The best of 8 years of Off-Ramp, including "The Ashes of Oakridge," the giant scissors of LA County, Carey McWilliams, and riding a motorbike with Susan Carpenter!
RIP David Weidman, 93. Prolific printmaker, found new fame in Mad Men
UPDATE 8/8/2014: I'm very sad to note that David Weidman died Wednesday at the age of 93. Pat Saperstein has a nice appreciation of him in Variety.
KPCC's John Rabe talks with iconic printmaker David Weidman. Weidman is now in his late eighties, made thousands of prints and posters for homes and hotels in the 60s and 70s, plus backgrounds for several animation studios. He still lives in the house he built in Highland Park more than fifty years ago. He's not making prints anymore, but he -- and his wife Dorothy -- still had lots to say about his craft, which mixes the perspective and emotion of Cubism, with the storytelling and personality of Norman Rockwell, with the sense of humor of, well, David Weidman. COME INSIDE for a slideshow and book signing info ...
On Saturday, November 28th, from 5-7pm, David Weidman will be at The Vintage Collective in Long Beach selling art and signing copies of his beautiful, comprehensive book, "The Whimsical Works of David Weidman, and Some Serious Ones" plus Darrell Van Citters' "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol," for which Weidman did art.
Created with flickr slideshow.
First Language Attrition: Why my parents and I don't speak the same language
UPDATE: James Kim's Off-Ramp piece received a 2013 Mark Twain Award by the Associated Press Television-Radio Association for best light feature. Congratulations, James! -- John Rabe
I have always had a tough time understanding my parents. Not because we’re from different generations, or born and raised in different countries; it’s that we don’t speak the same language. Growing up, I remembered that my Korean was actually pretty good. My mom said that I “spoke Korean very well for seven years.” But afterwards, I “stopped speaking Korean and only spoke English.”
This has made my relationship with my parents difficult to cultivate. We always are easily irritated with each other because we constantly misunderstand what each of us is saying. We can hardly explain a movie’s plot line to one another, let alone express what we’re going through. The only time I talk with my parents is when I’m asking them “what’s for dinner?” I wanted to try and fix this problem by taking the first initial step; that is to figure out if my condition is common or not.
I talked to Linda Light, a Linguistics professor at Cal State Long Beach, who assured me that I wasn’t a screw up and that the condition is called First Language Attrition. Light says “there’s a tendency across all minority groups of a three-generation thing.” The first generation of immigrants speaks their native language; the second generation tends to be bilingual, while the third generation loses the native language. “But Koreans especially often lose it in the second generation, not the third.” It was a relief to find out that my ineptness towards speaking Korean was actually common in my immigrant generation. Yet, I still couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being able to communicate with my parents.
I decided that the only thing to do was to take initiative and have a one-on-one personal conversation with my parents. Of course, I brought my friend along to help translate the conversation. Going into the interview, I thought that the only thing I had to improve was my Korean language. After doing that, all our problems would be fixed. Wrong. My Dad believes that my “apathy towards Korean culture” is what caused our relationship to tear apart. My mom replied that not only should I express myself to them, but I also need to listen to how they used to live in Korea to understand them better.
My lack of Korean language wasn’t the problem; it was my attitude towards Korean culture. This whole time I thought the solution was as simple as taking some courses at a Korean language school. Instead, I learned that my whole demeanor towards my native culture needs a revision.
Covering the 1974 SLA Shootout - With Bullets Overhead
Jim Mitchell was one of the many reporters in the KFWB newsroom. John Rabe talks with him about his scariest story -- covering the SLA Shooutout with the LAPD from just feet away.
Ashes of Oakridge: Part 1
For many firefighters, the Oakridge fire was one of the worst in recent memory. Residents and firefighters recount the events of November 15, 2008, when a fire crested the hills above Sylmar and swept through Oakridge Mobile Home Park. And residents remember how the park was a throwback to life in the West, with friendly neighbors, wild animals in the streets, and mountain views.
Residents share their memories of Oakridge with KPCC's Frank Stoltze.
Ashes of Oakridge: Part 2
We take you on the a bus ride through the wreckage and tell you about the miracle home, which survived the blaze when everything around it burnt. Plus, mobile housing advocates and the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger weigh-in on construction standards, and on the future of mobile home parks in fire-prone areas.
Ashes of Oakridge: Part 3
Frank sifts through the debris of Oakridge. Fire officials and LAPD explain how they freed an immobile woman who was willing to die in the blaze. Residents share what drew them to the homes in the first place. And we try to understand how elderly residents react to starting over.
Motorcycle Writer takes to the Off-Ramps and highways
UPDATE 2014: This piece aired on the first episode of Off-Ramp, in 2006. Susan is now the automotive critic for the Orange County Register.
Susan Carpenter writes the new Throttle Jockey column for the Los Angeles Times, reviewing motorbikes every two weeks. Since John Rabe's mother would rise from the grave if he rode a motorbike, Susan let us wire her for sound. She takes us for a ride.
Hearing and Learning to Play the Shofar
UPDATE: We're reposting this segment for Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sunset on Wednesday, September 28.
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The Jewish month of Elul begins at sunset on Monday, August 9th. Every day during Elul, until Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, observant Jews will want to hear the shofar, the animal horn.
Michael Chusid, Angelino and author of "Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram’s Horn," joins Off-Ramp host John Rabe in the Crawford Family Forum to teach us about the shofar ... and teach John how to play it.
COME INSIDE for a link to Michael's book.
Clarence McDonald - the man behind the hits
Note from John Rabe: Writer, publisher, blogger, and friend Michael Sigman asked me to name my two favorite Off-Ramp pieces for his Huffpost series, "Reasons to be Cheerful."
First I named "The Ashes of Oakridge," the wonderful and touching documentary of the fire that destroyed the Oakridge Mobile home park, produced by Queena Kim and Frank Stoltze, with help from Jackson Musker.
Second, the interview I did a couple years ago with keyboardist/arranger/producer Clarence McDonald. Clarence was involved in some of the hugest hits of the 70s and 80s, including James Taylor's "How Sweet it Is," Bill Withers' "Lovely Day," and The Emotions' "Best of My Love."
Just for fun, here's that second interview.
Haefele on Carey McWilliams
Off-Ramp literary commentator Marc Haefele says Carey McWilliams is required reading for anyone who is serious about understanding Los Angeles.