We may be 3,000 miles away from the apocalyptic events that are bombarding the Northeast (now some experts thing that in addition to earthquakes and hurricanes, tornadoes may make their way through the area), but we're not wholly unaffected: most flights heading east have been cancelled because of Hurricane Irene, reports CBS News. Air traffic control has been suspended as of 10:00 p.m. GMT last night at five airports in the New York area, including JFK and LaGuardia, and Logan International Airport in Boston is reporting numerous cancellations.
Eastbound and Down: Nearly All Flights to Northeast Cancelled
East Coast Snow Keeps Flights Grounded at LAX
Our warming trend isn't immune to an impact from East Coast blizzards today, as a few airlines servicing Los Angeles International Airport have had to cancel or delay flights to destinations on the other side of the country where the snow has descended in full force.
Airports affected include New York's Kennedy, New Jersey's Newark and Boston's Logan, according to CBS2.
Lower Merion High School Gets A Kobe Bryant Gym
Kobe Bryant will have some additional business to take care of in Philadelphia next week when the Lakers pay their annual visit to the 76ers. Bryant's alma mater, Lower Merion High School, will be holding a dedication ceremony for the newly named Kobe Bryant Gymnasium in honor of the homegrown All-Star.
Interview: Peasant Chats About New Album Shady Retreat
If all had gone according to plan Peasant (aka Damien DeRose) wouldn't have an album, let alone two. Heck, he probably wouldn't have bothered writing songs all, but as we all know, things rarely go according to plan. The cosmos usually finds some reason or other to throw us a curve-ball or in DeRose's case a sea lion.
LAist Interview: mewithoutYou
The internet is, of course, the greatest invention since manned flight. To wit: a few months ago, the prettiest girl that ever was (who I met, incidentally, thanks to the internet) sent me a Youtube link to a video that she thought was cool. I watched it and agreed. In fact, I not only thought it was cool, I thought it was kind of perfect. Sure, it was decidedly low-tech, but it succeeded brilliantly at being low-tech. I sent the link out to a group of friends whose opinion I trusted and valued and -- sure enough -- the consensus was that the song and video were fucking great. That song was "The Fox, The Crow and the Cookie" by mewithoutYou.
TV Junkie: Hulu to Charge? Changes on 'FlashForward'; 'Dollhouse' Enters Deathspiral
FOX has pulled "Dollhouse" completely from its November schedule. The series returns in December in a deathrow Friday slot. If this is truly the end of the show, it won't be the end of the line for Eliza Dushku, whose appearance in Hulu commercials has made her a very recognizable face - we hope to see her again soon.
TV Junkie: Thursday
We've been waiting for months and it's finally here, the season premiere of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" (FX 10:00pm). Yeah, the crew made it onto NPR yesterday and LAist might have been running some banner ads for the show but LAist interviewed co-creator Charlie Day back in the day, before the current round of promo.
LAst Night's Action: Kaboom Goes the Kobe
Lakers 108, Mavs 104, OT - The Laker's season just keeps getting sweeter. This time, it was all Kobe Bryant -- who managed to score even when triple-teamed. End result? 52 points, including 22 in the 4th quarter and 8 in OT. It was the first game between the refurbished Laker's (Pau Gasol had 17 points and 14 rebounds) and the refurbished Mavs (Jason Kidd had 15 points and 11 assists).
LAist Interview: Questlove
Last night, LAist had a spot on the red carpet of the Key Club in West Hollywood, host of The Roots Jam Session sponsored by Rock the Vote, Okayplayer and Keldof.
LAst Night's Action: Clips Clawed by Bobcats
Bobcats 107, Clippers 100 - As if they haven't had enough injuries this year, Los Angeles took on Charlotte without big man Chris Kaman (bruised shin) and leading scorer Corey Maggette (flu-like symptoms). Of course, the biggest loss for the Clippers might just be their biggest fan.
Hersheys to Discontinue Nickel Bags of Breath Freshener
Hersheys announced Thursday that it will stop production of Ice Breakers Pacs in response to complaints by law enforcement that the nickel-sized bags resemble drug packets. Associated Press writer Peter Jackson reports on Hershey CEO David West's announcement:
Week Around the -Ists
href="http://londonist.com/2008/01/6_years_on_amne.php">Amnesty International bringing Guantanamo Bay to the American embassy to raise the profile of the continuing campaign to close the detention center.
TV Junkie: Tuesday
So The Colber(t) Repor(t) and The Daily Show are back and while Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Conan are all nimble on their feet, and very funny and engaging, it's amazing how the success of all these shows really comes down to the writing. It's great to have them all back on the air and it does provide us all with some late night alternatives, but I hope NBC, ABC, and Viacom come to their senses and end this. The ball is in their court.
LAist's 2008 Foodie Wish List
Happy New Year from LAist and your brand new Food Editor! I've arrived home refreshed from a fantastic vacation in the Philly/New Jersey area, and now I'm revved up and ready for the New Food Year. It was difficult to leave Philadelphia and its fabulous dining options behind (cheesesteaks are only the tip of the iceberg), but nothing beats Los Angeles for its range of offerings. Here's my wish list for places to go, ingredients to cook, and meals to eat in 2008. What's tops on your list of must-eat destinations and recipes this year?
LAst Night's Action: UCLA Looking Ship Shape
LNA was rained out this morning, but we're back with a quick update ...
Week Around the -Ists
- SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others.
- Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list.
- Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island.
Today in LA History...
1812: A major earthquake struck Southern California, destroying the church at Mission San Juan Capistrano and damaging the San Gabriel Mission.
Extra, Extra: Gift Cards, Not Guns.
Don't know what to get for the gun toting rifleman who has everything? In San Francisco, turning that rifle in to authorities will net you a cool $100 gift card. Eh, you say? OK, how about $200 for AK-47s? I wonder how that conversation might go at home: Honey, where is my gun? Oh, I turned it in sweety, for $100 worth of movie rentals. You did what? Guns don't kill people, gift cards...
TV Junkie: Thursday
Thursday night I almost invariably turn to NBC - what's gonna happen if we run out of new episodes of our fave shows? I might have to get creative, perish the thought. I apologize for writing the word "fashionistas" yesterday, I also apologize for saying that Kenny vs. Spenny was premiering - what we got last night was a sneak preview, not a premiere, the premiere happens on Sunday.
TV Junkie: Thursday
Looks like we have a few more weeks of comedy and drama to enjoy before our shows start petering out due to the writers' strike. As we can see, late night TV is in repeats. TV Junkie will have an interview with a WGA card-carrying writer posted in the next couple days, as well as some DVD reviews (gotta feed the addiction). Thursday is comedy night in our book: 8:00pm Ugly Betty ABC - Tonight...
TV Junkie: Thursday
I'm hoping that no one had time for TV last night and if they did they had the class to watch the Boris Karloff marathon on TCM. 8:00pm Ugly Betty ABC - The Halloween Episode. TV Junkie 8:00pm Pick. 9:00pm To Die In Jerusalem HBO - Have heard enough about this documentary on NPR and elsewhere to know it's a good thing. TV Junkie Pick-O-The-Night 9:00pm The Office NBC - If you don't feel like...
Bruce Springsteen @ LA Sports Arena, 10/30/07
My heart wasn't saying Bruuuuuuuuce, it was booing. The biggest cliche in amateur criticism is to say "I liked his older stuff better". Bruce Springsteen is supposed to be held on the same level as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, or Johnny Cash. However, if one is to keep it real, the songs The Boss released after the mid '80s don't hold up to contemporaries like Tom Waits or Tom Petty. Seriously, after the Born...
Extra Extra: Less Fire, More Donuts!
As firefighters sought to contain the smoldering remains of California, officials are keying in on how the fires started. One of the largest fires, the Santiago fire that burned 22,000 acres was, reportedly set by an arsonist. President Bush toured parts of California and declared, "We're not going to forget you in Washington D.C." I guess he didn't visit any poor children. There's at least one good story to come out of this tragedy....
TV Junkie: Thursday
Baseball was fun last night since there wasn't much else on. Tonight we have more choices, except for late night which only offers us Kimmel. If you have the Sundance Channel you really ought to check out the series Iconoclasts, which pairs up incongruous individuals from sometimes completely disciplines to see what kinds of discussions result. Weird and fascinating. 5:00pm World Series: Game Deux FOX - For all you non-Francophiles or non-Naked Gun fans, Deux...
LAist Interview: Charlie Day of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"
LAist had the chance to talk to Charlie Day a couple weeks ago. He's the co-creator, writer, producer, and actor in FX's It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia[FX, 10:00pm Thursday], the best and most outlandish cable comedy on TV. Day created the series after shooting the pilot with a couple friends in their apartments and guerilla-style on the streets of LA. FX picked it up and the team lucked out getting Danny DeVito on board as well as directors like Fred Savage.
Comcast Hates The Bible & Filesharing & They Lie?
The Associated Press busted a big story today. In order to see if Comcast was indeed interfering with filesharing, the AP tested a big file on the Internet via the popular filesharing software BitTorrent, a digital copy of the most famous text in the world - the Holy Bible.
TV Junkie: Thursday
Yes, we have some new seasons and series awaiting us over the next couple months but it's remarkable that we've settled into a similar groove from the previous season. We know what's good and has held up over at least a season. It's a shame that 30 Rock continues to lag in the ratings despite being so consistently well-written and funny. We're nearing the end of the season for the remarkable program, Mad Men -...
TV Junkie: Thursday - Get 30 Rocked
If there are 30 minutes of television for you to watch tonight, then those 30 minutes should be 30 Rock. Tina Fey's American Express commercial has left me wanting more and finally I'm getting some. And hey lookie, they actually got Seinfeld back in a sitcom, for at least an episode. 8:30pm 30 Rock NBC - Season Premiere. TV Junkie Pick of the Night. 9:00pm Supernatural CW - Season Premiere. 9:00pm The Office NBC -...
LAist's Postseason Baseball Preview
Your resident gay-bashing gay sports blogger here amped up for the start of the baseball postseason! And seeing how the regular season ended Monday night in the fabulous game that sent the Padres packing, this should be an exciting postseason.
TV Junkie: Thursday
A couple more days of this visual and mental assault. I've discovered that drinking really helps though. 7:30pm Where Eagles Dare TCM - Here's your chance to bypass most of the new and quite possibly very mediocre offerings this evening by watching this classic. Richard Burton is wooden and robotic in this good guys vs. the Nazis flick, Clint Eastwood is fantastic and there's lots of cool explosions and Nazis getting shot and stuff. 8:00pm...

