Adrienne Crew

Carrie Fisher is a year older today and LAist, for one, is grateful for that fact because she's still around for us to enjoy. Fisher should be the patron saint of Los Angeles. She's the consummate Angeleno: grew up in Beverly Hills as the offspring of glamourous Hollywood stars, became a global icon herself via the "Star Wars" triology, lived the LA "high" life as a drug addict, crashed, burned, crashed, burned, turned the...

What's Los Angeles reading these days? Here's the Top 10 Titles requested from the Los Angeles Public Library system: 1) The Da Vinci code : a novel Brown, Dan, 1964 2003 2) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Rowling, J. K. 2003 3) The narrows : a novel Connelly, Michael, 1 2004 4) Angels & demons Brown, Dan, 1964 2000 5) "R" is for ricochet Grafton, Sue. 2004 6) * My life...

The Los Angeles Times reports today that "the California average price for self-serve regular gasoline has risen 30.8 cents a gallon in the last three weeks, according to a weekly survey by the Energy Information Administration." No kidding. There are some days when LAist can't believe our eyes when we look at gas prices. We saw our local Shell station self-serve price ascend from $2.33 per gallon to $2.50 per gallon after just one...

We think that everyone in the United States should know more than one language, but we're creeped out by the strategies of the serial rapist currently terrorizing the residents of Koreatown. The rapist is a black man who may know a few Korean words. He has attacked 3 women in the area so far. More details should be available after today's LAPD press conference at the Korea Town Plaza set for 9AM. Women of...

So many unexplainable phenomena clutter the Southern California landscape that it's difficult to focus on just one. Since Steven Cojocaru spends lots of time in NYC, today's Shocktober entry will stick with local "mystery spots" : areas that seem to defy the laws of nature. Often called "Gravity Hills," "Spook Hills," or "Magnetic Hills," these sites are usually hills or stretches of road where vehicles seem to roll up instead of down. There's an...

It's 5 PM and you're driving home from work. You decide to take a shortcut through Beverly Hills and you notice knots of people milling outside a nondescript office block. You are intrigued. Is it a flash mob, an ill-timed fire drill or a new-fangled self-actualization seminar? You've stumbled upon a private film screening venue. While most of the entertainment elite catch the latest flick at screenings on studio lots or in guild-sponsored theaters,...

Once again the Los Angeles Unified School District has displayed a lousy vision for educating Los Angeles youth and managing the historic resources under their stewardship. After years of uncertainty and discussions between LAUSD, developers, and preservation advocates, yesterday's 4-3 vote in favor of Superintendent Roy Romer's plan made it official -- most of the Ambassador Hotel will face the wrecking ball within a few years. It was clear that the Board members had...

Lotta Living, the online community devoted to preserving historic L.A. and Mid Century modernism, presents its MONDO LOUNGE! on Saturday, October 16 starting at the Hollywood Heritage Museum, 2100 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood. The day-long event celebrates all things retro, vintage, tiki, car culture, modern, space age, bachelor pad, swingtime, etc. Don't miss the car rally which will visit historic Hollywood and Mid-Century Modern architectural landmarks. If you can't make the rally and...

Hollywood Walk of Fame star plaques are good for something other than a promo opportunity for a recipient's latest project. The shiny nameplates also serve as impromptu memorials for grieving fans or loci to show support for a beloved icon (as in the vigil for Michael Jackson pictured to the left). Stephen Saban at the WOW Report blogs that fans have deposited tokens of condolences on the stars of Rodney Dangerfield and Christopher Reeve....

We just knew Southern Californians couldn't resist the charms of public transport. Los Angeles Times reporter Christiana Sciaudone filed a piece called "Friendships Forged On the Rails" in the 10/11/04 edition about bonding amongst commuters aboard Southern California commuter trains. Folks stuck on the train are conversing with their neighbors, throwing potlucks and planning vacations together. Another point in favor of mass transit. When's the last time someone had a pot luck on the...