If the department stores can put their Christmas merch out already, we can sure as hell start celebrating Halloween! Friday, October 12th Rosemary's Billygoat, who always put on a special-effects extravaganza along with some serious rocking, will be playing at The Haunt at the Northridge Fashion Center. There will also be three haunted houses and a Fall Festival. Rosemary's Billygoat plays at 9pm. The CIA (California Institute of Abnormal Arts) in North Hollywood's Fright Night... more ›

The flurry of excitement over the recent remake of Roald Dahl's classic, , has spurred interest in the author himself. Margaret Talbot's excellent article in the July 11/18 New Yorker, "The Candy Man: Why children love Roald Dahl's stories-and many adults don't" deals with the troublesome enduring popularity for these very prickly, very bizarre books. Talbot is a staunch Dahlian herself, and it was a relief to Laist to see Dahl's detractors rebutted with her sharp conclusion that "Dahl’s purse-lipped critics fail to recognize that his stories don’t merely indulge a child’s fantasies—they replenish them." Apparently encouraging the wildest fantasies and revenge dreams of children isn't entirely popular among moms, dads, or adults at large. According to Talbot, two of our favorite children's book writers, whose stories are not devoid of sharp edges themselves - Eleanor Cameron and Ursula K. LeGuin - both had serious problems with the nastiness and the violence of Dahl's worldview. Children, on the other hand, seem to love it. And so do we. more ›