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Photos: Historic Clifton's Cafeteria through the Decades

2012-02-08T23:25:16Z

When a piece of Los Angeles history disappears, it's often lost forever - preserved only in our collective memory and in the region's photographic archives. But in some rare cases, that history is only hidden, preserved by accident for later generations to rediscover.

Today, the façade of downtown's historic Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria saw the light of day for the first time since the early 1960s, as explained at KCET Food. For decades, the building's art deco façade stood quietly behind a wall of aluminum grates - removed last night and replaced with a temporary tarp, which Clifton's owner Andrew Meieran shucked from the building this morning at a special ceremony hosted by the Los Angeles Conservancy and city council member Jose Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway initiative.

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The aluminum grates were an artifact of downtown L.A.'s mid-century decline. With an increasing number of shoppers migrating from downtown to suburban shopping malls or the commercial corridor of Wilshire Boulevard, Clifton's and other downtown businesses tried to stanch the flow of business by giving their buildings a more modern look. Clifton's metallic façade went up in 1963.

"They ended up keeping the original façade intact by accident and not by design," said KCET.org contributor Ed Fuentes, who was at this morning's unveiling. "Everything that's old is new again."

The Broadway cafeteria - closed temporarily since September as it undergoes renovations - is the last survivor among a chain of ten Clifton's restaurants.

Clifford Clinton opened the first Clifton's (a portmanteau of its founder's first and last names) in 1931 at 618 S. Olive Street. Amid a crowded field of downtown cafeterias, Clinton distinguished his with lavish decorations and a flexible pricing policy--an illuminated sign once suggested, "Pay What You Wish."

Clinton's original Olive Street location acquired tropical décor in the late 1930s and became known as Clifton's Pacific Seas. It was long a popular eatery among Angelenos and tourists alike before it closed in June 1960. It even earned a reference in Jack Kerouac's classic novel On the Road.

In 1935, Clinton purchased the cafeteria on Broadway that would become today's lone surviving Clifton's. He transformed the location, which first opened in 1913 as a Boos Brothers Cafeteria, into a sylvan wonderland inspired by the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Like the Pacific Seas cafeteria, Clifton's Brookdale became a Los Angeles institution, attracting diners with its food, prices and kitschy atmosphere.

Clinton, whose papers are archived at the Department of Special Collections at UCLA's Young Research Library, turned over control of the chain to his children in 1949. The Clinton family continued to run the business until 2010, when Meieran took over. (The family still owns the Broadway building itself.)

Now, as renovations continue and restoration work on the original façade begins, explore the Clifton's cafeterias of L.A.'s past through historical images from some of the region's photographic archives.

Update, Feb. 8, 5:30 p.m.: The captions for the three photographs taken in 1981 have been updated to reflect the fact that they were from Clifton's Silver Spoon in downtown Los Angeles, today the site of Mas Malo Restaurant.

Contributors to this post include the David Boule Collection, Esotouric, the Gazin Archive, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the USC Libraries.

Many of the archives who contributed the above images are members of L.A. as Subject, an association of more than 230 libraries, museums, official archives, personal collections, and other institutions. Hosted by the USC Libraries, L.A. as Subject is dedicated to preserving and telling the sometimes-hidden stories and histories of the Los Angeles region. Our posts here provide a view into the archives of individuals and cultural institutions whose collections inform the great narrative—in all its complex facets—of Southern California.

The Man Who Invented Yosemite (Hint: It's not John Muir)

2012-02-08T22:08:00Z

Image from "A Familiar Letter from a Daughter to Her Mother" (1871) by Alice Ives Van Schaack | Image: yosemite.ca.us

Only a couple of thousand tourists trekked into Yosemite in 1871, yet they knew what they were coming to see; the sites they visited were predetermined and their responses to them were pre-felt. The magnificent valley may have been well off the beaten path but its falls and domes and meadows were already "sites."

That's why these intrepid travelers had taken the trouble, and in the early 1870s it took some doing, to work their way up and over the rugged western slope of the Sierras and into what already had become a totemic terrain.

Alice Van Schaack was one of these pilgrims: when the 27-year-old New Yorker arrived late that July, and caught her first glimpse of the valley below, she gave voice to a set of emotions that others before her (and many since) have expressed: drinking in the "wonderfully lovely scene," she later wrote her family, was a celestial experience: "heaven itself could not have been much lovelier."

]]> She had no reason to change her mind during her brief four-day stay. Hitting all the hot spots - Bridal Veil, "now a mere ribbon, while the Ribbon Fall itself is only observable by the dark outline its waters have left on the rock;" Yosemite Falls (which were dry); and Mirror Lake, "which we crossed in a leaky boat, and then waited patiently until its surface was undisturbed by a ripple, when we were rewarded by two perfect dissolving views of the North and South Domes."

About the slow-running falls, Nevada and Vernal, she wrote: although "we saw [them] at an unfavorable season, there was, however, a sufficient volume of water to give us pleasure, and I enjoyed watching the spray as it was blown down the stream. We then went on foot down a shorter trail...and had a fine view of the Vernal Fall from below. If you notice a lack of adjectives, please remember...I exhausted my stack in the valley."

As for the obligatory late-night observation of a moon rise, Alice waxed pious: "I shall never forget it, or indeed anything of interest connected with our trip; it was pure, unalloyed pleasure, such as we rarely taste in this life, but, I trust, may ever be ours in the world to come."

Her sentimental responses to her high-country adventure were heart-felt, if platitudinous. The religious origins of some of them are easy enough to discern, like Alice's sanctimonious remark after touring the Calaveras Grove (now Calaveras Big Trees State Park): "As I stood in the[ir] shadow...and thought of the many generations that had passed away during their existence, for a moment I felt insignificant in comparison, until I remembered that I am immortal, and they are not." She was saved.

Less obvious is why she thought Yosemite would be a salve, why she wanted to travel so far to encounter its exotic beauties. Thank not John Muir (who was in the valley when Alice was there, but they did not meet); his first published testimonial to Yosemite's grandeur would not appear until December 1871, five months later.

Rather, Alice's guide was the intrepid John Mason Hutchings, who ran the hotel in which she and her party stayed (among its other guest were feminists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton); he proved an amiable and attentive guide, leading them from one stellar location to another, educating them about their unique features, historic significance, and moral import (the latter of which, as you will have noticed, particularly attracted Alice).

She had met him in her family's parlor back in upstate New York, or at least she was introduced there to his literary persona: her family owned a copy of his guidebook, Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California (1862). Its recommendations for which routes to travel to the valley, like its step-by-step choreography of the touristic experience once there, were followed to the letter.

Even Alice's post-Yosemite correspondence, that her brother would publish as A Familiar Letter from a Daughter to Her Mother (1871), in which she recounted Hutchings' daily presence in the group's activities, contained references to the hotelier's writings so that her correspondents could follow her journey in their mind's eye: "As you will see by referring to the map, page 111, Hutchings' Yo-Semite Guide Book, we took the Coulterville trail, following the left bank of the crystal waters of the Merced. It is well named, for mercy is ever pure."

Thousands of other visitors - and the many more who only traveled to the Sierra in their imaginations - were as indebted to Hutchings' literal and figurative framing of this remarkable landscape. That's why historian Jen Huntley is convinced that he is the first architect of its tourism industry. He made Yosemite, Yosemite.

It's more precise to say he fabricated a certain version of Yosemite. Although much better known for his lengthy, and ultimately unsuccessful, court battle with the U.S. government to retain his claims to the land on which his hotel was constructed, it was Hutchings' construction of another sort that opened the way for the creation of the national park. Because for him "there was no contradiction in the idea that one could simultaneously feel a deep, spiritual connection to a place and seek to make a living in and from that place," Hutchings first mapped out the intersection of conservationism and consumerism.

Book cover for "The Making of Yosemite: James Mason Hutchings and the Origin of America's Most Popular National Park" by Jen Huntley

His career, Huntley argues in her persuasive new book, "illustrates the way that the Yosemite Grant [later park] and the environmental conservation movement it launched were integrally connected to and interdependent upon the consumer tourism that would be his bread and butter." Hutchings' actions on the ground and in print made it possible for such well-heeled visitors as Alice Van Schaack to revel in this remote playground; and, ever since, for millions of others to hike its trails, scale Half Dome, or bed down in Camp Curry.

So why is Hutchings so little known today? Why is Huntley's penetrating examination of his life and career the first full-length treatment of an individual who did so much to bring Yosemite to light? Now you can thank John Muir.

Muir had managed Hutchings' hotel for several years, and apparently was intimate enough with his employer's wife, Elvira, that her love for Muir ended her marriage with Hutchings. Yet it was not this emotional tangle that was responsible for Muir's eclipse of his one-time boss. Instead Muir's ascendance in American environmental culture was a consequence of his celebration of the ecstatic, his assertion that it was in nature, and nature alone, that Americans (and a lot of others) would be reborn.

Their spiritual renewal would come through direct contact with the glacier-carved Range of Light, a divine sanctuary that Muir believed only could be appreciated through individual tests of will.

His "wilderness was a much more immersive experience for those who would adopt it," Huntley notes, "replacing the act of viewing and 'reading' landscape scenery for its 'intrinsic' messages with the act of toiling in high mountain places to cultivate a relationship with the sacred...."

Seeking higher ground was also a way to shed the grinding materialism of industrial society. "Muir taught generations of readers to seek solitude in Nature," Hutchings' biographer affirms, and "to understand wilderness not only as separate from but morally...superior to 'base' human activity."

There's nothing so modern as Muir's anti-modernism.

Nothing may be more damaging, too. Huntley, for instance, makes a strong case for critiquing Muir's articulation of a binary world in which the human is inimical to the natural - and employs Hutchings as her foil.

To do so, she makes extensive use of historian William B. Cronon's insights, laid out in his now-iconic essay, "The Trouble With Wilderness": Muir's call of the wild, for all its archetypal import, offers a "flight from history, in its siren song of escape, in its reproduction of the dangerous dualism that sets human beings outside of nature." As such, Cronon concludes, "wilderness poses a serious threat to responsible environmentalism."

And illustration from "Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California" (1862) by James M. Hutchings | Photo: http://www.yosemite.ca.us

By contrast, Hutchings may offer an antidote for what ails us (and the planet). While he "lived and worked in Yosemite," Huntley writes, "he strove to weave together his sense of Yosemite's sacred value with a daily life built on local resources." In seeking to educate his readers about nature's sublime values and make a decent living at the same time, he adopted a small-is-beautiful approach that speaks volumes to this climate-changed era.

"If we are to imagine our own sustainable future," Huntley writes, the critical first step will be to find "a way to marry our aesthetic and spiritual appreciation for the value of nature with our need to flourish."

Achieving that difficult balance requires a searching, inward look, not unlike that moment when Alice van Schaak gazed upon Mirror Lake - "the most exquisite sight, I think, we saw in our wanderings."

As its waters stilled, and the trees above, which formed "a fringe of living green," swam into view, she recalled "the Claude Lorraine glass, Mr. [George W.] King, the artist," had shown her the day before. Peering into its solid dark convex form, and the diminished scale it produced, Alice glimpsed her proper place in the landscape.

Char Miller is the Director and W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College, and editor of the just-published "Cities and Nature in the American West." He comments every week on environmental issues.

The New Old Clifton's Cafeteria Unveiled Today

2012-02-08T21:44:34Z

When Andrew Meieran, owner of Downtown nightspot The Edison, bought Clifton's Cafeteria on Broadway about 18 months ago, there was some consternation. He was taking over a business run for generations by one family, neighborhood favorites who never turned away a penniless customer. Meieran's known for $14 drinks and doormen.

It's now clear that there will be many changes to Clifton's: it will soon serve alcohol in a few differently-themed bars within the building, and one floor will be occupied by an upscale restaurant. Even the offerings at the ground-floor cafeteria will change: smaller portions, better ingredients, is the idea.

But the historical decor will be kept intact wherever possible, and it looks like it will even be treated with greater respect by Meieran than by the previous owners. To that end, on Wednesday morning Meieran unveiled the original facade of the building, covered for more than 50 years by metal grating. Contrary to some previous reports elsewhere, it has not yet been fully refurbished. But one can see the promise there -- the promise of what's to come, and what will be maintained. Check out the photos below of the scene at this morning's ceremony. Are you excited for the new and improved Clifton's?

[Nathan Masters at LA as Subject has a treasure trove of pictures of Clifton's interior through the years -- check them out here!]

Workers on the roof awaiting direction to lift the tarp.
Every car - even the cruisers - checked out the scene as they drove past.
Most passersby had their phones out to document the scene -- or maybe this guy's just a huge Ed Fuentes fan.
Eventually the media realized the speechifying under the tarp was a lot less interesting than the unveiling itself, and moved across the street for the shot.
The media lineup.
Up the tarp goes...
We tremble with anticipation...
Voila! There she is, uncovered after all these years. Though clearly not yet spruced up, it's already a vast improvement from before.
These two approve, and they clearly know good style.

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Pomegranates and Other Aphrodisiacs for Valentine's Day

2012-02-08T18:12:18Z

Sure, Valentine's Day might be a commercial sham, a day you're supposed to show someone you love them with a cookie-cutter card and box of chocolates. Not that there's anything wrong with proclaiming your love, but think outside of that box of chocolates -- cook a meal full of aphrodisiac foods. Los Angeles-based cookbook author Amy Reiley will show you how.

Reiley, who earned a Master of Gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu, has become quite the authority on aphrodisiacs, having penned two cookbooks, Fork Me, Spoon Me, and her latest, Romancing the Stove. Each is chock-full of simple recipes that use some pretty sensual ingredients, and many you can find locally. Plan your romantic dinner--for Valentine's Day or any day--hit the farmers market, cook dinner, light a few candles ... you can imagine the rest.

]]> Although the Food and Drug Administration claims there is no such thing as an aphrodisiac, Reiley and ancient wisdom beg to differ. In her Guide to Aphrodisiac Foods on the website Eat Something Sexy, she explains: "Throughout history, various foods have been held in the highest regards as aphrodisiacs. Some are suggestive in shape, many have arousing aromas or a sensual mouthfeel. Some raise body temperature and others provide instant energy."

So, yes, while the FDA says oysters won't officially get your motor running, Reiley still puts them at the top of her list. "I think oysters just ARE sexy," says Reiley. "In their faint, fresh, ocean air aroma, seductive mouthfeel and just the luxury of them. There really is nothing like an oyster." Our local oysters from Carlsbad, which you can get at many farmers markets, or Morro Bay Oyster Company, now available at many SoCal Whole Foods, do the trick.

She's big on avocados, too. "Slippery in texture, subtle in flavor and loaded with essential nutrients, they're brilliant food in the games of seduction," explains Reiley. Beets, salmon, uni (sea urchin), pumpkin and even arugula also have stimulating properties.

The powers of pomegranate go as far back to the time of ancient Greeks. It's one of the finest sources of antioxidants, but the color and flavor are distinct and exciting. "Pomegranates pop in the mouth with a burst of flavor, and their color is that of a Valentine," says Reiley.

In Romancing the Stove, she uses the fruit in a marinade for pork loin and "sexy vegetables" -- roasted sweet potatoes and fennel, both noted libido-lifters, in pomegranate butter. Serve the dish with quinoa, a good-for-you grain with a little mint mixed in for flavor (and fresh breath).

Pomegranate Roasted Pork Loin with Vegetables
Recipe adapted from Romancing the Stove by Amy Reiley
Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 shallot, finely minced
2 cups pomegranate juice
¼ teaspoon salt
1 1 ¼ pound pork loin
1 medium sweet potato
3 parsnips, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 bulb fennel, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon pomegranate kernels
¼ cup white wine
1 shallot, finely minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

In a plastic bag, combine the shallots, 1 cup of pomegranate juice and salt. Add the pork loin, close the bag and place in a shallow container, and allow to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining pomegranate juice, wine and shallot to a boil and reduce to approx 2 tablespoons. Turn heat to low and whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Add salt to taste.

In a large roasting pan, toss to coat the sweet potato, parsnip, fennel, onion and garlic and 2 tablespoons of the pomegranate butter. Add the pork loin to the pan and cook, uncovered, for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 138 degrees. Remove the meat from the pan and cover with foil. Allow loin to rest for 15 minutes.

Test vegetables with a fork. If they do not feel tender, return pan to the oven while meat is resting. When tender, remove from oven. Slice meat and drizzle with remaining pomegranate butter to taste. (You may choose not to use all the butter. Any leftovers can be served over grilled chicken or steaks.) Sprinkle with pomegranate kernels and serve.

[Photo: Sierragoddess/Flickr]

The Manager's Mantra in Glendale: 'Adapt, Moderate, or Die'

2012-02-08T18:00:00Z

| Photo: Chris Yarzab /Flickr/Creative Commons License

Scott Ochoa is the new city manager of Glendale. He took up the position at the start of the year, and things have been interesting ever since.

Glendale is the third largest city in Los Angeles County (which has 88 cities) with a population of about 197,000. The municipal workforce is about 1,800. Until February 1, Glendale also had a redevelopment agency.

]]> The impact on Glendale and other L.A. County cities might have been different, had the state Supreme Court not ruled as it did. "They left us no Plan B," Ochoa told an audience of residents and city staff at the Glendale police headquarters (as quoted by Ron Kaye in his thoughtful profile of Ochoa in his Glendale News-Press column).

"The whole situation is starting to collapse. It will be problematic for quite a while and then they will come back with a big rebranded effort for a new agency with tax increment financing for affordable housing, economic development, creating jobs, eliminating blight. It will look a lot like what we just lost."

That's the pragmatic view of post-redevelopment, tempered by a degree of optimism many city managers of my acquaintance don't have. They think that the end of redevelopment is a game changer for cities and the harbinger of greater state control over the daily business of local government.

City managers, if they are to survive, have to be clear-eyed realists. But the really good ones will have the oddest combination of sangfroid and Boy Scout enthusiasm. "We're all going to hell in a handcart," they'll say, looking grim, "but I love my job and I really love this town!" A measure of idealism also is essential. It helps if you think that providing the infrastructure of everyday life is nearly a religious calling.

Glendale is pretty good at delivering the services that make everyday life possible there, but Ochoa understands - as do his fellow city managers - that successful city governments are inherently dynamic. "Adapt, Moderate, or Die" is Ochoa's mantra. Other city managers would agree. Their focus is on making the system work day by day for their town's residents.

Unlike state legislators, they aren't figuring how to hopscotch to the next office before being termed out.

Localism of the sort that Ochoa represents in Glendale has been taking a beating lately. All government is lumped under the heading of "enemy" by some on the libertarian right. Some on the left are working hard for the presumed efficiency of regional government. Too many city officials in L.A. County have shown themselves to be bad actors at worst and cold to neighborhood interests at best. Too many voters have succumbed to indifference.

But public servants like Ochoa - with eyes firmly fixed on the possible and the local - are far, far better than any alternative for making cities fit places in which to live.

D. J. Waldie, author, historian, and as the New York Times said in 2007, "a gorgeous distiller of architectural and social history," writes about Los Angeles on KCET's SoCal Focus blog.

KCET Launches New Spring Line-Up in March

2012-02-08T17:52:52Z

KCET LAUNCHES NEW SPRING LINE-UP BEGINNING IN MARCH

From classic entertainment to family caregiving, new programs include three original series featuring television personalities Roy Firestone and Holly Robinson Peete and the launch of the first show from Eyetronics partnership.

LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 8, 2012 - KCET, the nation's largest independent public television station serving Southern and Central California, has announced an exciting new programming line-up beginning in March that addresses diverse viewer interests, including a weeklong series of interview specials from LA Tonight with Roy Firestone; a new original documentary series on caregiving hosted by Holly Robinson Peete called Your Turn to Care; and the launch of Classic Cool Theater, the first show to air from KCET's unique partnership with Eyetronics Media & Studios. Also debuting on KCET in March is an intriguing British mystery series, George Gently that will air in place of KCET Presents for seven weeks.

Programs include:

LA TONIGHT WITH ROY FIRESTONE: MARCH 12-17 @ 10 PM AND MIDNIGHT

L.A. Tonight with Roy Firestone returns with a special week-long series of half-hour interviews featuring tennis great, Andre Agassi; multiple award-winning legendary musician, composer and producer Burt Bacharach; Grammy® Award-winning trumpeter and composer, Chris Botti; and Grammy® Award-winning jazz vocalist Steve Tyrell.

Described by the BBC as "perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history," the retired Agassi talks about his full life off the court, and Bacharach allows a rare glimpse into his personal life and reflects on some of his many professional accomplishments that span his illustrious career of more than six decades. Also, Botti shares his fondest memories from the road, while Tyrell takes a sentimental journey through some of America's most beloved ballads.

Hosted by Emmy® award-winning journalist Roy Firestone, the show invites celebrities and public figures who live in Los Angeles to discuss their lives and the provocative issues shaping today's news in a lively format. Previous guests include 16-time Grammy® Award-winning producer/songwriter, David Foster; Mark Geragos, celebrity defense attorney; Steve Edwards, veteran entertainment reporter and anchor for Fox 11's Good Day LA; and Harvey Levin, founder of TMZ.

YOUR TURN TO CARE (HOSTED BY HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE) MARCH 7 @ 8 PM

What happens when we suddenly become the caregivers... When it's suddenly our turn? America's growing generation of Baby Boomers now faces a challenge they were never prepared for: Taking care of ailing or aging loved ones. In this new documentary series produced by KCET, host Holly Robinson Peete takes viewers on journeys into this often heart-wrenching passage of life exploring the overwhelming challenges faced by caregivers of every ilk. Four, half-hour episodes focus on different families who find themselves at an important stage along the caregiving path, offering viewers solutions and hope through inspiring stories and a multitude of resources. Robinson Peete, an acclaimed actress and award-winning author, also shares her own experiences of caring for her father who had Parkinson's disease.

The first shows, which also feature personal stories of courage from actresses Monica Potter and Patricia Richardson, will focus on key caregiver issues including: the difficult talk with your aging parents about planning for the future; taking away your parents' car keys and the loss of freedom that means for them; and managing aging parents who live far away.

Viewers can also access the show's robust web site (www.yourturntocare.org), which launches Feb. 15, 2012, to explore a wealth of additional information, such as extended interviews and back stories, helpful links and resources as well as tips from guest experts, including best-selling author Gail Sheehy.

Your Turn to Care is made possible by MetLife Foundation, California Community Foundation, The Lippey Family Trust, Gladyce L. Foster.

CLASSIC COOL THEATER: MARCH 10 @ 10 PM

KCET is recreating the moviegoing experience from the Golden Age of Hollywood and invites viewers to meet the original artists from the silver screen! Classic Cool™ Theater is a weekly 120-minute series, which will include a package of the following attractions:

A Classic Cartoon; a selection of the best of Hollywood classic Cartoons from the 30s, 40s and 50s.
A Feature Film; with themes such as Romance, Film Noir, Musicals, Adventures, Westerns, Horror ...including a selection of their original trailers.
A Newsreel; which will include celebrities, politics, sports and important events of the year the movie was released.
A musical short featuring timeless artists like Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, The Big Bands, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., The Andrew Sisters, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Elvis Presley, The Platters, and many more surprises.

The weekly program debuts with Frank Capra's 1941 Academy Award-nominated film and all time Classic Meet John Doe starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck.

Classic Cool, because Cool is timeless!

GEORGE GENTLY: MARCH 11 @ 9PM

In 1960s Britain, an upstanding detective takes on a dangerous world. Award-winning actor Martin Shaw (Judge John Deed, The Professionals) stars as Commander George Gently - an incorruptible, uncompromising cop transplanted from London's Scotland Yard to England's North Country in the mid-1960's. Gently's reputation for honesty and relentlessness makes him almost as feared among his colleagues as he is among criminals. But he finds an odd ally in John Bacchus (Lee Ingleby, Nicholas Nickleby) - an overeager, opinionated young sergeant who plays fast and loose with police procedures. Together the two tackle cases involving murderers, drug dealers, gun runners, and more. Gently is about to discover a whole new world of murder and intrigue in 1960s Britain, a place where everything is about to change, but the past is always present.

90-minute Episodes include:

Gently Go Man - Gently confronts the man behind his wife's murder.
The Burning Man - The death of an IRA sniper.
Bomber's Moon - A German businessman is found beaten and drowned.
Gently with the Innocents - Murder in a children's home
Gently in the Night - A corpse is found on a church altar.
Gently in the Blood - Passport fraud, murder, Arab intolerance.
Gently Through the Mill - Is it a murder or suicide?

For media assets for any of the above programs, please visit http://www.kcet.org/about/pressroom/

ABOUT ROY FIRESTONE

Roy Firestone is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning and seven-time cable ACE Award-winning host, interviewer, narrator, writer and producer. As the ground-breaking, original host of ESPN's legendary Up Close, Up Close Classic and Up Close Primetime, Firestone has interviewed more than 5,000 athletes, musicians, actors and political figures, as well as scores of writers and filmmakers.

Sports Illustrated calls Firestone "The best interviewer in the business." The late Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Jim Murray once said, "Roy Firestone isn't just the best sports interviewer I've ever seen, he's the best interviewer period. That includes, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, any and all of them."

Firestone currently hosts Up Close Classic, which is broadcast on ESPN daily. Other shows hosted by Firestone include: HDNet's Face to Face with Roy Firestone and AOL's Time Out...with Roy Firestone.

Not limited to television, Firestone is also prolific on the printed page -- as the author of two best-selling books, Up Close with Roy Firestone, and most recently, Don't Make Me Cry, Roy.

ABOUT HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE

Actress, author, talk show host, activist and philanthropist, Holly Robinson Peete has been touched by the entertainment industry all of her life. Her television career as an actress dates back nearly three decades. Her life experience has led her to becoming a voice for her father, her son and her community.

In 1996, Robinson Peete and her husband, former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, formed the HollyRod Foundation, inspired by her father's courageous battle with Parkinson's disease, with the mission to help improve the quality of life of people with Parkinson's. Then in 2005, inspired by their oldest son's autism diagnosis, HollyRod Foundation's mission expanded to provide access to treatment, support and other resources to disenfranchised families affected by autism. Through HollyRod Foundation and her family's personal experiences, Robinson Peete has become an advocate for consistent and reliable education, support and compassionate care for both Parkinson's and autism.

Her autism advocacy also extends to her book co-written with daughter, Ryan Elizabeth Peete. In 2010,they released their award winning children's picture book about autism from the sibling's perspective, entitled My Brother Charlie (Scholastic). A follow up book-exploring autism and adolescence is due out in 2012.

Over the years, Holly has received numerous accolades and awards for her philanthropic work: from the Anheuser Busch John E. Jacob Community Service Award to

her most recent honor, Thurgood Marshall Foundation Award. In addition to her philanthropic work through her own foundation, Robinson Peete has become involved in other organizations as well. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Autism Speaks, the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) and the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

ABOUT KCET

On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. KCET currently produces the Emmy®, duPont-Columbia and Peabody Award-winning SoCal Connected, a hard-hitting prime-time weekly television news program that examines the issues and people of Southern California. Throughout its 48-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children's programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org.

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SoCal Connected Takes to the Streets with LAPD's Reserve Officers...Plus an Update on California's High Speed Rail Line

2012-02-08T17:00:00Z

SOCAL CONNECTED TAKES TO THE STREETS WITH LAPD'S RESERVE OFFICERS WHO PATROL FOR FREE

PLUS WILL IT OR WON'T IT BE BUILT? AN UPDATE ON CALIFORNIA'S PROPOSED HIGH SPEED RAIL LINE UP THE COAST

Episode airs February 11 at 9:00 PM

Los Angeles, CA - February 7, 2012 - This week, SoCal Connected correspondent Brian Rooney takes to the streets with the LAPD reserve officers--those cops who volunteer their time to patrol for free. At a time when the department has little money for overtime, the efforts of these 422 trained volunteers save the city more than $5 million a year. The program recently got attention when a volunteer cop (a lawyer by trade) singlehandedly arrested a man accused of torching dozens of cars in Hollywood.

Then, SoCal Connected's Val Zavala updates the controversy over building a high-speed rail line up the coast. Not only is the project price rising, but so are the tempers.

Lastly, SoCal Humorist Brian Unger looks at the High-Speed Rail debate in his own inimitable way. Unger asks the question, 'Why are we worrying about the high speed transportation from Los Angeles to San Francisco, when we can't even get around LA because of all the traffic?'

SoCal Connected airs Friday, February 11^th at 9:00 p.m. with encore airings on Saturdays at 6:00 PM, Sundays at 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM, and Mondays at 10:00 PM.

The Executive Producer of SoCal Connected is Bret Marcus. Co-Executive Producer is Justine Schmidt. Anchor is Val Zavala.

About SoCal Connected

SoCal Connected, winner of the Peabody and duPont-Columbia awards, 14 Emmy® Awards, 15 Golden Mikes, 18 LA Press Club Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Best News Documentary and Los Angeles Magazine's "Best New Local TV Program" of 2009, airs Fridays (9:00 p.m.), with encores Saturdays (6 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.), Sundays (1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.) and (6:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.) and Mondays (10:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) exclusively on KCET. For more information, to view episodes online or to post comments, please visit http://www.socalconnected.org.

SoCal Connected is made possible through the generous support of The Ahmanson Foundation, serving the Los Angeles community since 1952; Jim and Anne Rothenberg; The Maddocks-Brown Foundation; The Elizabeth Hofert-Dailey Trust; The John Randolph Haynes & Dora Haynes Foundation; The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and UCLA.

Press Contacts

Nick Jones or Liza Nedelman, MPRM Communications

323-933-3399; socal@mprm.com

# # #

Guide: Downtown Art Walk, February 9, 2012

2012-02-08T07:05:03Z

Before street art romanticized the urban landscape, street photography was the valentine from the city. It loves the grit for what it is, and Los Angeles has been the subject many times. There is no shortage of street pics during the February 2012 Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk.

"It is the fine art form of photojournalism and makes an important record of the times. It tells important stories that 'humanize' the people living on the streets and captures their wild and capricious character that downtowners know all too well," said Rex Bruce, who as director of Los Angeles Center For Digital Art has brought a long time presence of experimental photography to Downtown. Yet, there is an appreciation of the traditional black and white of street photography.

Keeping with the month's most obvious theme, The Downtown Art Walk Lounge will feature "Love Art." It is a chance to purchase affordable art suitable to be delivered on Valentine's Day, which can be arranged in collaboration with USC's TKE Fraternity. The Art Walk lounge is open from 6 to 10pm at 634 S. Spring Street.

Here is a peek of the downtown exhibitions you can find in February, 2012, including at Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk (Thursday, February 9).

]]> 'Papel tejido' is the second solo exhibition of artist Lorenzo Hurtado Segovia. Through woven paper constructions, the geometric cross reference of visual sources--including Scottish Tartan, basket-weaving and painting--is applied as an abstract application of grids.
CB1 Gallery I 207 W. 5th Street I Through February 19th
• • •
'Blow Up L.A.: The Art of Blowing Up Your City' is a display of urban vinyl toys, as curated with a "no limitations" directive by Gonzo247 of Aerosol Warfare. The show features customized Jamungo BUD & NADE vinyl dolls, and works by national and regional artists.
Crewest Gallery I 110 Winston Street I Through February 26th
• • •
'Why Occupy?' Next door to Crewest, the gallery aptly named 118 Winston, a second edition of a multi-media art exhibit by The Recruiter Syndicate will occupy the second floor. Through video, photography, and paintings, this installation is designed to "put an accurate face to the Occupy movement." It also acts-up as a protest to the arrest of three Occupiers during January's Art Walk.
118 Winston I 118 Winston Street 2nd Floor
***
'L.A.NDSCAPES' "I took a while to 'tune in' curating for such a larger space," says Rex Bruce, Los Angeles Center For Digital Art gallery director. "It is much more work." The idea of larger scale works with LACDA's current show that thrives on the idea of space in a city that is arguably the most photographed in the world. "It is by virtue of the efforts of visionaries such as these that a city that seems to have little to 'hang your hat on' in terms of identity, takes on an unmistakable character that is loved by its inhabitants and visitors alike, faults and all," says the LACDA website.
• • •
'Migon: A Collection of Figures in the Flesh' is the collection from photographer McCarson Jones. 28 Durango, Colorado, locals become models, posed in small cubes for the series "figures in the flesh." Each photograph is covered in a clear-coat epoxy for the visual result of a stunning "liquid glass" effect says the gallery PR.
Phil Stern Gallery I 601 S. Los Angeles Street
• • •
‎Robert Reynolds' new installation 'Michael Duffy" joins his other sculptures in his Art Walk Gallery (408 S. Spring Street, at 4th)
• • •
Painter and sculptor Erik Jerumanis, and Norbertellen Gallery director, takes his turn at Art Walk. He's the featured artist in the second installment of "Artist Studio" (215 W. 6th Street / Suite 110).
• • •
'Ineffable: Joy' are new paintings by New York native Claude Smith. His abstract visual reference of "path of obscurity" takes a vacation and explores "transcending cynicism and irony" in this current show at Gallery Mujo (548 S. Spring Street / entrance on 6th)
• • •
Ty Pownall, adjunct professor of fine art sculpture at Pepperdine,
debuts "New Works" during Art Walk. His works are a "theoretical future based on the trajectory of current urban growth." Opening Reception is from 7 to 9pm
DAC Gallery I 828 S. Main Street
• • •
MORE PHOTOGRAPHY: "Faraway, So Close Photographs of Los Angeles in the '80s" is a collection of prints by Sar Jane Boyers, Edward Colver, Gary Leonard, Willie Middlebrook, Ann Summa, May Sun, Mark Vallen, and Richard Wyatt. "Each photograph is a certificate of presence that leads us back to a time that will never be repeated but upon reflection makes the viewer contemplate what has changed and what remains the same. " Open until 6pm.
Morono Kiang Gallery I 218 3rd Street I Through Saturday March 31
• • •
If you ever find yourself with a large new space to sell photography lighting and equipment, use an area for a gallery. That is the thinking of Simple Studio Lighting, who just relocated from Orange County. They took a section of their new space at 905 S. Hill and named it Hatakeyama Gallery. Street photography is the muse and the first exhibition features local shooters Dana Barshun, Chris Camargo, Joel Sheiner, David Valera, Elizabeth Wang-Lee, Erin Xavier and Eric Kim. They are new to Art Walk, but plan to be open past 6pm if people wander near Hill and 9th.
Hatakeyama Gallery I 905 S. Hill Street
• • •
In South Park, "More of Moore" showcases complex multi-media collages by Terrell Moore at Terrell Moore Gallery, plus the exotic wood sculpture of Ismael Cazarez. Open until 10pm during Art Walk.
Terrell Moore I 1221 South Hope Street
• • •
Wounded Beast by David Hollen is the inaugural show for District Gallery, a new art space that will present bimonthly solo shows by artists with ties to the Arts District. The Art Walk Night Opening features the organic sculpture "Wounded Beast," a 14-foot-long "creature" that explores "underlying natural forms and expressing them with ubiquitous durable materials." Opening reception is Thursday, February 9th, from 7 to 10pm.
District Gallery I 740 E. 3rd Street
• • •
Nearby, during regular day hours, SCI-Arc hosts "Go Figure" by Ramiro Diaz-Granados at Sci-Arc Gallery (960 E. Third Street). "Once Emerging, Now Emerging: The Visitation" is ongoing at Cirrus Gallery (542 S. Alameda).
•••
"Andrea Bocelli: Story of a Voice" and "George Harrison: Living in the Material" are among the exhibitions at The Grammy Museum (L.A. Live 800 W. Olympic Blvd).

"Drawing the Line: Japanese-American Art, Design and Activism in Post-War Los Angeles" closes February 19th at Japanese American National Museum (369 E. First Street)

MOCA's "Under the Big Black Sun" closes February 13 (250 S. Grand Ave). "Naked Hollywood: Weegee in Los Angeles closes February 27 (152 North Central Ave).

And while it will not be ready for this Art Walk, if you like street photography you will not want to miss DRKM Gallery's Ansel Adams Los Angeles. (February 18 to March 17).

Discover Himalayan Food with Michael Palin

2012-02-08T01:38:49Z

We are very excited about the travel series airing now on KCET, Himalaya with Michael Palin. Palin, a member of Monty Python, has been traveling the world in recent years, and this series captures his epic jaunt through India, Nepal and Tibet, where he meets interesting people, comes across astounding architecture, and of course, eats local food.

We've collected a few classic Himalayan recipes so viewers at home can travel along with him -- or their tastebuds can, at least! This first recipe comes from YoWangdu, a site celebrating Tibetan culture. Momos are Tibet's version of dumplings. Since they're a perfect snack food, serve them up while you're enjoying the show.

Beef or Vegetable Momos
Serves 4
For the dough:
3 cups of flour (all-purpose)
3/4 cup of water

For vegetable momo filling:
Chop all the following ingredients into very, very small pieces:
Two onions
Two inches fresh ginger
Two or three cloves of garlic
A bunch of cilantro
One pound of cabbage
One pound of tofu*
One quarter pound of dark brown mushrooms*
Two tablespoons of soy sauce
One teaspoon of chicken, beef or vegetable bouillon

*don't use these if you are making meat momos

For meat momo filling, add:

One pound of ground beef: This beef replaces the mushrooms and tofu in the vegetable recipe.

Dough:

Mix the flour and water very well by hand and keep adding water until you make a pretty smooth ball of dough. Then knead the dough very well until the dough is flexible. Now leave your dough in the pot with the lid on while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You should not let the dough dry out, or it will be hard to work with.

For both kinds of momos, put all of the ingredients in a pot or big bowl, then add a teaspoon of bouillon and two tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix everything together very well.

To shape the dumplings, place the dough on a chopping board and use a rolling pin to roll it out quite thinly. It should not be so thin that you can see through it when you pick it up, nor should it be quite as thick as a floppy disk for a computer. After you have rolled out the dough, you will need to cut it into little circles for each momo. The easiest way to do this is turn a small cup or glass upside down to cut out circles a little smaller than the palm of your hand. Then you are ready to add the filling.

You begin by holding the flat circular dough in your left hand and putting a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the dough. Then you have to fold your circle of dough in half, covering over the filling. Now press together the two edges of the half circle so that there is no open edge in your half circle, and the filling is completely enclosed in the dough. You will now have the basic half-moon shape, and you can make your momo pretty by pinching and folding along the curved edge of the half circle. Start at one tip of the half-moon, and fold over a very small piece of dough, pinching it down. Continue folding and pinching from the starting point, moving along the edge until you reach the other tip of the half-moon.

Steam or fry, and serve immediately. A mix of soy sauce and Patak's Hot Lime Relish, Extra Hot, is recommended for dipping.

Many thanks to YoWangdu.com for the recipe.

For more "Himalaya with Michael Palin" showtimes, click here.

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Safe Bicycling Streets: What Will it Take?

2012-02-07T21:35:00Z

Los Angeles is a bike town in waiting. All the elements are there: year-round fair weather, relative flatness, big wide streets, insane traffic delays, the need for exercise in a city that lacks public parks and spaces.

Studies show that 50% of trips made by car are less than a very bike-able 3 miles in distance. We know that not all of those short car trips are to carry lumber and tons of groceries. They're mostly trips to the movies, to get coffee, dinner, the book store, school, concerts - how about a bike date with peanut butter n' jelly sandwiches in the park?

So what gives, L.A.? Why won't you come out and play-ay?

The reason is pretty obvious. Fear. Not many people feel safe mixing it up with the L.A. traffic. I don't blame them. Our streets seem to encourage a kind of bipolar disorder - motorists slowing and speeding only to stop at traffic jams and red lights. Hitting the gas, then hitting the brakes then hitting the gas.

From a cyclist's perspective it just seems silly. If you consider the time a driver spends getting from A to B in Los Angeles, the speed averages out to about 20 mph. If drivers were to slow down a bit and time the lights, there would be less stress and death on the streets, not to mention the savings in gas and vehicle maintenance.

So how do we make it safer to ride in L.A.? More bike lanes? Driver education? Cyclist education? The answer is all of the above, plus better care and enforcement from the police and judicial system. There is a lot of work to do and the issues are complicated.

Drivers and Cyclists both need education

Lines of paint on the streets are the most fundamental form of driver education. In L.A., since there are relatively few bike lanes and facilities, cyclists are forced to ride in a vehicular fashion - ride in the lane as a motor vehicle would. But not every driver understands that cyclists have a right to be in the roadway, let alone expects them to be in the roadway. Likewise, not every cyclist knows how to ride in the roadway either.

This week I've prepared a video that provides a bit of education for both motorists and cyclists on how to operate together using the current traffic grid. Shot from my bicycle during a quick ride for lunch from East Hollywood to Silver Lake - a distance of about 2 miles - the video shows a mix of vehicular cycling and bike lane riding, ending with a bit of an incident between myself and a motorist who creates a confusing and dangerous situation.

The video makes a strong case that the Sunset bike lanes are too narrow. In my opinion, staying in them at speeds greater than 15 mph along this fast corridor would be dangerous. Note my lane position in the video: I rarely enter the bike lane more than a foot or so. I keep close to the left line, frequently leaving the lane to avoid buses, UPS trucks, car doors and people. The faster I go the more right I have to move completely out of the bike lane and share the lanes with automobiles, and that is guaranteed by law.

I count about 7 or 8 potential situations in the video that could have gotten complicated, including an incident in which a driver unknowingly threatened me with a right hook. I pulled over to let him know why I was upset with him. It can be difficult to keep your cool when drivers put you in danger, but it's important not to let adrenalin get in the way of an opportunity to educate.

If it's not totally obvious what the driver did wrong at the 3:11 mark in this video, perhaps the charts below will explain. To make things clear, solid lines represent the present and past, and dotted lines represent the future.

In Diagram A, we see the actual path of myself and the driver. The driver speeds ahead of me and signals the intent to make a right, into either the next street or the car wash just ahead. I sense that the driver does see me, but without eye contact you can NEVER be sure. So I slow down and brace for a hard brake. This prompts the driver to become a bit impatient and begins to merge across the bike lane. Seeing this causes me to slow down even more. Finally, I go past the car and decide to talk with the driver to explain what just happened. I was going 20-25 mph just before the driver passed me and at that speed, getting squeezed is scary. I did my best to remain calm.

As shown in Diagram B, the driver should've simply slowed down and gotten into the right lane behind me (if the bike lane is clear), then turned right into his destination. It might seem nit picky, but this way I wouldn't feel threatened of the risk of a right hook.

In addition to lane position, there are five fundamental principles to riding that are exhibited in the video:

1. Cyclists need to stay out of the door zone. The door zone is 4-5 feet of distance from all parked cars. Cyclists need to avoid this even if it means leaving the bike lane completely.

2. Keep a consistent straight line even when passing large gaps between parked cars. I see cyclists weaving in and out of parked car spaces frequently, which is quite dangerous as drivers may not see you swerving out into the lane from behind a parked car. Being a consistent and therefore predictable presence in the lane is safer. Drivers may be impatient, but at least they know you are there.

3. Pass on the left. Most beginning cyclists think that their place is to always be on the right side of the road. In fact, when approaching intersections and slower vehicles, you must consider the driver's intentions. They may be slowing down to turn right into a driveway. They may not see you and you may get right hooked. In this case pass slower traffic on the left and proceed with caution.

4. Anticipate traffic. Time the lights. When I ride in traffic I always scan the road, side to side and near to far. I look ahead and gauge the light ahead. Stale green? Fresh red? Slow it down and arrive at the intersection on the green cautiously, scanning for late cross traffic and turners.

5. Act in a calm yet educational manner when confronting drivers. It took some trial and error, but eventually I got it into my thick skull that it's better to calm the fires than fan the flames. If a driver has a beef or visa versa, I really try to remain reasonable. I'm not perfect, but it seems like the best opportunity to connect with an angry motorist is to simply state your case in the most non-threatening manner possible. It's difficult when you are up against 4000 lbs of speeding steel, but it's the only way to get through to a hostile individual, by humanizing yourself.

While education is essential, it only goes so far. Drivers need to feel the weight of responsibility when they operate heavy machinery. I believe that special protection of vulnerable road users is needed to increase their safety. Many modern nations around the world have implemented strict liability laws to encourage careful driving and give strong protections for those who choose to use their own two feet to travel.

Ironically the law, as it's currently written in California, actually encourages callous behavior. Because the crime of drunk driving caries stiff penalties, drivers often run from the scene of a collision rather than face jail time, loss of license and expensive lawyer fees. Statistics show that nearly 33% of collisions are hit and run. Such cases rarely get prosecuted and drivers often get a slap on the wrist.

Next week I will explore a 3-part action plan that vulnerable L.A. road users are organizing to call attention to our plight. It will hopefully elevate the status of traffic crime in the eyes of enforcement and the judicial system, using laws that are in the books but often ignored in practice.

Roadblock is a native of Los Angeles, a graphic artist, musician, community activist... and a bicycle rider. He is one of the founders of Midnight Ridazz. One Ride at a Time is a column dedicated to bringing bike love to Angelenos everywhere.

More on One Ride at a Time:

Top: Photo by Flickr user ax2groin used under a Creative Commons license

How To: Date Night

2012-02-07T20:41:12Z

Welcome to How To. In this video series Kevin Van of both Providence and The Dining Society will guide us through simple, delicious at-home recipes. If you have a recipe request, let us know in the comments.

For this episode, instead of focusing in on one specific technique, I've compiled some of my favorite low-maintenance recipes worthy of date night. These are just some seductive small bites, meant to be eaten with your hands -- perfect for hand-feeding to special someones, or just sharing with friends. Count on these recipes for a simple showstopper that won't weigh you down. Just think of it as fuel for later on.

Oysters with Bacon Mignonette
Serves 2
6-12 small oysters (like kumomoto, kusshi, or beausoleil)
2 slices bacon
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 shallot, chopped very fine
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 lemon
a generous pinch of sea salt

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, render and crisp the slices of bacon (not too crispy). Move the bacon to a cutting board and save the fat from the pan. With a large knife, chop it up very fine.

Place the peppercorns on a cutting board, cover it with a clean dish towel, and smash it to bits using a large blunt object (like a sauce pan or rolling pin). Combine the bacon and peppercorn with the reserved fat, vinegar, shallots, salt, and the juice from the lemon.

TO SHUCK AN OYSTER:
First, wash the oysters in cold water to remove sand and sediment clinging to the shell. Use a dish towel to hold the clean oyster firmly in place on a countertop, with the bowl-shaped side facing down. With an oyster knife, find the hinge of the shell, and place the tip of the knife gently into the crevice. Using a moderate amount of pressure, roll the tip of the knife back and forth until the hinge loosens and the shell pops up slightly. Gently pry the top shell off, and using the knife to scrape the muscle that connects the two shells. Locate where the same muscle is connected to the bottom half of the shell, and scrape it to dislodge the oyster.

OR!

If you don't own an oyster knife, another way is to grill the oysters. Place the oysters directly on the grill grates over hot coals. After about a minute, you'll start to see the seawater start to bubble out of the shell. Give it an additional 30 seconds or so on the grill, then carefully -- CAREFULLY! -- take the oyster off the grill with a dish towel, lay it on a sturdy surface, and use an appropriate device (like a butter knife or small spoon) to pry the top shell off. If the shell doesn't come off easily, give it another 30 seconds on the grill. Scrape the muscle attached to the shell to loosen the oyster. Granted, this results in warm oysters, but luckily the mignonette sauce tastes just as good with warm oysters.

Serve by laying the oysters, chilled or grilled, out on a bowl filled with crushed ice or a mound of salt, to keep them in place. Spoon a tablespoon of the mignonette over each oyster.

Stuffed and Wrapped Dates
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup raw slivered almonds
3 sprigs rosemary
1 clove garlic
3 T extra virgin olive oil, plus more for frying
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 lb medjool dates
6 to 8 slices prosciutto
canola oil for searing

Peel, and with the palm of your hand, crush the clove of garlic. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the garlic, almonds, rosemary, and olive oil until the oil starts sizzling. Carefully watch for the almonds and garlic to take on color.

Once they begin turned brown, take the pan off the heat. Do not wait for the almonds and garlic to be completely brown, because even after you take the pan off the heat, they will continue to color. Let it cool down a bit, then put this and the ricotta cheese into a food processor. Grind until smooth and incorporated. Season this mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Using a pair of tweezers, pliers, or just your fingers, carefully remove the stem and pit of each date. Make a piping bag by spooning the ricotta mixture into a zip top bag, and with scissors, cut a hole at one of the bottom corners of the bag. Or you can just use a spoon. Pipe a teaspoon's worth of the ricotta mixture into the center of each date.

Cut the prosciutto into strips approximately the same width as the dates, and a length long enough to wrap around at least two times. Lay a single strip of prosciutto on a surface, then lay a stuffed date with the seam side down at the part of the prosciutto closest to you. Roll it up and lay it seam-side down on a tray.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add a few tablespoons worth of olive oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Once the oil has heated, but not burning hot, carefully start placing the wrapped dates into the pan, one at a time, seam-side down. Let the prosciutto crisp slightly before rotating the dates. Once the prosciutto is evenly colored and crisped on all sides, remove them from the pan using a spoon and onto a paper-lined plate. Let these cool slightly before serving.

Hibiscus and Honey Macerated Berries
2 pints strawberries
2 cups water
1/2 cup honey
1 cup dry hibiscus flowers (also called jamaica in Hispanic markets)
1 vanilla bean pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
additional honey if your berries aren't sweet enough

In a small sauce pot, heat the water to a vigorous boil. Take off the heat and add the additional ingredients, minus the berries, and let steep for 5 minutes. Stem, wash, and cut the berries to an appropriate size. Once the liquid has cooled to room temperature, ladle or pour the liquid over the berries just enough to cover (while holding back the hibiscus in the pot), and let it all macerate and soak, covered, in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to a day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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California Wine: Super Natural

2012-02-07T20:17:07Z

Working in the wine industry, I am exposed to salespeople using terms like organic, biodynamic, and occasionally, natural. "Organic" today holds about as much credibility as the term foodie: it is used ubiquitously and often as an afterthought to help sell a product.

"Biodynamic" holds a lot more credence despite wrongly being likened to witchcraft. And the term "natural" comes by only once and a while, and is both mysterious and rare in its application. At La Clarine farm, nestled in the Sierra Foothills, Caroline Hoel and Hank Beckmeyer see the winemaking process as a dance between the earth, the vines, the weather and the hand of man.

Here, the role of winemaker is to make smart choices about varietal selection, proceed to foot stomping the grapes, and then allow fermentation to start spontaneously. The wines ferment outside for as long as six months to a year. At La Clarine, they talk about the idea of terroir -- a combination of place, weather, and vine -- as a "quantum field" in which the winemaker is integrally involved, much like the idea that a scientist's very observation of an experiment unavoidably and necessarily changes the results.

The 2010 Piedi Grandi was created with this in mind and with the addition of yet another influence. After reading a book about avant garde musical legend John Cage, Hoel and Beckmeyer took the idea of randomness and applied it to the blending of this wine, literally flipping a coin to decide grape percentages. What came out of this game of chance is a wine that is almost beyond definition. A blend composed of Nebbiolo, Syrah, Mouvedre, Viognier and Rousanne leads to a wine full of wonder. On the nose you are gently handed a rose with slightly crushed and dried petals, coupled with hand-muddled cherries and spice.The first sip brings clean dense fruit with the texture of silk that finishes with a mouthwatering acidity.

This wine takes the idea of cross-dressing to a new level of elegance. Masculine and feminine notes perfectly intermingle in a way that is strong and sexy. Pair this brilliance in a bottle with anything that you want to make seem more magical. Its uniqueness cannot be limited to the glass. It will make any food taste better, any conversation more interesting and any evening more memorable.

La Clarine 2010 Piedi Grandi; retails about $20.

Los Angeles resident Michael Newsome, a wine buyer for Whole Foods and a Certified Italian Wine Specialist, joins us every Tuesday for an exploration of California wine. See his previous posts here.

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Woodrats: How the Desert's Smallest Librarians Contributed to Scientific Discovery

2012-02-07T20:04:37Z

When Philip Wells and Carl Jorgenson set out to hike on Aysees Peak in Nevada's Mojave Desert one day a half century ago, they didn't expect to find one of the most important libraries in the world. They especially didn't expect that the archivist would be one of the desert's most common rodents.

]]> Wells, a botanist, and Jorgenson, a mammalogist, were doing ecological survey work on land now part of the Nevada Test Site for the Atomic Energy Commission. On that day in 1961 the two had been looking for juniper trees on Aysees Peak, without success. The nearest wooded mountains were almost 20 miles away.

As the sun sank toward the west and the pair headed downhill, Jorgenson spotted an odd outcrop beneath a rock overhang. The "outcrop" was made up of a resinous substance like dirty amber or burnt peanut brittle. Jorgenson broke open a piece of the resin. Inside were juniper twigs, 30 kilometers from the nearest living juniper.

The pair sent samples to UCLA for Carbon-14 dating. The amberized twigs turned out to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 9,300 years old. The juniper twigs had been collected by desert woodrats, members of the species Neotoma lepida, somewhere around 7300 BC.

Desert woodrats are one of the most common mammals in the California desert. Their range extends from the southern tip of Baja California into the sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Idaho, and eastward across the Canyonlands District into westernmost Colorado as well. They're large for desert rats, nine to fifteen inches long at maturity including their tails, and weighing as much as a third of a pound. They eat succulent plants, which is where they get most of their water. Unlike their neighbors the kangaroo rats, desert woodrats aren't very good at extracting metabolic water from dry food.

Woodrats are popularly called "packrats," and with good reason. They're forever collecting little pieces of plant material, wood, brightly colored bits of stone, small bones, anything that strikes their visual fancy. They bring their baubles to their nests, referred to as "middens" for their trash-heap appearance. Much of what they gather they eat: the rest they incorporate into the midden's architecture.

Packrat middens serve a few important purposes. Of most immediate importance to the packrat is armor: most packrat middens in the desert have a lot of cholla and other cactus parts added to them and serve as a formidable deterrent to hungry coyotes or others intent on eating a packrat for lunch. A good-sized midden, with its interior passageways and chambers, also offers climate control to the packrat. The temperature inside will be cooler than the surrounding desert, and a chamber inside a large midden may be significantly more humid, reducing the rat's water loss.

Packrats build their middens wherever nature can give them a headstart: in the center of yucca clumps or cholla patches, under fallen Joshua tree trunks, or in rock shelters or caves. Once built a midden can last for centuries, with successive generations moving in once the previous tenant dies in much the same way that rent controlled apartments in Manhattan pass down from one tenant to the next. Each occupant spends much of its time adding new material to the midden -- stray cholla stems, 50-year-old beer can pull tabs, the car keys of unwary campers.

Being rats, desert woodrats excrete a lot. The center and lower parts of packrat middens essentially consist of tidbits brought in from the surrounding desert mixed liberally with rat feces excreted at the rat's indoor leisure. And since woodrats aren't quite as water-efficient as other desert rodents, all of the detritus beneath the floor of each chamber in the midden becomes saturated with copious amounts of urine.

Packrat kidneys are reasonably efficient at separating waste salts from liquid, which means that packrat pee is rather concentrated. As the salts build up in the layers of plant and other material in the midden, the whole mass congeals into a resinous, sort of ambery substance which preserved the perishable material inside. If the midden is out in the open, each really good rain will dissolve some of the accumulated salt and flush it away. But where desert woodrats have built their middens beneath rock overhangs and in caves, where no rain can reach, the pile just lasts. And lasts.

On their way to getting stuck in Death Valley in 1849, the ill-fated (but ultimately quite lucky) Manly Party stopped near Papoose Dry Lake, only about 30 miles from where Wells and Jorgenson made their discovery. Hungry and desperate for food, the pioneers found interesting niches in a high cliff. William Manly later wrote in his memoirs that in this canyon,

"...we found balls of a glistening substance looking like pieces of variegated candy stuck together ... it was evidently food of some sort, and we found it sweet but sickish, and those who were hungry...making a good meal of it, were a little troubled with nausea afterwards."

Probably not nearly as much nausea as they'd have felt had they known they'd been eating centuries' worth of rat leavings.

Fortunately, 112 years later, Wells and Jorgenson -- who had presumably brought a better lunch anyway -- recognized their own packrat midden for what it was. Over the next few seasons they examined another eight middens, found material in them dating from 7000-12000 years old, and in 1964 published an epochal paper in Science that changed the face of Pleistocene paleontology.

Since then, thousands of packrat middens across the southwest have been examined, a process that involves tedious washing of urine-embalmed solids, most of which are ancient fecal pellets, and then examining any plant material and the occasional bone fragment to identify their origin, usually under a microscope. Middens have been dated at anywhere from 5,000 to 40,000 years old, with some very likely even older but beyond the reach of accurate carbon dating.

So there's some very old stuff at the bottom of ancient packrat litterboxes. Why go to all the trouble and distasteful labor involved in cataloguing it? Here's why: Everything in a packrat midden was collected and put there by a resident packrat. Packrats don't travel widely: generally, they don't move more than about 100 feet from their midden, often less than that.

Which means that if you have a layer in a packrat midden that has been dated at 15,000 years old, every piece of plant material in that layer almost certainly came from a plant that grew within a 100-foot radius of the midden, barring the occasional wind-driven leaf. And as packrats are rather catholic in their gathering habits, each layer can provide a reasonably complete inventory of what grew in the neighborhood at the time.

In other words, Wells and Jorgenson knew that the packrat responsible for the midden they found heading down Aysees Peak hadn't trekked over from the wooded mountains 20 miles away to bring those juniper twigs to the midden. The fact that juniper twigs were in the midden meant that junipers had once grown right there, within a stone's throw of where they stood.

With each midden surveyed, paleontologists get another chunk of extremely detailed data on the ecological history of the surrounding fifth of an acre. Before 1961, paleontologists studying the last 40,000 years were limited to the record offered by fossils preserved under unusual circumstances, leading to an image of the past that was more gap than puzzle piece. Even the wonderfully complete picture offered by the deposits at the La Brea Tar Pits only really described the conditions in the Pleistocene Miracle Mile district.

But with the advent of packrat midden science, an astonishingly detailed and diverse record emerged, materials deliberately collected and preserved in "amber," across a wide swath of the arid southwest. Paleontologists were able not just to speculate at general conditions 15,000 years ago in the Southwest, but to state with authority that forests disappeared from this mountain 5,000 years before they disappeared from that one over there. They could chart changes and cycles in the vegetative communities, and the animals that lived in them, with an astonishing degree of precision over the last 40,000 years.

A major advance in human knowledge that took place that day in 1961, and we owe it all to thousands of generations of desert librarians no more than 15 inches long. Including the tail.

Neighborhood Notes: L.A. County is the Most Linguistically Diverse Jurisdiction & More

2012-02-07T19:00:15Z

News and stories on the shifting culture of our neighborhoods:

L.A. County is now the most linguistically diverse jurisdiction in the nation - Multi-American
Michelle Obama designates Historic Filipinotown as a Preserve America Community - Asian Journal
Revitalization of the Tujunga Wash continues - L.A. Daily News
Occupy L.A. protesters want their mural back - L.A. Times
Counciman Rosendahl and City Planner Tanner Blackman with an update on city mural ordinance (video) - Yo Venice!
Tonight: Shepard Fairey and Saber to discuss city mural ordinance - L.A. Weekly

Departures is KCET's oral history and interactive documentary project exploring neighborhoods through voices in the community, touching on topics including immigration, race, gentrification, urban planning and environmental issues. The Great Wall of Los Angeles is the latest installment in the series.

Top: Koreatown Signs photo by Flickr user turbowombat used under a Creative Commons License

Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Appeals Court

2012-02-07T18:09:55Z

A rainbow flag outside San Francisco City Hall | Photo: Jamison Wieser/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Proposition 8, the successful 2008 voter initiative that banned gay marriage in California, has been struck down by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the court announced this morning. "Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California," the court said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

]]> "Historic!" exclaimed a text alert from the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is representing plaintiffs in the case. "Anti-marriage forces will fight," the message continued, warning of an appeal from ProtectMarriage, the group that sponsored Prop 8.

The gay marriage ban was struck down by a federal district court in 2010, but a stay on the ruling was issued, pending the decision of a higher court. The same is likely to happen again.

"The losing party can appeal the ruling to a larger panel of the 9th Circuit, which would delay U.S. Supreme Court review for many months or longer, or go directly to the high court," explained the Los Angeles Times before today's decision was announced. "The sponsors of Proposition 8, ProtectMarriage, have said they were eager to get to the high court as soon as possible."

A number of rallies and events are planned for later today.

Bob Hope Airport Introduces New Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Vehicle

2012-02-07T17:05:17Z

Bob Hope Airport is slowly rolling out new aircraft rescue and firefighting trucks, starting with the first US Class 4 Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle (ARFF) in the country. Rosenbauer America, the same company whose Panther 6x6 Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting vehicle was featured as the character Sentinel Prime in "Transformers 3," designed the new truck.

The vehicle is superior to previous models - using a careful mixture of compressed air, foam solution and water to generate a firefighting agent that uses less water.

]]> "At an airport we don't have a lot of above ground water supplies because we have restrictions on side hydrants," said fire Capt. Marcus Domingo. "We need to be able to conserve as much firefighting agent as we can."

The truck carries 1500 gallons of water, 200 gallons of foam, and 500 pounds of halotron, a clean firefighting agent that doesn't leave a residue or pollute the environment. The truck can also travel 75 mph and reach 50 mph in 35 seconds, allowing it to respond to the furthest portion of the airfield from the airport fire department for an emergency landing in less than three minutes.

"When we have a fire outside of the aircraft we have less than two minutes before fire will burn through the aircraft," said Domingo.

Aircraft accidents, especially those involving commercial airliners, are rare. The last major incident at Bob Hope Airport was on March 5, 2000 when a Southwest flight went through a fence during a landing and stopped on a street across from a gas station. A result of the incident, the airport installed an Engineered Materials Arrestor System (EMAS) on the runway to slow down a plane that is landing too fast.

"It's an engineering material where it allows the aircraft to crash gracefully, if you will, and its designed to slow it down," said Domingo.

Also as a result of that incident the gas station across the street from where the Southwest flight landed was demolished due to safety concerns. It is now a green space.

These preventative and precautionary measures, Domingo explained, have made the airport even safer. "The airport is very good about protecting its passengers," he said. "We were fortunate enough that when we bought the ARFF vehicle the airport commission felt strongly about the new technologies and ended up adding them to the vehicle."

Many of the technologies on the new truck, such as compressed air foam that delivers a fire retardant agent, are extra features the airport commission paid for but are not Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements.

Firefighting efforts at airports, moreover, do not stop with aircraft accidents.

"This truck isn't just set up [only] for aircrafts. We use it for structures, we use it for any type of fire, any type of rescue process we may have," said Domingo. "We had a small little vegetation fire over the weekend - this is our fire truck."

Foam or water can be pumped at varied pressures through extended hose lines onto structures, cars and planes alike in the event of an emergency. Moreover, a single driver can operate controls from the ergonomically designed cab, allowing firefighters to respond quickly.

In recent years Bob Hope Airport has been a step ahead of FAA guidelines, working to anticipate and exceed safety requirements.

"Anything after 20 years old is not approved by the FAA," said fire Chief John Scanlon. The airport's fire department is slowly rotating older trucks out, with the next vehicle expected to be replaced roughly a year from now. Scanlon added that the department is slowly phasing older vehicles out as each truck costs between $650,000 to $670,000. Rotating older vehicles allows the department to avoid overspending in a given year.

The new truck has a lifespan of about 15 years.

Petition to Recall Fullerton Council Members Qualifies for Ballot

2012-02-07T02:25:50Z

Three Fullerton officials will face a recall vote after residents collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Council Members Dr. F. Dick Jones, Don Bankhead and Pat McKinley "are accused of not speaking out about" the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man who died after a confrontation with city police last July.

]]> The date of the recall election will be set by the City Council. "The California Election Code allows the city to hold this special election in consolidation with the June 5 presidential primary," said Fullerton City Clerk Lucinda Williams. "If the council decides to hold a stand alone special election the cost will be between $269,000 and $301,000. If they choose to consolidate with the June primary then the cost will be between $129,000 and 160,000." Nearly $10,000 has already been spent validating signatures on the petition.

Thomas' death brought national attention to the Orange County city and led to criminal charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, against two officers. The police department's chief announced his retirement last week.

Reason.TV covered the incident in context of "the new media," which played a role in the incident:

Three California Forests Selected for New National Program

2012-02-07T00:55:28Z

Nancy Upham imagines a group of Sierra Club hikers meeting with folks from the California Cattleman's Association to discuss the issue of grazing in the National Forest. Maybe there are fights, maybe not, but everything gets discussed out in the open.

"Then we watch," Upham, a Public Affairs Officer for Inyo National Forest, said. From there, the Forest Service knows how to build their policies.

This is the collaborative model behind the U.S. Forest Service's "Preferred Alternative" (PA) for the future of land management planning within the country's forest system. The plan will dictate how individual forests manage things like hiking, hunting, road construction and mining.

]]> The whole idea is to air the dirty laundry before litigation happens, in order to cut time and costs by as much as four years and four million dollars, as compared to the 1982 procedures, according to the USFS.

"Given that most plans are immediately litigated, and that the courts move at a glacial speed, the hope is that by front-loading the conversations, many of the contentious issues can be worked out in advance," said Char Miller, Director of the Environmental Analysis Program at Pomona College.

However, he remained slightly skeptical. "That's the hope. The reality? We'll have to watch this play out in the coming months - because if the concept of PA is itself litigated - and I bet it will be - then all bets may be off."

The Inyo, Sequoia and Sierra - only a few hours away from Los Angeles - are three of eight national forests selected to implement the new planning rule. The others include the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest in Idaho, the Chugach National Forest in Alaska, the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico, El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico.

These forests were selected based on the strong need for plan revision, the benefit of the model to the area and pre-existing collaborative networks.

Upham said Inyo's most pressing need was updating an outdated policy. "The Inyo National Forest right now is operating off the of the forest plan in 1988. That's a long time ago!" she laughed. Most Southern California forests work off of a much more recent plans.

Aside from the collaborative aspect of management, the PA incorporates modern science. "It has a focus on science that the [earlier] plan did not," Upham said.

According to USFS website, this includes the ability to respond to climate change.

The planning rule was submitted to the Federal Register last week, and will likely be finalized in March. "Early adopter forest could plunge into this as early as April," she said.

Since they are so close to each other some issues will be dealt with at a bio-regional level, and other issues, such as recreation, will be dealt with by each forest, Upham explained.

"There are 14 million acres of national forest at risk of fire in California, so this new approach to forest planning is vital," said Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California). "I am encouraged that a new planning rule will build on existing efforts like the one in the Sierra National Forest that bring together scientists, timber harvesters and environmental groups to reduce hazardous fuels. We need more of that type of cooperation to reduce fire risks and prevent harm to people and property."

So what exactly is everyone haggling over that these "collaborative" dialogues are so needed?

No surprises: Protection versus job creation. For special interest groups, it's about controlling the battle.

"National environmental organizations are wary of ceding too much authority to local entities, fearing that corporate cutters will be able to launch heavier logging operations with less oversight," Miller, of Pomona College said.

It is also an issue of state versus federal control. Environmental organizations feel that more local control means a gradual shift of power to the state level. This worry dates all the way back to Gifford Pinchot, President Theodore Roosevelt's advisor in conservation matters, who became head of the U.S. Division of Forestry in 1898, and has been perennially debated since.

For conservatives, that shift to state control is a good thing. "The Right does not think [the Preferred Alternative] goes far enough, demanding that the states simply take over these lands - appropriate them," said Miller.

Only a few weeks ago, Colorado Representative Jerry Sonnenberg announced support of a bill that would take the control of a majority of Colorado's Public Lands away from the government.

However, when coming back to the local level, it's difficult to find any objection to people having their voice's heard.

"Local folks, who have been hammering one another for thirty years or more, see this a chance to renegotiate the terms of the longstanding tension between environmental protections and job creation - and are generally pleased that the Forest Service (long a target of their collective, if differing, enmities) has opened up the process as much as it has," Miller theorized.

"It's kind of exciting," Upham agreed enthusiastically. "The only obstacle people have is time. If you truly want to participate in something like this, you have to read documents, get yourself up to speed. We all lead very busy lives."

If you are up to the challenge, a new federal advisory committee will provide another opportunity to collaborate in National Forest System land management planning. Interested members of the public are encouraged to seek nomination. The call for nominations was published in the Federal Register on January 5, 2012 and will close on February 21, 2012.

Help Create a Venice Mixtape for a Chance to Win

2012-02-07T00:30:00Z

Venice, a bustling community of eccentrics and outcasts, has inspired generations of architects, artists and beat poets. With the success of the popular Highland Park Mixtape Contest, we now move westward as we begin the Venice Mixtape Contest.

Send us the name of a song (with URL from YouTube, if it exists) that reminds you of Venice, or even better, an original song. Include at least a 1-2 sentence explanation for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to Amoeba Music.

At the end of the contest, the final mixtape tracklisting will be presented on this site, and the grand-prize winner will be announced. Deadline: February 20, 2012

To enter, submit via email to departures@kcet.org, as a comment on our Facebook page, or through Twitter including hashtag #VeniceMixtape with your explanation. We've started the playlist below with a few tracks to give you some ideas. These songs either allude to experiences in Venice, or feature artists native to the area, i.e. The Doors and Dilated Peoples' Evidence--both featured in the videobox below.

Submissions

The Doors' "L.A. Woman" submitted by Departures & Grant Keller
Ted Hawkins' "Blowing in the Wind" submitted by Departures
Evidence (feat. Aloe Blacc) "The Liner Notes" submitted by Departures
Tim Buckely's "Venice Beach" submitted by Yo! Venice
Zuma Dogg's "Breakin' The Law On The Boardwalk" original song submitted by Zuma Dogg
The Doors' "Moonlight Drive" submitted by Paul Rich
Quebb's "The Unknown Show" submitted by Mikel Farber

(Click here for direct playlist page to see list of submissions)

For those who want to learn more about Venice, check out our Departures: Venice series featuring video interviews, historical photography, and maps narrating the cultural history of this iconic beachfront town. Below are quotes from some of the featured Venice characters to help inspire your song submission(s):

Live from the Venice Boardwalk
Take a beat from the 1950s
My life, my life, my life, my life in the sunshine
They're always glad you came, where everybody knows your name...

Contest Rules & Guidelines:

Submissions must adhere to KCET.org's Terms of Use. No excess cussing, verbal abuse, settling of old neighborhood scores, etc.
All submissions must include a 1-2 sentence explanation for their entry.
If you are submitting an original song, please use supported Youtube formats, including AVI, MPEG4, MOV, FLV, WebM, and WMV files.
Non-original submissions must include artist name, proper song title, and album.
KCET employees are not eligible, nor are members of their families.
If you have questions about this contest, leave them in the comments field below.

Make sure to share this contest page with your friends and come back to find out which tracks made the cut. Best of luck!

Music + Image: Music Videos (and More) From the '80s

2012-02-07T00:05:22Z

The 1980s saw an explosion of fantastic video art as artists explored the possibilities of television as a form. Funding was abundant, shows celebrating new work were prevalent and there was a flurry of excitement around new short-form work. Many of the best experiments were music videos, with artists as varied as Laurie Anderson, Zbigniew Rybczyński and Dara Birnbaum creating innovative pieces that eschewed a focus on bands in action, preferring an emphasis on concepts, graphics, and visual innovation.

]]> REDCAT will highlight these early experiments on Tuesday, February 7 at 8:30 p.m. in a show titled Music + Image, curated by L.A.-based artist Nancy Buchanan and presented in conjunction with Exchange and Evolution: Worldwide Video Long Beach, 1974-1999 at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

The show includes Anderson's wonderful O Superman, featuring the artist in a deceptively simple video that mixes performance and simple graphics to underscore the mechanization of the body alluded to in the lyrics, and to deliver an iconic language of the near future. Anderson managed to bridge the art world and pop culture with the song, which was a huge hit in 1981, and the video helped build her audience.

Cecilia Condit's Possibly in Michigan is less a music video and more a feminist genre-bending short that opens in a mall where two women are menaced by a man in a creepy mask. Riffing on soap operas and fairy tales, the video is by turns macabre and hilarious, a subversive take on classic - and highly gendered - archetypes.

With Wonder Woman, Dara Birnbaum might have inaugurated the critical remix as she appropriates footage of the dazzling TV heroine and repeats it for scrutiny. The technique is provocative, slowing the flow of TV to accommodate reflection, and creating a hybrid essay video that makes its argument purely through images and repetition.

Zbigniew Rybczynski's Imagine accompanies the song by John Lennon and features a long line of connected rooms which move two key characters through several stages of their lives. The lovely video showcases Rybczynski's fascination with structure and, again, is deceptively simple but conceptually brilliant.

Once in a Lifetime, also from 1981, features David Byrne and the famous Talking Heads track, with the singer, dressed in his characteristic black suit, moving jaggedly to the beat. His image is multiplied against a white background to create a powerful graphic sequence that captures the band's general gestalt.

Overall, this terrific show includes 14 videos from the late 1970s and 1980s, each an experiment with a different technique designed to push the boundaries of art video. Buchanan will attend in person, along with artists Max Almy, Toni Basil and Carole Ann Klonarides.

To Boldly Go, Or Not: Newt Gingrich and his Quest to Outer Space

2012-02-06T22:00:00Z

| Photo: James Vaughan /Flickr/Creative Commons License

Newt Gingrich dragged the moon and Mars into the presidential contest the other day, mostly to guffaws from comedy pundits and disparaging comments from Mitt Romney, who is sure that Tranquility Base won't be holding a nominating caucus any time soon. Newt didn't seem to mind the razzing or that he had misjudged the meanness of the cranky Republicans he hopes to lead.

Newt thinks space exploration is a grand idea, and Newt embraces his grand ideas with the big love that California's own Bob Hertzberg bear hugs his. Once, a lot of us embraced the "high frontier" of space the same way. I certainly did.

]]> A spate of reading science fiction from the outer edges of the pulp magazine universe has reminded me of what I longed for and feared in yesterday's tomorrows. Setting aside the bug-eyed monsters of my childhood and the babes in distress (and in skimpy space suits) of my adolescence, the bigger reasons for being out there - on the moon, on Mars - were explored in detail in hundreds of stories written by dozens of poorly paid dreamers in the 1940s and 1950s.

You can hear a tinny echo of some of those reasons in Newt's pronouncement that he should be the president who will colonize the moon for America. But the pulpiest of writers were far more nuanced about the meaning of space, even if they wanted the same thing that Newt does.

Out there, the pulp writers said, were answers to the oppressive Cold War, the vacuity of modern life, the wasting of Earth's natural resources and the all too real temptation to despair. But out there, too, were new forms of economic and ethnic segregation, new ways to suffer and new obsessions to steal the soul. There might be Space Brothers out there to lead us into a cosmic utopia, but they might also be slick salesmen of the moral scams Terrans fall for so easily. New worlds could make everyone rich or make everyone a corporate cog. Space would ennoble us. Or space would crush us without thinking. Or space would make us into something we never imagined or wanted.

There is much that is laughable in yesterday's tomorrows: "psionics," telepathy, green-skinned princesses in see-through negligees. There is some to be frightened of: emptiness, silence, estrangement and infinite horizons. And there are questions that probe at what it means to be human and - I hope - answers still useful today, including our reaching the "high frontier" of space.

Man in space isn't the national aspiration it once was, when I was a boy. It may just be more Newtonian bloviation. And it may only be something from yesterday and not for tomorrow.

[Note: The NASA photo in today's post, titled "X-15 test pilots in a lighter mood," was taken in 1966.]

D. J. Waldie, author, historian, and as the New York Times said in 2007, "a gorgeous distiller of architectural and social history," writes about Los Angeles on KCET's SoCal Focus blog.

Where's Huell? (Feb. 6 - Feb. 12)

2012-02-06T21:52:06Z

This week, Huell participates in an L.A. Air Raid event, he visits an avocado processing plant and much more. Scroll down for a complete list of this week's Huell adventures!:

Monday - Feb. 6, 7:30pm: Masonic Cave - Huell's off to Amador county and the town of Volcano. It was once a thriving, gold mining town in the 1850s and 1860s, but Huell has set off to discover the mysterious cave in this mountain community which served as a Masonic lodge.

]]> Tuesday - Feb. 7, 7:30pm: L.A. Air Raid - Huell visits the Fort MacArthur Museum in San Pedro to relive the Great Los Angeles Air Raid of February 1942.
Check out this video of the L.A. Air Raid event in 2010.

Wednesday - Feb. 8, 7:30pm: Avocados - From past to present the avocado has been an important part of Southern California life. Join Huell as he visits today's avocado industry in and around Fallbrook, CA, and takes us on a tour back through local avocado history. So, whip up a dish of guacamole, sit back and enjoy this tasty adventure.
Check out this short video about Avocado processing in Fallbrook, CA:

Thursday - Feb. 9, 7:30pm: Warnor's Theatre - The Warnor's Theatre, a Fresno landmark that opened in 1928, houses a pipe organ that is the only one of its kind in the world still performing inside its original theatre. After years of neglect, The future of the theatre was in jeopardy until Frank Caglia bought it in 1973 and returned it to its former luster. Huell hears the Caglia's family story, which intersects with the story of the Warnors Theatre at its opening and is as much a jewel as the theatre itself .
Check out this video of Def Leppard at Warnor's Theatre in 1980!

Friday - Feb. 10, 7:30pm: Elephant Update - In what has become a classic, Huell returns to the San Diego Wild Animal Park to say hello to Nita, the retired elephant.
Check out this short video of the San Diego Wild Animal Park:

Sunday - Feb. 12, 7:30pm: L.A. River Special - The Los Angeles River is often thought of as a huge concrete eyesore. Not anymore, at least not after you join Huell for this special 1 hour adventure where Huell literally travels down the miles of river bed stopping along the way to talk to some of the many people working hard to bring our river back to its natural state. He'll see the animals that call the river home, he'll learn about the many 'pocket parks' which connect the community back to the river allowing local families to relax and enjoy the view, and he'll get the scoop on what local government is doing on, in, under, and around the river to make clean and green.
Watch the Departures River Ramble video!
video platform video management video solutions video player

Republicans: No Need for Tax Increases with Facebook's IPO

2012-02-06T19:21:26Z

Photo: afagen/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Goodbye, budget deficits; hello, surplus funds? I could "like" that.

Last week Facebook filed its Initial Public Offering (IPO). In less time than it takes me to "like," comment, post or share, some claimed that California's budget problems were about to be solved (or at least eased).

An initial question: How could a private company's decision to file an IPO save the state? For starters, when future stock owners sell their shares (presumably at a profit) they will pay taxes on their gains.

]]> Some Republican legislators have said that this future boon to the state's coffers means that Governor Jerry Brown's proposed tax initiatives are not needed. Brown, who proposed his budget before Facebook filed its IPO, said that if voters do not approve his tax proposals he would be forced to cut spending from public schools.

According to a statement by Assemblywoman Connie Conway (R) and Senator Bob Huff (R), Republicans would use the "Facebook revenues" for one-time purposes. By contrast, Brown's tax proposal would include a longer-term five-year tax increase to be used in the continuing funding of state programs.

Republicans have also said that the future "Facebook revenues" (which will come in courtesy of state taxes) demonstrate that taxes should be (or remain) low in order to allow businesses like Facebook to flourish.

Democrats have suggested holding off on any additional spending cuts until we all determine the size of the Facebook revenues.

If Facebook's IPO has done anything for Sacramento in the short term, it is give legislators and lobbyists something (more) to argue about. Where is the Facebook button for "not a shocker"?

We don't know how much revenue Facebook will bring to the state, or when it will come. We do know it will not be enough to cure all that ails California. So roll up your sleeves, legislators, it's time to give us something good to post about.

Jessica Levinson writes about the intersection of law and government every Monday. She is a Visiting Professor at Loyola Law School. Read more of her posts here.

Laws That Shaped L.A.: How the California Environmental Quality Act Allows Anyone to Thwart Development

2012-02-06T19:00:39Z

Launched last month and posted every Monday (see archives), the Laws That Shaped L.A. spotlights regulations that have played a significant role in the development of contemporary Los Angeles. These laws - as nominated by a variety of experts we've been polling - are considered to have been either beneficial to the city or malevolent. The laws may be civil or criminal, and they may have been put into practice by city, county, state, federal or even international authority.

This Week's Law That Shaped L.A. 
Law: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Year: 1970
Jurisdiction: State of California
Nominated by: Kevin Klowden

Remember that classic hip-hop proverb, "Don't hate the playa, hate the game"?

Well, an ill-worded (not ill-worded, alas) corollary to that wisdom once dropped by Ice-T came to mind during a recent phone conversation with the Milken Institute's Kevin Klowden.

Let's call the corollary, "Don't hate the law, hate the effect." Or, "Don't hate the law, hate the implementation." Or, "Don't hate the law, hate obstructionist opportunists with zero eco interest who exploit it."

Klowden, who is the Milken Institute's Managing Economist and Director, California Center, passed along a handful of nominations for Laws That Shaped L.A., and we'll read more from him later this year.

But perhaps the most immediately topical of Klowden's "Laws" nominations is the California Environmental Quality Act. This well-known state regulation, known by its four-letter acronym, "CEQA," - and yeah, there are four letters in both "love" and "hate" - was signed into existence in 1970 by then-Governor Ronald Reagan.

CEQA, as described by the California Natural Resources Agency website, "is a statute that requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible."

The landmark law also deputizes all Californians to assist with enforcement. "CEQA is a self-executing statute," the website text reads. "Public agencies are entrusted with compliance with CEQA and its provisions are enforced, as necessary, by the public through litigation and the threat thereof."

]]> The four decades since CEQA's passage have coincided with** significant environmental improvements in the Golden State and beyond. That's thanks in part to development and infrastructure projects undertaken and improved due to CEQA as well as to potentially eco-harmful projects denied permission to proceed. That doesn't, however, mean CEQA is universally considered to be ideal legislation.

"There are a lot of really wonderful things about [CEQA] in terms of environmental protection," Milken's Klowden says. "But it has become in many ways emblematic of just how hostile the L.A. region and the state as a whole feel."

Klowden is articulating what are not necessarily his personal views, but rather the complaints he says he regularly hears from the business and political leaders he speaks with.

"One thing that keeps coming up with CEQA is the fact that it essentially allows anybody to use a proxy," Klowden says. "Somebody who might be vaguely affected by a development can file a lawsuit trying to block it, saying it is going to have a negative environmental impact or some sort of negative impact on them or their neighborhood or business."

The end result, Klowden says, is "there is never any real mechanism in place for mitigating those lawsuits." And so, the think tank executive says, even when developers want to improve a brownfield, they run into "all sorts of hurdles."

"It's not even an issue where people feel like the State or the City is out to get anybody," Klowden says, "It's just that it's so easy for a competitor or for somebody with some sort of rival interest to file that lawsuit and create delays and try and discourage the development and get more favorable terms or get bought off."

These and related issues are also evident in recent writings such as this L.A. Times editorial, this Downtown News op-ed by planner Joel Miller, and this The Source (Metro) post about expedited environmental review proposal, AB 1444, written by former L.A. Times writer, Steve Hymon. Curbed LA's ace editor, James Brasuell, wryly wrote of a developer comparing CEQA to terrorists and spotlighted this. And KCET colleague D.J. Waldie wrote about NIMBYists abusing the CEQA, as well as, "Will Anyone Defend CEQA?" and won't likely be pleased with or surprised by what Kevin Klowden reports hearing.

CEQA has been particularly prominent in the news of late thanks to a pair of exemptions proffered to a pair of wealth and well-connected enterprises each seeking to build a new football stadium.

The Anschultz Entertainment Group (AEG) received a state legislature-granted CEQA expedite. Whatever a reader may think of AEG, it was hard to argue that if their similarly well-connected stadium competitor, Majestic Realty, hadn't previously received a CEQA "free pass," then AEG's competing downtown proposal shouldn't have received one as well.

Pending NFL relocations and expansions aside, how has CEQA physically shaped the city? It's hard to prove a negative. What would Los Angeles and neighboring areas look and live like without CEQA? The 710 Freeway would have gone through South Pasadena. "Swaths of the Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert and coastline" would not have been preserved, according to an L.A. Times story last fall.

Just because a law is well-intentioned doesn't mean it's well-written. Or that after forty-plus years in existence, smart opponents and opportunists haven't figured out ways to game the law for use beyond its original environmentally-conscious intent.

"When I was growing up we used to have smog alerts all the time," Klowden says, praising green laws in general. "You don't hear about massive Stage 1 and Stage 2 smog alerts in L.A. anymore. That's great, but that's not what CEQA is. It's a completely different issue."

** Along, of course, with many other factors including other legislation such as the 1970 federal Clean Air Act, which this column will examine in coming weeks.

To suggest a Law That Shaped LA, or to suggest someone else to ask for their key law or laws, please leave a comment below, respond via Departures Facebook page and Twitter feed, or email editor Jeremy Rosenberg at arrivalstory [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Departures References:

Departures: Chinatown -- Robert Garcia -- green justice
KCET SoCal Voices -- Think Tank LA archives, including posts on Milken Institute
KCET UpDaily -- D.J. Waldie on "Will Anyone Defend CEQA?"

Top photo: Construction of AEG's Staples Center, 1999. Photo by Gary Leonard, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.

The Best Bagels and Lox in Los Angeles

2012-02-06T18:55:21Z

L.A. gets no respect as a bagel town. New York transplants grouse that the water doesn't have the right blend of minerals, and Montreal expats lament the dearth of wood-fired ovens. Luckily for hungry Angelenos, there are in truth plenty of places in the Southland to grab all sorts of bagels, lox and related dishes -- just in time for February 9, National Bagels and Lox Day.

Here are a few examples. Don't forget to tell us your favorite places to get your bagel-and-lox fix in the comments.
A bagel and lox plate at Home. Photo by Ismail Elshareef.
Bagel with lox at Canter's Deli. Photo by Flickr user mjkmjk, used under a Creative Commons license.An open-faced bagel sandwich with lox, onion and tomatoes at Langer's Deli. Photo by KCET.
Making bagels at Jack's Bistro & Famous Bagels. Photo © Jack's Bistro & Famous Bagels.
Bagel and lox plate from Bottega Louie. Photo by Flickr user kayone, used under a Creative Commons license.Assorted bagels at Brooklyn Bagel. Photo by KCET.
A lox plate with bagel at Urth Caffe. Photo courtesy of Culinary Fool.Bagel with lox and capers from Le Petit Jardin. Photo courtesy of Flickr user vidalia_11.
Smoked salmon on dark rye from Chado Tea Room. Photo courtesy of Flickr user evilmidori.
A lox breakfast dish with toast at Ktchn 105. Photo courtesy of eye of the kat.
Carb-free bonus: smoked-salmon sashimi at Kabuki. Photo courtesy of Cathy Chaplin.