Morningside Park Chronicle
December 2012
Fox Theatre, from pg. 6
BOOK REVIEWS
premieres. In time, an antitrust suit separated Fox studios from their movie theatre chain. The Fox chugged along, but movie theatres became multiplexes and the Fox was no longer viable. Its last gasp was as a Spanish language theatre with the last film shown in 1988. Inside, the Fox is a veritable time capsule–everything remains. Fast-forward 20 years, when the effort to “Save the Fox” was born. The City of Inglewood made an offer, but the owner did not accept and potential buyers have been few and far between since. With construction of the MTA Crenshaw line on the horizon, the Fox’s asking price has soared out of sight to $1.4 million. In the hearing room, I listen
Teacher at Point Blank Confronting Sexuality, Violence, and Secrets in a Suburban School written by Jo Scott-Coe Having intimately known a number of instructors— teachers, professors, a principal or two—in my travels and relationships, I approached “Teacher…” with a heavy sigh of ennui. Although I had never been a teacher, I felt I knew more than enough abut the miseries of being a teacher. I imagine that, were I put to the test, my presumptuous attitude would have received a C-, at best. Author Scott-Coe wastes no time in taking the reader into the pit of despair, humiliation and absurdity that is a
teacher’s existence—and that’s what happens before the figurative first bell rings. The politics that require subjugation, being a whipping boy for incompetent parents, serving as an excuse for shadowy administrators and ultimately being offered as a sacrifice for overpaid politicians, is all in a day’s work for the typical teacher. One wonders why anyone would go into teaching. Nevertheless, and perhaps in spite of it, the utter horror of a teacher’s milieu is well conveyed in this fine title. The book is a page-turner,
even in this world of reality shows, YouTube atrocities and bizarre on-line pornography. Were it adapted properly, this book would make a great film. The stoic subtitle suggests that there is much to endure and little to gain from the world of teaching, but Scott-
Page 9
to the agenda items. There is a video presentation of the seven properties nominated. I hold my breath as one of the properties is pulled from the Consent Calendar; thankfully, it is not the Fox. No further objections and all nominations are passed at 10:07 a.m. We did it!! The Inglewood Fox Theatre is now among California’s Historic Resources and soon, the nation. The Commission will recommend that the National Register approve the nomination. Now the real work begins. We must raise greater awareness of “Save the Fox” in the community, find a buyer to work with us, raise money and secure grants for the restoration, and obtain the tax credits that accompany historic restoration. There is still a very long road remaining to restore the Inglewood Fox.
please see Teacher, page 11
Johnny Future
In his first novel, The Bus, author Steve Abee is on a bus. He observes from the windows of the practically defunct MTA Line 26 life as it goes by—as he goes by it—starting near downtown along 7th Street, up Virgil until it becomes Hillhurst, then west on Franklin and eventually to other points. In Johnny Future, Abee has returned to the point of arrival, not far from where Vermont Ave. crosses Hollywood Blvd., west of where the latter ends at the collision-inducing intersection
that marks the end—or beginning—of Virgil—or Hillhurst—in the area at which the three points of East Hollywood, Silverlake and Franklin Hills meet in the easement of what hipsters imagine is Los Feliz. Like the preceding sentence, the intersection is confusing the first few times. But Johnny Future is not confused, and Johnny Future, while a significant sleeper, is not confusing. Like Slackers but with a backbone of a protagonist who never peels away to al-
low the next “protagonist” to take the figurative baton to the subsequent one, Johnny Future seems to have little talent beyond surreptitiously naming the many former and please see Johnny, page11
Attacks on the Press in 2011 A Worldwide Survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists The long-running, annually published title Attacks on the Press analyzes press conditions and documents new dangers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Possessing the entire library since 2001—the year that changed my lie, even as others close to me lost theirs— keeps me aware of what can happen abroad, at work and certainly at home. Even for journalists who live in the free world’s urban centers, eternal vigilance against
hired thugs and elected officials remains paramount. In the Americas, national leaders are building elaborate state media operations to dominate the news and amplify their personal agendas. In European and African nations, authorities are invoking national security laws and deploying intelligence services to intimidate the press. Such measures are particularly prominent in the United States, and perhaps nowhere in the country are
such measures daily attempted in Los Angeles and NYC. To be sure, Attacks on the Press is the world’s most comprehensive guide to international press freedom. ($30 from Brookings Institute: http://www.brookings.edu) MorningsideParkChronicle.com
Courtesy of AMPAS/The Oscars
written by Steve Abee
The Fox Theatre auditorium on Market Street in Inglewood in its heyday.
Winter Meet, from pg. 5 machine before you leave. Someone coming behind you will not be watching the balance on the machine and will enter their money to make a bet which will be added to your left-behind balance giving them more money than they realized. When using the live teller to place a wager, the teller will be waiting for you to tell him or her which track, race, amount of the bet, type of bet and horse number. Example: Give me Golden Gate Fields, 5th race, $2.00 win and place on number 6. Once you get your ticket for your wager be sure to put it in a safe and easily accessible place in your pocket where you can find it after the race and remember to check to see if you have won. Every year, hundreds of dollars are left on the grandstand floors from people los-
ing their tickets or forgetting they even have the ticket for a $6.00 win after they have seen their horse come in first at 20-1. Winning tickets not cashed in within a six-moth time period goes to the state to operate the track. An interesting tidbit about the Betfair Program: When you open the program to the races for the park, you will find information on each horse and a symbol a horse, turtle, hound, fox and rabbit which represents the style each horse likes to run. It will also tell you how many times these types of runners have won this distance of race. At the top of the same page, you will find three Handicappers who have picked their three best horses. Choose at your leisure, bet with your head and not your heart (unless you just love the horse’s name.) Lastly: Good Luck!