10.27.2005
10.26.2005
Maybe I'm not understanding something but how can one be working on a political campaign but not be fully engaged in the process by not being a registered voter? Doesn't that defeat the purpose? The rules can't be changed if you don't play the game first...right?
Ok...another random story...
This article should have been titled, "Outlawing Magic."
Before you build anything, shouldn't you automatically think to check with The City, especially when the safety of a child is involved? "Outlawing Magic?!" COME ON!
Not in My Neighbor's Backyard
By Martha Groves
Times Staff Writer
October 26, 2005
The mansionization battle rustling the leaves of North Barrington Avenue is something new even for Brentwood.
It's a dispute not over a 12,000-square-foot neo-Tudor monster or a towering modernist cube, but over a backyard treehouse for an 18-month-old girl.
This being Brentwood, of course, the edifice at issue is no ordinary treehouse.
When Les Firestein, a television producer, and his wife, Gwyn Lurie, a screenwriter, wanted to do something really special for their daughter, Sydney, they enlisted their friend Roderick Wolgamott Romero.
Romero is a renowned builder of elaborate treehouses for such celebrities as Sting and Donna Karan. His work can be found in the "fantasy gift" section of this year's Neiman Marcus holiday catalog. Beginning price: $50,000.
In the backyard of the Firestein-Lurie home, which sits on a tree-studded half-acre north of Sunset Boulevard, Romero and his buddies built a roughly 10-foot-by-10-foot structure of reclaimed wood, salvaged windows and vintage stained glass from Buenos Aires that would quicken the heart of any fun-loving child or parent. The treehouse includes a viewing deck bordered by a railing crafted from tree branches from the backyard.
In return, Romero asked for a week's worth of lodging and all the Baja Fresh meals he could eat. With his tattooed arms and braided, knee-length hair swept up under a tweed cap, Romero and his pals worked for days, even in the rain.
Richard Fleming, the couple's next-door neighbor and a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, was not amused.
He feared that children could perch in this aerie and look in on him and his wife in their backyard pool and hot tub. He suspected, also, that city codes had been violated.
Enter the city of Los Angeles. As the treehouse neared completion last Thursday, city inspector Thomas Sze arrived on the Firestein-Lurie doorstep, responding, he told them, to an anonymous complaint.
"Oh, that's big," Lurie said he told them after looking at the treehouse and the much larger platform on which it rested. Sze also expressed concern about the structure's safety. On Friday, he delivered a written order that all work be halted.
"We're requiring plans and permits if [they] want to continue," Dave Keim, the city's chief of code enforcement, said in an interview Tuesday. "We'll work with them to try to legalize this…. It's not going to be easy."
The city does not require permits for nonhabitable structures less than 8 feet square, but Keim said the treehouse exceeds that size and therefore requires city permission. Firestein and Lurie can appeal whether a permit is required.
Firestein, whose credits as a TV producer and writer include "The Drew Carey Show" and "In Living Color," said his rights have been violated. "We just want to make this a magical place," he said. "It's as if the city has come in and said: 'We're outlawing magic.'
"And where do we go from here? No viewing platforms? No climbing in trees? No swing sets? No children playing? It is, figuratively and literally, a slippery slope."
The slope on which the Firestein-Lurie treehouse sits is dramatic. The steep hillside spills down from the back steps of their house to an expanse of green dotted with a play set, a trampoline inserted directly into the lawn and a picnic table. The rear is lined with towering eucalyptus trees. A moss-covered path zigzags from the main house and deck to the grass.
From down below, one can look back up the hill to the underside of the platform that supports the treehouse. The platform, which by the city's estimation is 20 feet by 30 feet, vaguely resembles a ship, with its "prow" pointing toward the lawn. It is more or less triangular, built around three eucalyptus trees. The platform's beams rest on a system of steel rods that have been inserted into the trees. An arborist assured the homeowners and the builders that the poles would not harm the trees.
The windows of the treehouse face onto the Firestein-Lurie property. The treehouse originally had a rear window that overlooked Fleming's property. After Fleming complained, the builders repositioned it. Firestein and Lurie have also vowed to plant trees and vines to mask the view of the treehouse from Fleming's property.
The couple expressed surprise that the situation has come to this, given their efforts to keep neighbors informed of their intentions — and given the care they say they've taken to ensure that the treehouse is safe.
Shortly before Firestein and Lurie moved in in August, the couple who sold them their house held a dinner party to introduce them to the neighbors. Fleming and his wife were there. When Firestein and Lurie announced their plan to build a treehouse, Lurie said, one neighbor offered to create a piece of art for it.
Fleming, however, said the treehouse plan "never crossed these ears." If it had, he added, "I would have raised questions immediately."
Dressed in blue scrubs, Fleming stood on his front lawn one recent afternoon and said that "it may turn out to be fine."
After living cheek-by-jowl with neighbors at the beach for several years, he said he values the privacy that this leafy Brentwood neighborhood affords. So does his wife, Margaret Michaels.
The dispute has taken much of the fun out of the treehouse experience for Firestein and Lurie.
They have received encouragement from their neighbor to the south, Craig Butler, a graphic designer.
"I think it's really beautiful," Butler said. "From my vantage point, it is so well integrated, non-obtrusive and very charming. It's like a little clubhouse."
His wife, Alexis, however, noted that in this neighborhood, residents crave total privacy. "Whether it's beautiful or not is not the issue," she said. "If I thought they were looking into our pool, it would be upsetting."
Ok...another random story...
This article should have been titled, "Outlawing Magic."
Before you build anything, shouldn't you automatically think to check with The City, especially when the safety of a child is involved? "Outlawing Magic?!" COME ON!
Not in My Neighbor's Backyard
By Martha Groves
Times Staff Writer
October 26, 2005
The mansionization battle rustling the leaves of North Barrington Avenue is something new even for Brentwood.
It's a dispute not over a 12,000-square-foot neo-Tudor monster or a towering modernist cube, but over a backyard treehouse for an 18-month-old girl.
This being Brentwood, of course, the edifice at issue is no ordinary treehouse.
When Les Firestein, a television producer, and his wife, Gwyn Lurie, a screenwriter, wanted to do something really special for their daughter, Sydney, they enlisted their friend Roderick Wolgamott Romero.
Romero is a renowned builder of elaborate treehouses for such celebrities as Sting and Donna Karan. His work can be found in the "fantasy gift" section of this year's Neiman Marcus holiday catalog. Beginning price: $50,000.
In the backyard of the Firestein-Lurie home, which sits on a tree-studded half-acre north of Sunset Boulevard, Romero and his buddies built a roughly 10-foot-by-10-foot structure of reclaimed wood, salvaged windows and vintage stained glass from Buenos Aires that would quicken the heart of any fun-loving child or parent. The treehouse includes a viewing deck bordered by a railing crafted from tree branches from the backyard.
In return, Romero asked for a week's worth of lodging and all the Baja Fresh meals he could eat. With his tattooed arms and braided, knee-length hair swept up under a tweed cap, Romero and his pals worked for days, even in the rain.
Richard Fleming, the couple's next-door neighbor and a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, was not amused.
He feared that children could perch in this aerie and look in on him and his wife in their backyard pool and hot tub. He suspected, also, that city codes had been violated.
Enter the city of Los Angeles. As the treehouse neared completion last Thursday, city inspector Thomas Sze arrived on the Firestein-Lurie doorstep, responding, he told them, to an anonymous complaint.
"Oh, that's big," Lurie said he told them after looking at the treehouse and the much larger platform on which it rested. Sze also expressed concern about the structure's safety. On Friday, he delivered a written order that all work be halted.
"We're requiring plans and permits if [they] want to continue," Dave Keim, the city's chief of code enforcement, said in an interview Tuesday. "We'll work with them to try to legalize this…. It's not going to be easy."
The city does not require permits for nonhabitable structures less than 8 feet square, but Keim said the treehouse exceeds that size and therefore requires city permission. Firestein and Lurie can appeal whether a permit is required.
Firestein, whose credits as a TV producer and writer include "The Drew Carey Show" and "In Living Color," said his rights have been violated. "We just want to make this a magical place," he said. "It's as if the city has come in and said: 'We're outlawing magic.'
"And where do we go from here? No viewing platforms? No climbing in trees? No swing sets? No children playing? It is, figuratively and literally, a slippery slope."
The slope on which the Firestein-Lurie treehouse sits is dramatic. The steep hillside spills down from the back steps of their house to an expanse of green dotted with a play set, a trampoline inserted directly into the lawn and a picnic table. The rear is lined with towering eucalyptus trees. A moss-covered path zigzags from the main house and deck to the grass.
From down below, one can look back up the hill to the underside of the platform that supports the treehouse. The platform, which by the city's estimation is 20 feet by 30 feet, vaguely resembles a ship, with its "prow" pointing toward the lawn. It is more or less triangular, built around three eucalyptus trees. The platform's beams rest on a system of steel rods that have been inserted into the trees. An arborist assured the homeowners and the builders that the poles would not harm the trees.
The windows of the treehouse face onto the Firestein-Lurie property. The treehouse originally had a rear window that overlooked Fleming's property. After Fleming complained, the builders repositioned it. Firestein and Lurie have also vowed to plant trees and vines to mask the view of the treehouse from Fleming's property.
The couple expressed surprise that the situation has come to this, given their efforts to keep neighbors informed of their intentions — and given the care they say they've taken to ensure that the treehouse is safe.
Shortly before Firestein and Lurie moved in in August, the couple who sold them their house held a dinner party to introduce them to the neighbors. Fleming and his wife were there. When Firestein and Lurie announced their plan to build a treehouse, Lurie said, one neighbor offered to create a piece of art for it.
Fleming, however, said the treehouse plan "never crossed these ears." If it had, he added, "I would have raised questions immediately."
Dressed in blue scrubs, Fleming stood on his front lawn one recent afternoon and said that "it may turn out to be fine."
After living cheek-by-jowl with neighbors at the beach for several years, he said he values the privacy that this leafy Brentwood neighborhood affords. So does his wife, Margaret Michaels.
The dispute has taken much of the fun out of the treehouse experience for Firestein and Lurie.
They have received encouragement from their neighbor to the south, Craig Butler, a graphic designer.
"I think it's really beautiful," Butler said. "From my vantage point, it is so well integrated, non-obtrusive and very charming. It's like a little clubhouse."
His wife, Alexis, however, noted that in this neighborhood, residents crave total privacy. "Whether it's beautiful or not is not the issue," she said. "If I thought they were looking into our pool, it would be upsetting."
10.24.2005
Why I Have a Love/Hate Relationship w/USF
LOVE
#1
New Green Class Offered to Students of USF's School of Business and Management (aka McLaren School of Business for the old folks)
by Emily Coon
“The objective is to stay in business indefinitely.” Todd Sayre
This fall, Todd Sayre, associate professor - accounting, launched USF’s first course on sustainable business. Using science and economics, Sayre will demonstrate how sustainable practices make good business sense. Sustainable businesses seek to balance the necessity of economic achievement with environmental quality and social justice. A quick scan of the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index reveals how extensively corporate America is embracing this new perspective. Sayre asserts, however, that education has not kept up with the trend. He is eager for USF to “get on board.”
“The university’s Vision and Mission Statement is a good fit with the principles of sustainability,” he said. The new course boasts a stimulating line-up of guest speakers including the co-founder of Global Exchange and a top executive of Interface. Sayre has been coordinating with USF’s chapter of Net Impact, a national organization that promotes corporate social responsibility, green business, public policy, and legislation. They plan to publicize the speaker schedule as a lecture series open to the public.
Two field trips are planned for the end of the semester. One is to Frog’s Leap Winery, which employs sustainable farming practices such as the use of spiders rather than pesticides. The other trip is to Solar Living, an “off-the-grid” community in Marin.
The sustainable business course has proven popular with undergraduate students and is at maximum enrollment. Says Sayre, “I am excited about the semester. I have many socially aware students.”
#2
USF has increased their ethnic minority recruitment for instructors in the past few years and one of them on the tenure track is Assistant Professor Victor Rios. This picture does little justice to this fine specimen of a homie from around the way turned budding sociology professional with an expertise in gang formation and the juvenile justice system in the United States.
USF Alumni Donnettes, check out the latest issue of "USF in the News," Vol. IV, No. 2. Yes, I must confirm that I would have had further distraction besides the ocean views if this man were around back then.
HATE
eh...check out my other blogs...I've included tidbits on USF's shadiness...I'm sure I can dig up more dirt later. The University has been spending money like water to update dilapidated facilities and actually make it more asthetically attractive to go to school there. I'm sure some kind of drama is bound to come from that. Besides, it's good to still be in touch with faculty and administration.
#1
New Green Class Offered to Students of USF's School of Business and Management (aka McLaren School of Business for the old folks)
by Emily Coon
“The objective is to stay in business indefinitely.” Todd Sayre
This fall, Todd Sayre, associate professor - accounting, launched USF’s first course on sustainable business. Using science and economics, Sayre will demonstrate how sustainable practices make good business sense. Sustainable businesses seek to balance the necessity of economic achievement with environmental quality and social justice. A quick scan of the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index reveals how extensively corporate America is embracing this new perspective. Sayre asserts, however, that education has not kept up with the trend. He is eager for USF to “get on board.”
“The university’s Vision and Mission Statement is a good fit with the principles of sustainability,” he said. The new course boasts a stimulating line-up of guest speakers including the co-founder of Global Exchange and a top executive of Interface. Sayre has been coordinating with USF’s chapter of Net Impact, a national organization that promotes corporate social responsibility, green business, public policy, and legislation. They plan to publicize the speaker schedule as a lecture series open to the public.
Two field trips are planned for the end of the semester. One is to Frog’s Leap Winery, which employs sustainable farming practices such as the use of spiders rather than pesticides. The other trip is to Solar Living, an “off-the-grid” community in Marin.
The sustainable business course has proven popular with undergraduate students and is at maximum enrollment. Says Sayre, “I am excited about the semester. I have many socially aware students.”
#2
USF has increased their ethnic minority recruitment for instructors in the past few years and one of them on the tenure track is Assistant Professor Victor Rios. This picture does little justice to this fine specimen of a homie from around the way turned budding sociology professional with an expertise in gang formation and the juvenile justice system in the United States.
USF Alumni Donnettes, check out the latest issue of "USF in the News," Vol. IV, No. 2. Yes, I must confirm that I would have had further distraction besides the ocean views if this man were around back then. HATE
eh...check out my other blogs...I've included tidbits on USF's shadiness...I'm sure I can dig up more dirt later. The University has been spending money like water to update dilapidated facilities and actually make it more asthetically attractive to go to school there. I'm sure some kind of drama is bound to come from that. Besides, it's good to still be in touch with faculty and administration.
10.20.2005
Went to another fundraiser tonight and low and behold, Big Tone was there! First of all, this is the largest grossing fundraiser in the Asian Pacific American community I have been to, thus far. And it's only their 22nd year doing this. Of course, the politics were steep in this event. (I think I've grown a bit more cynical through all of the things I've been doing in the past few months.) Then Big Tone gets presented his awards and this ass doesn't even remember the name of the damn organization that's honoring him! This fool was apparently involved with the agency over the course of a decade, at the very least! Maybe he should lay off his press events and spend a little more time behind his damn desk.
I think the highlight of the night was when they called my friend's name in a drawing to win a car! It was so freakin' random and she wasn't even there! Her company was there to represent her! My other friend and I screamed at the same time when they called out the name! SO RANDOM! Too bad the ticket was paid by her company after she had pleaded to purchase the ticket to begin with. Maybe next time.
I think the highlight of the night was when they called my friend's name in a drawing to win a car! It was so freakin' random and she wasn't even there! Her company was there to represent her! My other friend and I screamed at the same time when they called out the name! SO RANDOM! Too bad the ticket was paid by her company after she had pleaded to purchase the ticket to begin with. Maybe next time.
Value in Education
As I was driving to work this morning, I was listening to a radio program addressing education in Los Angeles, specifically the significance of Magnet schools in the district. Being a product of them from elementary through high school, I'm all for magnet programs!
According to a UCI professor on the radio show who wrote her dissertation on social ramifications of magnet schools, they began sometime in the '70s to address the need to have integrated campuses within public school districts due to economic, ethnic and other social differences. After the first couple of years they were running, people liked them so much, no one wanted to get rid of them. Then we come to present day and now there is a divide between those who claim that magnet schools and programs are simply for integration purposes and those who emphasize the academic excellence of the programs. In a city as large as Los Angeles, we see stand alone magnet schools, such as Bravo Magnet, that are governed by the same requirements as regular district schools and magnet programs within large district schools, such as the math, science and performing arts magnet programs at Van Nuys High School. The demand for these programs have gotten so high that the process to enroll students have now become quite competitive. The Magnet Program Director of LAUSD tried to explain on the radio show some point system they use to determine enrollment but it sounded a bit too complicated.
I wish I could have listened to the rest of the show but there were tons of interesting topics there were discussing. The moderator inquired about the overall academic performance of students in magnet schools and programs versus the overall performance of students in non-magnet programs. I think the fact that Bravo Magnet is the second top academic performing school in LAUSD is pretty damn significant. Principal Flores-Torres of Bravo mentioned that there are about 30% "gifted" students enrolled, along with a number of lower performing students. The fact that the school has a mix of academic performance levels is good because those who are not performing so well can get guidance and motivation from their peers who are. Coming from a magnet program within a larger school, all the honor students were typically also enrolled in the magnet programs. Our classes were smaller, we had more group projects and were more often hands-on. Our forest ecology classes contributed to the fire/deforestation research with the Calavares Big Trees Park. The marine biology class contributed to research on the marine life in and near the Monterey Bay Aquarium. How more hands on can you get?
The major question that stood out in my mind during the radio show was, can the way programs are being run in the magnet schools be integrated into regular programs within LAUSD? The Magnet Program Director said that some non-magnet schools are examining ways of using successful teaching methods in regular programs. Can this be a way to advance the overall academic performance of LAUSD? Let's hope so. If these changes are successful, I'm sure other districts will use it as a model to integrate their teaching methods, as well.
The reality of the educational system in the United States is apalling. The fact that some schools who have the resources employ development professionals to aid in finding funds for programs they do not want to cut is clear evidence on how strapped for cash our schools are. The fact that the stupid dork running California's government wants to take more money away from the public school system while his children are safely tucked away in private schools is even more disturbing. And they wonder why California's children are not academically performing as high as other states. Hm...maybe we kept more money in the schools and allowed each child to get a simple text book might help. THINK!
According to a UCI professor on the radio show who wrote her dissertation on social ramifications of magnet schools, they began sometime in the '70s to address the need to have integrated campuses within public school districts due to economic, ethnic and other social differences. After the first couple of years they were running, people liked them so much, no one wanted to get rid of them. Then we come to present day and now there is a divide between those who claim that magnet schools and programs are simply for integration purposes and those who emphasize the academic excellence of the programs. In a city as large as Los Angeles, we see stand alone magnet schools, such as Bravo Magnet, that are governed by the same requirements as regular district schools and magnet programs within large district schools, such as the math, science and performing arts magnet programs at Van Nuys High School. The demand for these programs have gotten so high that the process to enroll students have now become quite competitive. The Magnet Program Director of LAUSD tried to explain on the radio show some point system they use to determine enrollment but it sounded a bit too complicated.
I wish I could have listened to the rest of the show but there were tons of interesting topics there were discussing. The moderator inquired about the overall academic performance of students in magnet schools and programs versus the overall performance of students in non-magnet programs. I think the fact that Bravo Magnet is the second top academic performing school in LAUSD is pretty damn significant. Principal Flores-Torres of Bravo mentioned that there are about 30% "gifted" students enrolled, along with a number of lower performing students. The fact that the school has a mix of academic performance levels is good because those who are not performing so well can get guidance and motivation from their peers who are. Coming from a magnet program within a larger school, all the honor students were typically also enrolled in the magnet programs. Our classes were smaller, we had more group projects and were more often hands-on. Our forest ecology classes contributed to the fire/deforestation research with the Calavares Big Trees Park. The marine biology class contributed to research on the marine life in and near the Monterey Bay Aquarium. How more hands on can you get?
The major question that stood out in my mind during the radio show was, can the way programs are being run in the magnet schools be integrated into regular programs within LAUSD? The Magnet Program Director said that some non-magnet schools are examining ways of using successful teaching methods in regular programs. Can this be a way to advance the overall academic performance of LAUSD? Let's hope so. If these changes are successful, I'm sure other districts will use it as a model to integrate their teaching methods, as well.
The reality of the educational system in the United States is apalling. The fact that some schools who have the resources employ development professionals to aid in finding funds for programs they do not want to cut is clear evidence on how strapped for cash our schools are. The fact that the stupid dork running California's government wants to take more money away from the public school system while his children are safely tucked away in private schools is even more disturbing. And they wonder why California's children are not academically performing as high as other states. Hm...maybe we kept more money in the schools and allowed each child to get a simple text book might help. THINK!
10.19.2005
There's something about the Fall/beginning of the holiday season that jump starts my creativity. As I was getting ready this morning, tons of ideas were flowing through my head as to what I'd like to do for my lovies this season. Maybe it's the motivation and the fact that I should have more free time during these cold months to do stuff. Ah well...default is to just stay in bed, read books and play with my powerbook all day...if only!
10.17.2005
Good times
HOTTIES! This was before the crazy reception at Moonie and Lovella's wedding, the most rowdiest one I've been to, thus far! I clearly remember when this picture was taken.
However, I can't quite remember this one.
However, I can't quite remember this one.
10.12.2005
Teen Beat
That's my friend, Xochitl and I. My sweet little brothers had to dig through the crates for this one! This was before I figured out Johnny Depp is a bit off his rocker. I have no idea why I ever thought it would be cool to take this picture! I'm embracing the phase.
Yes, that's Patrick Swayze in the background...Dirty Dancing phase, before he tried to make an album. There were probably a few New Kids on the Block and Debbie Gibson posters floating around on the walls, as well. I'm owning up to it.
Screw all of the posers!
10.09.2005
Stepped into the Wardrobe
Disney finally hit the jackpot. They're putting out book one of CS Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" - "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" THIS December!
Before Harry Potter came along, The Chronicles blew all the other similar fantasy tales out of the water. A whole new world is created in the first book, one in which parallels of reality and biblical parabels are perfectly presented in the eyes of a child. It was until later in college that I really started to study CS Lewis and found that he was a devout Christian - OOH! It explains the parallels between God and Aslan's role in the Narnian series. Lewis also wrote numerous papers examining Jesus, Christianity and faith. Lewis' Narnia series was a huge social commentary on political, educational and religious views of man.
In terms of the movie, many of the creative people were the same ones who helped to develop the Lord of the Rings movies so one can clearly imagine the scope of this film's visual effects. I CANNOT WAIT! I remember watching the BBC versions as a child and thinking, "this is great to get visuals of the books." Getting better visuals is astounding. I really hope they remain true to the stories. December can only tell!
Before Harry Potter came along, The Chronicles blew all the other similar fantasy tales out of the water. A whole new world is created in the first book, one in which parallels of reality and biblical parabels are perfectly presented in the eyes of a child. It was until later in college that I really started to study CS Lewis and found that he was a devout Christian - OOH! It explains the parallels between God and Aslan's role in the Narnian series. Lewis also wrote numerous papers examining Jesus, Christianity and faith. Lewis' Narnia series was a huge social commentary on political, educational and religious views of man.
In terms of the movie, many of the creative people were the same ones who helped to develop the Lord of the Rings movies so one can clearly imagine the scope of this film's visual effects. I CANNOT WAIT! I remember watching the BBC versions as a child and thinking, "this is great to get visuals of the books." Getting better visuals is astounding. I really hope they remain true to the stories. December can only tell!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)