Cole

The Cole incident produces a lot of sympathetic rhetoric but tends to negate the lack of security surrounding a billion-dollar ship in less than friendly waters. There is no way a foreign contractor should be allowed anywhere near a U.S. warship unescorted. Put the blame where it belongs, in the lap of lapsed vigilance on the part of the U.S. Navy. WALTER ENGLERT Canyon Country

Bryce Harper, the rookie phenom on the once lowly Washington Nationals, will dig into the batter's box and look to exact some more revenge against the Phillies’ lefthander Cole Hamels on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. The last meeting of the two ended with Hamels being suspended and Harper rubbing a sore back as the Phillies pitcher “welcomed” the rookie into the league with a 93-mph purpose pitch to the kidneys ( see video above).

I think you may have forgotten part of Cole's history ["A Night at Cole's: It's Social Security," by Margaret Wappler, April 13]. I moved to Los Angeles from the Midwest in 1948 (58 years ago, long before the Benishtis bought Cole's). If memory serves me, at that time there were two well-known cafeterias in Los Angeles, Clifton's and Cole's. I remember making the trek to L.A. from Boyle Heights, where we lived for a while, when our budget would allow it. Not often, but memorable.

Cole Hamels earned a five-game suspension for the way he welcomed Bryce Harper to the big leagues. The 2008 World Series most valuable player was suspended for intentionally throwing at the Washington rookie in the Philadelphia Phillies' 9-3 win over the Nationals on Sunday night. Major League Baseball announced the penalty Monday. Hamels also was fined. "I was trying to hit him," Hamels, a two-time All-Star left-hander, said Sunday night. "I'm not going to deny it. I'm not trying to injure the guy. They're probably not going to like me for it, but I'm not going to say I wasn't trying to do it. I think they understood the message, and they threw it right back.

Though "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" will probably always be known primarily as the last film for actor Heath Ledger, it may someday also be recognized as the first real film role for Lily Cole. The 21-year-old British-born Cole already has been one of the world's top models since being discovered at the age of 14. With her distinctive wide-set eyes, tiny button mouth, porcelain-pale skin and bright red hair, there is something ethereal, almost alien about her, an in-built strangeness that director Terry Gilliam set to full use in "Parnassus," which opened in Los Angeles on Christmas Day and will expand to theaters nationwide on Jan. 8. "That's why I cast her," said Gilliam.

Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens Frank Oppenheimer and the World He Made Up K.C. Cole Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: 416 pp., $27 Skills or content? This is an age-old question in education, currently taking the form of "21st Century Skills" versus "Cultural Literacy." Simply put, should children be taught how to do things, or to know stuff? Both arguments have merit, but the problem with the skills-content dichotomy is that it leaves out an essential ingredient: the sense of curiosity, exploration and discovery, without which no learning can truly happen.

On an acknowledgments page, Times science writer K.C. Cole says she was surprised when her editor told her she had written a book about mathematics. She had intended to write a book that surveyed trends in contemporary science, and she has, delightfully, but math is the common thread that binds it all together. What do the largest galaxy and the smallest teacup have in common? Answer: mathematical structure. Cole's book is a loving paean to the awesome power and beauty of mathematics.

The "G" in GOP used to stand for "Grand." These days, it seems to stand for "God, Guns, Greed and Gingrich." ROB COLE North Hills

MUSIC Drake, hip-hop's current reigning angsty king, headlines Power 106 FM's Cali Christmas, a compendium of rap-adjacent artists including Big Sean, J. Cole and YG. Drizzy Drake is clearly the main draw here, as the smash success of his new album "Take Care" indicates, and its woozy, piano-driven atmosphere will be an interesting fit in a large amphitheater. Gibson Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. 7:30 p.m. Fri. $45-$125. livenation.com.

Cole's grandma named her puppy Hot Dog because he looks like a plump sausage. Cole volunteered to dog-sit while she's on vacation. She'll be surprised to see his new tricks. "Fetch!" Hot Dog races down the hall. Cole chases after him, bumping into a table. His notebook hits the floor and pops open. Hot Dog snatches his homework. "No!" Cole shouts. Too late. His book report is chomped to bits. "Ms. Allen will never believe this!" His teacher had assigned the first "Little House on the Prairie" book.

No hits,no regrets Philadelphia's Cole Hamels and the Angels' Jered Weaver were born a year apart, Hamels in San Diego and Weaver in Northridge. Each made his major league debut in May 2006. The career numbers are strikingly similar. Hamels has pitched 1,194 innings, Weaver 1,176. Hamels is 77-55 with a 3.38 earned-run average, 297 walks and 1,127 strikeouts. Weaver is 86-47 with a 3.24 ERA, 315 walks and 1,022 strikeouts. Yet one number will be dramatically different, the number following the dollar sign.

Panel: Science: The Adventure of the Mind When: 1:30 p.m. April 22 Where: Norris Theater on the USC campus Who: Leonard Mlodinow, Dean Buonomano, K.C. Cole, moderator Jennifer Ouellette For more information: events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks

Bob Henry, an Emmy Award-winning television variety-show producer and director who produced Nat King Cole's groundbreaking musical variety program in the 1950s and helped make Flip Wilson a household name as the producer of his hit comedy-variety show in the 1970s, has died. He was 92. Henry died of age-related causes Sunday at his home in Laguna Beach, said his wife, Annette. A TV career that spanned more than 50 years began when Henry became an associate producer on NBC's "The Colgate Comedy Hour" in New York in the early '50s.

MUSIC Drake, hip-hop's current reigning angsty king, headlines Power 106 FM's Cali Christmas, a compendium of rap-adjacent artists including Big Sean, J. Cole and YG. Drizzy Drake is clearly the main draw here, as the smash success of his new album "Take Care" indicates, and its woozy, piano-driven atmosphere will be an interesting fit in a large amphitheater. Gibson Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. 7:30 p.m. Fri. $45-$125. livenation.com.

When Marines escorted Abd al Rahim al Nashiri into a packed courtroom at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the first time Wednesday, the alleged mastermind of the bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole and other terrorist attacks wore his usual prison garments: baggy white pants, V-neck shirt and black high-top sneakers. The military judge warned Nashiri that his attire could prejudice a jury when his trial starts late next year. A defendant has a right to wear a suit in court, the judge advised.

The first military tribunal of a terrorism suspect at Guantanamo Bay since President Obama was elected is a lose-lose proposition for the accused, a Saudi suspect who has been in U.S. custody for nearly a decade. If convicted of directing the bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole in October 2000, Abd al Rahim al Nashiri could be sentenced to death. But even if he is acquitted of all charges, he can be held indefinitely as an "enemy combatant. " The unusual proceeding, which opens Wednesday at the prison in Cuba, highlights a continuing legal and ethical dilemma for the Obama administration.

NATALIE COLE "Good to Be Back." Capitol . 1/2: POP STARS . . Great Balls of Fire . . Knockin' On Heaven's Door . Good Vibrations . Maybe Baby Ain't That a Shame Cole's follow-up to her gold comeback album "Everlasting" incorporates a dazzling variety of styles. The songs range from the elegant, theatrical single "Miss You Like Crazy" to the spicy, Latin-tinged title song to a jazzy remake of the Ink Spots' standard "Someone's Rockin' My Dreamboat." Often when an artist tackles such a wide array of styles on an album, the results are self-consciously showy.

What a wonderful story on Jack Cole ("Moving Marilyn Monroe," Aug. 9). He was one of the top choreographers of the era. I was a "boy dancer" 50 and 60 years ago in New York and Hollywood. Didn't get to work with Cole although I did audition for him once in New York. I studied his technique from two of his dancers, one in New York and one in Chicago. Loved it. It was my favorite form of jazz dancing. Jack Moore Palm Springs

Reporting from St. Louis -- Every time Cole Hamels took the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 postseason, he had the perfect formula. "Sometimes you just have blind luck," he said Monday. "And I just happened to be on my game and everything was just working, and [we were] able to get the runs for me. " His 2008 National League Championship Series and World Series most-valuable-player awards can be attributed to his 4-0 record and 1.80 earned-run average. In 35 innings over five starts in that postseason, he walked nine, struck out 30 and opponents hit .190.

The Guantanamo Bay war crimes tribunal may stir back to life next month after the Pentagon filed capital charges Wednesday against a Saudi prisoner in the 2000 attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole in a Yemeni port. Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, 46, must be arraigned within 30 days on the nine murder, conspiracy and terrorism charges filed by the head of the military commissions war court. The Saudi of Yemeni descent is accused of plotting the attack in which two suicide bombers crashed an explosives-laden boat into the destroyer during a refueling stop, killing 17 U.S. sailors and injuring about 40 others.