Carolyn Kellogg

We know that by Sunday you may be dog-tired, but this might be the thing to drag you out for one last show. It's a benefit for 4-year-old Fyn Stec, who's been diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer. Five bands have rallied to help his parents foot the bill for his treatment. There's Listing Ship (pictured) which combines arty songwriting with gorgeous vocal harmonies and an excellent all-girl string section. Death House...

One of our favorite local bands, Irving, comes home after a month-long tour with Voxtrot. Welcome them back at Spaceland on May 7 with a pair of free tickets from LAist. Buy them drinks, clap loud, and remember to scream when they sing about wanting to take off all your clothes. This contest is now closed. The Fine Print: Affiliates of LAist, other -ist sites, and Spaceland Productions are not eligible to enter. Entries...

One Hollywood star. One latenight talk show host. A sold-out audience full of rapt fans. And what was it all for? A book. Craig Ferguson's book, a novel called Between the Bridge and the River. The Tuesday night event was part of the excellent interview series Writers Bloc. Last night they presented Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes) with Ann Taylor Fleming. You might know Craig Ferguson as the host of the Late Late Show on...

Every week in Living in Sin, Jen Sincero provides advice for LA's sexually curious. Now you can see her column in print, too, in the LA Alternative Press. Ask Jen your questions: all are posted anonymously. Dear Jen, Can you get intestinal parasites from anal/oral play? I enjoy giving and receiving this, but am sometimes a little bit shy about it for fear of picking up some nasty stuff. Is this an anal-phobic myth...

The sky is falling! The LA Times gets a bit Chicken Little with the dire headline LA Authorities Brace for Huge Immigration Marches and, on the web, LAPD Planning for a Half-Million at Monday's Marches; both headlines lead to this story, which quickly points out that no one expects violence. They're just worried about traffic. stay in school Yesterday Mayor V repeated his call for students to remain in classes during Monday's pro-immigration marches,...

Has one of our favorite D-listers gone too far, even for us? Kathy Griffin is suing her elderly neighbors, 78-year-old Bernard Subkoski and his 71-year-old wife Celeste Dickinson. Suboski built his dream home in the Hollywood Hills but, when health problems made the couple want to downsize, they sold it to Kathy Griffin and moved across the street. The house is reportedly worth $2.85 million. Now, despite an agreement that says any issues with the...

Fausto Vitello passing out Thrasher stickers circa way back when. get on the bus The Daily News gets happy with Orange Line riders. take the shuttle The Downtown News checks out the weeks-old Union Station Flyaway shuttle to LAX and finds it's drawing 500 people a day — pretty good, but you'll have no trouble finding a seat. ailing San Gabriel mayor Chi Mui has been hospitalized after less than 2 months at his post;...

A gorgeous predawn train station. Is it in Paris? Prague? Try Pasadena. Up today on phlog's photoblog....

The late 1950s television series took its name from the address of its hepcat private eyes' office: 77 Sunset Strip (known as Sunset Boulevard to the squares). This 1958 clip features an ingenue named Sharon Hugueny; it was uploaded by her now-adult son, who writes that she was signed by Warner Brothers upon graduating from high school. LA spotting: there's a nice shot of West Hollywood as the detectives' car pulls out onto Sunset, but...

fair and balanced? The new White House press secretary will be Tony Snow, direct from Fox News. What next, Bill O'Reilly for Secretary of State? getting in Eric McCarty, a 25-year old San Diego man has been charged with hacking into USC's admissions database last year; the database contained 270,000 applications that included personal information and Social Security numbers. In an e-mail to a reporter where he took credit for the hack, McCarty wrote,...