For a while here in LA they were as ubiquitous among the crunchy granola set as Uggs on bare-legged teens in short skirts at The Grove, and now Crocs have been caught in a dirty lie, reports TreeHugger. They said their shoes, made of PCCR, were "antimicrobial." And, oops, they aren't. "After discovering the false claim, the EPA has told the company pay $230,000 'to resolve cases involving unsubstantiated antimicrobial claims for several types of its shoes,' as well as remove the language from its packaging." Suddenly the uncool got even less cool. Sorry, Crocs. more ›

Did you read the now-notorious article in the LA Times about food writing, anonymity, and the role of bloggers? LA Foodblogging has an excellent response here, and Variety's food blog shares two simple rules for online reviews. What’s on the menu for the Jewish holidays? The LAT suggests braised veal, leek fritters, and cilantro-tomato soup, while the NY Times is answering questions about Rosh Hashana meals via its food message boards. When the LA... more ›

Bill Maher returned to HBO last night with his hilarious political talk show "Real Time with Bill Maher". His guests were actor Tim Robbins (who had a pretty good take on "experts"), NPR's Michel Martin who did get a tad ghetto on the host, and Stephen Hayes, a dude who wrote a pro-Dick Cheney book. Maher had an interesting interview with a NY Times reporter who is in Iraq, and he talked with GOP... more ›