Sunday Punches
Doug Stevens / LAT
February 19, 2006
OBSERVANCES
Wait a Minute, It's Winter?
Monday is Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day. It was dreamed up by a guy who thought people oppressed by winter should hasten its end by running into the streets shouting "Hoodie-Hoo!" That could be amusing, but the last time it snowed in downtown L.A. was in 1949. So we suggest you mark the holiday with 1991's "L.A. Story." Steve Martin, at right, plays a TV weatherman weary of climatic consistency. Dallas Raines (who to our knowledge has never ordered a half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon) can relate. "I hate to admit it," says the Channel 7 meteorologist of his job, "but it can be kind of boring."
February 19, 2006
SO SUE ME
The Belly Takes On the Underbelly
From Wuhrer vs. ABC Productions, a complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court by an actress who claims she was fired from "General Hospital" after she became pregnant:
February 19, 2006
JUKEBOX
Electric Light Orchestra
If it weren't for Eric Christensen and his team at the Snohomish County Public Utility District in Everett, Wash., we might never have known how much fun Enron traders had manipulating West Coast power prices. Christensen, the utility's assistant general counsel, fought to obtain tapes of the traders' conversations, including the infamous exchange about the joy of stealing money from "those poor grandmothers" in California. The utility then handed over the tapes to federal investigators. With the trial of former Enron honchos Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling now underway, Christensen was happy to share his favorite energy-crisis tunes with us:
February 12, 2006
OBSERVANCES
What's in a Name, Antonio?
Monday is Get a Different Name Day. Southern Californians are pros at this. Consider the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Or L.A.'s mayor, at right, who was Antonio Villar until he wed Corina Raigosa. The real connoisseurs were the old studio bosses, who turned Roy Harold Scherer Jr. into Rock Hudson and Gladys Marie Smith into Mary Pickford. To observe the holiday, you could spend the evening with "Romeo and Juliet" and "a rose by any other name." Or, for the epitome of a.k.a., watch "North by Northwest," in which Archibald Alexander Leach plays Cary Grant playing Roger O. Thornhill playing George Kaplan, and looks good in every role.
February 12, 2006
THE DISCOUNT BIN
Even the Twins Use Another Brand
In this town, where people live and die by who's hot and who's not, the tabloids and blogs aren't the only arbiters. Spotted recently on the shelves of a 99 Cents Only Stores location in L.A.:
February 5, 2006
OBSERVANCES
Listen to Lucinda
Tuesday is Dump Your Significant Jerk Day. We suggest you take the advice of the holiday's inventor, Marcus P. Meleton Jr. of Orange County, and discard the louse in your life. Then head for the 4100 Bar in Silver Lake, where Jennifer Hubl will make you a Flaming la Cucaracha. "This," she says, "is how to celebrate getting rid of a cockroach." After you've downed the blend of Kahlua, Bacardi and Baileys, you'll be ready to kick back and listen to one of the great good-riddance songs. Sure, Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" is one of them, but our favorite is "Greenville," by Lucinda Williams, left:
February 5, 2006
TWO-WORD TALE
Why There Could Be a Rush on Nausea Medication When the Rolling Stones Perform at Today's Halftime Show
February 5, 2006
SO SUE ME
I'm OK, You're OK
From Kehyan vs. Sarkissian, a dental malpractice complaint, in Los Angeles County Superior Court:
February 5, 2006
THE RANT
G'Day? No Way
California vintners have been in a funk since Merrill Lynch reported a few weeks ago that their rivals Down Under have been stealing market share. We asked Randall Grahm, president of Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz, to offer up the five other things that annoy him about the Aussies:
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
E-mail
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Save more than