Thanks to the movie Resolved, discussed in a prior posting, we know that the number one fear Americans have is public speaking, and number two is death.

Dare we suggest that number three might be confinement in a room with a deathly dull public speaker?

It's inside the Billy Wilder Theater, and a group of the artists profiled in a doc we've just seen, titled THE COOL SCHOOL, are coming up to the stage to talk about it. But oh lordy, this moderator...I understand he's an art gallery owner, which is appropriate, but he's not a speaker.

Friday at the fest was a little bit different -- all the interesting-looking films were playing at the Landmark Westside, that new fancy art-house 12-plex at the Westside Pavilion. Parking there is free, unlike in Westwood, where everything else is happening. The trade-off you make is that beer is not free. I tried a $12 Avant-Garde Ale at the theaters beer and wine bar -- it came in a big bottle and was worth $12. A bit French-tasting, so probably not recommended for Republicans.

Likewise, the new Michael Moore movie. Nope, haven’t seen it, but Constantine’s Sword director Oren Jacoby told us that, because Sicko is doing boffo, Michael’s movie got added into another big auditorium, with LAFF wedged into one of the littler places. I have no independent confirmation of this -- but feel pretty certain that the LAFF screen was not the size any festival organizer would pick, given the choice.

This would cause some trouble later on.

Raise your hand if you thought Gavin Rossdale of Bush could be a decent actor. Or a decent anything. Yeah, he got his face melted in Constantine, but that proved nothing.

But Mr. Gwen Stefani really shows something in HOW TO ROB A BANK, as a pill-popping criminal named Simon (after Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran, as it turns out), who apparently didn’t get the memo that “LOVE” and “HATE” tattoos on the fingers went out of style years ago (as per his own lyrics, "love and hate, get it wrong"). Simon is the principal bank robber of the title, whose plans are derailed slightly when a pissed-off, Hobbit-looking good-for-nothing named Jinx (Nick Stahl) gets himself locked in the bank vault during the heist, alongside Simon’s associate Jessica (Erika Christensen). The story that ensues is a four-way stand-off among Jinx and Jessica in the vault, Simon and his armed thugs in the bank, flustered Officer DeGepse (Terry Crews) and his cops outside, and a mysterious man on the other end of Erika’s phone named Nick (voice of David Carradine).

The city of Santa Ana's EPIC Commission, a group of local politicians and activists formed to prevent gang violence, offered a guided tour through what one official called "one of the worst neighborhoods" for crime in Santa Ana June 27.

At a natural break point during its three-hour meeting, politicians, some local youth, some older ex-gang members, pastors at local churches and four police officers—two in bulletproof vests, two in a cruiser—set off on an evening stroll through the neighborhood.

The streets we walk are located a few blocks to the west of where the meeting was held, the Boys and Girls Club on Highland Street between Flower and Shelton streets.

As we arrive at Shelton Street, I already feel intrusive just being a member of what looked like nothing so much as tourists on a ghetto safari, eyeballing residents' living rooms through open doors.

Bribing your child, Huntington Beach style:

The scene: A nail shop run by cheerful, chatty Vietnamese ladies. A large white mother and her two daughters — one in her 20s, one probably 12 — sit in the spa chairs getting pedicures. A little white dog lounges on mom's lap.

12-year-old to Mom: I don't wanna go to that thing later.
Mom: But I want you to go.
12-year-old: But I don't wanna.
Mom: But I want you to.
12-year-old: No.
Mom: $40. I'll give you $40 to go. I want you to be there.
12-year-old: *ignores Mom and instructs the lady doing her nails to paint three flowers onto her larger toes*
Mom: Honey . . .
12-year-old: $60.

• Immigration reform bill tanks: Local politicians applauded the death of a bill that would have legalized millions of immigrants, reports the Daily Pilot.
• Newport OIS: Newport Beach police fatally shot a man suspected of driving drunk after a three-mile chase this morning.
• iPhone madness: The Register's in-house gadget nut has been in line outside an Irvine Apple store overnight. The iPhone goes on sale at 6 p.m. Friday.
• Today in court: Arraignment is set for Guillermo Rodriguez Sr. and his son, Guillermo Rodriguez Jr. The pair allegedly strangled a neighbor to death last year.

After the claustrophobic overcrowding of Broxton avenue for the LAFF opening night party, I wasn’t expecting the Transformers premiere bash to be as well-run as it was. Adjacent parking lots were opened up, and food and drink were so prevalent that, if you actually ventured all the way in, it was possible to get plenty of both with no waiting.

Half the food was Burger King, which was a letdown, despite the presence of that creepy King guy from the ads. But there was plenty of other stuff too, including a make-your-own chili-cheese dog buffet line with gourmet chicken sausage, Caesar salad shakers, roast veggie wraps, and fancy low-carb pizza. Cotton candy and churro stands were also in effect.

And if you wanted to find a bar -- look up. Each booze-stand was adorned by one of the movie’s Autobots (only in vehicle mode, though a Bumblebee robot was spotted in the street outside). Optimus Prime was in the exclusive press area, but other than that, said area had nothing the rest of the party didn’t have, except too many people.

• Liar, liar: Yesterday, we noted that The OC Register wouldn't be taking Marti Buscaglia on as publisher after all, after she confessed she'd misrepresented her education in her résumé. The Times and Register follow up with the story.
• All apologies: Three former Exodus International leaders issued a public apology yesterday, saying their efforts at the ex-gay ministry caused many gays and lesbians harm.
• New crime trend in LB: Snagging restaurant safes seems to be the latest in thing on the Long Beach crime scene, reports the Press-Telegram.
• How annoying: A man in Newport Beach has been seen annoying children for the third time, reports the Daily Pilot.
• Door slams on the slammer: Mismanagement (and creepy ex-employees) closes the Seal Beach jail.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics released the final standings of their annual Directors’ Cup today, with three Greater Orange County universities making the top 100.

UC Irvine topped the OC representatives at 56th, followed by CSUs Fullerton and Long Beach at 79th and 91st, respectively. Stanford finished first, capturing its 13th straight title (seriously, Stanford, take it down a notch, okay?).

Universities are awarded points based on how many sports are fielded in national post-season events and how well they do. The scoring system is easy to follow. Here’s an excerpt of the Directors’ policy:

If three teams tied for 30th place in a 64-team event, the average of the points given to places 30-32 (44 pts., 43 pts., 42 pts.) will be given to all three teams. In this case, each team would receive 43 pts. ((44+43+42)/3=43).”

See? Simple. Anyway, local schools have three in the top bracket of Division I rankings, so it’s been a good year. Cheers and congratulations.

The Orange County Register seemingly made history earlier this month when it announced that Marti Buscaglia would be its new publisher. Buscaglia would've been the first Latina publisher at a major daily and would've started July 9. We speak in the past tense because Buscaglia unexpectedly announced her resignation today. In a memo to Register staffers, current publisher and CEO of Freedom Communications (the Reg's parent company) N. Christan Anderson III announced that Buscaglia "has come forward to inform us that she misrepresented her educational qualifications on her résumé, and agrees that it damages her credibility with Freedom and by extension with the readers of the Register."

It's not known what lie ("misrepresented," my ass) Buscaglia told Anderson. Her résumé claims she graduated with a B.A. in advertising and communications from the University of Lima in Peru. Did she finish her studies? Was the university in fact Lima Technical College in Lima, Ohio? Stay tuned . . .