Miscellaneous: October 2009 Archives

The "Three Wolf Moon" T-shirt may be one of the greatest things to ever happen to Amazon.com. In the 15,950 comments on Amazon, its followers have begun one-upping each other with outlandish testaments to the wolf shirt's mystical powers. Entries in customer reviews range from the the sublime to ridiculous send-ups of the culture of America's hearland. Comments like, "Unfortunately I already had this exact picture tattooed on my chest, but this shirt is very useful in colder weather."

Forget the gap-toothed grins and the wide-eyed haunted faces; what says Los Angeles on Halloween more than Los Angeles itself on a Jack O'Lantern? LAist readers and Featured Photos pool contributors Sadie and Allison Crabtree set the city on fire...on the faces of their pumpkins. The iconic Hollywood sign gleams while the Griffith Observatory sits majestically on their pumpkin-y perches. Of course, we don't ever want to see those hills burn quite so close to those landmarks--but on a day that's about illusion, trickery, and the darker side, well, why not?

There's a house in Atwater Village near the intersection of Glendale and Glenhurst that's all decked out for Halloween - dummies, sound effects, the works - and for the most part it looks delectably spooky. However, there's one particular feature of the decor turns our stomach. One of the dummies is hanging from a noose, literally "strung up" on a tree. Now, we know from last year's Sarah Palin effigy controversy that techinically we can hang whatever we want in our front yards. That said, what bothers us about this particular image is that this guy has not just been hanged, but lynched. Even though the dummy isn't black per se, (more of a ghost white) it alludes to a shameful aspect of American history and therefore has the potential to offend or upset some people.

With the World Series upon us, college football reaching it's half-way point and an exciting NFL season heating up, you may not have realized that NBA is tipping off tonight. One guy who's definitely aware of this is J.E. Skeets, Yahoo! Sports NBA Blogger.

Bill Simmons is simply known by many as "The Sports Guy." But anyone who's ever read his columns on ESPN.com or heard an episode of his podcast, The B.S. Report, knows his interests extend far beyond the field. A Simmons column will take you from Kobe Bryant to Karate Kid, theories about Knicks' centers to jokes about late-night Cinemax starlets, Mike Dunleavy to Las Vegas travel tips.

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• Gothamist was struck by this photograph of a rat stuck while trying to emerge from under a sidewalk. And Gothamist readers let their imaginations go wild, offering various scenarios for the rat.
• Phillyist watched MLB.com call it too soon before celebrating the Phillies' second consecutive trip to the World Series. Sorry, LAist—but at least you still have one hometown team in contention.
• Torontoist took a look at their city hall's new green roof; when it's finished in the spring, it'll be the whole city's largest publicly accessible one.

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "like" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. And if you really like what you see, why not Tweet it or post it to your Facebook? Share the love!

It's time to start shopping for Halloween costumes. You don't want to get stuck in the mad rush next Friday. Here are some helpful costume ideas for you from LAist. This video is an oldie but a goodie. And oh so sexy!

If you happened to be around Hollywood & Highland on Saturday evening, you may have encountered a spooky sight: Zombies! Organized by fans of the genre, a "Zombiewalk" took place this weekend, which found a band of bloody, creepy, blank-faced undead Angelenos making use of the public transit system and taking a stroll through the heart of Hollywood to celebrate all that is zombie.

• Chicagoist made a pair of great discoveries this week: entertaining graffiti at a University of Chicago library and a treasure trove of old street photography.
• Gothamist looked at how some local stores seem to be encouraging little girls to dress in slutty Halloween costumes.
• DCist wondered whether city bus drivers were overreacting by deciding to drive "by the book" after a series of gruesome accidents involving pedestrians.

This photograph looks like it could have been taken anywhere. There was just something so timeless and universal about this moment. Evening had not yet become night, so it was still, but with a quiet bustle all around. Businesses were closing down, carpets were being shaken out and pails of water were being dumped. It's not Bangkok. It's not Mexico City. It's the alley behind Mozza.

We have Pink's Hot Dogs to thank for this one. We get it, OK? Jalapeno dog. Chili. Onions. Guacamole. Villaraigosa is spicy. Caliente. You will probably have really bad breath after chomping on the mayor's weiner. But what's up with lettuce? Lettuce doesn't belong on a hot dog. It's so wrong. And where's the cheese? This dog should definitely be cheesy. What's most amazing is that this hotdog doesn't come with ham. In fact, this dog should just be a big ham stuffed inside of a...no, we won't go there.

In a bright office on a Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, Dr. Thom Lobe, the founder of Beneveda Medical Group, explains the importance of energy flow in my body. "Energy affects everything," he says, as I sit amidst Star Wars-y computer screens and lights. "What's the difference between being alive and dead? Chi. Prana. Life force. Energy."

• Torontoist checked out the weird and wonderful sights on their city's newly launched version of Google Street View, including this keeper.
• Gothamist was part amazed and part horrified by this crazed fight between a taxi driver and pedicab driver.
• Shanghaiist rolled their eyes as Jackie Chan put his foot in his mouth yet again, insinuating during an interview that the heavens cleared themselves for China's national day parade (no, Jackie, an anti-rain airforce squad did), that he would've been shot dead if he shook President Hu Jintao's hand, and that Chinese from overseas are traitors (Jackie has an American passport).

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "like" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. And if you really like what you see, why not Tweet it or post it to your Facebook? Share the love!

Daniel Tosh, who told us he'd prefer the title of "The Most Famous Man in Show Business Who Doesn't Have to Work" over "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," took some time out from his busy schedule to talk to LAist about his similarity to Jesus, rubber-band ball statistics, his pitch for Michael Richards, the Internet's impact on comedy and telling Kobe Bryant jokes in front of Jerry Buss.

• Chicagoist was stunned when the city's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, widely expected to be in the final two with Rio's bid, was eliminated in the first round of IOC voting.
• Gothamist asked its readers if bicyclists should ride with the cars on the roadway—not the walkway—of the Brooklyn Bridge.
• Seattlest discovered someone worse than Glenn Beck was stopping by the Northwest to spread some craziness.

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "like" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. And if you really like what you see, why not Tweet it or post it to your Facebook? Share the love!