Rebecca M Ford

Entries from May 2008

At Disneyland, I Met A Robot

May 31, 2008 · Leave a Comment

This, ladies and gentlemen, is ASIMO.

Created by Honda, ASIMO is the best robot out there, literally. And lately, one of them has been hanging out at Disneyland for people to meet. The four-foot-three-inch robot is so advanced that he can even run, up to a speed of two miles per hour. Running is a very hard task for a robot (I know plenty of humans who struggle with it too.) But his talents don’t end with sprinting–he also directed the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in May.

Here’s a short video of him walking. You have to admit you can’t help but think he’s cute, even for a heap of metal… and a little bit of Disney magic.

 

Categories: technology
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Film Review- Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

May 27, 2008 · 1 Comment

Nearly a year ago, Canadian pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and seven-year-old son before taking his own life. When it was implied that steroids may have caused Benoit’s outburst, most people probably accepted that reasoning without any questioning. Of course.

But a new documentary, “Bigger, Stronger, Faster*,” raises all sorts of questions about performance enhancing drugs. Actually, the film succeeds in creating questions that the average non-juicer, non-pro-athlete probably never even thought about. The well-researched, thorough documentary which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival never answers most of its own questions, but it is a powerful catalyst into a discussion of what steroids mean to America.

Chris Bell, who is the narrator, director and co-writer of the documentary, presents his own family as a microcosm of the steroid addiction. Both his older and younger brother use steroids, with dreams of becoming famous bodybuilders and pro wrestlers.

Bell grew up with muscles and manliness at the center of his universe. He cites Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan, and Sylvester Stallone as his heroes of youth. He and his brothers would train and wrestle in the basement in hopes of someday becoming wrestlers as we see through the use of home-video footage.

But, years later, the brothers have fallen short of their championship belt dreams and their childhood realities have been crushed: their idols were doping up, wrestling may be fake, and the American dream to be the best may mean cheating.

Bell’s storytelling is in fine form, as he interviews politicians, ex-wrestlers, weightlifters, Olympic athletes, doctors and activists. Every angle of the steroid debate is discussed from the use of Olympic athletes to high school players.

From the producers of “Bowling for Columbine” and “Fahrenheit 911,” the editing is crisp, clean and succeeds in presenting the irony and contradictions of the characters without forcing it.

There are several surprising arguments that Bell is able to bring to the table. Many of his sources argue that steroids are far less dangerous than many legal substances, especially tobacco and alcohol. There were only 3 steroid-related deaths in the U.S. last year, compared to the over 400,000 due to tobacco, according to their research.

It’s hard to swallow this argument. From an early age, it has been instilled in us that steroids are bad. They are cheating. And the conflicting nature of many of the character’s in the documentary make even harder to really believe that maybe steroids should be legal. First the athletes say they never did steroids. Then they say they did them, but everyone does them. Then they say they only drank herbal tea.

The steroid debate is a mess, but only because the demands of the American dream make it so. To be the best, to be the winner is asking a lot of the people of this country. In the shadows of these superhuman mortals, the fantasy of greatness is more lethal than any shot or pill could ever be.


See this article here.

In theaters Friday, May 30, 2008.

Categories: film
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My Job has Closed, and My Paycheck Has Bounced

May 25, 2008 · Leave a Comment

On Friday, I got a call from one of the other waitresses at my club who told me a strange, convuluted story about the nightclub I have been working at for the past year. Apparently, the Mexican owners of the club have not been paying rent for the past couple of months, so the landloard swooped in, changed the locks and kicked everyone out. Meaning, just like that, the club has closed and my cushy money job is gone.

I should have seen it coming. My last two paychecks have bounced due to insufficient funds. They actually held the last one from us because there was no money. And they haven’t been reordering supplies.

The only reason I have loved working at nightclubs is the money is ridiculously good compared to the amount of work I actually do. Sure, I’ve had to deal with corrupt owners, bad hours, illegal activity and annoying customers, but overall, it has been worth it.

Soon, if the club doesn’t reopen, which I doubt it will, I have to embark on a journey to hunt down those unpaid paychecks. It could mean a serious man hunt since the owners have dissapeared back into their Mexican haven. Wish me luck…

Categories: Other
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Did you know?

May 24, 2008 · 1 Comment

The other day at work, our tech guy showed us this video. It’s amazing that it can actually hold your attention for the entire time, based only on the fact that the facts are so interesting. We are living in a really interesting time. Things are changing so fast. I have often imagined what I’d do without the internet. I’d have a whole lot more free time, for one. But I would have a lot harder of a time trying to do what I want to do for the rest of my life. The world really is at our fingertips…

 

 

Categories: news · technology
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A Little Rage About the Road

May 22, 2008 · 2 Comments

Today, on my way home, I hopped onto the 5 freeway like any other day. Except today, the cars weren’t moving.

“Must be an accident,” was of course the first thing I said outloud to the invisible people in my car.

Half an hour later, I found the culprit. It WAS an accident—on the other side of the freeway. There was absolutely no reason for my side of the freeway to be stopped. Except that all those nosey people wanted to get a look at some other person’s misery.

Sure, it’s tempting. I understand. But I think rubbernecking is one of the most obnoxious acts that a human participates in.

And it’s not so safe either. A study found that rubbernecking causes 16 percent of accidents on the road. That was followed by driver fatigue, looking at scenery and changing your radio.

In a city like Los Angeles, with 8 million people clustered together in this cesspool, I would have to suggest that we all just mind our own business and keep our eyes on the uneven pavement.

Categories: Other
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If they can get along, why can’t we?

May 22, 2008 · 1 Comment

I saw this video on YouTube a while ago, but it looks like CNN and other news sources have finally picked it up.

This guy is based in Santa Barbara, I think. A dog, a cat, a rat. If they can do it, shouldn’t we be able to?

My family had cats and dogs. I wouldn’t say they got along, but they coexisted, which is more than I can say for a lot of people I know.
 

 

Categories: animals
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Huffington Post- Off the Bus

May 20, 2008 · 1 Comment

For my News 21 Fellowship, we have a great opportunity to pitch to Huffington Post’s Off the Bus.

Here is my first article on McCain’s efforts to court the Native American vote. Read it here.

Even if I wasn’t writing for it, The Huffington Post is a great, progressive source for good, solid reporting and opinion writing, so take a look.

Categories: news
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Strawberry Festival

May 19, 2008 · 1 Comment

Yesterday, we escaped the heat of L.A. and went up to Oxnard for the Strawberry Festival.

We ate, drank and toured the grounds, which weren’t quite as grand they made it out to be. There were over 50 food booths, musical shows, rides, games and arts for sale. Overall, it was a good time.

I also learned some interesting facts about the berry such as: Stawberries are the only fruit to wear their seeds on the outside.

A great way to start off summer.

Categories: Other
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Film review- Recount

May 14, 2008 · 1 Comment

“Recount” creates a time and place that seems both far, far away and too close for comfort.

The film makes the year 2000 seem light years away in just one line:

“Anybody ever heard of a hanging chad?”

But at the same time, HBO’s made-for-TV-movie about the weeks surrounding the 2000 U.S. presidential election magnifies how screwed up our system may really be. And with another historical election just around the bend, this quirky film couldn’t be more timely.

The film begins when the votes were rolling in, and through a nice montage of actual news footage, we are brought through the rollercoaster as Al Gore is declared the winner. Then the news media takes it back. Then George W. Bush is declared the winner. Then the news media takes that back, too.

And then all eyes turn to Florida. Kevin Spacey plays Ron Klain, who heads up the fight for the Democrats. Klain has the underdog story in his corner, as he was taken for granted by Gore’s group in previous years, but still decides to fight for his leader because he truly believes that Gore won. For the Republicans, James Baker (Tom Wilkinson) takes the reins.

The rest, as they say, is history, so there’s no need to really go into the plot. The story goes through all the ups and downs, protests, the recounts and the fights in state and federal supreme court.

Director Jay Roach (of the Austin Powers movies) succeeds because he makes politicians and lawyers into real people through the details. They make mistakes. They take Latin classes. They spill ice cream on the kitchen counter. There are some really subtle funny moments thrown into the drama and the film is stronger for it.

One of the best characters is Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (Laura Dern) who at first seems too exaggerated to be a real person, but then becomes one of the easiest to believe, a striking resemblance to the real thing (garish makeup and horse riding included).

Sometimes, the creators have a little too much fun with editing tricks. The parallels become a tad too obvious. When one camp says one thing and the other says the opposite, it’s funny the first time, but gets old like any hat trick.

Apparently, the real guys behind Gore’s campaign are pretty upset about the film, according to news reports. And they probably should be—they don’t come of as the smartest guys in the room. Warren Christopher (John Hurt), the former secretary of state who led the Gore campaign seems out-of-tune with the real world of politics and a little delusional.

This movie is big enough for the big screen, but will only be shown on HBO. The most striking point made by the film is that the election system of the U.S. is just a big mess. And in 2000, it resembled more of a circus than a system. Instead of being about the people’s vote, it became about how liberal a judge is, or how silly a protester can dress, or if a dimpled chad should be counted.

The tale is more twisted than any fiction writer could ever dream up. And we all know how it ended. We all know who won and who lost that year. We all know how much the world has changed since.

So what does “Recount” tell us, as the dawn of the next election grows near? Politics is screwy. And so are politicians. We can only hope that this year things do go as awry.

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Recount will debut on HBO on May 25, 2008 at 9 pm.

Categories: film
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News 21 – check it out.

May 12, 2008 · 1 Comment

It’s been a shameful while since I’ve blogged, but I have been living on a technological island (by choice) for the past few days, discussing our future fellowship at Harvard. The website for the project is up, so take a look. We’ll be writing about the campaign and related issues for the summer with reporters from Columbia, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern. One of the best aspects is that because all of the reporters are relatively young and fresh, there should be some innovative ideas on the site, and underreported stories. So keep an eye on it.

 

In other news, I came home to my orange cat, Kodak, who I got at the pound about a year ago. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Animal Shelters in Los Angeles.

 

It’s a big city, with lots of people who struggle. And yet, I’ve always had a soft spot for animals—the victims who can’t speak for themselves. I’m one of those people who cries for the animals that die in war movies. I’ve never made it through Homeward Bound.

 

Los Angeles’ record with animals is abysmal. In just the first quarter of 2008, 2,391 cats and dogs were euthanized, up 24 percent since last year.

 

This past February, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the Spay/Neuter Ordinance, a law that requires all pet owners to neuter or spay their pets. Any person who violates the law is subject to a $500 fine or 40 hours of community service. The law took affect in March.

 

While this would seem a respectable effort by the mayor, I doubt that those who really cause the problem—the backyard breeders, puppy mill pet shops, or owners who simply ignore the pet laws—will take this effort to heart. And really, how regulated can it be?

 

I doubt that all the blame can be put on the pet shelters. While several have been accused of cruel treatment of animals, they are overburdened and underfunded.

 

What’s worse is that this city is infested with lack-luster pet owners. So many pets are returned when they get old, and aren’t “cute” anymore. And getting an older pet readopted is often a near-impossibility. People have no dedication to their pets. They’ll throw them away as quickly as yesterday’s trash.

 

I know cats and dogs aren’t the most pressing issue out there right now. But the tragedy that faces these defenseless animals is still sad. Some never even get a chance. So, if you are considering adopting, please go to your local pound and relieve some stress for them and find yourself a best friend at the same time.

Categories: animals
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