Alien Invasion

Aurelio Ramirez, storage manager for Castle Rock Entertainment, climbs over an immense rolled-up rug emblazoned with the presidential seal. "There's the big chandelier from the East Room," he nods, passing among faux marble busts, a presidential bathtub and vivid oil repros of Calvin Coolidge.

Comic actor Ben Stiller will receive the American Cinematheque award at the organization's annual benefit gala on Nov. 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. “Ben Stiller is already a renaissance man of comedy and he's going to be sharing his talents with us for years to come,” noted Cinematheque Chairman Rick Nicita, announcing the honor. Stiller follows past winners such as Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and George Clooney, continuing the Cinematheque's desire to honor A-listers still vital in filmmaking.

Re "Border Plan Seen as U.S. Conceit," Feb. 26 Granted, the goal of the proposed 700-mile barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border is not exactly the same as was the purpose of the former Berlin Wall. This wall is meant to keep people out; that wall was meant to keep people in. However, that differentiation does not make it an acceptable plan. If Americans are serious about keeping illegal undocumented workers from crossing the border, we need to pass fair legislation that would allow for importing the labor our economy requires and then seriously prosecute all Americans who hire illegal workers.

Television In a bold move to lure new viewers, the Sci-Fi Channel launches a four-hour block of first-run programming: new episodes of "Poltergeist: The Legacy" and "Sliders" and two new series--"Farscape" and "First Wave," starring Sebastian Spence as a man trying to expose an alien invasion. * "Poltergeist: The Legacy" airs at 4 and 8 p.m., followed by "Farscape" at 5 and 9 p.m., "Sliders" at 6 and 10 p.m. and "First Wave" at 7 and 11 p.m. Sci-Fi Channel.

SERIES Live to Dance: "American Idol's" Paula Abdul mentors a new batch of contestants on the premiere this talent competition (8 p.m. CBS). The Biggest Loser: The weight-loss competition returns for another go-round (8 p.m. NBC). Nova: The science series journeys to Antarctica to uncover "Secrets Beneath the Ice" (8 and 10 p.m. KOCE). V: The alien-invasion thriller starring Scott Wolf, Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin returns (9 p.m. ABC). 16 and Pregnant: This episode catches viewers up with some of the teens featured on the docu-series (10 p.m. MTV)

Re "Fear and Loathing on the Highway," Nov. 10: Sport utility vehicles return the highest profit per unit than any other category of automobile. This, combined with lower safety requirements (read: lower costs of manufacture) and higher fuel consumption, makes these vehicles very desirable items for both the auto and the gas industries to push on to the consumer. Again, it appears we are being led to think what the Industrial Powers want us to think, rather than to use our common sense.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- As Colorado's wildfires continued to burn unabated, Penny Carroll, frantic for any scrap of information about the fate of her home, pored over an aerial shot on the Internet of her Colorado Springs neighborhood. Then she saw an intact roof - her roof. Or at least she's pretty sure it is. “I have a roof. I'm going with that. Oh, thank God,” she said Thursday, allowing joy to enter her voice for the first time since she fled her home two days earlier.

JUST how funny you'll find "Invasion! The Musical" depends on your affinity for the kind of humor that appeals primarily to drunk undergraduates. Which is to say, anything involving cleavage, virgins, genitalia, homosexuality and uncontrollable flatulence. Cheerfully obscene, this adults-only musical spoofs the age-old alien-invasion genre.

A cause of death has been determined for an 11-year-old upstate New York girl who died Wednesday while playing miniature golf in Orlando, Fla.; she was electrocuted, officials have determined. The child, identified as Ashton Jojo of Latham, N.Y., apparently had reached into a small pond at the Orange Lake Resort to retrieve her golf ball, Florida officials told the Orlando Sentinel. The Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner announced the cause of death on  Thursday. Orange County code enforcement officers inspected the pond and found possible violations, the newspaper said.