Carolyn Kellogg

Stoned is the story of Brian Jones, the founder of the Rolling Stones who was cooler than Keith, got more action than Mick, and flamed out in spectacular rock star fashion: he got kicked out of the band and weeks later was found dead in his pool. Was his death a drugged-out drowning, or was he pushed? Stoned the biopic asks this question and explores the life of Brian Jones in true '60s style....

The Silverlake Film Festival is on and, as you might guess, it features new independent films, many from local filmmakers (right on). But if you guessed that the Silverlake Film Festival was taking place in Silverlake, you'd be dead wrong. Most of the films are showing at the ArcLight — one of our favorite movie theaters, to be sure, but it's nowhere near Silverlake. According to GoogleMaps, the ArcLight is 4.6 miles from Spaceland,...

If you like music and books, you may have noticed the 33 1/3 series. They're pocket-sized paperbacks that celebrate "much-loved" albums of the last 40 years. Each book is about one record, and they look at the people who make the music as much as musing on the music itself. On Saturday, local popculturenista Kim Cooper (Scram, the 1947 Project) will be joined by NYer Ben Sisario to read from their new 33 1/3...

If you liked your Dicky Barret in the morning, you're not alone. His Mighty Morning Show disappeared from the Indie 103.1 airwaves this week and radio listeners are bemoaning its loss all over the internets. Mack Reed over at LA Voice got the complete scoop. While management says Barret left on his own, one fan says he got an e-mail from Dicky that said he'd been fired, plain and simple. Since the show disappeared...

In between an Angie Dickinson double feature last night, the woman herself made an appearance and answered questions from a hoarde of enthusiastic male fans. At 75, the woman still has it; heck, she doesn't look a day over 50. (she may have had work done, but it's exceptionally good work). The one-time Police Woman was charming and forthcoming. The 1971 film Pretty Maids All In A Row, directed by Roger Vadim, was, she...

This is a newsstand in Burbank in the early 1940s, and the photo was taken by, of all people, Ansel Adams. Due to the meticulous research of Gerard Van der Leun, with (thankfully) time on his hands, we now know that Ansel Adams was on assignment in LA for Fortune Magazine. Van der Leun has gathered the photos, and all that he knows about them, in this flickr set. If you recognize a streetcorner,...

Just like Reservoir Dogs, the MTA is running out of colors. So far there is no Pink Line, but a possible Aqua Line has people wondering about the color-coding system. We suggest Chartreuse, Fuchsia, and Burnt Sienna. The Union Rescue Mission has captured an obvious skid row "dumping" incident on video: a taxi pulled up near its door and released a 63-year-old woman in a hospital gown and slippers. When she wandered into the...

We're #2! It's no fun being up near the top of the list of the most toxic air in the nation, except that we trail New York. Just think: without the AQMD, we probably would have been #1. Last week UC Regents, meeting at UCLA, voted to divest from companies doing business in the Sudan. Students, who led the divestment effort, say their achievement "represents student activism of the 21st century." Good news, this...

You've heard that the South Park Scientology episode was pulled. Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote, in a statement to Variety, "So, Scientology, you may have won this battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will not stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"...

The Million Writers Award for Fiction has begun its second year. Organized by storySouth magazine, it's a little like American Idol for short stories: a huge group is selected by judges, then winnowed down, then put before the public for a vote. There will be just 10 finalists offered to the public vote, and the purse the winner takes away — well, it's pretty modest. This is one of those cases where just being...