Congressmen Adam Schiff and John Campbell talk about where they stand on Syria intervention; a hotshot firefighter is documenting the battle against some of the country's biggest wildfires using Instagram; how Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's ambitious plans for education, energy, taxes and the drug war have been panning out; and author Jeff Guinn reveals how a young Charlie Manson became infamous murderer Charles Manson.
Democrat Adam Schiff: Syria force must be narrowly tailored
Rep. Adam Schiff represents a district that includes parts of the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. A member of the House Intelligence committee, he told Take Two he's seen convincing evidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against its citizens.
Schiff says he thinks it's good that President Obama has asked the Congress for authorization to use military force in Syria. And he hopes the Congress will construct an authorization bill that is more specific than the one the administration proposes.
He explained that while his constituents, like most Americans, are weary of war, he believes they understand the importance of drawing a line against the use of chemical weapons.
Republican John Campbell: US actions in Syria must be limited
Congressman John Campbell represents California's 45th district, which includes the communities of Irvine, Tustin, and Mission Viejo.
He told Take Two that, like many of his constituents, he's weary of engaging in another international conflict in the Middle East.
And while House leader John Boehner has urged his Republican colleagues to support an intervention, Campbell says his vote is independent and he may break from his party's leadership.
The art of the 6 second comedy
Vine — the social media app that only allows six second videos — has exploded in popularity. The number of users has ballooned to more than 40 million in less than a year with one of its biggest draws being comedy. Previously unknown comedians have built huge fan bases using vine.
But is six seconds enough time do something truly funny?
If I only had six seconds to tell a joke it would probably be...
Q: Why didn't the skeleton go to the dance?
A: Because it had no body to go with.
I might not be very good at this… but Vine superstar Brittany Furlan is.
Brittany’s one of the most popular comedians on vine. She’s been using the service for 7 months and she already has over two million followers. She’s Vine famous.
“When I first became popular one vine was the biggest question is who are you. She hasn’t done anything that big. She isn’t a famous actress. She isn’t a famous comedian. Who the hell are you?” Furlan said, describing peoples initial impressions of her videos.
Brittany’s part of a group of young - rising comedians who’ve found a home on vine. People who are being followed by millions of users because they make really funny six second comedies, but until recently she was your average - non vine famous - actress struggling in LA. She couldn’t get an agent, she had an ebay business on the side, just to pay the bills - and this went on for about ten years.
RELATED: #kpccFUNNY — 9 great social media moments
That is until vine came along.
“It was just so fun for me because all I wanted to do was perform and it allows you to do that. I didn’t have to audition. I just got to do my thing. And I just got addicted to it,” said Furlan.
She started making six second videos that featured a cast of regular characters.
Like The Beekeeper:
Martha the crazy house wife:
Natalie Nature:
And Wrestlin' Rachel:
As you can see - it’s not the production quality that makes Vines funny - YouTube videos usually look better. Everything's shot on a smartphone - usually without any special effects.
So, how can an unedited six seconds be enough time do anything great? To find out I turned to Peter Mehlman - formerly a writer on Seinfeld who wrote classic episodes like The Yada Yada and The Sponge.
What does a man who’s an expert at writing comedy about nothing for 22 minutes think about the six second bites?
"To actually get your point across and get your joke out in six seconds is very legitimate.”
On a show like Seinfeld you of course have a plot line... tensions build, characters get in and out of trouble, and then there’s a resolution
With vine it’s not like that at all.
Let’s check out a Vine from another superstar - Rudy Mancuso.
“That’s the great thing, there’s no structure, you just have to find the quickest way to get at your joke. And you’re relying on the camera and the actors to pull it off,” said Mehlman.
Vine is just punchline, punchline, punchline and as it turns out scenes from Seinfeld translate really well into Vine videos.
Like this clip - started about 16 seconds in.
But why has Vine flourished as a place for comedy?
William J Ward a social media professor from Syracuse University has some ideas, "We used to read 1000 word blogs and then it went to 140 character tweets - so short form video is the next phase of that."
Basically - our attention spans are now so short YouTube videos are too long.
And like what happens with many other platforms - the talented, early adopters rise to the top says Ward. And for this group of talented young comedians it’s a legitimate chance at stardom.
“I think the one thing that’ll be interesting is to see if the novelty of these short form videos will be sustained," says Ward.
That might matter for people who are just getting into the Vine comedy game eight months late, but it doesn't matter for Brittany.
She was was one of the early ones and now she's got an agent at ICM, she's developing a television show and people are approaching her with ideas.
And she never even had to do standup - which is what it normally takes to get this far.
“You have to build yourself before anyone wants anything to do with you. You’re literally performing for thousands and thousands of people every day without ever having to leave your house if you don’t want to," said Brittany.
Bottom line? Whether it's 30 minutes or six seconds, you have to be able to make people laugh... and the punchline better be good.
Are you an aspiring Vine star? Tweet us your best stuff .
The pressure to get kindergarten 'right' makes for anxious parents
If you're a kid — or you've got kids — September is pretty much synonymous with school.
Across Southern California, the new academic year is in full swing, including for the thousands of kindergarteners. It's an exciting time for some and a scary time for others.
And it's not just the kids who are anxious. KPCC's Deepa Fernandes reports.
Tuesday Reviewsday: Volcano Choir, Nedelle Torrisi, YACHT
It's time for another Tuesday Reviewsday - our weekly new music segment.
This week we're joined by Chris Martins - Senior Writer with Spin Magazine.
Artist: Volcano Choir
Album: Repave
Songs: "Comrade," "Byegone"
Artist: Nedelle Torrisi
Album: Nedelle Torrisi
Songs: "Double Horizon," "The Perfect Timing"
Artist: YACHT
Song: "Party at the NSA"
Picture This: 'Hot shot' firefighter documents battles with blazes on Instagram
Elite firefighting teams are working round the clock to contain wildfires across the western U.S., going to places the rest of us would never go.
Amid fighting rapidly-spreading fires, Gregg Boydston, a member of the Klamath Hotshot Crew, is documenting his experiences and posting them on Instagram.
See more of Gregg Boydston's wildfire pictures on KPCC's AudioVision.
Todd Gloria takes the reins as San Diego mayor
Bob Filner stepped down as San Diego mayor Friday afternoon after only nine months in office.
His departure followed allegations of sexual harrassment and lawsuits by 19 women.
The race is on to replace Filner in a November special election.
Until then, the mayor's office is being temporarily filled by city council president and fellow Democrat Todd Gloria, who is contemplating a run for the permanent post.
Guest: Todd Gloria, interim mayor of San Diego
24-year-old Gareth Bale, best soccer player in the world?
The world of soccer has minted a new super-star. Gareth Bale is a 24-year-old Welshman and he's known for making fancy footwork seem really easy. Over the weekend, Bale signed a 4-year contract with the Spanish football club Real Madrid for an all-time record $130 million. He's leaving behind the Tottenham Hotspur to join some of soccer's brightest stars in Spain, including Christiano Ronaldo.
Joining us to talk about what all this means for world soccer is Kristan Heneage. He is based in England and covers soccer for ESPN.
Mexican President defends reforms amid economic slowdown
In Mexico, President Enrique Peña Nieto defended his record in his state of the nation speech Monday amid controversy over a program of reforms he has touted during his nine months in office.
Shannon O'Neil joins the show to discuss how Peña Nieto's ambitious plans for education, energy, taxes and the drug war have been panning out. She's a Senior Fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the book, "Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States and the Road Ahead."
New Bay Bridge span opens to first cars
A new span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened early Tuesday.
The project experience years of delays and went over budget. But that didn't stop hundreds of drivers from jockeyingto be the first to cross the newly-built eastern span.
Guest: Malcolm Dougherty, Caltrans director
How little Charlie Manson grew to be murderer Charles Manson
You thought you knew all there was to know about Charles Manson, right?
You were wrong.
The 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders are among the best-known crimes in recent US history, and the book, "Helter Skelter," cemented those killings in the collective American memory.
But most of what's known about Charles Manson documents his time as an adult. A new biography tries to provide more backstory. Titled simply, "Manson," author Jeff Guinn wanted to look at his whole life and how he got to where he was in LA.
"The photo on the cover is very telling," says Guinn, describing him as sweet-looking. "And in fact that morning, Manson, who was 13, was about to go before a judge who was deciding where to sentence him for armed robbery."
Guinn also tells disturbing stories about a young Charlie Manson that parallels acts the adult Charles Manson would commit later in life.
"When Manson was in 1st grade," says Guinn, "he organized some girls to beat up a boy in his class he didn't like. When the principal came looking for little Charlie, Charlie immediately said, 'You can't blame me. The girls were doing what they wanted to do. It's not my fault.'"
That's the same defense Manson would use in the Tate-LaBianca murder trial.
As an adult, Manson was also an expert on psychology and mantras.
"He glommed onto his personal guru, Dale Carnegie," says Guinn. Carnegie is famous for his book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
When Guinn interviewed Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, two of the convicted Tate-LaBianca killers, he asked them what Manson could have said to make them think he understood them.
"They would say, 'Charlie said this and this and this,'" says Guinn. "Line for line, word for word, Chapter 7 of 'How to Win Friends and Influence People.' He had no mystic power, just a great grounding in Dale Carnegie techniques."
Guinn spent years talking with hundreds of Manson's friends and associates to research this book. During that time, he eventually reached an important conclusion.
"I have never believed that there's a child beyond redemption," says Guinn. "But someone who knew him back in Los Angeles described him to me as a 'cancer cell' in that he wanted to thrive, and if that meant destroying everything around him that was just fine. And so, yes, I'm beginning to give credence to the fact that every once in a while, there may be someone who is simply beyond redemption."
You can read more of Guinn's book, "Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson," here.
Manson by Jeff Guinn -- Excerpt