On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me....; John Rabe is Selected; Skid Row's Only Women's Shelter; Food for Stuffed Animals?; A Taste of Geisha; Coach Carroll Reaches Beyond USC's Ivory Tower; KPCC's Big Dog breaks down Big Game; You Are a Grain of Rice; Keach as Galileo; LAUSD Flunks P.E.; The Other Scrooge; Country Bumpkin tops the Charts in the Big City; First Lady With Style
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me....
A lady on an alligator...
Season's Greetings Off-Ramp-style!
John Rabe is Selected
The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has named John Rabe as one of its Distinguished Journalists for this year.
John's a little chagrined to remember all the times he acted in a less-than-distinguished manner, but he's honored to be in the company of past winners Linda Deutsch of the AP, the late Hal Fishman and Jack Smith, KCRW's Warren Olney, the great Steve Kindred of KFWB, our own Kitty Felde, and KFI's Eric Leonard, to name a few.
Congrats John!
Skid Row's Only Women's Shelter
The Downtown Women's Center was founded in 1978 by a woman who realized that there was no shelter spaces for women.
Almost thirty years later, the center has 47 full-time residents living in supportive housing apartments, a drop-in center, plus meals and counseling services. John Rabe drops in for a visit.
Food for Stuffed Animals?
Kentucky Fried Chicken, sushi, tomatoes with cute button eyes... These are just a few of the stuffed toys on exhibit at Munkey King in Hollywood. Off-Ramp contributor Christina Huh went to the opening.
The exhibit ends on Saturday, December 8.
A Taste of Geisha
Intelligentsia Coffee Shop in Silverlake recently served up the world's most expensive coffee, known as "the Geisha" for free. It sold at auction for $130 a pound. Queena Kim drank twenty bucks worth, for free!
Coach Carroll Reaches Beyond USC's Ivory Tower
LA Magazine's J.R. Moehringer tells John about USC's head-coach Pete Carroll's unannounced visits into the bad parts of LA.
KPCC's Big Dog breaks down Big Game
KPCC's Senior News Editor Nick Roman previews this weekend's UCLA v. USC game.
You Are a Grain of Rice
The Skirball Cultural Center is presenting "Of all the People in the World." The show, put on by the British theater company Stan's Cafe, uses rice to bring statistics to life. Queena Kim filed this report when Stan's Cafe visited the Skirball last year.
Keach as Galileo
The Play's The Thing airs The Life of Galileo this weekend. It looks at the astronomer's clash with the Catholic Church. John Rabe met with Stacy Keach, to talk about one of science's most famous mavericks.
LAUSD Flunks P.E.
The teacher's union called on the LA Unified School District to make big changes in its Phys. Ed. policy. A survey of forty LAUSD schools found that not one student classifies as being physically fit.
No surprise to Off-Ramp commentator Antronette Yancey, a public health doctor who runs UCLA's Center for the Elimination of Health Disparities.
The Other Scrooge
Off-Ramp's own "Andy Rooney" weighs in on the Holiday Season.
Country Bumpkin tops the Charts in the Big City
Meet Don Cheto, the second most popular Spanish language DJ in LA.
First Lady With Style
Say what you will about Nancy Reagan but one thing's for sure, the former-first lady was a sharp dresser. KPCC's Kitty Felde visits the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which is displaying the former first lady's designer gowns.