Elise Thompson

I love Watt's photo of sunrise over this mast. The lines look like spiderwebs. It started me thinking about masts and general sailing terminology. People make jokes about the mizzen mast on Talk Like a Pirate Day. It is the most poetic-sounding mast. These are the actual names for the masts:Fore-mast - the first mast, or the mast fore of the main-mast. Main-mast - the tallest mast, usually located near the centre of the...

Yesterday LAist was invited to watch a taping of The Florence Henderson Show on the AARP's new network, Retirement Living TV. It was a bonus that they shoot it on the same soundstage where they filmed I Love Lucy. Blogger Donna Lethal's presence was required for her sense of irony, incredible database of old Hollywood trivia, ability to spot someone famous at 20 yards, and long red hair that men find irresistible. We watched...

This winter, Seven Grand in downtown LA is offering three specialty winter drinks: The Dublin Flip, Hot Toddy and Irish Coffee.

Richard Knerr June 30, 1925 - January 14, 2008 Richard Knerr, co-founder of Wham-O Inc, passed away Monday at the age of 82 at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia after suffering from a stroke. His business partner, Arthur "Spud" Melin, preceded him in death in 2002. Wham-O was founded on a slingshot, and together childhood friends Knerr and Melin went on to found an empire. The name Wham-O was onomotopoeia for the sound made when the...

Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist The King's Head is arguably home to the best fish and chips in Los Angeles. Sadly, the fish and chips get so much attention that the clam chowder is not given its rightful due. Let me make up for that now. The King's Head Pub in Santa Monica serves the chowder of the gods. All other chowders should bow down before it. Other chowders dare not speak its name. I...

I have always had something against mulled wine. Besides it having the viscousity of blood, I just imagine Will Farrell and Rachel Dratch's "Lovers" characters from SNL drinking hot mulled wine to wash down the juices of their roasted goat meat. Somehow mulled wine always seems to be connected to hippie pagan Ren Faire earthmother people. Not that there is anything elementally wrong with hippie pagan Ren Faire earthmother people. I have friends who dance...

Dupar's is known for its delicious pies, so it naturally follows that they would have a kick-ass chicken pot pie. Really, its only competition in town is Musso and Frank's, and I still think Dupar's has them beat. The thick, comforting gravy is not too bland, and not too salty. In fact, it's just right. Huge chunks of chicken fill the pie, so there is none of that gypped feeling you always had growing...

People are always there for you in the midst of crisis. But eventually they have to get back to their own lives, and on to the next crisis. Unfortunately, that is when you really need someone. I was running errands early this morning and realized I was only a block away from the studios, and right next to an open bagel shop. I thought about Heath measuring their support in dwindling Twizzlers. When I pulled...

The Golden Globe winners have been announced, and unbelievably, Viggo Mortensen did NOT win "Best Actor" for Eastern Promises. True, he did not really emote; he didn't scream and he didn't cry. He did not play a person with a disability. Yes, he had to learn a foreign accent - with some success. But what really made Viggo award-worthy was that steamroom fight. I wish they had a "best fight scene" category like they...

In addition to your usual Irish Coffee, O'Brien's in Santa Monica serves five other fun alcoholic coffee drinks. The Nutty Irishman, made with Frangelico, was beckoning (why are nutty Irishmen in bars always beckoning? Must be my red hair. And their beer goggles). I wanted something unusual, so I went for the kioki - coffee mixed with Kahlua and brandy. It would never have occured to me to mix those liquers, but it really worked....