Security personnel place warning cones in front of the closed gates at the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles. West Coast cargo traffic has come to a halt as port workers stage anti-war protests to commemorate May Day. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) In the name of ending the war, all 29 ports along the West Coast, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, have halted operations for one shift. "We are supporting the troops and......

With government budget's dwindling (so bad, the Mayor took a furlough day yesterday), Southern California leaders met yesterday to discuss transit funding for the 25 million residents in the area. And they expect millions more to move in over the next 30 years. So how to pay for it? Here are some their ideas as reported by the Daily News: State transportation bills, if passed, could allow for bonds to be passed on the......

The Bus Riders Union singing (see the video) | All Photos by Zach Behrens/LAist Saturday's Anti-War March in Hollywood, organized by the ANSWER Coalition was amazing (their acronym stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Thousands walked down Hollywood Blvd, down Schrader, then onto Sunset, eventually ending in front of the CNN building. Many LAist Featured Photo Contributors have been contributing photos to the Flickr pool an we'll feature them in......

On Schrader Ave. in Hollywood | Filmed by Zach Behrens/LAist The Bus Riders Union may have its fair share of lovers and haters, but when it comes to getting together and organizing protest music and song, this just felt great while marching at today's Anti-War March. We had to share. Previously on LAist -- Bus Riders Union Refresher -- Random Street Music at Downtown Art Walk (just for fun)......

"hang" | Photo by xxjetlab via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr THEATRE Members of the Towne Street Theatre are on stage tonight in a double bill. First is The 10 Minute Play Festival, which features plays ranging from comedy to satire to drama brought to you by 23 actors and 9 director. Second is PassingSOLO, a one-woman show based on their play version of Nella Larsen's 1927 novella Passing. There will be......

As the culminating event of a fifteen week workshop that joined veterans, performing artists, and activists in a series of verbal and physical conversations about their lives and aspirations, "Action Conversations" was presented at Highways Performance Space for only three performances, February 8-9. Through a collaborative process under the direction of UCLA professor and choreographer Victoria Marks, the performers revealed some of the highlights of their explorations of identity, heroics, mortality and civic responsibility in......

Now that the writers' strike is over and it's full-steam ahead with the Oscars, you can bet that just about every TV channel is going to dogpile on the gala event. Yeah, the Grammys went ahead without interference but the Grammys are nothing compared to the Oscars. E! and CNN already have several shows lined up (look for Oscar host, Jon Stewart, on Larry King this Wednesday night) ready to tackle the exciting topics of:......

Restaurants have no love for dogs, but dogs sure do love their owners | Photo by Tom Andrews via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Steve Poizner has no love for Allianz: The state Insurance Commissioner announced a $10 million settlement with Allianz Life Insurance Company, the biggest seller of annuities in California, today in Burbank. Allianz swindled hundreds of 84 and 85 into bad deals that cost them thousands of dollars. David......

The LA Times reports that local indie stalwarts Dim Mak Records has made a deal with Downtown Music (Gnarls Barkley, Cold War Kids, Art Brut, Justice) in which Dim Mak will continue to discover and develop new artists, and Downtown will give them that boost in distribution and promotion that Dim Mak has never been fortunate enough to be able to offer. Sounds like a deal that could make everyone happy. Founded by well-known local......

Will it be pouring buckets tonight? If you aren't already planning on holing up with some popcorn and Netflix picks, you may want to get out and get your art & culture on. Let us help! ART ART LA 2008 is billed as "the only art fair in Los Angeles exclusively dedicated to contemporary art" and runs through tomorrow at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. This year's event "features 64 prominent international and Los Angeles-based......

This looks good -- an artist not yet heard in our neighborhood and a timeless theme. Plus references to things we may know something about. In its welcome mission of bringing outstanding international artists to our local performance scene, UCLA Live is hosting the Los Angeles debut of award-winning Company Ea Sola at Royce Hall for two shows this weekend. Raised in Vietnam during the war and trained in Paris, the female choreographer-performer Ea......

Photo courtesy of dmax3270 via flickr While the features and shorts at Sundance are occasionally hit or miss, the documentaries are always strong across the board. Yesterday, I was able to see two that I have had my eye on since the festival schedule was originally released: Made in America by Stacy Peralta and Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden by Morgan Spurlock. Considering all the frantic back-and-forths I've been doing since last......

Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company Even though they are the two big releases today, I just couldn't bring myself to lead with the awful Saw IV and the even worse The Game Plan. Save yourself some money and buy the truly entertaining The Hunting Party instead. Remember that Jessica Simpson movie that made only a few hundred bucks in theaters a few weeks ago? It's out on DVD, ready to be ignored again.......

The moment has finally materialized: The official lineup for the three-day mega music fest in the middle of nowhere (aka Empire Polo Field in Indio) has been announced. Start putting those Susan B. Anthonys in your piggy banks now, music fans. 3-Day passes will run you $269.00 (+ $3 charity + applicable service fees), and single day passes are $90 (+ $1 charity + applicable service fees). If you're just picking one day, be ready......

COMIC BOOK ART The gallery named for the year that brought us Hypercolor T-Shirts, Yo! MTV Raps, and Salt N Pepa's single "Push It" (that's 1988 for those who didn't immediately connect) is currently featuring "Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee" in a show that runs until February 1. Preview some of the artwork online and then activate your Spidey webs and crawl over to Melrose Ave. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. //......

KRS ONE, one of the greatest rappers out there, will play The Roxy tonight | Photo from his MySpace Two highly recommended Hip-Hop shows take place tonight. Experience the powerful Gospel of Hip-Hop with KRS ONE at The Roxy or explore some electronic Hip-Hop with Sole and the Skyrider Band. And we mean no disrespect to Peanut Butter Wolf who is playing at El Rey with Chromeo, but we know for sure that show......

As a devoted fan of Wet Hot American Summer, I feel it's my duty to give top-billing to the equally hilarious The Ten. I'm not sure there was a more surreal comic moment last year than Liev Schreiber's competition with his neighbor over--what else--CAT-scan machines. I almost resent Ricky Gervais for not sticking with Extras a few more years. There are now only three funny shows left on TV. Between grief and Good Luck......

Monday Tanya Lemani presents Have Belly, Will Travel 7pm @ Book Soup Kim Sunee presents Trail of Crumbs 7pm @ Vroman's Tuesday Marc Porter Zasada presents The Urban Man: Staying Human in LA 7pm @ Book Soup Patrick Conyer presents Pasadena: A Business History 7pm @ Vroman's Elizabeth Pomeroy presents Pasadena: A Natural History 7pm @ Vroman's Muhammad Yunus discusses Creating a World Without Poverty 7pm @ Central Library Lewis Hyde discusses his books......

We always encourage you to press that little recommend button at the bottom right hand corner of every post if you enjoyed it. For one, it tells us what you want more of here it LAist. So here's this week's five most recommended posts, as recommended by you: 1. LAist Interview: Matt Reeves, Director of Cloverfield: It was nice to have so many Cloverfield fan sites point to this in depth interview. Who knew that......

Johnny Grant was found dead tonight, around 7 p.m., on a bed at the Roosevelt Hotel where he lived on the 14th floor in a suite.Grant, 84, has been one of Hollywood's most enthusiastic supporters for more than 50 years. Grant got his start in entertainment by hosting a daily radio show in New York City for servicemen and women during World War II, and later co-hosted the first national telethon ever produced to help......

If any film cried out for a comprehensive DVD this year it was Zodiac. Casual viewers probably didn't realize it, but Zodiac was swimming in meticulously crafted CGI. Check out this video and be truly amazed by the subtle work of David Fincher and his team. Then, go out and buy the DVD. You know that it's been a good year at the movies when 3:10 to Yuma is only the third or fourth......

I've managed to avoid watching NFL playoffs and college bowl games but I'm getting worn down, I'm tellin' ya. If I got the Fox Movie Channel I would watch Less Than Zero tonight at 7pm because I'm just about as strung out as Robert Downey Jr.was in that flick. I'm not begging for the writers to capitulate, I want them to win, I'm just begging the networks to send me some shite to write about.......

We Barbarians, the Long Beach locals who recently played on tour with the Cold War Kids, begin their Silverlake Lounge Residency tonight. And we fully approve. &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/zfiles/webarbarians1.mp3"> "Yesmen & Bumsuckers" - In The Doldrums EP &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/zfiles/03Doldrums.mp3"> "In The Doldrums" - In The Doldrums EP &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/zfiles/04SpunOut.mp3"> "Spun Out" - In The Doldrums EP Tonight, they play with Aushua (Orange, CA) and Drew Grow (Portland, OR); next week with The Henry Clay People and Matt Death and......

National Treasure: Book of Secrets ($20.2M/$171M) and I Am Legend ($16.3M/$228.6M) continued to rule the box office, but the weekend's big news belonged to Juno. In its first weekend of wide release, the sly comedy raked in $16.2M ($52M) and has now eclipsed the gross of last year's indie-ish* hit Little Miss Sunshine (*both films were produced by major studios). Alvin and the Chipmunks was a hair behind at $16M ($176.7M). Crappy newcomer One......

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the worst opening weekend of the year! Granted, it's only the first weekend of the year but with a mere one movie opening--one!--I think it may hold the title for the next 51 weeks. That movie, of course, is One Missed Call. It's your typical, 'let's trick bored teenagers into seeing another bad re-make of a better Japanese horror film.' I thought that trend had run its course, but......

You know it's a light week when I lead off with the DVD of a TV series. The Tudors wasn't great television, but it was pretty good and Natalie Dormer was fantastic as the doomed Ann Boleyn. Am I the only one who confuses Shoot 'Em Up with Smokin' Aces? War is Jet Li's last martial arts flick...until the next one. Weird Science lasted two whole seasons? Amazing. Consumer alert!: Indie Sex is mostly......

The bestests Christmas present ever a vintage Jiffy Kodak Series II camera used in World War II....

Christmas Eve is here. And today is no time for cynicism, irony or nastiness of any sort. Time instead to make something nice to eat, clink your glass with a loved one, and count your blessings with total sincerity. Preparation is over. The moment to let it go and be happy starts now. To help set the mood, we offer twenty of the most joyous, uplifting, totally Christmasey of all Christmas songs known to man.......

In a crowded weekend of new movies, it was National Treasure: Book of Secrets that topped the box office with a haul of 45.5 million dollars. I Am Legend showed good strength in it second weekend ($34.2M/$137.4M) as did Alvin and the Chipmunks ($29M/$84.8M). Charlie Wilson's War managed fourth place in its debut ($9.6M), just ahead of fellow opener Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ($9.3M). P.S. I Love You had a......

The Venice Beach Drum Orchestra will play at the Spronto Gallery at 4 p.m. The Curse, Sweetest Perfection, Anna Strafford String Quartet @ Roxy All Wrong and the Plans Change, Pedestrian, Chase Frank, Brutus Gets the Girl @ Spaceland Shiny Toy Guns, Moving Units, War Tapes @ The Wiltern Poncho Sanchez's Latin Jazz @ La Ve Lee Medusa @ Temple Bar The Vandals, Supernova, Hunter Revenge & A Kiss Could Be Deadly @ House......