Chicago sees a police shooting incident involving a 17 year old, the best boxing movies, StoryCorps takes on the Great Thanksgiving Listen.
Chicago and the aftermath of a disturbing police video
Many people in Chicago took to the streets on Tuesday in protest of the officer-involved shooting death of a 17 year old that occurred in 2014.
Video filmed from the dashboard of a police car was released to the public Tuesday night. The video shows Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald multiple times.
Authorities had been resisting the release of the video due to fears of a dramatic public reaction.
Rev. Ira Acree, the pastor of the Greater St. John Bible Church in Chicago, shared his thoughts on the incident.
On what the mood in Chicago was like:
"There's so much anger so much unrest there's so much disappointment, and a feeling of betrayal in the air ..."
His feeling on seeing the video, a version that contained the audio:
"It was very painful to watch it was very graphic and very disturbing and I don't want to see it again, quite frankly ..."
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
*Note: Take Two reached out to the Chicago Mayor's Office to verify when the mayor first saw the video. As of Wednesday afternoon, a response had not yet been received.
Law enforcement agencies face more pressure to release video evidence
The video of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke's fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald is the latest of many to raise questions about police use of force.
Law enforcement officials and government leaders in cities across the U.S. have come under increasing pressure to release video evidence in the name of transparency, but they've often been reluctant to do so.
The Chicago video footage was released more than a year after the shooting took place, and only after a judge ordered the police to do so.
Greg Meyer, retired captain with the LAPD and a consultant on police tactics, joined Take Two for a conversation about the factors that go into deciding whether or not to release video of police shootings.
To hear the full interview, click the link above.
3 tips for handling those awkward Thanksgiving gatherings
Ah, Thanksgiving. It's a time for family, togetherness, and … awkward situations?
No matter how close you are to your kin, not every gathering will look like a Norman Rockwell painting. There will be laughs and there will be gaffes.
So, what's the best way to handle the uncomfortable personal and political comments that are bound to arise?
Take Two put that question to Amy Alkon, author of “Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F**k.” She provided these helpful tips:
Failing to plan is planning to fail
The political landscape is rife with dinner table fodder, but Alkon says it would be wise to avoid serving guests that steaming side of controversy.
“Politics have no place at Thanksgiving. You’re not going to change anybody’s mind. You have to pre-plan for this, if your family is the sort who is just going to get in a cage fight in the living room. You have to call the troublemakers. You tell Uncle Joe that, ‘look, things can get out of hand and we really want to keep the spirit of the holiday. You’re a big guy, you want to be bigger than this little person who’s going to challenge you.’ And you tell them [other relatives] the same thing.”
Backing out of flaps, faux-pas and fiascos
It’s perfectly normal to inquire about a family member’s spouse or significant other. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to flee this conversational quicksand if there’s trouble in paradise. Alkon says it may be a good idea to have an exit strategy.
“We tend to ramble in those situations. We feel embarrassed and you go on and you make it a much longer embarrassment. You gotta get out of there really quickly. The other person says, ‘Oh, we’re divorced,’ you say ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ and then you instantly change the subject. And if somebody asks you some kind of question that you don’t want to answer, it’s all about tone and manner. You just laugh and change the subject. ‘Let’s talk about anything but that!’ Don’t go off on the person, because no one will think, ‘Oh, that nosy Auntie Em,’ they’ll just remember that you shouted at Auntie Em.”
Stash the smartphones
It’s no secret that mobile technology has altered the way humans interact. Alkon says if you’re not careful, digital devices could defeat the purpose of the holiday.
“It’s an addiction. They’re all on their wireless binkies and you can collect them in a basket. Nobody’s gonna get the call about the missile launch at your Thanksgiving. ‘Oh, do you have the nuclear suitcase?’ They can all put down their phones, and if you do it for everybody then it’s less like discrimination [than] when you’re pointing out one person being the jerk.”
Press the blue play button above to hear more of Amy’s tips for a drama-free holiday.
The Styled Side: Say yes to the meteorologist dress
Team blue/black vs Team white/gold?
No, the new "it" (and Internet-famous) dress is one that's being worn by female meteorologists all over the country.
Dallas TV personality Jennifer Myers posted on Reddit a collage of herself and many other weather forecasters wearing the exact same dress. It's such a visual overload that the image went viral.
"Distracting prints are a no-no," Myers wrote in the comments, offering more behind-the-scenes details about what flies on TV. "Nothing reflective. Nothing that makes sound."
The reason they all have the same dress: It was posted to a private Facebook group for women meteorologists and only costs about $23 on Amazon.
Television personalities like her are sometimes not given a budget for clothes, she adds, so something flattering AND cheap was a huge selling point.
Michelle Dalton Tyree from Fashion Trends Daily says finding affordable work clothes is a struggle for everyone, not just people on camera.
"We want it all ways," she says. "We want it easy when it comes to work style. You don't get an easier than a shift dress for women. We want it stylish and we want it affordable!"
Great Thanksgiving Listen is StoryCorps' latest 'crazy idea'
As families gather for Thanksgiving this year, some high school students will have a bit of extra homework from an unexpected source.
StoryCorps wants young people to spend time recording interviews with their grandparents. It's all part of an assignment they're calling The Great Thanksgiving Listen, and this idea "is really crazy," according to Dave Isay, StoryCorps founder and president.
A few months back, Isay won the TED prize, which offered $1 million to fulfill a dream. He used that money to build an app that allows people to record interviews that are uploaded to the Library of Congress. He wants teens to utilize their time with family over the holiday to record these interactions — and help to double StoryCorps' collection of 65,000 interviews.
"It's exciting. I think we'd love to create a little American moment around listening and reminding one another of the beauty and poetry and the power and the grace in the stories we can find all around us when we take the time to listen," Isay said.
This is all implemented through teachers in the classroom. And yes, students will receive extra credit for participating. For more information about The Great Thanksgiving Listen, click here.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
Massive warehouse project in Moreno Valley takes a big step forward
In the city of Moreno Valley, located just over an hour east of downtown L.A., is a plan to build the World Logistics Center, one of the biggest warehouse centers in the country.
The project came to an important milestone on Tuesday when the Moreno Valley City Council declined to put three potential ballot measures up for a vote by the public. Those measures would have protected the center from some of the nine lawsuits it currently faces.
If citizens voted on the project, then the city would not need to do a costly and lengthy environment review required by the state – an important sticking point for some of those suits.
However, the city council turned down that "protection" because it believes the amount of public support it already has is defense enough in court.
The World Logistics Center has been a source of controversy for months. It would function as a nexus of trade where many goods made overseas are sent before they're routed to local stores and doorstep. It would be so big that it could fit 700 football fields inside and bring billions of dollars to the community every year. But according to opponents, it could also devastate the local traffic and environment.
Imran Ghori from the Press-Enterprise has been covering the project for months, and joins Take Two for a recap.
Yo Adrian! Check out these awesome boxing movies!
This Thanksgiving the new boxing film "Creed" opens.
It's the latest installment in the "Rocky" franchise, so we thought we'd bring in writer and film historian Mark Jordan Legan to discuss some other prominent boxing films.
And of course, he starting with the grand daddy of them all, "Rocky." Made for $1 million and shot in 28 days, the underdog film became a massive hit winning the Best Picture Oscar and launching a franchise that has grossed over $1 billion.
The now-familiar plot has Stallone starring as a down on his luck palooka, getting fifty bucks for low-end fights and collecting debts for a loan shark.
Of course, another popular aspect of the film is the love story. Rocky falls in love with the shy Adrian, and despite loosing the fight - he wins her heart.
From 2010, David O. Russell’s "The Fighter" is based on the true story of two Boston brothers, Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, a welterweight who is seen as a stepping stone, a fighter for up and comers to beat on their way to the top.
Mark says the film works as an amazing portrait of a highly dysfunctional family. Both Christian Bale as the drug addict older brother and Melissa Leo, as the domineering Mom-slash-manager deservedly won Best Supporting Oscars for their sterling work.
Finally we look at Martin Scorsese's 1980 film "Raging Bull." Based on the true life story of middleweight champ Jake La Motta, Robert DeNiro won the Best Actor Oscar for totally transforming himself into this troubled prize fighter. The film also introduced Joe Pesci to the world playing his younger brother and manager.
Many consider "Raging Bull" to be one of the few movies that really captured what it was like inside the ring.
IS A WRITER AND COMEDIAN LIVING IN LOS ANGELES. IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE MORE OF HIS MOVIE REVIEWS, CLICK THIS LINK.
Reading by Moonlight: David Kipen's 3 books to read this Thanksgiving
If you're looking for something to read when you're chowing down on those Thanksgiving leftovers,
of the Libros Schmibros Lending Library has these recommendations:
- "A Better Goodbye" by John Schulian is about a boxer who can't get passed the death of his opponent in the ring. "It's a savvy book about boxing, but it's also a sweet little love story, and as you might expect from a sports writer, it's just really gritty and smart," Kipen says.
- "William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come" by James Curtis tells the life story of the man who invented production design. "He's the guy we have to thank for the Burning of Atlanta in 'Gone With the Wind,'" Kipen says. "It's just so refreshing to have a biography of a film figure who's not an actor, who's not a director."
- "Thirsty: William Mulholland, California Water and the Real Chinatown" by Marc Weingarten isn't your typical Mulholland biography. "This is for somebody who doesn't want to spend three weeks with Mulholland, but wants to know the story," Kipen says.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.