LA is a gadget kind of town. We’re also, it seems, swiftly becoming quite the literary town. And so, as the year draws nigh and you scramble around the city trying to score the latest whatever for your loved ones this holiday season, it would be wrong of us to ignore Kindle. Amazon’s Kindle has been out for a month now. Many in the book world deemed it a failure from the outset. Many booklovers......

I think it started about a year ago, when the students in one the classes I was teaching found out that I was going to cooking school. "Will you make us something?" they begged. I pictured myself whipping up something in the French tradition from my growing pile of recipes and modifying it to serve thirty or so college freshmen. "No," I replied sensibly. "But if you're good, I'll make you cookies!" I love......

Washington DC based minimalist postpunk trio, Antelope, is hitting town tonight at The Smell along with Bad Dudes Mi Ami (ex-members of Black Eyes from SF) and Bipolar Bear. Since we love classical minimalism, we thought to ask the band a few questions before tonight's show: 1. First, you've gotta explain what minimalist postpunk is. It's difficult to talk about music, which is invisible. We just try to create songs that are simple and......

It's starting to feel like a Michael Connelly novel chock full of mob hits and urban noir. The Pink Elephant liquor store in Los Feliz, a mysterious suitcase and body parts found in a dumpster. Much is still unexplained after the body's discovery on Friday, which broke in the news last night. A store worker was throwing away boxes at the store on the 1600 block of Western Avenue when he noticed the suitcase and......

If you happened to miss the December 3 Downtown News, you haven't seen the personal ads Jon Regardie suggested to help Mayor Villaraigosa get a New Year's Eve smooch. They're pretty hysterical from top to bottom. My favorite one begins with the perfectly awkward hook: "Looking for My Energizer Lady Bunny: Hot bilingual mayor has an opening on his staff - for love!" In the same edition, peep Evan George's report on the uneasy relationship......

"Sticky Honey" - Juliette and The Licks Juliette and the Licks @ The Roxy (LAist says: "a can't miss tonight") Shonen Knife @ The Glass House John Mayer @ NOKIA Theater LA Live Stay Fucked, Good For Cows, Grandpire @ The Smell Tea Leaf Green @ The Troubadour Rocky Dawuni, Leon Mobley, Da Lion, DJ Nnamdi Moweta @ Temple Bar Joe Baiza Congress Of, Fatso Jetson, Half Assteroids, Scrappers, Not in the House @......

It’s a beautiful, wonderful day! Why, you ask? Have they pulled the troops from Iraq? Is America’s Next Top Model going to be syndicated twice a night, every night? Has the retail industry decided that Christmas should just be about spending time with family and loved ones, and yanked their holiday marketing bonanzas? No…it’s even better. For those of you who missed it this morning…Dunkin’ Donuts coffee will now be available for purchase in......

Need for food donations is increasing, while food available for those in need is on a downturn. The good folks over at SOVA in the Valley are scrambling to provide for hungry families this holiday season; rising energy and food costs are partly to blame. So why do I still see people checking the coin slots for loose change? AT&T is selling off their pay phones to "independent" operators; will the machines be kept......

Sea Wolf - "You're a Wolf", UCLA, 11/29/07 Sea Wolf @ Rhythm Lounge The Lemonheads, Racoon, The New Rivals @ The Troubadour Adolescents, Agent Orange @ Galaxy Theater Slightly Stoopid, Fishbone @ Wiltern Youssou N'Dour @ Royce Hall Too $hort @ House of Blues Jewmongous @ Tangier Steve Forbert @ McCabe's Ojos Rojos, Chuck Dukowski Sextet, The Sundowners @ Knitting Factory Big City Rock, Everybody Else, The Hanks, Girl in a Coma @ Roxy......

As winds died down Sunday, firefighters gained the upper hand on the Malibu blaze that burned at least 49 homes and sent thousands fleeing. It is now 70% contained and officials expect full containment by Tuesday. The damage could run close to $100 million. Firefighters rescued a father and his 4-year-old son in a Sun Valley home that burned down this morning. The father got his wife and daughter out of the house, but,......

I am thankful that my family happens to include people who I would rather spend this day with than anyone else. I know today they will make me laugh, stuff me with food and touch my heart. For the opportunity to befriend everyone here at LAist, including (and especially) the readers For moonlight on the Seine For art museums For white narcissus For See's chocolates For the Pacific ocean For the smell of Crayons......

Queen Latifah @ Royce Hall Travis, Maximo Park @ Wiltern Correatown, Pity Party, Merrick, Everybody @ The Bordello Suicidal Tendencies, Municipal Waste, Black President @ House of Blues MC Frontalot, Schaffer The Dark Lord @ Knitting Factory Married In Berdichev, Gang Wizard, A++, Transcend this Earthly Shell @ The Smell Whispertown 2000, Michael Runion, Franklin for Short @ Tangier......

Kelly Clarkson @ Gibson Mika Miko, Jay Reatard, No Age, The Strange Boys @ The Smell Rademacher, Earlimart, Tigers Can Bite You, Karabal Nightlife @ Spaceland Nickel Creek @ House of Blues Carlos Guitarlos @ Liquid Kitty The New Christy Minstrels @ Cerritos Center......

Will the real reverend please stand up. The Reverend Bob Levy and his collective of stand-up comics known as the Killers of Comedy (Rev. Bob Levy, Jim Florentine, Sal Governale, Richard Christy, Shuli, Yucko the Clown, Beetlejuice & The Iron Sheik), are coming to the Avalon and even Hollywood will notice. Bob is a regular on "The Howard Stern Show", is a professional comedian, has horrible spelling skills, and lives with in the basemen......

This cross strain of Train Wreck and Bubba Kush (aka Bubba-wreck) was picked up from Dealer McDope's House for $60 an 8th. It's a mix of two favorites, so we were pretty excited to take it home for a test run. Pre-Smoke Examination: The nugs are long big and beautiful. The buds are not dense at all, they are instead fluffy loose, and spongy when squeezed. The buds have this look like the wind......

Tomorrow may be the day we observe today's holiday, yet today our local newspapers honor the men and women of the past and present who have fought for us. Here are their stories: Steve Lopez takes his weekly LA Times Sunday column and dedicates it to telling the story of Sgt. Maj. Jesse Acosta, who lost his sight, taste and smell in Iraq. Lopez follows Acosta as he commutes on the bus in Los Angeles.......

We scored this tasty blend from Dealer McDope the other day, for $55 an 8th. Super Silver Haze was the first prize winner at the High Tims Cannabis Cup in 1997, 1998 and 1999. It's a superb plant well known for bringing joy to the masses. Pre-Smoke Examination: The nugs are huge. My whole 8th was that nug in the picture. It's smell is pungent and very strong. It smells close to skunk with......

Dethklok - "Bloodrocuted" The Pogues @ The Wiltern Michelle Shocked @ Temple Bar West Indian Girl, The Mae Shi, Ashkon @ The Highlands Dios Malos @ Rio Honda College Jon Brion @ Largo Danzig @ Grove of Anaheim Northern @ The Troubadour Matt Costa @ Detroit Bar Vincent Fernandez @ The Gibson The Ringers, Dutch Pink @ Viper Room Bad Dudes, Planets, Totally Serious @ The Smell You Me & Iowa, Coco B's, Saint......

The Eagles, The Dixie Chicks @ Nokia Velvet Revolver @ Irvine Meadows (postponed due to wildfires. The show will take place Dec. 12 at the Gibson Amphitheatre. More info...) UNKLE @ Echoplex RBD @ Home Depot Center Cute Phase, Black Tie Dynasty @ Vertigos The Warlocks, The Meek, Magic Lantern @ Alex's Bar Babyland @ Spaceland Blonde Redhead @ House of Blues, Anaheim Uh Huh Her, X Ray Ok @ The Knitting Factory Monsters......

Brangelina are going into business together- the two have signed a deal with HBO to produce a drama series about, what else, international aid workers - Hollywood Reporter Iggygate isn't even close to being over - sources say Iggy wasn't the only pup Ellen Degeneres has passed along to staff members over the years - Page Six Soap star Nathaniel Marston was hospitalized after attacking three people with a crate, breaking one's leg this weekend......

This weed was delivered by Dealer McDope to our house, on his way to Del Taco. It's a strain known as The Odyssey, and was originally developed for HopeNet dispensary in San Francisco but was so popular it has since been distributed throughout California. we picked up an 8th for $50. Pre-Smoke Examination: The buds are lumpy, long, and irregular. They are a dark green with bright orange hairs, and each of the clumps......

Morrissey @ The Palladium Devendra Banhart @ Orpheum Polysics, The Matches, Protokoll @ The Troubadour Brother Reade @ The Echo Great Lake Swimmers @ Spaceland Dark Star Orchestra @ El Rey Paul Green School of Rock @ Roxy Michael Ian Black @ The Ivar Girlyman @ McCabe's Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson @ Irvine Meadows Fujiya & Miyagi, Project Jenny @ Echoplex Genesis @ Hollywood Bowl Bluebeard, Heart Love Alive, Haven @ Malibu Inn......

A bit of happy news for our sister site over in Texas: the Austin Chronicle just named Austinist Best Local "Fun" News Site. Yay for the Ist-iverse! The correct term is babes, sir: "Point Break Live!" -- yes that's right, as in the classic 1991 Patrick Swayze-Keanu Reeves film -- is coming to a stage near you! NBC is leaving its longtime home in Burbank for the greener pastures of Universal City, or Campo......

October is my favorite month of the year. Pumpkin Pie ice cream finally shows up. The weather is not too hot. It's not too cold. It's just right. Of course, the best part of October is Halloween. It may seem a little early to be thinking about it, but it's good to get a jump on things if you are going to order anything off of the internet. Here are a few once-a-year favorites to......

It's hard to find a person out there who doesn't like cookies. And it's even harder to find someone who will turn down a free one. So what if I tell you that over the next few days at several Los Angeles-area Whole Foods Markets you can get yourself a free sample of an organic Crummy Brothers Chocolate Chip cookie? I think you just might say "Hell yes!" So what's the deal with Crummy......

"Man, ya'll smell like Kush!", said the security guard, as he waved us through with his flashlight towards the entrance of the venue. While I normally wouldn't indulge myself with too much green before a punk rock show, paying $13 for a redbull/vodka at the Fonda has become quite tiresome. Nevertheless, no daunting cocktail prices would keep me from enjoying my virginal Turbonegro experience, which expectedly blew me away. When it comes down to......

We bought this from a dude's Toyota trunk in a dollar store parking lot for $50 an 8th. Trainwreck is a toker's favorite, with its unique flavor and powerful high who can blame them? This sativa blend is rumored to have originated out of Humboldt, CA. Pre-Smoke Examination: The nugs come in all sizes, from the pictured above, to little pebble sized nugs no bigger than a US dime. The buds are fresh, and......

I think a lot of people imagine San Pedro as a gray town at the end of the freeway. Oil tankers, canneries, and smokestacks make up the landscape of Pedro. What I like about Mike Watt's pictures is that they show you the color. When I look at this photograph, I can smell the ropes, damp with saltwater. It makes me think about my dad's Chinese junk he kept docked in San Pedro. It......

We bought an 8th of this stuff for $50 from some guy eating Cap'n Crunch cereal. Skunk #1 is an infamous and popular strain and has been around LA, and the world, for decades. In case it isn't obvious already, it got its name for smelling like those black and white members of the rodent family, Skunks. Pre-Smoke Examination: The buds are uniformly egg shaped, and very dense. The buds are extremely aromatic, and......

Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell @ Autry National Center Bright Eyes with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Yo La Tengo, M. Ward @ Hollywood Bowl India.Arie, Ziggy Marley, Ottmar Liebert @ The Greek LA Riots, Toxic Avenger, Juiceboxxx @ Echoplex Low, Charlie Parr @ The Troubadour The Blasters, Charlie & the Valentine Killers @ Malibu Inn Zigzag Wanderers, Smash Fashion, Backbiter, Motorcycle Black Madonnas @ Mr. T's Bowl AM, Dirt Dress, Maria, The Sundelles @ The......