Go Ahead: Love Television Today

And Don’t Slight the Shows About Cupcakes

How much should we love what’s on TV? A panel of critics, producers, and television writers agreed that a lot of shows today are excellent and that viewers have more choices than ever. But they didn’t reach consensus on much else. Instead, in front of a crowd at the Grand Avenue MOCA, at an event co-presented with Occidental College, they cheerfully locked horns.

Moderator Kim Masters, host of KCRW’s The Business and editor-at-large at The Hollywood Reporter, opened the evening by asking if this is TV’s golden age. Homeland and Cold …

What Movie Best Captures L.A.?

(Other Than Chinatown, That Is)

 

Hundreds, even thousands, of movies are set in Los Angeles. But do they get Los Angeles right? Most people who live here would say no.  In advance of a Zócalo/Getty …

My Store Just Died

What We Lost When Rocket Video Closed Its Doors

On October 7, Rocket Video, the last great independent video rental store in the city of Los Angeles, closed its doors for good. I was Rocket’s manager. The store had …

My Kosher Meat Market Mixer

Looking For Love, Finding Community At Synagogue

Whenever I mention Friday Night Live to young Jews in the LA area, someone will undoubtedly mutter something about a “meat market.” While the event at Westwood’s Sinai Temple is …

Hank Sievers

Half a Century Behind Bars

“I don’t know what I’m doing here. It’s ridiculous,” says Hank Sievers. Hank’s objection isn’t to the venue. We’re at the H.M.S. Bounty, an old-school bar and eatery on the …