How an Evangelical Minister helped save My Yom Kippur It's a dark and stormy Friday night in Culver City. I sit in my car and listen to the rain pound all around me. I have 11 hours to solve a very large problem and do not know where to start. Understand that an hour ago I had 1,500 congregants very unhappy with me. You see, I am the head of the volunteer sound crew for......

Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown. Challah! The Day of Atonement, is when we look back at the past year and ask for forgiveness for the sins we've committed against God. If you did anything wrong to an actual person in the past year you'll want to ask that specific person for forgiveness before sundown today, as Yom Kippur is really reserved for the stuff between you and God in particular. He/She wants you......

It's time for the LAIST prize roundup in the book world. John Banville, in a surprise turn, has won the Booker Prize for his novel, The Sea, beating out favorite Julian Barnes, Kazuo Ishiguro, Zadie Smith, Sebastian Barry, and Ali Smith. Apparently the voting was as close as it's ever been. There's a great 3-part interview with Banville at the litblog The Elegant Variation. The Nobel Prize for Literature has not yet been announced......

Have you ever thought about how many meaningless numbers they blast you with on the morning news? This morning, Kent Shocknek of CBS Two intoned that at three-fifty-four, three rare pandas in China had given birth to four baby cubs. Now write this down, he said. In two days there were four births...the male cub was born at four point three ounces, the girl was just one ounce less. Aw, his milfy cohort chimed......

For a long time, the Dodgers have exemplified class and professionalism in baseball broadcasting. No team in baseball history has ever put together a better collection of baseball announcers. From Red Barber in Brooklyn, to Vin Scully who was named "Sportscaster of the Century" by the American Broadcasters Association, the Dodgers have aired the cream of the crop. Even their secondary announcers, guys like Jerry Doggett, Don Drysdale, Ross Porter, and Rick Monday, were......

Today, the Los Angeles Times practically gives a legal briefing on the Angels fight with the city of Anaheim over a proposed name change. Apparently, the language in the Angels' lease agreement with the city of Anaheim is ambiguous enough that the team could come up with a compromise name of sorts. The contract states that "Anaheim" must be in the team name, but it doesn't explicitly force the team to be called the......

Cooler, crisper weather seems to be accompanying Thanksgiving week in the Southland this year, so locals who stick around town (a subject of debate on LAist comments today) can enjoy this season’s bonus of "winter" weather along with our regular local gastronomic bounty. For those who haven’t yet settled on their menu, a day or so remains to peruse the plethora of Thanksgiving culinary suggestions, recipes, and other relevant information that’s out there. Keeping......

It seems like everyone has an opinion on Shawn Green’s decision to sit out one game (but not two) games for Yom Kippur, so LAist will weigh in with our take. The fact of the matter is that it’s Shawn Green’s decision, and he can do whatever he damn wants without the fans, the Dodgers, or the Jewish community telling him what to do. This is coming from an LAist writer who will be......

LAist is proud to publish the LAist Interview featuring a local and international legend who needs no introduction: Vaginal Davis. Performer, writer, DJ, hostess, artist, icon, splendid raconteur—Ms. Davis has done it all. As part of the Silver Lake Film Festival, Ms. Davis will be righteously honored as she prepares to leave our fine shores for Berlin, Germany. Be sure to check out her specially selected experimental films at the Vaginal Davis Career Retrospectacle......