Stupidity

Cars 2 Walt Disney, $29.99; Blu-ray, $39.99/$49.99 Critics seemed to be laying in wait to savage "Cars 2," ready to rip Pixar for making a cash-in sequel to the studio's least artful, most merchandising-friendly movie. But fun is fun, and the globe-hopping spy story that drives "Cars 2" is a blast, full of zooming action and clever ideas about how a world run by vehicles would look. Is it as sophisticated or emotionally resonant as "Up" or "Toy Story"? Heck, no. The "friends forever"/"be yourself" theme is pitched more to the younger audience, and the humor — carried largely by Larry the Cable Guy as rusty truck Tow Mater — is more cornball.

Ruben Salazar had been lying on the floor of the Silver Dollar Bar for nearly three hours when a pair of homicide detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department finally arrived to examine his body. It was Aug. 29, 1970. Night had fallen. The bar was dark and still stank of tear gas, so Dets. Donald Cannon and Conrad Alvarez donned masks and used "battle lamp" flashlights. Among the many facts in their report — the position of Salazar's body, the location of the tear-gas canister that killed him — they noted the button pinned to his jacket: "Chicano Moratorium.

When it comes to makeovers at the movies, the rules have always been fairly straightforward: Girls get a Cinderella story, while guys get Spider-Man. It's pretty much been that way since the dawn of the movie makeover genre, which authors Elizabeth A. Ford and Deborah C. Mitchell trace to 1942's "Now Voyager" (starring Bette Davis) in their 2004 book "The Makeover in Movies. "That film may not be familiar, but the story arc certainly is, and it can be found in movies ranging from the animated "Cinderella" (1950)

'Crazy, Stupid, Love' MPAA rating: PG-13 for coarse humor, sexual content and language Running time: 1 hour, 58 minutes Playing: In general release

"Crazy, Stupid, Love" is one from the heart and one for the heart. This grand romantic gesture about grand romantic gestures conjures up the bittersweet magic of first loves, lasting loves, lost loves and all the loves in between. It may well restore your faith in the very possibility of love, to say nothing of romantic comedies. The sprawling cast that keeps hearts — theirs and yours — pitter-pattering is made up of a strong central core comprised of Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Jonah Bobo and Analeigh Tipton.

"Now, my administration has a job to do as well, and that job is to get this economy back on its feet," President Obama declared on July 14, 2009, in Warren, Mich. "That's my job, and it's a job I gladly accept. I love these folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, well, this is Obama's economy. That's fine. Give it to me. " OK. It's yours. The unemployment rate then was 9.5%. It's now 9.1%, well above the 8% cap that the administration advisors projected under the stimulus bill.

Illustrating the fact that telling the truth can be fatal in Washington, an Obama administration official has resigned after characterizing the Pentagon's handling of Pfc. Bradley Manning as "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid. " Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley was referring to the harsh treatment that has been visited on Manning, who is suspected of turning over several hundred thousand confidential documents to WikiLeaks. FOR THE RECORD: Manning: A March 15 editorial said that new charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning were filed last week.

WASHINGTON -- Public criticism by U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley about the treatment of an Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, suspected of giving classified material to WikiLeaks, has given rise to speculation about a rift between the State Department and the Pentagon over the handling of the prisoner. Crowley told a forum in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday that Manning's treatment at the hands of the Defense Department "is ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid. " The remarks were first reported by BBC News.

Hey, here’s some good news, of a sort, for anyone planning on leaving Los Angeles anytime soon. In Travel & Leisure magazine’s annual survey on America’s favorite cities, readers agreed that just about every place else is better, in one way or another, than Los Angeles is. When it came to public transportation, pedestrian-friendliness and friendliness generally, Los Angeles ranked dead last among 35 major U.S. cities....

USC quarterback Matt Barkley called it "a stupid play," the second-quarter red-zone interception he threw on first down Saturday against Arizona State. A window to freshman receiver Robert Woods was there, Barkley said, but "those situations where you're rolling [out] on the run, you've just got to throw it out. " USC Coach Lane Kiffin called it "the most disappointing play of the game," adding that it typifies Barkley's struggles with consistency. "He gets so anxious to make plays all the time that he's been an up-and-down season that way," Kiffin said.