A center-cut, no-fat review of what was said this past week by folks the world over and right at home
“We expect to win the [conference] championship because I never set the standards lower.” — SMC head football coach Robert Taylor regarding his hopes for this year’s team.
“We’re proud of our position as pioneers.” — LaDonna Ringering, president and CEO of Center for the Partially Sighted.
“I think what you get is a potpourri of wonderful Santa Monica artists in this show.” — Local artist Steve Galloway regarding the “Emphasis Santa Monica” exhibit taking place at Santa Monica College.
“The Olympics are almost over and none too soon. I haven’t watched this much TV since the O.J. trial. With the time difference, I don’t think I saw a single event ‘live.’ The announcers say it’s live but the results are on the Internet hours earlier. They should call them the TIVO Olympics.” — SMDP columnist Jack Neworth writing in “Laughing Matters.”
“From the very beginning of school to the age of 12, about 80 percent of learning is done by vision and of course vision is very important to learning.” — Sarah Ito, a doctor at Visionworks Optometry on Lincoln Boulevard.
“There’s no question that what people really want is the old songs done in the old way as well as we can.” — Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon. The popular group from the early 1960s recently played the Twilight Dance Series at the Santa Monica Pier.
“The Save Our City campaign should be called ‘Save Our Developers.’” — Diana Gordon, the co-chair of the Coalition for a Livable City, the group that has created the Residents’ Initiative to Fight Traffic. It’s measure on the November ballot that aims to slow commercial development in the city.
“A lot of folks on there, you’ll find are also members of important organizations that serve our community that are concerned about the impact of RIFT.” — Terry O’Day, who heads the Save Our City campaign.
“Let me get this straight, by this tortured illogic, should one be ashamed of Jesse Owens’ dominance over Aryan ‘superiority’ in the 1936 Berlin Games? Should one be ashamed of the U.S. women’s saber team that swept the medal round in an Asian country of hereditary swordsmen? Should those young ladies have remained in the scullery where they belong? The next thing you know some whack job will advocate that a woman should be elected president.” — SMDP columnist Steve Breen writing in “Going Postal.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 23, 2008. Read the original PDF.