"Did Col. Mustard throttle Professor Plum with a silver-plated candlestick?"

Did Ms. Scarlet silence Mrs. Peacock with a knife to the throat? Or did Col. Mustard throttle Professor Plum with a silver-plated candlestick? Mystery buffs can map out, investigate and solve murder mysteries at a variety of hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, many of which have a few ghosts of their own rattling around within their historic halls. There's even a Murder Mystery Train: You can murder your significant other while traveling on Amtrak between Los Angeles and San Diego.

CONCEPT CARS: "We may never meet again"

Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept

Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept

Lotus Elan

Jaguar C-X75
Kia Pop

Nissan Ellure

"Destroy All Movies!!!"

Cinefamily calls all disaffected, bitter and downright nasty punks to show up for "Class of 1984," which it describes as "one of the most vicious and hateful exploitation movies of the '80s." Director Mark L. Lester's disturbed masterwork features rabid packs of bloodthirsty teen gangs roaming our schools … and also, apparently, a scene in which the sweetest of '80s faces, Michael J. Fox, gets stabbed. Come for the poisonous imagery; stay for the subsequent Q&A with Lester. The program begins with "Destroy All Movies!!!" a Mondo megamix of punks on film. 611 N. Fairfax Ave. 9:15 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $10. (323) 655-2510.

WRIGLEY FIELD: "The Friendly Confines are now the Cozy Confines"

With the gridiron for Saturday's Illinois-Northwestern game laid out east to west, there are some tight spots that promise to affect play-calling.

"It definitely will be an element in the game," NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "We will plan accordingly."



Parts of the east end zone are within spitting distance — don't get any ideas — of the right-field bleachers. The back-middle of the end zone is just a foot from a thickly padded wall.

So get ready for the first Arena football game in Big Ten history.

UPDATE: Billy goats, black cats, Bartman and now the forbidden end zone. With Wrigley Field playing host to its first college football game in 40 years, something wacky was bound to happen. And no, painting the famed Chicago Cubs marquee purple doesn't suffice.

Despite months and months of planning for the Wrigleyville Classic, Big Ten officials announced Friday — less than 36 hours before kickoff — that the schools had agreed to run all offensive plays toward the west end zone because of safety concerns. Turns out, the Friendly Confines were a little too cozy, with the east end zone hugging the brick wall in right field so tightly there wasn't even room for a standard goal post.

No matter if Illinois or Northwestern had the ball, all offensive plays headed toward the third-base dugout Saturday. Kickoffs went the other way and, after the change in possession, referees repositioned the ball so it was pointing west. The only quality time anyone spent at the east end of the field was when Northwestern safety Brian Peters returned an interception 59 yards for a score midway through the first quarter (11-20-11).

"Golden moment in the Sierra"

If timing is everything, Andrea Ashley hit this one just right. This photo, taken last month on the June Lake Loop off U.S. 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra, almost quakes with color. "I was fortune to be there during the peak time for the aspens," said Ashley, a Hidden Hills resident. "The leaves only last for about two weeks, when they turn brown, and a few days later, [they] fall off. Some years are better than others, and this year was spectacular." She used a Canon Rebel EOS-XTi for this shot.

(Photo from Your Scene -- Los Angeles Times)

"Ralphie V"

Handlers called "Ralphie runners" guide Ralphie V, the mascot of the University of Colorado, around the surface of folsom Field. It's a home game tradition in Boulder.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

“Pandemonium"

“Pandemonium,” the latest noise-athon spectacle from the creators of “Stomp,” is playing at UCLA’s Royce Hall through Thursday. The stage production, which features 26 musical performers and a choir, is a family-friendly concert in which ordinary objects are transformed into musical instruments through improvisation and old-fashioned elbow grease.

A "feel-good" story

By Robert Hilferty

When you've reached the peak of your career at age 14, it must be hell to face your next 60 years as a has-been. Yet that seemed to be what fate held in store for Bejun Mehta, a celebrated boy soprano who thought he was washed up by the time he reached his mid-teens.

When Leonard Bernstein first heard Mehta, he declared: "It is hard to believe the richness and maturity of musical understanding in this adolescent boy." Music was, to be sure, in Mehta's blood -- his Bombay-born father, a pianist, is a cousin to conductor Zubin, and his mother, a singer, was his voice teacher -- but in the end, what could really account for his unusual gift? It's not every singer, after all, who can navigate the wicked coloratura riffs of Mozart's Queen of the Night, hitting those high F's, no less -- a difficult task for most grown sopranos, let alone a 7-year-old.

In 1983, Mehta's youthful gift was preserved on a Delos CD, Bejun, for which he was named Stereo Review's Debut Recording Artist of the Year. But then the inevitable occurred: Hormones kicked in, effectively ending his career. Bejun took up the cello, studied German literature at Yale, and took odd jobs to get by. But he never quite gave up on coming back to singing. A slightly balding man with fierce blue eyes and a jovial manner, Mehta, now 30, grows visibly distressed when remembering this period. When he'd appeared before an audience of supportive friends, the reviews were less than rosy. Though Mehta kept trying for several years under the tutelage of the famed vocal coach Phyllis Curtin, the mediocrity of his baritone was becoming unbearable.

"I kept hoping that something was going to happen, that somehow his voice would suddenly switch on like a lightbulb," recalls Met diva Marilyn Horne, a friend of Mehta's, "and yet, I just heard this baritone that was pretty nondescript."

After several embarrassing attempts, he finally quit. Record-producing was a possible alternative, something he had been doing since his college days. Mehta produced the Grammy-winning Bach Suites for Solo Violoncello by Janos Starker, and reissued titles in Sony Classical's prestigious Masterworks Heritage series. But when the business crashed in 1996, Bejun quickly slipped into debt.

Then, just over a year ago, Mehta happened upon a profile of superstar countertenor David Daniels. Countertenors sing in a high range -- equivalent to that of a female alto -- using a highly developed falsetto. "What the hell, I'll just try this," Mehta said to himself, and started singing higher. And higher. Seemingly out of nowhere, his prodigious voice returned.

"I'm a countertenor now," Mehta proudly informed Horne, who was understandably skeptical. Still, she had no choice but to invite him to audition for her foundation, which showcases new talent. "He came in and sang this unbelievable aria from Handel's Flavio," says Horne. "I was flabbergasted!" Relieved and thrilled for her long-frustrated friend, Horne immediately offered to present Mehta as part of her series "On Wings of Song." Horne also put the young singer in touch with a manager, who suddenly found himself fielding invitations from around the world. In September, Mehta snapped up the role of Armindo in Handel's Partenope at the New York City Opera, in a performance that earned rave reviews. Two months later, when Daniels took ill during an international concert tour, Bejun was tapped to stand in for him. Called in at the last minute, he memorized his cantata on the plane to Vienna.

A critic once described Mehta as a "singing animal," and it's true that he performs as if just unleashed from a cage, which in a sense he is. His joy is palpable, the voice practically inhabiting a theater. Last week, his performance before a packed house at the Kosciuszko Foundation was met with unrestrained acclaim. (The concert will be broadcast Saturday at 9 p.m. on WQXR 96.3 FM.) Next season he has been invited to perform Handel's Ariodante at City Opera. Not bad for a has-been.

On the American musical . . .

— Charles McNulty comments on “Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater” a book by Larry Stempel (W.W. Norton & Co.) "This history shimmers with critical insights into the American musical as it evolves from its 19th century beginnings through its golden age in the mid-20th century to its post-Sondheim deliquescence. One of the most astute guides out there."

"Popular Mechanics Magazine Predictions"

Between 1903 and 1969, scientists and other experts made hundreds of predictions in Popular Mechanics magazine about what the future would hold. Their forecasts ranged from ruefully funny to eerily prescient and optimistically utopian. Here are the very best of them, culled from hundreds of articles, complete with the original, visually stunning retro art.

"Grizzly Falls in Kings Canyon"

Grizzly Falls is located in California along Hwy 180, 4.4 miles west of Cedar Grove at Yucca Pt., 15.2 miles west of Cedar Grove (or about 25 miles from Grant Grove). It is a short walk from the parking lot.

(Submitted July 24, 2010 by Steve S., Your Scene, Los Angeles Times)

Dylan, surfing at age six

(Photo credit: Mike H., Your Scene, Los Angeles Times)

The Comac C-919

The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China expects to begin producing its 156-seat C919 by 2016. It would compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. Above, a model of the aircraft.

(Vincent Yu, Associated Press / November 13, 2010)

"idyllic sites in the backcountry"

It may seem premature to plan next year's diversion, but that's exactly what you must do if you want to stay at Yosemite National Park's coveted High Sierra Camps. The good news is that the deadline for entering the lottery that will determine whether you get your dates has been extended to Nov. 20. It was originally Nov. 1.

Five camps occupy idyllic sites in the backcountry to the north and south of Tioga Pass Road. They consist of dormitory accommodations in basic tent cabins, a hot shower at most locations and family-style dinners and breakfasts.

An online lottery handles requests for stays. Applicants will be told by http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_HighSierra_HowtoApply.aspx Jan. 15 whether they have the thumbs up or thumbs down.

Of the 3,300 applications last year, only 850 were assigned dates. One trick is to submit alternative dates or, better still, a range of dates. The 10% to 20% of the dates not claimed by lottery participants become available for first-come, first-served reservations starting Feb. 8.

The odds become smaller as the summer season approaches, except at the end of May, when cancellations occur as families finalize their summer plans, said Dee Dee Smith, a reservation specialist with DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, the lodging concessionaire in the California park.

Lining up camps for the desired dates can be tricky. The opening dates hinge on snow coverage and camp preparations. Last season, late-spring snowstorms caused delayed openings and many cancellations.

Merced Lake tends to be the easiest High Sierra Camp to secure because it has the most tent cabins and the greatest number of beds. But it is also the farthest from a trailhead (about 15 miles to Tenaya Lake or Tuolumne Meadows).

"If people are flexible, we'll get them into something," Smith said.

She recommends keeping a watchful eye on the online availability calendar for cancellations made just outside of the 30-day window, which incur a modest fee. Saddle trips and guided hikes present alternative (although considerably more expensive) options when all independent hiker slots are booked.

I've stayed at the camps, which get many repeat visitors.

In July, I sat down for breakfast at the park's Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, eager to embark on my first High Sierra Camps expedition. The dining hall pulsed with the energy of hiking parties discussing supplies, equipment and routes. Some readied to head north toward Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. Others faced a couple of hundred of miles south on the John Muir Trail before Mt. Whitney. Most would attempt a part of the High Sierra Camps loop. Mine was a modified version, with Yosemite Valley as a destination after two nights at Merced Lake.

Acting on the counsel of a Wawona ranger, who praised the high-country landscape around the Vogelsang camp (shown above), I nabbed a last-minute cancellation after a quick phone call to the reservation office.

Elated at my good fortune, I arrived at the camp, snug at the base of Fletcher Peak, less than three hours later and sat down for a snack with the staff of Vogelsang. Several hiking parties filed in before I set out to explore nearby Townsley and Hanging Basket lakes.

Fred Strauss, 85, said he first came to Vogelsang in 1936. He credits reservation specialist Smith ("Dad's other wife," his son said) for arranging his yearly trips down memory lane. "I'm going to quit when I get old," he said. "Believe it or not, Yosemite hasn't changed all that much."

Barbara Talmadge has been coming to the park for 67 of her 85 years.

"I suppose it gets in your blood, you could say," she said. This year she booked five weeks at Merced Lake, where two of her grandchildren work.

"headed for California roads next year"

Some vehicles defy easy classification. Take the plug-in electric Peraves E-Tracer, headed for California roads next year. Balanced on two wheels and operated with a throttle, it's similar to a motorcycle. But it's also fully enclosed in a Kevlar fiberglass shell.

With two bucket seats, a floor-mounted brake, windows, even a windshield wiper, its interior feels more like a car — a toppled-over, traveling egg with windows all around, providing fantastic visibility.

It is, at once, an electric automobile and a motorcycle — and a prizewinner.



"It's not a hybrid. It's a hybris, a snake, a serpent with two heads," said Roger Riedener, the Swiss chief executive who dreamed up the idea and who walked away with $2.5 million in Septemberfor winning the 2010 Automotive X-Prize Alternative Class.

Beating 127 other X-Prize entries competing to build the world's most fuel-efficient vehicle, the E-Tracer can travel more than 200 miles on a single gallon of gas equivalent and reach a potential top speed of 200 mph.

It is the only X-Prize winner scheduled to go into production. About 100 of these "less than $100,000" vehicles will be built each year, their shells assembled in Thailand and their drivetrains installed in San Dimas at AC Propulsion, which developed its electric motor and battery system.

"Puu Oo Vent on Mount Kilauea"

When Kilauea volcano's Puu Oo vent was active I visited it often. On this particular cold January morning the winds were light, which allowed the superheated gases and steam to rise straight up into the sky from the glowing and spattering vents within Puu Oo. The cold air pushed the hot plumes back down in a swirling motion at sunrise. This allowed for the beautiful colors. Shot with a Nikon Dslr and the Nikon 10.5 lens from the north rim of Puu Oo vent. 30-second exposure.

(Text and Photograph by Bryan Lowry)

"Bottlenose Dolphins in Surf"

Dolphins are known to jump out the back of big waves as they break against the shores. This pod of bottlenose dolphins was leisurely surfing in the waves as the offshore wind blew against the incoming waves, creating an atmosphere that was most unique and magical. At a place called Waterfall Bluff in the Transkei, South Africa. This photo was a featured image from the 2008 International Photography Contest.

(Photograph by Andrew Wong)

Hadid did it !!

The aim of the Nuargic and Contemporary Museum in Cagliari by Zaha Hadid is to create a node of cultural exchanges that simultaneously serve as a landmark announcing the arrival to Cagliari from the sea, and answer the five challenges proposed by the brief. Through the interconnection of the inner circulation with the public paths and the alternation of open spaces and cavities, the building shares its public dimension with the city. Moreover, it geometrically aligns along the axis of the sea, and extends its arms towards the quarter and the stadium of S. Elia, connecting and assimilating itself to the site. Architectural concept The new museum is like a coralline concretion, empty inside, hard and porous on the external surface, able to accommodate, in a continuous osmotic exchange with the external atmosphere, cultural activities in a lively and changing environment. At times it assimilates to the ground, creating a new landscape, while at others it acquires a strong mass defining the new skyline. The open and dynamic quality of the shape is also pursued inside the building, where the circulation of the visitors through the exhibition, information and commercial paths determine the geometry of the spaces.

"MAXXI Museum in Rome"

Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-born architect who has lived for some four decades in the U.K., finally won recognition from her country of adoption as she clinched the U.K.’s RIBA Stirling Prize for her MAXXI Museum in Rome.

British acclaim had so far evaded Hadid, 59, who in 2004 became the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, her profession’s highest distinction. She had been nominated three other times for the Stirling, the U.K.’s top architecture award.

"Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Sunday burned rubber on a racing circuit in a Formula One car"

MOSCOW (AFP) – In a helmet emblazoned with the emblem of Russia and reaching a speed of 240 kilometres (150 miles) an hour, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Sunday burned rubber on a racing circuit in a Formula One car.

The high-speed session -- unthinkable for almost any other world leader -- was the latest in a series of widely publicised hardman outings for Putin as he seeks to cement his image as the Russian strongman ahead of 2012 elections.

It was also aimed at raising the profile of the sport in Russia as the country prepares to host its first Formula One Grand Prix from 2014 in the southern city of Sochi, under a plan championed by Putin.