Holt

James Cameron's science-fiction blockbuster "Avatar" takes place in 2154 on the lush moon Pandora. To help make the set believable, Jodie Holt, chairwoman of the department of botany and plant sciences at UC Riverside, was approached to consult on the film's plant life, as well as how a botanist would study such flora. Holt, a plant physiologist, talked about her involvement in the film and the "Pandorapedia," a detailed catalog of the moon's features, including its many plants. How did you become involved in the film?

Just a couple weeks after the closing of its 2012 "Made in L.A. " biennial, the Hammer Museum has chosen curators for its 2014 event. The museum has tapped two independent writer-curators who live in L.A.: Karin Higa and Michael Ned Holte. Higa made her name here as a curator at the Japanese American National Museum from 1992 to 2006, serving as senior curator for a good part of that time. Her shows included a survey of contemporary Asian American art organized with the Asia Society of New York and a retrospective of artists Bruce and Norman Yonemoto.

Anthony (The People's Hope) Holt of Long Beach was knocked out by Ruben Blackwell of Los Angeles in a professional middleweight boxing match Monday night at the Spruce Goose. Charlie Williams, Holt's trainer, called Blackwell the best middleweight in California. Holt, who has lost twice in a row to Blackwell, is now 1-3-1.

Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story Jim Holt Liveright: 310 pp., $27.95 "How old is the Universe?" Kurt Vonnegut asked in his 1973 novel "Breakfast of Champions. " "It is one half-second old, but that half-second has lasted one quintillion years so far. Who created it? Nobody created it. It has always been here. " For all its breeziness, that still seems to me a pretty good cosmology, one that expresses the essential intractability of everything.

Re "Brand Bethany" (June 1): I enjoyed your article but feel you shortchanged those who saved her. Surfer Bethany Hamilton was in shock after being attacked [by a tiger shark on Oct. 31, 2003, in Hawaii]. My son, Holt, was first to reach her, just in front of my grandson Byron. Byron, 15, held onto Bethany and her board as Holt pushed them into a wave. My granddaughter Alana, 13, fearing her best friend would die, paddled alongside. Holt caught up with them at the reef, where he used his rash guard to slow the bleeding.

Eric V. Holt said he believed 15-year-old David Gallardo was stealing the tires off a Porsche when he pulled a shotgun on the youth and a companion as they sat in Gallardo's car on the night of Oct. 29. He thought the youth had pulled a gun on him and when the car began to move, he ducked and the gun went off, killing Gallardo. That was the story Holt told police during four interviews after the incident.

FIRST QUARTER Rams 3, Titans 0 Wilkins, 27-yard field goal at 12:00. 54-yard drive, six plays to the Titan 10. Key gains--Holt, 32-yard pass from Warner; Faulk, 17-yard pass from Warner. SECOND QUARTER Rams 6, Titans 0 Wilkins, 29-yard field goal at 10:44. 73-yard drive, 11 plays to the Titan 12. Key gains--Bruce, 11-yard pass from Warner; Bruce, 15-yard pass from Warner; Holt, 13-yard pass from Warner; Holt, 15-yard pass from Warner. Rams 9, Titans 0 Wilkins, 28-yard field goal at 14:45.

Dividing students in the classroom and teaching them from books that adhere to their religious beliefs would be difficult, a teacher testified Friday in a trial over the contents of school texts. "I'm not sure I could do it well enough. But, if I was ordered to, I'd find a way," second-grade teacher Evelyn Rodriguez said.

When Paula Holt saw David Mamet's "Oleanna" in New York, she says she "walked out of the theater with a group of people who were all shouting at each other." She hopes for a similar response when she produces the Los Angeles premiere of Mamet's controversial play about sexual harassment and political correctness at the Tiffany Theater. "I'll probably be picketed by half of the women's organizations I belong to," Holt said.

As detectives pieced together the 2008 slaying of a young Santa Monica woman, they came to a chilling conclusion: She had been calling police for help when the killer snatched the phone from her hands and hung up. Prosecutors unveiled the eerie account of the 911 call and other details from the March 2008 killing that has attracted national attention during secret grand jury proceedings against Kelly Soo Park, the woman arrested in June this year...

"Forget Me Not" is contemporary love story with a heart-wrenching twist that recalls vintage tearjerkers, yet its appealing stars, Tobias Menzies and Genevieve O'Reilly, make watching it a surprisingly affecting experience. The film is helped immeasurably by its London setting and a moody score. Directed by Alexander Holt and Lance Roehrig with an adroit blend of cinematic poetic flourish, sure pacing and British understatement, there's a pleasing echo of "Brief Encounter" in this film's chance meeting.

Watson -- the IBM supercomputer that cleaned up on "Jeopardy!" -- lost to Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey in a battle of wits Monday evening at a D.C. hotel. So it looks like we can put off welcoming our new machine overlords for one more day. The faux "Jeopardy!" contest pitting Watson against Holt and some other House members was intended to emphasize the need for increased math and science education to bolster U.S. global competitiveness. Holt, a physicist who was a five-time winner on "Jeopardy!"

An aging fighter is chasing one more shot at greatness. His brother, once a promising fighter in his own right, is a liar and thief who can't be trusted. His family and his girl are at odds over what's best for him. No, this isn't the story line for "The Fighter," the critically acclaimed David O. Russell feature film starring Mark Wahlberg as real-life boxer Micky Ward. It's the plot of "Lights Out," a new FX drama starring Holt McCallany as Patrick "Lights Out" Leary, a former heavyweight champion still haunted by the controversial decision that cost him his title five years ago. Comparisons to "The Fighter" are inevitable, but in many ways "Lights Out" has more in common with "The Sopranos.

Nick Holt , Washington's defensive coordinator, returns to the Coliseum on Saturday aiming for a repeat of last season's upset victory over USC. Holt served two stints at USC before leaving after the 2008 season to join Steve Sarkisian in Seattle. The pair combined to outcoach Pete Carroll and his staff during last season's 16-13 victory at Husky Stadium. After the game, USC offensive players said the Huskies were calling out the Trojans' plays before the ball was snapped.

There may be a debate about who said what to whom, but to USC Coach Kevin O'Neill, it's simple: "No one should ever speak to the officials but me," he said. With that said, Stan Holt, a graduate student manager who drew a technical foul late in a tight game at Oregon on Saturday, was fired by O'Neill after the team arrived back in Los Angeles that night. While the impact of the call was certain, there is uncertainty about what caused it. O'Neill said official Bobby McRoy did not recite what Holt said, only that "he was screaming obscenities at him."

James Cameron's science-fiction blockbuster "Avatar" takes place in 2154 on the lush moon Pandora. To help make the set believable, Jodie Holt, chairwoman of the department of botany and plant sciences at UC Riverside, was approached to consult on the film's plant life, as well as how a botanist would study such flora. Holt, a plant physiologist, talked about her involvement in the film and the "Pandorapedia," a detailed catalog of the moon's features, including its many plants. How did you become involved in the film?

The real estate bust idled hundreds of thousands of construction workers. Now, with housing on the mend, builders are hiring again. Trouble is, many workers aren't coming back. Years of sporadic employment drove many from the industry. Incomes aren't what they used to be. Laid-off workers remember the sting of lost livelihoods; some have had enough of boom and bust. Former house painter Alan Schaffer has hung up his paintbrush to pursue a degree in business administration.

Annette Funicello, the dark-haired darling of TV's “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s who further cemented her status as a pop-culture icon in the '60s by teaming with Frankie Avalon in a popular series of “beach” movies, died Monday. She was 70. Funicello, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1987 and became a spokeswoman for treatment of the chronic, often-debilitating disease of the central nervous system, died at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, Walt Disney Co. spokesman Howard Green said.

Stephen Rubin, who resigned last month from Random House Inc., will be the president and publisher of Henry Holt and Co., where authors include Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel and National Book Award finalist Greg Grandin. Rubin was the longtime head of the Broadway Doubleday division of Random House and published John Grisham, Pat Conroy and Dan Brown. Holt has released such popular books as Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed," but is better known for pub- lishing more low-profile, literary titles, a direction that will change now, said John Sargent, chief executive of Macmillan, Holt's parent company.