Celebrities in the W.H.?

Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House

I wish I actually had readers, because I would ask them what they think about this July 24, 2009 The New York Times article about Obama's relationship with Hollywood and celebrities (if there's anyone out there, please leave a comment!):

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/fashion/26celebrities.html?ref=fashion

To me the important question to think about is this, as presented by the reporter:

Some longtime Washingtonians take umbrage at this kind of celebrity diplomacy. Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, have declared the White House “the people’s house.” So why is it, their critics wonder, that the doors of the people’s house seem to open more easily to certain kinds of people than others?

"Celebrity diplomacy" refers to the way that stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio have slipped in for visits with little publicity.

President Obama keeps these visits quiet because they are not good for his public image. Since it's clear that he knows it's best for him to keep them under the radar, doesn't this mean he probably shouldn't be having them?

I personally don't mind that celebrities are stopping by the Oval Office. I understand their interest in meeting Mr. President. I was in D.C. last month while Reese Witherspoon was filming a new movie. I was eating dinner one night near one of the on-location sets, and may have even caught a glimpse of her (She was far away, but I noticed a woman with bouncy blonde locks being filmed). Reese had business in town, so who can blame her for wanting to drop by 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.?

Other celebs have causes that they want to discuss with President Obama and his staff. I think these are acceptable as well. DiCaprio's issue was the environment, and George Clooney's was Darfur. Having celebrity support as we know can be a positive thing for solving tough problems, or at least raising awareness of them.

That's why a celebrity can get his or her foot in the door more easily than I can. And Obama may be the mega-celebrity of the world now, but even he grew up captivated by the stars on the big screen. Hollywood and Washington are the power meccas of the nation. Why shouldn't they be interacting with each other? Just don't try to hide it!

Thank you, Arnie: La Jolla seals get another break

La Jolla seals get another break - July 23, 2009 from The San Diego Union-Tribune by Debbi Baker and Susan Shroder

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Thanks largely to a state law signed Monday by Gov. Schwarzenegger that allows San Diego to decide how to use the disputed cove, the seals may remain undisturbed in La Jolla - at least until October, when there will be a new hearing.

This is not a solution, but at least the seals can relax and visitors can enjoy observing them for the rest of summer.

Oh, and how did I find this news? Twitter.

La Jolla Seals are on Twitter!

Judge orders removal of seals from Children's Pool

Judge orders removal of seals from Children's Pool - July 20, 2009 article from San Diego Union-Tribune

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As an animal lover, vegetarian, and a visitor to the La Jolla cove, I am saddened to learn that the city has been ordered to chase the seals from their home.

How will this be done? Reporter Craig Gustafson writes:

"The city's dispersal plan – formulated with the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – calls for the use of barking dog noises from 6 a.m. to sunset each day, possibly for years."

Something tells me this method will drive away more than just the seals (With any luck, it will also chase away the anti-seal residents in shame because of the unnecessary racket they have caused!).

This has been a dispute for years. In a July 31, 2006 New York Times article, the individual responsible for the lawsuit presents her argument:

“It was kind of a family beach,” said Valerie O’Sullivan, an avid swimmer who filed a lawsuit against the city in 2004 to restore the beach for human use. “This isn’t the only place for the seals. There are plenty of seals up and down the coast.”

But can't that be said for human-friendly beaches in La Jolla as well? I've been to them. The problem is that this beach had been designated in 1931 by Ellen Browning Scripps as the Children's Pool. Having visited this cove, I can imagine it being a pleasant place for families, but La Jolla and its neighboring beach towns do not lack many more lovely beaches.

It angers me that people believe that humans are entitled to use of this beach that the seals call home, and that they are wasting the time, energy, and money of the city to clear a beach that is only big enough to accommodate a few families at a time anyway. I bet if you asked any child if they mind going swimming elsewhere because the seals have made their home there, they would say: "Of course not". There has been a crowd assembled admiring the seals every time I have visited. They should be embraced by La Jolla residents as an asset, not as a nuisance.

Under Our Skin

It’s not often that I see a film that keeps me thinking about it much beyond the next day. I can name a couple – “State of Play”, “Derailed” – that I’ve recently seen that remained on my mind for the following week. But I can’t think of any that have left me thinking for more than a month after I saw it – except for “Under Our Skin”.

I’ve been meaning to write for weeks about this eye-opening documentary about Lyme disease. My friend Becky invited me to the film’s theatrical premiere at the International Film Center in Manhattan on June 19th. I have thought about it almost every day since.

When I was a child, I remember my mom panicking after my brother’s friend Scott was bitten by a tick at a birthday party hosted at our home. Now I understand why. (He was not infected with Lyme.)

I had heard of Lyme disease, but like many people I believed that if it was caught early it was easily treated. “Under Our Skin” follows the difficult daily life of sufferers of chronic Lyme disease, introducing the viewer to the debilitating effects of this disease and the frustration patients face trying to find proper treatment.

The "star" of the film is a patient named Mandy. She (as well as the filmmaker, Andy Abrahams Wilson) was present at the Manhattan screening, looking like a glamorous Hollywood actress. This contrast to her appearance in the film as a severely ill and bedridden patient contributes to why Lyme is such a controversial disease. She explains the difficulty in diagnosing her disease, because some doctors believed her symptoms were all in her head. “You’re a pretty girl. You’re just not getting enough attention,” they would say.

But proper diagnosis is just the beginning of a painful road to relief. Mandy finds a doctor who uses an aggressive treatment with high levels of intravenous antibiotics. He explains to her that she will get worse before she will get better. She asks if he means “Emergency room-worse” and he says yes. Mandy’s husband does not like the idea of filming her “episodes” which include seizures, but he agrees. Not surprisingly, this footage is the most frightening to watch.

The most shocking element in the film, however, is that treating Lyme disease is controversial. The film documents how some of the most successful Lyme doctors have had to stand trial defending their unorthodox practice of using intravenous antibiotics to treat a disease (chronic Lyme) that other doctors deny even exists. Some lose their licenses, and others must close their practices. This seems motivated by health insurance companies that find these doctors’ prescribed treatments too costly.

I don’t want to pretend to be an authority on Lyme disease, because this is my first look at the severity of the disease and the struggle of its patients to lead normal lives. Since I was so touched by the film, I thought I could use my blog to spread awareness of the disease and encourage you to watch the film. Becky, who invited me to the screening, has a cousin with chronic Lyme. She is around our age, but has been unable to complete college because of her disease. “Under Our Skin” has launched a screening tour across the US.

http://www.underourskin.com/

http://www.turnthecorner.org/

Tweeting to beat the media

I have returned from the East Coast. And my first post upon returning to California will be devoted again to Twitter. Since I declared that I thought tweeting was a trivial activity, I have been confronted with many examples of how it is indeed useful. I did not expect to dedicate so much of my blog to talking about Twitter, but it seems appropriate to use it to comment on another online communication tool.

Bill Simmons, known as The Sports Guy columnist in ESPN The Magazine, has provided my favorite example so far of a creative use of Twitter in his July 13th column:

"I resisted Twitter for months before caving and making it the deleted scenes to my DVD (in this case, columns and podcasts). I had always wanted a place to throw up quick one-liners and to pass along links I liked, even if I didn't fully realize it."

When I worked at the Daily Cal as a sports reporter, the sports desk had just launched its first blog, Bear Bytes, for a similar purpose. It was a place for us to write brief stories about our team or a player that did not fit into our preview or recap stories. Now the sports desk has opened up its own Twitter account, to comment on Cal sports on an even smaller scale. Look at what I just found there:

"Katie Dowd is working on a story about ... Twitter! How is Cal athletics using Twitter and why?9:05 AM Jul 3rd from web"

How about to level the playing field? See how college junior Katie Dowd explores the same questions, using the same tools as an ESPN columnist.

Back to Bill Simmons. Twitter is useful in his own work to find a place for his undeveloped commentary, but it is also useful for him to follow athletes' Twitter accounts, in case they break a big story. Kevin Love did just that on June 17, when he tweeted that Kevin McHale would not be returning to coach the Timberwolves next season, without realizing this was not yet public knowledge.

Simmons ponders: "How many stories will break on Twitter each week? How many athletes will get into trouble by writing something dumb? How many Twitter-related apologies will be issued per week?"

I wonder, how many Twitter-related apologies will be issued per week using Twitter?