the position last year, discussed the importance of street services and how his experience as an engineer in the private sector at AT&T relates to his current position.

“If you don’t put your money into maintaining your infrastructure, it’s not going to last too long,” said Cardenas, referring to the 6500 miles of streets in the city. He said that 1000 of those miles are in “failed condition” and gave an overall grade of “C-“ to Los Angeles surface streets.

Cardenas further spoke about the city’s purchase of a “cold-in-place” asphalt recycling machine (which the City secured from a German company for roughly $2 million) to conduct street improvements more quickly and efficiently. It recycles old gravel on the spot, canceling the need to dispose of old gravel at a waste dump before laying down new layers. He said that the city has recouped the money in one year, but a lack in funds prevents further purchase of an additional machine.

L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich will be the featured speaker at the Valley Vote April 21 meeting held at the Galpin Ford dealership in Van Nuys. For further info, www.valleyvote.org

Rapists in the ranks

2008-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Sexual assaults are frequent, and frequently ignored, in the armed services.
By Congresswoman Jane Harman
March 31, 2008
PUBLISHED IN LA TIMES

The stories are shocking in their simplicity and brutality: A female military recruit is pinned down at knifepoint and raped repeatedly in her own barracks. Her attackers hid their faces but she identified them by their uniforms; they were her fellow soldiers. During a routine gynecological exam, a female soldier is attacked and raped by her military physician. Yet another young soldier, still adapting to life in a war zone, is raped by her commanding officer. Afraid for her standing in her unit, she feels she has nowhere to turn.

These are true stories, and, sadly, not isolated incidents. Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.

The scope of the problem was brought into acute focus for me during a visit to the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center, where I met with female veterans and their doctors. My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41% of female veterans seen at the clinic say they were victims of sexual assault while in the military, and 29% report being raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and the downward spirals many of their lives have since taken.

Numbers reported by the Department of Defense show a sickening pattern. In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported -- 73% more than in 2004. The DOD's newest report, released this month, indicates that 2,688 reports were made in 2007, but a recent shift from calendar-year reporting to fiscal-year reporting makes comparisons with data from previous years much more difficult.

The Defense Department has made some efforts to manage this epidemic -- most notably in 2005, after the media received anonymous e-mail messages about sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy. The media scrutiny and congressional attention that followed led the DOD to create the Sexual Assault and Response Office. Since its inception, the office has initiated education and training programs, which have improved the reporting of cases of rapes and other sexual assaults. But more must be done to prevent attacks and to increase accountability.

At the heart of this crisis is an apparent inability or unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks. According to DOD statistics, only 181 out of 2,212 subjects investigated for sexual assault in 2007, including 1,259 reports of rape, were referred to courts-martial, the equivalent of a criminal prosecution in the military. Another 218 were handled via nonpunitive administrative action or discharge, and 201 subjects were disciplined through "nonjudicial punishment," which means they may have been confined to quarters, assigned extra duty or received a similar slap on the wrist. In nearly half of the cases investigated, the chain of command took no action; more than a third of the time, that was because of "insufficient evidence."

This is in stark contrast to the civilian trend of prosecuting sexual assault. In California, for example, 44% of reported rapes result in arrests, and 64% of those who are arrested are prosecuted, according to the California Department of Justice.

The DOD must close this gap and remove the obstacles to effective investigation and prosecution. Failure to do so produces two harmful consequences: It deters victims from reporting, and it fails to deter offenders. The absence of rigorous prosecution perpetuates a culture tolerant of sexual assault -- an attitude that says "boys will be boys."

I have raised the issue with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Although I believe that he is concerned, thus far, the military's response has been underwhelming -- and the apparent lack of urgency is inexcusable.

Congress is not doing much better. Although these sexual assault statistics are readily available, our oversight has failed to come to grips with the magnitude of the crisis. The abhorrent and graphic nature of the reports may make people uncomfortable, but that is no excuse for inaction. Congressional hearings are urgently needed to highlight the failure of existing policies. Most of our servicewomen and men are patriotic, courageous and hardworking people who embody the best of what it means to be an American. The failure to address military sexual assault runs counter to those ideals and shames us all.

Jane Harman (D-Venice) chairs the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence.

Clinton's lost face time

2008-03-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

Our culture's double standard on appearance puts her at a disadvantage.
By Michael Kinsley
March 27, 2008 Taken from LA TIMES

The conversation was about how tiring it must be to run for president, and someone -- a woman -- said that, on top of everything else, Hillary Clinton has to spend an hour and a half getting ready for each day's campaigning.

She didn't mean that Clinton was studying her notes or making sure she knows the name of the mayor of McKeesport, Pa. She meant that the candidate was doing her hair, putting on makeup, deciding what to wear or at least thinking about it even if she has someone to decide for her. And so on. Other women thought an hour and a half seemed longer than necessary, but the bottom offer was 40 minutes. And that's just in the morning. Shorter versions of the morning ritual go on throughout the day.

And how long does it take Barack Obama or even John McCain with his war injuries to shower, shave and put on one of a dozen identical dark blue suits, a white shirt and a red tie? Let's not be completely naive and posit that these men also take a dab of makeup here and there. So let's say 20 minutes.

Any man who has twiddled his thumbs waiting for his wife or opposite-sex partner to get ready to go out should not have been surprised by this. But all the men in this particular conversation were taken aback -- and so were the women, as the reality sunk in. Every day for almost two years, the candidates campaign. The average day is probably 15 to 20 hours. The average amount of sleep could be four hours. Yet, every day, the male candidates can sleep an extra precious half-hour or more -- or spend the time cramming for the day -- simply because our culture doesn't impose the same rules on them about their appearance.

And these really are rules. Sure, there are women who take no more trouble about their appearance than most men do, and men who take more than the typical woman. But a middle-aged woman who is the first of her sex to make a serious run for the presidency is not going to be a pioneer in indifference to looks. One revolution at a time. She has got to look put together, all day, every day.

Clinton doesn't seem especially vain about looks, whereas Obama has dropped hints that he may well be. Nevertheless, if it ever came out that Obama was spending an hour primping every morning, it would hurt him, not help him. Whereas if Clinton were known to spend an hour dressing and primping, no one would be surprised. And if she looked as if she had spent much less than that, it would hurt her.

A year ago, the big dinner-table question was whether it is a bigger disadvantage in running for president to be an African American or a woman. It seemed for a while as if neither one was a particular disadvantage. In fact, the prize for biggest burden of prejudice to be lugging around the primaries went to Mitt Romney for being a Mormon. Cautiously, we were starting to congratulate ourselves on having moved beyond race and sex. Then came the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and Geraldine Ferraro, and we were plunged into a "conversation about race." Ferraro said that Obama's race might actually be an advantage.

This is implausible. But let's go back to gender: What about his advantage in being a man? And I don't mean anything fancy and psychological. I don't even mean the double standard that allows the media to report on how a female candidate dresses while ignoring this crucial issue regarding male candidates. We'll get past that some day.

But even then, it will take a female candidate longer to get ready to campaign than it will take a man. In most occupations, this 20 minutes doesn't make much difference -- especially compared with the disproportionate time that women still spend housekeeping and child-rearing. Of course, after the election, no one will care if the president is well-coiffed when answering that 3 a.m. phone call. But in a close-fought election campaign, every minute counts. If you figure 20 minutes a day over a year and a half of 14-hour days and six-day weeks, it comes out to an extra two weeks of campaigning or sleep for a male candidate.

This issue goes back to the early days of "women's lib," of course, when opponents of the movement talked about "bra burners" and made crude jokes about unshaved legs. It was considered an advance when it became established that a woman could dress like a woman and still be a business executive or lawyer. And Hillary Clinton, even if she loses, has established beyond all doubt that a woman can be a credible candidate for president. But she'll have to be one who needs even less sleep than her opponent.

Michael Kinsley, a contributing editor to Opinion, is The Times' former editorial page editor. He is also former editor of the New Republic, Slate and Harper's.

McCain in California

2008-03-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

John McCain is campaigning in California with 6 events scheduled in the next few days. I just checked out his website to see what events are open to the public, and unless I am willing to spend $2300 on a preferred ticket, or $1000 just plain unpreferred, to see the "presumptive"(anyone else sick of that word?) republican candidate speak, I'm out of luck. It looks like all of the advertised events are either private ones or fundraisers.

Let's hope that changes and that he will campaign in a democratic way to inform all voters, not just the rich or party-connected ones, about his platform. This is what I so appreciated about Hillary Clinton. She had three appearances in three weeks all at venues open to the public. John Edwards also had one. As well as Mitt Romney. I hope that trend will continue, since it is the only opportunity for some of us to really learn about the candidates.

Here's McCain's California schedule:

http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Calendar/

03/24/2008
La Jolla Finance Luncheon
La Jolla, California

03/24/2008
California Finance Reception, Palm Desert
Palm Desert, CA

03/25/2008
Orange County Fundraising Luncheon
Newport Beach, California

03/25/2008
Los Angeles Finance Reception
Los Angeles, California

03/26/2008
Speech before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council
Los Angeles, California

03/26/2008
Pebble Beach Finance Luncheon
Pebble Beach, CA, Finance Lunch

03/26/2008
San Francisco Finance Reception
San Francisco, CA

Shoddy news spellcheckers

2008-03-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

So last week while the Las Lomas project downfall was covered on the news, I noticed that two separate mainstream TV channels kept misspelling Councilman Greig Smith's name. He was one of the vocal city councilmember's who opposed the large-scale development project. I started to think that I may have had it wrong. But no. I know the spelling of his name because I'm a frequent visitor to the City's website and keep abreast of what's going on in the city. I'm disappointed that Los Angeles city news outlets don't even know the correct spelling of the elected officials. And I'm the one without a full-time job.

Festival of Solo Women at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood

2008-03-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

Why Wright is wrong for Obama - JONAH GOLDBERG

2008-03-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

Taken from today's Los Angeles Times OP-ED

The candidate's message of unity is suspect if he doesn't divorce himself from the controversial pastor.
March 18, 2008

Barack Obama will reportedly give a major speech this morning at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, addressing the controversy about his extremist pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

Obama needs to do two things. First, he needs to make it incandescently clear that Wright doesn't speak for him in any meaningful way. If he won't do that, his campaign is a fraud and he is not qualified to be president.

Second, he needs to explain to black America why Wright's views are so poisonous.

By now, if you've paid any attention at all, you've read the quotes and seen the video clips of Wright at the pulpit. A supporter of Louis Farrakhan, Wright has echoed his view that the U.S. government created AIDS to perpetrate a black genocide. He suggested that America had it coming on 9/11.

His most infamous from-the-pulpit sound bite -- at least to date -- is this from a 2003 sermon: "The government gives [blacks] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America!"

Obama and his surrogates are denouncing attempts to link the candidate and the views of his pastor and mentor. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) on "Fox News Sunday," for instance, said, "Guilt by association is not typically American. We've all been around in places where people have given speeches or said things that we've thoroughly objected to, totally objected to."

OK. But even Obama didn't spin it that way. More implausibly, Obama claimed that he'd never heard his mentor say anything of the sort, in public or private.

Obama has been a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years. Wright baptized Obama's daughters; he officiated at Obama's wedding. The title of Obama's career-making book "The Audacity of Hope" is from a Wright sermon. Wright worked with Obama as a community organizer. Saying you were out back catching a smoke during one sermon or another won't cut it. The issue isn't what Obama sat through, but what he stands for.

Even Wright's tone is poisonous.

Obama righteously deplores "divisiveness." And yet he literally worships at the altar of division. He wants to transcend race, but his black nationalist church and his liberation theology pastor consider race permanent and central issues.

Obama claims that he's a different kind of politician, but his "repudiation" of Wright last week is traditional pol-speak and nothing more. To listen to Obama, you'd think he was the only person in Chicago not to know that his minister is a hatemonger. Either Obama is the worst judge of character in living memory or he's not the man he's been portraying himself as.

Or there's a third option. Perhaps Obama didn't hear Wright's bilious rhetoric because it blended in with the chorus around him. This is the fact that Obama really needs to address if the "Obama movement" is about more than getting the junior senator from Illinois elected.

What does it say that Trinity United Church is the most popular in Obama's old state Senate district, with a membership of 8,500? One of Wright's flock responded to the controversy by telling ABC News, "I wouldn't call [Wright's theology] radical. I call it being black in America." NPR's Michelle Norris explained on "Meet the Press" that Wright's tone, at least, is "not something that is unusual" in black churches.

A Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 29% of blacks surveyed said Wright's comments made them more likely to support Obama, while only 18% said the opposite, and half said Wright's comments would have no effect on them.

That is a symptom of a problem that platitudinous "hope" cannot alone remedy.

A 2005 study by the Rand Corp. and the University of Oregon found that nearly half of African Americans say they believe that HIV is man-made. More than 25% think that it's a government invention, and one in eight say it was created and spread by the CIA. Just over half believe that the government is purposely keeping a cure from reaching the poor.

And please, spare me the rationalization that blacks have reason to be conspiratorial. Doubtless there's truth to that. But that doesn't make the conspiracy theories any more true or any less destructive.

In the 2005 issue of Social Science Quarterly, Sharon Parsons and William Simmons tried to explain why conspiracy theories like these persist in the black community. Part of the answer, they concluded, is that black politicians have no interest in dispelling them. Paging Sen. Obama!

Obama preaches unity. Well, real unity requires real truth-telling and the ability to tell right from wrong, and Wright from right.

I, for one, have no interest in being united with Wright or anyone who insists that America is an evil, racist, damnable nation bent on murdering black people -- and I suspect neither will many general election voters.

Obama's power base is made up of black voters and the upscale left-wingers who condescend to them. Well, it is time he spoke truth to that power. If the eloquent, self-proclaimed truth-teller and would-be first black president can't manage that, he should go straight from would-be to never was.

jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com

Won't you wear a sweater?

2008-03-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

I got this email today:

In honor of what would have been Fred Rogers' 80th birthday this Thursday March 20th, Family Communications, the non-profit which he founded, is asking everyone to wear their favorite sweater in tribute to Mr. Rogers' faith in community and togetherness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVeyLr2fGNA

David Newell, who played "Mr. McFeely" the mailman on The Neighborhood and the Public Relations Director of Family Communications, says the following:

"We're asking everyone everywhere — from Pittsburgh to Paris — to wear their favorite sweater on that day... It doesn't have to have a zipper down the front like the one Mister Rogers wore on the program, it just has to be special to you." You can find out more information at the FCI link below:

http://www.fci.org/NeighborDays/sweater.asp

Please share this with your friends and neighbors.

DP/SFV endorses picks for state elections

2008-03-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi

This week's Sun Community Newspapers www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DP/SFV) drew a large turnout for its executive board meeting at the State Building Auditorium in Van Nuys on March 3.

Fifty-nine voting members representing 22 democratic clubs decided whether to approve the endorsement calendar set forth by the endorsement committee for the California state ballot in June.

Several candidates were present, including 40th Assembly District hopefuls Stuart Waldman, Bob Blumenfield and Laurette Healy. Assembly member Lloyd Levine, who is running for State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s seat in the 23rd district, was also present, as well as Carole Lutness, a candidate in Santa Clarita’s 38th district.

The group voted to pull both Waldman and Levine for further discussion. Recording Secretary Damian Carroll cited Waldman’s longtime involvement with DP/SFV, opposition to the Iraq war and support of independent re-districting as items in his favor.

“There’s a difference between a candidate who has been with the grassroots for a decade and a half and a candidate – a very nice candidate – who frankly introduced himself to us maybe within the last year,” said Carroll.

Bob Blumenfield, an opponent of Waldman’s who is a District Director for Congressman Howard Berman, has already picked up several key endorsements including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Those who spoke against Waldman’s endorsement said it would split the DP/SFV body. “I think for the good of DP/SFV, the best thing we can do is do no endorsement at all,” said Roz Teller.

The motion to endorse Waldman was upheld with a 42-15 vote.

The endorsement of Assembly member Lloyd Levine inspired pointed discussion between his supporters and those of former Assembly member Fran Pavley. “Fran has not been around DP/SFV,” criticized Lyn Klein.
Outspoken opponents to the Levine endorsement were the presidents of the Malibu and Pacific Palisades Democratic Clubs, who cited Pavley’s environmental protection forays as key items in her favor. Levine’s endorsement was upheld with a 42-12 vote.

Eric Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Central Committee of the California Democratic Party, gave an update on the “double bubble” from the February 5 primary election, in which independent and decline-to-state voters needed to punch in a separate bubble when casting Democratic Party ballots.

Bauman said 47,000 additional ballots were counted, with Sen. Hillary Clinton winning 50.1 percent of those votes to Sen. Barack Obama’s 42 percent. Asked whether the results would affect the state’s primary outcome, he said, “We’re checking it out on a congressional district level – it doesn’t look like it.”

Ilene Haber, who will run the national DP/SFV campaign office this fall, stressed the importance of voting in the November general election.

“We have been given a sacred responsibility, and that is not just to represent the top of the democratic ticket, but that is to represent the entire state of California and to run a red-to-blue campaign like this country has never seen,” Haber said.

Members will attend the California Democratic Party Convention in San Jose at the end of March where DP/SFV will vote on the party’s final platform.

Obama and Schwarzenegger - The artful dodgers

2008-03-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep conducted an excellent interview of Senator Obama that airs on NPR today in which he presses on the issue of Michigan and Florida. After Michigan's vote, I remember Obama's comments that Michigan's vote should not be counted, and yet on the program today, he says that he has "constantly" wanted those delegates seated. Really? Because that is not what he said 5 weeks ago. In fact, his tone was pretty unwavering when it came to this. Steve Inskeep asked three, yup, three times whether he would support a re-do. He asked three times because the Senator kept dodging the question. Oh, politicians are such artful dodgers aren’t they?

Listen, what the Democratic Party decided on Michigan and Florida is a moot point- why? Because sometimes it is OK, even noble, to break the rules to bring about real change. I don't agree with those who say rules are rules (rules that, according to Obama, even his six year old could have followed) when those bureaucratic decisions superimpose the voting rights of ordinary people. Are you kidding me? And now, Obama complains that those states don't want to pay for it and that's a reason a do-over should not happen.

Shame on politicians for citing money as a factor in allowing the disenfranchisement of Michigan and Florida voters. This is not a Clinton or Obama thing. This is about those voters and Obama should be fighting to get those voters' voices heard. Now, that would be impressive. That would signify that sometimes achieving change means not following rules - especially when those statues are meant to get states like Iowa and New Hampshire extra exposure.

Hopefully, this political squabbling will soon find it's own detente.

In the meantime, I hope that the media will spare some extra coverage on California's atrocious budget crisis. Teachers have already been laid off . One of my classmates in my weekly Shakespeare class who has been teaching for 20 years, got her slip yesterday. She says that 40 are expected to be laid off in the Beverly Hills Unified District alone which includes only one high school and 5 elementary/junior high schools. I am furious that Governor Schwarzenegger cut the education budget - but then again he is a politican (who better than an actor!) who knows how to spin his words - like when he masterfully dodged accusations of his fuel pollution commuting via private jet almost nightly from his home in Brentwood to the office in Sacramento, because he wants to spend more time with his family (what, the state capital isn't good enough for them?). And I am frustrated that California voters opted against the telephone utilities tax to provide a source of funds for public bodies like firefighters and police officers. When it comes to education - we need to get on the money. When it comes to police and firefighters, we need to get on the money - when it comes to individual voters' rights, we need to get on the money. It's a no-brainer.

Uploaded Clips - Mystical Turkey

2008-03-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Please note that I have uploaded the clips for all my recent articles, including "Exploring mystical Turkey" which looks really beautiful with all the colorful photographs in the copy. Check it out under the Recently Published Articles to your right.

L.A. Women Theatre's Multicultural Festival of Solo Women

2008-03-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

What makes Los Angeles great...

2008-03-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

I finally did it. I rode on the Los Angeles subway. Actually, I took the Orange Line from Reseda, changed to subway at the North Hollywood station, made one stop, and arrived at the Convention Center. As a participant in the L.A. Marathon, I needed to get to the Convention Center on Saturday to pick up my bib and bag - an obvious ploy to get me to the health expo which was an advertising maze masked behind the impression of healthy living. Since I have written about public transit and since I have lived in Los Angeles for the vast majority of my life, it was time to take L.A. public transit. Sure, I've done the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, but this is different.

First of all, the Orange Line is darling. It's clean, it's monitored so that riders are aware of how long their wait is, and it is a necessary line for the Valley. The buses were well-stocked with riders, and the recent news that the line will extend from Warner Center to Chatsworth is great. The Valley deserves good public transit.

It took me about 30 minutes to get from the Reseda station to the rainbow-colored North Hollywood Station. We were like an exodus of people leaving the Metro bus, crossing the street, and entering the huge shell of the NoHo stop structure. I dug running down the deep staircase. It reminded me of running down the stairs at the BART stations up north, or the metro stations in Paris. There is something about subways that I really love and that reflects the rush and community of urban living. I was very impressed with my L.A. experience. The subway directions were very clearly labelled, and the trains were quick. I took the train from NoHo to the Metro Center downtown where I changed to the San Pedro line for one stop, and got off in front of the Convention Center.

All in all, the trip took one hour there, and one hour back. It was a bit long, but so is Los Angeles!

So Sunday was the Los Angeles Marathon. For any longtime blog readers, you know that I had a post a couple of years ago where I criticized races where participants claim they run for someone else or for charity. Since I have become a runner and have started participating in races, I have become a cheerleader for runners.

I participated in the 5K race that started at 7:15AM on Figueroa close to the Coliseum. I completed *just* under 30 minutes and hope to really work on my time for the 10K I signed up for in May. My favorite part of races is what happens afterwards (no, not just the free snacks and fruit). I hung out for the next few hours, listening to the great band, talking to people, and then cheering on the marathoners between mile 13-14. I was blown away by the handicap and wheelchair racers who peddled with the strength of their arms and the will of their spirit.

I also saw 2 Zorros, 1 green man, 2 barefoot runners, 1 bikini wearer, Jonny Lee Miller, and 1 "Coat Man" with a waiter's tray in his hands. I sat in between the Coliseum and Natural History Museum next to the nicest couple who had a cooler in tow ready to provide sustenance to their friends who were running. For any Angelenos, I encourage you to mark your calendars now for next year, make some signs, get your friends together and prepare to celebrate Los Angeles by rooting for the marathon runners. It is a great event for the city and a wonderful community experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll participate in the 26.2 mile race next time. And......take public transit to get there.

Forever Stamp

2008-02-29T11:27:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-27T21:56:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-18T05:33:00.001-08:00

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?

2008-02-14T15:58:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-02-14T10:22:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-10T16:16:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-06T22:15:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

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

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

2008-02-05T23:21:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-05T22:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

What monstrous creation is this?

2008-02-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-02-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

New city transportation plan could cut traffic, Greuel says

2008-02-01T06:49:00.001-08:00

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.

Best films of 2007

2008-01-30T08:37:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-30T08:35:00.001-08:00

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!