WEEK 1 SCORES: Winner: Adam Stryer (+10, 47 points) +10: Robert Scheiperpeter, Stephen Messer, James Ryan +9: Carla Galias, Jim McArthur +8: Sally Jacobsmeyer, Sam Swartz, Julie Elder, K.C. Douglass +7: Andrew Rhames, Richard Olsen, Charles Ryan, Brett Elder, Bill Elder, Doris Gustafson, Drew Daniele +6: Don Galias +4: Aaron Heisen, Donna Pekar, Charles Carr +3: Daniel Roth Sports Editor Steve Galluzzo: +9 Managing Editor Bill Bruns: +6 Note: Overall standings will be updated week by week, starting with the results from this Thursday’s contest.
Dolphins Make Strides in Scrimmage
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
It was merely a practice game, but the way Palisades High football players approached last Friday’s scrimmage against Kilpatrick one would think the Western League title was on the line. The spirited contest was more than a dress rehearsal for Friday’s season opener–it was a measuring stick that head coach Perry Jones and his staff can use to evaluate where the Dolphins are at–and where they need to be come kickoff tomorrow. “Overall, I’m okay with how we did,” Jones said. “I was impressed with our speed on defense. We ran and hit and played physical with those guys, which is what I wanted to see.” Each team got to run four sets of 12 plays each, starting at its own 40-yard line. Once inside the opponents’ 25, the game is played out until the offense either scores or runs out of downs. Kilpatrick got the ball first and proceeded to march 60 yards in 13 plays, scoring on a 2-yard run. Palisades needed just four plays to answer as senior running back Hakeem Jawanza took a pitch around left end for a 42-yard touchdown. Then, Branden Sanett capped a 10-play march with a 6-yard quarterback keeper to put the Dolphins on top. Senior cornerback Lawrence Villasenor intercepted a pass on Kilpatrick’s next series. Wide receiver Kevin Mann caught an over-the-shoulder catch from Nathan Dodson along the sideline, setting up a score by junior running back Willie Anderson, who rolled an ankle in Palisades’ third set of plays and was taken to the hospital by paramedics. “Willie had surgery Saturday and he’s doing okay, but he’s done for the year,” Jones said. “He fractured a bone in his foot and had ligament and muscle tears. It’s unfortunate because he’s such a great kid.” When play resumed, senior running back Malcolm Creer scored on a 6-yard run as Palisades outgained the Mustangs by a significant margin and won the scrimmage, four scores to two. Coach Ray Marsden was pleased with the play of his frosh/soph squad, which outscored the black-clad visitors three touchdowns to one despite playing without top receiver Jack Jordan. Sema’j Harris scored on a 44-yard run, Tyler Hildreth caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Elijah Thomas and Rico Bircher returned an interception 70 yards for another score. “These guys love hitting,” Marsden said. “I’m still concerned about our depth, but this gives us a good indication of where we can improve.”
Learning About the ‘Global’ Game
My Experience as a Working Sports Journalist
By ELANA HUTTER Special to the Palisadian-Post In 2008, a year after graduating from UC Berkeley, I moved to Barcelona, Spain where I had spent a semester abroad during college. While there to learn the Spanish language, I quickly fell in love with the country’s favorite past time, f’tbol. I spent numerous games in the bleachers at the top of Camp Nou, the soccer stadium in Barcelona. This summer, however, I had a field pass at the Rose Bowl when the Real Madrid soccer team came to Los Angeles to play a soccer exhibition against the Galaxy. Working towards my goal of hosting a philanthropy driven sports travel show, I started studying broadcasting at UCLA Extension and Santa Monica College. Entering the world of sports reporting takes more than a golden ticket these days. Networking, persistence, and talent are necessary, but what about the added difficulty of breaking into a male dominated profession? I was granted media credentials for Real Madrid’s training sessions at UCLA based on my being a broadcasting student with the boldness to call myself “press.” I attended a press conference with Jose Mourinho, said to be one of the best soccer coaches in the world. The press room had a long table set with microphones, photographers on their knees in the front, chairs in rows filled with writers from well known magazines like Sports Illustrated to small sports blogs, and video cameras lined the back walls. The writers all seemed to have known each other for years, chatting, comfortably and casually. With this exclusive access, I initiated conversation with my “colleagues.” Their well-known company names were less intimidating to me once we were joking around, or when Mourinho referred to ESPN Los Angeles soccer reporter Scott French as “Steven Spielberg” for his silver beard and moustache combo look. I did notice, however, that I was one of the few women attending the conference. The next night at the Rose Bowl, I made the point of checking the list of the press seat assignments and counted only eight women out of 55 radio and print media covering the game. Was this merely because it was a sporting event involving two men’s teams? I know women are interested in sports reporting, so are we not encouraged to enter what appears to be the “old boys network?” I was fortunate enough to spend time with a European reporter who explained to me the ins and outs of the job. He commented on the contrast between journalists in London and those he met in Los Angeles. In London, he observes a cooler and openly competitive nature amongst writers, while in the U.S. there is a friendlier, more inclusive rapport. Disturbingly, he also mentioned how difficult it is for women in the United Kingdom to be sports reporters. He admitted that harsh rumors are often spread about the female reporters who secure key interviews. Part of the draw of this event for me was the opportunity to speak in Spanish. Almost everyone in the press, and those working with the teams, was bilingual and appreciated my efforts to converse in Spanish. I went from having a press box pass, to having a field pass. This meant I was about four feet away from the players at the start of the game and taking photos of Cristiano Ronaldo smiling into my camera. Throughout the day, I found that my assertiveness, curiosity and a smile, took me far in my first experience as a reporter. During the game I stood behind the goals with all the other photographers. Note to self, next time wear better shoes for standing with heavy equipment for so long. My camera lens is not sufficient for sports photography. “This one may work better for you,” joked the Associated Press photographer next to me, as he offered me his large Canon zoom lens. I picked his brain about cameras, past experiences, and tips on getting into the business. Then I raised the issue of being one of the only female sports photographers present. I explained that people have been so helpful with me at the game, and he admitted that he had never let anyone borrow a lens before. I do not know if this was simply my experience and I happened to meet very generous individuals, or if perhaps these men simply do not see women as threatening competition. Either way, it is possible for women to break into this male-dominated field. Though once in the door, everyone’s work speaks for itself. After the game, players passed by a “press mixer” on the way to their team bus. All the press was invited, so this was when the print and radio media got the opportunity to question the passing players. Not every player stopped for an interview and not all of the journalists’ questions were answered. However, Pepe, a Portuguese Real Madrid player was one of the last to leave the locker rooms. He was rushing to the bus and he passed up all the reporters trying to secure interviews with him. He had also just injured himself during the game. I called his name, and he seemed to recognize me from taking photos of him on the field, perhaps because I was one of the few females. We had a quick back and forth in the little Portuguese I speak, then I thanked him and he left. I was the only reporter he stopped to speak with, which was both exciting and encouraging. Sports reporting is a dream job, but it is a very competitive and demanding business. These are talented individuals who have so much love and passion for sports, for their jobs, and for writing and broadcasting. They have quick deadlines and demanding followers. I merely want other women not to feel intimidated in this male-dominated environment. It is all about getting a foot in the door and maximizing on opportunities. (Editor’s note: Elana Hutter graduated from Palisades High in 2003. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley, majoring in International Civil Rights and Social Movements, she moved to Barcelona, Spain, in 2008 and is now back in the Palisades. She is currently a Jeremiah Fellow, focused on social justice organizing.)
Pali Football Season Kicks Off Friday
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Coach Perry Jones said there are no “free lunches” for the Palisades High football team this season. Every game is a challenge–starting with tomorrow night’s opener against Woodland Hills El Camino Real, which reached the City Section Division II finals last year. “They played [Newhall Hart] last Friday night and they are really big and really strong,” Jones said. “We definitely have our hands full. The key for us will be to control the ball on offense and keep their running back off the field because he’s capable of breaking a big run at any time.” El Camino Real’s Wing-T offense is led by Kawan Rally, who rushed for nearly 1,100 yards and scored 14 touchdowns as a sophomore last season. The Dolphins may not be able to completely shut down the Conquistadores’ running game, but containing in it is a must if they hope to emerge victorious. “Their offensive line is huge, so we’re going to have to come off the ball quick and tackle well,” Jones said. “If they score, we at least want to make them have to drive the length of the field. On defense, they like to attack and try to get the quarterback to speed up his throws.” Although El Camino Real lost its opener 21-7, it will come into Friday’s contest with a game under its belt, unlike the Dolphins. Jones, however, said Palisades’ scrimmage with Kilpatrick will better help his team deal with “first-game” jitters. “We ran 53 plays in our scrimmage, which is probably more plays than ECR had on offense all night,” said Jones, who scouted the game with fellow coaches. “They only attempted three passes but the bottom line is that team plays hard. The offensive and defensive lines are their strength.” In an effort to restore pride in the football program–the kind of pride that generated so much excitement back when he was a student there in the 1970s–Russ Howard, Palisades High’s assistant principal in charge of athletics, and the Quarterback Club have organized a “Football Fest” in the quad from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., leading up to the frosh/soph kickoff at 4 and the varsity kickoff at 7 p.m. under the lights at Stadium by the Sea. The PaliHi Marching Band will perform at 3 and again at 5:30 and varsity players will be on hand to meet and greet fans from 4 to 4:15. Volunteers are welcome for the dunk tank and discounted pre-sale tickets can be purchased. Week 1 Palisades (0-0) vs. El Camino Real (0-1) Friday @ Stadium by the Sea F/S Kickoff at 4 p.m. / Varsity at 7 p.m.
Greenfeld to Discuss Growing Up with an Autistic Sibling
Karl Greenfeld and L.A. Times and NPR film critic Kenneth Turan will conduct a conversation on Greenfeld’s latest book, ‘Boy Alone: A Brother’s Memoir,’ on Friday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore. In his book, Greenfield, a magazine journalist, and author of ‘China Syndrome,’ tells the story of his life growing up with his brother and chronicling the hopes, dreams and realities of life with an autistic sibling. Greenfeld, who has returned to live in Pacific Palisades, knew from an early age that his little brother, Noah, was different from other children. He was unable to talk or tie his shoes, and while sweet natured, was prone to violent outbursts. Specialists, doctors and social workers diagnosed Noah with the general description: autism. His parents, Josh and Fuomi, dedicated their lives to caring for Noah, which proved to be a challenging, often painful experience, which Josh detailed in a bestselling trilogy of books, starting with ‘ A Child Called Noah.’ ‘Boy Alone’ reveals the complexity of growing up in Noah’s shadow, revealing the mix of rage, confusion and love that define the author’s childhood. Greenfeld graduated from Palisades High School (1982) and Sarah Lawrence College. He lived in Paris and New York City for two years, trying to establish himself as a freelance journalist. He has been an editor and writer for Time and Sports Illustrated and is the author of two previous books about Asia, ‘Speed Tribes’ and ‘Standard Deviations.’ He lives with his wife, Silka, and children Esmee, 11, and Lola, 8.
Historian Rosenstone’s Novel Sets Muslim-Jewish Romance
Historian and novelist Robert Rosenstone will debut his new novel ‘Red Star, Crescent Moon: A Muslim-Jewish Love Story,’ with a reading on Saturday, September 11, from 4 to 6 p.m. at his home in Pacific Palisades. The reading will take place at 5 p.m. The novel is set in Spain against the vibrant and colorful background of a women’s film festival, the seductive activities of a movie star, and the actions of terrorists who wish to reclaim that country for Islam. Told in multiple voices, the novel confronts some of the major cultural and political dilemmas of our time, creating a world of characters caught in webs of historical misunderstanding. Embedded within the story is a meditation on the meaning of the past, how we depict and remember it, how our histories shape us, how traditions at once create and limit our identities and our feelings for other human beings and cultures. Accompanying the reading will be a photographic exhibition, ‘Pilgrimage in Al Andalus,’ by Rosenstone’s wife, Nahid Massoud, who provides a visual recollection of her husband’s research for the book in Andalucia, Spain. Rosenstone is a professor of history at Caltech and the author of a dozen books of history, criticism, memoir and fiction. Massoud, a native of Kabul, Afghanistan, came to America on a student visa in 1977 and was given political asylum in the U.S. after the Soviet invasion endangered her family, all of whom later escaped to the U.S. She directs Sharq, an art space at her home devoted to contemporary works by artists from the Middle and Far East. Please RSVP by visiting sharqart@verizon.net or calling (310) 454-6826. Rosenstone will also read and sign ‘Red Star, Crescent Moon’ on Thursday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore Ave.
Greenfield’s Focus Is on Us
Long before ‘mean girls’ became part of the popular lexicon and Paris Hilton had exhausted her 15 minutes, photographer and documentary filmmaker Lauren Greenfield was focused on the peculiarities of modern-day youth culture. In 1997, she published her first book, ‘Fast Forward,’ an award-winning collection of photographs documenting the fast-track trajectory of kids growing up in Los Angeles under the inescapable influence of Hollywood. Five years later, she released ‘Girl Culture,’ probing even more deeply into the subject of self-image and the often detrimental sway of popular culture, this time exclusively as it related to females in cities everywhere in the U.S. Prints from both these series are in the current J. Paul Getty Museum exhibition ‘Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography Since the Sixties,’ on view through November 14. Many of the photographs in this major exhibition, from Philip Jones Griffiths’ 1971 ‘Vietnam, Inc.’ series to Sebasti’o Salgado’s enormous ‘Migrations: Humanity in Transition’ project, bear witness to faraway places, with unsettling close-ups of war and poverty. ’Lauren Greenfield turns the lens back onto us,’ says Brett Abbott, associate curator of photographs at the Getty, who consciously chose the first gallery to display the ‘we are they’ quality of her photos. ‘This is a subject people can relate to immediately.’ Because visitors enter and exit through this first gallery, Abbott hopes the route encourages them to consider how Greenfield’s work fits into the larger tradition of documentary photography. It’s no accident, for instance, that selected images from Mary Ellen Mark’s famous 1988 ‘Streetwise’ series, an unflinching look at runaways in Seattle, hang nearby. Like Mark’s groundbreaking work, Greenfield’s sociological study of adolescent culture is at once fearless and intimate, harsh and poetic. Thirteen-year-old blondes preen precociously in the mirror while applying makeup before attending their seventh-grade party in Edina, Minnesota, leaving little doubt about their fierce social ambition. A three-year-old in a tutu lounges comfortably on a couch in Barney’s shoe department in Beverly Hills, as if daydreaming about all the material goods in her future. A young girl sits passively next to a pool at a Fourth of July party, the post-operative bandage on her nose looming almost as large as the balloons surrounding her. Another girl appears in profile in the foreground’are we to notice her ‘perfect’ nose? The vivid hues in these photographs contrast sharply with the colorless tone in another picture that depicts a woman being weighed at an eating-disorders clinic in Coconut Creek, Florida. So distraught by the idea of any gain, she mounts the scale backward, giving us full access to her apprehensive face. At a weight-loss clinic in the Catskills, the soulful eyes of a 15-year-old gaze into the camera with the mystique of a modern-day Mona Lisa, despite the ironic presence of the word ‘Sugar’ emblazoned on her T-shirt. Though the subject matter may seem disparate, all the photos speak to the influence of popular culture on how we live, and the extremes that girls will go to meet the expectations of our consumer society. Having grown up in Los Angeles, the 44-year-old Greenfield, who attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, knows these tendencies firsthand. ’I was’thinking about my chronic teenage dieting, my gravitation toward good-looking and thin friends for as long as I can remember, and the importance of clothes and status symbols in the highly materialistic, image-oriented Los Angeles milieu in which I grew up,’ she wrote in an introductory essay for ‘Girl Culture.’ Elsewhere in the essay she elaborates: ‘Understanding the dialectic between the extreme and the mainstream’the anorexic and the dieter, the stripper and the teenager who bares her midriff or wears a thong’is essential to understanding contemporary female identity.’ Greenfield graduated from Harvard in 1987 with a degree in visual studies and anthropology. She began her career as an intern for National Geographic, photographing assignments abroad. ’I drew a lot from that experience,’ she said during a recent phone interview from her home in Venice, where she lives with her husband and two sons. ‘I learned how to use photography to tell a story, not just as a way to illustrate a writer’s story.’ She also learned that looking at the exotic was not her thing in terms of subject matter. ‘I’m influenced very much by people like Robert Frank and Garry Winogrand, photographers who could make us see things anew by focusing on the everyday world.’ The everydayness Greenfield sought out was in Los Angeles, where she returned in 1992 to document the world she was brought up in. ‘People mistook the ‘Fast Forward’ series as an indictment of Los Angeles,’ she said. ‘It was never meant to be that, although L.A. is the bellwether of popular culture.’ She points out how the things that were controversial about her Hollywood project at the time wouldn’t be at all today. ‘These days, there’s a lack of self-consciousness about money and consumption,’ said Greenfield. ‘That is a cultural shift. People weren’t talking about things like that then.’ As the title of the exhibition ‘Engaged Observers’ suggests, Greenfield said she possesses no pretense about objectivity in her work. This is particularly true as it relates to ‘Thin,’ her third landmark photo series that evolved into a full-length documentary film she directed in 2006. ‘I had intense and close relationships with these women; trust was very important,’ Greenfield said of the experience documenting how obsession with body image leads to mental illness. In her most recent documentary, ‘kids + money,’ Greenfield returns to a familiar theme. The award-winning 2008 film examines the spending habits of Los Angeles teenagers from all walks of life, including interviews with teens in Pacific Palisades. The film will be screened in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at The Getty Center on Sunday, September 6 at 1 p.m., followed by a presentation and Q&A with Lauren Greenfield. The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Dr. in Brentwood. Parking is $15. Contact: (310) 440-7300 or visit www.getty.edu.
Thursday, September 2 – Thursday, September 9
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
UCLA law professor Paul Bergman discusses and signs ‘Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. Bergman’s book goes behind the scenes of nearly 70 riveting courtroom movie dramas and comedies to demonstrate how directors make the legal system accessible to moviegoers. He will show a few clips from films that ‘Reel Justice’ discusses, and read brief excerpts relating to those movies.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Sam Wasson discusses and signs his nationally reviewed ‘Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.,’ subtitled ‘Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Dawn of the Modern Woman,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. This first complete account of the making of the 1961 movie ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ reveals little-known facts about the cinema classic: Truman Capote desperately wanted Marilyn Monroe for the leading role; director Blake Edwards filmed multiple endings; Hepburn herself felt very conflicted about balancing the roles of mother and movie star. (See story, page 4.) Opening night for ‘The Haunting of Hill House,’ Shirley Jackson’s novel adapted for the stage, a Theatre Palisades production, starting at 8 p.m. in Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. Produced by Theatre Palisades, the play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through October 10. For tickets, call (310) 454-1971.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
The Pacific Palisades Republican Club holds a Meet and Greet for Chuck Wilkerson, Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, 7:30 p.m. at its local headquarters, 1030 Swarthmore.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Palisadian Lester Wood, a docent at Will Rogers State Historic Park, will talk about Will Rogers at the monthly meeting of the Palisades AARP chapter, 2 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. Refreshments are served; the public is invited.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Palisades Beautiful holds its monthly meeting, 3 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. Residents are invited to join in a discussion about this fall’s planting of residential parkway trees in the community. Palisadian Karl Greenfeld and L.A Times/NPR film critic Kenneth Turan in conversation on ‘Boy Alone: A Brother’s Memoir,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. In this literary tour de force, the acclaimed journalist and author of ‘China Syndrome’ tells the story of his life growing up with his brother in Pacific Palisades, chronicling the hopes, dreams and realities of life with an autistic sibling. (See story, page 10.)
Services Friday for Francis Sean Byrne
Francis Sean Byrne, a 53-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away on August 29 at the age of 93. Sean enjoyed a 30-year teaching career with the Los Angeles Unified School District, while his wife Kathleen taught at both Marquez and Palisades Elementary schools. He was a proud member of Riviera Masonic Lodge 780, American Legion Post 283 and the Disabled Veterans of America. In addition to his loving wife of 56 years, Sean is survived by his daughters, Regan Byrne Hamblen and Stacie Gibbs, and his beloved grandchildren, Morgan, Luke, Connor, Skylar and Paris, who were inspired by his passion for life. A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 3, at 10 a.m. at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, corner of Sunset and Carey. (A complete obituary and a photograph will appear in next week’s Palisadian-Post.)
Peter Schoettler, 44; Musician and Scholar
Peter Carl Schoettler, a musician, scholar and law student who lived in Pacific Palisades, died peacefully at Cedars-Sinai Hospital on August 20, after a four-year battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 44. Born July 31, 1966, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Peter had been a professional musician for 25 years, playing French horn mainly in the New York City area. He held degrees in music from the Juilliard School and a Ph.D. from New York University. An outstanding and versatile musician, Peter excelled both in the classical music world and on Broadway; he also transcribed the Renaissance madrigals of Carlo Gesualdo for brass quintet (for his doctoral dissertation). Peter was currently attending Southwestern Law School with the goal of becoming a tax lawyer. He brought the same talent and passion to his new career, earning a full scholarship for his studies and becoming president of the Tax Law Society and organizer of Southwestern’s VITA program. He was a member of the Law Review and received a summer clerkship offer from the prestigious law firm, Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton. Peter was loved by everyone he met and was visited in his final days by friends whom he had made in childhood and while in school at Juilliard, as well as current friends and teachers from Southwestern. He was a loving husband to his wife, Nina Evtuhov; a devoted son to his mother, Eugenia Volz; and a joyful father to his daughters Alexandra (Sasha), 6, and Clara, 4. He will be greatly missed by all. In lieu of flowers, a check can be made out to Alexandra or Clara Schoettler and sent to P.O. Box 131, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272, for use in their education fund.
