LA readings and book signings around town for January 28th - Februar 3rd including Judith Freeman, Ron Jeremy, Tamara Jenkins, Mary McNamara, Sam Jones and Tom Dolby....

The fountain at the LA Central Library is rather strange and fantastical "I'll have a footlong Subway club on white, hold the mayo, and GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!" Police are looking for the man who held up a Subway sandwich store at gunpoint Monday on Beverly in the Wilshire area. The owner and manager of a Burbank apartment building was found liable for their role in the murder of one of his tenants, who......

Honestly, I really don't need to write anything here. Guys and Dolls is a sufficiently fascinating documentary that can speak for itself. And that is probably a good thing, because I sure as hell don't know what to say about men who have intimate relationships with pseudo-women. A part of my brain thinks that the whole paradigm is really creepy in a Chucky from Child's Play kinda way, but at the same time, I......

I am loving this ATP-inspired idea of playing entire albums from beginning to end. Tonight we hit the Music Box to see The Melvins play Houdini and Mudhoney play Superfuzz Big Muff plus Early Singles. Sadly, we missed Flipper. We were late because I fell down the back steps as we rushed out the door. Bob wanted me to stay home and ice my foot, but no way was I missing this gig! We......

After a weekend of such incendiary adult films as "Give Piece of Ass a Chance" and "Spiders in Love: An Arachnogasmic Musical" premiering at this year's XFanz LA Erotic Film Festival , it seemed only logical to bring to you the excitement and decadence of the festival afterparty. The Knitting Factory in Hollywood was packed Saturday night with industry folks, Mutaytor performers, and Cirque Berzerk dudes, not to mention a brief appearance by Mr.......

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take......

Last night at the El Rey, The Hold Steady did just that -- Not playing the coy, indie-nerd wallflowers and never crossing into absolute rock and roll mayhem, Craig Finn and the boys held the line, well, steady. Looking like a more-hip Paul Giamatti and gesturing feverishly like a less-nebbishy Woody Allen, Finn led the charge with flails and jolts, hand claps for miles, and his frighteningly accurate, wholly incongruous, Springsteen voice. Mesmerizing. The......

See what happens when you let Sifl and Olly-inspired puppets and/or Ron Jeremy teach your kids about sex? Consider this to be as close to a public service announcement as we get with guitars Myspace video.......

- LAPD seeks felony charges against a 13-year-old alleged dogfight organizer caught in South LA on Monday. The injured pitbulls are expected to recover. The kid, however, may be another story. - LA Times. - Claiming a victory in mission:gangbusters 2007, LAPD central division Capt. Andrew Smith reports, "We really believe we have taken the head off the 5th and Hill Gang." - Daily News. - The transcripts are out on the Khalid Sheikh......

While we try to keep our lit event listings strictly...listings...we can't help but notice that a very slow week in book readings, signings and author events has resulted in a proliferation of erotic, sexy and just plain porn star events. What are the chances this has to do with the most over-hyped flower holiday of the year? Rather high, we'd guess. Monday Chris Abani presents Virgin of Flames 7pm @ Vroman’s Tuesday Gayle Brandeis......

Living up to the hype, rowdy stuntmaster Steve-O did his best to turn the red carpet yellow at Mann's Chinese before the "Jackass Number 2" premiere Thursday. Startled guests of the red carpet included Tony Hawk, Three-6 Mafia, and someone who has seen his share of exposed private parts in his day, Ron Jeremy. Photos of the arrivals here and please dont ask us what's in the plastic cup. No charges seem to have......

You know what "history" is? A bunch of stories that may never have happened written by a bunch of people who probably never existed printed in a bunch of books that nobody wants to read. You all know the sanitized, socially acceptable version of founding father George Washington's life. He chops down some tree, fights some war, becomes the president of some country... blah blah blah. B-O-R-I-N-G. What you probably didn't know about our......

Counting down today's few birthdays: Esteemed playwright Edward Albee ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?") is 78; he was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 1996. Unlucky in love Liza Minelli turns 60 today. She was charming once — Netflix Arthur. Put that away! Porn stud Ron Jeremy is 53. Troubled former Mets slugger Darryl Strawberry celebrates his 44th today. Actor Aaron Eckhart turns 38. And although we rarely include the deceased in our birthday......

Just in time for Valentine's Day comes news that Heidi Fleiss is going back into the sex business. This time, though, she's decided to do it where it's legal. In case you don't know Heidi, she was the Hollywood Madame of the 1990s; she was busted at age 27. The list of clients at her Benedict Canyon brothel was headed by Charlie Sheen. Back then, she was peddling ladies women; now she's decided to......

Though LAist has never actually watched porn (ahem), we are led to believe that the use of condoms by performers somehow lessens the thrill of watching silicone enhanced women have sex with impossibly well-endowed men. Again, we have no first hand knowledge of whether this is true, but according to the Los Angeles Times, this argument against requiring porn performers to use protection has gone over like Ron Jeremy at a evangelical tent revival......