Gallagher

Gallagher looked stymied. "Where's my Rolodex watch?" It would take a voluminous auctioneer's catalogue to list all the props, gadgets and comically improbable items littered throughout the house where comedian Gallagher's feverish imagination creates its tangible residue.

John Lennon got verbally crucified in 1966 for declaring that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Now, Noel Gallagher has topped that by asserting that God is a fan of Oasis. Noel, the former lead songwriter of the Beatles-obsessed band from Manchester, told Britain's the Sun newspaper that he already had his sales pitch ready to persuade St. Peter to open the pearly gates when he arrived in the afterlife. "I'd say, 'You've heard "Don't Look Back in Anger"?' and they'd say, 'Of course.' I'd say, 'Look, it's me, let us in. I can play you a tune.

Gallagher is the undisputed king of prop comedy, which--depending on how you look at it--is either a compliment or the ultimate put-down. Many comedy purists say props are the lazy comic's way to a cheap laugh. Gallagher doesn't do interviews, so the only thing speaking in his defense is success: One of the top-drawing comics around, Gallagher stars in his own TV specials and commonly sells out big halls in multinight runs.

A lot has been made of organic cotton and other eco-friendly fabrics made from Tencel, hemp and bamboo as fashion rides the mega-trend of environmentalism. But recycled clothes purchased at thrift and consignment stores, as well as upcycled items reworked from out-of-date castoffs, may be an even greener choice. Almost half of the climate impact of clothing occurs before it reaches consumers. It was this idea I embraced when I hired a wardrobe consultant for a desperately needed eco fashion makeover.

With the plaintiff's attorney as his fuming straight man and a snickering, incredulous jury as his audience, comedian Gallagher performed what might be called a witness stand-up routine in Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday. Waving his arms, wisecracking and pouring on the sarcasm, the manic comedian bedeviled James R. Gorman, an attorney representing a Rancho Santa Margarita woman who has sued Gallagher, claiming she was injured by one of his stage props three years ago.

The penguin is indeed innocent, and the comedian Gallagher, who for a week has been the self-appointed Orange County Superior Court jester, is off the hook. A 12-member jury decided Thursday that the irrepressible funnyman and his two-foot-tall penguin doll were not responsible for head and neck injuries an Orange County woman said she suffered after the stage prop allegedly hit her at a 1990 show in San Juan Capistrano.

COMEDY Now in its eighth season, the Los Angeles Comedy Festival is a showcase of all things funny ? including stand-up performances, sketch, improv, short films and features ? and a medley of live performances and screenings of comedic films from across the country. Highlights include alternative stand-up from melon-smashing Gallagher, improv from the Younger Statesmen and much more. Acme Comedy Theatre, 135 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Nov. 21. Check website for additional times.

The idea first came to Gallagher last winter in Puerto Rico. Or maybe it was Aruba. Well, it doesn't really matter; from inside a hotel room, they look pretty much the same anyway. Besides, the important thing is that an idea came. When you make your living smashing overripe fruit with a 16-pound mallet, you take your revelations when and where you can get them. "I thought to myself, 'These aren't foreign countries,' " the melon-mashing comedian recounts.

There, perched before the Orange County Superior Court jury, sat the unlikely source of the pain and suffering that Robin Vann says has plagued her for three years--a two-foot-tall, brown, furry penguin doll with a small red bow tie. Vann, 29, is suing the owner of the penguin, impish comedian Gallagher, over the head injuries she said resulted when the stage prop--and the weighty fire extinguisher inside it--came hurtling down at her during a 1990 performance.

For Gallagher, there are two kinds of penguin suits. There's the legal kind, as in the recent highly publicized lawsuit that resulted when an Orange County woman alleged that she was injured by a penguin doll used in the comedian's act. And there's the kind he'll be wearing during photo and autograph sessions today and Sunday at Knott's Berry Farm. Gallagher also has had 20 little penguin suits made for kids to wear during the sessions.

MUSIC Noel Gallagher The former Oasis staple is front and center, both live and on his solo debut, "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. " Not as memorable as Oasis' best anthems in the '90s or as nasally rock-ready as his brother's latest incarnation, Beady Eye, but the album hovers within a melodic good-to-average middle ground. The album encircles themes of love, melancholy and aging. Royce Hall, UCLA. 8 p.m. $37-$77. uclalive.org . Kyuss Lives! Ax wielder Josh Homme may have moved on to Queens of the Stone Age, but the band he helped jump-start two decades ago in Palm Desert lives on. Vocalist John Garcia has reunited with Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri to continue the group's heavy metal desert rock assault.

MUSIC Noel Gallagher is front and center, both live and on his solo debut, "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. " Not as memorable as Oasis' best anthems in the '90s, or as nasally rock-ready as his brother's latest incarnation, Beady Eye, the album hovers within a melodic good-to-average middle ground. If Liam hones the Stones, Noel reworks later-era Kinks, forgoing guitar theatrics for the inclusion of strings, horns and a chorus. The album encircles themes of love, melancholy and aging.

"No one told me Neil Young recorded here!" Noel Gallagher exclaimed, standing amid stuffed polar bears and ornate Italianate antiques in the grand room of the Paramour. The Silver Lake mansion is where Young made "Le Noise," and it's where Gallagher shot his music video in August for "If I Had a Gun…," the first U.S. single off his solo debut, "High Flying Birds," released Tuesday. Gallagher is both an apt pupil of rock history and a part of it: He rose to fame in the '90s as the guitarist and songwriter for Oasis, penning hits like "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova" that transformed the Britpop group from Manchester, England, into superstars, selling more than 70 million albums worldwide.

The Los Angeles Times has named Jimmy Orr as managing editor, online, to oversee its Web news operations and its expanding portfolio of digital and mobile news properties. Orr, 45, who is currently deputy editor, online, will assume his new duties Feb. 28. He will replace Sean Gallagher, who is leaving The Times and relocating to London. Orr will oversee latimes.com and coordinate The Times' print, Web, social networking and search engine optimization efforts. He also will lead the expansion of mobile content, including applications for Android, iPad and Windows set to debut this year.

COMEDY Now in its eighth season, the Los Angeles Comedy Festival is a showcase of all things funny ? including stand-up performances, sketch, improv, short films and features ? and a medley of live performances and screenings of comedic films from across the country. Highlights include alternative stand-up from melon-smashing Gallagher, improv from the Younger Statesmen and much more. Acme Comedy Theatre, 135 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Nov. 21. Check website for additional times.

The Los Angeles Times has named Sean Gallagher to run its online newsroom operations and oversee the Los Angeles Times Media Group's growing portfolio of digital properties. Gallagher will assume the title of managing editor, online, Times Editor Russ Stanton said in a statement. Gallagher had been serving as managing editor of the newspaper's website, latimes.com. "Sean's talent, integrity and command of virtually every facet of online publishing have been crucial to latimes.

About 25 protesters from an AIDS coalition smashed watermelons in front of the Coach House concert club Wednesday night as comedian Gallagher was preparing to perform. The protest, sponsored by ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) Orange County, was in response to a recent show at Lake Tahoe at which Gallagher included an AIDS joke in his act. "AIDS is not funny," screamed protest organizer Jan Speller as concert-goers were driving into the club parking lot.

A senior FBI official misled Congress two years ago about an espionage investigation at Los Alamos National Laboratory in which physicist Wen Ho Lee was identified as a suspect, according to the General Accounting Office. FBI Assistant Director Neil J. Gallagher told a Senate committee in June 1999 that he had "full confidence" in the initial investigation by the Department of Energy.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – September 28, 2009 – Following the well-received launch of its redesigned site, the Los Angeles Times today announced Sean Gallagher as Managing Editor, Online. In his new role Gallagher will be responsible for the overall reader experience on latimes.com and on the Los Angeles Times Media Group's growing portfolio of digital properties. "Sean's talent, integrity and command of virtually every facet of online publishing have been crucial to latimes.

It took Oasis only four songs Thursday night to start a ruckus at Staples Center, where a squad of security guards dragged a man from his front-row seat after he exchanged some unintelligible words with Liam Gallagher, the veteran English band's dependably cantankerous frontman.