UPDATE: Chris Bowers at Open Left has a much more detailed breakdown of the Baucus plan. It's far, far worse than implied yesterday. And if you care about this sort of thing, it also looks like Max let an insurance industry shill write the whole thing, and made sure that those overtly part of the insurance sector read the bill before the White House. more ›

If you're a reader of the reliable source of laugh, Texts From Last Night.com, you know that whatever happened last night was probably pretty messed up. And probably involved some sort of bodily fluid. In taking a peek at the site, LAist was able to uncover out what the hell went down "last night" in LA. more ›

• Need for food donations is increasing, while food available for those in need is on a downturn. The good folks over at SOVA in the Valley are scrambling to provide for hungry families this holiday season; rising energy and food costs are partly to blame.
• So why do I still see people checking the coin slots for loose change? AT&T is selling off their pay phones to "independent" operators; will the machines be kept in working order or will they devolve into so many graffiti magnets?
• Downtown L.A. is welcoming its first new movie theater in twenty years this week, the ImaginAsian Center -- but will its location, right next to punk club The Smell, prove problematic?
• Maybe it fell over because it had too many jello shots last night: an overturned crane blocked off the southbound lanes of the 5 freeway near Mission Hills this morning -- traffic is being diverted but the freeway has yet to be reopened.
• Gridskipper rounds up some of the worst parking lots in Los Angeles: thumbs up on recognizing the horrors of The Grove and the Hollywood Bowl but nothing deserves to be on this list more than that god damned Trader Joe's Santa Monica lot. Worst. Ever.
• I'm sorry, but men can be such useless, vile idiots sometimes: "Two males were arrested in connection with last month's stabbing death of a 19-year-old man in a case police said started when one person disrespected another." [Emphasis mine.]
• Tickets for Garth Brooks's series of concerts benefiting victims of the recent California fires sold out in less than an hour -- 85,000 tickets at $50-75 a pop, with all proceeds going to charity? Not bad, Garth, not bad!
• IWantMedia's media person of the year? Striking Writers!!!
• How's our man Rex over at Fimoculous.com doing with his 2007 predictions? "6) Jim chooses Pam on The Office. Yes! Score: 10 7) Studio 60 catches on. No! Score: 0"

"Revelation satisfies all doubts, explains all mysteries except her own, and so illuminates the path of life, that fools discover it and stray no more." - William Cowper Sometimes I wonder how it happened. I try to think about how I used to be on the other side, a Cult of Mac hater...a Steve Jobs-despising PC fanboy. But now every time I boot up my Macbook Pro I think about how stupid I am... more ›

As you scan around most bars you see them all - that girl who's too shy to talk to anyone but quietly judges behind her catseye glasses, that girl who's too drunk to realize she's been flashing the whole room, that guy who's got no game but seems to think he does, or that guy who thinks that a pocket full of money can help him get a hot bartender to do whatever he'd like her to do. more ›

Loyal Apple customers flipped their shit yesterday at the news that the iPhone was dropping $200 in price a mere two months after its debut. Early adopters felt betrayed by the fact that they threw down a large amount of money to be part of the exclusive early adopter crowd, only to be undercut by a massive price cut -- and worse -- a thrifty version in the form of the iPod "Touch". Steve Jobs... more ›

Today the worst president ever got to share his thoughts on the worst AG ever, and the lies seethed out like snakes from Medusa's slithery scalp. This morning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that he will leave the Department of Justice after two and a half years of service to the department. Al Gonzales is a man of integrity, decency and principle, and I have reluctantly accepted his resignation with great appreciation for the... more ›

No doubt you have already heard about Reggie the alligator, who for two years lived in Machado Lake in Harbor City. He was captured a few months ago, and hauled to the Los Angeles Zoo. And NOW Reggie the gator is ready to make his grand debut, and strut his stuff in his newly adapted environment at the LA City Zoo. more ›

Watching the mainstream media hate on bloggers is becoming something of a sport, but if I were the betting type I wouldn't put my money on old school, print media. LA Times critic Richard Schickel is the latest to jump on the bandwagon. I like the Schickel's writing. I think he's a smart guy, and I respect his criticism. But he seems lost about the direction the publishing industry is heading. Schickel is absolutely... more ›

Nigger Nigger Nigger Nigger Damon Wayans was banned from the Laugh Factory yesterday after he dropped the "N-Bomb" sixteen times on Sunday at the infamous comedy club, now known as the stage that killed the career of Michael "Kramer" Richards. Nigger Nigger Nigger Nigger "I'll be damned if the white man uses that word last," Wayans, the star of such films as "Mo' Money", reportedly said. The Sunset Strip landmark recently warned comedians that they... more ›

LAist doesn't belong to a political party. We believe that the Republicans are idiots and the Democrats are cowards and the rest of parties seem comfortable being perpetual losers. Today, for example the President signed a so-called anti-terror law that the ACLU deemed "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history." "The president can now - with the approval of Congress - indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections... more ›

Rarely do we post a 4:20 Video at 4:20am, but after watching this clip from FCCFU.com we thought "why the fuck not." more ›

The day started with Nashville teenage kids done good Be Your Own Pet at the That tent. They deviated from the Bonnaroo norm of long, pleasant sets with a loud, angsty performance that hit on most of their debut album in a scorching 25 minutes. It was quick, but was one of the genuine standout performances of the festival when it was all said and done. At the very least, it shook out some of our sleep deprived cobwebs and got the day off to a roaring start. more ›

pissed police - LAPD Chief Bratton is furious over Assembly Bill 1882, which would transfer some airport security duties from the LAPD to the LAX police. But when making his official statement, he tried to be nice, avoiding calling LAX police fumbling idiots. "Why would you trust the security of a major terrorist target to a police force that is made up of many qualified people, but whose training, capabilities and hiring procedures are not up to that of the Los Angeles Police Department?" more ›

You can read all of the dumb jibes back and forth in these articles here. Bradley and Kent's behavior and comments are almost childish. more ›

LAist has been an avowed trial watchers for many years now. more ›

Existential mystery solved? LAist decided to take a theological spin of the bottle, as so many idiots have no doubt done before us, and see whether we couldn't find the Answer to Everything by simply typing "God.com" into our web browser. more ›

Like Paris Hilton at a new club opening, today’s dastardly deadline came and went with nary a decision from USC’s Mighty Matt Leinart. more ›

Tracy is a good fit for the DePodesta Moneyball philosophy, not because he necessarily believes in it, but because Tracy has always been a "yes man" of sorts. Kevin Malone hired him because, unlike Davey Johnson, he wouldn't diss Dodger Boy's moves in public. Tracy heralded Dan Evans every opportunity he could. And he has continued to tow the company line with Paul DePodesta. more ›

This city was built on a combination of creativity and stupidity, and few landmarks capture that spirit better than the Grove's terminally tongue-lashed, two-tiered transport vehicle. It's bizarre, it's asinine, and in many, possibly unintentional ways, it's a perfect metaphor for L.A., fusing the inventive and the pointless in one single, silly cultural icon. Every mall needs its hook, some bit of design that sets it apart from the other approximately five gajillion malls in Southern California, and no matter what you think of the trolley, you have to admit it's better than those puzzling anonymous quotes from "Screenwriter" and "Line Producer" tiled into the pavement at Hollywood and Highland. (Soon to be featured in our upcoming column "Bad Hollywood and Highland/Bad Hollywood and Highland".) more ›

Ironically, the same idiots who all season claimed the Dodgers needed to make some big moves in order to be successful are the same people claiming the team shouldn't have made these big moves to mess with their success. The truth of the matter is that the Dodgers have always had a good team, but a heavily flawed one, and LAist is impressed with the creative boldness of DePodesta in remaking the team. We believe the Dodgers are better. more ›