Andy Sternberg

No, this is not the set of Casino 2. After 49 years, the hotel that helped modernize the glam-it-up, get-you-drunk, take-your-money Vegas we know and love is kaput. Stardust was imploded in grand fashion early this morning to make room for the $4.4 billion Boyd's Echelon Place megaplex. AP photo by Darrin Bush. More at Yahoo! News' slideshow....

-- 15 teams of sheriff's deputies and undercovers nabbed 58 people across Southern California Saturday on suspicion of providing alcohol to minors. It was the was the largest one-day "hey mister / shoulder tap" sting operation in state history. - MyFoxLA.com. -- A wildfire north of Anaheim charred 2,000+ acres and threatened homes. It's still burning, as is a smaller fire near Corona. Do your best to not burn down your neighborhood -- it's hot,...

There are countless reasons to love the Hollywood Bowl: the outdoor ambience tucked in the so-close-yet-so-far-away Hollywood Hills; bring your own... whatever you want; great sound and big screens that you can see no matter where you're seated. Best of all, if you act quickly you'll get to many more shows for far less money. Here's how: You can purchase tickets RIGHT NOW (as long as you purchase for at least 5 events). General...

By week's end, Los Angeles is regularly littered with a handful of free rags. Combined, these publications put the Tribune Company's Spring Street operation to shame as far as reporting on the dozens of municipalities that make up this metropolis of more than 12 million people. LAist reads the weeklies so you don't have to. If there's anything we missed, pretty please let us know, or better yet, drop it in the comments section...

R.I.P. (Some touching comments at Bostonist)....

In a display of supreme irony, the USC Free Culture group is being fined for every flier posted in the campus' so-called "Free Speech Zone." Campus officials sent an e-mail to the group yesterday, warning: There is a 1$ fine for every flyer posted in violation of policy and at at the moment 14 flyers reading "This is not a free speech zone" have been collected. [...] The fine for chalking is determined by Facilities...

Not a TOTAL lie, as Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr. actually was found not guilty of one of the 5 charges leveled against him. FoxNews.com has regressed from the "fair and balanced" schtick to an even more ridiculous "We report. You Decide." Now that's pretty commanding when spoken by apes. Anyway, for those of you keeping score at home, the Libby trial has gone the Martha Stewart route, as in, he lost, although he...

Friday was the 50th birthday of Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat. A few area schools honored the occasion with special events including the release of "THE SEUSS IS LOOSE!: Young Lil' Hats, Writing All That," at The Watts Learning Center charter school. Cabrillo Elementary in Hawthorne went all out for the good doc with a Read-a-Thon and a Green Eggs and Ham Cookoff, and the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library served birthday cake while hat-wearing...

While we basked in the warm afternoon sun, much of the rest of the world witnessed the first total lunar eclipse in nearly three years. Luckily, many photos were taken. Good lookin' out, rest of the world! We won't have to wait long to get ours -- the total lunar eclipse on August 27/28 will be fully visible from LA, assuming skies are clear. Photo composite (above) by swissrolli, Wolverhampton, England. Photos of tonight's...

（Or too geeky. Or too broke. Or too old. Or drunk.) As long as you've got access to a computer, you needn't leave the house or spend another dime to get some university enrichment.Your friend the Internet is here to provide the ultimate in affirmative action at the click of a mouse. Here are 5 choice picks to enrich your commute, impress your friends, inspire hallucinations, or maybe even help you get smart: 1) Sci-Fi...