On Apr 12, 1861, one hundred and fifty years ago today, the bloodiest four years in American history began with the first shots of the Civil War. In the early 90s, Slash, Axl Rose, and Duff McKagan wrote this video lunch selection before Guns N' Roses had their own personal version in the coming years. more ›

For the latest installment of the "Vice Guide to Travel" series, filmmakers Shane Smith and Andy Capper of Vice literally went where no one else has been: West Point in Monrovia, Liberia, "one of the worst slums in Liberia, which makes it one of the worst in West Africa, which makes it one of the worst in the world". The result is a raw, in-your-face and harrowing look at this country ridden with years civil war and poverty. more ›

Science and art rarely mix. And yet, despite the near polar opposite natures of these two fields, there's something that makes a collaboration between science and art undeniably captivating. Perhaps it's because behind the often sterile and calculated shell of the world of science, there lies the same human stories we find in every other area of life. And while we regularly see tales of greed, corruption, triumph, racism, fame, and passion acted out in the political arena, or on the athletic field, or in the celebrity sphere, the scientific world has just as storied a past, rife with conflict, competition and courage. more ›

LAist continues to cover the Hollywood Writers Strike with visiting guest "strikers" such as KT Tunstall and Presidential candidate John Edwards. To celebrate Veteran's Day, they visited a Civil War reenactment and to celebrate Geography Week, they asked all the Los Angeles City Councilmembers about the districts they represent finding that LA's 180+ official neighborhoods are not easy to define. And to help better understand neighborhoods, the latest Neighborhood Project focused on Franklin Village, where the hipster culture and Scientology meet. In Beverly Hills, one writer takes us on a photo tour of a house that looks like it's straight from Alice in Wonderland. And what's Los Angeles without a University of California sociology of sexuality class being taught by pornstars? more ›

I’ve been hearing about Civil War reenactments for a while now, but until this year I had no idea there was one a few miles from LA County. According to the official event website, this particular reenactment (hosted by the Richmond Howitzer Battalion) is the largest in Southern California. The participants, many of whom are veterans, pay the expenses themselves and the attention to detail is amazing. more ›

Monday Shalom Auslander presents Foreskin's Lament 7pm @ Vroman's Valerie Plame Wilson presents Fair Game 7pm @ Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Long Beach Barbara Firestone presents Autism Heroes 7pm @ Dutton's Slash presents Slash 7pm @ Borders, Torrance Lawrence Wright presents The Looming Tower 7:30pm @ UCLA Tuesday David Plante, with host Mark Danielewski, presents ABC 7pm @ Book Soup Michael Lent presents Christmas Letters from Hell 7pm @ Vroman's Tommy Lasorda & Bill Plaschke... more ›

Ken Burns debuts his latest documentary, The War. more ›

At 87, esteemed American author Ray Bradbury is in the twilight of his life – and his latest play Green Town serves as an homage to his childhood -- with the requisite Bradbury twists, of course. more ›

We were a bit apprehensive – OK dreading – reviewing Janis Cooke Newman’s Mary: A Novel (MacAdam/Cage) when it first arrived at our doorstep. It had everything going against it – not only did it weigh in at three pounds and a hefty 707 pages, it was also a work of historical fiction (read: 50-50 shot of being boring) about Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. more ›

Thank goodness documentarian Ken Burns has shifted his focus away from serious (read: B-O-R-I-N-G) topics like the Civil War, baseball and jazz and shifted it towards topics of true national importance such as: who should Jim date on The Office? more ›

Recommended After Innocence - Jessica Sanders directs this documentary detailing the stories of seven men who were wrongfully imprisoned for decades (some of them on death row) before finally being exonerated by DNA evidence. The Amazing Screw-On Head - This animated 30-minute pilot (I can only hope there will be more episodes) based on the comic book by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is full of awesome animation (it closely mimics Mignola's style), witty dialogue,... more ›

You couldn't ask for a better director than Guillermo del Toro -- visually inventive, intellectually nimble, devoted and self-effacing -- but with his latest film, Pan's Labyrinth, his technique outshines his film making, and the result is a movie that's more admirable than it is enjoyable. There's enough in Pan's Labyrinth to make it worth watching, because even on his worst day (Blade II) Guillermo del Toro brings more to the table than 90%... more ›

- Following up on Monday's story about a female high English teacher who was accused of having a sexual relationship with one of her teen male students... today we got a message from someone close to Alyssa Johnson who said that he had a better photo than the mugshot that we posted. And sure enough, on the right you will see the picture that was sent to us and sure enough Ms. Johnson does... more ›

- Ashlee Simpson's redesign isn't all that bad, but we still lurve her sis - CityRag more ›

As you may already know, LAist likes to showcase neighborhoods that are unique, interesting and fun to go to. There are a lot of those in LA and we are lucky because of it. We also like to highlight places, restaurants or stores that go the extra mile to ensure that the customer gets what he or she wants and leaves happy. This time around its a store that caters to the comic book... more ›

Checking out the rants & raves board on Craigslist, LAist found out that May 1 has been designated "A Day Without An Immigrant." The organizers are setting up a nationwide general immigrant strike and boycott. The website actionla.org gives details on the coordinated boycott which is being organized around four points: "No Work, No School, No Sales, and No Buying." more ›

Hillary Clinton caught flack last week for saying that the U.S. House of Representatives "has been run like a plantation." more ›

Whether your side claimed victory or conceded defeat, those of us who choose to publicly proclaim our politics to friends and strangers alike are faced with an odd dilemma. more ›