ON THE SILVER SCREEN: HEAVY METAL (MAN OF STEEL)
By Brian Lafferty June 14, 2013 (San Diego) – The original Superman was entertaining in the moment, but terribly flawed upon further reflection, especially the ending. As much fun as I had watching it, the ending was one giant mass of plot holes. I remember liking the somewhat turgid Superman Returns when I saw it in theaters seven years ago. Today I can’t remember a single thing about it. Other than that, I had limited exposure to the silly Superman II. Man of Steel is overlong. Even for a comic book film, the performances could have been much better and memorable. It’s enjoyable, it’s clear the series will get bigger, better and bolder. Still, out of the small sampling of Superman films, this one gets it the most right. Quite a grand achievement, I must say, considering the director is none other than Zack Snyder. I’ve already made plain my distaste of Sucker Punch – perhaps too many times – so I won’t rehash it here except to say it made it difficult for me to give Man of Steel the benefit of the doubt. Instead of attempting an awkward continuation like Bryan Singer did with Superman Returns, producers and screenwriters David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan make the logical choice to start anew. Krypton is nearing its inevitable end. General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his small militia attempt a failed coup and are punished. Jor-El (Russell Crowe) sends his newborn son Kal-el to Earth. Kal-el grows up in Smallville, Kansas as Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), who grapples with his powers and identity crisis. Now an adult and pursued by Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane (Amy Adams) he now must save Earth from the awakened Zod. Goyer and Nolan reveal, through flashbacks and interviews Citizen Kane-style, a portrait of a young “man” suffering from perpetual inner anguish. This first manifests itself in a touching flashback scene in which Kent’s superpowers emerge. Well, “emerge” is too weak a work. His x-ray vision, hypersensitivity to sound, and telepathy come on strong like nobody’s business. Moral issues arise to further complicate things. Is it wrong to use your superpowers to save a submerged school bus full of drowning kids, thus inviting suspicion, even if that’s the only way? Before I discuss the aesthetics, I must preface what I’m about to say with a small disclaimer that the screening I attended was a 3D presentation, so the 2D presentation might be different. (There was an option to see a 2D projection on Wednesday – a first in the three-plus years I’ve attended press screenings – but I chose to attend last week’s for transportation and deadline reasons.) The glasses the ArcLight La Jolla – the San Diego multiplex to go to for mainstream films – handed out were the darkest and dimmest, but a few periodic lifts of the glasses gave me reason to believe the image was overbrightened to compensate. That said, Man of Steel’s character psychology and philosophy are far from its only grim qualities, as the desaturated colors and shadowy lighting schematics show. Krypton, a once-prosperous planet, is now a hideous and desolate planet of true despair. In a way, its self-destruction is a mercy killing. In the Smallville sequences, the same style brings out a different, yet equally potent effect, this time on an emotional level. It subtly illuminates Kent’s tortured, confused mental state stemming from his knowledge that he’s not like other kids, but someone – or in this case, something – else entirely. The second half is packed tight with as much thunderous and ambitious action and fight scenes as one could possibly cram in. Despite that, it still leaves time and energy to mentally step out and witness Kent’s emotional build-up come into play in his fight against Zod. Not since the Transformers films have I witnessed so much destruction. No structure is safe. Concrete is smashed to bits the same way little kids practice karate moves on Styrofoam. I’m certain you’ve at some point in your life heard the familiar phrase “pound the pavement?” The pavement and streets are pounded all right. After all the destruction, I’d hate to be Metropolis’ Chief Financial Officer. You won’t find me griping about the relentless action, though. I draw a distinction between Michael Bay destruction and this kind, which grows out of the story and characters and from that becomes so personal, a genuinely vested interest in the outcome forms. Zack Snyder is billed as the director. However, I feel uncomfortable calling it a Zack Snyder film. Rather, it’s a Christopher Nolan film. It’s a relief not to see that annoying and pretentious “Zack Snyder Shot.” It’s that now-tiresome shot that starts at a normal speed, then quickly slows down to enunciate a specific action (such as a punch or jump) before going back to normal. Apparently, Nolan wouldn’t have any of that. Indeed, Nolan’s familiar visual style borrows heavily from his Batman trilogy, as his propensity for psychological drama. Don’t worry, all similarities end there. After the misguided Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and the major misfire Sucker Punch, it’s my sincere hope that being under Nolan’s tutelage means Snyder is back on the same path he was when he made 300 and Watchmen. And hopefully, no more Zack Snyder Shots. B Man of Steel is now playing in wide release. A Warner Bros. release. Director: Zack Snyder. Screenplay: David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, based on “Superman” created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Original Music: Hans Zimmer. Cinematography: Amir Mokri. Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, and Laurence Fishburne. Running Time: 143 minutes. Rated PG-13. Brian Lafferty welcomes letters at brian@eastcountymagazine.org. You can also follow him on Twitter: @BrianLaff.
SANTANA HIGH TEACHER RECEIVES 25 SAMSUNG GALAXY TABS FROM JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION AND SAMSUNG
Granite Hills Grad Continues Legacy of Revving up Student Learning June 13, 2013 (El Cajon)– El Cajon native Jimmie Johnson continues to blaze new trails in his efforts to support student learning, this time with the generous gift of 25 Samsung Galaxy Tabs™ 7” for use in the classroom. Santana High School Social Science teacher Rebecca Short got a big surprise recently as Santana Principal Tim Schwuchow notified her in front of her students that her winning technology proposal was selected by the District’s Ed Tech Taskforce.. Short’s students will soon get more mileage out of accessing the information highway thanks to a generous gift of 25 Samsung Galaxy Tabs™ 7” from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Samsung. The tablets will be used primarily as a way to access information in the classroom and allow for the wireless sharing of educational content. The technology will support a range of educational purposes for students including access to both primary and secondary sources and the creation of web-based presentations and timeline programs that show causal relations. This year, Santana High School was also awarded a $77,195 Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Champions Grant to fund a Digital Fabrication Laboratory project, which includes equipment for the engineering and architecture programs. Superintendent Ralf Swenson stated, “The Grossmont Union High School District thanks Jimmie Johnson for continuing to address areas of need in our schools and for his ongoing commitment to East County students.” To date, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Champions Grant program has made contributions totaling more than $250,000 to Grossmont Schools.
EDITORIAL: INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE IS ERODING OUR PRIVACY AND LIBERTY
The troubling history of our U.S. shadow factory — and how we have lost rights in the name of security By Nadin Abbott June 13, 2013 (San Diego) Edward Snowden shook the power elites in Washington D.C. with his revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) is spying on Americans. He released documents such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) order to the British newspaper, The Guardian, sending high-level U.S. government officials demanding his prosecution. Verizon was ordered to release phone information to the NSA. The order signed by Judge Roger Vinson includes “all call detail records or ‘telephone metadata’ created by Verizon for communications between the United States and abroad, or wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/jun/06/verizon-telephone-data-court-order Over the years we have had peeks behind the curtain into what journalist/author James Banford has called The Shadow Factory. No, leaks are not new, and yes, officials react to these leaks in the same apocalyptic language: that these people have committed treason and have risked the security of the United States. Whether this is the case or not is up to the courts. But we as citizens should be aware of this history. What follows is a short history of our own shadow factory, and how arguably we have lost rights in the name of security. The story starts with a very secret treaty signed in 1948 called the UKUSA treaty. Coincidentally President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 the year before. This Act established, among other things, the Central Intelligence Agency, a successor to the Office of Special Projects. This treaty hardened the World War II intelligence cooperation between the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. This treaty is the basis for what was once a very secret project called Echelon. In its day Echelon was a real dragnet as well—and may still be, perhaps. “ECHELON, captures and analyzes virtually every phone call, fax, email and telex message sent anywhere in the world,” according to the Civil Intelligence Association Defense Oversight Group. http://www.ncoic.com/nsapoole.htm Echelon was part and parcel of the cold war efforts to stop the Soviet Union and when the war came to an end, Echelon remained in place. It has evolved, according to Patrick S. Poole into “political spying: since the close of World War II, the US intelligence agencies have developed a consistent record of trampling the rights and liberties of the American people. Even after the investigations into the domestic and political surveillance activities of the agencies that followed in the wake of the Watergate fiasco, the NSA continues to target the political activity of “unpopular” political groups and our duly elected representatives.” Some of this veil of secrecy was revealed to the American people during an extraordinary series of hearings held in 1975, and led by Senator Frank Church. These hearings delved into the secret world of the National Security State. This was known as the Church Committee. Among some of the secrets brought to the forefront were CONTIELPRO, first started by the FBI in 1956, with the stated goal to disrupt the Communist Party. It was a product of the cold war. The Church Committee found that it overstepped its authority and endangered First Amendment Rights. Another program exposed by the Committee was Operation Shamrock, which sifted though all telegraphs leaving the United States. This program “predated NSA, which was created by President Truman in 1952. It had been essentially a continuation of the military censorship program of World War II. Copies of foreign telegraph traffic had been turned over to military intelligence during the war, and, when the war ended, the Army Security Agency (ASA) sought to have this continue. All the big international carriers were involved.” https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art4.html So the seeds for much of this intelligence apparatus were in WW II. What is true is that these programs, and their revelations, screamed for reform. Here is where the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court comes from. One thing that it was supposed to do was stop the real, or perceived, abuses that were revealed by the Church Committee. It also ensured, at least for a few decades, that any spying was directed outwards, and required a warrant. Then came Oklahoma City, and that attack shocked the country. It is within that environment that the next chapter of this took place. President Bill Clinton announced soon after not just Echelon, the first time it was admitted outside the smoke and mirrors of the Intelligence Community, but he also signed into law Carnivore. Carnivore was designed to focus on key words in a message. It took advantage of the fact that every time you send an email it is dissolved into small chunks of information called packets, and assembled at the destination after a header. What it did was look into every packet, and look for key words. Carnivore was not deployed to sniff all; it required a court order and was deployed after particular targets. It still raised serious Fourth Amendment right questions, and in 2000 there was a hearing on Carnivore in the Subcommittee on the Constitution within the Judicial Committee of the US Congress. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, put it best during his opening statements: “ I think the more the public knows, the more the Congress knows and the more light that is shed, then the better judgments that will be rendered.” http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju67305.000/hju67305_0f.htm This was the kind of program that made Congress nervous, in its role as guarantor of our rights as citizens. Chairman Charles Canady of Florida stated, “As we consider the use of Carnivore, it is important that our deliberations be based on facts and not on unsupported suspicions and irrational fears. At the same time, we should be sensitive to any potential for abuse of the Carnivore system. Even a system designed with the best of intentions to legally carry out essential law enforcement functions may be a cause for concern if its use is
READER’S EDITORIAL: THE WIND DEBATE
By Supervisor Dave Roberts June 13, 2013 (San Diego)–On May 15th, the Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance that establishes a rigorous process to install wind turbines. By a 4-1 vote, Supervisors agreed to strict guidelines. Our action did not approve a single, specific project. My vote to adopt the ordinance came after much careful consideration. As Dr. Dan Silver of the Endangered Habitats League said during his testimony, “wind energy presents a conundrum.” On one hand, I am very supportive of renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gasses. On the other, I am concerned about the significant, unmitigable impacts of large wind turbines. I understand the concerns of residents in Boulevard. Sadly, Boulevard residents are going to be surrounded by large wind turbines on federal, Imperial County, and tribal lands. The County Board of Supervisors has no control over the approval of those turbines. In all likelihood, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will consider only two or three applications for wind turbines near Boulevard. And when those applications come forward, we will have a solid process in place to evaluate them. The board’s action this week approved an Environmental Impact Report that examines all renewable energy projects, including solar. The purpose of an EIR is to document impacts of development and propose whether or not the impacts can be mitigated. The document lists 24 unmitigable impacts, a daunting problem to overcome for any proponent of these projects. The second action taken by the Board was approved by a 5-0 vote to implement a new ordinance that allows persons to put small wind turbines on their property for personal use by only requiring an Administrative Permit. The third and final action taken by the Board was approved by a 4-1 vote concerned large wind turbines. These projects would be forced to go through a Major Use Permit process. We did this because our ordinance was outdated and had to be updated to establish strict requirements. This process requires notification of surrounding property owners and a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors. The new Wind Ordinance included a map of wind resources to indicate where large turbines might be placed. Locations within the County of San Diego are very limited. Now all residents know exactly where wind turbines are permitted and where they are not. This ordinance also set strict standards for noise control which provide setbacks far greater than the requirements of the existing noise ordinance. No new projects were approved by the Board. However, our action did establish a strict review process which will limit the ability to build future industrial-size wind turbines. Faulty turbines can cause electric fires. So during my public remarks, I also asked that future applicants provide special training and equipment to our fire protection services. The prior approved Tule Wind Project includes 5 turbines on County of San Diego jurisdictional lands in Boulevard. At this time, there are no other large wind turbine projects proposed on land within County jurisdiction in Boulevard. By way of reminder, consideration of a new ordinance grew out of concern for the Tule Wind Project which was approved before I was elected to the Board. Residents complained that this project was not carefully vetted. Hence, county staff drafted an ordinance for Board consideration. This was appropriate because the county has been operating with an outdated wind ordinance. With the adoption of a map designating where the turbines may be built it is seen by some as a de facto restriction to limited areas. My votes demonstrate my commitment to environmental sustainability while standing up for residents in the locally impacted communities. The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
RUNNING CATTLE: HOME ON THE RANGE
Campo Creek Ranch offers local delivery of all-natural grass-fed beef By Miram Raftery June 13, 2013(Campo)—Cattle come running when rancher John Clark arrives. It looks like a scene out of a California “happy cows” commercial. View video. These beef cattle are raised in open pastures, not crowded feed lots. They graze in green pastures at Campo Creek Ranch in San Diego’s East County. They receive no hormones and their diet is all natural – native grass or in some cases, barley. “They’re all much healthier to eat,” says Clark, adding that grass-fed cattle re higher in omega-3 fatty acids. The ranch also offers all-natural chickens, pigs and rabbits – with meat delivered straight to consumers. Commercial feed lots and factory farms, by contrast, may feed cattle non-natural diet of genetically modified corn, or worse. Some feedlot operators save money by feeding the cows “by-product feedstuffs.” According to the website Eat Wild, this means “ waste products from the manufacture of human food. In particular, it can mean sterilized city garbage, candy, bubble gum, floor sweepings from plants that manufacture animal food, bakery, potato wastes or a scientific blend of pasta and candy,” Without such unnatural additives, grass-fed cattle produce meat that is leaner, with less fat marbling. For those who prefer the flavor of marbled beef, however, some Cattle Creek Ranch cattle are also fed barley mash from breweries. Here, the cattle are raised on the open range, rounded p in much the same fashion that has been done for generations. Vaquero-style techniques are used during an annual roundup and branding (to assure that wandering cattle can be reclaimed). Border collies help herd cattle on the ranch and leased lands nearby where cattle roam freely. Even the slaughtering is done on site with a single bullet in what Clark believes is the most humane means possible, avoiding the trauma of slaughterhouses for the animals raised here. Raising animals naturally is more challenging, but rewarding because it is the right thing to do, the Clark family believes. One season, they lost three calves to a mountain lion. The ranch includes several varieties of cattle: Black Angus, Red Angus, Brahmins, and Charolait. Meat from the ranch is available for purchase directly by consumers—and you can have your order delivered straight to your door step. You can buy a whole steer at a discounted price, or opt for a half, quarter, or eighth. An eighth of a steer costs $500 for 45 pounds or about $11 a pound –which is actually fairly comparable to the price of a ribeye steak at a major grocery store. For more information, view a brochure from Campo Creek Ranch, contact john@campocreekranch.com or visit www.john@campocreek.com.
BEER PAIRING DINNER JUNE 14 IN JULIAN
June 13, 2013 (Julian) – Julian Brewing Company, Baileys BBQ Pit and Jeremy’s on the Hill will present “As local as it gets” – a farm-to-table dinner Friday, June 14 at 6:30 p.m. Evening’s menu as follows Julian Brewing Company Saison Marinated and grilled bok choy with roasted chiogga beets, grilled green onions, roasted white corn and wild mushroom vinaigrette Julian Brewing Company Double IPA Cook Pigs Ranch Carnitas street tacos with a Chipotle BBQ sauce and fixings, white corn purée, smashed and grilled sweet potatoes with Cojita cheese Julian Brewing Company Nitrous Stout Nitrous stout pop rocks with lollipop chocolate truffles Local farming partners for this event are: Cook Pigs Ranch (local heritage pork) Down the Road Farms (cilantro flowers, wild mushrooms, chiogga beets and green onions) Mountain Chickadee Farm (Bok Choy) Call (760) 765-1587 to make your reservation. $37 for one person or $68 for two plus tax and gratuity. Jeremy’s is located at 4354 Highway 78, Julian 92036, five minutes west from down town Julian. For more special event information and what’s new at Jeremy’s log on to www.jeremysonthehill.com
SPIDERMAN MASKED ROBBERY SUSPECT ARRESTED
June 13, 2013 (La Mesa) – On June 7, 2013 La Mesa Police Detective Dale Perry indentified the robbery suspect from the Sierra Market (3800 Massachusetts Avenue) robbery that occurred on January 28, 2013. In the Sierra Market robbery, the clerk got into an altercation with the suspect and was injured. On June 7, 2013 at approximately 10:00 am, La Mesa Police detectives arrested 43 year-old Johnny McGee of San Diego and 38 year-old Gina E. Ludwig of San Diego for the robbery. During the investigation, detectives were able to link the two suspects to four additional robberies in the City of La Mesa. During some of the robberies the suspect wore a Spiderman mask. La Mesa Police are working with surrounding jurisdictions to determine if these two suspects are related to additional robberies in the area. Johnny McGee was booked at San Diego County Jail on robbery charges, assault with a deadly weapon, restraining order violations, burglary, and conspiracy. Gina Ludwig was booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility on one charge of robbery.