Complete edition, everything in one place! Late April edition, News, Events, Perspectives - Associated Journalists. Late April edition, 2019.
Whether it's a newsroom or making a boiler ready to power the world's largest locomotive,
it's not the heavy lifting, but the attention to detail that's required to get it right.
THIS EDITION has everything -- science to politics, historical perspectives to
arts workshops... the return of the world's largest locomotive is feature # 17.
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CONTENTS / There's plenty IN THIS EDITION
⊙ Introduction, welcome, what we're all about. (The longest thing in here.)
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☆ The Main News -- though you might not find it any place but here...
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1) GETTING MUELLER-FIED AIN'T GETTING MOLLIFIED (a very short feature)
2) APRIL 19th IN HISTORY AND THE LEGACY THAT COULD RESURFACE ANY TIME
3) YOUR INNOVATIVE IDEAS ARE NEEDED FOR "SPACE FOR THE OCEANS"
4) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUBBLE!
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☆ Earth Day - Earth Week Special Features...
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5) GREEN TIPS FOR EARTH DAY (link)
6) NATIONAL PARK WEEK STARTS SATURDAY, WITH FREE ADMISSION EVERYWHERE
7) CLIMATE CHANGE -- A QUICK WAY TO TAKE ACTION
5) GREEN TIPS FOR EARTH DAY (link)
6) NATIONAL PARK WEEK STARTS SATURDAY, WITH FREE ADMISSION EVERYWHERE
7) CLIMATE CHANGE -- A QUICK WAY TO TAKE ACTION
8) L.A.'s BEST HIKING TRAILS
9) WHAT'S IN THAT REESE'S EGG?
10) NESTLE'S PLASTIC MONSTER
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☆ News that isn't getting covered, and Views on things...
9) WHAT'S IN THAT REESE'S EGG?
10) NESTLE'S PLASTIC MONSTER
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☆ News that isn't getting covered, and Views on things...
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11) WITH PRESS FREEDOM AT STAKE IF ASSANGE IS EXTRADITED, BIG MEDIA IS ABSENT
12) ANNUAL TIME MAGAZINE "TIME 100" -- SPOTLIGHTING ONE HONOREE
13) WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WIN THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION?
14) ODDS n' ENDS, STRAYS HERDED FROM THE HOLLAR, 'n UNMASKED REDACTIONS
--12) ANNUAL TIME MAGAZINE "TIME 100" -- SPOTLIGHTING ONE HONOREE
13) WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WIN THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION?
14) ODDS n' ENDS, STRAYS HERDED FROM THE HOLLAR, 'n UNMASKED REDACTIONS
☆ EVENTS -- Arts, Entertainment, plus News about and FOR Artists...
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15) FREE ARTIST WORKSHOPS, ALL WEEK, SPONSORED BY THE L.A. MUSIC CENTER
16) FREE ON-DEMAND SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING FOR ARTISTS, FOR A LIMITED TIME; "How to Become a Social Media Ninja in Under an Hour" with Rick Ruskin, available now
17) GETTING READY FOR THE GOLDEN SPIKE -- A LOOK AT WHEN TRAINS WERE EXCITING
18) MUSICIANS ON CALL CELEBRATES 20th ANNIVERSARY
19) "WHEN THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO... YOU STAND IN SOLIDARITY AND SING"
20) CAJUN-ZYDECO-BLUES: FREE ONLINE VIDEO COLLECTION; Because we all need the joy and energy of Lou'siana swamp music
21) YOU CAN VOTE FOR BEST SOUTH BAY VENUES & MORE
22) TIX ALERTS -- get 'em while you can; some have early-bird passwords
23) ONGOING EVENTS -- some ending soon, some impending
___
Let's get started!
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⊙ WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT.
(The longest thing in here.)
Welcome! In the changing world of journalism, many experienced writers, investigative journalists, and print media reporters have lost their jobs due to corporate mega-mergers and the inevitable downsizing that follows. That's also true in television and radio newsrooms, though it's far worse in print-and-web "printed word" reporting.
Over 2,400 journalists -- many of them investigative reporters -- have lost full-time jobs throughout America due to cutbacks in the past year alone.
Let's be clear: we're not talking about washouts or wannabes. We're talking about knowledgeable, experienced folks with a passion for finding the facts and what they mean, a passion for sorting the wheat from the chaff, and making what matters understandable. We're talking about folks who have honed the skill sets to cover and report news and make it not just interesting, but compelling.
We celebrate that focused passion when we find it. We cite the outlets that do a good job when we find them.
But let's face it: The thoughtful perspectives of in-house "subject specialists" and those who can richly and meaningfully inform current events with deep background knowledge-- and the perspective of history -- appear in far fewer numbers. It's not just that cable TV goes for quick and clever sound bytes from talking heads in place of real analysis. It's become, primarily, a function of chasing ratings based on tribalism driven by social media. It can be argued that is as much a response to the haranging singularities of cable news as it is a paradigm of on-demand convenience for the individually encapsulated.
Of course, that's not all. When a big city newspaper refuses to run advance coverage of a festival-sized event for a major global charity, telling organizers to "Buy a full-page ad," readers cannot choose to support what they do not know is happening. And those volunteering many hours for a worthy cause justifiably feel betrayed by the media.
Those things happen all to often. It happens when something runs counter to the apparent agenda of the corporate masters who absorbed the media outlet that was once populated with bulldogs. They happen too, because the cutesy format of the morning show, or the need for phoners with bombastic candidates full of bloviating bluster, consume all the air time the "news hole" gets between unprecedented amounts of commercials.
Thus, many journalists are frustrated when they expend the effort and really dig-in to develop a story, only to encounter forces that won't allow their audience to see it.
OUR WRITERS include those who have held White House press credentials, written for newspaper syndicates, and hosted radio shows in major markets. Most often, they are now contributors to independent outlets. Even then, when an editor decides to eliminate relevant parts of a story, they can send it to us. If it follows the rules of good journalism, we will print all of it -- with the caveat that anything legally actionable won't appear. We're not interested in being sued for libel or slander -- but calling out the scoundrels is always fair game.
"News, Events, Perspectives -- Associated Journalists" -- features plenty of NEWS YOU CAN USE and news that, sadly, you aren't finding often enough anywhere else. What's here is informative and often offers perspective.
A LOT OF IT IS FUN. WE COVER EVENTS.
We feature dissertations on history. We include what editors call "color," the connections to cultural touchstones that many readers need to find, to be worth their while to hang around and to look forward to coming back.
What we DON'T do is wallow in the singularities of corporate Big Media -- except to call them out for doing it. And when we detect it's just a sheepdip, we question why they're doing it.
We attract writers because they can (a) get their stories published the way they want them to read; (b) keep their skills sharp, when they might otherwise be stuck with pablum; and (c) offer exposure and current publishing credits to those looking to find new outlets.
Sometimes this is a cornucopia. Sometimes it's heavy with science. Or international relations and foreign policy. Or music and the arts. All are welcome.
So, from in-depth analysis and thoughtful discussions to FUN AND WORTHWHILE THINGS TO DO, you'll always find plenty here.
We've tried in the past to cover events in several regions. Once upon a time, on fancier sites with all the bells and whistles, we published events editions for Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle.all that just proved to be too much. So...
Our EVENTS are focused on SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, though our eta and entertainment news features may preview or review things happening anywhere in the world, as determined by what our associated journalists contribute. No, you won't find celebrity gossip. We DON'T do that.
Because things here come from multiple contributors, some listings will inevitably arrive here later than they ran (or later their authors that they were going to run, before an editor or corporate hack cut them) in other outlets. We attempt to keep our content completely relevant. If the closing date for an event has passed, we likely knew that, but figured you would like to know about whatever it is (or was) anyway. After all, we do write about history here, as well as things that just happened or haven't yet happened.
Photos, in particular, will often inform you about what HAS happened.
Sometimes you'll see writer's bylines and sometimes you won't.
There's an important reason why. When you work for any of many outlets, you cannot publish elsewhere under your own name -- at least you can't if it could create a problem in the front office. At the same time, we do not want to lose credibility with readers by showing you a bunch of goofy pseudonyms. So, much of what we publish is simply credited to "News, Events, Perspectives -- Associated Journalists."
Our Managing Editor, Larry Wines, can be contacted regarding
SUBMISSIONS FROM JOURNALISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, at
news-events-perspectives-editor@outlook.com
READER COMMENTS are welcome, and they can be made using the site's tools (that's a newly-enabled feature, and it IS moderated to eliminate spam).
COMMENTS or QUESTIONS can be sent by email to:
news.events.perspectives.info@gmail.com
If you email a COMMENT and you want it to appear with other readers' comments, state that clearly, and remember to specify that we may include your name.
Over 2,400 journalists -- many of them investigative reporters -- have lost full-time jobs throughout America due to cutbacks in the past year alone.
Let's be clear: we're not talking about washouts or wannabes. We're talking about knowledgeable, experienced folks with a passion for finding the facts and what they mean, a passion for sorting the wheat from the chaff, and making what matters understandable. We're talking about folks who have honed the skill sets to cover and report news and make it not just interesting, but compelling.
We celebrate that focused passion when we find it. We cite the outlets that do a good job when we find them.
Of course, that's not all. When a big city newspaper refuses to run advance coverage of a festival-sized event for a major global charity, telling organizers to "Buy a full-page ad," readers cannot choose to support what they do not know is happening. And those volunteering many hours for a worthy cause justifiably feel betrayed by the media.
Those things happen all to often. It happens when something runs counter to the apparent agenda of the corporate masters who absorbed the media outlet that was once populated with bulldogs. They happen too, because the cutesy format of the morning show, or the need for phoners with bombastic candidates full of bloviating bluster, consume all the air time the "news hole" gets between unprecedented amounts of commercials.
Thus, many journalists are frustrated when they expend the effort and really dig-in to develop a story, only to encounter forces that won't allow their audience to see it.
OUR WRITERS include those who have held White House press credentials, written for newspaper syndicates, and hosted radio shows in major markets. Most often, they are now contributors to independent outlets. Even then, when an editor decides to eliminate relevant parts of a story, they can send it to us. If it follows the rules of good journalism, we will print all of it -- with the caveat that anything legally actionable won't appear. We're not interested in being sued for libel or slander -- but calling out the scoundrels is always fair game.
"News, Events, Perspectives -- Associated Journalists" -- features plenty of NEWS YOU CAN USE and news that, sadly, you aren't finding often enough anywhere else. What's here is informative and often offers perspective.
A LOT OF IT IS FUN. WE COVER EVENTS.
We feature dissertations on history. We include what editors call "color," the connections to cultural touchstones that many readers need to find, to be worth their while to hang around and to look forward to coming back.
What we DON'T do is wallow in the singularities of corporate Big Media -- except to call them out for doing it. And when we detect it's just a sheepdip, we question why they're doing it.
We attract writers because they can (a) get their stories published the way they want them to read; (b) keep their skills sharp, when they might otherwise be stuck with pablum; and (c) offer exposure and current publishing credits to those looking to find new outlets.
Sometimes this is a cornucopia. Sometimes it's heavy with science. Or international relations and foreign policy. Or music and the arts. All are welcome.
So, from in-depth analysis and thoughtful discussions to FUN AND WORTHWHILE THINGS TO DO, you'll always find plenty here.
We've tried in the past to cover events in several regions. Once upon a time, on fancier sites with all the bells and whistles, we published events editions for Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle.all that just proved to be too much. So...
Our EVENTS are focused on SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, though our eta and entertainment news features may preview or review things happening anywhere in the world, as determined by what our associated journalists contribute. No, you won't find celebrity gossip. We DON'T do that.
Because things here come from multiple contributors, some listings will inevitably arrive here later than they ran (or later their authors that they were going to run, before an editor or corporate hack cut them) in other outlets. We attempt to keep our content completely relevant. If the closing date for an event has passed, we likely knew that, but figured you would like to know about whatever it is (or was) anyway. After all, we do write about history here, as well as things that just happened or haven't yet happened.
Photos, in particular, will often inform you about what HAS happened.
Sometimes you'll see writer's bylines and sometimes you won't.
There's an important reason why. When you work for any of many outlets, you cannot publish elsewhere under your own name -- at least you can't if it could create a problem in the front office. At the same time, we do not want to lose credibility with readers by showing you a bunch of goofy pseudonyms. So, much of what we publish is simply credited to "News, Events, Perspectives -- Associated Journalists."
Our Managing Editor, Larry Wines, can be contacted regarding
SUBMISSIONS FROM JOURNALISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, at
news-events-perspectives-editor@outlook.com
READER COMMENTS are welcome, and they can be made using the site's tools (that's a newly-enabled feature, and it IS moderated to eliminate spam).
COMMENTS or QUESTIONS can be sent by email to:
news.events.perspectives.info@gmail.com
If you email a COMMENT and you want it to appear with other readers' comments, state that clearly, and remember to specify that we may include your name.
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First section:
☆ The Main News -- though you might not find it anyplace but here...
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# 1 feature...
GETTING MUELLER-FIED AIN'T GETTING MOLLIFIED (a very short feature)
Merriam-Webster, the dictionary people, tell us, "Mollify, pacify, appease, and placate all mean 'to ease the anger or disturbance of,' although each implies a slightly different way of pouring oil on troubled waters."
The oil on those waters is about to burn. Our advice is, everybody outta the pool. Go find some rejuvenating tuneage.
Besides, we're what, twenty hours since the Mueller Report was pre-spun and then released. (It got the spin cycle before it got the wash cycle.) And the talking head / cult of personality / singularity focusers / head distractors to protect the corporate agendas / aka "news anchor - show hosts" of cable...
ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT NOTHING ELSE.
So, we will summarize, for you, the Mueller Report's findings about the Commander-in-Tweet in just twelve words:
"He isn't guilty of obstructing justice only because nobody followed his orders."
DO YOU WANT TO READ THE FULL (REDACTED) MUELLER REPORT?
Knock yerself out. Here it is, courtesy of the nonpartisan Common Cause:
https://www.commoncause.org/resource/read-the-mueller-report/
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| The internet had a lot more fun with Attorney General Barr's pre-release press conference. Barr, who is supposed to be the lawyer for the people of the United States, spun the report no one had yet seen, as if he were the defense attorney for the occupant of the White House (and more often, the golf course). Most fun of all was had with Deputy AG Rosenstein's "hostage stare," and "the bearded guy who looked like a Confederate general." |
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# 2 feature...
APRIL 19th IN HISTORY AND THE LEGACY THAT COULD RESURFACE ANY TIME
Today marks the 24th anniversary of the OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING. On April 19, 1995, a former soldier deeply influenced by the literature and ideas of the radical right detonated a truck bomb on a delayed timer that allowed him to escape. (We avoid publishing the names of heinous criminals, so as not to memorialize them.)
The resulting explosion destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It killed 168 people, including babies in a day care center, and injured 675 others, some crippled for life.
Drawing upon a massive news archive of the events, including more than 60 hours of audio from jailhouse interviews with the bomber, the award-winning PBS "American Experience" documentary "Oklahoma City" traces the events that led the bomber to his murderous act on that day. It recounts the stories of survivors, first responders, U.S. Marshals, FBI investigators, and journalists who covered the attack.
"Oklahoma City" is available on iTunes, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Google Play, and those who have bought the "PBS Passport" already know how to watch it free.
But we can't stop there. Because this is a past that can happen again, and it is far more likely to revisit our shores than any act of foreign-based terrorism. Acts of intimidation, manifesting in far more open expressions of both anti-minority and anti-immigrant white nationalism, and (Jussie Smollett aside) other manifestations of violent racism, are all on the rise over the past two years. That's throughout America, along with parts of Europe. And in Israel and America, the titular heads of state have fomented it. (Doubters can check FBI Crime Statistics and those of domestic and global human rights groups.)
For some inscrutable reason, corporate media and politicians collude in a conspiracy of denial that forbids labelling these acts as terrorism. Perhaps that's because the warconomy needs that word to justify ever-more replacement of diplomacy with military-backed regime change -- to export shockingly violent acts to other people's countries. And to employ a standard response of "praying for the victims" instead of finding ways to end domestic terrorism -- especially when assault weapons are involved.
A common factor in the marked rise of violence -- along with America's adduction to owning military combat weapons and failing to treat what combat does to our veterans -- is another factor. It's one that's emphasized in a new documentary film, this one a short. It focuses on the literature and ideas of the radical right that motivated the Oklahoma City bomber, and continues to manifest in violent and murderous acts that never seem to be called terrorism.
Asking, "Could a single book inspire deadly terror?" the digital short, "The Turner Diaries," chronicles adherents to the book and the crimes -- including 200 murders -- they have committed. This new short film also interviews J.M. Berger, an expert and -- in odd academic speak -- "extremism fellow" at The Hague. It reveals rare footage of "The Turner Diaries" author William Pierce. You can watch it at:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/oklahoma-city-turner-diaries/
And yes, Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. Mainstream media appears to be focused on that, but not on Oklahoma City. So we chose the latter.
APRIL 19th IN HISTORY AND THE LEGACY THAT COULD RESURFACE ANY TIME
Today marks the 24th anniversary of the OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING. On April 19, 1995, a former soldier deeply influenced by the literature and ideas of the radical right detonated a truck bomb on a delayed timer that allowed him to escape. (We avoid publishing the names of heinous criminals, so as not to memorialize them.)
The resulting explosion destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It killed 168 people, including babies in a day care center, and injured 675 others, some crippled for life.
 |
| On the footprint of the Murrah Building is a memorial operated by the Nat'l Park Service. On its lawn are 168 empty chairs. Each stone chair bears the name of one of the 168 people killed by the bombing. |
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| Click either image to enlarge it. |
But we can't stop there. Because this is a past that can happen again, and it is far more likely to revisit our shores than any act of foreign-based terrorism. Acts of intimidation, manifesting in far more open expressions of both anti-minority and anti-immigrant white nationalism, and (Jussie Smollett aside) other manifestations of violent racism, are all on the rise over the past two years. That's throughout America, along with parts of Europe. And in Israel and America, the titular heads of state have fomented it. (Doubters can check FBI Crime Statistics and those of domestic and global human rights groups.)
For some inscrutable reason, corporate media and politicians collude in a conspiracy of denial that forbids labelling these acts as terrorism. Perhaps that's because the warconomy needs that word to justify ever-more replacement of diplomacy with military-backed regime change -- to export shockingly violent acts to other people's countries. And to employ a standard response of "praying for the victims" instead of finding ways to end domestic terrorism -- especially when assault weapons are involved.
A common factor in the marked rise of violence -- along with America's adduction to owning military combat weapons and failing to treat what combat does to our veterans -- is another factor. It's one that's emphasized in a new documentary film, this one a short. It focuses on the literature and ideas of the radical right that motivated the Oklahoma City bomber, and continues to manifest in violent and murderous acts that never seem to be called terrorism.
Asking, "Could a single book inspire deadly terror?" the digital short, "The Turner Diaries," chronicles adherents to the book and the crimes -- including 200 murders -- they have committed. This new short film also interviews J.M. Berger, an expert and -- in odd academic speak -- "extremism fellow" at The Hague. It reveals rare footage of "The Turner Diaries" author William Pierce. You can watch it at:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/oklahoma-city-turner-diaries/
And yes, Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. Mainstream media appears to be focused on that, but not on Oklahoma City. So we chose the latter.
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YOUR INNOVATIVE IDEAS ARE NEEDED FOR "SPACE FOR THE OCEANS"
ESA -- the European Space Agency -- wants your ideas for applying space technology to Earth-based problems.
Really and truly, they do.
Pause a second and think: who, among our blue planet's infestation of human presence, is more passionately creative than our artists?
See why they're asking You?
History provides plenty of examples of artists with bold ideas that revolutionize everything, and collaborations (intentional or not) that allow designers, engineers, and scientists to use ideas that were hatched in the minds of artists. Quick example: comedian Steve Allen developed the design concept for the first artificial heart.
Astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson has said, "Science without art doesn't mean anything, and therefore cannot sustain the motivation to go on. The artist who cares about science is essential to everything."
Through the "Open Space Innovation Platform," a new challenge-based website, ESA is hunting-out bright ideas in two areas. You may be the creative innovator with the key idea to:
(1) monitor the flood of plastic waste polluting the oceans, or
(2) to improve the self-steering abilities of ships.
Topic 1:
Detecting and monitoring plastic marine litter
With about ten million metric tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year. Wildlife and ecosystems are suffering. And the economic impact on coastal communities, tourism and fisheries, is huge.
Monitoring this plastic is incredibly difficult from Earth’s surface, as it’s impossible to see a lot of the ocean at once.
Space represents a more promising vantage point; but satellites cannot detect plastic marine litter - at least, not yet.
“We want to be able to directly detect and track seaborne plastic using satellites,” explains ESA’s Paolo Corradi, who is overseeing the hunt for new ideas to monitor plastic litter. “Not only would this have a drastic impact from a scientific viewpoint, but such an overview would also contribute to preventing the increasing amounts of plastic marine litter worldwide, and even reducing the amount that is currently in our oceans.”
Solutions to plastic litter could include measuring plastic concentrations, identifying how the litter is transported around the world, and identifying sources and sinks of plastic marine litter. ESA welcomes innovative ideas that support the detection and monitoring of different types of plastic, both for the oceans and freshwater systems.
Topic 2:
Enabling harbor-to-harbor autonomous shipping
ESA is also seeking ideas that would contribute to enabling the increased adoption of autonomous shipping. This could significantly lower shipping costs, increase safety, solve anticipated crew shortages, and improve working conditions.
Leading the search for ideas, ESA’s David Jimenez expands, “Autonomous shipping relies on accurate and continuously-available navigation support, as well as up-to-date information from Earth observation satellites. However, existing satellite navigation systems alone are not enough, especially for ships coming into highly-trafficked ports where precision is essential, as well as those in the Arctic.”
Navigation satellites are only visible at low inclinations in high polar regions, and their signals can be disrupted by interference from the ionosphere, the electrically active segment of the atmosphere – the same phenomenon that creates the Northern Lights.
A variety of options exist for improving current techniques, including combining satellite data with terrestrial data to ensure worldwide coverage, and developing new satellite networks that can provide more accurate and guaranteed positioning. Furthermore autonomous shipping could be revolutionised with new systems designed specifically to monitor harbours, and through combining different systems using artificial intelligence.
“Ships are becoming increasingly independent, but so far complete autonomy has not been attainable,” continues David. “Achieving this aim would lead to more efficient and competitive shipping, whilst reducing the industry’s environmental impact.”
GETTING INVOLVED
The Discovery & Preparation Program
OSIP -- the Open Space Innovation Platform -- is run through ESA's Discovery & Preparation program, which forms part of ESA’s Basic Activities. Working with and across all ESA programs, Discovery & Preparation lays the groundwork for ESA’s short- to medium-term future activities.
“Via OSIP, we are addressing the most relevant challenges in space, and enabling parnters to work with ESA on activities that seek the best solutions,” concludes Ian Carnelli, Manager of ESA’s Discovery & Preparation activities.
Carnelli continues, “These activities could include studies, early technology developments and research co-sponsorships addressing novel and innovative subjects. So share your ideas with us through OSIP and help shape the future of space research.”
Really, check it out. We know an artist who, as an 11-year-old, invented the Auto Train concept years before the business world thought it up and built it. He was doing it with his American Flyer.
And we know an artist who drew pictures as a kid of balloon-launched and aircraft-launched space vehicles, decades before the aerospace industry envisioned and built them. (They work to save fuel because launch vehicle weight is reduced if you can get started for space from a high altitude where the air is very thin.)
Leonardo DaVinci is remembered by history as a great innovator and inventor. In his time, he was regarded as an artist -- a great artist, but an artist -- not an inventor, and few of his inventions were built until hundreds of years after he was dead.
Do you want to be a DaVinci after you're gone, or now? Your ideas may change the world. Get started. What are you waiting for?
All the links are at:
https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Seeking_innovative_ideas_space_for_the_oceans
Each year the telescope dedicates a small portion of its precious observing time to take a special anniversary image, focused on capturing particularly beautiful and meaningful objects. Click to enlarge.
Launched April 24, 1990 from the space shuttle Discovery, the orbiting reflecting telescope was initially useless because of a minor, but crucial, flaw in its huge mirror. Another space shuttle mission had to do something that was never thought possible: partial disassembly of the telescope by spacewalking astronauts. They placed an array of tiny corrective mirrors inside Hubble that functioned like a person being fitted with vision-correcting glasses. And additional shuttle missions performed challenging and unprecedented tasks to extend its capabilities, as well.
Hubble has since revolutionized how astronomers and the general public see the Universe. The images Hubble provides are spectacular from both a scientific and a purely aesthetic point of view.
This new image adds a lot of science and changes our understanding of the nebula, even as it demonstrates the telescope’s continued capabilities.
This peculiar nebula is one of the many objects that Hubble has demystified throughout its productive life. This, the Southern Crab Nebula, is so named to distinguish it from the better-known Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant visible in the constellation of Taurus.
The image reveals active, dynamic processes. It shows nested, hourglass-shaped, structures created by the interaction between a pair of stars -- a binary star system -- at its center.
The pair of stars is unequal and constantly changing. They are a red giant and a white dwarf. The red giant is shedding its outer layers in the last phase of its life before it, too, lives out its final years as a white dwarf.
Some of the red giant's ejected material is attracted by the gravity of its companion. When enough of this cast-off material is pulled onto the white dwarf, it also ejects the material outwards in an eruption, creating the structures we see in the nebula. Eventually, the red giant will finish throwing-off its outer layers and stop feeding its white dwarf companion. Prior to this, there may also be more eruptions, creating even more intricate structures.
But... Astronomers did not always know this. The object was first written about in 1967, but was assumed to be an ordinary star. That was until 1989, when it was observed using telescopes at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory. An image taken then showed a roughly crab-shaped extended nebula, formed by symmetrical bubbles of gas and dust.
These observations only showed the outer hourglass emanating from a bright central region that could not be clearly resolved.
It was not until Hubble observed the Southern Crab in 1999 that the entire structure came into view. That image revealed the inner nested structures, suggesting that the phenomenon that created the outer bubbles had occurred twice in the (astronomically) recent past.
It is fitting that Hubble has returned to this object twenty years after its first observation. This new image adds to the story of an active and evolving object and contributes to the story of Hubble's role in our evolving understanding of the Universe.
We noted that several space shuttle missions were tasked to perform rebuilds and maintenance that have kept Hubble functioning far beyond its designed lifetime. Sadly, with no similar manned space capabilities since abandonment of the shuttle program, Hubble's days are numbered, since no further maintenance can be performed.
Want more? Check out THIS:
INTERACTIVE 3D MODEL OF THE HUBBLE SPACECRAFT:
http://sci.esa.int/hubble/31384-3d-model/
(Our thanks to Bethany Downer, ESA/Hubble Public Information Officer in Garching, Germany, for much of the information used here.)
Next section:
# 3 feature...
YOUR INNOVATIVE IDEAS ARE NEEDED FOR "SPACE FOR THE OCEANS"
ESA -- the European Space Agency -- wants your ideas for applying space technology to Earth-based problems.
Really and truly, they do.
Pause a second and think: who, among our blue planet's infestation of human presence, is more passionately creative than our artists?
See why they're asking You?
History provides plenty of examples of artists with bold ideas that revolutionize everything, and collaborations (intentional or not) that allow designers, engineers, and scientists to use ideas that were hatched in the minds of artists. Quick example: comedian Steve Allen developed the design concept for the first artificial heart.
Astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson has said, "Science without art doesn't mean anything, and therefore cannot sustain the motivation to go on. The artist who cares about science is essential to everything."
Through the "Open Space Innovation Platform," a new challenge-based website, ESA is hunting-out bright ideas in two areas. You may be the creative innovator with the key idea to:
(1) monitor the flood of plastic waste polluting the oceans, or
(2) to improve the self-steering abilities of ships.
Topic 1:
Detecting and monitoring plastic marine litter
With about ten million metric tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year. Wildlife and ecosystems are suffering. And the economic impact on coastal communities, tourism and fisheries, is huge.
Monitoring this plastic is incredibly difficult from Earth’s surface, as it’s impossible to see a lot of the ocean at once.
Space represents a more promising vantage point; but satellites cannot detect plastic marine litter - at least, not yet.
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| Plastic litter in global oceans. Click to enlarge. |
Solutions to plastic litter could include measuring plastic concentrations, identifying how the litter is transported around the world, and identifying sources and sinks of plastic marine litter. ESA welcomes innovative ideas that support the detection and monitoring of different types of plastic, both for the oceans and freshwater systems.
Topic 2:
Enabling harbor-to-harbor autonomous shipping
ESA is also seeking ideas that would contribute to enabling the increased adoption of autonomous shipping. This could significantly lower shipping costs, increase safety, solve anticipated crew shortages, and improve working conditions.
Leading the search for ideas, ESA’s David Jimenez expands, “Autonomous shipping relies on accurate and continuously-available navigation support, as well as up-to-date information from Earth observation satellites. However, existing satellite navigation systems alone are not enough, especially for ships coming into highly-trafficked ports where precision is essential, as well as those in the Arctic.”
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| Autonomous shipping supported from space. |
A variety of options exist for improving current techniques, including combining satellite data with terrestrial data to ensure worldwide coverage, and developing new satellite networks that can provide more accurate and guaranteed positioning. Furthermore autonomous shipping could be revolutionised with new systems designed specifically to monitor harbours, and through combining different systems using artificial intelligence.
“Ships are becoming increasingly independent, but so far complete autonomy has not been attainable,” continues David. “Achieving this aim would lead to more efficient and competitive shipping, whilst reducing the industry’s environmental impact.”
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| Image: How to use ideas.esa.int. Click to enlarge. |
The Discovery & Preparation Program
OSIP -- the Open Space Innovation Platform -- is run through ESA's Discovery & Preparation program, which forms part of ESA’s Basic Activities. Working with and across all ESA programs, Discovery & Preparation lays the groundwork for ESA’s short- to medium-term future activities.
“Via OSIP, we are addressing the most relevant challenges in space, and enabling parnters to work with ESA on activities that seek the best solutions,” concludes Ian Carnelli, Manager of ESA’s Discovery & Preparation activities.
Carnelli continues, “These activities could include studies, early technology developments and research co-sponsorships addressing novel and innovative subjects. So share your ideas with us through OSIP and help shape the future of space research.”
Really, check it out. We know an artist who, as an 11-year-old, invented the Auto Train concept years before the business world thought it up and built it. He was doing it with his American Flyer.
And we know an artist who drew pictures as a kid of balloon-launched and aircraft-launched space vehicles, decades before the aerospace industry envisioned and built them. (They work to save fuel because launch vehicle weight is reduced if you can get started for space from a high altitude where the air is very thin.)
Leonardo DaVinci is remembered by history as a great innovator and inventor. In his time, he was regarded as an artist -- a great artist, but an artist -- not an inventor, and few of his inventions were built until hundreds of years after he was dead.
Do you want to be a DaVinci after you're gone, or now? Your ideas may change the world. Get started. What are you waiting for?
All the links are at:
https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Seeking_innovative_ideas_space_for_the_oceans
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# 5 feature...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUBBLE!
This incredible image of the hourglass-shaped Southern Crab Nebula was taken to mark the Hubble Space Telescope’s 29th anniversary in space.
This incredible image of the hourglass-shaped Southern Crab Nebula was taken to mark the Hubble Space Telescope’s 29th anniversary in space.
Each year the telescope dedicates a small portion of its precious observing time to take a special anniversary image, focused on capturing particularly beautiful and meaningful objects. Click to enlarge.
Launched April 24, 1990 from the space shuttle Discovery, the orbiting reflecting telescope was initially useless because of a minor, but crucial, flaw in its huge mirror. Another space shuttle mission had to do something that was never thought possible: partial disassembly of the telescope by spacewalking astronauts. They placed an array of tiny corrective mirrors inside Hubble that functioned like a person being fitted with vision-correcting glasses. And additional shuttle missions performed challenging and unprecedented tasks to extend its capabilities, as well.
Hubble has since revolutionized how astronomers and the general public see the Universe. The images Hubble provides are spectacular from both a scientific and a purely aesthetic point of view.
This new image adds a lot of science and changes our understanding of the nebula, even as it demonstrates the telescope’s continued capabilities.
This peculiar nebula is one of the many objects that Hubble has demystified throughout its productive life. This, the Southern Crab Nebula, is so named to distinguish it from the better-known Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant visible in the constellation of Taurus.
The image reveals active, dynamic processes. It shows nested, hourglass-shaped, structures created by the interaction between a pair of stars -- a binary star system -- at its center.
The pair of stars is unequal and constantly changing. They are a red giant and a white dwarf. The red giant is shedding its outer layers in the last phase of its life before it, too, lives out its final years as a white dwarf.
Some of the red giant's ejected material is attracted by the gravity of its companion. When enough of this cast-off material is pulled onto the white dwarf, it also ejects the material outwards in an eruption, creating the structures we see in the nebula. Eventually, the red giant will finish throwing-off its outer layers and stop feeding its white dwarf companion. Prior to this, there may also be more eruptions, creating even more intricate structures.
But... Astronomers did not always know this. The object was first written about in 1967, but was assumed to be an ordinary star. That was until 1989, when it was observed using telescopes at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory. An image taken then showed a roughly crab-shaped extended nebula, formed by symmetrical bubbles of gas and dust.
These observations only showed the outer hourglass emanating from a bright central region that could not be clearly resolved.
It was not until Hubble observed the Southern Crab in 1999 that the entire structure came into view. That image revealed the inner nested structures, suggesting that the phenomenon that created the outer bubbles had occurred twice in the (astronomically) recent past.
It is fitting that Hubble has returned to this object twenty years after its first observation. This new image adds to the story of an active and evolving object and contributes to the story of Hubble's role in our evolving understanding of the Universe.
We noted that several space shuttle missions were tasked to perform rebuilds and maintenance that have kept Hubble functioning far beyond its designed lifetime. Sadly, with no similar manned space capabilities since abandonment of the shuttle program, Hubble's days are numbered, since no further maintenance can be performed.
Want more? Check out THIS:
INTERACTIVE 3D MODEL OF THE HUBBLE SPACECRAFT:
http://sci.esa.int/hubble/31384-3d-model/
(Our thanks to Bethany Downer, ESA/Hubble Public Information Officer in Garching, Germany, for much of the information used here.)
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☆ Earth Day - Earth Week Special Features...
We take an activism-oriented approach here. There are things YOU can do! Of course there are MANY more things to do than the ones we present here with links to follow and petitions to sign -- plus places to meet like-minded folks, over in our EVENTS listings.
MONDAY IS EARTH DAY. (Every day needs to be Earth Day, if we want planetary survival of the biodiversity necessary to assure OUR future!) See the history -- who started it -- in Monday's EVENTS.
Wednesday is the release of the "STATE OF THE AIR REPORT" from the American Lung Association. Any bets Big Media covers it?
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# 5 feature...
GREEN TIPS FOR EARTH DAY
Okay, so it's a link, not a feature story. Unless you click the link. There, you'll find all kinds of practical tips for saving energy and to avoid making as a big a toxic trail as most people do.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/green-tips
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| The Monarch Butterfly population has suddenly surged by 144%. But years of decline mean they're still in trouble. |
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# 6 feature...
NATIONAL PARK WEEK STARTS SATURDAY, WITH FREE ADMISSION EVERYWHERE
On Saturday, April 20, "National Park Week 2019" kicks off with a fee-free day. ALL national parks will waive their entrance fees on that one day, so GO, already!
This year, April 20 through 28, national parks across the country celebrate "National Park Week 2019" with a variety of special events.
On Saturday, April 20, "National Park Week 2019" kicks off with a fee-free day. ALL national parks will waive their entrance fees on that one day, so GO, already!
This year, April 20 through 28, national parks across the country celebrate "National Park Week 2019" with a variety of special events.
The celebrations and information exchanges with the national park community (everyone from visitors to rangers) are ongoing in the Twitter chat at #FindYourPark
There's an even BETTER way to make a plan where to visit and participate this summer, or this coming week. Just get your
FREE "NATIONAL PARK OWNER'S GUIDES."
These 11 FREE DOWNLOADS (plus waay MORE clickable resources) are filled with travel tips and information on what not to miss. There are separate guides for everything from hiking to going green and riding the train to get to the park you want to visit.
You can download:
¤ National Park Owner's Guide (detailed maps, travel tips, inside info on all 400+ Nat'l Parks)
¤ Road Trippin' (15 different long getaway weekend ideas)
¤ Recharge in the Parks (tips on how to start replenishing and refreshing your mind, body, and spirit in a nat'l park)
¤ Urban Playgrounds (a list of parks within or close to 24 major U.S. metropolitan areas)
¤ I Heart Parks (favorite parks for romantic adventures)
¤ Gimme Shelter (remote island inns to secluded campsites)
¤ Happy Trails (25 unforgettable hikes w/ age-ability notes & general hiking tips)
¤ Parks for Play (showcases 35 national parks experiencex specifically for kids and families)
¤ The Places Nobody Knows ( hidden gems of the nat'l parks)
¤ National Parks by Rail (travel tips, maps, and more; and since Amtrak's new airline-shill boss won't print train timetables any more, this is really valuable!)
¤ Winter Wonderlands (cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing, stargazing, sledding, in 15 nat'l parks)
Plus bunches of topics in "TRAVEL IDEAS FROM THE BLOG."
You only need one link for this one-stop resource to discover your national parks with all those FREE guide downloads, courtesy of the non-profit "National Park Foundation." Get 'em at:
https://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/npf-travel-ideas
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# 7 feature...
CLIMATE CHANGE -- A QUICK WAY TO TAKE ACTION
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| The Democratic Party Establishment pays lip service, but won't get serious and allow its candidates to debate it. |
They have absolutely no plan or intention of doing that, even though the Dem presidential candidates WANT it. So, once again, It's up to "we, the people" to force the Political Establishment to act.
Our managing editor has sent letters to the leaders of the Democratic Party about their failure to support a meaningful "Green New Deal." We have called them out for their repeated failures to support the pro-environment, pro-species-survival efforts of individual office holders from their own party. Our message?
"You may be sincere in your advocacy for a plethora of actions across a spectrum of issues. But unless you take immediate and effective action to reverse climate change, everything else you do is re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic."
You can sign the new petition calling on the DNC to hold a 2020 presidential primary debate FOCUSED ON CLIMATE CHANGE. We have signed and support it. Will you join us?
https://act.credoaction.com/sign/climate-debate
(The petition sponsor, CREDO Action, is a global peace and environment organization with a good track record of effective political action.)
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# 8 feature...
L.A.'s BEST HIKING TRAILS
The folks at "Do L.A." just published their choices for favorite trails, noting that wildflower blooms, Earth Day, and Earth Month combine to make it the best time to explore the great outdoors. Since we've always headed for the high country of the Sierra or the high San Gabriels, we enjoyed seeing that their list has lots of places much closer to urban centers, including places we've yet to go.
We'll add that you need to watch for snakes, and if you're camping overnight, you may need a Wilderness Permit or their pay-park card they call an "Adventure Pass." For certain, you'll need a bear barrel for your food and for anything that smells sweet, like toothpaste, deodorant, and lip balm.
Here are their trail picks:
https://dola.com/p/dolas-guide-to-hiking-in-la
WHAT'S IN THAT REESE'S EGG?
by Chelsea Matthews
"Fact is, way more chocolate and candy is sold for Easter than for Halloween! And that means more rainforest and habitat is destroyed to make ‘em."
When I was a kid, my parents didn’t have to worry about palm oil from rainforest destruction.
We dyed eggs the night before Easter and woke up the next morning to baskets filled with fake grass, jelly beans, and the real prize, what my folks called “a little something” — some silly putty, superballs or crayons.
Wait, what? Why are you telling us this? Why am I scared? WHY AM I TALKING TO MYSELF? You’re gonna make me say it? Sigh. I just want to think of happy bunnies and pretty Easter eggs…
Ugh FINE! THERE’S PALM OIL IN CHOCOLATE AND CANDY! CONFLICT PALM OIL, FUELED BY RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION. There, I said it.
Candymakers Nestlé, Mars, Mondelēz and Hershey’s made a commitment to end rainforest destruction, but they aren’t doing a good job of monitoring deforestation to keep Conflict Palm Oil out of their treats.
And they must.
For years, RAN [Rainforest Action Network] and our partners have been monitoring candymakers’ supply chains in Indonesia’s endangered Leuser Ecosystem — a region so critical that we’ve been monitoring the implementation of palm oil commitments and using satellite imagery to track where forests are burned or bulldozed. But that should NOT be our job — it’s up to these international corporations, making billions in profits, to track where rainforest destruction is taking place so they can stop it and keep it out of our treats.
Fact is, way more chocolate and candy is sold for Easter than for Halloween! And that means more rainforest and habitat is destroyed to make ‘em.
Once again now: candymakers make billions and billions of dollars in profits. It’s their responsibility to know what’s happening to forests and to STOP the destruction for Conflict Palm Oil!
_
Chelsea Matthews, who signs, "In solidarity with rainforest-loving peeps everywhere," is a Forest Campaigner at Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco.
She invites you take action, and "Call out the Candymakers," at:
https://act.ran.org/calling_out_the_candymakers
The Guide's editor adds:
Rain forest destruction is a key driver of climate change. Politicians and corporatists talk of taking bold action on a spectrum of problems, but... The fact is, unless climate change is REVERSED, anything else we do is re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
L.A.'s BEST HIKING TRAILS
We'll add that you need to watch for snakes, and if you're camping overnight, you may need a Wilderness Permit or their pay-park card they call an "Adventure Pass." For certain, you'll need a bear barrel for your food and for anything that smells sweet, like toothpaste, deodorant, and lip balm.
Here are their trail picks:
https://dola.com/p/dolas-guide-to-hiking-in-la
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# 9 feature...
by Chelsea Matthews
"Fact is, way more chocolate and candy is sold for Easter than for Halloween! And that means more rainforest and habitat is destroyed to make ‘em."
When I was a kid, my parents didn’t have to worry about palm oil from rainforest destruction.
We dyed eggs the night before Easter and woke up the next morning to baskets filled with fake grass, jelly beans, and the real prize, what my folks called “a little something” — some silly putty, superballs or crayons.
Wait, what? Why are you telling us this? Why am I scared? WHY AM I TALKING TO MYSELF? You’re gonna make me say it? Sigh. I just want to think of happy bunnies and pretty Easter eggs…
Candymakers Nestlé, Mars, Mondelēz and Hershey’s made a commitment to end rainforest destruction, but they aren’t doing a good job of monitoring deforestation to keep Conflict Palm Oil out of their treats.
And they must.
For years, RAN [Rainforest Action Network] and our partners have been monitoring candymakers’ supply chains in Indonesia’s endangered Leuser Ecosystem — a region so critical that we’ve been monitoring the implementation of palm oil commitments and using satellite imagery to track where forests are burned or bulldozed. But that should NOT be our job — it’s up to these international corporations, making billions in profits, to track where rainforest destruction is taking place so they can stop it and keep it out of our treats.
Fact is, way more chocolate and candy is sold for Easter than for Halloween! And that means more rainforest and habitat is destroyed to make ‘em.
Once again now: candymakers make billions and billions of dollars in profits. It’s their responsibility to know what’s happening to forests and to STOP the destruction for Conflict Palm Oil!
_
Chelsea Matthews, who signs, "In solidarity with rainforest-loving peeps everywhere," is a Forest Campaigner at Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco.
She invites you take action, and "Call out the Candymakers," at:
https://act.ran.org/calling_out_the_candymakers
The Guide's editor adds:
Rain forest destruction is a key driver of climate change. Politicians and corporatists talk of taking bold action on a spectrum of problems, but... The fact is, unless climate change is REVERSED, anything else we do is re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
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# 10 feature...
NESTLE'S PLASTIC MONSTER
by Kate Melges
Yesterday, I was outside Nestlé’s United States corporate headquarters with... a giant plastic monster! (See photo.)
by Kate Melges
Yesterday, I was outside Nestlé’s United States corporate headquarters with... a giant plastic monster! (See photo.)
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| Plastic monster, made entirely of trash floating in the ocean. |
We need to strike while the iron is hot. Will you help us tell Nestlé how dire the plastic pollution crisis truly is? Call Nestlé right this moment at 1-888-918-6672 and tell them they must phase out their reliance on single-use plastic packaging, and move to refillable and reusable options.
I cannot bear to see another headline about communities overrun by the global waste trade – or another dead whale with a gut full of plastic. So my friends and I called out Nestlé at its office with a giant monster made with discarded Nestlé packaging. If you feel like I do, please join us by calling out Nestlé over the phones.
Calling is easy, takes less than two minutes, and is one of the best ways to make sure Nestlé is listening. Just follow these simple steps:
Dial 1-888-918-6672. Listen to a short message from Greenpeace. We’ll then patch you through to Nestlé’s customer service line.When you’re connected, be polite and say what you think about Nestlé’s plastic packaging. Here is a suggested script:
"Hi, my name is __________ and I’m calling from (your CITY & STATE). I’m very concerned by the massive amount of single-use plastic pollution and Nestlé is one of the largest global corporations that relies heavily on such packaging. I would like Nestlé to be an industry leader and phase out single-use plastic, while innovating bold, new solutions like refillable and reusable packaging. Thank you!"
You can also send a message demanding an end to single-use plastic on Nestle's Facebook.
Not on Facebook? No problem, you can send a message on Instagram or Twitter.
Nestlé needs to hear from you right now. You’ve already joined millions signing petitions demanding an end to its single-use plastic and spreading the word on social media. They know they’ve created a problem, but they don’t want to be the ones to solve it. The solution, however, is in their hands, and the time is now. Nestlé must make the switch to systems of reuse.
For a plastic free future,
Kate Melges
Senior Plastics Campaigner, Greenpeace USA
info@greenpeaceusa.org
Editor's note: of course, it's not just one company.
EVERY MINUTE (of every hour, every day), a monster-sized load of plastic — the equivalent of a truckload — enters the ocean.
For a global map of plastic in the oceans, see the # 3 feature in this edition.
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Next section:
☆ News that isn't getting covered, and Views on things...
Following on the Earth Day theme, we are sticking with activism-oriented news.
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# 11 feature...
"In a democracy, people need to know if their government is interfering, subverting democracies and committing war crimes overseas. In a democracy, our courts should be busy prosecuting crimes EXPOSED by WikiLeaks, instead of turning the act of revealing them into some sort of crime to persecute and incarcerate the whistle-blower."
WITH PRESS FREEDOM AT STAKE IF ASSANGE IS EXTRADITED, BIG MEDIA IS ABSENT
Press freedom isn't just for the easy cases. Let's look at the largely unreported facts, then we hope you'll want to join us in telling the UK not to extradite Julian Assange.
"Personal likeability should not be allowed to cloud a matter of such importance in principle. The alleged offense is of such a trivial nature as to make absurd any claim for extradition." -- comment from a supporter.
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| The US intelligence establishment has had it out for Assange since Wikileaks published the source code the CIA uses to find those who followed US law as whistleblowers inside the government. The Obama Administration infamously prosecuted and imprisoned whistleblowers, and the current president has sworn a vendetta against "leakers." |
The Guide stands against corporate celebrity talking heads who seem fine with that, and we join WITH every major press freedom organization, to urge the UK: DO NOT extradite Assange, but free him.
Renowned Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg
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| Is Wikileaks protected as a journalistic institution? We say yes, along with all the leading organizations founded to protect a free press. Because the law cannot pick and choose when gov- ernment is embarrassed by inconvenient truths of illegal wars, coups, interfering in foreign elections, and "regime change." |
"This is the first indictment of a journalist and editor or publisher... And if it’s successful it will not be the last. This is clearly a part of President Trump’s war on the press, what he calls the enemy of the state."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation added:
"Several parts of the indictment describe very common journalistic behavior, like using cloud storage or knowingly receiving classified information or redacting identifying information about a source."
The Freedom of the Press Foundation agrees:
"For years, the Obama administration considered indicting WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, before rightly concluding it could not do so without encroaching on core press freedoms. Now almost nine years in, the Trump administration has used the same information to manufacture a flimsy and pretextual indictment involving a 'conspiracy' to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — based entirely on alleged conversations between a journalist and source."
But... many prominent figures in the U.S. media, cheering Assange's arrest, display more loyalty to the U.S. government than to journalism or publishing. We must step-up in their absence and defend their institution.
We ask that you, as someone who values REAL news and what it takes to research, verify, and present it in the face of powerful interests who want it silenced, to join with us and stand up for a free press as the unfettered, unbought, Fourth Estate.
Let's not forget that Assange is being persecuted for a public service -- for which he spent the past several years in a single building in London. Civil rights attorney Chase Madar explained the importance of the documents that Chelsea Manning leaked and WikiLeaks published:
"Thanks to Manning’s alleged disclosures, we have a sense of what transpired in Iraq and Afghanistan... Thanks to those revelations we now know just how our government leaned on the Vatican to quell opposition to the Iraq War. We now know how Washington pressured the German government to block the prosecution of CIA agents who kidnapped an innocent man, Khaled El-Masri, while he was on vacation. We know how our State Department lobbied hard to prevent a minimum wage increase in Haiti, the hemisphere’s poorest nation."
That list of things we know because of Manning and Assange can multiply 100-fold. BOTH OF THEM are now behind bars -- Manning is back in jail for contempt of court for her refusal to testify against Assange about events in 2010.
In a democracy, people need to know if their government is interfering, subverting democracies and committing war crimes overseas. In a democracy, our courts should be busy prosecuting crimes EXPOSED by WikiLeaks, instead of turning the act of revealing them into some sort of crime to persecute and incarcerate the whistle-blower.
That's why we, at the NEP (News, Events, Perspectives-- Associated Journalists), join with Roots Action to take a stand for freedom of the press and transparent government.
Join us in asking the government of the United Kingdom NOT to extradite Assange.
The petition says (in full):
To the UK government:
"Do not extradite Julian Assange to the United States. Set him free. He is a publisher. He has informed us about human rights abuses and crimes committed by the U.S. government overseas -- abuses that the U.S. government has tried to keep secret from us."
You can add your name to the petition, at:
https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13659
RootsAction is an independent online force endorsed by Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein, Bill Fletcher Jr., Laura Flanders, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, Frances Fox Piven, Lila Garrett, Phil Donahue, Sonali Kolhatkar, and many others.
Background links:
* The Real News Network: "Daniel Ellsberg On Assange Arrest: The Beginning of the End For Press Freedom"
* Electronic Frontier Foundation: "Statement on Assange Indictment and Arrest"
* Freedom of the Press Foundation: "The Trump administration’s indictment of Julian Assange threatens core press freedom rights"
* David Swanson: "What Bradley Manning Means to Us"
* Juan Cole: "Top 10 Ways Bradley Manning Changed the World"
* Roots Action: www.RootsAction.org
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# 12 feature...
ANNUAL TIME MAGAZINE "TIME 100" --
SPOTLIGHTING ONE HONOREE
Each year, Time magazine publishes its choice for the "100 Most Influential People." We want to share a look at one of them.
On Wednesday, April 17, Time 100 named AOC -- New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez -- to their Time 100. And they gave Senator Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) the honor of writing the blurb about AOC.
In response, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez Tweeted, "Couldn't be more honored and humbled to read these words from a woman I admire so deeply. Thank you, Senator Warren, for your tireless fight for working families."
We agree with Time's pick. We could tell you why, but we think Senator Warren did just fine in that department, so we're reprinting this from the Time 100, as made into a nifty poster by the Bold Progressives organization:
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| Click image to enlarge. |
Recently, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, "The majority of Americans are with us on the policies. Americans support Medicare for All, expanding Social Security benefits, gun reform, debt-free college, and a $15 minimum wage. Bold progressive values are popular EVERYWHERE. Together, we have the people. Together, with your help, we’ll have the votes."
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has made some tactical errors -- that's to be expected given her comp,ete lack of prior political experience. But she has been on the right side of many issues that matter. She reminds us of a real-life version of Jimmy Stewart's character in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the Frank Capra classic. In that and all her genuine roots in achievement through hard work, she gives us faith that good people do still enter politics, and it need not be a game of thrones played by oligarchs, with the rest of us their pawns.
It's less than ten months to the California Primary -- moved-up from June to March of 2020, so Californians will have a key voice in picking the next president. (AOC isn't running -- she's too young. The Constitution says you must be 35 or older to be president.)
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# 13 feature...
Yes, the 2020 election seems a long way off -- though, for some, it can't get here soon enough.
There's s a very old political adage that originated with the labor union movement. It goes like this: "Organize, organize, organize."
The Bernie Sanders campaign isn't wasting any time. With nineteen announced candidates and at leadt one more expected to announce within a few days, Bernie Sanders supporters are holding over a thousand organizing sessions in communities large and small, nationwide, on April 27.
Last go 'round, Bernie Sanders drew record crowds and mobilized young voters in greater numbers than any political candidate, ever, in American history. Yet the Democratic Party Establishment had preordained that Hillary Clinton would be their party's nominee, and they were willing to perform whatever internal string-pulling, deck-stacking, and acts of outright disenfranchisement of Sanders voters that they thought necessary to assure their candidate got the nomination.
Sanders continues, "They may have the money, but we have the people – and April 27 is our chance to show what we are capable of when millions of us come together."
The gaggle of Democrats vying for the party nomination is unprecedented. A major factor is the assumption that anybody who can wear the mantle of nominee will automatically beat Trump. While that is not a safe bet, at all, no candidate is better equipped than Bernie Sanders to understand just what his opponents are capable of doing. ALL of his opponents.
Thus, he's not just running. He's organizing, early.
His campaign's message of "Not me, us," is expanding to its potential supporters to say, "By joining an Organizing Kickoff event near you, you’ll be part of the work required to win this election. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet other Bernie supporters in your area."
The contact with like-minded-folks card is in play. And a whole lot more that speaks directly to millenials, who now comprise the biggest voting block in the American electorate.
The political establishment just might not know what hit 'em.
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The above was filed and published before Sen. Sanders (I, NH) took a controversial new position, advocating voting rights for felons behind bars. That shocker, easily his biggest unforced error, came Monday night during CNN's marathon on hour-long Town Hall meetings with five candidates, one at a time. Surprisingly, fellow US Sen. candidate Kamala Harris (D, CA), also vying for the Dem nomination, seemed to endorse the idea during her hour of airtime. -- editor
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Here's a simplified map of the Sanders organizing sessions on April 27.
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# 14 feature...
ODDS n' ENDS, STRAYS HERDED FROM THE HOLLAR, 'n UNMASKED REDACTIONS
We'll make this a regular feature, starting in this edition. The idea is to keep important issues in the dialog, when the Big Media Singularity dismisses them.
___
◇ Consumers around the world are spending less on almost everything. Even booze.
Shoppers in more than half of 64 countries surveyed said they expect economic conditions to worsen in the coming year.
___
◇ Commander-in-Tweet vetoes resolution to end U.S. participation in Yemen’s civil war
The president called the measure “an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities.”
Interesting, because the constitution gives warmarking powers solely to the congress.
The measure to end one of our endless wars/endless proxy wars had passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 247-to-175 and was approved by the Senate with the support of seven Republicans. But the latter is not sufficient to override the veto. So expect the record sales of both sophisticated weapons systems and dumb deadly ordnance to continue from the merchants of death of America's warconomy to the brutal regime in Saudi Arabia.
___
◇ RENEWED SABRE-RATTLING WITH NORTH KOREA?
The Arbitrary Administration is making a beeline back to “fire and fury” with North Korea — and John “Bomb ‘em” Bolton is egging him on.
But there's a chance. South Korean president Moon Jae-in had meetings in D.C. last week, and he brought with him the Korean people’s mandate for peace.
Add your name to tell President Moon: We stand with you, we stand with the Korean people, and we stand for peace:
http://act.winwithoutwar.org/sign/tell-moon-we-support-peace/
Win Without War is a program of the Center for International Policy.
___
◇ "Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic and the Need for a New Approach to Managing Wildlife"
by LOUISA WILLCOX
Absolutely one of the best pieces you can read -- and share -- on how humans fail in our attitudes and interactions with wildlife and "managed" wild lands... A late addition here, published Saturday, April 20th in "CounterPunch."
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/19/aldo-leopolds-land-ethic-and-the-need-for-a-new-approach-to-managing-wildlife/
___
* LATE ADDITION, EASTER SUNDAY, April 21st:
◇ OVER 200 KILLED, NEARLY 600 WOUNDED, IN SRI LANKA TERRORIST BOMBINGS
While US mainstream media is reporting this, we expect it will be shaded with the usual American pro-Christian spin. So here are a few facts:
• No terror or political agenda group had yet taken "credit" as of 11 am PDT.
• In the US, corporate Big Media is crazy with speculation assuming Muslims did it, and claiming the whole place is rampant with "anti-Christian discrimination and violence," though THAT should be challenged.
• Christian churches holding Easter services, and hotels catering to foreign tourists, were the targets.
• Sri Lanka's population makes no such assumption obvious. The nation is:
70% Buddhist
12% Hindu
9.7% Muslim
7.4% Christian
• It does not appear related to the anniversary of the brutal Sri Lankan civil war that ended in a peace settlement ten years ago today. That conflict had seen usually peace-advocating Buddhists fighting with Hindus for control of the country.
• British rule of India included Ceylon -- what is now the independent island nation of Sri Lanka. The British colonization of Ceylon ended over 2300 years of Sinhalese monarchy rule on the island. British rule ended in 1948 when the country gained independence, along with the division of mainland India into the separate nations of India and Pakistan. (The latter would later split into Pakistan and Bengla Desh.)
• Sri Lanka is a poor nation known for its natural beauty, its colorfully vibrant multiethnic culture and its fusion of exciting cuisines. Those things are celebrated in Los Angeles at an annual "Sri Lanka Festival," due in 2019 on Saturday, July 20, in the plaza in front of Pasadena City Hall.
• Sri Lankan expatriots remain proud of their heritage, retaining the moniker of "Lions" of "The Lion Nation." Though that animal is not indigenous to the island, it is their identity, and appears on the national flag.
• At home, Sri Lanka became a leader in chosing to promote tourism over destructive exploitation of its forest's exotic varieties of woods.
• Tourism is hugely important to its economy. In April, Sri Lanka's government announced free visas for Americans on arrival in the country. Obviously, the terrorist acts that happened today are an existential threat to a tourist economy.
 |
| Sri Lanka's national banner, the Lion flag. |
Two Americans killed in the Sri Lanka bombings have been identified. They are Dieter Kowalski, a 40-year-old technician from Denver, and Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, a fifth-grader at the highly selective Sidwell Friends school in Washington, D.C. CBS News reports that at least four Americans were killed in the bombings.
CNN's Fareed Zakaria wrote Monday:
"After the horrific Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, The Soufan Group links them to a global spread in Salafi-jihadist extremism, noting that both ISIS and al-Qaeda 'have long viewed South Asia as fertile ground to gain new territory and recruits, and militant propaganda has highlighted injustices against Muslims in Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, and Sri Lanka.'
"The bombings may remind some of Sri Lanka’s history of conflict—its civil war ended in 2009—but in a New York Times op-ed, Randy Boyagoda points out that Sri Lanka’s divisions have been ethnic, not religious, and that the island has a long tradition of religious pluralism. With Sunday’s attacks, Sri Lanka has gained 'membership in a global conflict that is at once fresh and familiar,' he writes."
UPDATE, April 24:
This story is now receiving plenty of mainstream coverage. We will add this final update. Overnight Tuesday night-Wednesday morning, ISIL took "credit" for the bombings. A video was released showing a group of figures cocooned in black and white robes and head wraps, who are said to be the suicide bombers. One figure at the center is intentionally identifiable as a known South/Southeast Asian Islamic terrorist. Immediately, leaders of Sri Lanka's Muslim community expressed fear their community will be targeted for violent reprisals. At the same time, it became clear the Sri Lankan government could fall over allegations it had been negligent over warnings about the attacks.
___
* LATE ADDITION, Monday, April 22nd:
◇ SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE WHETHER CONGRESSIONAL & STATE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS ACCURATELY REPRESENT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE
On Tuesday, April 23, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case that will determine whether an unprecedented question about citizenship will appear on the 2020 Census. The Court will examine whether the Commerce Department’s decision to add a "citizenship question" was arbitrary and capricious, and whether it violates the Constitution’s requirement of a once-a-decade count of ALL people in the United States.
The case can only argue whether the citizenship question is arbitrary. In fact, it is a deliberate addition, aimed at intimidating iminorities who may not want their home addresses known in areas that are prone to intimidation, and it is chiefly aimed at immigrants -- even those with green cards -- who are, of late, afraid of being deported.
Thing is, the constitution requires a census that counts ALL people living anywhere in the US, regardless of their citizenship, and congressional and legislative districts are based on that.
How do we know? Because when America had "non-citizen" slaves, even they were counted for the purpose of getting more members of congress representing slave states. Slaves were infamously counted as "three-fifths" of their actual numbers -- oft cited as "three-fifths of a human being" -- but the lasting message is clear: even non-citizens are counted to determine representation. Another proof? Convicted felons who have lost voting rights and are barred from public office are still counted for purposes of representation.
But there are are certain interests who want to exclusively emphasize only certain races and religions, and intimidate others.
The high court's decision won't come for a while. But the lawyers' arguments and the questions the justices ask in Tuesday's session will tell us a lot.
___
* LATE ADDITION, Wednesday, April 24:
□ SUNSET FOR SUNSHINE
CHARITY SUNSHINE, the remarkable 35-year old opera singer, died Tuesday, April 23rd. Her full name was Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick.
The operatic soprano, classical recording artist, composer and presenter authored her autobiography, "The Encore: A Memoir in Three Acts." She performed frequently at concerts, conferences and events throughout the United States and always delivered memorable interviews.
Charity Sunshine had two separate bilateral (double) lung transplants during the course of her career. The first saved her life because she suffered from Idiopathic pulmonary hypertension -- a condition wherein oxygen is not absorbed by the body and forces the heart to beat far too fast, to the point of fatal heart failure. The second bilateral lung transplant saved her life when her body began to reject the first donor lungs.
The world lost not only a remarkable singer, but a remarkable human being who got to know, and was loved by, the family of her donor's lungs.
Learn more about her at: https://www.charitysunshine.com
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Next section:
☆ EVENTS -- Arts, Entertainment, plus News about and FOR Artists...
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We have an item about Nashville and New York City this time. Typically, this section is about Southern California, almost exclusively.
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# 15 feature...
FREE ARTIST WORKSHOPS, ALL WEEK, SPONSORED BY THE L.A. MUSIC CENTER
This is from the events section of the "Acoustic Americana Music Guide," the Los Angeles-based e-zine with a big global readership. We're giving it feature story status because, unless you saw it in in the Guide, you probably didn't see it.
Nice opportunities to partake of a vast variety of free workshops -- Or to advocate for similar event in your community.
Noon-1:30 pm - "OUR L.A. VOICES" presents FREE "LUNCHTIME WORKSHOPS," Grand Park's prelude event for "Artists & Aspiring Artists" before the 2nd annual "OUR L.A. VOICES: A POP-UP ARTS+CULTURE FEST," happening Apr 27 & 28, 11 am-5 pm, and also FREE.
* REGISTER FREE, in advance, for any of these free weekday opportunities, using the individual link for each.
* PARKING VALIDATIONS (for Lot 10, 145 N Broadway) are available for workshop attendees (and that's 'UGE, given what parking costs!)
* You can also ride the Red/Purple line subways to Civic Center/Grand Park Station if that works better for you (during EARTH WEEK, hint-hint).
* "WORKSHOPS ON CREATIVE PRACTICE" and "WORKSHOPS ON THE BUSINESS SIDE OF MAKING ART IN L.A." are both offered, and include:
• Mon, Noon-1 pm, "The Artist's Compass with Rachel Moore: The Complete Guide to Building a Life and Living in the Performing Arts" at the L.A. Law Library - register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-la-voices-business-of-art-workshop-the-artists-compass-with-rachel-moore-tickets-59852488404
• Mon-Tue, "Feminist Acting Workshop with Gina Young" at the Music Center Annex - register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-la-voices-creative-practice-workshop-series-with-gina-young-tickets-59488729391
• Tue, noon-2 pm, "Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Copyrights and Trade Secrets" presented by the L.A. Law Library Business Series - register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-la-voices-business-of-art-workshop-series-tickets-59476798706
• Wed, noon-1:30 pm - "Artists Thriving Into Retirement: Visioning and Tools to Get You on Track" presented by Jennifer Cuevas and Angie Sharma at the L.A. Law Library - register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-la-voices-business-of-art-workshop-series-tickets-59476798706
• Wed-Fri, "Dance Movement Activism with Shamell Bell" on Grand Park Community Terrace - register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-la-voices-creative-practice-workshop-series-with-shamell-bell-tickets-59734763285
• Thu, noon-1:30 pm - "Basic Branding & Marketing for Artists" presented by the Center for Cultural Innovation, facilitated by Katrina Frye, at the L.A. Law Library - register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-la-voices-business-of-art-workshop-series-tickets-59476798706
• Fri, noon-1:30 pm - "Funding Your Next Arts Project" presented by the Center for Cultural Innovation, facilitated by Katrina Frye, at the L.A. Law Library - register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-la-voices-business-of-art-workshop-series-tickets-59476798706
* ALL WORKSHOPS ARE FREE and include validated (free) parking (see above) but don't dawdle -- get registered before they fill-up!
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# 16 feature...
FREE ON-DEMAND SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING FOR ARTISTS, FOR A LIMITED TIME
"How to Become a Social Media Ninja in Under an Hour" with Rick Ruskin, available now.
The Indie Contact Newsletter / Indie Bible publishing folks up in Ottawa have an offer for musicians that comes with a kick in the pants.
They begin by asking, "Are you prepared to be put in your place (in an eye-opening, 'I needed to hear this' kind of way)?"
Of course, that question is purposeful. And part of the kick in the pants is, you must act PROMPTLY to get your access pass, good for only 48 hours from the moment you click the link.
That'll get you free access for 48 hours to the online session with RICK BARKER, the manager of artists who have included TAYLOR SWIFT.
So, here's your 48-hour-access ticket to "How to Become a Social Media Ninja in Under an Hour" FREE, on-demand training:
https://musicindustryblueprint.com/squeeze-page27861930
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
"Why?
"He's NOT afraid to call you out on what's holding you back from growing your career...
"And in his training, he gives you the fierce-but-friendly shove you need, so you can STOP telling yourself all the reasons why you 'can't.'
"Just a head's up... Your ticket allows you to watch this training for 2 days ONLY!
"So be sure to catch his training now!
"If he can help hundreds of indie artists around the world, he can help you too..."
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# 17 feature...
A LOOK AT WHEN TRAINS WERE EXCITING
Our Managing Editor, Larry Wines, is headed to northern Utah for a very unique reason. He's ridden horseback on the Little Bighorn Battlefield on the anniversary day of the battle, with the last Crow war chief as his guide. He put to sea to welcome the Battleship Iowa to her new home as a museum. He was there when the first non-government-sponsored human space flight took place. He's pioneered new routes up mountains. Now he's giddy about being on the exact site, at the exact time, 150 years later, for the re-driving of the Golden Spike that completed the first transcontinental railroad.
 |
| Andrew J. Russell's historic photo taken May 10th, 1869, provides the script for re-enactors. |
Larry quickly acknowledges the National Park Service re-enacts the event every year on May 10th, and he's always advocated that date should be a holiday. He says the same about July 20th, when humans first landed on the Moon. And he reminds us that 1969 was the first Moon landing and the centennial of the Spike. Now, 50 years after the last time Big Media thought it was a big deal, he says otherwise. He writes, "both events -- which are milestones in the history of our species -- are eclipsed by every new iPhone release, or the red carpet premiere of any insipidly stupid movie with a cast of celebrities who are famous for being famous."
His journalistic efforts often take issue with celebrity worship, while lamenting evoking inspirations from our forebears' genuine achievements to contrast our society's breathless infatuation with the trendy and disposable.
 |
| Big Boy is 132 feet long and weighs 1.2 million pounds. 4014 traveled 1,031,205 miles in its original 20-year service life. |
Come May in Utah, it won't be just the meaning of the Spike that will command his pen. The Union Pacific railroad -- the very same one that was there for the driving of the last spike 150 years ago -- will gloriously demonstrate what it means to endure.
Larry says it would be enough if "the U.P just showed up," then he adds, "They're bringing two giant steam locomotives with them."
 |
| The "Big Boy" being towed towed from years of display in Pomona, CA, to Cheyenne, WY, where it was rebuilt. Click to enlarge and see the size of the two mechanics. |
The engine sat stuffed and mounted for decades in the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona. Even before the merger mania that reduced America's railroads to just four large carriers, UP ran to Los Angeles. But the giant Big Boys did not. They were built to climb the western summit of the Rockies, and descend the Wasatch mountains into Ogden. Even when they ran in the 1940s and '50s, high, wild Wyoming still evoked the original days when the UP built across the trackless Great Plains, and over a pass in the Rockies that even the wagon trains had not found.
 |
| Big Boy is two engines under one huge boiler. It is a 4-8-8-4 -- four guide wheels, eight drive wheels in the front engine, eight more drive wheels in the back engine, and four trailing wheels to hold up the firebox. |
The rails don't even go there today. The line, bypassed by an incredible timber trestle across the Great Salt Lake, was scrapped for the metal in its rails during World War II. And the giant Big Boys moved the goods that won that war.
 |
| Big Boy's sixteen drive wheels are each 68 inches in diameter. |
Just as 19th century poet Brett Harte wrote of the original scene at Promontory, those on hand at the meeting of 4014 and 844 can ponder, "What was it the engines said, pilots touching head to head?"
 |
| Union Pacific 844 is also a giant. A 4-8-4 type -- with the conventional ONE engine under its boiler, her eight drive wheels are each eighty inches in diameter, enabling passenger train speeds (in the old days) of 100 mph. |
That head-to-head meeting of Big Boy 4014 and racehorse 844 happens in Ogden May 9th. On the 10th, and repeated for two additional days to accomodate the crowds, the far smaller 19th century replica steam locomotives will occasion that same question once again at Promontory.
Let's hope it occasions a long overdue dialog about the energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of rail transportation -- both passenger AND freight -- compared to the inefficient mess our tax subsidies have recklessly encouraged. FACT IS, even a big steam locomotive properly employed on a train it can handle is far more efficient and produces less pollution than the convoys of trucks needed to move the same weight.
___
Larry sent the following, to get you ready for his stories from Utah. He did a piece on Mardi Gras and it's traditions. That feature story ended with a homage to the great trains that once took revelers to New Orleans.
Here it is.
SPECIAL SECTION -- RUNNING EXTRA TO MARDI GRAS
(Tap or click any image to enlarge.)
For over a hundred years, Americans went to Mardi Gras by train. That heritage is still celebrated in the many parade floats in New Orleans whose krewes design them to look like 19th century steam locomotives. Some parade floats even vent "steam" and have whistles that blow on compressed air!
Then as now, the clubs on Bourbon and Canal Streets packed 'em in for live blues and jazz. The skillful blaring of horns and the furiosity of strings played blindingly fast became trademarks. But that was all the time, and this was the Big Easy. Then comes Mardi Gras, and you express everything with exponents.
Get past the college frat boys with the beer bongs. When Mardi Gras abates, the music flows effortlessly and so does the culture. History resumes its quiet immediacy with the vaults of 200-year-old above-ground cemeteries. And it fulfills the Zydeco band's appeal for "Somebody scream!" with the five-chime steam whistle on the paddlewheeler Natchez. Add to that the National World War II Museum for a profound sense of past and present intermingling.
In New Orleans, you can still ride old rail streetcars from the 1920s. In fact, you can catch three different streetcar lines within three blocks of the train station -- where all the many streamliners and the great "limiteds" began and ended their runs. Inside, the station, the walls still hold their Conrad Abrizzio art-deco / industrial age murals framed by architectural elements for which Frank Lloyd Wright was the mere chief draftsman. Punctuating the murals in two monolithic swaths are the trains' arrivals-and-departures call boards -- they still hang massively on the high walls, listing a paltry total of three trains. The rest of those boards is a gaping darkness of ten or twelve vertical feet; the empty ribbed surfaces made for press-in letters have displayed only blank space for decades.
Still, New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal was responsible for $17,668,780 in fiscal year 2018. With the merest trickle of activity.
Once it was very different. The trains' schedules meshed with those of paddlewheel riverboats headed up to Natchez, Memphis, St. Louis, Cairo, and Cincinnati. Ocean-going steamships waited at the wharves.
Let's look back at how revelers went to Mardi Gras in a more spacious age. When over a dozen different railroads operated daily passenger trains in and out of the Crescent City.
___
Today, with post-Hurricane Katrina track damage still annuling the Florida train, Amtrak still runs trains on just three historic routes.
The best of these is the "Sunset Limited." It was once the flagship of the Southern Pacific Railroad, complete with an on-board barber shop newsstand. It ran behind jaunty red, orange, silver and black locomotives -- streamlined steam, and then streamlined diesels. Amtrak's train with the same name still runs Los Angeles to New Orleans; you can still look 20 to 50 feet away across the border into Mexico from Southwest Texas; of greatest importance, on this train you can still get a private bedroom with a porter to prepare your bed; there's still dinner in the diner, freshly-cooked real food. But don't wait long to ride it.
___
The reason is clear when we look at the next Amtrak train, the "City of New Orleans."
Indeed that's the one that gave its name to the Steve Goodman song made famous by Arlo Guthrie. Once, the Illinois Central ran the luxurious "Panama Limited" from Chicago to New Orleans, along with the far less well-appointed "City of New Orleans." Both were glorious in chocolate brown and orange livery. The "Panama" is long gone. Amtrak's "City" still runs Chicago-New Orleans, but... it is now far worse than modern generic. That's because the mercenary Delta Airlines exec who is now in charge of Amtrak has invoked an insane management paradigm and a thoroughly obfuscating accounting system to justify cutbacks and "austerity."
For Amtrak's (supposedly modern) "City of New Orleans," that meant the end of real food. Now, you look out the window at the lush, green Mississippi River Valley, and then farther South, at the Spanish moss-draped bayou, all while you eat 7-11 style fare. Literally. Unless a major political change arrives while there is still time, more of that third-world-class travel -- or cancellation altogether -- awaits riders on several of Amtrak's well-patronized long-distance trains.
___
The third train still running to New Orleans is the generically modern version of the "Crescent Limited." Once resplendent in green and gold (as depicted here in steam days), it was the pride of the old Southern Railway. It still runs from Washington, D.C. (with a through-section from New York City); still has Pulllman bedrooms and a real dining car; uses Amtrak's few European-style "Viewliner" cars with double-rows of windows on one level; and its terminal is still the platform in New Orleans. For now.
____________________
One steam locomotive like this one -- a green-and-gold Southern Railway class PS-4, 4-6-2 Pacific type -- survives. You can see it in the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Perhaps unique in the world, it was completely rebuilt before going into the museum. It is therefore a 1920s-vintage, brand-new rebuilt, zero-mileage steam locomotive. Fitting, since New Orleans and D.C. were the train's terminals.
____________________
Amtrak is what we have now. It's all that we have now.
Sadly, the best Amtrak has been able to do was under its PREVIOUS management who was working to make it better, before the current politically-entwined front-office disaster. Amtrak has always needed to EXPAND to make it easier to use, with more departure and arrival options and more connections. Instead, it's always been about fighting more cuts, and fighting to keep real food aboard trains that passengers call home for one or two days or more. And now, the fights are about nothing less than survival of the American passenger rail option. Even when the energy use statistics and air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have ALWAYS greatly favored trains? The hugely subsidized airline industry -- which receives stratified layers of often-camoflauged taxpayer cash -- actively lobbies against comparatively tiny subsidies for Amtrak.
It won't be solved in the current piecemeal approaches of separate states myopically viewing their own needs in isolation. A commitment is required for the American passenger train, from sea to shining sea, and in the heartland where no air carrier can economically provide service, anyway. We lost our way in our love affairs with fast cars an cheap gas. Now we have gridlocked freeways and busted interstates and It's far gone to fix with a bake sale or a pot of gumbo.
We can always dream of a time when we won't be in cattle-car airliners with our knees in our armpits! And nothing is stopping you from calling your member of congress and your two US senators!
Anybody for a "Back to the Future" rail system?
________________________________________
(Tap or click any image to enlarge.)
For over a hundred years, Americans went to Mardi Gras by train. That heritage is still celebrated in the many parade floats in New Orleans whose krewes design them to look like 19th century steam locomotives. Some parade floats even vent "steam" and have whistles that blow on compressed air!
Then as now, the clubs on Bourbon and Canal Streets packed 'em in for live blues and jazz. The skillful blaring of horns and the furiosity of strings played blindingly fast became trademarks. But that was all the time, and this was the Big Easy. Then comes Mardi Gras, and you express everything with exponents.
Get past the college frat boys with the beer bongs. When Mardi Gras abates, the music flows effortlessly and so does the culture. History resumes its quiet immediacy with the vaults of 200-year-old above-ground cemeteries. And it fulfills the Zydeco band's appeal for "Somebody scream!" with the five-chime steam whistle on the paddlewheeler Natchez. Add to that the National World War II Museum for a profound sense of past and present intermingling.
In New Orleans, you can still ride old rail streetcars from the 1920s. In fact, you can catch three different streetcar lines within three blocks of the train station -- where all the many streamliners and the great "limiteds" began and ended their runs. Inside, the station, the walls still hold their Conrad Abrizzio art-deco / industrial age murals framed by architectural elements for which Frank Lloyd Wright was the mere chief draftsman. Punctuating the murals in two monolithic swaths are the trains' arrivals-and-departures call boards -- they still hang massively on the high walls, listing a paltry total of three trains. The rest of those boards is a gaping darkness of ten or twelve vertical feet; the empty ribbed surfaces made for press-in letters have displayed only blank space for decades.
Still, New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal was responsible for $17,668,780 in fiscal year 2018. With the merest trickle of activity.
Once it was very different. The trains' schedules meshed with those of paddlewheel riverboats headed up to Natchez, Memphis, St. Louis, Cairo, and Cincinnati. Ocean-going steamships waited at the wharves.
Let's look back at how revelers went to Mardi Gras in a more spacious age. When over a dozen different railroads operated daily passenger trains in and out of the Crescent City.
Today, with post-Hurricane Katrina track damage still annuling the Florida train, Amtrak still runs trains on just three historic routes.
The best of these is the "Sunset Limited." It was once the flagship of the Southern Pacific Railroad, complete with an on-board barber shop newsstand. It ran behind jaunty red, orange, silver and black locomotives -- streamlined steam, and then streamlined diesels. Amtrak's train with the same name still runs Los Angeles to New Orleans; you can still look 20 to 50 feet away across the border into Mexico from Southwest Texas; of greatest importance, on this train you can still get a private bedroom with a porter to prepare your bed; there's still dinner in the diner, freshly-cooked real food. But don't wait long to ride it.
___
The reason is clear when we look at the next Amtrak train, the "City of New Orleans." Indeed that's the one that gave its name to the Steve Goodman song made famous by Arlo Guthrie. Once, the Illinois Central ran the luxurious "Panama Limited" from Chicago to New Orleans, along with the far less well-appointed "City of New Orleans." Both were glorious in chocolate brown and orange livery. The "Panama" is long gone. Amtrak's "City" still runs Chicago-New Orleans, but... it is now far worse than modern generic. That's because the mercenary Delta Airlines exec who is now in charge of Amtrak has invoked an insane management paradigm and a thoroughly obfuscating accounting system to justify cutbacks and "austerity."
For Amtrak's (supposedly modern) "City of New Orleans," that meant the end of real food. Now, you look out the window at the lush, green Mississippi River Valley, and then farther South, at the Spanish moss-draped bayou, all while you eat 7-11 style fare. Literally. Unless a major political change arrives while there is still time, more of that third-world-class travel -- or cancellation altogether -- awaits riders on several of Amtrak's well-patronized long-distance trains.
___
____________________
One steam locomotive like this one -- a green-and-gold Southern Railway class PS-4, 4-6-2 Pacific type -- survives. You can see it in the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Perhaps unique in the world, it was completely rebuilt before going into the museum. It is therefore a 1920s-vintage, brand-new rebuilt, zero-mileage steam locomotive. Fitting, since New Orleans and D.C. were the train's terminals.
____________________
Amtrak is what we have now. It's all that we have now.
Sadly, the best Amtrak has been able to do was under its PREVIOUS management who was working to make it better, before the current politically-entwined front-office disaster. Amtrak has always needed to EXPAND to make it easier to use, with more departure and arrival options and more connections. Instead, it's always been about fighting more cuts, and fighting to keep real food aboard trains that passengers call home for one or two days or more. And now, the fights are about nothing less than survival of the American passenger rail option. Even when the energy use statistics and air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have ALWAYS greatly favored trains? The hugely subsidized airline industry -- which receives stratified layers of often-camoflauged taxpayer cash -- actively lobbies against comparatively tiny subsidies for Amtrak.
It won't be solved in the current piecemeal approaches of separate states myopically viewing their own needs in isolation. A commitment is required for the American passenger train, from sea to shining sea, and in the heartland where no air carrier can economically provide service, anyway. We lost our way in our love affairs with fast cars an cheap gas. Now we have gridlocked freeways and busted interstates and It's far gone to fix with a bake sale or a pot of gumbo.
We can always dream of a time when we won't be in cattle-car airliners with our knees in our armpits! And nothing is stopping you from calling your member of congress and your two US senators!
Anybody for a "Back to the Future" rail system?
________________________________________
Larry's complete February 2019 feature story on Mardi Gras has photos of parade floats representing old steam trains. Those are not included above, but can be found in the archive of the full story, at:
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# 18 feature...
* UPDATE:
The TV series "Turning Point" will re-air its episode titled and about "Musicians on Call." Produced during the series' season one as episode 9, it airs on the live feed at www.byutv.org and on the BYU-TV channel on cable and satellite systems on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 11-11:30 am PDT.
* UPDATE:
The TV series "Turning Point" will re-air its episode titled and about "Musicians on Call." Produced during the series' season one as episode 9, it airs on the live feed at www.byutv.org and on the BYU-TV channel on cable and satellite systems on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 11-11:30 am PDT.
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MUSICIANS ON CALL CELEBRATES 20th ANNIVERSARY
Coast-to-coast events to follow the kick-off; BLAKE SHELTON will join in celebration gala May 31st
The organization's volunteer musicians have performed for more than 700,000 individuals -- patients, families and caregivers -- at hospital besides and in healthcare facilities ranging from children's hospitals to adult facilities, VA hospitals, and hospices, nationwide.
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| Click to enlarge. |
"Musicians on Call" (MOC) is an exemplary nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities. Looking forward as well as back, it's hosting a 20th Anniversary Kick-Off Celebration in Nashville on Friday, May 31 at the CMA Theater.
The event will celebrate the organization's two decades of delivering the healing power of music NATIONWIDE and the event will feature a headlining performance by Warner Music Nashville star Blake Shelton, plus an opening set from label mate Cale Dodds.
The nonprofit will present its first "Lifetime Achievement Award," together with "Leadership In Music Award" and "Music Heals Award" at special celebration event at the CMA Theater in Nashville.
The Honorees
SHANE TARLETON, longtime MOC supporter and SVP of Artist Development for Warner Music Nashville, will be recognized as the organization's first "Lifetime Achievement Award" recipient at the event for his decade-long support of MOC as an Advisory Board Member. Shane is being recognized for his commitment to music and health causes throughout Nashville, including his volunteer service with Musicians On Call at Alive Hospice and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
CHARLIE COOK, VP/Country Formats, Cumulus Media, Operations Manager/Cumulus Media-Nashville, and Program Director/WSM-FM, will receive the "Leadership in Music Golden Ukulele" in gratitude for the support Cumulus and Nash FM has given to MOC.
LAUREN ALAINA, Universal Music Group Nashville recording artist, will receive the "Music Heals Award" thanks to her commitment to volunteering at Musicians On Call's "Bedside Performance Program."
Nationwide Celebration Events Kick-off in Nashville
The celebration will begin with an exclusive VIP reception at the CMA Theater, followed by performances by Dodds and a full-band set from Shelton.
A silent auction will be open to event attendees and the general public; check the MOC website for details: www.musiciansoncall.org
If you can get there, a limited number of tickets will be available to the public starting on sale Fri, April 26 at 10 am (CT). Pre-sale begins Wed, April 24 for existing Musicians on Call volunteers and supporters. Tickets, and limited sponsorship opportunities, are available at www.musiciansoncall.org/MOC20
"Over the past 20 years we've brought the healing power of music to over 700,000 people in hospitals nationwide. A single song has the ability to lift a patient's spirit unlike anything else and science has proven that music does actually help patients heal," said Musicians On Call President & CEO Pete Griffin.
He continued, "It's been an honor to bring this experience to facilities nationwide and we could not have done it without the support of our community, volunteers and artists who generously give their time and talents to brighten someone's day, especially champions like Shane Tarleton, Charlie Cook and Lauren Alaina. What better way to celebrate this milestone than with music icon, Blake Shelton!"
The Musicians on Call 20th Anniversary Kickoff Celebration is sponsored by City National Bank, Outback Presents, Warner Music Nashville, OnSite, HCA, RIAA, UMG Nashville, YouTube, Cumulus Media and John and Stephanie Roberts.
Musicians On Call will also host special celebratory events coast-to-coast, starting with the kick-off concert in Nashville.
This fall, MOC will honor its founders and many supporters from throughout its 20 years at a gala celebration in New York City.
Leading up to the gala celebration, MOC will host celebrity hospital visits, a 20th anniversary auction, social challenge and its first-ever 20-day fundraising challenge. Throughout the year, MOC will be posting its favorite "MOC Moments" using #MOC20 and encourages supporters to post their favorites as well.
MOC began with its first "Bedside Performance Program" in New York in 1999, co-founded by music industry entrepreneurs Michael Solomon and Vivek Tiwary, and has since expanded across the country with programs in 20 major markets.
Fans of the TV show, "Turning Point" will recall the episode devoted to Musicians on Call in New York City. You can find and watch it in the archive at www.byutv.org/turningpoint
MOC's "Bedside Performance Program" first came to Nashville in 2007. Since then, it has performed for more than 155,000 individuals in local hospitals.
Through live, in-room performances for patients who are undergoing treatment or unable to leave their beds, MOC's volunteer artists add a dose of joy to life in a healthcare facility.
Info on the organization and HOW TO GET INVOLVED, at:
www.musiciansoncall.org
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# 19 feature...
"WHEN THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO... YOU STAND IN SOLIDARITY AND SING"
Not long after our last edition
We brought our readers the perspective of structural engineers and fire investigators long before mainstream media's gasping and gawking gave way to asking meaningful questions.
We continued to cover the story for the first twenty-four hours after the fire first broke out (until Big Media finally began to catch-up). All our coverage of that first 24 hours is still there, if you'd like to go back, have a look, and judge for yourself:
https://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2019/04/aprils-bigtime-festivals-concerts-and.html
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| As the singing continued, instrumentalists joined the gathering. Shocked Parisians and tourists found comfort and camaraderie joining in song. |
Dan Rather wrote on Twitter, "Why has the burning of Notre Dame moved so many? Because we believe in beauty, majesty, faith, art, history, and the human expressions thereof. We recognize in this cathedral our common humanity. A scar now emerges in our connections to our past, our future, and each other."
A group of Parisians sang hymns in French as they watched the 800-year-old Notre Dame cathedral burning in the distance, and, as "The Daily Good" notes, "it is tragically beautiful."
Watch that video in their article, at:
https://www.upworthy.com/a-tragically-beautiful-video-captures-parisians-singing-hymns-as-they-watch-notre-dame-burn
They conclude, "When there's nothing you can do but watch something beautiful burn, you stand in solidarity and sing. It's what humans do and have always done.
"Hearts all over the world are with you, Paris. Vive la Notre Dame."
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# 20 feature...
CAJUN-ZYDECO-BLUES: FREE ONLINE VIDEO COLLECTION
Because we all need the joy and energy of Lou'siana swamp music
ZYDECO BRAD, recently retired editor of the monthly Cajun-Zydeco News, a valuable performance calendar, sent us links for his extensive YouTube Channel. It contains some of his favorite Cajun and Zydeco live music performance / dance videos.
The main link to Brad's YouTube channel is at the bottom, if you want to bookmark it to gradually work your way through the collection.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
(That's the Cajun French phrase literally translated from the English expression "Let the good times roll.")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC4wKm0EtSQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3b0npXKth0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBHNgcb31Io
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UthTRkPJTZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUUKXfWEdaE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qyzoMZG6WE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bV386RUBUQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXsePOU13mI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeKXc8mr95k&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTDHc2-PzM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07DeiEVxejI
_
Master link to Zydeco Brad's channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTCUs2dN5B_hwWjrTfMrTQ/videos?view_as=subscriber
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# 21 feature...
YOU CAN VOTE FOR BEST SOUTH BAY VENUES & MORE
The 28th annual "South Bay's Best" sponsored by the Daily Breeze newspaper lets you vote for places in their coverage region and performers you know who are based there.
The competing "Best of the Beach," determined by readers of the "Easy Reader News," has already published ITS choices for 2019. You can read THAT -- and get ideas for voting in these still "tbd" honors -- at:
https://easyreadernews.com/best-of-the-beach-dining-and-entertainment-2019/
Back to voting.
Voting in the Daily Breeze "South Bay's Best" runs NOW through Tuesday, April 30. Do prepare, because you must vote for a minimum of ten things for any of your votes to count. (We take you through some ideas and ways to approach it, below.)
Just sign up with your email (no password required) at
https://la-dev.com/ReadersChoice/TDB/2019/index.php
After you verify your email address, you'll have your choice of several categories. Key among them, you can choose "Places" from the list of categories. On one track there, scroll down to "Night Spot/Live Entertainment." There, you might want to type-in "Grand Annex" or "Alvas Showroom" or one of the area's performing arts centers or a favorite haunt with fine tuneage.
Under the same category of "Places," you can also take another track and scroll down to "Performance Venues." There, think about places where you've enjoyed live music, musical theatre, stage plays, or whatever you're into. For example, you may want to type-in "Warner Grand Theatre," or "Torrance Performing Arts Center," or "Alvas Showroom," or any of many others you prefer.
Think broadly for both categories. "Night Spot/Live Entertainment" and "Performance Venues" can sometimes be played either way. Irish pubs with live music are easy to find in that region, so consider where you've enjoyed a pint and tuneage.
Eateries include places like Redondo Beach's Ragin Cajun, which presents live Cajun-zydeco and even an annual festival, and they do catering. (They won Easy Reader's "Best Cajun Restaurant" in "Best of the Beach.") And there's San Pedro's Whale & Ale restaurant, a longtime live music venue. Or maybe you'd rather vote for the latter in the "Night Spot/Live Entertainment" category.
Fans of Andy & Renee and their full band, Hard Rain (repeat winners of Easy Reader's "Best Local Band" in "Best of the Beach," and sponsors of the superb annual "Dylanfest" in Torrance, in the South Bay) may want to reward the places they perform with votes for "their" venues.
When voting for artists in these Daily Breeze honors, you'll need to click the "Write-in" tab, and vote in the "People" box. We just suggested one option, and you should remember that genuine blues legend Bernie Pearl lives in Long Beach, and blues/jazz vocalist and icon Barbara Morrison performs in her own theatre (and presents a spectrum of shows) in the South Bay.
The "Events" tab lets you type-in a festival in that part o' the whirled.
"Places" allowed us to type-in the Battleship Iowa in San Pedro, with its ever-better museum program and very dedicated volunteer crew. The Liberty Ship S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, a museum that still puts to sea, also qualifies. So does the Pt. Fermin Lighthouse Park, or Ports O' Call Village. But you only get to name one.
Beyond that, you're on your own. But DO vote if you want to reward any venue or eatery where you've been treated well, and remember, you need to have the names on hand to type-in for at least ten items. The South Bay is rich in arts, and music venues, and artists -- and good eats -- and there are plenty that deserve new or continued recognition to keep on keepin' on!
YOU CAN VOTE FOR BEST SOUTH BAY VENUES & MORE
The 28th annual "South Bay's Best" sponsored by the Daily Breeze newspaper lets you vote for places in their coverage region and performers you know who are based there.
The competing "Best of the Beach," determined by readers of the "Easy Reader News," has already published ITS choices for 2019. You can read THAT -- and get ideas for voting in these still "tbd" honors -- at:
https://easyreadernews.com/best-of-the-beach-dining-and-entertainment-2019/
Back to voting.
Voting in the Daily Breeze "South Bay's Best" runs NOW through Tuesday, April 30. Do prepare, because you must vote for a minimum of ten things for any of your votes to count. (We take you through some ideas and ways to approach it, below.)
Just sign up with your email (no password required) at
https://la-dev.com/ReadersChoice/TDB/2019/index.php
 |
| Voting is underway in the Daily Breeze recognitions. |
Under the same category of "Places," you can also take another track and scroll down to "Performance Venues." There, think about places where you've enjoyed live music, musical theatre, stage plays, or whatever you're into. For example, you may want to type-in "Warner Grand Theatre," or "Torrance Performing Arts Center," or "Alvas Showroom," or any of many others you prefer.
Think broadly for both categories. "Night Spot/Live Entertainment" and "Performance Venues" can sometimes be played either way. Irish pubs with live music are easy to find in that region, so consider where you've enjoyed a pint and tuneage.
Eateries include places like Redondo Beach's Ragin Cajun, which presents live Cajun-zydeco and even an annual festival, and they do catering. (They won Easy Reader's "Best Cajun Restaurant" in "Best of the Beach.") And there's San Pedro's Whale & Ale restaurant, a longtime live music venue. Or maybe you'd rather vote for the latter in the "Night Spot/Live Entertainment" category.
Fans of Andy & Renee and their full band, Hard Rain (repeat winners of Easy Reader's "Best Local Band" in "Best of the Beach," and sponsors of the superb annual "Dylanfest" in Torrance, in the South Bay) may want to reward the places they perform with votes for "their" venues.
When voting for artists in these Daily Breeze honors, you'll need to click the "Write-in" tab, and vote in the "People" box. We just suggested one option, and you should remember that genuine blues legend Bernie Pearl lives in Long Beach, and blues/jazz vocalist and icon Barbara Morrison performs in her own theatre (and presents a spectrum of shows) in the South Bay.
The "Events" tab lets you type-in a festival in that part o' the whirled.
"Places" allowed us to type-in the Battleship Iowa in San Pedro, with its ever-better museum program and very dedicated volunteer crew. The Liberty Ship S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, a museum that still puts to sea, also qualifies. So does the Pt. Fermin Lighthouse Park, or Ports O' Call Village. But you only get to name one.
Beyond that, you're on your own. But DO vote if you want to reward any venue or eatery where you've been treated well, and remember, you need to have the names on hand to type-in for at least ten items. The South Bay is rich in arts, and music venues, and artists -- and good eats -- and there are plenty that deserve new or continued recognition to keep on keepin' on!
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# 22 feature...
TIX ALERTS
...get 'em while you can; some have early-bird passwords.
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THE EAGLES in their only North American show of the year-long tour, two nights, SEP 26 & 27 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
TIX GO ON SALE Fri, Apr 12, 10 am PDT, @ Ticketmaster, and will sell-out in minutes.
_
SARA BAREILLES plays Sun, Oct 27 at Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles, CA; TIX go on sale Fri, Apr 12, 10 am, at: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/0900568401256114
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WILLIE NELSON & FRIENDS play Sun, May 12 at Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles, CA; GET TIX NOW at: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/0900564EACED2BB4
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: SYMPHONY FOR OUR WORLD only has Calif. dates in Nor Cal -- Apr 29 in San Francisco, and Mon, May 6, at the San Jose Center For The Performing Arts, San Jose, CA.
Info: http://www.nederlanderconcerts.com/events/detail/national-geographic-symphony-for-our-world
TIX:
SF: https://www.shnsf.com/online/default.asp
- -
SJ: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/1C00556112A4C6E5
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JUDY COLLINS, the legendary and award-winning singer-songwriter plays THREE shows at separate Southern California venues in NOVEMBER.
Get tix now, ahead of the herd, with the password “bothsides” for any of these:
* Nov 8 at The Canyon Agoura Hills: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/judy-collins/event/0900566600D36585
* Nov 9 at The Canyon Montclair: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/judy-collins/event/0900566600546566
* Nov 10 at "The Canyon @ The Rose" in Pasadena: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/judy-collins/event/09005666FF236514
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BETTY BUCKLEY, plus opening set by TOM SCOTT. Concert is NOV 2 at "The Canyon at The Saban" in Beverly Hills.
Tony Award Winner BETTY BUCKLEY is one of the theater’s most respected leading ladies.
* Get your tickets now, ahead of the herd, with the password “broadway” at:
https://www1.ticketmaster.com/betty-buckley-with-opening-set-by-tom-scott/event/0B005666F0377120
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GET TIX NOW...
Wed, May 8:
7:30 pm - BRUCE FORMAN, leader of COW BOP, who jokes about being named "Poet Laureate of North Coast Brewery," plays his critically-acclaimed signature concert, "THE RED GUITAR" at Upstairs at Vitellos, 4349 Tujunga Av, Studio City CA 91604
* He doesn't do this show often. It's a masterwork, based on the theme of "The Red Shoes," wherein a little girl wants to dance like a great ballerina, so she dons the magic red shoes and cannot stop -- until she dances herself to death. Forman's reimagining is a twist on Robert Johnson at the infamous crossroads -- here, the wanna-be-the-greatest character is Forman, who wants to play like all the great jazz guitarists. And when he picks up the red guitar, he does. Seriously, he DOES. The guy has the chops to do it, replicating all the moves, all the licks, of all the greats, nonstop -- which is why this show is a must-see. In addition to the dazzling guitar playing, there are his on-stage "interactions" with Faust and Freud during the can't-stop-playing performance.
* BRUCE tells us it's "A performance of my updated one-man show at Vitello's... Please get your tickets early, they are really tough there and are liable to raise the ticket prices for walk-ins... This is a great venue for the show, and rumor has it that there will be some jazz intervention at the end..."
* THEN HE ADDS THIS: "I'll be just getting back from playing at JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER... so I'll be inna Broadway kinda mood..."
* We told you he has the chops to do it! If you're reading far enough in advance, you can also catch him with COW BOP, his Western swing band, at an event for the "Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival" on Fri, Apr 12; see listing.
* More at: www.bruceforman.com
* TIX for "The Red Guitar" at Vitello's: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bruce-forman-red-guitar-tickets-59085915564
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GET TIX NOW...
Fri, Jun 21:
8 pm - "ALANIS MORISSETTE ACOUSTIC" at Humphreys Concerts By the Bay, San Diego, CA
* GET TIX NOW at: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/alanis-morissette-acoustic/event/0A0056791CD44B2B
* She also performs Apr 26 & 27, 9 pm, in Las Vegas; see listings.
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# 23 feature...
ONGOING EVENTS
...some ending soon, some impending.
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ONGOING, Wed, Apr 17, through May 19:
8 pm - “FALSETTOS” a musical from New York, opens tonight at the L.A. Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N Grand Av, downtown Los Angeles, CA.
* This is the Lincoln Center Theater production, directed by James Lapine, from the book by Lapine and William Finn with Finn’s music and lyrics.
* It's “a hilarious and achingly poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family.”
* TIX: $30 to $135, at 213-972-4400 or www.CenterTheatreGroup.org
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Ongoing: Thu-Sun, Apr 18-May 5; LIVE THEATRE w/ LIVE MUSIC:
7 or 8 pm - "BACK BOG BEAST BAIT" by SAM SHEPARD plays at the Yard Theater, 4319 Melrose Av (at Heliotrope by LACC), Los Angeles CA 90029
* PAUL LACQUES (I SEE HAWKS IN L.A.) is performing the music, live for each show.
* It's a fresh, compelling take on an early and enigmatic work by Sam Shepard. Brought to you by alumni of the USC MFA Acting program and Padua/Shepard and the Avant-Garde.
* The setting: a shack in a swamp. A woman hires two gunslingers to help her defend her home against a mysterious and ravenous beast intent on destroying the human race. Everyone feels the presence of the beast, but no one can prove it's real. Maybe the only way to protect ourselves is to lay our bodies bare on the altar and call forth our worst fears, our biggest regrets, and the baddest evil we can dream up.
* Produced by Scavengers, "a collective of artists who value the gritty, sensory worlds Sam Shepard spent his life meticulously creating."
* Performances:
• Friday April 19, 2019 - 8 pm
• Saturday April 20, 2019 - 8 pm
• Sunday April 21, 2019 - 7 pm
• Thursday April 25, 2019 - 8 pm
• Friday April 26, 2019 - 8 pm
• Saturday April 27, 2019 - 8 pm
• Sunday April 28, 2019 - 7 pm
• Thursday May 2, 2019 - 8 pm
• Friday May 3, 2019 - 8 pm
• Saturday May 4, 2018, 8 pm (Paul won't play this one, he's got a Hawks gig)
• Sunday May 5, 2019 - 7 pm
* The play runs 80 minutes with no intermission.
* Tickets are $20 and space is limited. Reserve seats online.
* TIX: www.backbog.bpt.me
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ONGOING, through Sat, Apr 20:
"CHEECH & CHONG: STILL ROLLIN' — CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF 'UP IN SMOKE'" is a special exhibition at the GRAMMY Museum, 800 W Olympic Bl, Ste. A245 (entrance on Figueroa), L.A., CA; 213-765-6800.
* The exhibit looks at "what made the world fall in love with East L.A. native Richard "Cheech" Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong, while chronicling the development and success of their first feature-length film, 'Up In Smoke.' Items on display will include the original marked-up script from 'Up In Smoke,' the master tape for the soundtrack album, comedy sketches, and selections from Marin's 'Blazing Chicano Guitars' collection, among other items. The selections from Marin's guiar-art collection include Chaz Bojorquez' 'Lester William Polsfus'; Jaime 'GERMS' Zacarias' 'Germtar' and John Valadez' 'Sombrero Hormigas.'" - Do LA.
* Special exhibit included with regular museum admission ticket.
___Ongoing, through April 21:
"LACKAWANNA BLUES" presented by Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum, L.A. Music Center, 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
* LIVE BLUES MUSIC by composer Bill Sims Jr., performed by Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist-composer-actor Chris Thomas Kin, brings the essential musical dimensionality to Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson's original work, as he returns to his roots in this tour de force performance.
* A magical, musical, and deeply personal work written and performed by Santiago-Hudson, "Lackawanna Blues" is a reminiscence of his 1950s childhood in a small town on the banks of Lake Erie.
* Santiago-Hudson takes on more than 20 colorful characters — from would-be philosophers and petty hustlers to lost souls and abandoned lovers — in a brilliant celebration of the eccentric boardinghouse where he grew up.
* "STAGE TALKS" ARE AN ADDITIONAL EVENT for ticket holders, happening at the Apr 7 matinee, and the Apr 9 evening performance.
* You can take the Metro Red or Purple Line subway to Civic Center/Grand Park Station and exit towards Temple Street.
* DAYS & TIMES: Tue-Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 2:30 pm & 8 pm, Sun at 1 pm & 8 pm except closing day Sun, Apr 21, which has only one show at 6:30 pm.
* TIX: Call Audience Services at 213-628-2772, or go to https://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/mark-taper-forum/2018-19/lackawanna-blues/
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10 am-5 pm - "POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION" at the Reagan Library, 40 Presidential Dr, Simi Valley, CA, 93065
* Go back in time with this spectacular exhibit to relive the lost world of Ancient Rome. Pompeii was a playground, the Las Vegas of its time. Until the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius encased all of it -- including its people -- in a deep layer of volcanic ash that fell from the sky like a deadly blizzard.
* When rediscovery of Pompeii came accidentally in the digging of a well, a period ensued of raiding the buried city for treasure. Then, in large measure because of the greedy raiding, much of what became modern archaeology developed to document, understand, and protect the integrity of the lost civilization.
* This awe-inspiring exhibition features nearly 200 artifacts hidden from view and forgotten for centuries until rediscovered over 250 years ago. "Pompeii: The Exhibition" includes frescoes, mosaics, gladiator helmets, armor, weapons, plates, furniture, jewelry, statues, and more.
* Plaster casts of people who were buried alive in the ash are included -- the ash encased them, and their presence literally left a void that could be reclaimed by wet plaster.
* A "4-D eruption theater" is a key interpretive element, allowing visitors to experience the deathly impact Mount Vesuvius had on this ancient city.
* Make plans to see this while it's here.
* The Reagan library offers over 125,000 square feet of exhibits, so allow a minimum of three to four hours to enjoy all of the galleries and grounds; yes, they do have food.
* TIX to the library through Apr 21 INCLUDE "Pompeii." Save the box office waiting line by buying online -- but you must select the date and time you would like to visit.
General Admission $29; Seniors (age 62+) $26; Youth (age 11-17) $22; Child (age 3-10) $19; Children under age 2 are free; add-on audio tour rental $7; Active US Military service member free with valid Military ID, walk-ups get in without timed ticket.
* Adv Ticket purchase at:
https://www.reaganfoundation.org/library-museum/online-ticket-sales
* Free parking; NOTE: GPS / smartphone map users: entrance is off Madera Road, NOT off Tierra Rejada, which does not go through.
___
Apr 25-May 2, FILM FESTIVAL:
20th anniversary "NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL" at numerous area venues, includes screenings, parties, galas, receptions, live music performances, more than 40 feature films, lots of shorts, and plenty of documentaries.
* Features an "IRISH SPOTLIGHT" day, Apr 28, and spotlights on several foreign films throughout the event.
* Full schedule (it's very impressive) and ticket links: https://newportbeachfilmfest.com/events/
___Ongoing, Apr 25 through May 26:
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL "AMALUNA" makes its L.A. run for a month in front of Battleship IOWA on the L.A. Waterfront in San Pedro, CA.
* DISCOUNT TIX: get 15% off individual tickets with promo code SANPEDRO* at https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/amaluna
___
"PROTECTING MOTHER EARTH" gallery exhibition at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W Malvern Av, Fullerton, CA 92833; 714-738-6595; www.TheMuck.org
* SPECIAL GALLERY TOUR on Thu, Mar 28, 6:30 pm, Free Admission.
* Presented from the perspective of Native Americans, who, as the original human inhabitants of the western hemisphere, continue to have a unique relationship with the land, and curated by artist Rowan Harrison, "Protecting Mother Earth" is an exhibition about the protection and conservation of our natural environment.
* It brings together works by over a dozen artists from the Native American community, including Corey Stein, Corina Roberts, Maree Cheatham, Gail Werner, Terry Glad Flores, C. M. Scott, Valena Dismukes, Eric Tippeconnic, Rowan Harrison, Nadia Reed, Peggy Fontenot, Laurie Steelink, Nadia LittleWarrior, Zoë Marieh Urness, Randy Kemp, and Sheridan Macknight.
* Open during GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday-Sunday, 12-4 pm. Free Admission, donations welcomed.
___
ONGOING, through May 12:
"40 YEARS OF ALIEN: 40th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT AND FILM SCREENINGS" in the George Lucas Building Lobby, on the University Park Campus of USC, Los Angeles, CA
* Multiple events in a series; Admission to each is free, but require free reservations. Check for schedule of events and reservation information (not yet posted at our press time), at:
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of 20th Century Fox’s Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, the USC School of Cinematic Arts will host an exhibit of props, costumes, models, artwork, designs, merchandise, comics, and ephemera from the Alien franchise. In conjunction with the exhibition, Alien films will be screened throughout the Spring 2019 semester.
___OPENING May 15...
MUSEUM OF DREAM SPACE (MODS) grand opening is May 15, 2019.
* Advance tix at a 25% discount are available now.
* MODS is the first museum in the US that's focused on exhibiting digital art.
* The design concept of MODS is illuminated by art design from Yayoi Kusama (famous for "infinite rooms") and the global development of digital art.
* The aim of MODS is to provide an immersive, magical and unique art experience to visitors.
* DISCOUNT TIX at: https://modsla.com/
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THE FIRST "UPSIDE DOWN HOUSE" in L.A., presented by the Museum of Illusions, holds its Grand Opening today at 6751 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood CA 90028
* As the Monty Python line goes, "And now for something completely different."
* Featuring interactive upside down rooms: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and more.
* Their promo contends that "You’ll amaze your friends and family when they see you dancing on the ceiling. You won’t be bored sitting on the couch when it’s hanging above you!"
* Uh huh. When you install a live band hanging upside down from the ceiling, call us.
* Here's their video, for the easily amused: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ko2edli37yxeri3/UDH.mov?dl=0
* If you wanna go, get 20% off Pre-Sale Tickets now, at: https://laillusions.com/upside-down-house/
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OPENING May 19... Ongoing: May 19, 2019–Jan 5, 2020:
Art exhibition: "COYOTE LEAVES THE RES: THE ART OF HARRY FONSECA" at the Autry Museum of the American West, across from the L.A. Zoo in Griffith Park, at 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027
* Featuring paintings, sketches, and lithographs, this exhibition focuses on the recurring figure of Coyote, a trickster, shape shifter, and storyteller capable of moving undetected between different worlds.
* Fonseca was an instrumental force in reshaping Native art with his trademark blend of traditional imagery, contemporary experience, and vibrant color and form. As he used his art to explore both his personal journey and the role of history in shaping Native consciousness in the present, Fonseca sought to expand definitions of American Indian art and to shatter the expectations and stereotypes that had long confined it.
* As both a gay man and a person of mixed heritage, Fonseca used his work as a vehicle for self-discovery a means of navigating different aspects of his life and identity during a time when ideas about Native peoples were often driven by outside forces, including commercial markets, tourism, and historical clichés.
* RUNS May 19, 2019–January 5, 2020 in the Autry's George Montgomery Gallery.
* Opens daily at 10 am. Closes Tue-Fri at 4 pm, Sat & Sun at 5 pm.
* TIX: included with regular museum admission.
* More: https://theautry.org/exhibitions/coyote-leaves-res-art-harry-fonseca
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ONGOING, Sundays:
10 am-2 pm - THE GENTLE BARN welcomes visitors, and makes a great Earth Day or Easter destination, at 15825 Sierra Hwy, Santa Clarita, CA 91390; www.gentlebarn.org/california/
* Go hug the cows, give the pigs tummy rubs, cuddle the turkeys, and enjoy a beautiful day at the Gentle Barn.
* To ensure that the smaller animals in the upper barnyard don't feel stressed or overcrowded, groups are allowed to go into the upper barnyard after a presentation.
* Out of respect for the animals, do not bring any dairy, egg, meat, poultry, or seafood onto the property.
* This is an outdoor farm environment; it's recommended all guests wear long pants, closed-toe shoes, a hat, and plenty of sunscreen. Be sure to bring plenty of water for your group.
* TIX (Donation) adults $22, kids $12. Website above.
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ONGOING, in San Pedro:
"LOST AT SEA: THE EXPLORATIONS OF DR. ROBERT BALLARD" is an exhibition aboard the BATTLESHIP IOWA, docked as a museum in San Pedro, at 250 S Harbor Bl, Los Angeles, CA 90731
* “Everyone is an explorer. How could you possibly live your life looking at a door and not open it?” – Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer of the wreck of RMS TITANIC.
* The exhibit opened Oct 31, 2018 after previews during "Fleet Week."
* It includes the "Lost at Sea" gallery, "Alpha Romeo Tango (ART)" art gallery, and ship tour expansion that now includes the USS Iowa's capability as a floating city, with a look at the ship's on-board laundry, barbershop, and brig.
* Battleship IOWA Museum was chosen to launch “Lost at Sea: The Explorations of Dr. Robert Ballard” before it goes elsewhere. Ballard is known the world over for his discovery of the final resting place of the Titanic; yet, he has quested for and found many more vessels whose origins date over the past 2,000 years. Their common fate was that they have been claimed by our oceans and seas. Many lie undisturbed as what Ballard calls “undersea museums,” and these are revealed to visitors aboard the historic USS IOWA.
* This retrospective is a showcase for the Iowa to highlight many of the world’s most historically noted underwater wrecks, found by the explorer.
* “Lost at Sea: The Explorations of Dr. Robert Ballard” was made possible by a generous grant from the Confidence Foundation and is jointly sponsored by Dr. Robert Ballard, the Port of Los Angeles, Ocean Exploration Trust, and AltaSea.
* The "Lost at Sea" exhibit is included with General Admission to the Battleship IOWA. Museum ticket office opens daily at 10 am and the last tour ticket is sold at 4 pm. Ticket prices at the box office are $19.95 for ages 12–61. Youth tickets, age 5 – 11, are $11.95. Senior admission (age 62 and over) are $9.95. Children under age 5 are free. General admission for the military (active, retired and U.S. armed forces) on all days other than Nov. 11 are $14.95.
* Tix and more info: https://pacificbattleship.com
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Southern Californians can find
DAY-BY-DAY EVENT LISTINGS
for film events, music and arts festivals, concerts, club gigs, and things like artist workshops, in the "Acoustic Americana Music Guide," at:
www.acousticmusic.net
As the name says, the emphasis there is on acoustic music, including classical, and roots, Folk-Americana, with lots of inclusions of today's vibrant, youthful acoustic renaissance artists.
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