On Wednesday Take Two discusses the Antares rocket that exploded just after takeoff Tuesday, people who buy drugs online that are often counterfeit or substandard, and a new soccer ball that could be the answer to reducing injury in kids.
Neel Kashkari, behind in polls, continues campaigning in election homestretch
We're less than a week away from Election Day and one race in California seems to be all but decided. The latest polls show incumbent Governor Jerry Brown with a 17 point lead over his Republican challenger Neel Kashkari.
But Kashkari is not giving up yet. He's still out on the campaign trail. Yesterday, after a talk at the Pasadena Republican Women Federated Luncheon, Kashkari joined Take Two to talk about why he's running for Governor and what's next for him if he doesn't win.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:
Why not start off a political career here in California on a somewhat less ambitious front, something like Secretary of State?
I want to do big things for the state of California. I want to bring jobs back, I want to fix the schools. And I didn't see anybody raising their hand to say, 'You know what, I'm going to take on these challenges.' And if no one else was going to stand up and really take on these challenges, then who's going to do it if not me?
To date, you've spent more than $6 million [on your campaign]. A lot of that is your own personal money. Any sense of whether or not you're going to invest more, and if so, how much in these last few days?
Well I've invested about 75 percent of all of the money I've saved over my life, I don't have much left to go, so I don't think that I'm going to be able to do much more to move the needle here. But this is how important these issues are.
You know, a big issue that I'm focusing on in the last weeks of the campaign is education. It's about this famous case called Vergara, where kids sued the Governor, and said that they want a fair chance at a good education, and the courts backed the kids and said they were right, they're being deprived of their rights to a good education. And then Jerry Brown decided to fight those kids in court. And he's now backing his unions that have funded his political career.
So to me, these issues are so important, I want to use every technique, every asset at my disposal, to get the message out, to let families know what issues are on the table.
You had requested a number of debates with Governor Brown, he granted you one. In this homestretch, you're out there campaigning hare every day, he's gone off to his school reunion and he's out campaigning for propositions instead of running for Governor. How does that make you feel at the end of the day?
It makes me feel like... I'm on the right issues. I'm on a mission to focus on the issues that people care about. So think about the great irony, Jerry Brown is fighting poor minority kids in court who just want a good education, meanwhile he's going to his 50th reunion at Yale. Bravo, Governor. I call him the 'let them eat cake' Governor. If people are hungry, just have some cake, that's Jerry Brown's solution. I'm going to continue to fight every day for the kids in California who Jerry Brown has betrayed. And I sleep like a baby.
But doesn't it make you frustrated? You wanted to debate, you wanted to get into it with him.
We did... and I clobbered him. And he knows it... I don't blame him for not wanting to debate me again. If that was how the debate went for me, I wouldn't want to debate again either.
Let's say you don't win, what comes next for you?
Well I want to stay involved, and I want to stay active, and I want to continue to help invest to turn California around and rebuild the Republican Party around this positive, inclusive message.
I don't know what specifically that's going to lead to. As you noted, I've spent most of my savings on this campaign, so I'm probably going to need to get a job. And there's nothing wrong with that. The thing that motivates me is I want to be challenged, and I want to do something I think is important, and I think that that can be satisfied both in the public arena as well as the private arena.
Antares rocket explosion reportedly $200 million loss for NASA, companies
An unmanned rocket named Antares that was destined for the International Space Station exploded shortly after take off Tuesday night in Virginia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9IMdxlW0zQ
And while there were no injuries or deaths in the accident, it's reported to be a $200 million loss for NASA and companies that had products aboard the spacecraft.
Joining Take Two to shed some light on this event is Bruce Betts, Director of technology and sciences at The Planetary Society.
Ebola: San Francisco scientists studying samples to learn about disease
Right now, countries around the world are doing the best they can to keep the Ebola virus out.
But there's one place, right here in California, where they welcome the virus in.
Scientists at the Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center at UC San Francisco are studying samples of Ebola to try and learn more about the disease and how it's evolving.
Dr. Charles Chiu, director of the center conducting this research, shares more.
Illegal drug sites proliferate without a 'top cop' to shut them down
You can buy nearly anything on the Internet. But then again, not all of it is what it seems.
Case in point: several sites allow you to buy drugs without a prescription.
About 36 million Americans have gone this route even though a study shows almost two-thirds of those drugs are counterfeit or substandard.
And authorities are unable to shut those sites down.
Jeff Elder, technology reporter for the Wall Street Journal, writes that the Internet doesn't have a "top cop" governing body, and the one organization that does exist says shutting down these sites isn't within its jurisdiction.
Sports Roundup: Another Lakers loss, World Series
The Purple and Gold remain black and blue, plus Major League Baseball will crown a champion Wednesday night.
It's time for sports with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky.
Could a smaller, lighter soccer ball reduce the risk of injury?
Soccer is a huge sport among kids. Yet there are concerns about injuries, especially when players strike the ball with their heads. Some worried coaches and parents have called for a ban on "headers" for players under a certain age.
But there may be another option: a ball that is smaller and softer. It's called the Eir ball--pronounced like "air"--and it's produced by a company based in Denmark.
Majken Gilmartin, the founder of the company, said she came up with the idea when she was coaching a youth girls team and noticed her players straining with the size and weight of the ball.
"I was coaching them during the age when they were going from the young ball to the [size] five, the men's ball," said Gilmartin. "When you're in that process, you realize that it really slows down the game and it really adds to injuries."
The Eir ball weighs 13 ounces and measures 26.4 inches in circumference, according to Eir's website.
Though more studies need to be done to understand the effect of ball density and size on young players, the acceleration that's required by women to head a standard ball is above the level where concussions occur, said Gilmartin.
But what about the concern that having women use a different kind of soccer ball will lead to more stigmatization for women players, who already face obstacles in male-dominated sports?
"I think it's a different fight now," said Gilmartin. "Equal rights is actually having the equipment that fits you. Equal rights is not playing with the same ball."
Los Angeles County Prop P looks to fund parks
By this point, if you watch TV, you've probably seen a lot of commercials for or against many of the ballot measures, but maybe not for Proposition P, a measure to provide funding for parks.
It's the only county measure on the ballot, and Southern California Public Radio environment reporter Jed Kim shares more about it.
LA minimum wage debate: Both sides of the story
A proposal by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to raise the minimum wage has been put on hold, pending an economist's analysis on its effects.
Worker advocates say people just can't make it on $9 an hour. But, small business owners say they'll be hurt if they have to pay more.
SCPR reporters Alice Walton and Ben Bergman explored both sides of the story.
The minimum wage workers' perspective: Minimum wage: For this working mom, it means constantly telling the kids 'No'
The business owner's perspective: Minimum wage: A deli owner says a hike would put him out of business
Lava flow in Hawaii enters village, threatening homes
Mother nature is currently showing everyone who's boss on Hawaii's Big Island.
A river of lava that's 2,000 degrees hot is slowly heading through the town of Pahoa. The flow is averaging 10-15 yards per hour and has crossed into residential property, according to the latest update from Hawaii's Civil Defense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN__DeQoDdw#t=69
A few weeks ago, Take Two spoke with Pahoa resident Leslie Lai, the owner of Kaleo's Bar and Grill.
Take Two checks back in with Leslie to see how her business and neighbors are doing with the lava flow nearing.
Marcus Samuelsson cooks at home: K-Town noodles, kitchen playlist and his LA happy place
Cooking at home is a lovely hobby for many of us.
But what about professional chefs?
After slaving all day long at a restaurant, you have to imagine the last thing many chefs want to do is head back into the kitchen at the end of the day.
Then again, Marcus Samuelsson isn't many chefs.
Samuelsson is almost as famous for where he came from as for what he is doing now.
Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, Samuelsson became a chef -- learning, of course, French techniques -- as a young man when there were few black chefs in the kitchen.
You can see Samuelsson's recipe for "swushi," an Ethiopian and Swedish-inspired version of sushi, on his website.
His restaurant - Red Rooster in Harlem - is all about Southern comfort food but before he had his own place he ping-ponged between New York and Europe, working in multiple kitchens and dabbling in many cuisines.
His new cookbook encompasses all that culinary diversity and more, but it's not about fine dining.
Nope, its all about eating and entertaining in your own abode.
It's called "Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook at Home."
See a recipe for K-Town noodles, inspired by Korea Town in Los Angeles, below.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
You write in this book that at the very beginning you didn’t really cook that much at home—you didn't have time to, you're a busy guy. But things started to change in 2000. What went on?
A cook's journey is very often like, you have four roommates and live all over and move every year or so to train in a new place. Then around 2000 I moved to Harlem. And I started to think about how come there's not enough fresh vegetables and amenities in my surroundings and what can I do about that? And that was one of the starting points of the Red Rooster. I knew I wanted to do a restaurant that was very familiar and food that was very familiar and one of the best ways to do that was to start cooking it at home. … The food starts with a very familiar note and then we add something original.
What is the difference between cooking in a restaurant and cooking at home?
You don't have a dishwasher or sous chefs. Basically all the help and incredible staff you have at a restaurant, obviously you don't have at home. But I was the dishwasher at home coming up. That's how I learned cooking, from my uncle, from my grandmother. I talk about it in the book, there's a whole section about cooking with kids. Cooking was basically just a reflection after everything else we had to do that was all about food. If we wanted fish we had to go fishing, there was always a season for pickling and preserving. So once I ate something as a child, I loved it because I was part of almost every step of bringing that food in.
It must be really nice when you do have the time to unwind and cook at home.
I think the most important thing, whether you cook at home or in a restaurant, is you want to tell a story about you and your family, where you are going, who you are, whether you came back from a vacation or want to celebrate something. The appropriate dish makes that occasion ever so special.
So much of what I do today echoes from my grandmother. Chicken becomes chicken soup, becomes chicken banh mi.
You offer a playlist at the beginning of each chapter, including "Push It" by Salt n' Pepa. How do use this music in the kitchen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YleXlgHI1oM
First of all, it's energy. If you walk into a room and hear some Salt n' Pepa and if you're not having fun, you're not smiling now, I can't help you. It just changes the mood. People work hard, it's a lot of information, people are tired. Coming together in the kitchen you put on some good music and just get your energy up.
Also this refers to hip-hop, which is very important because a lot of this food is like somewhere between jazz and hip hop. There is a very familiar note in hip-hop songs in the background. So all of these recipes, there's a familiar note we start with then you start, like a deejay, adding in your own character and personality.
People always ask you what the best tool is in the kitchen. You said "your own two hands." Why?
You have to feel food. You want to touch the fish and see if it's fresh or not. We pick up food. If it doesn’t feel right in your hands, you want to put it down. Nothing beats touching the food and eating with your hands too.
You have a chapter about street food and write that GCM is your happy place in LA. Why?
This shows the complexity of blue-collar food and how many ethnicities are in Los Angeles. Look at it visually, it's a masterpiece, you can see through it. It's also diversity at its best. You have Mexican, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Chinese and it's all-American. They're very complex dishes there. You sit at the counters and can eat whole fish soup with whole roasted fish and incredible tacos. It's home when I'm in LA.
National Cat Day: I threw my cat a birthday party. Here's how you can, too.
My cat Penny turns 11 this month. I know because when I first got her, the vet estimated her age and I thought, "Oh good, that makes her a Libra."
So I already admit I'm weird.
But her mortality has been weighing on me. Indoor cats only live for a few decades, and she's well past the halfway mark. That's why I pulled the trigger on throwing her a birthday party.
The idea came from a friend who went to one years ago. My reaction was probably like yours as you clicked the link: that's weird, but it's got to be so hilarious that I'm curious.
I've also been to a house party where they had a projector showing kittens on a playset. As soon as people entered the room, all conversation stopped and they stood there staring. For a long time.
So I kind of knew people would (cat)nip at the chance to go to one.
(Cat birthday party guests who got into the spirit. (l-r) Jason Benavidez, Courtney Cox, and Jacob Margolis)
Pet parties are a thing
Actually, a big thing.
While there aren't any statistics on cat parties, The Dog Bakery in Los Angeles makes pet treats and found that the requests they got for dog birthday cakes were overwhelming.
"The demand has really increased so much that we can't keep up with current demand," says owner Rocky Kanana, "so we've got a 48 hour wait notice on the cakes."
He says these cakes are the core of its business, now.
The owner of my local pet store also told me she threw her cat a quinceañera for its 15th birthday.
But when it comes to cat parties, there weren't a lot of tips I found online or when I trawled through social media.
So I made up my own.
Some creative ideas I can share
Many of my friends pushed me to go overboard with the planning. One tried to get me to buy a huge piñata of a cat (but I have a small apartment). Others tried to get me to invite celebrities (I don't know any).
Here is a list of things I did do:
- offered a "gift basket" of allergy drugs and eye drops for my more sneeze-prone guests.
- crafted a color theme of black and white (Penny's a tuxedo cat), including balloons, streamers, and even yarn balls I dangled from the living room ceiling.
- mixed two signature cocktails on tap: the Tuxedo and the Black Cat.
- made a kitty litter cake (eww!) plus one in the shape of her face. It took a lot of fondant.
- create a 3 hour playlist of cat videos on YouTube to play on my projector during the party.
- curate a 6 hour mix of cat-themed and Penny-themed songs.
Also, know your pet.
I admit this party was kind of for me more than her. Penny was probably going to hide under the bed most of the time, so I made sure she had a "safe space."
But I also knew that she's friendly and doesn't bite. I told people ahead of time that if she does come out, don't rush at her and be gentle.
In addition, give your guests an idea of what to bring. I hate to admit it now, but my cat doesn't react to catnip. About a third of cats don't, so I'm not too sure what to do with all the gifts people brought. It's my fault for forgetting to mention to people. Whoops.
The after-purrty
In the end, it was worth it. I also noticed she was far more affectionate than usual for a few days afterwards.
I genuinely don't think cats have the awareness to know when things are about them, unlike dogs. However it made me really happy to organize it, and to know friends wanted to join in the fun.
"It's a way to relate to your pet and to say, 'You're important to me, here's a day for you,'" says Rocky Kanaka. "But like we always say at The Dog Bakery, better spoiled than neglected."
Take Two turns 2: Ceci Bastida and Jeff Garlin
Last week Take Two celebrated a pretty big milestone when it comes to radio shows: its second anniversary.
Take Two marked the special day by putting on a live show, complete with celebrity guests, a cocktail making robot, a cook-off between Celebrity Chef Ngyun Tran and IBM's Watson computer of Jeopardy fame and, of course, live music.
Musician Ceci Bastida sang "Una Vez Mas."
She was a great interview as well. So Take Two wanted to replay a portion of the show's chat with her and the talk that night with comedian Jeff Garlin.
Ceci started off talking about how her music career began.
See the full live show below:
http://new.livestream.com/kpcclive/take-two-turns-two/videos/65873936