KPCC: Stories by John Rabe

Glendale's squatting coyotes safe for now

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:23:45 -0700

A coyote in California's Death Valley National Park. Credit: Manfred Werner/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

L.A. County now says the idea to euthanize coyotes that are squatting in a burned-out house in north Glendale was never anything but the last resort. Better to let them be scared off, it says, when the house finally gets demolished.

The mayor of Glendale, Lisa Friedman, lives right next door to the burned-out house on Brockmont Drive. And the woman who lives on the other side, Cathy Molloy, says these are some good-looking coyotes. Sleek and beautiful, not scrawny like the ones in Griffith Park.

Molloy and Friedman are on the same side when it comes to the coyotes' future. Friedman told KABC, “We’ve chosen to live in the hillsides. We should be living with these animals and not try to kill them just because we see them.”

Earlier media reports said the county was going to trap and kill the animals, but Ken Pellman, a county spokesman, wrote in a news release, "The County of Los Angeles Department of Agriculture only addresses situations with aggressive coyotes posing a danger to human life. Trapping is a last resort."

When I called him, Pellman said the coyotes will probably leave on their own when the owners start to demolish the house.

“From what we understand, the conditions of the property are going to be addressed and if that happens, then the situation will likely resolve itself. If work begins on the property, coyotes will likely not want to be around all that work. We want them out there in the wild, in the foothills, eating the rats, eating the snakes, keeping the ecosystem in balance,"

The story broke big Monday, with news trucks and animal rights activists descending on the hilly neighborhood. That may have proven Pellman's point. The coyotes used to come and go on a regular basis, but says Molloy, after all the hubub, "Lo and behold, they did not show. I haven’t seen them since.”

A few more points of interest:

• The whole neighborhood might want to get together to throw a goodbye party for the coyotes. They seem to have accomplished something that's needed to be done for almost a year: The demolition process for the dangerous derelict house seems to be moving forward.

• It's nice to know that the mayor of Glendale — who lives immediately adjacent the charred shell — didn't pull strings to get the house bulldozed. You couldn't blame her if she was tempted.

• When I was checking out the neighborhood, I ran into a woman who rescues coyotes. She says she offered to scare them away, using strobe lights and a radio. I asked "What station do you tune it to? We've got a fundraiser coming up in a couple weeks. That should work."

Savior of downtown LA theaters, Ezat Delijani, dead at 83

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:37:28 -0700

Los Angeles Theatre Credit: LAPL

In 1982, when Ezat Delijani bought his first endangered movie palace in downtown Los Angeles, it was an act of faith. Now, it's a given that places like the Orpheum and the Million Dollar Theatre should be preserved for posterity. Delijani, an Iran-born philanthropist, died Saturday. He was 83.

For decades, the movie palaces that line Broadway were the gems of downtown Los Angeles. Even into the 1980s, they were still well attended, used to show Spanish-language films.

But in 1982, the Los Angeles Theater was threatened with demolition, and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley asked Ezat Delijani, newly arrived from Iran, to step in.

Delijani did so literally. As Delijani's son Shahram Delijani told the LA Times, "When he first walked in, he was literally blown away by the beauty and knew he had to save the theater."

Los Angeles Theatre, 1979. Credit: LA Public Library/William Reagh

So he bought the Los Angeles Theater. Then came the Tower, and the Palace...

The Palace, 1972. Credit: LAPL online photo collection.

... and the State.

Loew's State Theater, 1938. Credit: LAPL online photo collection.

Linda Dishman of the LA Conservancy says the elder Delijani "grew up in an historic house in Tehran, and really appreciated the history that was imbued in that house." But – a lesson for us – she also says "when you come to a place, you appreciate historic resources more than people who have lived with them their whole lives."

Justice Department settles with city of Walnut over religous discrimination allegations

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 06:00:00 -0700

The city of Walnut has settled with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations of religious discrimination. The department filed the suit after the city’s planning commission rejected a conditional use permit for the Chung Tai Zen Center three years ago.

“The city has agreed to not discriminate against any other religious institution that may want to build a facility within city limits. And the city has also agreed to provide training to city employees to ensure this won’t happen again," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the Justice Department in Los Angeles.

The Zen Center wanted to build a Buddhist house of worship on property it owned in Walnut. The city’s planning commission denied the application, citing concerns over increased traffic.

Justice lawyers noted that the city approved a use permit for a Catholic church that would be larger than the Zen Center’s proposed facility. The Zen Center has since changed its plans and moved to Pomona.

Hideki Irabu, former Yankees pitcher, found dead in Rancho Palos Verdes

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:33:26 -0700

27 Feb 2002: Hideki Irabu of the Texas Rangers poses during media day at Charlotte County Stadium in Port Charlotte, Florida. Credit: Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead Wednesday in Rancho Palos Verdes. The county sheriff says he apparently killed himself. He was 42.

Irabu was billed as the Japanese version of Nolan Ryan when he arrived in the U.S. in 1997, and in his first game for the Yankees, he struck out nine men and got the win. The fans in Yankee Stadium gave him a standing ovation, some bowing with both hands over their heads. It was his finest moment in the majors.

Bobby Valentine, one of his former managers said, “He was a work in progress. It just didn't progress the way he had planned or the way some people planned.” Irabu wound up with a 34-and-35 record and a 5+ ERA for three teams.

Off the field, he was arrested for assaulting a bartender in Japan in 2008 and was arrested for driving drunk in Gardena last year. Valentine said “I think he was one of his own worst enemies.”

The manager said he got a little sick to his stomach when he heard of Irabu’s death.

What causes hearing loss in 1 of 5 US teens?

Wed, 18 May 2011 07:23:37 -0700

Fourth-grader Arylu Paniagua, 9, receives an ear exam from Dr. Michael Paul during a physical in the Loyola Pediatric Mobile Health Unit, parked outside Columbus West Elementary School, February 22, 2005 in Cicero, Illinois. Credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

A recent health study from the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that 1 out of 5 U.S. teens have observable hearing loss, a 30 percent increase over the last 15 years. More than a third of these cases are caused by over-exposure to excessive sound levels, like loud music or lawnmowers.

Dr. John House of the House Research Institute explains how these hearing issues are caused.

"We're more prone to having a problem with higher frequency exposure, so a low frequency sound is not as damaging than a higher frequency," says House.

The problem isn't subwoofers and car window-rattling bass, but seemingly innocuous headphones. "Young people are listening to their iPods at a very high level, and wearing earbuds which puts [music] right into their ear."

While hearing loss is permanent, it's completely preventable.

That's why the House Research Institute and Kiss leader Paul Stanley joined forces to educate teens on how to protect their hearing at "Sound Rules! A Sound & Hearing Celebration." The after-school event took place at the Director's Guild of America Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 12.

Newton Minow makes big splash with 'Vast Wasteland' speech - 50 years ago today

Mon, 09 May 2011 06:11:11 -0700

Newton Minow, in his office in Chicago. March, 2011. Credit: Samuel Vega for Off-Ramp

Fifty years ago today, the brash young chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minow, gave what would become one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century. The official title of his address was “Television and the Public Interest,” but it became known as the Vast Wasteland speech.

It was 1961. The quiz show scandal was still fresh in the public’s mind. George "Superman" Reeves was hawking Kellogg’s new Sugar Smacks. "Puffs of wheat, sugar toasted," he says, his lips audibly slippery with the cereal, "and, candy sweet." And "The Untouchables," with Robert Stack, was a hit TV show.

President Kennedy appointed a 35-year-old lawyer named Newton Minow chair of the FCC, which regulates broadcasting. On May 9 of that year, Minow told the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, “Your industry possesses the most powerful voice in America. ... Ours has been called the jet age, the atomic age, the space age. It is also, I submit, the television age."

Minow said broadcasting had a duty to make its “voice ring with intelligence and ... leadership.” But then he challenged the audience of station owners and managers to watch their own stations for an entire day.

"Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland. You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence and cartoons. And endlessly commercials – many screaming, cajoling and offending. And most of all, boredom."

Today, Minow is 85, and still comes to his law office in Chicago, which boasts a photo pantheon of Democratic lions Minow knew – Humphrey, the Kennedys, Adlai Stevenson – and a big Sony flatscreen TV. I asked him why, 50 years ago, this Minow needed to make such a big splash.

He said, "Television was still fairly new, and I think that a shock was needed. There had been scandals involving the quiz shows and there had been scandals with FCC commissioners. So it needed a great change."

After the speech, Minow says some men in the audience came up to him and complained. But Edward R. Murrow called that night in support. And so did Joe Kennedy. "'Newt,' he said, 'I just talked to Jack. I told him that you gave the best speech since his inaugural.'"

Then, as now, it was fashionable to beat up on TV, on the boob tube. But broadcast historian Robert Thompson of Syracuse University says Minow was not a knee-jerk television hater.

"We call it the Vast Wasteland speech for this little chunk," he says, "but seconds before, he actually makes a list of the stuff he likes." And then, what Thompson says "was about the nicest thing anyone had ever said about television."

“When television is good, nothing – not the theater, not the magazines, not the newspapers – nothing is better."

Thompson says Minow’s speech did not bring about the wholesale reinvention of television, but Minow’s threat to withhold license renewal did help to reduce the violence and get more kids shows on the air. Thompson says Minow also boosted educational TV and got a law passed requiring manufacturers to include a UHF dial on TV sets.

Ask anyone on the street about the Vast Wasteland speech, and they probably won’t know what you’re talking about. But ask them the name of the boat on "Gilligan’s Island," the series created by Sherwood Schwartz, and that's a different matter.

Minow says Sherwood Schwartz, the series creator, "wrote to me and he said that he was insulted by the speech. And then he named the boat after me, the S.S. Minnow, and I was thrilled by it. He and I had a wonderful correspondence together before he died."

When I say I’m surprised Minow was thrilled, Minow says the public interest is also served by entertainment. "Gilligan’s Island" didn’t have sex or violence, he says, and it was good for a few laughs.

Simon Cowell interview - Auditions in LA this weekend for Simon Cowell's 'The X Factor'

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:22:24 -0700

Simon Cowell attends the 38th International Emmy Awards at the New York Hilton and Towers on November 22, 2010 in New York City. Credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Simon Cowell, the man TV audiences loved to hate on "American Idol," launches his new show, "The X Factor," this fall. Actually, it's not so new - it's wildly successful in countries around the world, but is just now coming to America. Auditions for the U.S. version are Sunday in Los Angeles.

Cowell told Off-Ramp host John Rabe how the new show will be better than the old one.

"The difference," Cowell says, in describing how "The X Factor" will work, "is that you can be 12 years old, you can be 70, or you can be in any type of vocal harmony group. I always like the idea that the final could be a 14-year-old guy versus a 45-year-old woman." That certainly would be a switch from the young-skewing Idol.

And, like Tim Gunn helps along the fashion designers in "Project Runway," each group of contestants will be assigned a judge to mentor them – just as, Cowell says, smart record companies develop stars and don't let them sink or swim on their own.

He's announced record company exec L.A. Reid as one of the judges, but the other two have yet to be named. "The truth is, we can't make our mind up at the moment. I know who I'd want, but the producers have got their own opinion, the network's got their own opinion. But ... I'm sure I'm going to get my own way."

If you want to audition for "The X Factor," here's the info from the publicist:

WHO: Singers and vocal groups 12 years of age or older as of March 1, 2011, who are legal U.S. citizens or eligible to work in the U.S. and do not currently have a music recording contract. Some restrictions apply; please visit www.fox.com/theXfactor for specific information.

WHEN: Sunday, March 27, 2011

WHERE: The L.A. Sports Arena, 3939 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90037

HOW: Wristbands will be distributed from approximately 6:00 AM on Saturday, March 26 until approximately 6:00 AM on Sunday, March 27. Auditioners will not be permitted to camp out. Once auditioners obtain their wristbands, they will be asked to return to the L.A. Sports Arena by 8:00 AM on Sunday, March 27. Please bring legal photo identification. Any auditioner under 18 years old must be accompanied by his/her parent or legal guardian.

Good luck!

Are you prepared for a natural disaster?

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:00:00 -0700

FEMA recommends that disaster readiness kits have enough supplies to last for at least three days, per person. Credit: srqpix/Flickr Creative Commons

If you live in Southern California, you’ve thought about it this week: “What’s happening in Japan could have happened to us.” Still, most people lack a basic emergency plan and emergency supplies.

Scott Sangster has owned his Los Feliz house for about seven years. He says he and his family have always planned to prepare their house for a natural disaster, but never really followed through.

Disaster preparedness consultant Christal Smith says procrastination like that isn't unusual.

"It has to do with mostly denial," she said. "And also a feeling of hopelessness. When you do sit down and really start to take a look at what you might need, it's overwhelming. It makes you just want to just say, 'Oh, forget it.'"

FEMA recommends residents prepare for three days without help, per person. In Sangster's case, that means four people total, plus their dog.

He isn't alone. In the days following the Japan earthquake, Smith's business has seen a dramatic increase in calls.

"Now that people can actually visualize it, there's been a big turn. A lot of people are coming to me," she said.

"Some of the best advice I got from Christal cost nothing to do," Sangster said. "If a disaster strikes when you're separated, how do you re-connect? Where do you meet? It doesn't require any online shopping. I'm motivated."

For Rosh Hashana, a lesson in blowing and hearing the shofar

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:23:27 -0700

Michael Chusid, a shofar "master blaster," has taught many people to blow the ram's horn. Credit: John Rabe/KPCC

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sunset Wednesday. On the day, Jews are commanded to accept God as king and to hear the shofar, a hollowed-out ram’s horn. Michael Chusid is an Angelino who has taught hundreds of people to blow the shofar; he taught KPCC's John Rabe how to blow it in KPCC’s Crawford Family Forum.

Chusid is a ba’al tekiah, Hebrew for "master blaster."

"It is my honor to sound the shofar on Rosh Hashana," says Chusid, "where the Torah, the Old Testament, commands us to hear the shofar to mark the new year."

In the month preceding Rosh Hashana, some Jews take on the practice of hearing the shofar every day as spiritual preparation.

"For at least 3,000 years, we, the Hebrews, the Jewish people, have a written history of hearing the shofar."

Chusid talked about the impact of the shofar. "It has the potential to elicit an emotional and spiritual response."

Chusid teaches people to play shofar first by having them make silly sounds with their mouths. He encouraged Rabe to make the sounds that would make third graders laugh, producing a blowing, buzzing sound.

"Make sure your feet are firmly on the ground, your knees are sort of flexible, and inhale deeply, like if you were a singer using your diaphragm," says Chusid. "And when you exhale now, curl your lips over your teeth and tighten your lips if you can."

Chusid says it usually takes less than five minutes to teach someone to play the shofar, but some people are so self-conscious that they won't let loose and make the sounds needed to play the shofar.

After blowing the shofar every day leading up to Rosh Hashana, "The horn will often take on an odor from the little bits of flesh that might still be inside here," says Chusid. "Many people find them objectionable, but I find that connection to that visceral experience, it intensifies my connection to this as an earth-based, primal ritual."

Chusid also makes Rosh Hashana house calls. "I go into hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, and even to the homes of people who are unable to leave their home because they may have small children, they may be pregnant, or they may be ill, and I sound the shofar for the people who are confined."

Chusid is author of "Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram’s Horn."

Finding out how hot it can get inside a parked car

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:35:49 -0700

No matter how many warnings are issued every year, a few babies and many more dogs die from the heat, locked inside parked cars. Just how hot can it get inside your parked car?

Back in 2007, I did a mountains-to-ocean tour of Los Angeles with two weather experts, Bill Patzert of JPL and Steve LaDochy of Cal State L.A. At USC, we did the parked car test.

"Temperature has jumped from 84 degrees to 93 degrees," Patzert said after doing an ambient reading next to the car.

After opening the car door, LaDochy did a surface reading with a small infrared device, and it was 147 degrees.

In other words, it was bearable outside – at 93 degrees. But inside the parked car, it was 54 degrees hotter after just a few minutes. Feel free to lock yourself in that car, but leave the dog at home.

Avatar, Schmavatar! Come to an indie 3-D film festival Saturday

Fri, 14 May 2010 05:00:00 -0700

Moviegoers wear 3-D glasses to watch a 3-D film. Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Mainstream blockbuster movies in 3-D are commonplace now, but just a few years ago, they were hard-to-find curiosities. But they’re old hat to the members of the L.A. 3-D Club. Saturday in downtown Los Angeles, the club is hosting its 7th international independent 3-D film festival, with a selection of about 20 long and short features.

[Audio: John Rabe, host of KPCC's Off-Ramp, talked with organizer Ray Zone.]

The use of 3-D in movie making has evolved, Ray Zone says. As much as audiences still get a kick from watching projectiles and moving objects, it has also been used in more subtle ways to evoke emotion rather than simply shock and spectacle.

"3-D is a seamless part of the storytelling, like sound," Ray Zone says.

The art of 3-D film making has also seen an influx of amateurs, due partly to the wide availability of 3-D still and video cameras, Zone says, noting that there are over 7,500 3-D movies on YouTube.

Jewish group spends Passover in the Mojave

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:56:44 -0700

The community tent, which shelters participants in the Passover Seder in the desert, held for 16 years now in the Southern California desert. Credit: Michael Chusid

Passover, the observance of the Jews’ escape from Egypt, starts tonite. Most Jews observe it in their homes, but three or four dozen will be gathering, instead, under a tent in the Mojave. They call it the Joshua Tree Passover Village, and the idea, for these Jews, is to get back to their historic and religious roots. (Audio: KPCC’s John Rabe talked with two of the organizers: Michael Chusid has been doing it for six years and Marc Weigensberg was there at the start, 15 years ago.)

Marc Weigensberg writes on the Web site:

At the core, we Hebrews are an indigenous tribal people. We know the experience of living on the land, it’s in our bones, the avanim of our ancestral collective unconscious. When I tell Westernized Jewish friends about our Joshua Tree Seder, and they say something like: “But we’re Jews, we don’t camp!”, I feel sadness for the level to which the 2,000 years of our peoples’ history of exile and oppression has disconnected some of us from who we truly are as a people. So to reclaim our truth, it seemed just natural (no pun intended) that we had to head back into nature.

The boulders and rock formations of our Joshua Tree group campsite form an amphitheater in the shape of the Hebrew letter Chaf, which holds us in it’s blessed palm and carries us through our weekend of prayer and ritual. Our youth scamper up and down the rocks like young rams, free of the constrictions of the city. We feel the afternoon winds blowing into camp from the West as the desert begins to cool, recognizing it for what it is – the breath of Raphael the Healer.

While we have experienced rain, wind, hail, and snow, more often we share pleasant, warm/hot sunny days in April, with the desert blooming with Yucca flowers and all colors of wildflowers. Cloudless nights are filled with countless stars, and the bright moon rises sometime in the night, cresting the surrounding wall of rocks to light up the entire desert floor.

We have been visited by many of our Living Being relatives – ground squirrel, desert tortoise, snake, coyote, birds of all sorts with their songs, and many, many others. We incorporate the Stone Beings and the Sprouting Beings into our rituals, along with full acknowledgement and incorporation of the Four Elements. Our youth are taught to build and manage fire, to blow shofar to call the community to ritual circle gatherings, and we re-learn to bless each other with water sprinkled from copper basins and to anoint with oil. We enwrap ourselves and delight in the Nature all around us, of which we feel completely a part.

'Carousel' opens at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, stripped down and focused on character

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:00:54 -0800

Victoria Strong (Cousin Nettie) in the Reprise Theatre Company production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel” playing to February 7 at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse. Credit: John Ganun

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel” is onstage at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse through February 7. The show opened on Broadway in 1945 and is considered a cornerstone of American musical theatre. This version is being put on by the Reprise theatre company, known for its minimalist approach. "Carousel" director Michael Michetti told KPCC’s John Rabe how that helped focus this production.

The Freud Playhouse at UCLA is Macgowan Hall

Dates: January 26 to February 7
Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 .p.m, Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.,
Sundays at 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Tickets: UCLA Central Ticket Office: 310/825-2101
Jan. 26 (preview) $60.00; Opening night - $75.00;
Tuesday through Thursday Evenings - $70.00;
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, (all performances) - $75.00.
Student/Senior rush $20, 15 minutes before showtime (subject to availability).

Animators stage online auction to benefit comatose son of fellow animator

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:11:50 -0800

Animators from around Los Angeles and around the world have banded together to help pay the medical bills of one of their own.

When Matthew, the son of animator Tim Hodge, was involved in a car wreck this summer, his family says their insurance company denied coverage, so now they face huge medical bills as Matthew lies in a coma.

The "Help the Hodges" auction features items donated by more than a hundred animators and includes some very rare drawings from the private vaults of collectors, from Stan Lee's "Spiderman" art to pieces by some of Disney's "Nine Old Men."

KPCC's John Rabe talked with "Mulan" director Tony Bancroft, who helped organize the fundraiser.

Click on the link to the auction.

"A Christmas Carol Redux"

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:58:58 -0800

Charles Dickens in 1858. Credit: Chas Dickens

You might think “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’ fable of redemption, is just a part the holiday. But in fact, it pretty much started the whole thing. This weekend, KPCC’s Off-Ramp program, hosted by John Rabe, takes an in-depth look at the Dickens’ classic on “A Christmas Carol Redux.”

Early in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge scores points against Christmas that are valid today -- especially today – when he says:

What’s Christmastime to you but a time for paying bills without money? A time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer?

And then Scrooge delivers one of the best lines in literature:

If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas!” on his lips would be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.

“A Christmas Carol” was lucrative from the start. Dickens himself read it to packed houses, and it’s a staple of film and theatre.

Playwright Doris Baizley takes on the commercialization of “A Christmas Carol” in her short play, “My Carol,” about a production designed to maximize profits.

One set. No snow machines, no plum pudding, no period costumes. Handful of actors, prop truck, and that’s it. The best. Hey, my Scrooge doesn’t have to be an old guy. And my Tiny Tim, doesn’t have to be a kid. No kids in my carol, not one. The Crachitt family at the dinner table? Hand puppets. Hah?

Gerald Charles Dickens, Charles Dickens’ great great grandson, might perform the most stripped-down Carol ever. It’s just him, doing all the voices. “If I’m playing it in a theatre,” he says, “I like to play it fairly dark, fairly somber, because it’s a monumental thing that’s happening, that Ebeneezer is going through all of this. And to heighten the sense of joy at the end you have to sort of plummet him into the depths.”

But what is happening to Scrooge? Is it a wonderful transformation … or a conversion? And if it’s a conversion, then from what? Maybe when he wrote that Scrooge was “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, clutching,” Dickens just meant to portray Scrooge as a miser. But remember, Dickens got in trouble for the horrible character Fagin in “Oliver Twist,” who was specifically Jewish.

(Early illustration of Fagin from Dickens' "Oliver Twist")

Attacking “A Christmas Carol” as anti-Semitic may seem harsh at Christmastime, but how do you think it feels to watch the world embrace a story featuring such common stereotypes?

David Grimm wrote the play "A Christmas Golem," narrated by an explicitly Jewish Scrooge who is eventually tortured into converting by his disgruntled clerk, Robert Cratchit.

Now it comes time for Chanukah, and I’m closing for the holiday, I’m sitting at my desk, and Robert says to me, “Do I get Christmas off as well?” I say, “Robert, you can have Chanukah or you can have Christmas, but not both. This is a business after all.”

Former UCLA English Professor Judith Rosen says Dickens was not on an anti-Semitic campaign, but he certainly reflected much of the anti-Semitism of his time. However, that taint aside, she says “A Christmas Carol” hit a nerve that Dickens’ other stories didn’t. It was so successful, she says, because Dickens personalized the lesson of compassion, charity, and transformation. And in doing so, Dickens transformed Christmas. “Christmas used to be, in England before Dickens’ time, a very public, very outdoor festival. One that celebrated the bonds between say the lord of a manor, or a large employer and his workers. And Dickens popularized, through ‘A Christmas Carol’ and through his earlier ‘Pickwick Papers’ a much more private, much more family celebration.”

Listen Saturday at noon and Sunday night at 7 for “A Christmas Carol Redux” on Off-Ramp, featuring more of the productions excerpted above, including a full broadcast of the classic Lionel Barrymore version.

Off-Ramp Web Special: Foodies on Thanksgiving

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Off-Ramp talks about Thanksgiving Day food. Credit: Getty Images

The great chefs of Los Angeles tell us what's on their Thanksgiving menu this year, plus Pigtails & Sauerkraut, a Wiley Family tradition.

Get people talking about Thanksgiving and even folks who spend every day with food get a little mist in their eye.

For Thanksgiving this year, Off-Ramp host John Rabe is talking with a bunch of foodies. Check out Off-Ramp to read more.

Helicopter traffic reporter talks Station Fire view from 9,000 feet

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:26:28 -0700

KNX's Jeff Baugh on the job. Credit: Courtesy KNX

How big is the fire, really? How fast is it spreading? KPCC's John Rabe talks with KNX-1070AM airborne traffic reporter Jeff Baugh about his unique perspective on the Station Fire.

Trekkies: Nick Meyer tells all

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:16:03 -0700

Ricardo Montalban as Khan in Star Trek 2. Credit: Paramount

Nicholas Meyer, who may have saved the franchise by scripting and directing "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan," has published his memoir, "The View from the Bridge.” He tells KPCC’s John Rabe how he got involved with “The Wrath of Khan.” Inside: their entire unedited interview, and Meyer's bookstore appearances Wednesday and Thursday.

Note: Nicholas Meyer will be signing copies of his books Wednesday, September 2, at 7 p.m. at Borders Northridge, and Thursday at 7 at Village Books in the Palisades. Look over on the left for links to the stores and to the raw audio of the entire interview.

Fire brings air quality alert

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:50:28 -0700

The downtown skyline from North Broadway, just outside of Chinatown, at about 10:30 Wednesday morning. Credit: John Rabe/KPCC

The L.A. Basin is blanketed by a choking haze of smoke today because of the Morris Fire, and public health issued an air quality alert. This photo was taken along North Broadway, a few blocks from Chinatown, which usually presents a clear vista of the downtown skyline. Inside: tips on keeping healthy despite the smoke.

News release issued by the L.A. County Public Health Department

For Immediate Release:

August 26, 2009

Air Quality Alert:

Air quality is unhealthy for all individuals in parts of Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES – Due to the fire in the Angeles National Forest, air quality may be adversely affected in several parts of Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles County Health Officer, Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, recommends that all individuals take precautions when outdoors in areas where there may be visible smoke or an odor of smoke.

“In all areas of visible smoke or where there is an odor of smoke, all individuals are urged to be cautious and to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities. We are also advising schools that are in session in smoke-impacted areas to suspend outside physical activities in these areas, including physical education and after-school sports, until conditions improve,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and County Health Officer.

Non-school related sports organizations, such as Little Leagues, for children and adults are advised to cancel outdoor practices in areas where there is visible smoke, soot, or ash, or where there is an odor of smoke. This also applies to other recreational outdoor activity, such as hikes or picnics, in these areas.

Throughout Los Angeles County, sensitive individuals, such as those with heart disease, asthma or other respiratory disease, should follow these recommendations and stay indoors as much as possible even in areas where smoke, soot, or ash cannot be seen or there is no odor of smoke.

“It is difficult to tell where ash or soot from a wildfire will go, or how winds will affect the level of dust particles in the air, so we ask all individuals to be aware of their immediate environment and how it might affect their health,” said Dr. Fielding.

People can participate in indoor sports or other strenuous activity in areas with visible smoke, soot, or ash, provided the indoor location has air conditioning that does not draw air from the

outside and it has closed windows and doors to protect the cleanliness of indoor air. If not, it is recommended that all individuals follow these guidelines as if they were outside.

The following recommendations will help you protect yourself and your family from harmful effects of bad air quality:

• If you see or smell smoke, or see a lot of particles and ash in the air, avoid unnecessary outdoor activity to limit your exposure to harmful air. This is especially important for those with heart or lung disease (including asthma), the elderly and children.

• If outdoor air is bad, try to keep indoor air as clean as possible by keeping windows and doors closed. Air conditioners that re-circulate air within the home can help filter out harmful particles. Avoid using air conditioning units that only draw in air from the outside or that do not have a re-circulating option. Residents should check the filters on their air conditioners and replace them regularly. Indoor air filtration devices with HEPA filters can further reduce the level of particles that circulate indoors.

• If it is too hot during the day to keep the doors or windows closed and you do not have an air conditioning unit that re-circulates indoor air, consider going to an air conditioned public place, such as a library or shopping center, to stay cool and to protect yourself from harmful air.

• Also, do not use fireplaces (either wood burning or gas), candles, and vacuums. Use damp cloths to clean dusty indoor surfaces. Do not smoke.

• If you have symptoms of lung or heart disease that may be related to smoke exposure, including severe coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness or pain, palpitations, nausea or unusual fatigue or lightheadedness, contact your doctor immediately or go to an urgent care center.

When smoke is heavy for a prolonged period of time, fine particles can build up indoors even though you may not be able to see them. Wearing a mask may prevent exposures to large particles. However, most masks do not prevent exposure to fine particles and toxic gases, which may be more dangerous to your health.

LA photographer Julius Shulman dies

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:04:11 -0700

The dean of Los Angeles photographers, Julius Shulman, died Wednesday night at the age of 98. Shulman was best known for his iconic shots of mid-century modern houses.

Much of Shulman’s archive went to the Getty Research Institute, but in an interview three years ago, he said he reserved some of his negatives to teach at-risk kids.

Julius Shulman: "You don’t have to become a photographer, but if you do, photography offers so much potential for learning what’s going on in the world around you. Whether you photograph a flower, or a girl, or a drink, or a piece of cake, or architecture."

Shulman worked well into his 90s, and he attended the opening of an exhibit of his work at LA’s central public library two years ago. His health declined in recent years. His daughter says he died peacefully at home in Laurel Canyon.