So I won't go on about how dry and average the Oscars were last night and how the TV ratings reflect that. I will say, however, that I'd like to find anyone involved with the development and production of the movie Enchanted and incinerate them on a pile of every DVD and CD soundtrack copy of that rancid film. A brief burst of carbon emissions and pollutants now will save us from more such dreck......

Lakers 130, Suns 124 - So I'm like "OMG!" and then she's like "fer reelllllz!" And then I'm like "NO.WAY." and the she's like "totally." Whoops. That's the last time we let our teenage niece borrow the keyboard -- but she did sum things up pretty well. Jimmy will have all the deets on the NBA's greatest February game of all time at 9:00am. Clippers 100, Grizzlies 86 - The Clippers are officially LA's bastard......

So I'm a fairly new resident of Studio City, and am still discovering little surprises on this side of town. Driving down Ventura, I have twice noticed a small, nondescript building bearing a sign with the letters ICA at Colfax Ave., which, upon closer examination while sitting at a red light, rest above the casually printed name "Intercontinental Absurdities." Clearly, this was something that called for investigation. It sounded a bit like something out......

How does UCLA celebrate winning a tough game against the Washington State Cougars? By tanking it against the Washington Huskies. The Bruins played a tight game with the Cougars Thursday night eventually clamping down on in the last 10 minutes of the second half to go on to a 67-59 win. Even though the Cougars had lost their last two games against Stanford and Cal, they are still a tough team. On Wednesday night......

"How are you going to MAKE me get off the treadmill?" I wanted to scream at her. "I can TAKE you, old lady!"...

Talib Kweli is your favorite rapper's favorite rapper. On his first farewell, The Black Album, rap superstar mogul Jay-Z gave Kweli the greatest sign of respect when he spit the following line "If skills sold/Truth be told/I'd probably be/Lyricly/Talib Kweli." The son of two college professors, the Brooklyn native is far from your average emcee. In the fall of 2007, Kweli released the critically acclaimed and commercially successful album Eardrum, the first from his new......

Mayor Villaraigosa serves the city / Photo by Elise Thompson dineLA Restaurant Week kicked off in style yesterday at Neal Fraser's Grace on Beverly Boulevard. Neal Fraser is the only Angeleno ever to have won Iron Chef, against none other than Cat Cora. The Two Hot Tamales, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, were the belles of the ball. I just had a moment to chat with them regarding a funny story they had......

So I spent my Sunday sick as a dog on the couch watching, of all things, football, literally because I was too wiped to find the clicker and move on. I'd forgotten how obnoxious the graphics were and how pompous and full of itself football has become. Still, gotta watch the Super Bowl for the commercials so I still have some time to devote to that. Am dismayed that the talentless hack Ryan Seacrest is......

I didn't want to just do a "best of" list. So this year, I've decided to take a years worth of personal New Year's Resolutions, ask around for those of friends and put a call out to readers (email me here) about things you've always wanted to know, always wanted to do and then take those requests and ask an expert, an insider to help out. The result? Here goes... Today's Resolution: "I am......

Los Angeles philanthropist, Eli Broad (rhymes with road), has decided not to give his massively large and impressive private collection of art to museums, rather, keeping the collection in house under control of a private foundation according to the New York Times. One of the assumed recipients of the art was LACMA, where the new $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum is scheduled to open next month. However, even with Broad's name on the......

I didn't want to just do a "best of" list. So this year, I've decided to take a years worth of personal New Year's Resolutions, ask around for those of friends and put a call out to readers (email me here) about things you've always wanted to know, always wanted to do and then take those requests and ask an expert, an insider to help out. The result? Here goes... Today, we're kicking off......

The holidays are over and many of us have to resolve ourselves to getting back to work and responsibilities. Everyone except the writers, anyone who works in the production of tv and film and of course, the AMPTP. Except they are at work. It was just before Christmas that Nikki Finke reported that the moguls (which is who the AMPTP are. The name is misleading – there are few, if any, actual producers involved)......

I can never remember the lyrics to Christmas carols after the first stanza either. So I know where Straight No Chaser is coming from.......

Though most film coverage focuses on the stars of a particular movie, there is a large legion of supporting actors who give shape and weight to the world of that film. Before Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the stars of Charlie Wilson's War, he had a brief but memorable role many years ago in Scent of a Woman. Now, also in Charlie Wilson's War, Hilary Angelo jumps off the screen as one of the......

Last Friday, I made a plan to go out to Club Underground at The Echo for my birthday, and I had all my friends meet me there. On a total stroke of luck, I realized a band I had discovered a month or so before was also playing that night before Club Underground started. So I told everyone to get there at 9 if they wanted to see a good band first. The Morning......

This week Zach Behrens became the sixth editor of LAist. Behrens is no stranger to LAist staff or readers -- he was Co-Editor for nearly a year before taking the reins from Tony Pierce and contributed more than 1100 posts since 2005. We asked Zach a variety of questions to put in perspective how and why he came to be editor of the best city blog this side of the Hudson. Andy: When and why......

The line. For cupcakes. Joy, my ass. I've never tried Sprinkles Cupcakes before, but I'd heard they were the cupcake shit, and I was hoping to send them to my mom for her birthday (happy birthday Mom!) as kind of a "love from LA" type of gift. So I get to the cupcake place, and lo and behold, there is a line. Out the door. 30 people deep. For CUPCAKES. I'm just saying--really--a line?!......

So I think I can safely say, having viewed it twice now, that Jason Reitman's Juno is the newest addition to my list of favorite movies. Okay, yes, it may be a pretty "rosy view of teen pregnancy", as my friend declared, but the humor, the characters, and the crazy dialogue ("You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put......

I was a bit skeptical at first, I knew nothing about chiropractics. But I kept having this pain in my neck that no amount of massage or yoga could take away. I was at a loss and then I met Dr. Robin Hawkey who explained, for the first time in my life, what exactly chiropractics was without any strings attached at a dinner party we both attended. So I decided to try it. My......

Before the questions are asked, please let me state for the record that I graduated from UC Santa Barbara, a college sports powerhouse that hasn't lost a football game since 1990, so I don't have a dog in this fight. Having said that, I was a little surprised at how sensitive it appeared Bruin fans are about the firing of their head coach this afternoon. Again, I am out of the loop, but when......

It seems like everyone just instinctively knows how to make JELL-O shots. Only recently did I discover that this fine art is not in everyone's repertoire. With the holidays coming up, it might be time to brush up on College Drinking 101. The standard recipe includes 1 (6-oz) package JELL-O, 2 cups boiling water, 1 cup cold water and 1 cup vodka. Over the years I have futzed with this recipe. I like to......

Ah, Santa Barbara. Wine, adobe buildings, wine, nice scenery, wine... So a few months ago I shot a beautiful, simple wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse (Most of us bloggers have a life outside of LAist, dear reader. I happen to be a photographer.) Afterwards, we walked through the huge grassy courtyard, across the street, and right into this gorgeous little restaurant called Elements. We had some unbelievably good sandwiches and wraps at the......

I feel at home at hip hop shows. I am in my element. I am around people who love the same kind of music I love. This past Wednesday night, however, for the first time in my show-going life I was at a hip hop show as an outsider. Nerdcore rap was something that I had only vaguely heard of, all I knew of it was rap with a whole lot of references to......

So I will admit I've never seen Julien Temple's The Filth and The Fury. I've heard about it, but being more of a Clash fan than a Pistols fan, I've been waiting years for a film about The Clash, preferably portrayed by actors like The Beatles in Backbeat, (quick, who would you cast??), or hell, even just another documentary. Joe Strummer has been one of my heroes since I was a kid, due to......

As I previously mentioned, the red thing is a recurring subject of Watt's photos. Here it is hanging from his handlebars. So I asked Watt what the deal was with the red thing. I asked him if it had some kind of symbolism or if it was a good luck charm. He told me the package said it has no magical properties, it just claimed ...but it make you look good.........

The last time I faced this asphalt nemesis was on Sunday afternoon when my friend’s 4-year-old daughter was helping me navigate the neighborhood from the 2 freeway. I then realized where she was taking me: It’s a straight shot down Baxter to get to their house. ...

Now that the writer's strike is on, what will happen to your favorite shows? The LA Times has worked up a grid explaining the future status of shows like "Lost," "Scrubs," and "Battlestar Galactica". The real tragedy here, of course, is that "The Colbert Report" is immediately going into reruns. Heathrow and Chicago O'Hare share the dubious honor of TripAdvisor's Least Favorite Airport: and yes, LAX represents itself nicely at #4. LA Weekly takes......

Who would have known? This summer I went around the apartment, systematically, room by room, replacing my regular light bulbs with compact fluorescents lights (CFLs) at the recommendation of councilman Eric Garcetti. In the end, I replaced nine. The effects on our next two electricity bills we're amazing, yet confusing. Why was it considerably less? It really should be costlier in the summer due to our not-so-well insulated 1960's apartment when the AC must......

What would you save out of your home if you had 15 minutes to get out? I can guarantee that it won’t be what you’re thinking right now. Yesterday, as a resident of the SCV -- that’s the Santa Clarita Valley/Valencia/Magic Mountain area to you city folk – I had the opportunity to play the “What Would You Take to a Deserted Island – Wildfire Edition” game. Some of the items I “saved” make......

As one blogger so delicately phrased it, "CMJ goes out with a whimper". There wasn't a whole lot I wanted to see on Day Five of CMJ. So I rested my weary bones, wandered around Williamsburg, and caught a couple of shows. One highlight was Ha Ha Tonka's performance at Union Pool in Williamsburg at a homey, jam-packed venue. I believe there was a BBQ going on as well. Williamsburg was lovely, flourishing with......