Only in California

I was buying a Diet Coke at my favorite Seal Beach carryout when a photo of Robert Downey Jr. caught my eye. Believe it or not, the photo wasn't on a tabloid. It was on a scratch-off lottery ticket. The California Lottery has a new game that promotes “Sherlock Holmes,” which opens on Christmas Day.

While I was in Pennsylvania in October, I saw scratch-off lottery tickets that promote the Pittsburgh Steelers (I wouldn’t buy one of those; the Steelers’ luck seems to have run out.) and the Philadelphia Eagles. My home state of Ohio has scratch-off tickets tied to almost every holiday. But I have never seen a ticket that pitches a movie.

According to calottery.com, this is a new kind of partnership between the California Lottery and Warner Bros. Pictures. “Sherlock Holmes,” directed by Guy Ritchie (the former Mr. Madonna), stars Downey as the detective and Jude Law as Dr. Watson.

“The Lottery is honored to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures on a game that combines the excitement of the Lottery with the glamour and glitz of a Hollywood blockbuster,” Lottery Director Joan Borucki said. “And by visiting our interactive Web site and entering non-winning tickets, players have the chance to win other great prizes.”

Sherlock Holmes Scratchers give players a crack at cash prizes of up to $15,000. Other prizes include tickets to the Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour and all kinds of “Sherlock Holmes” swag, such as autographed movie posters and DVDs. The tickets are $2 each.

What did I win? Nothing.

Caption: Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law grace a new California Lottery scratch-off ticket. Who's next? I vote for George Clooney. Photo: California Lottery

It's that time of year

Well, it seems that summer is really over. The beach is empty, the lifeguard huts have been put away, and it's getting dark earlier every day. There's no snow, but the wind seems a bit chillier and people are starting to wear pants and, heaven forbid, coats.

Caption: Seal Beach is deserted at sunset, which is around 5 p.m. these days. That's downtown Long Beach in the distance.

Don't be scared!

It’s October, so it’s Halloween Time at Disneyland! The park is decked out in yellow and orange and there are pumpkins aplenty. There was no sign of Mickey Mouse when I was there on Monday, but I did see Captain Hook, Cruella De Vil, Ursula and the Evil Queen from Snow White. (She was probably promoting the latest release of “Snow White,” now available in a DVD and Blu-Ray combo pack. If you want a single format, you’ll have to wait until Nov. 24.)

Halloween is big business in SoCal, so Disneyland decided to get in on the action in 2006. From the looks of the park, you’d think they’d been doing this for years. As you can see from the photos, the Haunted Mansion was especially impressive. The decorations were inspired by Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and are also used for the park’s Christmas celebration. (By the way, the Christmas celebration leaves Halloween in the dust.) Call me Scrooge, but I think the Haunted Mansion’s original décor is much more appropriate for Halloween. Plus, there’s something special knowing that Walt Disney had a hand in the original.

Speaking of the original, it seems that Disneyland has tweaked It’s A Small World. Disney characters from several animated films are now sprinkled throughout the so-called multi-cultural experience, and I have to say that all stood out like sore thumbs. I wasn’t expecting to see Peter Pan and Wendy in London, and I was even more surprised to see Pinocchio in Italy. I was fuming by the time I saw Lilo and Stitch in Hawaii and Ariel and Flounder in another tropical location.

On one hand, this seems like an easy way for Disney to promote its stable of films. On the other, Disney is tinkering with a classic. When I step into one of the Small World boats, I like knowing that I will see the same attraction that I saw when I was 10. And again when I was 21. And again when I was 27. Enough things change at the Disney parks. (Where is the Country Bear Jamboree?!?!?! Bring back Captain Eo! NOW!!!!) Can’t they leave just one ride for us to experience the way Walt intended? I guess I am a Disney purist.

I seem to be ranting a bit here. The great thing is that Disney now has a forum for its park devotees. You can read up on events at the parks on a new Disney Parks Blog where you can post comments and learn about upcoming events. The Orange County Register an unofficial blog, which has a lot of great “unofficial” information. (Unofficial = better in newspaper jargon) Check out both blogs, especially if you are planning a trip!

Something you don't see every day

Dave and I went out on the Pacific Ocean last week. The water was smooth as glass and about 10 miles off Long Beach, we saw a blue whale diving in the distance. Though we were a couple of miles from it, a whale that size is hard to miss. The boat eventually caught up with the blue whale and a fin whale.

Blue whales are 80-90 feet long in the Northern Hemisphere and can be 100 feet or longer in the Antarctic. Humans nearly hunted the whales to extinction, but the species has recovered slightly since a worldwide whaling ban took effect.

The whales are frequently seen during the summer months off Long Beach, where they feed on krill. Once the krill is gone, the whales move on to their next feeding site. Scientists are still studying the feeding habits. I’m just glad we were lucky enough to see a blue whale this late in the season.

Grey whales will be in the area in late November. They’ll be heading south to feed for the winter and they’ll pass through again in the spring during the trip north.

Caption: A blue whale takes a deep dive in the Pacific Ocean off Long Beach. Note the large container ships in the upper left corner. We weren't far from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

A note about climate change

Today I attended a workshop on climate change at Aquarium of the Pacific. It’s a pretty serious topic with consequences for everyone and everything on the planet. But instead of doom and gloom, the message today was about a simple change in terminology.

Apparently a lot of people don’t really understand climate change. Some people think it has to do with the ozone layer and others think it only involves the polar ice caps. It seems that many people are tripped up by the terms greenhouse gas and greenhouse effect. (Dear Al Gore, there are a lot of folks out there who have never seen a greenhouse, let alone understand how one works.) So now the greenhouse effect is out, and the heat-trapping blanket is in.

Here’s how it works:

Human activity (driving, running A/C, burning coal) releases carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide builds in the atmosphere, forming a blanket.

Carbon dioxide blanket traps heat, preventing its release from Earth.

Temperatures rise.

Bad things happen, such as polar ice caps melt and sea levels rise.

Everyone can understand how a heat-trapping blanket works. I like it. Well, I like the wordage, not the heat-trapping blanket.

My beef with awards shows

There’s nothing like knowing that there’s an awards show (such as the Emmys) taking place a few miles up the road but not being able to watch it on live TV. The Emmys, Grammys and Oscars all take place in L.A. The ceremonies usually kick off at 5 p.m. so they will air live at 8 p.m. on the East Coast. The shows air in L.A. at 8 p.m.,

When the stage is empty and everything is being discussed all over the Internet. I usually know who the winners and losers are before the show even airs, but of course I can’t see anything unfold as it actually happens.

All of the local news crews are live on the Red Carpet before awards shows. Today, KTLA had live coverage from 3 to 5 p.m., when the celebrities were arriving for the Emmys. E! was also on hand for the arrivals, but started its Red Carpet program for the West Coast at 6 p.m. Had E! aired the arrivals live, I probably would have watched that channel instead.

Right now, when I should be enjoying the second hour of the Emmy telecast, I am looking at Variety’s Twitter feed so I can see the winners in real time. Though I am grateful to have access to the information, I think it is ridiculous that I have to wait another hour to see the telecast.

Now I know why so many people out here have Dish TV. They want the East Coast feed so they can see live programs as they happen! I don’t know what people do if they watch live programs such as “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

Most of the TV shows and movies that win awards are created, written, filmed and edited in Hollywood. The ceremonies happen here for a reason and the celebrities come to L.A. to be part of it all. Fans on the West Coast deserve to see awards shows live.

Left holding the bag

Yesterday, I visited a Whole Foods Market. Once I got over my shock from the outrageously high prices, I noticed that there wasn’t a plastic bag in sight. There were two options at checkout: paper or canvas. Plastic bags are becoming more and more rare at stores, especially in Southern California. Up north, I don’t think you’d see them at all.

Plastic bags started showing up at grocery stores in the late 1980s. They’re cheap to produce and are the bag of choice at grocery and convenience stores. These bags are everywhere, probably even crammed into one of your kitchen drawers. I’ve used them to line waste cans, carry my lunch and even stuff my witch hat at Halloween.

But the bags also clog storm drains, litter roadways and float in the ocean. They are deadly snacks for sea turtles and sea lions who mistake the floating bags for jellyfish, a favorite food.

In 2007, San Francisco passed the nation’s first plastic bag ban. City officials there estimate that the ban saves 5 million bags each month. Los Angeles followed suit last year and will ban plastic bags from stores as of July 1, 2010. (If the state of California imposes at 25-cent fee for the bags, L.A. would drop its ban.) Malibu and Manhattan Beach recently passed ordinances banning the bags at all retailers.

L.A. officials estimate that more than 2 billion plastic bags are used in the city each year. In California, about 5 percent of plastic bags and 21 percent of paper bags are recycled, according to the Huffington Post. Organizers are working on a statewide plastic bag ban to reduce litter on beaches and in the ocean.

I’ve seen a lot of bags in places where they should not be. While stopped at a traffic light along Pacific Coast Highway, I saw a seagull trapped by a plastic bag. The bird had pierced the bag with its beak and was unable to remove it. The bag was large enough that the bird couldn’t see or fly. It hopped around madly, trying to free itself. I decided right then and there that I would never use plastic bags again. Any bags that do show up at my home are recycled at the grocery store. I won’t throw them away because they would just wind up in a landfill.

I’ve been using reusable bags for about a year. I have a couple for Target and four for Ralph’s, our grocery store. Ralph’s gives extra reward points for customers who bring their own bags, which cost 99 cents apiece. Target offers no such incentives, but the stores occasionally give away the bags.

I see people using reusable bags almost everywhere I shop. I hope this means that I won’t see any more birds along the road wrestling with plastic bags.

Caption: I keep reusable bags like these in my trunk so I’m always ready to shop.