Muslims’ month of worship and contemplation

• March 22, 2023

More than 1 billion Muslims around the world are about to begin the observance of Ramadan, the month of fasting. It is believed that during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, the Angel Gabriel began delivering the Quran, which was later transcribed into writing, to the Prophet Muhammad.

During Ramadan observant Muslims refrain from eating or drinking anything during daylight hours.

At the end of the day the fast is broken with a small meal and prayers, followed by visiting family and friends.

Fasting in the Muslim tradition is designed to bring spiritual benefits, chiefly a release from physical constraints and desires so one can concentrate on worship and appreciation of Allah.

The patience and forbearance induced by fasting extend to other areas of life.

Simple fasting from food can be ruined — rendered not pleasing to Allah — if spoiled by telling lies, slander, denouncing someone behind his back, swearing a false oath, greed or covetousness.

During the month of fasting Muslims are expected to read the Quran with special intensity and to seek opportunities for good deeds, especially helping the poor.

The end of the month is marked by the three-day celebration of Eid al-Fitr, when gifts are exchanged, and families and friends gather for large meals.

In these days, when fanatics have done so much to discredit Islam in the eyes of all too many people, Ramadan is especially important as a time of renewal and deepening of faith for serious Muslims.

Approximately 1% of Californians identify as Muslim.

Many are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants from countries as diverse as Indonesia and Egypt.

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Others are refugees from places like Afghanistan, Iran and Syria. And some, of course, are converts.

Whatever their roots, they are deserving of respect and understanding.

Yet for many, that is not what they experience.

A survey by the Council for American-Islamic Relations found that a majority of Muslim students have reported they feel “unsafe, unwelcome or uncomfortable” in school because of their religious identities.

And on a governmental level, this editorial board has long criticized instances of unjustified spying on the Muslim community, as happened in Orange County during the peak of the so-called “war on terror.”

It is imperative that California remain a place where people of all backgrounds can feel safe, welcome and comfortable to live their lives as they choose.

A version of this editorial originally appeared in 2010 and was written by the late editorial writer Alan W. Bock.

​ Orange County Register 

20 years later, Iraq war was clearly wrong

• March 22, 2023

During his infamous “mission accomplished” speech in May 2003 from the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of San Diego, President George W. Bush announced victory in the American war in Iraq.

“The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort,” said. “Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq.”

Hindsight is 20-20, but it’s important to look back at major government efforts and compare the promises to reality. As Americans commemorate the 20th anniversary of that war, few analysts consider it a success — and the idea of a free Iraq seems preposterous.

Related: Antiwar.com’s Scott Horton on the Iraq war

The U.S. largely withdrew in 2011, but then sent troops back after the rise of Islamic State radicals.

The Biden administration finally ended the nation’s longest-running war in 2021 — but 2,500 troops remain and may serve in an advisory role for years.  The current Iraqi government receives among the world’s lowest scores for freedom. Islamic Iran gained great influence after our pull out.

According to a recent Reuters report, the United States spent nearly $3 trillion (including ongoing costs of veteran health care) on its wars in Iraq and Syria.

Related: George W. Bush is still just a war criminal to me

It cost 4,500 Americans their lives — and directly led to nearly 600,000 deaths in the region. And for what?

The mission was not accomplished.

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During the run-up to the war, the Bush administration convinced a nation still scarred by the Sept. 11 attacks that the coming invasion would combat international terrorism, force Iraq to rid itself of so-called Weapons of Mass Destruction and, then, create a democracy in a region governed by tyrants.

The administration’s connection between 9/11 and Iraq proved particularly flimsy and cynical.

We still recall war boosters — including pundits like Max Boot, David Frum and Bill Kristol — depicting the administration’s evidence as incontrovertible.

This editorial board consistently opposed the war, leading critics to question our judgment and patriotism.

Yet in hindsight, the best way for Americans (and the media) to commemorate this anniversary is to resolve to be more skeptical of such hubris in the future.

​ Orange County Register 

Irvine may get Southern California’s first cricket stadium as interest in sport grows

• March 22, 2023

From April to October, Pulkit Khare will spend about four and a half hours in traffic on the weekends driving to Van Nuys and back to his home in Rancho Santa Margarita.

The ardent cricket fan, who plays in the Southern California Cricket Association league, has to do the drive on the 405 Freeway to fields in the San Fernando Valley because of the lack of facilities in Orange County.

But that might change.

Earlier this month, Irvine’s City Council unanimously agreed to move forward, once again, with negotiations with American Cricket Enterprises (which runs Major League Cricket) to find a suitable location within Great Park for a 5,000-7,000-seat stadium.

The stadium was not included in the first phase of the Great Park development plans, and it follows a similar decision from the council last year which ultimately yielded no results.

It boils down to finding the right space, said Mayor Farrah Khan, whether it’s a standalone facility or a renovation of the existing Great Park soccer stadium, which can seat 5,000 people, to accommodate both sports.

“There’s definitely a growing community of cricket players and enthusiasts in Irvine and OC,” Khan said. “My hope is that we can somehow support that enthusiasm for the sport.”

The cricket body has asked for about 15 acres of land within Great Park to privately fund a stadium that would be the first of its kind in Southern California.

The stadium would be used for both major and minor league games but mostly for community events, including local cricket and non-cricket activities, said Selby Sturzenegger, director of corporate development and infrastructure at Major League Cricket.

Major League Cricket, a professional league for the shorter Twenty20 format of the sport, has already raised more than $100 million of committed capital, Sturzenegger said.

“I got goosebumps, that’s how excited I am,” Khare said about the prospect of a full-fledged cricket stadium in Orange County.

For Shantha Suraweera, a longtime local cricket advocate, the stadium is an aspiration. He helped form the Orange County Cricket Association in 2007 to promote the game, and it has now developed into a league with about 14 teams.

He then wanted to create a “pathway for youth” and formed the Southern California Youth Cricket Academy in 2014 for children between 7 and 19 years old. It has 125 players on the roster, mostly from Irvine.

The youth cricketers practice and play at the fields in Cypress Community Park, with those in the cricket community prioritizing the use for kids. Prior to the opening of those fields in 2022, Suraweera said, players would “find a flat area (in parks like the Tustin Sports Park) and then roll the grass. It’s not very safe.”

Suraweera has observed a steady rise in interest in the sport, especially among youth. With a stadium, he said, young players could improve their technique and the quality of their game.

“It’s in the initial stages like soccer 20-30 years ago, but there’s still good potential for another new sport” in the U.S., Suraweera said. “Cricket is the second most popular game in the world.”

At the highest level, too, the biggest hurdle cricketers face is the lack of infrastructure, said Michael Voss, chair of the men’s national selection panel at USA Cricket. The only stadium certified by the International Cricket Council, the sport’s global governing body, in the U.S. is in Lauderhill, Florida, and there are smaller stadiums in Indiana and Texas.

“Once we start solving that part of the puzzle, it really will make a huge difference in terms of moving forward, having practice facilities, having fields of a decent quality that we can play on,” said Voss.

In addition to not having adequate cricket pitches, Voss said, those wanting to play games have to share public fields with other sports programs and access can be tough.

Dweep Jhaveri, a Mission Viejo resident who plays in four local leagues, said while the stadium will improve his game, he is excited at the prospect of international cricket coming to Irvine.

“I was part of a very famous game where the fastest century was scored in the IPL (Indian Premier League), 100 runs off 37 balls by Yusuf Pathan,” Jhaveri said, referring to the former Indian national cricketer. “The atmosphere was electric. There were 30-40,000 people in that stadium.”

As for the next steps, Major League Cricket is continuing negotiations with city staffers, Sturzenegger said.

While Major League Cricket wants a “dedicated facility given the demand for cricket,” she said, the organization is engaging in conversations on what a shared space — with baseball, soccer or other sports — would look like.

The challenge, City Manager Oliver Chi said, is “finding acreage that makes sense from the overall master planning process of where different types of activities are going to be organized in the park.” Staffers have been looking at how to integrate it into the sports complex area, he said.

With the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, where cricket could be added as a new sport, and the 2024 T20 World Cup to be played in the U.S. and West Indies, Sturzenegger said, the momentum for cricket is growing. She hopes to see a Great Park stadium completed by the 2025 season.

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​ Orange County Register 

First Crumbl Cookies location in Garden Grove set to open March 24

• March 22, 2023

The popular cookie chain Crumbl Cookies is set to open its first Garden Grove location on Friday, March 24.

Over the past five years, the company, started in Utah, has grown to more than 700 locations nationwide and has repeatedly gone viral on social media platforms like TikTok.

Each week, the brand rotates its menu to include six of its 275-plus gourmet flavors. The upcoming week’s options are announced in a “flavor drop” released on the company’s social media platforms Sundays at 5 p.m. Pacific time.

For the grand opening week menu, six flavors will be available: Sea Salt Toffee, Lemon Poppyseed, Monster, Texas Sheet Cake, Raspberry Cheesecake, and Pink Sugar. Crumbl’s award-winning Milk Chocolate Chip will also be available.

“As local business owners, we have such a love for this community and can’t wait to share the sweetness with our neighbors,” local store owners Megan Sefcik, Sandi Sefcik, Mitch Sefcik, and Michele Horsley said in a statement.

Crumbl stores are open 8 a.m.-10 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m.-12 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and closed Sundays. Starting Wednesday, March 29, delivery, curbside pickup, catering, and nationwide shipping will be available from the new location.

VISIT: Promenade Crumbl Cookies, 9877 Chapman Ave, Suite C, Garden Grove; 657-233-4050 crumblcookies.com

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​ Orange County Register 

Reba McEntire talks the Hollywood Bowl before headlining it for the first time

• March 22, 2023

Country star and actress Reba McEntire can’t wait to bring her full stage show — her live band, backup singers and opening acts Terri Clark and The Isaacs — to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles for the first time.

Though she’s graced the stage a couple of times before — during a Broadway performance of “South Pacific” back in 2007 and in 2012 she was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame alongside Chaka Khan during a special tribute evening hosted by Julie Andrews — she’s never performed a proper headlining show at the venue in her nearly five-decade career.

“It’s a dream come true,” she said during a recent phone interview ahead of her West Coast shows at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert on March 31 and her Hollywood Bowl debut on April 1. “I’ve always loved the Hollywood Bowl. It’s wonderful and just the best place to see a show.”

Back when she was filming her sitcoms, “Reba” from 2001-2007 and “Malibu Country” in 2012-2013, in the Los Angeles area, she’d gone to several shows at the Hollywood Bowl.

“I saw Annie Lennox and Sting perform there together (in 2004) and I was a huge fan, so it was fun to watch them in that atmosphere,” she said. “There’s just so much history there with all of the performances that have happened … it’s just iconic and we’re happy to be part of it.”

McEntire, who is such a legend she is commonly referred to by first name alone, is currently out on the final leg of her Reba: Live in Concert Tour. With 35 No. 1 career singles under her belt, it was difficult, she said, to narrow down a set list for this outing.

“We did a lot of research to see which songs fans want to hear and we put them together for a good-flowing show that has a lot of energy,” she said. “And we like to bring it back down and make it intimate and then let it get big again. It has to be like a rollercoaster of emotions. I’ll never forget when I was doing a concert tour with George Strait, after the first show I said ‘George, you didn’t do ‘The Chair.’ And he said ‘Yeah, I’m not doing it.’ I said, ‘But why? That’s my favorite song!’ Then I thought about how many times people have come up to me and said ‘Why didn’t you do ‘The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia’ that’s my favorite song!’ We just have to leave some of them out.”

Though her most recent album of original material, “Stronger Than the Truth,” came out in 2019, she released a box set in 2021, “Revived Remixed Revisited,” with reworked versions of her songs that truly helped her hone in on a set list for the road. Fans will get to hear some of these versions live, too, thanks to that album.

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“That gave us the opportunity to do something different,” she said. “Like ‘Consider Me Gone,’ it’s a real up-tempo song, but recording it with Dave Cobb when it’s stripped down with less instrumentation, it’s so much more emotional. It changed the song completely and I perform it now and so many people are singing along to it. I could hold the microphone out and let them sing the whole song. It’s fun when people know and love a song enough to know it by heart and to sing it along with me.”

In the past, McEntire has said that her 1990 cover of the Bobbie Gentry song “Fancy” is her favorite to perform live. She stands by that now.

“It’s very powerful,” she said of the audiences roaring back the line “I might have been born just plain white trash, but Fancy was my name.”

“It’s the rags to riches song,” she continued. “She prevails and it was a rough road and not everyone approved of the way she got her success, of course, but it’s about survival. That song goes right along with my song ‘I’m a Survivor.’ That’s another one I have near the end of my show and when I play it people will stand up and hold up their diplomas to show me that after they got their kids through school, they went back and go their education. So those are songs I love to sing and I’ll never get tired of them because they’re great songs. I didn’t write them, so I can sure brag on about it. Kudos to those songwriters.”

Having opened for everyone from Red Steagall, Conway Twitty and Lee Greenwood to The Oak Ridge Boys and being out on the Urban Cowboy Tour with Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee, McEntire is also encouraging her fans to show up early for her support act, singer-songwriter Terri Clark, who is known for ’90s hits like “Better Things To Do,” “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” and “Girls Lie Too,” and opening act The Isaacs, a bluegrass and Southern gospel family group.

“It’s going to be a very entertaining evening and I hope people come early because they will not regret it,” she assures.

Aside from music, McEntire has a varied résumé. She’s also tackled Broadway and was the lead in Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun”; her sitcom “Reba” aired for six seasons on The WB/CW; she’s starred in several feature films including “Tremors” alongside Kevin Bacon; and she was most recently cast as Sunny Barnes on the third season of ABC’s crime drama “Big Sky.”

“I did a Zoom with (producer and writer) Elwood Reid and he said ‘I’ve got an idea for the third season of “Big Sky” and you’re going to play a very dark character,’” she recalled, noting that her boyfriend, actor Rex Linn, was sitting across from her at the dining room table and loved the idea of his partner taking on a new kind of role. Her character on the show needed a husband, so Reid also hired Linn for the job.

“We had a great time doing it and that really was a stretch for me, but the writing was so good so you really get into it,” she said with a laugh, while referring to her sneaky and possibly murderous character as “just an overly protective mother.”

She’s got a bunch of other projects going on, too. She starred as a judge in the Lifetime movie “The Hammer” earlier this year and opened her very own restaurant and entertainment venue near her hometown in Atoka, Oklahoma, on Jan. 26. The three-story, 15,000-square-foot venue features a full restaurant with a menu filled with comfort food and locally sourced items, an antique bar, a stage for live music, lots of memorabilia and the third floor is dedicated to merchandise and Jackie’s Library, a space built to honor her late mother, a former school teacher and librarian.

“You can pull a book out and sit quietly and read, enjoy a drink, a good meal; it’s a really versatile place,” she said, noting that this wasn’t a venture she just slapped her name on. She actually “picked the upholstery, curtains for the windows and paintings for the walls.”

Since she and her beau also love entertaining at home, she has a new coffee table-style book coming out later this year that will offer hosting and travel tips, food and cocktail recipes, share little stories about her life and more.

“Rex and I love throwing parties,” she said. “I love to cook and he loves to cook, though he’s a better cook than I am. The book was fun to research and find new ways of hosting but, really, you can bring stuff out and mix and match and it doesn’t really matter, people just want to be together and have fun. It doesn’t have to be perfect, which is what we have learned. That’s why the book is called, ‘Not That Fancy.’”

Reba: Live In Concert Tour

With: Terri Clark and The Isaacs

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 31

Where: Acrisure Arena, 75702 Varner Rd., Palm Desert

Tickets: $49.75-$219.75 at Ticketmaster.com

Also: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 at the Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles. $25-$249 at Ticketmaster.com.

​ Orange County Register 

Travel: Silversea is the ultimate ultra-luxury luxury liner

• March 22, 2023

How luxurious is Silversea Cruises? “Very” is a simple answer, but to do the question justice, it really begs another: “Where to begin?” We may as well start at the top of the day, as in breakfast, when even the simplest of things is elegant and elaborate on what many consider the epitome of sailing in style.

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes is not only tasty, but makes for a grrreat example when comparing and contrasting Silversea’s upper-luxury class of cruising with the other major consumer categories. So, let’s head to the buffet, grab a bowl and dig in.

On Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and other mainstream-class lines, if the favorite breakfast of Tony the Tiger doesn’t come in a single-serving cardboard box, it’s probably out of a dispenser that requires a few turns of the knob at the serviceable, yet unsophisticated cereal bar. On Princess, Celebrity, Disney and other premium-class ships, Frosted Flakes often comes in single-serve plastic bowls. At the buffet on Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Windstar and other luxury-class ships, big spenders with a sweet tooth will likely find Frosted Flakes in a crystal bowl from which guests spoon into their own.

The friendly and capable bar staff in the Dolce Vita Lounge is indicative of Silversea’s lofty level of hospitality. (Photo by David Dickstein)

And then there’s Silversea. Like with so many things both ordinary and extraordinary, this ultra-luxury cruise line does things with a higher brow. Those boxes of Frosted Flakes lined up on a glass shelf in the Italian-themed La Terrazza bistro are not really for the taking — by you, that is. Just eyeing the cereal will get the attention of a watchful crew member who will assume the task, not only unboxing the sweetened contents from the other side of the sneeze guard, but having the cereal delivered to your table with your choice of six kinds of milk. They even do the pouring honors, but not before you sit down at the white linen-covered table. And don’t you dare carry your own plate as not letting them do it gets the same reaction as if you insulted their mother.

While this six-star level of attention is embraced by returning guests and nettlesome for the uninitiated, this is Silversea’s culture, and they’ve been doing things this way long before COVID-19 literally took serving utensils out of passengers’ hands at the buffet. For nearly 30 years, the cruise line has been pampering guests at lofty levels, right down to asking coffee drinkers how much foam they want with their flat white and which of five types of pillows they prefer on what might be the most comfortable beds in the cruise industry.

Each passenger on Silversea is assigned a genuine butler. (Photo by David Dickstein)

Another bar-setter, when Silversea promises a butler assigned to each suite, he or she isn’t just a cabin steward in tails; this class of butler shines your shoes without being asked, arranges for a tailor to hem newly purchased slacks, changes the casing of even your decorative pillows, responds to a page within seconds, and, when they know you will be in the Dolce Vita lounge instead of your suite at 4:30 p.m., has your daily delivery of canapes sent to where you’ll be playing team trivia. Oh, and those bougie bites come with unlimited caviar.

A museum’s worth of original artwork adorns Silver Moon. (Photo by David Dickstein)

For a brand that’s all about service and goes to more destinations than any other cruise line, it’s surprising that Silversea hasn’t served Southern California since 2018, the year Royal Caribbean acquired the pioneer of all-inclusive cruising. Come January 2025, however, San Pedro’s World Cruise Center returns as an embarkation port for Silversea when Silver Shadow raises anchor for a 22-night voyage to six Hawaiian ports and four in French Polynesia. That April, the larger and newer Silver Moon embarks on a 19-night cruise from L.A. Harbor to Vancouver with six Hawaiian ports and lots of sea days in between. (At last check, rates were 75% off for that sail, as low as $11,400 per person, and that includes flights and transfers as part of Silversea’s “door-to-door” all-inclusive fare.) In May of 2025, Silver Shadow returns to the Golden State for an 18-night itinerary from L.A. to Southern Florida through the Panama Canal.

Early risers aboard Silver Moon take advantage of a warm Brazilian morning. (Photo by David Dickstein)

West Coast cruisers who don’t want to wait that long or travel far to pick up a Silversea ship have a few options out of San Francisco this year and next depending on availability: a 10-night expedition cruise to Puerto Vallarta on Silver Wind (October); a 132-night journey to Hawaii, Oceania, Asia and Alaska on Silver Shadow (January 2024); and a 23-day Panama Canal voyage to New York on Silver Shadow (May 2024). Additionally, Silversea has Silver Muse and Silver Whisper sailing to and from Anchorage and Vancouver for the Alaskan cruise season that begins in May. (Deep discounts offered at press time had fares as low as $3,800 per person for a weeklong voyage to the Last Frontier.

Silversea (www.silversea.com) sails to more than 900 destinations on all seven continents, and for the bulk of a recent 69-night trek, 140 well-to-do wanderlusters paying at least $51,000 per person did one of those large land masses in style. Their “Grand South American Cruise” out of Fort Lauderdale was aboard the 596-passenger Silver Moon, the very ship that pays Southern California a visit in 2025. As with many cruises dubbed “grand” or “world,” this one was broken up in multiple itineraries so that those who can’t afford to spend so much time and/or expense can still get a good taste of what cruising on Silversea is all about.

Sheer deck-adence

Speaking of good tastes, much of what was served on the 12-night leg from Rio de Janeiro to Bridgetown, Barbados, yielded plenty, as it should from ultra-luxury cruising. Nearly half of Silver Moon’s Italian-accented decks have at least one restaurant, which is considerable for a mid-size ship.

Elegant Atlantide, a main dining room on Silver Moon, features seafood and steak. (Photo by David Dickstein)

From top to near-bottom: Excellent pizzas and gelatos are served at Spaccanapoli on Deck 11; on 10 is The Grill, the ship’s poolside restaurant that at night transforms into Hot Rocks where guests cook their own surf and turf on a 460-degree volcanic stone; and on 8 is the Parisian-inspired La Dame, the most elegant dinner option that’s well worth the $60 surcharge. Also on 8 is the Arts Café for perfect coffees and teas, and light bites changed five times between 6:30 a.m. and 11 p.m.; and on 7 is the aforementioned La Terrazza that transitions from a breakfast and lunch buffet to a fine dining Italian restaurant in the evening. Steps away on the same deck is the Silver Note, an intimate supper club with terrific food, drinks, live music and a smooth vibe for those who know the tricks to score a coveted table. This popular joint is way too difficult to book, and a certain someone who likes to have dinner around 6 was lucky to get a table at 9 on an undesirable night.

Former Southern Californian Erin Montgomery leads a class on Brazilian cooking in the S.A.L.T. Lab. (Photo by David Dickstein)

The lowest public deck is the most tasteful as nearly every inch is dedicated to food. On 4 are the ship’s two main dining rooms: the elegant Atlantide for seafood and steak, and S.A.L.T. Kitchen, which is one-quarter of a unique experiential program named for the acronym for “Sea & Land Taste” and debuted on Silver Moon in 2021. The first page of S.A.L.T. Kitchen’s menu changes with every port, featuring locally inspired dishes. Some of those recipes are cooked up next door at the S.A.L.T. Lab, which excitingly redefines the growing culinary class craze on cruises. It’s a beautiful space, but with only nine stations, it’s almost as hard to get into as the Silver Note upstairs. The other two components of S.A.L.T. are a bar that specializes in local libations, and select culinary shore excursions that truly offer guests some local flavor. Also on 4 is Japanese-themed Kaiseki, which is free for lunch, but $40 at dinner.

Personal preference

Silver Moon docked at Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. (Photo by David Dickstein)

Just as ultra-luxury cruising isn’t for everyone, either is Silversea among the sailing elite. Take their dress code. Having cruised on 20 different lines, several of them in the luxury category, we can say without a doubt that Silversea’s is the strictest and most baffling. “Formal night” requires ladies to be in cocktail dresses or pantsuits and gentlemen in tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits and tie. The thesaurus considers “informal” and “casual” as synonyms, but not Silversea. Men must still wear a jacket on “informal night” with women in dresses or pantsuits. Also curious is that exceptions and variances exist depending on the day and whether you’re inside or out. Oh, and if dinner is indoors, the dress code is different restaurant to restaurant.

Smokers delight in being able to light up portside at The Grill/Hot Rocks in addition to a dedicated indoor-outdoor lounge and on the outside patio of the Arts Café. Nonsmokers may detect a waft that’s surprisingly omnipresent for a ship built in 2020.

A fun and flashy salute to British pop entertains guests in the Venetian Lounge. (Photo by David Dickstein)

Passengers expecting elaborate shows will be disappointed, but there should be enough talent among the entertainment team to make up for modest production values. And although complaints were heard about the lack of activities scheduled during the day, this cruiser found the list to be robust for a luxury sail. Rounding out the key venues, a full-service spa includes a decently sized gym while the casino, although small, is staffed with dealers so reflective of Silversea’s brand of niceness they almost make losing a pleasure.

OK, so that’s going too far. But going too far is also a signature of Silversea. They’ve got cloth cocktail napkins, by George. From butlers who will draw your bath to galley workers changing the direction of the sliced mango at the buffet to appease a lefthander, Silversea is determined to deliver the ultimate pleasure cruise for those who love being pampered, if not coddled.

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​ Orange County Register 

5 Gracie Abrams songs to listen to ahead of her Los Angeles shows

• March 22, 2023

Gracie Abrams is certainly shaping up to be the next big thing in Gen Z pop, a subgenre currently led by acts like Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Khalid and Lil Nas X.

The Los Angeles-born and raised artist built her following with a pair of EPs released during the pandemic that included songs she’d written living in her childhood bedroom. The now 23-year-old singer-songwriter just released her debut album, “Good Riddance” on Feb. 24, which was produced by Aaron Dessner of The National. Abrams inherently fell into the entertainment pool thanks to her parents, director J.J. Abrams and TV producer Katie McGrath, but she’s carved her own path with an ability to craft songs that serve as a self-critical analysis of heartache and the growing pains of her early 20s.

Abrams is currently on the road on the Good Riddance Tour, which includes two hometown stops at The Fonda Theatre March 29-30. She’ll also be back in the area, serving as support on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood for the Aug. 3 and 8 dates only.

At just 13, Abrams started releasing music via Soundcloud. Most of the tracks were simple acoustic covers of older Phoebe Bridgers songs like “Funeral.” It wasn’t until dropping out of Barnard College that things started to fall into place Abrams. After creating a buzz on Soundcloud and Instagram by releasing original tracks, she landed a deal with Interscope Records and in 2019, dropped her first official single, “Mean It.”

Last month, Abrams surprised fans by performing an acoustic set to celebrate “Good Riddance” at Fingerprints Music in Long Beach and she made an appearance at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles two days later.

RELATED: Gracie Abrams behind ‘Good Riddance’ message in Los Angeles sky

According to Kara Lane, the live music director at Amoeba Music Hollywood, fans waited nearly seven hours in line before the doors opened to purchase a copy of “Good Riddance” as guaranteed entrance for her performance. The purchase included a commemorated “Live at Amoeba” signed poster by Abrams for fans, too.

“We seriously had fans in line ready to purchase her record as early as four in the morning,” Lane said. “It was raining heavily that day, too, but fans were so excited to get in. I have to say, Gracie’s fans are seriously some of the nicest, coolest fans. They were all so excited to see Gracie, too. Everyone was genuinely happy to be there when the show happened, and the overall experience of having Gracie there was incredible.”

Ahead of her two dates at The Fonda Theatre, we came up with a list of the best old and new songs from the rising pop star to listen to before these shows. In no particular order, here’s the list of our favorites.

“I miss you, I’m sorry”

The nearly three-minute track off of Abram’s 2020 EP “Minor” is a tender ballad on heartbreak with luscious string arrangements and layered vocals. It’s an anthem for fans who know the feeling of returning to the one you love, even if it disappoints you, far too well.

“Best”

This song sets the pace as it kicks off Abrams’ 12-track debut album “Good Riddance,” with hushed vocal lines and a lyrical, brutally honest, self-examination of her breakup. As she sings, “Used to lie to your face, twenty times in a day. It was my little strange addiction,” it’s clear her mistakes — and pain/regret — are on full display.

“Where Do We Go Now?”

One of the singles from “Good Riddance” that was co-written by producer Aaron Dessner, “Where Do We Go Now?,” details the confusion that comes with dropping a romantic partner and acknowledging the growing pains of moving on as she begins to heal.

“Feels Like” 

A standout, synth-pop dance anthem off Abrams’ “This Is What It Feels Like” EP that dropped in 2021. This one explores all of the emotions one feels when falling in love. “Feels Like” really does feel and sound like like falling in love for the first time all over again.

“Mess It Up” 

This song was released as just a single in 2021 that features Abrams detailing the mistakes made on her behalf with a previous love entanglement and the anxiety and heartbreak that came with it. It’s poetic, soft and honest.

Gracie Abrams: Good Riddance Tour

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 29-Thursday, March 30

Where: The Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles

Tickets: Both dates are sold-out; however resale tickets are available at axs.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

TikTok CEO to tell Congress app is safe, urge against ban

• March 22, 2023

By KELVIN CHAN

TikTok’s CEO plans to tell Congress that the video-sharing app is committed to user safety, data protection and security, and keeping the platform free from Chinese government influence.

Shou Zi Chew is due to answer questions Thursday from U.S. lawmakers concerned about the social media platform’s effects on its young user base and possible national security risks posed by the popular app, which was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.

Chew is sticking to a familiar script as he urges officials against pursuing an all-out ban on TikTok or for the company to be sold off to new owners.

TikTok’s efforts to ensure the security of its users’ data, including a $1.5 billion project to store the information on Oracle servers in the U.S. and allow outside monitors to inspect its source code, go “above and beyond” what any of its rivals are doing, according to Chew’s prepared remarks released ahead of his appearance before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

“No other social media company, or entertainment platform like TikTok, provides this level of access and transparency,” he said.

Chew pushed back against fears that TikTok could become a tool of China’s ruling Communist Party because its parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing.

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said.

He distanced TikTok from its Chinese roots and denied the “inaccurate” belief that TikTok’s corporate structure makes it “beholden to the Chinese government.” ByteDance has evolved into a privately held “global enterprise,” Chew said, with 60% owned by big institutional investors, 20% owned by the Chinese entrepreneurs who founded it and the rest by employees.

It’s “emphatically untrue” that TikTok sends data on its American users to Beijing, he said.

“TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government,” Chew said. “Nor would TikTok honor such a request if one were ever made.”

TikTok has come under fire in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific, where a growing number of governments have banned the app from devices used for official business over worries it poses risks to cybersecurity and data privacy or could be used to push pro-Beijing narratives and misinformation.

Chew, a 40-year-old Singaporean who was appointed CEO in 2021, said in a TikTok video this week that the congressional hearing comes at a “pivotal moment” for the company, which now has 150 million American users.

U.S. regulators have reportedly threatened to ban TikTok unless the Chinese owners sell their stake. Lawmakers have introduced measures that would expand the Biden administration’s authority to enact a national ban and called for “structural restrictions” between TikTok’s American operations and ByteDance, including potentially separating the companies.

Chew said TikTok’s data security project, dubbed Project Texas, is the right answer, not a ban or a sale of the company.

The company started deleting the historical protected data of U.S. users from non-Oracle servers this month, Chew said. When that process is completed later this year, all U.S. data will be protected by American law and controlled by a U.S.-led security team.

“Under this structure, there is no way for the Chinese government to access it or compel access to it,” he said.

He said a TikTok ban would hurt the U.S. economy and small American businesses that use the app to sell their products, while reducing competition in an “increasingly concentrated market.” He added that a sale “would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access.”

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​ Orange County Register