Today was the day that the first Barbie doll made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York in 1959. Make fun of her all you want, but Barbie's an icon whose life has been far more interesting than any reality show, and yes we know if she were real her head wouldn't be supported by her body dimensions or some such thing, but come on. Even Dolly Parton named her......

It's National Cold Cuts Day. That term has always brought to mind those not very fresh, tasteless sandwich fillers served at large functions that you eat because you don't want to eat only macaroni salad. With the beef recall, dashing to your local butcher for some cold cuts sounds less appetizing than ever. However, the term "cold cuts" can include cheese and that's where you can freely celebrate. When I lived in NY, I......

It looks like they can fly, sometimes. What do you do on National Pig Day anyway? I could be snarky and suggest some bbq, but I love pigs, Porky and Arnold the Pig included. If you don't want to watch Green Acres or Charlotte's Web, March is chock-full of other options: It's American Red Cross Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, National Craft Month, National Frozen Food Month, National Noodle Month, National Nutrition Month, Woman's History......

National Strawberry Day. Go for it. And a fun event for you strawberry lovers is coming up on May 17 & 18th -- the 25th Annual California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard. Strawberry Beer! You can't beat that now, can you? This beer is specially made for the festival only. Photo by Paraflyer via Flickr.......

People gripe about the rain and its effects, especially on traffic. It's easy to forget that we're living desert-adjacent; being a part-time Hi-Desert dweller, I'm grateful for every inch of rain we get, especially after the devastating fires of 2006. Along with nourishing our parched land and turning that empty concrete wash into an actual "LA River", the rain brings an abundance of wildflowers, transforming the desert floor into a multicolored carpet for miles. Peak......

It's relaxing, in a way, on those short flights - especially if the scenery is beautiful and you're on vacation. Flying over the Dodecanese Islands a few summers ago, I was actually grateful for my window seat, hypnotized by the varying shades of blue and green. Then again ... A go! airliner overshot Hilo International Airport by 15 miles last week, and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether the pilots were sleeping. "We're......

"Doctor Shot," aka Dr. David Matlock, has been all over the news in the past few weeks. Why? Hint: If you're a native Angeleno, you've probably seen his ads for lunchtime "rejuvenation procedures" - and he's not talking mani-pedi. Dr. Matlock invented the "G-Shot" and it's been getting a lot of attention. As a man who lists "G-Spot Amplification" under "Research Activities" on his curriculum vitae, he takes this very seriously. Need facts and figures?......

If you're like me, you've either received or read this on any number of Angeleno websites in the past few days: ATTENTION ALL: My dog, HAMBONE, was stolen Monday evening (Feb 11th) from outside the 7-11 @ Cahuenga and Yucca in Hollywood. He was taken by two men and put in a van that has been described as: A Green work van (like an Astro van), with a crappy paint job. On the roof......

It was 75 years ago today. I wasn't joking about Blondie and Dagwood's anniversary. It does seem like they've been married forever, but there is a backstory: Chic Young's comic strip started with Blondie as a floozy-ish single flapper who weds heir Dagwood Bumstead (who is summarily disinherited). The strip's still running, and aside from minor upgrades - jobs, computers - Blondie and her clan are reliably the same. Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake brought......

It's National Almond Day today, along with "Do a Grouch a Favor Day," and the day that Nylon was patented by DuPont. Somehow I can make these three categories work, because you could do this grouch a favor by passing the almonds and reminding me that I don't have a job where I have to wear nylons every day. That's actually a misnomer, because the nylons invented by Wallace Carothers in 1938 were not......

I'm for feeding birds all year, but as we're celebrating it this month, stop a moment and be grateful that our warm-blooded friends live in the California climate. As the Wild Bird Centers of America reminds us: - A typical backyard bird doesn't weigh as much as two nickels. - Birds spend most of their waking hours searching for food -- without the help of "hands" and "fingers". - They may consume 15% of their......

Think your Super Bowl Sunday went sour? Try being a resident of Coachella Valley at kickoff time. According to The Desert Sun, Time Warner Cable is reporting a sustained outage in the cities of Twentynine Palms , Yucca Valley, and Barstow. Officials have not said what caused the outages, but according to a recorded message at Time Warner offices, engineers are "aware of the problem" and there is "no estimated time of repair." Super......

Tonight at 8pm: The Cinefamily Screening Series wraps up their stunt month with a rare screening of "The Stunt Man," and some special guests. From Cinefamily:In filming The Stunt Man, the quintessential movie about Hollywood's invisible heroes, Richard Rush hired many of the top men in the field, making the set a virtual symposium of daredevil talents. We decided what better way to honor these daredevils than by reuniting as many of them as we......

Having once been employed "Sephora-adjacent," I spent almost every lunch hour smudging, applying, testing, and sniffing my way to beauty heaven. In my younger years, I broke beauty rules with abandon: avoided sleep, smoked, drank, and wore tons of makeup (to bed!) without a care. I'm now in that precarious position of aging skin - a hormonal roller-coaster that brings three unwelcome guests: wrinkles and zits, with the odd allergic reaction. Like Ebenezer Scrooge,......

Yesterday LAist was invited to watch a taping of The Florence Henderson Show on the AARP's new network, Retirement Living TV. It was a bonus that they shoot it on the same soundstage where they filmed I Love Lucy. Blogger Donna Lethal's presence was required for her sense of irony, incredible database of old Hollywood trivia, ability to spot someone famous at 20 yards, and long red hair that men find irresistible. We watched......

Maila Nurmi, December 21, 1921 - January 10, 2008 Hollywood has lost another legend. Maila Nurmi, who became synonymous with her character, Vampira, passed away in her sleep yesterday at the age of 86. She was born Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi on December 21, 1921, in Petsamo, Finland - now Pechenga, Russia. In the 1950s she created the character of Vampira, popular for both films and as a television host. The character was to set the......

Well, it's over. The cookies are gone, the dishes are washed, and the trash is overflowing with crumpled-up paper. One more week of madness until the New Year's party and then all will return to normal. Assuming, that is, that you don't celebrate Three King's Day. In which case, you are on your own. One more week of tinsel, and I'm out. For those of you whose appetite was whet by Lori Nyx's creepy......

The Wiltern makes everything more glamorous. Its golden art deco designs transport you to another world. Add some beautiful women wearing shimmering dresses, and the night will sparkle. At Pamela Des Barres' party last night to celebrate her new book, Let's Spend the Night Together, my friend Donna Lethal and I just had to stand aside and watch the fashion show go by. Miss Pamela was practically floating in an ethereal pale lavender gown......