YES, WE CAN!!!!

Vote Our Hopes, not our fears, America! The planet is imperiled, Our Dreams are crushed under rising debt and the gift of Good Health has gone to the richest among us. Now, it is past time for the least amongst us to rise up and vote to change to Give The Dream to the Generations to Follow. Yes, We Can! I am doing my part to Get Out the Vote for Barack Obama. Help me. Let's Go Change the World!



Reclaiming the Dream is the latest sign Barack Obama uses on his podiums. California crowds show signs in Spanish, Si Se Puede. He had made the case, now it our turn to join him in making the Change we and the world do desperately. Camelot's Caroline Kennedy, the world's mega media mogul Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama will be in Los Angeles tomorrow to fight for the Dream. This video is from Jesse Dylan featuring, Will I am, John Legend, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kate Walsh, Tatiana Ali and Herbie Hancock among others.

A Change WE Can Believe In. As oft stated if you want the essence of Barack Obama you have to go to the raw words written when he had no need to spare his feelings or his thoughts from public scrutiny. Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance rings with authenticity, ambition, ego and humility.

Looted Art Finally Returns to Italy

From all over the world, looted Art returned to Italy to star in a long anticipated stylish display and prominent exhibit. Provenance is everything in the museum-quality Art world and the underpinnings of how Italy used legal means to wage a decade long custody battle to gets its art treasures returned. Many a curator and gallery owner suffered damage to their reputations and snickers towards their institutions when caught with artwork with dodgy provenances. Ouch - wonder if the settlement says they have to pay full price to see what they once had in their own shops and museums. They were tracked down by a select Italian team of carabinieri, or military police, specializing in art and archaeological theft.

Rome's Quirinale Palace will kick off the openings with a 70 piece in your face splashy exposition with the subtle title of "Nostoi: Returned Masterpieces" or "Capolavori Ritrovati" meaning Recovered Masterpieces. Italy's Minister of Culture, Francesco Rutelli, was a proud Master of Ceremonies standing amidst returned august marble statues and hand painted crockery as he detailed the Art's lawful return to the press. Many of the most celebrated and valuable pieces were from American culture palaces such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, J. Paul Getty Museum, Gotham's Metropolitan Museum of Art among others. California's Getty lost the most in its settlement with Italy. Some of the museum curators were not fussy enough in checking the particulars during acquisitions resulting in the legal art wars fought on several continents. Hark, the irony abounds. Of course, Italy was gracious in victory - not.

"The odyssey of these objects, which started with their brutal removal from the bowels of the earth, didn't end on the shelf of some American museum," said Francesco Rutelli, Italy's vice prime minister and cultural minister, at the exhibit's opening. "With nostalgia, they have returned. These beautiful pieces have reconquered their souls."

Rutelli guided nearly 200 journalists through the exhibition's dramatic venue, which dominates Rome's highest hill and is considered the heart of the Italian state.

Lining the palazzo's formal gallery were carefully lighted display cases containing objects that were once signature pieces of their American owners. The works include a towering marble statue of Vibia Sabina, a Roman empress, from the Boston museum and, from the Getty, the arresting sculpture of mythical griffons attacking a fallen doe. The Met's famous vase, the Euphronios krater, will join the exhibition in January. (Getty pictures/Viba)

The exhibit of the $700 million USD of returned art is expected to last through 2 May, 2008. This does not finish the custody battles though. There are other knock down drag out battles over other works such as the Statue of a Victorious Youth still residing at the Getty. The other famous piece with its own room at the Getty, Aphrodite, is scheduled to return in 2010.



Learning about Italy's art treasures would take a lifetime. Seeing them in person is awe inspiring as they are much more majestic. Books however do an amazing job of making one feel right there. In that spirit, this 2007 book by Gary M. Radke, The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece, offers the work of a later art period inspired by ancient artworks now returning one by one to Italy.

Breaking & Bumping Oil Tankers Spoil Nature

(Photos courtesy Chronicle/Kurt Rogers & Michael Macor)

Oil tankers this past week are causing unmitigated damage to our environment. When oil tankers have accidents, they are so large that accidents are most often catastrophic. One tanker, the 65,131 ton Cosco Busan, hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge causing no damage to the bridge, but ripping a hole in its side that unleashed an oil spill in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. In an amazing twist, the the notorious island of Alcatraz (now a tourist spot with beautiful flora and fauna) is now surrounded by oil. During a hellish storm, Russian oil tanker, Volgoneft-139, broke into two pieces in the Kerch Strait off the Black Sea spewing at least 1300 tons of oil. Three other smaller freighters with fuel or sulfur went to the bottom of the drink in the same storm. Even the Russians are owning up to the fact that it is an environmental disaster, but can't agree on how much oil spilled.

The 1978-built tanker, designed primarily for inland and coastal service, was carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil in total when it was hit by the storm, which has knocked out electricity supplies to much of Crimea.

"This problem may take a few years to solve. Fuel oil is a heavy substance and it is now sinking to the seabed," Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Russia's environment agency Rosprirodnadzor told state-run Vesti-24 television channel.

"This is a very serious environmental disaster."

Environment agency Rosprirodnadzor said some 2,000 tonnes of fuel oil had spilt, but Emergencies Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov told Reuters not more than 1,200 tonnes had leaked.

Bird habitats - endangered and common alike, migration routes and sanctuaries are threatened in both cases upsetting local fragile ecosystems and their dependent economies. Fishing, restaurants and distributors will feel the effects immediately as the health risks come under evaluation. California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is flying around surveying the damage and seeking federal assistance right after the fires two weeks ago, ironically from he same president who's energy policies are antagonistic and threaten the economy and the ecology. History is repeating itself after a 1996 40,000 ton oil spill in a drydock of San Francisco Bay.

This past week, ExxonMobil was whining about its need to still pay reduced rate reparations for theValdez's spill in Alaska more than a decade after the fact. The state of Alaska is weighing in on the side of the plaintiffs, much to the chagrin of Exxon's, oops, Alaska's Senator Ted Stevens. There is already consensus from the Russians that this spill will take years to clean up. With an imperiled planet, these accidents demonstrate a need for stronger penalties and accelerated cleanup is needed globally. The oil companies are actively hostile for further regulations threatening increase in prices will endanger fragile economies the world over.



Books still cover the topic of the negligence and oil spill of the Exxon Valdez and the corporate malfeasance in the wake of that tragedy. Dr. Rikki Ott does a wonderful fact finding book in Sound Truth Corporate Myth$: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Spill which screams the implications for the disasters we face this week in the monstrous cleanup.

The War On Words on Writers

From 4 pennies to 8 pennies per CD/DVD is just too big of an increase for producers and giant corporate media moguls to bear to part with for mere writers. They moan it would eat into their thin margins as they wage vicious see and be seen ratings wars, ongoing battles of which bloated scripts to be put in executive rehab and it unilaterally disarms the rich by giving a pittance to poor WGA writers. Thy writer may have a few other jobs to keep their health care and food on the table. This will not be the reality TV show America gets to see during the newest Dark Laptop Ages of the Writer's strike. Instead, US television drivel will come from the untested mind of some milquetoast MBA with an urge to prove that Fear Factor 13 is economically viable. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

All of the trappings of a union protest were there — signs, chanting workers, an inflatable rat, and a discarded bag of wrappers and cups from Dunkin Donuts. The rat was borrowed from Local 79, an AFL-CIO laborers’ union, and commuted in from Queens.

But instead of hard hats and work boots, the people on the pickets had arty glasses and fancy scarves.

“A lot of the public probably feels like we are brats,” said Sarah Durken, a writer for children’s programs. “We are not hospital workers and firefighters, we know that — the world is going to keep turning. But I think everyone understands that the issue of corporate greed versus the needs of workers and their families.” (30 Rock's writer Tina Fey/AP Photo)

Stay on a pre-paid script. Put a bunch of dysfunctional people together in awkward circumstances with a big shiny prize that will bring out the semi-cognizant and Behold, a 46 minute burning reality show paid for by corporate entities hawking pills, diapers and the next reality show born of dire doom. Note to television audience: those same dysfunctional people on the show are mirror images of those deciding to air the show. Whew, makes you really rush to get to the TV. A half billion dollars of losses during the last strike in 1988, was a mere rainy day piggy bank to some big shots while others watched financial and professional ruin advance at the speed of light with scripts withering in the dust bowl of boring entertainment. The War on Words is a spiffy acronym - every marketer will say, you need that to get the public's attention, so WOW is officially on, over a few pennies. Call me when they speak in terms of folding money...

Writers produced an incredible amount of original product before hitting the picket and bread lines. The immediate audience ouch comes from those who like the topical late night shows like fake news star John Stewart's The Daily Show and ex-presidential premature panderer Stephen Colbert, of The Colbert Report. There is no one left to write his campaign speeches. Whoa, is business going to be better with YouTube since the content of the reality shows have a few decency limits. YouTube can sink to new depths of depravity with a bored audience or become the heights of drama capturing audience share never to return to TV again with web sensation classics like Obama Girl, Britney Spears howling Public Defender or the shocked squirrel.

Let the Word go Forth to media producers and executives alike - Writers own the Words and you need those to make the entertainment industry actually work. It's not rocket science, its the writing, stupid.


Steven Colbert has a satirical genius book out to keep us amused and suitably entertained, I Am America: And So Can You. John Stewart is a New York Times Bestselling author of The Daily Show with John Stewart Presents America: A Citizen's Guide to democracy Inaction - that word thing again in the ironic hands of awesome crafters.

FEMA Used Fake Reporters, Claims They're Sorry

FEMA, that bastion of preparedness, scarred from the traumas they inflicted on the residents of the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Rita and Katrina in 2005, took measures to ensure they were in charge of the propaganda. Bush Administration foul ups are legion and the status of its press relations has soured in the wake of the debacles attributed to them by a sometimes awake press corps. However, FEMA took no chances for us here in fire ravaged California, they put FEMA employees out front to ask FEMA personnel questions as if they were the national press corps. Yep, fake reporters from FEMA, while the fires still rage here, ash falls on almost two thousand ruined homes in tremendous amounts and our air quality is so poor even the healthy are at risk.



Here's the rationale of the confirmed stupid bureaucrats: real reporters didn't have enough time to get to the event on their schedule. So.... FEMA brainiacs put this guy out front and he went along with it. The real reporters could conference in. Ah, the wonders of technology when faking the news.

A new all time low. Now FEMA is again asking for America's forgiveness in the wake of being caught. Even the faux outrage and the apologies are milquetoast. FEMA is under the umbrella of the Homeland Security Department - you know the place that hired the horse trainer to head the agency when Katrina drowned New Orleans. Homeland Security Chief, Michael Chertoff, earned his skeletal chops by persecuting the Clintons with his boss, presidential panty raider and cigar hunter, Ken Starr.

"We can and must do better, and apologize for this error in judgment," FEMA deputy administrator Harvey Johnson, who conducted the briefing, said in a statement. "Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received."

No actual reporter attended the hastily called news conference in person, although some camera crews arrived late to film incidental shots, officials said.

A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who has authority over FEMA, called the incident "inexcusable and offensive to the secretary."

"We have made it clear that stunts such as this will not be tolerated or repeated," spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. She said the department was considering reprimands.

The White House said: "It was just a bad way to handle it." The Bush administration has faced criticism previously over accusations it masked public relations efforts as journalism.

California needs competence. Bush had his photo op here and it was a doozy. Then FEMA followed it all up by staging a fake news conference to showcase their formidable skills. My eyes are red, my nose is stuffy, but blessed be, my place remains intact. These kinds of thoughtless stunts in the wake of one of the worst natural disasters and biggest migration of evacuees since the Civil War, FEMA is just unconscionable and exploitative.

A bit peeved.

Malibu is Burning!

The one thing they never tell you is how bad it smells and the ash goes everywhere. A blogger friend and I discussed it once, she had the best description, its BBQ'd air that lingers and makes a person sick.

Malibu possesses a raw natural beauty populated by many breathtaking estates built when imagination is the guiding principle, not a lack of funds. From the shore on Pacific Coast Highway or Highway 1, what we locals call PCH, to the hills and bluffs overlooking the ocean, it is called God's Country for its stunning vistas. One of Malibu's largest churches, Malibu Presbyterian has caught on fire (UPDATE: It burned to the ground) and students wearing masks from Pepperdine University are under evacuation. There are at least seven communities under fire threats including Castaic, the greater Santa Clarita valley and homes in Agua Dulce. California's outstanding Firefighters are deciding if they can fly helicopters at night. That is very dangerous in these winds. Usually they cannot fly the fixed wing craft like the leased Super Scoopers that unload unbelievable amounts of water with pinpoint drops of water and the goopy pink fire retardant, FosCheck. An Agua Dulce home just burnt to its foundations so there is a redeployment of air resources. One death and firefighters suffered injuries further south in San Diego.

Santa Ana winds are superheated and blow off the deserts with gusts reaching hurricane strength. Its hard to stay on your feet when its blowing like that hard. Usually there is not a cloud in the sky because they have been blown away. These winds called devil winds hamper fire fighting efforts and are part of southern California's weatherscape, especially prevalent in October. California has had some of its worst fires in the last fifteen years in October. Malibu is no stranger to fire as the brush and chaparral burn and the embers are blown willy nilly and can catch fire miles away. That's what happened with some of the beach front homes nowhere near the original outbreaks. The fires are so hot because the Santa Ana's dry out any moisture in the air which feeds fires. Its 90 degrees here and slated to be hotter tomorrow. Over ten thousands are suffering through power outages.

The fire started in Malibu Canyon, which is also horse country, with a suspected downing from the winds of an electric line sparking the fire. Next to Malibu is posh Pacific Palisades which has even more expensive homes as it abuts Los Angeles and Santa Monica to the northwest.

Update: Injuries and terrible conditions for firefighters in San Diego. Irvine now has intense fire conditions. It's hard to breathe here in southern California and the windows need to stay shut. Bless those in harms way everyway.

Fashion at the Emmy Awards

Click HERE for 2008 Emmy Awards Version click for 2008...

2007 below...

Project Runway's Heidi Klum wearing haute couture at its best! Formal and stunning.
Made it WORK! Dior, of course.

Lots of short dresses, plain gray silk ties and bling is out in force.OJ is picking between stripes or orange at this very second.
Our first red carpet fashion mishap. Looks like last years Grecian theme redux for this year. Sorry Kimora. Go without the shoulder look for a necklace that big.

Eva La Rue took a risk...no payoff. Deborah Messig joined her expecting no return. She's usually picture perfect!




Working the red carpet with elan and elegance! The ever glitzy Eva Longoria, the new Mrs Tony Duncan. It all works. Give your stylist a raise!

Oh, Yeah!!! Sendil Ramaurthy Works for me! And the lovely Jennifer Love Hewitt in always fashionable black.

America Ferrera in a bold cerulean with h o r i z o n t a l draped detailing. An Emmy will look great against the blue backdrop. Go Ugly Betty!!! Um, Hayden Panettiere at least has great hair... Kyra Sedgwick closed the fashion deal with Oscar de la Renta!

The ladies in red... first the chic towel wrap on Ali Larter, followed by Stacy London in a short wrap with chips on the hip and a beautiful mom to be displaying every curve, Constance Zimmer.

Kristin Bell looks spectacular in a pristine draped periwinkle. Minnie Driver has the clutch in with the cut on the bias yellow/gold number. Cleopatra gone beady wrong with a bad earing choice too from Marcia Cross. Baby bump for a retro glam Christina Aguilera?

(Photos courtesy E!online via WireImage.com)
UPDATE 12 31 2007: I have noticed a ton of readers from these images in Google. That is wonderful. Depending on the WGA writer's strike, look for my fashion recaps from the SAG, DGA, Golden Globes and Oscars! Welcome. Click the fashion label below the posts.

UPDATE 1 17 08: More Fashion at Farewell to Valentino

RED CARPET UPDATE 2 16 08: Grammy Fashion!

Click HERE for the 2008 Oscars on 2/24 or just click the fashion label/tag

The 2008 Emmy Award pictures will go up on September 21, 2008. These are 2007.