Andy

The wait for tables is getting longer at Buck's, a popular breakfast spot for the tech elite and a weather vane for the Silicon Valley economy. Here, like everywhere else, Facebook is the talk of the town. "Charles Schwab was in the restaurant the other day, and I asked him to hook me up with some Facebook shares," said Jamis MacNiven, owner of Buck's, in the wealthy suburban enclave of Woodside. "He told me even he can't get Facebook shares. " The new tech boom officially gets underway Friday when Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg rings Nasdaq's opening bell remotely from the company's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters, launching the largest initial public offering of stock in Silicon Valley history.

George Lindsey, the Southern-born character actor who played dim hayseed Goober Pyle, the genial gas station auto mechanic on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Mayberry R.F.D.," died early Sunday morning. He was 83. Lindsey, who later was a regular on the long-running country music comedy show "Hee Haw," died at a healthcare center in Nashville after a brief illness, said his manager and booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed. "George Lindsey was my friend," Andy Griffith said in a statement.

Often film sequels are slam dunks at the box office, a seamless continuation from where a previous hit left off. But as the new installment of the 15-year-old franchise "Men in Black" proves, getting to the big screen isn't always a cakewalk. One of the most troubled productions in recent Hollywood memory, Sony Pictures' latest movie in the Will Smith-Tommy Lee Jones sci-fi-comedy franchise encountered multiple script rewrites, a discontented star and a three-month production shutdown as writers and studio executives scrambled to fix a project that nearly fell apart . By the time it was over, the studio had run up a tab of nearly $250 million - making "Men in Black 3" one of the most expensive releases of the summer.

WASHINGTON — New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte threw the perjury prosecution of his friend Roger Clemens into disarray Wednesday when he testified that he could have misunderstood a conversation with Clemens about human growth hormone. Pettitte said he thought Clemens told him sometime in 1999 or 2000 that he used HGH, but he admitted under cross-examination that he was hazy on the details. Is it possible, asked Clemens lawyer Mike Attanasio, that Pettitte misunderstood the critical conversation?

Andy Stern, the powerful and polarizing leader of the Service Employees International Union, is expected to step down as soon as this week, a move that could signal a further reconfiguring of the American labor movement. Several knowledgeable SEIU insiders, speaking on the condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made, said Tuesday that Stern had decided to retire after 14 years as president of the union. About one-third of the organization's 2.2 million members work in California.

Whenever New York shopkeeper Shedeh Tanner and her family hear of someone traveling to Iran, they conspire to smuggle two highly illegal substances to her sister, who sells them secretly from her own store--things so disdained by the Iranian government that anyone caught with them can be fined, jailed or publicly whipped. The contraband? Cassette and videotapes by a pop star named Andy.

If Pixar is the only sure thing in movies today — and it is — then the "Toy Story" franchise is its most reliable component. So while it's not exactly a surprise to say that "Toy Story 3" is everything you hoped it would be, it is something of a relief. For as survivors of say " The Godfather, Part III" remember, the third time can be the death knell for a much admired series. "Toy Story 3" has prospered where others have faltered because it has simultaneously stayed true to its roots and expanded its reach.

In an era of witless, tasteless high concepts, the one in "Nice Girls Don't Explode" (selected theaters) ought to be eligible for some kind of award: maybe the Golden Bomb as "Terms of Endearment" collides with "Carrie." The result is a would-be satire that gouges your ribs, irritates your eyes, dulls your mind: the saga of clinging Mom Flowers (Barbara Harris) and neurotic daughter April (Michelle Meyrink), who apparently sets telekinetic fires whenever she's sexually aroused.

While I was pleased to see Andy get the attention he deserves, I don't feel he deserves the innuendo that he lacks credibility because of a lack of proper "credentials." My first contact with Mr. Lightbody came several years ago when, as a "booker" for several talk shows on KABC Talk Radio, I spied his name in the credits of one of the military magazines you referred to. In the many years and many appearances that Andy has generously agreed to, I believe our listeners truly have benefited from his down-to-earth, common-man explanations of some very complicated matters.

One minute, 4-year-old Andy was right by her side Tuesday afternoon, munching away on a hot dog.The next minute, baby sitter Paula Caceres turned to find a stranger tugging the frightened boy away. Gripped by terror, Caceres said her heart was racing when she ran up to the man while screaming "No!" Startled, the man released Andy's arm and then ran away, she said.

Is a strain of recent abstract painting obsessed with revitalizing the celebrated tradition of the 1950s New York School? A peculiar new show at the Museum of Contemporary Art says yes, proposing that a vigorous revival of Jackson Pollock's drips, Mark Rothko's luminous clouds of color, Franz Kline's muscularity of forms and other painterly concerns from a half-century ago is underway - albeit with a notable twist. The old abstraction recorded the singular hand of the artist at work in the studio.

Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens sat some 20 feet apart, Pettitte on the witness stand and Clemens at the defense table trying to avoid going to jail. The topic: a remark about human growth hormone Pettitte recalled hearing from his longtime teammate, mentor and workout partner a dozen years ago. "Roger had mentioned to me that he had taken HGH," Pettitte testified. "And that it could help with recovery, and that's really all I remember about the conversation. " The rest of the details are fuzzy.

Among the highlights of my conversation with NBA senior photographer Andrew Bernstein: How one of his photos is featured in the playbill of the "Magic/Bird" Broadway show. Why he most cherishes shooting the 1985 NBA Finals. How he managed to arrange photo shoots with Johnson and Bird even moments before a game. Bernstein's take on the relationship between Johnson and Bird. The difficulties in shooting game pictures featuring Johnson and Bird. RELATED: Phil Jackson discusses 'Journey to the Ring' NBA photographer Andrew Bernstein on 'Journey to the Ring' Lakers center Andrew Bynum to have innovative knee procedure in Germany     Andy Bernstein's Magic Johnson, Larry Bird photos featured in play

Homer Osterhoudt was born and raised in Cooperstown, N.Y., site of the Baseball Hall of Fame since 1939. Every summer, when the immortals of the diamond visited for the annual induction ceremony, the longtime mail carrier was waiting on Main Street, camera at the ready. His photographs capture shards of hardball splendor: a dapper Babe Ruth giving his induction speech, Dizzy Dean warming up on the sidelines. "You read about these big-time players in the newspapers," Osterhoudt said, "and here I am taking photographs of them.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Top-seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray, 6-1, 7-6 (4), on Sunday to win his second consecutive Sony Ericsson Open. After a dominating first set, Djokovic needed a rally to capture the title. He trailed 4-3 in the second set, but forced a tiebreaker. Djokovic avenged when Murray defeated him in the 2009 final. Djokovic, who also won in 2007, is now only third player to win the tournament three times, joining Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Djokovic won despite Murray having fresher legs.

Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid on Wednesday addressed last week's report in The Times , citing two unnamed sources, that the Eagles were interested in signing Peyton Manning, and that Reid threatened to walk away from his job if he didn't get more personnel control. As he did in a press release Friday, Reid emphasized that "Mike's my guy," in reference to quarterback Michael Vick, and that he has had personnel control "over the years. " "I've got the final say," he said.

Andy, as they say, has issues. On each rectangular plastic block, she writes a word she associates with her unhappiness. "Embittered." "Domineering." "Fat!!!" "Women." After two painstaking tries, "Perfectionist." And a couple of dozen more. After Andy stacks the blocks, her "life coach," Rhonda, explains the point of the exercise: to help this bright and attractive but abrasive woman understand that she has built her own "wall of excuses," created her own barriers.

By late Friday, it still was too early to tell whether the efforts of two youths to help an elderly heart attack victim were effective, but at least the 17-year-olds had cared enough to try. Andy Ho-Sing-Loy said he and his friend, Titan Leard, both juniors at Mission Viejo High School, were driving on Marguerite Parkway near La Sierra Drive Thursday afternoon when they saw a man's legs sticking out the open door of a parked car.

On the verge of victory, Roger Federer stopped playing when he thought a pivotal point had ended at the Sony Ericsson Open on Saturday at Key Biscayne, Fla. He mistook a fan's shout for a linesman's call, which cost him the game. Play continued for another 25 minutes before Federer finally closed out his opening match by beating 19-year-old American Ryan Harrison , 6-2, 7-6 (3). "I'd like to make it a bit more difficult for my opponent," Federer said. "I was just completely confused about the whole situation.

Monday at Indian Wells brought the issue of U.S. men's tennis to the forefront for review. Pull up a couch. The top-ranked player in the group is Mardy Fish, a bright, personable late-bloomer, who lives in Los Angeles and battled his way from the shadows of a career double-figure ranking into the top 10 last year. He entered this year's BNP Paribas Open ranked and seeded eighth. Monday, he lost to a qualifier, Matthew Ebden of Australia, ranked 91st. The top name player in the group is Andy Roddick, who was the No. 1 player in the world at the end of 2003 and hadn't finished a season out of the top 10 since 2002 -- until last year's No. 14. Roddick is the last U.S. male to win a Grand Slam tournament.