LA Fire Victims Are Betting on a Radical Idea to Help Them Rebuild
Kim and Chien Yu's love story began with a giant dalmatian costume. Kim was donning the head of a Sparky the Fire Dog suit for a public awareness day at the Pasadena Fire Department when she spotted Chien, a former high school classmate turned firefighter. Kim, who'd recently started a job as a hazardous materials inspector for the city, struck up a conversation—easy to do in the guise of a friendly canine. Their shared history led to a date, and within a few years they married and had two sons. In 2018 they bought a house a few doors down from one of Kim's co-workers, Phyllis Lansdown, who'd always raved about her block on Highview Avenue in nearby Altadena. 'I would just joke about how, 'Oh my gosh, it would be so amazing to live on your block someday,' ' Kim says. 'And then we found ourselves being neighbors, and it was everything that she said it was and more.'
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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
At Our Lady of the Angels, free organ recitals unleash the majesty of Los Angeles
Even in a building as massive as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown, the organ stands out. How could it not? Standing 85 feet tall behind the right side of the altar, weighing 42 tons, featuring over 6,000 pipes and bearing the epic name Opus 75, it looks half smokestacks, half battleship and all awesome. It's regularly used during Mass and has hosted organists from around the world since its 2003 debut. But what's coolest about Opus 75 — and what not enough people know — is that the Cathedral holds free lunchtime recitals featuring its star instrument on the first Wednesday of each month. As an organ fanatic, I have long wanted to attend one. I finally had the chance this week. Accompanied by my Times colleague (and fellow classical music head) Ruben Vives, I arrived at the cathedral during the daily 12:10 service, just before the Eucharist. Resident organist Sook Hyun Kim worked the King of Instruments like the seasoned pro she is, including a moving version of 'Make Me a Channel of Your Peace' — an apropos hymn for the era of Pope Leo XIV. About 40 people representing the breadth of L.A. — white, Latino, Asian, Black and all age groups — spread out across the pews after Mass ended to listen to guest organist Emma Yim. The 22-year-old graduated from UCLA (Go Bruins!) two years ago with degrees in biology and organ performance. She is pursuing a master's from our alma mater in the latter discipline, does research for a UCLA Department of Medicine women's health lab and also plays the cello. Man, and I thought I covered a lot of ground! Her choice for the cathedral recital: three of the five movements from French composer Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony No. 5. It would be Yim's first time playing Opus 75. The first movement was mostly variations on a cascading theme. Kim stood to Yim's side to flip the pages of the score while the latter's hands leaped around the rows of the organ's keys. Yim played at first like she didn't want to tempt the power of the behemoth before her — the notes were soft and cautious. But during Widor's playful second movement, the young adults in attendance who had been on their smartphones began to pay attention. Heads began to sway with every swirl of Baroque-like chords that Yim unleashed. 'I could hear elements of 'Lord of the Rings' in there,' Ruben whispered to me as we looked on from our center pews. She skipped two movements to perform the Fifth's fifth, better known as Widor's Toccata. Its soaring passages have made it a popular song for weddings. More people began to poke their head in from the hallways that ring the cathedral's worship space to see what was going on. Yim became more animated as she worked the keys and foot pedals faster and faster. High-pitched arpeggios accentuated resonant bass notes. Kim stopped flipping the score, stepped back and looked on in awe like the rest of us as Yim roused Opus 75 to its full might. The majesty of L.A. suddenly crossed my mind. Even in tough times like these, it's unsurpassed in beauty, in its people and especially in its capacity to surprise and delight in places expected and not. It's people like Yim and performances like hers that stir us all forward to a better place. The recital ended. 'Beautiful, just beautiful,' Ruben said, and I agreed. The applause the crowd gave Yim was swallowed up by the cathedral's size and our sparse numbers, but she was visibly moved. 'Thank you all for coming,' the youngster quietly said, and we all went off to our day. Kim told Ruben and me that the cathedral's organ series will take a summer break before it relaunches in September. See you then! Polly says, 'My dad used to love the saying, 'if you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space!' He would say it as reminder for himself and to my sister and I to not overthink things and to just let loose, stop worrying, or try something new.' Peter says, 'I was around 8 or 9 years old and prattling on about something I knew nothing about, when my father sternly admonished me. He said 'Peter, you only learn when you listen, never when you talk.' His words resonated and got me to my core.' Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Today's great photo is from Times photographer Juliana Yamada at the Manhattan Beach home of Paul and Cailin Goncalves, who turned their formerly compartmentalized home and ADU into a bright, flexible family home. Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Kim Kardashian Turns Heads With Bizarre Courthouse Behavior
Kim Kardashian Turns Heads With Bizarre Courthouse Behavior originally appeared on Parade. If there's one thing the Kardashians know how to do, it's how to make lemonade out of lemons. After all, they first sprung to fame after the release of Kim Kardashian's infamous sex tape, which happened to coincide with the launch of their long-running reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The rest, as they say, is history. Back in 2016, the most famous Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris—a traumatic event for anybody, to say the least. Now, Kim has found herself back in the French city to testify at the trial of the so-called "grandpa gang" who robbed her. But her behavior outside the courthouse has gotten people talking. In true Kardashian fashion, the family is apparently aiming to make lemonade out of Kim's horrific robbery. According to Radar Online, the reality star showed up to court with a "full entourage" that included an entire camera crew. "Her team was constantly asking where they could set up for confessionals between breaks," a source told Radar. "It was like a scene from Law & Order: The Kardashians." It appears that we'll get to see the trial play out from the inside on the next season of the family's Hulu reality show. Reportedly, the massive entourage made French court officials "uncomfortable." While the behavior may seem odd to outsiders, it's not exactly surprising. After all, Kim has been accused of calling the paparazzi on herself several times. "Let's be honest," another source told Radar, "everything is content for Kim." Putting content and media buzz aside, a family insider insisted this was simply Kim's way of taking back power over the situation. "This was one of the darkest times in her life," they explained. "If sharing it helps someone, or adds ratings, she's going to do it." In another victory for Kim, eight of the ten people tried were found guilty. Kim Kardashian Turns Heads With Bizarre Courthouse Behavior first appeared on Parade on Jun 2, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Google Tests AI Versions of High-Profile Influencers
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. The implementation of gen AI seems to get weirder and weirder, while we're continually told about how valuable and useful such experiences will become. Which could be true, I guess, but it is a little strange to see the pathways we're taking to increased value and relevance. Case in point, today, Google has launched a new AI experiment called 'Portraits,' which is essentially AI-generated depictions of famous people, that can offer conversational advice and notes in the voice of the person they're based on. As explained by Google: 'Portraits, a new experiment from Google Labs, lets you interact conversationally with AI representations of trusted experts, built in partnership with the experts themselves. Our first Portrait features Kim Scott, bestselling author of 'Radical Candor,' and offers AI-powered coaching inspired by her renowned communication and leadership principles.' Coaching, from an automated system based on machine learning prompts. Sure, what could possibly go wrong? 'Imagine having direct access to Kim's guidance to navigate tough workplace situations or practice difficult conversations. Simply ask your questions, and the Portrait will use Gemini's understanding and reasoning capabilities to generate a relevant and insightful response, drawing directly from Kim's content and speaking in her voice via an illustrated avatar.' So it's really just another way to find relevant segments of advice from this person based on conversational prompts. So rather than having to read all of Scott's books, and/or memorize key approaches, the system will give you easy access to relevant sections, based on Gemini's understanding of your query. Is that beneficial? I mean, maybe speaking with the actual person would offer some assurance and guidance, but relying on an AI system for the same seems like a far less valuable experience. But then again, if this process can offer similar advice, based on the available corpus of knowledge created by this person, that's maybe, kind of the same thing? Maybe? Google says that the unique value of Portraits is that they are directly linked to real-world trusted experts, like Scott, who have provided their own knowledge and voice. 'The foundation is the creator's authentic content, which ensures conversations stay focused on their specific areas of expertise. We've conducted extensive testing and implemented user feedback mechanisms to proactively identify and address potential problematic scenarios.' I would still presume that many of these experts would prefer to have real-world context for any advice they give, and I doubt the advice provided will be wholly relevant. But maybe, as a self-help tool, with expert guidance, it could be another way to utilize AI systems for good. Meta's working on similar, with AI versions of creators that can respond to fans. Meta's hoping that this will provide additional engagement opportunities, without imposing additional workload on creators, but I don't see why this would be valuable, as you're not actually talking to the real person. So why the facade? Why bother putting a face to an AI system when it is, in fact, just the same as talking to a bot? Portraits is a little different, in that it is trained on each subject's responses and output. But it still feels like it's missing the key element of celebrity interaction, being the actual interaction and connection itself. Either way, it's another experiment, and it'll be interesting to see how users respond to AI versions of high-profile folk. Google says that Portraits is now available in the U.S., while people can also register their interest in their own Portrait depiction. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
