Zing

The doors opened to another Lakers practice. The players off the court were almost as notable as those on it. No Kobe Bryant. No Andrew Bynum. The Lakers continued to prepare for the Phoenix Suns with two starters logging more time in the trainer's room than the locker room, Bryant because of a sore right knee and Bynum because of torn cartilage in his right knee. The entire team watched video together for about an hour Friday. Then the healthy ones headed to the court while Bynum and Bryant retreated to padded tables.

"The Producers" returned to Los Angeles for three performances this past weekend at the Hollywood Bowl. And during the curtain call at Friday's opening, Mel Brooks, who wrote the giddy score and co-wrote the zany book with Thomas Meehan, came onstage to express his gratitude to the audience and to compliment the cast for pulling it together in a short period of time. "They're almost good," he kidded, which pretty much sums up my appraisal of the production, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, whose two Tony wins added to the show's record-breaking haul of 12. The rushed logistics of producing a big musical at the Bowl didn't allow Stroman to live up to her perfectionist reputation.

What might John Prine have wanted for his 60th birthday a couple of weeks ago? Maybe the household-name renown of Bruce Springsteen, whose most poignant songs seem built from the Prine blueprint but without the zinging wit and whimsy? Or the fame and fortune of Jimmy Buffett, who shares Prine's whimsy but lacks his depth? Nah.

DELHI, INDIA - Delhi, India, is closed today. My guide, a solemn man named C.K. Gupta, is deeply apologetic. It is, he informs me, not a holiday, but a peaceful protest. "Too high prices in the shops. " It is 2010, and I am in Delhi on vacation. It is my first time here. Receiving this piece of early-morning information, I am all set for empty sidewalks. The occasional whining ambulance. Maybe a bus. But when we leave my rented car near the Defence Colony, it is impossible to move.

In one sense, there was some surprising news the other day about Channel One, the made-for-the-classroom news program that has been banned in California's public schools because it laces its learning with commercials. Whittle Communications, the owner of Channel One, actually paid for a study concluding that its own product hasn't done much to increase high school students' knowledge of current affairs.

Reviews by David Pagel (D.P.) and Leah Ollman (L.O.). Compiled by Grace Krilanovich. Critics' Choices Richard T. Walker: successive inconceivable events Walker's short video, "successive inconceivable events," is part romantic meditation, part confessional love letter. The object of Walker's affection? The landscape itself, which he addresses in the voice of a confused suitor, unsure where he stands. "I think you're really beautiful and quite amazing," he bellows into the wilderness, "and yet there's a lack of some sort of connection."

Aries (March 21-April 19): Like watching a magician, when you know what to overlook, you can sit back and let the magic happen. Taurus (April 20-May 20): You can have an excellent time with someone who doesn't share your likes and dislikes, but at least one of you has to have an open mind. Today it has to be you. Gemini (May 21-June 21): We all tell ourselves lies from time to time, but a certain friend of yours makes sure to dispel yours as soon as she catches wind of them.

Good thing I've been in the biz long enough to know not to take anything I read seriously . . . especially in the sports section in the days leading up to a big event. This was a particularly handy lesson this week. If you believed everything you read about the Lakers and Spurs, you would have concluded that: * David Robinson is mean.

Welcome to this rite and ritual of an American spring, breaking in a new glove. As with anything in baseball, there are 100 views on the proper way to do this, all argued passionately. Glove gurus, some more guru than others, recommend treating a stiff new glove as either your best friend or roadkill. You can drown a glove, you can bake it, you can run it over with the car. Breaking in a baseball glove isn't science so much as a form of testosterone-fueled witchcraft. Tony Pena, former major league backstop and current New York Yankees bench coach, reportedly goes ape on a new catcher's glove, turning it inside out, outside in, punching, prodding, mugging it into submission — it's almost hard to watch.

As he has done so triumphantly in the past, the Great Communicator ended a broadcast address by looking Americans squarely in the eye and appealing to them to tell the Beltway insiders just what they thought about taxes and spending. "Because believe me," President Reagan said, "if some in Congress won't see the light, I know you can make them feel the heat." Such an appeal used to hit Washington switchboards like so many blinking Christmas trees.

Molotov had his cocktail; I have mine - a fiery Bloody Mary, three parts tomato juice, 1 part vodka. Crumble in bits of crispy bacon, add a splash or two of horseradish and hot sauce for extra tingle. There's more to this classic drink, but that's the basic plotline, the can't-miss equation. Stick with me a moment and you'll know more about Bloody Marys than you do your own mom. True, mothers are hard to know - so saintly, so selfless, I don't even try anymore. By comparison, Bloodys are easy to understand.

Here are some good Bloody Mary mixes to get you started. • Hoosier Momma, not for wimps, this new kid on the block may become the gold standard; available in Southern California only by mail order at http://www.hoosiermomma.com . • Zing Zang, award-winning peppery blend, almost as thick and turbo-charged as Hoosier Momma, and available in most supermarkets and liquor stores. • Dr. Swami & Bone Daddy's, another rich blend. Rule of thumb, if it's red as a firetruck, it's no good.

Dear SOS: My boyfriend and I had the most amazing meal at Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena. Everything was absolutely delicious, but my favorite dish was the Brussels sprouts with a tomato relish and smoked paprika cream ... soooo yummy. Would love to have the recipe! Michelle Elowe Pasadena Dear Michelle: Firefly Bistro was happy to share its sautéed Brussels sprouts recipe with us, which we've adapted below. Enjoy! Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 2 Note: Adapted from Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena.

"Sucker Punch," Zack Snyder's violent mash-up of Dickensian dark morality with Moulin Rouge couture is stun-gun gorgeous, psychosexually unnerving, fantasy action-riffic and most definitely not for the faint of heart. Starring the pretty pout of Emily Browning's Babydoll ? sporting machine guns, Mary Janes, black stockings and little else ? the film is, existentially speaking, a Freudian nightmare gunning for debate as much as entertainment. Some will see the worst sort of objectification in its Victoria's Secret-esque femme front line that also includes the scantily clad corps of Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung.

Aries (March 21-April 19): Like watching a magician, when you know what to overlook, you can sit back and let the magic happen. Taurus (April 20-May 20): You can have an excellent time with someone who doesn't share your likes and dislikes, but at least one of you has to have an open mind. Today it has to be you. Gemini (May 21-June 21): We all tell ourselves lies from time to time, but a certain friend of yours makes sure to dispel yours as soon as she catches wind of them.

The doors opened to another Lakers practice. The players off the court were almost as notable as those on it. No Kobe Bryant. No Andrew Bynum. The Lakers continued to prepare for the Phoenix Suns with two starters logging more time in the trainer's room than the locker room, Bryant because of a sore right knee and Bynum because of torn cartilage in his right knee. The entire team watched video together for about an hour Friday. Then the healthy ones headed to the court while Bynum and Bryant retreated to padded tables.

If you think you have trouble maneuvering through downtown Los Angeles traffic, imagine how difficult it was for a herd of elephants -- on Tuesday morning, no less. Holding trunk-to-tail, 10 Asian elephants, weighing between 6,500 and 10,000 pounds each, marched three miles from the train yard in Vernon to the loading dock at Staples Center. Yes, the circus is in town, and as in past years, Ringling Bros.

"Sucker Punch," Zack Snyder's violent mash-up of Dickensian dark morality with Moulin Rouge couture is stun-gun gorgeous, psychosexually unnerving, fantasy action-riffic and most definitely not for the faint of heart. Starring the pretty pout of Emily Browning's Babydoll ? sporting machine guns, Mary Janes, black stockings and little else ? the film is, existentially speaking, a Freudian nightmare gunning for debate as much as entertainment. Some will see the worst sort of objectification in its Victoria's Secret-esque femme front line that also includes the scantily clad corps of Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung.

Every so often, change can be seen not in what does happen but in what does not. His campaign for governor on the ropes, Republican Steve Poizner has been blaming illegal immigration for the state's troubled schools, its crowded emergency rooms and some of its massive budget deficit. Last week he began airing ads accusing GOP front-runner Meg Whitman of mimicking President Obama in her positions on illegal immigration -- specifically, a comment she made last year about envisioning "a path to legalization" for undocumented workers.

Reviews by David Pagel (D.P.) and Leah Ollman (L.O.). Compiled by Grace Krilanovich. Critics' Choices Richard T. Walker: successive inconceivable events Walker's short video, "successive inconceivable events," is part romantic meditation, part confessional love letter. The object of Walker's affection? The landscape itself, which he addresses in the voice of a confused suitor, unsure where he stands. "I think you're really beautiful and quite amazing," he bellows into the wilderness, "and yet there's a lack of some sort of connection."