Birthday Party

The devoted threw a party fit for a prince: There were dancers, singers and synchronized swimmers, not to mention unnamed foreign dignitaries -- all celebrating the 68th birthday Tuesday of Kim Jong Il, North Korea's glorious "Dear Leader." In Pyongyang, state-run media lauded a national hero "praised by mankind as the most outstanding political elder and the peerlessly brilliant commander of the present era." Outside the isolationist state, though, the take on Kim's milestone was a bit less breathless as analysts questioned his physical and mental health following a suspected stroke in 2008.

Los Angeles art lion Ed Moses threw himself an 85th birthday dinner last year that inspired guest and Bergamot Station gallery owner William Turner to organize an exhibition of work by some of Moses' multi-generational group of artist friends who attended, "to take a snapshot of these relationships at a moment in time," Turner says. "Ed's Party: Spheres of Influence in the L.A. Art Scene" runs through April 16 at the William Turner Gallery, where Moses spoke recently. Tell me about the birthday party that inspired the show.

People with strabismus -- better known as being cross-eyed -- face many hurdles aside from their vision. Studies have shown that adults with the condition are less likely to be in a romantic relationship , less likely to have a job , and more likely to have "psychosocial problems. " One study of elementary school teachers found that they were biased against kids with the condition, scoring them lower than normal children on measures of health, happiness and ability to work hard.

  Escorted by knights on horseback, a horde of former Joans of Arc paraded this year's Joan through the darkened streets of a city liberated by their namesake nearly six centuries ago. They were headed to Sainte-Croix Cathedral, where, like a martial Rose Queen, she was handed her sword. As the cathedral filled Friday night to celebrate the 600th birthday of a teenage girl who claimed to hear the voice of God, medieval maidens wearing flowing headdresses giggled on cellphones, bagpipe players from Nantes huddled in a corner and the knights in shining armor wandered through the crowd.

A 20-year-old Buena Park woman was stabbed during a late-night birthday party, police said Sunday. When officers arrived in the 5400 block of Pembury Drive just before midnight Saturday to find the woman suffering from a minor stab wound in her upper left chest. The victim, whose identity has not been released, identified her attacker as Sean MacNamara, a 19-year-old La Palma resident who had left the scene, said Police Sgt. Eric Nunez. Police arrested MacNamara after a brief search.

The "birthday" party for Mrs. Kemp, wife of VP candidate Jack Kemp in a Fillmore city park, billed as a historical event is a political event. Children were let out of the local public school to attend, and these kids were instructed to make signs of greeting. Persons of the opposing party were told they could not display partisan signs. That is unlawful, unconstitutional. Anybody can carry a picket style sign following the rules for doing so like "keep moving, don't block fire lanes, don't block entrances, etc."

Chinese President Yang Shangkun is among dignitaries traveling to the North Korean capital for President Kim Il Sung's 80th birthday celebration on Wednesday. While no one expects Kim to give up real power as long as he remains healthy, there has been speculation that the occasion may be used to transfer additional authority to his son and designated successor, Kim Jong Il.

Pop stars will be in the front row helping former South African President Nelson Mandela celebrate his 85th birthday on Friday. Destiny's Child singer Beyonce Knowles will host "Meeting Mandela: A Staying Alive Special," in which Mandela addresses the African HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Israel-Palestinian conflict and other political and social issues. The one-hour show, shot in Johannesburg and being carried internationally, airs in the U.S. Friday at 8 p.m.

In 1781, 11 families from Mexico left San Gabriel Mission and walked west to land granted them by the King of Spain. They arrived at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, where Olvera Street and the Avila Adobe are now familiar landmarks of early Los Angeles. This weekend, both the mission and El Pueblo will hold celebrations--the mission celebrating its 223rd fiesta, Friday through Sunday, and El Pueblo commemorating the founding of the City of Los Angeles with a 213th birthday party on Labor Day.

President Clinton celebrated his 49th birthday Saturday with golf and a "surprise" birthday party reported nationwide before it happened. The President's party was at the 135-acre estate of World Bank President James Wolfensohn. "He was as surprised as anyone can be after having the surprise reported in the national and local press," said White House spokeswoman Ginny Terzano, who relayed details of the private party to waiting reporters.

A gunman opened fire at a late-night party in South Los Angeles, killing one person and wounding eight others in a shooting that sent revelers crashing through fences to escape bullets, authorities said Saturday. Devon Hakilmy, 19, was pronounced dead at the scene and eight people were taken to nearby hospitals, two of them in critical condition, after the shooting Friday night. A Los Angeles Police Department source familiar with the investigation said detectives believe Hakilmy was not a target of the gunman.

The Statue of Liberty officially turns 125 on Oct. 28, when musical programs and special tours are planned to mark the event. The next day, the entire inside of the national monument will be closed for a $27.25 million renovation expected to last a year, the National Park Service announced Wednesday. The work won't affect the outside of the building on Liberty Island, however, which will remain open to visitors throughout the project. Upgrades will be made to the statue's pedestal and the "200-year-old fort base from which the statue rises," including new elevators and stairways, redone bathrooms and improved electrical and mechanical systems, the park service says.

Six people died and four were injured when a gunman opened fire during a family birthday party at a Grand Prairie roller rink Saturday evening. The shooting at Forum Roller World occurred when a family member drew a pistol during what apparently started as a fight between a husband and wife, police said. "It was an argument. The shooter had gotten into here at a private birthday party," said John Brimmer, Grand Prairie police spokesman. "It escalated to the point where he pulled a gun and started shooting.

Rarely does a birthday gift provoke a public spat, but rarely is a birthday gift a double-decker cantilever bridge immortalized in song and on film and designated a civil engineering landmark, right up there with the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. To Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, it made perfect sense to use former Mayor Ed Koch's 86th birthday to announce plans to rename the Queensboro Bridge ? linking Manhattan to the borough of Queens ? after Koch, who spearheaded efforts to repair New York's aging bridges as the city emerged from near-bankruptcy in the 1970s.

The Palmdale Holiday Inn banquet room at Darren W. Parker's recent 51st birthday party was jammed with supporters who had gathered on the chilly high desert evening to celebrate their candidate and wish him luck. By most accounts, he'll need it. Parker, a Democrat in a sprawling district that consistently votes Republican, is competing against former GOP legislator Sharon Runner, half of a popular political couple with deep ties to the area, in a special election next week to fill her husband's former state Senate seat.

The cast members of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" insist they're not ladies who lunch. Ignore the fact that they're at Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills shortly before noon poking at platters topped with ahi tuna tartare, crispy rock shrimp, and smoked salmon pizza. "This is a rarity. Really, it is," said Lisa Vanderpump-Todd, one of the newest inductees to the "Housewives" franchise who also happens to own the restaurant. "We're really not women who lunch. I mean, look at these ladies.

Oscar Otter's birthday party was coming, and he was going to have a party, so he invited each of his friends. Barney Owl said, "Who-ooo--oo me?" Sandra Skunk smiled instead of smelled. Winston Woodchuck wiggled wildly. Terence Turtle was terribly tickled. Patsy Porcupine prickled with pleasure. Each animal thought and thought about what present to bring. At last they all decided and started off to the party. Barney Owl took crunchy beetles. Sandra Skunk took pheasant eggs.

Imagine you turned 10,000 years old ? and nobody showed up at your birthday party. That's a bit how they're feeling in the ancient West Bank city of Jericho, believed to be one of the world's oldest continually inhabited settlements. Three years ago, Palestinians made big plans for Jericho's historic birthday. Nobody really knows the exact anniversary, but Palestinians thought 10-10-10 had a good ring to it. The idea was to host an international blowout to rival the 2000 millennium, including fireworks, laser shows, half a million guests and a who's who of international dignitaries.

Blake Edwards has been the guiding force on such comedic classics as 1959's "Operation Petticoat" and 1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's," not to mention the "Pink Panther" films with Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. On Thursday, Edwards will be on hand to talk about his career at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater. A screening of his 1981 Hollywood satire, "S.O.B.," starring Edwards' wife, Julie Andrews, and William Holden in his final film, will follow the discussion.