Snow Tempest

Some things just don't bode well. Still, given the number of color-coded alerts and vague warnings we've all experienced in the last few years, it's hard to know what to do, other than feeling a few jitters, about the 7,500 pounds of fertilizer stolen in Huntington Beach on Friday. This UK government pamphlet suggests that fertilizer containing less than 28% ammonium nitrate is not potentially explosive, which matches the FBI's claim about the fertilizer...

Many Angelenos seemed determined to take celebrating the Fourth of July into their own hands this year, and not just by perfecting their barbecue marinades. In East Hollywood, you'd never have known that some fireworks were illegal, as the air filled with crashes and pops, sparkles and smoke. M80s sat in the middle of the street, launching flashes of hot red, white, and blue close to the overhanging branches of palm trees. A friend...

At outdoor events in downtown Los Angeles, such as the Grand Performances series that included Friday night's Ozomatli concert, or the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival's summer performances, part of the fun is people-watching, and much of what you see people doing is turning their heads side to side and murmuring, "This is so cool. I've never seen downtown like this." California Plaza, where the Grand Performances concerts are held, can be a lovely scene...

For Independence Day weekend, here are some events that involve hanging out with social activists while listening to good music and wearing cute clothes: Friday, July 1 Free concert by social activist and good-time band Ozomatli at California Plaza, downtown Los Angeles, part of the Grand Performances series. 8 pm, but it's a good to get there as early as possible; this one will be crowded. Saturday, July 2, and Sunday, July 3 American...

Speaking of explosions, NASA, including the Pasadena-based Jet Propulsion Lab, has plans for the weekend that involve crashing stuff (on purpose this time) into a comet and seeing what happens. The impact is supposed to occur around 10:52 pm this Sunday, July 3. There will be pictures on TV at some point, we're sure, and there will also be a "Comet Bash" viewing party in Glendora....

Today, July 1, Los Angeles gets a new mayor. Just in the past, pre-inaugural week, Antonio Villaraigosa has been working, and getting some anticipatory scolding. First he helped broker a compromise between management and striking workers of local hotels, winning praise for being hands-on and helping people reach consensus. Now, on inauguration day, the LA Times and the LA Weekly both point out how much it would cost to keep some of his campaign...

What is going on with Shakespeare Festival Los Angeles? First they announce that they are low on money and may not be able to do their summer outdoor performances in Pershing Square. Then they announce that they will have a performance after all, on the plaza of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, and that the play will be The Comedy of Errors. They just did The Comedy of Errors in 2001....

The US Supreme Court today issued its much-awaited ruling on the file-sharing software case known as Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios Inc. V. Grokster, Ltd.. Basically, the court ruled that producing technology that could, among many possible uses, allow the sharing of copyrighted works, is not illegal, but that that doesn't mean that companies can be hinting or promoting to the public that they can use these services to download free copies of songs by Christina Aguilera...

We recently decided to supplement our bachelor's degree by taking a night class at Los Angeles City College. The class itself is fine, but the process of enrolling in it was a snarl of wasted time and red tape, which we can only expect will get worse if, as is the governor's plan, their funding gets cut. Given that the point of community colleges is ostensibly to make education more accessible to more people,...

For their inaugural production, the Waging Theatre ensemble chose William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, a play that questions anyone's authority to wage a moral campaign without a measure of humility. The program and web site include pictures of George W. Bush and scenes from recent news, and the directors note that they chose the play because they found it relevant to the times, but — appropriately, given the theme — the performance avoids direct...