Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist UPDATE: Seven Grand is a 21+ bar. We apologize for any inconveniences. There's no better way for LAist to have its first ever public event than next Tuesday, a day where Los Angeles, and all of California for that matter, votes, taking part in one of the greatest Presidential primaries ever. For the Democratic party, California carries more weight than any other state -- that's huge in itself. Locally, several......

President Bush's final State of the Union address by Just Say K.B. via Flickr President George Bush delivered his final State of the Union address this evening. As we mercifully begin the transition out of the Bush era, let us examine the President's speech in typical Washington fashion: taking out a few lines here and there for the most opportune response. We have faced hard decisions about peace and war, rising competition in the world......

Voting and YOU! I love that France is smelly and filled with laughing Nazis, because, you know, we don't want that here.......

While the presidential election is the sexy supermodel on the Feb. 5 California Primary ballot, there are important propositions asking you to say Yes or No when you walk in to that polling place or mail in your vote. Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Last week we looked at Prop 91, this week, allow us the pleasure of opening your minds to the wonderful......

Today is the first day you can sign up to be an absentee voter in California for the Feb.5 Primary. To do so, click here and fill out the form. The application must be received by election officials no later than midnight on Jan. 29. More than half the total votes in California's Primary could be mailed in, and many of those ballots will be cast long before Election Day. (AP) The use of......

While the presidential election is the sexy supermodel on the Feb. 5 California Primary ballot, there are three important propositions asking you to say Yes or No when you walk in to that polling place or mail in your vote. Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Therefore, in the spirit of voting, let us take some time to open your minds to the wonderful world......

Yesterday's tragic assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has shocked and angered the world and the tide of emotion is strong in LA's community of Pakistani-Americans. The Daily News reports that many in LA knew Bhutto was in danger, but still found the news shocking. Others saw this as an obvious progression in the tragic line of assassinations and events that have plagued Bhutto's family. Many believe that power is at the root of......

Monday Eliot Tiegel presents The Latinization of America 6:30pm @ Book Soup Judith Freeman discusses and signs The Long Embrace 7pm @ Vroman's Roz Chast discusses Theories of Everything 7pm @ Central Library Robert Kuttner in conversation with Arianna Huffington about The Squandering of America 8pm @ James Bridge Theater, UCLA Tuesday Cesar Millan presents Be the Pack Leader 7pm @ Borders, Pasadena Frank McCourt presents Angela and the Baby Jesus 7pm @ Borders,......

Two explosions ripped through a convoy carrying former Pakistani premier and maybe the country's best hope for Democracy, Benazir Bhutto, following her triumphant return after an eight-year exile. She was not hurt, but hundreds were killed and injured. How did the White House respond? By tying it back to the war on terrah, of course, saying, "Those responsible seek only to foster fear and limit freedom." A dump truck is in a "precarious spot"......

Here are the five productions opening this weekend that are currently piquing LAist’s interest: 7 Glimpses of Utopia Tonight only, the Skid Row-based theater group LAPD (Los Angeles Poverty Department) presents a picture of utopian possibilities in downtown L.A. LAPD'ers and others were asked to identify and invite someone they knew who was doing something "laudable, and important, something that represents the best of the current and future downtown." National Center for the Preservation......

If you haven't seen it already, Hillary Clinton's campaign spoof of The Sopranos' finale was released today (and wow is that acting bad!). It's purpose? To show that she and Bill are still together? Nah. The video helped announce her campaign theme song. And it's possibly the lamest campaign song EVER. Move over, Bill and Fleetwood Mac. Here comes Hill and Celine Dion. Yup, to appeal to all those kids and liberals out there,......

Monday Allen Rucker presents The Best Seat in the House 7pm @ Vroman’s David Mamet & Howard Norton sign their new books 7pm @ Dutton’s Brentwood Tuesday Sam Sheridan presents A Fighter’s Heart 7pm @ Book Soup Bich Minh Nguyen presents Stealing Buddha's Dinner 7pm @ Vroman’s Rafe Esquith discusses Teaching Shakespeare 7pm @ Central Library Wednesday John M. Wieskopf presents The Ascendancy 7:30pm @ Barnes & Noble Third Street Promenade Kate Jacobs signs......

OUT TODAY: Barbie - Songs from Fairytopia (Koch) Sophe Lux - Waking the Mystics (Zarathustra) Anaïs Mitchell - Brightness (Righteous Babe) Lucinda Williams - West (Lost Highway) Grace Jones - Inside Story (EMI) Gerald LeVert - In My Songs (Atlantic / Wea) Blue Öyster Cult - Some Enchanted Evening [Bonus DVD] (Sony) The Doobie Brothers - Definitive Collection (Rhino) Drats!!! - Welcome to New Granada Duran Duran - Essential Collection [EMI] (EMI) Field Music......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of......

Today, the Information Technology Administration (ITA) along with the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE), announced some Los Angeles E-Democracy, as they call it. What does this mean? A bunch of online toys for us city nerds. Here's some of what they've done in the past 24 months: Online Council Votes: stalk follow your councilmember's voting track record. Online Council File Index: Keep track of any legislation considered and/or acted upon. Online Council Docs: We......

Love music, free mp3s, social reform, and political justice? If so, you’ll love Protest Records. Established for “musicians, poets and artists to express LOVE + LIBERTY in the face of greed, sexism, racism, hate-crime and war,” Protest Records delivers some of the best politically charged music by world renowned artists. Focusing mainly on the injustices created by the US government, big businesses, and every other bureaucrat out to rape us of our liberty and......

- Now these are the friends we're talking about. Lily Allen (pictured) has a record deal with a major label in the UK, but a Beverly Hills talent agency recently signed her so they can represent the young singer in the US because, in part, because of her numerous MySpace 53,244 "friends". -YouTube has kicked the LA-based MySpace off the top rung of the Internet's popularity ladder. The controversial video-sharing site is responsible for......

All the world's creatures... It's too late for the $1 tickets, but $12 ones are still available for tonight's powerhouse performance of Beethoven's 9th at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. If you haven't heard this from start to finish, you're really missing out. He is Alive! Skirball +AFI = Oliver Stone screening the 1969 political thriller, Z. The movie was not directed by Stone, but there......

Do you realize that The Replacements' "Let It Be" is 22 years old? Indeed, if "Unsatisfied" was a chick, she could buy you a drink at the swinging party. In 1997 Warner Bros put together a 34-track double disc of Replacements "hits" called "All For Nothing / Nothing For All" but none of their earlier groundbreaking Twin/Tone material was included. Today the skies have parted and the angels are looking down lovingly on us......

The Silverlake Film Festival is on and, as you might guess, it features new independent films, many from local filmmakers (right on). But if you guessed that the Silverlake Film Festival was taking place in Silverlake, you'd be dead wrong. Most of the films are showing at the ArcLight — one of our favorite movie theaters, to be sure, but it's nowhere near Silverlake. According to GoogleMaps, the ArcLight is 4.6 miles from Spaceland,......

As the whole world knows, Pope John Paul II died on Saturday. He was 84. "Our Holy Father looks very much at peace. It was very satisfying for all of us to see him so serene," said LA's own Roger Cardinal Mahony after paying respects to the Pope. USA Today visited Our Lady of Solitude Church on Sunday to see how LA was mourning his death. The Pope visited Los Angeles in 1987. The......

LAist wonders if Angelenos will be attending any of the post-election protests organized by groups such as www.Nov3.us and www.BeyondVoting.org in cities across America on November 3. Locally, there's a "Day After" protest march scheduled today for 5:30 across from the Federal Building NW corner Wilsire and Veteran Los Angeles 90291 Other Upcoming Events Democracy NOT Hypocrisy ( No Stolen Election Event - Recurring) Thursday, November 4th 2004 12:00 pm The Concerned Students of UCLA......

They were the words as spoken by an Elections Official, sitting behind a card table, in a small garage, on a small street somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. Welcome to Democracy, U.S.A. It didn't matter that the polling location was in a tiny space, with garbage bags draped along the walls to give it a "more professional" look. It didn't matter that citizens stood in a line that snaked its way into the......

Tonight at the Knitting Factory, see Morrissey's new chum Nancy Sinatra performing with special guest Tina Dico at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $25.00. At Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, you can see former Presidential hopeful Howard Dean signing his new book, You Have the Power: How to Take Back Our Country and Restore Democracy in America at 1:00 PM. Check the website for further details. At LACMA, this evening brings your chance to see two......

Aside from the Vice Presidential debates, there are some events going on around town. If you decide to go out rather than remain home, glued to the TV as Cheney and Edwards duke it out, you can always catch the highlights on the radio while on your way to one of these fine events. At UCLA, "Where's My Democracy?" comes to Royce Hall. Downtown For Democracy has brought together a group of writers who......

Blogger Ambigutrex reports on Cornel West's book-signing at the Barnsdell Art Park this weekend. As always, West was inspiring but Ambigutrex notices that some of West's fans seemed more interested in fronting their "street cred" than truly exchanging ideas. Ambigutrex writes, " The crowd was wonderfully diverse, a salt and pepper mix of those conscious and willing enough to climb the stairs and sit on the lawn and be seduced. Cornel West is the......

Has politics become the new religion? Certainly seems like something's possessed folks. Hitherto unmotivated Americans are getting off their couches, turning off their TVs, staggering into the streets and testifin' their beliefs during this election year. And every one's buying political-themed books that support their point of view. Book signings are becoming more like revival-meetings as the faithful come out to meet their favorite prophet. For example, Cornel West is coming to town on......

California Peace Action is an organization that honors legislators for leadership on human rights and foreign policy. This Friday, September 3rd, at 7:00 P.M in Monterey Park, the Southern California branch of the organization will honor Representatives Hilda Solis and Henry Waxman with the 2nd Annual Democracy in Action Award for their leadership in Congress and their support for Peace Action's Campaign for a New American Foreign Policy. State Senator Gloria Romero will introduce......