Photo by highervision via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr This evening a public viewing will be held for slain LA High football star Jamiel Shaw, with funeral services to follow tomorrow. Shaw's tragic murder has prompted many LA residents to refocus on the senselessness of gang-related violence. Go, stop, go, stop: Commuters northbound on the 57 and the 605 transitioning to the 210 westbound this morning were greeted by the new traffic......

It's February 29th -- Happy Leap Day! While others are pondering mysteries like "what happens to a baby born on February 29th?" and "Does this have anything to do with last night's episode of 'Lost'?", we're going to take the opportunity to teach you a shiny new word! It's called intercalation, and it's what Julius Caesar did back in the day to fix the wacky Roman calendar system: inserting extra units of time (in......

"Blues and Pinks at the Peninsula" by delara-photos via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr "A very, very good night for Barack Obama just got better," the LA Times said after it reported that the winner of the South Carolina Primary was on the receiving end of two Kennedy endorsements; Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama this morning in the NY Times and Sen. Ted Kennedy issued his endorsement later in the day. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton......

Increasingly free of gang violence, it may be getting safer to walk the streets of Watts, the Daily News reports. Homicides in the area have dropped from 24 in 2006 to just 11 last year and many residents are pinning hopes for further neighborhood revitalization on economic opportunities. Hey Magic Johnson, that's your cue! A man died last night after sliding down an escalator at the Hollywood Highland shopping pit of hell today. Apparently......

Here's a Music Medley of some tunes from bands reviewed or highlighted here over the last couple months (some lyrics NSFW BTW): No Age - Every Artist Needs a Tragedy Caribou - Irene Five O' Clock Heroes - Head Games Bitter:sweet - Dirty Laundry (Skeewiff Remix) CINEMATIC: Classic Film Music Remixed - The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 Main Title (Phillip Charles' Signs in Mallorca Rewerk) Shocking Pinks - Victims Sunset Rubdown - Colt......

Artist: Shocking Pinks Album: Shocking Pinks Label: DFA Release Date: September 17th, 2007 New Zealander Nick Harte is Shocking Pinks and this CD of seventeen tracks is a remastering and repackaging of two of his previous releases. I found this DIY project remarkable in that the only trace of homogeneity is Harte's voice - the seventeen tracks offer an astounding range of styles and sounds. Yes, there is a kind of plaintive lo-fi New......

One of our favorite Food TV shows is Throwdown, which involves Celeb Chef Bobby Flay trying to master someone else's culinary specialty and springing a spontaneous cook-off challenge (hence, Throwdown) on them. (Our favorite part of the intro sequence is Flay saying: "I might win. I might even lose.") Every time we watch it, though, we wish that we could run out and taste the competition, like we did when we were craving fish......

Every time I’m driving up La Brea and I see that line of hungry hot-dog cravers snaking up the street, I gotta shake my head – seriously, people? You’d wait in that line? For a hot dog? And for Christ’s sake, where are all you people parking? Don’t get me wrong – I love Pink’s as much as the next girl, and I’ve certainly indulged in my fair share of that famous chili cheesiness......

When MTV sees a cash cow it doesn't look the opportunity in the mouth, it gets the artist in cute clothes and in front of the cameras ASAP. The Lily Allen hype machine has only just begun and LAist is more than happy to be part of the joyful noise. Why? Because when caught between the just-around-the-corner American Idol machine and the let-sleeping-dogs-lie boy band machine that seems to be hibernating, things could be......

Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times staff writer, informs us that Irv's Burgers in WEHO may be replaced by a Peet's Coffee & Tea in his 11/2/04 article, "Is the L.A. Hamburger Stand Cooked?:" They're taking a stand for Los Angeles' disappearing hamburger stand. Customers of Irv's Burgers shoved aside their cheeseburger combos, signed petitions and wrote protest letters when they learned a month ago that their West Hollywood burger joint was about to be......

LAist appreciates LA.com's list of dining establishments that serve food after 10 PM but can't help hankering for more. What we could really use is a list of restaurants that deliver after 10 PM so that us antisocial types don't have to put a coat on over our PJs to visit Pinks. Plus, the majority of places on LA.com's list don't stay open after 1 AM... On those nights when LAist fantasizes about living......