Midnight Ridazz are rolling with the alphabet tonight. / Photo by ~db~ via LAist’s flickr pool. SPOKEN WORD It’s Spoken Word night at the Echo Park Film Center, where artists and writers gather to read a range of work. “Past readings have included critical theory, fiction, drama, poetry, performance, erotica, excerpts from plays, poorly written ad copy promoting consumables, letters to your math teacher and more.” On the schedule tonight are writers/performers: Kim Calder,......

Randy Cruz was riding home from work when she was hit from behind by a motorist who then left her in the street as he drove off and hid in a parking lot. Randy was lucky. She wasn't alone. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and received stitches to her head. She's in pain but she's in good spirits and in great company! The motorist was apprehended as he hid and there......

Want a Wii this holiday season? Well toooooo fuckin bad. The best you can hope for is a rain check certificate that will entitle you to a console at some point in January. Even the Wii people themselves are now admitting what a mess they've made of manufacturing this thing. Two members of a terrorist cell have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to wage war: the splinter group was "was poised to attack......

TOYS FOR TOTS Everyone has that one special moment when it really starts to feel like Christmas. It might be shopping Thanksgiving weekend, baking cookies or buying the tree. For me, it is that magical moment while stuck in traffic when I am taken unawares by a phalanx of motorcycles zooming by carrying giant stuffed bears on the back. That is truly the spirit of Christmas. The bikers are part of an annual Toys for......

The white smoke flowed from the chimney, doves were released, and virgins scattered to deliver the Good News that the newest Editor of LAist is Zach Behrens. Valley boy Zach has been a contributer to this fine blog since 2005, he's an outdoorsman, he sits on the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, he's a vegetarian, he volunteers selflessly, and yes ladies, he's single. Softspoken, strong-willed, and determined to get you to ride public transportation, Zach......

On two different days, in two different articles the LA Times profiles two mass bicycle rides. On one side, the large and boisterous Midnight Ridazz who mostly stick to Los Angeles city streets. On the other is the Santa Monica Critical Mass. The outcome? Los Angeles is chill when it comes to dealing with the group rides. As for Santa Monica, as usual, everything from the height of your front yard hedges to a......

Because he's too shy (and way too busy) to announce it here himself, I am proud to do the honors: Zach Behrens has officially accepted the Editor position here at LAist and he'll be starting on December 17th. BloggingLA has the announcement, as well as a nice picture of the new editor's "Sexy Face." That's how you get your Canadian fanbase, Behrens!!! Rain. Please. Rain. Effects of the strike are starting to ripple out......

We listed tomorrow's Choppercabra costumed Halloween ride in our Weekend Halloween Guide, but this one takes some courage to post about because of where it's located. We'll let Midnight Ridazz explain: This ride will take you to two haunted houses. Don’t worry about the haunted houses, worry about where the haunted houses are located. Yes your worse nightmares are about to come true. Oh it looks all pristine, with nice houses and manicured lawns,......

Can we please do the OPPOSITE of adding fuel to these fires? A Sun Valley day laborer has been charged with arson after he was caught attempting to start a blaze in the Woodland Hills area earlier this week. Do you use your cell phone? Of course you do. The future of this important device lies in the hands of visionaries, such as the ones who are attending MobileCampLA on Sunday. And you too......

Fueled in part by the injustice described in this post, the Midnight Ridazz will get their protest on this morning at the crack of 7 in the morning. We meet at Vermont/Santa Monica Red Line Station at 7 am and ride at 7:30 am Two weeks ago a cyclist was assaulted by a motorist and then ticketed by a Beverly Hills cop. We think cyclists deserve better! Join us as we encourage Beverly Hills......

It was just a year ago that a small group of Valley kids started a Valley Midnight Ridazz contingent. Ten bicyclists met up and rode through the night. Now a year later, the Valley has its fair share... in one way at least. Last night proved the Valley is hardcore, or maybe just a little more crazy. More cops, more helicopters, more scents of weed, more beer, more angry drivers, more near fist fights and......

If you saw a group of nearly 1,000 bicyclists, many in clown attire, riding around town on Friday night, then you saw the Midnight Ridazz on their monthly ride enjoying the streets of our dear city. The 17.5 mile ride dipped south from Vermont/Hollywood to USC and weaved it's way back. But what could be one of the most enjoyable rides can also be dangerous as at least 5 accidents occurred. "I just left......

They called it the SORCERERS, WITCHES & GOBLINS Ride but we only saw one dude with a skull n ' bones flag. The best part of the video is seeing the dog enjoying the ride (or is it about to have a heart attack?). Next Midnight Ridazz: August 10, dubbed as The Clown Ride......

As reported earlier, last night's Midnight Ridazz rode the streets of downtown non-stop. The police car in the video is not an escort nor was it chasing other radio calls. It was just trying to get all the bike riders into one lane -- didn't work. Awesome junk music (styrofoam never dies) by Junkman (Donald Knaack)......

Last night's Midnight Ridazz was a blast, but those not on bikes probably did not think so, including the LAPD. One thing you have to know about the Midnight Ridazz is that the route is almost never announced until you arrive. In last night's case, the only map we received was of Zürich, Switzerland. It didn't make sense until you realized that the ride was dubbed Dada. Others tried to figure out acronyms like......

"It's insulting to take the bus" Wad at MetroRiderLA bemoans dumb people who write to the Daily News (MetroRiderLA) USC study explains the obvious, but for good measure According to a recent USC study, children who grow up near freeways will have double the risk of stunted lung development. So basically, it's saying that if you take the bus, you are not to blame for dead and deformed lung children (CBS2) Hope they add......

Oh man are the homeless going to be surprised when a gazillion adrenalined bike-enthusiasts descend upon the Santa Monica pier tonight to claim victory over their atmosphere-destroying counterparts. The Midnight Ridazz have organized an east to west, after dark, insect themed, seventeen mile, group ride that will start at LACC at 9pm sharp, and end at the pier at 12am, give or take. For those seeking a lesser journey in their ride, there is......

Sean Bonner is the co-founder of Metroblogging, which is the largest network of city-based blogs on the entire Interwebs -- with 50 cities under their masthead. When he's not launching new web ventures or contributing to blogging.la, he's running the Culver City art gallery sixspace with his wife Caryn, being Vegan, or riding his mountain bike while humming Ice Cube tunes. 1. name: Sean Bonner 2. birthplace: Washington DC 3. LA neighborhood you live......

Being the huge Midnight Ridazz fans that Blogging.la's Sean Bonner and Will Campbell are, we got a little curious and joined in on the action last Friday. Too many people to actually find the fellow bloggers (some say there were 1700, Sean says around 1300), we just chilled and enjoyed the ride. The Midnight Ridazz began in 2004 with an 18 mile Friday night ride of six cyclists and 2 skateborders. Founders say they......

Tonight is National Night Out. Do you know where your neighborhood night out is taking place? Bugs! Mosquitoes with West Nile at the Sepulveda Basin. A Japanese man is arrested at LAX for trying to sneak in rare butterflies. Black Widows are charged with killing homeless men. But these are no typical widows and LA's Homeless Blog is not happy. It's all about ordinances over at blogging.la: New Spay/Neuter Ordinance for Dogs & Fixed-Gear......

As of right now, we are en route to the Aqua Line (usually referred to as Expo Line) running between Downtown and Culver City. But city councilman Bernard Parks doesn't like it. And there are so many more choices: amber, copper, olive, plum, rose, sienna, gray, lemon, lime, pink, purple, salmon, sky, tan, teal and violet. What would you name it? The Amgen Tour of California bicycle race will finishline in Long Beach next......