The contribution women make in the military, bassist Flea produces a movie about a junked-out jazz pianist, artichoke joins the legion of flavored waters for sale.
'Makers: Women in War' tells story of female trailblazers
For as long as conflicts have taken place around the world, women have been involved. As military nurses, in communications, as munitions experts and many other roles. But often the contributions of women in wartime are overshadowed by the achievements of men.
In its latest offering, the PBS documentary series, "Makers" examines the military and its female trailblazers in "Women in War". The film is directed by Rachel Grady. Her previous works include "Jesus Camp" and "Freakonomics."
'Makers' retired Major General Angela Salinas helped blaze trail for women in military
The PBS documentary series, "Makers" examines the military and its female trailblazers in "Women in War." One of the voices featured is Retired Major General Angela Salinas. She joined the Marine Corps in 1974 and went on to become the highest ranking female officer in the Marines.
Fifteen percent of those serving in the armed forces today are female, but that wasn't the case when Major Salinas signed up. When Salinas joined, boot camp was segregated and female Marines were trained in very different ways. “"You know, we were taught makeup and how to do your hair. And, you know, that was kind of expected because that was the face of a woman Marine," Salinas said.
But the times were changing in 1974. "Women are starting to demand to be recognized as a valuable resource for the nation," Salinas said. The country was going away from the draft and the armed forces began to realize the potential of an "untapped resource" of women with a desire to serve.
Salinas went on to officer training camp, which was not segregated and the women were trained in the same way that the men were, aside from different standards for the physical fitness test. According to Salinas, "These were like baby steps for the United States Marine Corps as they were trying . . . how best to [utilize] this untapped resource that was now beginning to flood the gates."
She went on to become the first woman in the Marine Corps to command a recruiting station and the first woman to serve as a recruiting district commanding officer.
Major General Angela Salinas was the highest ranking female officer in the Marines when she retired in 2013.
Makers: Women in War airs Tuesday, Oct. 21 on PBS.
Tiananmen Square at 25: A student leader recalls gunshots and chaos
Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong poured into the streets today to mark the 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square. But in Beijing, Chinese authorities sharply restricted access to the site and enforced a virtual blackout online.
More than 60 have been detained or put under house arrest ahead of the anniversary, according to Amnesty International, and Google has been blocked ahead of the anniversary.
On June 4, 25 years ago, military forces opened fire on unarmed protesters in Tiananmen. There, students and civilians had been filling the Square for two months, some on hunger strike. It was a rare display of public rebuke to China's central government.
One of those who was there was Chaohua Wang.
After June 4, her name appeared on a list of the most wanted student leaders and she went into hiding. Soon after, she relocated to Southern California and now teaches literature at UCLA.
Wang joins Take Two to talk about what it was like during this historic time.
Interview Highlights:
On June 4, you were at a nearby hospital. What do you remember from that morning?
I woke up and found all the doctors and nurses disappeared from their office, where I was staying, so I walked out and walked toward the Square. On my way, I met all these people gathering in small groups. Some people were talking in tears and a man in his middle-age walked towards us and all of a sudden collapsed, sitting by the curb and started crying. Basically, there I learned [that] the sounds came from machine guns and the people had died.
What were the streets like?
The streets, when I passed the next day, were empty of people, of crowds. You had rows of these military tanks and armed trucks. The dangerous thing was that soldiers stationed at intersections would start shooting. So there were casualties, not only in that night, in that evening, on June 3 and June 4, there were further victims in the following days.
Were you ever worried about your safety?
Yes, that was always there from the beginning. But once you got really widespread support -- and also after the government issued martial law, two weeks before sending the troops in -- we were so encouraged in seeing thousands and thousands of ordinary people coming into the streets, laying on the ground to block the tanks. So we were in a situation that we couldn’t retreat from the Square. So long as we had a clear sense that we represented the people’s will, the people’s wish, the people’s hope, we would stay in the Square.
After the crackdown in June, you went into hiding, what were those months like for you?
One thing I understood very quickly was that whenever the Party had their sight on power, on holding on to power, then they treated every citizen not as an individual. You became simply a piece of chess in their playing game. So that was a very strong impression when I found my name among one of the 21 most-wanted students. Later on I learned that a few of our protesting comrades actually turned themselves in to police. For their action I feel full of admiration.
You wound up in Southern California, what was it like when you first arrived?
For me, it was after nearly nine months in hiding and I had a very strong sense of being free again, walking on the streets and trying to make decisions for yourself. To decide what you want to do next. So I had a very strong sense of liberation.
A quarter of a century later, Chinese authorities still maintain control over information about what happened. How much of what you do is to try to make sure people remember what happened?
I think where people are not really under direct control, Chinese people are remembering. This is most evident in Hong Kong. Every year, you have large-scale candlelight vigil on June 4 in Hong Kong. So I think where the government doesn’t have complete control, our duty is to preserve the memory.
'Low Down' film profiles jazz pianist Joe Albany, features musician Flea
For those who have zero interest in Halloween, here's something they can do this weekend - watch a film.
"Low Down" looks at the life of jazz pianist Joe Albany through the eyes of his young daughter (played by Elle Fanning).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkN2YS-myAg
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea plays Hobbs and he joins Take Two to talk about it.
How artichoke water wants to steal coconut water's throne
It's good to be coconut water. The slightly salty, slightly sweet drink, wasn't even a blip on the beverage industry's radar 10 years ago, but now, it's worth $400 million, annually. But since the market is dominated by the likes of Zico and Vita Coco, entrepreneurs are trying to find a new way into the mouths of the health conscious, drink buying crowds. And they're doing that with things like cactus water, artichoke water and maple water.
Courtney Rubin details the battle to capture the health conscious, coconut water buying crowd for Fast Company:
There are also several entrepreneurs vying to become the leader in maple water, which is water that flows through maple trees in the spring, delivering vitamins and minerals from the ground up. Boil down 40 gallons of it—it’s roughly 98% water and 2% sugar—and you get maple syrup. North American explorers drank the sap, calling it “the wholesomest drink in the world,” or so the lore goes, and it’s long been drunk in rural villages in South Korea, where the tree is called the “gorosoe,” or “good for the bones.”
Rubin says all of these novel types of water, like artichoke water, sprung from the desire to make a better plant water than coconut water.
"So they (the artichoke water creators) looked for the plant with the highest nutritional profile. I'm not sure if they thought about if you should be putting a straw in it," Rubin said.
For those who are curious, artichoke water is made using an extraction process of the whole artichoke, and not just the heart. Then, monk fruit and Stevia are added for sweetening.
This rise in popularity of specialty water is partly a stroke of marketing genius, Rubin says.
"I think they're trying to appeal to the coconut water crowd that wants something that supposedly has more health benefits. Every single one of these waters claims that it has more benefits and/or less sugar and/or less calories than coconut water. What they're gearing toward is consumers who want a recovery drink that they think is healthier," she said. "Some of it I think is the American craving for health-conscious, better-for-you beverages."
Which raises the question: Are these waters worth spending the extra cash? Rubin says at the end of the day, drinks like artichoke water and maple water simply offer more electrolytes than coconut water.
"You don’t need all those electrolytes unless you’re exercising more than an hour, or it’s really, really hot out," Rubin said. "These extra benefits, like the vitamins and the things that a lot of these drinks claim, your body can only use so much of a certain vitamin. So everything else just basically gets washed out. So in some cases, with some of these things, you’re basically buying expensive pee."
Robert Townsend on 'Hollywood Shuffle' and roles for black actors today
More than 25 years ago, a small, low budget movie caught the fascination of movie viewers across the country.
"Hollywood Shuffle" was the story of a young African-American actor struggling to break into the film business. His troubles lie not with his talent, but the stereotypical roles that he’s asked to play.
Robert Townsend wrote, directed and starred in the movie, and its being celebrated as part of L.A. Magazine’s look at the '80s. He stopped by the studio to talk to host Alex Cohen and she asked him about one of the legendary back stories of the movie and how he produced the film:
His motivation for producing the film stemmed from his experience as a black actor in Hollywood. Although he was educated and trained as an actor, most of the parts offered black actors at the time were for stereotypical parts like pimps, crooks or hoods:
One of the funniest and most talked about parts of the movie was a "ad" for a Black Acting School:
We asked him what he thought about acting opportunities for actors of color these days, especially given the fact that two high profile films in the past year were "The Butler" and "12 Years a Slave." Here's what he had to say:
If you want to see the film for yourself tonight, click this link.
'Redeployment': Gripping stories about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
There are nearly three million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for the vast majority of Americans, war is still an abstract concept.
Author Phil Klay— himself a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq— aims to bridge this gap in his acclaimed book "Redeployment."
It's a gripping collection of short stories from the front lines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that brings the everyday experiences of soldiers and veterans into sharp focus.
Klay set out to write the book a couple of months after getting back from Iraq, he says, partly as a way to think through his own experience.
"I think everybody comes back from war with a lot of questions about what that was," Klay says. "So it was a process for me to try and get a handle of what I thought about these wars and what I thought about my changed relationship to America.”
Each of the stories in "Redeployment" are told from a different perspective, including a chaplain, an artilleryman, a Marine who collects remains and a foreign service officer.
"Everybody's experience is so different based on what they did, where they were, what time they were there," Klay says. "And I wanted to get at that range and have different perspectives, and hopefully perspectives that didn't necessarily meet."
Klay says he hopes that the book will help to close the knowledge gap between civilians and veterans about war, and hopefully encourage a conversation.
"Bridging that gap and getting to a place where you can actually have a really real conversation is sometimes a difficult, fraught, and can be a painful process,” he says.
But he says it's incredibly important conversation for Americans to have.
"The way that we talk about war, the things that we believe about it, the conversations we're having about war, determine what we accept from our leaders in terms of military policy," Klay says. "They also determine how we treat our veterans at home."
Luis Rodriguez, poet laureate of LA, takes on his beloved, resilient city
Los Angeles is a city filled with wordsmiths. But only one of them holds the title of poet laureate: Luis J. Rodriguez.
"I felt humbled, I also felt very responsible," says Rodriguez, upon getting the news of his appointment from Mayor Eric Garcetti in September. "I knew now my voice would have to be connected to the communities that I'm from."
Rodriguez is the author of numerous books, including the memoir "Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A." His most recent book is "It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing."
Rodriguez will lead a series of public workshops and events on poetry in the city in his new role. He'll also have an office at L.A.'s downtown central library, a site that was crucial to his own transformation as a young man when he discovered his love of books, he says.
Today, he describes his mission as "helping poetry come alive in the city, connecting it with people who may not know about poetry, who may not know about its importance, especially in uncertain and crisis-filled times."
In honor of his appointment, he crafted a new piece, called "Love Poem to Los Angeles." He read the entire poem in Take Two's studios and you can click on the left to hear it. Here's an excerpt:
To truly love L.A. you have to see it
with different eyes,
askew perhaps,
beyond the fantasy-induced Hollywood spectacles.
"El Lay" is also known
for the most violent street gangs,
the largest Skid Row,
the greatest number of poor.
Yet I loved L.A...
Fashionistas forecast: The jumpsuit is back
Is the jumpsuit the new dress? Is the '70s staple making a leap beyond hipster-wear and into the mainstream? Fashion Trends Daily's Michelle Dalton Tyree joins Take Two to talk about how this versatile, yet "tricky" garment may or may not be fashion's next big cash cow.
Debbie Reynolds' private memorabilia collection headed to auction
In a movie career spanning more than 60 years, Debbie Reynolds has starred in some legendary films... from "Singin' in the Rain", to her Oscar-nominated turn in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
But it turns out she's not just a Hollywood star, she's also a Hollywood collector. And she's somewhat of a veteran memorabilia dealer at this point.
Reynolds began auctioning off costumes, props, and other Hollywood relics in 2011. Her sale of Marilyn Monroe's iconic white dress from 1955's "The Seven Year Itch" brought in $4.6 million back then.
And once again, auction house Profiles in History is set to auction off items from her private memorabilia collection - and this time she's offering up the whole lot. The final pieces from her extensive collection, many of them her most treasured, will be offered up at the Debbie Reynolds dance studio in North Hollywood on May 17 and 18.
Highlights include:
- Harpo Marx's signature top hat and wig
- “Scarlett O’Hara's” pale peach bonnet from Gone With the Wind
- Charlie Chaplin's Signature Bowler Hat
- Elvis Presley’s Grand Piano From His Holmby Hills, California Mansion
- Orson Welles’ Mink Coat From Citizen Kane
- Personal out-take photos from the Star Wars films
Previews for ‘Debbie Reynolds—The Auction Finale’ are going on now at the Debbie Reynolds dance studio. Interested bidders can participate in person, by telephone, by absentee bids, or in real time online at ProfilesInHistory.com.
Take Two spoke to none other than Debbie Reynolds herself, and she described some of the pieces of Hollywood history to be offered and why she's decided to part with them.
Study: Fish-eating spiders found all over the world
A lot of people are afraid of spiders, our creepy, crawly, eight-legged friends.
One thing you might guess about spiders is that they only feed on insects, but you'd be wrong. Scientists have discovered that many spider species actually feed on fish by pulling them right out of the water.
The findings are included in a new report out this week in the journal Plos One, co-authorers by arachnologist Martin Nyffeler at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Nyffeler joins the show with more.
Documentary spotlights Glen Campbell with Alzheimer's on tour and at home
In 2011, country legend Glen Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and faced with such news, many other artists might have chosen to stay away from the public. But not Campbell.
The "Rhinestone Cowboy" decided to hit the road once again and performed more than 150 shows before his final appearance in Napa two years ago.
The new documentary "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me," directed by James Keach, looks at Campbell's battle with the disease and how it affected his family.
Director James Keach and Glen Campbell's daughter Ashley, who is also a musician and played with her dad and siblings on the tour, joined Take Two to discuss the documentary.
"I'll Be Me" is currently playing in the L.A. area at the Laemmle Music Hall and Burbank Town Center.