O'Doul's was not their choice beer today | All Photos by Zach Behrens/LAist It was a beautiful day downtown this afternoon for the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Pershing Square celebration. Because most of the city has a job and today was a Monday, here is what happened, virtual style.........

Photo by Sister72 via Flickr It's 8:30 a.m. and by the count on this list, at least five Irish bars are open right now: Brennan's Pub, Casey's Irish Bar and Grille, Clancy's, O'Brien's Irish Pub, Patrick Molloys and Tom Bergin's Tavern. Whoops, make that six (derrr, the morning O'Doul's is already kicking in). Oh, speaking of that non-alcoholic beer, O'Douls is sponsoring the Pershing Sqaure celebration today starting at 11:00 a.m., which happens to......

The Lunar New Year has officially started, and pigs are like soooo last year. To usher in the Year of the Mouse and Rat, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles is hosting the 109th Annual Golden Dragon Parade and festival on February 9th and 10th. Performers from Beijing will lead the parade, followed by assorted city officials (Villaraigosa et al.), Mickey Mouse as grand Marshall, flower drum dances, a plethora of beauty queens,......

The Pasadena Star-News is looking for you. Or if there are problems to rant about in general throughout the SGV, then the San Gabriel Valley Tribune might be where you go. Or hey, same goes for Whittier and the Whittier Daily News. "It's a new year and we are on the lookout for letters to the editor. If you have a person that wants to write one, or is expressing an opinion on an......

Preparations for the Tournament of Roses Parade According to the LA Times, the National Weather Service is reporting that a windy a New Years Day Tuesday could have sustained winds of 25 mph and gusts of winds that could blow small children away at 50 mph. Luckily, though, "Pasadena itself will probably be sheltered from the worst of the wind." Rain is likely to come next, however, it's expected later in the week, letting......

James Jean signing at Gallery Nucleus....

This week we have been spotlighting KCRW djs and their favorite cds of this year. Yesterday we gave you Liza Richardson, before that Nic Harcourt and Tom Schnabel. This morning we bring you Anne Litt's list. Anne of course is the host of The A Track, and hers is the first list to include the Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. Let's see what else struck her fancy as we continue our parade of KCRW dj's......

Quick, yet deadly: this weekend's Malibu Fire is 90% contained. We thought NBC had a policy of not giving car chases attention, a respectable position to take. Those days must be over. Anyway, it's always interesting when a car chase gets off freeway at the exit by your house like the one this morning on the 101. That would make number eight on our list for witnessed car chases. More cost effective and more......

A complete listing of street and parking closures for the Sunday, Nov. 25th Holiday Parade in Hollywood. ...

When you find yourself sitting around the house (your house, your parent's house, your friend's house, the house of the weird person you met on the Goldline last week) over the long holiday weekend, you'll probably be too full of beer or wine or turkey or stuffing or pumpkin pie to do much of anything besides sit on the couch and stare at whatever's in front of you. Which is fine - if you're into......

Judges, Queen Hopefuls, and ALL the Doo Dah Parade Entries! Let’s PACK the place for a blast of a party and COME AS YOU ARE to the… DOO DAH DAY PARTY AND QUEEN TRYOUTS! SUNDAY, November 18th from 1:00pm till ? TRYOUTS begin at @ 2:00pm, Crowning @ 5:30pm. Your Gracious Hosts and Performing LIVE! SNOTTY SCOTTY AND THE HANKIES HORSES ON ASTROTURF Your Host, ANDREW DUKE OF DOO DAH Queen Hopefuls and Judges, please......

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......

"This is not. . . targeting or profiling. It is an effort to understand communities." Police Chief William J. Bratton defending a LAPD counter-terrorism program that uses "U.S. census data and other demographic information to pinpoint various Muslim communities and then reach out to them through social service agencies." [LA Times] "Over my dead body." Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on any limit of his goals of expanding the LAPD. A fiscally conservative and wary City......

Today went fast. I reported to Warner Brothers Gate 2 for the “late shift”. Even though I had heard that all of the strikers were going to mobilize at Gate 2, there are writers and supporters stationed at all the gates around the studio. Unlike Gate 7, Gate 2 is bustling with activity. The sign in table here is covered with an amazing variety of snacks. Cartons of donuts from Krispy Kreme and Winchells......

Southern California is girding itself for high winds this weekend. Emergency vehicles, such as huge, water carrying planes and an abundance of fire trucks and crews from around the state and country are staying put, in case a fiery after shock occurs, KPCC reports. Be safe and lock up the 10-year-olds. I've been saying they're trouble for years. There's some sort of strike set to begin Monday. This is not your average work stoppage.......

The first time I was in Compton, I didn't even know it until later when I was at a restaurant looking at the menu and noticed the address. It appeared the world's stereotype was wrong, maybe gone or I just happened to be in the "right" part of town. "Compton is beautiful, there are horse ranches there," a co-worker who grew up there told me at a previous job a few years before my......

On June 19, 2000 I was staying at the Radisson Hotel across the street from USC, visiting campus for my freshman orientation. About two miles north on Figueroa Street that night, Kobe Bryant was winning his first championship with the Lakers. I didn't get much sleep. The impromptu parade of cars (Benzos, Civics, low riders, it didn't matter) made my hotel their turnaround point before they looped back to the Staples Center. I've lived in......

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people migrate west to check out the West Hollywood/Santa Monica Blvd. Halloween Parade. Spanning from La Cienega Blvd. to Doheny Drive, the parade holds concerts, DJ sets, food vendors, and costume contests to the LA masses. While closing down Santa Monica blvd. may have screwed up everyone's commute last night, nothing compares to the pure elation of dressing incredibly skanky/scary/complicated. And don't worry, while you never know what......

We* have just returned from the front lines of the of the cutthroat video gaming industry (okay, maybe it was just the GameStop at the Burbank mall) and I'm proud to report we have arrived home in triumph, bearing before us the brand new Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It's here, and yes, it rocks. There were a shaky few minutes there when the controller took a few tries to connect, but we......

Here are a few events for people who like to leave the house before sundown. A few of them are even family-friendly and some involve dogs wearing costumes. Historical Society of Long Beach Annual Cemetery Tour Saturday, October 27, 2007 Sunnyside and Long Beach Municipal Cemeteries, 1095 E. Willow St., Long Beach The dead come to life to tell you about the lives they lived and the way they died at the neighboring Long Beach......

Who are these people who credit the controversial religion Scientology for changing their lives for the better? One of them is tv's Jerry Seinfeld who told the typically worthless Parade magazine that the church helped him communicate early in his career so that he could control his audiences. I last really studied, oh, it’s almost 30 years ago. But what I did do, I really liked, in terms of it’s very...it was interesting. Believe......

Silly Jack Weiss! He thinks the Valley is different from the City. Tsk tsk! The Daily News takes the Councilman to task (lovingly) for his slip of the tongue. Halloween events abound in the city this time of year, and LAist is your best source for the hottest spooky spots: check out our continuing Halloween coverage here. OMGZZZ Kitten Cops! I can has ratburgerz?? The LAPD is recruiting feral cats to root out rodents......

Let's start over, shall we? Disney is investing $1.1 billion into California (Mis)adventure, the ghost town of an amusement park next to Disneyland. The Rose Queen for the Pasadena Rose Parade was announced this morning and her name is Dusty. We just love that name for a girl. Staring now, there is no excuse for anyone of any age to ever go "I don't get blogging." The world's oldest blogger celebrated her birthday this......

October is my favorite month of the year. Pumpkin Pie ice cream finally shows up. The weather is not too hot. It's not too cold. It's just right. Of course, the best part of October is Halloween. It may seem a little early to be thinking about it, but it's good to get a jump on things if you are going to order anything off of the internet. Here are a few once-a-year favorites to......

Another festival alert, this one concerning cheese! Hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla will be celebrating the Italian-American immigrant experience this weekend in Hollywood at the 6th Annual Cheese Feast of San Gennaro. Eat some excellent Italian food, play some bocce ball (courts will be set up all day), research your heritage, and watch a parade of the saint through the streets of Hollywood. (San Gennaro was one of those indestructable superhero saints who......

Dr. Jane Goodall. Photo courtesy of Roots and Shoots. This Sunday, September 23rd, Dr. Jane Goodall (primatologist, ethologist, author, researcher, and United Nations Messenger of Peace extraordinaire) be speaking at Griffith Park as part of the Roots and Shoots Fifth Annual Peace Day. Dr. Goodall, who is most famous for her research on chimpanzees in Gombe, will be leading a parade of giant home-made dove puppets and speaking at this free all-ages event. Roots......

Artist: Sunset Rubdown Album: Random Spirit Lover Label: Jagjaguwar Release Date: October 9th, 2007 Sunset Rubdown is the brainchild of Spencer Krug, member of major indie band Wolf Parade, and seemingly half a dozen other outfits. Instead of the pseudo-dance rock of Wolf Parade, we have a much more lyrically-driven product in Sunset Rubdown. Krug's curious copious screeds are lengthy and complex, and run the gamut of fable-telling ("The Mending of the Gown") to nearly......

Jane Goodall - leading primatologist, National Geographic favorite, TED speaker -- is coming to LA. To Griffith Park. Wow, do we have monkeys? Where are the monkeys in Griffith Park? Damn. The only non-human primates in the park are at the LA Zoo. Goodall is coming not for science, but for peace. Part of Goodall's nonprofit is called Roots and Shoots, aimed at getting kids involved in positive change for the environment, animals, yadda......

Built to Spill, Camper Van Beethoven @ Henry Fonda Wolf Parade, Holy Fuck @ El Rey OK Stranger, Voodoo Organist, The City Drive, The Mercy Kiss @ Safari Sam's The Brunettes, Ferraby Lionheart, Mezzanine Owls @ The Troubadour Death to Anders, The Transmissions, Health Club, One Trick Pony @ Spaceland The Starfuckers, Hypernova, Panic Club, Resistance, Vicious Licks, Drills @ Cat Club The Watkins Family Hour @ Largo Height, Pillow Fight Fight @ The......

Common - "The People" "The People" was one of our most-played summer jamz. It was on Kanye's "Can't Tell Me Nothin" sampler because Kanye produced it and listen to how sweet it is. It's the sort of non-thug, uplifting, positive hip-hop that people once talked about, but now people are buying. This is the direction BEP could have gone if they hadn't chosen the path of the lowest common denominator aka the Gwen Stefani......