Justin’s Newsletter: December 2024
Vol. 4, Issue 12
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MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
AND WELCOME TO THE TIME OF THE TOAD…
What’s Up With Me
Presenting one of the biggest interviews of my career (perhaps second only to President Jimmy Carter, who sadly passed away today at 100): Gerry Adams, the Irish republican politician from Sinn Féin who helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement that ended the Troubles in Northern Ireland. We talked about the GFA, the recent Irish election, the Kneecap movie and band, whether and when the island of Ireland will be united, the armed struggle during the Troubles, his legacy in Irish history, his new book projects, whether he'll run for president of Ireland next year, and more. Check it out! Watch the full interview here.
I delivered a presentation on Paradise Springs during a virtual event hosted by the California Preservation Foundation, in what turned out to be one of their highest rated events ever. Watch the event here.
Watch the latest episode of Pasadena Media's award-winning TV show "Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman," featuring a review of the month's top stories, a history segment, and an interview with Victor Ving, mural artist who painted the “Greetings from Pasadena” postcard mural at Colorado Blvd. and Arroyo Parkway. Read more here.
My Year in Review
A very depressing year, in many ways. A mixed bag, at best. That said, I’m grateful for the family and friends I do have, my job at the City of Pasadena which is the perfect fit for me, and the things I was able to accomplish this year. Please excuse the shameless self-promotion—cuz if I don’t do it, who will?
In 2024:
Huttopia published my new book, Paradise Springs. The book is currently only available for purchase from me (reply to this email) or at Huttopia's Paradise Springs camp store in Southern California, 18101 Paradise Dr., Valyermo, CA 93563.
Huttopia has refurbished the Charlie Chaplin Cabin (seen on the cover), where the comedian had extramarital trysts and handbuilt a wooden staircase that still stands today. Drift Travel Magazine covered it and mentioned me and my new book.
The book was a finalist in the Non-Fiction Book category of the LA Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards earlier this month.
My Pasadena Media-produced TV show, “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman,” won a 1st place award in the Talk Show (Professional Producer) category at the Alliance for Community Media West’s WAVE (Western Access Video Excellence) Awards in the spring. Watch the winning episode here.
I also won a 3rd place journalism award in the Talk/Public Affairs (Broadcast) category in the LA Press Club’s 66th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards for my TV show "Pasadena Monthly.” And I was also a finalist in the Anchor/Host category.
I wrote a 5,000-word obituary for Pasadena Now about my old mentor, friend, and former Pasadena Weekly editor Kevin Uhrich, who passed away in August at age 65. We held a memorial for him at The 35er in Old Pasadena (where Kevin spent a small fortune), which was attended by the Mayor of Pasadena, Victor Gordo, and the former Mayor of Pasadena and the city’s newest Councilmember, Rick Cole. The event was covered by the Pasadena Star-News.
Also read stories by the ol’ PW gang: André Coleman, Carl Kozlowski, and Ellen Snortland. Other stories by Local News Pasadena, Pasadena Star-News, Pasadena Weekly, and Pasadena Now. You can watch the Pasadena City Council honor Kevin at its August 26 meeting (including remarks by me and André), starting at the 6:00 mark.
I was also quoted in this Pasadena Now story about Kevin's book about a brutal and still-unsolved 1968 murder in Pennsylvania, Death in the House of Broken Hearts. Order a copy!
I interviewed James Bond scholar Mark Edlitz on my other TV show "Well Read" about his excellent new book, James Bond After Fleming: The Continuation Novels. Check it out here.
I interviewed Irish journalist Rory Carroll of The Guardian on "Well Read.” Rory is the author of There Will Be Fire: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That Changed History, about the IRA's nearly successful attempt to assassinate Thatcher by blowing up her hotel in 1984. Watch the episode here.
I traveled with a Pasadena Delegation to Guanajuato, Mexico, to explore whether we should establish a Sister Cities relationship between Pasadena and Guanajuato. Read our full report here. A delegation of folks from Guanajuato are currently here exploring Pasadena.
I traveled to Ireland and Northern Ireland to visit family and explore the Motherland. Stay tuned for my story about the trip.
I wrote a story about how Hunter S. Thompson wrote part of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the book that made him a literary icon and created a whole new style of journalism called gonzo, right outside the border of Pasadena in March and April 1971.
I wrote an article for Local News Pasadena about former Congress member Liz Cheney’s talk in Pasadena.
I wrote a story about music festivals in Southern California.
I was mentioned in this New Yorker story about misinformation/disinformation, and some of my research on Mad Mike Hughes was cited. My book on him is almost done, stay tuned!
Around Town
Great Reads
Here are some recommendations for interesting books I’ve read recently:
Before the Dawn and Hope and History—Gerry Adams
Irish republican politician Gerry Adams, who as mentioned above was a key figure in the Good Friday Agreement negotiations in the 90s, has written many books, but these two specifically deal with his life during the Troubles. Before the Dawn covers his early life to his getting involved in the civil rights struggle in the 60s to his life on the run in the 70s to the hunger strikes of the early 80s. Hope and History picks up from there and covers his political life, including his role in negotiating peace in the North. Both essential for anyone interested in Ireland and the Troubles.
Kim Philby: The Spy I Loved—Eleanor Philby
The Kim Philby case fascinates me. Philby was, of course, a British intelligence officer in MI6 who was secretly supplying information to Soviet intelligence for nearly 30 years. He was unmasked as a double agent in 1963 when he fled to Moscow. He was one of the Cambridge Five, the infamous spy ring. This 1968 memoir by his ex-wife Eleanor—who went to live with Philby in Moscow for a while after his defection until she caught him cheating with the wife of another member of the Cambridge Five, Donald Maclean—is a revealing and unique look at his life behind the Iron Curtain. A movie was made based on this book starring Sharon Stone, “A Different Loyalty.”
Great Listens & Watches
Last month, just days after I wrote in my newsletter that the Modest Mouse show I attended the day after the election—at which they played their seminal album “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” in its entirety in addition to a mindblowing second set—was the balm I needed to heal my post-election wounds, I saw this article that makes the exact same argument about the exact same album. I encourage you to read it.
"Life is brutal, but we’re here, so we might as well try to make the most of it."
“If life's not beautiful without the pain, well, I'd just rather never ever even see beauty again. And if it takes shit to make bliss, well, I feel pretty blissfully.”
Spotlight on My Past Stories
RIP President Jimmy Carter. Thank you for being a champion of peace. Throwback to when I interviewed him on the phone for a Pasadena Weekly cover story. I later gave him a copy in person at Vroman’s Bookstore.
And read all of my journalism here.