February 2012
69 posts
The Carpetbagger: Plenty of Stars but Only One Mayor and Film Fan By MELENA RYZIK →
carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com
As always the main star of the night was Mayor Villaraigosa himself. Recently appointed the chairman of the Democratic National Convention by President Obama, he offered his customary mix of stump speechifying and pop culture addiction. When the Bagger found our way to him in his usual spot — surrounded by a passel of beautiful women – he quickly began listing his favorite films of the season (we hadn’t asked). “The Descendants,” he said. “I love George Clooney, and I loved the storyline, a man who was so into his work that he forgot to be into his wife, his family.”
He also loved “The Help.” “It talked about this dark period in our history that we would love to forget, and as dark as it was and – other than what we did to the Native Americans, it’s our darkest period – there were also these glimmers of hope and goodness,” he said. He had just finished enumerating the charms of “The Artist” – “maybe the most creative movie I’ve seen!” – when he saw someone he’d rather talk to.
“Oooh my goodness, my goodness!” he shouted at Kathy Hilton. “How are you baby? Where’s your hubby at?” He gave her a double-cheek kiss, put his arm around Rick Hilton, turned and was gone.
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“He is sometimes shocked, shocked like Claude Rains, at what his bosses ask him to do.”
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http://lareviewofbooks.org/post/12555828808/zell-to-l-a-times-drop-dead
Another example of why it’s good to have watched old movies.
“Doesn’t it make you just a little nervous?
Not at all. First of all, I think they are going to do a good job. Secondly, I don’t know if I’m in a position to recognize if they do a good job or don’t. I’m too close to it. But also I don’t buy this thing that moviemakers can ruin a book. All they can do is ruin a movie. The book is the book. Movies always bring readers to books. They never take readers away from books.” —
Not at all. First of all, I think they are going to do a good job. Secondly, I don’t know if I’m in a position to recognize if they do a good job or don’t. I’m too close to it. But also I don’t buy this thing that moviemakers can ruin a book. All they can do is ruin a movie. The book is the book. Movies always bring readers to books. They never take readers away from books.” —
Interview with Jonathan Safran Foer in 2011, Daily Candy
Glad you think that way JSF, ‘cause that movie was a huge let-down.
“In May of 1901 the City Council promised the use of the city chain gang to widen the cuts along the route Sunset would take. The chain gang had been working sporadically on Sunset Boulevard since at least 1899”
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A look into landslides reveals Sunset Boulevard’s rocky past — The Eastsider LA
“the city chain gang”
“J.Lo should take notes: This is how you do an oversized bun (meaning not perched on the top of your head like a weird flotation device)”
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Photo 1- The Best-Dressed Faces At The Oscars
what an accurate description!
“BERKELEY, Calif. — Everybody misplaces something sometime. But it is not easy for the University of California, Berkeley, to explain how it lost a 22-foot-long carved panel by a celebrated African-American sculptor, or how, three years ago, it mistakenly sold this work, valued at more than a million dollars, for $150 plus tax.”
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Art by Sargent Johnson, Berkeley’s Loss, Is Museum’s Gain - NYTimes.com
unbelievable
“the Raymond Chandler booth, which he and his tablemates had requested (if you’re standing at the bar, it’s the first booth against the wall to your right).”
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A Literary Salon at Musso & Frank | The Nosh | Food | KCET
need to figure that out next time
“If one spreads out the span of one’s right hand and puts the palm down on the center of a map of Los Angeles County with the thumb pointing north, at the tip of each finger will be found a community where the population is predominantly Mexican.”
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Carey McWilliams. Another interesting examples of hand cartography.
Shaquille O'Neal – No Hook featuring Prince Rakeem "The RZA" and Method Man →
open.spotify.com
This is what Wu-Tang would sound like if they let Shaq join in a different dimension.
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“Soon after, Michaels set to work drafting a 100-day plan for the Tribune Company. O’Shea points out that the nine-page, single-spaced document never once mentions the word journalism. Some of Michaels’s bullet points sounded proudly Third Reich-ish, such as “Empower opinion leaders who buy into the new vision” and “Eliminate negative resistance and counterproductive team members immediately. Hang the turf Gods Publicly.”
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http://lareviewofbooks.org/post/12555828808/zell-to-l-a-times-drop-dead
The Los Angeles Times is so scary.
