Penyakit Bahaya

When she opens the kitchen cabinets, memories spill forth

Written By kolimtiga on Sabtu, 31 Januari 2015 | 12.57

It's the end of January, and I've already broken or never picked up most of my New Year's resolutions. There is one, though, that I'm actually kind of enjoying. I was giving the kitchen a bit more than the usual once-over at the beginning of the year, giving the painted cupboards a rubdown with beeswax and making a halfhearted effort to organize the contents when it just came to me: I promised myself I'd either use the neglected kitchen tools and equipment I've collected over the years by this time next year — or give them away.

When I first got into cooking in my 20s, I'd haunt the kitchen stores wherever I traveled and carry home some treasure or other — a yellow ceramic mortar and pestle splashed with green, a cataplana (the hinged copper vessel the Portuguese use to steam shellfish), a hand-carved wooden corzetti stamp for pasta. At home, I picked up some fantastic finds at garage sales and flea markets. I patrolled the shelves of Williams-Sonoma in the days when it was great. I must have melon ballers in every shape and size ever made. Whenever I got an extra freelance check, I'd spend it on pots and pans and specialized tools.

I have a lot of cookware stuffed into a very small kitchen (at least by today's standards) — all useful, but not all used.

And so this year I resolved to get rid of redundant pots and pans, keeping only what's most useful and/or beautiful. I plan on retiring, at least, the giant, restaurant-sized All-Clad aluminum pots I bought at an irresistibly deep discount at least 20 years ago and break out only when I'm cooking for a huge crowd. Which isn't often.

Some things I don't use are just too beautiful to discard. I'm not giving up the gorgeous hand-hammered copper couscousière that, sadly, gets put to use only about once a year, or the cheerful blue his-and-hers Le Creuset moules pots for steamed mussels I once received as a gift. Or the giant white-glazed clay donabe steamer that sits proudly on a shelf, made by the Nagatani family of Japan, who have been making donabe from the special clay of their region for more than six generations.

So maybe I won't be giving away all that much stuff. But I will make the resolution to use the treasures I've stuffed into my very small kitchen.

It's funny how coming across the zigzagged pastry cutter that the late Lidia Alciati of Guido restaurant in Italy's Piedmont gave me inspires me to make tajarin or agnolotti again. And look, here's that metal blade with a wooden handle that I used to use to scrape away the flour and dough from the countertop when I made bread all the time. Here's the crooked wooden spoon a friend brought me from Pátzcuaro, Mexico, perfect for stirring a pot of beans. These tools bring back memories of friends and rollicking late-night dinners.

I admit I have too many coffee makers (not one of them electric). There's all my stove-top espresso pots with names like Principessa or Conehead. There's the Japanese glass siphon brewer that makes fabulous coffee but that I hardly ever use. It's a piece of theater for a dinner party — except, by the time my dinner parties end close to midnight, nobody wants coffee and I just don't stock decaf beans on principle. But here's a solution: I'll break that particular coffee performance out at brunch or lunch.

And that hand-cranked tomato press? I see a brilliant tomato season coming on: I'll keep it.

I haven't even been through all the drawers and cupboards yet. But just writing this list has shaken me out of habits, and my daydreams are filled with couscous, blinis, rustic terrines and even coddled eggs.

Irene.virbila@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter at @sirenevirbila

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Hoping for a breakout hit with 'Better Call Saul'

Just over 10 million viewers witnessed the demise of Walter White on the final episode of "Breaking Bad." It was a triumph for creator Vince Gilligan, who was given a free hand by network AMC to tell the Mr. Chips to Scarface story he envisioned.

AMC's president and general manger, Charlie Collier, was pleased as well. The patience he showed with the highly praised but slow-starting series paid off. But how do you capitalize on those accolades (and late-to-the-game rabid fans) after you've ended the show and killed off the main character at the height of its popularity?

Collier, Gilligan and Peter Gould, the writer-producer who came up with the morally suspect criminal lawyer Saul Goodman, recently sat down to talk about how the strong relationship they developed during the "Breaking Bad" run led to the making of the beloved series' spinoff, "Better Call Saul," which premieres Feb. 8.

Here are excerpts of their conversation.

Bob Odenkirk's character, Saul Goodman, is what TV people used to describe as a breakout character. But he wasn't even conceived until the second season of "Breaking Bad." Was there a reason behind bringing him in?

Gilligan: We felt we needed to leaven "Breaking Bad" with a bit more humor. That was always a concern of mine, going back to the earliest days, because I'd seen some very fine TV shows that were very good but were very dark and failed to get traction with audiences because there was no humor.

Gould: If you remember, Hank [Dean Norris] was really the comic relief in Season 1. We thought we were going to have a season about Tuco. And it turned out, we couldn't because the actor [Raymond Cruz] was on another show, "The Closer." So we had to kill him in Episode 2. We put Hank behind the gun to kill Tuco, and that changed Hank. He was no longer funny. Walt and Jesse [Aaron Paul] didn't have Tuco to guide them through the world of meth. It didn't seem realistic to us that these guys would be able to create this business on their own.

Gilligan: We needed a consigliere.

Gould: I will say that [the episode introducing Saul Goodman] was the most difficult "Breaking Bad" for me to write. It's Season 2. The show is a heavy drama. And we have this character — it was even crazier when we pitched it [to AMC].

Gilligan: I was questioning everything we were doing. I was not always sure. Saul was the breakout character, because here we are talking about his spinoff. It seems to me there were a great many characters we could make a spinoff about. Jesse. Hank. Gus Fring [Giancarlo Esposito].

Collier: Each night of the week we should have a spinoff.

Charlie, did you get nervous when you heard "Better Call Saul" would be a prequel?

Collier: If they had said, "You know, I want to do — fill in the blank — a musical with puppets," I would have said, "Well, all right, let's look into how to do that." "Better Call Saul" was pitched first to us as a comedy. Then it was a drama. And then "maybe it will be a funny hour." We were going along for the ride.

Gilligan: We even talked about making it as a half-hour.

But doesn't the prequel format take a lot of the jeopardy out of it?

Gilligan: You know he's not going to be killed. You're right. Even furthermore, no, he's not going to lose an eye, or a leg.

Collier: Oh, my gosh. Maybe we should reconsider. [Laughs.] Look, they've found a character in Jimmy McGill [The real name of Saul Goodman's character]. And we all know he's going to transform. And you're putting him in the hands of the people who, with Walter White, led one of the finest stories of human transformation you've ever seen. So if you're in my chair, you bet on that every time. We've had our greatest success as a supporter of creative people that have a vision to do things that are unconventional.

There will be some good will from the audience that loved "Breaking Bad," right?

Gilligan: That's a knife that can cut both ways. Because people can look at this and say, "This is not 'Breaking Bad.'" These are the little anxieties I battle at 3 in the morning.

Is there anything from the "Breaking Bad" experience that you were able to apply to this show?

Collier: Bet on creative talent and nurture them as if they are what they are — the center of your universe. I get asked that a lot — typically from an angle which is "you have something great — don't screw it up." Because everyone covets "Breaking Bad" so badly. I know it's pressure. But it's also pressure to us. We want it to have [a long run], but we want it to be totally original.

Vince and Peter — it looks like you have a lot of latitude in the first two episodes of "Better Call Saul." The characters are conflicted. It takes time to know who they are. It feels like a gritty film from the 1970s.

Gilligan: I think you are right.

Gould: We really couldn't do that under other circumstances. We're so fortunate. It's like winning the creative lottery.

Vince — what's the biggest fight you ever had with Charlie?

Collier: It was the slit throat in the "Box Cutter" episode of "Breaking Bad."

Gilligan: Yeah. Fring slit the throat of one of his henchmen. It was extraordinarily realistic and therefore extraordinarily upsetting and gory. And the broadcast standards note was to cut a second and a half. I got on the phone to Charlie.

Collier: I missed a plane over that note.

Gilligan: I was sort of the offended artist on the phone call. But the truth is, we did cut the second and a half, and when I watch it now, I think it's probably a little too long even as it is. No art was destroyed.

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Super Bowl Sunday dip and chili recipes that score

Theoretically, you can serve almost anything on Super Bowl Sunday. We once even ran a story proposing a game-day wine tasting with selected charcuterie. But let's face it, that's probably not going to happen at our houses.

What you really need for Super Bowl Sunday is two great dishes: a dip and a chili. Stock a bucket full of chips and make sure there are sweets for afterward, and you've got all you need for an afternoon of football.

We've got tons of dips and chilis in our California Cookbook, but here are two favorites. The spinach-bacon dip updates an old favorite just enough to seem fresh, but it's still just as cheesy as ever. And the turkey chili from Gelson's grocery store is one of our most downloaded recipes.

The menu might be as traditional as the single-wing, but it will still get the job done.

Recipe: Gelson's turkey chili

Serves 8

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 pound ground turkey

1 small bay leaf

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes in purée

1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, not drained

1 1/2 cups tomato puree

1 cup chicken broth, more as needed

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1. In a medium, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Stir in the turkey and cook until the turkey is browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Stir in the bay leaf, chili powder, crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes to marry the flavors. Stir in the diced tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato purée and 1 cup chicken broth. Add the vinegar and Tabasco sauce. Cover loosely and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.

3. Continue to cook for 30 to 40 minutes to develop the flavors, adjusting the consistency of the chili if needed with additional broth. Taste, adjusting the spices and seasonings if desired. Remove from heat and chill if not using immediately; reheat before serving. The flavors will continue to develop and mature as the chili sits. This makes about 2 quarts chili, which will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week.

EACH SERVING

Calories 194

Protein 16 grams

Carbohydrates 19 grams

Fiber 6 grams

Fat 7 grams

Saturated fat 2 grams

Cholesterol 39 mg

Sugar 6 grams

Sodium 1,158 mg

NOTE: Adapted from Gelson's Markets. For more heat, add a touch of cayenne pepper with the spices in Step 2.

Recipe: Spinach-bacon dip

food@latimes.com

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Ideas sparked by tools rediscovered in the kitchen cabinet

On a first go-through of my kitchen, I found these orphans languishing at the back of the cupboard:

Madeleine pans of various sizes and provenance. Resolved: Make lavender madeleines and have a tea party.

Hand-crank pasta machine. This guy was once practically my best friend, but as I got more and more into pasta asciutta (dried pasta), I stopped making fresh. I'd love to use it to make agnolotti and tortellini. The only thing stopping me: lack of a table edge thin enough to clamp the machine on. Resolved: Find one.

Chocolate double-boiler in porcelain and copper. I lusted over this one at Déhillerin in Paris for years, finally got one but rarely use it. Resolved: Make hot fudge sauce.

Blini pans. Carried home from Paris and used for several successive New Year's Eves. What's missing: some good caviar, or even salmon roe, which I actually love almost as much. Resolved: To re-create the time I sat with the Russian émigrés at Caviar Kaspia in Paris sipping icy vodka and eating blinis with caviar. A real splurge at the time (or any time).

Tall-sided lasagna pan purchased at a steep discount at the Williams-Sonoma outlet on the way to Vegas. It's a Mario Batali pan, quite heavy, and large enough to make lasagna for the entire neighborhood. Resolved: Throw a lasagna party and make Gino Angelini's lasagna verde with a veal and beef ragù.

Terrine form, the classic, with a flat lid that slides over to keep the terrine nice and square. The same kind that bistros like La Régalade in Paris put out on the table with a knife so you can serve yourself a thick slab. Resolved: Make a classic country pâté to serve as a first course or part of a charcuterie platter.

Soba knife and huge stainless steel bowl for making soba. I bought them when I took a soba class from Sonoko Sakai. I loved the process, but to make good soba takes practice, practice, practice. Resolved: Lay in some buckwheat flour and try making soba. I may need to take a refresher course to get better at it.

A pair of glass egg coddlers. They're a classic Bauhaus style, with clamps to hold the lid on tight, designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld in 1934. You get something similar to a soft-boiled egg without the mess. And you can add a splash of cream or some scissored chives to dress up your breakfast egg. Resolved: Have coddled eggs with toast and jam for breakfast more often.

A mezzaluna, the half-moon-shaped blade with a wooden handle at either end that Italians use to chops herbs and vegetables with a rocking motion, carried from Florence by a friend who took a cooking class there. Resolved: Next time a recipe calls for soffritto (the chopped onions, celery, carrots, garlic and parsley that are the base of so many Italian dishes), I'm breaking it out.

Irene.virbila@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter at @sirenevirbila

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Football: Trent Irwin, Iman Marshall, John Houston are Parade All-Americans

Written By kolimtiga on Jumat, 30 Januari 2015 | 12.56

Receiver Trent Irwin from Newhall Hart, defensive back Iman Marshall from Long Beach Poly and linebacker John Houston from Gardena Serra have been selected to the Parade magazine All-American team.

The complete team is revealed in Sunday's Parade magazine available in The Times.

Irwin is committed to Stanford. Marshall and Houston are scheduled to announce their college choices on Wednesday.

They are the lone Southern California selections.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer

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Fighting on over Pete Carroll

The Southland's Super Bowl debate began a week early, at a church casino night in Baldwin Park, around a blackjack table with worthless chips and priceless banter.

On one side of the green felt, an esteemed member of St. John the Baptist Church was wearing a USC print shirt and occasionally wagging two fingers.

"You have to be cheering for Pete Carroll, he's a great Trojan," he said.

On the other side of the felt sat the man's brother-in-law, who just shook his head.

"How can you cheer for Pete Carroll, he's a cheat!"' he said.

Some folks standing around the table laughed, other sighed, but pretty much everyone eventually glanced toward the ground in uncomfortable uncertainty. It was an awkward scene that undoubtedly will be repeated throughout Los Angeles living rooms and bars Sunday when Carroll's Seattle Seahawks try to win a second consecutive Super Bowl in a greatly anticipated duel with the New England Patriots.

Around the country, the game is being viewed as Tom Brady's brains versus Seattle's boom, Beast Mode versus Belichick Mode, inflated Seahawks personalities versus deflated Patriots footballs. But in Los Angeles, for many, it is a duel featuring a single man, that endlessly energetic silver-haired guy running around the Seahawks sideline.

Is Carroll a hero, or a traitor? Should he be lauded for nine glorious years as head coach of USC, or scorned for the Trojans' five probation-plagued years afterward?

Was Carroll the savior who boosted Los Angeles back into the center of the national college football conversation with two national titles and countless memorable moments? Or is he just a deserter who skipped town barely ahead of the NCAA posse that wrecked the program he abandoned?

Carroll is beloved by most USC fans, and last summer the school announced his induction into the Trojans Hall of Fame. But he is despised by UCLA fans stinging from his eight wins in nine seasons against the Bruins and reveling in the fact that two of those wins were later vacated.

Football's most famous coach may be in a new world now, but he straddles no lines in his old one. You'll be either really happy or really irked to know, Pete Carroll is still a diehard Trojan.

During one interview session this week, he noticed his questioners were students from Arizona State. He immediately chided them about USC's comeback win here in 2003 that was the start of a 34-game win streak. He then ended his answer with those two wagging fingers.

Later, asked about his USC connection, Carroll became emotional, saying, "It's deep. ... Everything we do now was really forged there in L.A. and I've never forgotten that."

He added that it is no coincidence that the Seahawks regime — with its flashy personalities, big hits, and resilient wins — reminds folks of his Trojans teams.

"This philosophy, this approach, this language, everything that we do, this style of coaching people, really was brought together there, and I was so fortunate that I had the chance to do it at USC," he said.

Asked about the stain left at USC from NCAA sanctions levied after he left — the Trojans were banned from bowls for two seasons, vacated 14 wins, and were docked 30 scholarships over three years — he turned terse and bitter.

"We were really wronged there," he said. "I think it's so obvious, so obvious." He turned his head away in disgust. "I'm just not going to get into that here."

Just as many believe Patriots Coach Bill Belichick must have known about his team's deflated footballs, there are those who are certain Carroll knew about the living arrangement enjoyed by Reggie Bush's family. There is also plenty of sentiment that Carroll knew the penalties would be harsh, and that's why he bolted to the Seahawks. He signed a $33-million contract in Seattle in January of 2010, and the NCAA sanctions struck USC in June.

"The truth was, an opportunity came up and it was one I couldn't turn away from," Carroll told the Times' Gary Klein last year. "I had no knowledge that was coming. We thought maybe it wasn't coming because they didn't have anything to get us with."

His supporters say Carroll shouldn't be ripped for chasing big money and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at total control of a deep-pocketed NFL franchise.

Carroll wasn't ripped by this columnist for leaving. Rather, readers were urged to thank him for nine great years. But when the penalties hit five months later, Carroll was criticized here for creating the sort of loose culture that infuriated the NCAA and left his program in shambles.

Pete and the illegal special teams consultant. Pete and Joe McKnight's Land Rover parked in front of the practice field. Pete and the defiant wave he gave to any rule that didn't suit him.

Carroll coached the Trojans like he has coached the Seahawks. A cool thing now, a troublesome thing then. It was Carroll's swashbuckling arrogance that led to the NCAA throwing down a giant hammer in what was essentially a petty attempt to get even.

The Trojans didn't deserve the harsh penalty by what has since been exposed as a vengeful NCAA, but Carroll kept asking for it, and asking for it, and now the only remaining question is lodged in the hearts of Los Angeles football fans.

Were those nine years of excitement worth the five years of embarrassment since? The coming-out party in the Orange Bowl against Iowa? The blowout of Oklahoma for the undisputed national title? The Bush Push in South Bend? And even though they lost, don't forget Carroll's Trojans battled Texas to the final seconds in what might have been the greatest game in college football history.

Was he a hero? Was he a cheater? Was he a deserter? In the end, maybe the best definition of Pete Carroll's legacy here is that he was memorable, enduring in his greatness, permanent in his flaws, an perfectly imperfect part of Los Angeles sports history.

Five years later, his devotees and detractors fight on.

Bill.plaschke@latimes.com

Twitter: @billplaschke

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Friends with weight-loss benefits

Children born in South Los Angeles, where per capita income is $13,000, live on average 10 years less than children born in the affluent neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, according to the Health Atlas for the City of Los Angeles. This is health inequality.

There are countless reasons for this gap. Many involve food. Low-income families often live in "food deserts," where little fresh produce is available. Fast-food restaurants abound, offering cheap, tasty but unhealthful choices. But there's another reason for this health gap that is rarely talked about — the power of social networks.

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For the Record
Jan. 29, 9:15 p.m.: The first paragraph of this article was corrected to say "South Los Angeles" instead of "Los Angeles."
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In 1948, researchers started tracking the cardiovascular health of 5,200 residents of Framingham, Mass., and from this influential study emerged a lot of what we now know about the effects of diet and exercise on heart disease. But in 2009, two social scientists began parsing data and made a fascinating observation: When Framingham participants became obese, their friends were more than half again as likely to become obese too.

This is intuitive — if your friends smoke, you are likely to smoke. Less intuitive was the discovery that your friend's friends can affect your health. Those who were one person removed from someone obese were 20% more likely to become obese — even if the connecting friend didn't gain weight. So if your friend's friends are smokers, you are more likely to smoke. In short, social norms are contagious.

This has huge repercussions for obesity. Not only does America's toxic food environment need to be fixed, but also our social norms need to change. In affluent areas, this is already starting to happen, as people become accustomed to drinking green juice, eating tofu and doing yoga.

But in food deserts, where unhealthful eating practices persist because of necessity, it's a different story. Even when marginal improvements in food access are made — by placing produce in corner stores, for instance, or giving children fresh fruit at school — they don't stick because there is little social support for that kind of eating. In some schools in South Los Angeles, the majority of fruit given daily to children gets thrown in the trash, teachers say. Kids prefer the breakfast they've become accustomed to — which might be Cheetos and Pepsi.

To stem the spread of obesity and close the health gap, we need to use social networks to spread new norms. There's historical precedent for this: In 1964, 42% of Americans smoked; 18% do so today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Raising cigarette taxes and increasingly strident cigarette-pack warnings surely helped but so did raising awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Smoking gradually went from cool to disrespectful.

But smoking rates dropped mainly in affluent areas. High-income families decreased their smoking by 62% from 1965 to 1999 compared with only 9% for low-income families, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

So how do you change social norms around unhealthful eating in a way that doesn't leave low-income families behind?

At Groceryships, the L.A.-based nonprofit I run, we are developing a network of peer-led support and education groups in low-income areas. Small groups of families meet weekly to work on getting healthy together. There is nutrition education, healthful cooking classes and money to experiment with produce. Children have to try a vegetable 10 to 12 times to develop a liking, according to UCLA research, and that cost doesn't fit into a food stamp budget.

But the backbone of each two-hour meeting is the support group aspect, in which participants discuss the challenges of adopting a healthful lifestyle while surrounded by unhealthful choices. A box of Kleenex sits in the center of the circle, testimony to how hard it is to talk about food and health without tears.

This support group format leads to deep emotional bonds — and physical changes. All of the families that have participated in our program report significantly increased fruit and vegetable consumption. The first group of seven moms to complete the six-month program all reported weight loss in their children and other family members.

Changing habits a few families at a time may seem like small ball. It's not. The social scientists who analyzed the Framingham data theorized that the best way to fight obesity wasn't with the support of a cluster of close friends, but to skip a link and work on getting healthy with friends of friends. When the researchers ran this scenario through their model, it worked. People all along the chain of acquaintance started slimming down.

It works because of the ripple effect. One participant at Groceryships took over breakfast duty at her church, replacing pancakes and bacon with brown rice cereal and fruit. Another started teaching a nutrition class at her child's elementary school. The teenage skateboarding sons of another participant started hosting fruit and vegetable smoothie parties for skateboarders in the neighborhood. Participants recruit friends and neighbors, spreading healthful norms through their social networks.

In 2015, we plan to launch 10 new groups in South Los Angeles, but we are also setting it up so that anyone who wants to can recruit 10 friends and start and run an independent group, with our support.

Imagine if there were millions of these groups, making healthful norms go viral.

Sam Polk is the founder of the nonprofit Groceryships. His memoir is scheduled to be released by Scribner early next year.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion

9:15 p.m.: The first paragraph was corrected to say "South Los Angeles" instead of "Los Angeles."

This article was first posted at 5:04 p.m.

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Lakers vs. Bulls: quarter-by-quarter updates

Lakers 80, Bulls 76 (end of third quarter)

The Bulls went on a late run in the third quarter to close to within two points of the Lakers, who had led by as many as 15.

Jordan Clarkson scored his ninth point of the night with 38 seconds left to give the Lakers a four-point edge hearing into the fourth.

The Lakers shot 50.7% from the field, led by Jordan Hill with 19 points and eight rebounds. Carlos Boozer scored 14 while Jeremy Lin, Wayne Ellington and Clarkson each scored nine.

Chicago made 45.8% of their shots from the field and 82.6% (19 of 23) from the free-throw line. The Lakers took only nine free throws, making seven (77.8%).

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler scored 22 to lead all scorers, making 12 of 14 at the line. Derrick Rose scored 12, Aaron Brooks 10 and Pau Gasol eight.

Lakers 59, Bulls 48 (halftime)

The Lakers continued to pour it on the Bulls in the second quarter, finishing with 59 points while shooting 58.7% from the field in the first half.

Carlos Boozer torched his old team for 14 points on seven-of-10 shooting. Jordan Hill added 11 points, while Jeremy Lin and Ed Davis contributed eight each off the bench.

The Bulls shot 45% from the field and 91.7% (11 of 12) from the free-throw line but struggled defensively.

Derrick Rose had 10 points and three assists in the first half for the Bulls. Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler each added eight points for Chicago.

The Lakers outrebounded the Bulls, 22-12.

Lakers 28, Bulls 19 (end of first quarter)

Pau Gasol received a gracious standing ovation by the Staples Center crowd before the Lakers gave the Bulls a challenging first quarter.

The Lakers shot 56.5% from the field, pushing ahead by as many as 12 points. Carlos Boozer led the Lakers with six points against his former team. Jordan Clarkson added five.

Derrick Rose and Gasol each scored six for the Bulls, who shot 40% from the field.

The Lakers scored 16 of their 28 points in the paint but didn't shoot a free throw. The Bulls scored only eight points in the paint while making their two free-throw attempts.

Pregame

The Lakers (12-34) will play Pau Gasol and the Chicago Bulls (30-17) on Thursday night at Staples Center.

Jimmy Butler (illness) and Mike Dunleavy (ankle) are questionable for the Bulls.

The Lakers will be without Nick Young (ankle) as well as Kobe Bryant (shoulder), Julius Randle (knee) and Steve Nash (back), who are all done for the season.

For an in-depth breakdown, check out check out Preview: Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.

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Vaccine skeptics are in denial

Written By kolimtiga on Kamis, 29 Januari 2015 | 12.56

To the editor: My child is a student at Waldorf School of Orange County, and it's unbelievable that 41% of kindergartners started the school year unvaccinated. Just recently a Waldorf parent told me that no one is talking about the measles epidemic — not one conversation. ("Once easily recognized, signs of measles now elude young doctors," Jan. 26)

Maybe as a society we value a dog's life more than a human life.

All dogs in California that are 4 months or older are legally required to be vaccinated for rabies. A law enacted in 2011 allows an exemption for the rabies shot if the dog has existing medical conditions that would further deteriorate its health but requires that the animal be confined to the owner's home or be kept on a short leash when away from home.

In contrast, a parent of a human child may sign a paper claiming a belief exemption from all vaccinations. Wow.

Gina Piazza, Costa Mesa

To the editor: I do not dispute the value of vaccines, and all my children were inoculated on schedule. However, I sympathize with the so-called deniers.

For generations, many members of the medical establishment have over-promised their ability to prevent and cure disease, told us to take medications that were later determined to have terrible side effects, and more recently failed to protect us from extortionary medical billing practices by their hospitals and insurance companies.

It is both rational and reasonable for some people to no longer trust their doctors.

Rather than ridiculing them, members of the medical community should ask first: What part do we have in this? Once they answer that question, they can begin to rebuild the public's faith in them.

David Fleck, Granada Hills

To the editor: Well-meaning but misguided parents must realize that measles shots are not lethal injections.

Quite the opposite: Failure to protect their (and other people's) children is a rash decision that could sicken, disable or even kill innocents.

Chris Ungar, Los Osos, Calif.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion

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Seriously, let's not take Super Bowl so seriously

When it comes to Super Bowl week, this column represents failure XLIX. The topic should be ignored, but it's a red flag in front of a bull.

Holding my breath until I turn blue hasn't worked. Nor has wearing a sleeping mask and ear plugs. Seeing 12 movies in five days failed. So did asking my wife to hide my laptop.

In the end, such Super foolishness, bordering on stupidity, cannot be ignored. They are going to play a big football game in a huge stadium near Phoenix on Sunday, and it has us flat on our backs with our paws up, panting and asking to have our stomach scratched.

More. More. Wiggle, wiggle. Pant, pant.

There is no desire here to be a killjoy. I have no problem with the game. Two great teams will play what is often an exciting game.

Nor is there anything wrong with having parties and watching the game. This can be, and often is, fine sports entertainment.

The problem is our total loss of perspective during the lead-up. The NFL, enabled by an increasingly shallow media, has us in a conga line from which there is no escape. During Super Bowl week — every Super Bowl week — we need to stop and take stock of what is being tossed at us. More and more worms are being dangled and we keep chomping away.

The only thing dumber than Super Bowl week, and the adoration we give to it and its perpetrators, is Twitter.

Let's stop and think.

The NFL lurched its way through a season that started with a video showing one of its stars, Ray Rice, cold-cocking his wife-to-be in an Atlantic City casino elevator. That was followed by another case of an even bigger star, Adrian Peterson, punishing his young son by whipping him and stuffing leaves in his mouth.

Then there was the commissioner of this league, Roger Goodell, holding a "get all this bad stuff behind me" news conference and coming off like Dick Nixon in the early days of Watergate.

The good news for the NFL was that those things distracted many of us from writing about all the former NFL players who are penniless, pension-less, concussed, replaced of hip, knee or both, and suicidal to the point of shooting themselves in the heart rather than the head so a doctor can explain to the families why their husband and father lost his senses.

It also distracted many journalists from reporting more about the cheap settlement deal the NFL is trying to push through on these old guys.

None of that seemed to change the prevailing perspective. Hundreds of fans, many of them women, wore Ray Rice jerseys to the next Baltimore Ravens game after the knockout punch in the elevator went public. We watched, shrugged, and kept right on adoring on the road to the Super Bowl.

So here we are, in the week before. And what do we have?

Deflate-gate.

Has there ever been a more silly story? Is there nobody in suit and tie in media central who will just say no to giving it more than lip service? Apparently not.

NBC and its Nightly News with Brian Williams, as distinguished a group as exists in broadcasting, breathlessly reported and analyzed. People are starving, wars are breaking out, big corporations are finding new ways to mess with their customers, and we get two minutes of whether Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are trying to get an edge.

Of course they are.

Nor will it matter in the least. Maybe the Patriots will get fined. Pocket change for the team's rich owner. Did they forfeit the game? No. Will they throw some equipment guy under the bus? Of course.

The score of the AFC championship game was 45-7. The Patriots would have won if they used Nerf balls.

Why do we have to listen to this? Because there is no way to tune it out. Mainstream news is now a knee-jerk reaction to a flood of mindless Internet emotion and a bunch of conspiracy theorists wearing Seattle Seahawks jerseys. If it's trending, we are bending.

Somebody actually started a petition to have the deflated football game replayed and 40,000 people have signed it. That's 40,000 people who need to get a life.

Tuesday was media day in Phoenix. Players sat at tables and answered questions from reporters. That's pretty non-compelling stuff. But thousands showed up and paid $28.50 each.

Yes, the NFL is now making money on media day! As we texters say, OMG.

A Phoenix TV station ran a segment gushing over the uniforms each team would wear — to media day! You can't make these things up.

Finally, there was Marshawn Lynch, who got it right — for all the wrong reasons.

He is the Seahawks running back who has decided he won't talk to the media, even though he is contractually obligated to do so. Poor Lynch. What a pain to have to answer questions from people who are your conduit to a public that pays your multimillion-dollar salary.

Lynch sat in an indoor arena, wore sunglasses and repeated a form of the same phrase 29 times in answering questions: "I'm here so I won't get fined."

He said nothing. There is nothing to say. He deserved to be ignored, like all this other stuff.

He wasn't, of course.

Sunday will be here in no time, mercifully. So eat, drink, watch and be merry. But see it for what it is — a circus of excess and gluttony disguised as sport and leading us to the next inevitable step: soldiers rounding up Christians and herding them to the Coliseum.

It's an easy transition. The Roman numerals are already in place.

Follow Bill Dwyre on Twitter @DwyreLATimes

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Twin brothers charged in robbery, slaying of woman in South L.A.

Eighteen-year-old twin brothers have been charged with capital murder in connection with a South Los Angeles robbery and fatal stabbing of a 62-year-old seamstress in December, authorities said.

Kenyata Blake and Keishon Blake were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of second-degree robbery with special circumstances, police said at an afternoon news conference.

Police said the brothers are also believed to be involved in a Mid-City robbery that occurred Jan. 23. That victim was not killed.

LAPD Det. Robert Lait said both robbery victims were middle-aged or older and were walking alone at the time of the attacks. Lait added that there are a number of unsolved robberies in the area. He urged the public to call police if they recognize the two men.

"We're looking into all" of the robberies, he said. "If you have been a victim of a robbery, please let us know."

On Dec. 22, Maria Elena Rivas-Lomeli had just gotten off the bus from work, bought groceries at a Ralphs supermarket and was walking home when she was attacked from behind and stabbed, police said.

Paramedics took the 62-year-old woman to a hospital, where she died.

Security video taken from the supermarket showed that Rivas-Lomeli used money from a large wallet that she kept in her purse to pay for the groceries. The purse and the groceries were missing after the attack.

Lait said various weapons were used in the attacks. He called the public's help in the case "instrumental."

"There were a lot of concerned people who called," he said, adding that the woman's employer even stepped up to offer a reward. "This woman was very loved by the community."

Rivas-Lomeli's nephew German Contreras, 25, said he grew up with his aunt. He said she was about three blocks away from home when she was attacked.

"Her life was just based on working," he said.

Anyone with information about the robberies asked to call the Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (213) 485-4341.

For more homicide-related news, follow @nicolesantacruz.

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'Anna Christie' harbors but a spark of greatness

There's no shortage of acting in the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie." Accents are adorned like fake noses, illnesses resemble those found in 19th century operas and bits of melodramatic business might as well be underscored with the clashing of cymbals.

What's missing from the production — which stars Jeff Perry (a Steppenwolf Theatre Company veteran and cast member of the hit television series "Scandal") and his daughter, rising actress Zoe Perry, as the play's long-estranged father and daughter — is the kind of directorial guidance that could infuse all this sound and fury with some resonant stillness.

The old-fashioned acting heaves in one direction; Kim Rubinstein's superficially modern staging tugs in another. Emotional combustion fortunately arrives with the introduction of Mat Burke (played by Kevin McKidd of "Grey's Anatomy"), the Irish shipman who washes up from the sea and falls madly in love with Anna, a sickly young woman with a checkered past who has sought sanctuary on her captain father's coal barge.

The plot belongs to another era, revolving around Anna's redemption from her life as a former prostitute after the neglect and exploitation of her childhood. But in trying to stylistically update O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1921 drama, this mismanaged revival makes the work seem irretrievably outdated.

Wilson Chin's semi-abstract set design — a raised platform that functions as barroom and boat, surrounded by a border of water standing in for "dat ole davil sea" — is treated by Rubinstein without much concern for common-sense logistics. Absent entirely is a sense of proportion. When the fog rolls in midway through the first act, the effect is so overdone that it's hard to make out what's happening on stage through stinging, watering eyes.

In O'Neill's drama, the fog is, of course, symbolic of the blindness with which the characters muddle their way into the future. Here, it's indicative of a production that is unable to effectively marshal its resources in the intimate space.

In the role of the Swedish captain Chris Christopherson, Jeff Perry gives a broad sketch of this weather-beaten seaman who has turned his back on long ocean voyages and the loneliness and drunken misery he associates with such a life. It's a characterization that stops short of being comic but has some of the same bluster and blunder one finds in the characters of Synge and O'Casey. The production, however, doesn't establish an assured tone for Perry's performance.

O'Neill, who was never known for his acute ear, had a bad habit of writing out speech patterns phonetically. Perry seems straitjacketed by Chris' pidgin English, his mouth forming around his lines as though he were swallowing Swedish meatballs.

The oddness of the portrayal is thrown into relief in the opening scene by Tait Ruppert's nonchalant bartender, who could pass for a waiter at a chain restaurant in Santa Monica. This character may not have a cumbersome accent, but surely he ought to inhabit the same time period as Mary Mara's Marthy Owen, a Dickensian barfly and Chris' bedmate who offers Anna a look into her own future if she doesn't straighten out her ways.

Zoe Perry's accent screams Minnesota, which is where Anna went to live as a young girl with her mother, who died during the voyage. This isn't the only dimension of her performance that is pitched too strenuously.

Pauline Lord, who originated the role of Anna on Broadway, was renowned for the hushed quality of her tragic realism. Perry makes intelligent choices with her interpretation of a woman whose cruel, exploited life hasn't sullied her innermost being, but the gap between character and actress is far too visible. O'Neill invites overacting, but he needs sacrificial immersion.

There are a few clarifying moments of blasting anger between Anna and Chris, but the cathartic fires really only ignite in the scenes between Anna and McKidd's Mat, who doesn't want to love her after she reveals the truth about her past, yet cannot stop. This is an O'Neill play that ends on a hopeful note, though naturally it takes several near catastrophes and a quasi-exorcism to get there.

The production, shot through with the plaintive jazz of sound designer Martin Gutfeldt's saxophone (another of Rubinstein's empty gestures), never finds a coherent rhythm. But a spark of what made O'Neill the great American dramatist (despite his myriad flaws as a writer) comes through. When the fog lifts (glory be to God), a haunted happy ending is the reward.

-----------------------

'Anna Christie'

Where: Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.

When: 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays (call for exceptions). Ends March 8.

Tickets: $34.99

Info: (310) 477-2055, Ext. 2; http://www.OdysseyTheatre.com

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

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Sundance 2015: Johnny Knoxville says Evel Knievel helped create him

Written By kolimtiga on Rabu, 28 Januari 2015 | 12.56

The parallels between Evel Knievel and Johnny Knoxville are hard to miss, from their willingness to break bones to their talent in marketing them.

It's one reason why Knoxville agreed to produce and star in "Being Evel," Oscar-winner Daniel Junge's new documentary about the iconic stuntman that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will eventually air on A&E.

But for all his devotion to the 1970s daredevil, Knoxville says there's a key difference to the golden era of Snake River Canyon jumps and the "Jackass" antics of the 21st century.

"Everyone loved his crashes," Knoxville said in an interview, describing how Knievel influenced the development of his own franchise. "We said, OK, let's never make a stunt. Let's only do crashes. And if we [don't crash], do it again.'"

"Being Evel" leans on a vast array of friends, family, admirers and detractors to trace the history of Robert Craig Knievel. It begins with his gritty-as-gravel Montana childhood and moves on to his early adulthood as a bold but little-watched motorcycle performer to his increasing media celebrity — to ultimately, his status as the godfather of extreme sports (and, more importantly, the spectacle thereof).

The psychology of a man both addicted to the threat of injury and the crowds that poured out to see if one might occur is complex. The film suggests that Knievel was animated by a mix of an ingrained childhood toughness, a need for attention and a spirit of a challenge for its own sake, all of which led him to regularly put his life in the hands of gravity.

Knoxville believes that the knowledge so many turned out to see a spectacular crash took its toll, even if Knievel wouldn't acknowledge it. "When you repress so much things come out sideways," he said in the interview, a joint conversation with Junge.

Junge, who won an Oscar for the Pakistan-set attack film "Saving Face," also deftly shows how Knievel's boldness in the air over Las Vegas was matched by his chutzpah with the press. Realizing that few were turning out to watch him try his daredevil moves, he fomented media interest for upcoming events by impersonating a variety of reporters, then calling other outlets touting Knievel. (Just to be sure, he mispronounced his own name a few times.)

At once reverential and unvarnished, Junge's film doesn't shy away from the personal issues Knievel faced. The film shows the daredevil picking fights with innocent men and even threatening George Hamilton with a gun if the actor didn't read a script aloud to him.

"It's going to come with a rough side," Junge said in the interview, when asked about how the professional daredevil and volatile personal life of Knievel were connected. "That's the whole package."

Indeed, halfway through the movie, even hardcore fans might start wondering about their affection for him (he is redeemed at the end). It's a development that makes the movie as much as a deconstruction of fandom as a single-subject portrait. "We like Mike Tyson," Junge said, "until he bites someone's ear off." (You can watch the full interview with Junge and Knoxville above.)

One challenge Knievel grappled with (apart from the dying thing) is that because the legend he was creating was inherently based on defying expectations, he had to keep outdoing himself, like the All-Star ballplayer judged against his own stellar record.

"In creating the myth, how do you live up to it?" Hamilton describes the challenge the film. "So he was always reselling what he already sold."

That's an issue Knoxville grapples with too; yesterday's outlandish stunt, after all, is today's suburban-teen standard. But he says there's one thing he knows he could never rival: Knievel himself

'I'd be delusional to be competitive with Evel," Knoxville said. "I'm still the little kid, really, when it comes to Evel. There are some sides that are disappointing that I know about him now. But it's tough to override that feeling I had when I was a little kid watching him."

Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT

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Mormon Church backs legal protections for gays -- and the religious

Seven years after the Mormon Church led followers on a campaign to outlaw gay marriage in California, church leaders on Tuesday announced their support for job, housing and public accommodation protections for gays and lesbians everywhere.

But in calling for a "fairness for all" approach, the church also insisted on exemptions for religious freedom, such as laws to protect Mormon doctors who refuse to perform abortions or to assist with artificial insemination for lesbians.

The announcement, at a rare news conference in Salt Lake City that featured three members of the church's governing Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was greeted with cheers and skepticism — a reflection of the complex and often divisive debate over how to balance gay rights and religious freedom.

Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest civil rights organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, said the church's position appeared "deeply flawed" as public policy.

"Symbolically, seeing the church leaders advocating so openly for these protections will no doubt be deeply meaningful to Mormon families with LGBT members, and provide encouragement to LGBT youth in the church," Warbelow said in an emailed statement. But, she added, "nondiscrimination protections only function when they are applied equally."

Some groups, such as Equality Utah, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians in a state with nearly 2 million Mormons, lauded the announcement.

"Many within the LGBT community are themselves people of faith," Executive Director Troy Williams said. "We look forward soon to the day when all Utahns have the opportunity to live and work freely in the state we call home."

The church's announcement comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this year on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage.

The court has grappled with high-profile cases involving the boundaries of religious liberty, with complicated results.

In the Hobby Lobby case last year, it ruled that a Christian business could refuse to provide comprehensive birth-control coverage to employees mandated under the Affordable Care Act. In another case, it rejected the appeal of a New Mexico photographer accused of flouting anti-discrimination laws by refusing to photograph a same-sex wedding.

Jonathan Roberts, 38, of Hollywood, a former Mormon missionary, described the announcement as a "calculated" and "patronizing" bit of public relations on the part of a church that sees increasing cultural acceptance of gay people and doesn't want to look bigoted.

Roberts, who is gay, said church leaders were secretive about why they made decisions, but he suspected the announcement was a "preemptive strike" in anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling.

The Mormon Church has an estimated 15 million followers worldwide, with about 6 million in the U.S., where the largest temples are in Salt Lake City — the church headquarters — Los Angeles and Kensington, Md. California has about 768,000 members.

In 2008, the Mormon Church urged followers to give their time and money to help pass Proposition 8, the California measure to ban same-sex marriage, which narrowly passed.

The courts struck down the measure, and the church faced heated protests — including protests against individual donors to the campaign — that equated Proposition 8 with bigotry.

The proposition's passage was the catalyst for talks between LGBT and Mormon leaders about ways to improve relations, and "the more moderate Mormons were hoping to try and make things better," said Lorri L. Jean, chief executive of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which organized protests against the measure.

At Tuesday's news conference, the church elders emphasized that their opposition to same-sex marriage had not changed. Mormons believe sex is only permissible in marriage between a man and a woman.

Jerry Garns, one of the eight top Mormon leaders in California, said Mormons did not see the church position against same-sex marriage as discrimination.

"I think everyone has someone, a friend, a family member, who is touched by this issue, so of course we discuss it," he said. "There's no real change with the doctrine, but finding a way forward that is harmonious is what we all want."

Patrick Mason, director of the Mormon studies program at Claremont Graduate University, said the church appeared to have given up the battle against same-sex marriage laws.

"They have tried to walk a fine line, saying that because of our theological commitments, we can't accept same-sex marriage, but let's agree to work together on this whole raft of other issues," Mason said.

"This statement is kind of an olive branch saying can we find a way to accept religious liberty and at the same time promote equal and fair treatment of citizens," he said.

Despite the softer approach by the church, some LGBT advocates were skeptical that the announcement represented a meaningful shift.

Jean said the church's insistence on "religious exemptions" was a recipe for discrimination.

"The exceptions they want are big enough to drive a truck through," she said. "No one should be fooled by this." She described it as a "non-statement statement that is basically, 'We don't think LGBT people should be discriminated against unless we believe they should be discriminated against.'"

But the church's announcement could help spur change in some conservative states with large Mormon populations.

In Utah, legislators could face easier going with a proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identification to the state's anti-discrimination statutes. In previous years, similar legislation has failed to pass.

In Idaho, the House State Affairs Committee is holding hearings on whether to add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to a state law barring discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Johnny Townsend, a Seattle author who said he was excommunicated from the Mormon Church a generation ago for being gay, sounded cautiously hopeful.

"I think the church is very slowly coming around to realizing it will have to have a kinder, gentler approach to gays and lesbians," Townsend said. "They realize they have to make concessions. I think it is a step forward. But so many of the Mormons I know have very strong anti-gay feelings, and it will take more than this to soften them up."

hailey.branson@latimes.com

jeff.gottlieb.@latimes.com

christopher.goffard@latimes.com

Times staff writers Maura Dolan, Maria L. La Ganga, Lauren Raab and Kurtis Lee contributed to this report.

9:14 p.m.: The story was updated throughout with new details.

5:11 p.m.: This post has been updated throughout.

2:19 p.m.: This post has been updated with comments from author Johnny Townsend and information about a proposed law in Idaho.

2 p.m.: This post has been updated with comments from California Mormon leader Jerry Garns.

1:32 p.m.: This post has been updated with comments from Lorri L. Jean, chief executive of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

1:26 p.m.: This post has been updated with comments from Patrick Mason, the Howard H. Hunter chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University.

1:10 p.m.: This post has been updated with comments from Human Rights Campaign legal director Sarah Warbelow and James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project.

12:20 p.m.: This post was updated with comments from Utah state lawmakers.

10:40 a.m.: This post was updated to include comments from the LGBT community.

The first version of this post was published at 10:12 a.m.

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Glen Davis gives Clippers a jolt often just by word of mouth

His teammates often don't know what he's saying, much less doing. They tend not to care when it brings them together as it did Monday night.

Glen Davis might have been the most active Clipper even though he played sparingly, exhorting the crowd and his teammates throughout the team's 102-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

The backup power forward didn't like the passive reaction to a Staples Center deejay's request for fans to stand until the Clippers scored their first basket, so he encouraged them himself.

He disapproved of the starters' ball movement in the beginning of the third quarter, so he told his fellow reserves to fix it when they entered the game. They did, sharing the ball until they found easy baskets.

Davis even had eight points and five rebounds, a bonanza of production for 10 minutes of playing time.

"He was unbelievable tonight, just as important as I was," said Clippers reserve Jamal Crawford, whose 21 fourth-quarter points capped the team's comeback from a 10-point deficit in the quarter.

The Clippers will start their eight-game Grammy Awards trip against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena having possibly found the answer to their energy deficit. He is a 6-foot-9, 290-pound mound of sound who can change a game by merely opening his mouth.

"He'll be on the bench and talking about a sausage pepper sandwich," forward Blake Griffin said. "He's like, 'I don't want no mayonnaise. Just meat and bread.' And I was like, 'All right. Let's get him a sausage sandwich.' But it doesn't matter what he's saying. It's that energy and the way he's playing."

Davis' enthusiasm has reinvigorated a previously underperforming bench, sparking the Clippers' five-game winning streak. Some have attributed improved chemistry to the recent arrival of Austin Rivers and Dahntay Jones, but the holdover reserves have been even more essential to reversing the bench's struggles.

"The guys that had been here knew it, so I think it's more on them," Coach Doc Rivers said. "They work out together now. It's amazing. Every practice, they work together before and after as a group."

Rivers said the starters are now asking the reserves to provide a jolt when they enter games, something Davis is uniquely suited to provide.

"His energy," Crawford said, "can lift a whole building."

The trick is for it to happen more regularly.

"He has to bring that every night," Crawford said. "I mean, that can turn into wins for us."

Matt Barnes talks about fine

The NBA fined Clippers small forward Matt Barnes $25,000 for directing inappropriate language at a spectator in Phoenix on Sunday night, but Barnes tweeted Tuesday that it wasn't just any spectator.

"I was talkn [sic] to the owner of the Suns …" Barnes tweeted, referring to Robert Sarver, "... Who was sitting on the baseline & I only said something to him AFTER he cussed at me, BUT because I didn't SNITCH I get fined!! #thecode."

Barnes also mentioned a recent $25,000 fine for kicking a Gatorade cup with water, tweeting that the tab he had run up with the league could prompt him to moonlight.

"I might need to find a second job with all these crazy tecs [sic] & fines," Barnes tweeted. "I Can see it now [in the] LA TIMES ... 'Costco worker by day nba player by night."

He ended the tweet with an emoticon showing tears of laughter and posted a photo on Instagram of himself dressed as a Costco cashier, complete with a name tag reading "MATT."

Barnes added injury to insult Monday, reaggravating a strained abdominal muscle in the fourth quarter, though he is expected to play against the Jazz.

Shooting star?

For the first time in his nine-year NBA career, Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick has been selected to compete in the three-point competition as part of All-Star weekend. Other participants are expected to include Atlanta's Kyle Korver, Portland's Wesley Matthews and Golden State's Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

CLIPPERS AT JAZZ

When: 6 p.m. PST, Wednesday.

Where: EnergySolutions Arena.

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980, 1330.

Records: Clippers 31-14, Jazz 16-29.

Record vs. Jazz: 3-0.

Update: Utah is 5-7 since former Clippers training camp invitee Joe Ingles moved into the starting lineup, which qualifies as an improvement over its 11-22 record with the rookie small forward coming off the bench. The rebuilding Jazz hasn't built much of a homecourt advantage this season, going 8-13 inside its own building, including a 99-90 loss to Boston on Monday.

Times staff writer Melissa Rohlin contributed to this report.

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'Anna Christie' habors but a spark of greatness

-----------------------

'Anna Christie'

Where: Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.

When: 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays (call for exceptions). Ends March 8.

Tickets: $34.99

Info: (310) 477-2055, Ext. 2; http://www.OdysseyTheatre.com

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

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NBA roundup: Pelicans win fourth straight, gain ground in playoff bid

Written By kolimtiga on Selasa, 27 Januari 2015 | 12.56

Anthony Davis had 32 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, and the New Orleans Pelicans stretched their season-long winning streak to four games with a 99-74 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night in New Orleans.

Ryan Anderson scored 19 points and Eric Gordon had 13 for the Pelicans, who improved to 24-21 and moved to within 1 1/2 games of Phoenix for the No. 8 playoff spot in the Western Conference. Tyreke Evans tied a season high, set one night earlier, with 12 assists.

K.J. McDaniels scored 16 points for the 76ers, who lost their sixth straight. Henry Sims and Luc Mbah a Moute each had 14 points.

Philadelphia played without Michael Carter-Williams, who was sidelined by an upper respiratory infection.

Davis made 12 of 19 field-goal attempts, including five layups and five crowd-pleasing dunks, and made all eight of his free throws as New Orleans (24-21) went three games above .500 for the first time since Coach Monty Williams' first season in 2010-11.

at Oklahoma City 92, Minnesota 84: Russell Westbrook scored 18 points, Serge Ibaka added 13 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, and the Thunder won without Kevin Durant, who sat out after spraining the big toe on his left foot Sunday against Cleveland . Westbrook shot just seven for 22 from the field, but was four for six in the fourth quarter, when he scored 11 points to help the Thunder remain in control. Reserves Anthony Morrow and Reggie Jackson each scored 14 points to help Oklahoma City's bench outscore Minnesota's, 45-21. Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points, Thaddeus Young had 22 and Gorgui Dieng had a season-high 18 rebounds for the league-worst Timberwolves, who shot a season-low 34.1% from the field.

Boston 99, at Utah 90: Tayshaun Prince, acquired from Memphis in a trade two weeks ago, scored 19 points, and the Celtics held on after squandering much of a 24-point halftime lead. Tyler Zeller had 14 points and seven rebounds for Boston, which outscored the Jazz, 38-14, in the second quarter. Gordon Hayward scored 26 points for Utah.

at Memphis 103, Orlando 94: Zach Randolph had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Marc Gasol had 16 points and 10 boards, and the Grizzlies won their third in a row. Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo each scored 18 points and Vucevic also had 12 rebounds for the Magic, which has lost six straight.

Sacramento at New York, postponed, snow: The game was rescheduled for March 3.

Portland at Brooklyn, postponed, snow: The game was rescheduled for April 6.

Denver at Clippers, late

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Massive oil drilling project in Carson is dropped

A former subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum says it's pulling the plug on a massive oil drilling project in Carson, a decision welcomed by activists and residents who had fought the project for years.

California Resources Corp., which was spun off from Occidental last month, said in a statement Monday that the proposed project "is no longer practical in the current commodity price environment." In the last year, oil prices have plunged.

The company also said it is asking city officials to stop processing its application to drill. "We have greatly appreciated the opportunity to get to know and work with the Carson community," the statement read.

City Atty. Sunny Soltani told the Los Angeles Times that city staff will immediately stop work on the project's application and pending environmental review.

Dianne Thomas, a Carson resident of 43 years whose home is about two miles from the proposed drilling site, described her reaction to the news as "euphoria."

"We don't have to worry about our water that we drink, we don't have to worry about our air quality that we breathe.… We're talking about a way of life for us," said Thomas, a member of the Carson Coalition, a community group that vocally opposed the project.

The project, first put forth by Oxy in 2012, proposed drilling more than 200 wells, some more than 2 miles deep, in northern Carson near the Cal State Dominguez Hills campus and a number of homes.

Residents initially raised concerns about whether the company would employ hydraulic fracturing or other controversial well-stimulation techniques. At first, Oxy officials said they might use fracking to coax more oil from the Dominguez Oil Field, where more than 600 wells have been drilled since the 1920s, but they later reversed course and vowed not to use the technique there.

Still, many residents continued to express doubts Oxy would keep its word.

The City Council grabbed headlines last year it issued a moratorium on all oil drilling in the city. The temporary ban was intended to let city lawmakers study the safety of "unconventional" well-stimulation methods such as acidization and fracking and their authority to regulate them. The city also halted negotiations with Oxy over the project in response to the company's announcement that it would be moving its headquarters to Texas and spinning off its California operations.

The move captured the attention of environmentalists and labor unions statewide and even Gov. Jerry Brown, who called the city's mayor to discuss the moratorium at length.

Ultimately, city leaders voted to allow the moratorium to expire.

Since then, Soltani said, council members have been working to draft a city ordinance that would govern new oil drilling projects. The draft law would ban fracking and acidization, bar distribution lines from running near schools or residential areas, require certain safety procedures at drilling sites and require bonds in the event of an environmental disaster. The proposed regulations are expected to be heard by the Carson Planning Commission in the next few months, Soltani said.

Thomas of the Carson Coalition said that she hopes the proposed oil regulations are passed and that they would make future prospects of drilling in her neighborhood "very unattractive."

Comprehensive state regulations on fracking have yet to go into effect: They were released this month and will kick in July 1. In the interim, a state law that took effect last year requires oil companies to obtain permits before fracking.

Meanwhile, cities turned to local ordinances. In addition to Carson, Beverly Hills, Compton and Los Angeles also explored city regulations that would ban fracking, acid stimulation and other well-stimulation methods.

Carson Treasurer Karen Avilla said California Resources' decision to step away from the project won't have much effect on the city's coffers. "We didn't count on that money because it was never an approved project," Avilla said.

Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Assn., said the dropping price of oil has dried up capital budgets that would typically be dedicated to new drilling projects such as the one in Carson.

"That's something companies are universally having to face this year, both in California and across the country," Zierman said. But, he added, operators are well-adjusted to the boom-and-bust nature of the oil industry and could pick up those projects again when prices increase.

Carson Mayor Jim Dear said that although he wants Carson to be perceived as "open for business," city officials will carefully consider any future oil drilling proposals.

"It's got to be beneficial to the people of Carson," Dear said. "Otherwise, we're not interested."

For more breaking news, follow me @cmaiduc

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LAPD Chief Beck concerned traffic app Waze puts police in harm's way

The real-time traffic app Waze has earned the ire of the Los Angeles Police Department, which contends the app jeopardizes the lives of police officers.

In a Dec. 30 letter to Google, which acquired Waze in 2013, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck wrote that by indicating the locations of police, the app compromises the safety and security of officers, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Times.

Beck noted that in the days before slaying New York Police Department Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu on Dec. 20, Ismaiiyl Brinsley used the application to monitor police movements.

"I am confident your company did not intend the Waze app to be a means to allow those who wish to commit crimes to use the unwitting Waze community as their lookouts for the location of police officers," Beck wrote.

A spokeswoman for Waze did not respond to an after-hours request for comment. Waze has about 2 million users in Greater Los Angeles, and more than 50 million users worldwide.

Beck's concerns come as resentment of law enforcement spikes in some quarters in the wake of police killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo., Cleveland and Los Angeles.

The Associated Press, which first wrote about police concerns over Waze, reported that the app's potentially dangerous use was raised at a National Sheriff's Assn. meeting in Washington.

There, Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford County, Va., called on Google to "act like the responsible corporate citizen they have always been and remove this feature from the application even before any litigation or statutory action."

For breaking news in California, follow @MattHjourno and @lacrimes.

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Fairfax remains unbeaten with 54-49 win over Westchester

The personalities were out en force Monday night at a jammed Fairfax High gym for a showdown basketball game against Westchester.

There were the Shipp brothers, Josh and Jerren. There was retired L.A. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky giving Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani a pregame pep talk. And there was Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers co-founder who donned a gold Fairfax jersey and sat in a front-row seat cheering as if he were at a Lakers game.

"We'll adopt him as Jack Nicholson," Kitani said. "He's better than Jack."

Unbeaten Fairfax (20-0, 5-0) took advantage of a brief Westchester meltdown at the end of the second quarter and held on for a 54-49 victory to take over sole possession of first place in the Western League.

Lindsey Drew, the Arizona State commit, scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds and 10 assists while repeatedly finding ways to get his team a victory.

"He does big things," Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said of the 6-foot-4 Drew, whose older brother, Larry, plays for the Philadelphia 76ers and whose father, Larry Sr., is an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Said Kitani: "I love him to death. He made key baskets, made key rebounds."

Donald Gipson and Isaiah Ajiboye added 13 points apiece and Lorne Currie had 11 points. Keith Fisher led Westchester (13-10, 5-1) with 19 points and played the second half with gauze in his nostrils after being injured as time expired to end the first half.

Westchester and Fairfax were tied, 22-22, late in the second quarter, when Fairfax went on a 13-2 run for an 11-point halftime lead. Currie contributed three baskets during the surge.

"We lost our minds for about a minute," Azzam said. "Except for that minute, we played real well. We have to get over that hump."

Flea, who was known as Michael Balzary during his Fairfax days, ran into Lindsey Drew at a Lakers game.

"He recognized me and we talked," Drew said. "He's a cool guy. I'm glad he's supporting us."

Fairfax, ranked No. 2 by The Times, is playing four games this week, including a matchup against No. 1-ranked Chatsworth Sierra Canyon on Saturday night at Fairfax.

The Lions will be certain to save a seat for Flea if he's not on a concert tour.

Follow Eric Sondheimer on Twitter @LATSondheimer

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Northeast prepares for 'crippling and potentially historic blizzard'

Written By kolimtiga on Senin, 26 Januari 2015 | 12.56

Snowplows at the ready, the Northeast braced for what forecasters warned could be a "crippling and potentially historic blizzard" that could dump up to 3 feet of snow from Philadelphia to Boston starting Monday.

Tens of millions of Americans live in the path of the storm, which is expected to hit New Jersey, New York City, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts especially hard. The "nor'easter" could shut down the nation's most densely populated region for days, closing schools and businesses from Monday afternoon through the week, officials warned.

New Yorkers jammed checkout aisles to buy food, water, batteries and snow shovels Sunday after Mayor Bill de Blasio said thousands of workers were preparing for "one of the top two or three largest storms in the history of this city."

In Morningside Heights in Manhattan, shoppers clogged Westside Market's narrow aisles, and checkout lines stretched 20 deep. "It's chaos," manager Nick Glenis said. "You might need shoulder pads today. It's full-contact shopping."

Blizzard warnings from New Jersey to Maine will take effect at midday Monday and were to last through early Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Up to 4 inches of snow could fall per hour in some areas, with wind gusts up to 70 mph and some coastal flooding expected.

The powerful storm could slightly reshape parts of the coast, eroding some beaches and creating new inlets, according to the weather service's bureau in Taunton, Mass. Some homes near the ocean could be destroyed and entire neighborhoods isolated, requiring evacuations, forecasters said. Visibility could be so poor that going outdoors could bring disorientation and death.

Governors and mayors across the region called for residents to watch the forecast, stock up on supplies, and check on elderly and disabled neighbors who could be especially vulnerable. Officials began preparing equipment for snow removal and shelters for the homeless.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo urged commuters to stay home Monday and said the Port Authority, which operates the region's airports, would have cots on hand for stranded passengers. Airlines had canceled more than 1,400 Monday flights by Sunday evening, and more than 1,000 Tuesday flights, according to FlightAware.com.

De Blasio urged residents to stay off the roads and take mass transit if possible to make way for hundreds of salt spreaders and snowplows to treat New York City's 6,000 miles of roads. (De Blasio, a populist Democrat from Brooklyn, was criticized a year ago, during his first month in office, after residents in Manhattan's wealthy Upper East Side complained that snowplows were too slow in sweeping their streets.)

At a news conference, De Blasio displayed a list of snowstorms since 1872 and warned, "We need to prepare for something worse than we've seen before." The city's record for a single storm is just over 26 inches of snow, which came in 2006.

Predictions for a blizzard worsened rapidly over the weekend as forecasters tracked a storm expected to move northward along the Atlantic coast over the next several days. As the storm system travels up the coast, cold air is expected to move down from Canada behind it, causing temperatures to drop.

As with Atlantic hurricanes, which follow a similar pattern, the blizzard's severity will depend on how far off the coast the center of the storm tracks. Forecasters emphasized that the final snow totals could vary considerably depending on the storm's movements over the next 48 hours.

"Although storms can be unpredictable, this storm has the potential to have a significant impact on the state and we need to be prepared," Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. "Just as the state is monitoring and preparing, the public should do the same."

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said he had been in "constant communication" with city officials as workers prepared 700 pieces of snow-removal equipment and 35,000 tons of salt.

"Our city has been through blizzards before, and I am confident we are prepared," Walsh said in a statement. He asked Boston residents to do their part by removing snow, slush and ice from sidewalks and curbs.

In New Jersey, Hoboken emergency officials ordered scaffolding removed because of the expected heavy winds.

"My major concern is power outages," Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante said. "We still have a lot of above-ground lines. With the heavy snow and 70 mph winds, there's risks of wires being severed and things coming off buildings, scaffolding coming down."

In New York City, which was blasted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, officials planned to store trains underground to shield them from the weather and to fit buses with snow tires. Officials urged employers to allow workers to adjust their shifts to stay safe from the storm.

But residents greeted the dire forecasts with stressed-out shopping and not a small amount of shrugging.

"It's winter — what do you expect?" Rebecca Quinn said as she closed the Stannard Farm booth at a farmers market outside Columbia University.

At the Fairway Market in West Harlem, Gregory Lorenz, a member of the Metropolitan Opera chorus, said he first went to another Fairway but couldn't get in the door because of the crowd. "It was madness," he said. So he took a taxi to another branch of the supermarket.

But Lorenz said he was not fazed by the blizzard forecast: He was using his family's regular weekly shopping list. "I'm from North Dakota," he said. "I love snow, but a little panic is good for everyone."

At University Housewares and Hardware store in Manhattan, customers were buying batteries, sidewalk salt and ice scrapers to clear their windshields.

"Everyone is going crazy," said Carl Wennerlind as he left with his 8-year-old son, Langston, his 5-year-old daughter, Selma, and two brand-new sleds.

"Mostly we're trying to get food in the house," Wennerlind said, "But we are getting that which is really necessary."

By that, he meant the sleds.

Times staff writer Pearce reported from Los Angeles and special correspondent Haller from New York. Staff writers David Lauter in Washington, D.C., and Molly Hennessy-Fiske in New Jersey contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times

8:23 p.m.: This post has been updated throughout.

4:08 p.m.: Updated throughout with quotes and context.

2:21 p.m.: Updated with a statement from New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

1:55 p.m.: This story was updated throughout with additional details.

It was first published at 1:24 p.m.

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Jason Brown wins U.S. figure skating championship

From the moment four years ago at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that Jason Brown first showed impressive potential, he talked about following the example of another skater from suburban Chicago.

Sunday, he joined Evan Lysacek as a national champion by emulating what impressed Brown most about his predecessor.

"Something about Evan that was so incredible was his work ethic and the way he was so consistent," Brown said. "Every time he went out to perform, he was a competitor. He was ready to do what it took to do the best he could."

But there is a risk if Brown thinks he can follow in all of Lysacek's footsteps.

Brown, 20, took the title despite finishing second in the free skate to Adam Rippon, despite not trying a quadruple jump, despite having just one clean triple axel. No matter that Brown's spins and footwork were wonderful in an action-packed 41/2 minutes, a free skate of that technical level will have no chance at winning medals at the world championships or the Olympics.

It is true that Lysacek won the 2010 Olympics and 2009 worlds without a quad. But the sport has changed significantly since then, with rules offering less risk and more reward for trying the quad. Many top foreign skaters are successfully doing the jump multiple times over the short program and free skate.

Rafael Arutunian, who coaches Rippon and women's champion Ashley Wagner, worries that seeing how Brown won this title will encourage other U.S. skaters to shun challenge for comfort.

"This will tell them you can win and do only one hard element," Arutunian said. "It's a bad message."

Not since 2009 has a man won the U.S. title without landing a quad, let alone not attempting one. Brown was the only one of the top-10 overall finishers this year who did not do a quad.

Lysacek actually landed quads in winning a U.S. title in 2007, and he tried them in 2008. He later eschewed quads because of erratic results and because he could work the system then in place for enough points to be a title contender without it.

Two seasons ago, when Brown finally landed a triple axel, he vowed to begin working on quads. But he has yet to try one in competition, insisting he will wait until he can do the jump consistently in practice.

Brown's nearly nine-point lead over Rippon after Friday's short program — in which none of the top three tried a quad — proved enough for him to win by 2.5 points with a score of 274.98, highest overall at a U.S. championships. Joshua Farris was third, seven points behind Brown; Max Aaron took fourth; and four-time champion Jeremy Abbott took fifth, his lowest finish in nine appearances at senior nationals.

The three medalists qualified for the world championships in March.

Rippon, 25, put the hardest quad possible, the lutz, in both of his programs. That he did not complete the revolutions on either cost him points but fulfilled his goal of being perceived as more than an underachieving artist on the ice.

"After the Grand Prix [season], I knew I needed to put the quad in," Rippon said. "I wanted to come here and not only show I was ready for the U.S. championships but that I was ready for the world championships and ready to fight for a spot on the world podium.

"I know when we go out internationally, there are going to be quads out there, and I feel like somebody who goes out there with a quad lutz sounds pretty threatening."

Farris, 20, fourth at the previous two nationals, got full base value credit (10.3) for a quad toe, losing 1.13 points for a wonky landing. The points he threw away by getting a zero for a jump element because it included his third double toe loop of the program (only two are allowed) were the difference between third and first.

"I may be kicking myself now," FarrIs said, "but it will keep me determined to improve."

Brown, ninth at the 2014 Olympics, has been concentrating on improving all phases of his skating rather than working on a quad.

The question of whether he will master it remains uncertain. He also has done just five clean triple axels in nine attempts on the Grand Prix circuit and nationals this season, falling on two of the other four.

"If I was maxed out on everything beside jumps, I would put more emphasis on the quad," Brown said.

Brown cannot max out his medal-winning potential without one.

phersh@tribune.com

Twitter @olyphil
Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times

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No. 12 Utah beats Washington, 77-56

Dakarai Tucker scored a career-high 19 points, Brandon Taylor added 14 and No. 12 Utah beat Washington 77-56 on Sunday night.

Tucker and Taylor combined to make eight 3-pointers to give the Utes (16-3, 6-1 Pac-12) their 15th straight home victory dating to last season. All six of Utah's Pac-12 conference wins have come by double-digit margins.

Andrew Andrews had 19 points to lead Washington. Robert Upshaw chipped in 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for the Huskies (14-5, 3-4) who snapped a three-game winning streak.

Strong shooting helped Utah lead from the start. The Utes shot 28 for 52 (54 percent) from the field, including 11 for 18 (61 percent) on 3s.

Utah made baskets on its first four possessions to open the game — highlighted by a 3-pointer from Jordan Loveridge that gave him 1,000 points for his career at Utah. It helped his team take a 10-2 lead.

Delon Wright stole the ball and fed Tucker for a layup to give the Utes their first double-digit lead at 18-7. Utah eventually went up 29-14 on the strength of back-to-back 3-pointers from Tucker and Loveridge.

Washington climbed back into the game behind strong perimeter shooting from Andrews. He made all four 3-pointers he attempted in the first half. The final one capped a 12-2 run that helped the Huskies cut Utah's lead to 31-26.

The Utes scored baskets on their next three possessions — including back-to-back layups from Jakob Poeltl — to halt the run and push their lead back to nine.

The Huskies cut the deficit to 43-38 early in the second half on three unanswered baskets — capped by a jumper by Upshaw. That's as close as it got before Utah pulled away from the perimeter.

Starting with a jumper from Loveridge, the Utes went on a 23-3 run to put the game out of reach. Utah scored on seven straight possessions during the run — highlighted by three straight Tucker 3-pointers — and took a 66-41 lead with 9:43 remaining.

TIP INS

Utah: Loveridge became the 37th player in Utah history to score at least 1,000 career points. The most recent Ute player to do it was forward Jason Washburn in the 2012-13 season. … The Utes assisted on 12 of 14 baskets in the first half. … Utah has won all five Pac-12 home games by an average margin of 24.8 points per contest.

Washington: Before facing Utah, the Huskies had won all five games where they trailed at halftime this season. Three of those victories came on the road. … Huskies center Robert Upshaw leads the nation in blocked shots (4.4 per game). Washington rank sixth nationally in the category with 6.7 blocks per contest.

UP NEXT

Utah: At UCLA on Thursday.

Washington: Hosts Stanford on Wednesday.
Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times

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SAG Awards 2015: The duds, thuds and wows on the red carpet

We saw dull (Felicity Jones in a blush-pink, off-the-shoulder Balenciaga column), dowdy (Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a subdued black Monique Lhuillier gown with long black lace sleeves) and disappointing (Julianne Moore in an emerald-green beaded Givenchy that lacked that extra oomph).

And we saw more plunge fronts than a water park in high summer.

We also saw a lot of just plain dark outfits, a veritable blackout on an 80-degree day. Lorelei Linklater looked as if she were auditioning for the role of Morticia Addams in a black velvet Honor gown with bell sleeves. Why so serious? It's January in L.A., not New York.

And poor Rosamund Pike, pilloried for her side-scooped white Vera Wang gown at the Golden Globes, didn't even stop to talk to the TV cameras about her ruffled blue high-low Dior gown.

But the SAG Awards red carpet wasn't a total dud.

Reese Witherspoon looked modern and confident in a one-shoulder white Giorgio Armani gown with matte sequin detailing and a deep scoop back. The gown was fitted to perfection, and her sleek ponytail was the right accompaniment. Another white light? Maggie Gyllenhaal in a slinky crepe gown with a sheer bodice panel by Thakoon Panichgul.

Pregnant or not, Keira Knightley was one of the best-dressed in a deep-plum gown by British designer Erdem Moralioglu. The dramatic hue offset the gown's delicate lace tiers.

If you were looking for unusual, Emma Stone wore a Dior design that was one part tuxedo dress, one part sheer ball skirt — altogether sassy and different.

Another cool customer, Claire Danes, chose a Marc Jacobs gown that was anything but standard issue. In olive-drab green, the column dress was embellished with sparkly cabochons. It was a riff on Jacobs' spring 2015 runway collection, which riffed on uniforms of every stripe. And it was the first time I'd seen a Jacobs design on a major awards show red carpet, maybe ever. (Jacobs left his job as creative director of Louis Vuitton after 16 years in 2013 to focus on his own label in New York, and this has to be a feather in his cap.)

When it came to stripes, always a joyful choice for the red carpet when it's nice and warm, Tatiana Maslany wore a side-flounced gown with all-over stripes that recalled beach umbrellas in St. Tropez. The gown was an Oscar de la Renta from 2013. Lupita Nyong'o was thinking along the same lines; she wore a cheery striped and watercolor floral, long sleeve Elie Saab gown.

The biggest fashion risk taker of the night was probably Jennifer Aniston, who chose a vintage gold gown by John Galliano for the simple reason that she'd fallen in love with it, as she told E! Vintage was a big trend on the red carpet in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but lesser so now that luxury labels pay stars big bucks to be walking billboards. Aniston also took a gamble on Galliano, the designer who lost his job at Dior after being caught making racist comments on a camera phone and who recently restarted his career at Maison Martin Margiela.

The dress itself wasn't tremendous, but at least Aniston proved that when it comes to fashion, she's her own woman.

booth.moore@latimes.com
Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times

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