"I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat"

A new Looney Tunes short starring Tweety and Sylvester will debut Friday before showings of the Warner Bros. animated feature "Happy Feet Two." But while the short "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat" is computer animated and in 3-D, the soundtrack dates back to 1951 and a novelty song recorded by voice-over artist Mel Blanc.

The song, which has the same title as the short, features Blanc, the actor who created the voices for all the Looney Tune classics characters, including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Pepe Le Pew. The song was written by Alan Livingston, Billy May and Warren Foster, and was highly popular when it was released.

"driving on electricity"

Since her first appearance in 1911, the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine heralding every Rolls-Royce has spread her cape on clouds of carbon dioxide. Except in this car — the Rolls-Royce 102EX, whose wardrobe-sized bonnet covers a 1,411-lb box of batteries. It’s everything right, and wrong, with driving on electricity.

This isn’t a prototype, and Rolls-Royce has no immediate plans to rip the 6.75-liter V-12s from the Phantom-driving chauffeurs hauling the world’s grandees anytime soon. Instead, the 102EX serves as a rolling customer clinic for Rolls-Royce and parent BMW, which have shipped the 102EX around the world over the past 10 months, asking wealthy customers for suggestions of how to navigate an ever-warming world.

"You can use plastic or plastic"

In Canada, you'll soon have two choices when paying for things: plastic or plastic.

The country is planning on phasing out paper money and replacing it with all-plastic notes made out of a single thin sheet of polymer. This week the country introduced the first of the plastic notes - the $100 bill.

In a statement, the Bank of Canada asserted that the new notes would last twice as long as the old paper bills, and that they're recyclable.

But the real reason the country is switching to plastic? Security.

The bank said the new bills contain leading-edge security features that makes them difficult to counterfeit and easy to verify.

There's raised ink on the big number 100, the wording "Bank of Canada" and on the shoulders of the well-mustached Robert Borden, prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920.

There are also two transparent windows on the note: a small one in the shape of a maple leaf and a larger one that extends from the bottom to the top of the bill and contains a small image of Borden.

Look closely at the larger window and you'll notice it's dotted with small numbers, some of which are reversed.

Moving the $100 note causes the colors on some parts of the bill to shift substantially, while color changes on Borden are subtle.

The bank made a YouTube video to explain the security features and to help Canadians ensure that they aren't being tricked by counterfeiters.

Canada will introduce plastic $50 notes in March, and plastic $5 and $10 bills will come out by the end of 2013.

Reporting from Herat, Afghanistan—

Imperial soldiers once patrolled its battlements. Treasure lay heaped in vaulted storerooms. Prisoners languished in its depths; princes plotted the course of empires. But by late in the last century, the mighty fortress overlooking this western Afghan city had fallen into ruin.

Built on a plateau thought to have been a redoubt of Alexander the Great, the Citadel of Herat has been brought back to life. Reopened last month as a museum and cultural center after a painstaking refurbishment, the 15th century structure serves as a poignant reminder of past glories in a country beaten down by decades of war and deprivation.

More than 300 craftsmen spent nearly three years shoring up the citadel's winding ramps, cavernous chambers and soaring buttresses, rebuilding delicate wooden latticework and piecing together damaged decorative tiles.

"LADY WASHINGTON"

The brig Lady Washington, the official tall ship ambassador of Washington state, will visit Redondo Beach for the first time since 1994. The 112-foot wooden vessel is scheduled to arrive Thursday, November 23 at the Redondo Beach Marina, 181 North Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach, and stay through Wednesday, November 30.

"Walking Heron"

The beauty of the First State Delaware was captured by dozens of photographers who entered Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge's annual photo contest. This year's grand prize winner is a photograph of a heron against an almost black backdrop. The "Walking Heron" was taken by Jack Foley of Dover.

A "deployable" roof

A new version of AEG's proposed NFL football stadium and event center in downtown Los Angeles was unveiled Tuesday afternoon. The latest design by Ronald Turner of the firm Gensler represents a marked attempt to give the complex more transparency and openness than was contained in a largely conceptual version released late last year.

Instead of an expensive retractable roof, the 72,000-seat stadium will be topped by what AEG calls a "deployable" roof, a collection of light fabric panels that can be stored outside the stadium. That change means it will take longer to close the roof — perhaps hours instead of minutes. But it has the architectural advantage of requiring smaller trusses and therefore a less massive structure above fans' heads. AEG and the firm it hired to oversee the stadium project, Icon Venue Group, estimate the roof will be closed at most about 15 times per year, mostly for large-scale convention activities and rare events like a basketball Final Four. It would remain open for nearly every NFL game.

'Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports'

When ABC Sports guru Roone Arledge was suggesting Howard Cosell for "Monday Night Football," NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle replied: "Cosell? Why don't you just dig up Attila the Hun?"

Such was the reaction generated by modern broadcasting's first Category 5 hurricane: How-wuuuud Co-sellll. The way he pronounced his own name dripped with chutzpah and self-promotion. In his day, Cosell may have been the most mocked man in America.

If the very memory of his nasal delivery is a form of aural torture, this book 'Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports'may not be for you. But if you remember Cosell as some sort of broadcasting pioneer, brave and occasionally brilliant, Mark Ribowsky's new tome is worth your time. At 512 pages, it has the heft of a presidential biography, a fact that would not be lost on one of broadcasting's early emperors.

(excerpts from a Book Review by Chris Erskine, Los Angeles Times)

"David and Goliath"

ANN COULTER BREAKS HER JAW....THERE IS A GOD!

We didn't think it would be possible to silence Ann Coulter but . . . ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK POST: the leggy reaction-ary broke her jaw and the mouth that roared has been wired shut.

"a $254 million lottery ticket"

HARTFORD — The search is still on for the winner of the Nov. 2 Powerball drawing, with billboards across the state urging the ticket holder to step forward and end the mystery.

The person who bought the ticket at an undisclosed location in Fairfield County has six months to claim the prize, which ranks as the 12th biggest jackpot in Powerball history. If no winner comes forward by April 30, the money would go back to the states that fed the pot.

At convenience stores across southwest Connecticut, rumors have been swirling about unlucky souls who had the winning combination — 12-14-34-39-46, Powerball 36 — only to lose the ticket. But a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Lottery Corporation said that nobody has contacted headquarters so far to make a claim.

"We're on a kind of holding pattern until they come in," spokeswoman Linda Tarnowski said.

Lottery officials have urged people to check their Powerball tickets through messages on billboards and display screens at 2,700 retailers across the state.

Although nearly two weeks have passed since the drawing, Tarnowski said there are countless possible explanations for the delay.

Could somebody be carrying a $254 million lottery ticket and not even know it? Did the winner of the biggest jackpot in Connecticut history buy the ticket while passing through the state and forget about it?

"You really don't know. Someone could have gone in with a group and they're waiting to split it up. Maybe they're talking to a financial adviser or attorney. It could be they're waiting for a new tax year," she said. "You just hope that it is someone in the state of Connecticut who has it."

The $254.2 million prize is by far the biggest lottery jackpot ever in Connecticut, where the previous record was a $59.5 million Powerball jackpot in June 2005. The winner can claim a $254.2 million annuity paid over 29 years or a lump sum of nearly $152 million in cash.

At a 7-Eleven in Danbury, owner Abu Sayed said a 21-year-old customer claimed to have lost the winning ticket. Other customers have been discussing the merits of his claim and, if true, how it would affect him to win so much money at such a young age. Sayed said it's possible that customer had the winning ticket, but he should have to prove it.

"To get that money, his responsibility is to show the ticket. If he lost it, it is his fault," he said.

Convenience store owner Lalo Patel in Stratford said the unclaimed ticket comes up every day in conversation among his customers. Many are skeptical of another person in Stamford who was rumored to have lost the winning ticket. But he said everyone is excited.

"They are all happy that somebody finally won from Connecticut," he said

Honoring Age

Virginia Davis, 104, left, and Paul Cooks, 103, are crowned queen and king as the oldest guests at Monday's "Legacy Luncheon," the annual party for seniors 90 or older sponsored by the city of Los Angeles. Davis has been attending the event since she was a young thing of 94.

(Al Seib, Los Angeles Times / November 14, 2011)

Spectacular Ritual

In Puerto Villarta this ritual was performed by members of a tribe that originated in Vera Cruz. They were attired in a red and black pant with a balloon leg and fitted cuff, a white shirt, and wore a beaded red cummerbund. The brimless red and black hat they wore had long streamers of ribbon for the effect.

The first man was perched atop the pole wrapping four ropes around the top of the pole above a wooden platform. Next, four men scaled to the top and took a seat on the platform. Each man attached a rope to their ankle. The person who wrapped the ropes remained on the top of the pole. He began beating on a drum to a rythmn and the four men rolled backward from the wooden platform and began circling the post hanging by their feet whirling as the ropes began to unwind. In a period of approximately three minutes they were standing on the ground.

Commentary by: http://dinewithdonna.blogspot.com/

Seaport Village

Typical of a tourist area, the Seaport Village in San Diego attracts sidewalk artists seeking a donation for demonstrating their talent. One can find for sale or a donation hats, roses, and origami birds made from palms. Tie-dyed t-shirts are also available. Musicians take a seat in the path of heavy traffic hoping their offering is worth folding money. We thought two of the people demonstrated unique talent. The portrait artist sketched on his pad a remarkable likeness of a young girl. The other was a man who picked up rocks from the rip-rap that had been placed to protect the shoreline from erosion. The rocks were stacked and balanced creating unique formations. My husband questioned how long would the rocks remain as they were placed. The man said until the wind blows. We watched him replace one of the stacks of rocks after it had fallen. That was very interesting.

Commentary from: http://dinewithdonna.blogspot.com/

"Tomatina"

Revellers fight with tomato pulp during the annual "Tomatina" (tomato fight) in the Mediterranean village of Bunol, near Valencia, August 26, 2009. The origin of the tomato fight is disputed - everyone in Bunol seems to have a favourite story - but most agree it started around 1940, in the early years of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship.

‘location, location, location"

New York: It's time to get creative in the commercial real estate market. Enterprising developers have bought buildings that are in less than ideal shape but are located in up-and-coming improving neighborhoods.

Will these investments pay off? Time will tell.

“What all of these buildings have in common is ‘location, location, location,’” said Howard Fiddle, the vice chairman of CB Richard Ellis. “They are all in very different neighborhoods that are improving.”

"Sana's magnificent architectural past"

The tanks, mortars and firefights rumbling and crackling through the ancient city of Sana are endangering not only Yemen's future but also its magnificent architectural past of intricately decorated earthen houses and slender brick towers.

The old city, with its stealthy alleys and fortress walls, is one of the most striking visions in the Arab world, a bit of fairy tale in a harsh, despotically ruled land. But once-peaceful protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that have escalated to street battles involving tribes, government forces and mutinous soldiers are encroaching on the historic center, settled more than 2,500 years ago and named a World Heritage Site in 1986 by the United Nations.

Long Beach Municipal Auditorium: Part of our History

1921: Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of San Pedro holds 1st annual company party at the Long Beach municipal auditorium

(Los Angeles Times, 03/13/1921)

"The Second Anti-Chinese Campaign"

1885: Anti-Chinese mass meeting held by the Independent Labor Union No. 1 at the plaza in LA (Los Angeles Times, 03/14/1885; 03/15/1885) initiates the 2nd anti-Chinese campaign in California; the meeting was orchestrated by Captain J. F. (John Frazer?) Janes, ship’s chandler agent and publisher of San Pedro’s 1st newspaper, the Shipping Gazette (published from 10/06/1883 to 08/xx/1886; masthead changed from San Pedro Shipping Gazette to Los Angeles and San Pedro Shipping Gazette when the publication moved to LA two months later—see December 22—and distribution expanded from San Pedro to include LA and Santa Monica); Janes had organized a Workingman’s Club earlier in March 1885 to foment a new anti-Chinese campaign (the group’s name was changed to the Independent Labor Union No. 1 and then the Anti-Chinese Union) because he found existing political parties too tepid on exclusionist issues (he briefly reestablished the Shipping Gazette as an organ for the movement in joint publication with The Advocate); Janes quit the Union in May when he lost the presidency (see Stimson, 1955, pgs. 61-63)

Golden Jubilee

1938: San Pedro celebrates the 50th anniversary of its incorporation with a pageant, barbeque and dance; 81-year-old Roman D. Sepulveda serves as Grand Marshal of parade led by Fort MacArthur’s 63rd Coast Artillery; parade includes motorized anti-aircraft guns and 2 battalions of seamen from the battleships of the Pacific Fleet; celebration sponsored by the Thirty-Year Club of San Pedro (all members must be residents of San Pedro for 3 decades)

(Los Angeles Times, 03/02/1938, pg.1)