You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty on
this Friday Night with Narco Daila Cruz. Well, thank you so very much,
Mo. Happy Friday. All right, it is about that time.
It's time for discover Southern California. I went to the Los Angeles Arboretum and
Botanic Garden, located at three zero one North Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia. I
don't know why they don't call it botanic gardens. They just call it botanic
Garden. The Los Angeles Arburidum and Botanic Garden is one hundred and twenty seven
acres of colorful plants, flowers, and trees from all over the globe.
The Arboretum is located across the street from the Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia.
It's home to plant collections from all over the world, including many rare and
endangered species, while also serving an animal sanctuary, including many loud and exotic
pea fowl, which my friend and I got to see up close and personal.
The peacocks, which are the male worst thrutting their stuff trying to get
the pea hens the female's attention. The pea fowl that roam around the grounds
are descendants of a pair imported by Elias Jackson aka Lucky Baldwin from India back
in eighteen eighty. The peacocks are as loud as they are beautiful, and
I heard many of them around the arboretum, and the neighbors seem to be
complaining about the noise as well, but hey, they are there to stay.
One of them even greeted us as we entered. However, we kept
our distance because it's mating season right now, so you know, we're He
was a little rallied up, but we just let him be now. After
encountering the bedazzling mister peacock, we headed right along the path. Following different
paths. You could smell the eucalyptus trees and see the variety of trees that
were imported from all over the world. They have a plant collection from Africa,
Australia, Canary Islands, and Madagascar. You could also see beautiful magnolia
trees, which are one of my favorites, and they are in bloom right
now. Alo engleman ox Plumeria trees that are also blooming in different colors from
yellow to pink to a hot pink. Now, if you want to spend
a day in nature on paths and smelling the roses, having a picnic,
or enjoying lunch with friends, you might want to take a visit to the
Arboretum. There is also quite a bit of wildlife there, so wherever you're
walking, just make sure you look because something is just, you know,
walking across the paths, and they don't have not just peacocks. Apparently,
there are about two hundred and sixty different species sighted at the Arboreatum. At
the Arboretum, some even birds I've never seen before. I don't know.
They're like different colors. I don't know exactly where they come from. But
the only thing I can tell you is that there are two hundred and sixty
different species. You can also see the four historic structures on the premises and
cottage, the coach barn, the Reed Balwyn Adobe, which is a bit
under construction right now, and the Santa Anita Depot, of which has been
refurbished with the turn of the sentry housewares and period railroad equipment to recreate the
ambiance of the bustling station stop it once was. They also have a cute
cafe, a gift shop with some intricate gifts. It also has a great
place. It's for photography and a lot of beautiful, beautiful, just a
lot of nature stuff. Now, being there is like taking a five mile
pleusterol around the world. So you might want to put on your hiking shoes
or comfortable crocks if that's what you like with your little gifting. There's nothing
comfortable those horrible shoes. Stop it. Well, you know, some people
have different tastes in shoes. As I was saying, taste, maybe you're
comfortable crocs and enjoy the great outdoors again. Now, the Los Angeles Arboretum
and Botanical Garden is definitely a beautiful place to wander around. You could get
your tickets online, make sure you read the rules before you go, and
also look at their monthly calendar. So I was looking online at their monthly
calendar, and they have a lot of different great activities such as yoga.
They have succulents and sangria, so you drink sangria and you kind of put
succulents in a nice pot whatever. They have night walks, they have auctions,
They have some amazing South Sound baths and so much more, and you
could find all this out at www dot arboretum dot org. That's a R
B O R E t U M dot org. Now their hours are nine
am to seven pm. The last entry is at six thirty. Adults for
fifteen, Seniors are eleven, students are eleven, Children five to twelve or
five and children under four are absolutely free. So if you just want to
take your girlfriend or you know, take your parents, or take your daughter
and just have like a heart to heart conversation or even your son, just
walk around and check out the beautiful roses and just all the nature stuff that
they have there. It is a beautiful place to go. A lot of
people I was talking, you know, sometimes you just try to converse with
people that are walking around, and I have to say that a lot of
people do go just to see the peacocks. But you know, it's not
a where do you go here in Los Angeles in southern California and you just
walk around and you see a whole bunch of peacocks just walking around. Look,
let me just say this and recommend this for the single men out there,
Okay, highly recommend take your girl to the Arboretum. Yes, you
will win. That's all I'm gonna say. You will win. Thank you.
It's simple yet sophisticated and full of culture. Sure, highly recommend it
is beautiful. It's it's a great you know what. It's a great place
to have like a first date. Yes, let's just walk and talk and
get to know each other. I said, the very New York is right,
Yeah you did. It was very New York. What you walk,
it's walk, snap out of it talking to me? All right, already
forget about it once again. The Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden is located
at three zero one North Baldwin Avenue in the city of Arcadia, and for
more information go to Arboretum dot org. That's Arboretum dot org. When we
come back, I know you have a hidden gym? Do you not?
I do? You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from KFI AM
six forty. Let's get back to Friday Nights. Were not a Codaila Cruz,
Thank you mo. Today's hidden gem is rosalind Alarm. Rosalind Alam has
quite a unique story. When rosalind Alam was very a very young teen,
a family friend who was thirty two coherst her into a sexual relationship that eventually
led to marriage and two children. It was not a healthy marriage and there
were times where she felt like she wasn't good enough. She was also not
allowed to be around her family, and her ex husband manipulated her in ways
that you couldn't even imagine. She attended UC Irvine and walked to receive her
diploma eight months pregnant. She is a mother of two. She has a
daughter and a son. As a mother, you strive to be the best
that you could be. Love your children, be there for your kids,
and most importantly, be present. Rosalind feared for her life when her ex
husband pulled a gun out on her. That's when she knew that was enough.
Plus, she wanted her son to have a good example of how to
treat his future wife, and that wasn't it. She finally had the courage
to go to an attorney's office and file for divorce. That courage took fifteen
years, but right after her divorce, her ex husband manipulated their children into
leaving Rosalin the same way he convinced her to leave her parents all those years
ago. It is a classic case of parental alienation. An issue that the
American legal system rarely intervenes in, even though one out of even one of
out of four children involved in a divorce experienced parental alienation according to the American
Psychological Association. Rosalin recently released a memoir called Preyed Upon. Her memoir shows
parents how to cope with losing their children to parental alienation and hopefully how to
win them back By telling her story and revealing tips that she has learned throughout
the years since her children left, she has been an advocate for alleviating and
fighting against parental alienation by speaking with hundreds of parents and experts, allowing her
not to distill her research into this manuscript. In order to help others other
parents who are hurting for their loss, rosalind Alam not only wants to bring
awareness on the topic of parental alienation, she has taking it one step further.
Other than a book, she has established Unbreakable Bondfoundation dot org that's in
Breakable Bondfoundation dot org to support parents who are going through custody battles in hopes
of preventing parental alienation and preserving the parent child bond. Her organization offers therapy,
financial and legal advice as well as workshops regarding co parenting and other important
topics. Ultimately, there needs to be a change in the family court legal
system to prevent parental alienation. There was a recent study done by the Parental
Alienation Study Group in January of twenty twenty four that states three point nine million
children in the United States are going through moderate to severe alienation from one parent.
If you would like more information, please visit Unbreakable Bondfoundation dot org for
the ways that you can support her. Rasan Alam, thank you for telling
me your story. Thank you for being our hidden gem today. And I
also want to thank one of our previous hidden Gems, Elvira Barnett, who
put me in contact with her. She is still on the fight to get
a connection with her children. To hear the entire interview that you could also
go to the Frequent She podcast. That's where I interviewed her on her that
again, the Frequent She the Frequent She podcast. Yes, and on Mother's
Day, which was her birthday, I hosted her book release and I asked
her some very hard questions and her story is very compelling. You know,
parental alienation is something that I think a lot of us have gone through as
children. You know, sometimes parent as they're going through a divorce, you
know, don't want them to spend more time with another parent, or they're
say they're you know, the father is not a good person. You're holding
back. I'm holding back because you know about this personally. Okay it.
I'll call you out here because I love you, because this is something it's
very important, and you know more about it than most people do. I
do. I think it's because of my personal situation, and you know,
in my personal situation in my divorce, and also my parents as well.
You know, my my mother, my mother didn't really bad mouth my father
much, but she did give me inklings of who he really was, and
so that made me upset. But I used to be upset with myself thinking
that their divorce was my fault and it really wasn't my fault. And I
think a lot of children also blame their selves for that too. But I
also believe that you have to see the signs. And one thing that she
said in her interview was start documenting everything if you are going through this,
start documenting everything when you're when your children say something like, oh Dad said
this, or Mom said this. Also another thing is start checking their behaviors.
How are their behaviors changing. That's also something that you need to that
you need to document as well. And you know, she she was also
telling me about sometimes how her ex husband were kind of cohers her children,
and you know, like if you know, if they wanted to go somewhere
and she couldn't because she had to work or she had to do a project
for work, you know, they would say something like, oh well,
dad would drop everything and he would take us. Let's just to say Disneyland
or something, you know, And I think that really hurts the soul of
a parent, whether it's a mother or a father. And at the end
of the day, mo I think what it is is that we have to
be the best parents that we can be. I've always said we have to
be better than our parents, because you know, I'm fifty years of hip
hop and so that means I was born in the seventies. But also you
know, how our parents were raised it was rough for them, and how
our grandparents were raised it was rough for them too, So every generation in
your family raises your children a little differently. But I also have to say
that you know, as a woman, you have to see how your spouse
is treating you. You know, what are the red flags? How is
it that he is, you know, alienating you from your family because oh,
you know you're my wife now and you're all mine. No, that's
not how it works, you know what I mean. She has an amazing
story. She also has an amazing memoir that I couldn't put down, and
she's you know, getting a lot of great feedback and a lot of people
are feeling like, you know, she's telling the story through someone else's eyes,
but it's really her story. And you know, I think it's it's
something that we need to be more aware of, especially with with either family
members or friends that are going through something and say, hey, you know,
let's check you. You know what I mean, A true a true
friend and a true family member will check somebody and go, don't do that.
Don't don't alienate your son or your daughter from your your husband or your
wife. So and her organization, she started this organization because she wanted to
help, she wanted to do more, and she wanted to spread the word
about parental alienation. And she even told me there are a lot of podcasts
about parental alienations that there are kids trying to connect with their parents, trying
to find their parents, trying to have a bond with their parents, you
know, and I and if that's where you are in your life right now,
try to try to make a connection with your parents. Also. Once
again, her organization is Unbreakable Bond Foundation dot org Naanica. You know,
you know I called you out love because I knew that there was an opportunity
there. It's like, tell your story, girl, tell your story because
it matches with the story you were telling. You know. Mo. It's
funny because every time I do a hitting gym. I said this last week,
the last time I was here. I feel like every time I meet
these people, I connect with them some way. I don't know if it's
the universe or God telling me, hey, have a conversation with them.
And yes. And I want to thank Elvira Barnett too, because she was
like, hey, you should talk to her. And Rosalind was just such
an amazing woman, a great soul. And what I love about her is
not only her beautiful eyes and her smile. She just glows. You don't
see the pain through her, even though I'm sure in her heart. You
may feel it because she still is not connected with her children, but she
is a beautiful, beautiful soul. Well, we appreciate what you do,
Nica de la Cruz. When we come back, we will have the Runner
Report, and maybe coming up soon before the show's over, your chance to
win a Disney four pack. Better keep listening. Can'fi AM six forty you're
listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty. Camfi
A six forty is Later with Mo Kelly Live Everywhere in the iHeartRadio app is
now tied for the Runner Report with Mark Ronner tonight. The Strangers Chapter one
now mo the world loves an optimist, and what's more optimistic than calling a
movie chapter one? Well, filming the next two chapters before you see how
the first one does. It's sort of like breaking the ice with somebody by
saying hello the first time and adding that you bought a case of condoms.
And also, by the way the occasional herpies flare ups, nothing at all
to freak out about. Oops points for self confidence, the merits for self
awareness. The Strangers Chapter one of three is sort of but not really a
kind of remake of The Strangers from two thousand and eight. That was a
respectable little thriller about a young couple spending the night at a house in the
middle of nowhere and they get tear arise by some people in masks. It's
really nicely shot, the original one, the two thousand and eight one.
It's got some effective scares, It's nice and short. It gets the job
done, gets out. Not a classic, but worth a watch. It's
on HBO, I mean Max right now, and honestly the tagline should be
the Airbnb movie they don't want you to see. Okay, This New Strangers
chapter one is supposedly not a remake of that two thousand and eight or a
reboot of it or whatever. It did have a sequel called The Strangers Prey
Prey at Night in twenty eighteen. Is this new one an homage? Is
it part of a series? Well, based on what I've been able to
read, it's meant to take place in the same universe. And I'm not
really sure what that means. But here's a little bit of the trailer.
Today is the third day of our three day road trip across the country,
or our five anniversary, our five year anniversary. Well, they've pretty much
just sealed their fate. What comes do? I actually like this so much
better than I'm talking now about the people who live here. Really happy.
Now, if you walk into a diner and everyone looks in bread and gives
you the stink eye, get back in the car, don't order food.
Tough crowd, Hi, Hi, leave the diner, and a couple of
little boys who look like they're from Children of the Corn try to hand you
religious pamphlets. Your evening's likely to eat worse. Here here are the silence.
It's nice. Is Tamar here? No, No, Tamar is not
here. And if you hear a bang at the door at the house in
the middle of the woods, it's not Postmates. You're screwed. The Strangers
Chapter one isn't supposed to be a remake, but it's essentially the same movie.
It adds nothing, it improves nothing, It's a little dumber in some
respects no reason I can think of for it to exist completely worthless. Publicists,
there's your pull quote. Different cast is all live. Tyler and Scott
Speedman were in the first one. This one stars Madeline Petch and Ryan Bound.
Never heard of either of them. I don't begrudge them work. Maybe
they'll live this down at some point. This is the kind of movie if
it weren't absolutely worthless. This's ordinarily fun to see in a theater. You
get to hear other people gasp and shriek at the good parts, and you're
not distracted like you would be at home. To illustrate that last point,
I paused the sequel at Home earlier to write that last line. Then I
paused again a few minutes later to say this line that I'm saying right now.
This is blowing my mind. Man, Let's get back to the movie.
Only the benefit of seeing this non remake remake in a theater is if
you're avoiding a process server at home, or it's hot outside and you want
air conditioning. And did I mention chapters two and three were shot at the
same time. Two comes out later this year. At least that's the current
plan. But let me propose something we've seen news in recent months about some
other movies that were finished and then just dumped his rite offs and never released
Batgirl and Acme Versus Coyote. Those movies. The Strangers Chapter one would be
the rare case where I'd be okay with that. Take the right down,
keep them on the shelf. Think of it like this picture. Being a
judge on one of those awful talent shows, and when it's your turn to
give feedback to some lousy karaoke performer, you say, why don't you just
skip the whole music career and start them thing? And goes straight to the
overdose In case rich, how if my reaction to this movie wasn't one hundred
percent clear? The key exchange from the original was when the terrorized young woman
asks why are you doing this to us? And one of the masked terrorizers
says, because you were home now. In the two thousand and eight version,
I took that as a sign that death and suffering are random and nobody's
safe. When they do a version of those lines in this new movie,
I took it as a sign that they couldn't be bothered to come up with
new dialogue. So who do we blame for this? The director is Rennie
Harlan. It's a familiar name. What yeap Rennie Harlan. It's not as
familiar as Chris Nolan or Guy Ritchie, whose name above the title makes you
want to buy a ticket site unseen. Here is a guy with some ups
and downs. He perpetrated one of the biggest flops of all time, Cutthroat
Island. Then he turned right around and did one of the great action movies
of the nineties, The Long Kiss Good Night, both starring his wife at
the time, Geane Davis. Now I tried watching one of his other recent
ones on Netflix, a movie called The Bricklayer. Didn't make it through,
how bad look didn't make it through? And I like Aaron Et cart but
yeah, yeah, sheep looking awful dialogue, some admirably brutal fight action.
But that's enough. It is a code round. Let me stress. It
takes a real flusher for me to bail on a reactivated operative action movie.
Okay, that is my thing. Now, to put Harlan's career into perspective,
he's been nominated for six Golden Raspberries, and those include The Adventures of
Ford Fairlane and his terrible version of The Exorcist The Beginning Remember that one.
Yeah, there's a whole different version of that movie, same film, directed
by Paul Schrader. I've seen them both, and I probably don't have to
tell you which one to go with. Now, your mileage may vary on
neholistic horror films about people getting terrorized at home by random strangers. If you
like that stuff, try Funny Games. That is a really messed up one
from Austria from nineteen ninety seven, and it had an American remake from the
very same director, Michael Hannikey in two thousand and seven. Now, there
are certain cowardly types here who I won't name, who won't go to horror
movies even if I offer to pay. People like Stephen King compare horror movies
to carnival rides, like something that makes you feel danger while you know you're
on a safe ride. Ultimately, I've always compared them to spicy foods too,
something to give you more of a jolt than your comfort foods. That
said, there are some horror movies that if they are like carnival rides,
they're the rides put together by the carnies, strung out on mess where your
car might fly off and cripple you. Or if it's like food, it's
the kind you get from a street vendor that sends you sprinting to the restroom
like you saying bold. I should add that even though this ain't no Marvel
movie. There is a brief scene after the credits start, and it's so
idiotic that it made me wish I'd just bolted like the guy with clearly superior
instincts ahead of me this afternoon. What I'm saying is, believe all that
bad stuff your parents told you about strangers. This one is it's no good,
no bueno. Oh, So you're saying you really really did like it
deep down. It's one of the worst things I've seen recently. That says
a lot because we see some trash. We routinely watch trash as a public
service to people, and I think people need to understand that criticism is like
a consumer protection as well as an art. And you want to give Renny
Harland the doubt because I think he also didn't he do the second Diehard movie,
as he didn't one of the Diehard movies. No, No, first
was John McTiernan, So I know it wasn't the first one. Yeah.
I think he did the second one, which wasn't bad. So he seems
like a journeyman director who's had his ups and downs. But but after watching
this one and The Brick Layer, I'm thinking, no, No, the
guy's just kind of a hack. He's he's had a bit of good luck
here and there to break up the hackness, but he no longer gets the
benefit of the doubt. He's like Chris Cuomo and uh oo callback and Kevin
Spacey double call back. There we go. Okay, got it. K
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