Craig's Corner

They say that Christmas comes but once a year. Walking my Los Angeles neighborhood it seems that Christmas has either come again or has never left. Nearly every block has disposed Christmas trees sitting on the curb, abandoned. The traditionalist in me would like to think that the City is waiting for Candlemass (Feb 2) when decorations for Christmas should come down. I doubt that the pick-up schedule aligns with this ancient religious custom. Thanks to one of the (many) quirks of Los Angeles Sanitation Department, the trees can only be picked up if they have been chopped up and fit within the Green bins. One of my neighbors is trying to comply in the photo above. The result is that for months the trees sit. Last year the last one disappeared the week after Easter. Dry and decayed trees are not only a visual blight and potential fire risk – but is symptomatic of American’s addiction to trash. On average each American generates 4.5 pounds of waste per day. That’s 1,642.5 pounds of tras

You can feel the change of seasons in the air. Awards season is upon us. It’s when our attention turns to fashion, celebrity and statuettes. Sure, we Angelinos may not have more conventional weather-based seasons, but this is the time of the year that the world watches Hollywood. Awards season is big news and big money. Tens of millions of dollars are at stake with viewers opting to see one movie over another based on the pile of awards that are given. In a Company Town like Los Angeles it is appropriate to cover the events as many people’s lives and livelihoods are impacted by the awards. In other areas of the country, though, the awards and related coverage is pure entertainment. It’s a chance to peer into the world of celebrity where the industry pats itself on the back. It’s all glamour and glitz. There’s nothing wrong with it and it’s a nearly billion dollar a year industry. Coverage of the industry has gone mainstream where the weekly box office grosses are newsworthy stories.

“I am so angry I could spit.” That’s one of my grandmother’s expressions that I remember. The angry rhetoric in political discourse could fill a spittoon these days. Being of Irish descent I’ve been known to have a bit of a temper on occasion. I was that adorable tyke who would fall down face forward on the floor pounding hands and feet into the ground and screaming at the top of my lungs. In adulthood the pendulum has swung and I’m generally very even keeled and unflappable. My own journey is filled with potholes where I’ve said or done things in the heat of the moment and regretted it. Experience has taught me that time provides perspective. It’s an incredible gift. Last weekend’s melee in Arizona has delivered a wrath of commentary, insults, accusations and recriminations that has been immediate, vile and as scattered as the gunshots. Many have opined on the vitriol already without recognizing the irony in hate speech condemning hate speech. So far most of what’s occurred has be

The 2010 Census data was released just before Christmas.  A friend worked for the Census for most of last year I’d ask him regularly: “So…what are we up to?” The official answer is that there are 308,745,538 of us. Hi there, nice to meet you!!! That’s 27,323,632 more Americans than in 2000, or 8.85%. Last week we marked the end of the 00’s, which I refer to as the “owes” decade, and I got to thinking about the last decade. “Survivor” didn’t debut until May 31, 2000 – bringing with it “reality television” which of course isn’t real at all. “Mission Impossible II,” “Gladiator” and “Cast Away” were the top three movies based on box office and “American Beauty” won the Oscar. Nokia had the best selling mobile phone. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was in high school and Google was in its infancy, just 2 years old. The U.S. Budget in 2000 was $2 trillion with a surplus of $236 million. In 2010 the U.S. Budget is $3.1 trillion with a deficit of $1.6 trillion. California’s Budget , incl