Susan_Hirasuna's Blog

         There were a number of "lump in the throat" moments for me watching the Obama inauguration.  I admit, I'm a sucker for patriotism.  I cry at parades, for heavens sake. 
          But the tears were streaming down my face, when I heard John William's variation on the old Shaker song, "Simple Gifts"  It was a new commissioned piece, different from Aaron Copeland's version, instead of an orchestra an amazing quartet played on the platform
          The well known faces of violinist  Itzhak Perlman and cellist Yo-Yo Ma were joined by pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill.
            Itzhak is from Israel, Ma, was born in Paris of Chinese parents,  Montero is Venezuelan and McGill, originally from Chicago is from New York's Metropolitan Opera and one of the rare African Americans holding a principal chair in a US orchestra. 
          It was visually an embodiment of the inclusiveness President Obama promised from his administration and aurally, the music was simply beautiful and just right for the moment.
          So, imagine my .. disappointment... shock... what do you call it , when it was reported Thursday that what I heard was a recording, only those closest to the musicians heard them actually play.  Everybody else, mois, heard their previously recorded version.
           Yes, I get it.  It was beyond cold and those expensive, delicate instruments could go wildly out of tune in those temperatures, indeed the expensive, delicate musicians might not have performed to their standards either. 
            But now I feel like I was sold a bill of goods.  My moment, feeling so moved, now feels a bit false. 
            Thank goodness there were so many other moments that were genuine.  I will never forget all those people on the National Mall.  A collection of humanity that truly looked like the United States of America. 

    Okay, I have a confession.  I have a love hate relationship with Christmas.  Long ago, I created a monster when it comes to the holiday, decorating my home, trimming a tree, planning dinner parties, baking, shopping, christmas card designing, gift giving .. ugh the list goes on and on and seriously, I kind of disappear in that month.  I forget to check my bank balance to make sure I don't bounce a check, some people don't get return calls from me, and during the holiday season that's meant to be full of good tidings and joy, for me it's turned into unending tasks and little sleep.  
      Now, here's the real confession.  I only took down my tree last Saturday.  I stil have my boxesof garland and ornaments to put away.  Meantime, the temperatures are in the '80s, today a new president was sworn into office and some how I can't get all of Christmas put back into the garage. 
       My son's piano teacher actually complimented me for leaving the tree up so long.  "Maybe you should keep it up year round," he said.  Oh, no.  Because, ultimately, I love Christmas, love to trim the tree with my boys, love the look in their eyes on Christmas morning, love the family time we have so little of during the rest of the year.  So, no, I  couldn't possibly leave Christmas up all year.  Where would the fun be in that?

     Just got back from a great trip to the Sequoia National forest., the weather was perfect, the park  uncrowded, the Giant Sequoias impressive indeed.
     On the last day there, a friend and I went on a 7 mile hike up to the Twin Lakes.  Yes, I wrote 7 miles, 14 round trip.   It's 17 miles from my house to Fox 11 and I can't imagine walking to work, but somehow it seemed possible (with lots of encouragement) that I could indeed survive a fairly strenuous hike to the glacial lakes and back to the car.
     I survived obviously, but that's not why I blog.  I'm blogging because on the hiking trail, we bumped into a backpacker who was on his way back after spending a night up there.
    He had his hiking boots, sunglasses, backpack and.... IPOD.  If the trail hadn't been so narrow, I'm not sure he would have noticed us.  Granted, in some of the more challenging spots, I would have welcomed a little distraction from my burning feet and lungs, but most of the time, I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on the natural sounds of the forest.. birds and chipmunks chirping... the sound of snapping twigs or crackling of leaves,  Afterall, when you're tuned to that kind of  subtlety you get rewarded with the majestic view of a pergrine falcon flying off of its perch or a small herd of deer feeding right off the trail. 
     I'm not being critical of that backpacker, he was alone and I had someone to talk to between my gasps for a breath in the thin air.  It did give me some food for thought as I pushed up the mountain.  I wondered if he didn't need to listen for the fauna, since he spent a night alone and was likely rewarded with plenty of views of bears, deer, marmots, pika rabbits, woodpeckers etc.  He probably enjoyed all that and more and by the time we met him, he was just ready for a hot shower and hearty meal.  I know I was by the time, I stumbled back to the car! 
  

      We'd been looking forward to it all summer... Vampire Weekend at the Wiltern. As you know, (see previous post) I worried a little bit about whether my son would enjoy seeing this concert with his mom. But Thursday night, after an early bed night before, and cramming in the studying the afternoon of the concert, we piled into the car, headed to koreatown for a little bulgogi, then paid the $12 bucks to park.
     Interesting crowd waited for the band. Mix of ages, though average age was in the '20s, mix of races, though it was primarily sort of an arty white crowd. (alot of guys and girls in those black, thick rimmed Rivers Cuomo glasses)   And, here's something I'd not noticed before... older (as in like my age) couples who sat in the lobby instead of listening to the band.
      Pity.  Had they gone in to share the music with their  kids (or at least stood in the back of the theater)  they would have heard the indie rock quartet's likable songs and maybe sparked some memories of another singer's music from their youth.
    There's alot of Paul Simon's 1986 release, Graceland in VW's music.  The band apparently loves Afro pop and liberally incorporates congolese soukous.  But if that's not enough to get the uninitiated to listen to a bit of VW... how about a string section.  Mid way through the concert four violinists joined the band.   And, we're not talking about sawing a couple of riffs along with the songs, there's a true Western classical feel to what they play.
      Okay.. now back to my son.   All you who worried I would scar him for life taking him to this concert and not letting him experience it without Mommy holding his hand;  he did stay with me in the balcony for a while... but decided he wanted to be closer to the stage  and went downstairs.  He spent most of the concert in the section right in front of the sound board.  He loved the concert so much he went home with two VW teeshirts.  (his money, not mine.)  Me?  I loved it too.  I also loved the fact the band is so young, with so little material, the concert ended around 10:30pm.  The teen was home in bed before 11:30pm and up as usual to go to school the next morning.   
    


     

            Picked up the latest release from Beck.   It was an impulse buy, standing in line at the store, didn't need gum, batteries or chapstick.   But, why not, buy the new Beck.  (And, yes, I know... CD's are sooo last century.  See above, impulse buy!)
             Turns out this one's been co-produced with Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley fame.)  The short review is, I like it.  It's sparer, more austere than past Beck offerings.  But still very Beck.
             Then there's that title... Modern Guilt.   Beck had written 10 or 15 songs to bring to the recording sessions and everyone reacted to that one song.  That prompted him to discard the songs that sounded like past Beck albums and work within the theme and mood of Modern Guilt.  
           Seems the alt rocker's got some modern guilt over his contribution to a world gone awry. 
             I can relate.  Got plenty of my own.  Some big, some petty.  Not sure, how much my actions are causing the icebergs to melt, but I know I could do more to make Al Gore proud.   I'm not sure I could go full Ed Begley, Jr.  But wasn't I going to get that tankless water heater and look into solar power. 
             And, sometimes its something like... should I really be eating when I get home from work at midnight?

        What's on your modern guilt list? 

     I admit it. I thought I would be nominated the coolest mom in the world when I told my son that he and I were going to see Vampire Weekend at the Wiltern! This would be his first popular music concert. He's been to plenty of classical music concerts. I've taken him to Hollywood Bowl to hear the Philharmonic on the fourth of July. And, I'm sure we've been somewhere where some band was playing on some stage.
     But this time we would take actual tickets, stand in line and hope for a decent view of a band he loves.
     I was so proud of myself, so looking forward to it, I mentioned it to my co-anchor, Jeff Michael. He apparently knows what it's really like to be a cool parent. He gave me this mortified look and asked how my 14 year old felt about his mom taking him to a concert. Then, he said, can't you just drop him off with a friend?
     Darn it. I was really looking forward to this and now, I'm wondering if my son is just humoring me when he says, "no worries, Mom, I can't wait."

    So now, I'm curious.  What was your first concert experience like?

   Color me surprised, when I saw a breakdown of Jimmy Buffett's corporate empire.
    The guy who sings of wasting away in Margaritaville is doing anything but.
    He still sings, records and tours.  AND he also just bought the Trump Marina in Atlantic City.  Guess what it will be re-named?  Margaritaville, of course. But that's not all.
   That one song has spawned two casinos, a frozen food line, tequila, beer, margarita mixers, even a blender to make the drink.  There's also a line of flip flops with the same brand name.
     Then, there are his best selling books.. .oh and thanks to another hit song, he also has a chain of burger places... called..... Cheeseburger in Paradise. 

All together now....

Wasted away again in Margaritaville,
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt.

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.