Alex Cohen and "Crazy Heart's" composer ... EatLA's 2010 guide to the best food in the county ... The Secret of Kells gets one more showing ... Dinner Party Download ... Mark Lacter's homebuying advice ... Queena Kim talks with author Reyna Grande about her new book, "Dancing with Butterflies"
Eat Los Angeles ... the 2010 guide for the best food in LA County
Off-Ramp host John Rabe talks with Colleen Bates, editor of EatLA, about the latest edition of the huge food guide. Here is the relatively unedited version of their conversation, with exclusive dish on foodie trends, the psychology of dining out, and tips to find good Swiss food and the best vegetable soup in LA County. Come inside for the link to the EatLA website and to find out who this handsome devil is.
That's not Colleen Bates in the photo. It's John's friend Andy Kline, in town from Alaska, where they don't have pastrami as good as Langer's. (Don't get mad, Alaska. Neither does New York.) If you had the guide, you'd know just where to find Langer's.
Animation expert Charles Solomon (and John Rabe) love "The Secret of Kells"
UPDATE 4/3/2010: "The Secret of Kells" is finally in wide release. Go see it soon!
"The Secret of Kells" is a magical new animated feature from Europe about the monks who drew the famed Book of Kells, one of the most famous illuminated Bibles. The movie gets a special screening at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday (1/9) at 1pm. The first piece of audio is the lightly edited web version of John Rabe's chat with animation expert and Off-Ramp contributor Charles Solomon about the movie. The second is shorter but includes clips from the movie. Come inside for more info.
Mark Lacter cuts thru housing statistics fog and gives homebuying advice
Business reporter Mark Lacter joins Off-Ramp host John Rabe in Mar Vista to talk about the current state of the housing market. There's a long and short version of this interview. (Mark does business for LA Magazine, LAObserved, and KPCC's Morning Edition with Steve Julian.)
Reyna Grande talks about Dancing with Butterflies
As part of our ongoing series on local writers, Off-Ramp producer Queena Kim brings us this interview with Reyna Grande. Grande came out with her second book “Dancing with Butterflies,” which is centered around the four women who belong to a Folklorico group in East LA. Folklorico is the general term used to describe “folk” dances that originate from Latin America.
Reyna Grande says that she's drawn to characters who have flaws. So while the portions about Folklorico offer a romantic portrait of Mexican culture, her narrative and characters are raw and not always unflattering.
Jane Campion and John Keats
Director Jane Campion – best known for her Academy Award winning film "The Piano" – has a new movie out called "Bright Star." It’s a period piece about the Romantic poet John Keats and his love affair with Fanny Brawne. Campion spoke at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica – along with the lead actor Abbie Cornish, supporting actor Paul Schneider and director of photography Greig Fraser. The event was hosted by American Cinematheque and moderated by Jim Hemphill.
Ryan Bingham, young songwriter for Jeff Bridges' "Crazy Heart"
KPCC's All Things Considered host Alex Cohen talked with songwriter Ryan Bingham, who had his own experiences with alcoholism -- not to mention bullriding! -- before he was brought on to write music for the Jeff Bridges movie "Crazy Heart." Come inside for a link to Alex's interview.
Dinner Party Download
Brendan Newnam and Rico Gagliano make you smarter, faster, handsomer with Dinner Party Download, called "the Vergnügungszug of radio shows" by Stern magazine.