Day 5 of the Writer's Strike was by far the most powerful. After being spread at various lots and productions throughout Los Angeles, all 3000+ members united in front of Fox Studios for a rally and march greater than any seen in the week old strike. They brought some help as well, with a mini performance from Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello who sang a "union song" and was then joined by RATM......

Sure, two members of Rage Against the Machine helped the writers rage, but this photo essay will focus more on the thousands of people who showed up to march, and the churros. Yes, churros of support were rolled into the Nakatomi Plaza for anyone who needed some churro love. And if people-watching is your thing, the Avenue of the Stars lived up to its name this morning. After the jump, a nice photo essay......

All your favorite writers of all your favorite shows gathered this morning around brunch at Fox Plaza to celebrate the first week of their strike. Some of the fellas from Rage Against the Machine showed up and played, Jesse Jackson pressed the flesh, and Tom Arnold heard there would be free food so he came too. Of course your pals LAist were there, so expect more team coverage from insiders, actual striking writers, and......

This weekend is one of those weekends where--if you love movies--you'll be hard-pressed to choose which one (or two) to see. Most will probably settle on American Gangster, and I don't see anything wrong with that. Couple two powerhouse actors (Denzel & Crowe) with a reliable director (Ridley), add a compelling story that has slipped through the cracks for years and you have what looks to be a great, studio picture. If, like the......

A lotta hungover people in Boston today, no doubt - and with that drama, who the eff was watching the GOP debate? I don't really care about that much this week other than the Damages finale tomorrow night, but first things first. Late night's a bust with almost 100% repeats tonight. Did you catch last night's Curb Your Enthusiasm? Hilarious that Larry David's fictional wife is also leaving him - brilliant too. 8:00pm Chuck NBC......

Though its title suggests exceedingly humble aspirations, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With really is an unexpected little gem. Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin writes, directs, produces and stars (whew!) as the Marty-esque James, an overweight, under-employed, 39 year-old actor who still lives with his mother. His biggest concerns in life appear to be extolling the virtues of rice pudding to a convenience store clerk, keeping a great parking space near Wrigley Field......

HBO is kicking off the season with a slew of offerings, so for those of you moneybags who pay for premium TV, enjoy: 9:00pm Tell Me You Love Me HBO - This new sex drama, purportedly featuring actual X-rated penetration, is rapidly approaching overhyped status. Despite the hot and heavy action, supposedly it's very depressing but because of the sex I'm sure it will last at least a season. Now if only those poor Geico......

Now we're very confused. On Tuesday we reported that the Jewish Journal had written that the former Seinfeld star Michael Richards was not a member of the tribe. But this afternoon we read in Gothamist that the actor's newly hired PR man says that Richards is indeed Jewish. All of this stems from a new allegation that Richards once went on an anti-Semetic tirade on some audience members at The Improv in April. "He is......

More SAG Awards liveblogging. Watch out, Dakota is coming. 8:40 Outstanding actor in a comedic series: Sean Hayes takes it to Will and Grace, leaving William Shatner, James Spader and Larry David behind. 8:44 Ensemble comedy series: Arrested Development, Boston Legal, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Desperate Housewives, Everybody Loves Raymond, My Name is Earl. Which show has the most pretty ladies? Yep, they win. Four lavender dresses &mdashl but nobody told Nicolette. She's in green.(side note:she......

With all the talk of the downfall of the Los Angeles Times in recent weeks and even some previous discussion about what truly is the paper of record for most locals, we laughed out loud when one of the key plot points of this week's Curb Your Enthusiasm centered around the theft of Larry David's morning edition of the Times...the New York Times. Poor LA Times...you can't even be the most important news source......

Last night we watched the season premier of one of television's best shows - Curb Your Enthusiasm. We wondered going in if Larry David still had the magic touch which made the first four seasons both cutting edge and hilarious. Well, we're still enthusiastic about this show, as the episode did not disappoint. David remains sympathetically selfish, and the situations his character finds himself in are absolutely hysterical, yet strangely realistic. We loved watching......

With HBO's summer fare off the air, we've had a hole in our Sunday TV viewing. That all changes this Sunday when Larry David, Cheryl Hines and the rest of the wacky LA characters in their lives return for the 5th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. To celebrate Larry's neurotic revival, we're giving away 3 copies of the complete season 4 DVD collection. All you've got to do is answer a question about one......

LA Observed reports this morning about the huge blog v. blog argument currently going on between LA Weekly columnist Marc Cooper and Weekly freelancer Nikki Finke in regards to her recent attack on Arianna Huffington's brand new celebrity/political-centric blog, Huffington Post. As the hits have just been tallied up and around 8 million for the Huffington Post's first day, the question isn't whether or not Finke's goal in slapping Arianna on her first day......

After much discussion and publicity for Arianna Huffington's foray into celebrity group blogging, The Huffington Post launched this morning. It'll be interesting to see how timely the blog stays. Initial posts by the well known names cover well treaded topics like gay marriage and the death of Hunter S. Thompson. We will always appreciate any opportunity Harry Shearer has to take a closer look at the oddities and inaccuracies of news media and Laurie......

Have you ever been in the mood for a cashew? A plain old cashew, nothing fancy, or over the top. Chances are, you have been. As any mixed nut assortment can attest, the cashew is the most sought after nut, edging out all others in the battle for top nut. Not even the pecan nor the Brazil nut can compete. How many times have you ever picked through a huge can of mixed nuts,......

The City Council seems set to do everything in its power to keep the city of L.A. a Wal-Mart-free zone. Two council committees approved a new ordinance that will require big box retailers to pay for an economic analysis for any potential new store. Councilmember Ed Reyes expects Wal-Mart to sue the city in response to the legislation. [LAT] Juan Catalan, the man who was exonerated by Larry David's stock footage, is suing the city......

LA Theater geeks, rejoice! Three quirky shows are running at local theaters until mid-August. Precursor to professional curmudgeons like Larry David, Denis Leary, Lenny Bruce and H.L. Mencken, journalist Ambrose Bierce made everyone see the humor in misanthropy. TV regular John Billingsley brings the famous 19th Century pisspot and provocateur to life in “Bitter Bierce, or the Friction We Call Grief,” now playing at the Zephyr Theater in conjunction with Bonita Friedericy’s one-woman show,......

Jimmy the Kid works to suck up to Larry David as he backs a plan to allow hybrid vehicles to park at metered spots for free. The move, proposed to the Council by electric car enthusiast and all-around slick dude Eric Garcetti, is designed to inspire people to buy low emission vehicles. Combine this with the press conference announcing fix-ups a few intersections (which, as some have noted, is just the continuation of an existing......

The San Jose Mercury News had a totally condescending article yesterday titled "Los Angeles, San Joaquin lead nation in particulate pollution." Well lah-de-dah, San Jose! I guess we just weren't aware that our air could get pretty dirty! At least we get to wash down all those particulates with a sparkling glass of fresh (and stolen) NoCal water. The AP report says that "paved road dust" was among the biggest sources of pollution in this......

Sunday marked another excellent episode of HBO's Six Feet Under. While LAist has always had a supreme affection for the The Sopranos, SFU keeps getting better and better. The show succeeds in part because it illustrates Los Angeles in all its kaleidoscopic glory - ranging from Nate's short fling with a Westside divorcee ("I have to meet someone at the Grove!") to Federico's ill-advised philandering with an exotic dancer. Larry David's misadventures on Curb Your......