Bigger Picture

Re "Do Hollywood tax credits really help the economy?," Sept. 6 The Times' article expressing skepticism over the effectiveness of tax credits for filming in California avoids mentioning New York. That state's astronomical handout to the film business amounts to more than $400 million a year (compared to the proposed $100 million a year for California through 2018). The success of New York's aggressive program can be measured by several indicators: a tenfold leap in production over as many years; a strengthening of the film talent base; an already booming tourist business that can now boast a "Hollywood on the Hudson" component; a business community well aware that film crews on the streets and on sound stages mean better business for everybody; and a population excited to have yet one more glamorous feather in its cap. The Times notes that other states have not seen this kind of return on their investment.

Willie Green understands his role with the Clippers. It is to start at shooting guard when Chauncey Billups is out with an injury. It is to support his teammates when Billups is playing. It is to be a professional when he doesn't play at all. Green has been in the NBA for 10 years and he's not about to cause any problems, because he is a team-first player. "It helps from the standpoint that I can see the bigger picture," Green said. "And the bigger picture is not me moaning and complaining about a couple of games I don't play in. The bigger is picture is that everybody was brought here with the knowledge that we want to go far in the playoffs.

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.

 “A Teacher,” premiering Sunday as part of the Sundance Film Festival, explores the tabloid-ready story of a female high school teacher engaging in an affair with a male student. Rather than a steamy exploitation picture or overwrought melodrama, writer-director Hannah Fidell's film is a taught, closely observed psychological tale. Posters for the film - showing the back of a woman's head with a tight mess of hair coming undone - capture its essence: the exploration of an emotional unraveling.

Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa ? A British soldier dozes on a military flight to Helmand province, Afghanistan, beside him an ordinary brown box, like a mail parcel. It contains a fat roll of photographic paper belonging to two artists and photographers, Oliver Chanarin and Adam Broomberg, who are "embedded" with the British forces in 2008 ? traveling with the military as a photographer, camera operator or journalist, on its terms. "We decided the only way we could be subversive in this situation was to not take photographs," Chanarin recounts.

A recent letter writer applauded the Port Hueneme City Council for assessing "those people in Surfside." He added: "They seem to object to everything, but the council passed it in spite of them." Those people in the rest of the city (84%) don't seem to realize that the Surfside community is already assessed more than $2 million in homeowner assessments annually to maintain their own properties, which adds to the aesthetics in the area. Before we all become unglued, let's try to look at the bigger picture and recognize that the beach park is an integral part of the whole city.

Do you think your 15-inch or even 17-inch monitor is plenty big enough? If you work regularly with desktop publishing, graphic design, Web page creation or even large spreadsheets--in short, any application that requires a lot of scrolling on your screen--a 19-, 20- or 21-inch monitor will make you more productive. But even if you don't need a larger monitor, you'll definitely want one after you try it out.

Sometimes people who claim to be relatively clueless about stocks and bonds have strong opinions about global affairs or where the broader economy is headed. And that insight into the workings of the "real" economy and geopolitics can sometimes be more valuable to an investor--in terms of catching a windfall or avoiding a major loss--than knowing the nuts and bolts of the financial markets or individual companies.

The indie music act the Polyphonic Spree isn't entertainment for the masses. Neither is the cartoon heroine Holly Hobbie, nor the anime fantasy "Fullmetal Alchemist." That's fine with Jonathan Dern and Greg Rutkowski, co-presidents of digital movie distributor Bigger Picture in Woodland Hills. They figure theaters don't make money when seats are empty during off hours such as mornings or, say, early Monday afternoons.

 “A Teacher,” premiering Sunday as part of the Sundance Film Festival, explores the tabloid-ready story of a female high school teacher engaging in an affair with a male student. Rather than a steamy exploitation picture or overwrought melodrama, writer-director Hannah Fidell's film is a taught, closely observed psychological tale. Posters for the film - showing the back of a woman's head with a tight mess of hair coming undone - capture its essence: the exploration of an emotional unraveling.

Re “ 2 cities' plans to tax sugary drinks fizzle ,” Nov. 8 Voters in El Monte and Richmond saw the bigger picture on election day. Those cities have fantastic (and, in many cases, free) nutrition education programs available. In my experience as a registered dietitian, it is these efforts that can eventually curb our obesity problem. Carol Sloan Long Beach More letters to the editor ...  

Randall Emmett has produced 70 movies - more than super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, more than Paramount Pictures in the last five years, more than he can even remember. Many were low-budget schlock. Some went straight to the DVD shelves. But Emmett has never stopped hustling, calling and yelling at whomever he needs to in order to get that next project made. "He's the Tasmanian devil," says Emmett's longtime producing partner, George Furla. Now Emmett is moving into the big leagues.

Re "Do Hollywood tax credits really help the economy?," Sept. 6 The Times' article expressing skepticism over the effectiveness of tax credits for filming in California avoids mentioning New York. That state's astronomical handout to the film business amounts to more than $400 million a year (compared to the proposed $100 million a year for California through 2018). The success of New York's aggressive program can be measured by several indicators: a tenfold leap in production over as many years; a strengthening of the film talent base; an already booming tourist business that can now boast a "Hollywood on the Hudson" component; a business community well aware that film crews on the streets and on sound stages mean better business for everybody; and a population excited to have yet one more glamorous feather in its cap. The Times notes that other states have not seen this kind of return on their investment.

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.

He may have traded Southern California warmth for the gun-metal skies and windy damp of his native England, but this is surely David Hockney's moment in the sun. His compatriots are busy hailing him as undoubtedly Britain's greatest living painter now that his friend Lucian Freud has died. Queen Elizabeth II just appointed him to the Order of Merit, an honor restricted to 24 Britons at any one time for their contributions to the arts and sciences. In the pages of the Guardian — the left-wing paper to which Hockney regularly dashes off harrumphing letters to the editor — a fashion writer felt moved to confess that the artist, a "brilliantly intentional nerd," was "my all-time style hero.

When it comes to school lunches, federal officials apparently can't see the pizza for the tomato paste. A congressional vote that slightly affected the nutritional content of federally subsidized lunches has prompted cries of outrage because it blocked two proposals by the Obama administration. The whole brouhaha led to silly accusations that the federal government will now count pizza as a vegetable. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, as part of a laudable effort to boost the nutritional quality of school lunches served free or at reduced cost to 31 million children, sought to limit the times children were served potatoes to two per week, and to define a serving of tomato paste as a half-cup.

Re “ 2 cities' plans to tax sugary drinks fizzle ,” Nov. 8 Voters in El Monte and Richmond saw the bigger picture on election day. Those cities have fantastic (and, in many cases, free) nutrition education programs available. In my experience as a registered dietitian, it is these efforts that can eventually curb our obesity problem. Carol Sloan Long Beach More letters to the editor ...  

Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa ? A British soldier dozes on a military flight to Helmand province, Afghanistan, beside him an ordinary brown box, like a mail parcel. It contains a fat roll of photographic paper belonging to two artists and photographers, Oliver Chanarin and Adam Broomberg, who are "embedded" with the British forces in 2008 ? traveling with the military as a photographer, camera operator or journalist, on its terms. "We decided the only way we could be subversive in this situation was to not take photographs," Chanarin recounts.

Month by month, Phil Jackson's departure from the Lakers draws closer and closer. One particular player is finding a way to turn it into a positive. Kobe Bryant doesn't need any added motivation, but he acknowledges the importance of winning one more championship under Jackson. "Yeah, for me especially because we've been together for so long," Bryant said. "I'm going to make sure I do everything in my power to send him off in the right way. " Jackson, 65, reiterated Thursday that he would be done coaching after this season.