Larry Mantle
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What will we miss without Steve Jobs?
The strong and in-depth response to Jobs’ death isn’t surprising, but the emotions elicited by his passing are stronger than I expected.
Jobs was far from a warm presence, yet many Americans took to him personally, regardless. He was one of the most trusted men in the world, with millions immediately responding to his solicitations. The lines down the block for new product debuts were testament to his relationship with consumers.
I wonder if people’s emotional attachment to Jobs is also rooted in our appreciation for how much he’s changed the way we do things. Certainly it’s a mixed bag, with digital devices creating their own challenges to balanced lives. Yet, few of us would want to go back.
As has been repeatedly noted, Jobs changed the way we relate to computers, phones, music, and entertainment. He might not have been an inventor, but he was the full package visionary, hard-nosed businessman, design genius, and barker. There is no one with whom to compare him.
His death leaves a significant void. We’re left to wonder what his future breakthroughs would have been, and how our lives would’ve been affected by them, had he lived longer.
The Klitschko brothers visit KPCC
This afternoon we welcomed heavyweight boxing champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko to our studios for an interview to be aired in a few weeks. The brothers are doing interviews in advance of the opening of the new documentary, Klitschko, which features the back-story of how the pair became the first brothers to ever simultaneously capture all the heavyweight titles available.
I won’t bother recounting the interview, as you’ll have a chance to hear it in about three weeks. However, I wanted to share with you what the brothers were like off-mic during their visit.
Wladimir greeted me by saying how much he appreciated my willingness to interview them, given how hard he’d heard it was to get a booking on AirTalk. I told him the pleasure was mine and that I’d seen many of his and Vitali’s fights over the years. I’m a big fan of both boxers and thanked them for coming to talk about the documentary and their careers. Over the course of our 45-minutes together, I understood why the Klitschkos are generally well-liked in boxing. They were pleasant and gracious.
This fits the pattern I’ve experienced with interviewing boxers. Among my favorite AirTalk guests have been George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, and, now, the Klitschkos.
Wladimir is the younger brother and has a somewhat stronger command of English. However, I had no problem understanding Vitali and was impressed by how passionate he was about his interests outside of boxing.
Vitali is a political activist in his native Ukraine, going so far as twice running for mayor of Kiev. Though he finished as runner-up, Vitali’s intense opposition to the current government is so strong that I expect he’ll continue to look for political opportunities. He and I talked politics for several minutes after we finished recording. Vitali was passionate and pointed in his criticism of how Ukraine is being run, but optimistic about future reform.
This intersection between politics and boxing is fascinating. The sport’s most popular draw, Manny Pacquiao, spends time between fights as an elected member of the Philippine Congress. Like Vitali Klitschko, he seems driven by disappointment in how his country is representing the needs of its citizenry.
The battle between humans and computers at the heart of "Moneyball"
As a sports fan, I’m always glad for movies and books that relate the intricacies of professional sports. My interest began in the 1970s with Jim Bouton’s inside-the-locker-room classic, Ball Four.
I was also excited to read Michael Lewis’ Moneyball when it came out, given that it profiled a pioneer in using computer analysis to determine future player performance, Oakland As General Manager, Billy Beane. The book was terrific, though I thought it shortchanged the art of player assessment in favor of statistics.
Beane showed how much a team could be improved by incorporating additional sophisticated measurements into the mix. However, in my opinion, a General Manager ignores the subjective judgments of scouts at his own peril.
What’s so wonderful about baseball is its mix of art and science. The artistry may be squishy to measure, but that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant to success. You can’t simply reduce player assessment down to numbers, particularly when players are young and largely unformed.
With the release this weekend of the film version of Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, there’ll be many non-fans showing up at theaters. I suspect they’ll enjoy the compelling drama of an enterprising man bucking a conservative establishment. Though Beane’s experience includes plenty of “man against the system,” I hope the artistry and subjective impressions of players and the game aren’t lost to the machines.
Criminal charges in the death of homeless Fullerton resident Kelly Thomas
Orange County D. A. Tony Rackauckas took the big step of filing second-degree murder charges against one of the officers involved in the beating death of homeless Fullerton resident Kelly Thomas. Thomas lived with schizophrenia and was apparently well-known to business owners and residents in the area.
Historically, it’s been difficult to convict police officers of murder. Legal scholars tend to give law enforcement the benefit of the doubt when officers are dealing with a “non-compliant” suspect. However, in this case, as the D. A. pointed out, Thomas’ inability to comply was likely due to his mental illness. Thomas is also a very sympathetic alleged victim, which isn’t always the case in prosecutions of police.
This will be a fascinating case to watch, as Officer Manuel Ramos faces charges of murder and manslaughter, and his colleague, Corporal Jay Cicinelli, stands trial for manslaughter and use of excessive force.
Jurors will undoubtedly see several videotapes of the incident, and also hear the audio recordings taken by the officers themselves during the incident. In the past, we’ve seen widely differing interpretations of such recordings from the competing legal teams in the courtroom.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge for jurors in deciding this case?
Grooving to the sounds of Black affirmation
If you’ve been listening to AirTalk for even a few months, you’ve probably heard me talk about my love of jazz and soul. When you combine either with creative political commentary -- so much the better.
Wednesday morning, I spoke with music writer Denise Sullivan about her new book, Keep on Pushing: Black Power Music from Blues to Hip-Hop. It was so much fun to play excerpts from great songs of the 60s and 70s. From Curtis Mayfield to Sam Cooke, Odetta to Nina Simone, we have no shortage of creative giants to consider.
My favorites such recordings would have to include Curtis Mayfield’s (Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Down Below (which begins its long version with a string of racial epithets), Choice of Colors, and People Get Ready, along with Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, and Bobby Womack’s Across 110th Street.
I’d like your input about what you consider the greatest social commentary, or explicitly political, songs on the late-20th and early-21st centuries.
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