Justin’s Newsletter: June 2024
Vol. 4, Issue 6
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What’s Up With Me
Are you interested in purchasing a copy of my new book, Paradise Springs? The book is currently not available online, only at the Paradise Springs camp bookstore in Valyermo, CA, but I will soon be acquiring a number of copies and would be happy to sell them at cost to whoever would like one. The book is a significantly expanded version of my award-winning article for LAist, which you can read here. Let me know if you’re interested in buying a copy of my new book by replying to this email.
I 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 with Justin Chapman." Watch this month’s episode here, featuring a review of the month's top stories, a history segment, and an interview with Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco.
Read an article I wrote about recent music festivals in Southern California here. “Punk, Emo, and Indie Rock Are Still Kicking at Local Music Festivals: One thing is for sure—as The Exploited put it at the No Values music festival in Pomona last weekend: Punk’s not dead.”
Around Town
Great Reads
Here are some recommendations for interesting books I’ve read recently:
The Boys on the Bus—Timothy Crouse
This damning portrayal of the press corps covering the 1972 presidential election is essentially a companion to Hunter Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72. Crouse savages a weak, feckless, and even sometimes appeasing press that over-corrected for its supposed “liberal bias,” a misperception that Nixon’s camp manipulated to its cynical advantage. In many ways, the press has still not learned its lesson.
Trinity—Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley
A new UFO novel from blink-182 singer and guitarist DeLonge and his novelist partner Hartley. Set in 1962 in a fictional Nevada town called Trinity located near a military base similar to Area 51, a group of teenagers witness a nuclear bomb test that takes down a UFO while battling a Soviet agent who’s after pieces of the craft, all before the military contains the situation and resets the narrative that it was just a “non-essential satellite.” I would have preferred DeLonge’s and Hartley’s highly anticipated third installment of their excellent Sekret Machines series, but this was still a fun read.
Spotlight on My Past Stories
Remembering Fiesta Parade Floats, which the Tournament of Roses disqualified from building Rose Parade floats going forward.
And read all of my journalism here.