tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72718890968997409942024-02-19T08:07:46.398-08:00Electric MeaningThe American ExperimentE.Henryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04931697242244315220noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-60633797220508846892009-04-26T16:12:00.001-07:002009-04-26T16:21:42.113-07:00An Interview with James Ellroy (From October 2006)E.Henryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04931697242244315220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-87711343583548117592009-04-22T12:02:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.955-07:00The Community Comes Together to Fight for Educational RightsOriginally posted on Intersectionssouthla.orgCalifornia is facing the biggest education spending cuts in history, as well as thousands of job losses for teachers working in South LA's classrooms. Community forums, like the one held on March 30th at the Baha'i Faith Center in Baldwin Park, are bringing educators, students and residents together to make a stand against what some believe to be a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-35508353651844008512009-04-22T11:58:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.955-07:00Community Journalism: Honing the Voices of Tomorrow Originally posted on Neon Tommy.comYesterday, I stood in front of a class of seniors at Crenshaw High School and attempted to explain blogging. I showed them how to log in to Blogspot, how to write and submit their posts, and how to link to their stories from MySpace. But then a girl in a long purple dress, second row, asked: "What's the point?""What do you mean?" I replied, unsure I had Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-32828493939020719992009-04-22T11:44:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.955-07:00The Changing Face of Los Angeles, As In-Bound Immigration SlowsOriginally posted on Neon Tommy.comIn-bound immigration is slowing in California, and the next generation of naturalized, immigrant children is growing. The number of U.S.-born children with legal and unauthorized immigrant parents has swelled in the last five years from 2.7 million in 2003 to 4 million in 2008. According to a study released by the Pew Hispanic Center, one in three of these Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-73400027611795326792009-04-10T00:17:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.956-07:00Nuclear Breakdown: Who's Nuking Who in WWIIIOriginally posted on Neon Tommy.comIn 2006, I had a very detailed map of global nuclear missile range pinned to my bedroom wall. Why? I'm not exactly sure. But there was something refreshing about displaying an accessible, comprehensive two-page spread detailing mankind's biggest fear. I was brazenly exhibiting the most potent threat to civilization, nuclear war, like a piece of art. It was Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-31647816618757311512009-04-10T00:10:00.000-07:002012-07-15T17:32:32.515-07:00Getting Back to RealityI don't hate the Internet, and I'm too young to be nostalgic. But, I do believe that actions speak louder than words, a handshake is more powerful than a Tweet, and a smile is more important than a smiley. While we're busy obsessing over our invisible actions, there's a whole world at risk of being neglected.
"We are creating a technology that will create a new world," said Renny Gleeson, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-20061515676953736692009-04-10T00:03:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.956-07:00CNN: (TED) Technology, Entertainment, Design Conference at USCOne of the challenges in the world of digital innovation is the ability to recreate the human face. During his talk at the TEDx USC conference, Paul Debevec explained that while computer graphics in movies and video games have exploded in recent years, audiences still notice inconsistencies in digitally created human faces (a reason why many video game characters wear helmets, as in “Halo 3″).ButUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-62619167842254272372009-03-21T01:31:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.956-07:00Trapped in PurgatoryOriginally posted on Neon Tommy.comHe watched his father die of starvation. It started with bouts of diarrhea as the digestive system broke down, and before long, the body was unable to process even the morsels that were offered. There was no food, other than the bark scraped from trees and occasionally, a life-saving potato. But the famine deepened. After his father's death, his 7-month-old Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-34253413039122130492009-03-12T16:17:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.957-07:00Short Story: "The Snowman" (2006)My hands aren’t looking the same as they used to. They look short-nailed and scraggly, dry. It’s all part of this bodily decay that’s happening I’m told. I’m going to start shrivelling up now that I’ve reached my twenties. You grow up and then you grow down. But that minute, that less than millisecond of time, that tiny significant fragment that is barely anything at all – a speck of dust on a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-63779048078854093902009-02-09T23:02:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.957-07:00Pre-Screening Prep Boosts Watchmen ExperienceOriginally posted on Neon Tommy.comWith a line sweeping around the building into the depths of an unusually cold Los Angeles evening, the Vista Theater on Sunset Boulevard was one of many across the nation experiencing Friday-night frenzy for "Watchmen". After all, when was the last time bona fide geeks were nourished by a decent superhero movie? Not since "The Dark Knight" in July 2008. It has Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-27683020503323246882009-02-09T20:47:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.957-07:00From Neontommy.com: Hard Times Demand the Soft Touch of Social WorkersOriginally posted here.It's ironic that in a world where instant teleportation is made possible through the virtual realm, human beings are becoming more isolated from one another. The idea of "social support" seems almost archaic. Independence is a more valuable trait than mutual responsibility.Social work as a profession is crumbling across the Western world, even in countries where it has longUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-90269635507735979802009-02-09T20:42:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.957-07:00From the LA Weekly: Morgan vs. Foretich Twenty Years LaterOriginally posted here.At home, things are as normal as can be. Dr. Elizabeth Morgan brings in a tray carrying a single cup of coffee, a sugar bowl and her favorite creamer. The creamer is shaped like a cow, with a looped tail forming a handle. It doesn’t work that well, she explains as milk slops out, but she loves it. Her daughter, now called Elena, laughs as she finishes snacking on a crackerUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-53882939270853903052009-01-27T11:06:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.958-07:00The Interpretation of Search Trends: How SEO experts are tapping into the human psyche and revealing its darkest secretsPosted on Pop+Politics.comLeaning over his keyboard, author Andrew Keen typed the word “Why?” into the search bar. Keen, who believes that the internet is “cannibalizing culture,” is also fascinated by the secrets of our online universe. He plays with a keyword research tool – a website feature that ranks the frequency of billions of questions inputted into search engines – and the results of hisUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-4744774604171703922008-12-04T22:38:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.958-07:00Short Story: Guitar, Gum, PapersI was standing on a pitch black area of beach with a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum in my hand, watching the confrontation between Mark and the toothy Jamaican man and feeling increasingly nervous. The man’s face was inching closer throughout the conversation, his voice getting louder. I glimpsed at his hands in case they concealed a weapon. I looked longingly toward the part of the beach 100 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-49945369779913169972008-12-04T22:35:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.958-07:00Poem: Oh, That I Were a ManOh, that I were a man and could beA thinker of great things, I could seeThe universe in existential glory,History in form of linear story,Politics in terms of how to vote,Passion and upon whom I should dote.I could sit hours away with only BrandyThinking of what tool would be handyTo mend a shoe, though worn in appearance,Allowing my toes much room for clearance.I would smoke cigars - and enjoy Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-48680819859283533102008-12-04T22:33:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.958-07:00Poem: The Silence of a MorningThere were daffodils in the springtime,Dewy ground, the smell of real green,The sun reflected in wet eyesOf a road seldom used.Slumbering dark behind windows,The sleepy whispers of morning,Rousing dawn from sleep, To Paint the watercolor of day.No children’s noises, orMechanical sounds, otherThan the door hinge that Mr BrownWill fix today.He carries a bucket, wears WellingtonBoots, treads Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-57741091391898130422008-12-04T22:32:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.958-07:00Short Story: Memories, Part IIWhere does a story begin? This is something that all authors, writers, dreamers and poets grapple with. Does it begin with birth? Or does it begin with the present? I carried the laundry up the stairs in a big, black sack. I threw it onto the bedroom floor thinking that all the clothes inside will have creased before I take the time to fold them and put them away. I’ve spent the day reading, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-17157275007296930932008-12-04T22:27:00.000-08:002009-04-23T18:28:15.959-07:00Short Story: MemoriesInside the car, boarded up by metal and glass, radiator circulating like warm breath in the morning of their tiny bedroom at home, she thought the saddest thought of all. It was the thought that they would never truly be alone. No matter how small and impenetrable the space. She had so much more to fight against than opening doors and cracked windows. There was a space that she could only feel, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-20949031690363613012008-10-12T15:12:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.959-07:00Two red helmets sit side by side on the seat of a motorcycle. One belongs to Dr. Stephen Trudeau, a psychologist and longtime biker with a passion for scenic highways. The other belongs to his 9-year-old son, Devin, a fourth-grader who loves math and riding to school with his dad. But instead of traveling on the back of his dad's bike, Devin rides alongside, in the comfort and safety of a shiny Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-87708201463387897972008-09-29T22:40:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.959-07:00Little Britain USA: Class, Culture and Dignity?The premier of Little Britain USA Sunday night marks the inevitable transition of Britain’s leading comedy sketch show onto American televisions. In Britain, the show has been running for five years and is a cultural phenomenon. Books, coffee mugs, t-shirts, you name it. Everyone in the show’s homeland has received a Little Britain Christmas gift since the first season’s debut in September 2003. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-50235360690207284352008-09-26T19:51:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.959-07:00Welfare Policy, Leg-up Versus Hand-OutAt some point soon after the very beginning of man, a Neanderthal tripped and fell over a misplaced mammoth bone onto the cave floor. Some of his buddies laughed. Some ignored him. But one of them grunted over and put out his hand. This was the moment we started talking about welfare policy. When the fallen Neanderthal refused to get up, that was the moment we started complaining about it. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-2629365199312656072008-09-23T23:03:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.960-07:00David Foster Wallace, A Literary Genius who Changed Fiction ForeverPerhaps it was inevitable that the strange curse suffered by so many great writers should strike so close to home— at least, as close as my coffee table, where Infinite Jest resides, or my desk, stacked with books of David Foster Wallace’s short stories. Even my memo board is filled with words given to me by D.F.W, scribbled on post-it notes: “You‘ve got to discipline yourself to talk out of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-61521827721347342862008-09-23T22:59:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.960-07:00Brits Back Obama, Remain Skeptical of U.S. PoliticsBritish Prime Minister Gordon Brown backs Obama. Russell Brand (we think, but he didn't make himself too clear on this one at the VMAs...) is also in the Obama Camp. Now a BBC poll shows that the majority of the world, given the chance, would stamp their hopes next to Obama's name on the ballot. But do Brits back Obama wholeheartedly, or because there seems no better option? Judging by the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-36069339860000553082008-09-23T21:07:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.960-07:00Holy Matrimony! From Gotham City to Goths, Weddings with a TwistAt "Wayne Manor" in Monrovia, the bride and groom posed for pictures before being driven away in a Batmobile. For another couple, Castle Green in Pasadena became a haunted mansion, decorated with black manzanita trees, black roses in Gothic urns and glowing white pumpkins for a "Nightmare Before Christmas" wedding. In Orange, Alice found Wonderland at the French Estate Inn and spent her Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271889096899740994.post-40076625324445403662008-08-28T18:45:00.000-07:002009-04-23T18:28:15.960-07:00Never Losing Faith in AmericaMy mother never lost faith in America. When she was pregnant with me, trying to decide whether or not the baby should be born in her homeland or her new world, the final decision was sealed because Bruce Springstein's "Born the USA" was still blaring throughout Baltimore in 1985.Although she took me back to England where we both would have the support of her large and extended family, she never Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0