Math geeks and school children everywhere are wishing each other a Happy Pi Day today: that's right, it's March 14th, or 3/14, the first three digits of the mathematical constant π, which represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. (Math geeks everywhere are also scoffing at the Saganian/Aronofskian notion that the numbers in pi reveal some esoteric, kabbalistic secret, while those school children are all happy just to be measuring and......

Photo of the 605 Freeway by billaday via Flickr It's about time. As of today, NYC Streets Renaissance's StreetsBlog has officially franchised out to our city, that is, you know, duhhhh, full of streets and the love and hate of them. NYC Blogger Aaron Naparstek welcomes the LA Editor and so do we! LA.Streetsblog is edited and run by Damien Newton, formerly the New Jersey Coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and a recent......

Shelby Lynne will be performing songs recorded by Dusty Springfield (of 'Son of a Preacher Man' fame) tonight at Amoeba at 7 p.m. It can get bit tight and uncomfortable over there, so if you just want to watch from the comfort of your home, well, there'll be a webcast. Here's Lynne playing at a live session on KCRW back in October. &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/zfiles/shelbylynnekcrw.mp3"> Shelby Lynne @ Amoeba Music Drug Rug @ Spaceland Johnny Polanco y......

Photo courtesy of travelin librarian via flickr One of my favorite films of 2007 arrives to DVD today, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I know what some of you are thinking--why would I want to watch a documentary about grown men competing at Donkey Kong? To that question I can only say, "Trust me. You won't be sorry." Like all great films, King of Kong is about much more than its......

Sometimes Monday nights in Los Angeles are rather lacking for good music. But tonight there is something to celebrate for everyone and as Liz Ohanesian pointed out last month in LA Weekly, if you look east of Vermont, "Mondays have provided the best way for checking out upcoming local groups without busting our budgets." ... Monday-night residencies have become “part of the culture” of the Silver Lake–area nightlife. These free, weekly gatherings have created a......

In 1966, Huey Newton & Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party. A militia organization, made up of black men & women to fight for their rights, and defend themselves against “capitalist pigs” (the US government). In the politically charged-era of the civil rights movement, the party reached out to their wide membership, with distribution of a newspaper entitled The Black Panther. The publication featured regular artwork from its Minister of Culture, graphic artist Emory......

George Bush issued the fourth veto of his presidency today, nixing a bill that would have provided insurance to poor children. Bush said the program was too costly, apparently cool with the fact that the Iraq war now costs over $455-billion. That's B for billion. And B for Bitch. Curbed LA takes a gander at a new development planned for West LA. In as much as the structure looks like a monument to cubism,......

A recent 911 call about George Clooney's motorcycle crash in New Jersey has been made public. The operator seems quite confused - TMZ Uh Oh - do we have another celeb heading to rehab? Pamela Anderon's friends are concerned about her hard partying ways, drinking and doing damage to her liver when she already has Hep C (Thanks Tommy) - NY Post Bridget Moynihan poses for OK magazine with new baby boy, John, fathered by......

Pink Martini @ Hollywood Bowl Wayne Newton @ Cerritos Center Built to Spill @ Henry Fonda Theater Cinematic Orchestra @ El Rey Maria Muldaur @ Boulevard Music Tower of Power @ Pomona Fairplex The Blessings, Backbiter, Ten-Ors, Deadbeat Sinatra @ Safari Sam's......

The Associated Press wrote today that Rosie O'Donnell is meeting with CBS to discuss potentially becoming the next host of the Price is Right. All she has to do is beat out the likes of cable entertainment news show hosts Todd Newton and Mark Steines. I don't know about you, but just the thought of Rosie O’Donnell moving to Los Angeles and taking over this iconically glittery game show makes me giddy. Even Bob......

5. The Melbourne, Australia-based sextet will perform a high-energy, boogie-inducing set featuring songs from their third LP, "Places Like This" (due August); so if you've seen them before, it's time to go back for more. AIH incorporates what's best described as Australian bush yelping reminiscent of early Midnight Oil while managing to sound at times like the B-52s, Gang of Four, Devo, and Talking Heads. Oh, and vocalist / multi-instrumentalist Kellie Sutherland has a most......

Are you old enough to be nostalgic for "Car Toons" comics? Or young enough to wonder what the deal is with Rat Fink? Tonight's art opening for original Big Daddy Roth artwork at La Luz De Jesus is a can't miss event for children of all ages. Big Daddy Roth's characters fathered a movement Howie Pyro refers to as lowbrow/pop surrealism. Roth mentored and inspired artists such as Robert Williams and Ed Newton, not......

We may not have a football team, but we have American Idol. Last night, Los Angeles welcomed home its own. AI in LA ! Starring: Paula’s cleavage! Olivia Newton Sandy Xanadu John! Mr. Jackson’s snazzy pink and white striped shirt! And charmer extraordinaire, Simon “I’m not being rude, but…” Cowell! This epidode opened on an epileptic panther-man with megalomaniacal ambitions and wild assertions, who got all Cold Hearted Snake on the stairs while making......

Last night was Emmy Night. So what did first time amateur ghost hunter/enthusiast, Bekka Reed, do? Go ghost hunting at the Chateau Marmont, which is rumored to be haunted. Did she have any luck, or were there just too many celebrities hanging around after the Emmys? You went out to find ghosts, any luck? Felt definite energy, but no manifestations. I saw many celebrities, but I suck with names. If Heath Ledger weren’t so......

He is Angelina Jolie's uncle, Jon Voight's younger brother, he wrote the Troggs (and Hendrix, X, etc.) tune "Wild Thing", Janis's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)", and Juice Newton's "Angel of the Morning" and gave it all up to be a professional gambler. Now he tours around with a super-hot singer/violinist Carrie Rodriguez. James Wesley Voight aka Chip Taylor is at McCabe's tonight with Rodriguez Dead Meadow, The Ponys, Midnight Movies, Icarus Line,......

The Silverlake band Viva K has uploaded a video for their song "Does It Matter." It's a good song. The video has plenty of good LA-spotting, including a lovely dowtown rooftop sunset. But we're stunned by the retro-headband. You tell us: ironic goodness or scary return to Let's-Get-Physical-era Olivia Newton John? Or both?......

Today City Councilman Greig Smith will propose new housing and pension incentives to help boost the LAPD's flagging recruitment efforts. Hmm... will the success of Crash have any effect? Matt Dillon's LAPD officer is a prick, but he's also kind of heroic, and he gets to handle Thandie Newton. The streets of the Valley are having their own crashes: hit-and-runs are up. Surface streets and highways together total to more than 9,000 in 2005.......

Figs have become the fruit of current interest for us. We know that in years past our hands have grabbed a sticky "fruit-and-cake" Fig Newton or two, but it wasn't until recently, at the Taste of Italy event, that we realized the more sophisticated potential for figs. First we studied up a bit on figs. Turns out we're in mid fig season, and that our lovely state of California produces the most figs in......

TUESDAY • alaska! are performing a free in-store performance at Amoeba Music at 7 PM in support of their new album, Rescue Through Tomahawk. • Noisemakers Boredoms are performing with Soft Circle (Hisham from Black Dice) at the Knitting Factory. The show starts at 8 PM; tickets are $18 advance, $20 at the door. • The Huntington features a curated lecture and tour titled "All Was Light" by Caltech-ie Mordechai Feingold, discussing the contributions......

LAist would like to send one lucky winner a prize pack from the Lion's Gate release, Crash. Set in Los Angeles, Crash is about race relations and takes an unflinching look at how we all interact with each other. Crash opens in theatres on Friday, May 6th and stars Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillipe, Jennifer Esposito, Thandie Newton, Ludacris, Michael Pena and Larenz Tate. The Prize Pack includes a......