Nothing says Labor Day than meat over fire. / Photo by bcmacsac1 via LAist's flickr pool. It's pretty quiet around the city since many of us are cuing up the grills for later today, but there are still a few events happening around the city...if you know where to look: JAZZ*: As mentioned earlier, the Angel City Jazz Festival takes place at Barnsdall Art Park today until 10:30 pm. The show features all styles......

Variety is reporting that the upcoming NBC "The Office" spinoff has made its first hire: Aziz Ansari from MTV's "Human Giant" whom LAist interviewed a couple months ago and whom the TV Junkie met at the Ashton Kutcher SNL post-party in April). While the show title, other cast members, and method of launch is unknown to the general public, it is known that the show will debut this winter in the 9:30pm timeslot, right after......

In contrast to the wildly cute meerkates to the right (yes, they're back), some seriously big numbers have been issued by the prestigious Milken Institute has put out an impressive study of the impact of the writer's strike. In summary: - 37,700 jobs lost - $2.1 billion in lost output through the end of 2008 The cascading effects of the strike are what reportedly tipped the state into a recession in early 2008, but......

So, yeah, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Superbad are the big releases this weekend. Honestly, I liked both movies well enough, but neither deserves the #1 slot in the weekly rundown like Battlestar Galactica: Razor does. Since new episodes of the best show on television won't air until March 2008, we'll have to make do with this 2-hour movie that follows the adventures of the Pegasus after the treacherous Cylon attack against the......

"It's so nice and quiet and beautiful in here... from here the lighting kinda looks like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica." -- Neko Case, melting the heart of every geek in the house while taking in the mysterious angles and lighting inside the Frank Gehry-designed concert hall. Neko Case closed out the first half of Walt Disney Concert Hall's 2007-08 Songbook Series last Friday to a rapt, grateful, near-sellout audience of about 2,000. The......

Now that the writer's strike is on, what will happen to your favorite shows? The LA Times has worked up a grid explaining the future status of shows like "Lost," "Scrubs," and "Battlestar Galactica". The real tragedy here, of course, is that "The Colbert Report" is immediately going into reruns. Heathrow and Chicago O'Hare share the dubious honor of TripAdvisor's Least Favorite Airport: and yes, LAX represents itself nicely at #4. LA Weekly takes......

I've recently discovered a new paperback series worth checking out if you're into fantasy at all (I grew up on it but have since dropped out, leaning more towards magical realism these days). My stepfather, the original Peter Gibbons, is forever burning through fantasy, sci-fi, and WWII books, and after failing to completely immerse me in Battlestar Galactica, (I just can't stand that blond lady), his next project was to get me into Naomi......

Yes folks it that time of year again when people make lists of the top whatevers that did something, didn't do something, inspired them, made them laugh, cry, sick or any number of other things. For better or worse, I'm no different and am caught up in the whole list thing. So, I will be providing a list of my own for your enjoyment, distraction, derision or otherwise perusal. My list is the top-ten......

Last Night Summary: So 50 Cent cancelled his appearance on Conan a couple hours before the show because he felt he was coming down with a cold? Stern and Gaffigan were good as usual on Conan. Also: "The Office" was fantastic; I was amazed at how long Colbert allowed his druggie guest to ramble; kid scientists on Letterman were typically cute and funny and I'm hoping for a new set of stupid human tricks......

Tonight - Friday "NBA Basketball" (PRIME, 5:00 p.m.) Clippers @ Spurs "NBA Basketball" (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) Hawks @ Lakers "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) Yup, the original, with Burl Ives -- come on misfits, tune in! "Primetime" (ABC, 9:00 p.m.) Diane Sawyer visits North Korea "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci Fi, 9:00 p.m.) New episode! "Charlie Rose" (PBS, 11:30 p.m.): journalist John F. Burns, Stephen Colbert(!!), billionaire Anthony O'Reilly "The Tonight Show With......

Veteran's Day Weekend Edition Today "The O'Reilly Factor/Hannity & Colmes/On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" (FOX, 5:00/6:00/7:00 p.m.) Watch Fox pundits continue to spin Tuesday's election results "NBA Basketball" (ESPN, 5:00 p.m.) Miami Heat @ New Jersey Nets "College Football" (ESPN2, 5:00 p.m.) Watch red-staters pour their anguish and disappointment into the Friday night lights: Texal-El Paso @ Alabama-Birmingham "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" (Nickelodeon, 5:00 p.m.) Toddlers and college stoners rejoice "College Basketball"......

Now that the majority of the new TV season has been paraded out in front of our collective eyeballs, LAist can make a few somewhat informed predictions as to how these new shows, and returning ones, will fare. Some of the new ones will, of course, do better than others. In the mix there are always one or two that breakout and become hits. Mostly, however, there are far more that die a quick......

Don't be alarmed at the loud title above. This is just a primer to get you in the mood for all the festivities, mayhem and otherwise cool stuff that will be happening at the Comic-Con in San Diego next week. If you don't already know, the San Diego Comic-Con is one of those events with humble roots that is now one of the premier happenings of the year, at least on this coast. However,......

The Museum of Television & Radio’s annual William S. Paley Television Festival – a love fest between the creators and stars of the latest and greatest in TV land and their adoring public – kicks off on Feb. 28 with the cast and crew of http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/">Grey's Anatomy. Audience members get treated to clips/episodes of their favorite TV shows, hear insight on production and even get to ask the questions everyone must know. (When are......

A random sampling of some of our favorite uncategorizables of the year. Stay tuned for a restaurant roundup, our favorite news stories, and some books and bars we love. If we can remember the bars. Best people watching: Arclight lobby (Adrienne) or just plain Best movie theater: Arclight (Lindsay) Best pop culture mashup: Wonka Meets Spock (Carolyn) Best TV shows: Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica, My Name is Earl, The Office, Rome, Out of Practice......

After being able to sit with the big three network forays into sci-fi this season, it is safe to say that we'll probably only be sticking with one: Threshold. The Carla Gugino led show isn't a winner firing on all cylinders like the best sci-fi on TV right now, Battlestar Galactica, but its powerful cast and fast moving episodes with a slow-burning alien problem is the best of the bunch. It does feel a......

At the risk of sounding, well, a little too geeky, we want to make sure you know about a TV show that deserves a look. More than one look, really. You may have noticed the billboards around town with giant pictures of Edward James Olmos or Mary McDonnell and wondered, "What the heck is this “Battlestar Galactica” thing anyway?" Well, wonder no more because we are going to tell you. First off, “Battlestar Galactica”......