Hang at the Getty Center for the last Friday off the 405 tonight. / Photo by Photo by atomicshakespeare via LAist's flickr pool. FILM: The Aero in Santa Monica screens the L.A. premiere of the rock doc Patti Smith: Dream of Life at 7:30 tonight. “Twelve years in the making, the first film directed by fashion photographer Steven Sebring stitches together layer upon layer of human experience to paint a portrait of Patti Smith,......

Last year's revelers packed the house for Carnaval in Long Beach | Photo courtesy Aries Productions FESTIVAL Okay, so Long Beach doesn't pack the same exotic pull as, oh, say, Rio, but they're going to put on a Carnaval and pull out all the stops. Get out your Carnaval costumes and get ready to samba the night away! This year’s theme is “Preservation of the Planet” featuring green and recycled decorations. At the heart......

"He knows, Doctor. He knows." A Flickr user gives us what he calls a "dramatic and gritty view of [his] silly Star Trek action figures." GEEK OUT You know you want to...so you may as well do it. Star Trek: The Tour has docked on the Queen Mary. Beam yourself up and get yourself to Long Beach to see exhibits from all five TV shows and each of the 10 movies, including Captain Kirk's chair.......

Love it or hate it, tonight's New Year's Eve. And while half of the city has vacated for NYE's in Vegas, there's plenty to do right here in LA to welcome '08. Fireworks Catch the midnight fireworks in Marina Del Rey. At 11:55 pm and 30-seconds, one firework will be shot into the air for each second, counting down to midnight--and then a few more into 2008. The show be seen from anywhere in the......

The Rentals - "Please Let That Be You" Hootenanny - Social Distortion, Nekromantix, Dave Alvin, Mojo Nixon, Lee Rocker, Big Sandy, Supersuckers, Wayne Hancock, Throw Rag, Michael Ubaldini, Angel City Outcasts, Mad Marge, Custom Made Scare, Gypsy Trash, Shitkickers, Deke Dickerson, Long Texans, Flame Throwers, Good Man Down, Roger Miret & the Disasters @ Oak Canyon Ranch The Decemberists, Band of Horses, Andrew Bird @ Hollywood Bowl The Rentals, Goldenboy @ Spaceland Stupid Flanders......

The Village People, Thelma Houston, A Taste of Honey, Peaches & Herb @ The Greek The Black Crowes, Hubert Sumlin, Kenny Wayne Shepherd @ Henry Fonda The Fratellis @ The Avalon Keith Urban @ Staples Strawberry Alarm Clock @ Malibu Inn Unwritten Law, Zebrahead, Mickey Avalon @ Queen Mary The Queers, The Methadones, The Manges @ Alex's Bar Chupacobra, Third Grade Teacher @ Mr. T's Bowl The Joshua Redman Trio @ Catalina Bar &......

Tonight's a crazy night of rock. And yet, is there anything cooler than Morrissey playing the bowl tonight? Chris Cornell, Queens of the Stone Age, Sum 41, The Bravery, Plain White T's, Silversun Pickups, Shiny Toy Guns, Cold War Kids @ Seaside Park (Ventura) Grandmaster Melle Mel & Scorpio, Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock, Sugar Hill Gang, Stacey Q, Expose, Stevie B. @ Honda Center Morrissey @ The Hollywood Bowl Reverend Horton Heat,......

Ice Cube @ Ventura Theatre Kottonmouth Kings @ Queen Mary Jamie Foxx @ Gibson Ricky Martin @ Staples Jon Mayer @ SMC Type O Negative, Celtic Frost, Brand New Sin @ Avalon Trans Am, Zombi, Black Taj @ The Troubadour Miss Derringer, Mad Juana, The Cheat, Olin and the Moon @ The Roxy Xololanxinxo, Fat Hed & Selecta Fada, Human Beings, Dopestyle @ On the Rox Eleven Hundred Springs, I See Hawks in L.A.,......

If you are vegetarian and love hip hop, or just a curious carnivore, the Los Angeles Tofu Festival will keep you in high spirits. The festival is going down Saturday and Sunday, but Saturday night’s live performances will surely draw the main crowd. Celebrity chefs will be in line all day and into the evening, with live performances throughout the day. If you’re a hip hop head, then there will be a special treat.......

We heard last week that Netflix was setting up a summer travelling roadshow. Now the details: Netflix is showing classic American movies around the country at locations the films made famous. On tap are some very cool locations. They're screening Jaws at State Beach on Martha's Vineyard; Clerks at The Quick Stop in Leonardo, NJ; Field of Dreams in the field in Iowa; and Escape from Alcatraz on Alcatraz Island -- to name a......

Is half a Ferrari better than none at all? Only Stefan Eriksson, the guy who crashed this one in Malibu, knows for sure. Photo © 2006 by Hans Laetz. It looks like a half of a redesign to us: the LA Times rolls out some design changes on its website. LA Observed has the happy memo from editor Joe Sappell. The LA Times discovers Gustavo Arellano, the OC Weekly's Ask A Mexican columnist. Did......

If you're looking for something sports-related this weekend, and you don't care much for the first-place Dodgers playing the Astros, LAist recommends that you head on down to Long Beach for the US Olympic Swim Trials. The city of Long Beach with its rich aquatics history is going all out by building two enormous portable pools in a downtown parking lot (pictured left). The trials are just part of the ongoing Long Beach Aquatics......