Adam Gropman

Beyond Belief: Atheists and the Burden of Proof

Adam Gropman
Bill Maher has the nonbelievers laughing. “You know what they do with these stem cells, mostly? They freeze them. You can’t do that with a baby.” Maher pauses, knowingly. “I know you can’t, because if you could, Americans would do it in a minute.” The laughter gives way to applause......

Tough Crowd: On Base with Comic Jeffrey Ross

Adam Gropman
Comedian, celebrity roaster and now author Jeffrey Ross sits behind a rectangular foldup table in a supermarket, in front of a promotional wall of Bud Light cases with built-in iPod speakers and an adjacent column of Funyuns. On the table are copies of Ross’ book, I Only Roast the Ones......

9/11: Truth and Reconciliation in Tehachapi

Adam Gropman
At the sleepy outdoor market in Tehachapi, about two hours Northeast of L.A., something colorful and a bit visually arresting stands out from the usual array of vendors. It’s the booth of some kind of “9/11 Truth” group. This being mid-2009, and well into an Obama presidency under attack by......

iPhone Wizards: Duo FInd Success Programming Apple i-Products

Adam Gropman
Sitting on a perpendicular couch in a small, tidy Santa Monica apartment, a laptop screen staring them in the face, Charlie Viracola and Tyler Stromberg diligently craft what they hope will change their lives forever. The idea is a fun, accessible yet distinctly quirky piece of work that will set......

Living Room On the Street: Public Parking on a Sofas Level

Adam Gropman
The wooden objects are earthy and playful, like structures you’d see on the grounds of a progressive nursery school or in the kiddie play area of a cheerful park. Made of neat, unpainted slats, they are configured to approximate small tables, individual and couch-length seats and, in one case, a......

Standup Night at Santa Monica's Olympic High School

Adam Gropman
A funky hip-hop tune fills the large, darkened space: “White girl, white girl ...” goes the snarky voice in the refrain. Caitlyn McNally takes the stage and grabs the microphone: “That’s what they said when I came to this school.” McNally, a pretty young woman who is somehow both acerbic......
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Steve Tatham

Adam Gropman
It starts with a four-way split screen — satirically emblematic of “modern” TV journalism — morphs into a superimposed montage of pop-culture faces over a stylized spinning globe, then opens up on an officious-looking anchor in old-school suit, sitting in front of downtown L.A.’s gleaming skyline. A buzzy, metal-rock guitar......

America's Next American Gladiators

Adam Gropman
It's a crisp Saturday and a large sampling of Southern California's hyperfit, workout-addicted adrenaline junkies line up outside Gold's Gym in Venice for the chance to put on a blue or red outfit, step into a padded arena and battle towering, two-legged slabs of angry muscle with names like Titan,......

Shoe Gazers

Adam Gropman
Some stand, while others sit in a long line of folding metal and cloth chairs. A few are watching portable DVD players. The gathering is very multicultural overall but is separated into subgroups based on race: Asian, Latino, black, white — their style is a very contemporary Southern California mix......

Who Are You?

Adam Gropman
I spotted them as I crossed Sunset. They were lined up against KTLA Studios’ outer wall on Bronson, mingling and enjoying the warm spring morning. There was Gwen Stefani, Jerry Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Ann-Margret, Jim Carrey and Michael Jackson, among many others. Even by the normal Hollywood standards, this gathering......