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Where To Eat Now
Downtown Los Angeles/Highland Park
Ciudad. Cuchifritos at happy hour. Fatally strong mojitos. Peruvian-style ceviches and Bolivian-style tamales, Caribbean paella and a classic pescado Veracruzana, Bahia-style moqueqas and a fritanga that would knock them silly in Managua. Ciudad, the Pan-Latin downtown outpost of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, may be all things to all people, but especially to all people whose pleasures include bending an elbow every now and then. Daytime is for office workers; at night, two-thirds of the customers are dressed in black. 445 S. Figueroa St., downtown, (213) 486-5171. Mon.–Tues. 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Wed.–Thurs. 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m., Saturday, 5–11 p.m., Sunday 5–9 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, D, MC, V. Entrées $17–$28. Pan-Latino. JG $$Â
Daikokuya. Sooner or later, all ramen lovers end up at Daikokuya, a loud, steamy noodle shop just a few blocks from the Music Center. Most ramen shops offer an endless list of possibilities; at Daikokuya, the choice is taken out of the equation — you will have the thin, curly noodles in pork broth, or you will have them stamina-style, in even stronger pork broth, a formidable liquid, opaque and calcium-intensive, almost as rich as milk. Floating with the noodles are plump slabs of simmered pork, slices of seasoned bamboo shoots and a dusky, soy-simmered egg. When you're in the mood, you can improve on the kitchen's excesses by spooning in minced garlic from a tabletop jar. 327 E. First St., downtown, (213) 626-1680. Lunch Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m., dinner Mon.–Sat. 5–10 p.m., Sun. noon–8 p.m. Beer and wine. Takeout. Street parking. AE, MC, V. Food for two $13–$25. Japanese.JG ¢[b?
Silver Lake/Los Feliz/Echo Park
Blair's. This is an adult restaurant for people who don't really consider themselves to be grownups even into their late 40s, a civilized refuge of caesar salads and crab cakes and shrimp cocktails that are served with a side of deviled eggs, a sort of roadhouse where the pepper steak comes with oodles of farmers-market vegetables, the salmon comes with lentils, and the roster of artisanal beers is nearly as long as the wine list. I would be surprised if anybody's parents ate this well at Rotary Club meetings. 2903 Rowena Ave., Silver Lake, (323) 660-1882. Open Sun.–Thurs. 5–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5–11 p.m. Full bar. Takeout. Street parking. AE, D, MC, V. $16–$32. New American. JG $$bÂ?
The Kitchen. Here is the quintessential Silver Lake canteen. Its former subtitle — "Lunch to Late Night" — reflects the circadian rhythms of its neighborhood clientele. The interior is Early East Village — deep colors, battered tables, crumbling cement, loud music. The service tends toward the casual and offhand, which belies the big-hearted, darn good food — try a bowl of quite viable cioppino. 4348 Fountain Ave., Silver Lake, (323) 664-3663. Open Mon.–Thurs. 5 p.m.–mid., Fri. 5 p.m.–1 a.m., Sat. noon–2:30 a.m., Sun. noon–10 p.m. No alcohol. Lot parking. AE, D, MC, V. Entrées $10–$18. American. MH ¢?
Say Cheese. A dual storefront in Silver Lake houses this gourmet store on one side and espresso café on the other. The lunch menu features salads, sandwiches, quiche and the house specialty, tartiflette (baked diced potatoes with onion and bacon topped with melted reblochon cheese and served with a mixed green salad). The gourmet shop tempts with a notable variety of pâtés (including duck foie gras at a dizzy-making $106 a pound), olives and, of course, a handpicked selection of French cheeses. 2800 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake, (323) 665-0545, fax (323) 665-6465. Open Mon.–Sat. 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m (store open until 6:30), Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m . No alcohol. Lot parking. AE, MC, V. Sandwiches $8–$9.50. MH ¢b
Hollywood/Melrose/La Brea/Fairfax
Brasserie Vert. Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in the Hollywood & Highland complex may not have much in common with a brasserie, is as restrained-looking as a corporate canteen, and isn't even green. But Vert is a useful restaurant, a Hollywood bastion of reliable French cooking. Drop in for a Green Bellini, a platter of fritto misto and a shot at the best desserts in Hollywood — the apple tart is formidable. 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 411, Hollywood, (323) 491-1300. Mon.–Fri. 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Sat.–Sun. noon–10 p.m. Full bar. Takeout. Lot parking. AE, D, DC, MC, V. Entrées $16–$24. French/Italian. JG $$
Chameau. Chameau, which is more midcentury modern than a garden of earthly delights, may describe itself as French-Moroccan, but the food is quite different from both the plain cooking you'll find at the fashionable couscous slingers in Paris' Marais and the new-style cuisine you'll find in restaurants that happen to feature a tagine or two on their menus. Chef Adel Chagar's flavors may be modern, lightened and fresh, but his techniques, many of them, come from the traditional Moroccan kitchen, whose methods tend to be fairly languid: chicken-stuffed b'stilla made with incredibly time-consuming warka, couscous made by hand, and lamb shoulder tagines cooked until the meat almost dissolves into a lamb-scented cloud. 339 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 951-0039. Dinner Tues.–Sun. 6–10 p.m. Beer and wine. Street parking. AE, D, DC, MC, V. Dinner for two, food only, $42–$66. Moroccan.JG $$
Monsieur Marcel. Imagine one of a thousand small Parisian cafés or wine bars with sidewalk seating and classic plats du jour, then plunk it down in the southeast corner of the Farmers Market on Fairfax and Third, and you have an excellent idea of Monsieur Marcel, an establishment subtitled "Pain, Vin et Fromage." (The modest restaurant is only one component in M. Marcel's small empire, which also includes a French gourmet shop and a grocery store.) Grab a stool in the bar area, or stake out the one communal table; or, for a more self-contained dining experience, plant yourself on one of the market's typical folding chairs at a wobbly table. An added bonus: Monsieur Marcel may employ the most charming French waiter in Los Angeles. 6333 W. Third St., Los Angeles, (323) 939-7792. Mon.–Thurs. 9 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 9 a.m.–10:30 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–8 p.m. AE, MC, V. French. MH $
Sanamluang Café. Sanamluang is a Thai place to duck into and out of at 3 a.m. after the clubs close for vast plates of rice fried with mint leaves, seafood and chiles; for big, comforting bowls of chicken soup flavored with toasted garlic; and for wide noodles fried with Chinese broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. Truly extraordinary is the general's noodle soup: thin, garlicky egg noodles garnished with bits of duck, barbecued pork, crumbles of ground pork and a couple of shrimp, submerged in a clean, clear broth. 5176 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 660-8006. Open daily 10:30 a.m.–4 a.m. No alcohol. Lot parking. Cash only. Entrées $5–$10. Thai. JG ¢b?
Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown?Central Los Angeles
Bu San. Korean-style raw sea cucumber is like nothing you've ever tasted before, and Korean-style sashimi, which you wrap in a lettuce leaf with raw garlic, sliced chiles and bean paste, is a revelation. The chefs are fond of converting live fish from the tanks into a meal's worth of demonstrably fresh sashimi. Raw squid, luxuriously creamy, with a small bit of crunch at the center, only tastes alive. Although almost alarmingly so. 201 N. Western Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 871-0703. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Beer and wine. Lot parking. MC, V. Entrées $25–$30. Korean. JG $$
Oki Dog. Immortalized by the Descendents, beloved by the Germs, the original Oki Dog, long since closed, was to the original '70s punk-rock scene in Los Angeles what the Brown Derby was to 1940s filmdom. The most famous creation here at the stand that remains is the eponymous dog, a couple of frankfurters wrapped in a tortilla with chili, pickles, mustard, a slice of fried pastrami and a torrent of goopy American cheese — a cross-cultural burrito that's pretty hard to stomach unless you've got the tum of a 16-year-old, but strangely delicious nonetheless. 5056 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 938-4369. Open daily 10 a.m.–10 p.m. No alcohol. Lot parking. Cash only. Entrées $4–$5.50. American Cross-Culture. JG ¢b
Sky's Tacos. Sky's are not the tacos your mother used to make. Or rather, they probably are the tacos your mother used to make, unless you happened to grow up in a Mexican household: two thick corn tortillas molded into the bottom of a red plastic carhop basket, mounded with turkey or chicken, shrimp or beef, gilded with orange cheese, buried under lettuce and doused with a sweet-hot house salsa. Soul food pops up in the oddest places sometimes. 5408 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 932-6253. Lunch and dinner Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–9 p.m. No alcohol. Street parking. AE, D, MC, V. Entrées $3.60–$10. Mexican-American Soul. JG ¢b
Taylor's Steak House. Taylor's is a real urban steak house, a two-fisted meat-and-martini joint where an account executive can blow his Pritikin thing with massive hunks of well-aged sirloin, at about half what he'd pay in one of those Beverly Hills joints. The filet mignon here is soft, buttery, as rare as you order it, and crusted with char; the New York steak is beefy and rich; London broil, kind of stewy-tasting, comes sliced, with a horseradish and sour-cream sauce on the side. But the glory of Taylor's is the culotte steak, a softball-shaped prime thing cut from the top of the sirloin. If you order it rare, the interior is scarlet, dripping juice, marbled with fat, full of the tremendous mineral sourness of great meat. It's the steak that time forgot. 3361 W. Eighth St., Los Angeles, (213) 382-8449. Open daily for lunch 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m. and dinner 4–10 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, CB, DC, MC, V. $19.75–$30.95. American. JG $
West Hollywood/La Cienega
Grace. If Los Angeles restaurants are like rock bands, Neal Fraser is the glamorous indie-rock hero, a chef with a wobbly, idiosyncratic style that couldn't be further from the finish-fetish crowd pleasers, a detailed, market-oriented sort of New American cuisine, heavy on French technique and inspired by the strong flavors and intricate presentations of New York chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The cooking can still be a little rough around the edges at Grace, but Fraser is clearly aspiring to greatness here — this is tremendously ambitious food. And there are freshly fried jelly doughnuts for dessert. What more could you want? 7360 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 934-4400. Tues.–Thurs. and Sun. 6–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 6–11 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking; difficult street parking. AE, MC, V. $20–$30. American. JG $$$
Sona. What we know as California cuisine may be dedicated to revealing produce at its best, but David and Michelle Myers go after nature with blowtorches and microtomes and dynamite, determined to bend the old woman to their will. A sliver of watermelon may be less a sliver of watermelon than a wisp in a chilled soup, a salted crunch tracing the shape of a curl of marinated yellowtail, a glistening cellophane window into the soul of a pistachio, a texture in a sorbet, a jelly exposing its cucumberlike soul. The morning after nine courses at Sona (this is one restaurant where only the tasting menu will do), it will already seem like a half-forgotten dream. 401 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 659-7708. Dinner Tues.–Thurs. 6–10 p.m., Fri. 6–11 p.m., Sat. 5:30–11 p.m. Closed Sun.–Mon. Full bar. Takeout. Valet parking. AE, D, DC, MC, V. $30–$40. Modern French (With Global Influences). JG $$$[
Westwood/West L.A./Century City
Canary. Canary is an Iranian sandwich shop on Westwood's Iranian strip, a house of kebabs in the most kebab-intensive neighborhood in California. Also notable are Iranian-style sandwiches made with a split-and-grilled Hebrew National frank, a hollowed-out length of toasted French bread and condiments similar to those you might expect to find on a Chicago-style hot dog, only inflected with more garlic. 1942 Westwood Blvd., Westwood, (310) 470-1312. Open daily 11 a.m.–12 a.m. Lunch for two, food only, $12–$14. No alcohol. Takeout. Parking lot. MC, V. Iranian. JG ¢b?
Lemon Moon. A glamorous self-service restaurant in a sleekly modern media office complex on the Westside, Lemon Moon is a stab at the ultimate office-building cafeteria. It has streamlined service, relatively healthy food, plenty of takeout options, and a simplified menu wide enough to cater to every imaginable diet, ethnic whim or religious persuasion. Try the crisp flatbread topped with herbed cheese or thin-sliced potatoes. The cheeseburgers, made with profoundly aged prime beef, are among the best in L.A. 12200 W. Olympic Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 442-9191. Breakfast and lunch Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Beer and wine. Lot parking. Food for two: $11–$24. AE, MC, V. Contemporary American. JG $b
Nook. Sometimes you get the feeling that the owners of Nook are running less an American bistro than a joke about an American bistro. As faithfully as they reproduce the fundamentals of the kind of fancily unfancy restaurants that pepper every urban neighborhood from San Diego to Augusta, Maine, they are also poking fun at it with every dried-cranberry garnish and each day-boat scallop, each obscure Belgian beer and each boutique Oregon Pinot Noir, each crusty roast chicken and dish of iconic macaroni and cheese. Almost every aspect of the restaurant, from its double-height communal table to the admonition on the menu that cell-phone use interferes with the controls on the deep fryer, is as ironically pitch-perfect as the Neil Diamond songs on a Silver Lake DJ's iPod. 11628 Santa Monica Blvd., No. 9, West Los Angeles, (310) 207-5160; www.nookbistro.com. Lunch Mon.–Fri. 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m., dinner Mon.–Sat. 5–10 p.m. Beer and wine. Lot parking. AE, MC, V. Dinner for two, food only, $30–$60. JG $$b[Â
Beverly Hills and vicinity
The Grill on the Alley. Yes, the steaks are good; yes, the martinis are perfect; yes, the corned-beef hash (well-done, thank you very much) is sublime. But within the decidedly non-soothing confines of the Grill, where show-business moguls still pack into the booths in the front dining room as thickly as commuters on a rush-hour MTA bus, you will also find this town's essential rice pudding: touched with cinnamon, drizzled with heavy cream, coaxing the nutty, rounded essence out of every grain of rice. If Musso's rice pudding is a lullaby, the Grill's is a lullaby as sung by Renée Fleming. 9560 Dayton Way, Beverly Hills, (310) 276-0615. Mon.–Thurs. 11:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m., Sun. 5–9 p.m. Full bar. Takeout. Valet parking; free street parking before 6 p.m. AE, DC, D, MC, V. $20–$35. Traditional American Steak House. JG $$$bÂ
Mastro's. One of a small, Scottsdale-based chain of steakhouses, the Beverly Hills Mastro's has the look — volcanic rock work, blackout curtains, black-leather banquettes — of desert resorts, supper clubs, casinos and other booze-filled refuges where the dreaded sun don't shine. Eat downstairs for more intimate dining, or upstairs if you're up to walking the gauntlet of a long bar (where serious drinkers swivel on cue to watch you pass) to get to your seat. The excellent service staff is adept, adaptable and good-natured, even when their customers — Beverly Hills carnivores — are not. Meat dominates the menu; steak to be exact. Order the Kansas City bone-in, the porterhouse or the bone-in rib-eye. Here, rare means rare, i.e., cold inside — yes. Start with the horseradish-spiked caesar salad, or the traditional iceberg wedge with blue cheese. Sides — fried onions, creamed corns, sugar snap peas, potatos gratin — are fresh, enormous, delicious: Split 'em. Finish with a paradigmatic Key lime pie. 246 N. Cañon Dr., Beverly Hills, (310) 888-8782. Open for dinner weekdays 5–11 p.m., weekends 5 p.m.–mid. Entrées $20–$47. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, D, DC, MC, V. American. MH $$$Â?
Santa Monica/Brentwood
Bay Cities. The Italian deli Bay Cities makes a decent turkey sandwich, a loud, greasy meatball sandwich and a very respectable hero, but the sandwich of choice here is a monster sub, straight outta Brooklyn, called "The Godmother," which includes a slice of every Italian cold cut on Earth. Fully dressed with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard and a few squirts of a garlicky vinaigrette, a Godmother feeds a couple of people at least; the guys behind the counter will look at you quizzically if they suspect you're planning to eat a whole one yourself. 1517 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 395-8279. Tues.–Sat. 9 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. till 6 p.m. Beer, wine and liquor for takeout only. Lot parking. MC, V. Sandwiches $2–$15. Italian Deli. JG ¢b
Lincoln Steakhouse Americana. I would have bet there was nothing new under the sun when it came to steak houses, that every possible permutation of the Rat Pack lifestyle, every $120 Kobe-beef fillet, every conceivable tomato salad, cigar station and vodka martini had been explored. This steak-house thing has been going on a long time, after all, and even the most Atkins-crazed Robb Report subscriber could hardly want for variety. But it's not the braised turnip greens that make the difference at Lincoln Steakhouse. The profoundly charred Angus-beef porterhouses are fine, but no better than you'll find at a dozen other places in town. What Lincoln has that other steak houses do not is young women, in packs and in pairs, on dates, on business dinners and dining alone. And these aren't young women nibbling salads or sipping white wine, or hanging around the bar waiting for you, but women ordering big steaks and eating them. I would credit the well-known charm of the antler chandeliers for this phenomenon, but I would probably be wrong. 2460 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 828-3304. Lunch Mon.–Fri. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. plus bar menu until 5:30 p.m. Dinner Mon.–Sat. 5–11 p.m., Sun. 5–10 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, MC, V. $20–$30. New-fashioned steak house. JG $$$bÂ?
Culver City/Venice and vicinity
El Abajeno. The cornerstone of the menu at El Abajeno is its specialty burrito, a monstrous construction the size and shape of a shoebox: two huge tortillas wrapped around truly heroic portions of lettuce, rice, beans and meat. An El Abajeno burrito, the Westside's answer to the mammoth beasts served at El Tepeyac in East L.A., could probably feed a family of six with leftovers for lunch the next day, though I have never seen one attacked by more than one hungry guy. 4515 Inglewood Blvd., Culver City, (310) 390-0755. Breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon.–Thurs. 8 a.m.–8:30 p.m., Fri. 8 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.–8:30 p.m. Beer. Lot parking. Lunch or dinner for two, food only, $11–$18. AE, MC, V. Mexican. JG ¢b
Baby Blues Bar-B-Q. There have been gun battles fought in the Carolinas between partisans of mustard-based barbecue sauce and those who prefer their pork doused with vinegar. Certain barbecue cooks in beef-loving Texas would just as soon throw your mother-in-law on the grill as a pork rib. But Baby Blues serves it all. Like the best uptown essays into the art form of barbecue, the cooking here arises less out of fierce, quasi-religious devotion than out of genial connoisseurship. As such, the restaurant may be lacking in the charming, cussed idiosyncrasies that lead otherwise sane individuals to chatter in cumin-tinged tongues. It's just a nice, slightly pricey place to eat ribs, baby-back or otherwise. Baby Blues has a strong sideline in Carolina pulled-pork barbecue, stringy mounds of smoky meat that may not have quite the universal appeal of spareribs, but fit much more neatly into a sandwich. 444 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, (310) 396-7675. Open Sun.–Thurs. 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11:30 a.m.–mid. MC, V. Beer and wine. Takeout. JG$$b?
Wabi Sabi. In a neighborhood where artists once rented studios for pittances, a sleek commercial district of antique stores, design offices and high-end restaurants has evolved — including Wabi Sabi, a skinny storefront refashioned into a Matsuhisa-derived sushi bar/Pacific Rim dinner house. Drop in for a big bowl of Cal-Asian style "bouillabaisse," or linger through a multicourse meal of small plates (including standbys like miso-marinated bass or eggplant). But sushi, here, is the real stunner — which, given the prices, it should be. Don't miss the lobster roll. 1635 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 314-2229. Mon.–Thurs. 5:30–10:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. 5:30–11 p.m. Sun. 5:30–10 p.m. Full bar. Street parking. AE, D, DC, MC, V. Entrées $12.50–$18. California Japanese/Pacific Rim. MH $$
San Fernando Valley
Dos Arbolitos. Sure, the sopes are uninspired; the pozole is too funky and rich. But campestre, involving long-braised pork steaks, rubbed with a smoked-chile paste and topped with fried green pepper and a swirl of blackened strands of onion, is tender enough to cut with a plastic fork. Costillitas are wonderful, tiny little chewy ribs blanketed with a salty, grainy sauce of chiles and tomatillos that stains the soft meat the color of an Ensenada sunset. 9034 Woodley Ave., North Hills, (818) 891-6661. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily 7 a.m.–9 p.m. Beer and wine. Takeout. Lot parking. MC, V. Dinner for two, food only, $12–$18. Mexican. JG ¢
Green Cottage. This Iranian-American family restaurant, a converted pie shop, has the long tables, and the bilingual multigenerational families, and the sassy waitresses, and the twinkly lights, and the lounge singer who knows all the verses to both "That's Amore" and "Volare." The massive plates hold more than any one person could possibly consume. It is all so very American, as American as apple pie. Except that the food that everybody is overeating happens to be lamb kebabs and koobideh and the sticky pomegranate-chicken stew called fesenjan; sweet rosewater ices spiked with noodles; saffron-pistachio ice cream for dessert. You can have your Old Country nostalgia; I'll take mine — with an Alka-Seltzer chaser, please. 20022 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, (818) 888-8815. Closed Mondays. Tues.–Sun. noon–10 p.m. AE, D, MC, V. Iranian. JG ¢b
Marina Del Rey/Westchester
The Shack. The Shack is a manly place, a place that hosts Jaegergirl promotions, a place where a man can watch the Lakers and drink a Rusty Nail. The Shack is also an archetypal beach hamburger dive, the kind of vaguely nautical-looking place where most of the clientele seem to treat the food as something to soak up the beer. The basic unit of exchange at The Shack is something called the Shack Burger, a quarter-pound of charred ground beef and a Louisiana sausage crammed together in a bun. The Shack Burger seems repellent on the surface, and it will seem repellent an hour after you eat one, but like your favorite punk rock song, a Shack Burger is three minutes of pure greatness, all grease and smoke and snap. 2518 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 449-1171; 185 Culver Blvd., Playa del Rey, (310) 823-6222. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Lunch for two, food only, $9-$14. Full bar. Takeout. AE, D, V. American. JG ¢Âb
South Bay/LAX
By Brazil. You eat meat until you die. Massive, garlicky heaps of short ribs and spareribs and sausage and rump roast and chicken are sliced off metal spears onto your plate by a parade of meat-bearing waiters, brought to your table until you cry uncle. 1615 Cabrillo Ave., Torrance, (310) 787-7520. Lunch and dinner seven days, 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Full churrasco on weekends. Beer and wine. Lot parking. Lunch for two, food only, $16. AE, D, DC, MC, V. Brazilian.JG $Â
Flossie's. Flossie's, located on the eastern edge of Torrance, a couple of blocks from El Camino College and a two-minute drive from the sushi bars and poi slingers of Gardena, is the closest you can get in Los Angeles to Mississippi boarding-house cuisine. What Flossie's serves is mostly daily specials, except for the perfect — and I do mean perfect — Southern fried chicken, which is always on hand. Wednesday is soft, sweet mountains of meat loaf; Thursday is long-smothered pork chops cooked so they fall apart when you look at them. Come hungry. 3566 Redondo Beach Blvd., Torrance, (310) 352-4037. Lunch and dinner Tues.–Thurs. 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sat. noon–9 p.m., Sun. noon–7 p.m. No alcohol. Takeout. Lot parking. Cash only. Food for two $12–$18. Southern. JG ¢
South Los Angeles
Badiraguato. This converted hamburger stand, named for a patch of Mexico notorious from narcocorrido ballads, traffics in the coastal cuisine of Sinaloa — tacos stuffed with marlin and salty cheese, chicken gorditas fried to a delicate crunchiness, and a great, crisp version of the roast-beef hash called asado estilo Sinaloa that would probably be as popular in Nebraska as in Culiacan. And, of course, there's the famous machaca — all salt and smoke and heat — smashed into powder with a stone pestle, and fried to a frizzle with bits of onion. 3070 Firestone Blvd., South Gate, (323) 563-3450. Open daily, 9 a.m.–8 p.m. No alcohol. Takeout. Lot parking. Cash only. Lunch or dinner for two, $12–$25. Mexican. JG ¢
East Los Angeles
Alameda Swap Meet. If you duck into the subway on a Saturday afternoon, a few minutes later you can alight from the Blue Line at the Alameda Swap Meet, an immense converted factory complex south of downtown, stuffed with hundreds of stalls selling everything from sea-turtle extract to straw ranchero hats, fluffy white first-communion dresses to the latest Versace bootlegs. In the courtyard is a bewildering succession of food stalls perfuming the air with grilled meat, and sputtering oil, and a certain high note of stickiness. Flank steak sizzles on steel-drum grills; meat is picked from grinning roast cow's heads and folded into tacos. One popular dish involves chile, lime, mayonnaise, kernels of fresh corn and a generous squirt of Liquid Parkay, all mixed up in a cardboard bowl. There are more than 7 million native Spanish speakers in metropolitan Los Angeles, and sometimes it seems as if they are all here at once. 4501 S. Alameda St., Los Angeles, (323) 233-2764. Open Mon. and Wed.–Fri. 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sat.–Sun., 9 a.m.–7 p.m. No alcohol. Takeout. Lunch for two, food only, $3–$10. Cash only. JG ¢?b
Antojitos Denise's. In a land dominated by carne asada, Denise's is where to go for pork, a bagful of one of three or four different kinds of house-made chicharrones (fried pork rinds), the pickled pigskin called cueritos, or a pound or two of roast pork. If you have a buck for a taco, you can taste the carnitas, among the best in East L.A., dense-textured, with the full, almost gamy flavor of slow-cooked pig. Also good are the tacos with chicharrones stewed in spicy tomato sauce — numbingly rich, a 1,500-calorie taco. 4060 E. Olympic Blvd., East L.A.; (323) 264-8199. Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–8 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–6 p.m. No alcohol. Lot parking. Lunch for two, food only, $7–$10. D, MC, V. Mexican. JG ¢b
La China Poblana. In the auto-repair district of East Los Angeles, La China Poblana may be the best place in East L.A. to find the cemita, the classic street food of Puebla, a multilayered sandwich on a dense, toasted sesame-seeded bun. The cemitas roll is sliced, crisped on the stove and crammed full of good stuff: thin slivers of avocado, slices of ghost-white panela cheese, and perhaps a tangle of pickled onions, carrots and jalapeño peppers. But the most popular filling by far is the milanesa — beef pounded to the thickness of a playing card, dredged in flour, and fried in clean oil to a sort of bronzed, leathery crispness that is closer in every way to a really large Maui potato chip than to anything you might call steak. 3568 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 263-8310. Open daily for lunch and dinner. No alcohol. Cash only. Takeout. Sandwiches $3 to $4. Mexican. JG ¢b
Burbank/Glendale/Eagle Rock
Camilo's. Camilo's started out as a catering company on York Boulevard in Highland Park — the small attached café was added almost as an afterthought. But the good Cal-Mex food and neighborhood-friendly prices caught on with everyone from starving artists to thriving yups, and in no time, the café had outgrown its venue. Owners Camilo and Amelia Gonzalez have since moved their operations to a large building smack on Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock, and they've reclassified it as a "California bistro" — though to us, it still looks and feels like a friendly indie coffee shop. There are chilaquiles and eggs Benedict for breakfast, cobb salads and Cuban sandwiches for lunch, filet mignon and pasta for dinner. 2128 W. Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock, (323) 478-2644. Breakfast and lunch Tues.–Sun. 8 a.m.–3 p.m., dinner Tues.–Sat. 5–10 p.m. Beer and wine. Lot parking. AE, MC, V. Entrées $9–$27. California. MH $b
Chili John's. From a series of stainless-steel vats in the center of the room, the counterman at Chili John's scoops out pinkish beans, mounding them high in a yellow plastic bowl, then he carefully spoons thick, brick-red chili over the beans until the bowl nearly brims over onto the counter. With a flourish, he tops off the chili with a splash of bean water. He cocks an eyebrow, which means: "Would you like an extra little drizzle of orange grease with that?" Of course you do. 2018 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank, (818) 846-3611. Lunch and dinner Tues.–Fri. 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Sat. till 4 p.m. Closed July and August. No alcohol. Takeout. Lot parking. Cash only. Lunch for two, food only, $9–$12. Chili. JG ¢b
Mandaloun. It is hard not to be a little awestruck by the Lebanese restaurant Mandaloun. Because while the local Middle Eastern restaurant scene is no stranger to grandeur, there has never been anything like this place, a gilded gastrodome of massive kebabs, pita made to order and outdoor terraces devoted to the smoking of apple-flavored tobacco. And it's all tucked away on the second floor of a complex that from the outside looks better suited to a parking structure. 141 S. Maryland Ave., Glendale, (818) 507-1900. Lunch and dinner Tues.–Thurs. 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11:30 a.m.–11:30 p.m., Sun. noon–9 p.m. Full bar. Takeout. Street parking; valet and lot parking on weekends. All major credit cards. Entrées $12.95–$22. Lebanese. JG $b[
Pasadena and vicinity
Doña Rosa. Behind one counter at Doña Rosa are racks and racks of freshly baked pan dulce, the pink-frosted conchas, the gingery puercitos and the crunchy, sugar-glazed orejas. Near another is a sort of superheated turntable on which lumps of dough bubble and bake into fresh tortillas. Taquitos fry. Shrimp steam. Thick chocolate burbles happily in a heated vat. The air outside is perfumed with the smoke from grilling carne asada, which is chopped and folded into tacos, stuffed into gorditas, or layered onto huaraches with great rivulets of Mexican crema and cheese. The Doña Rosa burrito is a majestic creature, a stretchy tortilla stuffed with rice, black beans, avocado and an oozing, orange mass of beef fried in chorizo grease, the sort of burrito that will coat your teeth for a week and live in your insides like a frisky pet. 577 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena, (626) 449-2999. Open Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–mid., Sun. 6 a.m.–11 p.m. Wine, beer and margaritas. Lot parking. AE, MC, V. Lunch or dinner for two, food only, $10–$15. Mexican. JG ¢b?
Firefly Bistro. Monique King's Firefly Bistro — which she runs with husband and co-chef Paul Rosenbluh — is a comfortable restaurant, the kind of neighborhood place you drop into a couple of times a month because you like the idea of cornmeal-fried anchovies in your caesar salad, or of a paella that tastes more like an uptown version of jambalaya, or of a strawberry shortcake that just happens to be frosted with a superior lemon curd. Asian touches pop up now and again, and a few Mexican things, and quite a few folky flavorsfrom Spain. (The tapas served to coincide with the Thursday-evening farmers market right outside the bistro's doors have become a South Pasadena tradition.) But King's culinary specialty is probably the food of the African-American diaspora, and the best dishes on the menu run toward things like crawfish jambalaya, and the pecan-crusted catfish fillets stacked up like poker chips. 1009 El Centro St., South Pasadena, (626) 441-2443. Beer and wine. Street parking. AE, D, MC, V. $14–$27. Modern American. JG $$b[
Monterey Park/San Gabriel and vicinity
888 Seafood Restaurant. A good place to start is the Chiu Chow cold plate: symmetrically arranged slices of tender steamed geoduck clam, aspic-rimmed pork terrine, crunchy strands of jellyfish, cold halved shrimp in a sweet, citrus-based sauce. Or try a soup of whole perch gently poached in the heat of broth, sharp with the flavor of Chinese celery and herbs, made complexly tart with sour plum, or an astonishing dish of Chiu Chow–style braised goose. The epic dim sum breakfasts are locally esteemed. 8450 Valley Blvd., Rosemead, (626) 573-1888. Lunch and dinner seven days 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Full bar. Lot parking. Dinner for two, food only, $20–$30. MC, V. Chinese. JG $b
Babita. Shrimp Topolobampo may still be the single fieriest invention in the history of Los Angeles cuisine, a citrusy sauté of white wine, tomatoes and diced habanero peppers that takes over its victims' bodies like an ebola infection — searing lips, closing throats, blasting tongues, and bringing forth great bursts of panic-induced sweat that subside only a few minutes after the last shrimp is safely swallowed. The sensation isn't anguish, exactly — the endorphin rush tends to kick in before the pain receptors realize something has gone terribly, terribly wrong — as much as it is total, irrevocable loss of control. Chef Roberto Berrelleza, who spent decades as a maitre d' before he ever picked up a pan, is a modern master of Mexican cuisine; and his fish-stuffed yellow chiles, his seared fish with huitlacoche vinaigrette, and his oozy, porky chiles en nogada are worth the drive across town. 1823 S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel, (626) 288-7265. Lunch Mon.–Fri. 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Dinner Sun. and Tues.–Thurs. 5:30–9 p.m.; Fri.–Sat. 5:30–10 p.m. Beer and wine. Takeout. Street parking. AE, DC, D, MC, V. $11–$28.95. Mexican. $ JGb
Little Sheep. If cumin were as toxic as VX gas, the atmosphere at Little Sheep could be used as a weapon of mass destruction. Little Sheep, a newish restaurant in yet another Monterey Park strip mall, is a specialist in the Mongolian hot pot, which is to say the severely aromatic hot pot of China's extreme north, stocked with more medicinal plants than an herbalist's shop and fairly intensive in lamb, a meat many Chinese people tend to dislike. There are juicy steamed lamb dumplings, lamb fried rice, a sort of crunchy pan-fried lamb bun and lamb chow mein. And the walls are papered with gauzy, room-size photomurals of grazing sheep and giant Mongolian shepherdesses. 120 S. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park, (626) 282-1089. Mon.–Fri. 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–midnight, Sat.–Sun. 11:30 a.m.–midnight. Beer and wine. Takeout. Lot parking. AE, D, MC, V. Food for two: $14–$24. Mongolian. JG $b?
Pepe's No. 2 is as renowned for the lousiness of its burritos as it is for its spectacular taquitos, fat, meaty things, overstuffed even, with frizzled, blackened strings of beef hanging out at the ends, and a cool, chunky guacamole spiked with diced onions and tomato. 9020 Telegraph Road, Downey, (562) 869-7045. Lunch and dinner, Mon.– Sun., 7:30 a.m.– 9 p.m.; Fridays, 7:30 a.m.– 10 p.m. No alcohol. Lot parking. Cash only. $1.70-$7. Mexican. JG ¢b
Long Beach and vicinity
Shahnawaz Halal Tandoori Restaurant. The best dish at this Pakistani redoubt may be mirch ka salan — a thick, tan curry of fresh jalapeño peppers, heady with the scents of garlic and ginger, bound with a pungent, grainy mortar of ground spice. On weekends, there's a very nice biryani, basmati rice cooked with butter and sweet spices and tossed with chunks of lamb. And consider the tandoori-mix plate: a rare lamb chop, subtly smoky, crisp at the edges; a few pieces of bright-red marinated chicken tikka that spurt juice like chicken Kiev; a ruddy whole chicken leg; several inches' worth of clove-scented minced-lamb kebab; and a tart pile of yogurt-marinated roasted beef. 12225 E. Centralia St., Lakewood, (562) 402-7443. Open. Tues.–Sun. for lunch and dinner. No alcohol. Lot parking. AE, D, MC, V. Pakistani. JG$
Palmdale and vicinity
The Pines. The pancake, the occasional Pines special called a tortilla cake (the batter is enriched with masa, cornmeal and ground hominy), tastes the way you've always wanted a tortilla to taste, warm and soft and sweet as corn, fragrant, slightly burned around the edges. Picture it striped with yellow from a three-egg omelet, white from biscuits 'n' gravy, and sandy brown from a half-pound or so of well-done fried potatoes, a weighty analogue to the nouvelle presentation of a Michael's or a Le Dome, but no less carefully done. 4343 Pearblossom Hwy., Palmdale, (661) 285-0455. Breakfast and lunch seven days 7 a.m.–2 p.m. No alcohol. Lot parking. Breakfast for two, food only, $8–$15. Cash only. American. JG ¢b
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Unleashed by Petco in Bressi Ranch
2663 Gateway Road
Carlsbad, CA 92009
Thank You!
Your message has been sent to Forgotten Paws Animal Rescue.
You'll receive a copy, too, at to help you keep track of which pets you've inquired about, and which shelters and rescues you've emailed.
NOTE: Some shelters have physical locations you can visit; some of these shelters may only have pets for a limited time, so please do not wait for a reply—just go visit the shelter! Other organizations are rescue groups run by busy volunteers who may take a while to reply. You can find information about the shelter or rescue group caring for this pet, and their adoption procedures, on the pet's details page on Adopt-a-Pet.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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SAN JOSE -- After deliberating for one and a half days, a jury Friday deemed the engineer who gunned down three of his bosses in revenge for being fired a stone cold killer.
The panel found Jing Hua Wu guilty of the most serious form of homicide -- first-degree murder -- rejecting his lawyer's contention that he was "stark raving mad'' when he turned an 11x12 office at a Santa Clara startup into an abbatoir.
The November 2008 murders of Siport CEO Sid Agrawal, office manager Marilyn Lewis and his immediate supervisor Brian Pugh rank among Silicon Valley's worst workplace killings.
Despite the verdict, Wu still has a slim chance of avoiding prison. That's because trials involving insanity pleas are divided into two phases -- the "guilt'' phase, which ended with the current verdict, and the "sanity'' phase. The same jury hears both.
Inside Santa Clara County Superior Court, Wu sat at the defense table in a dark suit eating orange slices as the jury returned, then donned headphones to hear his fate repeated to him in Mandarin by a simultaneous interpreter. He and defense attorney Greg Bentley held hands as the grim verdict was read.
In the guilt phase, the jury pondered the narrow question of whether Wu was too mentally ill to form the intent to kill. "We were hired to present his mental illness," co-counsel Bentley explained after the verdict. "That's why we were here. He didn't hire us with an expectation of getting an acquittal."
In the sanity phase, the same jury will weigh the broader question of whether Wu was too mentally ill to be held legally responsible for the crimes.
Since the jurors already have found Wu sane enough to form the intent to kill his bosses, it is extremely unlikely they will find he is insane. The sanity phase of the trial began shortly after the verdict was delivered with the testimony of Dr. Pablo Stewart, a psychiatrist called by defense attorneys to testify that Wu suffered from psychosis during his murderous rampage.
If they find he was insane when he committed the murders, Wu would be sent to a state mental hospital until doctors determine he has regained his sanity or could be treated as an outpatient.
The jury Friday also convicted him of the special circumstance of "multiple murders,'' meaning he will be sentenced to life in prison without parole if the panel finds he was not insane.
The jury had the choice of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. Wu's lawyer urged the jury to choose manslaughter, which is killing in the heat of passion and does not require being able to form the intent to kill.
Wu had intended to kill himself, his attorney Tony Serra argued, but experienced a flashback to his mistreatment by bullies during the Great Famine and Cultural Revolution in China -- and then a complete blackout during the shootings. Wu testified for five days, claiming he fired the first of six shots by accident; however, he showed little remorse.
Prosecutors Tim McInerny and Angela Bernhard argued Wu's real motive was revenge. After being fired the morning of Nov. 14, he planned the shootings, including buying 100 bullets and returning to the company that afternoon. Once there, he "coldly'' set out to "execute'' three ''innocent'' people, including chasing Agrawal -- who had already been gravely wounded and may have been trying to scurry away -- and shooting him in the temple at close range.
As the sanity phase began, jurors sat without evident animation as Stewart delineated the differences between mental illness and psychosis, touching briefly on subcortical brain function. During a recess called by Judge Sharon Chatman, the defense asked to be allowed two new pieces of evidence: Wu's underpants from the day of the shootings, and photographs of a bag of candy in the back seat of his car.
Bentley insisted the candy was "absolutely significant." After committing the murders, he said, Wu continued planning his son's second birthday party, even stopping to buy a bag of candy. "Despite this horrific act, he continued to not realize what he had done," Bentley said, "so much so that he went and bought candy for his kid's party."
When Wu's attorneys argued that his urine-stained underwear would demonstrate the beginning of a fugue state similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, the judge threw up her hands on the bench. "I have no idea," she said, agreeing to allow the evidence after the jury had been ushered out of the courtroom. "But it is an issue." Testimony is scheduled to resume Monday.
Contact Bruce Newman at 408-920-5004; follow him at Twitter.com/BruceNewmanTwit.


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I can't believe we don't have one of these threads.
This week, we've sold three new engagements. And my two most experienced analysts have resigned so I don't know how I'm going to staff them and I'll probably have to do all the work myself.
And don't get me started on timing... we just had a company-wide meeting last Thursday/ Friday in which the theme was "why you should invest your career here" and then they come in this week and resign.


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THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web
I recently posted a blog entry on how cloud computing would change the Systems Architect's role in an organization. In a way, the Systems Architect has the easiest transition to a new way of using computing technologies. In fact, that's actually part of the job description. I mentioned that a Systems Architect has three primary vectors to think about for cloud computing, as it applies to what they should do:
But a Database Administrator (DBA) is probably one of the harder roles to think about when it comes to cloud computing. First, let's define what a Database Administrator usually thinks about as part of their job:
That's just a short list, and each of those unpacks into a larger set of tasks.
The issue is that I've never actually met a DBA that does all of those things, or just all of those things. Many times they do much more, sometimes the systems are so large they specialize on just a few of them.
And as you can see from the list, some of these areas are shared with other roles. For instance, in some shops, the DBA plans, purchases, sets up and configures the hardware for database servers. In others that's doneby the Infrastructure Team. In some shops the DBA designs databases from software requirements, and in others the developers do that – or perhaps it's done as a joint effort. The same holds true for database code – sometimes theDBA does it, other times the developer, and still others it's a shared task.
In fact, you could argue that there are few other roles in IT where the roles are so intermixed. Also, the DBA works with software the company develops, and software the company buys. They work with hardware, networking, security and software. There are certain aspects of design and tuning that are outside the purview of some of those things, and inside the others.
With all of these variables, simply telling a DBA that they should "use the cloud" is not the proper approach.
To be sure, the DBA has the same vectors as the Systems Architect. They need to educate themselves on the options within this new option (Knowledge), try a few test solutions out (Experience) and of course work with others on various parts of the implementation (Coordination). But it goes beyond that.
There are three big buckets of cloud computing, dealing with simply using a Virtual Machine (IaaS) to writing code without worrying about the virtualization or even the operating system (PaaS) and using software that's already written and being delivered via an Application Programming Interface (API). Each of these has so many options and configurations that it's often better to think about the problem you're trying to solve rather than all of the technology within a given area - although some of that is certainly necessary anyway.
I'll start with when the DBA should even consider cloud computing for a solution. Once again, it's not an "all or nothing" paradigm, where you either run something on premises or in the cloud – it's often a matter of selecting the right components to solve a problem. In my design sessions with DBA's I break these down into three big areas where they might want to consider the cloud –and then we talk about how to implement each one:
If the users of your database systems all sit in the same facility, you own the servers and networking, and the application servers are separate from the database server, it doesn't usually make sense to take that database workload and place it on Windows Azure – or any other cloud provider. The latency alone prevents a satisfactory performance profile, and in some cases won't work at all. It doesn't matter if the cloud solution is cheaper or easier – if you're moving a lot of data every second between an on-premises system and the cloud it won't work well.
However – if your users are in multiple locations, especially globally, or you have a mix of company and external customer users, it might make sense to evaluate a shared data location. You still need to consider the implications of how much data the application server pushes back and forth, but you may be able to locate both the application server and SQL Server in an IaaS role. Assuming the data sent to the final client will work across public Internet channels, there may be a fit. There are security implications, but unless you have point-to-point connections for your current solution you're faced with the same security questions on both options.
Your audience might also be developers looking for a way to quickly spin up a server and then turn it down when they are done, paying for the time and not the hardware or licenses. This is also a prime case for evaluating IaaS. And there are others that you'll find in your own organization as you work through the requirements you have.
Resources: Windows Azure Virtual Machines: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/manage/windows/tutorials/virtual-machine-from-gallery/ and Windows Azure SQL Server Virtual Machines: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/manage/windows/common-tasks/install-sql-server/
The next possible place to consider using cloud computing with SQL Server is as a part of your High Availability and Disaster Recovery plans. In fact, this is the most common use I see for cloud computing and the Database Administrator. The key is the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO). Based on each application's requirements, you may find that using Windows Azure or even supplementing your current plan isthe right place to evaluate options. I've covered this use-case in more detail in another article.
References: SQL Server High Availability and Disaster Recovery options with Windows Azure: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/buckwoody/archive/2013/01/08/microsoft-windows-azure-disaster-recovery-options-for-on-premises-sql-server.aspx
Windows Azure, along with other cloud providers, offers another way to design, create and consume data. In this use-case, however, the tasks DBA's normally perform for sizing, ordering and configuring a system don't apply.
With Windows Azure SQL Databases (the artist formerly known as SQL Azure), you can simply create a database and begin using it. There are places where this fits and others where it doesn't, and there are differences, limitations and enhancements, so it isn't meant as replacement for what you could do with "Full-up" SQL Server on a Windows Azure Virtual Machine or an on-premises Instance. If a developer needs an Relational Database Management(RDBMS) data store for a web-based application, then this might be a perfect fit.
But there is more to data services than Windows Azure SQL Databases. Windows Azure also offers MySQL as a service, RIAK and MongoDB (among others) and even Hadoop for larger distributed data sets. In addition you can use Windows Azure Reporting Services, and also tap into datasets and data functions in the Windows Azure Marketplace.
The key for the DBA with this option is that you will have to do a little investigation this time, and potentially without a specific workload in mind this time. I think that's acceptable thing to ask – DBA's constantly keep up with data processing trends, and most will consider different ways to solve a problem.
Windows Azure SQL Databases: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/home/features/data-management/
Windows Azure Reporting Services: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/manage/services/other/sql-reporting/
HDInsight Service (Hadoop on Azure): https://www.hadooponazure.com/
MongoDB Offerings on Windows Azure: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/manage/linux/common-tasks/mongodb-on-a-linux-vm/
Windows Azure Marketplace: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/store/overview/


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Mail: Southern statues symbolize suppession
Mail: Thanks for helping Aiden
More opinion
Fall: Good time to spray musk thistle in rosette stage
Robertson and Delsing re-elected chair, vice chair of NWB
More Ag News
Disgruntled Boy Scout leaders are planning to create a separate scouting organization in reaction to the decision Thursday to allow gay children to take part in the Boy Scouts of America.
Nearly 1,400 delegates cast ballots. The vote came after months of discussions at nearly all levels.
The resolution simply says, "No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone."
The resolution takes effect Jan. 1. A prohibition on openly gay adult leaders remains in place.
The decision is offensive to many churches that sponsor Boy Scout troops who believe it violates the oath to be morally straight."
Bishop Paul Loverde of the Arlington Catholic Diocese, which covers 68 parishes across Northern Virginia, said Friday the vote forces us to prayerfully reconsider staying in Scouting.
A national group called On My Honor will meet next month in Louisville, Ky. with other likeminded organizations, parents and [Boy Scouts of America] members to create an alternate scout organization.
We hoped to keep sex and politics out of scouting, the On My Honor website says.
Wayne Perry, the national president of the Boy Scouts, said "no matter how you feel about this issue, everyone agrees that kids are better off in scouting," which teaches the values of character, values and leadership.
"The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue," the BSA said.
The BSA said there are no plans to revisit the decision.
On the other hand, the On My Honor group said the "BSA can no longer use the phrase Timeless Values in good faith. It has demonstrated that the organizations values are governed by changing tides of polls, politics and public opinion."
Flatrock Publishing, Inc.
1300 E 4th St., Suite F
North Platte, NE 69101


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Home Theater Tickets Family Stomp Stomp - Copenhagen
Stomp - Copenhagen Tickets
Following its runaway success at the Roundhouse and Sadler's Wells, Stomp makes music from the mundane. A unique, award-winning show, which has thrilled audiences all over the world, combines elements of theatre, dance, comedy and percussion to turn the clutter of urban life into the source of infectious rhythm and wonder. If you haven't seen this theatrical performance yet it is about time you did, so get your Stomp tickets now!
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Pregnancy is the most beautiful period not only for the mother to be and her partner, but also for the whole gamut of friends, relatives and well wishers surrounding them. A woman's pregnancy is the time when the mother to be and her partner are filled with anxious thoughts about the known, lesser known and some unknown fears related to pregnancy and pregnancy complications. These fears are not baseless as the expectant mother faces a number of physical, emotional and psychological changes in her. This is how the need for a comprehensive pregnancy resource site like pregnancy-articles gets pronounced.
Pregnancy articles is a one of its kind website which provides articles on teenage pregnancy or the teen pregnancy articles, pregnancy articles and tries to educate and empower the ladies who are carrying a baby and also the couples who are expecting a baby or planning to have one. This site has an assortment of informative articles and other information necessary to make the new life within more comfortable and to help them cope with these physical, emotional and mental changes they are witnessing.
With this website you have an access to all possible information necessary to make your pregnancy an enjoyable experience. We understood that there is a complete lack of one stop comprehensive resource that has a compilation of articles and other resources about all the aspects of pregnancy and pregnancy related stuff. This is why we compiled all the valuable information related to pregnancy in one site providing you all the possible information you need about pregnancy.
Pregnancy-articles.com is a free resource of articles on teenage pregnancy and provide great content to help you so that you have an understating of all the facts and information you need about all pregnancy stages. We have articles that provide you information necessary from the time you plan to have a baby and consider conception, reading symptoms of pregnancy, detecting and understanding early signs of pregnancy, what are possible pregnancy problems, different stages of pregnancy like the first trimester of pregnancy, second trimester of pregnancy, third trimester of pregnancy, delivery and childbirth and the post pregnancy period.
Apart from this, you also get to know about week-by-week development of pregnancy, different types of pregnancy calculators, an overview of the various types of pregnancy, what are pregnancy exercises and how to do them, diet and nutrition tips for pregnant mothers, an insight into maternity clothing, and about pregnancy celebrations like baby showers and its preparations. We have also covered issues such as care of baby and her mother after pregnancy.
Once you have all the information from pregnancy articles about the painful joys of your pregnancy, you will have logical answers to your questions and problems related to pregnancy and childbirth. Thus, armed with all the necessary information about the most important period of your life – Pregnancy, you can be in a better position to enjoy every moment of this momentous journey towards motherhood. Happy Journey Ahead!
Pregnancy Information - In our pregnancy guide section, we discuss all the common health realted concerns and issues that every pregnant woman faces in her journey toward motherhood starting by signs of pregnancy and tracking your pregnancy week by week.


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Kye Allums, the George Washington University junior who made headlines last fall by coming out as a transgender person while remaining on the school's women's basketball team, announced this week that he would not be returning to the team for his senior year because of injuries, according to several published reports, including this one at FoxNews.com.
Allums said in a prepared statement that he came to the decision on his own that it is "no longer in my best interests" to play basketball, and he thanked the school's athletic department for respecting his wishes.
When he came out as transgender last November, Allums explained that he was postponing hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgery so that he could remain eligible to play on the women's basketball team. However, Allums said this week that after suffering two concussions in the 2010-11 season, he has decided not to continue to play basketball.
Although Alllums started 20 games in his sophomore year at George Washington, he played in only eight games this season because of the concussions. He told the Associated Press in March that he has suffered a total of eight concussions overall and that he has been experiencing memory loss, a common symptom of multiple concussions. He said doctors told him that if he were a football player rather than a basketball player, his career would have ended even sooner.
A post by Eammon Brenna on ESPN's College Basketball Nation Blog praised Allum's courage in coming out as transgender, saying: "In essence, Allums' change was about identity, about helping the external match the internal, and it raised awareness of transgender identity issues in an arena where even homosexuality remains a hotly debated subject. … It's sad to see any player's career cut short by injuries. But I'd argue it's even sadder to see Allums — whose public bravery no doubt served as inspiration to even a (presumably) small number of athletes with transgender identities — unable to live out his final season with his teammates."


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Topic: Meetup in Seattle area
Ok, fellow cc sufferers & caregivers in the Seattle area - let's get together and celebrate survivorship in November! Let's live, laugh, and love one another!
Would November 8th or 15th work for you all? Both those dates are Saturdays.
Where is a good place to have dinner?
I like both Italian and Mexican food. How about you?


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An Exceptionally Rude Interview With Brian Clevinger About The New 'Atomic Robo' Kickstarter
Last week, Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener, the creators of Atomic Robo, launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a whole bunch of new merchandise for fans of their all-ages action adventure comic. The centerpiece of the campaign:The Tesladyne Field Guide, a handbook for new recruits on how to deal with the bizarre super-scientific situations that Atomic Robo finds himself up against every day.
In less than a week, they've managed to raise over $50,000, so to talk about the success, we contacted Clevinger for an interview. He agreed... and things quickly took a turn for the hostile.


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Think lemon cheesecake. These are raw, gluten free, AND vegan…right up my alley!
Very recently, many of my respected food blogger comrades began mentioning Hail Merry Tarts. At the recent Food Allergy Conference, these little morsels won "Best in Show."
I was dying to get my hands on one of these to try them out…but none of my local stores had them yet: they are relatively new to the market. So then I looked at ordering some online…but because they need to be refrigerated…the shipping was something obscene like $40! I submitted requests to both of my local natural food stores to start carrying them: I mean the way people were talking about them, I was DETERMINED to get one without going broke!
A month later (I am sure nothing to do with me), I happen to walk by the "New Products" at my local Whole Foods: and there they lay!! (This is where to cue exalting, angelic singing)
Finally, I was going to get to try one! I purchased one Chocolate Mint, and one Meyer Lemon Miracle Tart And while the chocolate mint was good, the lemon really knocked my socks off! Both of them reminded of cheesecake. Dense, decadent, and oh so good!
I could find no knock-off recipes online, so I had to come up with my own here. The results are SO worth it! Creamy, dreamy, and melt-in-your mouth, you will not be disappointed! You can bet I will be working on a chocolate version next!
And if you prefer lime or orange over lemon, just sub the lemon ingredients for the one you'd like! And if you like their raw chocolate macaroons, check out my knock off recipe for those!
UPDATE July 14, 2012: I have drastically changed the proportions in this recipe and left the gum out. I have learned a lot about these ingredients since I originally created this recipe and feel this recipe is new & improved!
- 1 cupraw almonds
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Zest one lemon
- Optional: stevia to taste ( I used 5 drops)
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked a minimum of one hour, longer great!
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup full fat canned coconut milkor homemade thick and creamy nut milk
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup honey ( I replace half with liquid stevia equivalent)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract (the lemon is optional, however it really heightens the lemon flavor)
- Grated zest of 1-2 lemons (essential to the lemon flavor, don't leave out!)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- For the crust, process almonds in the food processoruntil you have a meal/flour consistency.
- Add in remaining crust ingredients and pulse until well blended. You should be able to press the mixture together into a crust, add more honey or lemon juice if necessary.
- Press into greased individual tartlet pans, muffin tins, or make them into a bar using an 8 x 8 pan.
- For the filling, process all ingredients until silky smooth (multiple minutes).
- Taste and add more sweetener if you prefer, or more lemon!
- Spread into the awaiting crust, and refrigerate until set and ready to eat!! Heaven!
- If you have leftover filling like us, we sandwiched the creamy filling in between two Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Graham Crackers, Smoreables. I called them "Ice Cream Sandwiches" for my kid's sake. Can you imagine a chocolate version oozing amongst these...yum!!


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Two Eureka families are working to rebuild their lives, as fire officials continue to investigate a Monday blaze that destroyed a fifth-wheel trailer and rendered a residence uninhabitable, causing an estimated $275,000 in damage.
Just after 1 p.m. Monday, Humboldt Bay Fire units arrived on the 3800 block of H Street to find a fire that had fully engulfed a shop area, and was spreading to an attached garage and a fifth-wheel trailer parked behind the residence.
Within 30 minutes, Humboldt Bay Fire crews -- with the help of an additional Arcata Fire Protection District engine and chief officer -- brought the fire under control. By 3 p.m. the fire had been completely extinguished.
Humboldt Bay Fire Battalion Chief Bill Reynolds, who was on scene Monday, said it was one of the larger residential fires in recent memory, and it had the potential to be much bigger.
Reynolds said due to the volume of the fire, and its potential to spread to nearby residences, a second alarm was requested, increasing Humboldt Bay response numbers and triggering a mutual-aid response from neighboring districts.
"Being able to bring crews in from Arcata Fire Protection District is essential to our operations," he said. "The benefit of having that automatic aid agreement definitely showed itself, and was a big help to us."
Although the response time was quick and comprehensive, the structure fire destroyed the shop and fifth-wheel trailer. The residence and attached garage also suffered heavy damage.
Vickie McDonald said she was taking a break from wrapping Christmas presents Monday afternoon when she first saw the flames. The 63-year-old cancer survivor lived in the destroyed trailer with her husband of 35 years and their two dogs. Her dog was killed.
"My little pug, she is old," McDonald said. "I think she was just curled up sleeping in the corner and didn't even hear the door open. I was told she perished of smoke inhalation."
As she and her husband sifted through the charred remains of their trailer Tuesday, McDonald said she still hasn't processed what happened.
"I guess I don't know how I am feeling," she said. "I am still in a state of shock. I haven't buried my puppy. I stayed at my son's and didn't have a change of clothes. I smell like smoke."
Although overwhelmed by the loss of her home -- McDonald said she worries the more than $300 she had spent on Christmas presents for her grandchildren is gone -- she said she feels like someone was watching over her, and her neighbor. The couple shared the destroyed garage, which was attached to the home of Stephanie Ludtke and Leonard Wonnacott, and their three children.
McDonald said something compelled her to stop in her kitchen before going into her bedroom to change for a doctor's appointment.
"If I had gone into that bedroom, I would have perished," she said. She also said Ludtke had decided to move her couch that day to face the garage. The 30-year-old was sitting there when she saw the smoke. Ludtke said she quickly picked up her sleeping 8-month-old son out of his playpen, made sure her two dogs weren't trapped, and ran from the house.
McDonald said Ludtke also normally sleeps during the day because she works a night shift.
"I am just so glad she was up, and that she had moved the couch and was able to get her baby out of there," she said. "Everything that happened was just so awful, but I am thankful for that."
Reynolds said while it appeared that the fire might have started in the shop area, the cause remains under investigation. Criminal activity is not suspected.
Kaci Poor can be reached at 441-0504 or email@example.com


text:
Pacers open with a small ball lineup.
Pacers continue with their stunning "leave the 3 point line uncovered" defense even against a team known for 3 point shooting.
Pacers' D gives up 135 points.
OBrien is an awful coach... I don't care how hard the team plays, if he can't address the defense, he sucks. That's not basketball.
Granger's argument for making the AS team took a hit.


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''I LIKE surprising myself,'' says Martin McDonagh, and he's talking about writing a script without a plan. He has always enjoyed making use of twists and red herrings, without a structure worked out in advance. ''If I don't know where a story is going, one hopes that the audience won't either.''
His new movie, Seven Psychopaths, is an intricately connected tale of violence, storytelling and dogs, a dark comedy of surprises in which spectators might have difficulty orienting themselves.
The opening scene of the film - which involves two hitmen preparing for a job - is almost a little movie in its own right, a detonation of events that is also a clever sabotaging of expectations. Plot twists aren't about ambushing viewers, he says, or tricking them.
You don't want to be presenting yourself as smarter than your audience. ''It can be playful to hide things that are going to be important or set things up that don't end up going somewhere. You want to set a few traps, but the joke should never be on the audience.'' About halfway through a script, things clarify: ''You have a certain number of balls in the air, and you know where they are going to land.''
After a highly successful stage career - with plays such as The Beauty Queen Of Leenane and The Pillowman - McDonagh, 42, an Irishman born and raised in England, started making films. His short, Six Shooter, starring Brendan Gleeson, won an Oscar in 2006; his first feature, In Bruges, starred Gleeson and Colin Farrell, was an indie hit with a solid list of awards and nominations.
In his second feature, McDonagh joins forces again with Farrell, who plays Marty, a Los Angeles screenwriter struggling with a script and a relationship, trying to write a movie called Seven Psychopaths and being pulled deeper into chaos by his crazy best friend, Billy (the ever-intriguing Sam Rockwell). Los Angeles might not be the distinctive, singular setting of In Bruges, but McDonagh went to some trouble, he says, to find unfamiliar locations, and make the city an important element of the story.
He has an ensemble cast to conjure with, including Woody Harrelson, Harry Dean Stanton and Tom Waits. Christopher Walken (who appeared on Broadway in McDonagh's A Behanding in Spokane in 2010), is a delight: he gives a graceful, winning performance as a small-time criminal with a philosophical bent. ''Christopher is often cast as the most psychotic character in a movie, but for me he is the moral heartbeat of the film,'' McDonagh says.
Farrell could have played the erratic Billy, he adds, ''but I was more interested [in] him as the gentle straight man''. The fact that Farrell's character is called Marty and is a writer, says McDonagh, is inevitably an invitation to draw comparisons between the filmmaker and his creation. ''A couple of weeks before shooting, Colin and I had a conversation about whether I should change it, but then we thought, ah, why not,'' he says. Although Marty is ''not really me, he does share some of my concerns'' - specifically, questions about the nature and depiction of violence.
There is quite a bit of it in Seven Psychopaths, and it comes in a variety of guises. ''The film had to end up being decent, and about love and peace, but it also had to be about seven psychopaths and obey some of the conventions of the gangster pic,'' McDonagh says. For him, it should be apparent that he has a stance against violence: only someone who walked out in the middle of the movie wouldn't be able to see that, he says.
At one point, Walken's character reads Marty's script, and makes some scathing comments to him about his poorly drawn female characters. Of course, says McDonagh, that is going to be understood as self-referential, and he's fine with that. ''I was putting my hand up and saying, the women characters aren't as well developed as they ought to be.''
Maybe he's making excuses, maybe he's hoping to be forgiven, he says.
Some of his theatre pieces, he says, had good roles for women, and ''in my next film, for sure, there's a really strong female lead''.
Seven Psychopaths opens on November 8.


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SANTA CRUZ -- While the streets along the Boardwalk were lined with dozens of well-wishers, you could hear a pin drop when the motorcade of hundreds of law enforcement officers rolled out just before 9 a.m.
It took about 15 minutes for the cars to clear their gathering spot and begin the 33-mile-long procession to the HP Pavilion in San Jose where the officers and many others from across the state will pay their final respects to fallen Santa Cruz police detectives Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and Elizabeth Butler. The first cars arrived just more than an hour later and were greeted by a Santa Cruz fire ladder truck with the American flag draped in front of the HP Pavilion.
Officers, dressed in their respective department uniforms and wearing white gloves, lined the sidewalk outside the pavilion as the motorcade rolled in.
Capitola Police Chief Rudy Escalante said as he witnessed thousands gather outside the arena, he felt "honor and pride -- and that is what Butch was all about, honor and pride."
Belvedere Police Chief Tricia Seyler said more than 30 sworn officers came from Marin County. "We have to pay our respects to the officers," she said.
Lt. Chris Lucia of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said he and 15 colleagues made the trek to San Jose this morning from San Leandro. He said his agency played a large role in the services four years ago for four fallen Oakland police officers. Memories of that event are still fresh today.
"It's a somber day and it's an eye-opening day for us. Any law enforcement service we go to we hope is our last. This is a reminder that the next memorial could be our own," Lucia said.
Limousines carrying the family members escorted them to a private area where they were to meet with the governor and other dignitaries before the noon memorial.
As the procession rolled through Santa Cruz, people holding American flags lined Santa Cruz streets holding signs that read "We love SCPD and their families" and "Thank you Butch and Elizabeth."
The scene was much the same on Ocean Street, where hundreds jammed the sidewalk and median strip to salute the officers as they moved slowly through town.
"At every over cross, every side street there was support," Deputy Police Chief Clark said. "I was crying less than 2 miles down the road."
Red, white and blue balloons flew from poles along Ocean Street. People said they came out of respect, and clutched American flags and signs expressing sorrow and support. "We grieve together," read one sign, "We stand with SCPD," another.
They chatted as they waited, but as the motorcade approached fell silent. Many placed their hands over their hearts.
"It's a trying time for all of us, a heart-wrenching experience," said Matt Stern, an Army veteran.
Kim Jorgensen said she came for herself and for her son, Sam Burton, a military police officer stationed in Germany and a friend of Baker's son. She said the community takes its police officers for granted.
"They put their lives on the line for us every day. We lose sight of that," Jorgensen said.
Carmela Venezio, wife of Santa Cruz Fire Battalion Chief Michael Venezio, brought 10-year-old son Mikey to show support for the fallen officers and to acknowledge the service of police and firefighters.
"I wanted (Mikey) to experience this," she said, "just to know how the community pulls together and supports each other and about what his father is part of."
Parking enforcement officer Richard Monosco lined up to show respect for his fellow officers. "They watch my back," he said.
Monosco stood next to Richard Guadian, who decorated his bicycle with a patriotic display of flags.
"What you're seeing is about respect," Guadian said.
Elaine Rivas said she stood on Ocean Street because she couldn't make the memorial in San Jose. She added that it was good a place had been found large enough to accommodate all the emergency responders who wanted and deserved to attend.
"This was one way to pay my respects, to show solidarity," said Rivas, who has lived in Santa Cruz since 1983.
Sharon Galligan, a former state parks ranger who said she had known Baker for years, hugged a friend as the last of the motorcade passed by, her eyes moist. It was good to see so many people turn out, she said, adding the moment was emotional.
"It's so incredibly sad, and it will be nice for Santa Cruz to be able to heal," she said. "This is the place to start."
Along Highway 17, Watsonville firefighters brought their fire engine to the Pasatiempo overpass to send off the motorcade. At the Granite Creek overpass, a dozen folks gathered with a sign that reads "Honor and Remember", and at the Summit, Santa Cruz and Cal Fire engines lined the overpass with firefighters standing atop their engines. Along the Summit stood a surfboard that read "RIP."
For Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputy Cathy Bramanti, today is all about solidarity.
Bramanti donned her uniform for the first time in more than two years Thursday. She knows firsthand how no day in law enforcement is a given.
"Odd as it sounds, I'm just happy to be here to honor the two officers that were killed," Bramanti said. "You never know what you will face. It really is a brotherhood and a sisterhood."
Bramanti was beaten, disarmed and shot with her own Taser in November 2010 by a convicted felon while on a routine visit from the Santa Cruz County Jail to Dominican Hospital. She has been on medical leave since and is thankful to be alive.
Virginia Baker and her husband, Loran, of Fresno, came to the Boardwalk on Thursday morning to greet the crowd of officers there to honor their son. Virginia said, "It's a sad day."
"It's a sad day. At the same time, it's a day to celebrate Butch and Elizabeth," Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said. "This day will define how the Santa Cruz Police Department moves forward from this tragic event."
Sgt. Christian LeMoss of the Santa Cruz Police Department, said, "It's tough. Things are going to change for sure."
Holding a large sign that read "We love Santa Cruz police" near the Boardwalk was Tish Denevan standing with Kate Clark, both of Santa Cruz.
Denevan said, "We just want to be kind and let them know we stand with them."
Cindy Rahn and her daughter Mary Rahn, both of whom live in Beach Flats, held a sign "We love Santa Cruz PD." With tears in her eyes, Cindy said, "They were here in the Flats all the time. It's so sad. He (Butch) was such a great guy. He cared for the Flats. It's good to keep Santa Cruz weird but they also kept it safe. They made Santa Cruz a better place."
The motorcade was led by California Highway Patrol officer Sarah Jackson.
Jackson said it's an "honor" for the CHP to accompany those mourning Baker and Butler.
Jackson said it will be encouraging to see people lining the route on the return back to the Cocoanut Grove for a private service.
"I think that would be wonderful, as a message of continuing support," she said.
Supervisors have stepped in at the Santa Cruz County emergency dispatch center this morning so that all but a handful of dispatchers can attend the memorial.
One dispatcher said they are pleased to be able to attend. Another, earlier this week, recalled hearing the horror of what happened that afternoon nine days ago on North Branciforte in the heart of Santa Cruz as calls about a robbery and a stabbing came in moments later.
Though the day will be filled with tears and the formality of a memorial befitting the uniform, organizers plan to share the good memories of the officers who together had 38 years of experience and touched hundreds of lives in this seaside community.
"It will be a sad day," Vogel said, but ... "it will be a nice way to send Butch and Elizabeth off."
Baker, known by all as Butch, was more than a "tenacious" investigator, he was a Santa Cruz fixture, a father, a prankster, a character, the kind of affable neighborhood cop people just wanted to strike up a conversation with. No matter the weather, Baker, 51, loved to wear shorts, with the tunes of '70s and '80s rock bands Journey, Air Supply and Styx in his ear.
Butler, just 38, loved to cook, hike, ride roller coasters, and spend time with her partner Peter and their sons Joaquin, 5, and Stellan, 2. Butler was a UCSC graduate who loved pottery and being a police officer.
Her sister Alexis Butler said, "My sister believed in the innate goodness of people."
Among the big names expected to speak are former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta of Carmel Valley and California Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, who will not be in attendance, said Wednesday on the floor of the House, "This is a horrible tragedy, and I join with the residents of the Central Coast to mourn this loss and to pay our respects to these two fallen heroes. Through their willingness to serve, our brave police men and women represent the best of our country."
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal, who has been a Santa Cruz area resident for 40-plus years, was attending the service with his wife, Kelly Weisberg.
He said after the serial killings in the '70s, things quieted down and "we became used to the fact that life had settled down in Santa Cruz."
Blumenthal said he is among several top UCSC administrators who will be present at the memorial, and a number of students have come as well.
"It's a sad day for the city and all in our community, but I am heartened by the turnout. It shows we can really come together as a community in a time of crisis," he said.
The university has been providing support to the city in various ways since the shootings, including university officers patrolling the Westside, Blumenthal said.
The Rev. Rene Schlaepfer at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos will lead the service and be joined by Vogel, Capitola Police Chief Rudy Escalante and Clark, who has been asked to lighten the mood. Santa Cruz police officers Laurel Schonfield and Wendy Bynes are expected to speak, along with Jeff Rosell, deputy district attorney, Mayor Hilary Bryant and county Supervisor Zach Friend.
American Idol star and Santa Cruz native James Durbin will sing "Arms Wide Open" by Creed. Drummers, a bag pipe ensemble and a helicopter fly-over are just some of the highlights.
"It will be a memorial service like no other," Vogel said.
Some 6,000 law enforcement from around the state are expected at the HP Pavilion, including a contingent from Monterey County where the connections with Baker and Butler and run deep.
Marina Police Chief Eddie Rodriguez was with Capitola and Watsonville chiefs Escalante and Solano, both former partners of Baker, when they learned of the fatal shootings last week in Palm Springs at a law enforcement conference. Baker and Butler's deaths bring to six the number of officers killed in California this year, three times as many as last year.
Rodriguez, along with hundreds of Monterey County officers, lined up along Highway 101 near San Juan Bautista Thursday morning to begin their motorcade to San Jose.
"I've known Butch my entire career," Rodriguez, a former Watsonville police captain, said. Like Escalante and Solano, who are longtime friends with Rodriguez, "we all came up in the ranks together."
But Monterey County officers are doing so much more than attending the funeral. Beginning Wednesday night, sheriff's deputies joined Santa Cruz police to patrol the city. They will continue that work through Friday afternoon working three consecutive 12-hour shifts.
"We thought that was one way to help show our respect for our fallen officers and their families, as well as our fellow officers in the Santa Cruz Police Department," Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller said.
Staff writers Donna Jones and Monterey Herald staff writer Julia Reynolds contributed to this report.
Follow Julie Copeland on Twitter at Twitter.com/jcopeland_sc
Checks should be made payable to the Santa Cruz Police Officers Association and mailed to 3333 Clares St., Capitola, CA 95010. Donations also can be made at any Bay Federal branch.
Police say 100 percent of donations through the city website will go to support the families. Money from all the funds is expected to be handled by the Santa Cruz Police Officers Association for distribution to the Baker and Butler families.


text: RNS Number:7252U SABMiller PLC 12 April 2007 12 April 2007 SABMiller plc Trading Update SABMiller plc today issued the following update on trading for the 12 months to 31 March 2007. The calculation of the group's organic growth includes volumes for South America from 12 October 2006, 12 months after it became part of the group. For the year to 31 March 2007, the group recorded 23% growth in lager volumes, with strong organic growth of some 10%. Group financial performance was in line with management's expectations as good revenue growth was partially offset by higher input costs and increased investment across the business. On a pro forma basis, South America lager volumes for the year rose by 12% with growth accelerating in the final quarter to 14%. Strong performances across the region reflect good economic conditions, improved market shares and the impact of initiatives to rejuvenate the beer category. These initiatives include brand renovations and launches, the introduction of new containers and significantly increased investment in marketing and merchandising at the point of sale. In Colombia, improved retail price discipline has underpinned accelerating sales. In Peru, Cristal was relaunched in December 2006 and has led our share gains in a market that remains competitive. In Central America, carbonated soft drink (CSD) volumes were up 6% and lager volumes up 8% on an organic basis for the year. In Europe, lager volumes for the year grew by 11% on an organic basis with the final quarter up by 15%. This has been driven by continuing good performances from Poland, Russia and Romania, influenced by a mild winter, and has resulted in market share gains in most countries. Poland has achieved strong growth of 13% notwithstanding challenging comparatives, reflecting particularly strong market execution and good growth of our Zubr brand. Russia recorded volume growth of 24% across our portfolio of premium brands, assisted by improved national distribution. Romania reported growth of 23%, driven by our Timisoreana brand and its successful introduction into PET packaging. Czech Republic achieved growth in volumes of 1%, led by our Pilsner Urquell and Kozel brands. Branded volumes in Italy were up 5% within our total domestic volume increase of 2%, reflecting our managed exit from private label volumes. In North America, Miller's full-year domestic sales to retailers ('STRs') were level with the prior year and down some 3% on an organic basis (excluding Sparks and Steel Reserve), in line with Miller's shipments to wholesalers over the same period. In the fourth quarter, Miller's STRs declined by 2.3% on an organic basis. For the full year, Miller Lite STRs declined 1%, and STRs of Miller's worthmore portfolio, including Sparks, grew by 21% with acceleration in the fourth quarter. While pricing improved, profitability was impacted by significantly higher raw material and packaging costs. Our Africa and Asia business delivered organic growth of 27% in lager volumes for the year, reflecting particularly strong lager volume growth in China of 30% driven by our national brand, Snow. In Africa (excluding Zimbabwe), lager volumes grew by 7% for the full year, with Tanzania advancing 8%, helped by the launch of new packaging for Castle, and Mozambique up 10%, benefiting from wider distribution and a strong economy. Lager volumes declined a further 4% in Botswana which experienced difficult economic conditions. CSD growth in Africa (excluding Zimbabwe) was 23%, led by strong growth in Angola. In India, volumes increased by 36% on a pro forma basis, benefiting from market deregulation in certain states. Our joint ventures in Vietnam and Australia commenced operations in the fourth quarter of the financial year. In South Africa, lager volumes for the year increased by 2%, with fourth quarter growth in volumes of 8% benefiting from particularly favourable weather conditions. As noted in our statement of 13 March, SA Beverages is no longer brewing, marketing or distributing the Amstel brand in South Africa, but this has not had an impact in the current year. Soft drinks volumes grew by 7% for the full year, benefiting from an increase in volumes of 33% in the final quarter following an improvement in the supply of carbon dioxide to our plants. Ends Notes to editors: SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. The group's brands include premium international beers such as Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as an exceptional range of market leading local brands. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is also one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world. In the year ended 31 March 2006, the group reported US$15,307 million in revenue and profit before tax of $2,453 million. SABMiller plc is listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. This announcement is available on the company website: www.sabmiller.com High resolution images are available for the media to view and download free of charge from: www.newscast.co.uk or via the News and Media section at: www.sabmiller.com Enquiries: ----------------- ----------------------- ------------------ SABMiller plc Tel: +44 20 7659 0100 Sue Clark Director of Corporate Affairs Tel: +44 20 7659 0184 Gary Leibowitz Senior Vice President, Investor Tel: +44 20 7659 0174 Relations Nigel Fairbrass Head of Media Relations Tel: +44 7799 894265 This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire securities of SABMiller plc (the 'Company') or any of its affiliates in any jurisdiction or an inducement to enter into investment activity. This document includes 'forward-looking statements'. These statements may contain the words 'anticipate', 'believe', 'intend', 'estimate', 'expect' and words of similar meaning. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives relating to the Company's products and services) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company's present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Any information contained in this announcement on the price at which the Company's securities have been bought or sold in the past, or on the yield on such securities, should not be relied upon as a guide to future performance. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END TSTFGGMDRMRGNZM


text:
This just in from the scientific web journal The Bunsen Burner:
"A team of U.S. researchers say they have discovered a process by which to transmit upwards of 2.56 terabits of data per second using twisted beams of light.
Twisting light to send data at dramatically increased speeds may be used to build high-speed satellite communication links or be adapted for use in the fiber optic cables that are used by some Internet service providers. It may one day be commonplace to download data packages the equivalent of 70 DVDs in one second, say scientists, citing research that shows a new high-speed data transfer breaking records.
The technology has potential applications for high-speed satellite communication links, short free-space terrestrial links or could be adapted for use in the fiber optic cables used by some Internet service providers. Researchers noted that the test conducted resulted in data transfer speeds 85,000 times faster than broadband internet speeds, some of the fastest ever recorded.
The test was conducted by harnessing the power of light, which scientists manipulated in order to better facilitate the transfer of data. The present study saw a single beam of light carry 2.5 terabits per second carried over a distance of 1 meter, but the method could be adapted for long distance, say scientists."
Every day, we move one step further towards a totally streaming world.


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true self in mahayana is tathata (thusness or suchness)
The term Tathata in the Mahayana tradition is seen as representing the base reality and can be used to terminate the use of words. A 5th century Chinese Mahayana scripture entitled "The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana" describes the concept more fully: "In its very origin suchness is of itself endowed with sublime attributes. It manifests the highest wisdom which shines throughout the world, it has true knowledge and a mind resting simply in its own being. It is eternal, blissful, its own self-being and the purest simplicity; it is invigorating, immutable, free... Because it possesses all these attributes and is deprived of nothing, it is designated both as the Womb of Tathagata and the Dharma Body of Tathagata
Tathata as a central concept of Mahayana Buddhism, expresses the appreciation of reality within a unique moment. As no moment is exactly the same, each one can be savored for what occurs at that precise time. Tathata is often best revealed in the mundane, such as noticing the way the wind blows through a field of grass, or watching someone's face light up as they smile. Shakyamuni Buddha transmitted the awareness of Tathata directly to Mahakasyapa in what has come to be rendered in English as the Flower Sermon. As Molloy[1]states, "We know we are experiencing the 'thatness' of reality when we experience something and say to ourselves, 'Yes, that's it; that is the way things are.' In the moment, we recognize that reality is wondrously beautiful but also that its patterns are fragile and passing."
1^ Molloy, M. "Experiencing The World's Religions." page 130. Mayfield Publishing Co., 1999.
Within the Mahayana branch of Buddhism, there exists an important class of sutras (influential upon Ch'an and Zen Buddhism), generally known as Tathagatagarbha sutras ("Buddha-Matrix" or "Buddha-Embryo" sutras), a number of which affirm that, in contradistinction to the impermanent "mundane self" of the five "skandhas"(the physical and mental components of the mutable ego), there does exist an eternal True Self, which is in fact none other than the Buddha himself in his ultimate "Nirvanic" nature. This is the "true self" in the self of each being, the ideal personality, attainable by all beings due to their inborn potential for enlightenment. The "tathagatagarbha"/Buddha nature does not represent a substantial self (atman); rather, it is a positive language and expression of "sunyata" (emptiness) and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices; the intention of the teaching of 'tathagatagarbha'/Buddha nature is soteriological rather than theoretical.


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Joe Jonas Plans to Get Nick Wasted on His 21st Birthday [AUDIO]
Serial model and actress dater Joe Jonas celebrated his 24th b-day last week (Aug. 15) and he admitted that his birthdays have less impact now that he's getting older. With Father Time catching up to the hunk who dates hotties like it's his job, Joe Jo is more interested in helping his little brother Nick Jonas wet his whistle for his 21st birthday this year.
That's Sept. 16, all you calendar watchers.
"It's starting to get where it's not as exciting anymore you know?," the middle Jo Bro said about his big day. "And it's just kind of another year."
But as for his baby bro? "It's an interesting year. Nick is turning 21, so I've been focusing on his party planning and making sure that he is fully intoxicated," Joe said. Now that's what we call looking out! Even though Nick is diabetic, so that's probably a little more dangerous for him than for most.
While birthday No. 24 may be ho-hum for Joe, he did recall the debauchery of his 21st, saying, "I ended up on the bottom of a flight of stairs. I don't know how that happened. I spent it in a college town and we went with a bunch of our friends and there was a thing going around called 'icing' where you get Smirnoff Ice and someone has to secretly hand it to you and you get on one knee and you have to chug it … I can't go near a Smirnoff Ice anymore."
Hey, at least he has some good memories, right?
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