Red Shoes makes for a nice contrast with the distinctive blue tile floor of Silver Lake's Intelligentsia CoffeeVan Nuys is real nice, isn't it, Senator Obama? Today the Democratic presidential nominee hopeful held a roundtable discussion in the residence of supporter Mimi Vitello in beautiful Van Nuys. Today's visit is part of Obama's local campaign efforts and his desire to meet with those who have fallen victim to the country's tough economy. And speaking of......

Caspian Rain is a novel about longing and belonging. Set just before the Islamic Revolution in Iran, 12-year-old Yaas narrates the story of her family – a family that’s just as divided as the country. Her father, Omid, is from a wealthy Jewish Tehranian family. He feels restricted by the rules dictated by the upper-class society, the rules imposed on him as a son and rules he must keep in order to not disgrace......

Just one day after being touted on national television as a "success story" out of the series "The Bachelor", Mary Delgado a former professional cheerleader and fiance of Season 5's Byron Velvick was arrested for domestic violence after punching him in a drunken argument - Defamer Hulk Hogan's wife, Linda Bollea, has filed for divorce from her husband Terry, aka "Hulk Hogan" this weekend - Pink is the New Blog Also Linda seems to have......

Franklin Ave: photos of striking writers from Lost, Family Guy, Chuck and other shows LA Observed: Daily News gives cartoonist a blog FishbowlLA: Luke Ford is being asked to delete a blog post because it ranks high on Google. Why isn't Google being bothered? TMZ: Of the things the lawyers of Shaq's ex-wife wants the former Laker great to produce are "all reports, cancelled checks, or any other evidence of payments related to expenses......

When choosing a late night spot to eat, you might factor in a number of elements - Atmosphere, quality of the food, price, service. Is it conveniently located between the bar and your house? Truly, the barometer of a great late night haunt is whether it holds up in the blinding light of day. I’ve eaten many a 3am taco with orgiastic enthusiasm, only to be totally disappointed eating at the same place under more,......

Lindsay Lohan fires mom, Dina Lohan, as her manager - OK Magazine Bobby Brown has been hospitalized for a heart attack, doctors day it was due to "stress and diet" but is in good condition - TMZ Actress Michelle Rodriguez was sentenced to six months of jail beginning Christmas Eve at the latest, for violation the terms of her DUI conviction - People Jennifer Lopez finally admits what we've all known for awhile, she's preggers......

When the original owner of Griffith Park, Don Antonio Feliz died of small pox in 1863, he left his extensive land holdings to Don Antonio Coronel. Subsequently, his blind, destitute 17 year old niece, Dona Petronilla, cursed the land -- great misfortune would come to whoever owned it. One by one, Coronel's family died from misfortune and disease. He left the land to his wife, who married again only to have her husband try......

Here in the land of stars, we see celebrities all the time. Whether out shopping at the Beverly Center, grabbing a bite at Canter’s, or filling up their ride at the gas station, famous people still have a regular life to live just as much as us “common folk,” even if some celebs view themselves as God's gift to mankind. It’s nice to see these performers outside the context of their onscreen/on-camera/behind-the-mic personas to see......

One part Greek tragedy, one part Shakespeare's Henry IV, one part hip-hop concert Clay, a one man show written and performed by Matt Sax and directed by Eric Rosen, rocks the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Chronicling the life of a young man who "comes of age through the theatricality of hip hop", Clay has an unexpectedly moving quality about it. Raised in what can only be described as suburban hell, Clay's lead character, Clifford, is......

It may be a tad chilly outside -- it's 68 degrees, break out those parkas! -- but LA's theatre scene is heating up. Here are LAist's five theatre picks for the week: Evil Knievel, the Rock Opera Yes, the stunt-daredevil motorcycle master now has a rock opera tribute. The music has a decidedly 70s sound. Bootleg Theatre. 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. 213-389-3856. Tickets are $25-$30. Opens Saturday at 8 pm and runs Thursdays and......

One of the world's most famous singers, Luciano Pavarotti, the most interesting of The Three Tenors, has just died. He was 71. Pavarotti had been treated for pancreatic cancer since last year, which is probably what did him in today. His weight problems led to heath issues, but it didn't stop him from being loved by the ladies. A few years back he divorced his wife of 37 years for a woman 35 years......

- The heatwave that has graciously broken could have lead to 25 deaths here - Republican congressman Paul Gilmour of Ohio found dead in his apartment in DC - Shaq is filing for divorce from his wife of five years. Together the couple had four children: Shareef, 7, Amirah, 5, Shaqir, 4, and Me'Arah, 1 - 400 court interpreters are on strike from San Luis to Santa Barbara to LA counties, any chance they're......

Angels 10, Red Sox 4 - LAnaheim has won the first two games in a clash of baseball's best records. Gary Matthews, Jr. shone with 4 RBI, 3 runs, and 3 hits in five at-bats. He hit a homer in the 8th and robbed another from Boston's Coco Crisp. Joe Saunders allowed four runs on eight hits, but still got the win on just 5 and 1/3 innings of work thanks to a five run......

Angels 4, A's 3 - The NorCal-SoCal rivalry is heating up in the junior circuit. Oakland and LAnaheim split the four game series, but not without a some players getting beaned (or close to it). In the final game, the Angels got three of their RBIs from Garret Anderson, who is not one of the three Halos to get hit this year. Vladamir Guerrero almost became the fourth victim on Sunday on a pitch that......

Having been excited for months for the new A&E series “The Two Coreys” like the good little fan I am, I tuned in, turned off my cell phone, and completely focused on my two childhood crushes/inspirations last Sunday night. There probably is not any other person in the world rooting for a Corey comeback as much as myself and this new series was what I believed to be just the beginning. I must admit with......

Britney Spears made an impromtu visit to the beach in her lingerie - Daily Mail In other Britney news she's filming a new video, the first in two years according to one of her back up dancers myspace pages - Extra TV And in even more Britney news, she wants to take your order- the pop princess is trying to land a gig as a cocktail waitress at Hollywood hot spot Le Deux -......

When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced last month that he was getting a divorce from his wife of 20 years, we thought it was tacky that many in the press and local blogosphere were demanding that he reveal if the breakup was due to an affair. We at LAist didn't see how that would be relevant or necessary to disclose since a divorce is an extremely sensitive personal matter whose details should be......

- Deemed the Irreconcilable Differences Bandit because during his first bank holdup he said he was going through a divorce that was bankrupting him, bro tried hold up three banks today and was successful in Burbank and Glendale - Daily News - Ex-Dodger Steve Yeager who is now a coach in the IE was driving home when a car flew over the center divider and landed on his roof. He needed 250-300 stitches. No......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

- You've come a long way baby. Maxim ditches the usual suspects (models, actresses, hookers, waitresses) and celebrates the sexiest comedian of our time, next to Gallagher of course - egotastic - Talk about burying the lede... magician du jour Criss Angel spotting partying with Cameron Diaz AND Drew Barrymore. If that dude has any magical powers he would have dressed up as Lucy Liu and played Charlie's Angels 4 with the pair all......

- Mayor Tony says the fire is under control, it burned 800 acres - NYT - Alhambra, Burbank, Irvine, and Santa Clarita, you've been bad. How else can you explain the misery that's poised to befall you when the unholy alliance of AOL and Linkin Park plan to bombard your movie houses for One Night Only - The Rock Radio - Ted the Titan the huge "Corpse Flower" opened and closed over these last......

A Word or 45: Been thinking about the whole VTech thing from last week and whether or not the Cho footage should have been put on TV: of course it should have been put on TV. It wasn't done distastefully and it was newsworthy and timely, end of story. Tonight - Monday - April 23rd, 2007 The New Adventures of Old Christine/Two and a Half Men/The King of Queens (CBS, 8:30-10:00 p.m.) All new......

Grand Theft Auto, Doom, and Counterstrike are the reasons why young people kill, homicide "expert" Jack Thompson continues to preach. Crying when he recalls the prayer that he claims to say whenever he drops his teenage son off at school. Forgetting, somehow, that the first recorded murder ever was between two brothers. A murder that any so-called expert, and anyone who regularly prays, should know about: Cain murdering Abel. The first two kids ever......

Wildfire Erupts in Los Angeles Fires erupted in the hills above Los Angeles, damaging or destroying several homes, as dangerous north winds swept dry Southern California. Farther inland, a blinding sandstorm triggered a deadly highway pileup. Wind speeds of more than 50 mph were propelling a 15-acre blaze in grass near expensive homes above the city of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said. Emmy-winning actor Roscoe Lee Browne dies at 81......

- Malingering gets accosted by the craziest things - The Real Malingering - An LAPD detective was arrested for working as a celebrity bodyguard while being on paid medical leave from the department - LAT - MTV reality curse continues: The Bonaduces are getting divorced after 17 years of bliss - TMZ - 21 UCLA students were charged hefty fines by RIAA for downloading music - Daily Bruin - Millions of embedded videos on......

Here's an audio clip of Rose McGowan singing "You Belong To Me" from the soundtrack of Planet Terror, directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film opens today as part of the Grindhouse double feature. Rodriguez, who named his kids Rocket, Racer, Rebel, Rogue and Rhiannon, filed divorce from his wife Elizabeth Avellán of 16 years in April of 2006. He reportedly started having marriage trouble after his wife discovered Rodriguez had been having relations with......

- Jimmy Carter has been in LA building houses for the needy. He's 82 - Voice of America - Brit and KFed settled their divorce: joint custody, he gets $1 million, sorta - Reuters - Economists at UCLA's Anderson Forecast predict a Californian economic slowdown in the near future, but no recession - Daily Bruin - Local woman sues Petco and the food company who made the dog food that killed her pet -......

Avril talks sh*t about Britney and her ability to "deal with it" - The Sun Speaking of Britney, look at her ridiculous attempt of going incognito to the Lakers game - TMZ Hip Hop feud alert - Timbaland calls Scott Storch a bitch - NY Post Tara Reid's boobies spilling out of her bikini - Egotastic! Meredith Vieira admits to panic attacks and fighting off "mental gremlins" - Page Six Back when she was involved......

Illinois teens arrested in Hollywood Hills fire A wildfire that authorities say was ignited by two teenagers tore through the brush-covered hills surrounding the famous Hollywood sign Friday, putting a scare into the city but doing little damage other than coating the area in a thick blanket of smoke. Spears finalises divorce settlement with Federline Celebrity Web site TMZ.com quoted unnamed sources as saying that Federline, who has tried to launch a new career as......

• #147 - A Tallahassee prison warden and two of his assistants were removed yesterday after an inmate had his ass kicked by four guards - NYT • #148 - Crooks stole customer information from the parent company of T.J. Maxx to create credit cards which they then spent on Wal-Mart and Sam's Club gift cards in 50 of Florida's 65 counties. Are these crooks saying that Florida Wal-Mart's are easy to rip off?......