Because, although we are awash in more pop culture than our parents ever imagined, we long even more than they did for a highbrow experience. Then it turns west to cut magnificently through the slate-covered highlands of Cumbria -- classic Wordsworth country. The S&P 500 has advanced in seven of the last eight Decembers by an average of more than 2%.* Energy stocks as a group dropped 0.7% Valero Energy, the largest U.S refiner, dropped $4.10 to $99.55 Chevron, the No 2 U.S. The table used to host family dinners in his old Hancock Park condo, a historic but darkish place not conducive to painting.Many collections are of interesting tableware -- antique sake cups, smooth wooden bowls, dense iron teapots, Japanese lacquer trays.In the kitchen hangs a Mexican art calendar from a favorite Santa Fe restaurant, Cafe Pasqual's. 22 to felony drug possession and paraphernalia possession counts and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs after his Dec. 6 Wisconsin, 88-82.* Leading tournament scorers: Center Sean May, 21.5 ppg; guard/forward Rashad McCants, 17.8; forward Marvin Williams, 15.5; guard Raymond Felton, 12.3.* Leading tournament rebounders: May, 11.8 rpg; Williams, 7.8; Felton, 6.0.* Keys to the season: Coach Roy Williams persuaded the stubborn Tar Heels to try things his way, and they put team first again.

Let them fry, turning them over gently when needed with a slotted spoon, about 7 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown. "I don't see it dwindling in the next five, six, 10 years," she says. But pump panic was the order of the day across Southern California as drivers searched for low prices and lines formed around some service stations that offered the best deals.In Beverly Hills, drivers of Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac and Lexus sedans who pulled up to a quartet of full-service pumps at the landmark, cantilever-roofed station didn't flinch at paying Rodeo Drive prices.Beverly Hills clothing executive Roy Robinson ignored the pump's whirring digital readout as $88.41 worth -- a total of 21.8 gallons of 91 octane fuel -- flowed into his new BMW 750 Li."I didn't even look I was running out of gas. And doubly surprised to find that he'd been charged for a cheeseburger.*Meatwagon: The Los Alamitos News-Enterprise said Seal Beach police received a call from residents alleging that "someone, possibly someone they knew, taped bologna all over their gray Honda Odyssey." That's a scene that would give me a good case of food fright.*Wrong image: John Holly of Palos Verdes Estates noticed that a South Bay phone directory listed a medical firm in the wrong category (see accompanying).*You think health costs are high now? Well, consider the bill that Joseph Linsman of L.A.

But there was never enough evidence against him to charge him with Class AA murder, which carries a life sentence."Our biggest hurdle is that we didn't have any direct evidence linking Mr Thomas to the case," she said.Assistant Atty Gen. The free throw gave UCLA a 36-30 lead.As is their way, the Bruins used an offensive burst in the second half to take control In the matter of 90 seconds, a 43-40 lead became 50-40. "Does anyone really believe that American literary fiction is so superior that it would swamp the Booker?"Apparently so. Bond, one of the five who voted against the bailout, said he fears that the center may become a financial liability for years."I don't see what I would call a good exit strategy," said Bond, a representative of the San Diego County Water Authority. They buy them to play movies."Content is obviously going to drive hardware sales," said Jodi Sally, assistant vice president of marketing for Toshiba's North American division.So both sides are lobbying Hollywood hard to win support. It will also help people manage photos and other personal content stored on a PC."We all grew up when someone else was the programmer," Yahoo Chief Executive Terry Semel said. He didn't return calls seeking comment.Given that the stock has already topped Lyon's offer, "I'm not sure $93 will be the final number," said analyst Alex Barron of JMP Securities in San Francisco.

A plan to train hundreds of Orange County sheriff's deputies in immigration law, once touted as a model for law enforcement nationwide, will be sharply trimmed to include only about a dozen deputies, Sheriff Michael S. They're appropriate for both the obsessions of a modern youth and the earliest mode of mature American avant-garde sculpture -- welded steel, in the industrial manner of artist David Smith.Any pieta is a lamentation, and Johnson's records the passing of the Industrial Age. He imagined that liberating Iraq might trigger a flowering of Arab democracy. Some have clipped the fleeting scene from a pirated download of the movie -- which won't be released in China until next month -- and posted it on the Web, generating guffaws in chat rooms.That's painful for Shanghai officials, who go to great lengths to burnish the city's image. The San Ramon district, which serves wealthy bedroom communities in Contra Costa County, teaches predominantly white, affluent students who are native English speakers. He saw him every morning, walked with him to school assemblies, attended chapel services with him."To say there was a lot of drugs going on back then is a fair statement, maybe an understatement," the teacher said. Doubleday tried to pretend otherwise, arguing that the book is still "a deeply inspiring and redemptive story." Its parent company, Random House, says unsatisfied customers are always free to return their purchase to wherever they bought it, and that readers of "A Million Little Pieces" are no different.So much for truth in publishing.