Wrath

From the Department of Good Things That Won’t Go Away: A cadre of House Republicans are demanding that President Obama go back and sign the recently passed extension of the Patriot Act in the way that God and the founders intended—with his own human, non-robotic, hand. You might recall that there was a (very small) uproar over Obama’s decision last month to sign the extension using an autopen while he was in Europe. Had the president not done so, the White House said, key provisions of the counterterrorism act would have expired.

Richard Garcia was busy ticketing a Scion for blocking the street sweeper's path when a neighbor broke in with a question. "Are you allowed to paint your own curb red?" Edsel Ortiz said. Of course not, but Ortiz would have to take it up with headquarters. Another neighbor on Mountain View Street in L.A.'s Westlake neighborhood, however, wouldn't let it go. "She said she's the homeowner and we're just renters," said Tony See, dressed in slip-on rubber sandals and shorts, pointing to a driveway flanked by telltale red. "She's a bad neighbor!

Whatever your cause for complaint - traffic, work, kids, in-laws - as you settle in to A Noise Within's production of “The Grapes of Wrath,” you'll soon see that the Joads have it worse. The epic suffering of the Depression-era Oklahoma family, adapted for the stage in 1988 by Frank Galati from John Steinbeck's 1939 novel, will make your annoyances feel like luxuries. Or it could , except that this revival, despite its visual beauty (a lovely spare set by Melissa Ficociello and breathtaking lighting by Elizabeth Harper)

Whatever your cause for complaint - traffic, work, kids, in-laws - as you settle in to A Noise Within's production of “The Grapes of Wrath,” you'll soon see that the Joads have it worse. The epic suffering of the Depression-era Oklahoma family, adapted for the stage in 1988 by Frank Galati from John Steinbeck's 1939 novel, will make your annoyances feel like luxuries. Or it could , except that this revival, despite its visual beauty (a lovely spare set by Melissa Ficociello and breathtaking lighting by Elizabeth Harper)

Did the ancient Greeks think in terms of sequels? The ongoing adventures of their mythological gods certainly lend themselves easily to serialized entertainment. And so following the box-office success of 2010's "Clash of the Titans" comes the more-of-the-same sequel "Wrath of the Titans. " Directed this time out by Jonathan Liebesman, the film lacks inspiration or zest in storytelling, performance or action. This is pure product, a movie desperately without energy or enthusiasm of any kind.

"I am sure of one thing -- it isn't the great book I had hoped it would be. It's just a run-of-the-mill book. And the awful thing is that it is absolutely the best I can do." --John Steinbeck For John Steinbeck, a writer more famous for his rhetoric than his subtlety, those words jotted in a diary more than five decades ago were probably his greatest understatement. On Sunday, more than 100 writers, scholars and Steinbeck enthusiasts gathered in Santa Monica to celebrate Steinbeck on the 50th anniversary of that "run-of-the-mill book," the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel "The Grapes of Wrath," first printed on April 14, 1939.

History IS made of small moments. The big ones matter, too, of course -- the wars, the famines, the epidemics that define eras. But the events that fall outside those tethering moments can tell us just as much, if not more, about a time and a place, as Rick Wartzman makes abundantly clear in his new work exploring a single local political issue facing the Kern County Board of Supervisors in 1939. The issue was "that damnable book," John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," which Kern County's political and business elite believed had held them and, by extension, California's entire Central Valley up to national scorn and mockery.

When it comes to cinematic scapegoats, few movies have been hammered like 2010's "Clash of the Titans. " Even though the Warner Bros.Greek god drama grossed nearly $500 million worldwide, the film's last-minute 3-D conversion, done to take advantage of higher stereoscopic ticket prices, sparked uncharacteristically blunt condemnations from industry leaders. DreamWorks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg said the film's hasty 3-D makeover "snookered" ticket buyers, while "Avatar" creator James Cameron said of the conversion, "There was no artistry to it whatsoever.

Despite the arrival of new foes at the multiplex, "The Hunger Games" survived another weekend in the No. 1 position at the domestic box office and surged past the quarter-billion dollar mark after just 10 days in release. The movie starring Jennifer Lawrence as heroine Katniss Everdeen collected $61.1 million this weekend, according to an estimate from distributor Lionsgate, bringing its total to $251 million in the U.S. and Canada. "The Hunger Games" easily picked off two new films, the 3-D sequel "Wrath of the Titans" and "Mirror Mirror," a modern spin on the Snow White fairy tale.

Moviegoers are expected to return to the multiplex this weekend for second helpings of "The Hunger Games," pushing the teen epic to No. 1 at the box office again. After debuting with a record-breaking $152.5 million last weekend, the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' bestselling young adult novel has continued to rake in massive ticket sales this week. Since Monday, the movie has grossed $29.2 million, and it could collect more than $60 million in its second weekend, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys.

WASHINGTON -- Although states are usually eager for Hollywood to come calling, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is asking MTV to cancel a TV show that he says "plays to ugly, inaccurate stereotypes” of his state. "Buckwild" has been compared to an Appalachian version of "Jersey Shore. " The show, according to MTV, follows a group of nine "young, carefree and adventurous friends" living in West Virginia who find “unique ways to create their own fun. From transforming a dump truck into a pool party to building a human sling shot, they live their lives loud and proud without restrictions.

Grab any electrical engineer off the street and they'll tell you salt water conducts electricity. So when super storm Sandy pushed seawater into parking lots at New Jersey's Port of Newark, significant damage to recently imported vehicles was inevitable. Fisker and Toyota learned this first-hand. Fisker fell victim to the most dramatic damage. Sixteen of its Karma vehicles caught fire and burned shortly after this week's storm. These luxury plug-in hybrid vehicles cost at least $95,000 each and count Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio among its celebrity owners.

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. -- The power was out for all of Berkeley Heights on Tuesday, except for a narrow strip of roadway that included Benham's Garage. The garage's gas pumps were running -- and running low. A crush of cars and people, some toting red gasoline cans, lined up for the precious few remaining drops before Benham's ran dry. “We're the only game in town, and we won't last much longer,” Bob Kaiser, a barrel-chested attendant clutching a wad of cash, said as the last of the gasoline from one pump only half-filled a customer's gas can. STATE BY STATE: Snow piles up; beaches wash away Those who managed to reach the gas station had negotiated around fallen trees, downed power lines and flooded roads.

Twitter has made another move to isolate itself from rival social networks. Tumblr users had been able to import their contacts from Twitter, quickly expanding their personal Tumblr network. But that changed Wednesday when Twitter cut off Tumblr's access to its service. "To our dismay, Twitter has restricted our users' ability to “Find Twitter Friends” on Tumblr," Tumblr said. "Given our history of embracing their platform, this is especially upsetting. " "While we're delighted by the response to our integrations with Facebook and Gmail, we are truly disappointed by Twitter's decision.

An actress who appeared in the recent Broadway revival of "Godspell" learned the hard way that tweeting negative comments about another show is frowned upon by the New York theater community. Morgan James, an actress who was part of the ensemble cast of "Godspell" that closed in June, reportedly tweeted a negative comment this week about the Public Theater's new production of "Into the Woods," which is in previews and is set to open next month in New York's Central Park.  James' tweet, which has since been deleted from her account, was critical of the production's acting and musicianship, according to the Playbill website.

"Wrath of the Titans" and "21 Jump Street" debuted atop the DVD sales and rental charts last week, while other new entries "The Artist" and "A Thousand Words" lagged behind. Warner Bros.' action sequel "Wrath" was the bestselling DVD in the U.S. during the week ended June 24 and the second most popular rental title, according to Rentrak Corp. Sony Pictures' comedy "21 Jump Street" was No. 1 on the rental charts and No. 2 on the sales chart. Also debuting this week was Relativity Media's light-hearted take on Snow White, "Mirror Mirror," which ranked No. 3 on both lists.

I'm wondering what the Rev. Robert Schuller was reading on his eventful flight? Was it "The Grapes of Wrath"? MARV GONSIOR Fullerton

After storms ravaged Iowa last summer, devastation wasn't the only thing that people found amid the flood waters. Scores of out-of-work electricians from Michigan, hard hit by auto industry cutbacks, spied opportunity. Trekking hundreds of miles from home, where the unemployment rate of 8.5% is the highest in the U.S., they were eager to scoop up jobs rewiring Cedar Rapids -- even if it meant sleeping in a tent for weeks on end. To some observers, the desperate scene evoked an unmistakable image.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The boos cascaded upon him when he walked onto the court for warmups. They intensified when he was introduced before the game. And they continued even when he stepped to the free-throw line with the outcome long decided. "World Peace, we hate you!" a woman sitting courtside bellowed midway through the third quarter. Oklahoma City Thunder fans reserved a special welcome for Metta World Peace on Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in the opener of the team's Western Conference semifinal series against the Lakers.

Despite the arrival of new foes at the multiplex, "The Hunger Games" survived another weekend in the No. 1 position at the domestic box office and surged past the quarter-billion dollar mark after just 10 days in release. The movie starring Jennifer Lawrence as heroine Katniss Everdeen collected $61.1 million this weekend, according to an estimate from distributor Lionsgate, bringing its total to $251 million in the U.S. and Canada. "The Hunger Games" easily picked off two new films, the 3-D sequel "Wrath of the Titans" and "Mirror Mirror," a modern spin on the Snow White fairy tale.