Friday, October 28, 2011

• Young Literati 4th Annual Toastbenefit for the Los Angeles Public Library hosted by Shepard Fairey and featuring the talents of Russell Brand, Demetri Martin, Henry Rollins at Richard J. Riordan Central Library, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. 8 PM
• Zombie Prom starts at 9 PM in the historic Linda Vista Hospital , formerly Sante Fe Railroad Hospital, 610 S. St Louis St, Downtown, continues Sunday.
• Peace Over Violence honors Los Angeles Police Chief at its 40th Annual Humanitarian Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel. 6 PM.
• Urban Land Institute hosts Night at the Square on 10/27 from 6-8 PM
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles throw the The Big Bash! fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
• Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) presents "BELGIUM à la carte" at the Hancock Park residence of the Consul General of Belgium 7PM

• ¡Vivan Los Muertos! at The Autry in Griffith Park, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462. 3-9 PM
• Janet Fitch reads at the Hedgebrook LA Alumn Garden Party at the historic Stendahl Galleries in Hollywood Outpost Estates, benefiting Hedgebrook Women's Writer Colony in the Puget Sound.
• First annual Automotive Authors Book Signing featuring Matt Stone, Steve Lehto, & Phil Noyes at Petersen Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Miracle Mile. 2-5 PM
• Night & the City Lit Bar Crawl with PENUSA. 7 PM h/t Rina Rubinstein's Culture Alert newsletter: CultureAlert@hotmail.com
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center hosts the Women's Guild Annual Gala at the Kodak Theatre.
• Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles hosts Girltopia: The World of Girl Live at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Run for cover from the Girlzillas running amok Downtown at the sold out event.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

• First annual sCare Foundation honors Jamie Lee Curtis with its 2011 Humanitarian Award at its Halloween Party in the Conga Room at LA Live. 6:30 PM
• Center Theatre Group fundraiser "Angels' Night 2011" at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills
• "Criminal Minds" cutie Kirsten Vangsness performs "Mess" at Theatre of Note at 7 PM and 9 PM.

• Jamie Lee Curtis hosts the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation's Dream Halloween, which starts at 5 PM in Barker Hangar, Santa Monica.

• Jason Segal and Kermit the Frog emcee the Fulfillment Fund's Stars Benefit honoring Walt Disney Studios chairman Richard Ross and Madeleine and Tom Sherak at the Beverly Hilton. 6:30 PM start.
• Sam Benjamin discusses and signs American Gangbang: A Love Story at Book Soup at 7 PM
• An Evening with Judy Collins at the Grammy Museum. 8 PM

• La Muerte Vive reanimates at the Historic Million Dollar Theater in Los Angeles, CA
• "Modern Art in Los Angeles: An Evening with De Wain Valentine" lecture at Harold M. Williams Auditorium, The Getty Center. 7 PM
• Cancer Support Community-Benjamin Center honors Abby Brown and Barbra Night at its annual luncheon at the Skirball Cultural Center.10:30 AM.
• Sandra Spanier discusses and signs The Letters of Ernest Hemingway: Volume 1, 1907-1922 at Vromans Pasadena at 7 PM
• Margaret Wertheim curates The Marine Sublime, her first event as the USC Libraries' inaugural Discovery Fellow. Doheny Library. 4 PM. RSVP

• Prof. Shelley Salamensky lectures on "Jewish Culture without Jews? Public Memory and 'Diaspora Disneys' in East-Central Europe, Eurasia, and Spain" at CEES Faculty Lecture Series in 10383 Bunche Hall at UCLA. Noon
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors writers at its 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire
• Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce honors Charlie Woo, CEO of Megatoys & Chairman of CAUSE, at its annual Citizen Diplomacy Celebration at the Wilshire Country Club. 6:00 PM.

The LA County Board of Supervisors twice this week looked like it has been fumbling the ball when it comes to overseeing agencies that are within its realm.

First on Sunday there were new revelations about improprieties at the LA Memorial Coliseum Commission, where truly serious financial self-dealing could put some stadium bureaucrats in jail. All this happening on the watch of three supervisors who sit on the Coliseum's governing board.

Granted, the Coliseum agony has been spooling out for months. But Tuesday along comes First 5 LA, an obscure quasi-public agency (created by 1998's Proposition 10 ballot measure). A new audit purports to show that First 5 LA has a sketchy record of being able to account for how it has spent tens of millions of dollars of cigarette tax money on children's health programs. Disturbed by the audit findings, released in July, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted 4-1 to consider making First 5 LA a county agency, instead of an independent agency. And how would that help? Not exactly clear.

Also masked in Tuesday's hand-wringing vote was the fact that First 5 LA's nine-member board has been chaired for years by a member of the Bd. of Supes (now Mike Antonovich, before it was Gloria Molina) and that four of First 5 LA's board members are appointed by the supervisors. That the audit findings might be seen as giving a black-eye to the supervisors and their appointees did not figure into news media accounts of Tuesday's vote.

The First 5 LA mess comes on the heels of new allegations about the Coliseum Commission, a truly rogue agency that the Bd of Supes are also supposed to help manage. The LA Times Sunday entertained its readers with a story about how disgraced former Coliseum boss Pat Lynch tried to explain away money he was receiving from a Tony Estrada, the stadium's janitorial services contractor (payments that looked suspiciously like kickbacks) by claiming the payments were part of a business deal he had with Estrada (to jointly own a boat called "Wild Rose") - as if that explanation were any less suspect. Missing from the Times story - any mention that Lynch and several of his questionable assistants operated under the very noses of three supervisors (Mark Ridley-Thomas, Zev Yaroslavksy and Don Knabe) who sit on the Coliseum's governing board.

Previous revelations of financial shenanigans prompted mega-developer Rick Caruso in September to finally throw up his hands in disgust and resign as a Coliseum commissioner. That move was seen by some as Caruso's attempt at damage control if he chose to run for mayor. Meantime, another mayoral aspirant, Yaroslavsky, remained on the commission, awkwardly holding the reins (at least some of them) as the exposés kept piling up. No question the Coliseum mess could complicate Yaroslavsky's pitch if he were try to run for mayor as the candidate who knows how to run a tight ship and protect taxpayer dollars.

In fact, Yaroslavsky has not been the hard-nosed attack-dog of yore concerning the Coliseum, perhaps to avoid inevitable questions about his own oversight performance. But Yaroslavsky showed some of his old enthusiasm for outrage Tuesday vis-à-vis First 5 LA.

The Daily News account of the BOS vote highlighted Yaroslavsky's spunky take on the problems at the agency which is chartered to funnel cigarette tax money (under Prop. 10) to LA County programs that protect the health and safety of kids under 5 years old.

"Any reading of this audit should shock every single one of us," Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said, thanking his colleague, Supervisor Michael Antonovich, for requesting the review...."The lack of transparency, the lack of accountability ... any one of these things would be a bell and whistle," Yaroslavsky said. "All together they are a siren."

The Times also gave Yaroslavsky plenty of freedom to fulminate:

"That's no way to run an agency. That is a prescription for trouble. And while we have no evidence of malfeasance ... we really have no way of knowing anything about where that money went," Yaroslavsky said. "The current situation over there is not healthy."

The audit found that First 5 LA's staff - headed by executive director Evelyn Martinez (who earned a salary of $232,178 in 2009-10) - did not consistently inform the governing board (including supervisors and their appointees) about changes it was making in the money allocated to contractors and grantees. In the 2010-2011 year alone, the audit found $68 million in reductions to pre-existing allocations that were not fully documented by the agency's staff. Such findings - the auditors found - could result in situations where staff was "possibly making expenditure decisions that were inconsistent with Board direction." The audit also discovered that the agency's operating budget - basically for administrative expenses - was increased without explanation by $5 million in February 2011 and without the board's approval.

More from the Times:

The auditors said the lack of oversight means there is no way to determine if the agency has signed agreements "for inappropriate purposes or with unqualified vendors or grantees." The audit also said there was an absence of documentation that competitive bidding took place. And while it is First 5 LA's policy that commissioners must approve all new contracts exceeding $25,000, many agreements were approved "only by staff."

Add First 5 LA has replied that the audit was "superficial", found no malfeasance and that the audit team did not "even" interview CEO Martinez. In a prepared statement, the agency said:

Since 1998, First 5 LA has conducted annual independent audits of its financial statements and controls and at no time have these audits resulted in any material findings. In addition, First 5 LA has received several awards from national professional accounting organizations for the quality and accuracy of our financial statements. While I welcome any scrutiny of First 5 LA's financial records, policies and procedures, administrative expenses and programmatic decisions I hope that the lack of any significant findings in the special audit reports will confirm that First 5 LA takes its fiduciary responsibilities seriously and has been a responsible caretaker of the public funds entrusted to it. While today's action by the Board of Supervisors to take the initial steps to exert greater oversight and control over the administration of First 5 LA is completely within the Board's purview, I hope that we continue to maintain our focus on improving the lives of our youngest children in Los Angeles County."

Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) devotes a week to the work of Joan Didion, who has just released another memoir, called Blue Nights. Meghan Daum, Susan Straight, Amy Wilentz, Richard Rayner, Amy Ephron, and today, Matthew Specktor, who grew up around the corner when Didion lived in Brentwood, contribute essays contemplating the author and her place in the L.A. literary landscape.

The upstart literary review now comes in e-book format via Kindle. And on Thursday, November 3, Live Talks Los Angeles hosts a benefit for the LARB in the form of a conversation between the New Yorker's Adam Gopnik and filmmaker Ed Zwick.

Can't get enough of La Didion? Catch "An Evening with Joan Didion" at Vibiana on Nov. 16 through the ALOUD lectures program.

I know it's been a while since I've written for LA Observed. So for my first post back, I figured I'd take a look at several sports topics going on in Los Angeles now.

--If I were the Angels, then I would hire Kim Ng as the first female General Manager in MLB history. Ng will reportedly interview for the job and is being seriously considered.

I've never met Kim Ng, but every person I know that's worked with her has raved about her. She is one of the best contract negotiators in the game and has earned the respect and admiration of her peers. I actually supported her candidacy for the Dodgers GM job back in 2006, and I'm convinced that any man with her credentials would have gotten a GM job years ago. Arte Moreno should make the bold move to bring in a new perspective that the Angels could sorely use.

Whoever takes over the Angels job will have to rebuild a farm system that in the mid-2000s was one of the two or three best in the game, and a few years later barely ranked in the top-20. Tony Reagins was an excellent player development executive, and under his watch, many Angels prospects became quality Major League players. But when he got promoted to the GM spot, the Angels suddenly stopped developing talent.

Part of that is because the Halos didn't have first round draft picks three times from 2005-08. They also got unlucky with injuries to Kendry Morales and of course, the tragic death of Nick Adenhart. And their 2004 first round pick, Brandon Wood, was a tremendous bust. But the current Angel way of doing business - signing or acquiring players with enormous contracts like Vernon Wells, Scott Kazmir, and Bob Abreu - is unsustainable.

I believe that Ng will use her negotiation skills to get the Angels some great bargains. And I know she'll attract excellent scouts and minor league instructors to allow the Angels to build from within again.

* * *

--If there's one lesson to be taken from this year's Rangers-Cardinals World Series, it's that the Dodgers spent enough to win in 2011. The Cardinals had the 11th highest payroll in MLB and the Rangers ranked 13th in payroll, according to USA Today. The Dodgers ranked right between them at No. 12 for over $104 million in payroll, and they actually spent way more when you include the deferred money they gave to Manny Ramirez, Andruw Jones, and Juan Pierre.

I don't want to defend the McCourts, who have been an absolute embarrassment. I truly believe the Dodgers can't be fixed until they are sold, and the sooner the better. But while the McCourt divorce and Dodger bankruptcy undoubtedly damaged the team, I believe their struggles over the past two seasons can largely be attributed to a poor allocation of resources.

Giving Juan Uribe a three-year $21 million contract was stupid. Giving Casey Blake a three-year multi-million contract when he was 35 made no sense. Signing an injury-plagued Rafael Furcal to a big deal was obviously going to come back to bite them. Despite being accused of being cheap, the Dodgers began Opening Day in 2011 with one of the oldest lineups in baseball. They only got their record over .500 when they were forced to start playing some of their young players.

Baseball today isn't necessarily about having the biggest names. Both the Rangers and Cardinals are in the World Series today because of their organizational depth. The Rangers farm system has been ranked among baseball's best for several years. And Tony LaRussa has mixed and matched the Cardinals' full roster to get St. Louis deep into the postseason.

Today's baseball analysts love to over-simplify the game by generalizing about pitchers and a handful of top players. But consider the Phillies. In 2008, the Phillies won the World Series with a pitching rotation of Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton. In 2009, the Phillies added Cliff Lee and lost in the World Series. In 2010, they added Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt and lost in the NLCS. This year, they added Cliff Lee back and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Every year, the baseball media buzzed after each major pitching acquisition, and every year the Phillies ended their season a little worse.

This is why teams are investing in philosophies like "Moneyball" and trying to balance the right propriety metrics with improved scouting methods and player development. Conventional wisdom in baseball is seldom right these days.

Moving forward into 2012, Ned Colletti and the Dodgers front office need to get smarter about how they evaluate talent and how they spend their money. Two areas where the Dodgers could improve is on defense and in their farm system. The Dodgers have ranked last in the National League in UZR (ultimate zone rating) since Colletti took over as GM in 2006. And while their farm system ranking has modestly improved, it's still a far cry from the one that was ranked among baseball's best around the time Colletti took over.

Many Dodger fans think their problems could be fixed by just spending as aggressively as the Yankees or Red Sox. But I'm convinced that giving $50 million in extra payroll to a Colletti-led front office would make the Dodgers as wasteful as the Cubs and Mets have been over the years.

* * *

--Rick Neuheisal's days are numbered as the UCLA Head Coach. I thought he was the perfect hire four years ago, and I'm surprised as anyone that it hasn't worked out. But when I watch UCLA play, I see a team that's undisciplined, unfocused, and unmotivated. I don't believe the players have bought into Neuheisal's system and it seems like Neuheisal hasn't won their respect.

According to Scout.com, Neuheisal had three top-10 recruiting classes from 2008-10. At a time when the Bruins should be looking like a rising force, they've instead looked like a disaster. Yes, UCLA doesn't have terrific facilities, and the UC system's financial troubles have made it difficult for the school to be fully invested in football. But the bottom line is that Neuheisal has done a bad job of coaching his talented players. By every measure he's been less successful than Karl Dorrell, and I'm still baffled as to why he switched to the pistol offense - a gimmick offense that undermined Norm Chow and never fit UCLA's personnel.

So who should be the next coach at UCLA? One name to consider is Al Golden. A finalist for the job a few years ago, Golden did an amazing job turning around a Temple program that was on life support. He parlayed that into the University of Miami job, but he's probably looking to leave with the school about to be hit with crippling sanctions for violations that occurred before he came to Coral Gables.

Another name that might pop up is former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. An innovative offensive mind, Leach might be a good fit for UCLA, if not for the fact that he's still suing ESPN, the Pac-12's television partner. Other names out there are Steve Mariucci, Herm Edwards, and Jim Fassel - former NFL head coaches who seem about as appealing as Pete Carroll was in 2000.

Names like Boise State's Chris Petersen and former Florida coach Urban Meyer are a pipe dream. Former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti isn't too far-fetched, but I'm not sure if he's the right fit.

I don't think UCLA should be ashamed of looking for a top assistant at a successful college program or from an NFL team. In 1997 USC decided to hire Paul Hackett (who had head coaching experience) over an up-and-coming coordinator named Bob Stoops. Prior head coaching experience is one of the most overrated credentials when teams are considering new hires, and it obviously didn't help Rick Neuheisal.

One name that I like is San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman. He was Associate Head Coach at Stanford under Jim Harbaugh, and he's doing a terrific job under Harbaugh again in the NFL.

Other names I'll throw out there are Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables, and Colorado offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

* * *

--I think it's going to take until Christmas for the NBA lockout to end. With no significant progress having been made, it appears David Stern may wait for players to miss out on a few more paychecks and hope they'll give up more ground. That's what happened in 1998 at least.

While the lockout is often being framed as a battle between owners and players, I think the biggest problem with the NBA is the product. Yes, the league is coming off one of its best seasons, one which saw an increase in interest and the rise of a few young stars. But there are significant problems with the NBA still.

There's a prevailing sense that a team has no hope of winning a title without having one of the league's few elite superstars. Fans of approximately two-thirds of NBA teams probably feel like their franchise is completely irrelevant. And these days, even when a small-market team is fortunate enough to have a superstar, fans have every reason to believe he'll want to leave for one of an elite group of franchises.

There's also a certain amount of passion missing from NBA players during regular season games, and the season is probably too long. Yes, the NBA economic model isn't working, but there are some deeper problems that will take time to address.

* * *

--It's very rare that I agree with a Bill Plaschke column, but that was the case this week when he bashed Jamie McCourt. Actually, I agreed with him until this line:

Several years ago, I remember confronting Jamie on the field about the rising violence in the stands, and suggested that perhaps the increased playing of gangster rap and the endorsement of Snoop Dogg as a video board celebrity fanned the flames.

She look at me and laughed, saying, "Aw, everybody's just having a good time."

What an absurd statement. Jamie McCourt may be out of touch, but so is Bill Plaschke.

The idea that playing rap music (usually because it's a player's at-bat music) and putting Snoop Dogg in a corny "This is My Town" ad would lead to fan violence is ludicrous. I've also heard music from Star Wars at Dodger Stadium and seen Yoda in a "This is My Town" ad, but that hasn't caused Chavez Ravine to turn into a sci-fi convention.

Thursday, October 2011

• Celebrity Chef Tour fundraiser for the James Beard Foundation, featuring the cooking of Iron Chef Marc Forgione and family at Chaya Brasserie, West Hollywood, 7:30 PM. h/t Eater LA
• Outfest Legacy Project honors Adam Shankman at its Legacy Awards 2011 at the Directors Guild of America. 8 PM
• Eric Olsen, Glenn Schaeffer, & Michelle Huneven discuss and sign We Wanted to Be Writers: Life, Love, and Literature at the Iowa Writers' Workshop at Book Soup at 7 PM.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America honors Earvin "Magic" Johnson at its Heroes & High Hopes Award at the Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles at L.A. Live.
• Bonnie Nadzam will read and sign her debut novel, Lamb, at Skylight Books at 7:30 PM

• LA Fashion Week starts today at the Sunset Gower Studios.
• Thad Nodine will read and sign his debut novel, Touch and Go, and Andrea Portes will read her novel, Hick, at Skylight Books, starting at 7:30 PM
• GLSEN-Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network honors Chaz Bono and Rob Reiner at its Seventh Annual Respect Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel. 5:30 PM

Saturday, October 22, 2011

• Los Angeles Archives Bazaar at USC Doheny Library starts at 9 AM
• Golden State Mutual Building Open House and Mural preservation discussion. Noon to 3 PM. 1999 West Adams Blvd.
• Hennessey + Ingalls hosts a book signing at its Santa Monica store for David R Stoecklein's Southern California Coastal Mountains to the Sea: A Celebration of Open Space on the Historic Irvine Ranch. 3 to 5:30 PM
• "Who Got More Naked? And Other Insider Stories from the Early Days of LA's Notorious Artist Space Scene" panel discussion, part of Pacific Standard Time's Santa Monica/Westside Focus Weekend, in the Community Room at Crossroads School 4:30 - 6:00 PM. Hope they post a video of this panel on the Internet
• LA Councilwoman Jan Perry and City Controller Wendy Greuel will attend the Second Annual Women for Equality Champagne Brunch, starting at 11:00 AM.

• Art Center Car Classic '11 celebrates the influence of Southern California on car design. Art Center College of Design, Hillside Campus, Pasadena.
• Naked Girls Reading Horror Classics at VLAD THE RETAILER, 704 Heliotrope Drive (Just off Melrose). 7 PM
• Say, Pay, or Play: Defining the Modern Book Review panel moderated by KPCC's John Rabe at the Crawford Family Forum, 474 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena. 6-9:30 PM
• Altadena Historical Society's tour of Mariposa Street, featuring rare opportunity to see inside the 1924 Georgian cottage of historian, artist and author Sarah Noble Ives.
• AIA|LA Fall 2011 Home Tour: The Way EAST starts at 11 AM

• Starz presents its 15th Annual Hollywood Awards Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
• Glamour Magazine hosts its Reel Moments reception at the Directors Guild of America. 7:00 PM
• Joshua Baldwin discusses and signs The Wilshire Sun at Book Soup at 7 PM

• Honorable Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Council President Eric Garcetti and City Council members celebrate Nonprofit Day at City Hall with a reception and council session, starting at 9 AM. RSVP required
• Annenberg Alchemy presents Peer2Peer Nonprofit leadership conference at Club Nokia. 3 PM
• Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association hosts a private reception and preview of the "Tom Mankiewicz Conservation Carousel". 5:30 PM
• Laini Taylor discusses and signs Daughter of Smoke & Bone at Book Soup at 7 PM
• Author Nicholas Kristoff discusses the art installation "Women Hold up Half the Sky" at the Skirball Cultural Center at 8 PM

• American Institute of Architects Los Angeles honors the late John Chase at its 2011 Design Awards and Party at the Pacific Design Center. 6:30 PM
• Adam Arkin hosts the Virginia Avenue Project's Inspiration Gala at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. 6:00 PM
• Santa Monica Museum of Art hosts an Opening Reception for "Wall Works: Peter Shire - The Walls Have Eyes". 6 PM

Big Green-Energy got a break this week from the negative fall-out that has clouded its prospects since the collapse of Solyndra Inc., the solar-power manufacturer and darling of the Obama administration. The relief was expected and delivered, and the doors are open again for dozens of green-energy companies to line up in Sacramento and ask for tax relief. It's also now official: companies seeking these tax benefits can do so with little fear some state bureaucrat will be looking at their bottom-line to see if their business has a future - or, like Solyndra, is headed for the trashbin.

When Solyndra went famously bankrupt last month and FBI agents rummaged through its files with a search warrant, Big Green found itself playing defense amid charges that their industry was playing "crony capitalism" with tax dollars. State treasurer Bill Lockyer, a long-time cheerleader for alternative energy, seemed to take the controversy to heart when he suspended accepting new applications from green-energy companies seeking tax breaks from California. Lockyer said the Solyndra situation demanded a review of government subsidies for these firms. Under a program administered by Lockyer's office, Solyndra has been exempted from paying about $24 million in sales taxes to the state, an amount that pales in comparison to the $535 million loan the Obama administration provided to the politically-connected Fremont-based company.

But Lockyer's decision was only a minor bump in the road. Big Green, after all, is one of the fastest growing industries in California, and it has a raft of high-powered supporters, from Gov. Brown to a slew of former lawmakers hawking green-ware up and down the state.

So it was not unexpected when Lockyer informed a roomful of state senators Wednesday that his review had found the state sales tax exemption program for Big Green was a great idea and that he's ready to resume accepting new applications from companies seeking the breaks. According to Bloomberg News, Lockyer's report was treated as a clean bill of health by state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Panorama City, author of the legislation creating the tax exemption.

"To the extent that people are looking at Solyndra and saying that's why we should end this program, it's absolutely unjustified," Senator Alex Padilla, the Pacoima Democrat who sponsored the bill that created the tax breaks, said in an interview. "If there were to be any changes, they would be very minor."

More from Bloomberg:

...(T)he program is intended to promote the growth of alternative energy manufacturing plants in California and complements the state's push for renewable energy. (Lockyer) said nearly 70 percent of all businesses do not make it past eight years, and that risk extends to clean energy companies such as Solyndra. "We take some risks by having this policy in place, and we probably take a bigger risk by never having the tax exclusion because the jobs and investments don't come to California," Lockyer said Wednesday. "That's a bigger risk and, one we need to be very concerned about."

Lockyer is chairman of the state's Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, which has granted sales-tax exemptions valued at $104 million to 33 companies, public agencies and research institutions. Recipients have used about $31.6 million of the breaks so far, with Solyndra accounting for almost 80 percent, state figures show.

Here at LA Observed, it was reported last month that an emissary from Lockyer's office visited the Solyndra plant in June (three months before the firm filed for bankruptcy) to see what wonders the state tax breaks had wrought. She came away deeply impressed and charmed, according to official minutes of a state agency meeting, by the "singing robots" deployed in Solyndra's assembly line. Less noticeable to her was the fact that the company's unique solar tubes were being built at such a high cost per unit that they were being battered in the marketplace by cheaper, competing technologies, that Solyndra had one foot in the grave and that the firm would soon be pink-slipping 1,000 of its employees. But those singing robots - you've got to love them!

Meantime, Lockyer tried to disabuse everyone - possibly including LA Observed - that his office should have any duty to evaluate the viability of the business plans of companies seeking the tax breaks. Apparently, Lockyer sees no difference in providing this government "gift" to viable companies or to firms teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Here's what San Francisco newspaper said about Lockyer's take on his office's responsibilities:

In response to questions from state senators, Lockyer said his office was aware of disturbing news about Solyndra's economic health that had begun to emerge even before the company was approved for a tax subsidy in November 2010. But Lockyer said the law didn't require his office to evaluate Solyndra's books before issuing the tax break, adding that even in retrospect, he continued to believe it would be wrong for his office to do so. It would be "imprudent of us to pick winners and losers as a matter of general policy." That position was supported by both Democratic lawmakers, who favor additional incentives for alternative energy,and Republicans, who want taxes to be lower for all businesses.

In short, everyone's on board the Big Green train.

Despite the protestations of people living on both coasts, this year's World Series will take place entirely in the Central Time Zone with the St. Louis Cardinals, trying for their 11th title, playing the Texas Rangers, who are hoping to win their first after losing to the Giants in last year's series.

For the East Coast, the World Series likely stopped mattering once the Red Sox collapsed at the end of the season and the Yankees were knocked out in the Division Series by Detroit and the Cardinals took out the Phillies. Out West, Arizona was as close as those of us in Southern California had to a local interest. Or, in other words, there was no local interest.

What we are left with are two teams, one with a loyal and rabid fan base in the Cardinals, and the other that still draws well despite playing in a state where football is king, emperor, and pope all wrapped into one in the Rangers.

And whenever the Yankees aren't in the World Series, the storyline about the World Series seems to be more about what the TV ratings will be, rather than how the games will play out. Because, you know, if people don't start watching the World Series, they'll just have to cancel it. Jon Weisman in Variety reports that Fox isn't particularly worried about the ratings. Nevertheless, expect the media to look at each game's overnight rating as a sign that baseball is dead and we should all surrender to our NFL overlords.

If the casual fan does not want to watch the likes of Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton slug it out in a best of seven series, that shouldn't make any difference to a baseball fan. This is still the World Series, the sport's premier event. There will be a lot of people watching even if the players don't wear pinstripes. (Or drink beer in the dugout and eat fried chicken or whatever Red Sox players do.)

In most years, the Cardinals would be a great story. They were 10 1/2 games behind the Braves for the wild card starting play on August 25. They had just come off a sweep at home by the Dodgers and looked horrible. Three days earlier, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had published a "what went wrong with the Cardinals season" that read like a post-mortem.

Then, the Cardinals got hot. They would win 18 of 26 games in September. They beat the division champion Brewers 5 of 6 times. They beat the Phillies 3 out of 4 times in Philadelphia. The Braves stopped hitting and stumbled to a 9-18 record in September, allowing the Cardinals to claim the wild card on the final day of the season. (So far, the Braves collapse has had far less fallout compared to the Red Sox meltdown.)

St. Louis upset the heavily favored Phillies in the NLDS in five games with Chris Carpenter winning a 1-0 pitchers' duel against Roy Halladay in the final game. The Cardinals then slugged their way past Milwaukee in six games, outscoring the Brewers by a margin of 43-26. Series MVP David Freese hit three home runs and batted .545 against the Brewers. Pujols, a free agent at the end of the World Series, hit two home runs and could only scratch out a meager .478 batting average.

Texas had far fewer dramatics this season. The Rangers led the AL West for 151 of 168 days with the Angels providing some competition in September, but the Rangers cruised home with a 10-game lead. One of the Rangers top hitters was Mike Napoli, who had played for the Angels in 2010, but was traded to Toronto in the offseason. The Blue Jays quickly flipped Napoli over to Texas.

Napoli had never been of Angel manager Mike Scioscia's favorites. Scioscia didn't like Napoli's defense. Also, the Angels worried about injuries to Napoli that might keep him from catching.

Although injuries limited Napoli to just 113 games, he still managed to hit 30 home runs and put an OPS (on base plus slugging percentage) of 1.041. The player Napoli was traded for, Vernon Wells, managed a meager .248 OPB and .660 OPS. The general manager for the Angels, Tony Reagins, who engineered the trade, is now looking for a new job. (The Angels also traded Juan Rivera to the Blue Jays along with Napoli. The Blue Jays would later give Rivera to the Dodgers for essentially nothing at midseason and Rivera turned out to be a passable hitter in Los Angeles.)

Napoli is just one of many heavy hitters on the Rangers. In addition to Napoli, second baseman Ian Kinsler and third baseman Adrian Beltre both topped 30 home runs, each with 32. Last year's MVP Josh Hamilton hit 25 and Nelson Cruz, who hit a record 6 home runs in the Rangers six-game win over the Tigers in the ALCS, hit 29 homers in the regular season.

Neither team has much starting pitching to speak of. Aside from Carpenter's shutout in the NLDS, the Cardinals starters have been shaky. The Cardinals had more innings pitched by their bullpen than their starters in the NLCS against the Brewers. The Rangers did not have a single win from their starters in the ALCS.

Both teams have deep bullpens and managers who are not afraid to go to it early. Rangers manager Ron Washington may hold the better hand as he can use Alexi Ogando for multiple relief innings. Ogando was a starter during the season, but has been shifted to relief for the playoffs. In seven games and 10 2/3 innings pitched in the playoffs, Ogando has struck out 12 and given up just four hits and one run.

The Cardinals bullpen was shaky during the regular season, blowing 26 save opportunities. (For comparison purposes, the Dodgers, whom people thought had a bad bullpen at the start of the year, had just 13 blown saves. The Rangers had 19 blown saves.) Jason Motte has become the closer and pitched eight innings in the postseason giving up just one hit, no walks, with seven strikeouts. Even Octavio Dotel, whose brief stay in Los Angeles last season is best forgotten, has given up just two runs in 6 2/3 innings of relief and has managed to pick up two wins.

No World Series has gone seven games since 2002 when the Angels beat the Giants. That series featured several high-scoring games marked by long home runs and either very good or very bad relief pitching (depending upon whom you were rooting for). I think this year's World Series will play out in a similar way. Even with cold weather forecast for the first two games in St. Louis, I expect runs to be plentiful. I would give Texas a slight edge in the series because of a deeper lineup, but this series is not one where I would want to bet anything on the outcome greater than a quarter. (The mayors of St. Louis and Arlington, Texas are wagering quite a few things, much of it meat-based.)

Things to expect:

• lots of trips to the mound by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and Rangers manager Ron Washington to change pitchers,


• nonsensical analysis by Tim McCarver on the Fox broadcast,


• indifferent play-by-play calling by Joe Buck,


• too many commercials for Taco Bell with Brian Wilson,


• too many shots of Rangers president Nolan Ryan frowning when his team is losing,


• a minimum of 20 times that Cardinals fans are called "the best fans in baseball", complaints by me complaining about the media being too fixated on the ratings instead of the action on the field.

And after the World Series is over, Angelenos can look forward to a Halloween battle in the Federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and MLB Commissioner are due to both give testimony that day. The 2012 season will start early for those of us in Southern California.

Friday, October 14, 2011

• Congresswoman Karen Bass discusses Obama's Job Package at the Urban Issues Breakfast Forum of Greater Los Angeles in the North Campus,Crystal Ballroom of the West Angeles Church of God In Christ, 3045 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 7:30 AM
• William Shatner signs his release of his new space-themed concept album, "Seeking Major Tom." at Amoeba Music in Hollywood. 7 PM
• American Cinematheque honors Robert Downey, Jr. at its 25th Annual Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Starts at 6:30 PM
• ArtNight starts in Pasadena at 6 PM

Saturday, October 15, 2011

• Gary Phillips, Penny Mickelbury, John A. Imani, and Larry Fondation read stories from Send My Love and a Molotov Cocktail! Stories of Crime, Love, and Rebellion at the Southern California Library. 2-4 PM
• 6th Annual Taste of Soul Family Festival runs from 10 AM to 6 PM, where Intersections South LA and USC radio will be recording residents' oral histories.
• Pacific Asia Museum hosts its Festival of the Autumn Moon Gala at the California Club.
• Tango Club in the Hacienda at the La Senora Institute in Pacific Palisades. 7 PM. Reservations required.
• Hugh Jackman and Catherine Zeta-Jones host "A Fine Romance" gala to benefit Motion Picture & Television Fund. Sony Pictures Studios.
• Saint John's Health Center honors Pierce Brosnan at its Irene Dunne Guild Caritas Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. 6 PM
• Members party for "Mapping Another L.A.: The Chicano Art Movement" opening at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. 6:30 PM start.
• Home Movie Day at the Echo Park Film Center, 1200 N Alvarado, LA. 8 PM

• MAK Center hosts its Fall Fundraiser 2011 at the Lovell Beach House in Newport Beach.
• The Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation hosts the "Worldwide Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor" at Warner Bros. Studios.
• AxS Festival of Art & Science at Pasadena Museum of Calif Art, 490 E Union St, Pasadena
• NBA legend Jerry West reads his book, West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life at the Barnes & Noble, The Grove at Farmers Market, LA. 2 PM. See him again on Tuesday at LA Talks Live
• Yangzom Brauen will sign her book Across Many Mountains from 12-2 PM at Chevalier Books on Larchmont.

• ELLE magazine honors Jennifer Aniston,Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Freida Pinto,Stacey Snider and Barbra Streisand at its 18th Annual Women in Hollywood Tribute at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. 6:30 PM
• Blue Ribbon of the Music Center / ASCAP-American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers host "Love Sweet Love" A Musical Tribute to Hal David In Celebration of His 90th Birthday" at the Mark Taper Forum. 7:00 PM

• Nile Rodgers discusses and signs Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny in conversation with director, Brett Ratner at Book Soup. 7 PM
• Community Advocates Inc. award KPCC's Larry Mantle, Warren Olney and Patt Morrison with the first Bill Stout Memorial Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism at the Central Library at 7:30 PM
• Susan Ashbrook lecture on her book, Will Work for Shoes: The Business Behind Red Carpet Product Placement at FIDM Museum Shop starts at 12:30 PM
• "How Does Architecture Imitate Life?" Zócalo Public Square presents architect Brad Cloepfil in conversation with filmmaker Gus Van Sant at UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire, Westwood. 7 PM
• Gregory Orfalea lectures on "[Junipero] Serra's Women: A Bilocating Nun, a Witch & a Sorceress," at Lundring Center, Cal Lutheran University, 60 W Olsen Rd, Thousand Oaks. 7:30 PM. h/t Rina Rubinstein's The Culture Alert newsletter

• Valley Community Clinic honors Corbn Bernsen and Scott Aney at its 40th Anniversary Gala at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City.
• Aloud presents neurosurgeon Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, discussing his memoir Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon in the Taper Auditorium, LA Public Library, 5th & Flower, Downtown LA. 7 PM

• Free screening of "Of Scrap & Steel," at the Union Rescue Mission, Downtown at 7 PM
• South Asian Bar Association of Southern California hosts its Starry Night Reception and Award Ceremony on the Target Terrace at LA Live. 6:30 PMsc.org.
• CoachArt hosts the Champions Ball at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
• Cocktail party at the new Charles David store in the Beverly Center to celebrate the shoemaker's partnership with Breast Cancer Charties of America, donating a % of the evenings sale to the charity.

For better or worse, and mostly worse recently, I've been a fan of UCLA football. It's not an easy thing to be. From the 2000 season on, the Bruins have had just five winning seasons. They have won just three bowl games, over noted powerhouses New Mexico, Northwestern, and Temple. UCLA has just one win over USC in that time.

UCLA has gone through five coaches in that same time period: Bob Toledo, Ed Kezirian (for one game), Karl Dorrell, DeWayne Walker (also for one game), and now, Rick Neuheisel. The team plays its home games in a beautiful, yet aging stadium, the Rose Bowl, which the student body has a hard time getting to, and the alumni mostly think is too far away from where they live.

For comparison purposes, when I attended UCLA from 1983-87, the Bruins beat the Trojans three out of the four seasons, won the conference twice, won the Rose Bowl twice, and also tossed in victories in the Fiesta Bowl as well as the now defunct Freedom Bowl.

With the exception of Maurice Jones-Drew, few UCLA players are big stars in the NFL. Even more tellingly, there are no former UCLA players playing on the offensive line in the NFL. Nor are there any quarterbacks from UCLA in the NFL. (Matt Moore of Miami played briefly for UCLA before transferring to Oregon State.)

In the local media, UCLA plays in the very long shadow of USC, which is still generating more news than UCLA despite being on probation and ineligible for any bowl games or the new Pac-12 championship. The Bruins don't have a buzz about them. The best they can come up with is a an occasional drone.

Most of the news about the team surrounds the job security of Rick Neuheisel. Speculating about the future of college coaches is pretty much one of two things that the media focuses on when covering a mediocre team. (The other being recruiting.) To most writers, Neuheisel can only save his job if he can get six wins out of this year's team and make it to a bowl game. If not, UCLA will have to go find someone new who wants the job described by Chris Dufresne of the L.A. Times as "a bit like fool's gold."

Rick Neuheisel got the UCLA job because he was supposed to be able to improve recruiting and energize the fan base more so than his rather unexciting predecessor, Karl Dorrell. So far, Neuheisel hasn't delivered much more than Dorrell did except that he is shown on TV yelling at his players a lot. Neuheisel no longer makes postgame speeches to the fans, in part for being mocked for having to give apologies some of the time.

Can UCLA get to six wins? UCLA is halfway there, starting out this season 3-3. None of the wins (over San Jose State, Oregon State, or Washington State) has been particularly impressive. The three losses (to Houston, Texas, and Stanford) all demonstrated the vast talent gulf between UCLA and teams ranked in the Top 25.

The Bruins are off until a week from Thursday when they play at Arizona in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN. Arizona has started off the season 1-5 and hasn't beaten a team in the Bowl Subdivision (as the NCAA likes to call the top division) this season. And Arizona's coach Mike Stoops was fired on Monday. If UCLA can win in Tucson for the first time since 2003, they could get to six wins by scratching out home wins against Cal on October 29 and Colorado, the Pac-12's new doormat, on November 19. A November 12 game at Utah now looks winnable after the Utes lost their starting quarterback to a shoulder injury.

Neuheisel could tell people stories about losing starting quarterback as it has become an annual occurrence. Last season, UCLA opened with Kevin Prince as the starting quarterback. After four games, Prince was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Richard Brehaut took over, but even he missed a start after suffering a concussion. This year, Prince won the starting job again, only to be sidelined with a concussion in the season-opening loss to Houston.

So, back came Brehaut, who led UCLA to a win over San Jose State. Prince recovered in time to start UCLA's next game against Texas. But, after throwing three interceptions in the first quarter in that game, Brehaut reclaimed the #1 job.

Last Saturday at the Rose Bowl, Brehaut broke his left leg against Washington State. Prince came back on, with UCLA trailing 6-0. He was greeted with boos by a surly home crowd. When Washington State took a 22-14 lead in the fourth quarter, a sizable portion of the crowd headed home. Nevertheless, Prince led the Bruins to two fourth-quarter touchdowns to keep the Bruins fans happy. Or at best, not as unhappy as they were before.

If Prince gets injured again, which history would lead you to believe will happen, freshman Brett Hundley, UCLA's top recruit, would get a chance to start. Hundley, by the way, missed part of preseason practice after hurting himself while playing basketball. After that, Neuheisel may start looking for volunteers on campus. The team has already had to fill a hole at place kicker with Tyler Gonzalez, who had been a manager for the soccer team.

So, for a UCLA fan, a happy ending for this season would be finishing the regular season 6-6, not losing too badly to USC at the Coliseum, and then hoping for either a bowl bid to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco or the Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. (Gildan is a clothing company based in Montreal, so they are in the running for the title of most unlikely named sponsor of a bowl game. The Gator Bowl in Jacksonville is sponsored by a tax preparation software company called Taxslayer.)

Should UCLA fans have any hope for next year? Probably not. Oregon and Stanford have taken over as the bullies on the Pac-12 playground. USC will likely return to premier status after its probation is over. The Pac-12 could be expanding to 16 teams in two or three seasons with the possible addition of powerhouses like Oklahoma and Texas. Hoping to earn a trip to Albuquerque may be the most exciting thing UCLA fans can latch on to for quite a while.

After viewing the traveling show "The Elizabeth Taylor Collection" at MOCA PDC this morning, it isn't hard to understand why Andy Warhol once said, "It would be very glamorous to be reincarnated as a great big ring on Liz Taylor's finger."

Taylor, who died last March at the age of 79, spent a lifetime amassing her legendary collection of fabulous jewels, fine art, and haute couture. The show, which represents just highlights of the collection that will be auctioned by Christie's this winter, is a window into Taylor's dazzling life. After being on display in Moscow and London, the exhibit will run in Los Angeles for four days beginning Oct 13 then move on to Dubai, Geneva, Paris, Hong Kong, and New York.

Sapphire & diamond sautoir by Bvlgari.

The jewelry is considered one of the greatest private collections ever assembled. There are stories behind numerous pieces. Many were gifts from the men in Taylor's life. Viewers can drool over gems from husband numbers 5 & 6, Richard Burton — including the 33-carat "Elizabeth Taylor Diamond" ring; "La Peregrina," a ruby and diamond necklace incorporating a 16th century pearl once owned by King Phillip 2 of Spain; and the "Taj Majal Diamond," a 40th birthday present.

From husband number 3, Mike Todd, there is the "Mike Todd Diamond Tiara;" given to Taylor in 1957 and the "Cartier Ruby Suite" which Todd gave her while she was swimming in their pool in St. Jean Cap Ferrat. One of the most unique pieces is the necklace fashioned from ivory theater tokens once owned by Hollywood costume designer Edith Head. This was Head's signature necklace and Taylor admired it throughout the years of their close friendship. Head left it to Taylor in her will.

Warhol's 1963 portrait of Taylor is there, representing just a small part of Taylor's art collection. Also on display is a Versace beaded evening jacket from the 1990s, arrayed with portraits of Taylor in her most famous roles, a Chanel ballgown, and a Tiziani black velvet evening cape from the late 1960s which Taylor wore to Princess Grace's 40th birthday ball.

It's not surprising that tickets sold out quickly. Exhibit organizers announced this morning that viewing hours will be extended to include Friday and Saturday evenings from 8 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 14 and 15. Tickets cost $50.00 and will go on sale tomorrow morning at www.christies.com/elizabethtaylor. A portion of the profits will be donated to The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Those lucky lucky enough to score tickets most likely won't be disappointed. Fans will get a close look at many of Taylor's most treasured posessions. Collectors will no doubt contemplate making arrangements to attend the auctions in New York and London. Taylor herself would be pleased. She always planned to put her jewelry up for auction with the hope that the next owners would "give them a really good home."

"The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor" @MOCA Pacific Design Center
Oct. 13-16, 2011

Photos by Sean Roderick except sautoir, which was provided by MOCA.

A college professor, a delightfully eccentric Englishman, recently mentioned to me his surprise at how "terrifically blatant" the medical marijuana industry has gotten in Los Angeleeez (his pronunciation). He was not being censorious, just surprised by the cluster of shops in Eagle Rock and the pot bacchanalia on Venice Boardwalk.

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I imagined my friend must have fallen asleep under a tree, in his vegetable garden with a bottle of beer at his side, a book by Anthony Trollope on his chest, and now had awakened 5-10 years later to find himself in a changed world. Truly, I said to my friend, how could you have missed LA's medical pot revolution/crisis? He laughed and asked if my martini needed to be topped off.

But I read this morning that my friend may not have missed much after all. It now looks like federal law enforcement agencies, led by the U.S. Attorneys, intend to set back California's medical marijuana industry by 5-10 years - about to the time when my friend fell asleep.

As reported in the LA Times and California Watch, the state's four U.S. attorneys are teaming up for a coordinated attack on medical marijuana industry. Their targets will be the largest pot shops around the state and, significantly, any landlords who lease properties to those individuals, including land for growing marijuana. California Watch:

That approach includes the possible seizure of land or buildings leased to marijuana operations that may be legal under state law but remain illegal under federal statutes. William Panzer, an Oakland attorney who co-authored Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in California, said the days are numbered for the current model for medical marijuana dispensaries. It's an effective strategy because they're basically saying to landlords, 'If you don't do this, then you lose your property, and we could also come after you criminally,' " he said.

The campaign, according to California Watch, which says it has obtained a copy of a U.S. Department of Justice memorandum outlining the strategy, will target large-scale medical marijuana dispensaries that sell 200 kilos or 1000 plants per year and growers who have more than 1000 plants under cultivation.

The reaction from the industry was swift and angry. From the LA Times:

"It's coming out of left field as far as we're concerned," said Joe Elford, the chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access, which advocates for medical marijuana use. "I really don't know what inspired this. It's a complete about-face from what [Obama] said when he was campaigning."

Others, according to the Times, don't believe the strategy will target regions in the state, like the Bay Area, where medical marijuana is deeply entrenched.

Dale Gieringer, the director of California NORML, which backs legalizing marijuana, said the approach appears to reflect the state's regional differences. "They want to do a clean sweep in San Diego, whereas in Northern California they can't possibly do a clean sweep," he said. "There's no political support for it. It would be devastating."

But the evidence of such a regional approach was belied by some of the Times' own reporting - including a report that the state's oldest dispensary, in Marin County, has already received a warning from federal authorities.

Landlords for some dispensaries have already received letters, including the owner of the building that houses the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax, Calif., the oldest dispensary in the country. "I assume the story you're calling about is: Obama takes resources away from fighting terrorists and goes after old ladies with glaucoma," said Greg Anton, a lawyer who represents the dispensary.... "We're trying to figure this out," said Jessica C. McElfresh, who represents some dispensaries in the city. "I am surprised at the size of this. I am surprised by the vast amount of planning that has clearly gone into it."

No question the feds plan to turn the clock back years on the medical marijuana industry.

Which reminds me: I wouldn't be surprised if a number of LA city's top elected officials would wish that lots of other Los Angeles voters would - like my friend - have no memory of the city's embarrassing history involving medical marijuana.

City Hall's record of neglect, clumsiness, sloth, missteps and confusion as hundreds of pot dispensaries popped up like weeds between 2006 and 2010 made our city fathers look like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. Finally, after wringing their hands ineffectually for years, as the city was ridiculed for having as many pot shops as Starbucks, the council and mayor finally stumbled across the finish line with an ordinance in June 2010 that severely restricted the dispensaries. It was not their finest moment.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

• PEN USA and The Paris Review host a party featuring insights from Ann Louise Bardach, David Kipen, Jonathan Lethem, Tom Lutz, Mona Simpson, and Michael Tolkin in the Cactus Lounge of the Standard Hotel. 7:30-10 PM
• The Drucker Business Forum hosts Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner for a look at "Keeping LA Competitive in the Global Economy" at Crawford Family Forum, 474 S Raymond Ave, 3 PM
• LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne discusses cars, freeways, & getting around LA as part of a series on "Transportation & Living Streets" at Occidental College
• Documentarian Aron Ramen screens his documentary "Pwer & Control: LSD In the 60's" at Beyond Baroque , 681 Venice Blvd, Venice 5 PM
• LA artists Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston & Betye Saar reminisce at Natural History Museum as part of Pacific Standard Time. Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd
• Aloud presents criminologist David M Kennedy in conversation with LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck at 7 PM.Taper Auditorium, LA Central Public Library, Downtown LA
• "The Hollywood Librarian" documentary screens at CSULA, U-SU Theatre, Cal State Univ, 5151 State University Dr, LA. 6 PM
• Harry Gamboa, Jr. & Willie Herrón lead a tour of the exhibition "Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972-1987" at 7 PM at LA County Museum of Art

• Art Opening and memorial for late Looney Tunes animator, Corny Cole, at the Animation Guild Local,1105 N Hollywood Way in Burbank. 6 PM
• 3 nights of Burlesque, Erotic Plays & Hot Music at Theater of Note, runs thru Sunday. Friday night event starts at 8 PM.
• World Festival of Sacred Music starts at Art of Living Center, 948 W Adams Blvd, West Adams
• Judge Glenda Hatchett discusses her book Dare to Take Charge: How to Live Your Life on Purpose at Eso Won Books. 7 PM

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  Saturday, October 8, 2011

  • LA poet Kamau Daaood performs live, accompanied by bassist Trevor Ware, as part of "Listen With Your Eyes, A Celebration of Jazz in LA" at 7 PM. Morono Kiang Gallery, Bradbury Building, 218 W 3rd St, Downtown LA,, Reservations required.
  • Young author Raven Smith reads her book about lupus, The Journey, with support from Youth Vision's Lou Rawls, Jr at AC Bilbrew Library, 150 E. El Segundo Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90061 at 2:30 PM
  • Illustrator Scott C signs his first monograph of work, Amazing Everything: The Art of Scott C, at Gallery Nucleus, 210 East Main St, Alhambra CA 91801. Opening reception starts at 6 PM
  • LA Forum for Architecture and Urban design hosts "Sunblock 2011," a walking tour of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel led by Big Parade's Dan Koeppel. The Bonaventure Adventure starts at 3:30 PM near Angel's Flight (252 S Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90013)
  • Joan Renner discusses "LA in Focus: Gold Diggers & Snake Handlers - Deranged L.A. Crimes from the Notebook of Aggie Underwood" at 2 PM in the Taper Auditorium, LA Central Public Library, 5th & Flower
  • Paul Koudounaris signs his book about charnel houses, The Empire of Death, at the Folk Tree's Day of the Dead celebration in Pasadena. 2-6 PM
  • Women in NAACP 26th Annual Scholarships and Awards Luncheon at Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles in Culver City. Starts at 11:30 AM
  • National Association of Asian American Professionals hosts its 2011 LA and OC Annual Awards Gala at the Grand Long Beach Event Center. 6:00 PM.
  Sunday, October 9, 2011
  • "Revenge of the LA Opera Costume Shop Sale!" starts at 11 AM in Costume Shop's parking lot, located at 330 South Alameda Street, Los Angeles CA 90013. Ends at 4 PM or when stock sells out.
  • Congresswoman Karen Bass hosts "An Uplifting Event" for Liberty Hill Foundation at a private home, starting at 3:00 PM
  • Los Angeles Conservancy and The John Lautner Foundation present a panel discussion on "Preserving Lautner's Legacy: The Spectrum of Stewardship" from 3 - 5 PM at Wilshire Christian Church Fellowship Hall, 634 South Normandie Ave. (at Wilshire Blvd.)
  • Dorian Wood performs "Athco, Or The Renaissance of Faggot Tree" at LACE to recognize the history of LA performance art. 2-4 PM. LA Contemporary Exhibitions, 6522 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood
  • CicLAvia block party is upon us!
  • Lucy Lean signs Made in America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food at Chevalier's Books from 12--2 PM
  Monday, October 10, 2011
• Moonday Poetry presents readings by Lee Rossi & Sharmagne Leland-St. John-Sylbert at Aldersgate Retreat Center, 925 Haverford Ave, Pacific Palisades. 7:30 PM
• Tower Cancer Research Foundation hosts its 2011 Spirit of Hope Luncheon & Boutique at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

• Diesel Books presents aLiterary Luncheon with Elissa Schappell for Blueprints For Building Better Girl at Viletta in Santa Monica. MUST PURCHASE TICKET PRIOR TO EVENT. Noon.
• Anti-Defamation League honors Ryan Kavanaugh at its Entertainment Industry Awards Dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. 6:30 PM
• Arborist Peter Del Tredici discusses the role of ginkgo trees in Chinese gardens at Huntington Library, Friends' Hall, 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino. 7:30 PM
• Elizabeth Adan discusses "Between The Body & The Photograph in the Work of Francesca Woodman" at Cal State University LA at 6 PM in the U-SU Theatre, Cal State Univ, 5151 State University Dr, LA
• Author Samuel Delany speaks at Claremont Colleges at 4:15 PM. Crookshank Hall, Pomona College, 140 W 6th St, Claremont
• Danie Yergin publicly ponders "Is Energy Security Possible?" at tonight's Zocalo at Petersen Automotive Museum in Miracle Mile. 7:30 PM

• Paris-based architect, Odile Decq speaks at SCI-Arc, 960 E 3rd St, Downtown LA
• California Community Foundation hosts its Unsung Heroes of Los Angeles Awards at LACMA.
• Antonio Rangel presents "Neuroeconomics: How Does Your Brain Make Decisions?" 8 PM at the Beckman Auditorium, Caltech, 332 S Michigan Ave, Pasadena
• People for Parks honors Chief Charlie Beck, Supervisor Mike Antonovich, Kelly Meyer and Chi Kim at its 10th Annual Park Celebration Dinner on stage at the Hollywood Bowl.

• Artists reception for "Public Order" exhibition at Art Squared Gallery at Pershing Square. 6-9 pm

The hottest literary ticket this month isn't LA Aloud or Arianna Huffington's salon or a poetry slam at some Johnny Depp-owned dive in darkest Hollywood.

It's hanging out at Libros Schmibros in Boyle Heights or the second, pop-up Libros that is now temporarily ensconced in the lobby of the Hammer Museum in Westwood.

For those who haven't yet heard, Libros Schmibros is a lending library and used bookstore in Boyle Heights dreamed up by critic, literary flaneur, former NEA bigwig and all-around book geek David Kipen. Can we clone him, please?

Recently, some brilliant minds at the Hammer got the idea to replicate Kipen's eclectic Boyle Heights set-up at their museum for six weeks. The functional yet conceptual art installation has been such a success with staff, museum visitors and area neighbors that the Hammer has extended Libros Schmibros West til November 5.

Initially, Kipen wondered how he would staff two bookstores at the same time. So he sent out a literary SOS to LA's community of writers. Would authors be willing to spend a few hours hanging out in either the Boyle Heights and the Westwood pop-up store as artists-in-residence.

Our mission: to shelve books, explain the Libros Schmibros philosophy to anyone who wandered in and generally hang out. Think Les Deux Magots without alcohol.

Here's how Libros works:

Every book in the library is for sale at half its listed price. Browsers may also borrow a book for three weeks on the honor system, leaving only an email address or phone number as collateral.

The city's scribblers responded to Kipen in droves, so that on any given day, you're liable to run into Mona Simpson, Jonathan Gold, Hector Tobar, Jervey Tervalon, Aimee Bender, Louise Steinman Sarah Bynum, Richard Rayner, DJ Waldie or Gary Phillips shooting the breeze with whoever wanders in.

Libros Schmibros has also hosted several nighttime events, including a standing-room only marathon reading of Jack Kerouac's On The Road and author Mark Z. Danielewski and guests discussing Thomas Pynchon's LA Trilogy. On Oct. 8, the Boyle Heights store will host a post-Yom Kippur feast with Jonathan Gold.

Last week, it was my turn at the Hammer's pop-up store. J. Michael Walker, artist and author of "All the Saints of the City of Los Angeles" was there too. (A gifted interpreter of LA culture, mythology, history and art, he also created the illustrated LA cultural map on the back wall of Libros West).

Michael and I hung out and chatted with visitors who came and went.

"You're Denise Hamilton?" asked one bemused visitor. "I've been meaning to read you!"

The visitor bought one of my books, which I happily autographed. Then I autographed four more for other people.

Soon Mike the Poet dropped by with some book donations and serenaded us with a brand new poem that Suzanne Lummis of the L.A. Poetry Foundation had commissioned for the Night and the City LA Poetry Festival this month.

The books for sale or borrow are wildly eclectic and include many that Kipen amassed in his years as book critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. There are first editions, paperback classics, gorgeous coffee table art books and noir paperbacks. In a poignant twist, the bookshelves at Libros Schmibros West came from the much lamented and recently closed Mystery Bookstore in Westwood.

Which incredulously, leaves exactly zero bookstores in the cultural hub of Westwood, (except for UCLA's) except this modest pop-up whose lights will go out for good on Nov. 5.

So come on down to Libros Schmibros at its original Boyle Heights location or the temporary Westwood digs at the Hammer. I'm about to sign up for a second gig myself. You never know what interesting people I might run into.

David Kipen with visitor at Libros Schmibros in Boyle Heights. Photo: Marianne Williams.

For the longest time God has been the undisputed boss on Mt. Olympus. All-knowing, all-powerful, ubiquitous. But now along comes a bunch of upstarts, the Trinity of Google, Apple and Facebook, seeking to unseat the "maker of all that is, seen and unseen." The latest warning sign that God should be looking in his rear-view mirror was an article over the weekend in the LA Times. It told us - as if we had to be reminded again - that Google, Apple and Facebook have been collecting huge amounts of data on us. This god-like trio knows where we are, always; who our friends are; and, perhaps most importantly, what our buying habits are. In short, we are earthly playthings in the hands of Google et alia whose data-knowledge of us is used to place clever ads in our cyber-universe, incessantly prodding us to buy politicians, causes, gadgets, whatever.

After reading the Times article, I felt like Harry Caul, the Gene Hackman character in the 1974 psychological thriller The Conversation, who ends the movie in a losing fight against insidious forces taking control of his life. Hackman tears apart his house (while mournfully playing a saxophone) to find and destroy the electronic eavesdropping devices that are the tools of his persecutors. The equivalent now would be for me to go-off-the-grid. Renounce all dealings with the internet. Smash my computer, my cellphone. Deny Google, Apple and Facebook a portal to my brain, my pocketbook. But forget it.Too radical.

Still, I did want to test the Times' thesis that I was being inundated with subtle, manipulative ads facilitated by Google, Apple and Facebook and that these ads were compromising my very sovereignty - over myself.

It was hard to believe. I have no memory for ads. How could I be manipulated if I'm so out of it? But wait, I thought, as I reviewed my Facebook page with new suspicion and curiosity. Yes, there are ads on my page! Wow! I looked at them with child-like wonder - seeing them for the first time. Facebook- perhaps even Mark Zuckerberg himself - wants me to install solar panels on my roof. To go on a cruise. To own a BMW. Surely one of these Facebook ads had slyly imprinted its message on my brain. But no, I had no solar panels. No cruise. No BMW. Was it possible I had never clicked on one of these ads - just once? Was I some unconscious, pagan brute?

Then, I remembered something. Yes. I had clicked on a Facebook ad - once. It featured a little photo of a woman; the caption said "I am a Mormon." It also said she was a TV reporter. This woman appeared day-after-day on my FB. Finally, one day I rewarded her persistence by clicking on her ad - perhaps hoping to find out about a time-share condo deal in Provo, Utah. Whatever. I have no recollection after that - other than a vague indifference to whatever this Mormon TV reporter was up to. What I do recall is that she was part of a nationwide "I'm a Mormon" ad campaign (that is still rolling out in some venues) designed to convince us that Mormons are not wierdos. They're just like us. That is to say, they're wierdos too.

Anyway, this morning, as I was writing this blog, it dawned on me that pitching a Mormon TV reporter at me, on my FB-page, was an excellent example of how the data-miners at FB had probably teamed up with the Church of the Latter Day Saints (i.e. the Mormon church) to craft an advertising pitch custom-made just for me. After all, until a few weeks ago, I too was a TV reporter. Hmm. This data-mining thing was beginning to look real. But is it sophisticated?

I dug deeper. On the Mormon church website are hundreds, possibly thousands, of Mormons offering to befriend us non-Mormons, to be our soul-mates - and explain their religion. This pool of willing Mormons is search-able; plug in a state, a religion, a keyword (like insurance salesman, teacher or golfer) and you can find your perfectly-matched Mormon. I typed in the keyword "reporter" to see if there colleagues of mine in Mormon-land who wanted to have a heart-to-heart.

Then I had a revelation about the Big Fear - that we are the targets of diabolically crafty data-mining, mind-controllers. It is way over-blown. If, in fact, the data-miners were so smart, they should've picked Rex, another TV reporter- Mormon, to be my Facebook soul-mate. Not that immemorable other woman they kept flashing at me. I found Rex while scrolling through the dozen or so Mormons listed as TV reporter-types on the church's website. Here's what she had to say:

Okay. Not much there to tickle my fancy. But looking at Rex's photo I knew Facebook and Google and Apple and all their data-sharing companions, with all their computers, their interlocking digital observation posts, their logarithmic patterns, had missed a key clue to my persona!

It should have been child's play for these smartie-pants to put Rex and me together. We have a shared TV reporter background (that's easy), and then there's reams of data from my Ralph's and Whole Foods grocery receipts. With a little effort, the data-miners should have dug one big clue out of those receipts - bananas! I buy bananas every time I go to the grocery store. I even buy them at a 7-11. And here's a photo of Rex on the Mormon website. She's in her kitchen, smiling, and holding out - you guessed it - a big bunch of bananas, a friendship offering, to me. Elementary my dear Watson.

Obviously I could have easily sat down with Rex for hours, listening to her tell me about Mormonism, bonding with her over our common TV business experiences - and eating one banana after another. Why didn't Google, Apple and Facebook figure this out? Crafty and smart? I don't think so. They missed an opportunity for a hook-up. Now it's too late. I've moved on.

So God - you can rest a little easier knowing your rivals have a long way to go to match your unblinking, all-seeing brain.

Now I'm wondering how many days, hours, minutes, seconds, it'll be before some sly banana pitch is inserted into an ad on my FB-page or comes streaming across the top of my gmail page? My stop-watch is on. I'm waiting....

Even if you can get past - or actually enjoy - the preening and posturing that dresses the set for every professional boxing match, there are so many other ways to be offended by the sport whose currency, whose whole point, is violence.

Even if you can get past - or actually enjoy - watching two guys punch each other's faces into mashed potatoes with blood gravy, how can you not wonder if, in 20 years, they'll be able to articulate a cogent thought without slurring their words? How can you abide the oily promoters, the gangsta posses, the racist fan element?

For a lot of people, boxing long ago lost its "sweet science" descriptor in favor of one more like the monster science run amok and fueled by the arrogance and coarsening of American culture.

Then there are the Klitschkos. Two middle-aged brothers born and raised in a former Soviet Union of deprivation and repression who became world champion heavyweight fighters. Two brothers who own the one-two punch of athletic success and academic achievement. Each holds a Ph.D. and retains the intellectual dexterity to appreciate and participate in a world beyond clenched fists and unsavory sycophants.

Theirs is a story for makers of lemonade, and its latest telling is a documentary film, "Klitschko," opening in Los Angeles on Oct. 21. In L.A., advance screenings are as common as sigalerts, but there was nothing common about the one last week at the Westside Pavilion for "Klitschko."

Usually, these events are fairly low key, drawing some media and a sprinkling of industry insiders and wannabes who pretend to be more interested in their smartphone messages than what's showing on-screen.

Usually, you don't see whole herds of women dressed in second-skin gowns cut down to here and speaking something Slavic. You don't see the producer introduce the film with extended thank-yous to its subjects for giving him two years of access and the final cut, dropping a lot of Ukrainian and German names, and dispatching the usual celebrity-in-attendance acknowledgments with "To all the famous people in the room, thanks for coming." You don't see German Consul General Wolfgang Drautz, host of the screening and after party, shrink into his seat and avert his eyes when the immovable left eye of Vitali Klitschko meets the unstoppable force of Lennox Lewis' right hand.

The film depicts how Vitali, 40, and Wladimir, 35, came to hold between them all five boxing federation heavyweight titles. There's a lot of pugilism, of course, and some historical context, such as how their father (who died in July) contracted cancer, presumably as a Soviet Air Force colonel who commanded one of the units cleaning up the Chernobyl nuclear plant. You learn how Germany embraced the brothers' athletic ambition and social conscience, and how Vitali checked out of the ring for a couple years to run for mayor of Kiev. He lost, but remains leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and is a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe.

You see them playing chess, speaking five languages, giving far more than lip service to charities benefiting children around the world and winning humanitarian awards that reflect the opposite instinct of wanting to separate somebody's head from his shoulders. These two guys - one 6'8", the other 6'6" - have even won the fetchingly named Bambi award, a German accolade honoring achievement in entertainment, sports and social engagement. In what dream would Floyd Mayweather even be able to find Bolivia on a map, much less donate time and money for the benefit of its children?

After the screening, the brothers sat for a short Q&A session moderated by Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Dwyre, who has long appreciated the cleansing effect jocks like the Klitschkos can bring to the grimy endeavor that is pro boxing. With typical grace, the brothers acknowledged people in the audience who helped them, who are the kind of role models they still think the sports world can engender.

Asked about some of the people who shaped their careers, Vitali thanked former champion Lennox Lewis for giving him an opportunity to ascend to a more prominent stage. Wladimir thanked Chris Byrd, a former heavyweight champion who has fought both brothers and whose pre-teen son congratulated Wladimir in the ring just after he'd taken the championship over the kid's dad with a TKO. Wladimir asked Justin Byrd, now a lanky high-schooler, to stand up, and told him how much that gesture had meant to him. How it bespoke good parenting. How, he said in perfect idiomatic expression, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Wladimir also asked the crowd to acknowledge Jesse Billauer, and expressed his gratitude for helping him gain perspective. He described Billauer's charisma, and he might even have mentioned the word "hero." Billauer, a professional surfer, broke his neck on a sandbar 15 years ago, and is a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair, except when he's surfing.

As explained in the film, the brothers have never and will never fight each other. Their bond, Vitali said, comes from following directions. When he was 6, his working parents told him he had to take care of Wladimir, 1. "They never told me to stop."

"It's really cool," Wladimir said during the Q&A, "to share the heavyweight championship of the world with your sibling." English is, what -- his fourth language? He actually said "sibling."

Boxing isn't and never will be about decency, humanism and intelligence. It's about strategy, speed, power and blood. And, these days, artifice, entitlement and polarization. You'd like to think a movie about people who are different could change that. But it won't.

Photo: Volker Corell