Unrelated photo of Ben & Jerrys' shipment of dry ice via AmyMo's flickr. *UPDATE, Monday, March 10, 11:10 a.m.: The woman was on dry ice, apparently for 'religious reasons' and does not appear to be murdered. Full story can be found here.What killed a 33-year-old woman discovered packed in dry ice in the Newport Beach hotel room of a cocaine dealer? The few details are embarrassing sketchy at best pending CSI-style detectivery. The body......

So can fans really make a difference? Word has it that enough fans got through to NBC for them to keep the high school football-romance-drama "Friday Night Lights" on the air through a partnership with DirecTV. This gives one hope that a group of people can make a difference but then disappointment that truly great shows like "Arrested Development" couldn't make the cut. Speaking of which, Will Arnett is on Jimmy Kimmel tonight - Arnett......

PaleyFest08 announced today that they’re hosting an X-Files retrospective with series creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz on March 26. But if that doesn’t bust out your inner Mulder or Scully, then how’s this? Attendees will also get a sneak peek at The X-Files sequel planned for a summer release. Now in its 25th year, The William S. Paley Television Festival, is one of best television events of the year. Fans can......

"...And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming" by kpe II via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Newly elected state speaker, a Democrat named Karen Bass who was raised in Los Angeles, has made friends on both sides of the aisle, the LA Times said. She is the first African-American to assume the top spot and has some pretty lofty goals, including providing healthcare and improving education. Wait, those are things EVERY......

Photos by Zach Behrens/LAist It's a sad day week for those who frequent Fairfax Village, for those who need a late-night nosh alternative to Canter's Deli, or for those who love some vegan pizza -- Nova Express Cafe announced (letter below) that they are closing their doors this Wednesday at 2 a.m. (not be too confusing, that would officially be Thursday, 3 hours in). According to Cary Long, the owner of the Sci-Fi 15-year-old......

HISTORY It's happening right now until 4 p.m. today, so check out some of the over 200 Los Angeles area focused historical organizations over at Heritage Sqaure (right off the Gold Line). More info at an earlier LAist post. 12-4:00 p.m. // Heritage Square // 3800 Homer Street, LA, California 90031 // $10 FILM Walk Cheerfully screens tonight in the Cinefamily Asian Sunday series. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, the 1930 film blends multiple genres and......

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is always kicked off by a ceremony that awards one book in each key category with a Book Prize. The nominees in each category were just announced and we're both thrilled and a tad flummoxed by some of their picks, listed below. We're mostly pleased to see that the usual suspects, who have made up every other book awards list this year, are noticeably absent. This list doesn't......

Hey, you know what's great? Hot dogs! You know what's even better? A new hot dog stand in a college neighborhood! Encino favorite The Stand has just opened a new location in Westwood, bringing a new flavor to UCLA's backyard. As a former Westwood resident, I can definitely tell you that there's always room for another cheap, unique, and fast eatery in town, and The Stand looks like it will deliver the hot doggy......

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......

Has anyone seen the cobra I just bought? | Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Wes Anderson doesn't have many casual fans. You either love the strange worlds of whimsy he creates or you find it all a bit precious and twee. Count me in the former camp and count The Darjeeling Limited as a return to form for Anderson after the ambitious but foggy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Next generation 3-D isn't......

Is this the best seat in the house? | Photo by neonspecs via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr TV: WATCH THE OSCARS LAist's own TV Junkie has already given us the deets (and some alternatives), but in case you missed it, the 80th Annual Academy Awards are tonight, live from our very own Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Settle into your favorite spot in front of your tee vee and tune in along......

The first rule of Monday Night Fight Klub: Leave the dancing to the stars and the singing to wannabe idols. The MTV2 show is auditioning rap stars to be on the show’s second season. So if you think you can represent the West Coast and do LA proud, then Fight Klub's creators want to hear (or see) your best 60-second a cappella rhymes in their “60 Second Assassin” contest. The best emcees will get......

DANCE The State Ballet of Georgia arrives for their Los Angeles premiere at UCLA's Royce Hall to perform Giselle. This historic Russian dance company is taking on a classic, with Nina Ananiashvili in the spotlight as the company's artistic director and prima ballerina in the title role. 8 p.m. // Royce Hall, UCLA // Westwood Plz at Charles E Young Dr S// (310) 825-2101 // $20 - 90 SPOKEN WORD It's an Anything Goes Open......

Tonight is the night to break out that special bottle of vino and head over to one of more than 20 LA-area restaurants that are obliterating the corkage fee in honor of "Open That Bottle Night." The foodie-minded folks over at EaterLA asked around and came up with a list of dining spots who are willing to forgo their usual $20-$35 fee for one night only so that diners could have a special meal to......

Photo by _e.t. via Flickr Whether you are a carnivore or herbivore, the question these days is about your locavore status. Does the word sound familiar to you? It won the 2007 New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year Award. Via VegNews Magazine: If you really want to lighten your carbon footprint, don' just go vegan, go locavore. That means buying food locally to avoid the burning of fossil fuels entailed by long-distance......

Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company George A. Romero pioneered the zombie genre when he wrote and directed the seminal Night of the Living Dead in 1968. He would later go on to make Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985) and Land of the Dead (2005). His latest undead picture, Diary of the Dead hits theaters today after successful screenings at the Toronto and Sundance film festivals. Actor Shawn Roberts......

Jordan McConnell of The Duhks | Photo via thir Myspace page Willie Nelson may be playing downtown tonight, but if you want some folk rock that's local and amazingly fresh, go hear Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies. We heard them last week at their first show of their Hotel Cafe February residency and it was in-your-face and beautiful. But you've got a tough choice if you like this kind of music because when......

Photo courtesy of Miramax When was the last time an actor executed a more profound career turnaround than Casey Affleck? Gone Baby Gone is his second superb performance of the year. If you don't see it for him, see it for Amy Ryan's breakout, Oscar-nominated turn. The mere presence of the divine Anne Hathaway makes Becoming Jane worth renting. James McAvoy was better in this than in the over-hyped (but still good) Atonement. No......

Twilight Sleeps is one of the bands that opens for Pity Party tonight at Spaceland | Photo by Joya Martuscello Sometimes Monday nights lead to tough choices. For Jax at Rock Insider, it's between The Pity Party (who we interviewed this morning) and The Henry Clay People. Luckily, both bands are playing all month. Still, there are many choices. If you like your music Folk, your drinks cheap and have never been to Joe's......

Flavor Flav Roast Highlights on FunnyOrDie.com What could be a better Valentine than telling your loved one that you ordered the Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav for them? I think the purpose of the above highlight reel is to see how many times they can get the word "pussy" into a highlight reel. Hopefully the WGA East and WGA West can help finalize a deal this weekend. Word has it that if they decide......

KNX1070 is reporting that "a police manhunt is ongoing West of a Washington Mutual bank at Ventura and Topanga Canyon in Woodland Hills. Authorities are searching for two armed kidnapping suspects." Things were something close to touch-and-go late this afternoon on the Blue Line near 5501 S Long Beach Ave when a female pedestrian fell near the tracks as a train passed by, but did not have any direct contact with the train itself.......

Have you had enough of $5 coffee? $99 burgers? $125 martinis? I know I am -- doesn't anybody in this city want to find the cheapest drinks, meals, and booze? Los Angeles Magazine comes through this month with a feature on great deals and bargain finds on everything from martinis to furniture to underpants. We went straight for the food section, of course -- and here are our top food bargain picks from the......

Am in a post-Super Bowl stupor. The commercials were so-so, I wasn't unduly impressed, and the halftime show was terrible, they practically had to frickin' wheel Tom Petty and his aging cronies out there. Going for it on 4th and 13?? That made me almost as sick as the above clip. 8:30pm Duty Free TV: Unbeatable Banzuke/Super Big Product Fun Show G4 - Series Premiere. The series is a combination of Super Big Product......

Pity Party at Little Radio on New Years Eve | Photo by Koga/LAist Despite it being Superbowl Sunday, February residencies got off to a great start last night with Alex & Sam at Tangier. Tonight is the first night of February residencies at Spaceland, Silverlake Lounge, Crash Mansion and The Echo/Echoplex. By last Thursday, The Airborne Toxic Event had gained so much popularity from their January residency, they had to reject 300 people from......

What are your favorite breakfast spots in Los Angeles? Who's got the best cup of coffee? The yummiest pancakes? The thickest slabs of bacon? Who's overrated and who's overlooked? We're determined to find out -- so wake up with us, won't you? Enjoy L.A.'s Best Breakfasts!!!...

The Lost premiere is the biggest TV event of this very young year, hands down. In other news, Bloomberg says that Fox has sold it's Super Bowl ad slots in record time to the tune of $225 million - recession? What recession? 8:00pm Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares BBCA - Ramsay heads to Paris to save France. TV Junkie 8:00pm Pick 9:00pm Lost ABC - Season Premiere. TV Junkie Pick O' The Night. 9:00pm Celebrity Apprentice NBC......

The Airborne Toxic Event at soundcheck (see more photos here) | Photo by Koga/LAist It's the fifth Thursday of the month and this is your last chance to see The Airborne Toxic Event in their January Spaceland residency. KROQ and Indie 103.1 both added their song "Sometime Around Midnight" to their rotations last week and Airborne hears this is the first time in about 15 years KROQ has done this with an unsigned band......

I'm feeling it a little bit, yes, definitely am looking forward to the LOST premiere on Thursday night. Maybe make some chicken teriyaki and some tropical drinks, perhaps in a real coconut shell, yeah, that's the ticket. Also, did anyone catch Cosby on Letterman last night? The guy is brilliant. 9:00pm Myth Busters TLC - Debunking something about remote controlled planes as well as the "cockroach survival" theory 9:00pm Lost ABC - "New" super......

TALK Natalie Angier, New York Times reporter and author of Woman: An Intimate Geography, has written foreword to Full Body Project, the recently published book of photographs by Leonard Nimoy (yes Trekkies, Spock). The two will focus their Hammer Conversation on the concepts of beauty and sexuality. 7 pm // Hammer Museum // 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles // Free. MORE TALK As we read in Get Your Lit On, yesterday, Fritjof Capra talks with......

There's a few new shows and seasons starting this week, including the 2 hour premiere of "Lost" on Thursday but it all just feels like a build-up to the Super Bowl. 6:00pm State of the Union Address VARIOUS - Unless he gets the Constitution amended, this is his last one, time for a party. 9:00pm Intervention A&E - If you've been watching "Breaking Bad" the last couple weeks, here's the real deal on crystal meth......