What could possibly be better than reading a hard-hitting news story? How about a hard-hitting news story that also brings a smile to your face?
In this day and age, journalism seems to be a shrinking profession because of the lack of people interested in reading genuine news. Most readers (mainly my generation) want to hear the facts, but would prefer to hear them dressed up with wit and humor.
However, it isn’t always so easy to find good quality writing of this style.
Fortunately, Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times gets the job done.
On The Times’ staff since 2001, Lopez has delivered story after story that give readers the information they need to know, but also pulls them in with his clever-style of writing.
He has written on topics ranging from the Antonio Villaraigosa affair to a young boy getting run over by a car. But no matter what the subject, somehow he manages to almost make you forget you are reading about news.
Lopez started the car accident story, headlined “Strangers’ paths cross, and a boy’s life hang in the balance,” by introducing the people involved. He wrote, “Ten-year-old Danny White, red-haired and freckled, was riding his skateboard while his mother walked a friend's dog. Ron Dobson was on the corner after a day of revisions on a screenplay, enjoying the feel of the afternoon sun on his face, eyes closed and head tilted back. Myra Crowe was on her way to a ballet class for one of her three kids, all of whom were in her Honda Pilot as she headed out of her town house driveway and onto Palisades Circle at the very moment Danny approached.”**
After this intro, he explains how Crowe rounds the corner, hits the boy and how he hangs on to save his own life.
This column could have easily been boring and factual, as many news-related columns are, but Lopez keeps you glued to the page with his unique brand of column writing. After reading the story, you feel as though you know the people involved and were right there watching.
He works the same magic in many of his other stories, as well.
But developing easy-to-read articles is not where his writing ends, Lopez is also the author of three novels, “Third and Indiana,” “The Sunday Macaroni Club,” and “In the Clear.” All of which have received memorable reviews, such as “…this book brims with humor in all flavors. Sarcasm sprinkled into witty dialogue…” from the mysteryreader.com on his second book, and "...Lopez is blessed with surefire comic timing..." from Dave Kipen of the San Francisco Times on his third.
In addition to these publications, his columns can be found in the book “Land of the Giants: Where No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.”
Lopez has also been recognized for his talent with numerous awards, both before and during his employment at The Times.
In his earlier career, he was a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer and was awarded the H.L Mencken Writing Award, National Headliner Award, and the Ernie Pyle Award for his human interest and column writing.
Lopez later wrote for Times Inc. and helped to develop the Bonus Section, a narrative news series, for which he won a Society of Professional Journalists Award for national magazines.
His earliest career began with several daily newspapers in California, including the Oakland Tribune and the San Jose Mercury News.
According to LAWeekly.com, Lopez is currently working on his fourth novel, which is also his first nonfiction. It will detail a formally-homeless cellist and violinist named Nathaniel, who he met in Downtown L.A.
So much to my satisfaction, and hopefully yours, it seems we will be seeing a lot more of Lopez’s work.
I am positive we can expect just as much exceptional work as we have in the past, and I look forward to reading it.
**http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-lopez30sep30,1,5683440.column?coll=la-news-columns
http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-lopez7oct07,1,3012582.column?coll=la-news-columns&ctrack=4&cset=true
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
A trip to the mall or a day in hell?
Ever seen the “Problem Child” movies? Well, have you ever seen them played out in real life; while you’re in the mall trying to do some shopping? Unfortunately most of us have.
Does this sound familiar? While browsing through the racks of your favorite store, you notice a child, maybe around six years old, tagging along with his parent. At first, things seem to be normal, but as they approach you, you see a look on the child’s face that says “I don’t want to be hear and I’m about to make it known.” Before you even have time to consider walking away, the tantrum begins and you cannot help but watch.
Embarrassed, the mother tries to quietly calm the obnoxiously loud screams and flailing legs, quite unsuccessfully. Her next attempt is a threat to revoke his playtime privileges he was promised after their shopping trip. Still unsuccessful. Obviously flustered, the mother snatches the boy off the ground by the waist and you cannot wait to see what happens next. It’s like watching a movie. Where’s the popcorn?
But what will the mother do next? Will she: A. Give him a slap on the rear, B. Waive her finger in his face and say “No,” C. Simply ignore him and continue shopping, or D. All of the above?
Well this particular mother went with a combination of A and B. She gave him a quick tap on the bottom then shook her finger at him and delivered a stern “No.” Suddenly, the out-of-control young person, was a model citizen.
What would you have done? Would you have spanked your child? Should you spank your child?
The third is a question that has been asked over and over again, in case after case. But is there a real answer to this question? Probably not.
So here’s an answer for you: if a kid is acting up in the mall and will not give in to reasoning, there is nothing wrong with a minor spanking. A tap on the rear or slap on the hand, that is. When it crosses over to a smack across the face, a line should be drawn.
Why should we, as mall patrons, have to suffer because a parent decides to ignore their crying children to teach them their lesson? They shouldn’t. If you don’t want to spank your misbehaving offspring, then get them out of the mall because nobody wants to hear it, including mall workers.
Shemila Johnson, a mother and former mall worker, said she used to hate it when a child came into the mall “throwing a fit” and the parent just let the tantrum run its course.
“I never let my son act like that at home, so he would never get away with it in public,” said Johnson. The best way to deal with public disobedience, is to eliminate it at home.
Maybe malls should create a timeout area and play area in each store. The play areas would be for the well-behaved children, while the naughty children would be banished to the timeout area, where they would have to sit alone, in silence. That sounds pretty good, right? Any volunteers to pitch it to mall developers?
Or maybe, stores should hire a really tall person to dress up like the boogeyman and go around telling all the screaming children to quiet down, or else. Who wants to bet that there would be a lot less noise from these unhappy youngsters and a lot more smiling parents? Plus, it would create more job openings for the unemployed. Killing two birds with one stone is the best!
Allow 10-12 weeks for these changes to go into effect before enjoying hassle-free shopping trips.
Does this sound familiar? While browsing through the racks of your favorite store, you notice a child, maybe around six years old, tagging along with his parent. At first, things seem to be normal, but as they approach you, you see a look on the child’s face that says “I don’t want to be hear and I’m about to make it known.” Before you even have time to consider walking away, the tantrum begins and you cannot help but watch.
Embarrassed, the mother tries to quietly calm the obnoxiously loud screams and flailing legs, quite unsuccessfully. Her next attempt is a threat to revoke his playtime privileges he was promised after their shopping trip. Still unsuccessful. Obviously flustered, the mother snatches the boy off the ground by the waist and you cannot wait to see what happens next. It’s like watching a movie. Where’s the popcorn?
But what will the mother do next? Will she: A. Give him a slap on the rear, B. Waive her finger in his face and say “No,” C. Simply ignore him and continue shopping, or D. All of the above?
Well this particular mother went with a combination of A and B. She gave him a quick tap on the bottom then shook her finger at him and delivered a stern “No.” Suddenly, the out-of-control young person, was a model citizen.
What would you have done? Would you have spanked your child? Should you spank your child?
The third is a question that has been asked over and over again, in case after case. But is there a real answer to this question? Probably not.
So here’s an answer for you: if a kid is acting up in the mall and will not give in to reasoning, there is nothing wrong with a minor spanking. A tap on the rear or slap on the hand, that is. When it crosses over to a smack across the face, a line should be drawn.
Why should we, as mall patrons, have to suffer because a parent decides to ignore their crying children to teach them their lesson? They shouldn’t. If you don’t want to spank your misbehaving offspring, then get them out of the mall because nobody wants to hear it, including mall workers.
Shemila Johnson, a mother and former mall worker, said she used to hate it when a child came into the mall “throwing a fit” and the parent just let the tantrum run its course.
“I never let my son act like that at home, so he would never get away with it in public,” said Johnson. The best way to deal with public disobedience, is to eliminate it at home.
Maybe malls should create a timeout area and play area in each store. The play areas would be for the well-behaved children, while the naughty children would be banished to the timeout area, where they would have to sit alone, in silence. That sounds pretty good, right? Any volunteers to pitch it to mall developers?
Or maybe, stores should hire a really tall person to dress up like the boogeyman and go around telling all the screaming children to quiet down, or else. Who wants to bet that there would be a lot less noise from these unhappy youngsters and a lot more smiling parents? Plus, it would create more job openings for the unemployed. Killing two birds with one stone is the best!
Allow 10-12 weeks for these changes to go into effect before enjoying hassle-free shopping trips.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A Look into the Beauty of the Shopping Mall
The wonderful world of malls. We’ve all heard of them, most of us have visited them on numerous occasions, and some of us have spent way to much money in their stores; but the best parts about them, is the amount of locations to choose from and the variety of products and services they offer.
For example, I live in Suisun but work and go to school in Sacramento and there are four malls for me to choose from between the two cities, five if you count the outlets in Vacaville.
It’s easy and often quite convenient to just hop in your car and drive to the nearest mall to get your shopping done. Where else can you find almost every type of food, clothes, shoes, electronics, toys, books, movies, jewelry, house ware, music and so much more all in one location?
At this point you‘re probably thinking, “I can go to Target or Wal Mart and find the same things without all the people or walking?” Well, this statement is true since you can find many of the same things at these two stores, but there is still more selection at malls.
Have you ever seen designer items such as Jordan’s (the popular basketball shoes by Michael Jordan), BCBG (the line of women’s fashion, which is also seen on the runway) or Kenneth Cole (a high-end label geared towards men‘s wear) at Target? Ever heard of anyone signing up with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, or Sprint cell phone service at Wal Mart? What about enjoying a full-course meal after completing your shopping at Costco?
Well, the mall has it all.
Malls have hundreds of designer name brands available to anyone willing to put out the cash, or credit. Just browse, select and buy.
In addition to finding luxury items at the mall, which may be too high-priced or out of your range, there are many high-quality, discount items just as easily obtainable. And the cherry on top: finding those luxury (previously) high-priced items on sale.
Is anybody else considering a trip to mall in the near future?
If you’re not yet, there’s more good news. You can always find parking.
Now you’re probably thinking, “Every time I go to the mall, it takes me forever to find a parking spot and when I finally do, it’s at the complete opposite end of where I wanted to shop.”
Let’s not think about it that way. Think about it like this, “I didn’t park at the end I planned on parking at, but now I can start at this end on the bottom and work my way to this end on the top.”
See, now isn’t that a much more “the cup is half-full” way to think about it?
Are you ready to do some mall shopping now?
If you’re still not convinced, there’s even whipped cream to go with the cherry. There are often places for parents to entertain their children.
Many malls have playground areas, equipped with tunnels, slides and ladders. Some have arcades. While others even have carnival style rides, such as carousels. (Or even better the
Great Mall of America, but that’s another story on its own).
Not only do these additions benefit parents, they are beneficial to those of us who don’t have children as well. Instead of 20 young children running around the department where we’re trying to shop, we’ll get the occasional two youngsters tagging around with mommy and/or daddy.
So now that we’ve covered all this ground, have your fears and reservations about shopping malls disappeared yet? Most likely they have, but if not, here’s some advice. You have a pen and paper handy? Ready? Here it goes:
LAY OFF THE CRAZY PILLS.
That was joke, but seriously; you have to be convinced by now. If not, life must go on.
For example, I live in Suisun but work and go to school in Sacramento and there are four malls for me to choose from between the two cities, five if you count the outlets in Vacaville.
It’s easy and often quite convenient to just hop in your car and drive to the nearest mall to get your shopping done. Where else can you find almost every type of food, clothes, shoes, electronics, toys, books, movies, jewelry, house ware, music and so much more all in one location?
At this point you‘re probably thinking, “I can go to Target or Wal Mart and find the same things without all the people or walking?” Well, this statement is true since you can find many of the same things at these two stores, but there is still more selection at malls.
Have you ever seen designer items such as Jordan’s (the popular basketball shoes by Michael Jordan), BCBG (the line of women’s fashion, which is also seen on the runway) or Kenneth Cole (a high-end label geared towards men‘s wear) at Target? Ever heard of anyone signing up with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, or Sprint cell phone service at Wal Mart? What about enjoying a full-course meal after completing your shopping at Costco?
Well, the mall has it all.
Malls have hundreds of designer name brands available to anyone willing to put out the cash, or credit. Just browse, select and buy.
In addition to finding luxury items at the mall, which may be too high-priced or out of your range, there are many high-quality, discount items just as easily obtainable. And the cherry on top: finding those luxury (previously) high-priced items on sale.
Is anybody else considering a trip to mall in the near future?
If you’re not yet, there’s more good news. You can always find parking.
Now you’re probably thinking, “Every time I go to the mall, it takes me forever to find a parking spot and when I finally do, it’s at the complete opposite end of where I wanted to shop.”
Let’s not think about it that way. Think about it like this, “I didn’t park at the end I planned on parking at, but now I can start at this end on the bottom and work my way to this end on the top.”
See, now isn’t that a much more “the cup is half-full” way to think about it?
Are you ready to do some mall shopping now?
If you’re still not convinced, there’s even whipped cream to go with the cherry. There are often places for parents to entertain their children.
Many malls have playground areas, equipped with tunnels, slides and ladders. Some have arcades. While others even have carnival style rides, such as carousels. (Or even better the
Great Mall of America, but that’s another story on its own).
Not only do these additions benefit parents, they are beneficial to those of us who don’t have children as well. Instead of 20 young children running around the department where we’re trying to shop, we’ll get the occasional two youngsters tagging around with mommy and/or daddy.
So now that we’ve covered all this ground, have your fears and reservations about shopping malls disappeared yet? Most likely they have, but if not, here’s some advice. You have a pen and paper handy? Ready? Here it goes:
LAY OFF THE CRAZY PILLS.
That was joke, but seriously; you have to be convinced by now. If not, life must go on.
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