December 2010
3 posts
#4yrolds1stGremlins
What does watching “gremlins” with a 4.75 year old boy have in common with watching “Ghostbusters” with the same boy? Well, both films take FOREVER to get to their respective good parts. But beyond that, I am only faced with questions. I watch these movies with my son because I want to remember something about what I felt when I watched them back in the 80’s. I like...
#4yrolds1stGhostbusters
Today I watched Ghostbusters with my 4 and a half year old son for the first time. I had built it up a lot as a fun movie that I couldn’t wait to see with him when he got old enough, but after keeping him up an hour past his bed time for the privlege he was politely ungrateful.
His one stunning observation at the iconic film’s conclusion was that the Ghostbusters theme song sounded a...
October 2010
2 posts
Dan Harmon writes T.V and Movies for a living. His...
Dan Harmon tells scared 7yrold that his movie was... →
…it makes me mad that it scared you, because I tried to tell them they were making a bad movie that was going to confuse and frighten smart children, instead of making children more brave, and they acted like I was stupid for being afraid that would happen.
July 2010
3 posts
June 2010
1 post
April 2010
1 post
Want to make movies better? Give screenwriters... →
David Kipen, former SF Chron book critic and Lit guy at the NEA wrote a polemic (I called it an essay) arguing that screen writers need more attention and support for their work.
I interviewed him on the radio and had a very nice time doing it.
March 2010
2 posts
January 2010
2 posts
A Disaster Waiting to Happen
Fourteen years ago, Berkeley identified 320 buildings that were particularly vulnerable to collapse in a major quake because they have gaps and openings on their ground floors — usually parking spaces or storefronts — known in building-code jargon as a “soft story.”
But the effort to address the risk by forcing owners to retrofit has almost entirely stalled. READ MORE
This radio news story aired on Dec 28,2009
A...
November 2009
3 posts
Today- UC Berkeley students and workers strike to...
October 2009
5 posts
Fox News v The White House, our KPFA show →
The show I produced with Mitch Jeserich occurs in the 2nd hour of this link. Our guests:
Robert Greenwald, director of “Out Foxed” with Brave New Films
Gregg Levine, managing editor of Firedoglake.com
Mickey Kaus, opinion journalist with slate.com
TWINKLE TWINKLE…
Dug out of my archives:...
Noam Chomsky was at the Paramount Theater in...
Berkeley’s Foreign Policy?
Here’s...
September 2009
8 posts
UC Berkeley student walkout. I was on campus (with...
Tim Russo is a reporter in Tegucigalpa Honduras...
Consider giving me $10 or $20 to report this story →
“Google Book Search is like someone following you around the library, writing down every book you pick up and every book you sit down to read,” said Nicole Ozer, Technology and Civil Liberties Policy Director at the ACLU of Northern California in an ACLU press release.
3yrold sings the “I Don’t Know”...
Based on an old kids song, me and the kiddo wrote...
Pretend you’re blind, so you purchase San...
August 2009
4 posts
WEBRADIO IN PERIL, July 2007
Two years ago I...
Ex CIA analyst Ray McGovern acts out a mock...
Burning Man Says that They Control Your...
blogged on August 13, 2009
Digital Rights Crusaders at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have taken issue with the conditions that Burning Man puts on the photos and videos shot by participants in the week long event, which begins this year on August 31st. According to EFF staff attorney, Corynne McSherry, the Burning Man Organization has imposed terms on its ticket holders that go too far....
Cleaning the Air Around the Ports
The shipping industry hopes to undo the state’s newest clean-air rule.
In order to clear the air on land, California is forcing oceangoing vessels at least 24 miles off its coast to burn much cleaner fuels. The landmark rule took effect July 1, but not without a fight. And now the shipping industry is trying to get the courts to let them go back to using the cheaper, dirtier bunker fuel.
...
July 2009
3 posts
Would fixing the flooding in West Berkeley hurt...
Berkeley officials are studying a plan to improve circulation in the stagnant lagoons of Aquatic Park. They say the stale water kills fish, increases algae growth, and gives the park a distinctive odor that you can enjoy when you’re speeding past on I-80. But environmentalists fear the plan will increase storm water runoff, killing fish and degrading the environment in one of the Bay...
The (Long) View from Berkeley
REPORTER’S NOTE: This version below is twice as long as the one that was printed in the Express on July 22, 2009.
In the fight over density in downtown Berkeley both sides are claiming to be “more green” than the other
By Eric Klein
The Berkeley City Council has cleared the way for developers to build more, taller buildings in the center of the city. Some traditional...
MOES BOOKS
It’s a scary world for brick and...
June 2009
1 post
3 weeks of radio work
I sat in as host/producer on the KPFA program Living Room for 3 weeks. Here are all the links to the hour long shows, plus short descriptions. I think the last one (June 12th) was the best, but the first one (May 28) wasn’t too shabby.
May 28, 2009
The State Legislature in Sacramento is holding hearings on Governor Schwarzenegger proposed cuts – totaling 5 billion dollars – which would...
May 2009
5 posts
"Gone Phising" extra: The Sam Olukoya interview
I interviewed Nigerian Journalist Sam Olukoya for my story on the latest scams to hit Craigslsit. Only 3 sentences from the interview made it into the final story, below is the whole thing:
Eric: What can you tell me about the internet scammers in Nigeria?
Sam: The internet scammers in Nigeria are mainly young Nigerians who want to get rich quick. They range from the primary school drop outs...
Gone Phishing
The Latest Craigslist Scam Exploits the Dream of Affordable Rent
Kristel Taukave was hoping to shorten her daily commute from San Leandro to Berkeley. She went on Craigslist, and found a handful of two-bedroom apartments in her price range scattered throughout the East Bay. She contacted each landlord by e-mail. A waterfront apartment in Emeryville, a condo in Berkeley with a washer-dryer and...
No News is Good News, Berkeley's Juneteenth...
Organizers of the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival have been speaking at recent City Council Meetings expressing their concern that the decades old street festival celebrating African American freedom was going to be canceled two years running. “We seem to be having conditions imposed upon us that other festivals do not have to meet,” Sam Dyke, Berkeley Juneteenth co-president told...
uuuummmmm… I worked for a few years at...
