DOCSLIB.ORG

Copyright by Tolga Ozyurtcu 2014

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Copyright by Tolga Ozyurtcu 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Tolga Ozyurtcu Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Flex Marks the Spot: Histories of Muscle Beach Committee: Janice S. Todd, Supervisor Thomas M. Hunt Marlene A. Dixon Joan H. Neuberger Janet M. Davis Flex Marks the Spot: Histories of Muscle Beach by Tolga Ozyurtcu, B.A.; M.S. Kin. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2014 Dedication To memory of my mother, my first reader. To my father: nereden nereye. Acknowledgements If there is one person responsible for this project, it is my father, Huseyin Ozyurtcu. For over thirty years, he has been my biggest influence and my best friend. Together with my late my mother, he taught me to love knowledge, think independently, and trust my instincts. In his love and unwavering support, I have found the strength and confidence to be myself. I owe him everything. I am also very grateful for my stepmother Vanessa, my brother Marcos, and my sister Yasmin. It has been almost ten years since our families came together and I cannot imagine life without them—to be in their presence is to know how good life can be. I consider myself fortunate to have had the support of Dr. Jan Todd since I began my graduate education in 2008. As my dissertation advisor, Dr. Todd gave me the freedom, encouragement, and feedback necessary to complete a large and ambitious project. But Dr. Todd is more than an advisor— she is a mentor, collaborator, inspiration, and friend. She has allowed me to pursue a broad range of interests and perspectives on my path to becoming a scholar. Along the way, she has taught me much about the inner workings of academia, the makings of good writing, and the pleasures of historical research. I am similarly indebted to the rest of my dissertation committee, Drs. Marlene Dixon, Joan Neuberger, Janet Davis, and Thomas Hunt. Without their patience and support, this project would have been impossible. As dissertation readers and teachers they taught me to ask meaningful questions, integrate theory into my work, and write clearly. An extra thanks is in order to Dr. Hunt, who has been an invaluable source of wisdom and reason in my academic journey, both as a mentor and a friend. v Further thanks are due to the faculty and staff at the University of Texas at Austin who have helped me throughout my studies, especially those with the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports. There are too many to name them all, but I am particularly grateful for the support of Drs. Terry Todd, John Fair, Kim Beckwith, Chris Green, Michael Sanders, and John Bartholomew. At the Stark Center, library director Cindy Slater and archivists Brent Sipes and Geoff Schmalz were great office mates and a tremendous help in conducting my research. I have also benefitted from working with a great cohort in my doctoral program, each a generous peer and excellent scholar: George Kioussis, Dominic Morais, Florian Hemme, Lauren Osmer, Ben Pollack, and Sam Twito. Many good friends have kept me sane and happy throughout the dissertation process. Seth Kessler, a willing accomplice and sounding board for ideas good and bad since we met in 2008, has convinced me that suburban Los Angeles and rural Missouri may not be so different after all. Matt Bowers has been a willing guide to academic life and a friend for the ages. CJ Stanfill, Darren Kelly, Jeff Carrillo, and Shelby Sherman Bowden deserve credit for making Austin feel like home and for teaching me that new friends can quickly become great friends. The Austin crew has gotten me through these last several years, but I would not have made it this far without the continued support of an amazing group of long-time friends: Jeff Pickett, Matt Caplan, Erol Ari, Al Brown, PJ Shakstad, Amir Shoucri, Anthony Arroyo, Jose Izquierdo II, Jordan Stuart, and Nick Troutman each deserve more thanks than I can offer here. I am especially indebted to Al Brown for his help on this project; I would not have been able to meet my deadline without his many hours of research assistance. vi Finally, I will be forever grateful to Katy Snell for her love and support in everything I do. Finishing this project would have been impossible without her. There really are no words to describe how much she means to me. vii Flex Marks the Spot: Histories of Muscle Beach Tolga Ozyurtcu, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 Supervisor: Janice S. Todd The original Muscle Beach, in Santa Monica, California, is considered by many to be the birthplace of the modern physical fitness movement. From 1934 to 1958, the strip of sand south of the Santa Monica Pier offered acrobats, gymnasts, weightlifters, and bodybuilders a place to learn, train, and perform feats of physical culture. This milieu helped shape the careers of fitness luminaries like Jack LaLanne, Vic Tanny, and Steve Reeves; it also catalyzed the development of modern fitness equipment and health clubs The site’s popularity peaked in the post-war period, especially over summer holidays, when up to 2,000 spectators crowded around an elevated platform by the boardwalk to watch the annual Mr. and Miss Muscle Beach contests and other acrobatic and strength exhibitions. In the American imagination, Muscle Beach became a symbol of the mid- century California dream, the promise of sunshine, health, and good living captured in iconic images of the toned and tan beach athletes. Despite these real and symbolic legacies, Muscle Beach remains an understudied site, especially from scholarly perspectives. The essays that constitute this work examine Muscle Beach using three different historical points of engagement. In the first study, I offer a theoretical perspective for unpacking the widespread influence of Muscle Beach. Drawing from oral history interviews with several Muscle Beach legends, I argue that the role of Muscle Beach in ushering in the modern fitness movement is best understood as the result of viii social processes of innovation. In the second study, I explore the abrupt closure of Muscle Beach by the city of Santa Monica in late 1958 and I evaluate the civic legacy of the site for the city. In the third and final study, I analyze the use of Muscle Beach in the fitness magazines of Joe Weider. I argue that Weider deployed a mythic Muscle Beach, creating an imaginative take on the California dream for his readers and customers. Combined, these studies advance the historical understanding of Muscle Beach as both a real and symbolic place. ix Table of Contents Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Locating Muscle Beach ...................................................................................3 Reading The Beach .........................................................................................5 The Essays ......................................................................................................9 Chapter 1: Critical Mass: Oral History, Innovation Theory, and the Fitness Legacy of Muscle Beach ................................................................................................14 A Brief History of Muscle Beach, 1934-1958 ..............................................17 Tales of the Tapes: The Muscle Beach Interviews and Oral History ...........21 Oral History as Evidence ............................................................21 Terminology ................................................................................23 Muscle Beach: Birthplace of Good Ideas .....................................................24 The Subjects, In Brief .................................................................25 Good Ideas: Patterns of Innovation .............................................28 Muscle Beach: a Liquid Network in the Sand ............................31 Subculture and the City: Exaptation ...........................................36 Conclusion ....................................................................................................39 Chapter 2: The Short Goodbye: Scandal, Politics, and the End of Muscle Beach 41 A story buried in the sand .............................................................................44 Muscle and the City I: Legislating Muscle Beach, 1955-1958 .....................46 Morals & Muscles: The Closure of Muscle Beach .......................................51 Allegations and Prosecution .......................................................51 Closure and Ensuing Debates: 1958-960 ....................................54 Muscle and the City II: Contextualizing the “Undesirable Element” ...........66 From Morals to Memorial: 1960-1989 .........................................................75 x Chapter 3: Go West, Young Men: The California Dream and Joe Weider’s Muscle Beach Myth ...................................................................................................79 Barthes’ Myth and Joe Weider, The Mythmaker ..........................................83 Barthes’ Myth .............................................................................83 The Sport of Bodybuilding and Joe Weider, The Mythmaker ....85 Contents of the Myth ....................................................................................89
Recommended publications
  • Mark Henrys Dilemma

    Mark Henrys Dilemma

    IRON GAME HISTORY VOLUME 5 NUMBER 1 Mark Henry’s Dilemma— Reflections on Drugs at the Olympics Terry Todd. Ph.D. In the most recent Olympic Games, Mark Henry letes who outrank him in weightlifting—to be the strongest represented the United States in weightlifling. He earned man in the world, doesn’t have a chance on his best day the right to compete by winning the U.S. National Cham- of beating a group of men who have enhanced their nat- pionships in the Spring of 1996 with a total of 400 kilos ural gifts by taking anabolic steroids. For months before (882 pounds) made up of a 396 pound snatch and a 485 the Olympics, Mark spoke out about this to the media, pound clean and jerk. This 400 kilo total, in the opinion saying the sport was so dirty that he planned to leave it of many experts in track field of international lifting-includ- after the Games were over. That he had taken all the unfair- ing Dragomir Ciroslan, a former Olympic medalist and ness he could stand. Well, the Games are over now and the current coach of the U.S. team–was the highest ever Mark has retired from weightlifting, vowing never to return made by an athlete who had never used anabolic steroids. unless the sport is cleaned up. During the Games, he Who was lifetime drugfree. Unfortunately for Mark and signed a ten year, multi-million dollar contract with the for the entire concept of “clean” competition, his histor- World Wrestling Federation, joining such iron game nota- ically significant 400 kilo total failed to place him among bles as George Hackenschmidt, George Lurich, Milo the top ten qualifiers in Atlanta.
  • Iron Game History Volume 3 Number 4

    Iron Game History Volume 3 Number 4

    VOLUME 3 NUMBER 4 August 1994 The first competition behind the Iron Curtain between ath- tition, and that no-one in the history of the sport had ever had the letes from the two superpowers after the Cold War began was held audacity to open with twenty pounds more than the listed world record. in 1955 in Moscow. The athletes were weightlifters. Ever since the But when the five foot nine inch, barrel-chested. three hundred and end of World War Two and the resumption of international meets forty pound Anderson chalked his hands and strode to the platform the American lifters had been dominant, and the soviets resented this the crowd got a good look at him and they became suddenly quiet. dominance and were jealous of it. The political leaders of the soviet And when he pulled the bar to his shoulders and pressed it easily over sports machine were very aware of the his head they were so stunned that for a propoganda value of athletic success, time they made no sound at all. But then and they badly wanted to be able to say they,leapt to their feet shouting, calling to the world that their political system him. “chudo priyody”—wonder of produced the strongest men. They were nature. obsessed by the idea of beating the U.S., This dramatic world record, particularly in the superheavyweight coupled with Paul’s unique appearance, class, the symbol of strength. Even then, caught the imagination of the public, almost 40 years ago, the top superheavy and he was able to parlay the attention was widely recognized—at least in the into a career as the most famous strong- media—as the strongest man in the man of the modern era.
  • 66C 2 *3 69C 12.88

    66C 2 *3 69C 12.88

    (*>■. , . \ - Avenge Dally Net Press Run The W ealhe; ■ ' For The Week Ended May 20, 1067 CHatide of idiowers' this eve­ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 1967 ning, mlUer wUh low In 60s; PA G E FO R T Y iMaurljiestw lEwftiing 1imlJ» £w paiftly okn*ty aitd warm twfnor- 15,210 itOyr,. high in 80*. ManeheHer^A City o f Vittiigo P VOL. LXXXVI, NO. 229 (TWENTY-FOUR PAGES—-TWO SECTIONS) •MfAlipeiiESTER, CONN., TH U RSDxl, JDNR 19^ O i l (IMfMirAaver&faw «» PRICE SEVEN CENTS J .i .u ij.:.. %?:•$:?’■"* ’ *"’ ’ ............ " ^ w S$?:S •X::*y: Thurso Fri.. Sat. and Mon.. July 3rd w -'V I'V .. H ^ E l ' ' n « HAIE t. ' wm iiieiBtftii More Ohjectip^ City Gates VALUES FOR YOUR LONG WEEKEND! SHOP FOR DOZENS MORE! T& Israeli M& Open After UNITED mVIONS, N.T. 40 Pale^tttio .1 9 Years (AlP) — The Qeneral As- seized the Old seitifHy todajt iM rd a mounting drove the Joi JERUSALEM (AP) — men’s short sleeve chorus ot attegks on Israel for the Old Otbr - OvBMriding bisr-jxiwer pro- 2 men’s Ivy League tie slmexatlon j^:ttie Old City of the bulk al^&e t«miS, Israel turned both boys’ perma-press excellent assortment sport or dress shirts JertMletn. and Mbslem s^iltors of Jerusalem inix> nreign Minister the start of " •'lift (me city under Israel’s flag plaid Bermudas summer dusters Omar Sakkaf pi Baudi Arabia m a dress, sport shirts today, and thousands a t told the enterMMey session of Wednesdliy tilghV I’S' Jewit and Arabs mingled 3 fo r the assemUy m t if the “ Zion- Hussein said Bis 1.77 Ists" fail to srnhdraw from cap- viewed “With utMc^ (ft and„ fraternized in the tuMd Arab tSHtories, “ there r.-'K:' »5 (Beg Page,; gates between the Jewish 1.68 1.77 reg.
  • A Historical Analysis of the Use of Supportive Apparel in Powerlifting Jan Todd

    A Historical Analysis of the Use of Supportive Apparel in Powerlifting Jan Todd

    Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity School of Business Faculty Research School of Business 11-2015 Shifting Gear: A Historical Analysis of the Use of Supportive Apparel in Powerlifting Jan Todd Dominic G. Morais Trinity University, [email protected] Ben Pollack Terry Todd Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/busadmin_faculty Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons Repository Citation Todd, J., Morais, D. G., Pollack, B., & Todd, T. (2015). Shifting gear: A historical analysis of the use of supportive apparel in powerlifting. Iron Game History, 13(2-3), 37-56. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Business at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Business Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact [email protected]. November/December 2015 Iron Game History SHIFTING GEAR: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF SUPPORTIVE APPAREL IN POWERLIFTING Jan Todd, Dominic Gray Morais, Ben Pollack & Terry Todd The University of Texas at Austin & Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas In many ways, powerlifting is an odd sport. the sport into several dozen sporting federations, and the Competitors do not run or jump; no balls, bats, or rackets willingness of many of these national governing bodies are used; and only one competitor "plays" on the lifting to allow various levels of gear-assisted lifting in their platform at a time. Judging can be highly subjective; organizations. If sport philosopher Robert Simon is right three judges intently watch as the athlete lifts the loaded that, "sport" is nothing more than a group of rules that barbell nine separate times over the course of the com­ defme and delimit how the central contest of the sport is petition.
  • Crossfit Gym

    Crossfit Gym

    A new banner has been strung across the 1969, sparked when Tacoma police brick wall of an old building at the attempted an arrest in the predominantly southeast edge of Tacoma’s hilltop black neighborhood, causing a crowd to district. It shows the back of a woman on gather to free the arrestee. The crowd a stationary rower, her muscles flexed at grew, property destruction followed and the end of her stroke. Next to this is a a police officer was shot. The event ghost sign, painted sometime last century spawned a moderate black leadership across the brick wall in difficult-to- capable of containing the more radical remove lead paint: “Auto Clearing energies of the neighborhood while House,” it says, presumably indicating a simultaneously ensuring that for the next long-lost autoparts shop from the era twenty or so years it would effectively be before the Autozone apocalypse. The cordoned off from whatever post- juxtaposition of the two makes the industrial development might take shape stationary rower seem like some sort of in a city still reeling from mass factory dismantled piece of industrial equipment, closures. As in many such neighborhoods gears converted into resistance in American cities, the only economic mechanisms with attached pulleys. If growth that did arrive came in the form searched on Google, the phrase “auto of the black market. For years the area clearing house” today only shows results was known mostly as the territory of the for a financial trading network of the Hilltop Crips, and its signature event was same name—an automated clearing a 1989 Ash Street shootout between a house that allows for financial group of Crips and off-duty Army transactions to be stored and processed Rangers-turned-neighborhood vigilantes.
  • Erotic and Physique Studios Photography Collection, Circa 1930-2005 Coll2014-051

    Erotic and Physique Studios Photography Collection, Circa 1930-2005 Coll2014-051

    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8br8z8d No online items Finding aid to the erotic and physique studios photography collection, circa 1930-2005 Coll2014-051 Michael C. Oliveira ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California © 2017 909 West Adams Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90007 [email protected] URL: http://one.usc.edu Coll2014-051 1 Language of Material: English Contributing Institution: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California Title: Erotic and physique studios photography collection creator: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives Identifier/Call Number: Coll2014-051 Physical Description: 30 Linear Feet37 boxes. Date (inclusive): circa 1930-2005 Abstract: Photographs produced from the 1930s through 2010 by gay erotic or physique photography studios. The studios named in this collection range from short-lived single person operations to larger corporations. Arrangement This collection is divided into two series: (1) Photographic prints and (2) Negatives and slides. Both series are arranged alphabetically. Conditions Governing Access The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions. Conditions Governing Use All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. Immediate Source of Acquisition This collection comprises photographs garnered from numerous donations to ONE Archives, many of which are unknown or anonymous. Dan Luckenbill, Neil Edwards, Harold Dittmer, and Dan Raymon are among some of the known donors of photographs in this collection.
  • A Briefly Annotated Bibliography of English Language Serial Publications in the Field of Physical Culture Jan Todd, Joe Roark and Terry Todd

    A Briefly Annotated Bibliography of English Language Serial Publications in the Field of Physical Culture Jan Todd, Joe Roark and Terry Todd

    MARCH 1991 IRON GAME HISTORY A Briefly Annotated bibliography of English Language Serial Publications in the Field of Physical Culture Jan Todd, Joe Roark and Terry Todd One of the major problems encountered when an attempt is made in January of 1869 and that we were unable to verify the actual starting to study the history of physical culture is that libraries have so seldom date of the magazine. saved (or subscribed to) even the major lifting, bodybuilding and “N.D.” means that the issue did not carry any sort of date. “N.M.” physical culture publications, let alone the minor ones. Because of this, means no month was listed. “N.Y.” means no year was listed. “N.V.” researchers have had to rely for the most part on private collections for means that no volume was listed. “N.N.” means that no issue number their source material, and this has limited the academic scholarship in was assigned. A question mark (?) beside a date means that we are the field. This problem was one of the major reasons behind the estimating when the magazine began, based on photos or other establishment of the Physical Culture Collection at the University of evidence. Texas in Austin. The designation “Current” means that, as of press time, the Over the last several months, we have made an attempt to magazine was still being published on a regular basis. You will also assemble a comprehensive listing or bibliography of the English- note the designation “LIC.” This stands for “Last in Collection.” This language magazines (and a few notable foreign language publications) simply means that the last copy of the magazine we have on hand here in the field of physical culture.
  • OCT 18 2013 of the City of Los Angeles

    OCT 18 2013 of the City of Los Angeles

    ACCELERATED REVIEW PROCESS - E Office of the City Engineer Los Angeles California To the Honorable Council OCT 18 2013 Of the City of Los Angeles Honorable Members: C. D. No. 13 SUBJECT: Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street - Walk of Fame Additional Name in Terrazzo Sidewalk- MARlSKA HARGITA Y RECOMMENDATIONS: A. That the City Council designate the unnumbered location situated one sidewalk square southerly of and between numbered locations 22C and 22c as shown on Sheet # 12 of Plan D-13788 for the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the installation of the name of Mariska Hargitay at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard. B. Inform the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce of the Council's action on this matter. C. That this report be adopted prior to the date of the ceremony on November 8, 2013. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT: No General Fl.U1dImpact. All cost paid by permittee. TRANSMITTALS: 1. Unnumbered communication dated October I, 2013, from the Hollywood Historic Trust of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, biographical information and excerpts from the minutes of the Chamber's meeting with recommendations. City Council -2- C. D. No. 13 DISCUSSION: The Walk of Fame Committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has submitted a request for insertion into the Hollywood Walk of Fame the name of Mariska Hargitay. The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, November 8, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. The communicant's request is in accordance with City Council action of October 18,1978, under Council File No. 78-3949. Following the Council's action of approval, and upon proper application and payment of the required fee, an installation permit can be secured at 201 N.
  • Joe Warpeha a History of Powerlifting in the United States

    Joe Warpeha a History of Powerlifting in the United States

    1 A History of Powerlifting in the United States: 50 Years after York Published online on September 4, 2015 at http://www.usaplmn.com By Joe Warpeha Preface This article began as a simple history of powerlifting for a coaching manual. It has since morphed into what you see before you. I would like to state right at the start that I am not a sport historian. I am simply a powerlifter with an interest in the people and events that have shaped this great sport. The true historians in our sport are people like Drs. Jan and Terry Todd, Mike Lambert, Dr. Ken Leistner, and the late Peary Rader. Powerlifting is a game of numbers and credit should also be given to noted statisticians of the sport like Michael Soong and the late Herb Glossbrenner. All of these people have lived the history of powerlifting and have done an excellent job remembering it and recording it. In my search for information relating to the formation and evolution of powerlifting, I was surprised to find no truly comprehensive history as exists for many other sports (perhaps one is out there and I have missed it) so I set out in an attempt to put the pieces together. I have tried to use many different sources and they range from the gold standard (peer-reviewed publications) to the questionable (websites and personal blogs). The vast majority of my sources can be accessed online by you the reader for free (all links work as of 9-4-2015 but I cannot guarantee all will be functional indefinitely) so I hope you will look further into the topics that interest you.
  • The Bodybuilding Truth

    The Bodybuilding Truth

    NELSON MONTANA THE BODYBUILDING TRUTH Dear friend and fellow athlete, Think you know about bodybuilding? Think again. If you really knew how to build the ultimate body in less than six months time, would you keep paying for more? More supplements? More personal training? More courses? More magazines? Would you keep spending your money on the deceptions, the product scams, the bogus supplements, and the false muscle building methods that the bodybuilding marketers propagate to line their pockets? The end result. Your bodybuilding progress is held back while the fat cats get rich. What if you knew the truth? What if someone were to blow the whistle on the con artists within the bodybuilding world and at the same time, share with you the secrets for packing on thick, dense muscle - fast! And burning off every last ounce of your bodyfat! Sounds unthinkable right? Well, the unthinkable has just happened. Every week I get at least one proposal from some self-appointed guru wanting us to publish his latest bodybuilding book. I read them, but never publish them, because basically, they're all worthless. However, the latest book by my friend Mr. Nelson Montana, titled The Bodybuilding Truth – Insider Secrets You're Not Supposed to Know, literally blew me away. And it blew away hundreds of ideas that I had accepted as truth for years about the sport of bodybuilding and exposed everything the bodybuilding marketers don't want you to know. Nelson Montana is an in your face kind of guy; he tells it like it is. A bodybuilding industry insider, Montana worked for Testosterone Magazine, but got fired because he refused to write an article touting ZMA, a fancy Zinc supplement, as the latest thing for muscle growth.
  • WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 1-2, 2006 a Newspaper with Issues

    WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 1-2, 2006 a Newspaper with Issues

    KEND EDIT EE ION W a Visit us online smdp.com Santa Monica Daily Press July 1-2, 2006 A newspaper with issues Volume 5, Issue 198 DAILY LOTTERY 20 40 46 48 54 City dons Poncho Meganumber: 27 Jackpot: $12M New 4 10 15 17 29 Meganumber: 22 Jackpot: $98M 22 26 32 33 39 court MIDDAY: 0 5 6 EVENING: 9 5 1 1st: 12 Lucky Charms 2nd: 07 Eureka ! 3rd: 11 Money Bags RACE TIME: 1.48.57 Cares Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the winning number information, mistakes can occur. In the event of any discrepancies, California State laws and California Lottery regulations will prevail. Complete game infor- mation and prize claiming instructions are available at California Lottery retail- BY KEVIN HERRERA ers. Visit the California State Lottery web site: http://www.calottery.com Daily Press Staff Writer NEWS OF THE WEIRD CITY HALL BY CHUCK SHEPARD — Adding another weapon in its fight to end homeless- The San Diego firm Allerca Inc. ness, City Hall will create a commu- announced in June that it is accepting nity court in which the down-and- advance orders (at $5,000 each) for out will be able to resolve their legal hypoallergenic cats it intends to create by cross-breeding species that lack problems while accessing services to the noxious bacteria that most cats help them climb out of a life of produce that are so dangerous to asth- poverty and addiction. matics and others. A competitor, New Elected officials are expected to York’s Transgenic Pets, is after the same result by modifying the actual unveil the pilot program Monday gene that produces the cat saliva bac- morning on the steps of City Hall, teria.
  • The Big Scoop Shawn Perine, Writer-At-Large For

    The Big Scoop Shawn Perine, Writer-At-Large For

    The Big Scoop Shawn Perine, writer-at-large for Flex magazine and creator of the informative and entertaining website, IronAge, requested a telephone interview for an upcoming article. We would set up a date for the conversation; Shawn would ask a series of exciting questions to which I would respond with equally exciting answers, all to be completed in 90 exciting minutes. Any sane person would have said, “Sure.” Not me. Instead, I sent the following letter. Dear Shawn, It’s a compliment to be interviewed and I appreciate the exposure and attention and the thought that someone might be interested in what I have to say. Truth is I’ve read too many over-the-phone taped dialogues in which I sound as provocative and enlightening and entertaining as an old plowhorse snortin’ in the barn. Try as I might, no expression or passion is conveyed without voice inflection, gestures or the use of the right words. Bright spontaneity is what you hope for and redundancy is what you get. “That’s what I said, yeah, but that’s not what I meant to say” is my agitated reaction to statements I throw out on tape. The truth hurts, I guess, and my on-the-spot articulation is for the birds. Plus, I am not fond of the phone and the anticipation of phone calls -- gives me hives, very itchy. Jeez, alright already, Bomber. With this in mind, let me mess with my keyboard instead. Hardcore muscle-builders are a strange lot. Excuse me, time to light the incense and chant..