From classic to rock, chameleon Cale ‘seduces down doors’ of music

By Michael Tatum With John Cale, you just never know. One minute he’s putting his academy trained musical skills to work with renowned classicists like Leonard Bernstein and John Cage. Next thing you know, he’s Lou Reed’s right hand man in the Velvet Underground, a revolutionary late ’60s band that many rock critics and musicians […]

Proposition 187 won’t ‘save our state’

Proposition 187, the so-called "Save Our State" initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot, isn’t really about "saving" California, nor is it about finding alternatives or solutions to illegal immigration. It’s about scare tactics. It’s about politicians capitalizing on anti-immigrant sentiment and playing on people’s racisms. It’s about statewide recession and the fact that it’s re-election […]

Health care reforms: Too much, too confusing

By Marriane Means Hearst Newspapers WASHINGTON — Congress officially abandoned President Clinton’s ambitious health care reforms this week, for all the wrong reasons – and all the right ones as well. The first serious presidential effort to strengthen a health system badly in need of overhaul did not fail, as Republican National Committee Chairman Haley […]

If in God you trust, why not give up bullet-proof Popemobile?

By Ken Morrison "I want to thank God; he’s the reason we won." How many times, from how many different professional athletes, have we all heard some variation of this standard ascription to divine intervention? But there’s one holy proclamation I long to hear from a prominent sports figure during a nationally televised post game […]

Successful performance of ‘Don Giovanni’ overcomes rocky start

By John Mangum Proceedings did not get off to a promising start at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion the evening of Sept. 27. The occasion was a performance of Mozart’s "Don Giovanni" mounted by the Los Angeles Music Center Opera. The genius of Mozart, though, promises to transcend any limitations imposed on him by lesser luminaries. […]