Arroyofeb2014

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA FEBRUARY 2014

Endless

Love PATRICIA WARD AND GENE KELLY

CELLPHONE STATIC How Mobile Devices Are Ruining Romance SAVE THE WHALES Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Controversial Blackfish SAVORING SNOW ANGELS SoCal-Style

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arroyo VOLUME 10 | NUMBER 2 | FEBRUARY 2014

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ROMANCE LANGUAGES 11 A ROMANCE FOR ALL SEASONS Gene Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, explores their May-December romance and the star’s artistic legacy onstage at the Pasadena Playhouse.

—By Bettijane Levine

23 I NEED TO GET THIS Mobile devices allow us to connect easily with others, but the urge to stay in touch may be driving romantic partners apart.

—By Tariq Kamal

31 EXPOSING A SEAWORLD OF HURT Gabriela Cowperthwaite ignited a firestorm of controversy with Blackfish, her documentary exposing the troubled lives of the theme parks’ killer whales.

—By Samantha Bonar

DEPARTMENTS TOP PHOTO: Don Flood

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FESTIVITIES “One Starry Night” at the Pasadena Playhouse

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ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX

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KITCHEN CONFESSIONS The only snowy stuff you’re likely to find in L.A. this month is sweet and surprising.

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THE LIST The California International Antiquarian Book Fair, gospel music at Caltech, the band America comes to Arcadia and more

ABOUT THE COVER: Photo courtesy of Patricia Ward Kelly

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EDITOR’S NOTE

WHEN PATRICIA WARD WAS HIRED TO WRITE A TV SPECIAL ABOUT THE SMITHSONIAN NEARLY 30 years ago, she never dreamed she was about to meet the love of her life — film star Gene Kelly. As she explains in her onewoman show, Gene Kelly: The Legacy, coming to the Pasadena Playhouse, Kelly had been hired to narrate the documentary, and working with the dance legend on the project offered an unexpected perk — true love.

Despite their 46-year age difference, she went on to become the third Mrs. Kelly and a respected scholar on his body of work and its enduring significance in the world of dance, a role that continues to consume her 18 years after his death.

That dedication makes Gene and the last Mrs. Kelly the perfect cover couple for

Arroyo’s annual issue on romantic relationships. Bettijane Levine talks to her about their remarkable partnership and her husband’s artistic legacy.

That marriage and its aftermath have certainly passed the test of time, but in this issue, we also look at the future of romance. As we’re only beginning to learn about the collateral social damage from rapidly evolving technology, Tariq Kamal looks into the ways nearly ubiquitous cellphone use is taking a toll on love relationships in the here and now.

If you watched or read about the Rose Parade last month, you may have heard about the arrests of 16 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals supporters protesting the SeaWorld float. PETA’s demonstration was inspired by Occidental College alumna Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s stunning documentary,

Blackfish, which exposed the tormented lives of captive killer whales at its theme parks. Samantha Bonar talks to Cowperthwaite about the film, which was short-listed for an Oscar but was surprisingly shut out of most major awards this season. If the Pulitzer Prizes considered documentaries — which they should because docs are indeed a form of journalism — Blackfish’s national impact would almost certainly have made it a finalist. And as a lifelong journalist and animal lover, I was very disappointed to learn that Hollywood was so dismissive of an important film that brings to light the plight of some of the planet’s most majestic animals.

—Irene Lacher

EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kent Bancroft ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Carla Cortez PRODUCTION MANAGER Richard Garcia PRODUCTION DESIGNER Rochelle Bassarear COPY EDITOR John Seeley CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Bilderback, Samantha Bonar, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, Carole Dixon, Lynne Heffley, Noela Hueso, Tariq Kamal, Kathy Kelleher, Rebecca Kuzins, Bettijane Levine, Elizabeth McMillian, Brenda Rees, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brenda Clarke, Joseluis Correa, Leslie Lamm ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Joanna Dehn Beresford ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Richard Garcia, Rochelle Bassarear

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FESTIVITIES Micky Dolenz

Barry Pearl and Bruce Vilanch

ALS Association President/CEO Fred Fisher and Roy P. Disney

Gary Morgan and the Flying Morgans

Juliana Hansen

Broadway and Hollywood performers converged on the Pasadena Playhouse stage on Jan. 13 for an eclectic revue benefiting the ALS Association Golden West Chapter, which helps people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a devastating fatal neurodegenerative disorder commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The evening was organized by playhouse staffer Jonathan White and Juliana Hansen, one of the actresses who play Jasmine in Disneyland’s Aladdin show. Hansen tapped her Disney contacts to enlist Roy P. Disney in presenting an award to Oscar-winning composer Richard M. Sherman, who wrote the Mary Poppins score with his late brother, Robert M. Sherman. The cast for “One Starry Night,” directed by Bruce Kimmel with music direction by Richard Allen, included Bruce Vilanch, Mickey Dolenz, Melora Hardin, Charlene Tilton, Susan Blakeslee and many more… Some 13,000 football fans cheered for their teams at PrimeSport’s VIP tailgate parties for the 100th Rose Bowl Game Jan. 1 and the BCS National Championship Game Jan. 6. Town & Country Event Rentals outfitted the travel and events company’s Hospitality Village outside the Rose Bowl with more than 120,000 square feet of tenting, housing translucent chandeliers, table games, bars, concession stands and a stage.

Richard M. Sherman

PHOTOS: Clarence Alford (ALS Association); Gary Leonard (PrimeSport)

Melora Hardin

Terri White

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A Romance for All Seasons Gene Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, explores their May-December romance and his artistic legacy onstage at the Pasadena Playhouse.

BY BETTIJANE LEVINE | IMAGES COURTESY OF PATRICIA WARD KELLY

–continued on page 12

Patricia and Gene Kelly, 1994, photo by Albane Navizet 02.14 ARROYO | 11

–continued from page 11

YOU MAY BE TOO YOUNG TO KNOW THE NAME GENE KELLY. OR PERHAPS YOU REMEMBER HIM AS THE ACTOR, SINGER AND HOOFER WHO DANCED HIS WAY INTO THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS IN SUCH CLASSIC FILMS AS SINGING IN THE RAIN AND AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. EITHER WAY, IT’S A GOOD BET YOU KNOW NEXT TO NOTHING ABOUT THE PERSON GENE KELLY WAS OFFSTAGE, OR HIS LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLDS OF FILM AND DANCE. AND YOU ALMOST CERTAINLY DON’T KNOW THE POIGNANT INSIDE STORY OF HIS MAY-DECEMBER ROMANCE WITH W HIS THIRD WIFE, PATRICIA WARD KELLY, WHOM HE MET WHEN SHE WAS 26 AN HE 73.

AND But it’s all worth discovering, according to online observers who’ve already seen Gene Kelly: The Legacy, the live performance Kelly’s K widow will present at the Pasadena Playhouse w on March 1 and 2. The show is both an intimate portrait of a love affair and an informed look at the innovations created by Kelly, who transformed the way dance is choreographed, directed and fi lmed. Described as “a rarity… d I felt privileged to be there,” by Entertainment Tonight’s Leonard Maltin, the show has also To been called mesmerizing, uplifting, entertaining and iinformative by some of the few who’ve seen the pe performances the Los Angeles–based Mrs. Kelly has given thus far.

She created crea the evening at the theater for the year 2012, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her husband’s birth. (He was born in 1912, she in 1959.) Since then, she’s performed it only about a dozen times, in Europe and the U.S., and says she’s now booking dates around the country and the world into 2015. the traditional sense, it’s an intimate two hours Not a formal show in th packed with film and audio clips, dance history, memories and mementos. It’s a kind of unscripted Valentine to her husband, in which she extemporaneously disof the man who experts agree revolutionized cusses both the personal and professional sides s –continued on page 15 12 | ARROYO | 02.14

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–continued from page 12

the look and style of dance during Hollywood’s Golden Age, and whose legacy endures in the work of some of today’s top artists and performers — not just in film, but on Broadway and in ballet. His career achievements were recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1952 with an honorary Oscar, which was lost in a fire in 1983 and replaced at the 1984 Academy Awards ceremony.

Kelly died in 1996, after he and Patricia had spent 10 years together, the last six as man and wife. She seems to have continued to live her life for him and about him ever since. And in some ways, she’s every bit as fascinating as he was. She’s a Gene Kelly scholar, with an encyclopedic knowledge of every film he made, right down to specific movements he choreographed and directions he gave to cinematographers. In an interview with Arroyo Monthly, she says that during their decade together she audiotaped and took notes on a daily (and nightly) basis, recording all his comments about every aspect of his personal life and career. Even conversations with his friends — Frank Sinatra and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof director Richard Brooks were among the closest — were jotted down on cocktail napkins when the couple was out at dinner or at a club listening to music. “Sometimes he’d say to me, ‘You’re not writing.’

I’d say, ‘That’s because I’m eating,’” Kelly recalls with a laugh.

Listen to her vibrant Skyped responses to reporters or Gene Kelly fans on Youtube, and you’ll hear the passionate voice of an intellect and academic — someone eager to teach an important subject. Of course the subject is her husband, now dead 18 years, who would be 102 if still alive. This dedication does not seem extraordinary to his widow, who makes her life trajectory sound logical and inevitable.

The 46-year age difference between her and her spouse was not an issue, she says. “There have been many similar love stories,” she says. “I think of Françoise Gilot and Picasso, or Oona O’Neill and Charlie Chaplin.” The couple met in 1985, at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She describes her young self as a “nerdy Herman Melville scholar” who’d been hired to write a TV special about the Smithsonian, which Kelly had been hired to narrate. “I had no idea who he was. I’d never heard of him,” she says.

Cooped up together for days working on the project, they talked about literature, played word games, quoted poetry to each other and had fun.

They bonded in a way that had nothing to do with Hollywood movies or dance, and everything to do with incipient love.

The job over, they exchanged a kiss and phone numbers, and about six months later he called and asked her to come to L.A. and write his memoir. “In fact, I have a couple of projects I’d like to discuss,” is what she remembers him saying. She was living and working in Washington but flew to L.A. and stayed in his house to discuss the projects. She never left.

“The odd thing is, neither of us dreamed anything [romantic] would evolve. We both were very intent on working together… He’d said in interviews that he would never remarry. So it was lovely that it evolved into something unexpected.”

In 1990 they wed at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse and honeymooned at the Hotel Bel-Air. The couple remained together for six more years, until his death. “I do get frequent questions about the age difference,” Kelly says. “People think, gee, that’s a bit odd.

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“The odd thing is, neither of us dreamed anything [romantic] would evolve. We both were very intent on working together… He’d said in interviews that he would never remarry. So it was lovely that it evolved into something unexpected.”

– Patricia Ward Kelly

–continued from page 15

But I talk about that in the show… and I think people leave with a greater understanding of how it worked. They leave the theater thinking it was not odd at all.”

Kelly’s first marriage, to actress Betsy Blair, lasted 16 years and produced a daughter, Kerry. His second, to choreographer/dancer Jeanne Coyne, lasted from 1960 to 1973, when she died at 50 of leukemia; they had two children, Timothy and Bridget.

In her 2003 memoir, The Memory of All That: Love and Politics in New York, Hollywood and Paris, Blair praised Kelly as a husband and father. She told the Los Angeles Times about the rift that surfaced with his widow after his death, saying that when Kelly’s three children went to pay a last visit to their father, Patricia informed them that their father had been cremated just hours after his passing, and that no funeral would take place. Kelly’s daughter Kerry Kelly Novick, a psychoanalyst, told the paper, “We weren’t given any opportunity to say goodbye.”

The third Mrs. Kelly responds that she followed her husband’s written wishes, which were also conveyed to his family and his agent. She declines further comment, saying, “I wish them all the best. My story stands on its own, and I don’t feel the need or have the time to respond…” She adds emphatically that much of what’s quoted in the press and on the Internet, “even IMDB and Wikipedia,” is inaccurate and says it’s “not very productive” to try and correct all the records. “I feel it’s best to just tell a beautiful story, and people will come to their own conclusions. That’s why I want to get this [show] out there as much as possible. I think it reveals the truth about the situation.”

Left in charge of Gene Kelly’s archive and legacy — she is sole trustee of The Gene Kelly Image Trust and creative director of Gene Kelly: The Legacy, a corporation established to celebrate Kelly’s artistry worldwide — she says her goal is to “present Gene as he wished to be remembered. He was very specific about that with me. People generally thought of him as the guy up on the screen. But he wanted to be remembered for being behind the camera, for actually creating what you see, both as a choreographer and as a director… After hearing my show, people say they never knew Gene Kelly, or how revolutionary and ahead of his time he was… They never knew him as a man who spoke fluent French and Yiddish, who read Latin, who wrote poetry and often read a book a day, who was an economics major in college, who studied modern and classical dance.”

Yes, but what about her own life since her husband’s death? Isn’t it a bit too retrospective to constantly place her focus on the past? “The past is not what my life is about,” she replies, explaining that promoting Gene’s legacy is what keeps her moving forward. “It is not retrospective, it is not looking back.” Moving the legacy ahead and “into perpetuity,” she says, is wonderful, life-affirming work.

“Doing that just expands my horizons and my life. I get to meet the greatest dancers in the world. I get to hear them say their lives were touched by Gene. I see them when they’re here, or when I travel. It is actually a sort of blossoming” of her own life, she –continued on page 19 02.14 ARROYO | 17

–continued from page 17 –co

says “and it grows exponentially. It’s not about Gene dead at 102. says, about this incredibly riveting and inspirational living It becomes b body of his work.”

Look at the diversity of people she meets in person, online and by L mail — college students who idolize Gene Kelly’s work, great artists from tthe dance and theater worlds who claim Gene Kelly as an inspiration and ordinary folks from places like Tennessee and Michigan who Kelly film festivals. attend K May 2012, Patricia Kelly hosted the motion picture academy’s In M two-night “Centennial Tribute to Gene Kelly.” That evening’s performtwo-nigh ers laudin lauding Kelly’s genius were not old-timers, as might be expected, but the hottest current stars, who said their careers were inspired some of th enriched by Kelly’s creativity. Hugh Jackman, in his tribute, recalled and enrich youth in Australia, where his father brought home Singing in the his own you Rain. Jackm Jackman says he watched it at least 150 times, then watched “everyKelly had ever done… He made me dream of being in movie thing Gene K musicals. He was everything I ever dreamed of being, and then some… To hero.” me he is a hero Justin Timb Timberlake called Kelly a “master poet in motion,” whose work is whose presence remains vivid. “He was pure magic, but also “timeless” and w human and earthy and true,” he said, admitting to being “one of masculine and h had stolen dance moves from the great master. Kelly’s admirers millions” who ha also included Ken Kenny Ortega, who choreographed Dirty Dancing and the High lms, as well as tours for Michael Jackson and The Rolling Stones.

School Musicall film Patricia Kelly presented her show on two sold-out nights at the In July 2012, P Lincoln Center in New York, as part of its 23-fi lm centennial Film Society of L Li salute to her husba husband’s an body of work. With such personal exposure to today’s Aworld, she says her life is anything but dull. And it’s taking her list entertainment w write a long time to wri te the biography of her husband that she’s long claimed is in “People the works. “Peop pl ask why it’s taking me so long to write the book,” she says.

“I miss him ter terribly, and every time I open these boxes and fi les and pull out ri and these notes an nd records, it can be joyous — but it’s also heart-wrenching. He romantic.

He loved Valentine’s Day. He would start at around was a great ro om and midnight an nd leave little notes all around the house. I pull out a Valentine and it take takes me right back to the moment I discovered it. The grief will me to the floor. But I wouldn’t trade that memory for anything. knock m It was aan extraordinary time, and so intense, but you really don’t want to go tthrough life without experiencing something that deeply.” She says sshe plans to finish the book sometime soon.

Would she consider marrying again? “I think it would take a W very interesting figure. Gene’s a hard act to follow. And I love ver my life just as it is. I don’t live alone. I have three extraordinary m dogs — Lucia di Lammermoor, a yellow lab; her sidekick, Chooch, a lab mix; and Francesco, a lab-mix rescue. I come home and they’re always glad to see me.” For now, she says, that’s enough. |||| more than enou The curtain rises on Gene Kelly: The Legacy — An Evening with Patricia Ward Kelly at 2 p.m. March 2 at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El at 8 p.m. March 1 and a Tickets, which range from $15 to $70 (a VIP ticket includMolino Ave., Pasadena.

Pasade ing a pre-show rece reception costs $150), can be purchased at the box office, (626) pasadenaplayhouse.org. Visit genekelly.org or “Gene Kelly the 356-7529, or at pasa Facebook for information.

Legacy” on Facebo

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I Need

Mobile devices offer unlimited opportunities to connect with others, but the temptation to stay in touch may be driving us apart.

BY TARIQ KAMAL

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to Get This SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS ALLOW THEIR USERS TO INSTANTLY CONNECT WITH FRIENDS AND STRANGERS, FAMILY MEMBERS AND COWORKERS, LOVERS AND ENEMIES. WEBENABLED MOBILE DEVICES ARE RELATIVELY RECENT, BUT, OVER THE PAST DECADE, THEY HAVE BEEN ALMOST UNIVERSALLY EMBRACED — AND THEY ARE CAUSING A DRASTIC SHIFT IN THE WAY WE ENGAGE IN RELATIONSHIPS, DATING AND SEX, ESPECIALLY AMONG

“Using devices during sex introduces a prop that is distancing and dissociative rather than engaging and connected.” ~ Therapist Susan Hollywood Papalia

YOUNG PEOPLE. A recent Harris Interactive/Jumio poll found that 20 percent of respondents ages 18 to 34 had used their cellphones while having sex. That figure dropped to 9 percent for respondents of all ages. The implications are profound. By answering calls, sending or replying to text messages or updating one’s social media status during intimate moments — up to and including sexual intercourse — users run the risk of alienating their partners and slowing down their own emotional growth.

In 2003, hotel heiress Paris Hilton was already on the path to worldwide fame when a homemade sex tape featuring her and then-boyfriend Rick Salomon landed on the Internet. The footage is notable for Hilton’s distant manner — she often appears more engaged with the camera than with her partner. At one point, she interrupts the proceedings to answer her phone. “It all started with the ‘1 Night in Paris’ video and all the parodies that have followed it,” says Michael Porco, a Sierra Madre– based comedian, political pundit and licensed therapist. “Since then, the idea of being on the phone during sex entered the popular culture and our collective unconscious.”

Porco explains that the prevalence of this behavior among young people demonstrates a “cool, detached” approach to intimacy and a self-important attitude, both of which can have dire consequences for real-life relationships.

Susan Hollywood Papalia, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Pasadena, says she has serious concerns about compulsive mobile device users and their partners. “Using devices during sex introduces a prop that is distancing and dissociative rather than engaging and connected,” says Papalia, who specializes in relational life therapy, a counseling method created by Massachusetts-based family therapist Terry Real, author of The New Rules of Marriage. She believes that any person who does so without his or her partner’s consent may be demonstrating addictive or avoidant behavior. Porco agrees, pointing to recent research by James Roberts of Baylor University and Stephen Pirog of Seton Hall University, who showed that compulsive mobile device usage demonstrates materialism and impulsiveness, both of which point to addiction. “People believe they are such an important person that they must be on the phone at this moment. Impulsiveness points to how difficult it is for some people to exercise control and actually put their phone down,” Porco says, noting that cellphone addiction is a malady not yet universally recognized by experts.

Dustin Plattner, Psy.D., a relational psychotherapist at La Vie Counseling Center in Pasadena, says several of his patients have complained about their partners’ use of cellphones during what should be one-on-one encounters. Plattner hesitates to –continued on page 23

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–continued from page 21

lay all the blame at the feet of the user. Like any obstacle to intimacy, inappropriate cellphone use is something both partners should take responsibility for overcoming, he says. “I would want to work with both of them and see what is getting in the way,” Plattner adds. “My advice is to communicate with the partner: ‘When you’re on the phone, it hurts me. I don’t know if I want to be connected with that.’” Plattner explains that human beings are built for “connectiveness” — which includes eye and skin contact as well as recognition of faces and voices — and healthy relationships depend on it. Constant electronic communication can help reinforce relational bonds, but they fall short of true connectiveness. “You would also want to hold her, touch her, connect with her in person.”

“In relational therapy we use the word ‘cherished,’” Papalia says. “If you don’t feel cherished in your relationship, then there is probably something occurring that is not making room for all of who you are.” She believes there is no substitute for genuine “eye-to-eye and skin-to-skin” intimacy.

But relationships, for all their benefits, can be difficult and messy. They require us to be vulnerable. And Porco says any interruptions during face-to-face interactions present a real danger. “Being on your phone destroys intimacy. You are not present and connected to your partner but to your own digital world… I prefer people get to the point where they can look into each other’s eyes during sex — admittedly, an advanced move for many. The best sex is present sex.”

Erstwhile online-dating entrepreneur Michael Onstad agrees that compulsive cellphone use is a detriment to relationships, but he believes it’s only one facet of a larger problem. Having tried online-dating sites such as Match.com and eHarmony. com, and having attempted to build two online-dating sites of his own, Onstad, a 40-year-old Pasadena resident and lead software developer for Kaiser Permanente, says technology has failed to satisfy our need to meet new people and start relationships. “I don’t think any ‘system’ can bring people together,” he says. “You can only look at their pictures and feel like you might be attracted to them.”

Last year, he decided to adopt a more old-fashioned approach. He used Meetup.com, a site designed to connect people who share hobbies and interests, to start a group for Pasadena singles in their 30s and 40s. Onstad organizes mixers at local venues and invites the whole group, which now includes about 300 members. The response, he says, has been largely positive. His fi rst event, at T. Boyle’s Tavern on Catalina Avenue, drew dozens of singles. “I feel that’s the direction things are going,” Onstad says, noting that Match.com has begun offering group meetings as well. “Better to meet 10 or 15 people at once and know they’re single. You can talk, get to know each other. If they’re interested, they can go on a real date.” Onstad says mixers help singles avoid the pitfalls of online dating: Promising email exchanges can lead to –continued on page 25

“I would want to work with both of them and see what is getting in the way.” ~ Psychotherapist Dustin Plattner

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The Great Experiment Alli Reed, a 26-year-old humor writer in L.A., began to wonder whether men who deluged her with responses were really reading her OkCupid profi le. She borrowed some flirtatious photos from an attractive friend and created AaronCarterFan, an alter ego with a decidedly unattractive personality. The profi le was replete with red fl ags — AaronCarterFan habitually manipulates her partners by faking pregnancies, for example, and demonstrates an extremely narcissistic worldview. Nevertheless, Reed’s faux fox received hundreds of messages, most of them sincere. She wrote about her experience in an article for Cracked.com and shared her insights with Arroyo Monthly.

“Ultimately, one has to decide what type of sex they want.” ~ Therapist Michael Porco –continued from page 23

disappointing in-person meetings, and men tend to be less selective than women, flooding their inboxes with messages.

Lucy Bennett, an L.A.–based reality TV producer, plans to tackle those issues and more in an upcoming Bravo series — Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.

Each episode will follow two men as they attempt to find matches and make dates.

She says she has observed that our increasing dependence on technology, including mobile devices, is reflected in our personal lives. She appreciates Onstad’s efforts, noting, “You don’t sit at a bar and ask someone to read your OkCupid profi le,” but she worries that participants may be trading one “meat market” for another. “There could be a stigma where it’s a bunch of desperate people getting together with nametags.

Some people hate that.”

Whatever the mechanism, once a personal connection is made, the task of maintaining it falls on both partners. Porco recommends establishing rules that will ensure mobile devices are turned off or otherwise unavailable during intimate moments. Plattner stresses the need for the open expression of feelings as well as the importance of good parenting: By setting limits on the use of mobile devices in adolescence, he says, parents demonstrate that other social activities, including physical activities, offer better ways to develop social bonds.

Papalia believes that the option of using mobile devices should compel us to seriously consider what we expect from our relationships. “Using technologies with consciousness can be enriching and make our lives simpler, but any world without walls has its perils and can become a source of danger,” she says. “When it comes to mobile phones in the bedroom, all my red flags go up. I’m at a loss in figuring out what possible benefit it brings to human connection.”

“Ultimately, one has to decide what type of sex they want,” Porco says. “If you don’t mind sex that is just about sexual release, then perhaps it doesn’t matter. But if you are looking for more meaningful, connected sex where there is communication and connection, then the phone must go.” ||||

How did you get the idea to create the profi le?

I got the idea because I’ve been on OkCupid on and off since 2008 or 2009. I just moved to L.A. a few months ago and I got back on OkCupid to meet people. I got the feeling it made no difference what I wrote. I wondered, “How horrible do I have to make a profi le that no one will message me?”

What aspect of the profi le were you most proud of?

I spent a lot of time trying to come up with the funniest ways to present myself. But I would say I was most proud when I realized I had accomplished what I set out to do.

Someone messaged me and I responded back with something horrible and they didn’t respond. That restored my faith a little bit.

Do you believe most men are simply not looking for red fl ags?

I don’t know. I’ve read some of the comments on the article and so many seem to say, “Of course they would message. They were just looking for a one-night stand.”

But some of my responses were even darker than those you saw in the article. It feels almost insulting that people would want to message someone so awful.

Did anyone write to say they understood the joke and appreciated it?

I got between 500 and 1,000 messages in the week-and-a-half I had it up, and about 10 guys seemed to really get the joke. I’m sure many more people got that it was a joke profi le and didn’t bother to message me.

I didn’t message [the men who understood] back because I was afraid the profi le would get flagged and taken down. On the very last day a guy messaged and said it was the funniest thing he had ever read. I responded by telling him this was my “Ozymandias.” It’s an old poem [by Percy Bysshe Shelley] about a statue found in the desert: “Look on my work, ye Mighty, and despair.” This is my “despair” work.

Any advice for women who are apprehensive about online dating?

I was on OkCupid for real at the same time and that’s how I found my current boyfriend. My advice is to know yourself really well and know what you’re looking for, then focus on that. If you’re looking for adventure, highlight your adventurous side.

I need somebody who will make me laugh, so I focused on that. Also, don’t live by this, but do pay attention to red flags.

It’s a numbers game. I went out on four or five fi rst dates the fi rst week and none of them went badly. It can be fun if you don’t take yourself too seriously.

— T.K.

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~HOME SALES INDEX~ HOME SALES

dec

dec

2012

2013

+11.9% ALTADENA HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. ARCADIA HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. EAGLE ROCK HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. GLENDALE HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. LA CAÑADA HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. PASADENA HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. SAN MARINO HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. SIERRA MADRE HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. SOUTH PASADENA HOMES SOLD MEDIAN PRICE MEDIAN SQ. FT. TOTAL HOMES SOLD AVG PRICE/SQ. FT.

DEC ’12 37 $485,000 1602 DEC ’12 31 $888,000 1933 DEC ’12 14 $520,000 1394 DEC ’12 115 $500,000 1467 DEC ’12 21 $1,150,000 1910 DEC ’12 149 $530,000 1301 DEC ’12 12 $1,700,000 2352 DEC ’12 15 $585,000 1659 DEC ’12 16 $726,750 1486 DEC ’12 410 $445

HOMES SOLD

410 382

AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.

RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE ARROYO FOOTPRINT

HOMES SOLD

-6.83%

HOME SALES ABOVE $900,000

DEC ’13 41 $575,000 1480 DEC ’13 28 $865,500 1749 DEC ’13 19 $500,000 1098 DEC ’13 113 $610,000 1584 DEC ’13 17 $1,250,000 2452 DEC ’13 130 $633,750 1491 DEC ’13 13 $1,998,000 2750 DEC ’13 6 $739,500 1885 DEC ’13 15 $801,000 1364 DEC ’13 382 $498

ADDRESS

CLOSE DATE

SOURCE: CalREsource

PRICE BDRMS. SQ. FT.

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE

PREV. SOLD

ALTADENA 2255 Midlothian Drive

12/11/13 $2,150,000

8

$1,010,000

04/12/2011

1945 East Altadena Drive

12/04/13 $1,600,000

4

3366

1945

$295,000

12/16/1996

712 Millard Canyon Road

12/06/13 $1,290,000

5

3881

1998

$1,125,000

01/14/2009

1215 East Palm Street

12/16/13 $1,230,000

3

2237

1979

2484 Boulder Road

12/24/13 $1,176,000

2199 Glen Canyon Road

12/24/13 $1,170,000

3

2392

1939

$867,500

09/29/2003

3561 Giddings Ranch Road

12/18/13 $1,030,500

4

2844

1997

$355,000

09/19/1997

1783 Craig Avenue

12/19/13 $1,025,000

3

2153

1934

$615,000

10/30/2002

2131 Crescent Drive

12/06/13

3

1891

1941

1799

1928

$935,000

3201 North Mt. Curve Avenue

12/19/13

$931,000

3

1230 Sunny Oaks Circle

12/31/13

$900,000

5

$779,500

09/10/2008

$700,000

03/12/2010

ARCADIA 725 Carriage House Drive

11/12/13 $3,180,000

6

5905

2002

710 East Norman Avenue

11/14/13 $2,050,000

5

4416

2003

$438,000

08/02/2002

2020 Oaks Place

11/01/13 $1,580,000

3

2540

1956

$405,000

03/13/1997

433 East Camino Real Avenue

11/01/13 $1,550,000

4

2664

1983

$750,000

01/23/2004

1555 Hyland Avenue

11/27/13 $1,450,000

4

2724

1949

$385,000

02/04/1999

1902 South 6th Avenue

11/13/13 $1,438,000

4

2958

1986

$150,000

08/29/1996

1306 Green field Avenue

11/14/13 $1,366,000

4

2301

1960

$950,000

02/08/2011

2216 South Santa Anita Avenue 11/25/13 $1,270,000

5

2552

1947

$1,089,000

10/28/2005

1050 Whispering Oaks Drive

11/20/13 $1,100,000

5

3122

1976

$710,000

01/09/2004

2531 El Capitan Avenue

11/06/13

$970,000

3

1343

1950

2501 South 2nd Avenue

11/07/13

$900,000

3

1335

1941

$280,000

06/30/1997

GLENDALE 2047 Rimcrest Drive

12/17/13 $2,300,000

5

8143

1988

$1,200,000

06/16/1997

1745 Melwood Drive

12/10/13 $1,550,000

4

3110

1939

$1,640,000

10/26/2006

2708

1941

$1,205,000

06/27/2006

$365,000

03/04/1986

867 West Mountain Street

12/02/13 $1,300,000

4

929 Chudleigh Lane

12/12/13 $1,295,000

7

1516 Remah Vista Drive

12/04/13 $1,275,000

3

2475

1946

$805,000

11/22/1991

1045 Calle Contento

12/24/13 $1,180,000

4

2777

1990

$1,100,000

07/01/2008

$1,200,000

05/13/2013

2154 Ashington Drive

12/31/13 $1,165,000

5

3422

1967

614 West Kenneth Road

12/06/13 $1,050,000

3

2380

1923

1140 Avonoak Terrace

12/17/13 $1,049,000

4

2944

1963

$350,000

07/15/1994

1018 Calle Allegre

12/18/13 $1,010,000

4

2984

1989

$600,900

10/20/1989

3609 Stancrest Drive

12/26/13 $1,005,000

6

2571

1952 12/31/2002

112 South Everett Street

12/26/13

$950,000

8

3168

1950

1035 Calle Azul

12/24/13

$950,000

5

2984

1989

$731,000

4600 Moore Street

12/11/13

$950,000

4

3020

1932

$936,000

12/10/2007

1345 Greenbriar Road

12/31/13

$900,000

4

2720

1978

$980,000

07/31/2007

continued on page 28

The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra Madre and Arcadia. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2014. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.

02.14 | ARROYO | 27

continued from page 27

HOME SALES ABOVE $900,000 RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE ARROYO FOOTPRINT ADDRESS

CLOSE DATE

LA CAĂ‘ADA FLINTRIDGE 4255 Beulah Drive 12/04/13 5165 Alta Canyada Road 12/04/13 1222 Green Lane 12/13/13 1139 Flintridge Avenue 12/11/13 2133 Countryman Lane 12/30/13 858 Valley Crest Street 12/19/13 4835 Hillard Avenue 12/20/13 1016 Fairview Drive 12/10/13 4321 Beulah Drive 12/31/13 5525 Alta Canyada Road 12/31/13 1045 Inverness Drive 12/18/13 4301 La Granada Way 12/24/13 4522 Alta Canyada Road 12/17/13 PASADENA 1200 Hillcrest Avenue 12/03/13 400 Rosita Lane 12/19/13 660 Burleigh Drive 12/13/13 1484 Rutherford Drive 12/26/13 810 Fairfield Circle 12/17/13 810 Prospect Boulevard 12/10/13 1541 Inverness Drive 12/31/13 3336 Villa Mesa Road 12/05/13 280 Arlington Drive 12/19/13 1280 Afton Street 12/11/13 262 Annandale Road 12/13/13 360 Glen Summer Road 12/20/13 845 Calderwood Lane 12/06/13 2733 San Marcos Drive 12/20/13 633 South Lake Avenue #6 12/10/13 865 Wright Avenue 12/03/13 920 Granite Drive #110 12/05/13 1525 Riviera Drive 12/20/13 1438 Loma Vista Street 12/05/13 80 Arlington Drive 12/26/13 636 Prospect Boulevard 12/05/13 2196 Lambert Drive 12/10/13 920 Granite Drive #101 12/05/13 2064 Kinneloa Canyon Road 12/31/13 108 South El Molino Avenue #10112/03/13 1375 Chamberlain Road 12/23/13 762 North Mar Vista Avenue 12/05/13 SAN MARINO 1745 Chelsea Road 12/18/13 1541 Charlton Road 12/17/13 2769 Gainsborough Drive 12/04/13 895 San Marino Avenue 12/11/13 2187 Melville Drive 12/17/13 2155 Sherwood Road 12/10/13 2464 Ridgeway Road 12/31/13 2152 Valentine Place 12/10/13 2540 Fairfield Place 12/20/13 2245 El Molino Place 12/24/13 440 Winthrop Road 12/20/13 2727 Fleur Drive 12/18/13 2882 Woodlawn Avenue 12/04/13 SIERRA MADRE 598 Camillo Road 12/03/13 126 East Laurel Avenue 12/20/13 101 North Lima Street 12/27/13 SOUTH PASADENA 181 Monterey Road 12/23/13 185 Monterey Road 12/23/13 1915 Via Del Rey 12/03/13 1907 La Fremontia Street 12/19/13 347 Alta Vista Avenue 01/02/14 2001 Fletcher Avenue 12/18/13 28 | ARROYO | 02.14

SOURCE: CalREsource

PRICE BDRMS. SQ. FT.

$3,750,000 $1,950,000 $1,699,000 $1,672,500 $1,650,000 $1,575,000 $1,315,000 $1,260,000 $1,250,000 $1,230,000 $1,220,000 $1,100,000 $1,020,000

5 3 6 9 5 2 7 4 4 5 5 3 4

$4,690,000 $3,950,000 $2,600,000 $2,500,000 $2,400,000 $2,100,000 $1,775,000 $1,690,000 $1,660,000 $1,465,000 $1,317,000 $1,290,000 $1,285,000 $1,266,000 $1,250,000 $1,237,500 $1,220,000 $1,200,000 $1,170,000 $1,152,500 $1,095,000 $1,050,000 $995,000 $975,000 $950,000 $950,000 $910,000

6 6 6 4 2 4 4 5 2 4 3 7 4 4 3 8 3 4 5 4 5 4 2 8 3 3 3

$2,920,000 $2,860,000 $2,800,000 $2,800,000 $2,550,000 $2,260,000 $1,998,000 $1,880,000 $1,880,000 $1,668,000 $1,563,000 $1,210,000 $1,120,000

5 5 4 8 2 4 4 4 3 5 4 2 3

$1,200,000 $998,000 $901,000 $1,280,000 $1,280,000 $1,200,000 $1,100,500 $975,000 $970,000

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE

PREV. SOLD

5537 3929

2002 1941

$3,825,000 $85,000

05/30/2007 08/12/1971

3719 2452

2003 1950

2750 2029

1963 1929

$1,750,000 $1,450,000 $105,000 $1,379,000 $930,000 $1,175,000 $1,262,500

09/13/2010 06/29/2004 02/20/1975 06/20/2007 01/11/2010 08/14/2007 09/05/2007

2579 1922

1999 1946

$730,000

08/11/2003

6078

1989 $720,000 $1,707,500 $1,375,000 $925,000 $1,750,000 $935,000 $1,300,000 $1,500,000 $730,000 $968,000 $1,420,000 $1,285,000 $220,000

01/28/1998 06/09/2011 12/06/2000 10/31/2001 06/10/2004 05/09/2000 02/25/2009 05/29/2008 03/21/1995 06/23/2004 07/07/2006 12/06/2013 09/14/1998

$840,000

01/30/2006

$760,000 $1,090,000 $550,000

09/21/2004 10/19/2007 08/25/2004

$1,000,000

09/01/2010

$790,000 $749,000

06/08/2011 04/23/2004

$822,000

03/27/2013

$2,200,000 $890,000 $2,000,000 $147,500 $1,625,000 $885,000 $1,425,000 $1,348,500

06/24/2005 02/26/1999 01/03/2013 06/28/1977 12/05/2012 03/16/2001 02/22/2006 10/07/2004

5713 2059 4782 4575 3990 2614 2573 2474

1988 1959 1992 1979 1969 1958 1924 1939

2106 3054 2648 3969 2030 2315 2193 2539 3276 2496 1860

1956 1999 2010 1929 2009 1958 1901 1937 1915 1934 2009

2848 1623 2100

2004 1947 1909

4277 3152 3614

1932 1951 1963

2410 2758 2791 2761 2741 2715 2367 1440 1684

1934 1935 1936 1967 1954 1937 1960 1926 1950

3 4 5

2506 2230 2180

1967 1916 1931

$818,000 $620,000

10/26/2009 08/15/2001

2 2 3 2 3 2

988 777 1991 2285 2256 1262

1946 1947 1966 1965 1980 1923

$568,000 $568,000 $455,000

06/07/2005 06/07/2005 07/16/1998

$488,000

01/31/2003

HOME & DESIGN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Observations of Architectural trends

“Place is a definer and a confiner of what I’m doing… It saves me. Why, you couldn’t write a story that happened nowhere.”

BY JOANNA DEHN BERESFORD

I VISITED STONEHENGE WITH MY PARENTS WHEN I WAS A KID AND IT WAS

- Eudora Welty

VERY COOL THEN, BECAUSE YOU COULD ACTUALLY WALK AMONG THE STONES AND WONDER WHAT THE HECK EVERYBODY DID THERE. IF I UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT HISTORY, I THINK THAT NOBODY REALLY KNOWS FOR SURE WHAT STONEHENGE WAS USED FOR, BUT THEY THINK IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SUN, THE MOON, THE OTHER STARS, RELIGION, MAYBE CROP ROTATIONS OR SOMETHING. MORE RECENTLY I HAVE LEARNED THAT, IN A CURRENT SCIENTIFIC STUDY, ANTHROPOLOGISTS EXPLORE THE NEANDERTHALS’ USE OF DOMESTIC SPACE, CONCLUDING THAT THE TRIBES WERE MORE SYSTEMATIC AND ORGANIZED IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THEIR HOMES THAN WAS PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED. AND I’VE WALKED AMONG THE RUINS OF POMPEII, PUTTING MY HANDS ON THE WALLS, INSPECTING MURALS AND SHADOWS AND ANCIENT WALKWAYS AND TUFTS OF GRASS AND THE VIEW OF THE OCEAN AND THOUGHT, WOW. HOLY MOLY. PEOPLE REALLY LIVED HERE. PEOPLE, LIKE ME, LIKE MY FAMILY, LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN HOMES AND CITIES AND VILLAGES ALL OVER THE PLANET TODAY. I MARVEL AT THESE PLACES AND OTHERS LIKE THEM, WHETHER VIRTUALLY OR PHYSICALLY ENCOUNTERED, AND THEN I GAZE AROUND MY OWN HOME, AND I ASK MYSELF: WHAT MIGHT HISTORIANS OR TOURISTS OR ANTHROPOLOGISTS FIND HERE?

PHOTO: Courtesy of James Coane & Associates

–continued on page 31

02.14 | ARROYO | 29

30 | ARROYO | 02.14

PHOTO: Alexander Verticoff/HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 29 I don’t just ask myself. I consult with other people, too. For example, I have spoken with several of the region’s finest architects and designers about this notion, especially in light of their most recent projects and observations. Bill Baldwin, of HartmanBaldwin Design/Build, and himself a terrific and fanciful writer, immediately provided me with some loose, opening lines for a narrative: Log date 2431. In the centuries past the magnetic shift and polar melt, science has spent little time investigating the anthropological significance of the older civilizations. Many, centuries old and in deep ocean waters, have been the victims of salvage crews whose only aim is recycled materials. After the information reformation, most all references to these times have been eliminated……..So it was a great honor and I must say exciting beyond words to receive his permit to dive on the sunken suburbs of Los Angeles. Though I know my findings may be censored, here is the sum of what we know and believe about life in these lost cities early in the 21st century….

To this cool and conceptual scenario, Karla Rodriquez adds some more specific insights and commentary about HartmanBaldwin’s current experience of design/ build trends. In particular she describes the typical Smart Home. A future historian or anthropologist would “note how there was an elaborate ‘brain’ in a closet of the home in which every electronic appliance or accessory was connected via a wireless signal. A lot people don’t want to compromise with where they sit work, watch TV. Every room has controlled media and entertainment. Offices can be created in every corner of the house, with ipads, computers, television.”

In other words, it’s all access, all the time, which might not surprise the late author David Foster Wallace, who suggests in Infinite Jest and elsewhere that human beings will eventually cause our own extinction, basically, as we systematically recede into a deep, stuporous coma in front of our infotainment screens and devices.

There are more optimistic predictions, but no one spins a yarn quite like Wallace. And regardless of our ambivalent relationship with technovation, it’s really crazy when you –continued on page 32 02.14 | ARROYO | 31

PHOTO: Alexander Verticoff/HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 31 compare it to a quote I stumbled across the other day from the New York Times, circa 1939: “TV will never be a serious competitor for radio because people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; the average American family hasn’t time for it.”

James Coane of James Coane & Associates, a design/build firm, corroborates the idea that technology becomes us in various ways. “Regarding technology,” he says, “we are doing more ‘Smart Homes’, such as with the Savant System, and many have backup generators.” These observations suggest a sort of King of the Castle, or more ambitiously, a Masters of the Universe, kind of existence in the material world.

Just for fun, we could contrast a contemporary, Southern California Smart Home with the typical Neanderthal residence, in which, according to the aforementioned study (described in a December World Science article), the residents “butchered, made tools, and gathered round the fire in different parts of their shelter.” And according to Julien Riel-Salvatore, a scientist who participated in the expedition from which these conclusions are drawn, proposes (okay, I’m kind of proposing for him, or at least, we’re proposing together) that these shelters were some of the earliest form, we might say the precursors of, the “Smart Home.” Because the Neanderthals were so intentional about the choices they made in creating their spaces. They established the fire and the work spaces and traffic areas in ways which were both functional and safe.

But anyway, in terms of analyzing the texts of our homes, it’s not all smoke and mirrors – I mean, it’s not all about screens and servers. Our homes may also allude to our environmental and practical concerns. “On the architecture/technical side,” notes James Coane, “most clients are requesting solar panels, which greatly affect how we design the roof....everyone wants the solar panels, but no one wants to see them. So, we have lots of roofs with ‘hidden areas’ that are not visible to the average person to hide all of this stuff. We are also re-using roof water runoff for landscaping watering. Many of our current projects are using reclaimed material, with a heavier emphasis on different types of metals. But, also a lot of reclaimed timber, siding, and various wood planks. A lot of used brick too.”

Karla Rodriguez adds that many of their clients want beautiful, uber-advanced, high-end stuff, but they’re also more concerned about concepts of cost and efficiency than they might have been ten years ago. A reflection of “the economy”, and our relatively adroit conversion to the worship of all things both fun and “green”, I suppose.

The point is, referring to Eudora’s quote above: our homes, our “settings”, are not just a backdrop. They are woven in and around and through the very fabric of our experience. Without them, if we lived on a barren stage, like Beckett’s Vladimir and Estragon, or Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, we wouldn’t know who we are, or what we mean, or if we have ever even been here at all. So, for Stonehenge, primitive shelters, the ash-hewn walls of Pompeii, and all the homes I’ve ever called my own, I’m deeply grateful. |||| 32 | ARROYO | 02.14

h

Exposing a SeaWorld of Hurt

Gabriela Cowperthwaite ignited a firestorm of controversy with Blackfish, her documentary about the troubled lives of the theme parks’ majestic killer whales.

BY SAMANTHA BONAR

S

OME OF THE BEST INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS START WITH A SIMPLE QUESTION. IN THE CASE OF GABRIELA COWPERTHWAITE, WHO MADE THE CONTROVERSIAL DOCUMENTARY BLACKFISH, THE QUESTION WAS: WHY WOULD

A KILLER WHALE BRUTALLY ATTACK AND KILL ITS TRAINER AT SEAWORLD ORLANDO?

PHOTO: Still from Blackfish, ©2013 OUR TURN PRODUCTIONS, LLC

AFTER ALL, FOR 50 YEARS SEAWORLD HAS BEEN TELLING THE PUBLIC THAT KILLER WHALES ARE DOCILE CREATURES PERFECTLY HAPPY TO LIVE IN CAPTIVITY AND PERFORM TRICKS FOR DELIGHTED AUDIENCES. “I’D ALWAYS THOUGHT IF I HAD TO BE AN ANIMAL IN CAPTIVITY, I’D PROBABLY CHOOSE TO BE A SHAMU [SEAWORLD’S NAME FOR ITS ORCA STARS], GETTING HUGS AND FISH,” SAYS THE LOS ANGELES–BASED DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER. “I WAS REALLY IGNORANT ABOUT THAT WORLD.” –continued on page 34

02.14 ARROYO | 33

The Occidental College grad had been making documentaries for Animal Planet, National Geographic, Discovery, the History Channel and other television outlets for 12 years when she learned that Dawn Brancheau, a top trainer at SeaWorld, had been killed by a six-ton orca in 2010. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she continues. “I couldn’t understand why an intelligent, sentient animal would bite the hand that feeds it. I mean you hear about dog maulings, but you rarely hear that a dog mauls its owner. This was a strange story and I couldn’t shake it. When I began developing the documentary, I was shocked by what I learned.”

She says it’s been quite a “journey of shock and discovery” for someone who never even considered herself an animal activist (although the Denver native loves her two mixedbreed dogs, Nessie and Chucho, and Siamese cat, Marley). “I would go to zoos every once in a while and the primates, their expressions seemed sad to me, but I never really thought that about SeaWorld, beyond the ‘cringe effect,’” says Cowperthwaite, who had taken her 7-year-old twin boys Max and Diego to SeaWorld San Diego twice. “I think we all had the cringe factor, which is the way a lot of us feel when we go there. We think it’s pretty cheesy. It’s really expensive, and you’re bombarded with products the moment you walk through the gate. Then you see trainers standing on the noses of killer whales, and it feels

so undignified, for the animal and for the trainer. I would think to myself that something’s wrong, but you’re kind of anesthetized — there’s thumping music, there’s bright colors, everyone around you is smiling. So you think to yourself, how can something that’s so bad make people so happy? So you just shrug and sit through it and ignore those initial instincts.”

Until Brancheau’s grisly death planted a question in Cowperthwaite’s mind: Why? Interviewing animal behavior experts and former SeaWorld trainers, Cowperthwaite — who was pursuing a Ph.D. in political science at USC when she was bit by the filmmaking bug — quickly found out that Tilikum, the aggressive bull orca who killed Brancheau, was also responsible for at least two other human deaths. Tilikum had been captured by SeaWorld as a calf off of Iceland and went on to live in captivity for 30 years.

Some of the most disturbing footage in Blackfish shows calves being separated from their mothers during capture. Cowperthwaite was also able, through persistence and the Freedom of Information Act, to include chilling footage of actual killer whale attacks on trainers, as well as of the whales’ apparent misery in captivity. Her film’s central question is whether aggressiveness like Tilikum’s is innate to the species or a result of confinement 34 | ARROYO | 02.14

and living conditions. There have been zero orca attacks on humans in the wild, the film points out. In the ocean, orcas swim up to 100 miles a day. Their SeaWorld space is the equivalent of a bathtub. In addition, since 1986, 26 orcas have died in captivity at SeaWorld facilities — their typical lifespan in the wild is 50 to 80 years The controversy the film ignited led to protests at last month’s Rose Parade and helped make it one of the highest-grossing documentaries of all time, bringing in $2.1 million since its July 19 release. “I can’t say this was an easy film to make,” Cowperthwaite says. “For two years we were bombarded with terrifying facts, autopsy reports, sobbing interviewees and unhappy animals — [Sea World is] a place diametrically opposite to its carefully refined image. But as I moved forward, I knew that we had a chance to fix some things that had come unraveled along the way. And that all I had to do was tell the truth.”

Blackfish premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013. “It’s impossible to explain what it means to get into Sundance,” Cowperthwaite says. “Most of us documentarians don’t think anyone’s ever going to see our films on purpose. We don’t make them because we think we’re going to clean up at the box office, because that almost never happens. You make these films because you’re compelled to tell a truthful story, almost in spite of yourself. So when I saw a line wrapped around the building for our Sundance premiere, I hunched down in the car seat and started crying.”

Blackfish has since been shown at film festivals around the world, including Sundance London; Hot Docs in Toronto; the Green Film Festival in Seoul, South Korea; Cinemambiente in Turin, Italy; the Moscow Film Festival; the Melbourne International Film Festival; Filmfest Hamburg; and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. It was released theatrically in the U.S. by Magnolia Pictures in July 2013.

Critics immediately lauded the film. The New York Times and Los Angeles Times selected it as a “Critics’ Pick.”

Variety called Blackfish “a mesmerizing psychological thriller.” “You have rarely seen footage this tense,” said the Village Voice. The film received a huge boost — and 20 million new viewers — when CNN showed it several times over a weekend in November.

But despite making waves — including being shortlisted for an Oscar — Blackfish was snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors and Producers guilds and most other major awards organizations. It was nominated for best documentary in the Critics’ Choice and British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, but it lost the former to 20 Feet from Stardom — Morgan Neville’s feature about backup singers; BAFTA winners will be announced on Feb. 16.

Ellen Killoran of the New York–based International Business Times speculated that Cowperthwaite’s Oscar snub was part of “Hollywood’s persistent exclusion of female filmmakers from… awards season buzz,” adding that Kathryn Bigelow’s 2010 best director trophy for The Hurt Locker was a “historic win [that] has not translated to an increase in recognition for women behind the camera.”

Killoran went on to write, “the Blackfish snub also raises questions of corporate influence.” SeaWorld Entertainment stock has dropped 26 percent over the past 6 months, she noted, but last month it bounced back by 5.6 percent, a recovery some analysts attribute to the Oscar shutout.

SeaWorld’s initial reaction to the film was to send a detailed critique to about 50 movie critics before it even hit theaters in what The New York Times called “an unusual preemptive strike.” The statement read: “Blackfish is billed as a documentary, but instead of a fair and balanced treatment of a complex subject, the film is inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau’s

PHOTO: Still from Blackfish, ©2013 OUR TURN PRODUCTIONS, LLC

–continued from page 33

PHOTO: Courtesy of Gabriela Cowperthwaite

family friends and colleagues. To promote its bias that killer whales should not be maintained in a zoological setting, the film paints a distorted picture that withholds from viewers key facts about SeaWorld — among them, that SeaWorld is one of the world’s most respected zoological institutions, that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research.”

The move backfired.

“From a marketing perspective Sea World did completely [mess] up,” says Tor Myhren, Cowperthwaite’s close college friend and Worldwide CCO of Grey Advertising in New York. “When the fi lm was about to launch, it really did not have a lot of momentum at all. It had done well at Sundance, and then it kind of went quiet. Two days before the fi lm hit the theaters, SeaWorld for some idiotic reason sent out that email. The next day, of course, everyone who received it sent it to the press, Gabriela Cowperthwaite and it just exploded. Within 48 hours the movie went from not being known at all to being the most talked-about documentary of the year. It was a classic PR mistake by SeaWorld and I’m very glad they made it.”

SeaWorld, which attracts about 10 million visitors a year to its theme parks in San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio, quickly realized the error and went radio silent. Now, “they don’t even mention the film by name,” Cowperthwaite says.

But the media flocked to the story, and the censorious headlines followed: “Should Killer Whales Be Tourist Attractions?” (ABC News); “Keeping Whales in Captivity Is Insane. Here’s Why.” (io9); “Did a Killer Whale Doc Just Kill an Industry?” (The New Statesman); “Cruelty of the Aquarium Exposed in Killer Whale Documentary ‘Blackfish,’”’ (The Independent); “Free Willy, For Real: SeaWorld Has Got to Go,” (Salon).

SeaWorld claims the film’s depiction of orcas’ cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers and the pressures brought to bear by the multi-billion-dollar sea-park industry have not affected its ticket sales at all, but “the actual numbers prove them to be lying,” Myhren says. Cowperthwaite claims SeaWorld’s ticket sales declined 13 percent after the theatrical release, and that in an aggressive marketing move, SeaWorld began giving away tickets to make their numbers look better.

Celebrities have jumped on board the killer whale cause, and one top music act after another has pulled out of upcoming gigs at SeaWorld Orlando, including Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson, Heart, Cheap Trick, Trisha Yearwood, REO Speedwagon, Martina McBride and 38 Special. Joan Jett wrote to SeaWorld asking them to stop using her songs after the singer saw the film, as did Savage Garden’s Darren Hayes. In its upcoming Finding Nemo sequel, Pixar nixed a storyline involving a killer whale that included a water park.

“Her films are catalysts for change. They start movements,” says Tim Case of Supply & Demand, a company for which Cowperthwaite produces commercial advertising.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activists protested SeaWorld’s float in the 2014 Rose Parade, lining Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena wearing orca costumes and holding signs that read, “Boycott SeaWorld,” “SeaWorld: Let Orcas Out of Prison” and “Get Orca Abuse Out of the Rose Parade.”

“In this day and age, especially since the documentary Blackfish came out, people know that SeaWorld is synonymous with animal abuse,” Lisa Lange, a PETA vice president, told the Pasadena Weekly. She added that SeaWorld “is a corporation that rips apart orca and dolphin families, and when you look at the Rose Parade, it is a family-oriented

event. It is a real embarrassment, because while the world is waking up to the fact that SeaWorld means animal abuse, the [Tournament of Roses] is putting them in such a revered parade and ignoring how the public feels.”

Cowperthwaite also criticized SeaWorld’s inclusion in the Pasadena parade. “They’ve done the Macy’s parade for a long time,” she said. “This is what they’ve been doing for 40 years – they market to children. They pretend this apex predator is a huggable pet. That has parade written all over it.

They are heavily involved in any kind of marketing that hits families and kids. That’s their favorite m.o. It’s also in step with their whole glossy, overthe-top, loud-music philosophy to anesthetize us so we buy it hook, line and sinker and turn off our critical thinking and just smile and not give the issue any real thought.”

Tournament of Roses spokesman David Gordon has defended SeaWorld’s inclusion in the parade. “This year’s float is designed to illustrate the wonder of sea life in a manner that can inspire millions to learn more about our oceans, which is consistent with SeaWorld’s ongoing mission,” he told the Pasadena Weekly in December.

Cowperthwaite also challenges SeaWorld’s claims to loftier goals. “SeaWorld is not an institution that is dedicated to education or rehabilitation or release,” she says. “Their main directive is profit through entertainment. That’s it. It’s not educational. You can sit through entire Shamu shows and never even hear the words ‘killer whale.’ They are a $2 billion–a-year corporation and out of that .6 percent goes to conservation.”

The filmmaker would like to see the end of orcas in captivity, starting with the demise of their breeding programs. Currently housed orcas would not survive in the open ocean, but they could be relocated to enclosed sea pens, she says — even Tilikum, the guy who puts the “killer” in killer whale. “He’s a tough one, right?” she says. “His teeth are all broken from biting on steel gates. He’s hopped up on antibiotics. He’s old. He floats lifelessly on the surface of the water. So in some ways he’s the worst candidate for any kind of release.” But “the Icelandic government would like him to be retired in a sea pen in Icelandic waters so he can live out his life with a little bit of dignity.

“It’s tough, because you’re not sure if he would survive for very long. But my theory is, could his life be any worse? For a bull orca to be floating on the surface for hours and hours on end, with no other whales to interact with since now everybody has to stay away from him — you couldn’t have a worse life.”

Looking back on her trips to SeaWorld with her kids, she muses: “You think back to how much fun they might have had there, and then you realize everyone could say that, and say we all went there and had some fond memories — but if we had known the cost, I bet most of us wouldn’t have made the decision to go. You’re looking at an animal that’s miserable — takes the blush off the place pretty fast.”

As for her next project, Cowperthwaite says her ideas are “percolating,” but her friends and supporters have high expectations. “She is fearless,” says Myhren. “She will tackle any challenge. She will put herself in any situation, which makes her an amazing documentary filmmaker. I’ve never seen a director who’s able to get more honest emotions and more authentic feeling from her subjects. It’s so awesome to see her taking that talent and putting it into films that matter in the world.”

And watch out, world, because, according to ad man Case, who’s worked on projects with her: “She is just warming up.” |||| 02.14 ARROYO | 35

36 | ARROYO | 02.14

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

Winter Ice

The only snowy stuff you’re likely to find in L.A. this month is sweet and surprising.

BY LESLIE BILDERBACK

Sure, it’s the middle of winter. But this is Southern California, which is why I am currently obsessed with frozen desserts.

This obsession began over the holidays, when, in a stroke of genius, we decided to forgo the traditional mayhem and hightail it out of town. We spent Christmas under the palm trees of Maui, where, at long last, I was able to do quantitative research on Hawaiian shave ice. What began as an afternoon snack quickly became an obsession — so much so that I was able to obtain, complete and redeem

form of chewy mochi balls or sweet azuki beans, so exotic and welcome. And the finishing touch? Li hing mui, a heaven-sent (actually, Chinese-sent) condiment, composed of dried, salted plums pulverized into a bright pink powder. A sprinkle of this tangy, salty powder on top of your icy creation takes this frozen delight into the stratosphere of gastronomic delight. (Yeah. I like it.)

Hawaiians did not invent this idea, but they certainly embraced it wholeheartedly.

Japan lays claim to that honor, having perfected kakigori (sometimes marketed as shirokuma, which means “polar bear”) during the Edo period (1603–1867). They are clearly responsible for bringing that treat to Hawaii, for which I am eternally grateful.

Once we got home and my shave-ice withdrawal kicked in, it occurred to me that such a thing must be available in Los Angeles. We have everything here. And sure enough, to my delight I found several shave-ice outlets, the best of which is Brian’s Shave Ice on the

a frequent buyer’s card, which entitled me to a free final serving of

Westside. (They have another shop in Tarzana.) But that’s not all I found. There are similar

frozen heaven on the way to the airport for the flight home.

all available in the Southland for our dining pleasure.

Maybe it was the environment. Or perhaps the company. But I found Hawaiian shave

shave-ice desserts (most of which predate the Hawaiian version) from all over the globe — In Koreatown the snowy dessert is patbingsu: a bowl of fruits, jellies, red beans and tteok

ice to be the perfect incarnation of dessert. It encompassed all the things I require in a

rice cake (similar to Japanese mochi) topped with shaved ice, followed by syrups, condensed

fine dessert — the things I have preached to my students for years. The presentation was

milk, ice cream and — wait for it — cereal. Fruity Pebbles seems to be the popular choice.

unique, the textural composition varied and interesting, the flavors exciting and unexpected, the history fascinating.

Shave ice is nothing like the snow cone we get on the mainland.The ice is like fluffy snow

Thai Town’s version, nam kaeng sai, is similar in concept, but with more exotic fillings, including taro, black sticky rice, young coconut and sweet lotus root. The popular choice for toppings is bright red sala syrup, made from palm fruit. And here they top the whole thing

— powdery fine and packable.The fine texture allows the syrups (that are nothing like the

off with bread cubes.Yep. Bread cubes. Like all of these desserts, the magic happens not

cough-syrupy crap we have here) to be absorbed into, rather than sink

in the eating of each component, but in the mixing and mingling of them. In this instance,

through, the ice.They were more like juices and nectars extracted from

the bread cubes act as a flavor sponge.

actual fruit, not concoctions of corn syrup and food coloring.There were

Indonesia’s es campur means “mixed ice,” and it really is more like ice than snow.

no bubblegum or cotton candy flavors on the menu.They served guava,

Chunky and crunchy, it definitely quenches on a hot day. The same characters show up

pineapple, sweet banana, dragon fruit, mango, lychee, papaya — every tropical fruit you could possibly imagine.There were also special syrup blends offered by every stand, including Tiger’s Blood (a mix of coconut with cherry, strawberry or watermelon) and POG (passion fruit, orange and guava).You had the option of topping off your succulent fruit flavors with a “snow cap,” which means a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk, a little thinner and less cloying than the stuff I bake with.The result is a texture that sits perfectly at the sweet spot between creamy and icy.

But, for me, the best part was packing the ice with hidden elements

here — fruits, azuki beans, sweetened condensed milk — but they are also really into jellies. Extracted from the leaves of a variety of herbs in the mint family, grass jelly, black jelly, green jelly and the like are used throughout Asia in desserts and beverages, like exotic Jell-o Jigglers.You will often see the addition of avocado (Calm down, people, it is a fruit after all) and jackfruit, a huge tree fruit that tastes like an apple-pineapple-mango-banana mix and has an odor similar to, but not as nasty as, the durian.

The Taiwanese “ice slush” chhoah-peng is similar to the rest — sweet beans (both red and green), taro, tapioca and jelly cubes –continued on page 38

at the bottom, to be revealed only at the end of my snowy adventure. Just when you thought the enjoyment was over, surprise!

Hidden at the bottom of your ice was a creamy scoop of bright coconut, macadamia or rich vanilla ice cream. Better still, we could opt for even more embellishment in the

Baobing comes with sweet beans and jelly cubes.

02.14 | ARROYO | 37

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

under light snowy ice, but with considerably

The author embarking on a snowy adventure

less sweet syrup over the top. The Chinese version, baobing, offers all those fillings and more — sweet peanuts, mung beans, yams — doused with cane syrup, which is substantially sweeter.

Ice kachang, meaning “ice bean,” is Singapore’s version, so you can expect a sweet bean surprise. But you will also find jackfruit, sweet corn and rose water.

As you have probably guessed, similar icy desserts are found elsewhere around the globe. Cuba’s variation, granizados, the Spanish word for “hailstones,” is found throughout Miami. The Dominicans call their snow cones frío frío. Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela have raspados — which is from the word raspa, or “scrape.” Puerto Rican piragua is named for the pyramidal shape they are scooped into. In the Philippines they enjoy halo-halò (mix-mix), which you can get at the drive-through window at Jollibee, the Filipino fast-food joint with (joyous news!) two locations within a 10-minute drive from my house.

While for me, the pleasure of Hawaiian shave ice is in the excavation and discovery, the rest of these icy desserts require thoughtful mixing and blending, so that the myriad textures are experienced simultaneously and repeatedly. They are simply not complete until they are mixed — the syrup, sweetened condensed milk and chewy chunks of beany-jelly-junk just one amalgam of yum.

Given that all these ice desserts are available here in L.A., there is no reason for me to ever eat a traditional “American-style” snow cone again. Still, there remains a soft spot in my heart for our mainland snow cone. It evokes childhood memories of hot summers walking barefoot on the splintery boardwalk, creepy carny workers with bad teeth and sad elephants painting messy pictures with paintbrushes taped to their trunks. And snow cones were a cheap and easy fundraising event for my girls’ Girl Scout troop, which operated a snow cone booth every Fourth of July when my kids were little and Girl Scoutable. Ah, memories of little girl hands dripping in syrup — and dollar bills covered in syrup — like my shoes and the inside of my car. Ugh. Never mind. |||| Leslie Bilderback is a certified master baker, chef and author of MUG CAKES: 100 Speedy Microwave Treats to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth (St. Martin’s Griffin). The South Pasadena resident teaches her techniques online at culinarymasterclass.com.

Where to Find International Ice Desserts in the L.A. Area You can attempt to make your own snowy shave ice, but why bother, when there are so many places doing it for you within a 10-minute drive?

HAWAIIAN SHAVE ICE Brian’s Shave Ice, 11301 W. Olympic Blvd. at Sawtelle, West L.A.

ES CAMPUR Simpang Asia, 10433 National Blvd., #2, L.A. Ramayani Indonesian Bistro, 1777 Westwood Blvd., L.A.

Shave It, 19343 Victory Blvd., Tarzana, and soon at Westfield Santa Anita Mall, Arcadia

ICE KACHANG Singapore’s Banana Leaf, Farmers Market, 6333 W. Third St., L.A.

HALO-HALÒ Jollibee, 2700 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock; 3821 Beverly Blvd., L.A.

38 | ARROYO | 02.14

CHHOAH-PENG Kang Kang Food Court, 27 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra

¯ RI KAKIG O Mikawaya, 118 Japanese Village Plaza, Little Tokyo

BAOBING SinBala Restaurant, 651 W. Duarte Rd., Arcadia

PATBINGSU Ice Kiss Café, 3407 W. Sixth St. at Kenmore, Koreatown Mr. Coffee, 537 S. Western Ave. at Sixth, Koreatown

RASPADOS Raspados Zacatecas, 422 N. Ford Blvd. at Cesar Chavez, East L.A.

THE LIST

A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER

String and Sax Sounds at South Pas Library

10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. On

Jeannette Sorrel

Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Brad King of the Southern California Camellia Society offers

The Friends of the

insights into the flower. Capping the event

South Pasadena

on Sunday is a traditional Japanese tea ceremony starting at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.;

Concerts this month in the library’s Com-

the cost is $15, in advance, available at

munity Room. Concerts start at 4 p.m.,

ticketweb.com.

and tickets cost $18 at the door.

Feb. 14 — Celebrate Valentine’s Day with

Feb. 2 — The New Hollywood String

a tram tour through the gardens’ most

Quartet begins its sixth year as quartet

romantic spots, and toast your sweetheart

in residence with a concert featuring

with a glass of Champagne.The cost is

violinists Roberto Cani and Rafael Rishik,

$25 per couple, available at ticketweb.com.

violist Robert Brophy and cellist Andrew

Patina’s “That’s Amore” seated dinner for

Shulman.

two includes three courses and a glass

Feb. 23 — Saxophonist Pete Christlieb is

of Champagne; the cost is $78 ($70 for

accompanied by 10 jazz musicians.

members), with reservations available at

PHOTO: Steve Wagner

Library hosts two benefit Restoration

The South Pasadena Library Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro St., South Pasadena. Call (626) 799-6333 or visit friendsofsopaslibrary.org.

Book Fair Marks Bard’s Birthday Feb. 7 through 9 — The California International Antiquarian Book Fair visits the Pasadena Convention Center, bringing 200 booksellers from around the world and their rare and valuable books, manuscripts, autographs, graphics, pho-

L.A. CHAMBER ORCHESTRA GOES FOR BAROQUE AND BEETHOVEN

patinagroup.com/descanso.

Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge. Call (818) 949-4200 or visit descansogardens.org.

Desert Domiciles Considered at California Art Museum Feb. 9 — In conjunction with the Pasadena Museum of California Art’s exhibition Homestead, artist Flora Koa and indepen-

Feb. 6 — Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Baroque Conversations series con-

dent curator Howard Fox discuss concepts

tinues with a spotlight on Vivaldi, Bach and Boccherini at 7 p.m. in the Coburn

of home, mapping and more at 3 p.m.

tographs and other

School’s Zipper Concert Hall. Performers include renowned harpsichordist

Through life-size rub-

items. The event also

Jeannette Sorrel, LACO Principal Cellist Andrew Shulman, cellist Trevory Handy,

bings of a dilapidated

celebrates the 450th

violinist Josefina Vergara and flutist Sandy Hughes. Ticket prices start at $55.

shack’s four walls,

birthday of William Shakespeare, recognized in a Huntington

Homestead explores

Zipper Concert Hall at the Coburn School is located at 200 S. Grand Ave.,

poignant histories of

downtown L.A.

such abandoned

Feb. 22 — LACO presents Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”) as Music

Library exhibit on its study of the Bard

Director Jeffrey Kahane explains how the piece forever changed the nature

structures in the Mojave Desert. Hundreds

since 1920. Also on display will be fine art

of symphonic music. The concert starts at 8 p.m. in Pasadena’s Ambassador

were built after California’s Small Tract Act

and private press books from Scripps Col-

Auditorium. Tickets start at $25.

of 1938 allowed homesteaders to claim five

lege’s Ella Strong Denison Library, posters and lobby cards documenting Shake-

Ambassador Auditorium is located at 131 S. St. John Ave., Pasadena. Call

acres of public land for a nominal fee, but the challenges of harsh desert life turned

(213) 622-7001 or visit laco.org.

speare films from the Academy of Motion

out to be too much for the settlers. Free with

Picture Arts and Sciences, and stage

museum admission.

production costume and set designs

Gospel and Rocket Science

Mudd Library. Hours are 3 to 8 p.m. Friday,

anniversary of Beckman Auditorium with a

Tea, Love and Camellias at Descanso

from the Claremont Colleges’ Honnold/

Feb. 8 — Caltech celebrates the 50th

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to

gospel music concert featuring Grammy

Feb. 8 and 9 —

The Pasadena Museum of California Art is located at 490 E. Union St., Pasadena. Call (626) 568-3665 or visit pmcaonline.org.

5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets purchased Friday

Award--winner Dr.

cost $25 and include admission for all

Bobby Jones and his

Camellia Festival features several activi-

Ranch Land and Legacy Discussed by Hearst Historian

three days. Tickets purchased Saturday

choir, starting at 8 p.m.

ties all weekend: 20-minute tours of the

Feb. 11 — Friends of the Gamble House

and Sunday are $15 and include return

Tickets cost $10 to $26.

Enchanted Forest by forest sprites from A

presents a 7 p.m. lecture by Hearst Castle

entry and free admission to the Hunting-

Beckman Auditorium is

Faery Hunt children’s theater, from 9:30 a.m.

historian Victoria Kastner on her recent

ton Library that weekend.

located on Michigan

to noon;“Tea Time with Chado Tea” from

book, The Hearst Ranch: Family, Land and

Descanso Gardens’

The Pasadena Convention Center is

Avenue south of Del Mar Boulevard, on the

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with Chado’s Jordan

Legacy (Harry N. Abrams), exploring the

located at 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Call

Caltech campus. Call (626) 395-4652 or

Essey discussing teas’ origins at 11:30 a.m.;

rugged side of the magnificent William

(800) 454-6401 or visit cabookfair.com.

visit events.caltech.edu.

and “A Camellia Walk and Talk” at

–continued on page 41 02.14 | ARROYO | 39

40 | ARROYO | 02.14

THE LIST

PHOTO: George Stoneman

SEX AND THE CITY ZOO

Feb. 9 — The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) celebrates Valentine’s Day with its annual “Sex and the City Zoo” event focusing on animal mating, dating and cohabitating. The adults-only evening from 5 to 7 p.m. includes a provocative “birds-and-bees” presentation, wine, treats and, for an additional fee, an optional dinner. The main event cost $40 ($30 for members); dinner costs $75 per person ($65 for members).

The Los Angeles Zoo is located at 5333 Zoo Dr. in Griffith Park. Call (323) 644-6042 or visit lazoo.org.

–continued from page 39

naiveté, religious hypocrisy and the victory

Randolph Hearst estate --- with previ-

of good over evil.The play so offended the

ously unseen images of landscape and

French Roman Catholic Church and upper-

century-old ranch buildings and resi-

class French society that the Archbishop

dences designed by Julia Morgan. Kastner

of Paris threatened to excommunicate

will share stories of the

anyone who watched, performed or read it.

Hearst family, Morgan

Ticket prices start at $34.

and her staff, colorful

A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill

ranch employees and

Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 356-3100 or visit

visiting Hollywood stars.

anoisewithin.org.

Tickets for the talk at $30 ($25 for members). Reservations are

Wine and Cuisine on the Sierra Madre Scene

recommended.

Feb. 21 — Food, wine and music are on

Neighborhood Church is located at 301

the menu of the 44th annual Friends of

N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena.Visit

the Sierra Madre Library Wine and Cuisine

gamblehouse.org.

Tasting, starting at 7 p.m. at the Alverno

Pasadena’s Neighborhood Church cost

Villa.The evening features wares from some

A Molière Classic

two dozen vintners,

Feb. 15 — A Noise Within’s production of

local restaurants’

Molière’s classic comedy Tartuffe opens at

hors d’oeuvres and

7 p.m. today and runs through May 24.The

desserts, live music, a

1664-vintage piece is

silent auction and per-

one of the world’s most

formances by Magic

famous scoundrel

Castle magicians.Tickets to the main event

stories by the French

cost $60. Premier tickets for $80 include

comic genius, a tale of

–continued on page 42 02.14 | ARROYO | 41

THE LIST

AN AMERICA(N) CONCERT

America

Feb. 22 — An 8 p.m. concert by the band America, who recorded six gold and platinum albums, will perform such hits as “A Horse with No Name,”“Ventura Highway,”“Tin Man” and “Sister Golden Hair” at The Arcadia Performing Arts Center.

America’s current incarnation includes founding members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell.Tickets cost $49.50 and up.

The Arcadia Performing Arts Center is located at 180 Campus Dr., Arcadia.

Visit arcadiapaf.org.

–continued from page 41

tor Rachael Worby at

early admission at 6 p.m., a souvenir wine

A Noise Within.The

charm and a special tasting of red wines

theater company’s

paired with chocolates and hors d’oeuvres.

actors will also perform

Proceeds benefit the Sierra Madre Library.

readings from the era.

A complimentary

Alverno Villa is located at 675 W. Highland Ave., Sierra Madre. Call (626) 355-7186 or

preconcert cocktail hour starts at 6:30 p.m.

visit sierramadrelibraryfriends.org.

Tickets cost $50 (free with membership).

A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill

Hillsides Hosts Gala

Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 539-7085 or visit

Feb. 22 — Hillsides, a charity serving children,

muse-ique.org.

youth and families in crisis, holds its annual Langham Huntington,

Reservation Invasion at Heart of Autry Play

Pasadena.This year’s

Feb. 28 — Native Voices at the Autry presents

theme,“A Celebration

Vickie Ramirez’s play Stand-Off at Hwy. #37,

of Art,” reflects Hillsides’

which explores a dispute between protesters

role as an artist in

and law enforcement over a planned high-

shaping children’s

way through an upstate New York reserva-

gala fundraising dinner at 6 p.m. at The

potential and nurturing their well-being.The

tion, leading a Tuscarora man to abandon

cost is $300 per person.

his U.S. military uniform and join protesters to

The Langham Huntington, Pasadena

defend his beliefs.The play opens at 8 p.m.

is located at 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave.,

and continues at 8 p.m.Thursdays, Fridays

Pasadena. Call (323) 543-2800, ext. 121,

and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and

or visit hillsides.org.

Sundays through March 16 at the Autry National Center’s Wells Fargo Theater.Tickets

42 | ARROYO | 02.14

Muse/Ique Uncorks Vintage Copland Classic

cost $20, $12 for students, seniors and military

Feb. 24 — Muse/Ique continues its Uncorked

The Autry National Center is located at

members ($10 for members).

concert series at 7:30 p.m. with “Spring/

4700 Western Heritage

Within,” highlighting Aaron Copland’s original

Way in Griffith Park.

13-piece arrangement of his 1944 Pulitzer

Call (323) 667-2000

Prize--winning work, Appalachian Spring,

or visit nativevoic-

conducted by Artistic Director and Conduc-

esattheautry.org.

||||

44 | ARROYO | 02.14