"True Blood" along with other Sunday offerings make that the night to watch TV this weekend (again). --- Hurricane overhype vs LA's Rainpocalypse overype. --- We've got more news items and our comprehensive TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan for the weekend. more ›

• 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 military sites, synagogues and other targets" in Southern California. The two men face 20-25 years in prison.
• Oh noes! The hipsters will be so dry now! The DWP will be draining Elysian Park and Silver Lake reservoirs because of high levels of toxic chemicals in the water.
• Gas prices soar, consumer inflation also goes up: "Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 1.2 percent surge in September 2005, when the country was hit by rising energy costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."
• It's the PLAGUE!!! Actually, no, it's just the flu, and a child in the Valley is the first to be diagnosed this season. Get your flu shots! Unless you're like me and treat every illness with a few stiff shots of whiskey.
• Rhino Records is open again! Not at their storied Westwood location (sniff sniff), but they're operating a "pop-up" store during the month of December only over at Third and Fairfax.
• A "guns-for-gifts" exchange will be held tomorrow in Compton: "People turning in a gun to sheriff's personnel will receive a $50 gift card to Best Buy, Home Depot, Ralphs or Target. $100 gift cards will be given for each of the first 50 guns turned in. About 400 guns were turned in at a similar exchange in 2005".
• Conan O'Brien and NBC are getting sued...by a bodybuilder...over a Clay Aiken gay joke. Do we live on the moon or something? Oh no, that's right -- Hollywood.
• Midnight Ridazz are doing an all-city Bring-A-Toy-For-Charity bike ride tonight. Check their website for details.

Clippers 91, Nets 82 - Nothing like a trip to New Jersey to make you feel better about yourself. Los Angeles came into East Rutherford having lost 8-of-9. By the end of the night, it was the Nets who had lost 8-of-9. The struggling Clippers were able to pull off the W even without Elton Brand and Sam Cassell. Chris Kaman continued to impress with a team-high 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks. USC... more ›

Kings 8, Sabres 2 - Halfway through, it looked suspiciously like an SEC football score. Los Angeles was up 7-0 midway through the second period and coasted the rest of the way, making life easy on goalie Jonathan Quick. Due to injuries, Quick was making his first appearance in the NHL. For those keeping score at home, the Kings have tried more goalies this season than they had goals against the Sabres. Only in LA... more ›

Not long ago, UK's Athlete scored the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for their 2003 album Vehicles and Animals. I've been following the band ever since that remarkable album. However, many have said that they made a stark transition from bright to melodramatic tones. Some see their 2005 album Tourist as the dawning of the Coldplay-esque, Brit-pop phase in Athlete's catalog. Fresh off the heels of their latest album Beyond The Neighborhood, Athlete have continued in... more ›

Hear that sucking sound? The media's commitment to learning from its many recent mistakes in reporting ethics and the semantics thereof is again being sucked out of the collective memory hole. Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina survivors were initially referred to by numerous media outlets as "refugees." While "refugee" can be inferred to be descriptive of one who "takes refuge," the fact is that -- at least since the 1951 approval of the UN Convention... more ›

Hope you caught the season finale of Mad Men - it was excellent, especially the final pitch to Kodak (the finale will repeat tonight at 10:00pm on AMC). Am still bummed over the death of Deborah Kerr, of the King and I and From Here to Eternity fame (yeah, that was her rolling around in the surf with Burt Lancaster), she will be very much missed. We also lost the last remaining member of the Rat Pack (not the Brat Pack as I previously wrote), comedian Joey Bishop. more ›

Ten years ago Long Beach native Morgan J. Freeman was minding his own business in film school back east. Doing what everyone else in his class did, he submitted his thesis film "Hurricane Streets" to Sundance for competition. Not only was it accepted - alongside the "real" movies - but it won three awards at the festivall: Morgan won best director, the cinematographer won for best cinematography, and the film got the audience award... more ›

I hate Crank That. I love rap and hip-hop as much as the next sheltered 20-something white dude, but c'mon. Am I the only one who finds Soulja Boy as repetitive as Jay Z? Maybe it's because I haven't learned the dance, but I think this song is terrible. more ›

The fallout from Appalachian State’s upset over Michigan extended beyond Michigan falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The AP announced on Thursday that lower division schools are now eligible to be included in the poll. It’s great that the Championship Subdivision (aka Division I-AA) has a chance of being ranked alongside the big boys. While I highly doubt that a team even as accomplished as Appalachian State will crack the Top... more ›

Some fresh AIR would be really great right about now. Har har har!!! I'm such a card. Now, really, how about Air at the Greek this month, courtesy of LAist: head on over to enter our Labor Day Weekend Air Contest. In the category of Thank God It Hasn't Happened to Us Yet: over twenty thousand homes and businesses have lost power this weekend. If you're on the roads tonight, please drive safely, use... more ›

We were all emotionally affected by Hurricane Katrina. And I'm sure we are all frustrated by the lack of progress in rebuilding New Orleans. But like me, you are probably wondering, "What can I do about it?" Well, right now, you can buy a CD or a download. Enjoy some rightous music while doing what's right. more ›

8:00pm Going Back to New Orleans UPN/KCOP - Music icon Deacon John Moore documents the unique culture of the Big Easy. 9:00pm Against the Tide: The Battle for New Orleans CNBC - The business side of the New Orleans recovery effort. 10:00pm Still Waiting: Life After Katrina PBS/KOCE An African American/Creole family returns to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, hoping to hold on to their bayou culture. 10:00pm DIY to the Rescue: Katrina Rebuild... more ›

It's been two years since an American city was destroyed. The above clip is a teaser of a video podcast series produced and promoted by entertainment icon Quincy Jones and pop guy Usher who have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity in order to urge Americans not to forget the victims of the hurricane. Think about what happened two years ago and think of a way to help. Editor Tony Pierce drove to New... more ›

Photo by Eric Richardson of Blogdowntown. Zach Behrens also contributed to this report. more ›

The MTA will be testing a new 65-foot-long prototype bus - which can hold up to 131 sitting and standing passengers - on the Orange Line busway for one year starting this week. Nicely done: L.A. City Councilman Richard Alarcon drafted a measure 2 months ago that would've drastically reduced traffic congestion on one block of one street in Panorama City - namely the one where his house is located. Who's down with Gov.... more ›

Photo by Don Giovanni via Flickr more ›

Photo by dogseat via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

Now why would you want to spend your hard-earned dough this weekend on a flick about Chuck and Larry when you can see live, local theater? Here are LAist's five picks for this weekend... Do Do Love Diana lives alone on disability baking cupcakes in her Burbank studio. Her landlord wants to get her out of the apartment and so sends a hottie of a handyman to disrupt her life and up her rent.... more ›

Blended drinks make me happy. They remind me of laying out on the beaches of Maui while soaking up the sun. The cold texture and gulping the last frothy bit from the glass are extra bonuses. A strawberry margarita is, hands down, my blended drink of choice. With that said, a well blended Good Luck drink from the Good Luck Bar in Los Feliz gives the strawberry margarita a run for its money. A... more ›

The LA Times has nominated five books in each of nine different categories for the 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. In the weeks leading up to the Festival of Books where the winners will be announced, LAist will take a quick look at each category and will wax poetic on a few favorites (or least favorites) along the way. The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley... more ›

#155 Drunk driver who killed a Gainesville Police lieutenant (whose body flew over the hood and windshield of the pick up truck) claims he had no idea why he was later pulled over for manslaughter - gainesville.com #156 "As far as racist, antiquated state songs written in minstrel-show dialect go, Florida sure has a doozy with Stephen Foster's 'Old Folks At Home.'" - Tallahassee.com #157 A preacher in Jacksonville has taken it upon herself... more ›

Brrrrrrrrr... did you enjoy cuddling under your blankets last night during that blast of cold weather? Don't forget that it snowed in Los Angeles less than a year ago (and will SCV be so lucky?). Maybe this is Los Angeles' way of saying hello to Beckham with a little frosty cold treat. We're enjoying it. After all, some of us are transplants. Besides the top stories that you probably already know by now, A.M.... more ›

You know how it is... rockin' and rollin' and whatnot... Below is this week's hearty list of new releases. Try to consume at least two servings of new music a week as part of balanced diet. Please send all thank-you notes, fruit baskets and cookie platters to the fine people at AllMusic for providing such wonderous data. Blues Roger "Hurricane" Wilson - Way I Am Celtic Iona - Circling Hour (Open Sky UK) Childrens’... more ›

Current Record: 2-1, T-2nd Pacific more ›

Weekend Edition OK, so the TV Junkie completely missed Friday, this was because of a 50 mile backup on the MassPike so that's unlikely to happen in the near future. Now the TV Junkie is quite drunk in San Francisco which doesn't mean he doesn't want to be drunk in LA with you wonderful people. This doesn't mean it won't happen again, we're only somewhat human. College Football (ABC, ESPN and wherever else, at... more ›

A Love Ends Suicide - In the Disaster (Metal Blade) Alice Donut - Fuzz (Howler) Audioslave - Revelations (Epic) Beyoncé - B'Day (Columbia) Goatwhore - A Haunting Curse (Metal Blade) Grizzly Bear - Yellow House (Warp) Hem - Funnel Crowd (Nettwerk) Honkytonk Homeslice - Honkytonk Homeslice (digipak; Sci Fidelity) Horse the Band - Pizza (EP; Koch) Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death (EMI) Jars of Clay - Good Monsters (Essential) Jucifer... more ›

Even as the stores sport back to school sales (which depress us, even now), summer lingers on your friends the -ists. This week's collection of links provides some of the best, worst, and oddest bits of summer fun. So, bring your laptop up onto the roof, make yourself an umbrella drink or ten, and enjoy this week's choice posts from across the Gothamist network. more ›

Clowns are scary. Especially in the parking lot of a shopping center in the suburbs as your mom waits in an SUV. more ›