Susan_Hirasuna's Blog

That's what my sons say to me when we drive together and I've got control of the radio. In some kind of odd role reversal, neither of my children likes much modern music.
They're fans of Green Day, but Jay Z, Kanye, Black Eyed Peas, Beck, White Stripes, all on my Ipod and all vetoed by my young progeny. To be fair, they're not that fond of some of the other stuff I have too, Chet Baker, Ella Fitz, Diana Krall, Kenny Rankin.
So what do they listen to? The older son, rebel to the core, left his Beatles-only days in elementary school and now listens to everything from Dead Kennedys to Vampire Weekend. BTW Vampire Weekend is on the short list of his listen able au courant bands, the other one is Ben Folds.
The younger son is highly influenced by "Guitar Hero."   Walking through a store, he recognized in 3 notes, the Rolling Stones, "Paint it  Black." He'll let me listen to Rage's "Bulls on Parade" but is less generous if it's The Raconteurs .
Then there's the movie effect. Linkin Park was a no no until he became a Transformers fan, suddenly LP's not so bad as long as the song playing is "What I've done."
       I understand some music is an acquired taste. They're not big on opera, hip hop or country.  But even something as agreeable as Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is met with a yawn. 
    To each his own..  ultimately, my role as a parent is to influence them to be good human beings, not good music consumers.  But, kids, a little open mindedness, in all areas,  can take you a long way in life. 

Hi, all!
I promised you a great story about apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Pea, on the Asian Pacific Heritage special. You can see it on Channel 11, Friday the 9th, at 10:30pm. I hope you like it.
In the special, one thing to consider is the background music. My editor Debbie Kim did a fantastic job of incorporating some cool music. In addition, if you listen really carefully, you can hear music actually from the person we profiled. Okay, that applies to two profilles
. Listen carefully to apl's interview and underneath you can hear some of his new album and BTW the new solo venture is not really being talked about yet. But if you're an apl fan, as I am, you'll do whatever to get a little apl music.
In the profile about Peter Mui and his clothing line, Yellowman, we used three songs of his. Gotta tell you, Peter is quite the stereotype breaker. When you think Country singers, you might not think Asian. (are there any?) For that matter, imagine an Asian Country singer in full Kabuki make up. Check out Peter's music and photos on misplacedcowboy.com or just listen for his music in our profile of Yellowman.
And, then there is the infectious Bhangra. Achinta McDaniel teaches Bhangra Bollywood Beats. It's a dance class that mixes Bhangra (an Indian folk dance) with hip hop and reggae. Hot, hot, hot!
If you watch Friday... let me know what you think. Just about anybody at Channel 11 with an ounce of asian blood was pulled in to help.... Jane, Maria, Bob, Jean and Tricia. Thank you!
And, some great producers too Kathy, Cedric and Meera.
Well done, gang!

      I LOVE THE BLACK EYED PEAS!
    No, let me be more specific.  I love apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas.
    I've been lucky to meet him a few times and each time he has this  wide, winning smile and an open, warm personality that is absolutely disarming. 
     He's sooo not a Jeremy Piven (okay that's another story for another time.)
    Here's a guy who was born into third world poverty.  He  farmed alongside his grandfather and water buffalo  and his big dream then was to get an education and become a nurse.
    Several twists of fate, brought him to the US at 14 and set him on an unlikely path of super stardom. 
    That could be the end of the story, except the exceptional person that is apl means he includes people in his success.  He writes a song that tell his story, but the music video is as much homage to his homeland and the filipino WWII vets as it is about him.  He surrounds himself with filipinos and other asians, he hires them, inspires them, supports their art.   He call it  being part of a movement.
    

    You can hear more about apl.de.ap's life when we present a profile of him on the Asian Pacific Heritage special later this month. 
   

Imagine paying $1200 for a single bottle of wine. Now, granted this is no ordinary wine. This is a 2003 Chateau Margaux. Wine critic Robert Parker gave the vintage a 99 out of a 100, declaring it a wine of "extraordinary complexity".. with a "velvety texture with notes of spring flowers interwoven with camphor, melted licorice, creme de cassis and pain grille." (huh?)

At any rate, I was lucky enough to taste this near perfect wine. A tiny taste offered up by the winemaker himself Paul Pontallier at the Beverly Hills Wine Merchant. And, it was... absolutely... transcendently... rapturously... GOOD. Okay, REALLY GOOD. I wish I could have another sip good.. No, I want a whole bottle good.

But then reality bites. Oh,what I could do with an extra $1200. Don't my window sills need to be sanded and repainted. Why does it cost so much to trim a palm tree? Is that clunking sound my vintage washing machine?

And, even if I could afford a bottle of 2003 Margaux, here's the irony. YOU COULDN'T DRINK IT! It's too valuable. What's $1200 today will be worth far more next year and the year after. So...Here's to the wine collectors in the world.. wish I could be more like you. But I think I'll go down to the store and take advantage of the buy one bottle get the second for five cents :-)

For practical reasons.. I must be a wine drinker, not a collector. I can be happy with a good bottle of red.. even if its not perfection.

      Oh nooooo!  I've lost my voice.  Did you notice? Over the weekend, I sounded like a frog or more specifically like a frog channeling Walter Cronkite.  Today, I sound like a combination of frog, bird and  fog horn.  It's not a good thing and so I'm at home, not at work.  I'm hoping that a day out of the elements will let me go back to work tomorrow. 
      Yes, I know.  You don't get a cold or worsen your condition by being in the cold .  But how come I could feel this one coming?
    Friday night,  I worked in the misty cold in Elysian Park, I started coughing and noticed my voice failing a little.  Saturday morning an incredibly sore throat woke me up early.  I dosed on cold medicine and went on with my day.  Sunday, I felt better but still sounded froggy.   Monday morning, I was awakened by a ragged cough and low and behold,  frog + bird + fog horn + nothing.

So, anyone out there with some quick remedy to bring back my voice?  Past experiences with laryngitis means I take a lot ibuprofen to reduce swelling and cold medicine so I can sleep.  But what else? 

Heeeeelllllllppppppp!  There's a broadcast journalist aching to break out of this blog, 

Confession here. I have no lust. Okay, let me be more specific. I have no car lust! I don't have any desire for any specific car. Well, that's not entirely true. I like the look of that Mercedes CL something or other, but practically speaking, it's too big, too expensive and the gas mileage too low. So, in my price range, I have no car lust.

So, what's a working mother to do when I inadvertently (or not, see previous blog) killed my Durango; the precious family car, the lug the kids, skis, beach gear SUV. It's dead. So, what car am I willing to spend 5 figures on. Shouldn't you want a car before you commit to paying off hundreds of dollars per month? No car called my name. Sure, I wanted a car, that could haul the kids and the gear but did I want another SUV that can on a rare occasion carry 7 people Or should I bow to the Al Gore altar and downsize to a smaller car.

Thankfully, someone wanted a specific car. My son said.. get a hybrid, go green yada yada yada.

Ultimately.. I had no reason to say no. Downsized, eco friendly, still holds 5 people/kids. But I'm not doing it to make a statement.. perhaps I did it to make someone happy.. my son. And, you know, when I gas up I'm pretty happy too. I like paying for 8 gallons of gas instead of 15.

Dog the Bounty Hunter held court at the Border's in Hollywood last night. He's written a book and signed hundreds of them for some rather rabid fans.

My assignment for the night.. interview the Dog and roll it into a story about the Mexican government dropping the charges against him regarding the capture of Andrew Luster in Puerto Vallarta in 2003.

But the Dog's handlers were in no mood to handle Fox 11's request for interview time. Lots of books to sell and lots of fans to run through the line.

That's when I got the tip of the night.. don't deal with the suits, ask Beth, his wife. She, with all her blond pulchritude, has the power to move things... especially "Big Daddy" .. as she calls him. And, so, I asked her for some help, the walls came down. He continued to sign the books and answered a few questions. Honestly, not the best interview I've ever gotten.  But it was better than nothing.

Gary, my cameraman and I had rushed out of the book store to interview the fans in line and then started the mad dash to write and edit the story for Fox 11 10 o'clock news.

Then, I remembered, my momma raised me better than that. I went back into the store to thank Beth for running interference.  She couldn't have been nicer and started her campaign to turn me into a Dog fan.  To be sure, I'm convinced of Dog's appeal.. but it's she I really appreciate. He's got the mission, she's got the energy.  Her devotion to him is sincere and refreshing.  

Beth Smith Chapman, consider me a fan.

   Monday was quite the day.  Discovered I'd lost my driver's license, most likely dropped it on the way to the gate at Dulles.  Then, driving my sons to camp, I hear a funny whining sound in my car.  Within minutes, the car was overheating dramatically.  Prognosis, not so good.  Meantime, time waits for no working mother.  So, I got my sons to camp and headed off late for an interview about Tom Snyder.   Driving back over Malibu Canyon, I'm checking the clock and calculating how late I'll be, all the while, my head's running a mile a minute.  What will I do if I have to buy a car, how will I rent a car without a driver's license or buy one for that matter, can my budget handle this new expense with my other laundry list of things my house needs... will I blow the interview if I'm too late. 

And, then the text message sound went off on my cellphone, just as I was arriving at the interview.  It read...  "Lucia Grace is here!  1:28 PM  6lbs 10 oz, 19 inches.  She's beautiful & calm.  The whole family ecstatic and doing great."

   The message brought tears of joy to my eyes.. and the day changed from the worst... to not so bad after all.

Congratulations to my dear friends Nicole and Robert.  I can't wait to meet Lucia.
 

 

On a lighter note, I was disappointed to find that the Smithsonian Museum of American History is closed for renovation.  But delighted to find a 150 item exhibit in the Air and Space museum.  You can see pop culture items like Seinfeld's puffy shirt and more historic items like the first telephone and Bell's original drafts.  I brought my sons over to see the exhibit and pointed out Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hat in the first display case.  Later, I asked the youngest.. wasn't that cool, you saw the actual hat that our 16th president wore.  He shrugged his shoulders and said to me... Mom, it's a hat.  It's just a hat.  

 sigh,
 

My sons and I just returned from a trip to Washington DC. We took in the typical fare. We visited the Air and Space museum, checked out the actual Declaration of Independence and marveled at the Lincoln Memorial under a full moon. Added to that itinerary, my sons decided on their own, they wanted to hold an impromptu protest in front the White House.

The two, ages 13 and 9, made signs with markers and posterboard....  then stood with them for passersby to read.

Most people read the signs and smiled. But one young man took offense to the boys call for peace and said, that he and his family had each served the country... "fighting for your [...] rights." I must admit, that's my sons' account. I wanted the boys to have this experience by themselves and stood a little off to the side, close enough to hear only some of the interchange. I don't doubt their account, since I could see the young man and a woman I presume was his mother who seemed unamused by my sons.

My youngest left his brother's side and came over to me to say, "that man just said the "F" word in front of a 9 year old. " Ironic, wouldn't you say? He fought for my sons rights but took offense when they exercised their right to free speech.

Some new photos in my photo album. The bigger dog is Aussie Girl.. and the little fuzz ball is the newest member of my family... Fenny.
My son, Noah named the little pommeranian mix.. declaring that he looked like a Fennec Fox (you have to be a regular viewer of Animal Planet to know what that is.)
Adopting Fenny was quite the experience. We'd been looking for a companion dog for Aussie through almost the whole summer. We visited shelters and fabulous rescue groups like Pet Orphans and the Lange Foundation. But we never quite found the dog that was the right fit for the family.
Oddly, we went to one rescue shelter that will remain unnamed and had quite the unpleasant experience. My kids and I brought Aussie Girl to see if she'd like any of the dogs. We found a black poodle that reminded us of our last dog that unfortunately got hit by a car. We thought we'd make the rescue group quite happy that we were interested in adopting the poodle. But instead we were subjected to the third degree. Yes, I understand, the group wants to make sure the dog will be well-cared for. But this interrogation seemed rather judgemental. She told me I should get a bigger dog because there are coyotes in my neighborhood (plenty of little dogs in my neighborhood and they're fine.) She told me the dog was a darter, yet he sat in my lap quietly. She told me he wasn't good with kids, but my kids couldn't stop petting him and he was fine. Finally, she told me that particular dog would cost more than any other in the shelter because it was a pure breed. THat's when I realized, nothing was going to convince her we were the right family for the dog. And, so we left without the pooch.
Then, a few weeks ago, we went to a pet adoption event. Perfect Pet rescue was the group and from the moment we showed up, Nancy made us feel welcome. My son, Jonathan told her we wanted a dog that would follow Aussie around as she patrolled the property. She said, oh try the little blond one. The yet to be renamed Pommie mix was put on a leash and we took him over to some shade under a tree to get to know him.
The kids and I decided the little dog should come home with us. I braced myself for the questioning and perhaps worse. Instead, Nancy handed me an adoption form. I filled it out. Paid the reasonable donation and off we went to introduce Fenny to Aussie and our home.
Fenny is a great dog and I encourage people to think of adopting before buying from a pet store or breeder. He's still not perfectly house trained and he's got a lot of puppy left in him so he's got a lot of energy. But my boys and I are very greatful indeed that Perfect Pet Rescue had the perfect pet for us.

Check out the photo in my photo album. I'm the one on the camel, far left. ;-)
In the spring of 2004, three journalist friends of mine and I joined a group to tour the country of Jordan.
I look back fondly on that trip and mourn the changing times that make a return trip in the near future, unlkely.
Who knew 2004 would be a relatively good time to visit a country that bills itself as the oasis in the turbulent Middle East.
Jordan is bordered by Iraq to the east, Syria to the north, Israel and the West Bank to the west.
Back then, family and friends questioned the wisdom of visiting a country so close to Iraq. The US had invaded Iraq just a year before and then as in now, the fighting was intense.
We were well taken care of in Jordan and the tour guide, Ali hoped we would go home and tout all that Jordan had to offer so that others would follow.
Jordan has no oil, so tourism is a key economic asset.
The backdrop of my camel ride photo is Petra an amazing, mysterious series of cave dwellings of the Nabateans. The exteriors are elaborate, architectural carvings. Petra is well worth a return trip alone. I also loved the other worldliness of Wadi Rum desert and buying fresh cardammon in Aqaba, near the Red Sea.
But our fond memories were marred when last fall, bombs went off in hotels in Amman, just blocks from the one we stayed in. My friends and I exchanged frantic phone calls, trying to figure out how close or worse we could have been to the bombings had our trip had been in 2005, not 2004.
Some day I will return to Jordan. I'd love to take my sons. But today as fighting continues in Iraq and bombs fly back and forth between Lebanon and Israel, the oasis that is Jordan seems way too small.