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Show OPINION CI FAIPlUZI112 ta: i'iV V, I ,..J ',........,,, k , , , - ,f ', , I 0 I . F i tN, ''' 'I ! r I ,.,, I v 1 I , ) , 1 --- 1 I 1 1 L .. cil:iT:: BYJONN HOLLAND trippyjedi The story of the Grinch and how he stole Christmas in a pinch has come a classic tale that has yet to grow stale. It is, in fact, quite intact and this version, without question is my favorite holiday cinema presentation. or When speaking a Dr. about writing Seuss classic, it is hard not to come up with a mom 1 I I t i Nimm, r. , , I d clever rhyme. It's one of the reasons I loved Dr. just a small portion of Seuss when I was young and still love his stories today. My favorite of all being "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," which tation. The 2018 retelling of the Grinch is animated. Not like the television version your parents and grandparents are familiar with, but digitally animated with such precision and skill that the textures of fur, textiles, snow and comfy blankets look deceptively real. The characters themselves are animated so well I nearly forgot that Cindy Lou Who, The Grinch and all the other "Whos down in Whoville" are cartoons. receives it's third screen adaptation with Illumination Entertainment's "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch." I looked forward to hearing the rhymes stored within the confines of my subconscious memory, and I was not disappointed. I smiled when I heard the words: "It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight, but I think the most likely reason of all, may have been that his heart was two sizes too Caney. Similar to the 2000 film, this telling of Dr. Seuss' miserly character who passionately hates Christmas, gives Mr. Grinch a back story. Both ed. The work the animators put into this really shows and they should be small." However, nostalgia is caused by events from that past. Thus, the Grinch is no longer a meanie who really dislikes the holiday, he is a loner who can't relate to the Whos and their abundant love for all things Christmas. In the book, Mr. Grinch doesn't understand the meaning of Christmas and by the end of the story he learns that Christmas is more than presents, In a way, they gave it more of a human element than did the 2000 live action film starring Jim If Illumination doesn't get an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, I'll be surprised and disappoint- this and the n live-actio- treats and joyous music. In this modern version, Grinch hates Christmas for a very human reason and his meanness towards the Whos and his desire to take Christmas away from them is a reflection of the pain he so desperately wants to avoid. Since Christmas reminds him of his pain, he decides to do away with Christmas. For the most touching, humorous, entertaining and Christmassy film of the holiday season, might I suggest, just as a test, if you really need a reason, it's truly a cinch, go see "Dr Seuss' The Grinch." tell us why the Grinch hates Christmas so much, presenting us with a more intimately relatable character than before. In this years film, the back story doesn't include him having a crush on a girl at school and being made fun of. Instead, his past is a more somber one and his hatred of Christmas comes from a deep scar rewarded for their efforts. Still, the animation is not the only reason I enjoyed the film. As is the humor, so masterfully injected into the movie like in other Illumination Entertainment productions like "Despicable Me" and "The Secret Life of Pets." For me, the most integral piece to this beautiful contribution to animated film is they gave the story of the Grinch more heart. why I love this new adap- t,,, . California has one calamity after another BY STEVE LOPEZ Los Angeles Times We have no hurricanes, cyclones or statewide freezes in California. Everything else, we have. Earthquakes, yes. Torrential downpours, yes. Mudslides, yes. Extended droughts, yes. A president who kicks us when we're down, yes. All that, as well as mass shootings and killer firestorms that devour parched vegetation, homes, people and everything else in their path. A town named Paradise has been reduced to ash. More than three dozen are dead in the Tubbs fire. The Woolsey fire marches on West Hills and Malibu. Thousand Oaks residents wind-whipp- ed g went from to vigils praying that their homes would not burn. You stand in wait of a mass-killin- tsunami, squadrons of locusts or volcanic eruptions, all of which are within the realm, and wonder how much more California must endure. The answer, unfortunately, is quite a bit, if history is a good marker. And if you consider the fact that the state is built for disaster, yet we are helpless against its charms, drawn by growing millions to a theater of calamity. The 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed San Francisco is still a reminder that the state is always an instant away from major catastrophe. We are cracked from Eureka to Escondido, a pair of fragile plates grinding in different directions, and the southern portion J of the San Andreas fault is frighteningly overdue for a quake that could kill thousands and knock out water, power, transportation and communication lines for months. The topography of mountain and basin teams with droughtdeluge cycles to invite wicked wildfires, and we're addicted to building in suspiciously unsafe places. h "From the to the early 20th centuries, earthquakes, floods, fire, disease and other catastrophes shaped and California's natural environment and 9' - I, -- ' -- I . ',,,,,.-- .::0',,:-,- ), ''',':'!:'''.'1,...'' , .:,,,, ..,. L, ,.: , '. i',' ..' ) 4..;,.ii'l:', '' - :i1;24 i'',,';'1. ' ' ; 'It, mid-1800- f 4.,''f , rTe'""4,-Ac-- ' , . ; ' ''''t , 71 - i c'' ',:: iivr . . ; - , ''''!'' 1.'' tyr4f.; ''''''!;'-',''- -4.' ;''' ' ' 4 ?; ' ,, , , i ''' ,,, 1 , 4 ,. i .';''., 2 , .,, 't,',: .' ''' :' -- - ., ,r,,,,,,,,,, 1 , .,.. '' .... -- ,, ,, ,':', , , ,, ,,, ,, ); , ,t (1 I ''''' ' 1' ! .,''" ' . x ,: : '',- - ,'-- ,0 : .,...1,1,'7r,: , , - t,,,,,, ,,,,.;,;,,,,,. ii ' , , .... , ':' , . - ,,-,:,- ,,,,, ,,, ,..1,2,.:,,,:,:- -.. , -- i ,.., ,i ' ;,,7-, ,1:?F',-- ,, - .,; , , ,, .., 7 ,, , ',:',,. '2.7 ,, , -- , ' ,, .. ,;,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,.. , , i , , , , ., . . ., - 4:44y ,. ,, ...,...,,, ', , .,,,.,-,,- '.i ,,..,..,-- ,,- , ,- ; ,,,,:4;,-,,,,,- t '... . ,. , .,(Z,:$4,- - '''''' .,.,,-- .; 41. ', t , f,' , . ' ;.''' , , ., , ,.. , ,.,,, ., I ' , ,4,-- , , -- 1 1 4 ' '00, ,;',1- ., V , 'r '' , ''"- - - , 4, :!,,';:' 4,:'!,,i- , ' 'T' . ,, '''',.-- . ",-,.- ' -,. , ....- .. , i , !'. , - ;Ll' .,,.:''''' - 1 - , :.... ) ' 1 :1',..', - 1 1 N, :- ' 2,,, 7'yti ,,,,4, '4;: IV l',:i;.-',Y.', . - .. ' :if''',:q''''',4 ', tr,e,, '''' ' f' ,.., A.,!, , :, ..' s': ,,;,,,, :,,b el4 ..:,..1.,.,,: :1.s 4' ''t .cy:'4,...., - .r ' , - , , 1 .i . .. , : ' t i l'. .'1J4- i ' ,I ,i ' ,. i ' , ,- - -- 1 t--, ASO . ' i ' -- - ', I ,'t , ,' j. ) -' 1 ,,, . .. 1 ,,,,,4.,,,, ' i , ' (--- 1 1 ' , if , , t, .1?' - - ,, 1., , ,, , :,,,''''''',' -- ' 1 ',, V' i i ii ;Y,4. A,' i , ',t,!,f,''..,'' , ,' ' - -, , sq, i, ,,, , i '.'' , , - s, population boom. These newcomers naturally built new towns and cities around bays, harbors, rivers, mountains and fertile valleys. But because they didn't know the landscape's history, some communities were built on top of potentially dangerous environmental factors, such as flood plains and unseen earthquake faults." Some climate scientists warn that the droughtdeluge cycle is tied to global warming, and could intensify. Before all of California is reduced to kindling, we need to rethink how and where we build. tP,' 't;,,it.',-.,,- - ,''''' '',1'.';'r''''44 CI, . ''.,- ' ,,. ,',, ,..,:,..;,,,,.::,,,,,,2,:,,,,,,i.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i,,,,,,,.;;:,,,,,:,. the new towns and cities growing up across the state," said the text of a 2011 University of California exhibit on the But by the the Gold Rush brought a 'l 4A 'Aerfe 'sft , 7014' ;7.A,, ' ' .,:;',';;;Yi.4:'' ' tç . si, , mid-19t- state's history of natural disaster. "Before European and American development, native Californian groups altered the landscape purposefully to preserve it, and avoided areas they knew to be dangerous. ''''''',r;'..','--'.,'- Y,.,t t , 7r.-, ," 'Ak:'''''",,,,,,' ''',..,-t",!,;:.,:, ,f !'. .. n iV' ,. 110.0,., r..9,,P,T0017.,,,P,,OmWFMNI.BW,,,Mar.( 777 -- : ' I ,',',',,,i, Col ,.'),';'' t;,,,, J.,- - ,,' i ' , i 1 t , , . - , ,, , 1 1 P 1 , , ' I ., ' .,., , , . , , , , 2, , I - .. , -.. -- , , - , ,.. - .1.. . 1t s show how much we love living in California is to better understand its history and respect its power. "Surprisingly, most disaster survivors whether displaced by flood, fire, or earthquake did not leave or move to safer ground," said the text of the UC Berkeley exhibit. "Instead, people worked to rebuild and reshape their cities in the same place. They used newer and better building materials and techniques, hoping to create sturdier structures that would withstand another natural disaster." Well, they did and they didn't. And the time to re- think the planning of the landscape is before, rather than after the damage is done. All over California in A C Marc Bauer, with LA County Fire 85 in South Glendora, works the Woolsey fire at the Salvation Army Camp Lawrence Santa Monica Mountains off Malibu Canyon, miles up the road behind Pepperdine in Malibu, California, on Nov. 11. Housing developments, some of them relatively. new, line the San Andreas in the Coachella Valley, and cities throughout Southern California have done little to shore up seismic safety on commercial and residential developments. Maybe the best way to f , in the the last few days, we've seen stories of people offering support to those who have lost loved ones or property. We've seen firefighters and other responders risking their lives to save others. We cling to the edge of the continent, shaken by loss, too foolish to run, or too much in love. N |