And The California Dreaming Winner Is ....

Courtesy Quinn Kiesow

We wanted a grand finale for Day to Day's California Dreaming series, so we asked artists to send their musical takes on the California Dream. Among the dozens of submissions, one track stood out from the rest because of its unique approach; the instruments are urban sounds.

Quinn Kiesow, 25, created his entry Los Angeles, entirely out of noises he recorded in that city. The track follows him through a day in L.A., from a construction site to a coffee shop, past kids on skate boards, chirping birds and whistling pedestrians. He blends the click-clack of a woman's high heels, the swoosh of a public bus' brakes and the thrash of a jack-hammer to make music.

This morning, Alex Chadwick and Madeleine Brand speak with him on Day to Day.You can find the interview here, along with full versions of his sound-songs of Los Angeles, Barcelona, Madrid and New York.

In his submission entry, he wrote that though his California dream may not have panned out the way he had hoped when he first left Wisconsin, he's found a place that inspires him to "actually do the things I want to do." Ultimately, he finds this "less glamorous" but "more fulfilling than I could have ever expected."

And if you sent in your favorite California song of all-time -- we didn't forget you! We got so many submissions that it was hard to pick the top five. But we did it. Our (unscientific) formula: if song was nominated tons of times or was just plain amazing it had a good chance of making it on the list. Here you go with comments and in some cases -- listening instructions.

Tags: California Dream | music

11:54 AM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

All the Saints

--Skye Rohde

I'm a producer here at NPR, but I also like to do some reporting from time to time. There's no shortage of interesting people in Los Angeles, but I knew the moment I first heard about J. Michael Walker's exhibit at the Autry National Center that I wanted to do a story about him.

Walker realized that there were a whole lot of streets in Los Angeles named for saints -- 103 to be exact -- when he was looking through what has long been a second bible to Angelenos, a spiral-bound book of maps called the Thomas Guide. He recognized the importance of these saints in L.A.'s cultural history. He began exploring the histories of the saints and the nooks and crannies of the streets. Then he created new saint portraits based on the people he met.

I've never seen anyone approach a city the way J. Michael Walker does. And the result -- now on the walls of the Autry and in book form too (title: All the Saints of the City of the Angels) -- is fascinating. I spent many hours with Walker over the last few months, talking with him about his art and our city and the "road trip through the cultural history of Los Angeles" that he created. My radio piece airs this afternoon on All Things Considered. I know this is the Day to Day blog, but hey: It's a great California story!

5:22 PM ET | 08-29-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Education Dreams and Nightmares

--Shereen Meraji

Once upon a time, California's public schools were highly regarded, but now they're ranking at the bottom of the list of public schools in the United States.

On today's "California Dreamin'" radio segment, NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates profiles a public school in Los Angeles trying to tackle these difficult issues. West Adams Preparatory High School is one of Los Angeles' newest schools, the first class will graduate in 2009. The 2,600 students are divided into smaller schools that reflect their career interests. The "school within a school" structure is intended to keep students from getting lost in the shuffle.

But what do YOU think California needs to do to improve the public school system? Are you a graduate of the California public schools? Share your thoughts, and, if you have a public school dream or nightmare, tell us about it below. We want to hear from you matter where you live.

1:09 PM ET | 08-25-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

The Land of Weed

--Gary Dauphin

In addition to learning how to wait for the light, newcomers to California often marvel at the fact that it is (kinda sorta) legal to buy doctor-prescribed pot under the 12-year-old medical marijuana statute described in today's California Dreamin' segment. (Also check out a this report of trip taken to pot business school Oaksterdam University by NPR Digital's own Heather Murphy.)

Disbelief was certainly my reaction. One of the first people I met after moving to Los Angeles' historic core was a "clinic supervisor" who worked out of my favorite coffee shop brokering appointments between potential patients and a band of doctors stashed in a nearby loft. Dude was the picture of the gentleman pot dealer -- relaxed, congenial, informed, non-threatening -- and on more than one occasion he expounded on California's pot laws to me, this as a prelude to pressing a club-style flyer into my hand and assuring me a quick and easy diagnosis for "anxiety." It seemed too good to be true, and, given the way he abruptly disappeared one day, I think it actually was.

Continue reading "The Land of Weed" »

12:17 PM ET | 08-18-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Friday Pot Blogging

Monday's California Dreaming segment will be all about California's curious pot culture, where those in need have been able to legally procure marijuana from state licensed dispensaries for over a decade. To get you in the mood, we did a search of Youtube for "weed pot ganja white widow california thai stick" and this is what we found.

Continue reading "Friday Pot Blogging" »

5:24 PM ET | 08-15-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

California Beautiful

You can't write about the California Dream (as we did in today's California Dreamin' segment) without mentioning beauty. And in Southern California, it's imperative that you look HOT. The gyms here are filled with hard-bodied men and sinewy women. A full pout, dewy skin, and very little body hair are requirements for being on the celebrity A-list. (And protruding cheekbones don't hurt, either. Check out this New York Magazine feature on the new, new face of Hollywood.)

Elham Jazab (below) is a wax technician trying to take advantage of that quest for a "new face" in order to fulfill her own California Dream of becoming a successful actor and comedian. Her comedy is influenced by her Iranian background, her work as a wax technician and her experiences living in beauty obsessed Los Angeles.

Video by Shereen Meraji/NPR

Continue reading "California Beautiful" »

8:09 AM ET | 08-11-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

More Reading the California Dream

You can't see them in this picture of Jason, but there's a pool and a book outside the frame.

Jason DeRose, NPR

--Jason DeRose: Why does someone like myself--with an abiding love for the Midwest--like to read about the Golden State? I avoided California for the first 25 years of my life. But a much-needed post-grad school vacation here in Los Angeles made me fall in love with the place. Drinking margaritas on the patio. Lolling by the pool. And, of course, reading. I read books about or set in the places I vacation. So, over the last decade, I've been reading about Southern California. Then, earlier this year, I moved here from Chicago to work on Day to Day. I think the reading had something to do with the move. Oddly, not all of these books are flattering. California is a place of contradictions. But they're all true--even the fictions.

Here's my list:

Continue reading "More Reading the California Dream" »

1:09 PM ET | 08- 8-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Reading the California Dream

Image by Flickr.com user striatic

--Skye Rohde

As luck would have it, I designed my college major to focus on what the academic in me likes to call "the intersection between person and place." That led me to a whole lot of history, geology and literature about the American West, and California plays a central role in all those stories.

I make no claims about being an expert on "California Lit;" this is just a sampling of what's out there about California. In fact, it's technically just what's on my bookshelf at home. But I'd be curious to know what folks think of these books - and to hear what people would include on their own lists about life in California.

Continue reading "Reading the California Dream" »

12:52 PM ET | 08- 5-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Auto Erotic

--Gary Dauphin

Newton's Third Law of Motion states that "For every action, there is an equal and opposite re-action," so one way to understand the emerging phenomena of "car shame" that Madeleine Brand details in today's California Dreamin' segment is as an equal and opposite reaction to America's "car love."

Continue reading "Auto Erotic" »

12:14 PM ET | 08- 4-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Shereen Needs Music: PART TWO

Last week we put out a call for your favorite California songs and I have more than I know what to do with! Not only did music lovers send me their favorite tunes about the Golden State but I also received a number of original submissions from musicians. Thank you! We are going to compile a list of your favorite California songs -- and post it -- very soon.

We're still taking song submissions from artists and we only have one requirement: YOUR SONG HAS TO BE ABOUT CALIFORNIA. That's it. So send an mp3 of your music here We're going to broadcast our favorite(s) when California Dreaming ends on Labor Day.

And for those of you who wrote in to say your favorite song is Randy Newman's, "I love L.A." Enjoy this video:

--Shereen Meraji

12:49 PM ET | 07-28-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Surf or Die! ...Or Move!

Becker Surfboards CEO Dave Hollander tests out one of his boards.
Photo courtesy Becker Surfboards

--Alex Cohen

I've always thought that you can't truly call yourself a Californian unless you try surfin--at least once.

That said, I put it off for most of my life. I didn't know what I feared more: getting sucked into the undertow or what I would look like in a wetsuit.

Then, in the summer of 2005, my husband and I decided to move to Texas and I decided I couldn't leave the golden state without giving it a go. So, one Saturday morning, I woke up very early and headed to Malibu with my friends Kara and Danny.

I was lucky enough to borrow a friend's wetsuit and another friend's board. I headed out the ocean... and made a complete idiot of myself. Despite Kara and Danny's excellent tutelage, I think I might have been able to stand up on the board for a whopping two seconds. I spent most of the day letting myself get pounded by the waves over and over and over again.

Continue reading "Surf or Die! ...Or Move!" »

11:37 AM ET | 07-28-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Not So Dreamy

A heads-up to people thinking of moving to the Golden State: don't pack your bags yet. This just in from The Field Poll:

"RECORD NUMBER OF CALIFORNIANS REPORT BEING FINANCIALLY WORSE OFF. MOST DO NOT EXPECT IMPROVEMENT NEXT YEAR."

According to the poll, 63% of Californians say they're financially worse off this year than last. That percentage is higher for low income (73%) and middle class (66%) Californians. The poll surveyed 422 registered California voters in both English and Spanish between July 8th and 14th of this year.

Here's the central question from the survey:

Would you say that you and your family are financially better off or worse off today than you were a year ago?

Daydreaming reader, WHEREVER YOU LIVE, how would YOU answer that question? Please submit those answers in the comment selection below and don't forget to tell us where you're writing in from. Your stories may be featured in our California Dreaming radio series

--Shereen Marisol Meraji

9:30 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Shereen Needs Music

Hey, beloved Day to Day listener/Daydreaming reader,

Last week, we put a call out for songs to include in our comprehensive list of the best songs ever recorded about California. We've gotten some responses, but need more. It can be anything, from the obvious to the obscure, so please post your suggestion in the comment section below.

Also, we'd also like to hear from musicians out there working hard to make your California Dreams come true. If you have an original song you've written about California, you can either post a link to the song below or us an email here and we'll respond by telling you where to drop the mp3. If it's awesome, we'll air it.

--Shereen Meraji

5:29 PM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Down and Out in Fresno

--Phillip WD Martin

As we learned during Phillip Martin's segment today on the California Dream, the least developed region in the U.S. isn't in Appalachia or the Mississippi Delta, it's in California's Central Valley. Phillip went to Fresno, County in the heart of the Central Valley, and to Manhattan's Upper East Side -- the nation's most developed area -- to compare and contrast.

It was 115 degrees when the United Airlines jet landed in Fresno under a brilliant mid-day sun. Once outside the terminal I was greeted by a blast of desert air and a Punjabi taxi driver who explained why he moved to this city of 500,000. Farming. That one word explains why communities representing eighty different ethnic groups have come to call Fresno home. This is America's bread-basket, and it requires all levels of work to get fresh fruits and vegetables from the ground to the marketplace. Farming also helps explain why Fresno County ranks dead last on the American Human Development Index, which measures aggregate health, education, income, longevity and other indicators on a congressional district by district basis.

Continue reading "Down and Out in Fresno" »

11:25 AM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

California's Maker Age

In Neal Stephenson's 1995 science-fiction novel The Diamond Age, or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, a working-class teenager named Nell navigates a world of limitless material bounty produced by nanotechnology -- tiny, molecular factories that can build a car, phone, or pile of diamonds out of thin air. Instead of ushering in an era of universal prosperity, though, Stephenson's Diamond Age is a time of nightmarish inequality where haves and have-nots are more stratified by their access to information than the residents of any medieval village. When anything can be made, knowing how to make things is the only real currency, and, in The Diamond Age, all aspects of that knowledge -- from simple literacy to copyright to engineering concepts -- are tightly regulated to keep society's Nells on the bottom rungs.

California is not quite living the Diamond Age (yet), but, as Celeste Headlee's report today points out, the state is home to plenty of dreamers trying to pull the more positive aspects of Stephenson's extreme DIY off the page and into reality.

Continue reading "California's Maker Age" »

1:05 PM ET | 07-14-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

California Tried to Get Rid of Me - Jill Hocking

In this week's look at What's Your California Dream?, we've been sharing the stories of listeners who have left California behind. In this installment, Jill Hocking explains that California tried to get rid of her.

Continue reading "California Tried to Get Rid of Me - Jill Hocking" »

12:10 PM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Kyle Gibson's Dream, Short and Not So Sweet

On today's show we talked to some people who have given up on the California dream, and we'll be sharing some of their stories here on the blog. In this installment, Kyle Gibson breaks down his California disappointment down in under 150 words:

When I was a kid I used to think of Cali as a fantasy-like place of sunshine and happy faces. I wanted to go and see movies stars eating, walking , whatever. To become a surfing bum ,living on the water a part of a hippie, artistic, sunburned community. I finally made it to California at 30, and I stayed for 6 years, what a sad disappointment. I am very grateful to have come from the East Coast and even more grateful to be back.

If you'd like to share your story of finding (or abandoning) the California Dream, use the contact page provided here.

--Gary Dauphin

12:04 PM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Tessa Rodriguez Dreams of California... in NC

Tessa Rodriguez pursues her CA dream in NC; photo courtesy Tessa Rodriguez

Over the last several weeks, we've asked Day to Day listeners to share their vision of the California Dream. Fame, health, satisfaction, blue sky or innovation--what defines your California Dream? Is the economy forcing that dream to change?

We've been sharing listener responses both on-air and here on Daydreaming. But then we noticed a curious thing: Some of you were writing in to tell about leaving California behind. On today's show we talked to some people who have given up on the dream, and we'll be sharing some of their stories here on the blog. In this installment, Tessa Rodriguez explains how she had to leave the Bay Area for Greensboro to find the peace of mind and quality of life that she'd always been promised by California.

Continue reading "Tessa Rodriguez Dreams of California... in NC" »

11:56 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Matthew Howe's California Dream

Over the last several weeks, we've asked Day to Day listeners to share their vision of the California Dream. Fame, health, satisfaction, blue sky or innovation--what defines your California Dream? Is the economy forcing that dream to change?

We've been sharing listener responses both on-air and here on Daydreaming. But then we noticed a curious thing: Some of you were writing in to tell about leaving California behind. On today's show we talked to some people who have given up on the dream, and we'll be sharing some of their stories here on the blog. In this installment, Matthew Howe tells of finding his home in California-only to leave it behind.

Continue reading "Matthew Howe's California Dream" »

11:42 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Youtubing Watts

Earlier this week, Richard Gonzales took a look at the enduring legacy of 60s-era upheavals like the Watts Riots. Daydreaming sent NPR intern Sarah Whites-Koditschek to the intern's natural habitat (Youtube) in order to find us images of that iconic Watts landmark, the Watts Towers.

Continue reading "Youtubing Watts" »

2:46 PM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

The Future Began Yesterday

First, a confession: I'm a Baby Boomer born in the mid-Fifties who came of age watching the "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" (albeit in black and white).

Now, a disclaimer: as my NPR colleague Sara Sarasohn puts it, "I was born here, so I don't have a California Dream!"

But I grabbed the opportunity to take a look the history of Watts for this series because I've long analyzed and investigated what happened to my home state between 1954 and 1970. I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area so the magical realm of Disney and Disneyland seemed like a foreign country to me. By age ten, I was aware of the civil rights struggle and the campus unrest at nearby UC Berkeley. The Black Panthers had a stronghold near my junior high school in Richmond, California. I was too young to have a ringside seat for Watts, the Summer of Love, Altamont, and the rise of Ronald Reagan, but I knew that the California ground was shaking in more ways than one.

History's first draft take on Watts read a little differently back then:

Continue reading "The Future Began Yesterday" »

11:32 AM ET | 06-30-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Youtubing the CA Dream

When NPR interns aren't scouring the internets, airwaves, cable channels and print headlines for news of the day and important cultural developments, they're scouring the internets, airwaves, cable channels and print headlines for kicks and LOLCATS. We sent NPR intern Sarah Whites-Koditschek to the intern's natural habitat (Youtube) in order to find us images of the California Dream, and this is what she brought back.

Continue reading "Youtubing the CA Dream" »

1:21 PM ET | 06-25-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Shereen's Sparkly Gold

A Day to Day reenactment

Nihar Patel, NPR

I'm Shereen Meraji and I'm producing our California Dreaming series. In case you were wondering, when you're a radio producer you do just about everything: find stories, research, interview lots of people who never make it into the actual stories you found, drive, take dictation, edit audio, bring the hosts coffee and light reading.

(All of that is true, except for the coffee part. GET YOUR OWN COFFEE, MADELEINE!)

A bit about me. I'm a California native: born in Fresno, raised in Sacramento, educated in San Francisco and I live in Los Angeles. I've been with Day to Day from the beginning, the very first broadcast from right here in our Culver City studios.

Madeleine already told you why we chose California as a backdrop for this series and now you know why I'm the producer. "From Oakland to Sactown / the Bay Area and backdown / Cali's where I put my MACK down / GIVE ME LOVE!" (An NPR car window sticker goes to the first reader to tell me where that's from, no googling.)

Now let's talk gold.

All that glitters

Shereen Meraji, NPR

I think it's pretty obvious why we decided to go with gold for our first story. The Golden State has been Cali's official nickname since 1968, gold was discovered here more than a century before that, and the golden poppy is our state flower. On a personal note, because I'm half Puerto Rican and half Iranian, it's in my genetic make-up to buy lots of tacky gold accessories-- thanks mom and dad. So gold is something very close to my heart.

Research for this story started in my cubicle. We knew that gold prices were high...about 900 an ounce (depending on the day), and I had heard that people were starting to throw "gold parties." Gold parties are like old fashioned Tupperware parties where a host invites all their friends over and tells them to bring their unwanted gold to sell. A gold dealer comes to test and weigh the jewelry and everyone chomps on cheese and crackers (or carrot sticks and ranch?) while they wait to see how much their gold is worth, cash on the spot.

People are cash strapped right now in the Golden State because of gas prices, rising mortgages and high unemployment, so I set out to find a gold party. On my quest, which involved cold calling people from my cubicle, I came across Joseph Shamir, the gold buyer profiled in our story.

Linda Gray

Shereen Meraji, NPR

Joe didn't have a gold party scheduled in time for our broadcast, but he had an incredible story -- he was in the real estate loan business and when his business collapsed late last year, he was desperate for money. Joe sold more than $40,000 of his wife's jewelry and in the process realized that real estate was the wrong business. Now he owns a tiny shop called "Joe's Gold and Silver," where he buys peoples gold, silver and platinum and sells it for scrap.

And then Madeleine suggested pawn shops. (Thanks a lot, Madeleine!) I was hung up on more than a dozen times while trying to find a pawn shop owner willing to talk to me. I was even accused of being a telemarketer, and was hung up on.

I finally found a shop in Riverside, California, where the owner graciously gave us a tour and let us talk with his customers.

We met Linda Gray.

Day to Day's Kiss Army

Shereen Meraji, NPR

Linda was paying the interest on the gold jewelry her mom pawned to pay her Adjustable Rate Mortgage, which jumped from $1500 to $2400 dollars. She told us that she had pawned the gold necklace she was wearing a few times, to pay some of her own bills.

In the end, Madeleine and I agreed that the best thing about the pawn shop was the complete set of collector's edition KISS dolls on sale. I know they have nothing to do with gold, but they were priceless!

--Shereen Meraji

1:52 PM ET | 06-23-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Welcome to Daydreaming

Awesome!

Welcome to Daydreaming, the companion blog to our radio series, "California Dreamin'." It's where you and I can talk about our California dreams, and how they're being affected by this crazy economy.

Why are we doing this radio series? Here's a little peek behind the NPR curtain. One day in an editorial meeting we were brainstorming about how to cover the economic trouble people are in, and someone wondered aloud, "How is this going to affect people in the long term; how will it mess with their American Dream?"

"What if we narrowed it to California?" I suggested. After all, this state more than any other is a repository for people's dreams, even if all they know about California is that Jeff Spicoli went to high school here.

And then we noted practically that a) it was summer and the news is usually sparse, so a series would be good to rely on and b) NPR has also been affected by the economy and has no money to send to us on fancy remotes like the ones I took last summer here and here.

So my first story is based in more humble environs. Riverside, California, home to one of the nation's highest foreclosure rates.

We hope you dig the series and weigh in here at the blog about the status of your California dream. Remember, your California Dream doesn't have to be based in California.

--Madeleine Brand

9:35 AM ET | 06-23-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail