Howard Bingham, Legendary Photographer of Muhammad Ali, Dies At 77

On June 12, 1994, when O.J. Simpson left LAX. for Chicago shortly before midnight and roughly 90 minutes after Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were killed, storied photographer Howard Bingham was on the same flight. At Simpson’s fiery trial he was called to testify as to Simpson's demeanor

Naturally, Bingham was the only witness both defense and prosecution liked.

Johnnie Cochran, approaching the witness: “Are you a world-renowned photographer?”

Bingham: “The world's greatest.”

Cochran: “So, we’re clear about that.”

Later, on cross-examination, when Marcia Clark made a passing reference to Bingham as an outstanding photographer, Judge Lance Ito interrupted: “Uh, the world’s greatest.”

Bingham: “You’re a smart man, judge.”

Howard Bingham died Thursday, Dec. 15 at the age of 77.

"Howard, one of the kindest people I've known, used that kindness to win friends around the globe and help mankind by using his lens to reveal humanity in its stark, unblemished beauty." said Tim Watkins of the Watt Labor Community Action Committee who knew Bingham for over 50 years. "He photographed the greatest of greats yet never lost his connection and love for Watts where his family settled many decades ago.".

Bingham was a photographer for the African American newspaper Los Angeles Sentinel in 1962 when he was assigned to cover a professional fight by an up-an-coming young boxer named Cassius Clay. 

The rest, as has often been said, is history.

One of the great phone calls of my life came from Howard. I was at my desk at the Los Angeles Times after having covered Muhammad Ali coming to Watts in 1996 or '97..

The phone rang. I picked up.

"This is Howard Bingham. The Champ wants to talk to you."

Photograph By Famed Journalist Hacked Then Posted By Award-Winning Pastry Chef, Tillerson Demands Investigation

A landmark photograph depicting morning gelato-making taken by famed journalist Michael Krikorian was hacked and then posted on Instagram by Dahlia Narvaez, the James Beard Award-winning pastry chef of Mozza, authorities said Wednesday.

The photograph, which shows Joycelyn Martinez mixing a 9 a.m. batch of Cookies 'n Cream gelato as chef Nancy Silverton samples some, could have garnered the crime reporter the exclusive "100 likes" that he has been seeking on Instagram,  Within one hour and 15 minutes of Narvaez's posting, the colorful shot had already earned 96 likes.

"This is an outrage," said Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon and president-elect Donald J, Trump's  pick for Secretary of State. Tillerson, who  has close ties with Russian and has stated suspected Russian hacking during presidential election is not worth looking into, called for an investigation into what he dubbed "GelatoPhotogate". "It's just plain wrong."

A spokesperson for Narvaez said there was "absolutely no hacking at all involved."

"Krikorian sent her the photo on his own," said Ralph Waxman, speaking outside Narvaez Tower.  "He didn't know Jocelyn's last name and asked Dahlia for it. Hacking? Hardly."

Regardless, the photograph was widely hailed as "among the most significant of its kind", according to professionals.

"The beauty of this photograph is it gives an inside look to morning gelato making," said Pierre Hermes, director general of the Photography Department of the Louvre Museum in Paris. "When we think of gelato, we don't think of morning. But, here it is. Stunning."   

As for Krikorian never having a Instagram that received "100 likes", a internet analyst said it was the journalist's "redundancy" to blame. 

"Almost every photograph he posts has either Nancy, Chile Rico or Eva in it," said Ryan Vito DeNicola, CFO of GetMoreLikes, Inc. "He needs to diversify. The Cookies 'n Cream shot could have been the one. Even though it did have Nancy in it, she was not the focus."

At press time, a scheduled Thursday night dinner at "Broken Spanish" with Krikorian and Silverton joining Narvaez and her husband, chef Chris Feldmeier, was listed as "Unlikely".

The Tweets Of Bana Alabed, 7-Year-Old Girl in Aleppo

Sept. 26, 2016 - good afternoon from #Aleppo I'm reading to forget the war

Oct. 27, 2016 The tooth fairy is afraid of the bombing here, it run away to its hole. When the war finishes, it will come- Bana

Nov. 28   This is our house, My beloved dolls died in the bombing of our house. I am very sad but happy to be alive. - Bana

Nov. 29, 2016 This is my reading place where I wanted to start reading Harry Potter but it's bombed. I will never forget

From Bana's mother, Fatemah

Dec. 5  Under attack. Nowhere to go, every minute feels like death. Pray for us. Goodbye - Fatemah #Aleppo

Dec. 12 Final message - I am very sad no one is helping us in this world, no one is evacuating me & my daughter. Goodbye - Fatemah #aleppo

From Bana

Dec. 13, 2016  My name is Bana, I'm 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die. - Bana

From Bana's mother, Fatemah

Dec. 14, 4:27 a.m  Dear world, there' intense bombing right now. Why are you silent? Why? Why? Why? Fear is killing me & my kids. #Aleppo

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Nancy Silverton's Books of the Year, in today's Wall Street Journal

Chef Nancy Silverton on Richard Russo and Marisa Silver

- Wall Street Journal, Dec. 10, 2016 by Bari Weiss 

To me, a great novel is like a great meal. The ingredients—no, make that the characters—meet, come to a boil, then simmer and, hopefully, meld together in such a deeply satisfying way that I linger. I can’t put my fork—book!—down.

In the past few years there have only been an armful of books I have loved: David Benioff’s “City of Thieves,” Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch,” Michael Krikorian’s “Southside,” Anthony Marra’s “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,” Abraham Verghese’s “Cutting for Stone” and Elena Ferrante’s four Neapolitan novels.

But this past year I’ll happily add two to my short list. Marisa Silver’s “Little Nothing” was a great escape—a dark, mysterious adult fairy tale about a dwarf girl who turns into a wolf and then a . . . I won’t ruin it. With someone else’s pen, this love story could have been a mess, but Ms. Silver’s engaging, heartfelt style brought it together for me. I felt so deeply for this outcast and, perhaps even more, for the man who loves her unconditionally.

My other book for 2016 is Richard Russo’s “Everybody’s Fool,” the sequel to “Nobody’s Fool.” I see Paul Newman every time Sully’s name appears. And we all know that’s special. 

Ms. Silverton, a chef, is the author of “Mozza at Home.”

"Put That In Your Pipe" Short Film Featuring Nancy Silverton Leading Contender For Academy Award

Shortly after she described a Chi Spacca roasted Chino Farms sweet potato adrift on a shallow pool of mascarpone cream as "perfect", the cameras began rolling on Nancy Silverton. After editing, sound remix and some Cinerama enhancements, the film "Put That In Your Pipe" was premiered at the Gauman's Chinese Theater,

Now the movie is considered the front runner for the Academy Award for best short film 

For a limited time, you can see it here.

L.A. Times Op-Ed - Stay and Fight, No One's Moving Anywhere

No one's moving anywhere. My friends Dahlia and Chris aren't going to Mexico, and Alexis K is not going to Copenhagen. Nancy's not permanently packing up and moving to Umbria, Kate Green's not heading permanently to Chablis and Duke is not moving to Thailand with his cousin Jake.

And you?  You aren't going wherever the heck you say you are moving to now that Don Trump is going to be president of the United States of America.

What we all do is this: We stay and fight.

First, we wait and see. Even Hillary Clinton said Wednesday, "We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead."

But if we don't like what happens, we fight it. We take to the streets and rekindle memories of the anti-Vietnam War protests and civil rights marches. We don't run and hide. We don't abandon America.

I feel, strangely, not what I thought I would “the morning after.” I’m more patriotic than I was yesterday. More in love with my country than I have since, I guess, Sept. 11, 2001.

As my old friend Aqeela Sherrills, a longtime Watts gang interventionist and community activist said in a Facebook post Wednesday: “There's a gift in every tragedy...   A Trump victory is an opportunity, if your like me, I do my best work under pressure. Don't go to Canada or where ever you thinking, The U.S. is ours! and no President, Senate, Congress or White House will tell me otherwise!... lets go to work!”

The country our parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents fought for is sliding around  a hairpin turn, but it hasn't crashed.

Yesterday, a guy I know from the streets showed me a knife he had in his waistband. A killing knife. It made me think of “Saving Private Ryan”and a brutal, achingly sad scene:  room-to-room fighting, a German soldier slowly pushing a killing knife into the chest of an American soldier.

When I went home, I Netflix'd “Saving Private Ryan” with the intention of forwarding to that scene, but instead I started watching from the beginning. The first 25 or so minutes show the first wave of Allied forces landing on the beach at Normandy, D-Day, 1944. It's one of the most powerful  movie sequences ever filmed, and it ends with a panorama of bloody corpses washed along by the tide.

What happened Tuesday doesn’t compare to those days. Everyone walking around like it’s the end of civilization now that Trump is in? It's not. We’ve  been through far worse. A perceived threat is not as bad as a punch in the face. 

I was on a text thread Tuesday night that included several millennials. It started with how wonderful the election was going turn out: the first woman president, the rejection of hateful talk.

But as the eerie night moved on, the thread's tone changed to doom. “I'm terrified,”  “so upsetting,” “I'm really scared,”  “will we get through this shameful moment,” “this is horrific,”  “I cannot take this.”

Yes you can take this.  

At Men's Central Jail last week I saw my old friend Cleamon Johnson, a.k.a. Big Evil. We got to talking about the election, and Big Evil said, “This fool might win. But sometimes you have to go all the way down before you can rise.”

So everyone, don't start packing. Get ready for a fight.

And watch the first 25 minutes of “Saving Private Ryan.”  You’ll know we’ve been through a whole lot worse.  

Michael Krikorian is the author of the novel “Southside.” KrikorianWrites.com. @makmak47

Trump Said To Be "Seriously Considering" Naming President Obama As Secretary of State

In a stunning statement in a stunning year, President-elect Donald J. Trump said Friday he would "seriously consider" naming President Barack Obama as his Secretary of State following their very cordial White House meeting yesterday as well as a growing bi-partisan movement in Congress urging him to do so.

The Veterans Day announcement, made by the president-elect's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway at Trump Tower, was meet with such slacked-jaw wonder by reporters, most of who thought she was joking. 

"I am not joking and neither is Mr. Trump," Conway told the gathering after seeing reporter's initial reaction. ."I can understand your skepticism, but the meeting yesterday between President Obama and Donald Trump was so unexpectedly in-accord that the subject was broached."

Conway said Trump had initially said something along the lines of  "You should be my Secretary of State," after the two agreed about the need to end the slaughterhouse that is Aleppo.

"But," Conway said, "After the two fell into step on several key issues, Mr. Trump asked the President if he would actually consider the position if offered."

Though the two meet in private, the closest aides to them were later privy to a tape of their conversation. A close aide to Obama, speaking off the record, said "The President seemed  speechless at first. but then said he would give it extremely serious thought."

The news was met with curiosity across the nation and on the world stage. 

Jim DeMint, the Republican senator from South Carolina, considered among the staunchest conservatives in all of congress, said "This is absurd,  Though even an old right-of-Goldwater codger as myself can see the advantage of having a ex-president as Secretary of State. And it would sure the heck unify a clearly divided nation."

As midnight fell on Beirut, Michael Ali, owner of the popular Azzom Pizzeria, heard the news via Skype. He shook his head, smiled and said "You Americans are crazy. That's why we love you."

Kellyanne Conway said "Mr Trump's decision to appoint Obama as Secretary of State, if he accepts that is, will be announced before Thanksgiving."

Trump Yields To Pressure, Will Release "2nd Angle", Mythical View of "Zamensky's Fall"

With demonstrators across the nation chanting "Show it Now", President-elect Donald J. Trump has agreed to release the nearly mythical movie "2nd Angle", a stunning - and different view- of the classic American film "Zamensky's Fall'. 

Rumors have persisted for years that a second camera caught the infamous slip by Douglas Zamensky which was made into a feature film loved the world over. But, few have ever claimed to see it and millions -perhaps billions -  thought it was pure urban legend.

Until now. 

Like the original, the movie tells the story of Doug, a young white man from Idaho whose attempt to make it big in Los Angeles is thwarted by the intense needs of the staff at an Italian restaurant and by the equally demanding needs of Rollin 60s Crips who constantly rob him

Doug wisely decides to move to Orange Country and becomes the general manager of Pizzeria Mozza, Newport Beach. It is here, in the restaurant's parking lot, the movie's most famous scene occurs.

Thursday, in an attempt to united the country, Trump announced he would play "Zamensky's Fall" at his inauguration in January.    This led to the protests - allegedly organized by former Zamensky associate Chelsea  Olmstead - to also release "2nd Angle".

Trump, the the astonishment of most, agreed with the protesters. 

"Every time Don watches Doug fall, he laughs," said Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager. "And, boy, do we need some laughs now." 

The original movie, "Zamensky's Fall" can be seen in Thursday's article here - . http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2016/11/9/zamenskys-fall-to-be-played-at-trump-inauguration

Court of Appeals Rules To Drop 2 Murders From Big Evil's Case, Three Charges Remain

The Court of Appeals has ruled that Cleamon Johnson, infamously known as "Big Evil",  was himself the victim of "vindictive prosecution" and dropped two murder charges and one attempted murder charge from his case.  The appeals court, however, did not rule to drop another murder that was added in 2014 to the 89 Family Swans' existing double murder retrial.

The same court had ruled in Dec. 2011 that Johnson's 1997 double murder conviction be overturned because a juror leaning toward acquittal had been wrongly dismissed by the presiding  judge.  Johnson  and co-defendant Michael "Fat Rat" Allen - were transferred from San Quentin to Los Angeles' Men's Central Jail where they have been for nearly five years awaiting retrial for the killings of Peyton Benoit and Donald Ray Loggins who were shot to death at a car wash on 88th Street and Central Avenue in 1991.

As that case was not a lock - the key witness, Freddie Jelks, now dead, was himself facing serious charges - detectives and the district attorney's office sought to bolster the case against Johnson, who was one of the city's most notorious gang member.s They add four charges - the three murders and one attempted murder.  

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office alleged Georgia Denise "Nece" Jones, Albert Sutton and Tyrone Mosley were all killed or ordered killed by Johnson.  While Johnson was in Ironwood State Prison, Jones was shot and killed June 12, 1994 at 87th Place and Wadsworth Avenue in the 89 Family neighborhood. Sutton was also killed in that neighborhood. Mosley was shot and killed in September 15, 1991 on 97th Street and McKinley Avenue, a 97 East Coast Crip neighborhood. A fourth man was shot, but survived. 

The Jones and Mosley cases and the wounding were ordered dropped by the appeals court. 

Sunday while receiving a visitor at Men's Central Jail, Johnson expressed both pleasure with the court's ruling and confidence he beat would be the remaining cases   Unfazed that a cousin, Leon Johnson, had "gave him up" in the Sutton murder, he said he has uncovered new information that will lead to his acquittal in all the cases.  Last year, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta ruled Johnson be allowed to have a laptop to review his case.