Month: December 2008

news

No good deed goes unpunished

Becca

The CA Supreme Court ruled today that a civilian who rescues a injured or endangered person can be sued for nonmedical care.

The decision stems from a case in which a woman pulled a coworker from a crashed car, allegedly aggravating the victim’s vertebrae.

Lisa Torti of Northridge was accused of yanking Alexandra Van Horn like “a ragdoll” from her vehicle after it crashed on Topanga Canyon Blvd. Van Horn was rendered a paraplegic because of her injuries in 2004.

The three dissenting judges, however, argued that the decision would have dire consequences.

“Here, the result is that defendant Torti has no immunity for her bravery in pulling her injured friend from a crashed vehicle, even if she reasonably believed it might be about to explode,” said Justice Marvin R. Baxter for the dissent.

Living in a city where I have heard stories about a man being beat up on the street in broad daylight, while no one tried to help, or people are left in the dark to die, I am very disturbed by this decision.

While Torti may have messed up, this ruling could cause people to avoid helping others in need, regardless of the situation.

film

‘Cadillac Records’ Review

Becca

Beyonce Knowles as Etta James
Beyonce Knowles as Etta James

by Rebecca Ford- Los Angeles Film Examiner

 

 

 

 

The blues are back. 

 

 

The songs will sound familiar to many—Etta James’ “At Last,” Chuck Berry’s, “Maybellene,” and Muddy Waters’ “I’m a Man.” The faces are new.

Instead of making a film about any one of these pioneers of music, “Cadillac Records” is about the place they all crashed into each other—Chess Records.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Chess records, run by Polish emigre Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), became to epicenter of the future of music. The foundation for the blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll was laid—brick by brick—in those studios. “Cadillac Records” chronicles the rise of Chess records and the tumultuous lives of the musicians who called it home.

Like the Cadillacs the musicians and Chess pine after, the film is beautiful and shiny on the outside. The songs are memorable and the singers croon with the best of them. But cramming the entire history of the forefathers of modern music into 109 minutes makes the film seem rushed, and lacking in the rich details that probably filled those days….

 

see the rest here.