It's official, for better or worse, Jimmy Fallon will host NBC's "Late Night" show after Conan O'Brien shifts to "The Tonight Show" next year. Despite being a fan of SNL alumni, I wish I felt more positive about this appointment. While it's true that Conan O'Brien was a relative unknown before taking the reins, he was a prolific writer for SNL and "The Simpsons" for years -- the point being that hosting one of these......

I’m a sucker for natural scenery. I like a vast blue sky, a sparkling snow-capped mountain, a breezy sprawling plain. But around Hollywood where I live, I find that exercising in the outdoors often means kicking up dust and breathing in smog, only to take in the beautiful sights of dried out vegetation and dog poop. So when my boyf told me that there’s a place in Pasadena that we could hike to a......

Photo by el daverino via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A Musical Valentine to Santa Monica: Sia just announced a last-minute show (definitely her last before Coachella!) for tomorrow, February 14th at 2PM in Santa Monica at the Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse on Third St. Promenade, first come first serve. She kicks off her North American tour the following day, Friday, in San Diego. The 15-year-old boy shot on Tuesday at a......

Photo by manmadepants via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The relationship between real estate and the Hollywood Sign is as old as, well, the sign itself. Built in 1923 as a promotional billboard to attract buyers to make their homes in the hills of the burgeoning Hollywood community, the sign that once read "HOLLYWOODLAND" has become one of the most iconic landmarks in LA. Now real estate and the sign have a......

View Larger Map UPDATE, 1:58 A.M.: This story has been updated and can be read in full here. UPDATE, 11:28 P.M.: The LA Fire Department is reporting that a total of four homes with seven people have been evacuated with no injuries. They are currently working to stabilize and protect the homes below.At 9:57 p.m. tonight, a large hillside water main break was reported to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Possibly threatening homes in the......

If You don't actually live in Eagle Rock or Highland park, getting out here for a nice weekend breakfast probably feels like joining the Donner party, especially if you're hungry and your belly is screaming "NOW NOW NOW" at you as loudly as a belly can. Which it probably is. "Why should I drive all the way out there?" I can almost hear you saying as you surrender to the despotism of your appetite.......

What are your favorite breakfast spots in Los Angeles? Who's got the best cup of coffee? The yummiest pancakes? The thickest slabs of bacon? Who's overrated and who's overlooked? We're determined to find out -- so wake up with us, won't you? Enjoy L.A.'s Best Breakfasts!!!...

Jeffrey Lawrence Weaver was sentenced today to 40 years to life in prison for the killing of a man whose remains were left to rot in a Van Nuys storage unit. Weaver is one of two men convicted in this case. Today the "judge said he would recommend that Weaver never be released on parole" because of the extreme nature of the killing. The couple found this weekend dead of an apparent murder-suicide have been......

Sometimes too much holiday cheer is a very, very bad thing. Especially the liquid kind. Hence, the lateness of today's column. But here's the down and dirty on what's happening around town tonight: SPECTACULAR: The Super Sexy Christmas Spectacular takes place at El Cid tonight with Terry Beeman's Hollywood Pin-up Girls' burlesque dance showcase. Tapas. Drinks. Flamenco. Sounds like a very dangerous combo. We're in. 10 pm // El Cid, 4212 Sunset Blvd., Los......

MTV's The Hills Season Finale pre-show, live after party took place tonight at AREA Nightclub in West Hollywood, which seemed to be the perfect spot for a soiree such as this. Walking the Red Carpet (or shall I say Blue Carpet) were Lauren, Brody, Audrina, LOD, Frankie, Katie and Heidi. And apparently the personal trainer. Surprise, suprise, Heidi Montag showed up on the carpet briefly, alone and without a wedding ring. it seems that......

Today Pat Morrison explains that parking can be tough for people who live in the hills who have converted their garages into offices and spare rooms. Sure you can say, "awwww poor rich people, listen to the tiniest violin." But lots of people live and work in hilly areas of this town so hush. The mountains and hills that make Los Angeles beautiful also create a bowl for smog, as well as gullies and......

By the end of yesterday morning, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael Balzary, popularly known as Flea, sent a text message saying his home "had burnt to a crisp," according to the LA Times.Michael Balzary, a.k.a. Flea, had purchased a home for more than $10 million in Malibu last year, but the house that burned was another he owned in the hills west of Corral Canyon. That French country-style home is listed for sale......

This weekend's red flag warnings rang true around 3:30 a.m. in the hills above Malibu. In six hours, over 2,000 acres have burned and at least 35 homes (of the multiple-million-dollar variety) are reported destroyed. Everyone in the Malibu Bowl area west/southwest to Point Dume have been ordered to evacuate as 35-40 miles an hour gusts are fueling fires over roads and canyon passes. At least 200 homes remain threatened all the way down to......

I'm a lucky bitch. But I'm grateful, and even though every day I walk across those stars on Hollywood and Vine, I still take some time to thank them for everything I've got. For one: I've had a great year professionally, and I'm glad to say I have both a day job and a writing gig that bring me immense satisfaction and fulfillment. I get up every morning and spend my day at a......

Following a flap from an LA Times article that found 60,000 LAUSD students attend school within 500 feet of a freeway, the school district is looking into ways it can reduce the health hazards for kids close to pollution-filled freeways. Maybe the school district can use the $53 million in funds they're trying to recoup to build domes over playgrounds. Thousands of birds and an immeasurable amount of fish have died as a result......

While it is hard for most to understand or imagine, once you have become entrenched in the archipelagic enclave of skyscrapers and bona fide mass transit that is Manhattan Island, it is difficult to leave. For a New Yorker, geographic displacement can fester into a self-induced internalized affront (even if just for a few short days). But the compelling lure of a free trip to Los Angeles to accompany my aunt on a business trip......

It's nice to see the largest newspaper west of the Mississippi delving into the breaking news concerning the alternative sexuality of a fictional character. While the hills were alive with fire, while the nation is at war over lies, the Times wielded its muscle to contact Andrew Slack of the Harry Potter Alliance who helped them read the writing on the wall regarding the fantasy wizard dude and who he liked to hold hands......

Welcome to the all fire, all the time edition of Extra Extra! The weather is not expected to abate until tomorrow, and fire fighters are still days away from containing major blazes. The New York Times is liveblogging the fires; they are reporting that over 500,000 people have been forced to evacuate so far (although other reports are estimating up to one million people have had to flee their homes). The Daily News is......

There are no flaming sirens on the worlds most popular sortablog, but the Drudge Report has been having a field day over-hyping the already-tragic Southland fires. With all-caps screaming headlines like "HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FLEE SOCAL INFERNOS" to "HELL COMES TO MALIBU", Drudge has taken the dramatic news and blown it up so much that he is almost making it unbelievable. Those of us here in Southern California know how bad it is, but......

Good thing the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) put out a Red Flat Alert (move your car if you live in the hills or you could be towed) last night for today -- a major brush fire began this morning around 5:50 a.m. near Tampa Ave and Sesnon Bl (yo, Valley, people, this is Porter Ranch) in Los Angeles County territory according to alerts from the LAFD. In the name of mutual aid, the......

Two explosions ripped through a convoy carrying former Pakistani premier and maybe the country's best hope for Democracy, Benazir Bhutto, following her triumphant return after an eight-year exile. She was not hurt, but hundreds were killed and injured. How did the White House respond? By tying it back to the war on terrah, of course, saying, "Those responsible seek only to foster fear and limit freedom." A dump truck is in a "precarious spot"......

A recent 911 call about George Clooney's motorcycle crash in New Jersey has been made public. The operator seems quite confused - TMZ Uh Oh - do we have another celeb heading to rehab? Pamela Anderon's friends are concerned about her hard partying ways, drinking and doing damage to her liver when she already has Hep C (Thanks Tommy) - NY Post Bridget Moynihan poses for OK magazine with new baby boy, John, fathered by......

For the next hour, all different forms of sex were had. I started out on top, slowly gliding, eventually moving behind her, where I took hold of that glorious ass that a super model will never have, but a size all women should be comfortable with and proud of. There was even some scissor sexing, 69ing, a bit of The Monkey and we even Crushed some Spice. Then, it started to get weird. Now, I have nothing wrong with post-coital snuggling. Sometimes it can be grating, but sometimes it can be nice to cozy up with someone with whom you just shared a great fuck. ...

Considering I had bought 80 percent of my outfit from Ross Dress for Less, it's a wonder they let me in. Growing up as a happily naive kid in the Midwest, I always wondered if Beverly Hills was anything close to the myths I had grown up with on television as dispensed through Buddy Ebsen, Eddie Murphy and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Was it full of movie stars and the moneyed elite and their hangers......

There was a wildfire brewin' in the hills of Altadena earlier this afternoon: The fire began about 1:30 p.m. and was fought by helicopters. Several dozen hikers were evacuated from the mountain trails leading to the Flores Canyon area in the Los Angeles National Forest. The fire was contained above the tree line though there were homes within a few miles of the blaze. No evacuations had been ordered by 2:30 p.m., [Capt. Mike] Brown......

In the last year, HBO has lost four of my favorite shows for various reasons--The Sopranos, Extras, Deadwood and Rome. Do you hear that sound, HBO? That sound is Showtime creeping up on you. At least the second season of Rome is now available on DVD. If you like gratuitous sex mixed with your gratuitious violence (and who doesn't?), then Rome is the show for you. One of the last great seasons of The......

Remember when Sandra Bullock set aside her flourishing, if somewhat formulaic, Hollywood career to make compelling independent films that actually had something original to say? Yeah, me neither. Premonition continues a long slide that I predict will ultimately end in a USA series about a quirky female detective--Bullock to star, produce AND direct a few eps. Factory Girl also drops today. After seeing Sienna Miller in Interview and reading this, I'm renting it. Other......

Beautiful downtown Burbank was the butt of many a Johnny Carson joke. Sometimes one does get the sense that Burbank is a little podunk town, caught in a time warp. It’s like living in Mayberry. People in the higher tax-brackets live in the hills, and around the The Equestrian Center. This post is going to focus on the flats, particularly around the neighborhood called "Magnolia Park" by Real Estate agents trying to make it......

- Two Long Beach teens are heroes after rescuing two kids in apartment fire - CBS2 - The LAFD and the FBI are investigating a tip that animal rights extremists placed a bomb under the car of a UCLA eye doctor - LAT - The LA Times has a new managing editor? Yes, no, maybe so? - FishbowlLA - Heck of a job, BushCo - Milk could cost $5 a gallon by end of......

- The Beastie Boys will play some mellow, intimate, laid back classy shows in support of their upcoming all-instrumental cd The Mix-Up (6/26). They will also do seven full on old school hip hop shows around the country and one of them is within an hour and a half drive of LA, up in the hills of Santa Barbara at the beautiful County Bowl (8/23) - Pitchfork - Frustrating 9-1-1 calls from King-Harbor showing......