Nada

'From Prada to Nada' MPAA rating: PG-13 for brief drug use and a sexual situation Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes Playing: In general release

DAMASCUS, Syria - White daffodils and violet daisies waxed aromatic from the crystal vase on the young couple's dining table. Friends had brought the flowers as a gesture of farewell, an all-too-common sentiment these days in the Syrian capital, where even some of the most resolute families are packing up and moving out. The exodus includes young, middle-class professionals born and raised in Damascus. Others are merchants, doctors, and teachers, the backbone of the capital's economy.

It might have seemed like a fertile and fun idea to update Jane Austen's reversal-of-fortune romance "Sense and Sensibility" to the class-and-culture disparity between Beverly Hills and East Los Angeles. But the regrettably titled "From Prada to Nada" has more in common with a slapped-together TV movie than a timeless comedy of manners. The Dashwood sisters of Austen's novel are now Nora and Mary Dominguez, whose affluent, assimilated mansion existence is upended when their father's death leaves them broke, necessitating a lifestyle adjustment to the homier, scrappier Boyle Heights enclave of their Tia Aurelia (Adriana Barraza)

La Niña, the demon diva of drought, has ended, but what comes next could be even more foreboding: La Nada. La Nada, or "nothing" in Spanish, is climatologist Bill Patzert's nickname for when surface sea temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are about normal. That means ocean temperatures are not too warm, which would trigger an El Niño and would typically mean a rainy winter in Southern California. The sea also is not too cold, which produces a La Niña and usually means a dry season.

Still not ready to let Simon Cowell go? Talk about "Oprah Presents Master Class: Simon Cowell. " It's been less than a week, guys! But if you're not impressed with the new "American Idol" lineup, don't fret. Get your fix of the snarky Brit when he shares his stories and lessons. Let's hope Steven Tyler and J-Lo are watching. (Sunday) Sashay and chante ? and talk about "RuPaul's Drag Race. " The time has come for you to lip-sync for your life! The (man) ladies are back on LOGOTV.

DAMASCUS, Syria - White daffodils and violet daisies waxed aromatic from the crystal vase on the young couple's dining table. Friends had brought the flowers as a gesture of farewell, an all-too-common sentiment these days in the Syrian capital, where even some of the most resolute families are packing up and moving out. The exodus includes young, middle-class professionals born and raised in Damascus. Others are merchants, doctors, and teachers, the backbone of the capital's economy.

I am writing in response to your Oct. 3 article ("Car Salesmen Wheel and Deal With Image Problem"). The generalizations and selective omission of important, documented industry facts from the article helped to paint an inaccurate portrait of the average car salesman and the dealership which employs him. As an example, The Times paraphrases a source from the Department of Consumer Affairs who "estimates that dealers make $1,500 to $4,000 on...

If you like Scott Turow, Stan Lee, Dan Brown or Michael Crichton, then you are in the target audience for Kevin Guilfoile's novel "The Thousand. " Unfortunately, like smoked duck ravioli with wasabi-tomatillo sauce, Guilfoile has fallen under the sway of one influence too many. "The Thousand" starts as a legal drama, zooming in on the moral predicament of criminal lawyer Reggie Vallentine. Vallentine has become a media obsession and a household word for his defense of the music director of the Chicago Symphony.

Tens of thousands of homeowners in Southern California are being forced to buy costly flood insurance because new maps issued by a federal agency say they live in a high-risk flood area. The federal government has informed property owners in more than 150 cities and unincorporated areas in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties about the new requirement. Most live near rivers and creeks, below dams or in low- lying areas that are at greater risk of flooding than previously believed, according to maps developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

PARK CITY, Utah -- Since opening in theaters last month, the Osama bin Laden manhunt film “Zero Dark Thirty” has intrigued audiences with its inside look at how CIA officers do their jobs. But the employees of the agency who tracked the Al Qaeda leader say that while they understand the need for dramatic license, the  Kathryn Bigelow film gets a number of details about their professional and personal lives wrong. “The individual hunches [are what] came through on 'Zero Dark,' and that's not exactly how it happens,” said Nada Bakos, who spent years as a CIA target officer, gathering intelligence that helped lead to the elimination of suspected terrorists.

A record number of immigrants were deported in fiscal 2011. You'd think that would be greeted as good news by Republicans, who have repeatedly demanded that the Obama administration crack down on illegal immigration. But it won't be. The latest numbers, released last week, are unlikely to sway the current field of Republican presidential hopefuls, who steadfastly refuse to discuss fixing the broken immigration system, arguing that only stricter enforcement, tougher penalties and a 100% secured border will satisfy them.

It's been two years since DJ Dave Nada spawned a dance genre that propelled him from Washington, D.C., nightclub fixture to unwitting sire of a rhythmic revolution. Since 2009, moombahton — Nada's woofer-rattling concoction of Dutch house and reggaeton — has become a rapidly mutating force in DJ culture, collecting piles of fans and eclectic sub-genres. So, when Nada decided to relocate to Los Angeles in 2010 to further his DJ career, the monstrous music movement he hatched in D.C. wasn't far behind.

'From Prada to Nada' MPAA rating: PG-13 for brief drug use and a sexual situation Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes Playing: In general release

It might have seemed like a fertile and fun idea to update Jane Austen's reversal-of-fortune romance "Sense and Sensibility" to the class-and-culture disparity between Beverly Hills and East Los Angeles. But the regrettably titled "From Prada to Nada" has more in common with a slapped-together TV movie than a timeless comedy of manners. The Dashwood sisters of Austen's novel are now Nora and Mary Dominguez, whose affluent, assimilated mansion existence is upended when their father's death leaves them broke, necessitating a lifestyle adjustment to the homier, scrappier Boyle Heights enclave of their Tia Aurelia (Adriana Barraza)

Still not ready to let Simon Cowell go? Talk about "Oprah Presents Master Class: Simon Cowell. " It's been less than a week, guys! But if you're not impressed with the new "American Idol" lineup, don't fret. Get your fix of the snarky Brit when he shares his stories and lessons. Let's hope Steven Tyler and J-Lo are watching. (Sunday) Sashay and chante ? and talk about "RuPaul's Drag Race. " The time has come for you to lip-sync for your life! The (man) ladies are back on LOGOTV.

If you like Scott Turow, Stan Lee, Dan Brown or Michael Crichton, then you are in the target audience for Kevin Guilfoile's novel "The Thousand. " Unfortunately, like smoked duck ravioli with wasabi-tomatillo sauce, Guilfoile has fallen under the sway of one influence too many. "The Thousand" starts as a legal drama, zooming in on the moral predicament of criminal lawyer Reggie Vallentine. Vallentine has become a media obsession and a household word for his defense of the music director of the Chicago Symphony.

Asthma just about clobbered me the other night. It was nearly curtains. My hacking cough almost did me in. My wheezing was uncontrollable, my breathing constricted, my nose clogged and runny, my eyes watery, my neck itchy. I owed it all to "Seinfeld." Old "Seinfeld." I went for my inhalers. I popped a pill. I plopped into a chair, gasped through my mouth and stayed inert while waiting for the medicine to take full effect. Gradually it did, in about 10 minutes. Actually, I have only mild asthma.

Kyle Abbott couldn't wait for tonight's All-Star game. Not that the Philadelphia Phillie rookie left-hander will play in it. Heck, he probably won't even watch it on television or listen to it on the radio. Nope. What Abbott wants out of this three-day break in the major league schedule is to catch a break himself, a brief respite from the miserable season he has endured thus far. Abbott, once a top prospect in the Angels' organization, is living a pitcher's nightmare.

THE celebrity TV weatherman was pretty much invented in Los Angeles. They have names like Dallas Raines and Johnny Mountain, and before them, the avuncular man in the bow tie known to millions simply as Dr. George. Steve Martin mocked this culture in his movie "L.A. Story," in which he plays a weatherman who tapes his forecasts in advance because, well, L.A. has no weather.

THE Spanish writer Carmen Laforet died three years ago, at age 82. By then she was almost a recluse, although still famous for her first novel, "Nada," which was published in 1945. The book's laconic and brilliant title tells us lots: This is a story of youth and nihilistic disenchantment, those familiar literary handmaidens of the mid-20th century.