Ron Perlman and Nameer El-Kadi on "Quest for Fire," one of their most demanding films ... Vietnamese cuisine from North to South ... getting through Hard Times with Pasadena's Union Rescue Mission ... personal finance for kids ... mobile murals ... Mark Peel says, "Skip culinary school." ... Pacific Serenades marks 25th year of chamber music with piece by Army major ... This Old House in Silverlake
"Quest for Fire" turns 30
Ron Perlman and Nameer El-Kadi tell Off-Ramp's John Rabe about their first movie: 1981's "Quest for Fire," a landmark film about human life on Earth 80,000 years ago. Here's the long version of their interview. For the short version, and for John Rabe's somewhat less groundbreaking but refreshingly short sequel, "Quest for Fire 2," with Perlman and El-Kadi, CLICK THROUGH.
Jean-Jacques Annaud's "Quest for Fire" is an actor's film. Ron Perlman and Nameer El-Kadi say their first movie was also the hardest movie shoot they've ever been on. The locations - Kenya, Scotland, Canada - were brutal, makeup consumed hours every day, filming took a year, and acting without dialogue took everything they had.
But in this exclusive Off-Ramp interview, Perlman and El-Kadi also say Quest for Fire, now thirty years old, was also one of the most rewarding films they've made ... and it's the one their colleagues always ask about.
Off Ramp presents: Quest For Fire 2 from 89.3 KPCC on Vimeo.
Hard Times: Union Station Homeless Services' Joyce Miles paints houses
On a wet Tuesday morning this past October, Off-Ramp's Kevin Ferguson went to Pasadena's annual Homeless Connect Day. He heard stories from several homeless people and service providers. He also talked with Joyce Miles, director of Pasadena's Union Station Homeless Services. Joyce wasn't handing pamphlets or offering advice: instead, she was painting a small, cardboard house. CLICK THROUGH to see a video of Joyce at work:
Eat LA: Vietnamese food, North to South
In another installment of the Eat-LA/Off-Ramp Collaboration, host John Rabe and producer Kevin Ferguson talk with LA Times and Eat LA's Miles Clements about where to eat the best of Vietnam, from North to South and everything in between. CLICK THROUGH for a list of Miles' recommendations!
Brodard (9892 Westminster Ave., Suite R, Garden Grove, 714.530.1744, brodard.net)
Vien Dong (14271 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, 714.531.8253)
Hanoi Restaurant (9082 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, 714.901.8108)
Ngu Binh (14072 Magnolia St., Suite 107, Westminster, 714.903.6000)
Xanh Bistro (16161 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, 714.531.2030, xanhbistro.com)
Street art on the move: the Mobile Mural Lab
...or MML for short. Sabiha Khan reports.
It looks like a food truck, but it's not. It's the Mobile Mural Lab, a search and rescue vehicle turned canvas on wheels that seeks to provide space for creative partnerships between artists LA communities. Sabiha Khan recently met up the project's co-creators, David Russell and Roberto del Hoyo to talk about how the project was founded and how it serves the community.
Pacific Serenades celebrates 25 years of music
...and 99 world premiere performances. Its 99th is titled "Chamber Jams" and was written by Army Major Dwayne Milburn. John Rabe talked with Milburn and Pacific Serenades founder Mark Carlson about the upcoming season.
On the set with This Old House in Silverlake
In episodes that premiere in January, This Old House finally comes to Los Angeles. The 30+ year old PBS show is renovating a Spanish home in Silverlake (location secret), but they let Off-Ramp host John Rabe in to talk with host Kevin O'Connor and watch the show being taped.
CLICK THROUGH for links to the show and our other This Old House interviews.
Ashford and Simpson on a lifetime of keeping it real
Over the last few weeks, we've been hearing excerpts from a concert at the Grammy Museum. It was held to break in the new Songwriters Hall of Fame Gallery, and they gathered some of the greatest living songwriters to sing their most famous tunes. The emcee was songwriter Paul Williams, and we now hear from Ashford and Simpson.
Youth Finance: Who's Teaching Kids to Manage Their Money?
With the economy - or the mis-management of it - emerging as the biggest story of our time, Off-Ramp contributor Andrea Domanick tries to figure out why nobody is teaching kids about personal finance.
Andrea meets up with Chuck Currier, a high school finance teacher, at the mall to find out what kids know, and don't know, about personal finance. Then she confronts her mother. While Andrea learned the value of earning what you spend, she asks her mom, why didn't you teach me how to spend it responsibly?
Mark Peel: Skip Culinary School and Work Instead!
In the latest installment of his exclusive looks inside the world of restaurants, Mark Peel, chef/owner of Campanile, says aspiring chefs would be better served by "taking the worst job at the best place" than dropping $40,000 for tuition at a cooking school.