Bob Rogers

A space shuttle launch is, of course, an immensely technological and coordinated event. Visiting NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston as a tourist is, well, another matter. The free tour at the center, which has dozens of buildings in a campuslike setting, consists of showing visitors a modest museum and giving them maps so that they can find the handful of buildings open to the public. About 1 million people arrive each year and try not to get lost, but often do.

When he set up shop in his garage two decades ago, Bob Rogers made his living designing attractions and producing films for theme parks and fairs. Today, the head of BRC Imagination Arts says that amusement work has declined and the real growth is in bringing theme park-style innovations to other venues, including corporate headquarters and museums.

When he set up shop in his garage two decades ago, Bob Rogers made his living designing attractions and producing films for theme parks and fairs. Today, the head of BRC Imagination Arts says that amusement work has declined and the real growth is in bringing theme park-style innovations to other venues, including corporate headquarters and museums.

Burbank nice guy Bob Rogers can sometimes sound like a modest Hollywood film producer: "I want my work to touch the mind and the heart. I want to tell stories." Or he can talk like a techno-philosopher: "The man who owns a hammer sees every nail as a problem." Or like a cinematic dreamer: "I want to think beyond the rectangle." Sounds like heavy stuff out of Burbank. But unlike Oakland, there's a there there as Rogers and his neighborhood go for bigger prizes.

Burbank nice guy Bob Rogers can sometimes sound like a modest Hollywood film producer: "I want my work to touch the mind and the heart. I want to tell stories." Or he can talk like a techno-philosopher: "The man who owns a hammer sees every nail as a problem." Or like a cinematic dreamer: "I want to think beyond the rectangle." Sounds like heavy stuff out of Burbank. But unlike Oakland, there's a there there as Rogers and his neighborhood go for bigger prizes.

A Thousand Oaks couple, who say a city storm drain has caused severe flooding on their property, sued the city in Ventura County Superior Court on Wednesday. Donald and Jean Lowe claim that a storm-drain system fails to divert water from Moorpark Road, leading to serious damage to their home and property on Calle Jazmin. They asked for a restraining order to prevent the city from operating the system. Their attorney, Steven E.

The Murdock Development Co., which plans to build a 14-story, 215-room luxury hotel at the southwest corner of Westwood Village, has appealed an action by the Los Angeles Planning Commission that would reduce the project to about half of its proposed size. City hearing examiner Bob Rogers said the appeal is expected to result in a City Council vote on the project sometime in November.

Sting Makes Environmental Hall of Fame: Rock star and human rights activist Sting became the only musician on the "save-the-planet" band wagon to make Rolling Stone's environmental Hall of Fame in its upcoming Earth Day issue. Sting was commended for founding and supporting the Rainforest Organization, which is dedicated to saving the Amazon and the native tribes who have lived there for thousands of years.

For feature-film makers, an Academy Award nomination usually translates into added revenues at the box office, increased videocassette sales and bigger budgets for future projects. A win simply multiplies the take. But for the vanishing breed who produce short films, the end result of a victory on Oscar night is "mostly honor and prestige," said producer-director Bob Rogers, whose "Rainbow War" is one of three nominees in this year's Live Action Short category.

A space shuttle launch is, of course, an immensely technological and coordinated event. Visiting NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston as a tourist is, well, another matter. The free tour at the center, which has dozens of buildings in a campuslike setting, consists of showing visitors a modest museum and giving them maps so that they can find the handful of buildings open to the public. About 1 million people arrive each year and try not to get lost, but often do.

It's an old advertising trick of movie studios to showcase blurbs from reviews that are adulatory only because they've been taken out of context. Gary Schwartz noticed an extreme case involving the Paramount movie "Sleepy Hollow." A seemingly gushy Newsweek blurb was actually missing a sardonic reference to movies "about multiple decapitations" (see exhibit at right). Newsweek's Jeff Giles, who wrote the clever review, phoned a Paramount representative to protest.

When the Glen Ellen Winery in 1983 began to make popular-priced Chardonnay, winemaker Bruce Rector knew he couldn't afford to buy new French oak barrels for the wines. Such barrels were so expensive (today they run $600 each and may be used to full effect only three times) that they would have pushed the cost of the wine to such a level that it would no longer be popularly priced.