MLB announced game times for some of the Best-of-5 AL and NL Division Series games tonight. The Angels host the Red Sox on Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. local time. Game 1 of the Dodgers/Cubs series begins at Wednesday at 3:30 PDT (happy hour!), with Game 2 Thursday night at 6:30 PDT. Game 3 is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. All Division Series games televised on TBS. Via MLB.com.... [continue]

Silver Jews is coming to town. On just the second tour of a 20-year career, DC Berman and his familial touring band will visit LA tonight behind its sixth recording, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. Berman answered a handful of questions from the road, via e-mail. How do you write songs? I build their walls and then lay siege to them for weeks. It's a dialectic between the artistic voice and the critical voice in... [continue]

The idea of October baseball in Chavez Ravine seemed nearly impossible after the Dodgers deflated just weeks ago, but they're rollin' now and if you act fast, you can snag tickets for potential playoff games at Dodgers Stadium. The Dodgers magic number is 5, meaning any combination of 5 Dodgers wins and/or Diamondbacks losses and the NL West will be won. Get 'em here or at 1-800-DODGERS. Tickets start at $26 for the Division Series... [continue]

Update: The death toll is now 25.Yesterday's horrific train crash claimed 24 lives, authorities confirmed this afternoon. That number is expected to rise as bodies of some victims have yet to be recovered from the twisted remnants of the first car of the Metrolink commuter train. "There is zero chance anyone survived being crushed by a locomotive,'' said Metrolink spokesperson Denise Tyrell. "I wish I could say there was...." There was no official update on... [continue]

At least 18 were killed and 135 injured (about 100 of those were taken to hospitals) in yesterday's head-on collision between a Metrolink commuter train and a freight train in Chatsworth, according to officials. The death toll was expected to rise as heavy equipment lifts the downed locomotive this morning, said Metrolink spokesperson Denise Tyrrell. Metrolink train 111 bound from Union Station to Oxnard, carrying 225 people, collided with the freight train (4 Union Pacific... [continue]

Now that the U.S. is catching up with the rest of the world's mobile phone addiction, we can use our nimble thumbs to engage in some quality worldchanging. We've learned a lot about what's possible with mobile from Google, Apple, and Nokia in the past year alone. Now is the time take the baton and move forward. Tomorrow and Saturday, the Big Brain Boy's Mobile Media Summit will feature presentations from some of the world's... [continue]

Last year, Kanye West flipped out backstage at MTV's Video Music Awards and swore he'd never come back. Sunday night he was there and closed out the show, but this morning the books are open after West snapped, smashing a photographers camera at LAX Terminal 4. West was arrested just before 8 a.m. on charges of battery and vandalism and remains in custody at the airport, according to reports. TMZ has video here.... [continue]

AskaNinja.com creators Douglas Sarine and Kent Nichols online video has gone old media. The Ninja Handbook, is now out in paperback (read it if you dare) and is also available as an audio download (narrated by the Ninja and recommended in tandem with the illustrated handbook for all you Nonjas). No matter your Ninjaish inclinations, consider this fair warning: The Ninja will make a rare appearance tonight at Vroman's to sign your Handbook (and try... [continue]

A 20-year-old man remains hospitalized in critical condition after being struck by a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia on Saturday. The man lost his hat on a ride and climbed two security fences to retrieve it, according to park officials. He was then struck by the Ninja roller coaster and knocked unconscious. Ninja remains shut down pending an investigation. (Photo via MPR529's flickr).... [continue]

Yesterday, Westfield Century City announced the launch of a state-of-the-art, electronic parking management system called Park Assist®, something they say is a first for North America. Here's how it works. In addition to what The Grove does with their "how many open spaces on this level" signage, the Century City's parking garage has retro looking lights over each parking space. If you're looking down an aisle of parked cars, lights above will be red. If... [continue]

LAist was among a couple hundred lucky fans left with goose bumps after being treated to an intimate set of music by Brian Wilson. The former Beach Boy debuted material from his brand new, Van Dyke Parks-produced album, That Lucky Old Sun backed by his energetic 10-piece band. Classic Beach Boys faves "California Girls," "I Get Around," "Good Vibrations," and more. A couple audience members were chosen to ask Wilson questions mid-set and inquired... [continue]

The stage is set for Barack Obama to accept the Democratic Party nomination for president | Photo by Rocky Mountain News via flickr. Unless you've been living underground or roaming the state trying to start fires, you're well aware that tonight Barack Obama will finally accept the nomination as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States after 19 months of campaigning. He'll do so at the 50-yard-line of the elaborately decked-out Mile... [continue]

More than 40 paddleboat teams took to Echo Park Lake last weekend to raise money for 826LA. Teams were required to raise at least $100 for entry and some teams raised well above and beyond to generate an estimated $20,000 in funds for one-on-one writing tutorials and workshops for students age 6-18. 826LA's two locations (in Venice and Echo Park) are staffed entirely by volunteers dedicated to teaching and inspiring students to write creatively. The... [continue]

If you are seeing what we're seeing when you log into your Google Mail account, you're not alone, and no, the "errors" aren't your fault. What to do? Well, you can go to the beach, take a nap, follow the grumbling session on Twitter and throughout the blogosphere, or take a chance on the GMail HTML interface, which is still functioning for some users. UPDATE: GMail is back up after a couple hours on the... [continue]

Ben Stiller's latest comedy is not being taken lightly by several groups that advocate for the disabled. Many of the nearly two dozen advocacy groups protesting Tropic Thunder are planning to protest tonight's premiere at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, according to reports. Tropic Thunder, written and directed by Stiller and starring Jack Black, Tom Cruise, and Robert Downey, Jr., features the 5'7"[-in-heels] Stiller in a send-up of big-budget Hollywood war movies. The... [continue]

One person was killed and at least three others were wounded in a shooting at a Samoan Flag Day celebration at Victoria Park in Carson around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Ricardo Pedroza. The other three victims were a woman, a man, and a boy between 10 and 13 years old, according to reports. Police are still looking for the suspect.... [continue]

American Airlines Flight 81 made an emergency landing at LAX around 9:30 this morning, temporarily shutting down the airport as passengers exited on the runway via the plane's emergency chutes. The pilot of the Honolulu-bound 757 reported smoke in the cockpit shortly after liftoff. The plane circled around the airport and landed soon after on runway 7-Left. LAFD assisted passengers down two emergency chutes. No injuries were reported. No fire was found and the cause... [continue]

The world's largest passenger jet, the double-decker, 489-seat Airbus A380, is scheduled to land at LAX at 9:15 a.m. After the plane arrives, 200 to 250 invited guests will get a two-hour "familiarization'' flight. The jumbo airliner was the first to be delivered to Emirates Airlines, which will begin a nonstop LAX-Dubai service this fall (on a Boeing 777). The We regret to report that LAist has yet to receive an invitation for said "familiarization,"... [continue]

A dead body found in the on-board restroom of Delta flight 950 shortly before landing Wednesday morning in Atlanta was identified as a 61-year-old woman from Ventura. Michaele O'Neil Carnahan succumbed to complications from a pre-existing heart condition, an autopsy found. She had been undergoing evaluation by her personal physician for suspected heart problems, according to medical examiners. Carnahan was on her way from her Ventura home to a wedding in Florida via the LAX-ATL... [continue]

Follow-up reporting has been sparse in the days since the National Enquirer's alleged (for the second time in a year) that former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards was embroiled in a "love-child scandal" with 44-year-old videographer Rielle Hunter (aka Lisa Druck) at the Beverly Hilton. Both Hunter and Edwards denied having the tabloid's initial salacious cover story last October. Now, a handful of videos in which Hunter, as producer, documented John Edwards' travels over... [continue]