Bananas

THERE'S NO explaining superstition. Wherever luck turns mysteriously bad, you'll find an explanation -- and possibly, a fix. Take the banana. For some reason, saltwater anglers bash this fruit, which they fear brings bad luck. It's a superstition that's been around for decades -- perpetuated by recreational and commercial fishermen who also spit on their baits, never wash a lucky fishing shirt or hang garlic to ward off evil spirits.

A hunt is underway in San Francisco to find a 2-pound squirrel monkey that disappeared from the zoo Friday morning after vandals broke into his exhibit. Banana Sam, 17 years old, disappeared overnight after vandals cut two holes in the mesh of the squirrel monkey exhibit. Sam is 1 foot tall and looks harmless but has sharp teeth and "will definitely bite if provoked," San Francisco Zoo officials said in a statement. "He is a valued member of the zoo, and we wish for a safe and speedy return," officials said.

Anyone who has taken the scenic drive along the 101 Freeway just north of Ventura couldn't miss them: rows and rows of lush banana plants hung thick with fruit. It was as though a bit of South America had come seaside in Southern California. Doug Richardson's small banana plantation was the only substantial planting in California--and they weren't just any bananas.

Cries of "punk is dead" resurface every few years, but it's been hard to make that case of late as scads of fast, noisy bands are gaining acclaim. Melt Banana, the Japanese titans of thrashy tumult, have been at it for ages, and they top a great bill of like-minded veterans including locals 400 Blows and the supergroup Retox. Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Sun. $15. http://www.attheecho.com

Kenneth Turan is mistaken when he implies that "Antz" is the first film to bring together Woody Allen and Sylvester Stallone ("Life Down Under," Oct. 2). That distinction goes to Allen's 1971 film, "Bananas." Allen cast the then-unknown Stallone in a bit part as a subway terrorist. WILLIAM POUNDSTONE Los Angeles

Banana importers agreed to undertake an unprecedented monitoring program last week after unusually high pesticide residues in some tested fruit prompted California heath officials to consider issuing a health advisory for small children, state and federal officials said Wednesday. In addition to pledging to monitor every shipment of bananas entering the United States over the next 90 days, the industry will discontinue using the pesticide aldicarb on bananas.

Dole Foods Co., the world's largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables, said it will begin selling organic bananas under the Dole name, tapping into the $6-billion organic products market. The bananas will be grown in Ecuador and Honduras on farms that have been certified as organic by U.S.-based agencies, Dole said. The company will begin selling organic bananas Feb. 1. Rival Chiquita Brands International Inc. has no current plans to sell organic bananas under its label, a spokeswoman said.

Britain's Labor government may help launch a boycott of Central American bananas to protest working conditions on the region's plantations, a spokeswoman said. The boycott could help Caribbean growers who fear a loss of sales to Britain because of a World Trade Organization rule forcing the European Union to import cheaper bananas from Central America. International Development Minister George Foulkes is to announce a plan today to promote a "fair trade" label on Caribbean bananas.

Regarding "Curse of the Forbidden Fruit" [June 14], about the superstition against bananas on sportfishing boats, not so on the yachts the late skipper Gene Grimes piloted over many years here and off Baja. He seldom, if ever, went fishing without a bowl of bananas on the galley table. His record of catching and releasing more than 70 broadbill swordfish in these waters likely will never be matched. Bill Beebe Mar Vista

What's this about parks not being welcome in Dana Point ("Parks Have Worn Out Their Welcome," Jan. 25)? Where have I been hiding out lately? I knew it was bad news when we lost our Park and Recreation Commission. If a park is a haven for crime and violence as Councilman Mike Eggers contends, let's do something about it, Mike! Brighter lights, more police surveillance. As far as attracting "undesirable elements," a member of our Planning Commission, Carlos Olvera, thinks it's partly the NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard)

If you are a young man in Beijing and you can't afford a car or an apartment, the next best thing is an iPhone, or better yet an iPad. The cult of Apple reigns supreme in China, to the extent that people like Alex Xing, who works in his family's medical supply business, call it "the era of Apple. " "Only the old guys, like 20 years older than me, still use Nokias," said Xing, a 26-year-old hipster who wears self-consciously nerdy black eyeglasses, jeans and sneakers. He cradled his own prized telephone close to his heart as he spoke.

The NHL said Friday that the throwing of a banana from the stands during an exhibition hockey game involving a black player was "stupid and ignorant. " The banana was thrown from the crowd in London, Ontario, on Thursday as Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds , who is black, was skating toward the Detroit goal during a shootout. "We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

It was a new, foodie-type twist to the old inner-city gun buyback program. Hunger Action L.A., an advocacy group that helps to feed the poor and promotes healthful eating, called on Koreatown residents to surrender their high-calorie soft drinks on Saturday and get a bag of fresh fruits and vegetables in return. The "soda exchange," which was held as part of an annual food fair at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, wasn't exactly a raging success, however. Only two residents from the area around Normandie Avenue and Olympic Boulevard took their sodas to the fair.

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World A Pedestrian in Paris John Baxter Harper Perennial: 336 pp., $14.99 "Paris belongs to its piétons — the pedestrians. One goes naturally à pied — on foot. And it's only on foot that you discover its richness and variety," explains John Baxter, who has written many books on Paris, reading, cooking, movies and sex. Perhaps his Francophilia began when he married a French woman, or perhaps earlier when he first read Hemingway (although "read" seems too tame a word for a man who seems to have devoured the work)

  Wheat beer just cries out for fruit flavors. Citrus and raspberry are traditional in Germany, and we've seen a couple of fine American apricot wheat beers. Now a Hawaiian brewery has taken the obvious step, throwing in locally grown pineapple. The combination works so well you might wonder why nobody seems to have tried it before. The beer pours medium gold and cloudy with a high though not terribly persistent head. At first all you're likely to detect in the nose is a nice bright Hefeweizen aroma of bananas and clove.

The State Bar of California has declined to discipline a Los Angeles attorney who was accused of orchestrating a massive fraud in representing Nicaraguan banana workers in lawsuits against U.S. corporations, according to a document reviewed by The Times. Then-Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victoria G. Chaney had referred attorney Juan Dominguez, a personal injury lawyer whose ads are ubiquitous on Los Angeles buses, to the state bar after she made findings that he was central in a scheme to recruit fake plaintiffs, coach them to lie about working on Dole-affiliated banana farms, and fabricate medical evidence.

Ecuador has received the go-ahead from the World Trade Organization to impose $201.6 million in annual sanctions against the European Union in their long-running banana dispute, diplomatic sources said. The South American nation had requested permission to impose sanctions of $450 million. Ecuador, the world's largest producer of bananas, pushed last year to impose the sanctions after a WTO ruling that the EU banana import policy discriminates against Latin American producers.

ABC television, which promotes its programs on TV, radio, billboards and buses, is going where no network has gone before--bananas. ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co., said Wednesday that it plans to place advertising stickers on 15 million bananas in produce sections of grocery stores throughout America.

My 86-year-old sister takes amitriptyline. I worry that this drug could be affecting her balance. She uses a cane and always seems unsteady on her feet. She has fallen many times. Is amitriptyline safe for someone her age? This antidepressant is generally considered inappropriate for older people. Although it is sometimes prescribed to ease nerve pain or help people sleep, amitriptyline can cause mental confusion, lack of coordination, dizziness, dry mouth, blurred vision and constipation.

Sen. Harry Reid strolled into Nevada Democratic Party headquarters just before lunch Tuesday to thank volunteers busily phoning voters who had yet to cast their ballots. He handed a small loaf of banana nut bread wrapped in yellow cellophane to Ruth Fuggins, though she wasn't exactly sure why. Fuggins, a 66-year-old retired bank supervisor, has been volunteering for the Democrat's campaign for about a year, but doesn't know Reid personally. Regardless, she was touched by the somewhat awkward gesture: Reid isn't a show boater and Fuggins appreciated that.