The Whitman brothers shop for dangerous pets in an Indian village | Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight I'll lead this review by saying,"If only the DVD of The Darjeeling Limited were as rich and strange as the film, The Darjeeling Limited." The film is one of Wes Anderson's best tales of whimsy and familial dysfunction. Three brothers who've long since grown apart decide to travel across India on a sort of spiritual odyssey that......

Have you had enough of $5 coffee? $99 burgers? $125 martinis? I know I am -- doesn't anybody in this city want to find the cheapest drinks, meals, and booze? Los Angeles Magazine comes through this month with a feature on great deals and bargain finds on everything from martinis to furniture to underpants. We went straight for the food section, of course -- and here are our top food bargain picks from the......

Artist: Cheb i Sabbah Album: Devotion Label: Six Degrees Records Release Date: 01/29/08 Listen to "Qalanderi": Devotion CD Release Party @ The Temple Bar - Saturday, February 2nd The incomparable Cheb i Sabbah has produced Devotion, his seventh release for Six Degrees Records, once again inviting us to enjoy his updated presentation of the timeless music of central Asia. San Francisco-based Cheb i Sabbah traveled to India to record the vocals for several tracks with......

Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old Northridge girl who died two weeks ago because her health care provider denied funding of a liver transplant, was buried yesterday. $151 million: That's the amount in salary and benefits that the The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers say that writers have lost since the beginning of the strike. $10.64: The new minimum wage or "so-called living wage" for workers at hotels near LAX. More than a 1,000......

It was a great year of new books, re-discovered books, and books we meant to get to last year but didn't. The end of the year is nearly here and before we look forward, we'll take a look back. LAist Editors share their favorite book they read this year: Who: Zach Behrens, Editor What: The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris Why: Inspiring words on how to improve workflow, automate tasks, and get more......

In remembrance of the many lives lost in the 2004 South Asian tsunami, the public is invited to gather at a candlelight vigil with representatives of Sri Lankan organizations on Dec. 26, 6:30 p.m. at the Santa Monica Pier. Prayers will be offered by several religious denominations (Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim), followed by a moment of silence. Participants will release flowers into the ocean as the memorial service comes to an end. The......

About the above picture: The Rawking Refuses To Stop!, a blog of all things Los Angeles pop culture and MP3, shares with us their best concert photos of 2007. Above, they sneak out of LA to New York to see Les Savy Fav at the Bowery Ballroom (we'll just say they did the same thing when they came here). Don't forget -- you still have today and tomorrow to enter our Rufus Wainwright/Belinda Carlisle......

I'm a total cooking-show whore, I'll admit it right up front (although Sandra Lee's "open a can of crap and put a marshmallow on it!" school of cooking has never sat right with me). I have a long long queue of Jamie Oliver and Mario Batali cooking shows on my DVR, since they play them at odd hours, either when I'm asleep or at work. I know that Anthony Bourdain would gladly put a......

The sweetened, spiced tea drink we know as chai originated as a hot drink in India. Traditionally it’s a combination of looseleaf black tea, spices, sweetener, and hot milk. The chai latté has become a recognized staple in restaurants and hipster cafés throughout the western world these days, served hot or iced. There are many ways to make a chai latté, and the ubiquity of readymade pre-sweetened mixes makes a chai composed of unprocessed ingredients......

Late this morning, a fire struck the delicious and affordable Taste of India restaurant in Sherman Oaks, a few blocks West of Woodman on Ventura Blvd. It took 40 firefighters 31 minutes to contain the fire in ventilation duct work. There were no injuries. Traffic on Ventura Blvd. was shut down in both directions for two blocks forcing motorists to clog the allies north and south of Ventura Blvd. It is unknown at this......

On Thursday (10/11) at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, LAist checked out a screening/cineconcert of the documentary The Orchestra - A True Story from Piazza Vittorio, which is scheduled for release on Oct. 23 through Netflix’s Red Envelope Entertainment division for Academy Award consideration. Directed by Agostino Ferrente, the film chronicles the formation of an Italian orchestra to help save the old Apollo Cinema in Rome from its fate as a future bingo parlor.......

I've been living in the NoHo Arts District for about three months now, but it still seems like I run across a new restaurant every day. Magnolia Blvd. is a hotbed for funky, cheap, and authentic places like Coley's Caribbean-American Cuisine, the new North Hollywood outpost of an Inglewood favorite. Every time I drive by the sunny yellow-and-green exterior, I say to myself -- "that's next on the list." I've finally gotten around to......

"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......

Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell @ Autry National Center Bright Eyes with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Yo La Tengo, M. Ward @ Hollywood Bowl India.Arie, Ziggy Marley, Ottmar Liebert @ The Greek LA Riots, Toxic Avenger, Juiceboxxx @ Echoplex Low, Charlie Parr @ The Troubadour The Blasters, Charlie & the Valentine Killers @ Malibu Inn Zigzag Wanderers, Smash Fashion, Backbiter, Motorcycle Black Madonnas @ Mr. T's Bowl AM, Dirt Dress, Maria, The Sundelles @ The......

Though it opens Wednesday, I'm including The Darjeeling Limited in this guide because Wes Anderson is a director whose films you just automatically have to see and the more advance warning, the better. His latest jewel box follows three brothers (Wilson, Brody, Schwartzman) who decide to travel together across India in an effort to mend the rift that has grown between them all. Expect fantastical plot twists and plenty of whimsy. Though many critics......

The Darjeeling Limited is about three brothers, played by Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody, and Jason Schwartzman, who go off on a train voyage through India to try and re-establish their relatinship. But their journey takes an unexpected turn (thanks to over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray) and they end up alone and in the middle of the desert....

Artist: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan + Gaudi Album: Dub Qawwali Label: Six Degrees Records Release Date: August 7th, 2007 I count myself incredibly fortunate to have seen Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan perform while he was still alive, this was back in 1990, at a little hamlet called Santa Barbara, a year or so after Martin Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ came out, which featured Khan on the soundtrack. The essence of one......

- City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo vs. District Attorney Steve Cooley. Ehhhh, both are whiners. - They say Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has wanderlust and doesn't pay attention to the issues at hand. He's a Leo -- save that wanderlust for us in the Sagittarius clan. - Worst reason not to ban smoking: "... it's kind of stupid because so many people smoke [in Glendale]." Uhhhhhhh. - Al Gore's youngest daughter got married last night in Beverly......

Don't get me wrong, I love Beirut, but last Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend at Harmonia Mundi to the pre-screening of GYPSY CARAVAN...When The Road Bends. Written and directed by Jasmine Dellal of Little Dust Productions, the film is a documentary about five bands that play different kinds of Gypsy music, who united for a highly successful 6-week tour across North America. Descendents of the Roma, a group......

Dear LAist, I could've sworn when I randomly popped into the Library Bar last night I saw you carousing with a bunch of people who all had name tags and were drinking free beer. What's up with that? How do I get in on the free beer action? And who was that dude with the bandana?! Love, Little Jimmy From Pasadena Good eye, Little Jimmy! You did indeed spot us at the Library Bar last......

Within the lines of Culver City lie two Indian markets that also serve up vegetarian dishes on the cheap. For years I have driven by India Sweets and Spices (on Venice and Bagley) and Bharat Bazaar—aka Samosa House, don’t ask why it has two names-- on Washington and Berryman. I had heard both were specialty markets offering imports from India and Britain, and I had also heard they both had counter service where they......

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. As much as I love fine dining, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes with the comfort foods that I find at local hideaways that five-star restaurants can’t provide. While these local eateries will never make a Michelin guide, they possess a reliable meal, a......

The editor and publisher of the Pasadena Now website has decided that writers don't need to be in the city that they're writing about. Especially if they can be exploited for a fraction of the cost that Americans would ask. James Macpherson logged on to the Indian version of Craigslist and was able to hire two Indians to write on his site about Pasadena for less than $20k a year for the pair, by......

Sex is something that drives us, empowers us and gets us into really stupid situations with people we have no business seeing naked. Jen Sincero is the bestselling author and sexpert with the carnal knowledge you need. Ask her your questions (all are posted anonymously). Cuz there's no such thing as being too good in bed. Dear Jen, I am a 21 year-old male who lost his virginity to the girl who is now......

I don't know about you, but at this time of year, I'm a fickle morning brew-drinker. I'm sick of winter's hot and heavy lattes, but not at all ready for the chilly weightlessness of iced coffee. And so I turn to my Ol' Faithful of hot, caffeinated beverages to lift my spirits: Indian tea, Sequeira style! It's nothing too fancy -- you'd find similar brews at every Indian-run shop in Dubai (where I grew up),......

Grindhouse Monday and Tuesday it's The Muthers, a combination blaxploitation and women-in-prison flick that stars Janine Bell and Rosanne Katon as a pirate duo who must rescue Bells sister from the private jail of an evil coffee plantation owner, followed by Fight for Your Life, a revenge thriller about a pacifist black minister whose family is taken hostage and tortured by a trio of convicts, until he finally snaps and wreaks his vengeance. Wednesday and......

Apparently not only is Jared Leto a wannabe rocker, but he is also a wannabe lover - according to Penthouse gal Krista Ayne (pictured, right), Leto's skills are lacking, and he's too busy with his makeup to call a girl back - Page Six India attacks Richard Gere! Effigies of the star are burned on the streets of New Delhi for his recent and taboo public display of affection - TMZ Britney on the road......

Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell & Jon Heder (AKA Napoleon Dynamite) star as a pair of rival ice skaters who are banned from men's single competition but discover a loophole that allows them to compete as a pairs team. Look for Amy Poehler and her real-life husband Will Arnett (Gob on Arrested Development) as pairs skating champs. After the Wedding - Danish director Susanne Bier has created a comedy/drama Mads Mikkelsen (the bleeding......

Curated by… Guy Maddin Bizarro Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin (Tales From The Gimli Hospital, Careful, The Saddest Music In The World) has been invited to curate a program of films culled from the extensive collection of the UCLA Film Archive. His choices include On Dangerous Ground, Make Way for Tomorrow, Ministry of Fear and a slew of his own short films, all of which will screen over the next couple of weeks. But tonight Maddin......

LAist is proud to offer a weekly chart roundup of Billboard Magazine’s most coveted rankings. Join us as we revel in the conventional standard of musical success. Let us cross our fingers, hoist our lighters, and dream together of the supreme resurrection of artist-driven recordings that will forever eclipse the dark cloud of big label greed, A&R sleaze and disposable audio. Amen. Here are this week’s chart toppers. Behold the #1s. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Billboard Charts......