Author: Becca

news

News 21 Goes Live

Becca

The website for the News 21 Fellowship  I’ve been involved with for the last ten weeks finally goes live tonight. The stories range from Evangelicals, to new citizens to Native Americans and how their votes will affect the upcoming election. Each story has multimedia elements, including slideshows, video and maps.

I spent some time talking to Native Americans in New Mexico, and discovered that a handful of activists have been working for nearly 20 years to get Native Americans registered to vote. Their efforts are finally paying off this year, with thousands of New Mexico Native Americans mobilized to have a real influence over the outcome of the state.

New Mexico is a beautiful state–with blue sky for days and stunning cliffs–but the poverty of the people was tough to see. Here are some photos, and please check out the site.

Please feel free to check out the general site here:

And my page here.

Uncategorized

Earthquake!

Becca

Minding my business in the shampoo aisle of Ralph’s this morning, when all of a sudden all the shelves start shaking. It’s a familiar feeling that I haven’t felt for years. It stops, and starts again. This time, the bottles start falling off the shelves and onto me, so everyone starts running to the front door.

And then the earthquake was over.

The most worrisome part (other than the fact that grocery store shelves look pretty tall when they are threatening to fell over on you) is that cell phones were dead after the quake, so there’s no way to check on loved ones. What will happen if the big one comes?

Other

Settle it in Court

Becca

Went to court today for my mess of a red light ticket.

Luckily, she ground it on down to the original ticket, so I go back to paying the original fine
($360 is still a RIDICULOUS amount, I say).

What was really interesting is the guy before me was in army fatigues. He had the same sort of ticket as I did. After the judge said he could pay for it and go to traffic school (the same as everyone else), he turned to return to his seat.

Then, she said, “Are you in active duty?”

He said yes. Then she asked if he had been to Iraq.

“Yes. For 27 months,” he responded.

She then excused his ticket, and dismissed all charges, in “the name of justice.” They both got a round of applause from the crowd.

I guess she figured if you can spend OVER TWO YEARS in Iraq, she can let  a little ticket go. It was a pretty impressive scene.

film

The Dark Knight

Becca

For the past week, I would say I haven’t gone a single day without hearing about The Dark Knight.

Usually, I try to keep my ears and eyes closed to any criticism of a film before I’ve seen it, but there was no avoiding the constant mummers of Heath Ledger’s Oscar-worthy performance.

Tonight, I finally saw what all the fuss was about. I had feared dissapointment, but instead found complete awe. If I didn’t know it was Ledger, I would never have recognized him. He is completely and utterly The Joker– dark, twisted, and a little bit funny. I literally yearned to see more of him in the film.

It is easy to note how tragic it is that this was his last fully completed film. I’ve always believed there are very few actor actors– those who are in it for the art, rather than the fame and fortune. It is very clear that Ledger is one of the few, and for all his fans out there, The Dark Knight is a true testament of that.

After we’re gone, most of us will only leave behind our offspring, and the memories we’ve shared with others. But for the lucky few, they leave behind eternal documentation of their greatness–whether that be in writing, or, in Ledger’s case, film. And we’re all pretty lucky to get to see that greatness.

film

Broken- Downtown Film Festival

Becca

Broken

“Broken,” a short film I have some association with, has been accepted to Los Angeles’s Downtown Film Festival. It will show on Aug. 16.

“Broken” Director: Harry Buerkle 2007, USA, 7 mins. Numbing loneliness has led a woman to make a decision that she comes to regret deeply the next day.

The festival seems to have some interesting films, so it is probably worth stopping by, even if you can’t see “Broken.” Schedule here.

Other

If Los Angeles were a vodka…

Becca

what would it taste like? Very fruity, according to the ABSOLUT gurus who have created a limited-edition vodka to represent the city.

It’s some mixing of Acia, blueberry, and pomegranate, as a “nod to the city’s trendy, environmentally forward, and health-conscious ideals.” So we not only taste like a purple smoothie, but provide anti-oxidants too!

ABSOLUT is donating $250,000 to Green Way LA, an enviromental group trying to help make this city green friendly, so at least there’s that.

There’s drink recipes on the website, if you really need MORE Los Angeles in your system.

travel

Airport Havoc

Becca

Philadelphia (and also Newark it seems) airport have gone to the dogs– as in raining cats and dogs. Weather has caused a certain someone I was supossed to pick up at the airport at 6:30pm to be stuck at the Philly airport until 9pm, so that he will arrive at LAX at 2 :30AM. After waiting on the runway for SIX hours, the plane had to turn around and go back to the gate to refuel, adding a couple more hours onto the wait time.

 And this is after a 9 hour flight from Europe.

Airports and flying are becoming one of the most frustrating vortexes in the world. I used to love traveling– the excitement of the airport, the friendly staff, and even the food. These days, after you take off your shoes, throw away your waters and expensive face cream just to make it through security, and then cram into your tiny seat only to receive water on a cross-country flight, well, all the magic is pretty much gone.

Now, add to that ridiculous delays and the grummbling that airlines are cutting the amount of fuel in the planes, and the experience becomes as much fun as your last dentist appointment.

Something’s gotta change. Or maybe it’s everything that’s gotta change– the economy, gas prices– everything.

entertainment, news

Something in the Gotham City Water?

Becca

What is going on with this Batman cast? Hollywood seems to still be recovering from the shocking death of Heath Ledger, and now Batman himself is acting very un-hero-like.

Christian Bale was arrested for allegedly lashing out at his mom and sister in London yesterday. Hours after his London premeire, Bale was taken to the Big House.

I’ve always thought Bale looks cool, calm and collected–a very undercontrol human being. But his past is a mess. His mom was a circus actor–a clown and dancer. His family was unconventional, to say the least.  His father ran away to sea.

Regardless of how unconventional his upbringing was, nothing can excuse attacking a woman–especially your famiy members. There’s something much more disturbing about this crime than all those drunk driving and drug charges all the rest of the stars are facing.

Even though all the details of this mess haven’t been released, it seems that The Dark Knight may be cursed…

news, politics

Obama at La Raza

Becca

I took some video of Obama’s speech at the La Raza Convention in San Diego (see my story with nearly 10,000 hits here). It’s a tad shaky, but when all I’ve got to work with is a little hand-held camera, well, that’s all I got.

He speaks about the American Dream and the Latino vote, so take a look. And if you haven’t seen him speak in person yet, I suggest you find a way.