Gimme

Tanners, bronzers, spray-ons, luminizers, SPF 15, 30, 45 and 60 lotions, tinted moisturizers, gels, oils and powders--there's a dizzying array of products designed to either maximize your glow or protect you from the damaging effects of summer sun. But let's face it: No matter what you liberally apply to your delicate epidermis --Mt. Everest SPF 200 or iodine and seal blubber--it's pretty much just air between you and that great big yellow ball of fire. With apologies to Mr. Williams, get off that hot-tin roof and duck under your personal sun shelter, whether it's a ruffled beach umbrella, wide-brimmed hat or stylishly striped cabana.

"Gimme the Loot" shouldn't be as appealing and exuberant as it is, it really shouldn't. It's set in the Bronx, the grittiest of New York City boroughs. Its larcenous teenage protagonists are introduced stealing spray paint from a hardware store; the world they live in is rife with drug dealing, robbery and all manner of hustles and petty scams. This could be the set-up for a sequel to "The Wire," but in writer-director Adam Leon's hands it is anything but. PHOTOS: Movies Sneaks 2013 In a feature debut that succeeded at Cannes after taking the best narrative prize at last year's SXSW festival, Leon, who himself won Film Independent's Someone to Watch award, has made a small-scale, warm-hearted film that is both upbeat and intimate.

Gimme a break--no more alphabet soup for John Grant. D.M. PHILIPS Westwood

With its loose, freewheeling style, the unassuming "Gimme the Loot" has already led something of a charmed life. The film picked up the grand jury prize when it premiered at the South by Southwest film festival last year, going on to play the prestigious New Directors/New Films series in New York and be an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. It was then nominated for two Spirit Awards, earning writer-director Adam Leon the "Someone to Watch" award. To go from sleeping on couches at South by Southwest to donning tuxedos in the south of France in a few short months is not bad for the team behind a film about two Bronx teenagers set over two summer days and made for about $165,000.

We have quit watching "Gimme a Break." It used to be warm and pleasant but it is an "angry" show now with Nell becoming a screaming, mean shrew. Who needs it? Betty Poole, Newport Beach

Why, why, why did NBC have to cancel "Remington Steele"? And yet it continues to foist upon us "The A-Team" and "Gimme a Break." If NBC continues these brilliant programming decisions, I doubt that it will remain No. 1 next season. Melissa Henry, Huntington Beach

"Big Squeeze Faces Valley Charities" (Dec. 28) reports on people's growing reluctance to contribute. A second story in the same issue, "Charity Used Bingo Revenues to Pay Salaries," explains why. Seventy-two thousand dollars in back pay to a director of a charity? I haven't earned that in the last three years of working full time. People are tired of the "gimme, gimme, gimme" mentality afflicting too many people today. As a self-employed entrepreneur, I work for everything I have and am up early every day to earn that living.

At 88, Phyllis Diller considered 90 "old. " She was thrilled with work she'd had done on her face. And she was really enjoying having no responsibilities and being able to "just goof off all the time. " Diller, the trailblazing comic who died Monday in her sleep at age 95, sat down in 2005 with Barbara Schroeder, author of "Beverly Hills Confidential: A Century of Stars, Scandals and Murder," and shared some tidbits of wisdom and a peek or three at the products of another passion, her art.  Diller shared how she'd like to be remembered: "I'd like to be known for funny, 'cause that's my major work," Diller told Schroeder.

"It started out as a joke," Nini Policappelli confides, "a little something for a friend of mine. He had this very expensive house, but out in front of it was a mailbox that said 'poorhouse.' " Some joke. The Italian artist's custom mailboxes, now gracing the grounds of half a dozen of Beverly Hills' posher palazzos , sell for $5,000 and up--way up. Nor does Nini feel overpaid. Not a bit of it. Asked whether the price is a tribute to his genius, he answers: "Obviously--or I wouldn't get the money."

Merry Clayton's spine-chilling vocal on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" is one of the most famed in '60s rock. But the 1969 classic brings painful memories to Clayton: The physical strain of the intense duet with Mick Jagger resulted in a miscarriage after the session. So audiences' frequent requests for "Gimme Shelter" might sting like salt in an old wound. Clayton, who performs at the Gardenia Room on Friday, says she was buoyed by her religious upbringing in combating the loss.

At 88, Phyllis Diller considered 90 "old. " She was thrilled with work she'd had done on her face. And she was really enjoying having no responsibilities and being able to "just goof off all the time. " Diller, the trailblazing comic who died Monday in her sleep at age 95, sat down in 2005 with Barbara Schroeder, author of "Beverly Hills Confidential: A Century of Stars, Scandals and Murder," and shared some tidbits of wisdom and a peek or three at the products of another passion, her art.  Diller shared how she'd like to be remembered: "I'd like to be known for funny, 'cause that's my major work," Diller told Schroeder.

In a celebration of some of the greatest moments in rock history on film, the American Cinematheque holds a three-day rock documentary fest, including a Rolling Stones double feature Thursday of Stephen Kijak's "Stones in Exile" and the Maysles brothers' "Gimme Shelter." Also showing: D.A. Pennebaker's "Monterey Pop," Mel Stuart's "Wattstax" and the director's cut of Michael Wadleigh's "Woodstock." Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Check website for prices.

Hope you enjoyed the party, because you may not be invited back in November. The upshot of the most hotly contested California primary since bell-bottoms were in -- the first time -- was a hardening of the state's Democratic tilt and a proportionate drop in Republican support here. Add in the ability of independent voters to cast ballots in the Democratic primary Tuesday -- allowed by party leaders who believe those voters will stay loyal in November.

The annual Macy's Passport event, which has raised more than $25 million for HIV and AIDS organizations, always brings the glitz. Last year, P. Diddy and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa strolled the runway with Bon Jovi-worthy pyrotechnics exploding at their backs.

It seems like forever since Britney Spears had six-pack abs and a hit song on the charts. But the fallen pop princess -- tarnished by a tumultuous divorce, late-night partying and erratic behavior -- is trying to get her music career back on track. For real this time. Her new single, "Gimme More," debuted Thursday night on the website of New York City pop station Z100 (www.z100.com); there's a video on YouTube; and a new album is due for release Nov.

This summer at least one of us got a real vacation. President Bush spent five weeks at his Crawford, Texas, ranch. Oh, sure, it was a "working" vacation, with occasional meetings, bills to sign and a speech or two to deliver. Not to mention clearing all that brush. But then, don't we all take work with us on vacation these days? Liberal critics were quick to denounce the president's less than nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic.

When the Hola Mexico Film Festival first came to Los Angeles in 2009, the concept seemed simple enough, yet its origins were curious. The festival's organizer, Samuel Douek (a Mexican by birth), said he'd gotten the idea for a Mexican film festival while living in Australia. Australians, Douek told the L.A. Times, have very eclectic tastes in cinema. That led him to launch a festival in Sydney showing films that would reflect, he said, "a Mexico that's more modern, more cosmopolitan.

Skechers , the Manhattan Beach footwear maker, has a new line of shoes targeted at teen girls, retailing at stores such as DSW and Dillard's. Sounds normal, until this: The collection is called “ Daddy' $ Money.” The sneakers have hidden 2-inch wedges. Designs include animal prints and lips, with names such as “Gimme Megabucks,” “Gimme Wicked” and “Gimme Mucho Dinero .” An accompanying video features singers crooning about “daddy's girls” with sound effects like a cash register's “ cha - ching .” The pitch on the brand's Facebook page: “Get spoiled with Daddy' $ Money, ultra-cool shoes that will put you in the spotlight with a dose of swag… ” Skechers did not immediately return requests for comment.

Tanners, bronzers, spray-ons, luminizers, SPF 15, 30, 45 and 60 lotions, tinted moisturizers, gels, oils and powders--there's a dizzying array of products designed to either maximize your glow or protect you from the damaging effects of summer sun. But let's face it: No matter what you liberally apply to your delicate epidermis --Mt. Everest SPF 200 or iodine and seal blubber--it's pretty much just air between you and that great big yellow ball of fire. With apologies to Mr. Williams, get off that hot-tin roof and duck under your personal sun shelter, whether it's a ruffled beach umbrella, wide-brimmed hat or stylishly striped cabana.

I don't want to read anything else, hear anything else or feel anything else about "The Passion of the Christ." There are just so many things not to like. First there is the violence. The relentless phlomp! pholomp! of bullets bashing bodies in "The Matrix" or on prime-time "Alias" is so much more appealing than watching a bleeding, brutalized man for almost two hours.