"Welcome to My Home." Written, directed, produced, and starring Brenda Dickson. Part I... ...and Part II. Last Autumn I ate so much Halloween candy, Thanksgiving Tofurkey, and Happy Birthday Jesus grocery store sheet cake that I gained five pounds in two months. This year I'm determined not to let that happen again, so I have decided to start a preemptive diet and exercise plan right now before the holiday fattening season is in full......

The appeal of the indie coffehouse hasn't been fully exorcised from my 21st century modus operandi; I suppose I'm Gen X to the core, easily seduced by a yellow-lit room full of mismatched and well-worn furniture, singer-songwriter melodies emanating from low-fi boombox speakers, and walls bearing a wagon-train display of local artists' efforts. This is probably why I was recently tickled pink to rediscover Lulu's Beehive on the Sherman Oaks/Studio City borderline when I......

We've seen issues with spinach, Taco Bell lettuce, and most recently peanut butter, and now there is a recall on a product that is stamped ok for the South Beach Diet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said today that Carolina Culinary Food is recalling packages of Oscar Mayer ready-to-eat chicken breast strips with rib meat as well as the same packages branded "Louis Rich" because Georgia Department of Agriculture......

Okay, seriously, 'fess up--who pulled the plug in East LA yesterday? We showed up to the CSULA campus for work, only to find that the whole campus and neighboring areas were completely without power. Funny how it just happens to be finals week... So when this happened, we were sent on our merry way with the caveat that we be in touch by cell phone. What else was there to do but treat ourselves......

Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rooster begins today and we encourage you to follow the traditions that will ensure your prosperity for the next 12 years. Being poor and destitute in Los Angeles because you didn't honor the proud male chicken just doesn't seem like a good plan. Thankfully, because we just started the South Beach Diet, the most important practice of the day is easy. LAist will not be eating......