"Popcorn and samosas"

San Jose - It's 8 p.m. Friday and the historic Towne Theatre downtown is sold out. About 500 moviegoers have crowded into the three-screen movie house, paying up to $12 a ticket to watch not the latest Hollywood blockbuster but instead the premieres of three Indian movies that are opening simultaneously in India.

Tonight's showcase feature: the Tamil action thriller "Aadhavan" starring hunk Surya Sivakumar, who enjoys rock-star status among fans known to break out in cheers when his image appears on screen.

As couples, parents pushing children in strollers and bands of young men stream into the 81-year-old theater, past the concession stand selling popcorn, mango juice and Indian fruit bread, an employee of the film's distributor is showing his gratitude. He hands out doughy sweets called laddu, wishing patrons a "Happy Diwali" in Tamil, a salutation of the Hindu festival celebrating the victory of good over evil.

History can have a sense of humor

It's only fitting that Tombstone, which gained fame for a shootout, has a rough-and-tough gunslinger grave site. Check out the political commentary on the epitaphs of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury, killed as they battled Wyatt Earp and his posse at the O.K. Corral. For a taste of headstone humor, there is "Here lies Lester Moore / Four slugs for a 44 / No Les / No more" and George Johnson (wrongly sentenced to hang for buying a stolen horse): "He was right / We was wrong / But we strung him up / And now he's gone." Who says you can't be a quick draw with a pen?

History of an Icon

Sure, the Golden Gate Bridge is awe-inspiring, but what is it really all about? If you’re interested in the inner and outer works of the bridge, as well as its past, you will soon—well, in a couple years or so—be able to indulge your curiosities through an outdoor exhibit planned for the tourist landmark. Earlier this week, the National Science Foundation granted the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District $3 million to build educational exhibits related to the San Francisco icon’s history and engineering.

At the south side visitor area, which sees over 10 million annual visitors, a central feature of the exhibit will be a 92-foot-long scale model of the bridge. Next to that will be 24 interactive satellite exhibits, where you might learn, among other facts and figures, that 250 pairs of vertical suspender ropes hold up the roadway that you see.

"England's Limpley Stoke Valley"

"A River Runs Through It"

George Drury Smith's view as he looked across the city of Dinant, Belgium, from the tower of its 11th century citadel was so captivating that he snapped his shutter, despite the gloom. The spire of the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame glistened darkly. He used a Panasonic Lumix DMCFX07 with a Leica lens.

"burst of clouds"

Ron Drake of Santa Barbara and several family members were gifted with clear weather on their last day of an otherwise rainy Alaska trip. As they enjoyed a plane trip to a glacier near Mt. McKinley (also known as Denali), Drake zoomed in and snapped a photo of the burst of clouds coming off McKinley caused by high winds. He used a Nikon Coolpix S10.

Bernard Madoff may be coming to your door

Many Halloweeners like to dress up with costume ideas that some might judge tasteless… There is no doubt that Bernie Madoff is probably the most hated man on Earth right now and a lot of people would rather never see his face again, ever, so it might be quite of a shock for them on Halloween night when opening to door to trick and treaters!

"an attention-grabbing face for Halloween"

MAKEUP: A great costume for this Halloween starts with the makeup, like this Lady Gaga (Poker Face) makeup done by MAC. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

No bug eyes and shark-like teeth for these vampires

Somewhere on the way to today's multiplex, the traditional horror-movie vampire received an extreme makeover.Max Schreck's Count Orlok of 1922's "Nosferatu" -- bald, hunched, with claw-like hands, bug eyes and shark-like teeth -- morphed into the hollow-cheeked, Abercrombie & Fitch model looks of "Twilight's" Robert Pattinson, all James Dean glowering and choreographed hair.

Beautiful vampires populate the small screen as well. HBO's "True Blood," (based on Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series) has easy-on-the-eyes Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard and other members of the undead mixing it up in backwater Louisiana, and in the CW's new "Vampire Diaries," comely undead teens walk the halls of Mystic Falls High.

Who will give the bride away ???

Dramatic "bridal gown" with studded leather corset.

SWATS UP ???

The Los Angeles Police Department SWAT Team rappels down the new 10-story police headquarters building next to a freshly unfurled flag during it's grand opening ceremony.

"the tallest building west of Chicago"

The U.S. Bank Tower is the tallest building in Los Angeles. The 73-story tower which rises 1,018 feet (310 m) in Downtown Los Angeles was completed in 1989. It also stands as the tallest building in the state of California and the 9th-tallest building in the United States. (The building has gone through many names; it is currently the U.S. Bank Tower, formerly Library Tower, formerly First Interstate Tower.)

"Birth"

Just a sample of some of the Digital Photo Art on this exciting website.

"Things More Fun Than Reading the Sarah Palin Memoir"

Sarah Palin will sit with Oprah Winfrey Nov. 16 for the first interview from the former Alaska governor since she stepped down from office.

Palin will appear in part to promote her book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," which will be released that week. It is so far the only interview announced this fall for the former vice presidential candidate.

There are no plans for Palin to appear on "Late Show With David Letterman," where a recurring comedy bit has been "Things More Fun Than Reading the Sarah Palin Memoir" (No. 61: getting run over by a lawn mower; No. 14: driving into a tree; No. 45: walking into traffic).

Nissan Leaf is coming . . .

Nissan Leaf (Itsuo Inouye / Associated Press / August 2, 2009). The drivetrain: All-electric :: When available: Late 2010 :: Price: $25,000 to $33,000 :: Range: 100 miles :: The juice: Although Nissan will start mainly with fleet sales, a few Leafs (Leaves?) will be available to individuals before a larger rollout in 2012. Nissan hopes to eventually build this relatively low-cost electric vehicle in Tennessee.

"Threads of Thought"

by Jeffrey Batchelor

Icy Features

The Ice-bar in Orlando, Florida is the first and largest permanent ice bar in America. The ice sculptures are created by a Master Carver who has won awards in the international Ice Carving Olympics and also in Harbin, China at the worlds largest ice festival. Made from over 50 tons of ice, the interior features a crystal palace with throne, fireplace, sofa and chairs all carved into exquisite designs. The cocktails are served in glasses molded from clear ice and are a special design created by a local supplier.

The Department of Water and Power Building crowns downtown L.A.

The Department of Water and Power's John Ferraro Building opened in 1961. It crowns downtown L.A. alongside the Los Angeles Music Center, both of which stand on what was once a Victorian-studded neighborhood on Bunker Hill. The '60s were characterized by such massive renewal efforts. Nearly 50 years on, some victors in this tussle are now themselves in danger of tear-down.

The Music and the Drama Continues

The Mark Taper Forum, part of the Los Angeles Music Center campus, has housed a resident theater company since 1967. The Ahmanson Theatre, also part of the complex, opened that same April. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the biggest facility in the Welton Becket-designed complex, opened in 1964. The exterior of the Ahmanson was altered during renovations completed in 1994, but the Taper's exterior retains its distinctive look after renovations unveiled in 2008. (Center Theatre Group)

"Dreamers in Dream City" at Autry National Center

Water engineer William Mulholland, circa 1927, gets an Owens Valley setting courtesy of Harry Chandler. (Harry Chandler/Autry National Center)

"The Return of a Classic"

Over 50 years out of print the October release of DARK CARNIVAL by RAY BRADBURY will be the literary event of the year for Bradbury fans. After many years Ray Bradbury has agreed to allow this classic to be published in a LIMITED edition, with bonus material, edited by his long-time bibliographer Donn Albright.

"Striking Images"

Edward Cella Art + Architecture recently moved from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and a pair of first-rate exhibitions fills its handsome mid-Wilshire galleries.

"Visualizing a New Los Angeles: Architectural Renderings of Carlos Diniz” introduces L.A. viewers to the stylish designs of the architect-turned-illustrator who was the go-to-guy for the most talented and ambitious architects working in Los Angeles in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

Above: Theme Building, Century City Master Plan, 1963. Photo credit: Courtesy Edward Cella Art + Architecture

Looking for "progressives, fascists and communists"

Last night Fox News ranter Glenn Beck went off on the art made more than 70 years ago for Rockefeller Center, corporate headquarters of NBC and -- not coincidentally -- supposed arch-enemy of Rupert Murdoch's television empire. To the surprise of no one, but to the great amusement of the blogosphere (here, here and here) -- Beck donned his art critic's tin-foil conspiracy hat to find hidden evidence of "progressives, fascists and communists" in the carved reliefs and paintings of a landmark Manhattan building complex that was made a national historic monument in 1987. (Let's see; who was president that year? Oh, yeah: Commie-symp Ronald Reagan.)

How nutty did Beck get? As nutty as usual. He pointed to a portrait of Lenin in Mexican master Diego Rivera's destroyed Rockefeller lobby mural, "Man at the Crossroads," but forgot to mention that old John D. had the mural removed because of it. (Facts are stubborn things -- even more stubborn than demagoguery.) With comedy stylings like that, Beck is turning out to be the Harold Harby of our day.

Who was Harold Harby? A Los Angeles city councilman in the early 1950s, Harby took up propaganda-arms with a paranoid group of right-wing loonies called the Society for Sanity in Art. They made it their patriotic duty to search out Communist symbols they just knew were hidden in that weird, postwar abstract art.

"living works of art"

Crop mazes have been used for ceremonial purposes for centuries. The modern version sprouted in the early 1990s thanks to British maze-developer Adrian Fisher, who is credited with creating the first corn maze in Pennsylvania. After that, the race was on to create the biggest, strangest or scariest labyrinth. The 10.2-acre corn maze above at 1 Fun Farm in Farmland, Indiana, zigzags for more than two miles.

From the ground, maze-travelers see a seemingly endless series of twisting paths with an occasional clue along the way. But from the air, it's clear these mazes are living works of art.

"Spooktacular in Vegas"

Alice Cooper will be playing at Las Vegas' Orleans October 23-25 -- Trick or Treat.

"Where the Wild Things Are"

The fantastic island home of the Wild Things in "Where the Wild Things Are" looks like it required globe-hopping to capture its parts on film -- the landscapes include turbulent coastline, barren forest, desert sand dunes and rocky cliffs. All (with the exception of the dunes) were located within 90 minutes of downtown Melbourne, Australia.

"Maybe it could have been shot in America," said production designer K.K. Barrett. "But it would have required such a caravan traveling to so many different places. We couldn't have found them in an hour and a half of each other." Even the dunes weren't far -- a six-hour drive to the southern coast.

Each location was depicted as it was, except for the forest, filmed at a camp burned in a forest fire. "The guys in the [Wild Things] suits had low visibility," Barrett said. Some trees were real, "but some were fake ones we moved around" so the actors wouldn't bump into them.

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore"

Where is the searing insight of Paddy Chayefsky when we need it? If ever a screenwriter could put troubled times in perspective it was Chayefsky. Two of his finest screen tonight at the Aero Theatre, a one-two punch to the gut that kicks off with 1976's "Network." A study in prescience, "Network" envisioned the perils of reality TV years before it existed as millions tuned in to watch Peter Finch's newsman Howard Beale self-destruct in front of them ("Jon & Kate Plus 8," anyone?). Faye Dunaway's icy producer forever running the numbers would win her an Oscar, one of four the film would take home. The 1971 film "The Hospital," with its issues of poor care and its habit of killing patients, turns out to be remarkably salient today as well. Brilliant, but scary -- then again, that was Chayefsky.

"Audrey Hepburn has remained timeless"

There are movie stars and then there are movie stars -- performers who have such a unique and often indescribable quality that their very name connotes the magic of the cinema. Audrey Hepburn was definitely a movie star.

Hepburn has remained timeless. Her characters, her look and her persona seem as contemporary today as they did nearly six decades ago.

Beginning Friday, LACMA is saluting the actress with its series "Audrey Hepburn: Then, Now and Forever." The event begins with a double bill of 1953's "Roman Holiday" and the 1981 comedy "They All Laughed," directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who will introduce the screening. On tap for Saturday is her Oscar-nominated turn as Holly Golightly in 1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and 1967's marvelous romantic comedy "Two for the Road," in which she's paired with Albert Finney. The series continues through Nov. 13.

Unusual Ferrari Car-Motorcycle

Did you see the new transformers? Well, this design is not transformation, but still it is a remarkable unification. It’s a motorcycle with a car attached to it. So, if you have a girlfriend that doesn’t enjoy riding a motorcycle, which I really doubt, you can still ride your favorite motorcycle and let her ride in a car.

This might settle all the car drivers and bikers arguments.



. . . and then again it might not.

The Amazingly Beautiful American West

Lake Jenny - Grand Tetons, Wyoming

Illouette Falls

One of Yosemite's beautiful waterfalls that most people have never seen or even heard about.

Who ever heard of Peyton Randolph ???

The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, from September 5, to October 26, 1774. Carpenter's Hall was also the seat of the Pennsylvania Congress. All of the colonies except Georgia sent delegates. These were elected by the people, by the colonial legislatures, or by the committees of correspondence of the respective colonies. The colonies presented there were united in a determination to show a combined authority to Great Britain, but their aims were not uniform at all. Pennsylvania and New York sent delegates with firm instructions to seek a resolution with England. The other colonies voices were defensive of colonial rights, but pretty evenly divided between those who sought legislative parity, and the more radical members who were prepared for separation. Virginia's delegation was made up of a most even mix of these and not incidentally, presented the most eminent group of men in America. Colo. George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Edmund Pendleton, Colo. Benjamin Harrison, Richard Bland, and at the head of them Peyton Randolph — who would immediately be elected president of the convention.

The objectives of the body were not entirely clear but, with such leadership as was found there, a core set of tasks was carried out. It was agreeable to all that the King and Parliament must be made to understand the grievances of the colonies and that the body must do everything possible to communicate the same to the population of America, and to the rest of the world.

"for the next generation"

More than $1.1 billion in construction contracts to renovate facilities at Los Angeles International Airport were approved today by L.A.'s airport commission. An architectural rendering of the planned Bradley West Concourse calls for building new gates to accommodate the next generation of large commercial planes like the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787.

The Controversy Has Not Been Forgtten

The name "Hetch Hetchy" comes from a grass with edible seeds that grows in the valley, in the Native American Sierra Miwok language. It was first used in the English language by Joseph Screech, who in 1850 became the first European to enter the valley. Screech noted that Paiutes[1] had inhabited Hetch Hetchy and still gathered seeds, roots and acorns in and around it. Acorns are indeed available in the valley, but rare elsewhere in the high country.

Charles F. Hoffmann of the California Geological Survey conducted the first survey of the valley, in 1867.

In 1906, after a major earthquake, San Francisco applied to the United States Department of the Interior to gain water rights to Hetch Hetchy. This provoked a seven-year environmental struggle with the environmental group Sierra Club, led by John Muir. Muir observed:

Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.
Proponents of the dam replied that the valley would be even more beautiful with a lake. Muir correctly predicted that this lake would deposit an unsightly ring around its perimeter, which would be visible at low water. Because the valley was within Yosemite National Park, an act of Congress was needed to start the project. The federal government ended the dispute in 1913, with the passage of the Raker Act, which permitted flooding of the valley.

Construction of the dam was finished in 1923. Water from the dam serves 2.4 million Californians in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Alameda Counties, as well as some communities in the San Joaquin Valley, and generates electricity for San Francisco. Environmental groups (including the Sierra Club) advocate removing the dam.

"a bit of a mystery"

An 1886 photograph shown at the L.A. archives bazaar is a bit of a mystery. The man at their feet is identified as Lt. Rockwood, but why did members of the Pasadena Broom Brigade gather? (Pasadena Museum of History / October 17, 2009)

"Beauty and History"

Here's an interesting trip: From Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 north to California Highway 99 to Merced. In Merced, exit Highway 99 and pick up County Road J59 north toward Lagrange. In Lagrange, take J132 east toward Coulterville. Then pick up the Priest/Coulterville Road, which zigzags its way up to California Highway 120 just three miles short of the historic gateway town of Groveland. Continue north on 120 to Evergreen Road, which takes you into the campground, with a stop at the Evergreen Lodge (shown above) and Camp Mather, where it dead-ends into Hetch Hetchy Road on the way to the Hetch Hetchy Dam. It is a lovely drive from Merced on. Be sure to stop in Groveland for gasoline (there is none in Hetch Hetchy), stretch your legs and visit the Mountain Sage Visitors Center and photographer Robb Hirsch's excellent gallery.

Here's the place for "eye-popping, color-drenched spectacles"

What: A new Southern California haven for serious photography.

Where: The Annenberg Space for Photography, Century Park, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, No. 10, Los Angeles; (213) 403-3000, annenbergspaceforphotography.org.

Admission: Free

The Annenberg Space for Photography, open since March 27, is designed to remind you of a camera's insides and to show you the wide world.

It's also aimed at the digital future: Though there are gorgeous photos hung on the walls, there isn't much wall space. You're probably going to spend more time looking at digital images on monitors and larger rear-projection screens, which can deliver eye-popping, color-drenched spectacles.

There are many pluses to this, because voice-overs and soundtracks often give the monitor and screen presentations more oomph. But old-school photophiles may wish more room were given to museum-style displays.

The 10,000-square-foot space (on the Century City site where the Shubert Theater once stood) features plenty of high-tech gizmos along with its gallery space, rooms for slide shows, lectures and workshops, and, I'm not exactly sure why, a kitchen. The hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Through Nov. 1, the space is showing "Pictures of the Year International," a survey of 2008 photojournalism assembled by the Missouri School of Journalism's Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. (If you get there in time, check out Ronald W. Erdrich's amazing shot of a zooming orange butterfly.)

"every inhabitant of a house by Gehry becomes an artist . . ."

Since curating Frank Gehry's first major retrospective, an exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1986, Mildred Friedman has written extensively about the master architect. For her latest book, she has selected 21 of Gehry's most significant, mid-career residential buildings from the 1960s to the late 1980s. The houses predate Gehry's best-known works and, with a couple of exceptions, are free of computer-aided-design structures.

Friedman's choices underscore the organic nature of Gehry's early experimentation with form and materials, and they illustrate the creative spirit of the houses. As UCLA architecture professor Sylvia Lavin writes in the introduction, "every inhabitant of a house by Gehry becomes an artist as they are called on not merely to use its spaces but to perceive its architectures."

Hollenbeck Home for the Aged in Boyle Heights in the 1890s

The Hollenbeck Home for the Aged in Boyle Heights (Los Angeles) in 1896: A home for 'fortunate unfortunates'

All You Fear Is Here

Knott’s Berry Farm will add four new mazes for Halloween Haunt 2009, according to theme park officials.

The 37th annual Knott’s Scary Farm will take place on Wednesday through Sunday nights from Sept. 24 through Oct. 31, 2009.

The granddaddy of Halloween events will feature 13 mazes scattered throughout the Buena Park theme park, with construction currently underway in backstage areas.

New for 2009:

Uncle Bobo’s Big Top of the Bizarre in 3-D replaces Killer Clown Kollege (under Xcelerator)

Terror of London featuring Jack the Ripper and Dr. Jekyll replaces 13 Axe Murder Manor (in Mystery Lodge)

Dia de los Muertos in 3-D featuring a Day of the Dead theme replaces Lost Vegas (at the bumper cars)

Lockdown: The Asylum updates the existing maze as a high-security penitentiary for the insane (backstage near Ghostrider)

"death etiquette "

Heritage Square Museum is getting a little creepy for Halloween. The Highland Park landmark is offering mourning tours, teaching about death etiquette in Victorian times. You even can participate in a funeral. Did you know, for instance, that while women were expected to mourn for two years, men got off with a single year? "Since funeral parlors were yet to be invented," director of administration and operations Jessica Alicea says, "bodies were kept at home in a casket for viewing." The programs will be offered noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 24 and 25. Sunday is more family friendly; children ages 2 to 12 are encouraged to come in costume, play period games and make 19th century harvest crafts. The San Gabriel Valley Storytellers will spin spooky stories in the Ford House, one of the historic structures that make up Heritage Square. $5 to $10; kids younger than 6 are free. 3800 Homer St., Los Angeles; (323) 225-2700, heritagesquare.org.

Is 2012 the end of the world?

If you scan the Internet or believe the marketing campaign behind the movie "2012," scheduled for release in November, you might be forgiven for thinking so. Dozens of books and fake science websites are prophesying the arrival of doomsday that year, by means of a rogue planet colliding with the Earth or some other cataclysmic event.

Normally, scientists regard Internet hysteria with nothing more than a raised eyebrow and a shake of the head. But a few scientists have become so concerned at the level of fear they are seeing that they decided not to remain on the sidelines this time.

"The world will not come to an end on Dec. 21, 2012," E.C. Krupp, director of Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory, declared in a statement released Thursday by the observatory and Sky & Telescope magazine. Krupp debunks the 2012 doomsday idea in the cover story of the magazine's November issue.

Morrison said he attributes the excitement to the conflation of several items into one mega-myth. One is the persistent Internet rumor that a planet called Nibiru or Planet X is going to crash into the Earth. Then there's the fact that the Maya calendar ends in 2012, suggesting that the Maya knew something we don't. Finally, end-of-the-worlders have seized upon the hubbub about the 2012 date to proclaim their belief that end times are drawing near.

Morrison, who heads the Lunar Science Institute at the Ames Research Center in Northern California, has coined a term for the phenomenon: "cosmophobia," a fear of the cosmos. According to Morrison, for the most vulnerable among us, all of the things we've learned about the universe in the last century have only increased the number of potential threats to our existence.

Besides fearing a rampaging planet, the worriers think the sun might lash out at the Earth with some calamitous electromagnetic force. They also fear that some sort of alignment between the Earth and the center of our galaxy could unleash catastrophe.

California "UFO cloud" via Chicago

By WGN weather on October 15, 2009 4:44 PM

Tom Skilling reports that "Mariann, who is from Bridgeview, IL, snapped this photo Tuesday of what she refers to as a "UFO cloud" while visiting Palm Springs, California. It's not unusual to hear such clouds referred to as UFO-like because of their lens-like shape. Lenticular clouds are a form of "standing wave" cloud--a stationary, comparatively high altitude lens-shaped cloud which can linger for some time as air flows over mountain ranges. The fact that mountain ranges are fixed in place means air ascends at the same location producing a cloud which appears to linger for some time. The cloud Mariann captured in this shot Tuesday is precisely such a cloud. What a TERRIFIC shot! THANKS for sending this along, Mariann!"

Olympic Memories

Drummers perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)