Email Author SEAN O'CONNELL

2008 Stories by SEAN O'CONNELL

• Birdy Num-Nums

  published December 25, 2008

  The Party is an excellent litmus test for one’s cultural sensitivity. Cinematic chameleon Peter Sellers, sporting brownface and a... More >>

• All Class

  published November 27, 2008

  One of the great aspects of music education in Southern California is the abundance of highly skilled musicians looking for regular work as an... More >>

• Landscape Legend

  published November 13, 2008

  With each passing year, fewer and fewer people can remember a time when there were no Starbucks and the concept of “undeveloped land”... More >>

• Their Theater

  published November 13, 2008

  This month, Rude Guerrilla Theater is closing out its jam-packed eleventh season with the seventy-year old American classic Our Town.... More >>

• Oy, Mate

  published October 30, 2008

  The ’90s was a challenging time for theater marquees. After painstakingly creating the pronouncements, letter by letter, for films such as... More >>

• Stubble Trouble

  published September 25, 2008

  People who describes themselves as resembling “Andre Agassi with a drinking problem” probably never got by on looks alone. So suffice it... More >>

• American Music

  published September 11, 2008

  Some local cities are proud of their place in musical history. Hawthorne housed the Beach Boys. Balboa prizes Dick Dale. But the road forks in... More >>

• Hat's Off

  published September 11, 2008

  Based on an early work by French scribe Eugene Labiche, An Italian Straw Hat is not likely to be the next Wit. But that probably... More >>

• Beat NY!

  published September 4, 2008

  Life must be hard for traveling southland sports teams. It would appear that any road game is a bitter rivalry, as chants of “Beat LA!”... More >>

• Cold Sweat

  published September 4, 2008

  It must be strange working at a convention center—college graduations, prayer breakfasts and auto shows coming and going like a train of... More >>

• Going to Acapulco

  published September 4, 2008

  When most Americans think of the marine life of the narrow Baja strip, they usually think about the fish in their tacos rather than those still... More >>

• Belly Laughs

  published August 28, 2008

  It’s not easy being a portly entertainer in America. With the accessibility of modern medical marvels, even the jolliest of the jolly are... More >>

• Hard to Find

  published August 21, 2008

  By most accounts Benny Goodman was not a particularly likable guy. The reigning king of swing was relentless in his pursuit of perfection and left... More >>

• Tragedy Plus Time

  published August 14, 2008

  With his Lundgren-esque bone structure and wide-eyed intensity, Christopher Titus' performances hover somewhere between comedy and a scared... More >>

• Bright Lights

  published August 7, 2008

  In America, the rise of the celebrity conductor began-and seemingly ended with-Leonard Bernstein. Aside from conducting the New York... More >>

• En Garden

  published July 31, 2008

  Few southern California properties can even trace their origins back as far as the Kennedy administration, much less four hundred years. So it is... More >>

• Rockin' and Reelin'

  published July 31, 2008

  Steely Dan's biting pop, immersed in studio polish and good old American sarcasm, dominated FM radio in the ‘70s with some of their bigger... More >>

• What's Up, Chuck?

  published July 24, 2008

  As one of the most influential animators to put pen to paper, Chuck Jones created too many five minute masterpieces to count. His cartoons have... More >>

• Blowing Up

  published July 24, 2008

  On the surface, the cultural contributions of Australia may seem limited to AC/DC, Olivia Newton-John and Yahoo Serious. But there is one... More >>

• Stringin' Along

  published July 24, 2008

  When bluesy six-stringer Jonny Lang released his first album in 1995, guitar legend B.B. King was nearly five times his senior. At an age when... More >>

• Photographic Memory

  published July 17, 2008

  As photography has slowly weaned film from its process, a great make-out opportunity has been lost to millions of teenagers: the darkroom. These... More >>

• Chip Off The Block

  published July 17, 2008

  People break stuff with their body all the time. The internet is littered with proof. Few people do it intentionally and even fewer do it... More >>

• Bucking Convention

  published July 17, 2008

  God save the saxophonist/mime/hypnotist who doesn't seed his tip jar before taking to the stage. It can be a frustrating night of apathetic... More >>

• Fresh Brains

  published July 10, 2008

  The Zombies' recording pinnacle, Odessey and Oracle, was released 40 years ago this summer. A psychedelic sprawl through strawberried... More >>

• Snap 
Judgement

  published June 26, 2008

  Nearly 20 years ago, as sketch comedy was crawling out of its grave, Keenan Ivory Wayans, armed with a nepotistic casting streak and no regard... More >>