Photo by Heath Biter/LAist It might seem hard to believe that tonight’s game between the Phoenix Coyotes and your Los Angeles Kings carries any weight, but it does, and I’ll tell you why. With 21 games left in the season, and a lowly 53 points to their cellar-dwelling name, the Kings would be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with a loss tonight. Not officially of course. After all, only 13 points separate the Kings......

a writer's perspective So now that the writers have voted overwhelmingly to end the strike, what next? Well, now we’re in the midst of the contract ratification process. Last week, interested writers were asked to provide the WGA with “camera ready” statements for or against the new contract. Over the next few days, guild members will be receiving ballots along with the pro and con statements, and will have the opportunity to vote as to......

Writers Strike outside Disney | Photo by Heath Biter/LAist Just moments ago, in a letter to its members, the WGA announced that writers have voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the “restraining order” and officially end the strike. The move comes on Day 100 of the labor dispute. WGA president Patric Verrone is expected to hold a press conference in just a few moments at the WGA Theatre in Beverly Hills, where members......

a writer's perspective All right! We got the first finger of the New Year! Stationed outside Warner Brothers, where news broke last night that there would be imminent layoffs for a lot of the staffers, I expected the strikers to be the target of increased vitriol. We had our share of negative gestures today, but the truth is fingers are still few and far between. If we made a drinking game where we drank every......

I've managed to avoid watching NFL playoffs and college bowl games but I'm getting worn down, I'm tellin' ya. If I got the Fox Movie Channel I would watch Less Than Zero tonight at 7pm because I'm just about as strung out as Robert Downey Jr.was in that flick. I'm not begging for the writers to capitulate, I want them to win, I'm just begging the networks to send me some shite to write about.......

After a ridiculous bout of insomnia, I ended up walking the 5am shift. It’s an interesting shift, populated largely with Stragglers. At 5am there are maybe 3 picketers, but by 6:30, there are nearly 20 of us walking makeshift 3 hour shifts. Some members of the teachers union come and walk with us for a while before heading off to work. Literally every day, somebody comes out to show their support, and it never......

Beck - "Where It's At" If you were one of the lucky 700 who packed the Echoplex last night you were treated to Beck's only North American tour date before he head off to Europe to open for a little band called the Police. For the rest of you, here's a nice video of one of his biggest hits. Yes, you're welcome. If this doesn't quite quench your thirst, however, may we recommend checking......

LA Scumbag just busted with a nice photo essay of Alicia Keys, later LAist photo editor Joey Maloney will give you some more pics, and if we're lucky perhaps LAist's own Heath Biter - a WGA member - will write about what the vibe was like at this huge rally that didn't quite reach 10,000 marchers, but got damn close. But in the meantime, how about some photos of the celebs and the cool......

Sure, two members of Rage Against the Machine helped the writers rage, but this photo essay will focus more on the thousands of people who showed up to march, and the churros. Yes, churros of support were rolled into the Nakatomi Plaza for anyone who needed some churro love. And if people-watching is your thing, the Avenue of the Stars lived up to its name this morning. After the jump, a nice photo essay......

After stumbling out of the gate, your Los Angeles Kings have won 4 in a row, and suddenly find themselves back to .500 with a not-too embarrassing record of 6-6. A lot of credit for the recent surge goes to the solid play of goalie Jason LaBarbera. People in LA might not have noticed, but the good folks who run the NHL have, and consequently, today they named LaBarbera as the league’s #1 star......

If Heath Biter failed to give you a rotten feeling about the Kings' chances this year, how does a 5-1 drubbing to a division rival treat you? To make matters worse, the points weren't taken by, say, the San Jose Sharks or Anaheim Ducks - two Pacific Division sides boasting some of the best odds of winning the Cup. Instead, the LA players had their asses handed to them by the Dallas Stars, a......

For many of us who live east of La Brea, Liquid Kitty is the Westside bar. On Sunday, they held their sixth annual Punk Rock BBQ. Swarms of old-school punks spilled from the super-packed watering hole and out onto Pico, where grills, crammed with hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausage sent smoke wafting high in the hot summer air. Inside, $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon and free music kept the crowd bopping and fist-pumping, and screaming......

So, Friday night I’m in my car headed towards the El Rey to see legendary punks The Slits. I’m excited. For my money, The Slits are one of the truly essential bands to emerge from the London “Class of ‘77”. I’m almost there, when my cell phone rings. “I have two free tickets – Row AA in the Orchestra Pit - for Rick Springfield at the Universal Amphitheatre.” (Actually, he said Gibson Amphitheatre, but......

As a music collector, I’ve always salivated over the concept of The Lost Album. I’ve scoured endless record stores searching for that elusive bootleg of Homegrown - the scrapped Neil Young album, or the lost Brian Eno-produced Television demos, or the abandoned Johnny Cash/Bob Dylan album. (they laid down 15 songs in 2 days back in 1969) Volumes have been written documenting the almost-creation of never-to-be masterpieces such as The Who’s Lifehouse or The......