Outdoor

When Pink Floyd first took its concept album "The Wall" to the concert stage more than three decades ago, even lead singer and chief songwriter Roger Waters couldn't imagine a day when rock music might get any bigger. But 32 years later, his magnum opus about the battle between individual freedoms and authoritarian oppression has magnified beyond Waters' own expectations of yore. Now the man who once excoriated the voluminous expansion of the rock concert experience has helped institutionalize it. "I famously hated playing to large numbers of people and playing in stadiums," Waters, 68, said from a tour stop in Austin, Texas, earlier this month.

High-end outdoor clothier and gear maker Patagonia Inc. is out to prove that a company can generate strong sales while being nearly fanatical about environmental concerns. The Ventura company was the first major clothier to make fleece jackets out of recycled bottles. Nearly a third of the power for its headquarters and adjoining child-care center comes from solar. And it donates 1% of its sales to environmental causes. With Patagonia being a privately held company, its finances are not public, but it says it's riding a growth curve.

Mechanical issues and vehicle failure. Super rally, making its X Games debut, could have been a super dud. That's the way it was going at the Coliseum on Saturday night in the qualification rounds. Finally, though, the machine did not fail the man. Tanner Foust put his name into X Games history, winning the first super rally event here, and capped off a golden night: two golds in two races. Brian Deegan finished second to Foust in the super rally and the earlier rally car event in which he took a wrong turn on the new course, resulting in the red flag.

Owners of the Glendale Galleria have launched a massive makeover intended to update the regional shopping center in downtown Glendale. Improvements to the 1.5-million-square-foot center will include the previously announced addition of a Bloomingdale's department store in the space formerly occupied by Mervyns. The Bloomingdale's store is set to open next year. Other changes will be the most comprehensive since the mall opened in 1976 and "nothing short of dramatic," General Manager Larry Martin said.

Re "Passions flame over kebabs," Nov. 4 Most cultures enjoy grilled meat; American, Korean and Mexican come immediately to mind. Why don't we hear them whining about not being able to grill it outdoors legally for their commercial establishments? It would certainly be cheaper for them. Maybe they understand that laws are written for the common good and that commercial activities need regulation. I say, go ahead, Mr. Vrej Sarkissian, and spend the money to install an indoor grill, as other responsible restaurateurs have.

JEFF SPURRIER's article "A New Vibe in Soundscaping" [June 21] alarms me. Talk about noise pollution! Aside from the fact that there is a law in Los Angeles prohibiting amplified sound in a residential area, who would want to live next to someone who regularly has their backyard filling with their choice in music? Other than the occasional party, no one wants to listen to someone else's music echoing from their house, much less from their yard. It is simply a matter of common consideration for others!

The corrections department is ending its use of outdoor prison cells after an inmate died in triple-digit heat last month. Marcia Powell, 48, died from heat-related complications after collapsing in an uncovered outdoor cell May 19. Powell had been in the cell for nearly four hours.

Of the action sports featured over the weekend at X Games 17, one of the most popular remains absent: surfing. That is where the Nike U.S. Open of Surfing comes in, beginning Saturday and extending through Aug. 7, at Huntington Beach. The annual event attracts more than half a million fans and the top surfers in the world, as well as skateboarders and BMX riders who join in on the action next weekend. "Essentially, it's like action sports Mardi Gras," said James Leitz, the event organizer from IMG, which owns and operates the U.S. Open of Surfing.

With a long span of angled panels lining its futuristic facade, the Caverhill house looks monumental, almost imposing. But pass through the front gate and enter the main living area, and one feels a remarkable sense of air and light. Diffused rays filter through the narrow, transparent panes tucked between those panel "fins," as the architect calls them, and softer sunlight streams through the floor-to-ceiling glass forming the rear wall. At a time when so many people are looking for an escape from reality, the home of Don and Debbie Caverhill certainly provides one. After a 1 1/2 -year design process and another 1 1/2 years of construction, the home by Culver City-based Studio Pali Fekete Architects now stands as a contemporary indoor-outdoor replacement for the old house that once stood on the difficult site.

When two-time defending U.S. Open surfing champion Brett Simpson was eliminated in his heat Wednesday, his week did not end there. Instead, he made appearances at Huntington Beach bars on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and will do so again Friday, in partnership with Pacifico Beer. Pacifico also has a healthy presence at the beach, though not a drop of alcohol is served at the event. Then why is Pacifico here? Well, it is just one of many sponsors who make the nine-day competition completely free for its hundreds of thousands of spectators.

This Spanish-style compound on the water in Venice includes a three-bedroom main residence, one-bedroom canal-fronting cottage and a dock. A central arched window frames a view of the canal, which is lined with sidewalks and crossed by bridges. Location: 431-433 Howland Canal, Venice 90291 Asking price: $3.65 million Sales history: Sold in 2000 for $871,500 Year built: 1983 House size: Four bedrooms, four bathrooms, 2,500 square feet (including guesthouse)

Earth Day , marked each year on April 22, has mushroomed into a longer outdoorsy celebration with the advent of National Park Week , John Muir 's birthday and National Junior Ranger Day. Whatever you're celebrating, here are some of the best places in Southern California and points north for getting in tune with nature. Santa Monica Mountains : Bring the kids to one (or both) of these Adventure in Nature: Let's G.O. play dates on Saturday. Learn about the mountains in your backyard through two hours of stories, music, art and exploration at 11 a.m. at Temescal Gateway Park (15601 W. Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades)

As cars whizzed by and trucks honked, two dozen members of the East Side Riders from Watts slowly pedaled their cruisers up Central Avenue early Sunday. Their destination was seven miles away: CicLAvia, a rare opportunity to enjoy 10 miles of car-free streets in downtown Los Angeles and beyond and to soak up the spirit of what turned out to be a citywide block party. "Watts in the house!" boomed a disc jockey as the group pulled into the African American Firefighter Museum and joined an estimated 100,000 people who biked, walked or skated block after block without having to dodge a car or bus. "Right now they're going to get a chance to ride the streets without cars interfering with their leisurely bike ride," John Jones said of his fellow Riders members.

Patagonia Inc., the clothing retailer known for its use of organic cotton, is now training its Earth-friendly eye on food. Specifically, jerky made from wild salmon. The Ventura-based outdoor apparel-maker has begun selling three flavors of its Patagonia Provisions line online and in its more than 50 retail stores. Per founder Yvon Chouinard's operational mantra of sustainable living, Patagonia said it's trying to move the seafood industry away from practices such as overfishing and heavy commercial farming that it claims have depleted wild salmon stocks.

Those of us who attended Coachella in 2010 understand the reasons why the annual music and arts festival had to change. Two years ago, the three-day concert in Indio, Calif., was so overcrowded with sun-baked, drunken revelers that many of those in attendance vowed to not return. And if you were lucky enough to have access to the VIP area, it was so packed that many under that giant canopy felt more claustrophobic than important. This year? The festival, which begins Friday and features headliners Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Radiohead and the Black Keys, has thankfully reduced the number of tickets for sale (a smart move implemented in 2011 by the promoter, the AEG-owned Goldenvoice)

How dry we are. By late last month, precipitation was half the normal level in California, and snow runoff was 35% of average, state figures show. Even the recent snows may have come too late to rescue a ski season short on natural white stuff. For hikers, campers, birders and other outdoors enthusiasts, the effects of low rainfall, despite recent showers, and skimpy snowpacks may linger into summer and even autumn. Looking ahead, here's what California's dry weather may mean for some popular pursuits: Waterfall viewing: Last year, snowpacks that feed Yosemite waterfalls were running 200% of normal.

What: 2011 U.S. Open of Surfing. Where: Huntington Beach. When: July 30–Aug. 7. Schedule of events Saturday Competition (surfing): junior men and junior women. Sunday Competition (surfing): junior men and men's trials. Monday Competition (surfing): women and junior men. Competition (skate): U10 Skate. Tuesday Competition (surfing): men. Competition (skate): U10 skate. Wednesday Competition (surfing)

Sean Scott is a professional beach volleyball player, and that's been his full-time occupation since 1999. But since last week, he's been worried. The volleyball tour he plays on, the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals, canceled its season because it ran out of money. "My options are basically to try and play overseas, find a domestic tour should there be one, or retire from the sport and find a job," Scott said. That last option, Scott admitted, is rather grim, but he said a beach volleyball player is "delusional" if he or she thinks they can make enough from the sport to retire on. "Either my wife or I, or both of us, is going to have to get a job to help support this family," said Scott, who has a 16-month-old son, Koa Daniel Scott, with fellow AVP player Rachel Wacholder.

Gregory J. Bonann not only co-created "Baywatch" but he also lives the lifestyle from his Malibu beach compound, part of which he just sold for $5.25 million. The secondary house, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms in 2,618 square feet, features a master bathroom with an indoor shower that opens to an outdoor shower and beach access. The rooms open to beachfront decks. There is a patio with a hot tub, a three-car garage and six more parking spots on the property. Bonann, 59, was a creator, executive producer and director of "Baywatch" (1989-2001)

Chomp: A Novel Carl Hiaasen Alfred A. Knopf: 304 pp., $16.99, ages 10 and up South Florida is known for many things: Alligators, orange groves and the writer who spins the area's most sensational attributes into even more sensational story lines, Carl Hiaasen. In his many bestsellers for adults and kids, Hiaasen has demonstrated a unique gift for wrapping real environmental issues into apocryphal, bust-a-gut books that parody pop culture - a talent he furthers in his most recent middle-school novel, "Chomp.