Your favorite celebrities read "The Night Before Christmas" for Off-Ramp ... "Andy Rooney" doesn't like Christmas ... Marc Haefele pays tribute to author James Salter ... EatLA and Craft Beer ... Judy Chicago treats Frida Kahlo like an artist in her new book ... Life isn't easy as Isaac Haille Selassie ... Black Facts and Wax museum ...
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• 2:02
Andy Rooney tried, but he just doesn't like Christmas.
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• 4:30
Where else will you find Rachel Bloom, Larry Mantle, Salman Rushdie, and Sylvia Poggioli rendering Clement Moore's "A Visit from St Nicholas" for your ears?
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• 3:40
Violet Hopkins paints uneasy things: surreal underground landscapes with mysterious fleshy forms in the middle, massive volcano eruptions scaled down to the size of an iPod. And despite all that, she's one of the most friendly and approachable artists in the show.
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• 4:22
...or MML for short. Sabiha Khan reports.
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• 24:39
Artist Judy Chicago's main point is that in all that's been said, written, and filmed about Frida Kahlo, nobody's looked at her as an artist without reference to her husband Diego Rivera or her accident. "Frida Kahlo - Face to Face," co-written by Chicago and art historian Frances Borzello, aims to change that. Kahlo spoke with Off-Ramp host John Rabe Tuesday, December 14. Here's the long version of their interview. CLICK THROUGH for info about Chicago's appearance at the Skirball Wednesday (12/15).
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• 8:11
Isaac's story begins in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he grew up with dozens of other adopted brothers and sisters under the care of Haile Selassie I, who ruled Ethiopia at the time and is regarded as Christ Incarnate in many Rastafari circles. Here, he tells Off-Ramp's Kevin Ferguson about his life growing up under the Emperor's care, how he made it into the USA and how the music he plays now continues to glorify his adopted father.
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• 3:03
Marc Haefele, Off-Ramp's lit commentator, says James Salter isn't in the public's pantheon of great writers, but if authors themselves took a vote, Salter would be right up there. He was rcently honored by PEN West with its Life Achievement award. CLICK THROUGH for an excerpt from Salter's memoir, "Burning the Days."
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• 4:54
You could BUY craft beers in LA before a couple years ago, but they weren't made here. But EatLA's Pat Saperstein says 2010 is the year locally made craft beers came into their own. She joins Off-Ramp host John Rabe for another edition of the EatLA/Off-Ramp Collaboration. CLICK THROUGH for a link to one of the best local food sites around: EatLA. (The EatLA 2011 Guide was the big hit of our Fall fundraiser.)