Happy 75th Birthday to George Takei: Mr. Sulu, Human Rights Champion and Heavenly Body

Happy 75th Birthday to George Takei: Mr. Sulu, Human Rights Champion and Heavenly Body

George Hosato Takei was born 75 years ago, and I?m proud to be one of his diehard fans. Happy 75th birthday, Mr. Sulu! I still remember seeing Hikaru Sulu for the first time on Star Trek. He was so cool, calm and masterful, and he was the helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise, taking the command ship of the United Federation of Planets where no one had gone before! But Takei has always forged new paths for himself and for several important human rights causes. He is instantly recognizable worldwide as the pilot of the Constitution Class starship with the registry NCC-1701.

April 20, 1964: Picturephone Dials Up First Transcontinental Video Call

April 20, 1964: Picturephone Dials Up First Transcontinental Video Call

Bell's Picturephone service dials up the world's first videophone call, and the New York World Fair's science consultant William L. Laurence gets some face time with Anaheim Bulletin managing editor Donald Shaffer at Disneyland.

Apple Vows to Build '100% Renewable Energy' Data Center

Apple Vows to Build '100% Renewable Energy' Data Center

Apple has broken ground on a brand-new data center in Prineville, Oregon -- one that the company is billing as even more environmentally friendly than the Maiden, North Carolina, facility that powers its iCloud. Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said that Maiden will soon be "the greenest data center ever built, and it will be joined next year by our new facility in Oregon running on 100 percent renewable energy."

Paul F. Tompkins on why he’s more storyteller than comedian these days

TV: Interview: Paul F. Tompkins on why he’s more storyteller than comedian these days



The last time comedian Paul F. Tompkins filmed an hourlong special for Comedy Central—2010’s You Should Have Told Me—he was so concerned about filling 300 seats for the recording that he took to Twitter using the hashtag #tompkins300 to solicit pledges from his followers to attend. For his new special, Laboring Under Delusions, Tompkins recorded in a 1,400-seat theater, and he didn’t need a hashtag to fill the place. Granted, he had the network’s full firepower behind him, but the difference makes for an easy visual representation of Tompkins’ rising fortunes. Delusions just looks significant, and the special is also the full realization of a drastic stylistic change. Where his 2007 debut album, Impersonal, was more rapid and conceptual, Tompkins has turned inward in the years since. The change became more apparent on his excellent 2009 album Freak Wharf, but really picked up speed ...

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Plans for 175-Foot Tall Ferris Wheel on Venice Beach Pulled

YESSSSS!!


Plans for 175-Foot Tall Ferris Wheel on Venice Beach Pulled

The proposal to install a 175-foot Ferris wheel on Venice Beach has been put on hold.

Venice Neighborhood Council President Linda Lucks said Thursday that Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl called and told her that the application for the project was being pulled.

"That was good news," Lucks said. "There was a lot of opposition in the community and there was no mitigation for the additional traffic and people."

The United Kingdom-based operator hoped to install the "Great Observation Wheel" on Windward Plaza this summer. The proposal was met with skepticism at a community meeting and this week's Venice Neighborhood Council meeting.

Editorial Cartoons Are Stale, Simplistic, and Just Not Funny

D'uh!  I don't know why these things still exist...


Editorial Cartoons Are Stale, Simplistic, and Just Not Funny

When I heard that Politico won its first Pulitzer Prize this week, I assumed that the site had been recognized for the way it tirelessly handicaps the state of play in Washington. But rather than honor one of Politico’s scoop-hungry stars, the Pulitzer committee recognized a guy I’d never heard of: Matt Wuerker, its editorial cartoonist.

Expo Line Train Hits Vehicle During Test Run; Motorist Suffers Minor Injury

Oh, wonderful...



Update: Expo Line Train Hits Vehicle During Test Run; Motorist Suffers Minor Injury





A Metro Expo Line train on a test run was involved in a collision with a vehicle today that left a motorist with a minor injury.

Paramedics were sent to the 3600 block of South Hoover Boulevard at 10:17 a.m., said Matt Spence of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Jose Ubaldo of Metro said the train was on a test run on the line, which is not yet operational, and was occupied only by the conductor.

The motorist, who apparently made a turn in front of the train, was transported to a hospital for examination, Ubaldo said.

KPCC Southern California Public Radio reports the car colided with a blue Honda Civic at Exposition Park, and a senior editor with Los Angeles magazine who was touring the National History Museum told KPCC she heard a "sickening crunch."

Phase One of the 7.6-mile Expo Line light rail will open on April 28. It travels from
downtown south to USC and then west to a stop at the intersection of La
Cienega and Jefferson boulevards.

A station in Culver City, which will serve as the western end of the line until a second phase opens to Santa Monica in 2015, will not be part of the initial opening. Metro hopes to open the additional mile to the Culver City stop over the summer.

Metro will be holding free rides on the line on April 28 and 29.

- This article was compiled with information from City News Service

Screening of ‘Bag It’ Documentary Draws Eco-Conscious Crowd to Culver City

Screening of ‘Bag It’ Documentary Draws Eco-Conscious Crowd to Culver City



Members of the Culver City community came together on Friday to watch a screening of the documentary Bag It, at West Los Angeles College, and to participate in an after-screening discussion with experts and advocates.
The film, which takes a look at the impact of plastic on our society, people’s throwaway mentality and the overuse of disposable products, was hosted by Assemblymember Holly Mitchell’s (AD 47 – Culver City) Environment Cabinet Committee.
Much of the focus of the discussion centered around the problems created by the disposable trash we leave that clogs rivers, fills our landfills to overflowing and destroys our oceans.
Among those in attendance were incoming City Council members Meghan Sahli-Wells and Jim Clarke, as well as West L.A. College President Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh.
 “This movie was thought-provoking and compelling, not to mention very real in its portrayal of just how dependent we have become on plastic,” Mitchell said in a press release. “I am thrilled that my Environment Cabinet was interested in screening this movie, and that we had an audience on Friday evening of people who want to get educated and engaged around this issue.”
Assemblymember Mitchell has an Environment Cabinet Committee that meets once a month on Wednesdays to discuss environmental issues in the community. For more information, call Assembly member Mitchell’s office at 310-342-1070.
Be sure to like Culver City Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin's Reunion on 'Castle' Recalls Great 'Firefly' Moments (Video)

Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin's Reunion on 'Castle' Recalls Great 'Firefly' Moments (Video)

Jordan Zakarin 

The pair come together during an episode of ABC's quirky mystery show after flying through space years ago in Joss Whedon's short-lived series.

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Film: Inventory: Ferris Bueller’s further days off: 14-plus short-lived film-to-TV adaptations

Film: Inventory: Ferris Bueller’s further days off: 14-plus short-lived film-to-TV adaptations



1. Ferris Bueller (1990)Hit movies, if they hit big enough, are rarely allowed just to be hit movies. They live on through sequels, spin-offs, ancillary products, and other means that generate income from familiar names. One option: Turn a movie into a TV show. That’s a tricky business, though. For every M*A*S*H and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, there are many more film-to-TV adaptations that crash and burn, even some that sort of make sense, like the 1990 series Ferris Bueller. Why not turn the wily protagonist of the hit John Hughes movie into the hero of a weekly series? Those pranks and authority-flouting shenanigans might be just as entertaining on the small screen. And in fact, one show that debuted in the fall of 1990 did make a minor hit series from a bunch of Ferris Bueller-esque antics. Unfortunately for NBC, which put Ferris ...

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Teller of Penn & Teller Breaks Silence To Sue Over Magic Trick

Teller of Penn & Teller Breaks Silence To Sue Over Magic Trick



Eriq Gardner

The defendant is a guy who performed a similar trick on YouTube and offered to reveal the secrets for a price. The video was removed after Teller sent a takedown notice.

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Intruder Rappels Down High-Rise, Uses Crowbar to Break Into Woman's Condo

Intruder Rappels Down High-Rise, Uses Crowbar to Break Into Woman's Condo



An intruder got all Spider Man Saturday morning to break into a condo in Marina Del Rey. The suspect rappelled down the side of the luxury high rise building and onto a balcony, and used a crowbar to break into an occupied 15th floor unit, according to KTLA.

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SNL Pokes Fun at Us

SNL Pokes Fun at Us: 'The Californians' Are White Wine-Guzzling, Dizzy Blondes Obsessed With Directions



Last night SNL took aim at Los Angeles with its soap opera spoof "The Californians." It poked light fun at the stereotypical vain, dizzy blondes who guzzle white wine, invite guests to sit in Mexican country-style chairs and won't stop talking about how to avoid traffic or which Coffee Bean offers validation.

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