Photo by highervision via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr As of right now, the weather forecast for the weekend is looking pretty good with temperatures in the high 60s and partly cloudly skies. And to boot, it's a three-day weekend for lucky bunch of local government workers -- Caesar Chavez Day is on Monday. Last week, an effort to make the holiday national launched. You too could get the day off in respect for......

Photo by tom.julio via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr TALK Throw on a hoodie and some comfy pants and head out now to make the 2 p.m. start of the Radical Women's International Women’s Day Celebration talk called "Art, Media & Revolution – Three Feminist Visionaries Speak Out." Panelists include artist Susana De Leon, poet Ashley Love, and journalist Amanda Rossi. If getting in touch with your inner grrrrrl makes you hungry,......

Bikes and graffiti are on tap for today. / Photo by Lush.i.ous via LAist's flickr pool. GRAFFITI ART Ghettogloss presents the graffiti art of Jersey Joe in Silverlake. The exhibit runs until March 20, but the opening reception is tonight from 7-midnight. 7 pm // Ghettogloss // 2380 Glendale Blvd #C, Los Angeles // Free. RIDE & TALK * RIDE-Arc monthly ride -- themed "Trolly" -- happens tonight. The group rides along for awhile......

The UCLA Bruins were gifted their third consecutive Pac-10 title by the referees in their game against the #7 Stanford Cardinal. With less than two seconds to go at the end of regulation Darren Collison drove to the basket and pulled up for a five-footer. Lawrence Hill went up and blocked the shot. Replays clearly showed that Hill got all ball and absolutely no body contact. So of course Hill got called for the......

Artist: Rakim Album: The Archive: Live, Lost & Found Label: Koch Records Release Date: 03/04/08 There’s not much to say after mentioning that Rakim released a new album, The Archive Live, Lost & Found, which has live performances of some of Rakim’s biggest hits and new, unreleased tracks. Even the novice hip-hop fan will know that this album is a bona fide crowd pleaser, with nothing even coming close to being comparable, well, that is,......

Prior to his 1993 death, legendary guitarist Albert Collins played a rare second show at Montreaux and yesterday--after a 15 year wait--that show (Collins' last recorded concert) finally came to DVD. Despite his poor health, the Master of the Telecaster plays a loose, fun show as he burns through "Iceman", "Honey Hush", "Lights Are On (But Nobody's Home)", "If You Love Me Like You Say", "Too Many Dirty Dishes", "Put The Shoe On The......

Sherman Oaks and South LA made national news yesterday when a Los Angeles native, now based in Oregon, became the latest decried author who penned a fraudulent memoir. Yes, Margaret Seltzer grew up in the Valley, no Margaret B. Jones (her non de plume) did not gangbang in South Central as her book said. Today, the fallout came in the form of experts giving quotes to the media about this reoccurring theme. What first comes......

A 33-year-old white woman from Sherman Oaks, now living in Eugene, Oregon, has made national headlines today as news comes that her memoir was largely fabricated. Last week, Margaret Seltzer who goes by the pen name Margaret B. Jones was featured in the New York Times' Home & Garden section in a fascinating story about her book, "Love and Consequences." One LAist reader explains her fascination about it in an e-mail: I read the home......

"hang" | Photo by xxjetlab via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr THEATRE Members of the Towne Street Theatre are on stage tonight in a double bill. First is The 10 Minute Play Festival, which features plays ranging from comedy to satire to drama brought to you by 23 actors and 9 director. Second is PassingSOLO, a one-woman show based on their play version of Nella Larsen's 1927 novella Passing. There will be......

And you thought your monthly rent was high... TMZ has gotten their hands on some paperwork form Love Shack Trust sent to Britney Spears over her Malibu rental home. Says TMZ: "The documents, dated February 14, states that Brit was more than two weeks late in paying her $35,000-a-month rent. A $2,100 late charged kicked in, which was not paid. The documents state that Love Shack must either pay up or "surrender and deliver up......

Zombie Joe's Underground takes on "The Raven" and other Poe stories tonight. / Photo by Ctd 2005 via flickr. FILM The Silent Movie Theatre concludes its “Love Hurts” series with the noir-ish tearjerker Brief Enounter. Directed by David Lean, Brief Encounter deals with an illicit affair between a housewife and a married doctor. A train station serves as a prominent backdrop for their weekly trysts. 8 pm // Silent Movie Theatre // 611 N.......

Don't be angsty like this lady...go out tonight! / Photo by Plankton 4:20 via LAist's flickr pool. FILM “Animation Nite: From Halifax with Love” is a program at the Echo Park Film Center that features short animated and semi-animated films by women who’ve all lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, eh. The screening includes work by host Siloën Daley and six others. Music by local band Foot Foot follows. 7:30 // Echo Park Film......

Earlier this month, San Diego-based singer/songwriter Tristan Prettyman (MySpace) and G. Love & Special Sauce (MySpace) performed a two-night stint at the House of Blues in West Hollywood as part of their current tour. The duo collaborated on the song "Beautiful", from G. Love's album Lemonade, which was performed last year on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Prettyman, who has been referred to as "the female Jack Johnson," also collaborated on the Lindsay Lohan-themed......

UCLA was almost overtaken by the Oregon Ducks today, but managed to rally back in the second half to win. I am no sports writer, and I'm not going to pretend to be, so this is how it went in my world. UCLA turned the ball over what seemed to be about 9 billion times (actually 12) and were playing like molasses in the first half. They let the shot clock run down to......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. The 2009 Toyota Corolla, which encourages you to "Live the Dream for Less Coin." Kanye West at the Staples Center, the third show they've added in L.A.! Other People's Love Letters, the book where you can see 150 love letters you were never meant to see. Joe Jackson's Rain, available now on Amazon.com. Busted Tees, which introduces three new designs a......

The sixth-ranked Bruins demolished the Oregon State Beavers 84-49. The game was over within the first 30 seconds when Darren Collison hit a three-pointer to start the game to keep the Beavers winless in the Pac-10. Kevin Love was a rebound short of his 16th double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, and Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook and Lorenzo Mata-Real rounded out the players scoring double digits. The big point of concern is the sudden......

Love Pretzels? Love Indie Rock? Often find yourself torn between these two passions like the protagonist in some kind of terrible 80s R&B song about adultery and not wanting to be right? If that's you, then your tactile sensations love triangle is over. Tonight, Classical Geek Theatre and LA Underground are bringing together the sweet sound of indie rock and the soft salty goodness of some of LA's best Pretzels. It's at the Scene bar......

Soulicious is having a party. Come join us for a night of thumping beats, art, performances, and fun....

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. The 2009 Toyota Corolla, which encourages you to "Live the Dream for Less Coin." Kanye West at the Nokia Theater, tickets went on sale today! Other People's Love Letters, the book where you can see 150 love letters you were never meant to see. Joe Jackson's Rain, available now on Amazon.com. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, the new album that's available now. Busted......

Van Hunt plays the Temple Bar tonight, Feb. 19 and March 6 | Photo via his MySpace page In an e-mail early, early, early this morning, McCabe's announced something unexpected: The Swell Season will be playing tomorrow night in the guitar shop's intimate performance space. You may not recognize the band's name, but you know them as Irish singer Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Marketa Irglova from the movie Once. The gig got booked......

Love is in the air tonight. / Photo by lush.i.ous via flickr. Ahhh luuuurve is in the air. Need some last-minute ideas for the Hallmark-inspired holiday? Yes, tonight’s Valentine’s Day and here are a few different ideas that will beat flowers and candy any day. ART To coincide with the opening of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) at LACMA this weekend, “Women in the City” selected to exhibit four prominent contemporary artists (Cindy......

Romantic poetry pasted on a phone pole near Western and Franklin | Photo is reader submitted Any girl or boy who would love to have received a Valentine's Day present like this is a girl or boy for LAist's love. Above is the middle of a poem, or more accurately, number 8 of 15 parts of the poem pasted on poles around LA. It's like a scavenger hunt, or at least a good lengthy......

Photo by emdot via Flickr. Today being Valentine's Day in the City of Los Angeles, what better day than today to extol the virtues of the great City on a day when a date means so much? So, what follows are five simple reasons that the City of L.A. makes a better date: 1. L.A. goes slow 2. L.A. has many cultures and claims them all 3. L.A. is shapely (have you ever taken......

Remember that episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy and Ethel get a job in a chocolate factory? Of course you do! Along with the grape-stomping scene, it is one of the classics of physical humor. The conveyor belt in the Edelweiss Chocolate Factory, located right in the center of downtown Beverly Hills, was the inspiration for that scene. Edelweiss has a huge selection of chocolate-dipped fruit, including some unusual selections like mango and......

Monday Michael Pollan and Barry Glassner discuss In Defense of Food 7pm @ Central Library Cindy Pierce and Edie Thys Morgan presents Finding the Doorbell 7pm @ Book Soup Tuesday Traci Slatton presents Immortal 6:30pm @ Metropolis Books Joe McGinniss and special guest Bret Easton Ellis present The Delivery Man 7pm @ Book Soup Terri Cheney discusses and signs Manic: A Memoir 7pm @ Vroman's Gary Goldberg presents Sit, Ubu, Sit 7pm @ Dutton's......

We've all been through our share of love-related misery, but probably most of us can look back on our teen years as the most horrific of them all, from unrequited love, tumultuous off-and-on romances, first times, moral dilemmas, and passionate moments amplified by the pure drama of adolescence. This is precisely what the folks from Mortified bring to their readers in their second book, Love is a Battlefield, assembled by Mortified guru and editor David......

You still have time to take part in the Lunar New Year festivities in Chinatown today! CELEBRATE THE YEAR OF THE RAT The annual Lunar New Year Festival continues today in Chinatown. Catch pan- Asian entertainers including Chinese acrobats, as well as Thai dancers and Taiko drummers. Food, games, children’s activities, and more will also be on tap during the free festival. Until 5 p.m. // Chinatown // Free FUNDRAISER BASH! OPEN BAR! The......

UCLA 67, Washington State 59 - The #5 Bruins returned a favor by knocking off the #17 Cougars on their home court. Darren Collison scored all 18 of his points in the second half and Kevin Love had 16 on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. UCLA improves to 21-2 overall, and at 9-1 in the Pac-10 hold on to first place by a game over Stanford. USC 73, Washington 59 - USC looked strong in......

So the big V-Day is only a week away -- and if you're anything like me, you're making reservations for a fabulous spot and forcing your boyfriend to take you out to dinner. He's gonna take me out, he's gonna express his undying love for me through the purchase of an expensive meal of my choosing, and he's gonna like it.* Thankfully, there are a lot of great Valentine's dinner options in L.A. --......

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford didn't exactly set the box-office on fire when it landed in theaters. Something tells me, though, that this superb, meditative neo-Western will enjoy a long life on DVD. Across the Universe is the world's longest music video and a treat for any Beatles fan (and only for Beatles' fans!). Elizabeth - The Golden Age was unexpectedly ripped by critics.......