KUCI: Get the Funk Out
Life’s a Rollercoaster Ride! Stories of Inspiration and Change
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Episodes
Monday May 15, 2017
Monday May 15, 2017
THE NIGHT SHE WON MISS AMERICA by Vanity Fair contributing editor, and former deputy editor at Town & Country and Marie Claire, Michael Callahan. The book grew out of an article Michael wrote about the real-life Betty Cooper who vanished after winning the title of Miss America.
Inspired by a true story, a young woman is swept up in the glamour and excitement of chasing the title of Miss America 1950—only to vanish the night she wins.
Betty Jane Welch reluctantly enters the Miss Delaware contest to make her mother happy, only to surprisingly find herself the judges' choice. Just like that, she's catapulted into the big time, the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City.
Luckily, her pageant-approved escort for the week is the dashing but mercurial Griffin McAllister, and she falls for him hard. But when the spirited Betty unexpectedly wins the crown and sash, she finds she may lose what she wants most: Griff's love. To keep him, she recklessly agrees to run away together. From the flashy carnival of the Boardwalk to the shadowy streets of Manhattan to a cliffside mansion in gilded Newport, the chase is on as the cops and a scrappy reporter secretly in love with the beauty queen threaten to unravel everything-and expose Griff's darkest secret.
Monday May 15, 2017
Monday May 15, 2017
Rifka Kreiter was on the front lines of the 1960s most significant moments and movements, from Civil Rights marches Mississippi with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to antiwar demonstrations in San Diego to est seminars in Manhattan. Now she's captured it all--the protests, the drugs, the journeys into meditation and more--in her new memoir, Home Free: Adventures of a Child of the Sixties
(May 16, 2017).
A captivating memoir full of her quirky personality, candid humor, and relatable recollections, her upbringing (primarily by her mother and the revolving door of "step" men in her life), relationships, and eventual inner peace speak to many women's' interests. Lots of fun Jewish cultural references as well!
An astrologer once told RIFKA KREITER that a certain planetary conjunction in her chart signifies “an unusual life, full of unexpected happenings,” and this has certainly proved true. She studied acting at New York’s High School of Performing Arts, philosophy at City College of New York, and clinical psychology at Adelphi University. She worked as a waitress, hat-check girl, and hearing researcher. She was Continuity Director at a New York radio station and Assistant Convention Manager at the Concord Resort Hotel. More recently, she tutored SAT Prep courses and was Assistant Director of Admissions at a rural community college. Since 1976, she has been following an ancient yogic path; she lived in a meditation ashram for ten years, and traveled to India three times. Rifka currently teaches meditation. At age fifty-five she met her life partner, an Upper West Side psychotherapist. They live happily together in suburban New Jersey. Learn more at RifkaKreiter.com.HOME FREE
After surviving a fraught childhood in New York and L.A., Rifka Kreiter revels in studying acting at the High School of Performing Arts and dancing the Twist at the Peppermint Lounge. Her road leads through broken love affairs and virtually all the great movements of the sixties, including civil rights marches in Mississippi, antiwar demonstrations in San Diego, and est seminars in Manhattan. On a deeper level, this is a profound quest to heal her psychic wounds and find spiritual meaning that she intuits lies beneath all the tumult of those times.
Here is an exploration of life’s deepest questions, as Rifka strives to bust free, be it with drugs, therapy or meditation. A triumphant story about a search for liberation on every level, Home Free ends with a jaw-dropping discovery—one as unexpected as it is transformational.
Monday May 15, 2017
Monday May 15, 2017
CROHN’S & COLITIS FOUNDATION HONORS
BROOKE ABBOTT, SHAWN LACY BULLEN AND ROXY SOWLATY
AT TENTH ANNUAL WOMEN OF DISTINCTION LUNCHEON
Los Angeles, CA– The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation will celebrate its 10th Annual Women of Distinction Luncheon on May 17, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Each year the foundation recognizes women who are successful in their fields and celebrate their commitment to philanthropy. The 2017 Honorees include: Brooke Abbott, creator/blogger for The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles and owner of The Crazy Creole Mommy Life, Inc; Shawn Lacy Bullen, Owner/Managing Director, Biscuit Filmworks; and Roxy Sowlaty, Beverly Hills based interior designer.
Past honorees include Jamie Lee Curtis, Mary Hart, Wendy Goldberg, Joyce Brandman, Mindy Weiss, Amy Brenneman, Judy Felsenthal, Evelyn Heyward, Linda Howard, Bobbe Joy Dawson, Barbara Herman, Lisa Greer, Tina Finkelman Berkett, and Janice Bryant Howroyd.
We are pleased to announce that Bloomingdale's Century City, last year’s fashion show presenter, has agreed to partner with us once again and present the 2017 fashion show. In addition, Sprinkles Cupcakes of Beverly Hills has generously donated cupcakes for each guest.
“Since 1967, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation has been a leader at the forefront of research in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, committed to innovation and collaboration through uniting all patients, caregivers, providers, donors, and researchers to find cures for these diseases. As a volunteer driven organization, we rely on the generous support of local people and businesses to fuel our programs. Without the sponsorship of Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills and the support of Bloomingdale’s Century City, we simply couldn’t support the 90,000 patients in our community”, said Ashley Atkins, Executive Director.
The Women of Distinction Luncheon is a highly anticipated event of the Beverly Hills social season and is attended by 500 prominently influential leaders and philanthropists in the Greater Los Angeles community. For tickets and information: (310) 478-4500 or visit bit.ly/wod2017la.
About the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
For the past 50 years, the Foundation has supported the IBD community with the goal to ultimately achieve our vision – a future free of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. One out of 200 Americans has Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (also called Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD), and 5% of all those diagnosed are under the age of 18. Proceeds from the Women of Distinction Luncheon fund cutting-edge medical research, education programs for patients and healthcare professionals, and support programs such as Camp Oasis, the foundation’s summer camp for children who suffer from IBD. More than 82 cents of every dollar received goes directly to support our mission. For more information about the foundation, visit www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org.
Media Contact
Ashley Atkins
Executive Director
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Greater Los Angeles Chapter
(323) 369-6409 aatkins@ccfa.org
Information on the 2017 Women of Distinction Luncheon Honorees:
In 2008, Brooke Abbott was diagnosed with left-sided ulcerative colitis. Though it was a mild case at diagnosis, the disease rapidly advanced over a period of four years. In 2009, Ms. Abbott traded in her film and television production notebook for a diaper bag with the birth of her son, Jaxon Lee Coltrane. While navigating through motherhood, Abbott began to tweet about her adventures with her newborn with the hashtag, #CrazyCreoleMommy. The stories behind her tweets and Facebook statuses grew larger than the allotted 140 characters and by 2011, her new life needed its own vehicle. In January 2012, The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles were born. In April 2012, Abbott was given a total colectomy after spending weeks in the hospital fighting a losing battle with her diseased colon. She was given an ostomy for five months, as a transition into receiving her JPouch. She now lives with an internal J-Pouch and her health continues to change for the better. Still without insurance, arthritis, and the inability to work as much as she could before, Abbott advocates for all those with severe and mild cases of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Abbott continues to photograph, working under the name, bonzaibaby Photography, having photographed celebrities including Holly Robinson Peete, Alfonso Riberio, Valarie Pettiford & Arthel Neville. Abbott is the creator and blogger for The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles & The HollyRod Foundation Influencer Circle. She is an advocate often representing The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation & The Digestive Disease National Coalition on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Abbott is a single mother of one son, Jax Lee Coltrane, and they currently reside in Los Angeles.
Shawn Lacy Bullen is the co-founder and managing director of Biscuit Filmworks and Biscuit UK. She grew up in Washington DC to architect parents who fostered her entrepreneurial spirit and appreciation of art. Armed with a double major in French and political science from Duke University, she ignored the advice of family friend Jay Chiat to avoid advertising altogether, and immediately moved to New York to work at Young & Rubicam. Her journey in advertising, first in New York and later in Los Angeles with HKM, led her to work with then up-and-coming director Noam Murro. The two immediately hit it off and in 2000 co-founded Biscuit Filmworks, which today represents some of the top creative talent in advertising and is one of the most awarded commercial production companies in the world. As managing director, Shawn continues to expand the company’s roster, cultivate new talent relationships and oversee the production of an acclaimed portfolio of work. Her solid creative instincts have helped build Biscuit’s reputation for fostering and growing talent from within, and serving as a trusted partner for top advertising agencies around the world to deliver standout commercial projects. A consummate multi-tasker, Shawn is also the proud mother of four children, one in college, one in high school, and twin first graders. Her son Jett was diagnosed with Crohn’s in 2013, and she then became involved in the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation to help raise awareness and funding for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Roxy Sowlaty is a Beverly Hills native that has been working in design since the age of 16, when she started a clothing line with her sister Tara called RoxTar. Upon earning her undergraduate degree from USC’s Marshall School of Business, she decided to re-focus her design interests from fashion to interiors. She enrolled at Parsons New School of Design to obtain her masters degree in interior design. During this time in New York, she freelanced on a number of residential projects in Manhattan, as well as a home in Aspen – which certainly confirmed her love for interior design! Now back in California, she has opened her own interior design firm specializing in high end residential projects and is simultaneously launching an online 'do-it-yourself' interior design website and home goods product line. She had a stint on one of E!’s top hit shows for three seasons, displaying her entrepreneurial spirit in getting her line off the ground. It is with deep gratitude that Sowlaty is involved with such a high honor, as both her father and sister are affected by Crohn’s disease. She is determined to use her voice to make a difference and shed light on this otherwise very difficult subject matter.
Tuesday May 09, 2017
Tuesday May 09, 2017
Monday May 08, 2017
Monday May 08, 2017
Huw Lewis-Jones is a historian and author who travels regularly to the Arctic and Antarctica as a polar guide. Kari Herbert has written several books on exploration and is the daughter of polar explorer Sir Wally Herbert. Huw and Kari are married and live by the sea in Cornwall, England.
In the great vein of the explorer travel journal, EXPLORERS’ SKETCHBOOKS collects and displays the beautiful thoughts and drawings of travelers dating back to the 17th century.
The sketchbook has been the one constant in explorers' kits for centuries of adventure. Often private, they are records of immediate experiences and discoveries, and in their pages we can see what the explorers themselves encountered. This remarkable book showcases 70 such sketchbooks, kept by intrepid men and women as they journeyed perilous and unknown environments—frozen wastelands, high mountains, barren deserts, and dense rainforests—with their senses wide open. Figures such as Charles Darwin and Sir Edmund Hillary are joined here by lesser-known explorers such as Adela Breton, who braved the jungles of Mexico to make a record of Mayan monuments. Here are profiles, expedition details, and the artwork of pioneering explorers and mapmakers, botanists and artists, ecologists and anthropologists, eccentrics and visionaries. Here is the art of discovery.
Monday May 08, 2017
Monday May 08, 2017
Donna was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "a novelist to keep high on your reading list" thanks to her previous novels (Extraordinary Means and California Street), and now she's about to release a gorgeous, gripping novel about a mother who faces increasing hostility and an uncertain future when her son Jack, a young boy with Asperger's, is accused of killing a classmate, There’s More Than One Way Home.
Read more about her latest book here!
“Intriguing and gut-wrenching…reminiscent of Liane Moriarty...A witty, modern voice delivers a captivating tale about a mysterious death that feels like a light read but soon submerges the reader deep in the throes of substance.” -Kirkus
ABOUT DONNA'S BOOK
Image may contain: 1 person, textThere’s More Than One Way Home: Anna Kagen seems to have it all: She’s young, beautiful, and married to a wealthy, prominent man. But within the walls of her San Francisco mansion, she spends her time dodging her husband’s barbs and hunting down potential friends for her son, Jack, a 10-year-old on the autistic spectrum. That old life suddenly seems idyllic when, on a school field trip, she makes the small error in judgment that sets in motion a chain of events that leads to another boy’s death. Suddenly Jack is a suspect, her husband’s career is in jeopardy, and Anna has to choose between loyalty to her son…and what may be her one chance at happiness.
ABOUT DONNA
Donna taught fiction writing for two decades, most notably at the University of California Extension at Berkeley, where she led the Novel-Writing Workshop. Her first novel, Extraordinary Means (William Morrow), was celebrated by Kirkus as a “a witty, clear-eyed debut,” and the San Francisco Chronicle described it as “an extraordinarily lively, funny novel.” The Los Angeles Times called her second novel, California Street (Simon & Schuster) “inventive…thought-provoking and fun to read,” and The San Francisco Examiner called it “a lifeboat in a sea of featureless fiction.” Both of Donna’s novels were optioned for film. Donna taught fiction writing for two decades, most notably at the University of California Extension at Berkeley. She lives in San Francisco.
Donna published her first novel, Extraordinary Means, with William Morrow. Kirkus called it “a witty, clear-eyed debut,” and the San Francisco Chronicle described it as “an
extraordinarily lively, funny novel.”
Her second novel, California Street, was published by Simon & Schuster. Digby Diehl
wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “This is an inventive novel that is thought-provoking and fun to read, and Levin … is a novelist to keep high on your reading list.” The San Francisco Examiner called it “a lifeboat in a sea of featureless fiction.” Both of Donna’s novels were optioned for film.
Donna has published two books about writing,Get that Novel Started and Get that Novel Written, both with Writer’s Digest Books. Get that Novel Written was translated into Italian and published by Dino Audino Editore.
Donna taught fiction writing for two decades, most notably at the University of California Extension at Berkeley, where she led the Novel-Writing Workshop. Many of her students have gone on to publish, including Frank Baldwin (Balling the Jack and Jake and Mimi), Terry Gamble (Water Dancers and Good Family), and Mark Coggins, author of the August Riordan mysteries. She has also been a frequent guest at writers’ conferences, including the San Francisco Writers’ Conference and the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. For many years she was a freelance book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle and a columnist for the San Francisco Independent.
Donna’s work is included in Boston University’s 20th Century Archives and in the California State Library’s collection of California novels.
She lives in San Francisco.
About the Publisher: Chickadee Prince Books is a young Brooklyn small publisher of acclaimed fiction and non-fiction. CPB publishes the Watt O’Hugh literary science fiction series, and in 2016 published the critical hit, Max’s Diamonds by Jay Greenfield. CPB will publish five new titles in Spring 2017.
http://www.donnalevin.com/
Monday May 08, 2017
Monday May 08, 2017
For almost a quarter century working in the music industry, Marie wondered what it is that happens to perfectly ordinary people when attending blues concerts. Emotions drift across faces like migratory clouds moving across a sunny sky, toes tap and bodies start to sway. Looking at blues audiences from the stage, is to bear witness to displays of ever-changing life-affirming panhuman expressions of elation, joy, wonder, release, vulnerability, immersion, sadness and grief. When lost in blues music, the straight-faced watchfulness, otherwise customary in social situations, lessens. Marie muses:
– I have always been curious in how music, and particularly blues music, somehow transforms us in subtle, but pervasive ways: how it can lift moods and just make us feel comforted: enveloped, interconnected, and that it is OK to just be.
It was natural for her, therefore, to use this curiosity as driving force in approaching her PhD research: She embarked on a Grounded Theory study of what contemporary (mainly white and middle-aged) blues fans get out of their love affair with the genre today. Combined academic findings highlighted and illustrated by story-telling find expression in her book: The Blues – Why it Still Hurts so Good.
Born in Århus, Denmark in 1962, growing up Marie often felt alone and that she was “a bit of a strange bird.” She decided early on that instead of trying to fit in, she would rather fight to figure things out on her own terms. She wanted to be an author, but couldn’t figure out how.
Torn between interest in psychology and love of learning, she settled on a BA in Education, which she completed in 1989. During her studies, she managed a night club, did band PR, and owned and operated an advertising sales company. By the end of 1990 (with friends and family questioning her judgment), she packed up and left her business to follow her heart. She was in love, and moved to Southern California with Walter Trout: an internationally touring (but penniless) blues rock guitarist, singer, song-writer, who had recently gone solo after a steady career as a sideman with five years each in Canned Heat and John Mayall’s band, the Bluesbreakers.
Shortly after landing on American soil, Marie started working as part of Walter’s touring crew, a position that gave her access to business elements of Walter’s career. Although he had a Top Ten hit in the Netherlands and was voted the sixth best guitarist in BBC’s 1993 Listener’s Poll, financial success did not follow the accolades. Marie gradually discovered that there were many irregularities with regard to management of Walter’s business, explaining why financial success seemed far off. Eventually, she had collected enough evidence: Walter was being robbed blind by people he trusted to run his business affairs for him.
After Walter and Marie’s first child was born in 1993, Marie took over as Walter’s manager, a position she still fills today. In 1996, after giving birth to their second son, she also took over as Walter’s agent in Europe. A third son followed in 2001. Marie enjoyed being active in business, but also being able to bring the children on tour, and at other times work from her home office providing continuity when Walter was on the road, and the children needed to be in school.
In 2012, she completed her MA along with being certified in Life Coaching. In 2015, she completed her PhD in Wisdom Studies, which allowed many components of Marie’s work, observations, and professional pursuits to come together. She credits her Major Advisor, Mark Ryan, a 20-year Dean at Yale University with providing structure and encouragement to finish her studies when her life fell apart in 2013. Walter was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease.
In 2014, Walter came close to death repeatedly. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to improve odds of Walter receiving a liver transplant Marie brought Walter to Nebraska for six months, leaving two still-at-home middle-and high school children with a caregiver in California. A steady support from Walter’s fans made the move financially (and emotionally) possible, and Marie is adamant that his survival was a community effort. During Walter’s illness, and after he recovered, she has advocated organ donation, appearing on several radio as well as TV news and talk-shows. This commitment continues in support of Donate Life campaigns, and Walter and Marie jointly serve as protectors for the Danish organization, Organdonation – Ja Tak.
Marie and Walter are determined to give back. All proceeds from The Blues – Why it Still Hurts so Good, will benefit the HART fund, which helps provide medical care for musicians facing a broad range of health concerns. Marie is no stranger to uncertainty, pain, and worry:
– I know what it is like to live the blues. Nobody is immune to suffering no matter how much they seek to insure and protect themselves. Like lightning from clear sky, our lives change and we are powerless to change it back. Nobody can avoid hardship and pain, but we can dare to reach out, and walk through it together with those who respond. I have walked through my blues for now and am constantly reminded to take nothing for granted. When I look around our world, I realize that by comparison, Walter and I have been fortunate. Walter is once again healthy and on the road with his awesome band, and I am once again busy managing his career. With a book coming out, and another one brewing in my head, I feel connected to, and in tune with, my life’s purpose. I am grateful.
http://www.marietrout.com/home/
Wednesday Apr 26, 2017
Wednesday Apr 26, 2017
ANNABELLE GURWITCH
The actress and bestselling author shares a hilarious new collection of essays about family in Wherever You Go, There They Are
When Annabelle Gurwitch (best recognized as the co-host of TBS’s Dinner & a Movie, among many other roles) was a child, surrounded by a cast of epically dysfunctional relatives, she secretly prayed that it was all a terrible mistake. A family of bootleggers, gamblers, and philanderers, the Gurwitches have always been a bit vague on the standard ideal of a loving and supportive family. Their definition includes people you can count on to borrow money from, hold a grudge against, or blackmail. One day, unfortunately, Gurwitch woke up to realize that she'd made pretty much the same mistakes as everyone else before her--just in a new zip code. Wherever she went, there they were.
Annabelle Gurwitch discusses (in her hilarious way):
· her southern Jewish roots
· her flirtation with surrogate families, including theater folk, pet people, a UFO cult, the sisterhood, and the ladies who brunch at Tel Aviv Gardens Retirement Home in Miami, FL
· that, for better or worse, it's worth celebrating the traditions, rituals, and recipes that come with a shared mythology and legacy (even if her own inheritance amounts to a small plot of land split between five relatives on an ill-fated sliver of sand known as Massacre Island.)
· the spectacularly daunting search for the community where her aging parents will spend the last chapter of their lives.
Both hysterically funny and moving, Gurwitch shares the importance and insanity of family for anyone who's even occasionally been frustrated by the people they share carbohydrate-laden meals with every year.
About the Author
Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress and the author I See You Made an Effort (a New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist); You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (coauthored with Jeff Kahn), and Fired! also a Showtime Comedy Special. Gurwitch gained a loyal following during her stint cohosting Dinner & a Movie on TBS and years as a regular commentator on NPR. She’s written for the New Yorker, the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Hollywood Reporter. Gurwitch was the new anchor on HBO's Not Necessarily the News and hosted WA$TED on Planet Green network. Her acting credits include: Seinfeld, Boston Legal, Dexter, Melvin Goes to Dinner. A veteran of many lauded and even more misguided theatrical productions, she regularly performs at arts centers around the country. Annabelle is a Jewish mother, a reluctant atheist, and an ardent environmentalist. She is empty-nesting in Los Angeles. www.annabellegurwitch.com
Wednesday Apr 26, 2017
Wednesday Apr 26, 2017
At a time when we are constantly being asked to retrain ourselves to adapt to new technologies and changing industries, Dr. Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., shows us how we can uncover talents we didn’t realize we had—no matter what our age or background. Oakley has an eclectic resume, from waitress to Army officer, Russian translator to radio operator, and most recently professor of engineering and author of New York Times bestseller, A Mind for Numbers. Alongside legendary neuroscientist Terrence Sejnowski, she has also taught the world’s most popular massive open online course (MOOC), “Learning How to Learn” for Coursera/UC San Diego, reaching over 2 million people in just the past two years. Now, in her new book Mindshift, she draws upon her own experiences and the latest in neuroscience research to move past simplistic ideas of “aptitude” and “ability” and turn perceived weaknesses into strengths.
Dr. Oakley discusses:
· “Bad” traits, such as a poor memory, come with hidden advantages—like increased creativity
· Even the world’s most brilliant scientists can be forced to hit career reset buttons and what they do about it
· “Career catastrophes,” such as being laid off, often lead to incredible learning and new experiences
· Being “not too smart” can turn out to be a huge asset when learning tough topics.
People may feel like they’re at a disadvantage if they pursue a new field later in life; yet those who change careers can bring valuable insights from one discipline to another. Our biggest stumbling blocks can be our own preconceptions, but with the right mental insights, we can tap into hidden potential and create new opportunities.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
BARBARA OAKLEY, PH.D., is a professor of engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan; a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, San Diego; and Coursera’s inaugural “Innovation Instructor.” Her research involves bioengineering with a focus on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. Together with Terrence Sejnowski, the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute, she co-teaches Coursera’s “Learning How to Learn,” the world’s most popular massive open online course. Dr. Oakley has received many awards for her teaching, including the American Society of Engineering Education’s Chester F. Carlson Award for technical innovation in education and the National Science Foundation New Century Scholar Award. She is the author of seven other books, including the New York Times-bestselling A Mind For Numbers. Learn more at BarbaraOakley.com.