John Kelly

"People used to say nobody can sing my songs but me — they're too personal," Joni Mitchell explained last week during a rare interview. Apparently, nobody told John Kelly not to try adapting her songs. The renowned Obie Award-winning actor and performance artist has been belting out Mitchell's songs for more than 20 years. This weekend, the New York-based Kelly concludes the L.A. run of his acclaimed solo tribute to the iconic, iconoclastic singer-songwriter, "Paved Paradise: The Art of Joni Mitchell," at Renberg Theatre.

What says happy holidays like a big ol' slab of fudge? Local chocolate shop John Kelly Chocolates makes "The Slab," three pounds of its signature truffle fudge -- creamy stuff that's a cross between ganache and old-fashioned fudge, coated in a layer of semi-sweet chocolate. There are 17 flavors, including chocolate with walnuts, peanut butter, and semi-sweet chocolate and caramel with Hawaiian red sea salt.  The Slab measure 5-by-11 inches and serves up to 48 people. That is a lot of fudge.

"People used to say nobody can sing my songs but me — they're too personal," Joni Mitchell explained last week during a rare interview. Apparently, nobody told John Kelly not to try adapting her songs. The renowned Obie Award-winning actor and performance artist has been belting out Mitchell's songs for more than 20 years. This weekend, the New York-based Kelly concludes the L.A. run of his acclaimed solo tribute to the iconic, iconoclastic singer-songwriter, "Paved Paradise: The Art of Joni Mitchell," at Renberg Theatre.

U.S. special envoy John Kelly arrived in Jordan on Sunday for talks with officials on Middle East peace and an Israeli plan for Palestinian elections. Kelly, an assistant secretary of state, flew to Amman after meeting with Egyptian officials on Saturday. In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Esmat Abdel Meguid said after discussing the Israeli election plan with Kelly: "Egypt again specified it needed to know more and needed Israel to give a clearer picture concerning the elections."

Re "U.S. Agrees to Close Desert Areas, Beef Up Protection of Rare Species," Jan. 19: Again the government is taking land away from the citizens by classifying it as a habitat for endangered animals. Now, we who have lived all our lives in this state--and the desert area--cannot go into that desert without the government threatening us. The land belongs to the people and they should have the freedom to walk on it without threats. The majority of the people living in the desert or going to the desert have respect for the wildlife and growth in it. We do not need a liberal group such as the Sierra Club having the government keep us off the land.

Councilman John Kelly, a key figure on the tumultuous City Council, says his Irish blood has served him well in local politics. "There's an old saying that an Irishman's heart is not at peace unless he's in the middle of a fight," Kelly said. "That could be true." Kelly, who waged four campaigns before being elected to the City Council in 1986, now faces a fight: his first try at reelection. Because Councilman Ronald B. Hoesterey resigned last year and Councilwoman Ursula E.

It's like mixing a tongue stud with a tiara. She was the face of an upper-crust women's clothing company that dressed first ladies and chief executives. He is the heavily tattooed bass player for heavy-metal band Motley Crue. Now, former St. John Knits International Inc. executive Kelly Gray and Nikki Sixx have joined forces to launch a line of men's clothing.

AFTER the Black Death swept through England in 1348-49, a survivor summed up the catastrophe in a stark inscription on a church wall in Hertfordshire: "Wretched, terrible, destructive year, the remnants of the people alone remain." In Italy, eyewitnesses described corpses layered like "lasagna" in burial pits. The poet Petrarch asked simply, "Where are our dear friends now?"

Re "U.S. Agrees to Close Desert Areas, Beef Up Protection of Rare Species," Jan. 19: Again the government is taking land away from the citizens by classifying it as a habitat for endangered animals. Now, we who have lived all our lives in this state--and the desert area--cannot go into that desert without the government threatening us. The land belongs to the people and they should have the freedom to walk on it without threats. The majority of the people living in the desert or going to the desert have respect for the wildlife and growth in it. We do not need a liberal group such as the Sierra Club having the government keep us off the land.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno on Wednesday named New Mexico's chief federal prosecutor as "border czar" to succeed former U.S. Atty. Alan Bersin, who used the largely symbolic post in San Diego as an attention-getter for border issues including a major crackdown on illegal immigration. The appointment of U.S. Atty. John J. Kelly as Reno's special representative for the Southwest border took some California elected officials by surprise.

What do Molissa Fenley, John Kelly, Reno and Danny Hoch have in common? At first glance, the celebrated dancer-choreographer, the veteran performance artist, the edgy comedian and the young multi-character soloist may not seem to share a genre, let alone an aesthetic. Yet while they all have earned track records on their own, they can be grouped under the rubric of experimental performance.

After voters overwhelmingly ousted John Kelly from his Tustin City Council seat last April, some folks said his fledgling political career was over. But after a year of minding the family tuxedo shop, Kelly--a staunchly conservative Republican whose outspoken style was praised by supporters as enthusiastic but denounced by opponents as rude--says he is ready to give politics another shot.

WITHOUT REMORSE by Tom Clancy (G. P. Putnam's Sons: $24.95; 608 pp.) No fancy phrase-making for Tom Clancy. No ruffles or flourishes. Just straight-ahead storytelling by one of the best in the business. Starting slowly and building to flank speed, "Without Remorse" follows John Kelly from the mean streets of Baltimore to the meaner trails of North Vietnam and back.

For more than a wee bit o' the blarney, check out Kelly's--and Kelly's, and Kelly's and Kelly's--in Tustin. Then mull it all over at nearby O'Hara's. 3 to 3:30 p.m.: Irish music plays in the parking lot, and the mugs, shirts and bumper stickers inside Kelly's Gifts proclaim such slogans as "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough" and "Not only am I perfect, I'm Irish." Less-than-perfect Irish might opt for "Patrick was a saint, I ain't."

WITHOUT REMORSE by Tom Clancy (G. P. Putnam's Sons: $24.95; 608 pp.) No fancy phrase-making for Tom Clancy. No ruffles or flourishes. Just straight-ahead storytelling by one of the best in the business. Starting slowly and building to flank speed, "Without Remorse" follows John Kelly from the mean streets of Baltimore to the meaner trails of North Vietnam and back.