Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

I am not ashamed to admit that Wednesday nights at my house are sometimes known as "Top Model" night. (Code word: "You wanna be on top?" natch.) more ›

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice and the press making the speaker of the California State Assembly, Fabian Núñez, run away when being asked hard questions about sketchy luxurious and worldly expenses. more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. more ›

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. more ›

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too - two of them in -Ist cities. more ›

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. more ›

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Here are a few spots for eats and drinks that we are looking forward to seeing open: 1. We were very excited to pass on to you that last month was National Grilled Cheese Month, and now we're gearing up for the impending opening of Culver City's Meltdown, which is a (mostly) grilled cheese eatery that's slated to open as early as this week. Their menu, which is available online, looks like an ooey-gooey... more ›

Padres 3, Dodgers 2 - Jeff Kent drove home a run in the first and the third, helping Los Angeles jump out to a 2-0 lead against San Diego's Greg Maddux. Then Maddux started to pitch more like, well, Maddux. He retired the final 14 batters he faced and went home with the W against his old team (you may remember he wore blue, albeit briefly). Angels 3, White Sox 0 - Gary Matthews Jr.'s... more ›

With all that went down this week, we thought we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs. more ›

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. more ›

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists. more ›

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. more ›

NYC did not disappoint us in last night’s American Idol. The cup runneth over with the number of contestants to fly their freak flags high, which made for an entertaining two hours. While the other audition cities had their share of weirdos, the Big Apple had plenty of FWAs – freaks with attitude – East Coast style. The show opened with Ryan Adams’ “New York, New York” being used under Ryan Seacrest’s opening travelogue... more ›

Donald Trump gave the 21-year-old blonde and busty Miss USA a second chance. How big of him. Kentucky's Tara Conner came thisclose to getting dethroned amid reports of her underage partying ways in the Big Apple. (She just turned 21 on Monday.) But after what was probably a heartfelt meeting this morning, the old Trumpster decided to give her a second chance. 'Cause Trump's like God in this case. He owns -- literally, with... more ›

Jagshemash! more ›

LAist is traveling around the country trying to find out the secret to life, the universe, and everything. Currently we're just about finished with five days in New York City. We sorta wished someone would have told us about this crazy town, you know, written a book about it, filmed a movie here or something, cuz the place is In-Sane. We had fun eating the various foods found from all over the world, we've... more ›

Critics come up with Best Of movie lists all the time, but today we wanted to see what the people want. The people who get their home movies from Netflix, that is. It's easy enough: Netflix has a feature that lists the movies that are tops with members in one city that don't do so well elsewhere. Here in LA, we're self-obsessed — Steve Martin's LA Story, from 1991, tops the list — we like movies about moviemaking, and we seek out the short films of David Lynch. more ›

The high temperature in New York City today reached a balmy 35 degrees. Same goes for tomorrow, too. Unfortunately, about 7 million New Yawkers had to hoof, bike or cab-it to work today -- if they went at all -- because of a massive public transportation strike. more ›

Apparently, LA ranks as the 7th best city for singles in the nation, according to Forbes. Hmmm, 7th? At first glance, we're thinking perhaps that's a little generous, considering we're single in this city, and we don't get the sense that our odds here are theoretically better than the other 33 places listed. We've always thought that this town was coolly detached from dating--that the singles scene was about being seen; your choices are hookups or posing. So how did they come up with this ranking? They looked at the cost of living for a single person, based on income and housing options. They also factored in culture, nightlife, and something called "coolness." Incidentally, we're the big loser for coolness, pulling a rank of 11, behind our pals in Austin's hip #1. And while we rock the nightlife, coming in a respectable second behind our Big Apple friends, ultimately NY ranks overall behind us, in 8th place, which Gothamist seems content with. 7th, then, seems just right. Apparently, in order to overcome our singlehood, we need to worry less about being cool and more about lovin' the nightlife (shudder). But we wonder, if these cities are so great for singles, where does the couple call home when they hook up permanently? more ›

The Pillsbury Doughboy will be celebrating his birthday on Saturday, July 23 on the Santa Monica Pier. Photo: Pillsbury Baking more ›

As You Like It, by William Shakespeare runs through March 27th at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles. For tickets: (213) 628-2772 more ›

LAist patriarch Gothamist recently asked the question, Do You Feel the Jamba? -- asking New Yorkers if Jamba Juice shops in the Big Apple was a huge stretch... Did New Yorkers freezing their asses off really want to get a Peach Pleasure or a Coldbuster to refresh their taste buds? more ›

The East Valley alone boasts more great sushi than all of the five boroughs combined. I'll start off with (what else?) the incomparable Sushi Nozawa, located in a strip mall at the corner of Eureka and Ventura. 5 days a week, Master Nozawa serves up eye-popping nigiri and unbelievable crab hand rolls. Food critics and Chowhound forum folks like to complain about the chef's demeanor, but we don't see what all the fuss is about. After many trips, LAist has only seen one person ever get thrown out of the restuarant, and she totally deserved it. This joint is worth the wait line, and it's worth the prices (a full meal will set you back $35-40). The baby tuna sashimi appetizer will literally send a chill up your spine. TRUST ME! more ›

As the Lakers put the finishing touches on a contract for new coach Rudy Tomjanovich, we don't anticipate too many "Ru-dy" chants at STAPLES Center if Kobe Bryant is not wearing Purple and Gold. more ›