I read the news today...

I'll never forget the face of the girl who swept across the screen in National Velvet... stunning even as a young girl nearly into her teens...

In addition to two Academy Awards... one for Butterfield 8, one for her role as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, she was nominated for her roles in Raintree County, Cat on a Hot tin Roof and Suddenly, Last Summer.

May she rest in peace.

let it rain, let it rain, let it rain... marathon 2011

It was certainly a different marathon this year than last year's foray onto the streets.

Rain, rain everywhere... made for a brutal run. We went over to Yuca's on Hollywood to watch the runners go through Hollywood and watched the rains come and go, and come and go... making a crazy run for wheelchair racers and runners alike.

First came the clouds, then the wheelchair racers dashed by followed closely by the first female runners. About 10 minutes later, the first male runners came through... a huge lull ensued and then came the runners... lots of runners. Then came the rains to drench the party.

Some runners decided the rains and accompanying winds were too much, and dropped out (it was pretty dismal on the course).

One very soaked bike rider stopped by the restaurant to warm up (he was accompanying his wife somewhere in the pack). He ate, attempted to get warm, and finally decided to go out and brave the rains again... I hope he made it without freezing along the route.

The thousands dwindled down to a few dozen, then one or two runners out on the course.






























At last the trucks came by, cleaning up the detritus left by runners...

Workers leaped over torrential rivers to take down barriers and clean up garbage... by the time the trucks got there, most of the trash had been swept away by volumes of water rushing along the curbs.

Quick synopsis... the first male runner finished in just over 2 hours, the first female runner finished in just under 2 1/2 hours...

The heaviest (at 400 lbs.) marathoner completed the race in nine hours, 48 minutes and 52 seconds, shaving 2 hours off his previous marathon.

[If interested in the posting from last year's marathon, go to shades of gray... 4.4.2010]

wishing for a new day...

Have you been following the news lately?

I know, silly question.

Japan... wow... just when you thought it couldn't get any worse. The sky opened and radiation poured out...

Nuclear power... the Pandora's Box of our century...

The real problem with nuclear plants is... just about everything. There is no 100% safe method for creation of nuclear energy, or for storage of spent fuel rods.

So, really, it's simply a matter of... look for safer methods of energy creation. Very simple!... just say no!

I know there are many (especially in the current congress) who believe nuclear power is as safe as... Mom's apple pie. They probably don't live downwind from a plant, and they've been reassured by the nuclear industry that it's really safe. Even as those reassurances are forthcoming, Japan is melting down.

Literally...

And, if there's truth to the rumor that nuclear power is safe... then someone... please explain Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.

Let's talk briefly about the disaster of Chernobyl because it seems a similar situation is occurring in Japan as officials attempt to downplay problems rather than acknowledge to their and world communities that this impending meltdown is an issue of grave concern.

In 1986 when the Chernobyl reactor blew up/melted down, nearly 120,000 people living in close proximity were evacuated and dozens of small townships vanished from Soviet Union maps. Even as residents in areas closest to the explosion were told that health threats were "minimal," authorities knew this was far from true... those residents were being exposed to levels of over 500 roentgens, which is ultimately fatal. And residents who rushed out to watch the explosion are no longer counted among the living...

Today, the #4 reactor at Chernobyl rests in a giant sarcophagus, perhaps forever.

In 1978 America experienced a near meltdown... ok, a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island. Officials at that time couldn't decide what, if any information to release to the media, and communities closest to the plant.

The true impact of the situation became clear only after an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a presidential commission was convened. Whether or not the incident has had long term effects on cancer rates is up for debate. The bottom line is, does anyone really feel safe living next to, or near a nuclear plant? I would have to emphatically say NO.

I happen to live in Los Angeles, fairly close to the nuclear plant at San Onofre... just up the coast we have a nuclear plant at Diablo Canyon. Both plants reside very close to the major fault lines that crisscross the state and Pacific Ocean. In the event of a similar situation occurring here as just occurred in Japan, the loss of life would be staggeringly high, and the impact on food sources would be devastating.

As Congress continues to grapple with whether or not to build more nuclear plants, I think more Americans should weigh in and decide whether they want to expose themselves, and their children to the possibility of a nuclear wasteland in this country. Perhaps we should look back to the level of destruction at Nagasaki and Hiroshima near the end of WWII.

Then we should ask... Is this what we want for our country, and our people?

a followup to the earthquake

Yesterday it was reported that the earthquake that rocked Japan was larger than initially thought. It has been upgraded to 9.0 [or 9.1 depending on where you get your information], making it the 4th largest in recorded history.

It has also been reported that four explosions at the nuclear plant may have devastating consequences for the region both in the short, and long term as radiation leaking from the plant is now confirmed. Officials in Japan told the International Atomic Energy Agency the fire in the Unit 4 storage pond was sending radioactivity "directly into the atmosphere."

As the Fukushima nuclear plant continues to spew radiation clouds into the atmosphere, it is quite likely that officials downplayed the possibility for extreme environmental damage, even as they urged the surrounding community of approximately 140,000 to "stay indoors."

Meanwhile, in this country...

On Sunday's Meet the Press, Senatemember Mitch McConnell continued to defend the possibility of constructing more nuclear plants in the United States, despite information coming from halfway around the world.

Given the rapidly changing information coming from the east, perhaps we should ignore his words and err on the side of caution. This is not about the short term effect of radiation on our planet, but the long term effect that is bound to happen at some point.

As Republicans continue to castigate the president for not moving forward with plans to drill for more oil in the Gulf (look at the potential for more "accidents" in that region of the country), they will now urge him to move forward with more nuclear plants, regardless of whether it's safe to build.

japan hit by 8.9 earthquake and tsunami

Even as Japan begins to dig out from this devastating earthquake, some communities are facing the threat of a nuclear meltdown due to failures in the core cooling system. As I post, the threat is diminished somewhat as seawater has been pumped into the system, averting a meltdown (at least for the moment...).

As a precaution, approximately 170,000 individuals were moved out of the affected area.

While (if interested), you can go to numerous sites for more information... let's talk about the magnitude of this quake.

8.9 on the Richter scale. Huge!

As a 2.0 would barely register, a 7.0 constitutes a major quake. Not only was the quake in Japan five minutes in duration, it was at least 900 times greater than the quake that struck Loma Prieta, CA in 1989 (6.9) and 30 times greater than the San Francisco quake in 1906 (7.9).

Geologically, the Pacific Northwest can expect an earthquake in the 9.0 range every 300-500 years... the product of deep fault lines which create lengthy shaking.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 1700 Cascadia earthquake involving the Juan de Fuca Plate in the Pacific Ocean off Canada caused a tsunami that struck Japan (reverse of what occurred on Friday).

photos: San Francisco road schism, 1906.
March 11, 2011 the remains of the city after the tsunami.

snow in LA?

Since we're on the topic of snow (a continuation from the last posting...) I came across this fabulous demonstration of the power of nature... who knew...

It snowed in downtown Los Angeles in 1949 as you can see from the photo. The tall building in the background is city hall (a very impressive building, still standing, despite our penchant for eliminating anything over... say... 20 years). While I'm being just a tad facetious, unfortunately, there is a great deal of truth to my statement.

We Angelenos tend to view structures in a different fashion than say... the French, who tend to reuse/recycle structures, and therefore maintain a certain beauty and charm in their cities.

Los Angeles (on the other hand) tends to view anything old as, well... old. Therefore, beyond saving. This is not to suggest that Barnsdall or the Ennis House (along with other architectural gems) are in danger of being destroyed. These buildings are historic, and beautiful and... they have a name attached... like Frank Lloyd Wright, or Richard Neutra, or R.M. Schindler.

Ergo, we hang onto them because if not for them, why would anyone want to come to LA?

Oh, yes, I forgot... the movies, they come for the movies and the movie stars... and if they're really lucky, they get to see stars self-destruct (as in Charlie Sheen.)