Most of these aren't food. True. In fact, many are likely poisonous, so please do not rush out to your lawn and start mowing mushrooms with your face. The little fungi just seemed like a perfect rainy day food-ish phenomenon to feature. Promise you'll only eat the ones from the market. Or the ones you receive in a bag from a generous friend. Our take a cue from the (fun) guy who's been to the Los Angeles Wild Mushroom Fair. more ›

This is news to us: "there are twenty-two wild horse and burro herd management areas located throughout Southern California," according to the Los Angeles Animal Services Department, which sells licenses to those planning on having one at home (but you've gotta live in an equine district, we believe). Every year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rounds up the animals from public lands in California, Nevada and Arizona, bringing them to a corral near Ridgecrest, grooming them for adoption. more ›

A 34-year-old chimpanzee that was raised in a West Covina family's home for three decades escaped from a wildlife sanctuary in San Bernardino County Friday night. more ›

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Lakers 108, Mavs 104, OT - The Laker's season just keeps getting sweeter. This time, it was all Kobe Bryant -- who managed to score even when triple-teamed. End result? 52 points, including 22 in the 4th quarter and 8 in OT. It was the first game between the refurbished Laker's (Pau Gasol had 17 points and 14 rebounds) and the refurbished Mavs (Jason Kidd had 15 points and 11 assists). more ›

Last Thursday evening, photographer/director Octavio "Winkytiki" Arizala (MySpace) celebrated the release of his Vivid-Alt (MySpace) movie at the Redwood Bar & Grill in Downtown LA. more ›

So that's why cops were all over the Valley this morning. The Daily News is reporting that around 200 cops raided 15 homes, arresting 16, in an early morning operation called "Wild Card" which is "the police department's effort to challenge a particularly active and violent clique of Vineland known as the Jokers." more ›

When was the last time an actor executed a more profound career turnaround than Casey Affleck? Gone Baby Gone is his second superb performance of the year. If you don't see it for him, see it for Amy Ryan's breakout, Oscar-nominated turn. The mere presence of the divine Anne Hathaway makes was released? Greatest poster ever? more ›

In what can only be seen as a ratification of Mike Huckabee's belief that Satan actually exists, . more ›

For over seven years, the Rebels of Comedy have created a warm and welcoming environment in one of America's most notoriously vicious industries. The comedy troop regularly brings Los Angele venues the biggest names and best up-and-coming talent in stand-up. more ›

I'm for feeding birds all year, but as we're celebrating it this month, stop a moment and be grateful that our warm-blooded friends live in the California climate. As the Wild Bird Centers of America reminds us: more ›

After the awful , Vince Vaughn owes us some laughs and Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland might be just the ticket. It follows Vaughn and four hand-picked comedians as they cross the country to play an exhausting 30 shows in 30 nights. There are a bevy of on-stage celebrity cameos and Vaughn never lets his out-sized persona overwhelm everyone else...mostly. more ›

Clippers 95, Hawks 88 - The Clips got an unexpected performance from rookie Al Thornton, who exploded for a career high 33 points the day after a major stomach virus. Los Angeles fielded their 20th different starting lineup of the year, and are currently missing Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette. Next up, a seven game road trip. That's not so bad -- the Lakers have a 9 game trip lined up. more ›

"No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," and "Atonement" all received nominations for Best Picture this morning, as the Academy Award nominations were announced in Beverly Hills. "No Country" and "There Will Be Blood" are the front runners with eight noms apiece, including a Best Actor nod for perennial Oscar fav Daniel Day-Lewis, and directing nominations for the Coen Bros. and Paul Thomas Anderson. While Javier Bardem was recognized with a Best Supporting nom for his work in "No Country," neither Tommy Lee Jones nor Josh Brolin were nominated for the film (although Jones is in the running for a Best Actor award for his work in "In the Valley of Elah" -- did anybody actually see that?). more ›

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--. 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 sadly that's not the case. more ›

I had originally planned to forgo a "best of" list and just talk about all of the movies I enjoyed in this very deep and rich year. After some consideration, though, I decided I should stick my neck out a little bit and go with the best of the best. I'm sure I went with a few outliers and even ignored some consensus picks, but that's why you do these things, right? The hardest films to leave off were --see them all if you haven't already. With that said, here's my ten best. more ›

• Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons will be stepping down at the end of the year, letting Chicago businessman Sam Zell take over the company. The Tribune Company owns the Los Angeles Times.
• President Bush signed a huge Energy Bill yesterday, in hopes of "reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure."
• Looks like Sean Preston and, uh, the other little Chee-to whose name escapes us will have a little fucked up cousin very soon! Jamie Lynn Spears, following in her sister's dirty, unshod footsteps, got herself knocked up.
• California's population has grown by 11.5% since 2000 -- but the annual growth rate has slowed overall, possibly due to slower job growth: "Those who left... were fleeing an economy in which just 5,800 jobs per month were created -- down from more than 20,000 per month the previous year."
• Sean Penn's road-trip flick "Into the Wild" garnered four SAG Award nominations, including one Best Lead Actor nod for star Emile Hirsch. SAG has reached an agreement with the writers guild that will allow the ceremony to proceed as planned.
• This week's rainfall brings California's yearly total up to the seasonal norm. More relief may still be on the way.
• Approximately 25,000 residents in Northridge and other parts of the Valley were affected by power outages yesterday. Cal State Northridge shut down classes, but power has been restored to most customers.
• There may be hope yet for television in the New Year! Stephen Colbert & Jon Stewart will return to cable on January 7th without their writing staff. Stewart and Colbert commented: ""We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."

In order to inspire you to get those last-minute cards in the mail today, here are four very personal holiday messages to and from your favorite musicians. more ›

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I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their... more ›

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their little world. Therefore, this is an act of paying it forward to those hardworking, underpaid musicians who truly made a difference within the music scene this year. more ›

MUSIC: Machine Project is back with an evening of experimental folk music mix. The evening features the sounds of Ryan Fuller, Julie Carpenter, Laura Steenberge, Ruthann Friedman, rickyricky, Pilar Diaz, Pawko and Marshweed. more ›

In business since summer and reviewed then by LAist, The York is a gastropub in Highland Park located in the same spot that once housed The Wild Hare and before that, The Dragon. Looking nothing like its more quaint predecessors, The York offers drinks and food to the Northeast LA neighborhood in an updated, contemporary style. When business partners/owners, Ryan Ballinger and Gabe Byer took over the space, they tore out the old wood paneling... more ›

Reporting is tough. Transcribing is tough. Transcribing live on tee vee is totally tough especially if there's a damn fire raging. more ›

One of the great things about living in L.A. is the profusion of movie choices available. You can see everything from Beowulf in 3-D at the Bridge's IMAX theater to Into the Wild in one of the Landmark's Living Rooms to a revival screening of Bananas at the New Beverly. One of the best choices for more eclectic fare is the Silent Movie Theater. Every month they program several series, any of which is... more ›

Mathieu Schreyer, the KCRW host of "On the Corner" was born in France. Maybe that explains why he didn't include Radiohead on his top ten list like most of his cohorts did. more ›

It's sexy, it's sacrilegious, it's scandalous, and it's just in time for Christmas. LA's hottest art curator Lenora Claire has done it again with a new collection of saucy art pieces guaranteed to get folks hot and bothered. Mixing Christmas themes with ample female breasts and featuring the work of Austin Young, Kitten Natividad, Buff Monster, and our fave the Gay Bigfoot, among others, Claire chose not to rest on her laurels of the... more ›

"Human activity" is what the LA Times is reporting is the cause of the fires. That's arson if it wasn't an accident. The most destructive fire in Malibu in nearly 15 years raced through parched canyons Saturday, consuming 49 homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. The so-called Corral fire burned 4,700 acres before the fierce Santa Ana winds died down, allowing firefighters to make a stand. By evening, the blaze, which... more ›

The local tv news is doing something interesting today, they're really hyping their user- viewer-generated photographs during their broadcasts. more ›

I'm a lucky bitch. more ›