Carrie Meathrell

Math geeks and school children everywhere are wishing each other a Happy Pi Day today: that's right, it's March 14th, or 3/14, the first three digits of the mathematical constant π, which represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. (Math geeks everywhere are also scoffing at the Saganian/Aronofskian notion that the numbers in pi reveal some esoteric, kabbalistic secret, while those school children are all happy just to be measuring and...

I'm actually a little hesitant to tell you about Junot Díaz's reading, scheduled for Monday, March 17th at the Hammer Museum -- I mean, yeah, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" was one of the best books of 2007, he's been nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction, and he's a fantastic speaker and reader. But then half of Los Angeles will show up to hear the Dominican-born, Jersey-raised professor...

In all the many, many years I have been trolling Santa Monica's Promenade, in search of shopping and people-watching and places to eat, it had never occured to me to stop in at Locanda del Lago, an Italian restaurant right in the thick of Santa Monica's shopping mecca. I was invited out to try some of their house specialties; it's Italian cuisine in the Lombardy style, which emphasizes ingredients like fish from Lake Como,...

Photo of El Pueblo Plaza de Los Angeles by The City Project via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr An arrest has been made in the murder of Jamiel Shaw, the football star who was tragically killed outside of his home last week. We covered the community's tributes to Shaw this weekend. Oh look, abstinence education is really working! Or, actually, it's failing miserably: a shocking 1 in 4 teenage girls has an...

As if the rising rent prices weren't enough, now food prices are skyrocketing for consumers all over the country. Everywhere you look this morning, there are articles about the rising costs of staples like eggs, milk, and even coffee. As gas prices rise and demand for alternative fuels made from corn also increases (corn is the staple crop of all Americans), your grocery bill is suffering. EaterLA tipped us off to another article from...

I wake up every morning with the weather and traffic reports on ABC7 Eyewitness News. (My boyfriend and I love to share a fresh pot of coffee every morning and gently guffaw at Garth Kemp's goofball antics and shameless puppy-promotion.) This morning, no joke, the weather report was one word: "Perfect." Yup, sunny, clear, and 77 degrees. When I came off the freeway this morning, I could see down the Hollywood hills straight through to...

"The fundamentalists in the Virgil Village neigborhood have started a campaign to cover all exposed hydrant-breasts. Surely this is American prudishness at its silliest. Grow up! Hydrant-nipples are natural and beautiful. You would never see a hydrant like this in Europe. " | Photo and caption by benrodian via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Really, the only news I care about today? "Lost" is on tonight. Tomdog had the scoop today. Hang...

Artist and forager Nancy Klehm will be holding the last of her highly unique cooking classes at Echo Park gallery/performance space Machine Project this Monday, March 10th, from 6-9pm. There are still a few spots left (tickets cost $85 for members, $95 for non-members), so head on over to the website to sign up for a lesson on making your own fermented fruits and vinegars. Fruit wine sounds like a fantastic way to take...

Remember the strike? | Photo by Kim Shattuck via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's all about last minute campaigning for the Democrats in Ohio and Texas; as of this writing, both primaries are still too close to call (Obama & McCain have taken Vermont). More updates on this morning's story about Margaret Seltzer, the author who fabricated a "memoir" about growing up as a white, female gangbanger in L.A.'s South Central....

uWink, the entertainment/dining "experience," has just announced plans to open a new location in the Hollywood & Highland complex, in the space formerly occupied by Wolfgang Puck's Brasserie Vert. The restaurant is coming to Hollywood sometime in early May 2008, and promises to bring as-of-yet-unheard-of levels of FUN!!! and FAMILY EXCITEMENT!!! to the Highland complex. From the press release, a quick primer for those of you unfamiliar with the uWink concept: At uWink, guests...