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ARROYO VOLUME 4 ~ NUMBER 12

M O N T H LY

21 8 THIS BISHOP’S NO PAWN: Episcopal Bishop J. Jon Bruno has long been pushing for equal rights for gay people, despite controversy and a schism in the church. –By Jenine Baines

17 BABES ONSTAGE: The Pasadena Playhouse links arms with Theatre 360, a professional children’s company, to stage Victor Herbert’s holiday classic, “Babes in Toyland.” –By Lynne Heffley

19 OBAMA AT OCCIDENTAL: The 44th President of the United States spoke softly when he was a student at Occidental College – who knew he was going to end up carrying such a big stick? –By Lyle James Slack

42 HOMETOWN PASADENA, SWEET HOMETOWN: Prospect Park Books’ Colleen Dunn Bates discovers there’s no place like home when it comes to publishing books the way it should be done. –By Lyle James Slack

46 DESIGN FOR LIVING – AND SURVIVING: Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design brings a whole new level of creativity to earthquake preparedness. –By Carl Kozlowski

DEPARTMENTS 7 FESTIVITIES Vladimir Radmanovic Children’s Foundation, American India Foundation gala, Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services

39 OBJECTS OF DESIRE Here’s an eclectic selection of gifts to satisfy the senses this holiday season.

51 THE LIST “Nutcrackers” from near and far, Divine Performing Arts, 2009 Tournament of Roses sneak peeks and more

54 KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what gingerbread houses are made of.

56 THE ART OF SCIENCE “Magnetic Death Star fossils” are giving scientists a glimpse into the future of global warming. ABOUT THE COVER: PHOTO: Johnny Buzzerio

ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 5

EDITOR’S NOTE

In the season dedicated to goodwill toward men — that is, all men, women too — it behooves us to consider the setback dealt gay Californians by the recent passage of Prop. 8, denying them the right to marry. The civil rights battle that has taken to the streets in recent weeks has been simmering in the Episcopal Church for years. One of its most vocal proponents of gay rights has been Los Angeles Bishop J. Jon Bruno, who has fended off charges of heresy from its most conservative factions. But the former football player and Burbank cop is undeterred. “It is really important that we start seeing other people not as the Other, but as our sister and brother,” he told writer Jenine Baines over coffee at his official residence in Pasadena. Certainly another imposing figure whose arrival on the national scene augurs progress is Barack Obama. Surprisingly, while Obama’s stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic Convenion made waves around the world, the quiet, studious future head of state attracted little attention during his two years as a student at Eagle Rock’s Occidental College. Lyle James Slack talks to several of his former classmates to find out what his time there tells us about the kind of president he’ll be. Our seasonal grab bag also includes Lynne Heffley’s look at Theatre 360’s production of Victor Herbert’s classic operetta “Babes in Toyland” at the Pasadena Playhouse; Carl Kozlowski’s story about “After Shock,” Art Center College of Design’s massively collaborative earthquake forecasting game designed to help prepare Southern Californians for the Big One; and Slack’s piece on Pasadena resident Colleen Dunn Bates’ homegrown publishing imprint and labor of love, Prospect Park Books. — Irene Lacher

ARROYO MONTHLY EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher PRODUCTION MANAGER Yvonne Guerrero ART DIRECTOR Joel Vendette • JUNIOR DESIGNER Evelyn Duenas WEB DESIGNER Maricela Estrada COPY EDITOR John Seeley STAFF WRITER Carl Kozlowski CONTRIBUTORS Karen Apostolina, Jenine Baines, Leslie Bilderback, Michael Burr, Michael Cervin, André Coleman, Steve Coulter, Caroline Cushing, Mandalit del Barco, Brad Eastland, Lynne Heffley, Bettijane Levine, Arlene Schindler, Kirk Silsbee, John Sollenberger PHOTOGRAPHERS Johnny Buzzerio, C.M. Hardt ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Fred Bankston, Dana Bonner, Hilary Chen, Elizabeth Guzman, Leslie Lamm, Rochelle Reiff, Cynthia Wagner ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Maricela Estrada, Carla Marroquin VP OF FINANCE Michael Nagami • HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker BUSINESS MANAGER Angela Wang ACCOUNTING Archie Iskaq, Tracy Lowe, Ginger Wang OFFICE ASSISTANT Emma Luna PUBLISHER Jon Guynn

CONTACT US ADVERTISING dinas@pasadenaweekly.com • EDITORIAL editor@arroyomonthly.com PHONE (626) 584-1500 • FAX (626) 795-0149 MAILING ADDRESS 50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105 www.ArroyoMonthly.com ©2008 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

6 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

FESTIVITIES

L.A. Laker Vladimir Radmanovic Children’s Foundation gathered together players, fans and business leaders at Santa Monica’s Hidden Restaurant Nov. 6 to raise funds for Five Acres child and family services in Altadena and other organizations helping displaced children in L.A. County and Serbia-Montenegro. Radmanovic took on the cause because of his experiences

Nearly 300 guests celebrated

growing up in the war-torn former Yugoslavia,

major supporters of Optimist

where he witnessed children being abused and

Youth Homes & Family

abandoned. The proceeds from his “Crossing

Services and helped the

Oceans for Children” event will support voca-

Highland Park – based organiza-

tional training programs and provide school

tion offset dwindling public funds

supplies and health kits to children in orphan-

at its 2008 Mentors Award Gala

ages and protective housing.

Oct. 22. The benefit at Universal

1. Vladi Radmanovic (left) and Luke Walton with a friend and Avala Folklore Ensemble dancer 2. Ben and Sherri Lester 3. Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson

Photos by Varon Panganiban

Studios’ Globe Theatre raised $170,000 and honored Bruce Corbin of Glendale, senior vice president of Union Bank of California, and Cindy Osbrink, CEO of the Osbrink Agency for teen actors and models, who received her award from clients Dakota and Elle Fanning. Pasadena architect Ara 1. Ara Zenobians (left) and actresses Elle and Dakota Fanning with honorees Cindy Osbrink and Bruce Corbin

Zenobians served as dinner

2. Advisory board member Colin and Megan Barr of Sierra Madre

Pereira hosted the event with

chair, and KTLA’s Michaela KNBC’s Chris Schnauble.

3. Terry and Paulette Chapman of Pasadena flank actresses Dakota and Elle Fanning.

Photos by Getty Images

Dean Scarborough, CEO of Pasadena-based Avery

Dean Scarborough and AIF Co-chair Victor Menezes

Dennison, was honored for the company's philan-

Photos by Mayur Shah

thropic and corporate commitment to India at the annual Southern California gala of the American India

Foundation on Nov. 15. At the formal event at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, Scarborough discussed his company's Indian operations, which employ 1,000 people. “Avery Dennison is very proud to be recognized for helping to pioneer and expand the self-adhesive industry in India during the past decade, as well as for funding a program in association with the South Indian Education Society's School of Packaging in Mumbai that promises to expand opportunities in India's packaging industry,” he said. Also honored was Amit Kapur, COO of MySpace. ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 7

SPIRIT

EARLY ONE NOVEMBER MORNING IN 1999, THE DAY THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES WOULD SELECT ITS NEW BISHOP, THE VERY REVEREND J. JON BRUNO BACKED HIS CAR OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY AT HIS CHAPMAN WOODS HOME IN PASADENA, TURNED TO HIS WIFE, MARY, AND SAID, “HONEY, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE DAY IS GOING TO BRING.”

This Bishop’s No Pawn

WHILE THE FIGHT OVER GAY MARRIAGE ROCKS CALIFORNIA IN THE WAKE OF PROP. 8’S PASSAGE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP J. JON BRUNO HAS LONG BEEN PUSHING FOR EQUAL RIGHTS, DESPITE CONTROVERSY AND A SCHISM IN THE CHURCH. BY JENINE BAINES | PHOTOS BY JOHNNY BUZZERIO

Bruno’s name had been on the original list of candidates compiled by the diocese’s nominating committee. But, shortly before the official slate was made public, the committee informed the 53-year-old rector of St. Athanasius Church in Echo Park that he was no longer under consideration. Yet no sooner had the election begun than Warren Nyback, the now-retired rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pomona, nominated Bruno from the convention floor. Two of Bruno’s colleagues – Malcolm Boyd, one of the first openly gay priests in the Episcopal Church, and David Anderson, a themselves or would like him to staunch traditionalist – encouraged the burly clergyman to accept the call. stand beside them,” says Mary As Bruno’s backers saw it, his reputation as a reconciler who respected the viewpoints of both traditional and more Bruno. “But I don’t think anything progressive members of the church made him the right choice to lead a sometimes quarrelsome diocese into the new that requires courage and integrity millennium. That Bruno — who’d joined the priesthood in 1978 after stints as a Denver Bronco hopeful and Burbank is ever easy. There’s this banner I police officer — had a history of persuading rival gangs in his parish to call a truce was another plus. “I believed Jon pass on Huntington Drive that fits Bruno was uniquely able to pull the diocese together,” says Canon Boyd. “As a former football player and cop, he’d existhim perfectly: ‘Don’t put a period where God has placed a comma. ed in no ivory tower. He’d been with Jesus out on the streets with all sorts of folks, not ghettoized inside stained glass. At God is still speaking’.” the same time, I found him a man of deep and utterly uncompromised faith. So it seemed to me it was Jon’s obligation Tensions in the church reached and responsibility to accept the call to become Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles.” a crescendo in June 2003, when Rev. V. Gene Robinson — a divorced father of Clergy and lay delegates representing their parishes at the convention two whose 16-year relationship with his gay partner was well known — was agreed. By the end of the day, Bruno was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the ordained Bishop of New Hampshire. Traditionalists said enough was enough, Diocese of Los Angeles, which meant he would serve in tandem with the retirand 20 bishops, led by Robert Duncan, the Bishop of Pittsburgh, protested at ing bishop, Frederick Borsch, while learning the episcopal ropes. Borsch the church’s general convention. stepped down roughly two years later, and, in February 2002, the Rt. Reverend Their quarrel, conservatives stress, is not over the issue of homosexuality J. Jon Bruno became the city’s sixth bishop, charged with the oversight and spiritual counseling of 85,000 Episcopalians in 147 in Los Angeles, Orange, per se, but that the majority of the church’s bishops had assented to someRiverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. thing they felt was counter to a strict interpretation of scriptural teaching. As things turned out, the bishop’s skills as a reconciler extraordinaire “From the Christian perspective, there are two appropriately chaste lifestyles: were more needed in the new millenium than even his fiercest supporters sex within marriage — between a man and a woman — and abstinence,” says could have imagined. Indeed, Bruno’s tenure has been marked by controversy, Father Bill Thompson of All Saints Church in Long Beach, which came into and his response has been a tenacious defense of his ideals. At the heart of it conflict with Bruno. has been his fervent support of gay parishioners, gay clergy and gay marriage Thompson’s Long Beach parish was among roughly 50 churches out of — an issue that continues to rock the secular world as well in the aftermath of the country’s 7,200 congregations that have left the Episcopal fold since 2003. the recent passage of Prop. 8, which banned same-sex weddings in California. All Saints and two other L.A. churches — St. James Church in Newport Beach “It is really important that we start seeing other people not as the Other but and St. David’s Church in North Hollywood — transferred their allegiance to as our sister and brother,” Bruno says. “I think we have evolved to the point conservative Anglican bishop Evans Kisekka of the Diocese of Luweero in where we understand sexuality not as an aberrant behavior but as a gift from Uganda in late summer 2004. A fourth parish, St Luke’s of the Mountains in God. I don’t want to ignore the plight of gay humanity. I believe that God creLa Crescenta, followed roughly 18 months later. ated gay people as well as heterosexuals like myself in the image of God. As bishop, Bruno’s goal was to build consensus, so he jumped into the They’re entitled to the support and love of the church.” The bishop adds that fray, encouraging both sides to engage each other in seminars led by one of he himself has not officiated at a gay wedding because he hasn’t been asked. the diocese’s most conservative priests. “We dialogued until the cows came home,” Thompson recalls. “And, as a result, both sides did less demonizing of Pushing society’s boundaries is nothing new for the Episcopal Church, the other, and that’s a plus. We built a good relationship. But nobody’s views which has accepted women into the priesthood since 1975. That change, howwere being changed. Ultimately, we felt we could not continue to be part of an ever, ruffled few feathers compared to some of the new theological thinking that has been emerging. In tune with the sweeping social changes of the ’60s, organization that was denying the authority of scripture. We had to make the more progressive members of the clergy had begun to focus on social justice move for our integrity.” and the affirmation of the individual rather than Biblical authority, strictly The controversy continues. The churches want to do more than leave interpreted, and the concepts of sin and salvation. the fold; they want to take their assets — i.e., church buildings, to which For many Episcopal churches, that has included vocal support for the gay they hold title, and their contents — with them. The diocese counters that, community. For Bruno, equal rights is nothing short of gospel. “Somewhere when the parishes were founded, they signed articles of incorporation clearin Jon’s interior is a call to step out and encourage those who can’t speak for —CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 9

SPIRIT

This Bishop’s No Pawn

SPIRIT

A bird church on the grounds of the bishop’s Pasadena residence —CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

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ly stating that church property would be held in trust for the local diocese in perpetuity. The issue is now in the state courts. In June 2007, the Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the diocese’s position, but the disaffected parishes have appealed. A decision from the California Supreme Court is expected by January 2009. The traditionalist/progressive debate has spread beyond the United States to the Worldwide Anglican Communion, an organization of churches representing more than 88 million Anglicans and Episcopalians from 160 countries. Its spiritual head — the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams — has declined to take sides in the dispute between Third World churches, which are heirs to conservative missionary theology, and their progressive counterparts in the West, whom many of the former regard as heretics. But that hasn’t stopped the Bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles from pleading his cause. “It’s time for [Archbishop Rowan Williams] to stop being Chamberlain and start acting like Churchill,” Bruno told the diocese at a ministry fair in March 2007. A month later, Bruno’s stance on the issue elicited a fierce attack from VirtueOnline.com, which calls itself “the voice for global Orthodox Anglicanism.” Site founder David Virtue accused Bruno of heresy, saying he had changed “the church’s teaching to fit Gene Robinson’s sexual proclivities... Bruno and the liberals can’t have their cake and eat it, too. To stay in the communion means conforming to the Church’s received teaching and not piling a lot of ‘evolutionary,’ post-Christian, doctrine-changing, feel-my-pain, I’m-asodomite-and-God-loves-me-just-the-way-I-am-and-what-I-do-with-mybody-is-none-of-your-damn-business. It is precisely the Church’s business to tell us how we should behave with hearts, minds and bodies. It should be 180 degrees from what the world and Hollywood are selling, in addition to anything flaky coming out of the Diocese of Los Angeles!” But controversy hasn’t deterred him. Sipping coffee in the kitchen of the bishop’s official residence in Pasadena, Bruno explains why he believes the church should be able to bless gay unions and his reasons for opposing Prop. 8. “My real problem with the proposition is that it says the populace should be able to override the legislature and the courts and rewrite the state’s constitution,” he says. “But, beyond that, we’re intended to be in a relationship. And if that’s true, how can I deny gay people the right to have a union blessed?” Bruno put ad money where his mouth is in a full-page Los Angeles Times ad he and Reverend Bryan Jones of Long Beach published on July 23, 2006, in —CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

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SPIRIT

—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

response to an Op-Ed piece titled “Liberal Christianity is Paying for Its Sins.” The ad’s headline was “Open Hearted, Open Minded Christianity”; it discussed the importance of Christianity being inclusive of people “regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation” and defended that position as one buttressed by “a firm foundation of biblical, historic faith.” Bruno also lent his full backing to George Regas, Rector Emeritus of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, when an anti-war sermon he gave two days before the 2004 election caused the IRS to investigate All Saints’ nonprofit, tax-exempt status. “It was absolutely right for George to say what he did from the pulpit,” says Bruno, whose support included contributing personally to All Saints’ defense fund. “I read George’s sermon, and there was nothing in that sermon that told anybody whom to vote for. George said what anybody would tell them to do: Go out and vote tomorrow.” In September 2007, the IRS concluded that the violation was a one-time occurrence and opted against fining the church. On a nearby kitchen counter in the bishop’s residence stands a hand-carved crèche of olive wood, which turns the discussion from legal battles to the upcoming holiday season and the Holy Land. Since July 2005, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has shared a relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Bruno — whose passion for reconciliation has extended, since becoming Bishop, to working with the area’s Jews, Christians and Muslims — makes frequent visits there. Recently, Mary and Jon Bruno traveled to Zebabdeh in the West Bank to visit St. Mathew’s Episcopal Church. There they met students of the Latin Patriarch School, where children of all faiths are trained in peacemaking. Mary Bruno’s response to this visit was to found Educate For Hope, a project to fund tuition, books and uniforms for 20 students now, with more to come. “The Brunos are recognized as having taken the lead in the U.S. Episcopal Church in supporting the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem,” adds Sandy Smock of San Marino, a former senior warden at San Gabriel’s Church of Our Saviour who, with his wife, Sue, has accompanied the Brunos on three trips to the Middle East. They believe that peace in Jerusalem will breed world peace. Los Angeles programs established under Bruno’s leadership include Hands in Healing, an initiative to prevent violence; the Kaleidoscope Project, addressing the needs of the diocese’s multicultural communities; and the Reconciliation Project, whose goal is just what its name implies — to help

people with differing backgrounds and opinions somehow find a way to work together. “When people all get together — instead of being individuals like the fingers on my hand — we move to this position of community where we become stronger,” says Bruno, entwining his fingers in an attitude of prayer to emphasize his point. “You can’t rend us asunder from one another.” So how did the son of a former Jesuit wind up in the Episcopal Church? It began with a chance invitation to a dance at Church of the Epiphany in East L.A. when Bruno was in high school. “I got talking to people and was really drawn into the social justice of the Episcopal Church,” Bruno recalls. “I’d grown up in a household with a real justice mentality. My mother was one of the people who protested the Chavez Ravine [public housing] development coming in [in the early ’50s]. She didn’t want people to be put out of their homes.” In college, Bruno attended both Catholic and Episcopal churches while “testing all sorts of other faith traditions.” After earning a degree in physical education from Cal State L.A., the sturdy 6-foot-4 athlete showed up for tryouts for the Denver Broncos. But an injury sustained while he was trying out abruptly ended his dreams of playing pro ball. Instead, for the next 51/2 years, Bruno served as a patrol officer for the Burbank Police Department. “While I was educated to be a teacher, I was also educated to be a person of service,” Bruno says. “Law enforcement was a way to achieve that.” Bruno might well have remained a cop but for two incidents: He says he saved a young boy involved in a drunk-driving accident with CPR and prayer despite a doctor’s assertion that he was wasting his time on a brain-dead child. Today, the boy is a 40-year-old man living a normal life. Bruno was honored by the City of Burbank but says, “The great reward was realizing that God answers prayers.” In the second incident, Bruno and his partner were shot at by a suspect while investigating a crime scene. Bruno returned fire, killing the man. For the next year, he suffered from post-traumatic stress; the shooting racked his dreams every night. Eventually, a friend who was a Roman Catholic priest suggested that Bruno go to confession, or, as the Episcopal Church calls it, the Reconciliation of a Penitent. Bruno agreed to give it a try. “And I said, ‘Thank you very much’ and was on my way,” Bruno recalls. “I thought, ‘This isn’t going to do anything.’ But I went to bed and I never had the dream again. So now I’d also learned something about forgiveness. All started to mesh.” Not long after that, Bruno enrolled at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, where he earned his master of divinity degree in 1977. “A voice in my head said, ‘Jonny, quit fighting this so much – listen!’” Bruno says. “I just loved it. The ministry continues to be just the right place.” AM ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 15

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THEATER

Babes Onstage THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE LINKS ARMS WITH THEATRE 360, A PROFESSIONAL CHILDREN'S COMPANY, TO STAGE VICTOR HERBERT'S HOLIDAY CLASSIC, “BABES IN TOYLAND.” BY LYNNE HEFFLEY | PHOTOS BY ED KRIEGER

In a downstairs church hall one November evening, actors at an early rehearsal of “Babes in Toyland” listened as theater director Devon

Phony grins and cutesy poses wouldn’t fly in Pasadena-based Theatre 360’s upcoming production of the holiday musical, she told them. “You have to be honest, be in the moment.” A youthful figure clad in black, Yates ran her actors through a key number again and again. As they sang and learned their cues and blocking, she urged them to get inside the skin — and fluff and fur — of their characters: the dolls, puppets and stuffed animals, that is, who come to life in Victor Herbert's classic 1903 operetta, with an updated book and lyrics by Alice Hammerstein Mathias (the daughter of Oscar Hammerstein II) and William Mount-Burke. Child’s play? Not exactly — although Theatre 360’s actors range in age from grade schoolers to high school seniors. Despite occasional giggles and brief bursts of chatter, what was happening during the company’s rehearsal in the utilitarian church hall was serious theater arts training. Professionalism and a passion for theater are central to the lessons taught by Yates, the company’s co-founder and artistic director, and her staff. A spark of added tension and excitement was evident in the hall, however, and with good reason: When the curtain goes up on the show this month, it won’t be in the company’s usual venue — the basement gymnasium of the First Baptist Church of Pasadena — before an audience perched on folding chairs. Instead, the show’s cast of 41 will bask in the spotlight on the stage of the venerable Pasadena Playhouse. The historic regional theater, the official State Theatre of California, is hosting Theatre 360’s children’s–theater production of “Babes in Toyland” as its mainstage holiday offering. The production, which runs from Dec. 12 through 21, will include pre-show activities and lavish holiday trimmings in

Yates laid down the law: “We want real children. We don’t want cheesy child beauty pageant stars.”

—CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 17

THEATER

—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

the venue’s Spanish Revival courtyard, provided by the Friends of the Pasadena Playhouse. While the family show, with its updated notes of jazz, swing and bossa nova, is coming to the space on a rental basis, the playhouse is helping Theatre 360 enhance the production by offering one-on-one mentoring, pairing the company’s teenage production staff and crew with professionals. The collaborative effort has been funded with the playhouse's $100,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation, part of a program encouraging strategic partnerships between local arts organizations. The trial collaboration could mark the beginning of an ongoing relationship that would give Theatre 360 a chance to grow and enrich its programs “by learning from and working with the folks here in all areas, whether it’s production or marketing, education or fundraising,” said playhouse Interim Managing Director Ken Novice. In turn, the professional theater benefits by being able to expand the amount and types of programming it offers and so bring in new audiences. “We’re trying to see how it works for both companies involved, making sure it’s a good fit,” said Sheldon Epps, Pasadena Playhouse’s artistic director. “Babes in Toyland,” he said, is the “dating” phase. If it is successful, he added, it could lead to a marriage between the two companies. Inclusion of other theater companies is a priority for Epps, who took over leadership in 1997. Directors Lab West is an artist-in-residence program there, and the edgy Furious Theatre Company moved into the complex’s smaller Carrie Hamilton Theatre upstairs in 2004. Furious’ co-founder, Damaso Rodriguez, is now the associate artistic director of the playhouse. “The playhouse does act as a sort of surrogate big brother,” said Brad Price, director of development and a Furious ensemble member, “in providing resources that we could in no way get all by ourselves: marketing, support from administrative staff, guidance in terms of professional design and execution of the productions themselves, and an introduction to a much larger audience base than we had when we were flying solo.” “Ideally,” Epps said, “we would discover the same kind of ongoing partnership with Theatre 360 that we’ve had with Furious.” The playhouse offers matinees for middle and high school students but has only sporadically presented family-oriented shows. Epps began talks with Yates in a bid to fill that void after seeing the company’s youth production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” earlier this year. “I was impressed with the work and the fact that they took it quite seriously, and with the level of talent of the young people involved,” he said. Yates is equally smitten. “It’s an amazing opportunity for us, and an amazing opportunity to show what these kids can do,” she says. “Often people think children’s theater is just adults performing for kids, or it’s the school play. But our kids are very, very professional.” 18 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

A theater and dance professional, Yates based her vision for Theatre 360 on her own experience as a student at the respected San Diego Junior Theatre. “We were always treated like adults, and that’s the way we teach our kids. We don’t belittle them, there’s no shouting. If there’s a problem, we’ll figure it out. If you don’t get this step today, you’ll get it tomorrow. “ Her approach attracted “Babes in Toyland” cast member Grace Olinski, 11, who says the best thing about Theatre 360 is that “they believe that kids can actually do it.” Since the company’s launch in 1999 as the Pasadena Junior Theatre, it has grown to serve 400 to 500 budding actors ages 3 to 19 with a theater arts curriculum. As part of its technical and performance training, Theatre 360 offers a “Come Play With Us” course and, for more serious students, “Immersion Arts” and advanced “academy” programs. Fees for the 10and 12-week sessions range from $150 to $440. The company stages two plays and three musicals each year. Past productions have included “Seussical,”“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Oliver!” and “Spring Awakening,” the Frank Wedekind drama that is the basis for the Tonywinning musical. Last summer, Yates took 19 of her advanced students to New York for workshops with Christian Hoff, Tony Award – winner for “Jersey Boys” (and a San Diego Junior Theatre alumnus), and other theater professionals. The students developed and choreographed their own show as a fund-raiser for the trip. One student who said he “got chills” standing on the “Jersey Boys” stage is Sammy Lopez, 17, a senior at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, who plays the comic villain in “Babes in Toyland.” Lopez joined Theatre 360 at age 9 as the first step toward the future he envisions: appearing on Broadway and opening his own children’s theater “just like this one” on the East Coast. Lopez credits his Theatre 360 training and “the sense of professionalism they teach us” with preparing him for his upcoming college auditions. He said he’ll be sad to leave Theatre 360 — “I grew up here” — but performing at the Pasadena Playhouse is the perfect sendoff. “I mean, Dustin Hoffman has walked that stage.” (Hoffman, Gene Hackman, Raymond Burr and Robert Young were among many Hollywood actors who trained at the playhouse’s College of Theatre Arts. It was accredited in 1936 and dissolved permanently in 1969.) Words nearly fail Lopez’s fellow “Babes in Toyland” cast member Olinski when asked how she feels about performing at the playhouse. “When we get there, it will probably be this rush of anxiety,” she said, brown eyes sparkling. “But to be on that stage, it’s… it’s just … wow!” AM "Babes in Toyland" runs from Dec. 12 through 21 at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. (There’s also a student matinee Dec. 17 at 10:30 a.m.) Tickets cost $30 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 children under age 18. Call (626) 356-7529 or visit www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.

POLITICS

Obama at Occidental THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SPOKE SOFTLY WHEN HE WAS A STUDENT AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE – WHO KNEW HE WAS GOING TO END UP CARRYING SUCH A BIG STICK? BY LYLE JAMES SLACK

Tom Moyes remembers the first time he heard the name Barack Obama. It was in the fall of 2004, after the electrifying speech Obama delivered at the 2004 Democratic Convention. That was the oration, of course, which introduced the young would-be Illinois Senator to America and inspired an instant following not only in the U.S. but around the world. Moyes had missed the speech because he was on an extended vacation in New Zealand at the time. “So I pick up this newspaper,” says Moyes, who grew up in San Gabriel and graduated from Occidental College in Eagle Rock, “and it has this huge article about this guy Barack Obama. And it says he had gone to Occidental at the same time I was there. And I said to myself, ‘There’s no way.’ I’d never heard the name Barack; I’m thinking it must be a mistake. “So I call a friend I went to Oxy with, Ken Sulzer, and I say, ‘Ken, I’m down here in New Zealand and there’s this article about some guy named Barack that went to college with us. Who is that?!’” “I said, ‘That’s Barry, man,’” says Sulzer, using the nickname Obama went by during his youth, “the guy with the big afro who lived across the hall from me in the dorm.’ And Tom — he was just astounded. Because we all knew each other pretty well for that period of time. Those are pretty cramped quarters in Haines Hall, triples, three in a room, so you left your door open all the time and you spent a lot of time in the hallway just hanging out.” After he returned to the U.S., Moyes, now CFO for a TV advertising broker in San Diego, got out his Oxy yearbooks and searched for photos of Barry Obama, class of ’83. Occidental is a small liberal arts college with slightly more than 1,800 students, “so —CONTINUED ON PAGE 21 ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 19

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—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

everyone’s in the yearbook, I mean everyone” he says, “But for those two years, there’s only one picture of him, and it’s this small shot of him at the back of the room.” These days, a lot of Barry Obama’s former classmates are wondering the same thing that flummoxed Tom Moyes — how could they have crossed paths with the future President of the United States and not realized it, not had some inkling that the guy was destined for greatness? “If I’d known he was going to be president,” says Kent Goss, who shot a lot of hoop with Obama in the fall of ’79, “I’d have paid a lot more attention.” Obama’s near invisibility at Occidental may itself be the most telling point about the President–elect from that period, the dawn of his intellectual coming of age. Americans are used to presidents who were consumed by political ambition in their youth, determined to become president first and content to figure out, almost as an afterthought, what they would do once they got the job. And yet Sulzer doesn’t remember that Obama was even interested in electoral politics at Occidental. Adds Moyes, “If you asked everyone at Oxy to rank the people who might be president, he’d be the last. He’s the most regular guy I could imagine as president.” He was, in effect, the man who would not be president. Unlike so many who came before him, he has arrived at the presidency by focusing not on what he wanted to be, but rather on what he wanted to do. As David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, observed on “60 Minutes” the Sunday after the election, “So often what defines presidential candidates is this need to be president, to define themselves. He didn’t have that. And you know, we told him, ‘You’re gonna have to find some other way to motivate yourself.’ And he did – which was what he could do as president.” Obama reportedly chose Occidental to be near a girl he met in Hawaii; he transferred to Columbia University in 1981, at the end of his sophomore year. If anything concrete can be said of his time there, it is that those were years when the future president was quietly beginning to figure out what he wanted to accomplish in his life — even if he had no idea exactly how he would get there. Kathy Cooper-Ledesma, now senior pastor of Hollywood United Methodist Church, was in Prof. Roger Boesche’s 19th-century political thought course with Obama, and she says what struck her then about Obama was his methodical mind: “He would ask questions and just pursue an idea, a train of thought, really just for the sake of learning. Clearly, he so enjoyed talking about public policies and about ways to take what we were learning from Tocqueville and others and apply that today.” Sulzer, now a senior partner in the international law firm of Seyfarth Shaw, also took one of Boesche’s poli-sci classes with Obama; he remembers a time when they got all got a paper back in class: “Obama and I were walking back to the dorm and — listen, I was a year older and I thought I was a pretty smart guy — so I say, ‘I got an A, Barry, what’d you get?’ And he kind of wouldn’t tell me and just tried to change the subject in his low-key cool way.

So I grabbed his paper out of his hand — and he’d gotten an A-plus. That’s when it hit me just how bright he was.” “I could add to that,” says John Boyer, Sulzer’s Occidental roommate and now a dermatological surgeon in Hawaii. “I was an all-American track athlete and pre-med, so I was working my tail off in school and studied hard, and I would usually be leaving the library around 11 at night. And I would see Barry coming in as I came out. I’d talk to him, and I could see that he was going to hunker down and do some work. One of those time,s I went back to the room and told Ken, and Ken said, ‘Oh man, he hasn’t even started on that paper!’ “And that,” Boyer continues, “was the paper he got the A-plus on. I was just amazed, because he had pretty tough professors. But it was like with Beethoven — he had the music in his head; he just had to put it on paper.” Years later, Boyer worked on Capitol Hill in the Navy medical clinic that serves members of Congress. There he met many of the major political figures in the country, “and looking back on that now,” he says, “I realize Obama had all the qualities of those people. They’re wonderfully engaging people who are quick to find common ground with others. I think Obama, even at that point in college, had a naturally gifted skill set in terms of interacting with people and debating in a way that was not caustic.” Still, Boyer says his most vivid memory of the time he spent with Obama in dormitory bull sessions or going out for pizza at the tiny ’50s pizza parlor, Casa Bianca, is just how much they laughed together. “I would always laugh around him. He had just a great sense of humor, a very quick wit.” Obama classmate Goss, now an attorney with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Los Angeles, played on the Occidental basketball team the entire four years he was there and subscribes to what in the B-ball world is known as the Bill Bradley Test: You can find out everything you need to know about somebody by spending 20 minutes on the court with him. And what did the Bradley Test tell him about Obama? “He was a guy who was very conscious of what was going on around him. He saw the court well. He shared the ball. And he wasn’t afraid to go to the hoop – which sometimes means there’s a lot of contact.” The laid-back Obama dropped off the map for most of those who knew him at Occidental until they saw him deliver his landmark speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. That was the moment they came face-to-face with the unexpected path he’d taken to accomplish the things he began thinking about 25 years earlier in Eagle Rock. Like millions of others, Kathy CooperLedesma was impressed by the speech, but what impressed her even more, she says, was learning about the years Obama had spent as a community organizer. “Nobody becomes a community organizer as a route to the presidency,” she says. “But because of Roger Boesche’s and Tocqueville’s emphasis on community and America, I know that was [part] of Obama’s formative foundational understanding of political theory. And I know — because I did community organizing for a couple of years before I went to seminary — it’s such a noble profession, to really work with people who need a voice, who need to be heard.” AM ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 21

ARROYO

HOME&DESIGN

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Ferguson Bath & Kitchen Make sure to visit the Ferguson showroom, which has been serving Pasadena for 15 years. Let Ferguson showroom staff Sarah and Antaya help you with your appliances, sinks, faucets, tools, accessories, environmentally safe tankless water heaters, and commercial and residential lighting needs. Ferguson Pasadena is your one-stop shop from underground to finish. Ferguson Pasadena is small, but flexible. Visit us at 157 Vista Ave. or at www.ferguson.com or call (626) 795-9551.

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Every great town has one amazing street that forms its heart and soul, and in San Marino, that spot is Mission Street. Filled with shops, boutiques, restaurants and salons, the bustling yet beautiful shopping district has some of the San Gabriel Valley’s absolute best businesses – including a few that PW’s own readers selected as winners in our recent Best Of issue. If you’re looking for unusual gifts and fashion accessories from around the world, head right over to Simply Fresh, a hip and charming wonderland with a very friendly staff. Whether choosing from European Bath items, Paris Chic décor, edgy fun jewelry, eye-catching purses, stylish hair accessories or an extensive collection of cards and notes, you’ll find one-stop shopping at your fingertips. Jennifer Allen and Jane Popovich, are the mother-daughter team of owners at Flutter. They carry everything from denim to evening gowns and everything in between” in addition to a great shoe department that serves as the only footwear boutique on the street. Winner of PW’s Best Women’s Clothing 2008. Paperwhites offers a fine selection of wedding and special occasion invitations, birth and moving announcements, social and business stationery, holiday cards and personalized gifts. The store specializes in all types of printing including thermography, engraving and letterpress. Angie and Allison consider it a blessing to be part of a profession that is founded on the celebrations of life, marriage, a new life and endless other joyous moments. Kids need great clothing too, and that’s why Saturday’s Child is the place to shop for all the young ones in your life infant to size 16. Featuring items from Isabel Garreton, Splendid, Ella

Moss, Kissy Kissy, Petit Bateaux and Vineyard Vines. “We like bringing smiles to the children of this community and like making moms happy,” says owner Kim Shepherd, “No one leaves here without a smile. That’s a rule.” When it’s time for a new look, it’s time to take a look at The Gates Salon. Their expert colorists and stylists consult with each and every customer to determine the best shape and shade for each individual. Even better, their waxing services are the best in the business. Let the experienced group of professionals take care of you. Festive Decorating and Holiday Gift Giving begins at Fancy That! From the unexpected and unique to all things traditional in decorating and gift giving, enjoy one stop shopping—and their signature complimentary gift wrap at both Fancy That! locations. Enter a shop with the magical appeal of a jewel box by setting foot in Single Stone, where old time glamour combines with modern sophistication to offer a wonderful array of rings, eternity bands, earrings and pendants featuring diamonds and semi-precious stones. Best of all, their custom designers are available to create your own signature piece. Holiday Sale going on now! Head over to Develle for some of the most unique and spectacular fashions to be found anywhere, offering exclusive clothing lines from the finest European designers, but it’s her highly personal approach that she and her staff take pride in. “We have everything from custom couture to dressy casual and formal evening wear in a full range of sizes from 2 to 16,” says owner Wynn Develle. ■

FINE VINTAGE & CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY 2527 Mission Street, San Marino, CA 91108, t 626.799.3109 607 South Hill Street, Suite 204, Los Angeles, CA 90014, t 213.892.0772 www.singlestone.com

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Obama-rama Ring in the new year with an art poster of the country’s new rock-star president, Barack Obama. They’re designed and signed by L.A.’s very own guerrilla/fine artist Robbie Conal (he of last decade’s ubiquitous street poster declaring Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker “False Profits” fame). The 18-by-24-inch offset lithos tout the imminent “Climate Change” in Washington, and at only $25 a pop, they can stuff a whole lot of stockings. The posters are available at www.robbieconal.com.

Radio Days Art Deco lovers swoon over the sensual curves of vintage radios from their golden age. The rebuilt and refinished models at Fancy That! do more than rely on their good looks: They actually play AM radio with the period hum that once warmed the tones of FDR’s fireside chats. The store also offers $300 transmitters that you can use to play music stored in your iPod, laptop computer or CD player. Try piping a little Ella Fitzgerald through some of those oldfashioned tubes at your next party. Prices range from $300 for a non-working antique to $1,345 for a Zenith floor model. Fancy That! is located at 2575 Mission St., San Marino, (626) 403-2575.

Toast the Season In the one-size-fits-all (except teetotallers) category, there’s the ever-popular gift of liquor: If you want to impress with your largesse, consider Delamain’s $7,000 limited edition of Le Voyage, its consummate cognac dubbed the “Best of the Best” 2008 Spirit by the Robb Report. The vintage blend, made from Grande Champagne grapes, comes in a Baccarat crystal decanter, which is housed in a dovetail leather traveling box made in France. The company, family owned since 1759, says its finest handcrafted cognac embodies a veritable world of aromas — Russian leather, tropical musk, American tobacco, African coffee and Far East spice. France may be the motherland of cognac, but if rum’s your drink, you’d do well to look south. Brazil’s Oronoco has been producing a fine, clear rum from mountain-grown sugar cane for more than 20 years, and its leather-bound Fazenda Rum Reserva would make a handsome addition to any home bar ($35 to $37.95 for a 750-ml bottle). Delamain’s limited edition Le Voyage is available by special order from Mission Liquor & Wines, which also carries Oronoco rum. Mission is located at 1785 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 794-7026. Oronoco is also available at Super Liquors, 125 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 744-9579.

—CONTINUED ON PAGE 40 ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 39

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

Skin Deep Affordable luxury is often an oxymoron, but when it comes to cutting-edge skin care, it doesn’t (necessarily) take the equivalent of a car payment to make a woman feel pampered. Paris-based Clarins has come out with a high-end, highly customized brand developed by Dr. Oliver Courtin-Clarins, son of the company’s founders: My Blend uses a complex system of creams, lotions, cleansers and “boosters” you can mix and match to target any combination of skin woes — from dryness to jet lag. Prices range from $55 to $250. U.K.-born Nude Skincare says it’s raising the bar on green anti-aging products with its natural brews of probiotics, peptides and essential fatty acids in biodegradable, recycled packaging. The product line — whose investors include Bono — has been winning raves from the British press; U.K. Harper’s Bazaar’s Newby Hands declared the Cleansing Facial Oil “quite simply, the best cleanser I’ve used” and the Replenishing Night Oil her “new essential.” A 15 ml container of Night Oil is sold separately for $78 or as part of a five-piece travel set, which comes tucked in a cosmetic bag made from recycled seat belts ($148). My Blend is available at Fred Segal Studio, 500 Broadway, Santa Monica, (310) 3948509. Nude Skincare is available at Barneys New York, 9570 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 276-4400, and at www.nudeskincare.com.

Ambient Santas For gifting your hosts at holiday parties or throwing your own, Ino Schaller’s collectible Santas are seasonal décor that lovers of tradition will want to hold onto. These hand-blown glass ornaments and figures are modeled on classic papiermâché designs Schaller created in the 1940s and ’50s in Bavaria, and they’re now produced in limited editions by his descendents in collaboration with licensees. Note Schaller’s signature surprise of a hidden compartment inside the 9-inch-tall Santa, which holds another St. Nick in miniature ($600). The 4-inch-tall tree ornaments cost $57.50. Ino Schaller décor is available at Fancy That!, 2575 Mission St., San Marino, (626) 403-2575.

40 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

Joyful Jewelry Little blue boxes are always welcome additions around any holiday tree or menorah, but if you want to make a serious investment in staying on the good side of your recipient, tuck Tiffany’s rose-cut diamond earrings ($21,000) inside one of them. More recession-friendly are these 4-inch-long sculptural beauties ($75) by Pasadena artist Jacqueline Jefferies. “I like my jewelry to feel organic,” she says. “I’m not precise about angles and shapes. The jewelry moves with you...sways.” Tiffany & Co. is located at 68 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 793-7424. Jefferies’ jewelry is available at www.jmjefferies.com.

Gifts that Give Back Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics offers a Santa’s workshop full of heavenly bath bombs, soaps and lotions, cheerily packaged for the holidays. The gift that gives twice is Lush’s Charity Box ($59.95), which includes a Charity Pot hand and body lotion that normally sells for $20.95; purchased as part of the Charity Box, the pot’s entire retail price (excluding tax) will be donated to environmental, conservation and animal welfare nonprofits. The Charity Box also includes a Nutts massage bar, Fair Trade Foot Lotion and Olive Branch shower gel – all made with fair trade ingredients. With all the good mojo created by those products, a bar of Karma soap brings it all together. Stuff some stockings with stretchy itslaS-tik shopping bags that will not only help the givee stay green at the grocer but will lend a helping hand to parts of New Orleans that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The bags — which come in a nifty array of colors and patterns — are made there, providing employment, and 5 percent of sales go to Hope House, which provides a wide array of social services to NOLA’s underprivileged population. Prices range from $11.99 to $24.99. Lush Cosmetics is located at 24 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 792-0901 or visit www.lush.com. Its-laS-tik bags are available at www.whatsurbag-usa.com.

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BOOKS

Hometown Pasadena, Sweet Hometown PROSPECT PARK BOOKS’ COLLEEN DUNN BATES DISCOVERS THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLISHING BOOKS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE DONE. BY LYLE JAMES SLACK

“I’d been working out of my home office,” says publisher Colleen Dunn Bates, “but ‘Hometown Pasadena’ took off so fast, it took over our dining room and then my house, and finally my kids told me I had to move out.” Forty years ago, Volkswagen declared that small is beautiful. If the guidebook that this Little Publisher That Could gave birth to two years ago is any gauge, small is still beautiful. “Hometown Pasadena” turned out to be a surprisingly handsome, colorful and irreverent 256-page tour of everything Pasadena — restaurants, theater, music, clubs, architecture, hiking trails, even a chapter titled “Cemeteries We Love!” “That was one of our writers, Sandy Gillis,” veteran journalist Bates, 50, says with a laugh. “She said, ‘If you love landscaping and gardens, that’s what cemeteries are.’” Bates’ unusual guidebook — written by locals for locals — debuted in October 2006, sold out by Christmas and eventually went through four printings. And now Prospect Park Books has published a larger, updated edition for 2009-10. Apart from weeding out all the restaurants, food sources and drinking spots that have closed down in the past two years and adding a ton of new ones, the recent release features a new chapter on literary Pasadena, a new Q&A about horticulture, a tribute to the retrofitted Pasadena City Hall, more information on gardens and nurseries, an article on the historic Arroyo arts culture, new galleries and a sidebar on the happening Highland Park gallery scene — plus listings for lots of new shops, including a section on the burgeoning mid-century antique row on East Colorado Boulevard. 42 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

“A big part of the book’s success is the element of discovery,” says Sherri Valentine, a book buyer for Vroman’s Bookstore, which sold nearly 2,700 copies of the original edition. “I’ve lived in the San Gabriel Valley pretty much my whole life, and when I flipped through it, here were all these places in my own backyard that I never knew about.” The heady success of Bates’ first book gave the sixth-generation Californian the confidence to move forward with six other books, including similarly cheeky guides for Santa Barbara, the Eastern Sierra and Santa Monica, which Library Journal praised as “witty and informative” and “an essential acquisition for L.A.-area libraries.” Bates also published another ode to the Crown City in the hardcover, lavishly illustrated “At Home: Pasadena,” which won a 2008 Independent Book Publishers Awards silver medal. Rounding out her catalog are “A Pocket of Paradise: The Story of Beach Road,” a portrait of Capistrano Beach by her father, Joe Dunn, and two food books: “The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes and Stories from the Market and Farm” by Amelia Saltsman and the newly minted “Eat: Los Angeles – The Food Lover’s Guide to Los Angeles,” featuring “more than 1,000 of the best restaurants, breakfast cafes, ´ gourmet markets, taco trucks, cookbook stores, sushi bars, farmers’ markets, caterers, bakeries, coffeehouses, cheese shops, food festivals, cooking schools, ethnic markets” and more. Bates first tackled guidebooks 25 years ago when, fresh out of USC’s School of Journalism, she got a job working for the Paris-based Gault Millau (which produced restaurant guides in the U.S. and internationally), eventually rising to editor of its L.A.-based operations. The introduction was not a

Photos: Courtesy of Prospect Park Books

This is it — the world headquarters of Prospect Park Books, Pasadena publishing house extraordinaire. Perched above a machine shop on South Raymond Avenue, the place consists of two small rooms and a bathroom the staff shares with the other second-floor tenant, a map-maker — and this is a step up for the budding imprint.

happy one. “I thought if I had to read one more bland, generic guidebook,” says the no-nonsense Bates, “I’d shoot myself.” In 1992, she moved to Pasadena with her film editor–husband, Darryl, and joined the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. After a year there as food editor, Bates left so that she could have a more flexible schedule while raising her two daughters. For the next decade, she worked as a freelance writer and editor for half a dozen different city magazines, including the now-defunct L.A. Style. Her editor there was Susan LaTempa, who teamed up with her to write a tour guide to the real places children learn about in countless bedtime stories. In 2002, “Storybook Travels: From Eloise’s New York to Harry Potter’s London, Visits to 30 of the Best-Loved Landmarks in Children’s Literature” came out to solid reviews, with Peter Greenberg of “The Today Show” praising its “approach to family travel that keeps the child alive in all of us.” But the publisher, Random House, put little into promoting the book, Bates says. “We had to sit and watch the book die,” she says in a husky voice. “It was so disheartening.” She traced the problem to what she saw as the new realities of the book business: Editors didn’t get the chance to edit but were forced to ram projects through the pipeline so they could get them out quickly. And promoting them? Ha. “Everything we got in terms of publicity and marketing we got as the result of our own effort,” she says. “So I thought, if I have to do all the work to market it, I might as well do it for myself instead of Random House, and then I can control it and have it be right.” Casting around for a new book idea, Bates circled back to an observation that had been gestating in her mind for some years — that Los Angeles, known as the sprawling, decentralized city of the future, was in fact devolving back into a more traditionally structured community, where (nearly) everyone knew your name. “I grew up in an era of L.A. where, no matter where you wanted to go, you were never more than 20 minutes away,” she says. “Not anymore. So one thing I think I’ve tapped into is a strong sense of neighborhood. Partly, it’s that people want to be in their community, especially a place like Pasadena where we’re all really proud of being here and want to explore [where we live]. And partly it’s because you may want to go to Santa Monica, but you don’t have five hours to make the trip.” Bates decided to celebrate the city in an untested way. “I’ve always loved the idea of what a guidebook could be, because I’m a true nonfiction feature kind of writer,” she says. “I like telling people things that are fun to know about, fun to do.” What sort of fun things? That a New Yorker magazine writer once said Pasadena is a city “where very old people live in very big houses with their parents.” That Trader Joe’s was born in South Pasadena and that Soumarelo’s rotisserie chicken first clucked in Pasadena. Over the years, Bates had come to love the unexpected diversity of the city, so she decided that her guidebook would be written by a team of local journalists who, like Bates herself, had lived most of their lives in Pasadena or environs and knew the town intimately. “I told the writers this is not generic — I want personality. I want to hear your voice.” One way they accomplished that was by using feature stories as well as listings to create their portrait of the city. Thus, interviews with Caltech professors like “bioinorganic” chemistry pioneer Harry B. Gray and mechanical engineer Melany Hunt, who stud-

Colleen Dunn Bates

ies “singing sand” dunes that make a booming sound in an avalanche. And the new edition’s excerpts from novels by Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Morrow Mayo and others whose stories are set, at least in part, in the city. Longtime resident Sally Miller wrote a piece about treading every single block of the city with her stubby-legged, walk-loving mutt, Otto. Bates even included a primer on racism in Pasadena. “There has been a history of conservatism here,” she says, “and I think it’s important to know what that was about.” With “Hometown Pasadena,” Bates finally had complete control of the publishing process, and she relished it. “I fussed over every single thing. I wanted it to be to my standards, and it was.” She was determined, for instance, to use a photo on the back cover of Albert Einstein, who taught at Caltech in the 1930s. Yet virtually every known photograph of Einstein is controlled by Getty Images, a major — and expensive — stock photo agency, which wanted $5,000 for publication rights. Bates says that lordly sum “was more than my entire editorial budget. But I dug and dug and dug and finally found a couple of newspaper photographers — brothers — in New York from the first part of the 20th century, and their grandchildren still managed their photos. I got it for 150 bucks.” But that kind of devotion, she adds with a mordant laugh, doesn’t necessarily translate into dollar signs. “Here’s the challenge: You have to do a really good job, and to do a really good job takes money. And it’s hard to make money on a smaller scale. That’s where I’m struggling with the paradigm — how I can do this and make a decent living?” AM ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 43

BOOKS

Hometown Pasadena, Sweet Hometown PROSPECT PARK BOOKS’ COLLEEN DUNN BATES DISCOVERS THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLISHING BOOKS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE DONE. BY LYLE JAMES SLACK

Photos: Courtesy of Prospect Park Books

Colleen Dunn Bates

EDUCATION AND ENRICHMENT Accendo Learning Center offers a variety of classes in preparation for high school math courses, as well as preparation for the SAT. Accendo’s highly qualified Math teacher has proven to be extremely effective in helping students succeed in their math classes. Just to name a couple, a student at Walnut High School progressed from a “D” in her PreCalculus class to a 95%. A student from Cal State LA who struggled to understand his professor in his Algebra II course went on to receive, not just an “A”, but the highest grade in the class. Call Accendo Learning Center at (626)673-5456. High Point Academy in Pasadena, a kindergarten through eighth grade school established in 1965, continues to improve their campus. A new sport court, outdoor amphitheater, and play area opened up last fall. There is also a new building housing an instrumental music room, meeting rooms, and additional office space. This summer we built an extraordinary new primary playground. A very traditional school, High Point offers a strong academic program with French being offered in kindergarten through eighth grade; French or Spanish available fourth through eighth grade. Enrichment is an integral part of the program with classes in art, music, computers, speech, health, and physical education. There is an after-school sports program for both boys and girls, other afterschool options include Chess Club, Science Adventures, ballet, woodworking, and Mandarin class, as well as an extended care program until 6:00 pm. For more information about the school, call (626) 798-8989.

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given individual attention by certified teachers using personalized programs tailored to improve skills in a child’s trouble areas. Huntington offers individual testing and tutoring in reading, math, study skills, writing and SAT/ACT preparation to students of all ages. Parents who would like additional information, or who are concerned about a specific aspect of their child’s academic performance, are encouraged to contact the Huntington Learning Center at 1832 E. Washington Blvd in Pasadena or call (626) 798-5900. Come and explore at the Japanese American National Museum! Join us for Target Free Family Saturdays and celebrate shared Asian American traditions with fun, theme-filled activities for kids of all ages. Admission is FREE all day from 11 AM-4 PM. Target Free Family Saturdays are a great way for families to learn, play, and grow together. Your visit to the National Museum will inspire you to discover your own cultural heritage. $75 charge after the second Located in historic downtown LA’s Little Tokyo, the National Museum is dedicated to prorevision moting a better understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by preserving and sharing the Japanese American experience. Visit janm.org for more information, or call 213.625.0414. Since 1897 Saint Andrew School has provided quality Catholic education for the children of the greater Pasadena community. Saint Andrew School provides a learning environment, based on Catholic values, that meets the needs of a diverse student body. The academic program covers major subject areas with special emphasis placed on religion, language arts and mathematics. We are proud that our students are accepted to outstanding area high schools and go on to top colleges and universities. Westminster Academy Christian Day School Since 1953, our purpose has been to maintain an educational institution of high academic quality in conformity with the principles in our Statement of Faith. We believe the overall purpose of our Christian school is to provide a means by which a child can grow and become inspired to live the Christian life. We provide a strong academic program, a family atmosphere and work that not only build academic skills but good character as well. Parents who would like additional information are encouraged to contact Westminster Academy Christian Day School at 626-398-7576 or email us at westminsteracademy1953@juno.com. ■

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THE BIG ONE

Design for Living – and Surviving PASADENA’S ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN BRINGS A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF CREATIVITY TO EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS. BY CARL KOZLOWSKI

A recent graduate of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, Alexopoulos had a mission — to produce a short film that would communicate what could happen if and when a huge earthquake, possibly as intense as 7.8 on the Richter scale, rocks Southern California, as experts predict. He spent two months creating the film, “Preparedness Now,” condensing a 25-page government report about the potential for massive damage into four minutes of computer animation and composite images. His intended audience was everyone — from young children to the elderly. “For the video, I wanted to scare people enough to pay attention but also not scare them away,” Alexopoulos says. “I wanted to give them a sense of empowerment, like letting them know that getting a fire extinguisher goes a long way toward preparing. Storing up food, water and basics is the gist of it.” Alexopolous’ project is part of Art Center’s creative response to a dire challenge previously outside the design school’s bailiwick — working with scientists to help the woefully underprepared region get ready for the Big One. Anyone who survived the Northridge quake of 1994 knows what a temblor rated 6.7 on the Richter scale can bring — 57 deaths and more than 9,000 injuries; the quake’s price tag of $20 billion in damages made it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. In a race against time to protect residents against the even bigger earthquake on the horizon, —CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

46 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

Photo: Heather Petrey

Theo Alexopoulos really wanted to scare people, but as far as he was concerned, it was for their own good.

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ART, ANTIQU ES & JEWELRY G.H. Wilke began in 1929 when watchmaker Gilbert H. Wilke purchased a jewelry store in the farming community of Arlington Heights, Illinois during the Great Depression. Moving successfully through subsequent decades and uprooting to CA in 1946,Gil kept his eyes on his goals. Satisfying customers, being part of the community and behaving with professional integrity were his hallmarks since the inception of his business. Tracy R. Wilke and Dario Pirozko are now guiding G.H. Wilke & Co. into further realms of custom design, estate, and antique jewelry and an eclectic blend of contemporary styles. Our customers just call us “my candy store.” John Moran Auctioneers expertly serving clients since 1969, John Moran Auctioneers is a full-service auction house offering quality objects and complete personalized dedication. Monthly estate and fine furniture auctions are where collectors, dealers, decorators and others gather to buy the finest antiques, silver, American Indian, oil and watercolor paintings, jewelry, unusual accessories and much more. They also hold an auction (three times per year) for exceptional California and American paintings. Consignment and the purchasing of estates. 735 W. Woodbury Road, Altadena. Call (626) 793-1833 or visit www.johnmoran.com. Prince Jewelers of Arcadia has been creating original jewelry designs since 1983. Bring in your old jewelry and their designer will transform it into a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry. Stop by this holiday season to find that perfect gift for your loved one that they will cherish for a lifetime. We also buy gold, diamonds and watches. If you can dream it, Prince Jewelers can make it! Stop by today 411 E. Huntington Dr. #111, Arcadia. (626) 445 – 5229 www.PrinceJewelers.com For over 20 years, SOSSI Fine Jewelry, a unique line with an unmistakable character of its own, has been a leading innovator in jewelry design. “My passion begins with the diamond rock. Diamonds have always fascinated me,” says designer Sossi Bagham. “Each piece I create has its own personality, attitude and unique design.” For him too, SOSSI’ Executive Men’s Collection is a must-have for today’s sophisticated male. For more information regarding SOSSI Fine Jewelry, visit us at 837 Foothill Boulevard, La Canada, CA, on the web at www.sossicollection.com or call (866) 767-7426. Wayne Jason Jewelry Design with a strong background in design, Wayne Johnson opened his first store in 1987 and realized he could give his customers magnificent jewelry at better prices by manufacturing on the premises. As an expert at his own designs, Wayne takes great pride in his ability to transform your old jewelry into new pieces to enjoy! He carves wax molds to alter them before casting, guaranteeing your complete satisfaction. From $30 sterling silver earrings to an $8,000 diamond and tanzanite pendant. Wayne Jason Designs is your one-stop shop for all occasion gifts, 105 W. California Blvd (tucked away in the Orangewood Shopping Center). Call (626)795-9215, or visit www. jasondesigns.com. ■

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—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 46

experts from the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Caltech have long teamed up to discover more accurate systems of predicting and managing earthquakes and the damage they bring. Yet a group of students and faculty at Art Center College may yet prove to make some of the most valuable contributions of all. These creative visionaries have created the “The Los Angeles Earthquake: Get Ready Project,” a multimedia campaign unveiled in tandem with a series of special events across Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire as part of the “Great Southern California ShakeOut” held Nov. 12 through 14. The ShakeOut incorporated a series of disaster drills conducted by public-safety officials in com(Above) Colorful messages dotted the landscape at munities across Southern the Get Ready Rally; (top right) a screen shot from California as well as a duck-and- the earthquake game; (bottom right) video producer Theo Alexopoulos cover drill practiced by an estimated 5 million residents, but the Art Center’s Get Ready program was something that hadn’t been seen before. The program’s diverse approaches included creating “The L.A. Earthquake Sourcebook” for media, government and civic decision makers; designing an interactive website that presents resources and data from the ShakeOut scenario and serves as a portal to its new interactive earthquake recovery game; masterminding the “L.A. Earthquake Get Ready Rally” at Nokia Plaza L.A, the new downtown live-entertainment complex; and a multimedia public-awareness campaign focused on integrating preparedness tactics into everyday life. “The Get Ready initiative was started three years ago after Katrina, because as an institution, we were very taken by the level of devastation that the hurricane brought about, and we felt it would be interesting for our creative community to find out what role they could take in anticipating a potential disaster in our own backyard,” says the program’s director, Mariana Amatullo, Art Center’s vice president of international initiatives and director of Designmatters. “Here, that disaster means an earthquake. The idea was how can designers make a difference, and where does design intersect with disaster preparedness? We’re committed to going beyond aesthetics to try and design for social change and, because of that commitment, we launched the ShakeOut three years ago.” USGS officials say a major earthquake is overdue in Southern California, and the scenario they predict is utterly horrifying — an estimated death toll of 1,800 and $213 billion in damages. That nightmarish future is simulated on “After Shock,” an earthquake recovery game created by the Art Center team, led by Tanya Diezmann, director for interaction and interface design, and posted online at www.aftershock.net. One might envision an action-packed video game in which players manipulate joysticks to help their onscreen characters jump, 50 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

dodge and climb their way out of trouble, but “After Shock” is actually more complex — and by extension, more compelling — than that. It features content, which will be updated daily for at least the first 28 days following its Nov. 15 launch, requires players to prove their preparation skills with an ever-changing challenge, such as storing up food and water in safe yet accessible locations. It also enables visitors to watch faux news reports and read faux newspapers about the tragedy and its gradual recovery efforts, as well as allowing them to write their own blog entries imagining how they recovered from the “quake” or continue to struggle with its aftereffects. “This is an ultimate reality game, and the main purpose is to get people thinking of what would happen if we would have an earthquake,” says Diezmann. “It’s not a video game as much as a mixture between an online community and a game that’s rooted in reality, but with fictional content. They can upload their own message to tell a story or ask others to help them.” The rally held Nov. 14 at Nokia Plaza involved an impressive array of activities: a series of TV and movie theater–size screens projecting the “Preparedness Now” video on a constant loop; a panel of experts who held an informative exchange on the literal ups and downs of living with the chance of earthquakes; and tables with numerous preparedness-related vendors, including a company that sells straps and putty for holding steady nearly every imaginable household item. A nearby vendor’s truck even invited visitors to take a seat onboard, before unexpectedly launching a quick simulated quake jolt to bring home the scary prospect of the danger lurking beneath the earth’s surface. Amatullo surveyed the scene at Nokia, where throngs of passersby stopped briefly on their way to a Staples Center Lakers game, and assessed the project’s results. “What we learned is that there’s a very significant gap between the knowledge of earthquake science and the vast amount of resources for emergency management, and the ability of public at large to feel empowered and activated when it comes to getting ready for a large earthquake,” she said. “The public is not paying enough attention to the earthquake preparedness messages out there.” Her colleague, Jason Kester, added that he thought Art Center’s creative solution raised the bar on getting that message out there. “Traditional earthquake simulations don’t have this sense of urgency and might consist of flyers on how to duck and cover, which people tend to throw away after barely looking at them,” said Kester, an Institute for the Future researcher who served as design manager and lead storyteller for “After Shock.” “Here we have simulations already happening, so instead of hitting visitors over the head with statistics, we’re showing them very likely scenarios of how bad it could get. This is definitely harder to ignore.” AM

Photos: Heather Petrey and Art Center

THE BIG ONE

THE

LIST COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER

A HIGHLY SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS

“NUTCRACKERS” FROM NEAR AND FAR Russia’s Kirov Ballet and the Pasadena Dance Theatre perform Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic this season: Dec. 13, 14, 20 and 21 – More than 90 performers with the Pasadena Dance Theatre bring “The Nutcracker” to life yet again in a 29th-anniversary production choreographed by Artistic Director Cynthia Young. The curtain goes up at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets for performances at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse range in price from $30 to $42 for adults, $22 for seniors and students and $15 for children ages 12 and younger. The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse is located at 320 S. Mission Dr., San Gabriel. Call the box office for tickets at (626) 308-2868. Dec. 17 through 20 — The Kirov Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” runs for six performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The 200-year-old Kirov is under the artistic direction of Valery Gergiev and Director of the Ballet Makhar Vaziev. The production, accompanied by the Kirov Orchestra, features choreography created by Vasily Vainonen in 1934. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets range from $30 to $120. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located at 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Call Ticketmaster at (213) 365-3500; visit www.musiccenter.org for more information.

Photos: LA Master Chorale by Lee Salem, Ariel Sabar by Andy Nelson

SEARCHING FOR SELF IN PARADISE Dec. 3 and 6 — Journalist Ariel Sabar is scheduled to host signings of his new book, “My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq” (Algonquin), at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Vroman’s Bookstore and at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pasadena Jewish Temple. That past lay in Kurdistan, where his father, Yona Sabar, was born, later to become one of more than 120,000 Iraqi Jews airlifted to Israel in the 1950s. The elder Sabar immigrated to the U.S. and became a professor at UCLA, where he’s a leading expert in Aramaic. Ariel Sabar grew up American and turned away from his father’s immigrant ways. But after becoming a father himself, he became curious about his father’s life and, in an attempt to reclaim his heritage, father and son traveled to Yona’s tiny Kurdistan hometown. The book is a father-andson memoir, an immigrant success story and a study of a homeland that’s almost been forgotten by history. Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 449-5320. The Pasadena Jewish Temple is at 1434 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena. Call (626) 798-1161.

ARCADIA REALTORS HOST INSTALLATION GALA Dec. 5 — The Arcadia Association of Realtors installs its officers and directors in a gala evening at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Monrovia. The event begins with 6 p.m. cocktails, followed by dinner, the installation ceremony and dancing to live music. Tickets cost $60. The Courtyard Marriott Hotel is located at 700 W. Huntington Dr., Monrovia. Call (626) 446-2115.

THE ROOTS OF LATINO MUSIC AT THE AUTRY Dec. 6 — The Orchestras of Pasadena present “Clásica — las raíces de la música (the roots of music),” a free performance by Quarteto Nuevo at 2 p.m. at the Autry National Center. The world music ensemble performs Latin American and classical works, as well as jazz. The group consists of Christopher Garcia (tabla, kanjira, mbwata, marimba and percus-

sion), Kenton Youngstrom (classical and steel-string guitars), Jacob Szekely (four-and-fivestring cellos) and Damon Zick (soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto flute and bass clarinet). Children receive free coloring books and crayons created by Art Center College of Design graphic artist Grace Young. The Autry National Center is located at 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. Call (626) 793-7172 or visit www.theorchestras.org.

ECO ARTIST SPEAKS ON “SECOND GROWTH” AT PMCA Dec. 6 — William Stranger discusses his work at 3 p.m. in connection with his exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The show of Stranger’s wood furniture and hand-carved objects is titled “Second Growth,” a reference to a second-growth forest, which has grown back after being heavily logged or clear-cut. Stranger’s finely crafted and sustainable wood furniture and hand-carved objects give the tree they sprang from a second chance at “life” and explore the relationship between the human environment and the natural world. The exhibition runs through Jan. 4, 2009. The Pasadena Museum of California Art is located at 490 E. Union St., Pasadena. Call (626) 568-3665 or visit www.pmcaonline.org.

THE VOICE OF DISNEY HALL SPREADS HOLIDAY CHEER Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14 and 15 — The Los Angeles Master Chorale, a.k.a. “The Voice of Disney Hall,” celebrates the holidays with a trio of programs conducted by Music Director Grant Gershon: Program No. 1, at 3 p.m. Thursday and Dec. 13, is the annual yuletide family show, —CONTINUED ON PAGE 53 ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 51

52 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

THE

LIST COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER

A HIGHLY SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS

A DIVINE NEW YEAR’S

CELEBRATION

Dec. 30 through Jan. 4 — The New York-based Divine Performing Arts Chinese dance and music company comes to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium with a New Year spectacular spread over six days and nights, presenting traditional Chinese culture with dozens of dancers in colorful costumes, pounding drums and dazzling backdrops, propelled by the music of a live orchestra. Divine Performing Arts represents a collaboration of top artists from around the world breathing new life into an ancient culture, based on the authentic heritage of classical China. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 2 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range in price from $35 to $188. The Pasadena Civic Auditorium is located at 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Call (800) 817-7116 or visit www.divineperformingarts.org.

—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51

“Holiday Wonders”; the concert includes a performance of several original works written by local fifth graders sung by Voices Within Children’s Choir, local students in the chorale’s artist-in-residency program. Program No. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 15, is the ever-popular “‘Messiah’ Sing-Along,” featuring four professional soloists singing Handel’s classic oratorio with the audience. Program No. 3, at 7 p.m. Dec. 14, features seasonal favorites, including Respighi’s “Laud to the Nativity,” John Rutter’s “Gloria,” Morten Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium” and Pinkham’s “Christmas Cantata.” Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Call (800) 787-5262 or visit www.lamc.org.

FIVE ACRES USHERS IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON Dec. 10 — Five Acres treatment center for abused and at-risk children ushers in its annual toy drive with a public open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Hosted by actors Kevin Kilner and Jordan Baker, the event features performances by the Henson Puppets, resident children playing hand bells and carolers in Dickensian costume, as well as an appearance by the Tournament of Roses Queen, refreshments and tours of the facility. Five Acres is located at 760 W. Mountain View St., Altadena. Call Susan Silverman at (626) 798-6793, ext. 2279.

CLAUS AND CLAWS UNITE FOR A CAUSE Dec. 11 — Bring your pet to pose for photos with Santa at the One Colorado Courtyard from 5 to 9 p.m. The fee benefits the Charles Cherniss Tournament of Toys, assisting needy children throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Pets get a free holiday treat from One Colorado’s Three Dog Bakery. One Colorado is located on Colorado Boulevard between Fair Oaks and De Lacey avenues. Call (626) 564-1066 or visit www.onecolorado.com.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE MAESTRO Dec. 13 — California Philharmonic conductor and founder Victor Vener leads the orchestra in an 8 p.m. performance of seasonal classics in “Christmas with the Maestro” at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The evening features excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” and Handel’s “Messiah,” as well as a selection of carols, Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” and selections from Humperdinck’s opera

“Hansel and Gretel,” featuring 18-year-old mezzo soprano Clare Snodgrass as Hansel and soprano Emily Dyer, 16, as Gretel. The orchestra continues its tradition of inviting children onstage to help conduct “Jingle Bells.” The Pasadena Civic Auditorium is located at 300 E. Green St. Call Ticketmaster at (213) 365-3500 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. For information, visit www.calphil.org.

SPIRITED GIVING Through December — Hillsides, a residential treatment facility for abused and neglected children, is accepting donations during the holiday season. The center can provide prospective donors with children’s wish lists of new toys. Donors can also buy gifts and food gift certificates for specific client families through Hillsides’ Adopt-aFamily program. For more ideas about ways to help, call Hillsides at (323) 254-2274 or visit www.hillsides.org.

PRE-PARADE EVENTS FOR THE 2009 TOURNAMENT OF ROSES Dec. 28 through 31 — Watch parade floats being adorned in the days leading up to the event at several locations in Pasadena and beyond: Rosemont Pavilion, Brookside Pavilion, the Rose Palace and the Irwindale Pavilion. Tickets cost $7; children 3 and under are admitted free. To volunteer to help decorate floats, contact the float builders directly by visiting the Tournament of Roses website at www.tournamentofroses.com/events/floatdecorating.asp. Rosemont Pavilion is located at 700 Seco St., Pasadena; Brookside Pavilion is on the west side of the Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena; the Rose Palace is at 835 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena; and the Irwindale Pavilion is at 16016 Avenida Padilla, Irwindale. Call (626) 795-4171 for tickets and viewing times or visit www.sharpseating.com. Dec. 29 and 30 — Bandfest showcases musical groups from around the country scheduled to perform in the parade. View field shows at the Pasadena City College football stadium from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday and from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Tickets cost $10 for adults; admission is free for children. Pasadena City College is located at 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 7954171 or visit www.sharpseating.com. Dec. 31 — The Rose Bowl Game Kickoff Luncheon includes a midday pep rally, lunch, celebrity sportscasters introducing the game’s coaches, athletes, marching bands and pep squads, as well as the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame induction ceremony presented by CitiPasadena and the Rose Queen and her Princesses. The event, presented by Trader Joe’s, runs from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Rose Bowl’s Lot K. Tickets cost $85. The Rose Bowl is located at 1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena. Call the Tournament of Roses at (626) 449-4100 or visit www.tournamentofroses.com/events/kickoffluncheon.asp. AM

ARROYO ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ 53

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

GINGERBREAD HOUSE DOUGH 8â&#x20AC;?

An Edible Edifice

10â&#x20AC;?

Side walls - Cut 2

Dotted lines indicate windows and doors that may be cut out.

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House front and back - Cut 2

SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE, THAT'S WHAT THIS GREAT GINGERBREAD HOLIDAY CLASSIC IS MADE OF.

10â&#x20AC;?

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The best gingerbread for construction uses cheap but fragrant materials. I use shortening instead of butter because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t plan to eat it. But if you use this recipe for edible gingerbread men, substitute butter for the shortening, and cut the spice quantity in half. Here I have added more spice (for its roomfreshening ability) than I would want to eat.

I love gingerbread. If I smell it (the real thing, not a scented candle or air freshener), I will smile, no matter where I am. (The DMV should

unique examples of edible architecture, including a gingerbread privy. (Not too

consider hiring gingerbread men.)

appetizing, but rather amusing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; like most of the food produced at culinary school.)

Its scent instantly whisks me away to my internal happy holiday place. One

One year, in a fit of creativity, I decided to make everyone on my list ginger-

whiff and, like Pavlovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dogs, I have an undeniable urge â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to drive around in cir-

bread cars. As I carefully piped personalized plates and detailed pin-stripping,

cles looking for parking, like the rest of the Christmas-shopping horde. And I am

my husband nibbled on gingerbread cookies. Only I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t made any ginger-

not alone in my affection for the aroma. They say the smell of gingerbread in the

bread cookies â&#x20AC;&#x201D; he was eating the wheels. We now refer to that as the Year He

oven helps sell houses. If thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true, given the state of the housing market, sellers

Ate Christmas.

reading this should stock up on spices before the holidays hit. Regardless of your religious affiliation, ginger has likely played a part in your

These days, our holiday construction projects are mementos of activities throughout the year, usually our summer vacation. We have made Mayan pyra-

culinary heritage. A native of Southeast Asia, this root (or, more accurately, rhi-

mids, various European landmarks (including the Chunnel), Mesa Verde National

zome) was introduced to Europe, via the Middle East, by the Crusaders. In

Park and the Magic Kingdom castle at Disney World. I usually make the pieces,

Europe, it became an indispensable element of medieval cookery â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not, as has

glue them together, then let the kids have at it with the icing and the candies,

often been written, to disguise the foul stench of rotting meat, but because it was

some of which actually end up on the structure.

a status symbol. Yes, ginger was the arugula of the medieval world. Despite what I may have said about my preferences in the past, I am pretty sure that gingerbread is my favorite flavor. I have been known to make all sorts of gingerbread-flavored things, including gingerbread cheesecake, gingerbread crĂ¨me

Our gingerbread masterpiece becomes the centerpiece of the kitchen table, filling the house with its intoxicating scent. If necessary, the gingerbread is moved into strategic locations (usually near shoeless feet) to mask various offensive odors. As the weeks progress, we get to slowly watch the gingerbread deteriorate

brĂťlĂŠe, even gingerbread brisket. (Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t laugh. It was good.) You name it, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll gin-

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; walls warping, mortar crumbling and decorative embellishments mysteriously

gerbread it. Of course, I love all the classics too, including gingerbread persons

disappearing. By the end of the season, the romance is over, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quite a lot of

(men and women; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t discriminate, although the women are usually sweeter),

fun tossing the thing in the garbage.

traditional gingerbread cake, French pain dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ĂŠpice and German lebkuchen, I have a gingerbread house tradition, which began when I was a working pastry chef. I always created a house for the foyer of whatever restaurant I happened to be

But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not there yet. I have just begun my annual holiday love affair with gingerbread, and I still have a few weeks left before we go our separate ways. Ah, young love! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to have loved and lost than never to have had gingerbread at all. AM

working in that year, and I designed my edible edifice to harmonize with the style of food we served or the eateryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s locale. For instance, when I worked at a Southwestern

Bilderback is a certified master chef and baker, a former executive chef of Pasadenaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

restaurant, I made gingerbread chuck wagons. When I worked in San Francisco, I

California School of Culinary Arts and the author of five volumes in Alpha Publishingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

made Victorian row houses and an ambitious Grace Cathedral (the first and last time I

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Complete Idiotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guide to...â&#x20AC;? series â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;...Snack Cakesâ&#x20AC;? (June 2008); â&#x20AC;&#x153;...Good Food

attempted flying buttresses). When I worked at Georgia on Melrose, I made a big

from the Good Bookâ&#x20AC;? (March 2008), â&#x20AC;&#x153;...Spices and Herbsâ&#x20AC;? (Dec. 2007); â&#x20AC;&#x153;...Comfort

Southern plantation. I have even made a gingerbread menorah. As a culinary instruc-

Foodâ&#x20AC;? ( Sept. 2007); and â&#x20AC;&#x153;...Success as a Chefâ&#x20AC;? (Feb. 2007). A South Pasadena resi-

tor, I instituted an annual gingerbread house contest, which brought forth many

dent, Bilderback teaches her techniques online at www.culinarymasterclass.com.

54 ~ DECEMBER 2008 ~ ARROYO

Ingredients 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup molasses 31/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon ginger 1 teaspoon clove 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/3 cup water

1. Beat together shortening and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add molasses and mix to incorporate. 2. Sift together dry ingredients and add them in small batches to the molasses mixture, alternating with splashes of water. 3. Divide the dough evenly into thirds, then press each piece between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll with a rolling pin to create an even sheet of dough about 1/4 -inch thick. Chill sheets in the fridge or freezer until firm, at least 30 minutes or overnight. 4. Preheat oven to 350Â°F. Place one parchment-packaged sheet of dough on a baking sheet and carefully peel off the top piece of parchment. Cut out the pattern pieces for your structure. To keep them in shape, remove the excess dough around them rather than moving the pieces themselves. Place the parchment paper on a baking sheet. Repeat until you have all the pieces you need. Excess dough can be re-rolled, chilled and cut as needed. 5. Bake pieces until slightly puffed and firm, about 15 minutes. Cool completely. Meanwhile, make the royal icing â&#x20AC;&#x153;glue.â&#x20AC;? ROYAL ICING Ingredients 2 egg whites 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

11/2 to 2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted

1. In an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar to medium peaks. Slowly add sifted powdered sugar until the icing is thick and holds its shape. (The amount needed will vary with sugar brands and the moisture content of the egg whites.) If necessary, icing can be thinned with a few drops of water. Assembly 1. Assemble the structure on a serving platter or stiff board. Fit a piping bag with a plain tip and fill the bag halfway with royal icing. Pipe a fat strip along the wrong side of the vertical edges of the front of the house. The two side pieces are then butted against these strips of icing and held in place for 30 to 60 seconds. Reinforce the inside joint with a bit more icing. Pipe similar strips on the wrong side of the back of the house, and press the back wall against the two to side pieces. Allow to set and harden for at least one hour. 2. Pipe icing along one side of the roof line, and set one roof piece on top. Allow to set 30 to 60 minutes. Repeat on the other side of the roof. Again, allow to set 30 to 60 minutes. 3. Use remaining icing to decorate your house as you see fit. Glue on candies, make icing icicles, pipe architectural features or leave it simple and just give it a light dusting of powderedâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;sugar snow.

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