Samson

The auctioneer gazed out at the audience, knowing this was the moment they'd waited for. Next up, he said, was lot No. 23 -- a "wonderful, exceptional, 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known as Samson." He gestured to the ferocious-looking skull sitting on a stand to his left. "There she is," he said. The people who had gathered in the elegant gallery at the Venetian hotel gasped. Samson is one of the three most complete T. rex specimens ever discovered, possessing the most intact skull in existence.

Steve Samson and Zach Pollack are chef-partners at southern Italian restaurant Sotto, turning out fresh pasta, pizzas from their wood-burning oven and rustic dishes such as grilled mackerel with cauliflower, cured lemons, crispy buckwheat and pesto pantesca; pork meatballs; or spicy clams with pigeon peas and 'nduja. The insightful wine list focuses on grape varieties native to southern Italy and natural wines made in California. On Nov. 11, natural wine authority Alice Feiring and radical winemaker Frank Cornelissen will host a dinner prepared by Samson and Pollack, to be paired with Cornelissen's wines from Mt. Etna, Sicily.

Chris Burden meant to create a stir with his iconoclastic "Samson" at the Newport Harbor Art Museum. The piece is based on a turnstile connected to a 100-ton jack; as people pass through on their way into the museum, two huge beams are pushed against the building's supporting walls. Presumably, if enough people visit the exhibit, the museum will collapse.

Private equity firm KKR & Co. LP and three partners say they have agreed to buy the privately held oil and gas company Samson Investment Co. for $7.2 billion In the deal announced Wednesday, KKR and its partners will get access to oil and gas assets in booming shale regions in the U.S., including shale formations that contain large amounts of oil and other liquid hydrocarbons. Samson's wells in the deep water Gulf of Mexico and along the Gulf Coast are not included in the deal.

Just finished watching the New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins. Way to go New York, but can't somebody--anybody--tell Mark Gastineau to get a haircut. Long locks coming out of the helmet and hanging down over the jersey is a lousy pro athlete image. Gastineau may think of himself as Samson, but he looks more like Delilah. Mark, baby, the long-haired hippy revolution is over. Your side lost. TOMMY VIZE Santa Ana

The latest look for men with lustrous hair and lots of it: straight, full and cut to just below the jaw line. It's a style that works best with a short goatee, mustache optional.

To the Editor: Your fine article on the newest attraction at the Orange County Zoo ("Out of Hot Water -- Samson: Bear Gets a New Lair," Feb. 28) contains one misprint that, I trust, can be attributed to an error in layout and not a reporter's bias: Pete Wilson, governor Samson, bear "After his speech, the governor, accompanied by six children, his entourage and dozens of reporters, climbed out of his pool to pace along his chain-link fence, occasionally standing on his hind legs and tilting his head back."

I can't tell you how thrilled I am that Samson, the "hot tub bear," will have a new home at the Orange County Zoo with "all the luxury in the world" in " . . . a first-class setup," according to county park manager Tim Miller ("Zoo's Excitement Over Samson's Arrival Might Prove Too Much to Bear," Feb. 10). Now if all those wonderful people in Orange County who came to Samson's aid will pitch in and provide the necessary funds, perhaps we can begin to solve the housing problems for our homeless citizens as well.

Nothing beats the gluttonous life offered in Monrovia. It's a magical place where half-eaten slices of pizza and the salty remnants of Thai takeout abound. Here the grass is laden with rotting avocados and pomegranates and aching paws can be soaked in a choice of dozens of swimming pools. It's all enough to citify a country bear. Once a well-kept secret limited to a few adventurous souls, Monrovia seems to have become all the rage with the bears of the San Gabriel Mountains.

A 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that failed to sell at a Las Vegas auction last month has been sold, the auction house says. Thomas Lindgren of Bonhams & Butterfields said he couldn't reveal the buyer or what he paid. But he said it was near pre-auction estimates of $5 million to $8 million. Lindgren said the buyer intended to display the fossil -- dubbed Samson -- in an American museum, and is in talks with several institutions. Samson is one of the three most complete T. rex specimens ever discovered, possessing the most intact skull in existence.

???Two American Apparel Inc. board members have resigned, Chief Executive Dov Charney said. The move was expected after the Los Angeles clothing maker reported last week that it had appointed two new board members, one of them effective immediately, the other effective "upon a future board vacancy. " Charney denied speculation that the two outgoing directors, Mark Samson and Mark Thornton, had been forced out because they disagreed with the company's decision not to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the spring during a liquidity crisis.

Nothing beats the gluttonous life offered in Monrovia. It's a magical place where half-eaten slices of pizza and the salty remnants of Thai takeout abound. Here the grass is laden with rotting avocados and pomegranates and aching paws can be soaked in a choice of dozens of swimming pools. It's all enough to citify a country bear. Once a well-kept secret limited to a few adventurous souls, Monrovia seems to have become all the rage with the bears of the San Gabriel Mountains.

A 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that failed to sell at a Las Vegas auction last month has been sold, the auction house says. Thomas Lindgren of Bonhams & Butterfields said he couldn't reveal the buyer or what he paid. But he said it was near pre-auction estimates of $5 million to $8 million. Lindgren said the buyer intended to display the fossil -- dubbed Samson -- in an American museum, and is in talks with several institutions. Samson is one of the three most complete T. rex specimens ever discovered, possessing the most intact skull in existence.

The auctioneer gazed out at the audience, knowing this was the moment they'd waited for. Next up, he said, was lot No. 23 -- a "wonderful, exceptional, 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known as Samson." He gestured to the ferocious-looking skull sitting on a stand to his left. "There she is," he said. The people who had gathered in the elegant gallery at the Venetian hotel gasped. Samson is one of the three most complete T. rex specimens ever discovered, possessing the most intact skull in existence.

There's only one way Tom Colicchio could make me go weak in the knees, and it has nothing to do with his loins, unless by that you mean the heart of a perfectly prepared five-course dinner. I'm a fan, sure, just not in that way. So imagine my surprise when, in otherwise sane conversation, girlfriends have spoken in graphic detail about what they'd like to do to the bald, barrel-chested chef if given the chance. Go ahead and try to stifle that shiver. It didn't work for me.

Samson, otherwise known as Elephant No. 1, is twisting his trunk around some succulent young tufts of grass, tugging them up and throwing them into his mouth, perfectly aware we have sneaked up on him but willing to nonchalantly ignore us, for now. We crouch on a rock about 40 yards away -- about as close to a wild bull elephant as it is safe to get on foot. Even though Samson shows no signs of irritation, it's nice to be with David Powrie, who is something of an elephant whisperer.

Brunswick Corp. said Wednesday that its Costa Mesa defense division has been awarded a $10-million contract to build 500 Samson Tactical Aircraft Decoy Systems for the U.S. Navy. Deliveries under the contract, which also includes an option for the purchase of an additional 500 of the units, are scheduled to begin next year, said Dave Thompson, general manager of the Costa Mesa facility.

The owners of a 100-pound Rottweiler shot to death in the backyard of their home by a reserve sheriff's deputy want an apology from the department. Oz Frias, 26, described Samson as "lazy and lovable." He said the dog liked to play soccer with kids, lean his full weight into people's legs, bark at the lawn mower and sleep on cold concrete.

AFTER the sudden death of New Beverly Cinema owner Sherman Torgan at age 63 on July 18, his son Michael announced that he and his mother had decided to close the theater until further notice. The news of the revival theater ringing down the curtain after three decades sent a shiver up the spines of film buffs, for the New Beverly was the last vestige of the great L.A.

"Hair's Johnny," the New York Post headline blared this week after the New York Yankees signed center fielder Johnny Damon. Well, that's one attention-grabber that can't be used anymore. On Friday, Damon, bowing to the wishes of team owner George Steinbrenner, had his beard shaved in a New York salon and also lost what Newsday's Johnette Howard had called "his fabulous shimmering, chestnut-brown mane of shoulder-length hair."