A center-cut, no-fat review of what was said this past week by folks the world over and right at home
“My savage animal of a rock band is a force to be reckoned with. We definitely won’t be doing an acoustic set [at the festival]. We’re going to do a muscular form or rock ‘n’ roll.” — Juliette Lewis, noted actress and lead singer of Juliette and the Licks. Her band will be playing the Green Apple Festival Sunday.
“This is a very auspicious moment in Santa Monica history.” — Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bloom during a ceremony officially kicking off the redevelopment of Santa Monica Place.
“When you go skating, it is the most awesome thing. It is great people, it is fun, it is inclusive, it is free.” — David Miles, organizer of Skate Against Violence. He and a dozen other participants skated from San Francisco to Santa Monica to raise support to end violence in society.
“My fear of the permanent record started in the eighth grade when Alyssa Marks asked if she could copy my homework for Mrs. Repa’s social studies class. I hesitated to let her do it, not so much because I was staking my flag in a chunk of moral high ground, but because social studies was one of my weaker subjects. Still, that didn’t deter Alyssa, who shrugged off any quality concerns and copied from me with wild abandon.” — SMDP columnist Meredith C. Carroll wrote in “Meredith Pro Tem.”
“A story broke in the last few days that has caused me to re-examine a relationship I’ve had since I was a teenag-er. It’s a relationship that helped me maintain my focus through high school, despite the fact that I was surrounded on all sides by pretty girls in cute outfits who drove me to distraction. Later in life, it kept me from flirting with women on the job who were just trying to work, women on the subway who were just trying to get somewhere, women in the supermarket who were just trying to buy food, and it helped me stay faithful to my girlfriends who would have killed me for cheating on them. I’m talking about my relationship with porn. It’s been my friend for two decades, but porn is now totally out of control.” — SMDP columnist Kenny Mack wrote in “Word in Edgewise.”
“School Superintendent Diane Talarico is scheduled to return to the board April 17 with a preliminary plan of action. Meanwhile, perhaps a trip to Oz is in order because this dysfunctional school board needs to find some courage, heart and brains. I’m not holding my breath.” — SMDP columnist Bill Bauer wrote in “My Write.”
“WHEN PEOPLE HEAR DARFUR, THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS.”
Fanny Ballantine-Himberg Co-founder of Santa Monica High School’s Human Rights Watch Student Task Force. The group organized an event at the school to spread the word about the conflict raging in Sudan.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 19, 2008. Read the original PDF.