A marathon Film Calendar in honor of Cure Crohn's & Colitis at Laemmle Santa Monica, the Jules Verne Nature & Education Program's Légendaire Award honoring John Wayne & some filth to follow all those fundraisers. more ›

John Wayne, one of America's favorite film stars, rugged Hollywood icon and Navy buff, sailed the seven seas (or maybe just the Pacific Ocean) in his 136-foot, wooden-hulled World War II-era minesweeper from 1962 until shortly before his death in 1979. The yacht, dubbed Wild Goose, became a recent addition to the 200-some other boats on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Daily Pilot. more ›

The Oscar-winning, cinematic epitome of brawny, weathered manliness with 172 films to his credit, John Wayne, "The Duke," died of stomach cancer at UCLA Medical Center at the age of 72 on June 11, 1979. Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907 Iowa, moved to Glendale in 1911 where his father was a pharmacist, according to Wikipedia. more ›

Today TCM is running a marathon of John Wayne Westerns in honor of the world premiere of the newest adaptation of "True Grit." Check 'em out - a lot of classic film moments. --- CBS is shuffling "Blue Bloods" to Wednesday nights, more proof that Friday is where shows are sent to die. --- Comedy Central has a funny holiday mash-up app. Check it out along with our Must-Watch Plan for tonight. more ›

No film could ever capture the inner despair and hopelessness that pervades Cormac McCarthy's magnificent novel, The Road. Still, the film is a despondently faithful adaptation that should please -- if depress -- cineastes. Never before has society's apocalypse felt so hauntingly real. There's only one, maybe two good reasons to watch HBO's moronic True Blood, right? Of all the classic authors I read in college, I return to D.H. Lawrence more than any other. Why hasn't there been a fantastic film adaptation of Sons and Lovers? more ›

If you've got a daughter, take her to Girls Rock! this Sunday at the Echo Park Film Center. It's a pretty inspiring rawk dawc. If you don't have a daughter, take yourself. The funny looks will be worth it, because there's plenty fun for adults too. Then sit tight - because right about the time it sinks in that Rock 'n' Roll Camp is electrifying Portland and we're in L.A., Girls Rock Los Angeles & its faithful organizers burst onto center stage! Give 'em a few minutes of your time & a few dollars for the ticket. Unless you want the future of grrl rock repped by Kristen Stewart... more ›

• Remember when we told you that Los Angeles tap water was the best tasting in the world? Turns out that our delicious H20 might have been sprinkled with delicious drugs. The AP found that a multitude of pharmaceuticals, like antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans including water in Southern California. Little Johnny has taken such a liking to water these days, I wonder what's gotten into him.
• On Friday, Newport Beach police were baffled when they found a fully clothed woman dead and packed in dry ice in an upscale hotel room near John Wayne Airport. The room was rented from known Cocaine dealer and the woman, whose body was well preserved, was apparently wanted on drug charges in Colorado.
• Before she was ousted for saying Hillary Clinton was a "monster" for some of the "underhanded" tactics used to defeat Barack Obama in the Ohio Primary, foreign policy adviser Samantha Powers took a few questions at LA City Beat. Nowhere in the interview does she disparage Clinton, but she does offer some pretty enlightening opinions, such as this opus on how to have a dignified foreign policy: "...if we could just sort of remember that there are individuals at stake, that the “human” in human rights is not an abstraction." On second thought, I'm glad she resigned. We can't have those sorts of hippie, drugged out commie type of relations with the world. It would be un-American!
• In other political news, a Democrat won a special election to fill a congressional seat left vacant in Illinois by outgoing Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert. Bill Foster claimed the seat partly on the strength of Obama, who campaigned for him. Obama supporters claimed this was a signal of things to come in what many observers said was a national referendum as John McCain campaigned for the Republican.
• An off-duty cop in Temecula allegedly shot 2 and killed 1 person over some sort of melee at a Mexican restaurant in Riverside. Guns don't kill people, crazy ass people with anger management problems do.
• A 21-year-old member of the San Fernando Valley Illegal Soapbox Federation died this morning when his adorable little vehicle collided with a light pole in Tarzana. Thing is, it may not have been so adorable. The motto of the local soapbox federation is, "Action, Mayhem, Destruction, Bodily Harm...All For Free". I'm sorry, it seems pretty tough to macho yourself out when riding in a little cart made for 6-year-olds.
• Andy LaRoche got some bad news this weekend. The Dodger third baseman who was expected to share time with Nomar Garciaparra at the hot corner this season is out 8-10 weeks with a ligament tear in his thumb after getting hit trying to catch an attempted pickoff at third during a pre-season game Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Learn this name kids: Blake Dewitt. He's been tearing up Spring Training pitching and flashing some great leather. He could get some time at third in LaRoche's absence.

Last night, LAist had a spot on the red carpet of the Key Club in West Hollywood, host of The Roots Jam Session sponsored by Rock the Vote, Okayplayer and Keldof. more ›

It's uncommon that a rapper takes the name he used for over 6 years and transforms it into an indie-rock band, but founder Yoni Wolf is known for breaking the rules and getting great results. Operating within the Anticon collective Why?'s sound is self described as "smart, shimmering, sweetly soured" and front man Yoni's delivery as a "candytime-dissonant, singsong-suicide style". more ›

A feeling of familiarity always comes over me when I escape from the cold and the rain into the warmth and comfort of the Tam O'Shanter. Maybe it's because I grew up in Scottish pubs. Maybe it's because my mother's house is decorated exactly like the interior of the Tam O' Shanter, as is my brother's house, as is my own den (I have managed to contain all of the Scottishness in one room of the house by sheer willpower). Oh, sorry, am I babbling? Have I mentioned how strong the drinks are? more ›

In a story today about the possible departure of the John Wayne statue from the front of Flynt Publications –- it may go to Newport Beach, the Glendale-raised Duke's longtime home -– LAT's Bob Pool gets this euphemized gem from porn magnate Larry Flynt:

From his publishing headquarters above the statue, Flynt said he wouldn't miss the Duke and his horse if they headed south. more ›

I know you haven't been to Gambrinus on the Redondo Pier and had their "Russian style hamburger" called belashi, which they describe as meat-filled fried bread. IF you have, skip this post... But if you haven't then what are you doing wasting your time with these stupid American hamburgers?! more ›

With lines wrapping around the Borders bookstore in Torrance, yesterday Slash signed autographs and stoked fans of all ages excited and holding a copy of his new aptly titled book, "Slash". Arriving at 7:45, I saw that if i wanted to get a signed copy of Slash's book, i was going to have to wait in a line to get into the line that zig-zagged through the bookstore. I am not that patient, and... more ›

Glass shards and hacked up pieces of plastic are all that remain of Redondo Beach's Pier's light poles which had to be cut down after one of the poles fell from todays strong winds. The poles are made of plastic, and have been aging in the sun for years. Once one pole fell, the city decided the rest had to come down NOW, before someone gets hurt, and more importantly before this potentially injured... more ›

E-40 @ Vault 350 Reagan Youth @ The Knitting Factory Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult @ Pacific Amphitheatre Poison, Ratt @ Verizon MF Doom @ El Rey Squeeze @ Grove of Anaheim Burning Spear, Sly & Robbie, The Taxi Gang and Wailing Souls Reunion @ Hollywood Bowl Mike Stinson, Jake La Botz, Sarah Stanley, Mike Freas @ The Echo (free) The Short Necked Drafts, Apocalipstick, End, Alter Reality, Girls Night In @ The Whisky... more ›

James Marshall isn't dropping the name DALEK, he says, "This just didn't feel like a DALEK kinda thing." Whatever kinda thing it is, LAist thinks it's awesome. We stopped by earlier today at the Merry Karnowski Gallery, where he will be exhibiting between August 4th through September 1st. more ›

Studio City may actually be what out-of-state folks are talking about when they imagine L.A. (I personally had always wondered...) Wide boulevards lined with palm trees and shops, neighborhoods yielding houses used on TV sitcoms, plaques on the sidewalk commemorating John Wayne films, and filming going on around nearly every corner; as Vankman said to Vigo, it's "the sweet life out in Southern California's beautiful San Fernando valley". For Los Angelenos, it's either a... more ›

Despite our weekend report that the California Patients Group was doing all that it could to stay open, and continue to aid the sick and the needy with care and medical cannibis, they will be closing their doors. Here is a portion of an email sent out today from Coordinator Don Duncan: more ›

In the face of DEA raids, and LAPD cooperation with the feds, the California Patients Group (one of the 10 raided dispensaries) released this statement to it's patients: The campaign to defend safe access to medical cannabis is a risky one, and we have always known we could face the wrath of our federal government for taking a principled stand for people suffering from AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other serious illnesses. Yesterday [July... more ›

Today the DEA raided 10 marijuana dispensaries, made five arrests, and seized large quantities of marijuana and cash. All of this taking place the same day the Los Angeles City Council whipped out an ordinance calling for the federal government to stop singling out marujuana clinics that are legal under state law. more ›

Packing the house, Pigeon John got silly-tastic his first time headlining the Troubadour Friday July 20th (yesterday). He had DJ Chief XL, of Blackalicious fame, keeping the beats-a-bangin and the wax-a-scratchin. The above video is from almost the end of his set, of which was an hour long, and fun as hell. Pigeon John is the kind of hip-hop show you would bring your non-rap friends to, so that you could convert them into hip-hoppers, cuz they would see that it's not all about bling and whatever crunk is. more ›

Last night Little Radio hosted Spoon and John Vanderslice in their dusty sweaty warehouse located Downtown LA. Little Radio also webcast the show, and Dewer's Whiskey as a co-sponsor kept the free drinks flowing. more ›

Thursday July 12, 2007 kicked off the first of three concerts being put on for free by Zune. Zune is a machine that can hold songs and videos, and even lets you share them with your buddies. The Concert was a daytime event centering around eating lots of things drenched in BBQ sauce while listening to some of the biggest rappers bust out for the crowd. It was great!@#&*^@ The event was at the... more ›

A Word or 53: Idol and Lost finish up tonight. Am pleased to see Apolo win DWTS - 24 ended with a 'blah' and as you can see we have very little in the way of new programming. Enjoy the unending Dukefest on TCM. I guess this time of year is why we have baseball to watch. Tonight - Wednesday - May 23, 2007 John Wayne's 100th Birthday (TCM, ALL DAY) Nothing but John... more ›

700 extra hours -- yes, you read that correctly -- from David Lynch's Inland Empire have been culled into a documentary about David Lynch that is titled Lynch and is being pimped to international buyers at Cannes by Lynch himself. -Cinematical more ›

Grindhouse The Girl from Starship Venus (AKA The Sexplorer) is a space nudie starring Monika Ringwald as an astronaut from Venus who lands in London's swinging Soho district circa 1975. Her mission? To research sex customs on the planet Earth. This is paired with The Legend of the Wolf Woman, a 1976 horror film from Italy whose title pretty much says it all. A beautiful woman seeks men out, has sex with them then turns... more ›

A Word or 14: Supposedly the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert have the week off - how dare they?! I may have to resort to watching PBS, or, godhelpus, the local news. Today - Monday - February 19th, 2007 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (TCM, 5:00 p.m.) John Ford's '62 classic with James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Lee Van Cleef, John Carradine and practically everyone else who was alive at... more ›

Apparently, no one told Scott Michaels not to play with dead things. Especially celebrities. For the past decade Scott has made a most unusual career out of the stories, death locations, and objects of celebrities who have sauntered off to that great Swifty Lazar after party in the sky. more ›

Attention LAXers, BURbankinos, ONTarioids, John Wayne SNAholes and LGBeachettes… !! Six airlines announced yesterday that they will be adding iPod connections to their fleet of big Tylenols. For those flying the friendly skies on United, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and Air France you will soon have the power to run and charge your iPod while in flight, as well as watch videos on the seat-back display of the fidgety, sweaty guy in front of... more ›

When Denver Pastor Ted Haggard finally admitted to being a homosexual, many of us scratched our heads when we read yesterday that he is now in the process of being "Spiritually Restored." For some, finally coming clean and admitting a lifelong secret is the spiritual restoration itself. But when you're surrounded by people who grew up during a time when homosexuality was considered an illness and unlike any other "sin" in your bible, you... more ›