In a couple hours, the Iowa caucuses- or Hawkeye Caucii, if you prefer- will be starting, and that means we're off to the races for a new President. Are we the only ones screaming WTF at this? Why on Earth does Iowa get to have such a crucial role in our electoral system. Why on Earth should a state with about a fourth of the people of L.A. County get the first say in who......

Ice Cube @ House of Blues Art Brut (above) @ The Troubadour Smoosh @ Knitting Factory Rita Coolidge @ Torrance Cultural Arts Center Pitbull, Tego Calderon, Ying Yang Twins, Ilegales @ Honda Center Eek-A-Mouse @ Vault 350 The Barbarellatones @ Boardners The Makers @ Spaceland Colin Hay @ Largo Joshua Radin @ El Rey Lady Sinatra, Warner Drive, Itis @ Viper Room Atomic Punks, SWAA, Myridian @ Paladino's Tennis Club, The Front, Killsonic, The......

Tonight, noted author Carolyn See will read her contribution to My California: Journeys by Great Writers, an anthology of travel and adventure stories about Calfornia, at Village Books in Pacific Palisades. Donna Wares, based in Long Beach, edited this valentine to our state. Contributors such as Michael Chabon, Thomas Steinbeck, Dana Gioia, Matt Warshaw, Patt Morrison, T. Jefferson Parker, Edward Humes, Rubén Martínez, Aimee Liu, D.J. Waldie, and Firoozeh Dumas have donated their work......