Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr CELEBRATE THE CULTURES OF SOUTH AMERICA: Check out the free South America Expo Fiesta in Downtown this afternoon, where all the countries of the continent will be represented. Eat, mingle, learn, and take in the entertainment. Like any good street fair there will be rides (and health screenings!). SEE THEE SOME SHAKESPEARE: Barnsdall Park is once again serving as a theatre space this summer......

Photo by sonoazure via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr DO A DOUBLE FEATURE: See two great films and get a whole lot of looks at some John Lautner architecture without even realizing you're being schooled. First up at 7 it's Less Than Zero, the ultimate LA-overindulgent teen tale of the 80s, then at 9 it's The Big Lebowski. The screenings are part of the Hammer Museum's ongoing Lautner focus, which looks at the......

Photo by Lord Jim via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr SAY HELLO TO DEATH: Or at least the Museum of Death, in their new location. Fans of the macabre will delight in checking out one of this town's strangest tributes in museum form. Go if you dare! CELEBRATE COMME LES FRANCAIS: Celebrate the 7th annual official Bastille Day LA Festival in WeHo, with "French gastronomic delicacies and spectacular live entertainment." You may see......

Photo of Echo Park Lake by susan catherine via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr DRINK BEER, SEE ART: The opening of the Vice Photo Show (featuring Rennie Ellis, Nippon Eye, and a special section curated by Tim Barber) promises beer and photos in affable combination in Culver City (eflyer). Give them an RSVP here. CELEBRATE THE LOTUS (WITHOUT ACTUAL LOTUS FLOWERS): It's the 36th annual Lotus Festival in Echo Park, although this year......

Photo by James Herman via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr HELP SEND A GIRL TO ROLLER DERBY CAMP: Check out the LA Derby Dolls fundraiser yard sale in Venice (but hurry, it's on from 9a-Noon!) and help give some cash to the cause. What little girl shouldn't learn how to be a roller derby queen? WATCH SEXY BRAZILIAN DANCING: The heat and passion of Brazil take the stage at the Ford, as......

Photo by Phil Romans via Flickr EXPERIENCE WATER MEETS DANCE MEETS CHINATOWN...THE MOVIE: Stephan Koplowitz's Liquid Landscapes begins tonight via Grand Performances with the showing of original dance film inspired by locations from Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, followed by a screening of Chinatown itself. It's the start of a one-week dance tour of LA inspired by water and sites that have to do with water. SEE A FILM: It's the last day of the Greek......

Photo by the_mule via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr CELEBRATE CHINATOWN'S 70th: Head down to Chinatown's Central Plaza tonight to celebrate this incarnation of the area's 70th Anniversary (and learn what other Chinatowns came before!). They're having 40s-style Big Band music and dancing, cocktails from the era, costume contests, and lots of historic photos and info and a bunch of entertainment. The event is free, and so is the dancing. SHOP AND......

Photo by Jonathan Alcorn (aka Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr PIG OUT LIKE A KID: At drink. eat. play's Gourmet Five Year Old Party being held this afternoon at Boulevard3 in Hollywood. Fresh takes on favorites from when you were a kid will include mac 'n cheese with lobster, kobe-style beef sloppy joes and assorted sophisticated sweets with plenty of free-flowing juice (wine) to wash it all down! (These are......

Photo by saragoldsmith via Flickr GET WET: Hit up your local public pool and go for a swim--it's Opening Day today and with on-tap temps in the 90s and 100s, cooling down is definitely in order. MAKE MUSIC: Pasadena is abuzz today with the sounds of music. In honor of World Music Day, Make Music Pasadena turns the whole city into one big spontaneous stage, with pro performers on 6 themed main stages, and......

I recently finished reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food", and I couldn't wait to get out to the Studio City farmer's market this morning. I stuck a couple of twenty-dollar bills in my back pocket and threw a "Ventura County Fair!!!" tote bag over my arm. $22.50 and about half an hour later, I lugged this load home: one bunch of sweet carrots, one large head of cabbage, one bunch rainbow chard, three......

To have a continuous bike path along the LA River, it must pass next to Universal Studios. The maroon line marks the disputed path. Back in an October 2006 interview with the mysterious LA City Nerd, we asked a question of hope: when can we realistically bike commute via the LA River Trail from the Valley to Downtown LA? The nerd was not optimistic saying that "the LA River trail may never connect completely......

Caption this in the comments section. All photos by Kelly C. Gallamore for LAist Stevie Wonder was the first of two surprises led to the Pauley Pavilion floor by Michelle Obama at yesterday's Get Out the Vote for Obama Rally. After a short explanation of his history as a Clinton supporter turned Obama believer, Wonder led the crowd in a rather difficult vocal exercise based on the candidate's name (see video below). Caption #2......

While John Edwards never placed higher than 2nd in any Caucus or Primary this election season, his strong union message amplified throughout the race. But, despite his how the other half lives message, support he garnered among some unions did not translate into wins, or even very strong finishes. While Edwards might have benefited from the multitude of unions in California, he chose to exit the race Wednesday, leaving a black hole of voters for......

Will it be pouring buckets tonight? If you aren't already planning on holing up with some popcorn and Netflix picks, you may want to get out and get your art & culture on. Let us help! ART ART LA 2008 is billed as "the only art fair in Los Angeles exclusively dedicated to contemporary art" and runs through tomorrow at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. This year's event "features 64 prominent international and Los Angeles-based......

A big rig carrying a cargoload of tires collided with a sedan around 10 this morning on the 5 Freeway south of 4th Street, causing a two-hour-long shutdown of the major arteries through Downtown and a blaze that was apparently visible from over 20 miles away. It took 60 firefighters 38 minutes to knock down the flames, according the LAFD, which lept from the burning vehicles to nearby palm trees, as witnessed by other......

Oh L.A. and your crazy kooky vagrants! Please meet Crazy Doll Lady (as we are calling her), pictured in the photo above. She and her scary puppet friends hang out around Sunset and Vine every day, and wait outside the Hollywood Public Library every morning for food handouts. Say hi to her if you see her...or drive by real real fast like I do! Even if the Globes are cancelled, Academy Awards organizers are......

Ducks 5, Predators 2 - Anaheim erupted for four goals in the second period, two coming off of the power play and one on a delayed penalty. It was a welcome change of pace for a team that's been lacking on offense the past few weeks. The contributions came across the board, as not a single player was in the minus. LSU 38, OSU 24 - The sad mess known as the BCS finally ended......

New Year's Day, most in LA seemed to be up in Pasadena watching either the Rose Parade or the Rose Bowl, or getting over their New Year's Eve hangover at home watching TV. Why do I think that? Because the roads were EMPTY! It seemed that no one was on the roads. My goal was to head out with a friend, with cameras in hand and hit the roads and drive around LA on......

City Councilman Jack Weiss and O'Melveny and Myers law firm partner, Carolyn Kubota, teamed up yesterday in a Daily News op-ed piece urging the need to explore funding public transportation in Los Angeles by private sources. Chicago did it with the Skyway and Denver with their transit plan. So why not us? They say everyone can agree on three things. One, a subway between downtown and the Westside is absolutely need; two, the subway......

Last year, my boyfriend and I wanted to go somewhere fun but romantic but local for our New Years Eve. We had just gotten back from a major trip to Belize, so we weren't in the mood for anything that would stretch our brains or require too much planning. Disneyland seemed like the best choice -- an easy drive (holiday traffic), mindless amusement, and maybe we'd get in a nice dinner at one of......

On Hollywood Blvd., we've got many characters to take pictures with. There's Superman, The Hulk, Spiderman and now, we introduce Santa in a G-String with a tinge of rum and egg nog coke on his breath. The driver -- 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds -- was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving [on Sunday evening], in this case a misdemeanor, police said. In addition to a red Santa hat, he wore a blond wig, red lace......

If you ask me, it doesn't really feel like Christmas. Of course, what I then ask myself is: What is Christmas supposed to feel like? My answer is: I'm not sure. For the first time in a long while I'm here in Los Angeles doing Christmas solo. With airfare out of my budget (you'd be horrified to find out what CSU lecturers make, I'd bet) and the flight schedules whacked to boot, instead of joining......

OK, maybe this post is a little last-minute. But most of the grocery stores are open until noon today. There is still time. Christmas dinner is very similar to Thanksgiving dinner, but easier. Some people have an identical turkey dinner, perhaps with an added ham. One sure way to make Christmas special is with a rib roast. The standing rib roast is a beautiful thing, and even easier than a turkey! Figure one rib will......

This week Zach Behrens became the sixth editor of LAist. Behrens is no stranger to LAist staff or readers -- he was Co-Editor for nearly a year before taking the reins from Tony Pierce and contributed more than 1100 posts since 2005. We asked Zach a variety of questions to put in perspective how and why he came to be editor of the best city blog this side of the Hudson. Andy: When and why......

The Harry Potter series of films may be due for a bit of a letdown now that the books are all done and the secrets are out. Nevertheless, something tells me I'll be curling up with the family to watch Order of the Phoenix over Christmas. If Paul Greengrass isn't the best director working right now he's definitely on a very short list and Bourne Ultimatum is the proof. What was Vanessa Hudgens thinking?......

The Geminid Meteor showers are set to peak this week, especially on Thursday and Friday. Um, great date night, anybody? Astronomers studying the phenomenon, David Levy and Stephen Edberg, are terribly enthused: "If you have not seen a mighty Geminid fireball arcing gracefully across an expanse of sky, then you have not seen a meteor.' Those guys are serious!!! "The Geminid Meteors are usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing......

It’s a beautiful, wonderful day! Why, you ask? Have they pulled the troops from Iraq? Is America’s Next Top Model going to be syndicated twice a night, every night? Has the retail industry decided that Christmas should just be about spending time with family and loved ones, and yanked their holiday marketing bonanzas? No…it’s even better. For those of you who missed it this morning…Dunkin’ Donuts coffee will now be available for purchase in......

Earlier this week on LAist we passed on a treasured recipe for latkes, and two Hanukkahs ago we ran the closest thing to my late Grandpa (AKA "The Latke King")'s recipe. Latkes (potato pancakes) are a tasty and traditional food long associated with the holiday of Hanukkah, which rocks its halfway point at sundown tonight. But soaking up the oil that is at the core of the holiday isn't just something for members of the......

Itching to get out to the latest restaurant or coolest foodie event this weekend? Here's a quick round-up of where to eat this weekend that will have you talking all week. Find out what's going on with LA Mill's soft opening -- this coffee boutique planned for a Silver Lake location has testing out its goods at a clothing store in West Hollywood, but the owners are very tight-lipped about the next steps --......

Cardinal Roger Mahoney revealed that he had been assaulted in July outside of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral; the attacker was "enraged by the Catholic Church's sexual-abuse scandal within days of a record settlement with hundreds of victims." Karl Dorrell will not be coaching UCLA in its upcoming Las Vegas Bowl game. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker will coach in the interim. If the world weren't already all shook up by Jakob Lodwick's departure......