Mark Stambler, breadmaker v. LA County ... Comedy Store history with Brandon Christy ... ball-chasing at Dodger Stadium ... Austin Beautner, the man who would be LA's mayor ... Dinner Party Download ...
Can music soothe the savage Carmageddite?
There are liable to be a lot of frustrated people (like this man) on the roads this weekend during Carmageddon. So Off-Ramp host John Rabe asked Classical KUSC (91.5 FM) morning drive DJ Dennis Bartel what music the station should play this weekend to "soothe the savage commuter."
Frederick Delius (1862-1934) is one of the composers Dennis Bartel says Classical KUSC should not play during Carmageddon this weekend. The morning drive DJ says Delius's music, especially something like "By the River," which evokes a meandering river in Florida, "replicates the condition that people will be faced with this weekend. It moves very slowly and goes nowhere, and is to be avoided during two-hour sit-and-stew backup."
Also, Bartel says, "No handwringing late Romantics, like Tchaikovsky or Mahler or Richard Strauss."
(Noted hand-wringer, Pyotr Tchaikovsky.)
Bartel says, "Who needs to hear their agony when you're sitting in your own agony!?"
What's needed, he says, is not relaxing music at all. "When you're stuck in traffic, sometimes it's nice to have a sense of moving." Bartel recommends Bach's solo works, played on piano. Maybe the English Suites. But not - definitely not - played on harpsichord, like Glenn Gould does here:
"You know the old quote?" Bartel asks. "The harpsichord is like two skeletons copulating on a corrugated tin roof." That could account for a lot of road rage.
Bartel gives a tip of the hat to his afternoon drive counterpart, Rich Capparela, whose regular feature, "the anti-road rage car tune," has been proven to reduce angry incidents on Southern California roads.
Let's hope it works this weekend.
Public Radio Sugar Daddies?
Off-Ramp host John Rabe rants about an insulting pitch, then presents Andy Kline's public radio twist on the concept of sugar daddies and the women who love them, and prefer them to, you know, actually working or thinking for themselves.
Most of the pitches we get for possible radio segments are fine. They may not be right for Off-Ramp, but they're not actually insulting. This one crosses the line and makes me wonder if they weren't consciously waiting for Betty Ford, champion of the ERA, to die before putting it out there:
Hi John,
“If there’s one thing a Sugar Daddy likes more than women, its money,” says Elle, Sugar Baby and Mentor at SugarSugar.com, “So when he’s face down in his tuna tartar crunching numbers over his lunch break, he won’t be looking up at you.” SugarSugar.com, the niche dating site where “romance meets finance,” announces today the “Top Sugar Dating Hot Spots” in ten cities across the country. ... This list will help guide sugar daters to the right place at the right time, helping singles make that first connection with someone who could literally be the girl or guy next door.
The syntax is a tortured, but still manages to be denigrating to 99% of women and men who aren't interested in hooking up with someone who is essentially a prostitute. (It's also frankly insulting to real prostitutes, who don't pretend to be something else.)
And the winners are:
Los Angeles - The Chateau Marmont: LA is known for flaunting its wealth and its women, and is a hot spot for industry execs, celebrity mingling, and some of the sexiest women and most generous men in the world. The landmark Chateau Marmont has long been known as the place celebs go to be bad, and visitors and partygoers alike tend to follow suite.
She means "suit."
New York - Rose Bar: Few New York hot spots manage to stay that way, but this swanky lounge at the Gramercy Park Hotel has stood the test of time, and has been attracting the rich and famous for the past five years. Dress to impress and pray someone buys you that $20 cocktail.
Then you'll know you're really someone!
Scottsdale - Ocean Club: Well heeled patrons flock to Mastro’s Ocean Club for the lavish food, service and ambiance. Splurge on dinner or head to the bar which features a scene of beautiful women, businessmen, casual couples and cougars galore.
Dallas - Rattlesnake Bar: Located inside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, this bar’s patrons are a mixture of old money and new, and is frequented by athletes and businessmen. Don’t worry ladies, the valet is free, so put on your best duds and pull in proudly behind the Porches and Maseratis.
...in your Pacer?
Miami - The Delano Hotel: There's no place in South Beach quite like the Delano, and if you're in need of a sugar daddy, The Delano is your best bet. Hosting rich men and beautiful women is the signature of the Rose Bar at this glamorous Miami landmark – which offers a quiet and elegant atmosphere in the midst of the frantic Miami nightlife.
Hint: "Elegant" means, "Don't let your thong show!"
Chicago - East Bank Club: A favorite of Chicago politicians, eager women and deep pocketed businessmen, this club is made for working up a sweat in the gym rather than the dance floor. However, with three bars - including a poolside lounge - there’s plenty of time for the beautiful people to mingle after their cardio.
And after he's been through a tough workout, it's so much easier to tell which rich old geezer is likely to die of a heart attack after you marry him!
For more information about SugarSugar.com, or for interview requests, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks!
Katie
Thanks, Katie! But I think you're missing a great angle. Isn't this a business story? Something like, "With California college tuitions skyrocketing and a plummeting job market, thousands of women will be turning from self-improvement and actual work to ingratiating themselves as the courtesans of the 21st Century, and sugarsugar.com will be there to help ..." Heck, I'll even send this over to Marketplace and The Wall Street Journal for you.
Public Health Dept v Breadmaker Mark Stambler
Mark Stambler, profiled on Off-Ramp by food writer Miles Clements, makes award-winning bread in his wood-fired oven in his backyard in Silverlake. It wasn't a problem until he started selling it at a couple local stores. When the County found out, they made him stop. Fair enough, he didn't have any permits and knew it might happen. But Mark says many states make exceptions for people like him under so-called "cottage food" laws, and he's also discovered that the county has conflicting rules that make it very hard for an amateur like him to go legit. He talked with Off-Ramp host John Rabe about it.
Mark Stambler bread saga: LA County responds!
Angelo Bellomo is head of Environmental Health at the LA County Public Health Dept. He says there are good reasons for the laws on the books, but he also told Off-ramp host John Rabe that it makes sense to modify the law in the wake of the localvore movement and cases like Mark’s.
Meet Austin Beutner, mayoral candidate
Austin Beutner wants to be the next Mayor of Los Angeles. He isn't a member of a political dynasty and he's only served in government for just over a year. But he's already raised over $200,000 in funds and secured at least one high-profile endorsement.
On the morning of Wednesday, April 20, former LA Mayor Richard Riordan took the podium inside a factory downtown. "Let's look at the future. Whatever solution we have for our economy, the basic thing is jobs, jobs, jobs," he said. "So I hope everybody will join me, and let's have Austin Beutner as our next mayor."
Nearly two years before Election Day, Richard Riordan--a Republican and one of the biggest players in LA politics--threw his unequivocal support behind Austin Beutner: a mild mannered investment banker who, until now, has never sought elected office. He says he wants to make Los Angeles "a city that works."
"Think about that in two ways: think about that as a city that works on behalf of the constituents. Think about that as a city where every Angeleno--when they finish school, when they move to Los Angeles--can get a good paying job, which they deserve."
Austin Beutner grew up Grand Rapids, Michigan, home of Steelcase Furniture and Gerald Ford. Born in 1960, he barely makes the baby boomer cut. He graduated from Dartmouth and made his fortune in finance. He became partner and his investment firm at just 29 and founded his own in 1996. He made millions as a result. He worked for the Clinton state department in Russia... And for over ten years he's lived in LA. But In 2007, his life changed course: Beutner broke his neck in a cycling accident, and he was out of commission for months.
"My oldest child is 15 now. And we had started Evercore--my prior business--right around the time he was born. When he was 2 or 3, I think he thought we made hats and bags. Because we used to pass out hats and bags with Evercore on them," Beutner said. "Now he's just finished 9th grade, he takes civics. If I can instill in my own kids, my own family the value of serving and giving back to the community, that's a great life lesson. So it's good for them, good for me, and I think I can make a difference in the community."
Beutner left Evercore and through Riordan, a longtime friend, he started working on that legacy. Before long, Mayor Villaraigosa tapped him as first deputy mayor in charge of economic development; then, later on, the head of the Department of Water and Power. He took only $1 a year as a salary.
"By the way, I had to sign a 10 page waiver to not get paid," said Beutner. "They sent me a statement form so I was entered the system, but no check. The DWP, on the other hand, I didn't have to sign a waiver. And I did get a check. For four cents a pay period!"
As Deputy Mayor, Beutner's mandate was to create jobs: he initiated a business tax holiday, wooed a Chinese electric car company over and found ways to expedite the permitting process for small businesses. All in a little over a year. Mark Lacter--who covers business for KPCC and LA Magazine--says those measures worked, but incrementally. "The number of actual jobs that will come out of that remain a little bit unclear," he said. "To be fair to him, no one is gonna take a job like that and suddenly generate thousands of jobs. It's just not going to happen."
As mayor, Beutner says he wants to finish what he started. He paints bureaucracy and waste as the main obstacle for prosperity, and himself as the man to address it. Lacter agrees, saying of Beutner: "He had begun to address that, to some extent. The whole restaurant permitting thing is much better now than it was just a year or two ago," Lacter said. "To really go through a major restructuring of a bureaucracy as large and horrible as LA's is a really tall task. "
And while Mayor Villaraigosa hasn't endorsed anyone yet, he seems glad that Beutner's in the race: "You know, I joke with Austin from time to time, he came from the business world but I think he saw that government can do good. And that there's a real opportunity to continue some of the work that he helped start here in the city."
But he has to get elected first. Rick Orlov, city hall reporter for the Daily News, says he'll need a lot of luck. "It depends on what's going on in the city at the time, and if people believe he can help with the local economy," he said. "He's proven himself as being able to run a large organization like a city government. But he has to work with the City Council. The truth is, in city hall is you need 8 votes to get anything done."
And unlike city council members--some of whom he'll likely face in a mayoral election--he doesn't have the same kind of natural, regional constituency. He's also reluctant to self-fund his campaign, even though he could easily afford to. Right now, Beutner just wants to introduce himself.
On a Wednesday morning in June, Beutner headed to the Felix auto dealership, downtown. While he was at City Hall, he helped create a partnership that provided LA Trade Tech students paid internships at area auto dealers. He's at Felix to get feedback on the program. Aside from an introduction and a few questions, he's mostly here to listen.
Oscar Albo, a student at LA Trade Tech graduated from the program. "I completed 150 hours with this internship at Felix Chevrolet," he said. "And I got hired, permanently."
Beutner is a listener, and that might be why he's been called dull, or low key by reporters. In a world of outsized political personalities, he's softspoken and relaxed. And on stage, the candidate often defaults to a kind of semi-slouched, hands-in-pockets stance when he isn't speaking. It makes you wonder if he's ever been coached on that sort of a thing.
"We have a city that's broken," said Beutner. "We have trouble balancing our budgets. We're not balancing our budgets today. We're not fixing potholes. I grew up in the midwest, you get potholes when you get a freezing and thawing during the course of the winter. You get potholes here because we're not doing our job. I think the city is at a point where they need to ask: what do we want in a mayor? I think it starts on substance, and you build on that."
Maybe that attitude could work in his favor. After all, the public isn't afraid to rally behind a low key pragmatist, even for the presidency.
Brandon Christy explains Off-Ramp at the Comedy Store
For the Thanksgiving weekend, Off-Ramp presents a night at The Comedy Store, taped this summer before a live audience at LA's oldest comedy club and springboard for Jim Carrey, David Letterman, and many others. The show features 5 of the brightest stand-up comedians around -- Fahim Anwar, Sarah Tiana, Michael Kosta, Freddy Lockhart, and Ian Edwards -- and takes you inside the world of the comedy club, including a freewheeling roundtable discussion about the art of stand-up. Your host for the evening is the affable and British Brandon Christy, who here talks with Off-Ramp host John Rabe about the evening.
(Note: there is a two-drink minimum for this edition of Off-Ramp.)
Feds' "Staggering Blow" to Mexican Mafia in OC
This week, federal authorities dealt what they called a "critical blow" to the Mexican Mafia's operation in Orange County. They charged 99 alleged Orange County gang members -- at least half of whom were associated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang -- with crimes including murder, drug trafficking and extortion. They arrested dozens in a coordinated raid, while others were already in custody, including the primary target of the operation. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze told Off-Ramp host John Rabe about it.
A game with Dodger Stadium's ball hawks
UPDATE: Raghu Manavalan won a Golden Mike for this touching story for a man who doesn't let repeated failure stop his dream of catching a money ball at Dodger Stadium.
Most of the focus on the Dodgers’ season has been off the field than on. But if you’re one of the ball hawks at Dodger Stadium, every game is only about baseball…or baseballs. That’s because ball hawks try to grab as many baseballs as they can, whether it’s in batting practice, a foul ball, or a home run. The most successful ball hawk in the country has caught more than 500, this season alone.
Bobby Crosby is sitting in the first row in left field, two hours before first pitch at Dodger Stadium. He wore a baseball glove on one hand, and held a camcorder in the other.
“I actually film myself catching home run balls. I have a popular YouTube channel called DodgerFilms, I film myself catching over 50 home runs at batting practice, and one in the game, last year Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates hit me one in the game last year that I caught filming”, Crosby said.
Since 1997, Crosby has been a season ticket holder at Dodger Stadium’s left field pavilion. Crosby explained the competition over baseballs since then.
“There’s about 500 season ticket holders in the left field pavilion and I’d say at least 30 of them are ball hawks who try to come out here to try to get home runs at batting practice and during the game. It’s not easy. And the camera makes it harder,” he said.
Ball hawks especially look out for money balls, milestone baseballs like a player’s first homer. They’re the most valuable you can catch because the team wants it back. And they’re willing to barter for it, usually for a signed ball, bat, or maybe a jersey in return. At today’s game, Dodgers rookie Jerry Sands has yet to hit a home run.
“I’ve gotten 8 game home runs in 15 years of sitting out here for almost every game but never a money ball so I really want one of those. I had my glove on a money ball. And then someone dove out of nowhere, dove between the rails and stole it right out of my glove. Then the security comes and says, “Hey you know the Rockies want that ball”…so that was over 10 years ago,” Crosby said, with a look of frustration on his face.
John Artuller of Arcadia was also in left field during batting practice. He explained the story behind his favorite baseball, an in-game home run from Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp. “I didn’t actually catch that ball. I just picked it up off the ground,” he said. “But I happened to have a batting practice ball in my hand at the moment. And I had to drop the batting practice ball as a decoy and the crowd went towards the batting practice ball and I picked up the home run ball. It was all planned out that way.”
Jerry Sands did end up hitting that first home run, but it was on the road in Chicago. The fan who caught it graciously gave it back for a handshake and a different signed baseball. He’s probably an amateur.
Weeks later, the Cincinatti Reds are in town. The Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto, a rising star, is sitting on 99 career home runs. This time, Bobby Crosby has his eye on catching number 100, which Votto will definitely want back. “Hopefully it’ll be in a Dodger victory,” Crosby adds.
After three hit-less Joey Votto at-bats, he’s back up to the plate. It’s the 8th inning. A tie game. For a Dodgers fan like Crosby, things can get a little complicated.
“Here we go Votto, money ball opportunity, don’t want it though, don’t want it. Gotta win this game,” he said, sitting on the edge of his seat.
Votto’s bat makes contact with the ball. “That’s a single. That sucked, no money ball but he did the damage and put the Reds ahead late in the game. Rather he just hit a home run. But he’s gotta hit it to me though, I gotta catch it,” he said.
His glove empty yet again, Bobby walks back to his car. For him, there’s always the next game.
Here's a photo of Raghu receiving his Golden Mike at the award ceremony:
Credit: Henk Friezer
Gritty Black Drag Movie - "Leave It On The Floor"
Indie cinema isn't usually a home for crowd-pleasing Hollywood spectacle. But filmmaker and Off-Ramp correspondent R.H. Greene stumbled onto a gritty fantasia at this year's LA Film Festival. "Leave it on the Floor" was shot on the streets of LA by USC Cinema instructor Sheldon Larry using a mostly student crew. Greene says it's as indie as "Paris Is Burning" and as Hollywood as "Over the Rainbow" and "A Star is Born." (It screens during Outfest on Saturday, July 16, at 9:30pm at DGA Theatre 1.)
Mark Stambler's Award-Winning Backyard Bread
Mark Stambler didn’t like the bread he found in stores and restaurants, so he built his own bread oven in the backyard of his home in Silverlake. Food writer and Eat LA contributor Miles Clements finds out how he made it, and tastes the bread -- which won a blue ribbon at the state fair. Click through for more pictures!
Delish!
Stambler grinds these whole grain when making his flour
Mark Stambler's blue ribbons, one from the LA County Fair, the other from the California State Fair. Both for best French Bread.
Huell Howser's retiring: An Off-Ramp remembrance
11/27/2012 Update from John Rabe: Huell Howser is reportedly retiring, without a big announcement. There's a nice collection of videos and appreciations on LA Observed, and I'm reposting our long segment with him, from the glorious day he let us tag along as he taped a whole show around a single food item. Huell, we love you and you'll be missed.
When we explain Off-Ramp to people, they often say, "Oh, it's like Huell Howser, but on the radio!" We take it as a compliment, and were delighted when Huell, whose home base is KCET public television, asked Off-Ramp to spend the day with him.
The impetus for the Huell Howser/Off-Ramp tour of L.A. was National Donut Day, a celebration of what might be L.A.'s favorite food. We started at the Salvation Army's kitchen at the VA campus in West L.A., where they made donuts the way the Doughboys liked them in World War I — cakey and substantial. Then, it was off to India's Sweets and Spices in Glendale for some vada, which is a delicious savory donut. Finally, to East L.A. for churros, one of the most delicious confections in the world ... when they're hot.
Here's what I learned about Huell:
• Huell is truly curious about everything, but what he likes is to learn, meaning he's not sitting at his home in the high desert, or his place in Palm Springs, or his pad in L.A. reading more about donuts right now and trying out recipes. He's off to the next thing.
• Huell is very sensitive about his accent. He says, rightly, that it's ridiculous to think someone doing shows about California shouldn't have a Tennessee accent, when the whole idea of California is that it's a wonderful melting pot of cultures. "Should I have a Filipino accent? An Armenian accent?" He also says that Southerners are the last allowable target of jokes, and he's probably right about that, too.
• Huell loves his fans but he does not like taking photos with them when those photos are going to wind up on Facebook among a million other photos. Photos are a reflex now, and what takes one minute for one of his fans equals easily half-an-hour a day (or more) for Huell when he's out in public.
• Huell thinks much of TV is too fussy, and that over-elaborate production is taking the spontaneity out of it. He uses 99 percent of what his cameraman, Cameron Mitchell, shoots. He sets up the shots ahead of time, lets the subject know roughly what he'll be asking, then bulls forward with simple intros and transitions. (I personally think there's a middle ground, which is what you hear in Off-Ramp. We do plenty of post-production, but only when needed.) It accomplishes two things: Stuff happens in his segments, and people feel at ease to discuss things and tell stories because the set-up and interview is simple; and Huell is able to cover an enormous amount of ground. Go to his Web site and check out the stuff they've done in 20 years, and you'll find yourself saying, "That's amazing."
Yes, it’s easy to make fun of his accent and his boundless enthusiasm, and the way he talks to his cameraman. But over 20 years of California’s Gold and all the spinoffs, he’s has given voice to thousands of California citizens and has been the conduit for teaching volumes of California history. And for that, Huell Howser truly is California’s gold.
Now, to see how Huell plays on commercial TV, check out this video of an extended gag played on a local Sacramento reporter who did Huell Howser imitations. I love how Huell just takes over the set when he ultimately joins the show in progress.
— John Rabe
Dinner Party Download
Hosts Brendan Newnam and Rico Gagliano talk history, booze, food all in the name of winning your next Dinner Party. This week's guest is Ishmael Butler, formerly of Digable Plantes and now of Shabazz Palaces.