Luke Ford | No sacred cows.

Christina DeRosa Interview

Posted on January 5, 2009 by Luke Ford

I spent Friday afternoon with actress Christina DeRosa at the store of her friend Jacob Meir — Shoes for the Stars(7558 Melrose Ave, [email protected], 323-655-2657). Complete video.

I meet makeup artist and clothing designer Tal Sheyn.

Christina Christina Christina Tal Sheyn, Jacob Meir Jacob Meir Christina

Tal Sheyn Tal Sheyn Shoes Shoes Christina Christina Christina Christina’s billboard at Highlands Christina Christina Christina Christina Christina Christina at her billboard on Highlands Christina in Hawaii earlier this year

Christina picks me up at 12:30 Friday afternoon in her bright red BMW Z4. She’s always on time, I love that about her!

It’s foggy out but she’s promised me a ride with her top down, so off we go to the store of her friend Jacob Meir.

We then stop off at her billboard on Highlands and La Brea.

On the ride home, I ask: "I heard that before you had this car, you were driving a Jetta at 120 mph."

Christina: "Yes. One of my first speeding tickets in LA was a big fat speeding ticket… I had an amazing attorney and I got out of it all… I was driving back from Vegas. It was six in the morning. There was no one on the road. I was anxious to get home. I was talking to an ex-boyfriend. It was this feeling of freedom. It was the first car I’d bought and paid for on my own. It was exciting driving back on my own, a single girl… I have not driven that fast since."

Christina’s had a few speeding tickets. "I don’t get tickets for anything else. I don’t do drugs. I don’t really drink. I don’t smoke. I’m not a bad person. I was a really good kid growing up. For the most part. At least my parents thought I was. I studied hard. I did well at school. If speeding…"

Luke: "Is the worst thing you do?"

Christina: "Please. As long as I’m safe. There was no one on the road. I didn’t feel like I was endangering anyone. Regardless, I shouldn’t have been going that fast."

Luke: "So why did you then get this sexy red sports car that screams, ‘Give me a ticket!’?"

Christina: "All my life, I wanted a convertible… The BMW is a muscle car. It drives like a man. I drive like a man. If you weren’t in the car with me right now, we’d definitely be going faster."

Luke: "Do you realize what a great job your parents did with you?"

Christina: "Why is that?"

Luke: "You’ve got great manners. You haven’t self-destructed in a profession where people self-destruct all the time. You’re on time. You’re reliable. You’re responsible. You are courteous. You are well spoken. Your parents did a really good job with you."

Christina: "You think so?"

Luke: "Do you realize that? Do you feel gratitude to them for the job they did with you? Or do you think, ‘Hey, I made this. I created all this.’"

Christina: "That’s a really great question. Wow. I don’t even know if I am ready to answer that. That’s intense. I like what you said about gratitude because I think life is all about gratitude and being grateful for everyone and everything and the universe and how lucky we are to live. I’m excited to go do yoga tonight where I am going to be feeling such gratitude. It’s a two hour class, yay. Notice how I am avoiding the question.

"Parents give you wings to fly. A parents greatest gift to the child is to allow them to fly. You give them the tools and then it is what they make out of those tools. You just give them a rock or a stone, a stepping stone, or whatever you want to do with what you are given. Definitely my parents taught me a lot. I grew up in a house where manners were important. I like that wine often was included with meals. So alcohol has never really been a big deal to me. For a lot of kids, it is so forbidden and what’s forbidden is what you really want to do in life.

"It’s funny. As I’m talking about this, I’m thinking, what was forbidden in my house? What was uncomfortable in my house? It was more like nudity and sex and talking about things like that. I come from a Sicilian background where my parents aren’t comfortable maybe in their own skin. That’s interesting because I’m like the opposite. I’m very comfortable in my own skin. I made that for myself because my sister is not that way. She’s not comfortable in her own skin and not as comfortable sexually as I am, which is fine. To each his own. So there is a lot about me that I feel is self-made. I moved out. I left them to move to Boston for my first year of college and then to California. It was all my decisions that I wanted to take these venturing out steps. My sister didn’t do that. My sister stayed closer to home. She’s closer to their morals and to what they were teaching and preaching.

"Yes, I’m grateful. I’m also grateful to myself and am very proud of the things I’ve done in the face of great opposition. My parents are not OK with my being on Zane’s Sex Chronicles and not OK with my being in Playboy until they saw the article and saw that I was not even nude. I had panties on in the picture. I think I am very self-made. It’s a combination."

Luke: "How did you come to feel so comfortable with being so physically exposed?"

Christina: "I’ve always been an exhibitionist. When I was a kid, my parents would drag me to church on Sundays. It wasn’t my kind of church. It wasn’t where I felt comfortable. I’ve always wanted to stand out. I’d flash people, my little bum, when I was four or five years old. I would do things that were in an endearing cute way, that was harmless, I was a child, flash people, maybe take off my underwear, something that I maybe wasn’t supposed to do, but that felt fun and freeing. It’s always been a part of me, it just came out more when I moved to California and got away from all the family and the East Coast vibe."

Luke: "Are you an exhibitionist?"

Christina: "I think so. I love the attention."

Luke: "You live a disciplined life. You’re not like an idiot."

Christina laughs. "Wow, these are strong statements. You must have conversations with idiots who don’t lead disciplined lives. What’s your definition of a disciplined life?"

Luke: "You always show up on time, which is such a beautiful trait. You’re always polite. You’re responsible. You seem to pay your bills and meet your responsibilities. You’ve maintained lifelong relationships. You do all the things that make for a responsible happy life. You don’t just use people to get your attention fix."

Christina: "Being on time, remembering somebody’s name, those things are important to me. There were a lot of guys I knew from back in the day who’d say, ‘Hey sweetie,’ or ‘Hey prettie’ or ‘Hey this or that’. There’s nothing like the respect of just using somebody’s name."

"Did that homeless guy just open somebody’s car?"

Luke: "I think so."

Christina: "It kinda looked like it. I was turning right and this homeless guy was right there and I looked at him and he opened my door and started to get in. I screamed and he jumped away. He must’ve thought that my looking at him was his invitation in."

Luke: "So what’s a girl starring in Zane’s Sex Chronicles doing going to church on a regular basis?"

Christina: "Why not? It’s my spiritual center. I love it. Why judge and say that a girl in Zane’s Sex Chronicles can’t go to a spiritual center? My spiritual center is a huge part of who I am. They’re constantly finding ways of volunteering. I sing with the Agape Road Show. We sing at different nursing homes. I’ve done all sorts of volunteering, picking up trash on the beaches. It’s like a motivational center. It doesn’t feel church-like. It’s non-denominational. And it’s all love. I’m very proud to be part of the Agape spiritual community. I’ve met so many fabulous people. I go Wednesday nights at 6:45 for the meditation and the service begins at 7:15."

Luke: "Did you go to an Agape-style church growing up?"

Christina: "No. I went to a Roman Catholic church growing up. As I started to understand the Roman Catholic religion… There are so many rules and regulations. I don’t think that’s what the premise of any religion is all about. At the end of the day, whatever works for you."

Luke: "How would your parents react if you took them to Agape?"

Christina: "I considered taking them there. I wanted them to see how beautiful it was, how much love… At the end of the day, they wouldn’t appreciate it. There are a lot of black people. There are a lot of Baptist ways. I just think honesty there prejudices and racism would inhibit the experience. Rather than invite them and have them say negative things about it and have that hurt me, it is a better decision to not invite them. I wish that they would be able to come, to see that, it’s a big part of who I am."

Luke: "Have you ever been with a motorcycle gang?"

Christina: "No. I’ve been on the back of a motorcycle, which is very erotic. I had this one boyfriend for a while in LA who had a motorcycle. I thought it was so hot. He bought me a little helmet, a very sexy black tiny one, and I loved being on the back of the bike. I made love on that bike."

Luke: "While he was driving it?"

Christina: "No. It parked in a parking garage."

Luke: "What’s the difference between being spiritual and religious?"

Christina: "I see myself as being spiritual rather than religious because I don’t really practice a religion. I meditate. I go to the spiritual center. I have spiritual practices that make me happy and make me feel closer to the universe and closer to God and to myself. I’ve read some books on the Buddhist religion, which I find interesting, but do I want to take it upon myself to be such a follower? I don’t think I’m ready yet. I know what works for me and what makes me feel good and that’s what I do… Agape feels like less pressure than having one religion."

Luke: "Are you willing to share any temptations?"

Christina: "E! The drug E. I’ve never done it and I’m curious about it because it is such a love drug. I’m so little, my body is not used to drugs. I had two small glasses of wine on New Year’s Eve and that was enough for me. I was feeling good, I was flying high, I was hanging out, I was talking to everybody, I was wishing everyone possible a happy new year, I was kissing people on the cheek who I didn’t even know… I’m a little afraid of what taking a whole pill of E, how that would affect me. I know my body. It doesn’t do well with poisonous stuff. My temple’s pretty clean."

Luke: "Do you like danger?"

Christina: "It depends on the kind of danger. My career is risky. My life is like a rollercoaster ride. I don’t like to gamble — unless it is with someone else’s money — because I love my money so much. I work so hard for my money. I know what I had to do for that money. I know how many hours it took on set. I like to hold on to my money for as long as possible and only spend it in wise situations."

Posted in Christina DeRosa | Tagged bmw z4, Christina DeRosa, friend jacob, hotmail, makeup artist, melrose ave | Comments Off

Israel Backers Outnumbered At Wednesday Evening Rally

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Luke Ford

A friend emails: "I went to the Wednesday evening rally outside the Israeli consulate. It was intense and very unnerving as we were completely out-numbered by them, maybe 100 of us, against a very loud and aggressive thousand or so Arabs."

StandWithUs.org emails:

Los Angeles **Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 Time: 4:30 pm Location: In front of the Israeli Consulate in L.A. Street: La Jolla & Wilshire
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Time: 12 pm – 2:00 pm Location: Federal Building in Westwood L.A. Street: Veteran and Wilshire
StandWithUs, Bnei Akiva and the ILC in cooperation with the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, and Jewish Day Schools across Los Angeles, invite you to STAND IN SUPPORT OF ISRAEL’s RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST HAMAS
**Note that there are no bathrooms on this corner. Check the weather before the rally and dress accordingly. We would like to ask you to please dress appropriately and respect the police instructions. Please stay out of the street, don’t block the sidewalks, and stay away from any possible counter-protesters. Please act professionally.

Posted in Israel | Tagged arabs, backers, bnei akiva, friend emails, israeli consulate, jewish federation of los angeles, standwithus, street veteran, wednesday evening | Comments Off

Former Yavneh Hebrew Academy President David Rubin In The Middle Of The Bill Richardson Scandal

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Luke Ford

My previous reporting on David Rubin. SEC case against David Rubin.

A friend says: "Rubin is a certified friggin genius. He goes out to these okie dokie artichokie towns in the south and helps them issue bonds in return for a fat fee. It is like taking candy from a dead baby."

Here’s the website for his firm CDR Financial Products.

From the New York Times Dec. 19, 2008:

Since August, federal investigators have been examining how CDR Financial Products Inc., of Beverly Hills, Calif., got two consulting contracts in 2004 worth about $1.4 million to advise the state on a large bond issue for building infrastructure, one of Mr. Richardson’s initiatives. The investigation was first reported in The Albuquerque Journal.
In 2003 and 2004, CDR’s president, David Rubin, a major Democratic contributor, gave about $100,000 to two political action committees controlled by Mr. Richardson, as well as $10,000 to his re-election campaign in 2005, according to published reports.
A spokesman for Mr. Rubin, Allan Ripp, said the company had won the consulting work fairly after a lengthy review by state officials. He flatly denied that Mr. Rubin had been given state business in return for donating to Mr. Richardson’s committees; he also noted that Mr. Rubin had given hundreds of thousands of dollars to various Democratic candidates and committees.
“David Rubin makes a lot of contributions to a lot of causes, especially liberal Democratic causes,” Mr. Ripp said. “It’s unfortunate that people are trying to connect dots that aren’t there.”
Mr. Rubin’s company was one of six that answered a request for proposals in December 2003 on a $1.6 billion-bond program to pay for transportation projects. In March 2004, the company scored second-best in the bidding process and lost the main contract to a joint venture between Smith Barney and Ryan Labs.
…On June 18, 2004, three months after receiving the consulting work, Mr. Rubin’s firm gave $75,000 to a political action committee Mr. Richardson had formed to pay for himself and his staff to attend the Democratic National Convention in Boston that year, which he headed. The committee is called “Si Se Puede! (Yes We Can) Boston 2004.” Other companies that benefited from the bond sales gave $55,000, according to The Associated Press.
But Mr. Rubin’s largess to Mr. Richardson did not stop there. On Oct. 31, 2003, he gave $25,000 to Moving America Forward Inc., a political action committee controlled by Mr. Richardson and devoted to signing up Hispanic and American Indian voters, according to state election records.
Mr. Rubin also gave $10,000 to the Democratic Governors Association on March 25, 2004, according to Moneyline.cq.com, a Congressional Quarterly Web site. That December, Mr. Richardson became the group’s head.
Mr. Ripp said Mr. Richardson had never personally solicited Mr. Rubin for these donations. Mr. Ripp said Mr. Rubin had donated because, like Mr. Richardson, he had grown up in Mexico City, was passionate about Mexican-American causes and was a strong supporter of Israel. That some of the money came at the same time the state was giving CDR business was a coincidence, Mr. Ripp said. “You can’t get contracts because of money,” Mr. Ripp said. “This isn’t Nigeria.”

TERESA WATANABE WRITES IN THE OCT. 1, 2007 LA TIMES:

Gitel Rubin was recently strolling with her son in her Hancock Park neighborhood when, she said, a neighbor drove by, rolled down her window and yelled out. The driver was upset that Rubin’s family was expanding a newly purchased home to 10,000 square feet to make room for their six children, said Rubin, an Orthodox Jew.
“We’re watching your project carefully!,” Rubin said the driver yelled. “You better make sure you’re leaving enough yard space and not overbuilding for your large family!”
A year or two before, Rubin said, a longtime neighbor turned a cold shoulder to her and her father at a community meeting over whether to renew the conditional use permit of their neighborhood Jewish day school.
“Don’t talk to me,” Rubin said the man told her father. “I’m on the other side.”
…David Rubin, a former Yavneh president, said Orthodox Jews began increasing their presence more than a decade ago. The area is within walking distance of the many synagogues in the La Brea Avenue area, a requirement for Orthodox families, who may not drive or turn on electricity on their holy days.
…David Rubin, whose wife said she was shouted to on the street about their project, said he has fully complied with all building codes and is lovingly restoring the home’s original features, including redwood siding and gutters. He said his current three-bedroom home on Hudson Avenue was too small for six children.
Rubin said some of the tension could be traced to cultural and religious ignorance. Religious rules of modesty inhibit Orthodox Jews from hailing strangers of the opposite sex on the street, leading to possible perceptions that they are unfriendly, he said. Many Orthodox families walk down the middle of the street, a practice that annoys some neighbors, but do so to avoid setting off motion detector lights on the Sabbath or because their large families can’t comfortably fit on a narrow sidewalk, he said.
Aware of such perceptions, Korobkin, the rabbi, said he has urged families to initiate greetings to neighbors on the street, attend block parties, engage in community service and otherwise reach out to demystify themselves to non-Orthodox neighbors.

Here is a report from China Jan. 5, 2009:

    CDR has never been charged with any crimes. But The New York Times and other newspapers have reported that the company has been closely linked with legal "black box deals" used by American International Group (AIG), J. P. Morgan Chase and other companies to sell municipal bonds that benefit the issuing companies, but rarely benefit the low-income people who are supposed to get help.
    CDR’s Los Angeles offices were reportedly searched more than two years ago in a federal probe of local government officials across the country who were getting financial help from agencies that manage sales of the agencies’ municipal bonds. No charges were filed after that search, either.
    On its Web site, CDR Financial Products describes itself as a capital markets service company that has put together more than 5,358 bond sales totaling 158 billion dollars in transactions.

From City News Service:

The donations to Richardson’s charities were made by CDR’s owner, David Rubin. He is a former Los Angeles Housing Commission member, appointed by then-mayor James Hahn in 2002.
A press release issued back then announcing Rubin;s appointment said Rubin’s CDR company had “created the Lease-To-Own program, in concert with Freddie Mac, which enables low-income families to acquire housing.”
On its Web site, CDR Financial Products describes itself as a capital markets service company that has put together more than 5,358 bond sales totaling $158 billion in transactions.

Posted in David Rubin | Tagged albuquerque journal, democratic contributor, federal investigators, political action committee, political action committees, smith barney, teresa watanabe, yavneh hebrew academy | Comments Off

Gran Torino

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Luke Ford

Dave Deutsch emails: "Have you seen Gran Torino? Check it out. Really enjoyable film, and I think you in particularly will relate to Clint Eastwood’s character, who, though racist and retrograde, is sympathetic and oozing with the raw machismo that you and Eastwood are known for."

Posted in Hollywood | Tagged clint eastwood, enjoyable film, gran torino, machismo | Comments Off

Where’s Obama On Israel’s Gaza Invasion?

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Luke Ford

Jews voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. It would be darkly funny if he proved fatal to the Jewish state.

Ralph Peters nails it in the New York Post:

Israel can deal with self-aggrandizing busybodies, such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose irresponsible attempts to force a cease-fire upon Israel benefit only Hamas. (Carla, can’t you give that guy something to do?) But Israel would be hard pressed to fight on without American support.
As government leaders and generals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv weigh the question of whether or not to send tanks into Gaza’s streets, they hear the clock ticking. A major ground incursion would take time. Would Israel Defense Forces soldiers find themselves fighting on political quicksand?
Despite the frankly anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish reporting of this conflict in the global media, Israel’s military performance not only has been technically superb, but has been as humane as possible under such difficult circumstances.

Posted in Barack Obama, Israel | Tagged Barack Obama, french president nicolas, french president nicolas sarkozy, israel defense forces, nicolas sarkozy, president nicolas sarkozy | Comments Off

Excited About Judaism

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Luke Ford

As a convert to Judaism, I hear from a lot of people who are also interested in converting to Judaism.

Among the many reasons they list for their love of Judaism, excitement over the many demands of Jewish Law is never one of them.

Instead, they list things such as meaning, ethical monotheism, elevating the mundane, joining God’s chosen people who have their own country, etc.

When these people convert to Judaism, they quickly find that the only Jewish group that takes Judaism seriously is the Orthodox whose own idea of taking Judaism seriously is commitment to fulfilling the many demands of halacha (Jewish Law). Letdown is inevitable. The mature then grasp that the best way to fulfill the abstract ideals that inspired their conversion is by acting on the daily demands of their new religion (the Orthodox conversion program tends to be so rigorous that it weeds out those who aren’t committed to the program).