In a bizarro case that looks like a business deal gone bad, but plays more like a conspiracy theory gone right, a software programmer and his marketing guru partner sailed for San Clemente Island on Saturday to seal a "lucrative" deal with a secret government agency and he never returned. Robert Vendrick, a retired programmer, met up with Gary Shawkey, a self-described marketing guru, and entered into a business deal to develop a highly secretive......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

A Word or 20: No network or cable channel has made a compelling reason to stay inside this Memorial Day Weekend and watch TV. Tonight - Friday - May 25, 2007 Cubs @ Dodgers (Prime, 7:30 p.m.) The Henry Rollins Show (IFC, 8:00 p.m.) Steve Buscemi pushes new films Interview and Delirious, and discusses his years as a firefighter and working at Ground Zero. In a 'Letter' to Michael Chertoff Rollins reflects on the......

The LA Times has nominated five books in each of nine different categories for the 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. In the weeks leading up to the Festival of Books where the winners will be announced, LAist will take a quick look at each category and will wax poetic on a few favorites (or least favorites) along the way. The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley......

This dog delivers beer! Click here to find out how. Photo by C-Monster. Larry Birkhead to World: I told you so! Sleazy paparazzo beats off human parasite, fake prince, former bodyguard and clump of seaweed to prove he's Anna-Nicole's baby-daddy. -TMZ Howard Stern cozies up to Birkhead, says Papa Larry can spend as much time as he wants with little Mealticketlynn. World's #1 Mom Virgie Arthur expected to sue for custory. -TMZ MSNBC punishes......

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell's......

Today the LA Times reports that Evergreen International, one of the world's biggest shipping lines, has agreed to pay a $25 million fine for rigging their filtration systems so they could dump waste oil into the ocean rather than bringing it to shore, violating international and US laws. The agreement clearly states that the charges relate to violations made from 1998-2001. But we can't help wonder, since one of the big guys was once......

Alone the Long Beach or Los Angeles ports would be the largest in the U.S. Together, they handle more than 1 million cruise passengers and $200 billion in trade annually, including half the petroleum products used in the Western U.S....