Now here's something par for the course: President Bush blames congress for the high price of gas. On the business side of things, Mark Lacter notes that "Royal Dutch Shell and BP both reported record first-quarter numbers, beating analysts’ expectations. Shell’s net income rose 25 percent to $9.08 billion. Exxon Mobil and Chevron are set to report later this week." (Emphasis added) In Los Angeles, the ">average price of a gallon of regular gas is......

A famous scene from Casablanca | Photo by udronotto via Flickr Normally, the Academy Awards making the news this early in the Oscar-year calendar doesn't make sense. That is, until the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced yesterday in a press release the key dates for next year's show on Sunday, February 22nd. And after listing those dates (below if you care), the last sentence of the release mentioned why there was......

If you plan on participating in either the Republican or Democratic primary on February 5th (in two weeks) you MUST register to vote by midnight tonight. Don't panic, you don't have to rush out into traffic, just make sure your application (download it here) is postmarked by midnight. Dig the last-minute madness? You can drop your application in person at the LA County Clerk's desk in Norwalk (map) by midnight (see the OC Registrar [map]......

Dusty Rhodes and the River Band If you're all about Ron Paul for president, or just want to kick it with Ron Paul devotees (how about the ladies of Hotties4Paul?), then Safari Sam's is your place tonight. The Short List (some MP3s after the jump) Tattooed Millionaires, Bobby L.A. Hip Hop, Jordan Loder @ Safari Sam's American Music Club @ Taix The Valley Area, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, Restaurant @ The Echo......

Pass the Bud Light and hold your babies tight to your laps: A grassroots movement has shot up on Venice Beach (surprise, surprise) to elect two of the most high-profile names in America to the White House. (And, no, Lindsay, that doesn't mean your dealer's pad.) Although the slogan seems to be "Rehabilitate in '08" we're not sure what the platform is. Family values, Ms. Spears? Oh, wait... there's that little situation with Jamie......

Fire crews are optimistic, but not yet looking to declare victory over the multiple blazes that have burned over 500,000 acres and displaced millions. We agree, it's best to be sure before declaring victory too soon. One blaze that has partially kept officials from declaring an end to the madness, the Santiago fire in Orange County, is expected to be contained by Friday. But it could take years to rebuild charred neighborhoods. Seven people......

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is stopping at Chapman University in Orange on Sunday, capping off weekend fundraising dinner rounds elsewhere in OC. The public forum is billed "Ask Mitt Anything," and we've got a few suggested questions with which you can do just that... after the jump. WHAT: Public Forum w/ Mitt Romney WHEN: Sunday 9/23, 2:15 p.m. WHERE: Chapman University Theater, Orange (map). RSVP: Call (857) 288-2667, or email california@mittromney.com. AP Photo......

Photo by letujimbo via Flickr The Daily Bruin has done great coverage of the UC scandals over the last several years -- this week they ran a front page article about the resignation of UC President Robert Dynes. He is also the former Chancellor of UCSD, and a current physics professor at UC Berkeley. Dynes leadership came under fire during a 2005 scandal when it was revealed that top officials in the UC system......

By week's end, LA is littered with dozens of free rags. LAist reads the weeklies so you don't have to. If there's anything we missed, let us know, or better yet drop it in the comments section below. LA Weekly reviewed the gaffe-filled Q & A between Democratic presidential hopefuls and Hollywood gays. While not one candidate came out clearly in support of gay marriage, Bill Richardson slipped so hard as to insinuate that......

One reason that "mainstream media" should continue to fear blogs is because the best ones are truly independent. LAist is "owned" by a couple of people in New York who are busy running their own damn website. Plus, they believe that when you empower people and give them the freedom to grow, they will yield fruit faster and more beautiful than you ever expected. The people of the Interwebs have found a star in......

He has a blog and he has a Flickr page. That alone makes him cool, right? Well... no, kinda hip, maybe. Anyway, all the buzz these days goes to Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). It would have been Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), but lately, she's reminding us more of the evil Vice President character in Prison Break (it's the way they both talk). Obama is magnetic. So magnetic that "I have never seen......

A Word or 67: I've already seen some State of the Union drinking games posted on the web, so get home early with a bottle of hooch because here again your early primetime programming is to be disrupted by our floundering President and his evil grimacing VP, standing behind him like some kind of Golem. Which Democratic senators is he going to attempt to kiss this time? Lieberman, pucker up mofo. Tonight - Tuesday......