Carolyn Kellogg

In the battle of the Thursday Home sections, the NY Times smacks the LA Times down without even breaking a sweat. Just look at those web pages: the NY Times has a gorgeous photo that will make you drool, even if a cedar-sheathed house with a copper tower doesn't sound like your thing. The LA Times, on the other hand, starts with a jumble of text that's not been copy edited for the web,...

Yesterday morning a pair of gray-haired exterior painters was attacked in Beverly Hills. The first one was attacked by a guy with a knife and his partner jumped in to help; the second painter was stabbed and killed. It is, of course, awful. It's the first murder in Beverly Hills since 2001. And we can't help but wonder: could 2006 be the year for Beverly Hills Cop IV?...

Somebody once said that all rock stars want to be actors and all actors want to be rock stars. And everyone responded: Why? For God's sake, why? This is not to cast aspersions on CSI star Gary Dourdan, who will be playing guitar tonight at the Knitting Factory as part of a Katrina victims benefit. Maybe he'll be one of those who, with the power of celebrity, are (kinda) successful at both: Lindsay Lohan,...

Think the only way you can get someone to show up at your house and take gorgeous pictures of you is to a) be Courtney Cox or b) own an architectural landmark? Not so. Artist Jenn Kolmel is doing a project called "Familiar," where for free -- free! -- she shows up at your domicile, takes a bunch of beautiful medium-format photos of you in your home environs, then gives you them on CD...

Apparently lots of LA employers are paying their people cash to duck the tax burden. The Daily News has a preview of a Milken Institute report out later today: those 680,000 "underground" jobs are costing Los Angeles $2 billion. There are recommendations in the report to help bring these workers into the, um, aboveground economy; the LA Times focuses on that optimistic angle. Also in the LA Times: State attorneys general (the weirdest plural...

The Golden Globe Award nominees have been announced (if the Hollywood Foreign Press Association site is jammed, try the LA Times). Most noms: Brokeback Mountain. And the Housewives are back. The Downtown News chases down some drummers drumming and ladies dancing for a local 12 Days of Christmas. In Northridge somebody was so seized by the spirit of Christmas that they snatched decorations off the lawns of a block of houses, the Daily News...

Jen Sincero is a musician, sexpert, and the author of the bestselling book, The Straight Girl’s Guide To Sleeping With Chicks and the semi-autobiographical novel, Don’t Sleep With Your Drummer. She currently hosts a weekly sex talk radio show called Dr. Happypants on killradio.org. Living in Sin is her weekly advice column for LA's sexually curious, confused and constipated. Got a question for Jen? Ask her. We promise to be discreet (all questions will...

We're not sure how it happens, but every year the Rose Parade is packed. Assigned seating is already gone, and the sidewalks will be filled by the hardy souls who camp out overnight -- this year on January 1, 2006, because the spectacle will be on display Monday January 2. While it seems like the kind of thing your grandparents watch on TV, the floats are actually pretty cool. They smell amazing. They really...

That there Jason Toney's got some pretty big shoes. Behind the scenes at LAist, he has been universally kind and gentle with us contributors. And up front on LAist you probably have noticed that he's smart, witty and engaged with the city in a way that is always interesting. Thank goodness he's not really leaving. So I can only aspire to fitting my small, sometimes obnoxious feet in his footsteps. Thankfully Marleigh is here...

Over the weekend fine diners were invited to a special downtown event: immune globulin shots. That's because at least one employee at Café Pinot, the fancy restaurant nestled in front of the central library downtown, has contracted Hepatitis A. The disease, whose symptoms include fever, nausea and dark urine (good morning!), has a weeks-long incubation period. So only those who dined at Café Pinot post-Thanksgiving, from Nov. 25-Dec. 4 should worry. Luckily for us,...