Splendid

How splendid to read of the luxury of Cliveden and to see those superb photographs. Congratulations, too, on the entire issue. BURKS HAMNER Los Angeles

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton leaves her post as secretary of State next month with a split judgment on her diplomatic career: She's won rave reviews from the American public and the president, but maybe not a prominent place in the diplomatic history books. Job approval ratings for the former senator and first lady are at stratospheric levels, suggesting that her four years as chief U.S. diplomat could be an important asset if she runs for president in 2016. But scholars and diplomatic insiders say she has never dominated issues of war and peace in the manner of predecessors Dean Acheson or Henry Kissinger, or laid down an enduring diplomatic doctrine.

Thank goodness--and thank all the producers and actors who have finally manufactured a splendid one-hour show: "MacGyver." Here is splendid photography, marvelous acting and thrills without number combined with an upbeat message. All those wild cop shows could go down the drain in comparison with the resourcefulness and dignity of MacGyver. Millicent Coleman, Van Nuys

Vasily Petrenko is a slender, stylish Russian conductor dashing enough for Hollywood - he could have easily have pranced on camera in “Anna Karenina.” As an unknown 30-year-old in 2006, he took over the struggling Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, not a glamorous post. Now he is a local hero who has made Merseyside into Shostakovich central. Unfortunately, Petrenko has become associated with a limited Russian repertory, something not about to stop, what with the deserved popularity of his growing Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich discographies.

"The Phantom of the Opera" takes us flying on wings of splendid, romantic elation. Something the Bernheimer of the Calendar has never done. STEPHEN GROSSCUP Santa Monica

The program notes for Opera Pacific's production of "Die Fledermaus" stated, "Even thousands of less-than-splendid performances haven't damaged the work's popularity one whit." Congratulations to Opera Pacific--there could be no performances less splendid than theirs. ("The Struggles of 'Die Fledermaus,' Part 2," Nov. 18). And, yes, they have damaged the work's popularity. It is hard to imagine that the troubled Opera Pacific would turn to Charles Nelson Reilly and Dom DeLuise for assistance in overcoming its current problems.

We were in the Italian Alps and Bolzano last October on a 10-day coach trip to Lake Garda at the Italian lakes, where we stayed for a week and took excursions to nearby places. "Enjoying the High Life in Italy's Alps" (Feb. 17) brought back happy memories, and you even had a photo of the marketplace where we walked and saw the splendid flowers and vegetables and the vendor selling bags of hot chestnuts. GILLIAN W. SAMPLES Glendale

Bravo! At last a lady like myself who abhors, hates, reviles, is neurotic about, is afraid of, etc., snakes! ("Like Any Phobia, Fear of Snakes Puts a Chokehold on the Wandering Spirit," Her World, Feb. 13). I too have avoided and quaked over the snake prospect while hiking in places even remotely likely to harbor or support these vile creatures. In fact, I had trouble even reading your splendid article. MARGERY BARAGONA Santa Barbara

Re "Bringing life to a river that was dead," Aug. 23 How proud and pleased this reader was to read of the worthy work by splendid volunteers in Van Nuys who cared enough about the river environment to spend their valuable time and energy picking up other peoples' trash polluting the river. It is so dispiriting to know that some people do not care to clean up after themselves, and are so lazy and indulgent as to ruin such a beautiful landscape for others. Elaine Livesey-Fassel Los Angeles

An "F" to Dan Sullivan for his comment that Los Angeles actors need to "bring in a Brit who likes American actors, and will teach them how to speak Shakespeare in American" ("L.A. Theater: A Report Card," April 9). In the years that Sullivan chronicles, there have been fine productions of "Othello" at the Ahmanson, "Hamlet" at Theatre Exchange, and "Richard II" at the Theatricum Botannicum, to name but a few. Does Sullivan think that any of these splendid mountings would be improved by an English accent?

Eight Summer Olympics ago, it was Los Angeles' turn. We did well with the Games (traffic and weather cooperated). We built no monuments, no starchitect stadiums or the like. But a progressive Olympic Arts Festival gave a lasting boost to our modern dance and international theater scene and stimulated the creation of Los Angeles Opera. Then there was director Robert Wilson's "the CIVIL warS: a tree is best measured when it is down," the centerpiece of the festival. It was meant to be the grandest of grand operas and proved the Olympics' great letdown.

VF Corp., one of the world's largest apparel companies, will move the headquarters of its Splendid and Ella Moss clothing lines to a historic industrial complex in downtown Los Angeles. The clothier agreed to lease 80,000 square feet in Alameda Square near the intersection of Alameda Street and Olympic Boulevard, said real estate broker John Zanetos of CBRE Group Inc. The 10-year deal is valued at about $18 million. VF will convert raw warehouse space into offices in preparation for a move early next year.

Extra Virginity The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil Tom Mueller W.W. Norton: 238 pp., $25.95 In 1985, when I was a fledgling food writer, I got a tip on a big story. A friend had just come back from a winter trip to Tuscany. There had been a freeze, he told me. Not just a little "whoops, we lost some leaves" chill, but a mega-momma that had devastated the region. Olive oil, which was just becoming a part of the American gourmet lexicon, had been particularly hard hit. I reported out the story, calling importers, other experts with contacts in Tuscany, and even olive growers in the region itself.

"Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" finds Tsui Hark, a genre wizard, in top form in this splendid, action-filled period epic. It has opulent, stylized settings of elegance, grandeur and scope, flawless special effects, and awesome martial arts combat staged by the master, Sammo Hung. Yet bravura spectacle never overwhelms either the plot or the key characters. Chang Chia-lu's intricate script bristles with wit and suspense; the film from start to finish is a terrific entertainment.

Update: Atlanta Falcon tight end Tony Gonzalez and his wife, October, have sold their Manhattan Beach house for $2.55 million. The Spanish-style beach house, built in 1983, features a 1,700-square-foot rooftop deck with views from Malibu to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The deck includes a built-in grill and sound system. The home's 3,725 square feet include two living rooms, an upgraded kitchen, a bar, four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The master bedroom suite was expanded to feature a fireplace and patio.

Contemporary history is seldom as relevant and engaging as Douglas Waller's new biography, "Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage," which is ? by turns ? fascinatingly instructive and thoroughly entertaining. Waller, a former Time correspondent and the author of an excellent biography of Gen. Billy Mitchell, has a great ally in his subject, who was a larger-than-life personality in an American Century favored with more than its share of outsized figures.

The much-touted "new season" has arrived with the usual thud. I am a script typist and I want the world to know that the lack of good programming is not due to the lack of good material. There are innovative, imaginative writers doing splendid stories that never sell simply because these writers do not have the contacts with the insiders, and the insiders do not have the fortitude to attempt anything different. So we are deluged each fall with the hype about the "new season," only to find it's the same boring detective/doctor/sitcom mindlessness.

What a pleasure to come upon the name John Sanford in your letters column (July 26). That his note (on Archibald MacLeish) was one of shrewd judgment expressed lucidly was no surprise. Though John Sanford did not write the superb poem he mentions, he is surely entitled to die happy. He is one 20th-Century author whose work is certain to survive. For years his work has been rich with passionate honesty, compelling alertness, exalting diction. And we should all thank him for inducing us to re-experience the splendid MacLeish poem "You, Andrew Marvell."

Los Angeles-based casual-wear brand Splendid, famous for its ultra-soft fabrics and trendy silhouettes, is the latest label to collaborate with Target on a capsule collection. Although the brand is synonymous with the sexy, sun-kissed California look, its Target offering ? Splendid Littles for Target ? is focused to lure fashion-minded new moms rather than club-cruising beach bunnies. The baby and toddler line is a lower-priced version of the brand's own collection for tots, Splendid Littles, which spins out stylish, high-priced looks for the swing-set crowd (think $68 jersey dresses cleverly tailored for toddlers)

Newport Beach is full of scenic places to explore. One can walk the beach, fish off the piers or stroll along the quaint streets of tourist-friendly Balboa Island. The only locality one can't visit ? except for invited guests or those who have the good fortune to own homes there ? is Bay Island, a 5.5-acre slice of paradise just off the Balboa Peninsula. This exclusive enclave of 23 homes in Newport Harbor has been privately owned for more than a century. Residents share ownership of the island, which includes a sandy beach, an interior park, a cutting garden and a tennis court.