"What’s not to like? "

In recent years the opera world has obsessed over who qualifies as a “Barihunk,” a baritone so handsome that audiences yearn to see him sing with his shirt off. Tenors must have wondered what the big deal was. People have been swooning over these higher-voiced singers for ages.

The latest swoon-worthy tenor is Munich-born Jonas Kaufmann, who drove the audience nuts Friday at his U.S. recital debut sponsored by the Los Angeles Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Fans demanded no fewer than five encores, including one played by accompanist Helmut Deutsch from an iPad. O brave new world.

Kaufmann is tall, poised, curly-haired. He has chiseled looks and dramatic presence. His voice has a baritone’s dark coloring and weight, and he can use it for poetic effect. He knows that less is more, so he did not rely on extraneous gestures to punch up his program of lieder by Schumann and Strauss.

What’s not to like?

Etymology of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh was named in 1758 by General John Forbes in honor of the British statesman William Pitt. Given that Forbes was a Scotsman, it is possible that the intended pronunciation of the settlement was /ˈpɪtsbᵊrə/ (PITS-brə or PITS-bə-rə), similar to the pronunciation of Edinburgh as a Scotsman would pronounce it. It was incorporated as a borough in 1794 and chartered as a city in 1816.

"Let There Be Light"

The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace is 239 feet long, 34 feet wide and 40 feet high. At one end of the hall is the Salon of War with the Salon of Peace at the other end. Seventeen windows overlooking the garden are matched by seventeen arcaded mirrors along the wall.

"a Stanley and Stella shouting contest"

There will be 100 candles on the cake, at least figuratively, as the centennial of the birth of playwright Tennessee Williams is celebrated in late March in New Orleans, his adopted hometown.

The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival takes place March 23-27 at various venues in the Crescent City. Activities include stagings of “The Glass Menagerie” and “27 Wagons Full of Cotton.”

A bumper crop of lectures and panel discussions, both for theater fans and aspiring authors, is planned. Among those scheduled to appear are critic Rex Reed and filmmaker John Waters.

Literary walking tours will include the French Quarter apartment house in which Williams wrote “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The modern tragedy provides the inspiration for one of the festival’s lighter events: a Stanley and Stella shouting contest. This red brick apartment house in New Orleans' French Quarter is where playwright Tennessee Williams once lived, and where he wrote "A Streetcar Named Desire."

For many, the highlight of the five-day event will come March 26, when attendees party in grand style on what would have been Williams’ 100th birthday.

Ticket info for the festival: (800) 990-3378

"a 900-year history"

"Power House," a new permanent exhibition, will open April 2 on the top floor of the historic White Tower inside the Tower of London.

The exhibition will showcase the many faces the tower has worn during its 900-year history: royal residence, fort, mint, prison, records office, jewel house, observatory, zoo and armory. The Tower was the site of the execution of two of Henry VIII’s queens; the coronation of the 9-days-queen, Lady Jane Grey; and the burial ground of Edward IV’s murdered sons, the little princes.

The new exhibition will feature displays that highlight the various chapters in the tower’s long life set around a showpiece, a 10-foot-tall dragon constructed of artifacts taken from each, such as imitation Jewel House diamonds and rubies for the dragon’s eyes and telescopes from the observatory for its legs.

"The Price is Right"

In Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher rise above the Atlantic at the southwestern edge of the Burren area near Doolin. The Emerald Isles, hard hit by the recession, are among the European countries that hope to lure visitors through value pricing and other incentives.

(Richard Derk)

"RACE FOR THE LOO"

Of all the bizarre events to come to Wellington in recent times, none quite prepared me for the sight of 600 unicyclists pedalling furiously for the loo.

At least that’s what it looked like at the World Unicycle Championships on the Wellington waterfront last year.

A unicycle has no handlebars, see. So the rider in a hurry must hold on for dear life to the front of his or her seat.

Which has the effect of making the race look like the world championship of speed crotch-grabbing.

(Description above by John Ansell on Word Press)

"Lloyd Wright's 1926 Sowden House"

Nearly a decade after he purchased Lloyd Wright's 1926 Sowden House and pumped more than $2 million into the historical property, designer Xorin Balbes has put the Mayan Revival on the market.

The thickly ornamented, steel-reinforced textile block structure backs up to the Los Feliz hills and is adjacent to Laughlin Park, a gated community that many film stars called home during the golden age of Hollywood.

"goosebumps"

In December, UK television viewers had a chance to return to 165 Eaton Place and all the nostalgia, charm and drama of the 1970’s beloved series Upstairs Downstairs when the first episode of the new series, “The Fledgling,” premiered to much acclaim and indeed, "goosebumps." Shown above is the original atellar cast. North American audiences who will have a chance to see the three new episodes when they air on Masterpiece Classic PBS on April 10, 17 & 24.

"Battle: Los Angeles"

Recently Actors Aaron Eckhart and Bryce Cass both ventured out to Regency Village Theatre in Westwood for the premiere of their alien invasion flick, Battle: Los Angeles. The actioner, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Chris Bertolini, opened in the States Friday. In the movie, after alien forces invade earth and all the great cities have fallen, Los Angeles remains as the final stand for mankind. Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Eckhart) and his Marine platoon must face an enemy unlike any they have ever encountered before.

It's A Kind Of Magic

I think the new Daniel Radcliffe shoot in Dazed & Confused is really exciting and original. He's actually hard to recognize.

"So long, Sahara..."

The iconic Sahara Hotel on the north Vegas Strip will close it's doors on May 16, 2011, signifying the end of a locale that was once a favored hangout for the likes of Frank Sinatra and his famed Rat Pack buddies. The CEO of SBE Entertainment, which owns and operates the historic hotel - casino, made the closure announcement on March 11, 2011 exactly 59 years after it's original opening. Lack of " economic viability" was cited as the cause in a time when the recession has really rocked Sin City back on it's heels. In recent years the property had become noted for it's Dollar Days promotions campaign that featured $1 blackjack minimums, $1 beers, $1 hot dogs, and $1 shots. Despite the cheap goods, the Sahara didn't survive and closure has been the subject of rampant rumors for some time. Now it's official.

The Sahara closure is blatantly reflective of tough economic times in the planet's most popular destination city. The north end of the Vegas Strip has been particularly vulnerable to lowered visitation, increasing room totals, and less consumer willingness to spend money after arrival here. The nearby Riviera is in bankruptcy reorganization and the partially built big blue Fontainebleau is not expected to be completed for years; the steel structured skeleton of the planned Echelon project has remained idle since 2008 due to tough times as well. However, since it's inception Las Vegas has demonstrated boundless recuperative spirit and opportunities...it's a shame the Sahara got caught up in the Vegas machine. Generally, that machine can be alternatively described as "Money talks ...and the rest walks".

So long, Sahara...

"Older and More Beautiful"

Holy Trinity Church on Fr. Mathew Quay, pictured from just outside a side gate on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

The church and attached friary are run by the Capuchins who have been in the city since at least 1637. The church above dates from early eighteenth century.

Don't say you haven't been warned . . .

­Acc­ording to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 22 percent of all traffic accidents in the United States are caused by drivers running red lights. Every year, these accidents kill some 800 people and rack up an estimated $7 billio­n dollars in property damage, medical bills, lost productivity and insurance hikes. And this sort of traffic violation seems to be on the rise. In many areas, red-light violations have increased by 10 percent or more since the 1980s.

To curb this trend, more and more cities are installing red-light cameras. These fully automated devices collect all of the evidence authorities need to prosecute light-runners. If a camera catches you speeding through the intersection, you can expect a ticket (along with a photograph of the violation) to arrive in your mailbox a month or two later.

Elaine Paige is "Forever"

Recently Lea Salonga who won the Tony Award in 1991 when she was a 20-year-old rising star on Broadway, discussed some of the artists who have influenced her throughout her career.

Here's what she had to say about Elaine Paige: She's not the most familiar singer to American audiences. I love the way she sang "Evita," just the timbre of her voice -- it's not heavy. Even when it gets dramatic, there’s a cutting quality to it that makes it clear. It has a timeless quality -- even when I listen to her from the '70s or '80s.

19th Century Photography

A nature photography pioneer who a lot of folks may not have heard of was Henry Hamilton Bennett (1843-1908), who did photography in the Wisconsin Dells area in the second half of the 19th Century.

Bennett took up photography as a career after a musket ball through his hand, suffered in a Civil War engagement, derailed his plans to be a carpenter. He used cameras he built himself, including stereoscopic cameras.

This Wisconsin Historical Society site has biographical information and images including the striking above: an 1886 shot showing his son leaping from a cliff across a chasm towards a rock pillar. To get this image, remarkable at this time when long exposures were still the norm, Bennett used a camera with a stop-action shutter of his own invention.

"Double Trouble"

Identical twins Venice Shaw, left, and Inez Harries turned 100 years old in January. Born in Pasadena to a citrus-ranch manager and his wife, the twins have always been inseparable. As kids they dressed alike, as teens they double-dated, and later they vacationed together with their husbands and children. For an audio slideshow about the siblings, visit latimes.com/100yearoldtwins.

As Witty and Talented as they are Funny

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an all-male comic ballet company, is shown during one of its New York runs at the Joyce Theater. The dancers, some of whom are classically trained, play both male and female roles in twisted takes on the ballet canon. For added drag-related fun they adopt punny names like Olga Supphozova, Sveltlana Lofatkina and Lariska Dumbchenko.

How do you spell "stars" ??? ------- "Laugh In"

"Laugh-In" creator George Schlatter, center, is flanked by stars of the hit 1960s comedy show, from left: Jo Anne Worley, Ruth Buzzi, Lily Tomlin and Gary Owens. They were recently reunited in Pasadena.

(Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times)