File: (L-R) "The Sarah Silverman Program" writer Harris Wittels, comedian Sarah Silverman, executive producer/head writer Dan Sterling and actress Laura Silverman, arrive at Comedy Central's Emmy Awards party at the STK restaurant Sept. 21, 2008 in Los Angeles.; Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Harris Wittels, a comedy writer who worked on "Parks & Recreation," has died at 30, the Los Angeles Police Department's Jane Kim tells KPCC.

Wittels was discovered by his assistant around 12 p.m., Kim said, and was already dead. Kim said that Wittels' death was a possible overdose, but that the Coroner's Office would determine the cause of death. Wittels had attended drug rehab twice.

Comedy Central, where Wittels worked on "The Sarah Silverman Program" and "Secret Girlfriend," confirmed Wittels' death, as did the comedy show he appeared at Wednesday night.

Comedy Central tweet

Meltdown Show tweet

Wittels was also well known for his @Humblebrag Twitter account and later book, helping to popularize the idea online of the false modesty of bragging while trying not to look like you're bragging.

Wittels had spoken about his struggles with addiction in places including Pete Holmes's podcast "You Made It Weird" in a November episode.

"I just really stopped caring about my life," Wittels said on "You Made It Weird," explaining how he got into doing drugs. "I just really started to think, well, if I'm only here for 80 years, then who cares if I spend it high or not?"

Wittels received his first big break when Sarah Silverman saw him performing comedy and gave him a job writing for her Comedy Central show.

Wittels also wrote for HBO's "Eastbound & Down," several MTV awards shows and the American Music Awards. He had a recurring role on "Parks & Recreation" and was a regular guest on the "Comedy Bang Bang" podcast.

Comedians, actors and fans mourned Wittels' death online.

Harris Wittels Storify

See Wittels in a scene from "Parks & Recreation":

Wittels on Parks & Recreation

Listen to Wittels on "Comedy Bang Bang":

Wittels on Comedy Bang Bang

This story has been updated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A still from "POWER/RANGERS," a highly-produced Power Rangers fan film starring James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff.

Update 2/28: The "POWER/RANGERS" film is back on YouTube and Vimeo. Watch the censored YouTube version with a new viewer discretion disclaimer here:

POWER/RANGERS

You can also watch the Vimeo version, featuring more adult content. The video's description emphasizes its lack of connection in any official way to the Power Rangers:

"Deboot of the Power Rangers. My take on the FAN FILM. Not a pilot, not a series, not for profit, strictly for exhibition. This is a bootleg experiment not affiliated or endorsed by Saban Entertainment or Lionsgate nor is it selling any product. I claim no rights to any of the characters (don't send me any money, not kickstarted, this film is free). This is the NSFW version. An alternate safe version is on youtube."

Director Joseph Kahn tells Deadline, "They put these disclaimers on so kids so don’t confuse our super-violent film with their Power Rangers brand. There are no hard feelings. We signed contracts. We can play it anywhere we want on all platforms. I think they realized that people just want to see it."

Previously: A Power Rangers short film went viral this week, starring Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) and James Van Der Beek (Dawson!) in a Tarantino-meets-sci-fi take on a dark future for the formerly Mighty Morphin'.

The company behind the 22-year history of the kids/toy icons issued takedown requests, leading to it being pulled from Vimeo and, on Thursday afternoon, a toned-down version being taken off YouTube. At the time, the video had received over 10 million views. It's still available to watch in this Facebook embed from the producer's Facebook page:

POWER/RANGERS Facebook embed

The film was directed by Joseph Kahn, best known as the music video director behind clips like Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" as well as videos for Britney Spears, U2 and others, and produced by Adi Shankar, who was also behind "The Grey" and "Dredd." Kahn co-wrote the film with Van Der Beek and lesser-known writer Dutch Southern.

This isn't the first quasi-legal fan film produced by Shankar. He's also done the same with Marvel Comics characters the Punisher and Venom. The Punisher film even had one of the actors who played the character on screen, Thomas Jane.

Watch those films (Warning: Adult language and violence):

Punisher short

Venom short

Kahn tells HitFix that Shankar came to him, offering him the chance to reboot an existing property.

One reason for the current legal contentiousness: The Power Rangers are set to hit the big screen next year in a Lionsgate film. Kahn says that, if that film was offered to him, he wouldn't be interested.

"I wouldn't even want to make 'Power Rangers: The Movie' for real," Kahn told HitFix. "Like if I had to make a 'Power Rangers' movie, this is it. It's 14 minutes long, and it's violent, and this is what I have in me. If they offered me the $200 million version, the PG-13 version, I literally wouldn't do it."

There's been a strong response to the video, but the response has been mixed — among the original Power Rangers. The original Green Ranger, actor Jason David Frank, said on Facebook that he was approached to be in the movie but declined. (The film's director denies this claim, saying that Frank must have confused them with another project.) Frank also criticized the adult content.

"I'm just a PG-13 guy," Frank said. "The cuss words, the drugs, all this other stuff, it doesn't fly with me." He says that he thinks the Power Rangers are still connected with kids, and he didn't like the idea of doing a dark and gritty version in that context. (Watch his video below.)

Green Ranger video

But the original Pink Ranger, actress Amy Jo Johnson, gave the film her stamp of approval, which Sackhoff enthusiastically responded to.

Amy Jo Johnson tweet 1

Amy Jo Johnson tweet 2

Katee Sackhoff tweet

Sackhoff told the Nerdcore Movement site that she loves fan films.

"Doing a fan video is kind of the biggest honor you can give a franchise. It’s something that inspired you so much that you want to create," Sackhoff said.

Kahn defended "POWER/RANGERS" on Twitter as being protected due to it being a satire and also cited fair use laws and free speech. He argued that there are lots of other fan films and pointed out that YouTube showed more leniency, leaving it up.

"Every image in POWER/RANGERS is original footage," Kahn wrote in a series of tweets to Vimeo. "Nothing was pre-existing. There is no copyrighted footage in the short."

He also said that it's being given away for free and that Kahn paid for it himself.

Kahn tweet

"It is just as if I drew a pic of Power Rangers on a napkin and I gave it to my friend," Kahn wrote. "Is it illegal to give pic I drew of a character on a napkin to someone for free? No. The world is watching your actions right now."

In a touch of irony, the video had been selected as a Vimeo staff pick before the service took it down. They also responded to complaints about it being taken down, saying that they had to due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and that they would restore the video immediately if the copyright claim was withdrawn, telling fans to complain to Power Rangers copyright holder Saban.

YouTube tweet

Despite the short film's success, hardcore Power Rangers fans are less sure about it, Shamus Kelley tells KPCC. Kelley created his own Rangers fan series, as well as co-hosting a Power Rangers podcast with over 300 episodes so far.

Casual fans are "far more open to the idea of dark/gritty because they see it as the show growing up with them," Kelley says. To hardcore fans, "it was either an abomination or the greatest unintended parody ever."

Kahn tells HitFix that the parody, of both Power Rangers and fan films in general, is definitely intended.

"The dark and gritty reboot thing is such a cliché that the intention was not only to make it dark and gritty but make it even darker and grittier than you could possibly imagine, hence the brains, the blood and the violence and the sex," Kahn said.

Kahn is set to answer questions about the film in a Reddit AMA on Friday at 2 p.m. We'll have to wait and see if there will be anywhere to watch it at the time.

Take a look behind the scenes of "POWER/RANGERS" via posts from the director and stars:

Behind the scenes tweet

Behind the scenes Instagram

Fight training 1

Fight training 2

The film also includes a techno take on the classic Power Rangers theme song, which you can listen to here:

Techno Power Rangers

This story has been updated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A Nintendo Entertainment System.; Credit: Mark Ramsay/Flickr Creative Commons

There have been plenty of video game movies over the years, but there have been far fewer actually good ones. "Ready Player One," based on the 2011 video game-inspired novel, has the chance to be a great one thanks to the announcement that Steven Spielberg has signed on to direct.

That book was inspired by classic video games, and was written using classic video game cheats to play parts of classic games and write them into his book, author Ernest Cline said in a recent talk. That got us thinking about the classic video game cheats and secrets that stuck with us from our younger days playing classic video games — here's our top 11.

1. The Konami Code

Up up down down left right left right B A start! This code became such a part of video game culture that it got its own name. It was popularized in various games made by Konami, particularly Contra, leading to it also being known as the "Contra Code" for its ability to give you 30 lives in the game. Before the Internet, it was spread through gaming magazines and word of mouth — it was so influential that there are still developers who put it in their games. (There's even an entire Wikipedia page of games, both from Konami and others, that use the Konami Code. It's even been used on some websites.)

What is the Konami Code

2. Street Figher II Turbo's turbo

The game that I actually used a code for the most as a kid, the Super Nintendo code down, R, up, L, Y, B on the second controller didn't give you any advantages — it just kicked the speed up. By default, you had a few selections for how fast the game would be, but you could multiple that several-fold with this code, letting you and your friends battle at what at the time felt unbelievably fast.

3. Super Mario Bros.'s Minus World

This one doesn't involve a code, but players managed to discover what was deemed a glitch in the game that put you into a messed up version of another level, dubbed by fans the Minus World due to just "-1" instead of a full level number appearing at the top of the screen. There was no way to escape the glitched level, no matter how hard you might try, sending you to play it over and over again until your time ran out or you were killed by enemies. Still, modern players have found that you can go on thanks to various computer emulators and the like; see some of the worlds beyond below:

Minus World video

4. Metroid and Justin Bailey

Fans early on discovered that the password JUSTIN BAILEY allowed you to start with all of the available weapons along with plenty of life and ammo. Fans didn't know whether Justin Bailey was a reference to an actual person, just a code coincidence or something else, but that didn't stop them from eagerly playing through with this code. It also removed lead character Samus Aran from her armor, allowing players to discover that the game's star was an early female lead character, even if her armor didn't clue players in before the end of the game without the code.

Justin Bailey video

5. Doom's God mode

By typing the letters iddqd in PC game Doom, players could enable God mode, making them essentially invincible and letting them power through the early first-person shooter. The code had been available in developer id's earlier game Wolfenstein, but hadn't been quite as easily accessible. So, if you ever need a power boost when you're fighting on Mars, Doom has the answer. (Unfortunately, we don't believe this provides any extra protection for NASA's Mars rovers.)

6. Mortal Kombat's Reptile

The developers of Mortal Kombat made a battle against Reptile unbelievably hard for Mortal Kombat fans, including putting some randomness into whether doing what you were supposed to do to unlock the character would even work. Still, players happily pumped in extra quarters for the chance to face off against Reptile, a character with a look that mirrored that of characters Sub-Zero and Scorpion, just with a different color. Players had to achieve a Double Flawless victory on the Pit level, finish the match using their fatality move, and there also had to be a silhouette flying past the moon in the background — which only happened every sixth game.

Mortal Kombat: Reptile

7. The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest

The Legend of Zelda was a pretty challenging early adventure game, one of the first releases for the Nintendo home video game console. When you beat the game, you were given the option to go on a "Second Quest," which was a tweaked version of the game you just played except waaaaay harder. However, if you thought you were the coolest kid on the block and were so awesome you didn't need a warmup, you could name your character "ZELDA" (in one of the more obvious cheats in video game history) and skip ahead to that Second Quest from the start. You would then likely cry from how hard it was and start another new game with a different name.

8. NBA Jam's celebrity secret characters

A variety of celebrities from sports, music, and even politics were available by putting in various initials combined with buttons on the controller. These included then-President Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Warren Moon and more. That tradition has been continued in more recent NBA Jam games, with President Obama and others available for your video gaming pleasure.

9. GoldenEye's extra modes

There were a wide variety of cheat codes for GoldenEye, widely considered one of the all-time great first-person shooters. Sure, you could use codes to unlock different levels, but the reason these codes are remembered is because it gave you all sorts of new ways to play against your friends. The game also had an actual cheat menu that would appear if you accomplished one of a variety of goals, and from that menu you could cheat extra hard by using your controller to unlock things like a paintball mode, turbo mode, modes with both giant heads and teeny-tiny James Bonds and more.

10. Sonic The Hedgehog 2's Debug Mode

The Sonic debug mode is the perfect example of why so many games included cheats back in the day: They were often for the developers to be able to more easily play the games while looking for bugs and doing other testing. Sonic 2 let you get to an actual debug mode by playing various sounds from the level select screen (1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4, for your reference), then pressing start and holding the A button. Developers later put them in for fun and intended them for the players to discover, but some of the early cheat codes were just meant for developers — but players proved more intrepid than they may have anticipated.

Sonic debug mode

11. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out: Go straight to Mike Tyson

There was actually a password mode in this game — before games had the option to save, plenty of games gave you codes that let you get back to where you were before. This is one of the examples from that darker time, where whether you played through opponents like Glass Joe and Bald Bull or not, you could try your changes against Lightning Mike (at least until the video game's license ran out and he was replaced in future editions with the way less exciting "Mr. Dream"). You better have had a pen and paper ready when your friend started yelling at you 007 373 5963 for you to use on your own copy of the game — no sharing. The game is hard enough that even Mike Tyson had some trouble fighting himself:

Mike Tyson vs. Mike Tyson

Let us know in the comments the classic video games — and the classic cheat codes and secrets — that inspired you.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Jerry "The King" Lawler with Jim Ross.; Credit: WWE

Jim Ross is the most famous pro wrestling play-by play commentator of all time. He's a native Californian, but grew up in Oklahoma and took his trademark drawl into doing commentary. He's worked in wrestling for more than 40 years, calling matches on shows seen by millions of people around the world.

This weekend, he's in the Bay Area for Wrestlemania weekend (the first Wrestlemania in Northern California, and the first in California in 10 years). Ross no longer commentates for WWE, but he's still a storyteller, online and in person. He hosts regular live storytelling shows with stories from his decades-long career and a bit of comedy, along with a live guest, and he also has a huge online presence including a podcast that went to number one in sports its first week out.

Ross has been watching wrestling since he was a kid.

"My dad wasn't a big fan of it. He missed the point. The point is not whether it's real or if it's staged. The point is, are you entertained by it, or not? And I was," Ross said.

He's been at ringside for numerous historic matches, helping the wrestlers to tell their stories ever since he got his first job in wrestling out of college at 22.

"The greater the star, the easier it is to tell their story," Ross said. "Those participants make music. They make different kinds of music, and the announcers, the broadcasters, have to be able to provide the adequate lyric to the competitors' music."

Ross's voice is so powerful that it's become a meme online to pair his voice with another dramatic footage, from sports and beyond — you can even find it paired with dramatic moments from shows like "Breaking Bad" and "Game of Thrones." Ross says that the first time he saw someone do that was with a hit by Michigan running back Jadaveon Clowney, a video which went viral and sparked others to do likewise.

The JR Treatment

"I get sent these memes all the time. 'Hey JR, check this one out.' Or people will say, somebody will make a great dunk at an NBA game, and somebody will say 'I can't wait to see this get the JR treatment.' And now there are major sports websites that will send out a tweet, 'Here's a great play from Sunday's 49er-Charger game that's got the JR treatment.' So now it's got a name. 'The JR Treatment.'"

Those viral videos have even helped him land new commentating roles since leaving WWE. He did a call of a fight between NASCAR drivers for the Daytona 500 for a special pre-show video, and it's led to him having opportunities in traditional sports.

"It's been done in boxing, and MMA. Believe it or not, I've gotten feelers that we're entertaining now from a variety of combat sports entities that actually heard what my call would sound like doing their product," Ross said. "It had my tone, had my inflection, had my level of enthusiasm."

Ross also played a huge role behind the scenes, working as WWE's executive vice president of talent and signing future stars like the Rock, Mick Foley and more. He says that Mick Foley's match against the Undertaker in 1998's Hell in a Cell match was his most memorable to call.

"I have people walk up to me and start quoting my commentary when Undertaker threw Foley off the Hell in a Cell, this massive cage with a roof on it, that was about 17 feet high from the roof to the floor," Ross said. "It looked like no human being, quite honestly, could survive that fall. You don't practice falls like that in wrestling school."

Ross has managed to stay relevant with the help of a popular podcast and 1.3 million followers on Twitter, where he regularly dispenses his thoughts on wrestling and beyond. He started doing that podcast after being lobbied to do it by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and continues to try new things.

"I was very reluctant to engage in social media, and primarily because we sometimes get set in our ways, especially the older we get," Ross said. "But change, for any of us, in any walk of life, whether it's your diet, it's your relationships, the way you approach your job, or any changes that you need to affect, whether it's on doctor's orders, your significant other's suggestions — change is not always a negative thing. So I got on Twitter, and then Twitter connected me to so many people."

While some may feel that pro wrestling, given its predetermined results, doesn't need real athletes, Ross disagrees and says there are plenty of reasons to want real athletes.

"They're competitive. They don't want to be on the second team. They want to be in the game. And they've been in that mindset since some of them were in little league, or Pop Warner football, or elementary school wrestling, or whatever it may be."

He says they also understand how to be coached and how to play well with others, as well as handling the bumps and bruises that come with the territory and the difficult travel schedule.

"I don't know that anybody in any entity, unless you're the most well-traveled comedian or entertainer, has that. Because the thing about pro wrestling is it doesn't have an off-season, so you don't get a chance to really go recharge your batteries. You've got to maintain that competitive edge to survive."

Ross says there's one match he wishes he had another shot at calling: Ric Flair's retirement match against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. While Ross has traditionally been a play-by-play commentator, that night he was assigned to be a color commentator, which gave him some different challenges.

"I thought I had great stories to tell because of my relationship with Ric — I've known him for 25 years — and I didn't think that I contributed as much to that match from an emotional standpoint as I could. I was obligated to get in soundbites and get in, get out," Ross said. "That's the biggest match at the biggest stage, and I love both those guys, and I really wanted to be extra special that night, and I just don't know in my heart that we got there."

He says California has its own wrestling legacy to be proud of. The California Wrestlemania match that Ross says he'll always remember: Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12 in Anaheim, where two now wrestling legends wrestled for more than an hour.

He also thinks the economics of Wrestlemania make a lot of sense for whichever city hosts it, thanks to the travelers it draws in from around the world. Cities now bid to try to bring in Wrestlemania, Ross says. With Los Angeles gearing up to build a new stadium, Ross has a Wrestlemania prediction for that stadium.

"I will bet you money — I will bet you some of my barbecue sauce — if L.A. builds a stadium, that Wrestlemania will be one of the first non-football events in that stadium. And they will sell it out. They'll fill every seat. And it'll be great for the city, and the businesses of Los Angeles.

Ross says that what made him a great broadcaster is the same thing that can make someone a success in wrestling or anywhere else — most importantly, don't talk down to your audience.

"You have to be a fan of the genre, or a fan of the game, and you have to be willing to prepare and be ready for your broadcast," Ross said. "You have to be willing to tell the story that the average fan — not the hardcore fan, but the average, casual fan can understand and relate to. ... You know, we're storytellers, and some people are just natural-born storytellers."

Ross plans to continue telling stories for the foreseeable future, on stage, online, calling matches in the legit sports world and wherever else his life takes him. He's even gotten into acting — you can see him in the new film "What Now."

"I think retirement is overblown. How many days can you go fishing? How many rounds of golf can you play?" Ross said. "I had the idea when I left WWE after 21 years, I'm going to reinvent myself. I'm not going to become a trivia answer. ... I don't think you're going to read anywhere, anytime soon, that Jim Ross has finally retired — until you read my eulogy."

Listen to the audio for the full hour-long interview with Jim Ross, talking his career past, present and future — along with the origins of his signature barbecue sauce.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Brock Lesnar after losing his championship in the main event of Wrestlemania 31.; Credit: WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment held their annual Wrestlemania show last weekend in Northern California, the culmination of another year's worth of spectacle. According to the company, it was their highest grossing event of all-time, drawing $12.6 million, with an official attendance placing it fifth on their list of all-time crowds for the event. The show was headlined by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar going up against up-and-coming star (and a relative of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) Roman Reigns.

WWE Network

It comes at a time when the company has embarked on a new way of making money: their over-the-top online programming provider, the WWE Network, where fans can pay $9.99 a month to see programming including what formerly used to cost $45 for most shows and $60 for Wrestlemania. They're one year in now on gambling that enough fans will want the Network that it will ultimately make them more money in the long-term, despite losing that pay-per-view revenue. Wall Street doesn't appear to be buying it — after announcing the day after Wrestlemania that they'd hit 1.3 million subscribers, WWE's stock took a significant loss.

"The point is not whether it's real or if it's staged. The point is, are you entertained by it, or not?" former WWE announcer Jim Ross told KPCC in an interview. WWE is looking for more fans to be entertained enough to plunk down $9.99 for all the pro wrestling content they want.

NXT

They're also in a transitional period with their audiences. They've launched a new show that's only on the Network called "NXT," turning their minor league into a program targeting hardcore pro wrestling fans with a different style of show than the more family-targeted "Raw" and "Smackdown." It's also where they groom potential future stars, many of whom seem to break the mold of some of the traditional stars on WWE's main roster.

They're signing up talent that's been getting buzz on the independent circuits, trying to create their own underground movement that hopefully spells money, and taking the NXT brand on tour for the first time. On the Raw after Wrestlemania, several NXT stars made their debut on the main roster. That follows a sell-out crowd (albeit at a smaller 5,000 seat venue) on the Friday night before Wrestlemania for a non-televised NXT show.

Give Divas a chance

WWE also faces cultural forces pushing them in new directions, including a difference in how society deals with gender. When WWE executive Stephanie McMahon, daughter of the famed Vince McMahon, tweeted in support of Patricia Arquette's speech calling for greater equality for women at the Academy Awards, one of their own wrestlers, AJ Lee, responded by publicly calling Stephanie McMahon out on Twitter for not promoting the women in her own company equally and paying them less than the male stars.

AJ tweet 1

AJ tweet 2

Of course, the women in the company aren't given the same prominence as the men in part because it's felt that they won't make the company as much money. Still, it forced WWE's hand and Stephanie McMahon and the company as a whole publicly embraced the idea of giving the women (who WWE brands as "divas") a chance with the Give Divas A Chance movement (and accompanying trending hashtag).

What's next

The women have been promoted nearly equal to the men in that underground NXT league, but only time will tell if it continues to trickle upward. Wrestlemania didn't seem to show huge promise of that happening, with the one women's match of the show only getting a few minutes in the ring. However, the show also included a high-profile storyline with UFC female fighter and champion Ronda Rousey alongside the Rock, going up against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, so there appears to be the room for women in prominent positions when they have the right storyline.

Whether WWE is able to wade through these forces of change to make more money — and perhaps regain some of the cultural currency that they've lost since becoming a monopoly and purchasing their top competition in 2001 — remains to be seen. They've stayed relatively steady despite a challenge from UFC, which many see as being what pro wrestling would be like if WWE didn't present fictional  They'll have to hope that giving new stars, including "divas," a chance will take them to another level.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A cosplay gathering in the Anaheim Convention Center's Grand Plaza during WonderCon Anaheim 2014.; Credit: Kevin Green/SDCC

For all the sad comic book and pop culture fans who weren't able to get tickets to San Diego Comic-Con, we've got good news for you: They run another convention, and it's closer to Los Angeles. Their little brother WonderCon Anaheim has been growing, with some comparing it to the Comic-Con of old — before it got way too crowded. It's this Friday through Sunday, April 3-5. They're starting to have big stars and lots of great panels, so if you want to get your geek heart sated, here are some of the events you won't want to miss.

Warner Bros. Presentation: San Andreas, Mad Max: Fury Road

San Andreas trailer

The most highly anticipated event at this weekend's convention, Warner Brothers is putting on a special presentation with footage from these two upcoming action films. They haven't announced which stars will be on hand, but these panels often surprise with star power, so you may get a visit from stars like "San Andreas's" Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or "Mad Max: Fury Road's" Tom Hardy or Charlize Theron. At the Comic-Con panel last year for the "Mad Max" flick, the director talked in detail about the film, so you'll probably at least get his take on the franchise and its resurrection.

DC Comics TV shows: The Flash, Gotham, iZombie

The Flash trailer

While Marvel has been dominant on the big screen, DC has put out a diverse slate of TV shows, with "The Flash" being the biggest hit among them. It's among those getting a spotlight at WonderCon, with creators and stars dishing on the programs that have captured the imaginations of TV fans and comic fans alike. All three shows are also getting special video presentations, likely showing clips of what you can expect the rest of this season. And in case you didn't already know, "iZombie" comes from "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas, so come find out about his latest project.

World Premiere: Batman vs. Robin

Batman vs. Robin trailer

It's become a tradition at both WonderCon and San Diego Comic-Con for DC Comics to debut their latest animated movie, and the new one is based on the critically acclaimed "Court of Owls" storyline by writer Scott Snyder. (Be sure to check out our previous interviews with Snyder — he's even an NPR fan.) The original story is based on how Batman thinks he knows everything there is to know about Gotham City and faces the discovery that there are deep secrets about the city that he had no idea about, and the film also emphasizes him fighting his son Damian.

Sing-alongs: Dr. Horrible & Batman's The Music Meister

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Drives Us Bats

People go to comic conventions to geek out, and what's geekier than a good old-fashioned singalong? In addition to one for geek god Joss Whedon's much loved Web series "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," they're also doing one for the musical episode of animated series "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" — which, just like "Dr. Horrible," features singing by the one and only Neil Patrick Harris. In the Batman cartoon, he plays the Music Meister, a Batman villain who makes both heroes and villains sing, as he drops some tunes of his own.

Superman: The Richard Donner Years Celebrity Super Reunion

Superman: The flying sequence

There's a reunion of stars from the first two of the classic Christopher Reeve Superman movies, including Lois Lane herself, Margot Kidder. You can also see the actors who played characters like Jimmy Olsen, several of the villains and more, as well as two of the producers. Find out what you don't know about the movie that broke ground when it came to depicting flight on-screen and, like the ads promised, made you believe a man could fly.

TV writing panels

Two panels will give you a peek into the world of the writers who write some of the hottest shows on TV: "TV Guide Magazine's Fan Favorites Showrunners" and "Inside The Writers' Room: Earth's Mightiest Writers Re-Assemble Redux." The first of those includes legendary TV showrunners like Dan Harmon of "Community" and the minds behind shows including "Orphan Black," "The Goldbergs" and more. Meanwhile, at the writers room panel, you'll get writers who've worked on shows like "Lost," "Firefly," "Heroes," "The Big Bang Theory," "Agent Carter" and more.

Fan culture programming track

This includes a lot of different panels, but it's a sign of the way fandom is shifting — it's a lifestyle that's far more diverse than it used to be, with a lot more gender parity. This track includes panels on topics like body confidence in cosplay, fashion, fitness, race and more. See what sparks your interest and might invite you into having an identity as a fan being a bigger part of your life while not letting anyone make you feel excluded.

There's so much more, like Will Forte doing a panel promoting his new show "The Last Man On Earth," the annual cosplay masquerade and so much more. Tickets are sold out for Saturday, but at press time, tickets were still available for both Friday and Sunday at WonderCon.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

File: A general view during player introductions before game one of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 9, 2015 in Los Angeles.; Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Do you want to track the Dodgers as the new season gets underway, but either don't have cable or are at work during the game? Maybe you want to keep an eye on the boys in blue but have an office job that gives you checks in black and white, and you want to keep your bleeding red for your favorite team from sending your bank account into the red as well. Or maybe you just aren’t going to have access to a TV at the time. Here are four ways to check the Dodgers out this season.

1. Track what’s happening with MLB.com’s free Gameday service

Want to see what’s going on as if the Dodgers game was a video game? You have to pay if you want to watch video (with alternate angles!) or listen to audio with Major League Baseball's MLB.tv service — but you can watch virtual avatars simulating the game with MLB Gameday for free. Just visit MLB.com/scores, then click on the Gameday button beneath the game you want to follow. Or, you can keep it more old school by tracking scores on the scores page — alongside video highlights.

2. Follow what’s going on on Twitter

Want to keep an eye on things but don’t want to stare at a streaming video feed? You can follow what’s happening with Twitter. The Dodgers themselves tweet highlights and results at @Dodgers, plus you can do a search for “Dodgers” or track what’s happening on various popular hashtags, including #Dodgers, #ThinkBlue and #ITFDB (It’s Time For Dodgers Baseball).

3. Listen to the radio, over the air or online

The official Dodgers radio broadcaster in L.A. is AM 570 L.A. Sports. As noted above, you can also pay to listen to audio from MLB.tv — but the service isn't available for local, "in-market" games, which are blacked out as part of their contracts with local broadcasters. The Dodgers broadcasts are also available in Spanish on 1020 AM KTNQ.

4. Stream ESPN on your computer, phone or tablet

ESPN lets you watch the opening day game and others throughout the season online... well, some of you, at least. Due to various cable company deals and other red tape, you have to already be a cable subscriber — sorry, cord cutters — but most major cable company subscribers can log in and stream the Dodgers online, or using ESPN's mobile apps available on iOS and Android. That also means you can find a friend who has cable, and team up with them to watch online — or just hang out at their place for the foreseeable future.

Many other Dodgers games throughout the season will be on SportsNet L.A., but you have to subscribe to Charter Spectrum, Time Warner, or Bright House in the L.A. area to get this channel. However, five of the games this season will be shown on KTLA, expanding your options for potentially checking the Dodgers out. You can find out more in the SportsNet L.A. FAQ.

How are you tracking the Dodgers? Let us know in the comments or by tweeting us at @KPCC.

This story has been updated; it was originally published in 2013.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Aryza Group has expanded its partnership with

Businesses are cutting back on hours to avoid having to provide health care coverage under the new Affordable Care Act.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, who's affected here?

Mark Lacter: Thirty hours a week is the magic number for workers to be considered full time under the new law.  If a business has 50 or more full-time employees, health care coverage has to be provided.  Except that a lot business owners say that the additional cost is going to be a financial killer, so instead, some of them have been cutting back hours to below that 30-hour threshold.  More than 200,000 Californians are at risk of losing hours from the health care law - that according to one study.

Julian: What kinds of businesses are doing this?

Lacter: Restaurant chains have received much of the attention, but the city of Long Beach, as an example, is going to reduce hours for a couple of hundred of its workers.  And, last week came word that the L.A.-based clothing chain Forever 21 will cut some of its full-time employees to a maximum 29-and-a-half hours a week, and classify them as part time.  That touched off an outcry on the Internet - people were saying that Forever 21 was being unfair and greedy - though the company says that only a small number of employees are affected, and that its decision has nothing to do with the Affordable Care Act.  There's really no way to know - Forever 21 is a private company, which means it's not obligated to disclose a whole lot.  What we do know is that those people will be losing their health care coverage.

Julian: And, the ultimate impact on businesses and workers?

Lacter: Steve, you're looking at several years before the picture becomes clear.  Here in California, workers not eligible for health care through their employer can get their own individual coverage, and if their income levels are not over a certain amount, they'd be eligible for Medicaid.  And, let's not forget many businesses already provide coverage for their employees.  So, lots of rhetoric - but, not many conclusions to draw from, which does make you wonder why so many business owners are unwilling to at least give this thing a chance.  Just doesn't seem to be much generosity of spirit for their workers, not to mention any recognition that if people can go to a doctor instead of an emergency room we'd probably all be better off.

Julian: Health care is far from the only controversy for Forever 21, true?

Lacter: In some ways, it's one of the biggest Southern California success stories.  Don Chang emigrated here in 1981 from Korea at the age of 18, opened his first store in Highland Park three years later (it was called Fashion 21), and he never looked back.  Today, revenues are approaching $4 billion.  But, the guy must have some pretty hefty legal bills because his company has been accused of all kinds of workplace violations.  The lawsuits alleged that workers preparing items for the Forever 21 stores didn't receive overtime, that they didn't get required work breaks, that they received substandard wages, and that they worked in dirty and unsafe conditions - sweatshop conditions, essentially.

Julian: Are most of their claims settled out of court?  You don't hear much about them.

Lacter: They are, which means there's usually a minimal amount of media coverage.  If a privately held company decides to keep quiet by not releasing financial results or other operational information, there's not likely to be much of a story - unlike what happens with a company like Apple, which is always under scrutiny.  Sometimes, plaintiffs will try to organize class-action suits, but that's extremely tough when you're dealing with low-wage workers who are often very reluctant to get involved because of their legal status.  And, let's not forget that Forever 21 - like any low-cost retailer - is simply catering to the demand for cheap, stylish clothes that are made as quickly as possible.

Julian: I guess you can't make that happen when wages and benefits are appreciably higher than your competition.

Lacter: The next time you walk into a Forever 21 store and wonder how prices can be so reasonable, that's how.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

When you look at fast growing private companies in the U.S., you need look no further than a small city next to Los Angeles International Airport.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, tell us about the company that's based in El Segundo.

Mark Lacter: It's called Fuhu, Steve - that might ring a bell with some parents because Fuhu is the maker of the Nabi.  The Nabi is an Android tablet for kids, and it's a very cool device that mimics a lot of the capabilities of regular tablet, including the ability to play games and get onto the Web (with controls that parents are able to set up).  Last year, they sold 1.2 million Nabis, and that helped push the El Segundo company to the very top of Inc. magazine's list of fastest-growing businesses.  That's number one on a list of 5,000 companies, with a three-year growth rate of 42,148 percent.  Or, to put it another way, company revenue was $279,000 in 2009; it was almost $118 million in 2012.  Now, by the standards of an Apple or a Samsung, those are still not huge numbers -

Julian: - and maybe that explains why there's been relatively little media coverage of this company.

Lacter: It might also explain why local tech companies in general get short shrift.  Many of them are quite successful, but they're often on the small side, and they're also privately held as opposed to publicly-traded on a stock exchange.  That's one big difference from Silicon Valley, which has so many huge public corporations: Apple, Intel, HP.  L.A. County has only six Fortune 500 companies, and not a single one devoted solely to technology.  In Silicon Valley, there are 22 in the Fortune 500.

Julian: And yet, the L.A. economy has more than held its own without those large corporations.

Lacter: Matter of fact, the accounting firm PriceWaterhouse studied more than two dozen cities around the world to determine where it was easiest to do business (that's based on factors like access to labor), and what they found - somewhat surprisingly - was that L.A. ranked ahead of both San Francisco and Tokyo.  And, you can see evidence of that with the increase in venture capital money coming into all parts of L.A.  Now, it's important to keep an eye on all these up-and-coming companies because these businesses are helping generate higher-wage jobs.  And, for an area with a still-high unemployment rate - still over 10 percent in some places -- that's a big deal.

Julian: Speaking of companies, does anyone want to buy the L.A. Times?

Lacter: The answer is yes - most recently, the controlling owner of the Dodgers, Mark Walter, said he was interested in both the Times and the Chicago Tribune (though there's no way to know whether there are actual discussions taking place).  You also have several local groups, including one that involves billionaire Eli Broad, that have been interested to one degree or another.  But what was thought would be a fairly straightforward auction process has turned enormously complicated.  It's now to the point where the Tribune board has decided spin off the papers into a separate business, and that process will take until next year to complete and could preclude any sales for quite some time after that.

Julian: So, it's Limbo-land for the Times for who knows how long.

Lacter: Steve, it's not that Tribune really wants to keep the newspapers.  But, selling them off presents huge tax implications.  Also, there are assets that the potential buyers thought would be part of the package - assets that include real estate - that Tribune wants to hold onto.  So, what's left to sell are just the newspapers themselves, and frankly, they're among the least valuable properties.

Julian: Now, last week came word that the billionaire Koch brothers, who were believed to be interested in the Tribune properties, decided not to pursue a deal...

Lacter: ...that's right, they don't consider the Times or the other dailies to be economically viable.  You might recall a bit of an outcry over the prospect of having the Kochs, who are staunch conservatives, becoming the owners of these papers.  So, they're out of the picture.  But for the L.A. Times, it's really the worst of all worlds: no new owner and no vision for recasting the paper, at least in the near term.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Now that we have a deal between Time Warner Cable and CBS, we can turn our Hollywood focus back on the movie industry.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, would you agree it's been an up and down summer at the box office?

Mark Lacter: It's been a flaky summer for Hollywood, Steve.  On the plus side, ticket revenue was up more than 10 percent, and attendance increased around six-and-a-half percent compared with last year (this covers the first week of May through Labor Day weekend).  The problem is that the studios and their investors spent huge amounts of money to make a lot of these movies, and they had to compete in a very crowded market - 23 big-budget films came out this summer, which is way higher than normal, and some of them never had a chance.

Julian: Some examples?

Lacter: Probably the biggest clunker was "The Lone Ranger," which could end up losing close to $200 million for Disney.  Another big disappointment was "White House Down," which was distributed by Sony and brought in only $140 million, which for a big-budget action film is really bad.  Even a film like "Pacific Rim," which did well at the box office, might still end up in the red because the production and marketing costs were so high.

Julian: And summer, of course, is the time when studios want to bring out these monster releases -

Lacter: - right, what they call "tent poles" - and in that category, the biggest winner was Disney's "Iron Man," which took in $1.2 billion.  Also having a great summer was "Monsters University" from Pixar, with $700 million.  You also had "Despicable Me 2" and "Fast and Furious 6," which might not be our cup of tea (speak for yourself, it takes me back to my police car days!), but did very well for Universal.  Eight of the top 12 films this summer were sequels - and yet, sequels were no guarantee of success (a number of them really struggled).  And, some non-blockbuster films found considerable success: "Now You See Me" from Lionsgate only cost $75 million to make.

Julian: So, in some ways, Hollywood was its usual unpredictable self.

Lacter: That's right - and don't expect any big changes in strategy when it comes to big-budget films.  The prospect of having huge success with one of these blockbusters is just too great, but perhaps more important is the fact that many of these films are financed by multiple groups of investors, and so the risk is spread around.  It's not like the old days when a studio bankrolled the whole thing.

Julian: Though, sounds like it's bad news for the city of Los Angeles: the "Man of Steel" sequel is going to be shot in Michigan?

Lacter: Mayor Garcetti has actually declared a state of emergency because the city keeps losing business to other states that offer big tax incentives to films - what's known as runaway production.  The truth is that business has been lost over the years, but L.A. is hardly in any danger of losing its spot as the center of entertainment.  And, you can see that with the L.A. County Board of Supervisors signing off on Disney's plan for a TV and movie production facility near Santa Clarita that will add more than a half-million square feet of studio space.

Julian: And, Universal's expanding, too.

Lacter: Earlier this year, Universal was given the approval to build more production facilities, and Paramount is planning an expansion, as well.  Now, these are all very ambitious projects - not the sort of investments that would be made if these studios were looking elsewhere to make movies and TV shows.  And, of course, they mean jobs - actually, employment levels in the entertainment industry have remained fairly steady going back the last decade.

Julian: Are there states that are pulling back their incentives?

Lacter: Yes, the state of North Carolina, which has been especially aggressive in using tax incentives to draw in movies and television going back to the 80s, is phasing out the giveaways because legislators have decided that the economic benefits aren't worth the tax revenues being lost.  And, other states with tax incentive programs are pulling back as well - they're finding that the payback is very difficult to measure.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

When talk turns to the economy, it's clear that LA brings out the best and the worst.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, where do you see the best of it here?

Mark Lacter: You see the best of the economy, Steve, with all kinds of startup activity - much of it tech-related - and you also see the large number of auto sales, the improved housing market, and the record number of people visiting Southern California - all indications of a growing economy.  But then, you have the other L.A. economy, with large numbers of families struggling to make ends meet, and seeing very little sign of recovery.  You know, the government has been releasing income data covering the last few years, and what you see is that the disparity between the richest 1 percent and the other 99 percent is at its widest point since the 1920s.  You especially see that kind of bifurcated economy in Southern California, which has some of the wealthiest people in the country, and also some of the poorest.

Julian: Now, the split between rich and poor has been happening for a good long time, hasn't it?

Lacter: Yes, but L.A. is in a special class because there are so many immigrants with limited job skills - in fact, a new study by the UCLA Anderson Forecast says it's a much higher percentage than immigrants living in Miami, San Francisco, and New York.  What's interesting is that 20 years ago the job skills among immigrants were significantly higher in L.A.  Limited job skills mean there's very little opportunity to move up the income ladder.  That factors into buying homes, sending your kids to college - really becoming part of the middle class.

Julian: I imagine that's particularly true for factory work…

Lacter: Yes, some of the same jobs that newly-arrived immigrants in previous generations would gravitate to.  Today, many of those jobs are gone, and they're being replaced by positions that require greater skill that's borne out of greater education.  And that, of course, is another problem: a sizable percentage of recently-arrived immigrants never finished high school, much less college, and that makes it even less likely that they'll be able to move up.

Julian: Related, or unrelated, to the recession?

Lacter: Actually, L.A. had serious income inequality in December of 2006, before the recession, when the county's unemployment rate was just 4.3 percent - a stunningly low rate when you consider that as of July, the jobless rate was almost 10 percent.  This points out that the division of haves and have-nots can happen even when the economy is doing well.

Julian: And it seems the last C-17 to be built for Air Force is a reminder of wage gap.

Lacter: That's right - it'll be up to foreign customers to keep the program in Long Beach alive.  Boeing currently has an order from India for 10 of the cargo planes, which will keep the line moving through the third quarter of next year.  Frankly, the only reason the C-17 has lasted this long is heavy political pressure by congressional lawmakers whose districts have an economic stake in the program.  At one time, as many as 16,000 people may have worked on the C-17 in Long Beach, but that number has fallen sharply over the years.

Julian: Still, this is the last airplane manufacturing plant in Southern California.

Lacter: And that, of course, speaks volumes about the state of the aerospace business, which had been one of the main economic drivers back in the days leading up to World War II.  Aerospace continued to be very important until the end of the Cold War, when you had a huge industry consolidation that resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of local jobs throughout the 1990s.  There's still quite a bit of aerospace activity locally that involves missiles, satellites, and electronics - both for the major defense contractors like Boeing and Northrop, and for smaller contractors and sub-subcontractors that still get a piece of the military pie.

Julian: But most of them require high skill levels…

Lacter: Yes, and that gets us back to the folks who are stuck in low-paying jobs with little prospect for moving up.  This is what the L.A. economy is all about, the good and the bad.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Sign ups for the Affordable Care Act start in a week, and the program is leading to changes in the way employers handle health coverage.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, what's the most noticeable adjustment?

Mark Lacter: Steve, once you get beyond the squabbling over efforts to defund the new law, what's happening is quite remarkable: businesses are finding new ways to administer and pay for coverage - and some would say it's long overdue.  One interesting example: the grocery chain Trader Joe's, which is based in Monrovia, employs over 20,000 people, and shells out millions of dollars a year in helping provide its people with health insurance.  Well, Trader Joe's has decided to end coverage for part-timers working fewer than 30 hours a week - under the new law businesses are not obligated to provide benefits to employees who work less than that amount.  However, the company is giving those people $500 to go towards the purchase of premiums at the new public exchanges.  And that, along with the tax credits available, could make the new arrangement cost about the same or even cheaper than the current health care package.

Julian: How did TJ's explain this to its employees?

Lacter: The company cited the example of an employee with one child who makes $18 an hour and works 25 hours a week.  Under the old system, she pays $166 a month for coverage; under the new system, she can get a nearly identical plan for $70 a month.  Now, there are cases in which workers will end up paying more - usually it involves having a family member who makes more money, but who doesn't have access to coverage (good example would be an independent contractor or freelancer).  By the way, other companies - including the drug store chain Walgreen's - are also moving part-timers to the public market, and offering some sort of a subsidy.

Julian: I imagine not all companies are being as conscientious...

Lacter: No.  We've seen a number of corporations cut worker hours and not offer a supplemental payment.  Steve, it's worth remembering that administering health insurance is something that businesses fell into quite by accident 60 years or so ago - premiums cost next to nothing at the time, and it was seen as way of attracting workers without having to jack up wages.  The arrangement became more attractive over the years because of certain tax benefits.  But, it's far from ideal - workers move from job to job more often than they used to, and not all businesses are capable of handling the extra costs, especially small businesses.

Julian: Doesn't L.A. have a higher percentage of uninsured than elsewhere?

Lacter: Considerably higher - the Census Bureau show that 21 percent did not have coverage in 2012, which is higher than the overall national number.  Now, there are a bunch of reasons for this: L.A. has a large percentage of households that simply can't afford health insurance or don't have access to government programs, among them undocumented immigrants.  You also have big numbers of people who are self-employed and don't get covered - we're talking about freelancers or consultants of some sort.

Julian: …Or, they work for small businesses whose owners either can't afford, or don't want to provide coverage…

Lacter: That's right - the new law only requires businesses with more than 50 full-time workers to offer health insurance, and a lot of small businesses don't meet that threshold.  The Census Bureau says that in the L.A. area, one in four people with jobs do not have health insurance - and, by the way, there's been a drop-off both in the percentage of businesses in California that offer coverage.

Julian: Sounds dire.  Who picks up the cost?

Lacter: Well, we all do in one way or another - and that, of course, is the problem.  What the Affordable Care Act offers is a start in getting some of the uninsured onto the rolls.  Clearly, it's an imperfect solution that will require all sorts of adjustments, and even though everyone and their uncle seems to have formed a definitive opinion about the new law, it's going to be years before there's any real sense of how it's going.  And, let's remember, signing up for these programs is not some political act.  It's just a way for people to get health insurance for themselves and their families.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The partial federal government shutdown is one week old, but economists are still saying that its impact in Southern California and elsewhere will be limited.

Susanne Whatley: Business analyst Mark Lacter, why is that?

Mark Lacter: If you look back on the history of these things, Susanne, you see that the disputes are resolved before too much damage gets done.  As for Southern California, I notice that KPCC's Alice Walton was asking around over the weekend about the shutdown, and most folks gave it a shrug.  The regional economy is just too diversified - and not especially tied to federal employment.  You have about 46,000 federal workers employed in L.A. County in one capacity or another - that's out of a workforce of nearly 5 million.  And, now it appears as if the federal employees who have been furloughed are going to receive their back wages whenever the shutdown finally ends.

Whatley: That still might make things dicey when it comes time to pay the monthly mortgage...

Lacter: ...but at least money will be available before most folks run into serious liquidity issues.  That's what the shutdown really comes down to - inconvenience rather than dislocation.  And, you see this with the various government services affected: the E-Verify website is down - that lets business owners know whether the people they're wanting to hire can work legally in the U.S., which obviously is important.  The Small Business Administration has stopped processing loan applications, and the Federal Housing Administration is reporting delays in its loan processing, which could mean a home buyer might not complete his or her paperwork all that quickly.

Whatley: But, what if this were to go on for months?

Lacter: Well, then it would create problems, but nobody really thinks that's going to happen.  The real issue, not just nationally and regionally - but globally - is the refusal by Congress to raise the debt ceiling.  The deadline is a week from Thursday, and - of course - there's been all sorts of debate about what this would mean for the economy.

Whatley: All right, so what would this mean for the economy?

Lacter: Well, no one knows exactly.  But, then again, no one knows exactly what would happen if you fell out of a airplane without a parachute.  I just wouldn't want to test it out.  And, of course, let's keep in mind that these are manufactured crises - not reflective of anything that's going on with the real economy.  It's certainly not reflective of anything that's going on in L.A., which saw a big jump in payroll jobs for 2012 - actually it was the sharpest increase since 2005, and nearly double the national rate (that's despite an unemployment rate that remains very high in certain parts of Los Angeles).

Whatley: What about some of the big locally based companies?

Lacter: Well, if your company is publicly traded, there's a good chance your shares took a dip these past few days.  Going back to September 18, the Dow has lost almost 700 points, which - percentage-wise - is not very much, but it is reflective of how uneasy Wall Street has become.  Public companies based in the L.A. area are taking it on the chin - Disney, Amgen, Mattel, DirecTV - their stock prices are all down going back to the middle of September.

Whatley: Even so, hasn't this been a good year for the stock market?

Lacter: It has - those local companies are up anywhere from 13 percent 30 percent year to date, and the Dow is up 14 percent year to date.  Of course, the stock price of a company doesn't always match the amount of money it makes, and this year, even before worries about the debt ceiling, the numbers haven't been as good as they should be at this stage of a recovery.  And, that's why there's particular concern about next week.  You do have to wonder whether a default could have ripple effects involving trade, consumer spending, the dollar - who knows what?  Now, it's still a pretty good bet that saner heads will prevail, although there are no guarantees - and again, if worse came to worse, do you really want to be jumping out of that plane?  Guess we'll find out.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The state's online registration for Covered California has been up for a couple of weeks, and reaction has been mixed.

Steve Julian: Business analyst, Mark Lacter, what's your take on how well Californians are getting into the Affordable Care Act?

Mark Lacter: It's hard to get a good read, Steve, because it's hard to measure the success of what is really a new marketplace.  If you're basing it on the number of unique visitors coming to the Covered California website, well, then the program clearly has attracted lots of interest - they had almost a million visitors during the first week of eligibility.  But, maybe a better measure would be the number of people whose applications actually have been received by the insurance companies that are going to handle the claims.  If that's your measuring stick, then the numbers have been far smaller so far.  Now, it's worth pointing out that California - and particularly L.A. County - have a higher percentage of households without insurance than other parts of the nation, and so you'd expect there to be lots of interest.

Julian: So the question, then, is how many folks turn into actual policyholders paying actual premiums each month.

Lacter: The truth is nobody knows, which is why state officials want to sign up as many people as possible in the early going when the program is getting so much attention.  This is especially true for younger and healthier people who are needed to help offset the cost of caring for older and sicker people.

Julian: And, that's also why any computer glitch can be such a headache...

Lacter: That's right.  Covered California did run into problems in the early going, but everybody agrees that things are going much better than the federal website, which is the default site used by folks in states that don't have their own program to oversee the health care laws.  That federal site has been an utter disaster.  So, by comparison, California is ahead of the game.

Julian: It's a work in progress, even here.

Lacter: Very much so.  The California website still doesn't have a way for enrollees to find out which doctors and hospitals are included in each health plan.  And, that's a big deal because  insurance companies are limiting the options available as a way of keeping premiums low.  So, it's possible that the doctor you had been using for your individual insurance plan will not be on the list of doctors that can be used for one of the cheaper plans.  Of course, for someone who doesn't have any health coverage, none of that is likely to matter.

Julian: And then, there's the continued threat of a U.S. default...

Lacter: You know, Steve, this is like watching the beginning of a bad traffic accident in slow motion - and we're all pretty helpless to do anything about it.  And, so are the financial markets, which are moving back and forth not based on what's going on with the economy or with any industry, but on the latest press conference out of Washington.  One thing we do know is that if the nation does go into quote-unquote default - and we're not even sure what that might mean - but if Wall Street and somehow declares this a major crisis, it's going to be bad.

Julian: Who gets hit?

Lacter: It'll impact anyone who has a retirement account, any business wanting to borrow money, and potentially it's going to impact the budgeting of the state.  You know, one of the things we were reminded of during the Great Recession was how reliant California has been on higher-income individuals who make a lot of their money through the stock market and other investments.  So, when those folks do well - as they have been over the last year - the state coffers will do well.  And when they don't, as was the case in 2008 and 2009, the state takes a huge hit because there's not enough tax dollars coming in.  Gov. Brown and others have tried to lessen the reliance on those top tiers - so far without success.

Julian: And the state's budget situation is so much better than it was a year or two ago.

Lacter: That's the real pity.  And, even if the House and Senate reach a temporary agreement on the debt ceiling, it's just a matter of weeks or months before another deadline crops up - and more uncertainty for the financial markets.  I guess Chick Hearn would have called this nervous time.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Police say TSA agent Gerardo Hernandez was shot and killed last Friday at the base of the escalators of LAX Terminal 3, and not at the checkpoint gates.  Paul Ciancia is accused of killing Hernandez and wounding several others.  Ciancia remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, how did the airlines respond to shooting and its aftermath?

Mark Lacter: Generally pretty well, Steve, considering that the airport was effectively closed for several hours on Friday, and most of Terminal 3 was out of commission until Saturday afternoon.  You know, there's always this precarious balance in operating airlines and airports, even in the best of circumstances.  Just so many flights coming in and going out, and so many thousands people using the facility at any given time - and it really doesn't take much to upset the balance.  So, when you have something horrific take place and you see all those travelers stranded outside the terminals, the ripple effects are enormous - not just at LAX but all over the country.

Julian: More than a thousand flights were either canceled or delayed on Friday.

Lacter: And, there was a further complication because the airlines flying out of Terminal 3 are not the legacy carriers like United, American, and Delta that have all kinds of resources, but smaller operations with less flexibility.  It's not like there's an empty aircraft just sitting in a hangar waiting to take passengers wherever they want to go.  Actually, the airlines have gotten better at arranging re-bookings when there's a snowstorm or some other emergency that gives them advance warning.  But obviously, there was no advance warning last Friday, so the carriers needed to improvise in handling passengers whose flights were cancelled.

Julian: What did they do?

Lacter: One step was waiving the fees normally charged to re-book flights (and that's gotten to be a pretty penny).  Another was waiving the difference in the price of the original ticket and the re-booked ticket.  But, the policies varied according to the airline, and we heard about travelers not receiving hotel or food vouchers, or having to buy a brand new ticket on another airline if they wanted to avoid the wait - and that can be expensive.  Which raises another issue: planes tend to be completely full these days because airlines have been cutting back on the number of flights.  And that can be a problem if you're taking a route that doesn't have too many flights in the first place.  So, it gets really complicated.

Julian: Why do you think we haven't we heard more horror stories from passengers?

Lacter: Well, look at the cities that the airlines in Terminal 3 fly to - New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas.  They're all served by several other carriers.  L.A. to New York, in particular, is one of the busiest routes in the world, which means that it's also one of the most competitive.  So, even if your flight was cancelled, there's a good chance you'd be able to find space by Saturday (which is normally a slower day for air travel).  This is a big reason, in general, why people like LAX.

Julian: Why don't other local airports handle more of the load?

Lacter: You might remember a few years ago local officials were promoting something called "regionalization" - the idea was that as LAX maxed out on the number of passengers it was allowed to handle each year, then other airports would make up the difference - places like Ontario, Bob Hope in Burbank, and John Wayne in Orange County.

Julian: Right, and they talked about easing traffic congestion by spreading around the flights.

Lacter: Well, regionalization never happened because, first of all, passenger levels at L.A. International didn't come close to maxing out.  But, more importantly, because the airlines decided that using LAX was more efficient for everything from handling baggage to arranging international connections.  So, through the first nine months of the year, passenger traffic at LAX is up 4.2 percent from a year earlier, while at Ontario traffic was down 9.3 percent.  And, we've seen that John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Long Beach are all struggling.  Of course, the challenge at a busy place like LAX is making it as safe as possible, and that will no doubt become a priority in the weeks ahead.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Yesterday may have been a holiday on paper, but if you were navigating LA's major freeways, there was no sign people had the day off.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, is this more evidence that Southern California traffic getting worse?

Mark Lacter: Steve, L.A. continues to be the most clogged-up city in the U.S. - according to something called the TomTom Traffic Index - with commuters caught up in delays, on average, 35 percent of the time.  Or, to put it another way, L.A. commuters are in congestion up to 40 minutes of each hour they're driving.  The worst time of the week to commute is Thursday night; that's when there's congestion more than 80 percent of the time.  Monday morning commutes are the lightest.

Julian: After L.A., where should you not live if congestion bugs you?

Lacter: The next worst cities in the U.S. are San Francisco, Honolulu, Seattle, and San Jose.  Now, the Census Bureau comes up with its own commuting surveys, and if you compare the most recent numbers with those back in 2000, you'll see that things aren't all that different.  Matter of fact, the percentage of commuters driving alone to work actually increased a little over the last decade to 72 percent, while the percentage of those carpooling has declined.

Julian: What about public transit?

Lacter: Well, the numbers are up slightly from 2000, but only to 7.3 percent of all commuters.  So, even assuming that the number inches up in the next couple of years when the Expo Line extends into Santa Monica, it's still a smallish piece of the pie.  And, since many of the other public transit projects being planned are decades away from being completed, those numbers might not change much.  One other thing, Steve: less than 1 percent of all L.A. commuters bike to work, which would throw cold water on the idea that biking in L.A. is becoming a popular way of getting to the office.

Julian: People just prefer commuting by car…

Lacter: It remains the most convenient way of getting around - despite the congestion.  New car sales are up 14 percent through the first nine months of the year in Southern California.  Add to that are generally affordable gas prices (they've been especially low in the last few weeks).  In other parts of the world, congestion is considered a good thing because it means that the economy is doing well.  Which explains that while L.A. is the most congested city in the U.S., it doesn't rank among the 10 around the world.  On that front, Moscow is tops, followed by Istanbul, and Rio de Janeiro.

Julian: What about driverless cars?

Lacter: Well, these vehicles hold the most promise for reducing accidents, lowering travel times, and improving fuel economy - and you don't have to give up your car.  Actually, a lot of the technology is already in place - that includes stuff like radar-based cruise control, and devices that keep you at a safe distance from the car in front of you.  The trick, of course, is taking these individual capabilities and integrating them into an entirely driverless car.  Several car companies say they could be ready to start selling by 2020, with Google saying that its car could be ready even sooner.

Julian: Is that realistic?

Lacter: Who knows?  But even if the dates can be met - and that's a big if, considering how complex these systems are - legislatures will have to determine, among other things, whether vehicles can be fully autonomous (meaning that you can curl up and take a nap while the computer is driving by itself).  Or, whether they will only be semi-autonomous, which would be like an airline crew using automatic pilot, but always prepared to take over the controls.

Julian: Is that a liability issue?

Lacter: Yes - if something does go wrong, who will get the blame?  The owner of the vehicle?  The carmaker?  The suppliers of the car companies?  These questions might take years to get resolved in the courts - and even then, it could be years before the percentage of these vehicles on the road is large enough to truly have an impact.  But, considering that most commuters aren't willing to give up their cars, this would seem to be the most exciting, most desirable idea.  One day.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Source: Dr. Douglas Loe 11/12/2024

Sernova Corp. (SVA:TSX.V; SEOVF:OTCQB; PSH:XERTA) should benefit from Sana Biotechnology's recent prioritization of its diabetes-targeted cell therapy programs, reported Leede Financial Inc. analyst Dr. Douglas Loe in a Nov. 6 research note. Now Sana's clinical programs in oncology and Huntington's disease are a secondary focus.

"Our model assumes that Sernova's cell reservoir device Cell Pouch will itself remain focused on Type 1 diabetes, and we are thus encouraged to see a U.S. peer prioritize its pipeline in ways that are consistent with our own views on how priorities in regenerative medicine will evolve in coming years," Loe wrote.

500% Potential Return

Leede has a CA$1.50 per share target price on Sernova, trading at the time of the report at about CA$0.25 per share, noted Loe.

"At current price levels, our price target corresponds to a one-year return of 500%, a return that we believe is imminently achievable by 2025E but likely with a milestone-driven, and not a linear, trajectory," the analyst wrote.

The company is a Speculative Buy.

Synergistic Potential Exists

Loe highlighted that Sernova and Sana could benefit from aligning their programs, on a timeline providing synergies to both.

"We are encouraged to see a leading regenerative firm choose to expedite its diabetes cell therapy program in preference to other initiatives that it could fund if it chose to," Loe wrote. "This is consistent with our own view that the most attractive medical market for regenerative firms, and for Sernova, to target is the large and growing diabetes market both for economic and technical reasons."

Sana's Diabetes Programs

Sana's primary focus is its program to treat Type 1 diabetes with its Phase 1-stage, hypo-immune platform (HIP)-modified primary pancreatic islet cell therapy UP421 and its preclinical HIP-modified, stem cell-derived pancreatic islet platform SC451.

Through this platform, regenerative cell therapies can be modified genetically to evade immune detection post implantation. This is achieved by reducing expression of major histocompatibility-complex, classes one and two human leukocyte antigens while increasing expression of CD24. This is a surface protein found on stem cells in the pancreas.

Sernova's Cell Reservoir Platform

As for Sernova, it has a well-vascularized, sustainably functioning cell reservoir platform, Cell Pouch, proven for some time. Development of regenerative islet platform technology is now catching up. Sernova has a clinical trial underway that combines the two technologies. This Phase 1 trial in diabetes, in partnership with the University of Chicago, already has shown "impressive long-term insulin independence data" up to five years in some study participants.

This is "well beyond what we believe is a reasonable threshold for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require for future Cell Pouch approval, at least for Type 1 diabetes," Loe wrote.

Currently, with regard to this program, Sernova optimizing background immunosuppression in Cell Pouch patients. Details of its new immunosuppressive regimen are expected in the biotech's next Phase 1 study update, likely in early H1/25.

"Future enrollees could be subjected to novel immunosuppressive therapies that conceivably could extend islet survival and perhaps even reduce the immunosuppressive burden that transplant patients must endure at present," Loe commented.

Further, Sernova is considering conducting a Phase 1 study using its Cell Pouch and Evotec AG's stem-cell-derived iBeta platform to treat diabetes. Before this can happen, though, Evotec needs to be able to produce iBeta at a clinical scale, which Loe expects can happen by H2/25.

"We see no reason why Sana and its UP421/SC451 modified islet platforms could not be incorporated into a Cell Pouch environment as a way to sustain their therapeutic half-life in the body post-implantation," wrote Loe.

Possible Stock Price Movers

Loe provided a handful of potential catalysts for Sernova's share price. They are:

1) Sernova's conclusion of its ongoing Phase 1 study in Type 1 diabetes with the University of Chicago, which Loe asserted should happen a quickly as possible given available capital. Also, the biotech should incorporate into this trial or a separate one to commence soon after, regeneratively produced pancreatic islets.

2) Sernova, in partnership with Sana, launching a Phase 1 iBeta/Cell Pouch trial late next year, which could boost Sernova's share price.

3) Sernova identifying additional developers of regenerative cell therapies with which it could combine Cell Pouch in mutually beneficial ways.

4) Sernova starting clinical programs in hemophilia A and in thyroid disease, expected to happen in the coming quarters.

5) Sernova incorporating its confocal cell coating technology into one or more future protocols for stem cell-derived pancreatic islet production, even its current Phase 1 diabetes trial with the University of Chicago. Before this can happen, however, coating polymer composition and manufacturing methodologies must be honed to meet good manufacturing practices specifications.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Sernova Corp. has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Sernova Corp.
3. Doresa Banning wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
5. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

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Disclosures for Leede Financial Inc., Sernova Corp., November 6, 2024

Important Information and Legal Disclaimers Leede Financial Inc. (Leede) is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). This document is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security or instrument or to participate in any particular investing strategy. Data from various sources were used in the preparation of these documents; the information is believed but in no way warranted to be reliable, accurate and appropriate. All information is as of the date of publication and is subject to change without notice. Any opinions or recommendations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Leede. Leede cannot accept any trading instructions via e-mail as the timely receipt of e-mail messages, or their integrity over the Internet, cannot be guaranteed. Dividend yields change as stock prices change, and companies may change or cancel dividend payments in the future. All securities involve varying amounts of risk, and their values will fluctuate, and the fluctuation of foreign currency exchange rates will also impact your investment returns if measured in Canadian Dollars. Past performance does not guarantee future returns, investments may increase or decrease in value, and you may lose money. Leede employees may buy and sell shares of the companies that are recommended for their own accounts and for the accounts of other clients. Disclosure codes are used in accordance with Policy 3600 of CIRO.

The analyst or any associate of the analyst responsible for the report or public comment hold shares or is short any of the company's securities directly or through derivatives.

Leede provided investment banking services for the company during the 12 months preceding the publication of the research report.

Dissemination All final research reports are disseminated to existing and potential institutional clients of Leede Financial Inc. (Leede) in electronic form to intended recipients thorough e-mail and third-party aggregators. Research reports are posted to the Leede website and are accessible to customers who are entitled to the firm’s research. Reproduction of this report in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Research Analyst Certification The Research Analyst(s) who prepare this report certify that their respective report accurately reflects his/her personal opinion and that no part of his/her compensation was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views as to the securities or companies. Leede Financial Inc. (Leede) compensates its research analysts from a variety of sources and research analysts may or may not receive compensation based upon Leede investment banking revenue.

Canadian Disclosures This research has been approved by Leede Financial Inc. (Leede), which accepts sole responsibility for this research and its dissemination in Canada. Leede is registered and regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Canadian clients wishing to effect transactions in any designated investment discussed should do so through a Leede Registered Representative.

U.S. Disclosures This research report was prepared by Leede Financial Inc. (Leede). Leede is registered and regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). This report does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities discussed herein. Leede is not registered as a broker-dealer in the United States and is not subject to U.S. rules regarding the preparation of research reports and the independence of research analysts. Any resulting transactions should be effected through a U.S. broker-dealer.

( Companies Mentioned: SVA:TSX.V;SEOVF:OTCQB;PSH:XERTA, )

I know these Presidential debates aren’t debates in the historical sense.  Regardless, I’m looking forward to seeing how both men do on a topic of immense complexity.  Is Mitt Romney going to be more forthcoming about what tax deductions he’d want cut to keep his tax reform plan from ballooning the deficit?  Will President Obama  give more detail about how he would improve the economy, short of a government stimulus that could never get through a GOP Congress?

I’ll be live tweeting during the debate.  Join me @AirTalk #debates.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

I’ll be live tweeting @AirTalk tonight during the debate.  Of greatest interest to me about President Obama is whether he’ll be able to crisply make his arguments and maintain a high level of energy for the full 90-minutes.  With Mitt Romney I’ll be looking to see whether he can loosen up in the town hall format and make a good connection with the questioners.

What was most striking for me about the first debate was how strongly Romney played with women.  That had been a huge problem for him throughout the campaign.  In fact, a couple of months ago I joked about the “ten single women in the country who were voting for Romney.”  He found a way to connect with women two weeks ago and he’ll attempt to build on that tonight.  The President, obviously, hopes to reverse his loss.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In the second of the three Presidential debates, President Obama displayed the passion he lacked the first time around.  He also made his arguments more concisely, and didn't shy away from direct engagement with Mitt Romney.  Snap polls after the debate show most viewers and listeners though Obama won the debate, though the percentages weren't nearly as overwhelming as Romney's advantage last time out.

Will the President's apparent victory show up in the polls as dramatically as Romney's previous win?  What will the stakes be like for next Monday's final, tie-breaking, matchup?

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

US President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney debate on October 16, 2012 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Undecided voters asked questions during a town hall format.; Credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

There continue to be questions about how moderators approach Presidential debates and about whether the extra time President Obama has received in the first two debates indicates moderator bias in his favor. 

I had chalked up the concerns to Republican hyper-partisanship, such as we saw with many Democrats criticizing Jim Lehrer for his moderating — as though Obama would’ve won the first debate if only Lehrer had asserted himself more.   However, even CNN has been doing significant follow-up on its own Candy Crowley’s performance in debate number two. 

Maybe it’s not just hardcore GOP loyalists who are questioning Crowley’s decision-making on when to cut in and when to allow the candidates to take more time. I thought she did pretty well, but there are plenty of critics.

As someone who has moderated hundreds of debates, I thought I’d share my thoughts on what we’ve seen so far in this election. Though I’ve never moderated a Presidential debate, with its incredible level of attention, concern about rules, and demands by campaigns, there are certain fundamentals regardless of the office or issue at stake.

Time Doesn't Matter...Too Much
First, as strange as this may sound, the time taken by each candidate has little to do with who has an advantage.   Yes, it’s always possible for a candidate to use another minute to fire off the defining line of the night. However, the well-practiced zingers or essential policy explainers are not left to the end of a candidate’s statement, as the clock is running out. 

I’m sure Mitt Romney wasn’t thinking after the last debate, “If only I would’ve had that extra 90-seconds, and Obama hadn’t gotten 90 more than he deserved.”  Both men front-loaded their major talking points and were going to get them in. Neither man could legitimately say he didn’t have a chance to make his strongest points. At some point, a time advantage could make a difference in who wins or loses, but an extra 90-seconds in a debate longer than 90-minutes isn’t going to do it.

Serving The Audience
As a moderator, you also have to think about what best serves your audience. I never guarantee candidates equal time, as it’s my job to serve the listeners, not their campaigns. I strive to get close to equal time, but can’t make any guarantee. Some speakers get to the point succinctly and have their points well put together. Others are messier in their arguments and eat up time just building up any head of steam. 

If the moderator holds to a strict time limit, you run the risk of frustrating listeners by cutting off the rambler just as the candidate is getting to the point. There are methods a moderator can use to help guide the speaker toward being more succinct, but there’s no guarantee the person will be able to comply.

Isn’t this inherently unfair to the succinct speaker? No. The purpose of the debate is to allow the ideas to compete.  It’s not a boxing match that’s about landing punches in a given time. The succinct debater has a big advantage, regardless of how much time the candidate has. That’s why Mitt Romney’s victory in the first debate was so lopsided — he won on the conciseness and clarity of his answers, coupled with Obama’s inability to get to his central points.  Obviously, there are those who thought Obama’s arguments were still more compelling than Romney’s, and that Romney lacked essential details.  However, for most viewers of the first debate, it was stylistically no contest.

Equal Time Is Not A Guarantee
When candidates are allowed to talk to each other directly, it’s very difficult to assure equal time. Even CNN’s clock that registers elapsed time for each candidate is subject to squishiness. Unless a debate is extremely formal, with carefully controlled time limits and a ban on candidates following-up with each other, you’re only going to have an approximation of time balance. I thought Crowley did pretty well to land the second debate with the balance she did. I’m not sure I could get it that close for a debate of that length. She had the added challenge of trying to determine when to cut in on President Obama’s lengthier answers. Also, Romney’s speaking rhythm allows more space for interruption. It’s tougher to break in on Obama.

Moderating Is A Balancing Act
Moderators are always trying to balance a need to move on to the next topic with allowing a candidate to answer an opponent’s charge. Sometimes, you open that door for a candidate, only to regret it later when the politician starts into a monologue, instead of confining the response to the previous challenge. Sometimes moderators, having gotten burned, will become less tolerant of such expansive rebuttals, as the debate goes on. Moderators are always juggling competing goals, and it’s a difficult job (at least for me).

Unfortunately, there are those who think debate moderators attempt to influence the outcome of the debate and the performances of the candidates. Maybe I’m naïve, but I can’t imagine any journalist who’s worked hard enough to get to the position of Presidential debate moderator subordinating his or her career in an effort to getting someone elected. Mainstream political journalism is like national sports reporting. You really don’t care who wins the Super Bowl, you want great story lines to explore with your audience. Yes, sports reporters have affinities for the hometown teams of their youth, but that can’t compete with the professional goal of covering great stories. 

Yes, most journalists in mainstream media probably have a stronger cultural and political affinity for Obama, as he’s more like them. However, it doesn’t mean a journalist is going to sacrifice the better story to intentionally provide a benefit to the President.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Yes, we've finally reached the culminating day that we've been pointing to for the past 18 months -- Election Day!  However, it's quite different from those of the past.  An estimated 40% of voters have already cast ballots, so it makes the actual day a bit less climactic.  We might also lack a clear winner by Wednesday morning. 

It's possible that the swing state votes are so close that it's impossible to accurately determine the electoral vote.  Then we'll have to exercise extreme patience through the official counts and inevitable legal challenges.  It could be a mess.

It could also, of course, be over by the time polls close in California.  We only have a few hours to wait until we'll know.

I'll be anchoring KPCC's election night coverage, starting at 8 p.m.  NPR's coverage starts us off at 5 p.m., and we'll intersperse national and California returns into our comprehensive KPCC coverage until late Tuesday night.  I hope you'll join me, Patt Morrison, and the full KPCC news team.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

His expression said it all.  KPCC Director of On-Air Fundraising Rob Risko walked into my studio about 10:45 a.m. to update me on where we stood with our Fall member drive.  I knew we had a $10,000 challenge that had started first thing in the morning, but didn't have any idea how far behind we had fallen in reaching the required 1,000 member threshold.

 Rob gave it to me straight -- we had to attract well over 500 members during "AirTalk" to meet the challenge.  I knew that was nearly impossible during a full two-hour show, let alone one that would be significantly pre-empted by the President's news conference.  Regardless, I knew we had to do our best and hope our listeners would contribute in a record-setting way.  Boy, did they.

We didn't start our show until 11:25 a.m., following the news conference.  Right off the bat the phones started ringing and the KPCC website starting humming.  The volume of member contributions stayed high with only a few exceptions.  There were times we could barely keep track of how many members were coming in.  It was one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences I've had in all my years hosting "AirTalk."

I've been on a high all afternoon thinking about how commited our listeners are to the mission of KPCC.  You've made me very happy, and very proud of our audience.  Thank you for a wonderful show of support.  I will long remember this day.

By the way, we set a fundraising record for "AirTalk" with today's show.  We're still tallying it all up.  I'll have the totals for you tomorrow morning at 11.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

When "Offramp" host John Rabe's father, Bill, created the list at Lake Superior State University in Michigan he likely didn't know it would thrive nearly 40 years later.  As language evolves there should never be a shortage of words and phrases we want to "kick to the curb."

This morning on "AirTalk," I asked listeners to pick the ones they "hate on."  We got some good ones, including my overused "unpack," as in "let's unpack that idea."  Falling into word patterns can happen so subtly that we don't even know it until someone points it out.

My nomination for the list -- "it is what it is."   What are yours?

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Director Michael Apted (L) with Larry Mantle in the AirTalk studio.

This past Wednesday on "AirTalk," film director Michael Apted came in to talk with us about his eighth documentary in the series that's followed the lives of 13 people, beginning in 1964 when the kids were seven.  They've shared their stories with Apted every seven years, and he's clearly invested a lot of emotion into this project.

"56 Up" is wonderful for how it shows the mid-life evolution of the participants.  Apted includes scenes from earlier interviews, so that we see what aspects of today's 56-year-olds were present in childhood and what turns their lives have made over these years. 

"56 Up" is showing at the Nuart in West Los Angeles, and Apted will be doing Q-and-A at some of the screenings.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Life is already hard enough, but with teen daughters—  of which I have two, ages 15 and 16 -- well, let's just say that, what with everything going on these days, my mind is a bit addled. And my latest TV obsession isn't exactly helping.

"I have such a sense of dystopia," I complained to my friend Carol. 

She replied: "Maybe you should stop binge-watching The Handmaid's Tale!

It's true.  I've watched so many hours of The Handmaid's Tale, I've started to involuntarily greet people with, "Blessed be the day," "Blessed be!"  If that's not  familiar to you, you're probably not aware that in the oppressive futuristic society depicted here—?   Fertile young women are farmed out to "commanders" and forced to have sex with them between their wives' legs, in order to birth mutant babies. . .

I'm old enough to remember "Happy Days."  Do you remember the sitcom "Happy Days"?  What was it about?  Days. . . that were Happy!  Teens hanging around the jukebox!  With poodle skirts!  The Fonz!  Having shenanigans! 

So I resolve to turn off the news—  Except for the headlines that actually leap out of the radio—  And maul you, like a wolverine—   Ever seen that?  Anyway—

I also take a break from The Handmaid's Tale—  I turn instead to the comedy Grace and Frankie, with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin!  I embrace their comforting presences like the stylish pashmina throw either might wear—  If The Cheese Nun was still on?  I would binge-watch that!  Very reassuring.  The Cheese and the Nun.

But then I start getting emails -- the Concerned Parent E-Blasts I don't recall ever signing up for, a la—?  "Does your teen get enough sleep?"  No.  "Is your teen ready for the SAT?"  No. "Does your teen eat too much sugar and waste a lot of time?"  Yes.   Apparently that's abnormal behavior and there's medication for that.  Good to know!

 Well—  The truly alarming news is that—  Often unbeknownst to their parents— All of our teens are secretly watching this new TV series called "13 Reasons Why."  As in, 13 reasons why this teenage girl commits suicide.  She leaves behind the reasons in a box of tapes.  One reason is rape.  Shown on screen. 

It's a long way from Happy Days.

As a responsible parent, I need to talk to my daughters. . . about this show.

 Next week: A Visit with Dr. Mom.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Life is stressful enough.  And now—?  I've been getting all these alarming missives from parenting organizations about the Netflix series "13 Reasons Why."  As in, 13 reasons why this teenaged girl commits suicide—  Which is depicted on screen, as is a rape!  Yikes!  Apparently all teens are secretly streaming it, so we parents need to open up the conversation.

But then I'm thinking: What if my two teen daughters are the only teens not watching it?  And then my raising the topic would be—what do you call it?  A trigger?  It's so confusing these days!  College campuses are full of "safe spaces"—  But middle schoolers can stream suicide shows!

And my younger daughter?  She's already fluttery, like a leaf.  Sample text—and I can't convey how terrifying these words look on one's phone: "Mom.  Mom.  Mom.  Please!  I'm so scared.  I don't know what to do!  Help me!"  Situation?  She was in the bathroom at Starbucks and the toilet wouldn't flush.  Fortunately Dr. Mom was right outside the door.

So with this one, driving home from school, I just ask, with an odd vague heartiness: "So. . . What movies or TV shows are all the kids watching these days?"

"All the kids?" she says.  "What are you talking about?  What kids?"

"You kids!" I say.  "You!  You and your peeps!"

"What?" she says.  "Nothing."  She goes on instead to describe her traumatic field trip.  Instead of studying tide pools at a nice quiet museum, her class went to the actual beach!  She slipped on a rock and all these kids from the Medical Magnet too-eagerly stormed her with gauze and bandages! 

Okay.  I'll let that fragile kid be.  Now it's on to my older, more sophisticated daughter.  The one with the nose ring—at least it's fake.  I ask her bluntly: "So, what's the deal with this '13 Reasons Why' show?"

 She groans.  "I already read the book back in sixth grade."
 

"In sixth grade?" I exclaim.

Apparently at her old middle school, everyone was reading books about teen suicide—  Which appears to have been an actual cottage industry, possibly it's own Young Adult genre.  Sheesh!  What happened to Nancy Drew?

She says she did watch the show but stopped during the rape scene, which was a bit much.  In fact, now, on social media, the show's premise had surfaced as a joke meme.  As in, "I asked to borrow a pencil.  You said you didn't have one."  Ominous pause.  "It's one of the 13 Reasons Why." Ba-dum-bum.

In the end, Dr. Mom felt a bit out of her league.  I guess I'll just have to trust that the teens are going to be fine.  And to be on hand to flush the toilet.}
 

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The Getty spent $65m (and change) for this late Manet masterpiece, "Spring."

A  132-year-old vision of springtime has landed permanently at the Getty Museum, smack in the middle of this California autumn: "Spring (Jeanne Demarsy)," one of Impressionist painter Edouard Manet’s  last completed pictures.

Here's what Getty Director Timothy Potts had to say about the artist:

Manet was the ultimate painter’s painter: totally committed to his craft, solidly grounded in the history of painting and yet determined to carve out a new path for himself and for modern art. ... Alone of his contemporaries (the only one who comes near is Degas), Manet achieved this almost impossible balancing act, absorbing and channeling the achievements of the past into a radically new vision of what painting could be.

"Spring" somehow manages to be the evocation of youth itself and all its hopes. The subject is 16-year-old actress Jeanne Demarsy, just then seeing her stage career ascend at the same time Manet neared the end of his own career. (He died at age 51 in 1883,  soon after the painting went on display.) 

For most of the years since its creation, the picture has been in private hands. It was recently on loan to the National Gallery.

Getty Assistant Curator Scott Allan said that the Getty worked hard to acquire "Spring" and was lucky to get her. According to news reports, the Christie's auction price paid was an eyebrow-lifting $65 million — about double the top previous sale price for a Manet. "We don’t discuss the price," Potts said.

At the Getty, "Spring (Jeanne Demarsy)" hangs next to an early Manet in the museum's Impressionist-Post Impressionist gallery. It was intended to be one of the "Four Seasons" by the late-19th century French master. The series was never completed (although "Autumn" hangs in a museum in France).

(More seasoning: Manet's "Autumn." Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy, France)

Allan said that, unlike many of Manet's early works, "Spring" was intended to hang in the Salon, the French art establishment’s showplace of traditional painting, which had rejected innovators like the Impressionists for decades. That led most of the Impressionists to disdain the Salon. But Allan said Manet was extremely pleased that his late work was accepted there. 

Here's Potts again:

So popular was it that "Spring" became the subject of one of the first color photographs of a work of art. Its acquisition by the Getty brings to Los Angeles the most important — and beautiful! — painting by this artist left in private hands and one of the great masterpieces of late-19th-century art. 

The painting depicts a lovely teenager, dressed in the peak of 1880s fashion in a blue-on-white printed dress; a flowered, fringed hat; and a parasol balanced on her left shoulder. The background features white rhododendrons, barely in blossom.

Mlle. Demarsy stares off to the left, the demure image of a confident young woman at the earliest spring of her adulthood, with an entire creative life before her, already immortalized before the world by one of the century’s greatest artists.

But Manet was himself at the peak of his accomplishments,  just before his sudden demise.
 
"Spring" became one of Manet’s most popular works, deeply appreciated by art lovers young and old and by critics of both the old guard and the avant garde. It was his last picture to hang in the Salon. Manet’s powers would soon decline, and he devoted much of his last few months to watercolors, said Allan.

(Getty director Timothy Potts looks at the Getty's new painting, Manet's "Spring." Getty Museum)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

One of 4,000 "The Far Side" panels Gary Larson drew over 14 years. The full collection is now out in paperback.; Credit: Gary Larson

Off-Ramp animation expert Charles Solomon reviews "The Complete Far Side: 1980-1994" by Gary Larson.

It’s hard to believe the last panel of Gary Larson’s wildly popular comic strip “The Far Side” ran 20 years ago: January 1, 1995. The comics page of the LA Times (and many other papers) still feels empty without it.

RELATED: Charles Solomon interviews artists responsible for look of "Big Hero 6"

During its 14-year run, "The Far Side" brought a new style of humor to newspaper comics that was weird, outré and hilarious. The strip became an international phenomenon, appearing in over 1,900 newspapers worldwide. Larson won both the National Cartoonists' Society Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year and the Best Syndicated Panel Award. An exhibit of original artwork from the strip broke attendance records at natural history museums in San Francisco, Denver and here in L.A. Fans bought tens of millions of "Far Side" books and calendars.

Much of the humor in “The Far Side” derived from Larson's seemingly effortless juxtaposition of the mundane and bizarre. When a bug-housewife declares "I'm leaving you, Charles...and I'm taking the grubs with me," it's the utter normalcy of the scene that makes it so funny. Mrs. Bug wears cats eye glasses, while Mr. Bug reads his newspaper in an easy chair with a doily on the back.

Or, a mummy sits an office waiting room reading a magazine while a secretary says into the intercom, “Mr. Bailey? There’s a gentlemen here who claims an ancestor of your once defiled his crypt, and now you’re the last remaining Bailey and … oh, something about a curse. Should I send him in?”

"The Complete Far Side" contains every strip ever syndicated: more than 4,000 panels. It should probably come with a warning label, "Caution: reading this book may result in hyperventilation from uncontrollable laughter." Except for a few references to Leona Helmsley or other now-forgotten figures, Larson’s humor remains as offbeat and funny as it was when the strips were first printed.

Andrews and McMeel initially released this collection in 2003 in two hardbound volumes that weighed close to 10 pounds apiece. You needed a sturdy table to read them. The three volumes in the paperback re-issue weigh in around three pounds and can be held comfortably in the lap for a while.

Because “The Far Side” ended two decades ago, many people under 30 don’t know it. The reprinted collection offers geezers (35 or older) a chance to give a present that should delight to that impossible-to-shop-for son, daughter, niece or nephew. How often does an older adult get a chance to appear cool at Christmas or Hanuka? 

And if that ingrate kid doesn’t appreciate it, "The Complete Far Side" also makes an excellent self-indulgence.

Charles Solomon lends his animatio expertise to Off-Ramp and Filmweek on Airtalk, and has just been awarded the Annie's (The International Animated Film Society) June Foray Award, "for his significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation." Congratulations, Charles!

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Rob Marshall is either the bravest director in Hollywood or the most foolhardy. Three of his five theatrical films — the musicals "Chicago," "Nine" and now "Into the Woods" — don't just invite comparison to the eccentric genius of other artists, they insist on it.

Originally a Bob Fosse stage project, "Chicago" was so imbued with Fosse's vitriolic spirit that even in Marshall's more straightforward hands the movie version felt like the missing piece in a triptych with Fosse's "Cabaret" and "All That Jazz."

"Nine" is the musical created from Fellini's masterpiece "8 1/2."

(Marcello Mastroianni in Fellini's "8 1/2")

Odd enough that someone thought Fellini's intimate but epic fugue on his own creative doubts and sexual fantasies should be adapted by others for Broadway; stranger still to re-import the hybrid back to the screen, in the workmanlike form Marshall gave to it.

And now we have "Into the Woods," a film placing Marshall in the long line of moviemakers defeated by Sondheim's difficult musical brilliance and penchant for challenging material. It's distinguished company, reaching back all the way to "A Hard Day's Night" director Richard Lester's re-invention of "A Funny Thing Happened (On the Way to the Forum)" as a kind of psychedelic Keystone Cops movie, and forward to Tim Burton's more adept but still wrong-headed Murnau-meets-Hammer-Horror approach to "Sweeney Todd."

Even director Hal Prince, the principal theatrical collaborator during Sondheim's most fertile and formative period, made an absolute hash of their shared stage success "A Little Night Music" in a film version later disavowed by both men, and mostly remembered for Elizabeth Taylor's chirpy and discernibly flat rendition of "Send in the Clowns."

Liz singing "Send in the Flat Clowns"

It's just possible that the real problem is that Sondheim's self-reflexive and deconstructive impulse (his musicals are almost always and to varying degrees commentaries on the Musical itself) makes his projects unfit for screen adaptation. In movies, we miss the artifice of the proscenium, the sweat on the actor's brow. But if any of Sondheim's late-period projects held out the hope of a successful movie version it was surely "Into the Woods," a droll recombination of the fairytale form's literary DNA into something like Sondheim's masterpiece "Company," set in a realm of magic beanstalks and slippers made of glass.

The characters are straight out of the Disney pantheon (or "Shrek"): Cinderella meets Rapunzel meets Red Riding Hood meets Jack and his Beanstalk, with a generic Wicked Witch, a couple of not so charming Prince Charmings, plus a peasant couple thrown in. But the issues at stake — marital fidelity, raising children, the fear of aging and death — are complicated, and filled with gray tones which Sondheim and librettist James Lapine masterfully etched across the fairytale's Manichean black and white.

What seemed audacious when Sondheim and Lapine conceived it in 1987 ought to fit comfortably into the era of "Sleepy Hollow" and "Maleficent," but in Marshall's hands, it does not. The good news is that though populated by what old school TV shows used to call a Galaxy of Today's Brightest Stars (Anna Kendrick as an appealingly unglamorous Cinderella; Chris Pine as the nymphomaniac Prince who stalks her; Meryl Streep quite moving in the Wicked Witch role made famous on Broadway by Bernadette Peters) this is mostly a very well-sung movie. There have been controversial excisions and revisions (enabled by Lapine, who is Marshall's screenwriter), but as an introduction to one of Sondheim's more beloved scores, "Into the Woods" makes for a solid musical primer.

WATCH: The "Into the Woods" trailer

But though Marshall has taken a lot of flack for daring to cut out characters (most notably the stage production's Narrator, who served as a kind of Greek Chorus in the original) and for softening plot points (Rapunzel died onstage), the big problem is that Marshall isn't nearly ruthless enough in rethinking "Into the Woods" as an honest-to-God movie. There are many moments (Johnny Depp ending a scene with a stagy howl at the Moon that virtually screams "and... fade out!;" the unseen death of a major character) where Marshall embraces the limitations of stagecraft when something bigger and more cinematic is needed, as if afraid to mar the pedigree of Broadway with Hollywood's debased visual stamp.

"Giants in the Sky," Jack's coming-of-age number, where he describes finding manhood in the sexual and physical dangers available above the clouds in the Giant's Castle, is a showstopper onstage, where we're willing to accept rhetoric in place of physical immediacy. Onscreen, it's simply frustrating for a character to suddenly appear and tell us he's just had the adventure of a lifetime, and that it's too bad we missed it.

The Woods themselves — both character and symbol onstage, a kind of living maze representing moral confusion — are lush here and geographically nondescript, like a particularly plush unit set, done up in a generic Lloyd Webber-meets-Disney house style.

Perhaps most unfortunately of all, Marshall seems constitutionally incapable of conveying the pervasive satiric impulse at the heart of the Sondheim/Lapine original, which could have been called "What Happens After Happily Ever After." Without ironic distancing, the film's second half, where the characters betray each other in decidedly contemporary sexual and self-interested terms, plays as non-sequitur.

It's possible to imagine a more idiosyncratic movie director who both understands and embraces the arsenal of cinematic effects available through editing, camera movement and design transforming "Into the Woods" into a rousing cinematic triumph — the young Terry Gilliam comes to mind. But Hollywood doesn't really embrace its daring cranks and visionaries very often, as Gilliam's difficult career demonstrates. Whenever possible, today's studios like to import genius at a safe remove, and then hand it off to a reliable journeyman who won't make waves or piss off the suits. The limitations of that approach are visible in every scene of "Into the Woods," and perhaps they explain its failure best of all. It's one thing not to be up to the task of adapting a work of odd brilliance. It's something else again to not even take it on.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter arrive at the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Festival Awards Gala at Palm Springs Convention Center on January 3, 2015 in Palm Springs, California.; Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival opened this weekend, distinguished by robust audience turnouts, megawatt celebrity visitations and constant reminders of the unique space PSIFF occupies and the specialized services it provides to Hollywood.

Falling as it does just before Sundance and just after the Golden Globes nominations, Palm Springs is as much a part of the awards season calendar as it is the festival circuit. Big ticket screenings are presented with all the photo op pomp that would greet a major world premiere at, say, the Los Angeles Film Festival, but in many cases this is to build buzz for (or to re-energize) films that are already in theaters.

At Sundance or Tribeca, the suspense is usually about whether the films in competition will get good reviews and/or find distribution. At Palm Springs, especially on opening weekend, it's more about whether you'll run into Brad Pitt in the guest and industry suite at the Renaissance Hotel.

At the PSIFF awards gala, Golden Globe nominee Reese Witherspoon took home the oddly gender specific Chairman's Award for her performance in "Wild."

J.K. Simmons received something called a Spotlight Award for his superb turn as the menacing music instructor in "Whiplash."

David Oyelowo grabbed the "Breakthrough Performance Award (Male)" for depicting Martin Luther King Jr. in "Selma." Brad Pitt's sing-along presentation of Oyelowo's award became the meme for much of the post-event press coverage.

Sing-a-long with Brad Pitt

Rosamund Pike got the "Breakthrough Performance Award (Female)" for "Gone Girl."

Michael Keaton presented the Director of the Year award to his "Birdman" collaborator Alejandro G. Iñárritu.

And the Palm Spring Convention Center stage was home to two young British heartthrobs who are in Oscar contention this year for period biopics about scientific genius: Eddie Redmayne, who grabbed the Desert Palm Achievement Award (Male) for portraying ALS sufferer Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything," and Benedict Cumberbatch, who split glory with the cast of the Alan Turing biography "The Imitation Game" as co-winner of the Ensemble Performance Award.

The Desert Palm Achievement Award (Female) went to Julianne Moore in the Alzheimer's drama "Still Alice."

Every single one of the movies honored is in theaters now, almost all of them in the midst of slowly expanding release patterns as they mount their long slow march toward the Academy Awards.

The generous "one award per movie" policy and the care with which PSIFF avoids alienating celebrity affections by giving out trophies with such blunt and unequivocal titles as "Best Actress" or "Best Actor" mark the PSIFF awards gala as a psuedo-event: a kind of open-armed Hollywood team huddle before things get grim and serious with the Oscar announcements at the end of the month.

Even an Oscar-worthy oddity like Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" managed to find a place in the parade, with Linklater, who directed Shirley MacLaine in the 2010 black comedy "Bernie," presenting the 80-year-old actress with the Sonny Bono Visionary Award, essentially for career achievement.

Meanwhile, the festival's generous supply of indie, studio and foreign movies churned away in various local movie theaters, a really quite remarkable cluster of buzzworthy pictures, almost all of which have played elsewhere, including at Sundance and Toronto and Tribeca, and in many cases at your local multiplex.

This programming approach can be a double-edged sword. Director Ava DuVernay, whose civil rights-era epic "Selma" opened the festival, was unable to stay for her full run of Palm Springs personal appearances because her movie has been out long enough to spark a rather bitter controversy over its depiction of President Lyndon Johnson. DuVernay abandoned a Palm Springs Q and A in order to defend her film on Charlie Rose. 

While some audience members were bitterly disappointed at missing the chance to hear one of this year's golden ones, I'm sure the PSIFF Board of Governors understood completely. This time of year, you have to play the long game, and, in the words of the civil rights anthem, "keep your eyes on the prize."

Off-Ramp contributor R.H. Greene, former editor of Boxoffice Magazine, is in Palm Spring this week to cover the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Look for his missives here, and listen Saturday to Off-Ramp for his report on the festival.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Actors Carla Gugino, Matthew Lillard and Sir Patrick Stewart pose at the "Match" screening during the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 3, 2015 in Palm Springs, California. ; Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for PSIFF

Is there a happier star in Hollywood than Patrick Stewart?

Certainly no one seems to be having more fun than the onetime Star Trek captain and current (and seemingly permanent) X-Man. And why shouldn't Sir Patrick be pleased with himself? He really has got it all: a thriving stage profile in both New York and London, the unconditional love of a vast and loyal fan base, and a film career that oscillates freely between franchise blockbusters and the small, character-driven chamber pieces Stewart so clearly relishes.

"Match" is about as small a movie as Stewart has ever appeared in: a well-intentioned three-character film studded with very funny dialogue courtesy of writer/director Stephen Belber, upon whose play "Match" is based.

Stewart plays an aging gay dance instructor named Tobi Powell, who may or may not have sired a child back in the swinging 60s – an era movies now take to have been 10 years of uninterrupted orgy punctuated by Beatles records and gunshots aimed at the Kennedy brothers.

As the saying goes, "If you can remember the '60s, you weren't there." Stewart's Tobi Powell was vibrantly there at the time, so it's perhaps natural that he can't seem to recall whether or not one of his rare couplings with a female partner might have had some unintended consequences.

Mincing slightly and speaking in an accent that sounds Midwestern by way of Wales, Stewart is an absolute blast to watch. His genuine (and usually underutilized) flair for comedy is roguishly on display, allowing "Match" to shift between pathos and farce with an assurance born more of the performer's bravado than the emotional contours of Belber's somewhat overeager text.

Though allegedly a bit of a shut-in, Tobi is a minor masterpiece of a lost and exuberant art form: the exaggerated star turn. It's unsurprising Frank Langella got a Tony nomination for playing him on Broadway a decade ago, and at least a bit unexpected that Stewart has gone completely unnoticed this awards season, even by the nomination-happy Golden Globes.

Belber's best writing is mostly his comedic stuff. One aria comparing cunnilingus to knitting may just be the best scene of its type since Meg Ryan faked an orgasm in "When Harry Met Sally" a quarter century ago.

Solid and believable supporting turns from Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard add to the fun until Belber's script bogs down in the third act into the kind of paint-by-numbers epiphany shtick even TV has given up on at this point.

WATCH: The official trailer for "Match," starring Patrick Stewart

Everybody cries. Everybody changes. Everybody yawns.  Or I did anyway.

Still, go see this movie — or better yet, watch it on your phone, since it's shot almost entirely in close up — to see a grand and gracefully aging actor strut his stuff with contagious delight. You will definitely laugh, and, God, does this movie hope you'll also cry.

But if you do weep, don't be surprised if, like Tobi himself, you hate yourself in the morning.

Off-Ramp contributor R. H. Greene is covering the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, where he recently saw the new comedy "Match" starring Patrick Stewart. "Match" comes to theaters and video-on-demand on Jan. 14.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A scene from Tomislav Mrisic's "Cowboys (Kauboji)," which screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival.; Credit: Kino films

It has escaped the average filmgoer's notice, but Eastern Europe has been in the midst of a cinematic renaissance for quite a while now. A few individual titles and filmmakers have bubbled to the surface in U.S. cinemas, including Danis Toanovic's Serbian antiwar satire "No Man's Land," which won an Oscar in 2001, and Cristian Mungiu's Romanian abortion drama "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days," which nabbed the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2007.

Those are both great movies, but they are also the small tip of a very large iceberg. This year, Estonian filmmaker Zaza Urushadze's "Tangerines" — a humanist drama about the Georgian civil war of 1992 — is a leading contender for a foreign film Oscar.

As of now, its main competitor for the trophy would seem to be the Polish film "Ida" by Pawel Pawlikowski, which has taken most of the top critics prizes for foreign film this awards season. And who has heard of Radu Jude, the witty Romanian director of "The Happiest Girl in the World," or Kamen Kalev, Bulgaria's great hope for the cinematic future? Among so many others.

A sort of "Waiting for Guffman" with a Croat twist, the delightful Croatian Oscar entry "Cowboys (Kauboji)" isn't in the same league as the best Eastern Europe has to offer, and in an odd way this is one of its strengths.

Tomislav Mrisic's film utterly lacks pretension, which is not to say that it has no point to make. If there's an Eastern European precedent for "Cowboys'" assured mix of satire, drama and farce, it's probably the "Loves of a Blonde"-era Milos Forman.

Mrisic shares with Forman an acute eye for the foibles of small town bureaucracy and a soft humanism that simultaneously allows "Cowboys" to embrace its rag-tag ensemble of eccentrics and to spoof them mercilessly.

(A screen shot from Croation Oscar entry "Cowboys (Kauboji)")

The plot sees Sasa (Sasa Anlokovic), a failed and hangdog theater director with health problems, returning to his small and economically desolate Croatian town, where he is enlisted by an old friend-turned-local-bureaucrat to bring Big City "culture" to the sticks.

Aware that his lung cancer may have fallen out of remission and that time may be running out for him, Sasa sets about the task of creating what may be his last opus with the clay available to hand: a half dozen unskilled, uneducated and, in most cases, un-hygienic misfits, culled from the dregs of the town. They decide to create a Western stageplay based on their shared love of "Stagecoach," "High Noon" and John Wayne. Something decidedly unlike "Stagecoach" is the result.

There are titters and belly laughs abounding in "Cowboys" — a film that may actually be even funnier to an American audience than it is in Croatia, given Mrisic's deft mangling of the worn-out genre cliches of old school horse opera.

The performances are all solid and specific: This is no undifferentiated cluster of cliche yahoos, but rather a broadly drawn ensemble, in which each character has a specific logic and an unspoken need he or she is trying to fill.

WATCH the "Cowboys" trailer in the original Croatian

Mrisic finds much to mock in his small town provincials, but also much to celebrate. "Cowboys" is a smart film that still sees goodness everywhere it looks, which makes it a refreshing change not just from the American school of rote affirmation comedy but also from the relentless bleakness we associate with so much European fare.

For all the farce on hand, "Cowboys" is in the end a covertly passionate defense of the creative act: Its imperishability and its importance for its own sake, excluding aesthetic considerations. It is also a plea for that hoary old chestnut, the healing power of laughter. While that may read like a cliche, with "Cowboys," Mrisic's point is made.

Off-Ramp contributor R.H. Greene is covering the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival and will be posting regularly from there.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

I got the word this week from The Crest of Westwood that they'll be streaming coverage of the Golden Globes at The Crest on Sunday.

It's free and open to the public; doors open at 4:30 and the event starts at 5pm.

The Crest's Virginia Chavez writes, "We're encouraging formal attire, but it's not required for entrance."

But Off-Ramp says, "Phooey! Dress up. It's what classy people do." Like this stunning couple:

(Anne Knudsen/LA Public Library Herald-Examiner collection)

The caption of this 1985 photo reads, "David Hasselhoff in a burgundy-and-black striped tuxedo kept pace with wife Catherine Hickland's high fashion style: Ellene Warren's silk shoulder-beaded jacket, silk jacquard pants and matching evening bra. Hasselhoff and Hickland attended the Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

There's such a thing as an "evening bra?" I don't think so.

The Crest - 1262 Westwood Blvd. LA, CA 90024 - (323) 553 - 3500

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Andrew J. West stars in Anna Mastro's "Walter"; Credit: "Walter"

It's always dicey to characterize a major film festival based on the movies you personally see there, because no matter how diligent you try to be, your impression will always be statistically anecdotal.

I'll see perhaps 10 percent of the films at this year's Palm Springs International Film Festival by the time they roll up the red carpets for the final time, added to the 25 or so I'd watched before I got here, owing to the festival's unique programming policies.

Not bad considering there are 190 movies being screened. So I think I've got the feel of things here. I wouldn't want my doctor to diagnose me based on a test with a 35 to 40 percent chance of accuracy, but I'm not a doctor. Instead of "Do no harm," I quote Spencer Tracy to myself. He said the secret to the creative process is to "just look 'em in the eye and tell 'em the truth."

And the truth is, with the exception of a couple of documentaries and a horror movie, virtually every film I've seen at Palm Springs so far shared some obvious characteristics: the Palm Springs International Film Festival loves it some poignancy and affirmation.

I've already commented on "Match," the Patrick Stewart acting showcase, and "Cowboys," a very funny Croatian comedy with cross-currents of seriousness. I may comment later about "Today," Iran's Oscar submission. (It's terrific by the way, a deeply affecting story about a burnt out cab driver who gets yanked into the world of a battered, unwed mother who steps into his cab.)

(Still from "Today” (Emrooz) by Iranian filmmaker Reza Mirkarimi)

I also saw an Anne Hathaway passion project called "Song One" here. I'm not going to write about it because I'm not in the mood to stomp on somebody else's butterfly. Plus the dramedy "1001 Grams" by the splendiferous-ly named Norwegian Bent Hamer, whose deadpan satire is routinely compared to Jacques Tati.

WATCH the official trailer for "1001 Grams," which includes some foreign languages

At their best, these are all movies that want to move the audience to tears before bouncing a ray of hope off the screen at them. At their worst, these movies are about pain in the same way Novocain is. They acknowledge its reality, in order to neutralize it.

Filmmaker Anna Mastro's debut film "Walter" (one of the Palm Springs premieres) fits what seems to be the festival's programming model, too, and is, I think, a really quite appealing little indie film, with the by now familiar mildly magical realist bent.

It's is a story about grief, though one with a screwball premise so that it doesn't quite present that way at first. Walter (portrayed with charisma and nuance by Andrew J. West) is a 20-something slacker, but a very uptight one, with a soldier's commitment to dress and routine.

He still lives with mom (Virginia Madsen, now shifting toward the character actress portion of her career with ease and grace) and has a job one rung above fast food worker on the ladder of success: He's a ticket taker at the local multiplex.

But what the world surely sees as failure, Walter knows to be his cover for a far more important vocation. Walter's father died when he was just 10 years old; ever since the funeral, Walter has realized something we don't: His real job in life is to decide where people go after they die.

His snap judgments secretly send people to heaven or hell ... until a dead guy from Walter's past shows up and demands that Walter determine his fate, and then all hell breaks loose.

It's an odd premise, bordering on the labored, but Mastro and her extremely appealing cast pull it off, in part by wearing their influences on their sleeves. The fingerprints of Wes Anderson are all over this picture, especially in terms of the way shots are framed and music is used, and I was able to identify the pivotal contribution of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" co-composer Dan Romer by ear, long before I noticed his screen credit.

I suppose that's supposed to be a damning criticism of a first-timer, but I don't see it that way. Tarantino aped Scorsese for years and virtually remade a minor Hong Kong gangster picture when he debuted with "Reservoir Dogs."

Spielberg acknowledges his debt to David Lean. Hitchcock's apprenticeship at Germany's UFA film studio resulted in a lifelong visual and thematic debt to the great Expressionist master Fritz Lang.

The question is, what do you do with your influences, how do you make them your own? And Mastro — who has a real gift for casting, pacing a scene and maneuvering her actors easily between farce and seriousness — has her own talents. She understands how Anderson's visual syntax has become a cinematic shorthand for quirk, and she deploys it to that effect, then tells the story at hand.

There are some issues with that story, though. There's a girl in concessions (Leven Rambin) Walter likes, and there's a bully at work. For all its surface oddity, the mechanical underpinnings of "Walter" frequently feel like they belong in an "American Pie" sequel.

And yet this movie won me over. I liked its faith in the movie palace as a place that still vibrates with the marvelous. I found a dream sequence, where Rambin undresses to camera while sprawled on a rich yellow bed of movie house popcorn hilarious and deeply expressive.

But I think my affection for this picture is mostly centered on Mastro and her cast, which includes a standout performance by Justin Kirk as a very grounded ghost and a broad but successful cameo from William H. Macy as Walter's psychiatrist. They're all groping toward something rather grim and real about loss, while doing their best to serve up some laughs and wonder along the way.

It touched me, because it feels kind of wise.

Off-Ramp contributor R.H. Greene, former editor of Boxoffice Magazine, is in Palm Spring this week to cover the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Look for his missives here, and listen Saturday at noon to Off-Ramp, when he'll interview Chaz Ebert about her late husband Roger Ebert's contributions to the film festival circuit.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

At the corner of Glendale and Glenfeliz, Jeff Harmes created an art garden completely from scratch. ; Credit: Alana Rinicella

On the median on the Atwater Village side of the Hyperion bridge, Jeff Harmes built a garden. It's an act he calls "taking nothing and making it into something that everyone can get something out of, that can inspire everyone."

Having lived on the streets for 30 years, Jeff says grew to hate litter. He used to sweep street gutters with a piece of cardboard and remove trash packed into the forks of trees. He thought of them as small acts that would go mostly unnoticed.

On a whim last spring, he started tilling the median — or "the island," as he likes to call it ... although "oasis" is more like it, now. He made rock sculptures from stones he scrounged out of the L.A. River. In celebration of spring, he made a peace sign out of flowers. 

He says he doesn't know much about gardening or landscaping. He learns as he goes and looks to commuters for suggestions. In the absence of running water, he relies on rainfall.

Vibrant succulents sit next to kitschy items like gnomes and plastic flamingos. Intricate formations of seashells and stones contrast starkly against the neatly patted dirt. A young girl even donated her seashell collection for the peace sign. 

Recently, though, a vandal smashed the peace sign and wrecked Jeff's plants, including his squash crop. With help from the neighborhood, Jeff has been able to rebuild the garden. New plants have sprouted and the stonework has been repaired.

Jeff says his new goal with the garden is for people to draw something positive from it. "I want hate to be transferred into something beautiful," he said. Moving forward, he hopes to expand it down the island. 

(Note: This post has been edited. The original called it a "meridian," which is an invisible geographic line. "Median" is correct.)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

There are still a couple dozen tickets left for one of the most interestingly-cast performances of H.G. Wells, Orson Welles and Howard Koch's "War of the Worlds." On Saturday, Jan. 17,  generations of Star Trek actors will take on the world's most famous radio show.

The cast — directed by Jim Fall — features: René Auberjonois (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), Michael Dorn (“Star Trek: TNG”), Dean Haglund (“The X-Files”), Walter Koenig ("Star Trek"), Linda Park ("Star Trek: Enterprise"), Jason Ritter (“The Event”), Tim Russ (“Star Trek: Voyager”), Armin Shimerman (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) and Wil Wheaton, playing... Orson Welles.

The performance is a fundraiser for Sci-Fest LA, the new annual science fiction play festival, so tickets aren't cheap — but they're scarce, and this looks like a memorable night.

KPCC and "Off-Ramp" celebrated the 75th anniversary of the broadcast last year by distributing the original 1938 performance, and a new documentary, internationally... introduced by George Takei, another original Trek actor you might have heard of.

War of the Worlds: Sat., Jan. 17,  8 PM; The Acme Theatre, 135 North La Brea Ave. LA CA 90036

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: John Rabe

Dear Off-Ramp fans,

What is a blog, after all? Words and images.

And what is a radio story on the web? Words, images, and sound.

Can't they live together in harmony? We say YES.

And with that in mind, we're killing the Off-Ramp blog page.  

But don't fear; we're not cutting back on content: everything that would have found a home here - Marc Haefele's art reviews, recommendations for fun events, etc. -- will now be on the regular web page of the Off-Ramp radio show. 

All the old blog entries will continue to stay on this page as an archive, like Catherine Deneuve's fading vampire lovers in The Hunger.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Julio Osorio stands in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery near his mother's grave. (Emily Elena Dugdale/KPCC); Credit: Emily Elena Dugdale

The devastating Woolsey fire broke out one year ago. In Malibu, it wreaked havoc not only on hundreds of homeowners but also on the day laborers, housekeepers and gardeners who traveled to the city to work in its affluent neighborhoods.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Two tents in Hollywood erected beneath the 101 Freeway during a January rainstorm. (Matt Tinoco/KPCC)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In L.A., community leaders are working to prevent an undercount of Asian Angelenos. ; Credit: via NPR

The 2020 Census kicks off in a matter of weeks. Census officials say Asian immigrants are “hard-to-count” because many have limited English and distrust government. 

Leo Moon is learning about the census with friends at a city-led workshop in Koreatown. He didn’t fill out the form in 2010, mostly because he didn’t want the government knowing he’s undocumented. But Moon says he’ll take part next year because the census determines how much funding and representation people get.  

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The Asian Garden Mall in Westminster, where voters will make a choice about whether to recall city leaders.; Credit: Dorian Merina/KPCC

Voters in Westminster will decide this spring whether to recall its mayor and two city councilmembers. The Orange County Registrar of Voters has signed off on petitions for a recall election.  

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A moment in Larry Mantle’s recent conversation with Steve Inskeep has stuck with me.

The NPR Morning Edition co-host was in our Pasadena studios to talk about his latest book, Imperfect Union. Asked how he approaches his day job, Inskeep told a story about the time he dispassionately called a heartbreaking loss for his high school football team. That “straight call” earned praise from a veteran broadcaster he admired. It’s a lesson, he said, that stayed with him.

“I may have a personal opinion; it doesn’t matter,” Inskeep told Mantle. “My job as a journalist is to get the facts right, that are in front of me, and you can do that even if you have a personal opinion.”

Mantle, who has hosted KPCC’s AirTalk for decades, responded: 

“You can’t do this work if you’re wired like an activist. I sort of see my wiring as more how a teacher would be, wired where you’re amassing information. You’re leading people through a story, and the joy is in people coming to their own conclusions.”

“If you’re an activist at all, you’re an activist for the truth,” Inskeep replied. 

Activists for truth. Finding joy in people reaching their own conclusions.

What a compelling description of what our newsroom strives to deliver every day to Southern Californians.

These were my thoughts even before my colleague at NPR came under attack for doing her job.

If you haven't been following the story, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo angrily objected to being questioned about Ukraine during an interview with All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly. Pompeo didn't care for Kelly's questions on air and the conversation grew even more contentious behind closed doors.

The next day he accused Kelly of lying about the topic of the interview and then reporting a conversation he claimed was off the record. [Including his odd demand she locate Ukraine on unmarked world map.]  Kelly has denied both claims and media outlets have reported on emails between her and Pompeo's staff that back up her assertion she told them the interview would go beyond questions about Iran.

Then, this week, the State Department denied credentials to NPR's Michele Kelemen, who'd been scheduled to cover Pompeo's trip to Europe.

NPR President and CEO John Lansing and Nancy Barnes, who heads news, are rightfully demanding answers.

Why does it matter? Because as Lansing notes having access to people in power is fundamental to "the role of journalism in America.

Get KPCC in your inbox

Breaking news alerts sent to your inbox

I want to take a few minutes to tell you more about how our newsroom works and why you’ll be hearing more from us about our mission and ambition.

Listeners may have noticed a new phrase on our air: “Democracy needs to be heard.” It’s a statement you’ll also start seeing on billboards and bus benches around Los Angeles.

It’s part of the first marketing campaign for our station in many years. The goal is to make more people aware of what we do and why we do it. We also want to grow our audience and our supporters, so we can do even more original journalism.

Southern California Public Radio — home to 89.3 KPCC, LAist Studios, and LAist.com — turns 20 this year. SCPR was born out of a belief that the region would embrace and support a news-focused NPR station serving Southern California with original programming and reporting.

In the two decades since, our members stepped up and helped us build what is now one of the biggest newsrooms in the region. We’ve gone from cramped quarters in the library of Pasadena City College, to a new headquarters in 2010, to today, when we have to scramble for desks for our growing operation.

If you’ve ever heard me on-air during a pledge drive, you’ve heard me talk about how remarkable it is that your support has fueled our ambition and growth. We’re the most listened to NPR station in Southern California. The public media model depends on people donating their hard-earned money because they believe in what we are doing. You don’t have to pay a dime to listen to us on your radio, or stream us on your smart speaker or our app. You’ll never hit a paywall when you visit our website.

Our relationship with you isn’t transactional — that’s one of the ways nonprofit member-supported newsrooms are different. Instead, we make a case that what we do matters, that it’s valuable to you — so valuable that you voluntarily support us (even though you can still listen and read if you don’t). 

That’s a powerful relationship.

It’s why we take community engagement so seriously. That means listening closely to your concerns, answering your questions, meeting you in person, thinking about how our coverage can be both for and about Southern Californians.

In September, we were awarded the first-ever Gather Award for engaged journalism from the Online News Association. In December, we won our second-in-a-row Champion of Curiosity Award for our breaking news coverage of the wildfires.

Our approach to engaged journalism has been transformational for coverage, and we’ve emerged as a clear leader in the industry — sharing what we’ve learned with other newsrooms.

***

We talk a lot about our public-service mission in this newsroom. It permeates how we approach stories. It’s why our reporters, producers, hosts and editors choose to work here. 

And we’ve made this promise to you:

“You deserve great local news — and we need your help to find those stories. We listen to what you’re curious about, what keeps you up at night, and who you want held accountable. We’re inviting you to be part of the conversation.”

We do this work because of you. We do it for you and with you. 

We’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about how we’re finding and telling stories, and how we can do an even better job of delivering reporting that you won’t find anywhere else. We want our reporters to spend their energy on original stories (and not get stuck echoing information that everyone else is reporting). 

To that end, each reporter has their own individual mission statement to reflect their goals in covering communities and crucial issues. 

The free press is a cornerstone of democracy. That’s why in 1786 Thomas Jefferson wrote:

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." 

More than 200 years later, Nelson Mandela said: “A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy.”

Activists for truth. That means scrutinizing the information we receive from our sources or uncover through our reporting. It means giving you the context you need to consider what is fact and what is spin.

It’s truly an exciting time to work in our newsroom.

We have ambitious plans for coverage of the upcoming California primary and presidential election.

We have so much great work in progress — including three in-depth investigations scheduled to publish in the coming weeks.

Those stories took months to report, involving thousands of public documents, hundreds of miles of travel, and data analysis that no one else has done.

And it was only possible because of your support.  

Thank you.

Megan Garvey, Executive Editor

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: Courtesy Randy Newman

Read the full article at LAist

City bacteria versus country bacteria when it comes to drugs

Source: Streetwise Reports 11/12/2024

NexGold Mining Corp. (NEXG.V:TSXV; NXGCF:OTCQX; TRC1.F:FRA) and Signal Gold Inc. have successfully closed their previously announced oversubscribed and upsized concurrent financing, generating a total of US$18.5 million. Initially disclosed in joint announcements from both companies on October 10 and October 23, 2024, this financing is part of a larger plan in which NexGold will acquire all shares of Signal Gold to combine both companies' gold projects to create a near-term gold developer.

The financing involved two components. The first was a flow-through (FT) unit private placement by NexGold, which raised CA$8.085 million through the sale of 10,106,250 FT units at CA$0.80 per unit. Each unit includes one flow-through common share and half of one purchase warrant, allowing the holder to buy an additional non-flow-through share at CA$1.05 for the next two years. In the second component, Signal Gold's private placement of subscription receipts yielded CA$10.45 million by issuing 120,075,840 receipts at CA$0.08705 each. These receipts will convert into Signal units once specific escrow release conditions are met, including completion of the acquisition. Each unit consists of one common share and half a purchase warrant, allowing the holder to acquire additional shares for CA$0.11818 over two years.

The net funds from this financing will be used to retire debt, fund the exploration and development of both companies' gold projects - including NexGold's Goliath gold complex in Ontario and Signal's Goldboro project in Nova Scotia - and for general corporate purposes. The gross proceeds from FT units will go toward qualified exploration expenses for NexGold's projects, with renunciation planned by December 31, 2024, as per Canadian tax requirements.

Investor interest included an acquisition by a Sprott Asset Management sub-advised fund, which purchased 2.5 million FT units for CA$2 million, bringing Sprott's holdings to 11.43% of NexGold's issued shares (14.95% on a partially diluted basis). NexGold also extended an investor awareness agreement with i2i Marketing Group, providing up to six months of marketing services for CA$250,000 to increase investor visibility.

Gold Rush

Gold's surge to the US$2,800 mark due to a "perfect storm" of factors, according to an October 29 report from Kitco. Gary Wagner explained that this historic rise, approximately 35% this year, was driven by geopolitical tensions, anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts, consistent central bank demand, and U.S. political uncertainty in the run-up to the presidential election.

Chen Lin offered a positive outlook on NexGold, noting heightened investor interest following recent updates, including expanded financing and merger plans.

Wagner noted that "geopolitical, political conflicts" and "uncertainties about the outcome of the upcoming presidential election" were critical components, with emerging market central banks increasing their gold reserves to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar.

On October 30, LiveMint highlighted gold's global appeal. The article mentioned how central banks continue to expand their gold reserves, with net buying reaching 337 tonnes in Q3 2023.

This marks a near-record level, according to the World Gold Council. Escalating geopolitical tensions, especially in the Middle East, have also led investors to seek gold as a safe haven, pushing prices upward. In addition, strong economic data in the U.S., such as job growth and consumer spending, has affected expectations around Federal Reserve policies. These, in turn, have indirectly influenced gold.

By November 4, Egon von Greyerz, in his analysis of the global financial system, emphasized gold as a reliable store of value. He argued that "gold has always stood as a protector" during economic downturns, describing the asset as "the best-performing asset class in this century." Von Greyerz asserted that gold's continued strength could be attributed to its resistance to the "destruction of fiat money," making it an essential wealth-preserving asset in an increasingly unstable financial environment.

The Catalysts Pushing NexGold Forward

NexGold's acquisition of Signal Gold is expected to accelerate its growth as a mid-tier gold producer. According to NexGold's September 2024 investor presentation, this financing supports the ongoing development of the Goliath Gold Complex in Northern Ontario, which holds a combined measured and indicated gold resource of over 2.1 million ounces. Additionally, Signal's Goldboro project in Nova Scotia adds strategic value with historical production potential and significant exploration upside.

The Goliath project benefits from robust infrastructure, an approved environmental assessment, and a promising pre-feasibility study indicating a post-tax NPV of CA$336 million at US$1,750/oz gold. With this acquisition, the combined entity is expected to leverage its enhanced capital position to pursue further exploration and optimization, aiming for near-term production and establishing a solid platform for growth and consolidation in the Canadian gold sector.

What Are Experts Saying?

Ron Stewart, a mining analyst at Red Cloud Securities, maintained a Speculative Buy rating on NexGold with a target currently Under Review in his September analysis. Stewart stated that the merger with Signal Gold offered NexGold an accretive pathway to growth by adding the Goldboro project's resources to its portfolio. He noted that the combined assets of NexGold and Signal would form a "multi-asset company with over 6 million ounces in gold resources," which he described as synergistic and favorable for shareholders. Stewart anticipated the merger would close in Q4 2024, with upcoming catalysts including the Goliath Feasibility Study in Q1 2025 and a potential construction decision for Goliath in H2 2025. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-1961]

Important Disclosures:

1. NexGold Mining Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of NexGold Mining Inc.
3. James Guttman wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

( Companies Mentioned: NEXG.V:TSXV; NXGCF:OTCQX; TRC1.F:FRA, )

Source: Streetwise Reports 11/12/2024

As 321gold's Bob Moriarty discussed the outcome of the BRICS conference in Russia and the state of the gold market with Robert Sinn of Goldfinger Capital, he lamented the need for more young gold bugs to enter the market as the yellow metal enters what he predicted will be a five- to 10-year bull market.

Sinn said at a recent conference, despite recent record gold prices, two-thirds of the seats were empty at gold panels with experts talking about likely windfalls in 2025.

"If you went to a gold conference last year, what was the average age?" Moriarty said during the interview posted last month, guessing 67 "or higher." "We have to get young people into the market, and we have not done that yet. The fact is that nobody's (at) the gold show because they all died of old age."

Moriarty said he expects there will be plenty of those windfalls coming in the bull market. He said there "absolutely has to be" more majors doing acquisitions.

Before the Bre-X scandal of the 1990s, in which fraudulent samples led to the collapse of the CA$6 billion company, most major mining companies had their own exploration departments, which many later cut, Moriarty pointed out.

"Since 2000, all of the exploration has been juniors," he said. "So, there has to be a lot more M&A activity. There has to be."

Yukon Projects Won't Go For 'Chump Change'

Gold hit its latest record high on October 30. It slid after the election, but most experts agree it is in a bull market and will continue to be.

"We are still relatively constructive on gold," said Taylor Krystkowiak, investment strategist at Themes ETFs, according to a report by Ian Salisbury for Barron's. "Why does gold go up? It's geopolitical uncertainty, it's deficit spending, and it's inflation. Right now, all those stars are aligned."

Despite pushbacks during its rise, "gold continues to climb," Nick Fulton, managing partner at USA Pawn, told Newsweek. "When we saw US$2,600 an ounce gold, I thought US$2,800 by the end of the year. Now? We could see gold at US$3,000 an ounce happen in a 30-day time span."

Moriarty said the highest recent scores logged by sentiment indices on gold and silver, which are reflected in a scale of 0 to 100, are lower than he would expect at "88 for gold and 88 for silver."

"I would think it would be in the 90s, and it's not," he said. Silver, for instance, when it hit its all-time record high in 1980, had a score of 95, he said.

The juniors should be performing "three or four times higher, and they're not," Moriarty said.

"So, were in an interesting situation," he said. "We're going to have five to 10 years at least of a bull market. And when the dollar changes its value dramatically, it's going to drive gold and silver much higher."

Moriarty said the majors are "trying to go out and pick up copper projects now," which he doesn't think makes sense.

"The majors are always wrong," he said. "They're paying the most for projects at the very top. Projects are being given because they're not interested. But when you have four major projects in one small area in the Yukon (and) those projects are going into production, somebody is going to buy them. But I don't think they're going to buy them for chump change. I think it's going to cost some money."

BRICS Conference: 'Who Cares?'

The two also discussed the recent BRICS meeting Russia. An intergovernmental organization, BRICS is an acronym for founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates are all full members now and it has also expanded to add 13 new "partner nations."

But one thing it didn't do was settle on a common currency for the countries, which disappointed Moriarty.

"I think the BRICS meeting was really important, and I was hoping for kind of agreement on what the BRICS financial solution is, and they really didn't come up with it," he said. "It was a meet and greet, and they talked about opening commodities exchanges. Who cares?"

This potential currency would allow these nations to "assert their economic independence while competing with the existing international financial system," wrote Melissa Pistilli of Investing News Network. "The current system is dominated by the US dollar, which accounts for about 90 percent of all currency trading."

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented a colorful mockup of a BRICS bank note at the conference, but Moriarty wasn't impressed.

"They need to do something, but they haven't done it yet. "You've got dozens of countries that recognize (that) the stranglehold the United States has on the rest of the world geopolitically is a negative for the rest of the world. And they all agree that that needs to change, but nobody's talked about how to do it."

Sitka Gold Corp.

One company Moriarty and Sinn discussed was Sitka Gold Corp. (SIG:TSXV; SITKF:OTCQB; 1RF:FSE), which recently released high-grade intercepts from its RC Gold Project in the Tombstone Gold Belt of Yukon.

The standout results included one hole that returned 678.1 meters of 1.04 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) from surface, including 409.5 meters of 1.36 g/t Au, and 93 meters grading 2.57 g/t Au. The intercept also contained a high-grade core of 5.5 meters grading 17.59 g/t Au.

The results extended gold mineralization approximately 200 meters deeper than any previously drilled hole at the Blackjack deposit, signaling the potential for continued high-grade mineralization at depth and showing persistent mineralization throughout the entire 708.7-meter length of the hole.

Moriarty said the company is drilling Clear Creek on the RC property now, "and I think we're going to see a lot. More 400-, 500-, 600-meter intercepts. So, what's going to happen is the majors are going to wake up."

He predicted the company could be another Snowline Gold Corp. (SGD:CSE; SNWGF:OTCQB), which "has somewhere between seven and eight times the market cap" of Sitka. At the time of writing, Snowline had a market cap of CA$883 million to Sitka's CA$129 million.

Sign up for our FREE newsletter at: www.streetwisereports.com/get-news

Important Disclosures:

1. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Snowline Gold Corp.
2. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
3. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

( Companies Mentioned: SIG:TSXV; SITKF:OTCQB; 1RF:FSE, )

US-based identity platform Persona has partnered with Okta to deliver an automated identity verification solution and support organisations to safeguard against phishing and deepfakes. 

Blink Payments has announced its partnership with Zedonk, a collaboration that will enable the UK paytech platform to enter into the B2B fashion payments market.