Los Angeles -- the city some people love to hate

(John W. Adkisson, Los Angeles Times / October 17, 2010)

Dramatic walls of glass

A circular garden courtyard enclosed by soaring steel-ribbed walls of glass is the dramatic focal point of a Beverly Hills house by modernist Malibu architect Ed Niles. The home was commissioned by Los Angeles developer Raffi Cohen and completed earlier this year.

Set on a promontory with unobstructed views from Mid-City to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the three-level home is an amalgamation of sharp geometric lines highlighted by a nested pair of rounded glass walls. Tinted a Mediterranean blue, the glass walls are framed with steel beams and rise above the home's upper level. They are set about a dozen feet apart and follow the same wide 360-degree trajectory. The outer glass wall is part of the home's exterior while the inner wall provides views of the courtyard from most of the rooms.

Listed at $11,895,000.

"climbing to the edge of space"

Commercial space tourism got a boost Sunday when Virgin Galactic's rocket ship successfully completed its first manned test flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

The rocket plane, dubbed SpaceShipTwo, was dropped from a carrier aircraft at 45,000 feet and made an unpowered glide for more than 10 minutes before landing on the desert runway.

The carrier aircraft, which resembles a flying catamaran because of its two fuselages, and the six-passenger rocket plane are in the midst of a test-flight program that will continue until Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company that owns the planes, believes it can begin commercial operations.

Instead of launching a rocket into space, the carrier craft will fly SpaceShipTwo under its wing to 50,000 feet, where the spaceship will separate and blast off. The craft will climb to the edge of space, or about 60 miles above the Earth's surface.

At that suborbital altitude, passengers will experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth. The price for the experience: $200,000.

The idea was developed by Burt Rutan, a maverick aerospace engineer, and his Mojave–based company, Scaled Composites.

Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, hopes to make its first passenger flight sometime next year from the yet-to-be finished Spaceport America in New Mexico. The company said it has taken about 370 reservations for the ride.

“The Performance Culture of Burning Man"

Scholars are delving into what Nevada’s Burning Man means, just as they did with Woodstock decades ago, and they’re coming up with some interesting answers.

Wendy Clupper wrote a dissertation after attending the festival in Black Rock Desert, Nev. Her paper, “The Performance Culture of Burning Man,” earned Clupper a doctoral degree in performance arts from the University of Maryland. Since then Clupper’s essays on Burning Man have been reprinted in two books. That put Clupper among a growing list of sociologists, business professors, theologists and other scholars who view the event’s mix of hipsters, artisans, zany theme camps and outdoor art gallery as more than a party. They see fertile ground for research.

"an airborne truck"

With its armored doors and bulletproof windows, the burly Humvee has been a stalwart ground transport for the U.S. military.

But now the Pentagon thinks the hulking vehicle should also be able to fly.

On Tuesday, Pratt & Whitney's Rocketdyne division in Canoga Park announced that it had been awarded $1 million to design a propulsion system for a flying Humvee.

Don't scoff — there is good reason for an airborne truck, defense officials say.

With the proliferation of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, on the ground, a hovering Humvee would be an ideal way to keep soldiers out of harm's way, Pentagon officials said in announcing the award.

Dubbed the Transformer, the vehicle — at least an artist's rendering of it — looks like a toy commando truck out of a "G.I. Joe" cartoon.

But according to the Pentagon's technical specs, it would "combine the advantages of ground vehicles and helicopters into a single vehicle equipped with flexibility of movement."

The Transformer would have folding wings that pop out from the side of the vehicle and helicopter-like rotor blades attached to either the roof or the wings, depending on which design the Pentagon eventually picks. Also, it would be robotic, meaning there would be no pilot or driver behind the wheel.

T W A -- Did it really start like this ???

Arriving in style

Queen Elizabeth, the newest ship in the Cunard Line, arrives Oct. 8 in Southampton, England, for her naming ceremony a few days later. The 16-deck, 2,092-passenger vessel is a sister ship to Cunard's Queen Victoria, with a few differences.

Chris Ison / Associated Press)

"John Muir Wilderness"

California is home to 138 designated wilderness areas, protected by some of the nation's strictest land protection laws. For hikers, the John Muir Wilderness, southwest of Mammoth Lakes, has few equals. With 590 miles of trails, dozens of pristine aquamarine lakes and the most spectacular peaks in the Sierra Nevada, this wilderness area exemplifies the beauty its namesake so prized. The office to obtain permits to enter the wilderness is at 351 Pacu Lane, Bishop. Info: (760) 873-2485, www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/john-muir.shtml

(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

"No temple made by hands can compare with Yosemite"

Yosemite National Park can be crowded and noisy in the summer, but if you stay clear of the tourist-clogged Yosemite Village, you will see why John Muir, the father of America's environmental movement, said, "No temple made by hands can compare with Yosemite." The real magic happens in the late afternoon, when the setting sun casts a violet glow on the iconic Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall. Yosemite is about 80 miles east of Merced, along California 140. Info: (209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/yose.

(Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Could this story be true ???

What would a Gulag out building be without a huge tacky Russian statue. I think I found just the right one for it.

The statue was a representation of Christopher Columbus and was offered to the USA by the communist government (CCCP) to commemorate the anniversary of Columbus "discovering" America.

The Americans politely turned them down as the Russians would have expected this monstrosity to be erected ala' the Statue of Liberty.

The Russians were incensed by the snub. The cut the head of Columbus off the statue and placed the head of Peter the Great instead. It was then erected on the banks of the Moskva River where it is now.

Do as I say and forget what I do

Iowa in San Pedro ???

Certain ships are revered because they participated in historic battles or simply represented the pinnacle of naval power for their time. One example of both is the HMS Victory, Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Another is the Iowa, the lead ship of the last and most powerful line of U.S. battleships ever built, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's shuttle and a World War II workhorse. Yet while the Victory is lovingly maintained as a floating museum that has helped turn Portsmouth, England, into a major tourist attraction, the massive Iowa has been mothballed by the Navy in a tributary of San Francisco Bay.

That may soon change. A booster group hopes to bring the Iowa to the Port of Los Angeles, where it would anchor a $1.2-billion redevelopment of the faded Ports O' Call Village mall and a surrounding stretch of waterfront. But first it has to overcome resistance from port officials.

The Iowa was decommissioned for the last time in 1990. A group in Vallejo has been trying for years to turn it into a naval museum at the nearby Mare Island Naval Shipyard, but Navy officials lost patience with the group's fundraising progress last spring and opted to seek other bids. A rival organization, the Pacific Battleship Center, has secured an $8.5-million loan to tow the Iowa to San Pedro and renovate it. The L.A. City Council unanimously approved a resolution last month urging the port to find a berth for the ship, and the initiative also has the backing of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce and the Port Community Advisory Committee.

Yet officials at the port, which is conducting a feasibility study on the project slated for completion early next month, have expressed qualms. Though there's berth space available near Ports O' Call, they fret that the Iowa could take up space needed for more lucrative activity, such as docking cruise ships, and that if it doesn't pan out as a tourist attraction, the port could be stuck with a huge white elephant. Floating museums have had mixed success in Southern California. Long Beach struggled for years to turn a profit on the Queen Mary, yet the Midway, a retired World War II aircraft carrier in San Diego, lures a whopping 800,000 visitors a year.

San Pedro is a bit remote for tourists, and it isn't a Navy town like San Diego, so the Iowa might never be a Midway-sized hit. We'll withhold judgment until the port finishes its report, but can't help feeling that L.A. would miss a big financial and cultural opportunity if the battleship plans are sunk.

"the city boots vehicles from several major thoroughfares"

What would you do if seven miles of city streets stretched out before you and there wasn't a car in sight?

Hop on your bicycle? Drop into a yoga pose? Samba? Salsa? Sing?

These are the sorts of choices Angelenos will have Sunday, when the city boots vehicles from several major thoroughfares and urges its citizens to come out and play.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., portions of a dozen streets will be closed to car traffic on a zigzagging route that extends from East Hollywood through Westlake and into downtown and Boyle Heights.

In this car-centric metropolis, where drivers spend an average of 72 hours stuck in traffic annually and jaywalkers are heavily fined, CicLAvia, as the event is known, is something of a marvel.

It is designed to challenge the idea — so ingrained in the city's psyche — that automobiles rule the road.

"a sensation beyond belief"

“If you’ve never been at 200 mph, it’s a sensation beyond belief,” they say. The words of Dick Messer, the longtime Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, could hardly have better summarized the reasoning behind the museum’s sponsorship of an October 11, 2009 car show that focused on automobiles capable of 200 mph. Reaching out to local collectors and loyal members, the museum was able to assemble 23 such supercars for a fun and free event set against the backdrop of one of the area’s most popular open air luxury retail centers, the Americana on Brand Boulevard in Glendale, CA. Above, the AREX has it's top down and is ready to go.

The fine can be up to $600 for jogging

Kevin McBride knows there are 208 steps on the staircase adjacent to the sand dune at the city’s Sand Dune Park.

He also knows he can be fined up to $600 for jogging on them.

In August, the Manhattan Beach resident was cited a misdemeanor and fined $433 — his fine was reduced in court — for jogging on one of several trails connecting the park’s various stairways.

“I live nine houses away from the park and I had no idea a ticket for this is actually $600,” said McBride, who has worked out at the park for the last three years. “I just got married two months ago. The last thing I need is to be paying this much for jogging. This amount of money is ridiculous and excessive.”

In 2002, the city passed an ordinance prohibiting running or jogging on the stairs and connecting trails.

“The running and congestion on the stairs was a safety concern and also the stairs were becoming a destination point for workouts,” said Manhattan Beach Director of Parks and Recreation Richard Gill about why the ordinance was adopted.

Park enforcement was increased after the controversial sand dune was closed last year due to neighbor complaints of excessive use and the accompanying noise. A series of meetings followed to determine whether the dune would be reopened and, if so, how traffic could be minimized.

“It came to light last year when we went through many meetings about the park that the stairs are also used for exercise,” Gill said. “The residents were saying the stairs are as much of a destination spot as the dune.”

Prior to the dune closing, park rangers and community service officers frequented the park once or twice a day, Gill said. After its reopening, city officials with the authority to give citations were assigned there at all times.

"What does a federal deputy do? Truly, I don't know. But vote for me and you'll find out."

SAO PAULO (AP) — The clown who got more votes than any other candidate for Congress will have to convince authorities he can read and write if he wants to take office.

In a ruling posted on the Sao Paulo electoral court's website Tuesday, a judge found there is sufficient doubt about whether comic performer Tiririca — which means "grumpy" in Portuguese — meets a constitutional mandate that federal lawmakers be literate.

Tiririca, whose real name is Francisco Silva, will have 10 days after being notified of the ruling to prove his literacy through a written defense. If it fails, he will be barred from taking up his seat representing Sao Paulo in Congress.

Silva's run for office attracted wide coverage in the news media, and his online campaign videos drew millions of viewers, with slogans such as "It can't get any worse" and "What does a federal deputy do? Truly, I don't know. But vote for me and you'll find out."

But a week before the election, Epoca magazine reported that people who worked with Silva on his TV shows and a book credited to him say he is illiterate, as is 10 percent of Brazil's population.

A video on Epoca's website shows a reporter reading questions from an election poll to Silva. He is then asked to read one of the questions himself. Visibly shaken, he hesitates before campaign aides rush to the rescue.

Prosecutors asked the Sao Paulo electoral court to intervene last week, but it said Silva's candidacy could not be stopped because the court had approved his application to run for Congress, including a document in which Silva swears he can read and write.

After Sunday's election in which the clown received about 1.3 million votes — nearly twice the tally of the next-highest vote-getter in Brazil's congressional races — prosecutors refiled their motion.

Judge Aloisio Silveira ruled that there were discrepancies between Silva's written statement and autographs he gave to fans, and he must therefore demonstrate to the court that he can read and write.

FIVE STARS for the 2011 Hyundai Sonata

Federal safety officials unveiled a more comprehensive crash rating system for vehicles that for the first time evaluates how women fare in accidents by using female crash dummies and takes into account side pole crashes and crash-prevention technology such as electronic stability control.

The Transportation Department and its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it would now issue an "overall vehicle score" that combines the results of a frontal crash test, side crash tests and rollover resistance tests. It compares the results with the average risk of injury and potential for vehicle rollover of other vehicles.

In the rankings released Tuesday for the latest 2011 models, the BMW 5 series sedan and the Hyundai Sonata sedan (shown above) were the only autos to receive overall vehicle scores of five stars, while the Nissan Versa got only two stars and was particularly vulnerable in side crash tests, according to safety regulators.

"a paint-slathered chamber of blood, skeletons and whimsy"

Crowded by costumed Halloween freaks, sharp-dressed urbanites, face-painted gypsies and indie art kids, the Hive in downtown L.A. on Saturday night hosted half of the evening's “Heaven and Hell” joint exhibit at 729 S. Spring Street.

A couple doors down, Temple of Visions Gallery played its foil, hosting an exhibit titled “Heavenly Bodies.” As the street corner teemed with curbside cabs, tight skirts, fishnet hosiery, devilish harlequins and tobacco fumes, the choice between heaven and hell seemed like a no-brainer. Going to “Hell” felt like more fun. Especially when it’s not the real thing.

The Hive‘s side of the party was a kick-off of their monthlong exhibit of “Hell vs. the Monster Mash.” Transforming sterile white walls into a paint-slathered chamber of blood, skeletons and whimsy, the exhibit featured work by dozens of artists.

A dazzling, colourful, high-octane opening ceremony

A dazzling, colourful, high-octane opening ceremony that was part Bollywood, part cultural extravaganza, did much to dispel the nightmares of the past fortnight, thrilling a sell-out crowd in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as well as the athletes and officials from 71 Commonwealth nations.

It even managed to start on time, to the very second, proving there are some deadlines that Games organisers are capable of meeting.

"fabulously fierce with hooded eyes and a revealing costume that probably wouldn't raise eyebrows on Hollywood Boulevard these days"

On Vine Street just north of Hollywood Boulevard, valets stand at attention, ready to usher guests into the new Redbury Hotel. The latest project from SBE's Sam Nazarian, the hotel design braids elements of Morocco, France and Egypt into an exotic, Old Hollywood look.

The hotel restaurant is called Cleo after the Egyptian queen, and for those who don't quite get it, a giant black-and-white photo of Theda Bara from the 1917 film "Cleopatra" greets visitors at the entrance. She's fabulously fierce with hooded eyes and a revealing costume that probably wouldn't raise eyebrows on Hollywood Boulevard these days. It makes me want to go and rent the movie immediately, though.

Cleo the restaurant is much more welcoming. It's about time somebody did a hip Middle Eastern restaurant, and that somebody is SBE corporate chef Danny Elmaleh. The menu is mostly small plates, but instead of an annoying sprawl of platters that don't fit on the table, the delicious spreads and dips are presented in small bowls. Who wouldn't swoon over the slurry of piquillo peppers with feta or the thick Lebanese yogurt with olive oil, lemon and dried oregano? They're wonderful spread on warm, freshly baked flatbread.

The luxurious 13,200-square-foot Blake House -- but can we afford to keep it ???

The University of California is weighing what to do with the abandoned president's mansion. The luxurious 13,200-square-foot Blake House near Berkeley has been deteriorating for years. Officials are considering alternatives to avoid $2 million for basic maintenance, and $10 million for a full renovation.

Blake House is a lonely, empty place these days.

The Mediterranean-style mansion near Berkeley that is intended to be the official residence of the University of California president has not been occupied since 2008.

Apart from three UC Berkeley social events this year, its grand entertainment rooms are chilly and silent, with most of its antique furniture now in storage. Its second-floor private suite, with stunning hilltop vistas of San Francisco Bay, badly needs refurbishment, and rat traps are placed throughout.

(Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times reporting)

A French village of myth and mystery

In the secret business of hunting for treasure, many have come searching for the hidden riches of Rennes-le-Chateau, a village about a 90-mile drive from the Spanish border that has become the setting for a kind of Gallic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

Spouting theories involving everything from the Holy Grail to extraterrestrials, the treasure hunters have been known to abandon jobs and family to come here because of their passion — or, as others would say, their delusion.

Even though no treasure has ever been found, not even a candlestick, the earth around the village has witnessed cave-ins from tunneling hunters. For years, small hillside explosions were common as the seekers resorted to dynamite.

Now, when you walk into the village, a sign warns: "Digging is forbidden."

"I think we are the only village in all of France with a sign like that at its entrance," said Mayor Alexandre Painco. "There are not many places like it. We attract all different types of people."

The village of fewer than 100 people, most of them farmers, was forced to build a large parking lot just outside the town walls to accommodate the 150,000 visitors who come every year to learn about its famous mystery and wander winding streets with old stone homes dating to the 8th century.

The mystery goes back more than 100 years. At the end of the 19th century, Rennes-le-Chateau's parish priest, Francois Berenger Sauniere, shocked his neighbors by suddenly spending a fortune renovating the town church and building elaborate gardens, a villa and a neo-Gothic tower, still standing today. His meager salary could not have accounted for the spending, but his strange behavior — digging at night in the village graveyard, and talk of hidden parchments he discovered — seemed to hint at an explanation. As common belief has it, he had discovered treasure.

It wasn't until the 1950s that word spread more widely of the old priest's unaccounted wealth, the source of which he had refused to divulge when asked by church superiors in Paris who suspected he was soliciting money to say extra Masses, in violation of canon law. One villager's account led to another, and a legend was born.

But faux-historical novels about the Sauniere mystery did most of the heavy lifting in the building of the legend. They wove in explanations linked to the area's rich history, which includes 2,500-year-old Celtic and Gallic tribes; heretical medieval Cathar priests and warriors, believed to have hidden treasure of their own; conquering and gold-pillaging Romans; their tough-skinned Visigoth successors, who kept a capital city in nearby Toulouse; and early French monarchs.

Children here grow up learning how these kingdoms, and perhaps their own ancestors, carried back booty from Jerusalem and Rome.

The Dan Brown bestseller "The Da Vinci Code" draws inspiration from the mystery: Its opening chapter is about a Frenchman named Sauniere, who is killed for secrets about the location of the Holy Grail.

Philippe Marlin, local editor and bookstore owner, says it is no wonder there are so many legends about Rennes-le-Chateau.

Who said it wouldn't be a "cakewalk" ???

At 281 (85.6m) feet and 2,950 tons, this Cakewalk surpasses her four predecessors in size and is the largest yacht built in the U.S. since the 1930s, and possibly the biggest ever built in the States when measured by volume.

The sheer amount of space is unparalleled, and opens a world of possibilities for extraordinary design and craftsmanship. Styled by internationally acclaimed yacht designer, Tim Heywood, she embodies everything one comes to expect from a Cakewalk – and more!

"performers who fly so high above the ground that onlookers have to crane their necks and shade their eyes to see them"

Reporting from Oakland — On most days, the wall at 2201 Broadway that overlooks a downtown parking lot on the corner of Grand Avenue and Broadway draws little attention from passersby. But during the last couple of months, people have stopped in their tracks to gaze up at the hundred-foot-tall, cream-colored façade as dancers suspended from thin climbing ropes rappel down its surface in formation, stopping every now and again to execute slow-motion pirouettes, somersaults and jetés in flouncy mesh underskirts. The performers fly so high above the ground that onlookers have to crane their necks and shade their eyes to see them. Yet their fluid, gravity-defying moves make them look like sea anemones dancing on the ocean floor.

The normally innocuous wall has lately become the site of much activity during rehearsals of Project Bandaloop, a Bay Area-based dance company that seeks its inspiration from rock climbing to create performances on the sides of buildings, cliff faces and other stratospheric surfaces around the globe. Dancers move across the vertical space to recorded music. Riggers stand at the top of the building, making sure the performers are safely strapped into their harnesses and ropes. Sitting in a low-slung deck chair in the parking lot below with a sound system at her feet, a microphone in her right hand and a walkie-talkie in her left, artistic director Amelia Rudolph divides her time between discussing staging details with her design and technical crew and issuing directions to the dancers and riggers above.

"After the chandelier drops"

After the chandelier drops on the Halloween night performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Pantages Theatre, the show's cast members will be looking for their next gig after years, and in at least one case, decades, of job security with the venerable musical.

"Does The Times have any openings?" asks Tim Martin Gleason, who has been with "Phantom" on tour, on Broadway and in Las Vegas since 2001 as a member of the ensemble, the romantic interest Raoul and, for the last 16 months, as the tortured, masked Phantom.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe musical based on the Gaston Leroux classic is still going strong on Broadway in its 23rd year. But its producers say the national tour is coming to an end.

"Phantom" has been on the road since 1989, when it opened with the original Broadway lead actor, Michael Crawford, at the Ahmanson. The first national tour, dubbed the Christine Company, played L.A. and San Francisco for 10 years. The second national tour, which producers called the Raoul tour, ran for 8 1/2 years in major cities. The current tour, known as the Music Box Company, will have played some 7,284 performances over 18 years.

"Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Garden"

Five times a year, Andres Garcia overseas the Las Vegas changeover of what is officially if not accurately called Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Garden. The free attraction offers the four seasonal displays, augmented by an elaborate Chinese New Year display in deference to the large number of Chinese high-rollers who pack the Bellagio each year to test their luck. By the Bellagio's measurement, the garden shows attract about 18,000 tourists every day.

Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Redwood State Park,California"

Along with the sunny weather and world-class crews, California offers something else that is sought by filmmakers: an abundance of state parks with diverse landscapes, from the redwood forests in Northern California to the desert of Anza-Borrego and the vast beaches and rocky coves of Point Dume.

Not surprisingly, the beauty and variety of the state’s 278 parks have provided countless backdrops for movies, TV shows and commercials for a century. In 2009 alone, nearly 500 permits were issued for nearly 1,000 days of filming in state parks for various productions, including "Iron Man 2" (Point Dume State Beach) and the romantic comedy "I Love You, Man" (Leo Carrillo State Park).

There’s even an annual film series, hosted next month by the California State Parks Foundation, that highlights how Hollywood has relied on state parks as settings for such shows as the long-running TV series "MASH" and films such as the 1968 classic "Planet of the Apes."

But there’s growing concern in the film community that state parks, which are severely underfunded and at risk of closing or falling into disrepair due to the state’s budget crisis, could get written out of the filmmaking script.

On Nov. 2, state residents will be voting on a ballot initiative, called Proposition 21, that would require Californians to pay an extra $18 as part of their annual vehicle registration fee in exchange for eliminating day-pass fees at state parks. That may be a tough sell in the current economic climate, but proponents say California’s state parks need a reliable revenue stream to keep them open to the public and for commercial use.

Some of the biggest supporters of the initiative aren’t just conservation groups -- film commissions as well as location managers view the parks as an essential asset for filmmakers.

"The parks are beautiful, huge and diverse back lots for us," said Veronique Vowell, chairman of the government affairs committee for the Location Managers Guild of America, which has endorsed the ballot initiative. "My concern is that if some of the parks were to close, it would be a disincentive to keep filming in California."

"La Veranda"

La Veranda. a resort hotel in Phu Quoc, Vietnam resembles a French colonial plantation, with large louvered windows open to the sea, deep balconies, high ceilings, a pool and a sweeping ocean view. The boutique hotel has 48 rooms and two restaurants.

(Julian Abram Wainwright)

"Verdant seascape in Laguna Beach"

Bob Covington of Los Angeles didn't have to travel far to capture this Laguna Beach seascape. "It was taken at Thousand Steps Beach, an interesting area where the beach topography changes radically from one week to the next," he says. "I have an earlier photo of the same area that shows a completely different landscape. The locals tell me it will be back to normal in the fall when the ocean redeposits all the sand." He used a Panasonic LX-3.

Photo by Bob Covington of Los Angeles and submitted to Los Angeles Times' Your Scene.

"along the Colorado River in Black Canyon"

Clayton Sellers'voice echoes off the sheer rock walls that rise from his vantage point along the Colorado River in Black Canyon, just downstream from the base of Hoover Dam.

"[The dam] was started in 1931 and completed in 1935, about two years ahead of schedule and under budget," he says as he maneuvers a pontoon raft across the water. Sellers' passengers, mostly tourists staying in nearby Las Vegas, are awed by that fact, and even more so by the massive engineering marvel standing before them.

"It's about 45 feet thick on top. At the very bottom it's about 660 feet thick, which is like two American football fields and the end zones stuck end to end," the guide continues. "The concrete at the bottom has only been there about 75 years, so it's not all the way dry yet. If you go inside the dam, there's actually some seepage … through the wet layers of concrete."

Despite the still-curing concrete, the iconic dam stands as a testament to American ingenuity, built during the Great Depression by thousands of men who uprooted their families and traveled to the inhospitable desert in search of work. There were jobs aplenty, and after the huge task was finished, President Franklin Roosevelt arrived on Sept. 30, 1935, to see for himself — and to dedicate — the modern-day wonder.

"trying to shake this alter ego"

It's just another day on the set of "Glee" and Lea Michele, who plays spirited songstress Rachel Berry, is in her schoolgirl attire, roaming around with a salad in hand and a female companion by her side.

Then John Stamos walks by. Michele plays it cool, greeting him casually. But as Stamos passes, the reaction that has shadowed him throughout his career reveals itself:

"Oh, my God. That's Uncle Jesse," Michele's friend says in a muffled voice.

Actually, it's John Stamos. But the character he's best known for is never too far behind.

The dark-haired star achieved heartthrob status while developing his comedy chops on the decidedly low brow "Full House," a hit sitcom that ran for eight seasons in the late '80s and early '90s — and continues its wholesome influence in syndication. Stamos has been trying to shake this alter ego ever since.

This may well be one of the last aviation firsts

In what may well be one of the last aviation firsts, a University of Toronto graduate student has fulfilled an ancient dream that dates back at least to the Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus — human-powered flight.

In an ungainly wing-flapping craft, or ornithopter, built by students at the university, Todd Reichert made history last month by sustaining both altitude and airspeed for 19.3 seconds, traveling a little more than 145 yards at an average speed of about 16 mph.

The flight, conducted at sunrise Aug. 2 at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham, Ontario, was witnessed by a vice president of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, which certifies aviation records. Reichert's time and distance are expected to be recognized as world records for human-powered flight at a meeting next month of the federation.

The craft — called the Snowbird because some of the first ground tests were conducted last winter on a snow-covered runway — has a wingspan of 105 feet. That's nearly as long as the wingspan of a modern-day Boeing 737 jetliner. But because it is constructed of balsa wood, foam and carbon fiber, it weighs only 94 pounds — less then all the pillows normally carried by a commercial 737, Reichert said.

The ornithopter is powered by the pilot pumping his legs up and down, as if working out on a StairMaster. That causes the ends of the wings to flex like those of a giant pterosaur.

The Snowbird, which cost more than $200,000, was designed and built under the guidance of emeritus aerospace engineering professor James D. DeLaurier, who has been studying ornithopters for most of his career. More than 30 students and two civilian volunteers participated in its construction.

The inaugural flight was made at 6:45 a.m., a time when there were virtually no winds to interfere. The students completed final assembly of the craft onsite because, Reichert said, they had no barn or other building big enough to hold it.

Initially, the craft was towed behind a car, but when the tow-line was released, it was powered solely by Reichert's legs. The fact that he was able to maintain airspeed and altitude indicated that he was actually powering the craft rather than simply gliding.

Reichert said he underwent months of training to build up leg strength. He also shed 18 pounds to minimize the effort required.

The aircraft is not a practical method of transport, Reichert said in a statement released this week. Rather, it is "meant to act as an inspiration to others to use the strength of their body and the creativity of their minds to follow their dreams."

The students involved also used it as a way to learn about how to build lightweight structures.

GLENN GOULD: The acclaimed Canadian pianist was a mass of contradictions

Great geniuses can be terribly boring, and compelling individuals can be devoid of any gifts save charm. Glenn Gould, however, who lived his life on the balance point between genius and madness, was a virtuoso who couldn't have been more fascinating.

One of the most significant pianists ever, the Canadian-born Gould, who died in 1982 at age 50, has already been the subject of a sublime fictional treatment, Francois Girard's "Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould."

Now filmmakers Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, who worked together on the excellent "Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire," have joined forces again for "Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould," a thoughtful, confident, completely engrossing documentary about a cultural figure every bit as iconic as Jim Morrison or James Dean.

LACMA's Resnick Exhibition Pavilion soon to have grand opening

The landscaping surrounding the new Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion was designed by artist Robert Irwin. The architect was Italian, Renzo Piano.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times / September 20, 2010)

So much to be admired about this unsung WWII heroine

Eileen Nearne, a reclusive World War II heroine who operated as an undercover radio transmitter in France during the D-day invasion, helping coordinate the Allied war effort until she was caught by the Gestapo, died Sept. 2 of a heart attack at her home in southwest England. She was 89. Above, mourners at her funeral.

Nearne, who was known as Agent Rose, maintained her secrecy and never discussed her wartime exploits with her neighbors in Torquay, the seaside town in Devon where she lived until her death.

Her bravery was not widely acknowledged until local officials went into her apartment after her death and found a treasure trove of medals, records and memorabilia, including French currency used during the war.

During World War II, Nearne worked with the Special Operations Executive, a clandestine operation set up by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to carry out acts of sabotage and espionage against the Nazis, who were occupying Western Europe.

Nearne's mission to France in 1944 — when she was just 23, posing as a French shop girl — was to operate a wireless transmitter that served as a vital link between the French resistance and war planners in London.

John Pentreath, county manager for the Royal British Legion veterans' charity, said Nearne was captured behind enemy lines with a radio transmitter and was sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. She later escaped and was ultimately liberated by American forces.

Historian M.R.D. Foot, who had access to Nearne's secret account of her activities, said she was the only British agent with an operating transmitter in the Paris area during the crucial period from March 1944 until she was caught by the Germans in July 1944.

"She was there during D-day," he said. "What she did was extremely important. She was arranging for weapons and explosive drops, and those were used to help cut the Germans' rail lines."

He said Nearne showed bravery and discretion when she refused to talk about clandestine operations even after being subjected to extreme treatment.

After the war, Nearne was awarded an MBE, or Member of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of her services.

"We the darkness with a fire between us" -- Steve Roden

Steve Roden has an uncanny way with making paintings that seem accidental yet inevitable, inscrutable yet utterly coherent. There's a place for everything and everything is happily in its place, fussed over and as carefully assembled as a precise calculation; but the exact principle driving the placement is indecipherable, save for the gauzy concept of intuition.

In the beautiful 20-year survey of his work at Pasadena's Armory Center for the Arts, as well as a smaller but related show of new work at the Pomona College Museum of Art, the 46-year-old painter emerges in a tradition of artists like Arthur Dove, Paul Klee and Alfred Jensen. He's an eccentric virtuoso whose paintings look abstract, but only in the way that a chair, a tree, a face or even a Pop-Tart becomes abstract the longer you look at it -- which is to say real, highly specific and not representative of more than itself. His remarkable pictures coagulate.

It's Eternal -- We Hope !!!

The new owner of the Clifton Cafeteria, Andrew Meieran -- already the owner of hip bar The Edison -- has revealed his plans for the classic downtown eatery, reports Blogdowntown. The cafeteria will be open 24 hours a day, and Meieran plans to open a speakeasy-style lounge and a tiki bar above the dining room. Ultimately, Meirean said his goal is to restore Clifton's to “what it was like in the '30s."

It's called "high finance" and that means: Hold on to your socks !!!

Even the palatial former Beverly Hills home of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst and actress Marion Davies isn't immune to 2010 housing price realities.

The lavish compound, which was listed for sale briefly three years ago at $165 million, is back on the market at $95 million (minus almost 3 acres listed last time) nearly a week after its owner, attorney-investor Leonard M. Ross, filed for bankruptcy protection.

The 50,000-plus-square-foot mansion sits on 3.7 flat acres on a hilltop above the Beverly Hills Hotel and comes with staff accommodations, a security cottage, a separate two-bedroom apartment and a two-story, four-bedroom gatehouse. Built by banker Milton Getz, the H-shaped Mediterranean main home was designed by Gordon Kaufmann and retains its original landscaping design by Paul Thiene.

Despite the property's sumptuous features and storied history, the price reduction isn't all that surprising given the condition of the housing business. Median home prices in Southern California have declined 43% since the 2007 peak, according to MDA DataQuick, matching the price drop reflected on the new listing.

Called Beverly House, the 1920s-era mansion has had fairytale moments. John and Jacqueline Kennedy spent part of their honeymoon there.

The estate also has a lurid side, including a movie career highlighted by the famous scene from "The Godfather" in which a horse's head is found in a character's bed.

The current owner filed Wednesday for protection from his creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code even though his assets of nearly $133 million far exceed his liabilities, listed as about $82 million, court documents show. A news release Monday announcing that the compound was for sale said "unusual circumstances" and "bank maneuverings" led Ross, 67, to seek bankruptcy protection.

"Limelight"

Charlie Chaplin, the silent movie star who only reluctantly made the transition to talkies, probably isn’t the ideal subject for a musical. Of course, anything is possible with creative inspiration, so one shouldn’t rule out the prospect of the Tramp powering home an 11 o’clock number.

Unfortunately, the imagination behind “Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin,” which had its world premiere Sunday at La Jolla Playhouse, doesn’t rise to the challenge with anything resembling bold invention. Christopher Curtis, a cabaret artist who wrote the music and lyrics and collaborated on the book with Thomas Meehan (whose veteran résumé includes “Hairspray,” “The Producers,” and “Annie”), allows the most sentimental traditions of musical theater to guide him.

The plot breaks down into a series of comic-strip panels that review Chaplin’s life from his difficult boyhood in England through his heady days of Hollywood success to the personal and political scandals that left him a mellow old man in exile.

The taste was bittersweet

A Sunday service at a historic church in eastern Turkey underscored both the desire for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and the hurdles that remain nearly a century after a violent massacre of Armenians.

It was the first service held in the 1,100-year-old Armenian Church of the Holy Cross since 1915, when a wave of violence nearly destroyed one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East.

Machu Picchu, Peru

(Photo by Wendy Lit, West Hills, CA)

Kralendijk, Netherlands Antilles

(Photo by Tom Denne, Westchester, Md.)

Glacier Bay, Alaska

(Photo by Ted Kinghorn, Ventura, CA)

Niagara Falls

(Photo by Diana MacDougall, Hermosa Beach, CA)

Sea of Cortez

(Photo by Bob Flick, Manhattan Beach, CA)