L.A. Times Columnist Steve Lopez

L.A. Times Columnist Steve Lopez was in town Friday to speak to a group of journalists attending a national columnist’s convention.  Lopez, who has written for the Times for years and who returned to California after making his mark at the Philadelphia Enquirer, is notable for taking on the powerful and for championing the rights and lives of the less fortunate.

Of late, he’s been thrust into the spotlight for his work leading up to the recent film The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.  The film, about a brilliant musician who earned a scholarship to Julliard only to fall into the grasp of mental illness which forced him into the streets, started out as a column for Lopez.  That column turned into thirty dispatches on the life and times of Mr. Ayers.  Read some if it here http://www.latimes.com/la-me-lopez-skidrow-nathaniel-series,0,2823028.special

I was there to see what makes a person like Lopez tick.  After years of writing essentially the same thing, some columnists run out of gas.  Steve Lopez is not that sort as he understands a basic tenant of finding good stories – go out and look for them.

After a longcut description of some of his travels (Iraq, Michael Jackson, etc…) he got to the meat of what attendees wanted to hear:  what is the future of newspapers.  He relayed a story of how he and his editor were divying up their Hollywood Bowl tickets one afternoon when Times publisher Eddy Hartenstein walks by to chat about what stories the writer is working on.  Quickly hiding the tickets, Lopez realizes that the best defense is a good offense, and offers up a question of his own – where is the newspaper business headed?

Hartenstein asks for a sheet of paper to visually show them the answer.  He then proceeds to fold the sheet into a trifold, not unlike many brochures.  “THIS IS THE FUTURE!” exclaims the publisher, baffling both editor and journlist Lopez.  He then goes on to explain that there is work on a hand held, Kindle type of computer terminal that will present the newspaper of the future in 8.5″ x 11″ fashion.  The advantage will be that news pages can be updated on the fly and the portability is better than a laptop, more efficient than a printed page and more readable than a PDA.  The idea is to provide subscribers with this new device free of charge with their paid one year subscription.  It may be three years away and we’ll need to buy millions of these to make the expense worthwhile, relayed Hartenstein, who then explained that Tribune Company,  owners of the L.A. Times among various other media outlets, is in talks with other major daily newspaper groups to discuss banding together on this idea.

Paul Bowers, the Society’s student award winner in attendance at the luncheon, accepted his award and made the following remark  “My generation is overrated.  We have 100 ways of communicating but too often don’t anything to say.” 

As for Lopez and his thoughts on the future of journalism in print, he chose to repeat his friend and fellow N.Y. Times columnist David Carr’s comment  “I don’t know what we’re going to do about the future but I’m going to keep shooting until I’m out of bullets.”

Colbie Caillat played W2O on Sunday, June 8

Yesterday, after attending the always enjoyable Casa Pacifica Angels Wine and Food Festival at Cal State Sushi (CSUCI), Tina and I went down to W2O for a private party.  A hundred people jammed the rooftop lounge to watch the Lakers take a 2-0 advantage over the Magic and to hear the twenty-three year old and her band make music.  Colbie, who hails from T.O,  is famous for having millions of plays on MySpace and selling just as many units of her debut album. 

Her sophomore effort, due out soon, is a nice mix of rock and singer songwriter ballads. And she’s easy on the eyes to boot (as they say).  Read about her in the January issue of VENTANA  Monthly here:  http://ventanamonthly.com/issue.php?IssueNum=20

Ray and me at his home June 2, 2009

I knew that Ray Bradbury was coming up to Ventura later this month to help in the effort to save H.P. Wright Library.  So when Michael O’Kelly asked me if I wanted to pay a visit to Ray this afternoon and talk with him about life, the galaxy and the importance of libraries, I said yes.

The importance of a man like Ray is well known, but not to all.  over a career that spans more than seventy years, he has written fifty books, over 600 short stories, television series, radio plays and more.  He still writes every day.  “Do what you love and love what you do” says he. 

On our way back home, we stopped in Malibu for some refreshment, where we encountered young adults who think they have heard of one of his books, but don’t know the man or body of word that he is responsible for.  Trying to be helpful, we fill in the blanks.

We need thinkers like Ray Bradbury, and we need libraries.

Pedro Nava pitching for California AG

Yesterday I went to the annual Spring Fling and Candidate’s Forum sponsored by the VC Democratic Party.  Entitled Meet California’s Future Attorney General, the event was attended by three candidates for the 2010 AG race as well as local politicos.  Pedro Nava, Ted Lieu and Alberto Torrico each spoke about their past, experience and hopes for the future if they were to be elected.  All three were good:  Nava, the local boy who got his justice experience in Fresno, Lieu, a Georgetown graduate who grew up in Torrance and finally Torrico, the current Assembly Majority Leader.

Of the three, I was most impressed with Alberto Torrico, who told a story of how he fought for justice in his legal past.  “I’ve been thinking about the last four words of our Pledge of Allegiance lately” he said “And Liberty For All means a lot to me…”

Two candidates I would like to have seen but did not attend were LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and Kamala Harris…

Nobody’s perfect.  When Kenny Loggins stepped up to the microphone Friday night at Riviera Bistro in Ventura, he was doing what so many entertainers do on their ‘off night’.  He was sitting in with the house band, playing old standards that everybody knows, but not everybody knows well enough to sing.  And Kenny was one of latter.  But he still has a great voice, was in a good mood and added a little sizzle to the evening in a small intimate setting. 

This was the second consecutive night of star sighting in the area – the night before, Michael McDonald from the Doobie Brothers sat in at W2O on top of the Watermark restaurant on Main Street. Some may think talent such as Loggins and McDonald are historic notes from the past.  But there can be no doubt that these guys, who have sold millions of records, are pop royalty. And they also wrote the hit song ‘This is it” together.

In the introduction to a soon to be published book by my friend Ken McAlpine, he explains the thinking that passed through his mind which led him to write Islands Apart, (A Year on the Edge of Civilization).  He describes spending time in his yard after sundown, looking at the stars and feeling that he is “…missing something.  I doubt that I am alone.  Almost every day I encounter people who, like me, do not feel empowered by these abundant times.”

Ken cites Tennyson and the actions of Thoreau.  But more importantly, he shares a feeling that many of us feel but may not be able to describe.  Or are too distracted or shallow of thought to explore ourselves.

About this busy world we live in he says “Some are mildly unsettled; others near to drowning.”

Wrote Tennyson, “The ghost in man and the ghost that was once man are calling to each other in a dawn stranger than the earth has ever seen.”

He tells of his thoughts when there is no distraction, no noise.  It’s a pattern of his – an earlier book Off Season took Ken on a trip along the eastern seaboard during the winter, in a counter intuitive northbound route, alone.

It’s through these independent crusades that Ken does his best thinking, perhaps through the lens of loneliness, away from his family and friends.  The new book is a journey to the islands without escort, solo. 

Perhaps we would be better off if more people would make the time to explore themselves and the world around them without distraction, a quite contemplative examination that might lead to better thinking and relationships among us.

It’s a wonderful introduction to a book that takes McAlpine to the barely occupied Channel Islands right off the coast of Ventura. 

As Ghandi said:  “There is more to life than to increase its speed.”

I can’t wait to read it.

With all the bad news coming out these days, let’s take a moment to close our eyes and listen to a bird in flight.  Charlie Parker is such a natural, he closes his eyes and lets his fingers do their thing; now that’s playing.  This number is called Celebrity…

ht.

Aah…that feels better…

   After seeing the film Who Killed the Electric Car, many suspects are presented, many are found guilty but in my mind, the most responsible party for its demise is me and you (the consumer).

Yes General Motors was evil to recall perfectly good vehicles, yes big oil attempted to squash efficient battery technology, it’s true that after Jimmy Carter declared that ‘America will never import more foreign oil than we do today’  (1978), no president thereafter pursued that goal.  But when it comes down to it, it’s we the people that are to blame.

Now nearly 300 million strong, there is nothing that we as a group of people cannot achieve if we put our minds to it.  And the time has come for us to wrap our minds around zero emission, non fossil burning technology.  It exists today, it’s just not available to us today.  Unless we really want it.

For more information, visit  http://www.pluginamerica.org/ and demand what is good for us, our country and the environment.

Today I learned what many knew last Friday – that Merrill Lynch executives  paid out billions in bonuses just before being absorbed into Bank of America, after Merrill’s $15 billion net loss in the fourth quarter and as the economy was deteriorating and the government was spending billions to bail out some of the nation’s most prominent financial institutions.

President Obama branded Wall Street bankers “shameful” yesterday for giving themselves these ridiculous over-payments.  It’s good to see a commander in chief become angry with the gluttony that has ruled some corners of corporate America.  As literally millions of people in this country are without jobs, these hyenas act as if they’re at the country club, redecorating their offices and buying the latest this and that.

As for me, I am sick and tired of the lions of American business ruling as they please.  It’s time for a sea change in how things are done and by whom.

Who’s with me?

  Visiting with a downtown Ventura retailer on Tuesday, he mentioned that Linda Hamilton was a regular and had just left the store.  Linda, perhaps better known as Sarah Connor to fans of the Terminator film series, lives in Malibu but visits Ventura on occasion.  I found her walking up Main Street, peering into windows looking for a place to lunch. 

At the door of Watermark, I asked if she wanted to have a look inside.  Fortunately, Shannon Rice was in ready to provide said tour.  After a nice walk about in the three story manse, Linda thanked us and said “I’ll be back.’