April 2008 Archives

Text messaging isn't just a convenient way to communicate--now it's an easy way to receive a daily dose of inspiration. The company I Live Inspired offers a daily text messaging service to people in need of all sorts of things, including tips to quit smoking, words of hope for healing, wisdom from the Dalai Lama and inspiration for green living. Soon the company will also be offering meditations from Mother Teresa. The company was founded by Rob Foster, a 28-year-old former cocaine addict from Virginia who came up with the concept after leaving rehab for the second time in 2006. Click here for a feature on him in Newsweek.

The second annual 31 cent Baskin-Robbins Scoop Night celebration is tonight (April 30) from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. You can buy up to 10 (2.5-ounce) scoops (of any ice cream flavor) per person for 31 cents each plus applicable tax. The company is partnering with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and donating $100,000 to the organization. For more information or to find the nearest store location, click here.

It's that time of year again -- Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day -- from noon to 8 p.m. today, which marks the 30th anniversary of the company's annual thank-you to its customers worldwide. Click here to find a participating scoop shop.

Last year, the ice-cream aficionado's paradise doled out more than 1 million free cones, to which Ben & Jerry's sweetly states: "For you to consume that many scoops, you'd have to eat more than 416 ice cream cones each hour for every day of your life if you lived to be 100!"

It is also introducing four delectable new flavors: Coconut Seven Layer Bar, Imagine Whirled Peace,
ONE Cheesecake Brownie (in a partnership with ONE.org to "make poverty history") and Cake Batter.

See you in line.

Coldplay will make the first single from their new album available as a free download to fans who visit the British band's Web site, according to The Associated Press.

"Violet Hill," the first single from "Viva La Vida," will be available from 7:15 a.m. Eastern Time today, one week before it goes on sale at digital retailers.

It will be available as a free download from Coldplay's Web site for one week, a statement said.

The Web site will also give preliminary details about free shows at London's Brixton Academy on June 16 and at New York's Madison Square Garden on June 23.

Coldplay also announced Monday that the UK release of their new album has been moved up four days to June 12. That's the same day the album will be released in much of the world.

The 10-track album is produced by Brian Eno, who created ground-breaking music with David Bowie in the 1970s and has also worked with U2.

Coldplay's move follows the success of fellow British group Radiohead who invited fans to set their own price on its album "In Rainbows" when it was released online last October.

According to one survey, three in five people paid nothing at all. Unfortunately, the Radiohead album is no longer available for download, according to its "In Rainbows" Web site.

You’ve finally spotted the best price for a fill up, but as you pull the trigger on the nozzle you see that pump is showing 60 cents and you know no fuel has flowed into your car yet.
Is this some kind of bait and switch by the dealer or part of a massive oil industry conspiracy aimed to get the last dollar out of your wallet?
Probably not. Gas pumps do break down and modern electronic pumps aren’t as easy to gimmick as the mechanical pumps of past.
Still you can register a complaint about the accuracy of gas station pumps with the county and the state.
Consumers can register a complaint about the accuracy of Los Angeles County gas station pumps at the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner/Weights & Measures Web site. Click on and then on "Gasoline Consumer Complaint Form."
The California Department of Food and Agriculture oversees consumer complaints about petroleum products and distributors. Go to State Web; click on the complaints tab.

On April 18, 1945, Ernie Pyle, who, many say, spoke for the World War II American soldier, was killed in a ambush on a Pacific island. In his Breeze column today, John Bogert calls Pyle America's only true literary columnist. Some of the Pyle columns, which offer a glimpse of the ordeals of war faced by combatants and which ring true 63 years after his death, can found at the Web site of his alma mater, Indiana University.

Today is Pinhole Day, so what better time to check out some fascinating photos from around the world, all — you guessed it — taken by a pinhole camera. A site devoted to worldwide Pinhole Day explains the early form of photography in which even a watermelon can be used to capture an image. The site also includes directions to make your own pinhole camera. Now you just have to get a watermelon.

The Aesthetic is back up and running with its new design. I stopped checking for so long that I missed its comeback on April 11. This week, it's got a new nickname for San Pedro, and an old, slightly mixed-up view of theboundaries of the South Bay.

Westchester Parents blog on the latest machinations of the iDivision battle. Looks like two elementary schools are out.

Cap'n Bob is outraged at Time Magazine's Earth Day cover and calls for a decirculation drive and a boycott of Time-Warner cable. Go see why.

Fran at RedondoWriter did an interesting photo journal of the world around her on Earth Day.

Easy Fiend posts a blast from the past: Ansurfing.

Verna & Bob were the victims of vandals.

RELATED POSTS:
Meet L.A. Farm Girl
Last week's roundup

Somehow, this city girl caught a farming bug that has become her life's passion. Torrance native Judi Gerber's love of local agriculture has sprouted two blogs where she writes about the virtues of growing your own produce and organic farming and lists a treasure trove of resources for the South Bay gardener.

On L.A. Farm Girl, she lists local farms and farmers markets, and writes about the local agriculture industry.

On The Giving Gardener, Judi is trying to establish a network of local backyard gardeners who would share their extra bounty with charity groups. But she also has a very complete list of South Bay gardening events, local gardens and clubs, educational resources and garden catalogs and nurseries.

As if that weren't enough resource material to keep a gardening fiend going, she answered our questions about the best source in the South Bay to get supplies and plants, and gave her opinion on what we should be growing and what to do with all the tomatoes we're about to be overrun with. And she even told us how to get fresh milk delivered to the door, just like in the good old days.

Here's her bio:

Judi Gerber is an agriculture and garden writer who is a Torrance native. She regularly writes about California farming and organic gardening for various publications including California Tour and Travel, California Farmer, and Organic Producer magazines, and the West's agriculture weekly, Capital Press. She has a monthly garden column that appears in the Palos Verdes Peninsula News and is the author of the upcoming book Farming in Torrance and the South Bay by Arcadia Publishing to be published in September 2008.

She received a bachelor's degree from UC Santa Cruz, and a Master's Of Public Administration from Cal. State Long Beach, and is a University of California Master Gardener and has a certificate in Horticultural Therapy. She has been actively involved as a volunteer at the Torrance Farmers' Market, leads a Senior Gardening Program at the Bartlett Senior Center, and is currently a Library Commissioner for the City of Torrance.

Oh, GR8.

A study released this week has found that the abbreviations and symbols teens use when texting are now infiltrating their schoolwork.

A telephone poll of 700 youths ages 12 to 17 and their parents found that 74 percent of the teens admitted to using the shorthand (including emoticons) in school assignments.

Perhaps we shouldn’t encourage it, but to help you help your teens move in and out of formal and informal language, we’ve tracked down some online resources to help build your texting vocabulary.

Lingo2Word includes a searchable dictionary, as well as a translator that goes from plain English to text English and back. And at Net Lingo, you’ll find a long list of chat acronyms and shorthand.

Plus, a family that texts together just might stay in touch better. A story published in our Know section earlier this week highlighted the growing use of texting to keep families close as children spread their wings.

Not sure what the movers and shakers of Hawthorne look like?
Or maybe you're looking for photos from the Hawthorne Holiday Parade or Halloween carnival?
Then the Hawthorne Photo Page is just where you want to go.
The city posts photos from its events online. So, if you want to make sure grandma has a photo of little Johnnie in his Scouting uniform or his Halloween costume or if you want to be sure you know exactly what Mayor Larry Guidi looks like, check out this site.
You can drag the thumbnails into a photo program and make copies of the images.
The thumbnail pictures are fuzzy, but when you click on them you'll get a very large, if occasionally slow to load, image.
The Hawthorne Web site, also offers historical photos from the pioneer era of Hawthorne's history.

“In today’s complex financial markets, financial education is central to helping consumers make better decisions for themselves and their families,” says Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve. But who knew that financial education about a system that has been so much in the news lately could come with some fun approaches for adults and those budding young bankers and economists at home?
When you go to this Federal Reserve educational site, you’ll find a wealth of material on the structure and history of the Fed system, along with information on U.S. monetary policy, banking supervision and personal finance.
You’ll find the usual FAQs, plus a glossary, quizzes, games and a video on “The Fed Today.”
If you wonder what happens to that check you write, or how a dollar bill makes the rounds, you’ll find multimedia answers here. Interactive games such as “Fed Clue” tests what you’ve learned on the site by sending you on a mission. You’ll also be able to connect with “In Plain English: Making Sense of the Federal Reserve,” an online tour with a guide named, naturally enough, “Buck.

Torrance residents heading out on vacation may want to swing by the City of Torrance Web site first, where they can request that police keep an extra eye on things while they're away.

Besides the usual contact information, the vacation security check form asks such things as whether you plan to leave lights on, who is authorized to be there while you are gone (gardeners, maids, pool people, etc.), and whether cars will be parked in the driveway.

The police department makes no guarantee that vacation checks will be done daily, and it does not assume any liability for loss or damage to your property during your vacation if you do fill out the form.

While at the site, safety-conscious residents might also want to check out other entries on the Crimes, Trends & Prevention page, including one on why there is a rash of catalytic converter thefts and steps you can take to reduce the chances yours will be stolen, another on how to tell if a solicitor is genuine or a possible thief casing your house, and suggestions for preventing identity theft.

Four children die each day as a result of child abuse, and Richstone Family Center, a Hawthorne nonprofit that offers programs throughout the South Bay, wants to help.

Spend an hour on Saturday, April 26th making a difference by participating in the 21st Annual Richstone Pier-to-Pier Walkathon . The event begins at the Manhattan Beach Pier, and participants will walk to the Redondo Beach Pier and back. (Don't worry, it's only 3.4 miles).

After the event is done, there are awards and entertainment, and along with your $25 donation, you'll receive a free T-shirt. Here is the form to fill out if you want to participate, or if you aren't a big walker, you can simply make a donation.

Did you know that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is not a cathedral, but a shrine? Just what makes a church a cathedral, anyway? Find out the answers, plus beautiful photographs and drawings and detailed histories of California's cathedrals at the blogging project by author and Roman Catholic deacon Eric Stoltz and Los Angeles photographer Francesco Curá, "Cathedrals of California." The duo set out to document the state's 36 identified cathedrals in a "virtual pilgrimage," and the blog so far contains entries on 25 of them. These include the largest and the oldest Roman Catholic cathedrals in the U.S., both of which are located in California. The site also provides maps, trivia and a list of former cathedrals and "almost cathedrals."

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation unveiled its redesigned Web site last week, giving real-time information on parking and traffic, according to news services.

The site also includes information on city parking lots, bus routes, maps and new releases. It is updated every 60 seconds.

How well do you know your South Bay city? Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Lawndale and their neighbors have varying resources and ambience. Probably few residents know that much of that springs from their diverse histories, going back to the days of the Ranchos.

The Web site for the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, www.southbaycities.org, offers a historical summary beginning in 1858, the date of the founding of Wilmington.

A resource of the area's council of governments, the site also provides information on local planning and regional issues, industry clusters and unincorporated areas, as well as local Chambers of Commerce and points of interest. It also offers South Bay Watch newsletter, last updated April 14.

MB Confidential doesn't like the new banners in Manhattan Beach designed to promote the dignified new name of the "El Porto" area:

Second, the logo features a surfer. That's very kind, but that surfer is also the epitome of "El Porto," the name they're wiping out. This new business district of "North Manhattan Beach" is all about spas and sushi and handbags and Bora Bora and the (upcoming) North Manhattan Lounge. You didn't need to rename El Porto to invoke its surf-spot heritage - in fact, it's kind of rude and ironic to do so.

Cap'n Bob posted a photo of a vintage military plane seen flying over the South Bay Friday. His wikipedia research says the planes are popular with private collectors now.

(Military planes remind me to add a note that we're hard at work planning this year's Armed Forces Day Parade special section. If anyone out there has any great ideas about what they would like to see in it, drop me a note.)

On their other blog, Verna and Bob found some Europeanlike architecture in Wilmington and took some photos.

Speaking of photos, MaryRuth at Where's the Bubbler has photographic evidence of the gash left on her hubby's head by a tree that got in the way of squirrel hunting.

And finally, Easy Fiend's disgusting quest for a good haircut in the South Bay:

Ives continued eating his sandwich as he started cutting, but that just added to the fun. Then he choked and barfed up some of the sandwich into his hand. He excused himself and went into the back room.

After a beat, he came back out. Presumably, he'd washed his hands. He went back to babbling about his extensive collection of Rolling Stones tour jackets. "Keith likes the jackets designed with lots of inside pockets because -- HAAAARK!!"

He barfed again. This time, the milk came up. Lots of it. Fortunately, he caught most of it with his hands. He went to the back again. I thought about doing a runner, but at this point he had shaved half my head and I'm just vain enough to be bothered by running down the street like that. He came back, mumbling something about a turkey bone stuck in his throat and washed his hands in the sink in front of me.

I'm not sure if you caught that, but that means he probably didn't even have a sink in the back, so he had been touching my head all that time with barfy hands. I was pretty grossed out, but I toughed it out anyway because again with the vanity. That night, I bought a trimmer on Amazon for $20 and notified Sandie of her new spousal duty.

RELATED POSTS:
Q&A with Easy Fiend blogger Denis Faye
Q&A with MaryRuth at Where's the Bubbler?
Q&A with Cap'n Bob

Want more information about what Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn is doing these days? Hahn, who represents the Harbor Area, including San Pedro, Wilmington and the Harbor Gateway, blogs from her city-based site at http://janicehahn.net/

She posts news about Harbor Area news ranging from gang violence to Port of Los Angeles news to politics. From recent posts:

Politics: "I am so honored to be a delegate for the woman who will be our country's first female President! Last Sunday I attended a caucus where Hillary Clinton supporters in CD 36 gathered to select four delegates (one is an alternate) to attend the convention in Denver and vote for Hillary to be our nominee."

Gangs: "The only way we will ever win the war on gangs if by finally providing our young people with real alternatives to joining gangs. I look forward to hearing everybody's thoughts!"

A worthwhile site for those interested in the Harbor Area. But she needs to ease off the exclamation points.

What was San Pedro's bustling fishing industry like in the 1950s? What was it like to pilot a tugboat through the Port of Los Angeles?

A compilation of oral histories has been compiled in celebration of the Port's centennial. The interviews, which last a couple of minutes each, cover a range of topics about the Port, the industry and the neighborhoods surrounding it.

Among the more interesting accounts are Tony DiBernardo talking about "adjustment classes" once offered at local schools to help immigrants learn English and William Gravett discussing the desegregation of the docks in the 1960s.

Former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and City Councilwoman Janice Hahn are among the interviewees.

RELATED POSTS:
California's Dust Bowl History
History of Chinese in America

Global positioning technology has come a long way. Prices have come way down and the technology has become more versatile than a high-tech replacement for the Thomas Guide.

Zoombak is marketing itself as a GPS device to help track lost pets. The $200 unit weighs less than 3 ounces and can be attached to a dog's or cat's collar, and the canine or feline can be tracked on the web, via Zoombak's customer service line or through text messaging on a cell phone.

Zoombak also has a unit available for GPS's most customary use, vehicle navigation and tracking. The $250 unit can be fixed inside a vehicle and portable, and can be used to track a vehicle's location and notify subscribers when it enters or leaves a user-defined "safety zone." The GPS device is promoted as a great way for parents to monitor teenagers' driving habits.

The low price and interface has attracted the attention of Martha Stewart and techno-geek sites such as Engadget and Slashdot. Early adopters have taken advantage of the compact size and cost to track other valuables besides pets and cars: An art collector places Zoombaks on expensive pieces, and a pharmaceutical uses the devices to track inventory.

Zoombak is not without its flaws. The $200-$250 price tag is for the physical unit; customers must still pay a monthly service fee to maintain coverage. Real-time cell phone tracking is not yet available. Also, the GPS technology is not yet advanced enough to receive a strong signal while indoors. This is less of a concern for vehicles, but the gadget might not work if a dog or cat happens to be inside a building.

Still, Zoombak would be a useful gadget to have for your lovable four-legged friend. Plus, the cellular-based coverage for the service shows signals to be robust throughout all but the mountainous areas of Southern California. And for other helpful products, information or pet-related chatter, visit the Daily Breeze's South Bay Pets blog and South Bay Pet Talk, which appears online and in the Breeze print edition every Tuesday.

Thanks to the new PluggedIn Web site, you can say goodbye to waiting endlessly for music videos to load on your computer, only to end up with herky-jerky, out-of-synch images on a tiny playing screen for your trouble.
Universal, EMI and Sony BMG have collaborated on this new free state-of-the-art site that gives all those videos MTV used to show a new place to live. And they live on in style, with excellent sound and high-definition picture. Videos load fully when you select them -- no more frustrating buffering waits. (You will need to download the site's player, which doesn't take long.)
You can opt for a full-screen picture, skip to anywhere in the video, compile playlists and favorites, have the site recommend other artists for you based on your tastes, and bond with others online who are as smitten with Rhianna as you are.
Right now, PluggedIn leans heavily on major-label artists, but hopes to add more independent labels to its current roster of Sugar Hill, Vanguard and Doghouse. Each artist page contains background information, photos, links to purchase the music from Amazon.com or iTunes and even quick links to more videos by the artists on YouTube. Even with all the bells and whistles, the high-quality picture and sound are the site's most impressive features.

A British digital radio station that only broadcasts bird sounds from a country garden as a placeholder until it can get a commercial station to fill the spot on the dial has become an unlikely hit with listeners. But despite the fact that the recording was designed to be soothing, the station's devotees are staging a battle to keep the chirps on the air, the according to the Telegraph.

The recording was made by Quentin Howard, chairman of DigitalOne, who taped birds in his Wiltshire garden in 1991 for the sound effects of an amateur dramatics play.

"At the time I thought it was just the sound of an ordinary garden on the edge of Salisbury Plain but now it has become famous and part of radio folklore," he said.

"It has become the soundscape to people's lives. I am very proud of that." Birdsong was first heard as a filler on Classic FM's frequency in the run-up to its launch 15 years ago and was a huge hit.

But despite its popularity, Mr Howard warned the station could not work as a commercial venture. "It is not designed to make money as it has to run uninterrupted," he said.

However, the listeners who love Birdsong are not about to give up without a fight. Two campaign groups have been set up on Facebook, the social networking website, with one group trying to raise £1 million from an "eccentric millionaire" to keep the station going.

You can hear what all the flap is about on the station's Web site.

On the off chance that you get hooked on the birdsong and the station pulls the plug, we've compiled some backups.

The Sound Sculptures Web site broadens your choices with variety of calming background sounds for your computer, including falling rain, waterfalls, ocean waves and wind chimes:

iSerenity takes soundscapes a step further. Its ambient loops come with slide shows, and, in addition to the expected babbling brooks and nature sounds, you can select vacuum cleaner noise, a ticking clock, and even old-school typewriter typing -- with and without carriage returns!

Talk about eco-friendly. The Santa Monica Pier's amusement park is recycling its Ferris wheel by putting it up for auction on eBay.
Opening bid starts at $50,000, which would be a steal, considering it originally cost $800,000, according to a promotional flier. Of course, the buyer will also have to spring for a base to support the thing, which will run about $135,000 from the manucaturer. And then there are shipping costs to consider for the 122,000-pound wheel. But Santa Monica to Hermosa is less than 20 miles, so how expensive could that be?

Last we checked, there were no bids, but Ferris wheel shoppers have until April 25 to make their move. Half of the winning bid will be donated to Special Olympics Southern California.

Here are some fun facts from City News Service:

• The Pacific Wheel, which originally cost $800,000, was installed at the pier’s Pacific Park amusement park in 1996. It was upgraded two years later to become the world’s first solar-powered Ferris wheel.


• Standing 90 feet tall and carrying riders 130 feet above the ocean, the wheel has had more than 3 million rides over the past 12 years, park officials said.


• People who have never ridden the wheel have likely seen it. According to Pacific Park, the Pacific Wheel has been in 105 photo shoots, 71 television commercials, 69 television shows, 28 feature films and 13 music videos.


• At night, the wheel is illuminated by 5,392 light bulbs.


• The wheel will be replaced with a $1.5 million, more contemporary Ferris wheel next month. Installation is expected to begin May 5, with a grand- opening ceremony set for May 22.

If a full-size Ferris wheel is a little out of your price range, ebay also has a Fisher-Price version, complete with 24 critters to ride it. Opening bid: 1 cent.

For the rare chance to see the Erythrina lysistemon, also known as the Common Coral Tree, in bloom, head to the South Coast Botanic Garden, on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The group’s Web site gives more information about the decorative tree, such as the fact that the trees used be planted on the graves of Zulu chiefs because of the spectacular color of its flowers. You can also find out information about the garden’s location, membership program and special events.

For last-minute income-tax filers: Two Postal Service locations will collect mail for postmarking until midnight tonight. Those locations are the Long Beach Processing Center at 2300 Redondo Ave., Long Beach, and the Airport Station Los Angeles Post Office at 9029 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, near Los Angeles International Airport. For frequently asked questions regarding mailing your return, a postage calculator and a tax checklist, go here. Or, to find the post office nearest you, check out the USPS locator.

Are you a Scrabble addict? Using the site www.scrabulous.com/ you can play an online game and connect with friends—even if they are miles away. Sign up on the site, invite friends to play, and have fun, without having to keep track of pieces, or clean up when you’re done. And, since the game is online, it’s much easier to get help. Type in your tiles here and the site will tell you all of the different word combinations you can use. Yeah, it’s sort of cheating, but if you’re really in a pinch, or you’re just trailing in points, it can prove useful.

Scientists are making use of sensors found in many laptops to create a network that can detect earthquakes.

According to a recent story in Infoworld, Elizabeth Cochran, a seismologist and assistant professor at the department of earth sciences at the University of California, Irvine, along with other scientists, is working on the Quake Catcher Network (QCN), a project that harnesses seismic data from sensors on Internet-connected laptops in different locations to help capture earthquakes. When the laptop isn't being used, special software on laptops collects sensor data, which along with the laptop's location, is sent over the Internet to an earthquake data repository where the data is analyzed.

Amassing sensor data from thousands of Internet-connected laptops could determine an earthquake's intensity and its exact location, which could be helpful for first responders in relief efforts.

If you want to get involved, visit the Quake Catcher Network.

RELATED POSTS:
Help scientists look for signs of global warming in the South Bay
Earthquake watch and tsunami warnings

With the Grand Prix going on in Long Beach this week, there's been a lot more talk about this new form of, well, hmmm, how exactly do you describe drifting? Our friend and car guy explains it as an impressive display of car control but a complete waste of good tires. Visit this website to get a rundown of what drifting is and how you do it. The page contains a video of Keichii Tsuchiya, who our car guy friend describes as the Drift King of Japan.

As April is School Library Media Month, and Monday kicks off National Library Week, here are seven tips and events to help you share the week’s theme: “Join the circle of knowledge @ your library.”

1) Actess Julie Andrews is honorary chair and patron of this year’s event. Public service videos by the “Sound of Music” songstress can help you climb every mountain that stands in your way.

2) Redondo Beach Main Library at 303 North Pacific Coast Hwy celebrates National Library Week all week with a series of events that includes Musical Monday at 10:30 a.m., a talk on the environment and global warning by Linda Groff of the Political Science and Economics Department, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and Rudy’s Radical Magical Science Show at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

3) National Library Workers Day is honored every Tuesday of Library Week. It’s a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. Drop in today and give your thanks to the hard-working, dedicated staff at your local library.

4) North Torrance branch library at 3604 West Artesia Boulevard Wednesday hosts guide dog puppies being raised to become Guide Dogs. You can also find out how your family can be volunteer “puppy raisers,” too, at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

2) Henderson Branch of the City of Torrance Libraries at 4805 Emerald St will celebrate National Library Week Thursday at 4 p.m. with the Library Fairy, who will perform stories from rich, diverse cultures and corners of the world. The children will get a chance to perform in the Story Theater with crazy and fun costumes.

6) Join the campaign for your local library at the National Library Association.

7) First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support.

RELATED POST:
South Bay book groups

A recent report from NBC's "Today Show" this week has people scrambling to check their water bottles and plastic containers because of concerns that a harmful chemical, bisphenol A, or BPA, may leach into your water or food if the plastic is exposed to heat (via microwave or dishwasher) or excessive wear (causing cracking, peels and chips). Studies have shown that BPA is linked to fertility problems, and behavioral issues among children. A final government study will be released in a few weeks.

How do you know what bottle the chemical is in? The key is to turn it over. Inside the triangular recycling symbol is a number from 1 to 7. If it has a number 1 on it, that means use it once. Then, throw it away in a recycling bin. A 2, 4 or 5 is fine to keep refilling until you see wear or cracking, then discard. But the numbers 3, 6 and 7 pose the most danger, including cancer risks.

On the "Today Show," Dr. Nancy Snyderman said, "The reality of it is that nobody knows. There's been no long-term studies. After you repeatedly beat-up plastic and hurt the integrity of the outside, do chemicals leach out into your food and water? Common sense would say, probably yes."

Check out video of the "Today Show" report for yourself.

You can also go to the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy Web site for details about the numbers on the plastic bottles. Read up on recent news reports about the bisphenol A controversy.

Indie folk-rocker Devendra Banhart has been spotted frequently over the past two days with actress and Harvard student Natalie Portman, stirring rumors. Music blogger Brooklyn Vegan offers proof that where there's twin double-breasted pea coats, there's love. The pair already appeared together in Banhart's new music video, Carmensita, shot last weekend in Los Angeles, and Portman helped the musician get his single "There's Always Something Happening" on iTunes.

Celebrities Jason Reitman, Lauren Conrad, Dierks Bentley and Kevin Smith will begin blogging about a subject they are all passionate about: Hockey.
Beginning Wednesday, more than a dozen celebs will follow their favorite teams through the Stanley Cup playoffs, said NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur.
“As NHL.com bloggers, they can be irreverent and candid about their love for the NHL,” she told The Associated Press.
A native Canadian who grew up in Los Angeles, Reitman, 30, became a hockey fan seven years ago. Since then, the Oscar-nominated director (“Juno”) has dedicated himself to the cause, directing commercials for the NHL and serving on its entertainment advisory board.
“I’d come to really love the game, and I was just a little upset because I felt there was more of an opportunity for particularly Americans to know about the game and follow the game,” he said.
Reitman told the league to call him if he could be of any help and they asked him to blog. Read it here.
You can also follow along with the Kings here.

I discovered Easy Fiend through our courts reporter, Denise Nix. While checking back links to Denise's blog, I found one from the site. And so, I read it and I laughed. But not so much in a "funny ha-ha" way as a "funny, I-can't-believe-he-told-that," way. This guy has no internal filter.

The next day, I asked Denise about the blog. Turns out it's written by her friend Denis Faye, whom she met while her son was in preschool with his daughter. I asked her if she thought we should include him in our hub of South Bay blogs.

"I think he'd probably love that," Denise said. "But, um, have you read the stuff in the archives? He uses some language. And some of it made me blush." This is coming from a woman whose editors cringe when she covers a particularly heinous case because she writes with such lurid detail that very few people will want to read the stories with their morning lattes.

So I said, "Yeah, I wouldn't put it in the family paper, but this is a blog. That's what blogs are for."

So here you go, an introduction to Denis Faye and his blog full of writerly angst, South Bay oddballs and '80s coming of age stories. And kids, if you're not old enough to go to a PG-13 movie, you're not old enough to read his blog.

Here's the bio he sent me:

Denis Faye is a screenwriter and journalist who has lived in Redondo Beach for 5 years with his wife and daughter. He has written for The New York Times, Outside, Wired, Mens Journal, LA Times, Surfer, Los Angeles Magazine, Communication Arts, Written By and the WGA Web site. His script High Midnight is currently optioned to Treasure Entertainment with Mary Lambert attached to direct. A dual citizen of France and the United States, he received a Bachelors Degree in Film Studies from UCSB. He's an avid surfer and comic book fan.

Read on for the Q&A, in which Denis reveals he's not John Cusack.

If you’ve ever had a desire to design your own movie poster, or are just looking for a fun way to kill time, you should check out this site.The Web site allows you to choose from a wide range of scenes, super heroes, villains and fonts. And, once you’re finished with your creation, you can send it to a friend, or save it to pull up another time.

Improv Everywhere recently made a big splash at a Hermosa Beach Little League game. Their website features the details that unfolded slowly throughout the game.
First, the fans came cheering for their favorite Mudcats or Lugnuts.
Then the peanut vendors came.
Then came the jumbotron. Yup, the jumbotron complete NBC Sports and legendary sportscaster Jim Gray.
The final touch? The Goodyear blimp.
Just who is Improv Everywhere? Check the Web site to find out.

Before there was “60 Minutes” there was “The Mike Wallace Interview.” A black and white half-hour exchange of minds featuring the then 40-year-old inquisitor interviewing cultural icons of the time such as Henry Kissinger, Salvador Dali and Kirk Douglas.
But whether alive or dead, familiar to the contemporary viewer or unknown, a high percentage of Wallace’s interview subjects shed light on the world they inhabited and, even from that distance, they can shed light on our world, too.
These historical videos have been put online by the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and were donated by Wallace himself in the early 1960s.
They capture the essential Mike Wallace everyone would later come to know. They’re a time capsule unearthed from a pivotal moment.
They’re also a very entertaining treasury.
Go to the home page for “The Mike Wallace Interviews,” and — with no muss or fuss, no sign-in required or ads to slog through — scroll down the litany of personalities.

Starting today, Starbucks will introduce the much anticipated Pike Place Roast, named after the original Starbucks location at Pike Place market in Seattle. Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo of Starbucks says, “Since 1971, we have sourced, roasted and sold the world's finest coffees. Pike Place Roast truly represents the best of who we are, showcasing our new quality standards for freshness – freshly roasted, hand-scooped, freshly ground and brewed with shorter hold times. Pike Place Roast takes us one step closer to achieving our goal of transforming the in-store experience by restoring the connection our customers have with our coffee.”
To celebrate the new blend, Starbucks will give complimentary short (8 oz.) to customers who come in today at 9 a.m.
For more on the Pike Place Roast click here or go to the Starbucks website.