Elise Thompson

These flowering blossoms remind us that today, March 20th, is the first day of Spring. The first day of Spring is also known as the Vernal Equinox. It is one of two days a year (The other being Autumnal Equinox) when there are 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of night. Equinox = equal night. Why? Most descriptions are a little overly complicated, so let's try not to get too Mr. Science about...

After discussing the various available Easter cupcakes yesterday, we just had to check them out for ourselves at Yummy Bakery. The Egg Hunt, Pictured on the left, is a coconut cupcake topped with a coconut buttercream and decorated with the standard green-tinted coconut and jelly beans. Although the Egg Hunt is cute as a button, I have to admit I much prefer the chocolate with cream cheese coconut topping. You can always buy a bag...

The original Rutles reunited for the first time! Well, they actually reunited for the movie showing previous to this one. And they probably had to have a meeting to discuss things, perhaps they went to tea together beforehand, so actually, this is the one of the first of many first times the Rutles reunited - that day" Monday The Mods and Rockers Film Festival pulled out all the stops, and reunited The Rutles for...

Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank is serving up Easter specialties this week - Carrot Cream Cheese, Easter Bunny, Easter Basket, and the somewhat unusual Egg Hunt. This LAist favorite bakes up an irresistible "Old School" cupcake, a riff on Hostess Cupcakes. The "Old School" will be featuring a pastel palette of curliques this week. (Open 10am to 3pm Easter Sunday) Sprinkles is featuring their HOP box, containing Sprinkles' Spring collection, including dark chocolate, brown sugar praline,...

The weather was strange all over Los Angeles last weekend, with dark, looming storm clouds juxtaposed against bright blue skies. Rain mixed with sunshine, and it seemed like earthquake weather. Then came the winds. This unusual combination made for some interesting light. Here is a photo of dusk in Long Beach last Saturday. Photo by Elise Thompson for LAist...

March 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the heady days when those loveable moptops - Dirk, Nasty, Stig and Barry conquered America with The Rutles: All You Need is Cash. This week Eric Idle and Lorne Michaels are in town with Rutlemania, a "semi-spectacular tribute concert." The concert/musical features top-notch Beatle tribute band, "The Fab Four", performing as a Rutles tribute band, "The Pre-fab Four". The multi-media experience is an "all-singing, all-dancing, all-laughing, all-jumping up...

Rather stay in and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a quiet dinner at home? Or maybe you need to fill up before a night of serious partying. If corned beef and cabbage isn't your style, here are a few of my favorite Irish dishes. Beef Braised in Guinness 1 beef boullion cube (OXO if you got 'em) 2/3 cup hot water 2 pounds chuck or round steak 2 heaping Tablespoons flour Salt and pepper to...

Because it's a holiday, we're bringing back the PSA style 4:20 video for you I'm not sure which gets it worse in this video, drunkeness or Shamrock Shakes. Of course, no one ever drank a Shamrock Shake and drove into a tree. So maybe they're not so bad. Plus, there are police stings everywhere. So get a cab or designate a driver tonight. Play safe!...

Many people do not find corned beef and cabbage very appealing. That's because most people (and most bars) boil the corned beef and vegetables together, resulting in a greasy, unappealing mess. Remember, it is still a brisket, so you want to treat it as such. Imagine throwing a big T-bone into a boiling pot of water; it would taste like crap too. The secret is to cook the corned beef in the oven, and...

I have been having a great time in Los Angeles since last week. These are photos of my visit to Redondo Beach. I played in the sand, watched the sunset on the Pacific, and had a lot of fun in the arcade, The Fun Factory. Like my new shades? Check out my photos after the jump!...