Photo by rink_rat via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Stay in school kids, especially if you live in the Valley. Yesterday the truant police hauled in 137 middle and high school kids who were ditching classes and chilling in public. 5 members of a church group were involved in an accident this morning on the eastbound Pomona Freeway. Sadly, three of the victims were killed and the others injured. The driver had......

The main theme of the seminal grunge documentary Hype! is how something that by its very nature was anti-commercial became commercialized. One thing that particularly struck me about Hype! was the grunge scene's intense resentment against the greater culture for appropriating the look and style elements of their subculture. Anti-fashion became the fashion. It lost all meaning. It fell victim to something I call the “Punk Rock Quincy” phenomenon. That feeling of resentment strikes a......

Want a Wii this holiday season? Well toooooo fuckin bad. The best you can hope for is a rain check certificate that will entitle you to a console at some point in January. Even the Wii people themselves are now admitting what a mess they've made of manufacturing this thing. Two members of a terrorist cell have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to wage war: the splinter group was "was poised to attack......

Last year we did a lot of Best Of lists, and this year we are on a roll to eclipse the quantity and quality of last year. One thing I have noticed is there seems to be two ways to do a Best Of list. You can do a politically correct one for the hipsters and cynics - which is boring and a lie. Or you can keep it real and talk about how......

Because he's too shy (and way too busy) to announce it here himself, I am proud to do the honors: Zach Behrens has officially accepted the Editor position here at LAist and he'll be starting on December 17th. BloggingLA has the announcement, as well as a nice picture of the new editor's "Sexy Face." That's how you get your Canadian fanbase, Behrens!!! Rain. Please. Rain. Effects of the strike are starting to ripple out......

When Low vs. Diamond's lead singer Lucas Field sauntered on the stage and meekly opened the show with "Life After Love," I knew immediately that despite the head bobbing and dancing from a few, LvD’s live act would neither expand upon its sound nor translate to the crowd what exactly they were trying to do....

A few days ago, I posted about sitting in L.A. traffic on Halloween, and opened the floor for people to make shortcut suggestions. Turns out that the mere mention of the words "shortcut" and "share" in the same sentence can make at least one person go temporarily insane, and others suddenly think that they're in sole possession of highly classified government information. Who knew? Anyway, my friend and colleague Sloane Berrent posted her thoughts......

Yesterday, another LAister, Jessica Pauline asked about Hollywood shortcuts. A few people gave suggestions, such as the now "not-so-much-a-secret" Fountain but other commentors plain old said, "I'm not giving up my secrets to you greenie." I was reading over the comment and got to thinking... In a town like Los Angeles, a good short cut is like a good dive bar. You don't want the hipsters to take over your secrets and blast them......

Astro Family Restaurant is a venerable Los Angeles institution located a hop, skip, and a jump from the beautiful shores of Silver Lake. Astro has graced the glamorous corner Glendale Blvd. and Fletcher Dr. since 1974. Silver Lake has been through many changes over the last thirty years. It went from a neighborhood known for being dingy and overrun with gangs to a neighborhood that is trendy and is overrun with hipsters. Through all......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. This month, LAist has brought you daily coverage of some of LA’s finest late night dining spots from all over the Southland. So we’d be remiss if we didn’t throw in at least one spot from OC. Some of you readers that have probably......

So at first this was going to be a whole “Chronicle in the Life of a Hollywood Hipster” type of deal. But let's face it. I'm not a hipster, I am hip (in the non-sarcastic, semi-sincere sense), but definitely not a Hollywood Hipster. I hate Hollywood hipsters. Even more than that, I hate Silverlake/Los Feliz hipsters. You know them, they take themselves way too seriously with their severe haircuts and super tight pants. Bastards. Anywho,......

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,......

The identity of one driver caught in the horrific fire on the I-5 Friday night might now be identified by the last call he made. Reports surfaced that the fire in the tunnel was so hot, the concrete began to melt. But, things are going smoothly today, officials said. Or as smoothly as rush hour on the I-5 can be. A cockfighting raid in San Diego over the weekend netted 4,400 birds at a......

With indie rock mainstays Devotchka, Oh No! Oh My!, Foreign Born, Snowden, Illinois, The Black Angels, St. Vincent, and Thee More Shallows, how can one really go wrong? Well, quite simply by not publicizing your festival enough. My experience swerving was a little disconcerting, mainly because of the poor turnout. It's my turn to take a stab at this whole Swerve Festival. Everything seemed perfect on paper (the music, the art, the film, and the......

Best line of the day: "If L.A. Unified can't figure out the math on employee paychecks, can it be trusted to teach more than 700,000 students?" It's been 231 days since the whole fiasco began at the LAUSD. Teachers aren't being paid while dead people are being issues paychecks. Autumn officially begins on Sundaysays the Griffith Observatory's Sky Report, which also states Mercury, Jupiter, Mars and Venus can all be seen in the sky......

"So you know what you need to do to come off as authentic in San Pedro, right?" "Tell me!" We were all set to head off to the annual Lobster Fest held in San Pedro's charming seaside Ports O' Call. "You gotta call it Peeeeeedro." Peeeeeedro. Got it. Not that this was my first time searching out good times and good eats in this sunshiney little enclave nestled against the Port of Long Beach,......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers......

Introducing the TV Junkie Black List: While waiting for Spoon to go on the Tonight Show last night I had to endure Leno and guest Denis Leary talking about how they'd like to get cyclists off the roads and how they enjoy honking at them, etc. Both of these a-holes know* what went down recently in Beverly Hills as reported by LAist and the last thing LA needs is more SUV drivers feeling justified in......

What a waste of a quarter billion dollars. For the same amount that the Galaxy promised David Beckham to come to Los Angeles, they could have paid the salaries of all 26 New York Yankees in 2007 -- plus the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In the NFL, they could have covered an entire team operating at the salary cap for almost two and a half seasons. Granted, it's a five year......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

An epic battle of apathetic grandeur. Outside of carrot cake, scruffy beards and driving home from work in record setting time, there is nothing I like more than spoofs on hipsters. Granted, actually liking something like this bears a certain amount of hipsterness, which I mean, whatever man. I don't care. In watching this video, I have identified my five favorite quotes. It was hard to choose. "Exclusivity, that's what it's all about today."......

Day Two of the Sunset Junction was even hotter. Hot Hot Heat, Buzzcocks, and She Wants Revenge continued the heat on Sunday. There were plenty of indie hipsters, shirtless gay men, junk food, amazing street art, cheap carnival rides, and of course photographs from me.......

Vampire Weekend rocked out two shows last week and it seems the hype is worth the, ahem, hype this time. The first at the Troubadour Monday night we heard was a blast. We managed to catch their second show at the Silverlake Lounge the following night and it was packed. Like really really packed. A William Morris agent friend of ours remarked that the Silverlake Lounge has never been so crowded. And after a......

Last night my friend and I went to the local dive bar to drink Tecates and talk shit on hipsters. When we arrived I had to hit up the ladies room, so my friend went to the counter to order drinks. When I came back, she was sitting in a booth with three guys, two beers and a smile on her face. Ahh, I love arriving to pleasant surprises! I sat down and introduced......

I’m a little hesitant to tell you guys about Bloom Café. Brunching is not a leisure activity in this town. The idea of brunch is always calm, meeting up on a weekend, yummy breakfast, savory lunch foods. Coffee, laughter, companionship. But the reality is lines and waiting, grumpy stomachs, languishing hangovers. It’s not pretty out there. At the Bloom Café, you can remember what brunch is really about. The clientele at this Picfair location......

After flirting with local hipsters Aroma and Alcove, I thought maybe what I needed was someone older, more distinguished. A real gentleman. Someone who would pay for my valet parking and make sure my glass was never empty. Someone who would ply me with wine and sing to me. I wouldn’t have far to look since Vitello's was right there, waiting across the street for me to wise up. Yes, I'm talking about THAT......

There is a song in the early summer evening air and it’s a song of hipsters, small yummy tacos, and very, very strong drinks. I live a considerable distance from Malo, but it’s always a great place to meet up with people before going to the Greek. Malo is on Sunset Boulevard, the décor is dark, iron is very much in evidence, there are lots of curtains. Outside, the décor is minimal, with a......

Summer is officially less than three weeks away but Little Radio (a web station and CD manufacturer) has already started its second annual Summer Camp (June 3rd- August10th) where every Sunday of the season Bands, Beer, and Booze along with food provided by Hot Knives will be the main event. Located at 1218 Long Beach Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, this parking lot covered in astro turf, hot hipsters, and water games will be......

Entering into the House of Blues last night, standing in the Industry Entrance line, behind the well to do hipsters of Los Angeles, I see this smallish woman with red hair, grabbing Foundation Room bracelets in her hand after putting her shiny black gloves back on. She turns around and I realize that it is Drew Barrymore. Who else, right? She was dating Mr. Hammond Jr's bandmate Fabrizio Moretti. Seeing her and a certain......

Written and photographed by Joey Maloney for LAist Did you know that starfish are not really fish? In between rocking out to Ima Robot there were things to be a’learned at this month’s First Friday event at the Natural History Museum. Just a bit of back story, I have heard about the First Friday events since I moved to Los Angeles just over two years ago but never made it down to the ‘hood......