What's ahead for Mexico with Hurricane Patricia, the autistic Muppet joining 'Sesame Street,' inside West Hollywood's lesbian feminist haunted house.
Meteorologist explains what makes Hurricane Patricia 'potentially catastrophic'
Mexico is bracing for Hurricane Patricia today.
The Category 5 storm is now heading directly towards the coast of southwestern Mexico, a region including the state of Jalisco and the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. Officials say it will make landfall later today.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says with maximum sustained winds near 200 miles per hour, Patricia is the strongest storm ever recorded in the eastern Pacific or in the Atlantic.
Rosy Cordero, an L.A.-based writer, arrived in Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday and had been planning to stay through Saturday. Unable to get a flight out before the airport closed today, she boarded a bus to Guadalajara, hoping to be able to fly out from there this weekend.
Cordero said she felt that she and other tourists who were on their way out of Puerto Vallarta were safe, but was more concerned for the city's residents.
"When we left there were still people getting the hotels secured and safe," Cordero said, "and meanwhile I'm sure they all have families who they'd much rather be with... It's a city by the sea, and you know they have mountains and everything, but they're going to get a beating. And I just pray for their safety."
For the people who are still there in the Puerto Vallarta area, U.S. National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen says, "At this point in time, the preparation is over. Tropical storm force winds are already occurring in the warning area. And those tropical storm force winds will be increasing to hurricane force winds as we get into the early afternoon local time. It's too late to run from it, it's too late to prepare for it, wherever they are right now is where they need to be."
The kind of damage the storm might cause, Feltgen says, "in a word, is catastrophic."
While the 200 mph winds will only extend about 15 miles out from the eye of the hurricane, rather than across a huge area of coastline, Feltgen says, "unless a building is specifically built to sustain that kind of wind, they're not going to survive."
To hear the full interview, click the blue player above.
In deterring crime, does more jail time really work?
There are a number of reasons why we put convicted criminals behind bars. This could include punishment for misdeeds or a sense of justice to their victims.
But another hotly-debated topic is the issue of deterrence — does it prevent crime at all? It's a question New York Times Magazine writer Emily Bazelon tackles in her piece, "The Soft Evidence Behind the Hard Rhetoric of ‘Deterrence’."
She says the introduction of deterrence in the '70s showed "the difference between zero prison and a little bit of prison is pretty significant in terms of deterring people away from crime."
Speaking with Take Two's Alex Cohen, Bazelon says the idea became the central argument for mass incarceration in the '80s and '90s.
But it may have a limited effect in preventing crime.
Bazelon says various reasons including research that most career criminals in prison tend to age out of committing crime.
"We're spending a lot of money people who are graying and getting old, sick and even dying," she says. "But they're not really going to be committing crimes on the outside."
Bazelon cites a 1986 trial in Rome, Georgia which questions the role of deterrence in our criminal justice system today. The case involved Timothy Foster, a black man tried in front of an all-white jury. Bazelon says the lead prosecutor made an argument that can be viewed as racially loaded.
"He talked about giving the death sentence to Timothy Foster in order to deter other people out there in the projects," she says. "And he was talking about housing projects that were about 90 percent black."
The case will be re-evaluated by the Supreme Court this November.
Cinespia celebrates the 40th anniversary of 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'
Come Oct. 31, you can celebrate the 40th anniversary of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
It's part of a larger program of Halloween screenings put on by Cinespia.
Cinespia creative director John Wyatt stopped by Take Two to talk about the significance of the film.
"This all came out of a phone call. Early one morning, my phone rang and it was Lou Adler, the famous director and producer and label owner. And he said ... 'this year we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of "Rocky Horror Picture Show." Would you like to show it at the cemetery?' And I jumped at the chance just to be a part of something that's -- you know -- really important in our culture," Wyatt said.
Wyatt says that — 40 years later — a new generation of young people are discovering the classic film. "It's a movie where a lot of teenagers go. I saw it at 14 years old at the Nuart in Santa Monica, and it's been playing there every week ever since, and that's a long time," Wyatt said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4plqh6obZW4
Just in time for Halloween, Cinespia will be showing two other classic films: "Dawn of the Dead" and "Donnie Darko."
Press the play button above to hear more.
Autistic 'Sesame Street' Muppet Julia aims to bring understanding to kids, adults
"Sesame Street" made headlines this week by announcing a new character named Julia. She has orange hair, green eyes, she's in preschool and she's autistic.
Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of U.S. Social Impact for Sesame Workshop, designed the See Amazing in all Children digital initiative that Julia is part of. Betancourt joined the show to tell more about Julia and the new campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuV8AddbXIs
Seed bank 'doomsday vault' opened for the first time
Nestled in the Arctic wastelands of Norway, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds more than 800,000 seed samples from across the world.
This so-called "doomsday vault" was designed to withstand rising sea levels, power outages and other disasters.
Cary Fowler, head of the international council that runs the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, explains why the Syrian conflict is forcing scientist to open the vault for the first time.
'It wasn't fun': Sarah Silverman on exploring depression and addiction in 'I Smile Back'
The new film "I Smile Back" features actress Sarah Silverman taking on a role that is a dramatic departure from her usual, comic turns.
She plays Laney Brooks, a suburban mom with two kids. On the surface, Laney's got it all: big beautiful house, cute kids, successful husband.
But behind closed doors, she is utterly falling apart. She drinks, she does drugs, she sleeps around and she's incredibly reckless.
The film is based on the novel of the same name, and Silverman does share a few things with the central character, as the actress has struggled with depression throughout her life.
"It was really hard to shake," said Silverman about playing Laney. "I had told myself that... we'd joke around and be fun [between takes] and that probably is the case for old salts who have gotten their 10,000 hours in of dramatic acting in..."
But it wasn't for Silverman.
"It's very hard for me to access my emotions. It took a lot of digging. They were very tightly packed and very compartmentalized. And so once I had access to them they were just on my lap between scenes, so I wasn't the life of the party. I was just sitting there with this hand full of stuff and I felt like a toddler that was acting out that didn't know what to do with her emotions..."
"It wasn't fun, but I'm so glad I didn't know that because... I would've tried to get out of it and I wouldn't have had this experience that has really been life changing and exhilarating."
The film is in theaters Friday.
To hear the entire conversation click on the audio embedded at the top of the post.
Weekend on the cheap: Halloween costume hunting, 6th Street Bridge goodbye
It's the weekend before Halloween, so if you're looking for some spooky weekend fun (and for those who maybe aren't), KPCC's social media producer
has some ideas:
- For those still trying to figure out what you'll be for Halloween, there are some newsy costume ideas that can help (think Shadeballs and El Niño). There are also some great local thrift stores to check out.
- Once you've got your costume figured out, head to Happy Harbor Halloween on Saturday for a kids costume parade, happening in Wilmington and San Pedro.
- If you're not looking for Halloween fun, you can bid farewell to the 6th Street Bridge with a party and live music.
These are just a few of the things to do around town this weekend. Click here to check out Kristen's full list.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
Halloween at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre
The Bob Baker Marionette Theatre is a kind of gem for many in Los Angeles.
Founded by legendary puppet master Bob Baker, who passed away last year, it's the oldest children's theater company in Los Angeles. This weekend they celebrate Halloween with a show they call the Halloween Spooktacular.
Alex Evans, one of the theatre's puppeteers, joined the show with more.