Carolyn Kellogg

Did this classic-but-down-on-its-luck apartment building inspire Disney Hall? We can't be sure, but we are reasonably certain that it was Frank Gehry's first home in Los Angeles. At Monday's press conference, he said the first place he lived in LA was at 9th and Burlington; he took the red car from there to his job as a truck driver in the Valley. When he mentioned that the building still stood, we had to check...

Wassup Rockers, the new film from Larry (Kids) Clark, features a bunch of Latino skate kids that head to Beverly Hills. On Monday the kids, pro skaters, moviemakers and more hit chi-chi Montana Avenue in Santa Monica for a screening at the Aero and, we hear from a tipster, tied up traffic. The photo above shows, from left, Renee Renee (thankfully sparing us the outfit's matching turquoise shorts), director Larry Clark and pro skater...

This morning Blogging.la reminded us that today is the day to get free ice cream from the delicious-est ice creamery of all, Ben & Jerry's. But we realized we weren't sure where to find one. So we add this important breaking news: If you live in Burbank, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Huntington Beach, Northridge, Arcadia, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood or Malibu, we urge you to...

If you're lucky enough to have someone answer your phone for you, may we remind you that tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26, is secretary's day administrative assistant day. The blog Florists in Los Angeles suggests, not surprisingly, that you get your assistant flowers. If you're an assistant, now might be the time to nudge your Ari Gold and remind him how good you are. If you don't want flowers, prompt the boss to get creative:...

work for Rock Finally, a piece of the Pellicano story that's vaguely interesting: Chris Rock hired the dirty detective when a Hungarian model slapped Rock with a paternity claim. Later DNA tests would show that the kid was not his son (or daughter, we're just feeling Michael Jackson this morning). Rock's attorney says they didn't hire Pellicano to do anything illegal: "Let me put it like this: When you hire somebody to fix your...

The Silverlake band Viva K has uploaded a video for their song "Does It Matter." It's a good song. The video has plenty of good LA-spotting, including a lovely dowtown rooftop sunset. But we're stunned by the retro-headband. You tell us: ironic goodness or scary return to Let's-Get-Physical-era Olivia Newton John? Or both?...

This just in from our big, cloggy daddy in NY: Proving that people will research anything and everything, the SCOTT Clog Clinic says LA is the third-cloggiest city in the country. In this case, we're happy to let NY be #1. The -ist cities are well-represented in the top clogs list (we're hoping this just means we've all got crappy crummy plumbing): 1. New York 2. Miami/Fort Lauderdale 3. Los Angeles 4. Philadelphia 5....

a grand idea The LA Times gets a preview of the Frank Gehry design for the Grand Avenue development downtown, which will be unveiled at a press conference this morning. That's Gehry and partner Chris Webb in the photo above, with their model. remembering atrocities Today is Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day; from 1915-1917, about a million Armenians were killed in Turkey. A lecture about Germany's involvement in the mechanics of the genocide drew a...

Eli Broad (with glasses) and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stand in front of one of the models of the new Grand Avenue at today's press conference. We admit, we are entranced by shiny, pretty things, and in this case that goes for things encased in translucent glass, too. We're talking about debut of the design of Grand Avenue, phase 1, by a team of architects led by superstar Frank Gehry. The design includes two towers, a...

We were disappointed to learn that Silverlake restaurateur Reggie will not be the next Food Network Star. Instead, it's Guy Fieri, the NoCal Gen X-er with bleached hair, shorts and a signature dish called Rhode Island Calamari, which does look delicious. After hearing that he hadn't won, Reggie stood with his arm around his mom (aw). We're sad that he came in second, but the good news is that we'll be able to partake...