UNDERRATED / OVERRATED
ICE SKATING IN JULY
Think about it: Around Christmas and New Year’s, Southern California ice rinks become packed with skaters nostalgic for a winter wonderland. But, you know, most of the rinks here are big refrigerated buildings that get pretty empty during the summer. Something to consider the next time it’s 107 degrees outside.
KOREAN FRIENDSHIP BELL
This 17-ton bell sits mostly in silent solitude in Angels Gate Park in San Pedro, in a pagoda-like structure atop a hill. It’s rung just four times a year: Fourth of July, Korean Independence Day (Aug. 15), New Year’s Eve, and in September during the week we celebrate our Constitution. (Bet that wasn’t on your calendar.) But you can go there any time for great ocean views and quiet contemplation.
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MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT
No offense to winner Dayana Mendoza, Miss Venezuela; in fact, the model and aspiring interior designer says she learned grace under pressure when she was kidnapped 18 months ago. And let’s not even get started about the propriety of a beauty pageant in this day and age. The real question: How can a contest purport to speak for the entire universe when hosted by Jerry Springer and Scary Spice?
‘WALL-E’ CONTROVERSIES
After rave reviews, the animated Pixar film has been criticized as being too arty and sterile, anti-conservative, and prejudiced against obese people -- or, for that matter, prejudiced against human beings, period. Now, there are backlashes against the backlashes. Enough, already.