Goats

If you've ever agonized over an insect or rodent problem, this photo should make you feel better. Imagine your garden being overrun with tree-climbing goats. By my count, there are nine in this flimsy tree, not counting the goat nibbling on leaves from the ground. Times reader Jack Brunning captured this scene while vacationing in Morocco . Tree-climbing goats aren't as unusual as you might think. In western Morocco, Tamri goats are known to scale argan trees to feed on their leaves and nuts.

"The View" 10 a.m. Thursday, ABC: performance from “Jesus Christ Superstar.” “Open Call” 9 p.m. Thursday, KCET: Fine Cut Festival of Student Films: Hosted by mezzo-soprano opera singer Suzanna Guzman, “Goat Rodeo Live: Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile” 10 p.m. Friday, KOCE: The four string virtuosos combine bluegrass and classical music at a concert at Boston's House of Blues. “Burt Wolf: Travels & Traditions” 5:30 p.m. Saturday, KLCS: The Great Rivers of Europe: Cologne to Zell: A museum dedicated to mechanical musical instruments; Lorelei Rock; the city of Zell.

Do I believe George Clooney can move things just by staring at them? Of course, don't you? So we'll start with casting, one of many good decisions director Grant Heslov made on this delightfully wacky, mostly true tale of a psychic unit of soldiers trying to mind read, move through walls and, in general, use brain rather than brawn to overwhelm the enemy. For the troops -- chief among them Clooney and Jeff Bridges -- it's war under the radar and on LSD, or whatever drugs help achieve altered states.

Much like the metal that comes from deep within Chile's mines, the national spice also has a copper hue. Within the last few years, merkén , made from ground smoked chiles, has moved from being solely a local curiosity to a tabletop mainstay in Chile and is now making headway into the U.S. market. Traditionally used in the cooking of the indigenous Mapuche culture, merkén has a smoky, warm flavor that adds heat and richness to food, especially wintertime dishes. Mapuches traditionally incorporate merkén into cheeses or use it to coat almonds, peanuts and walnuts, but it's also ideal for meats, lentils, sauces and cazuelas , or stews.

It all started with an unlikely pairing of two unknowns. Back in the '80s, a couple of struggling actors named Grant Heslov and George Clooney were in Milton Katselas' famed acting class. Clooney asked Heslov, then a student at USC, if he wanted to do a scene from Neil Simon's Depression-era play "Brighton Beach Memoirs." Heslov agreed, playing the younger nerdy Eugene to Clooney's older sibling Stanley. Their chemistry worked, and shortly after, when Clooney was invited to audition for ABC, he brought Heslov along to repeat the scene.

We've heard about "The Men Who Stare at Goats" but what about the men who wrangle goats? The goats that had to bear the brunt of George Clooney's psychic assaults were provided by animal coordinator Sled Reynolds and his company, Gentle Jungle. "I only keep about four or five goats," Reynolds said. "We use them in nativity scenes. But we found a rancher near the set in New Mexico who let us use the 80 goats the film required." Just like their costars, when they weren't filming, they hung out in a trailer -- but with fewer amenities.

All of the patrons at Al Johnson's Swedish restaurant in Sister, Bay, Wis., will be surprised to learn that they have been served Swiss meals with lingonberries and goats grazing on the roof. Frank Riley (Oct. 6), like Homer, sometimes nods. GEORGE JOHNSON Santa Barbara

Killing 2,000 goats on Santa Catalina is a very logical act. The balance of nature is necessary for the survival of all things. When an "unbalanced" situation occurs--too many goats--how divine of mankind to step in and set it straight. Using this same logic, we will notice the other "unbalanced" situation that is going on--too many people--and thus proceed in the same fashion. (Pity that the goats can't pull the trigger.) By reducing world population by 50%, I am certain that the "native grasses, shrubs and animals--such as fox--will be able to thrive."

"The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip" by George Saunders Have you ever wondered what would happen if a town had its only source of income threatened? Frip was a town like this. Frip relied on goats' milk. Gappers are bright orange, spiky and the size of a baseball. They love goats! When a gapper meets a goat, it screams and jumps onto the goat. Unfortunately, goats hate gappers, and they refuse to give milk when gappers are around. How will the unusual people of Frip solve their problem?

In the April 5 photo, "Weed Eaters and Friends of Nature," we see San Francisco goats working at San Francisco International Airport, displacing humans--eating overgrowth for the weed abatement program. God knows we need more animals around in this overdeveloped world today. And it beats giving the jobs to machines. Great idea these Bay Area people have! Do the four-leggeds eat condos too? Now you're talking. Conservatives and liberals alike have a mantra that education is the answer to all of America's problems.

State hospital worker Bruce Schumacher said he was on the verge of retiring and planned to sustain himself with two livestock businesses on his sprawling, 10-acre ranch in the San Bernardino County community of Hesperia. But when he reached his ranch Saturday after a 1,200-acre brush fire roared through his property near the Cajon Pass a day earlier, he met with a ghastly sight. More than 100 of his goats, rabbits and birds were dead, their charred carcasses strewn about his ranch.

  Dear SOS: Had an amazing goat milk flan at Border Grill downtown. Even chatted briefly with Susan Feniger, but unfortunately that was before dessert. I'm not usually a big flan person, but I loved the tang and the interplay between that tang and the rich sweetness of the caramel. Truly unexpected and fantastic twist on a traditional dish. Can you help get me the recipe? Mark Lemke Los Angeles Dear Mark: I totally agree! This flan is amazingly smooth and creamy with a delicately firm texture, balancing its rich caramel topping with a bright if subtle, unexpected tang from the goat milk in the custard base.

  Goat cheese and basil-stuffed filo parcels Total time: 40 minutes Servings: About 1½ dozen Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try this or any other recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, we would like to know about it so we can showcase it on our food blog and occasionally in print. Upload pictures of the finished dish here. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, pressed 6 to 8 filo sheets, depending on the size of the sheets 18 fresh basil leaves 1 (8-ounce)

Rocky and mostly barren, the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains southwest of Palm Springs offer terrain hospitable only to king snakes, lizards and tortoises. Shade is almost nonexistent, and jagged rocks and barrel cactuses welcome visitors with stinging jabs to the feet and shins. Still, this is ideal habitat for bighorn sheep and mountain bikers. In the scrubland outside Palm Springs, the sheep are endangered but the bikers are flourishing. For mountain bikers, the more rugged and treacherous the terrain, the better.

  Vol-au-vents with pea shoots and herbed goat cheese Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try any of the L.A. Times Test Kitchen recipes from this week's Food section, please share it with us: Click here to upload pictures of the finished dish. Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes Servings: 4 Note: This recipe can be adjusted to make smaller vol-au-vents to use as hors d'oeuvres, if desired. 1 recipe Quick Puff Pastry 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon canola oil 2 slices prosciutto, chopped 4 ounces fresh goat cheese Salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives, more if desired 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard, preferably whole-grain 1 tablespoon minced shallots 3 cups pea shoots (or baby arugula)

If you've ever agonized over an insect or rodent problem, this photo should make you feel better. Imagine your garden being overrun with tree-climbing goats. By my count, there are nine in this flimsy tree, not counting the goat nibbling on leaves from the ground. Times reader Jack Brunning captured this scene while vacationing in Morocco . Tree-climbing goats aren't as unusual as you might think. In western Morocco, Tamri goats are known to scale argan trees to feed on their leaves and nuts.

The sound of hundreds of goat hooves echoed through a small valley overlooking the ocean Saturday in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, surprising passerby who watched as the animals munched their way through yard after yard of invasive weeds. FOR THE RECORD: Goat grazing: An article in the March 6 Section A about the use of goats to clear invasive weeds in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve referred to boar goats. The correct term is Boer goats. ? The 230 goats are the first step in a project to restore natural flora and fauna to a 12-acre portion of the 1,400-acre preserve that was burned in a fire in 2009.

A nanny and her two kids were among 81 wild goats captured over the weekend on San Clemente Island by the Fund for Animals to save them from slaughter by the Navy. The goats were found in an area used by warships for target practice. It was the first time the group was allowed to trap in that area.

The sound of hundreds of goat hooves echoed through a small valley overlooking the ocean Saturday in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, surprising passerby who watched as the animals munched their way through yard after yard of invasive weeds. FOR THE RECORD: Goat grazing: An article in the March 6 Section A about the use of goats to clear invasive weeds in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve referred to boar goats. The correct term is Boer goats. ? The 230 goats are the first step in a project to restore natural flora and fauna to a 12-acre portion of the 1,400-acre preserve that was burned in a fire in 2009.

Front Page Jamaican Grille is one of those places where the guy working behind the counter will tell you, in no uncertain terms, what his favorite dish is. Where the owner will come out and shower love on your dog and then show you pictures of her own sweet pup. Where regulars in hot pink dresses breezing by to pick up their dinners will lean over your table, eye your oxtails and tell you: "Ooh, you got the good stuff!" People having their first bite of Front Page's jerk chicken typically fall silent, in a sort of reverent awe at the char and spice.