A look at the historic water restrictions in place due to the drought, a look at graywater use in California, see 'Furious 7' like never before: in Laser IMAX.
The original gag gift: remembering the Pet Rock
Last week, Gary Ross Dahl, the genius behind the “pet rock” died. Though the rock enjoyed a relatively short time in the sun, it’s hard to find a baby boomer that hasn’t chuckled at least once at the absurdity of stone companion.
Prior to inventing the “Rock,” Dahl was an executive for an advertising agency. One day in 1975, while writing an instruction manual, Dahl was struck with brilliant idea: put a rock in a box, then write a tongue-in-cheek manual telling owners how to take care of their rock. The idea was a hit. Three months after the rock was released, over one-million people shelled-out nearly $4 each for a pet rock.
Dave Leavy is the owner of Big Kid Collectable Toy Mall. He says there’s no substitute for the pet rock experience.
“Well, it’s really the box,” says the toy man. “It’s really the packaging. The idea of having the leash in there for it, the instruction book … it’s very funny.”
Leavy sells pet rocks at his store in Sherman Oaks, but he says demand isn’t anything like it was 40 years ago.
“I can’t say they’re necessarily a huge seller. We probably sell two or three of them a week, but everyone talks about them. Everyone shows their children.”
Leavy says baby boomers still get a kick out of seeing the pet rock on his shelves, but they’re rarely willing to buy one; they sell for about $9 each.
Greywater presents possible solution to California's drought
New water restrictions could soon have Californians looking for new ways to cut-back.
Governor Jerry Brown announced mandatory regulations Wednesday, after the annual snowpack measurement recorded the state’s lowest snowfall in 60 years. The Golden State must now reduce use by 25 percent. With compulsory cuts on the table, developers and homeowners are are looking for new ways to save. Enter greywater.
Greywater recycling systems take rinse water from household appliances and pumps it through a filter. Filtered water can then be used to water gardens, wash cars or even fill toilets. It’s a simple system, but the state of California has been reluctant to embrace the technology. Madelyn Glickfield is director of the UCLA water resources group.
“There are state regulations, and then they ask every local jurisdiction to set out their own regulations, which is why more people don’t do it, because it’s confusing,“ Glickfield told Take Two. “50 percent of our water is now used for landscaping. That’s water that we all pay for to treat to drinking standards. We’re literally watering our plants with water we could drink.”
One of the biggest obstacles to the expansion of greywater is public opinion. Glickfield says the idea of pumping dishwater into the yard is unappealing to homeowners, but she maintains that filtered water is safe for use. “What you’re supposed to do is take the water from those systems, put them in a covered hose and send them through a drip to your trees and to other places,” she said. “Nobody’s ever exposed to that water.”
Press the play button above to hear Glickfield's thoughts on how greywater could help California make it through the drought.
The Wheel Thing: A 'Fast and Furious' FAQ
Reckless and illegal behavior involving teens, sexual content, drug references, intense sequences of violence and action.
Total box office, $2.4 billion, and counting.
The latest installment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise hits theaters this weekend. It's the seventh film in a series that now runs 14 years. Still, many people, even film fans, have never seen a "Fast and Furious" film. For all of you, here's a quick way to get up to speed on the car-crazed, stunt-mad, turbo action movies.
What's it all about?
The original film was released in 2001. A Washington Post review called it, "The Young and the Restless with gas fumes." It's about a group of L.A. tough guys and their women. They bond over American muscle cars and Japanese rally cars, get involved in capers, and look cool while doing it.
How many cars were used in the films?
In "Furious 7", about 340. That's not a record. Fast V used more than 400. 80 percent of the cars were destroyed. They range from classic American models which have been updated with modern power trains and suspensions, to exotics, like the Mclaren P1 which goes for goes for $1.15 million.
What about those crazy stunts? Real, or computer-generated?
According to the film's car coordinator, Dennis McCarthy, most of the car action is real. Computers are used to insert backgrounds, and to erase things like wires and cranes often used to suspend cars in mid-air. But generally, if a car crashes, it actually crashes, though there's not always a stunt driver inside.
How does the current film deal with the death of one of the key actors, Paul Walker?
Walker, who has co-starred in all seven films, died while driving with a friend during the period in which "Furious 7" was being filmed. The filmmakers decided to keep his character in the movie, using scenes he'd already filmed, doing some computer tricks, and employing his two brothers as stand-ins. By most accounts they did a good job.
How do you explain the popularity of the 'Fast and Furious' movies?
In three words, big dumb fun. It doesn't hurt that cars are already deified in American culture. In Furious, the cars are seriously cool, and the action sequences are inventive and artfully executed. The characters can be lugheads, but they have a lot of heart and loyalty for each other. Plus, like the majority of the people who love these films, the cast is multi-ethnic, something you don't see a lot in Hollywood movies. These aren't rich kids in their Daddy's Porsche. They're underdogs from the streets of L.A.–Latinos, Samoans, Asians and Blacks who drive fast, live fast and look good.
California drought also means increase in electricity costs
The ongoing drought doesn't just mean a depletion of water resources. According to a new report from the Pacific Institute, it's also increasing electricity costs -- and draining money from taxpayers' wallets.
BuzzFeed's Jim Dalrymple recently wrote about this, and he joins the show with more.
Lab Notes: Did you know that mice can sing?
Bug reducing light bulbs, moon madness and squeaky serenades. These are the topics that Southern California Public Radio's
is talking about this week on Lab Notes, our regular look at strange, new science.
1) Moon news! This Saturday there'll be a full moon and a total eclipse as well, but it's super early. At around 5:00 a.m. PST. It's actually the century's shortest lunar eclipse, lasting only about 5 minutes. But you should be able to see it with the naked eye. If you don't want to go outside that early, Griffith Observatory will be streaming it online, so you can watch it from your laptop in bed.
But there's a new study on the moon's effect on human behavior, or lack thereof. There are some common old wives' tales, like that hospital admissions and birth rates go up for a full moon. It was even supposedly backed up by science. A 2004 study in a nursing journal suggested that the full moon influenced the number of hospital admissions in a medical unit in Barcelona, Spain.
But a UCLA researcher re-examined the data and determined that there were errors in the calculation. The 2004 study mis-measured the lunar cycle and also didn’t control for factors like the day of the week, which could also account for rise in admissions and births.
After the correction, no correlation was found, which in turn fits in with many other studies that found no link between the moon and automobile accidents, surgery outcomes, birth complications, depression, violent behavior, and even criminal activity.
2) Well, moon or no moon, people up late a night have another issue to deal with... bugs that swarm around light bulbs. But there's a new study that may be able to help curb this phenomenon. It's actually a real problem, especially in the developing world.
Six million people worldwide, mostly in Latin America, are infected with Chagas disease, which is transmitted by a bug that is attracted to lights. Sand flies, which are also attracted to light, infect people with a protozoan parasite responsible for 20,000 deaths annually. And mosquitos, which carry malaria, are documented to be attracted to light.
So, a researcher at USC wanted to tackle this problem by designing a better bulb. What matters most isn’t just how bright your bulb is, but what color wavelengths it gives off. Blue, violet and ultraviolet wavelengths are especially attractive to moths and many other insect groups. So, the researcher built some custom bulb cutting back those hues, left them around L.A. and Santa Monica with bug traps and in just over a month, the customized bulbs attracted about 20 percent fewer insects.
More research is definitely needed to perfect this, but could help lots of people in places were bugs carry serious disease.
3) Did you know that mice can sing? There's another study out on the singing habits of mice. Scientists have known about this behavior for a while. The thing is they sing at such a high pitch that humans can't hear them.
Well, a new study from Duke looked at how they use these songs in mating. Apparently males sing to woo lady mice and the actually change their song depending on the situation. When the female mouse is near, their songs are loud and complicated serenades. But when they're in the same room as the female mice, they switched to less complicated, softer songs.
Researchers thought that the mice were being flashy to win a lady then dropped the effort to save energy for making mouse love.
State of Affairs: Gov. Brown's executive order on drought, IN 'religious freedom' bill and more
On this week's State of Affairs: First mandatory water restrictions in California history, the political ripple effects of Indiana's "religious freedom" law, and the rise of the "no party preference" voters.
Political news from around the Golden State with USC's Sherry Bebitch Jeffe and San Francisco Chronicle senior political writer Carla Marinucci.
How the dead are treated differs vastly around the world
For years, Paul Koudounaris has been obsessed with what happens to us after we die.
His new book, "Memento Mori," explores how cultures around the world treat the dead in ways that would unsettle and even frighten Westerners.
For example, he says, locals on an Indonesian island will mummify the remains of passed family members. It's a tradition that his guide practiced, too
"[My guide] said, well, when I was child, my brothers and I slept in the same bed as the mummy of our grandfather," Koudounaris tells Take Two. "Every morning, we would wake up and prop him in the corner and put him in his day clothes. Every evening, we'd put him back in the bed and put him in his pajamas."
He says exploring how cultures memorialize death gave him insight on life.
"There is something about interacting with the dead that really does benefit the living," he says. "By being reminded of death I was reminded of life."
'Furious 7' is first film to premiere in new laser IMAX format
If action movies aren't your thing, you might still be interested in 'Furious 7' for another reason: Laser IMAX.
The latest installment of the action series is the first film to premiere in the brand new format. AP business writer Ryan Nakashima got a preview and joined Take Two to explain what makes laser IMAX different.
Why the legendary Johnny Mathis still gets stage fright
On April 4th, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will be joined by a very special musical guest at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the legendary crooner Johnny Mathis.
Mathis has lived in Southern California for decades, but this is his first time performing at the venue. Recently Alex Cohen had a chance to sit down with him at his Hollywood Hills home.
Below is an edited excerpt of their conversation.
For the full interview, check out the audio attached to this post.
How has your voice changed over the years?
"My voice isn't too much different. I've lost a lot of the high notes, of course, that all of us singers do that. But I've learned to sing I think in a more pleasing manner for people. And I've learned to relax a little bit. It was not always easy for me. I was very nervous. I had stage fright for years and years and I could hear it in my singing. But since I've done it so often for so many years, you'd think that I'd relax a little bit and I think that I have."
In the liner notes for your album "Ole" you said that there's no music you'd rather sing than latin music. And no music that you'd rather listen to. When did you first hear latin music and why does it mean so much to you?
"I think that the thing that really kind of knocked me flat was when I went to Brazil and I heard for the first time some of the music of [Antonio Carlos] Jobim. And those incredible writers of the songs. Mostly the songs from the motion picture 'Orfeu Negro.' I learned every nuance of every song from that film. As a matter of fact, Miles Davis took me to see that movie at a little art house in New York. To this day I close my performance with some of the music from the movie..."
When people think of Johnny Mathis one holiday tends to come to mind and of course that holiday is Christmas. How do you spend the holiday?
"You know, what I try to do is perform because I love singing Christmas music. It brings back all of my childhoods, coming from a large family... And of course I sang in lots of choirs... I also wanted to have an opportunity to sing some music that my parents were involved with and that would be Christmas... And Christmas absolutely blossomed. My albums did well... And over the years, gosh I've recorded a lot of Christmas albums and it's a very very big part of my life, Christmas time."
What do you do on the actual day? Do you listen to your own albums?
"I do. I listen for a lot of reasons. Mostly because I kind of remind myself of what's available, what can I sing that's a little different for the audience. Some of the stuff I absolutely don't remember recording it, it's been so long. But I do like to try to throw in something a little different for the audience once in a while. Because a lot of these people who come to see have come back, many many times."
Are you nervous about your performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall?
"[I'm] a lot nervous, yeah. Because it's all a matter of what you envision, I guess, as being important... I invite a lot of my friends to some of the performances that I do locally and some of them know that I'm involved with music, but they're not quite sure how. And so it's kind of fun to play golf with a lot of my friends and then invite them to hear me sing once in a while. Because a lot of them have never heard me sing other than maybe on the radio. And they weren't quite sure if it was me or not, because I'm too closely associated with them..."