Elise Thompson

Uncle O'Grimacey! This year there hasn't been any advertising for that horror of horrors, the Shamrock Shake. But curiosity got the best of me. I headed over to the local McDonalds and ordered one up. The employees gathered to stare at me the way people do when I ask for my tacos extra spicy or I'm about to eat something like pig's ears. I heard one of the employees mumble to the other, "Did...

Just in time for St Paddy's Day, we check out some of the Irish coffees around town. Screw green beer. That stuff will kill you. After drinking many Irish Coffees in the name of serious scientific research, I have discovered a good Irish coffee relies on two relatively simple elements: the freshness of the coffee and use of real heavy cream #1 Tom Bergin's Tom Bergin's is known as the home of Irish coffee, at...

Yesterday, on the anniversary of his death, Chinatown honored the memory of Sun Yat Sen, who many consider to be the father of modern China. One of the local merchants searched for the right words to describe him, "He is like our George Washington." The statue of Sun Yat Sen that sits at the entrance to the East Gate was decorated with yellow flowers, and each ribbon on each arrangement was carefully placed so...

The city seems to have gone completely mad. From a 16 year-old shot in Northridge to a 70 year-old stabbed to death in Hollywood, Sunday was just another day in what is starting to feel like an out-of-control crime wave. In just the last few months, a man stabbed people in a movie theater while they watched a horror movie, a woman stabbed her own mother, and a man dressed as a skeleton terrorized...

The first sign of Spring isn't a lavendar crocus gently peeking out of the snow. This is Los Angeles, and it's time for strawberries! Which means strawberry pies are back! The greatest pie of them all is the Banberry Pie at Polly's Pies. Sometimes strawberry pies can be a bit overwhelming, and sometimes they are way too tart. Banana cream pies are just a little dull. The geniuses at Polly's Pies combined them to...

The Flat Stanley project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a Canadian schoolteacher. The project is based on the title character in Flat Stanley, a 1964 children's book. In the book, Stanley Lambchop is squished flat, which gives him unique abilities, like being able to slide under doors and travel in envelopes. The project is intended to increase literacy and educate children about geography. Classes participating in the Flat Stanley Project make their...

Everyone needs a place that restores their faith. Not only in a religious sense -- a place that restores one's faith in humanity, in rightness and balance. A place that makes the unseen become momentarily visible. Some people find their place in church, nature, or fellowship. And some people's faith is restored when they stand in the presence of great art. There is something truly special when the place itself is art -- the art...

I swear to God I did not pose someone in a creepy frock in front of the truck. They were standing there when I got there. Goths eat ice cream too, you know. Especially when summoned by the music of the dark overlord | photo by Elise Thompson for LAist digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Satan_s_Ice_Cream_Truck'; I heard it for the first time a week after moving into my new house -- the jangly strains of the...

In the 80s, every punker's bedroom wall was papered with flyers from gigs. There were a few bands that always seemed to be at the bottom of the flyer - perpetual openers. Sin 34 was one of those bands. From 81 - 84 they were always there at the major shows, usually somewhere near the bottom of the flyer. They broke up a year before I got to know drummer Dave Markey, guitarist Mike...

La Luz Photo Gallery | All photos by Elise Thompson for LAist Saturday night La Luz de Jesus hosted the the book signing for The Velvet Hammer Burlesque Book, in conjunction with opening reception for the group exhibition of photographs from the book. The beautifully bound and printed coffee table book was worth every penny of the 60 dollar price tag, as you will see in some of the featured artwork after the jump....