Kate Millett, ‘Extraordinary Woman,’ Remembered By Steinem, Ono, and Clinton

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December 1, 2017 · Posted in Commentary · Comment 

November 10, 2017

By Mary Reinholz

Yoko Ono at Kate Millett memorial. (Photo: Mary Reinholz)

Feminist icon Kate Millett, author of the ’70s classic Sexual Politics, received a star-studded Manhattan sendoff on November 9, following her death September 6 in Paris at age 82. The Upper West Side memorial service drew about 500 people, most of them women, and sometimes befitted a state funeral.

Pamela Mataszewski, a blonde bagpiper in a kilt, began the service with a mournful dirge as she strode up the center aisle of a Unitarian Universalist Church to its altar where Millett’s ashes had been placed in a blue jug beside flickering candles. After she departed, still blowing her pipes,  soprano Katie Zaffrann sang “Ave Maria” to mark the passing of Millett, who lived at 295 Bowery for 38 years, residing there when it was in a rundown neighborhood populated by so-called “Bowery bums.” Her late 19th century building once housed the infamous McGurk Suicide Hall, a spot where several teenage prostitutes were believed to have killed themselves by lacing their last drinks with carbolic acid. Read more

Dunga Brook Diary: Sight To Be Seen

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December 1, 2017 · Posted in Commentary · Comment 

From LAX to ALB

By Vicki Whicker 

I bought an 1820’s farmhouse and one acre for $10,000.

In the middle of nowhere.

Sight unseen.

Ok, not $10,000.

$10,000 plus closing costs plus all back taxes.

How many years of back taxes? And how much was even one year of back taxes in central New York?

I didn’t ask. When I want something, fine details are not necessary. You will encounter this attitude of mine, many times.

The FINAL total for an ancient house on an acre in “The Middle of Nowhere”?

$13,000.

BARGAIN. Read more

CHIDED BY JONATHAN GOLD’S RESTAURANT LIST

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December 1, 2017 · Posted in Commentary · Comment 

Vespertine’s mango wrapped in sunflower blossoms and wedged into stone monolith.

By Bob Vickrey

Each year when Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold releases his list of “101 Best Restaurants” in Southern California, I realize that I may need to get out more often.

I’ve been to only a half-dozen restaurants that Gold chose for inclusion on his 2017 list, which makes me feel I’ve been living like a hermit in the witness protection program. Maybe it’s time to shed those metaphorical ankle restraints. Read more

Adventure Of A Lifetime

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December 1, 2017 · Posted in Commentary · Comment 
By Doug Weiskopf

 

(Below is a letter and photo I just mailed to a writer for Scientific American Magazine about my experience of a lifetime on Mount St. Helens).

 

Dear Steve:

I enjoyed and was fascinated by your article in the current edition of Scientific American about Mount St. Helens, having had a decades long spiritual connection with the great volcano. As a student and resident living in the West Hills of Portland, Or. between 1969 and 1980 I had a clear view of St. Helens when it was not shrouded in clouds and was always transfixed by its beauty, looking as it did like a giant snow cone (we used to call it “the Mount Fuji of the Pacific NW”). St. Helens beckoned me for years until I decided to join The Mazamas, a local mountain climbing club, so that I could ascend the mountain and stand on its summit. Read more

LUNCH CLUB: AFTER DARK AT THE GALLEY

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December 1, 2017 · Posted in Commentary · Comment 

Photos by Barry Stein

By Bob Vickrey

After living in L.A. for almost 40 years, I find myself constantly reminded that we live in the shadow of the Hollywood sign.

Such was the case recently while watching a television rerun of the 1999 movie “The Cider House Rules.” I was once again completely engaged by this unique film, when suddenly my Palisades neighbor Colin Irving appeared on-screen during a dramatic turning point in the story.

I was aware that he had appeared in several movies in his younger years, but I had not yet met him when the movie was initially released. It occurred to me that the former actor—turned fitness guru—would be a perfect candidate to join our lunch club for our November trip to The Galley in Santa Monica. Read more