Quick Takes

Amid skyscraper hotels, a convention center, a monstrous sports stadium and the general hustle-bustle of downtown Los Angeles, I recently discovered (like millions of others have), the best comfort food around at The Original Pantry. The place opened in the 1920s and there are often lines around the block. I had my indoctrination last week [...]

Next week I’m traveling to the Monterey Peninsula again . . . this time for a few days to the Walmart First Tee Open. It’s now a six-year Champions Tour event at Pebble Beach and that means all the niceties (some might say attitude) Carmel by-the-Sea has to offer. I like the event. The icons [...]

Word’s finally out. The much-discussed and much-maligned Tata Nano will finally be available in April. The vehicle, marketed as the world’s cheapest car, will cost about $2,000. Its debut was originally scheduled last October but various setbacks resulted in a five-month debut delay. The Nano, designed so more Indians can afford to drive, and also [...]

There’s plenty to criticize in pro cycling, its doping issues to organizational woes. But organizers of the Tour of Missouri did something nice last Sunday afternoon. They called Michael Sayers to the awards ceremony and wished him a farewell after his decade-and-a-half in the peloton. Sayers, 38, of Carmichael, Calif., finished 38th in the main [...]

Cycling News reports on more competitive cycling than any other web site. If you want regional, national or international results the Australian site will likely have them. And if you want nuances, the site will provide those, too, like its report on the famed climb to L’Alpe d’Huez in stage 17 of the Tour de [...]

There’s nothing like seeing the Tour de France in person. I’ve been 10 times and I’m in the second year of what I hope will only be a two-year hiatus from attending the event. Despite the long hours and the various odd ways of the country, I’m homesick for France. At the same time, I’m [...]

I listen to a lot of music, but rarely buy CDs. But I bought two CDs last week, vastly different, both very good. M. Ward (Matt Ward) is an unusual talent, sometimes compared with Bob Dylan in his unique voice and storytelling. The CD is called Post-War and one cut, Chinese Translation, has gotten some [...]

Movie critics around the globe are announcing their 10-top best movies of the year, and I can’t believe what I’m reading. With rare exception, No Country For Old Men, the methodical tale of a psychopath with a bad haircut, is on the list on all of the country’s most well-known critics, Roger Ebert of the [...]

Forget about more horsepower, gadgetry, weird names and odd-colored paint. If one of the automobile manufacturers wants to immediately catapult its sales, hire Charlize Theron. The South-African born actress was recently named People Magazine’s sexiest woman alive, and she’s a fine choice. Theron likely has plenty of apparel and fragrance deals in the works. But [...]

I realized a few years ago that the main reason I volunteer at the Devil’s Thumb aid station at the Western States 100 is that it feels good. It’s nice to see friends and acquaintances (some of whom I only see once a year at the same place). And there’s plenty of camaraderie, the air [...]