Monday night the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles celebrated the launch of their 30th anniversary season. As they put it, "thirty is the new twenty!" According to the website, the much-lauded GMC has toured both nationally and internationally, released thirteen compact discs, and appeared frequently on national television. In addition, "the Chorus membership donates over 60,000 volunteer hours annually to make GMCLA's mission of musical excellence and community partnership a reality." The GMC was... [continue]

Every day LAist will be sharing wishes from Wish Tree for Pasadena with you. Yoko Ono's Wish Tree for Pasadena is an interactive installation at Colorado One. The Wish Trees will remain there until November 9 when it will join other wishes from around the world at the Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island, off the coast of Reykjavík, Iceland One of the best things about of Wish Tree is that you get to... [continue]

Yup, one week after the big police bust, they're back (first three photos). And did anyone notice the myriad of hot dog vendors outside the Sunset Junction Festival next to the large numbers of LAPD officers? (last three photos)... [continue]

It seems that the ditzy blonde LA County Fair commercials are going wayside this year in lieu of playing off current events (oh wait, nevermind). Above, these ads for the September 5th through 28th event are expected to hit streets on billboards and bus shelters this week. In one of the McCain/Obama ads, McCain is holding cotton candy and Obama has a candy apple. OMG, what does that mean? Analyze!... [continue]

Photo by Kevin Estrada/Used with permission Richard Meltzer, reviewing the Germs’ G.I. album for the LA Times in 1979, declared the band heirs apparent to the Doors. So perhaps there’s poetic justice in the way the two bands’ late-period careers mirror each other almost exactly; their lives have both been reenacted in Hollywood movies, and they’ve both returned to the concert stage with a celebrity ringer in place of a defining, iconic, dead lead... [continue]

Things were jumping last night at "Willis Wonderland", Allee Willis' super-cool party pad. The party was in celebration of the launch of "Bubbles and Cheesecake's" new video, "Editing is Cool". "Bubbles" is Allee's singing, painting alter-ego, and "Cheesecake", Bubble's collaborator, is the alter-ego of Holly Palmer, who recently spent some time on the road with Gnarls Barkley. The video is a follow-up to their YouTube sensation, "It's a Woman Thang". Check out the video after... [continue]

Mountain Lion cubs are adorable. But beware when you pet them, their mother might lash out as one did today when a hiker on the Borrego Trail in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park (Orange County) did just that. Luckily, today's "attack," as KNX1070 is calling it, was only a scratch. We would call it self defense as the human was the one who approached the cubs, even if with harmless intentions. The park is currently closed... [continue]

For anyone who missed Rodger Grossman's Germs biopic What We Do Is Secret at last year's L.A. Film Festival, or this year's NoisePop in San Francisco, the film is making its non-festival L.A. debut at The Nuart this month on Friday, August 22nd (also at Regal Irvine Six in the O.C.). Sparking both controversy and high praise, the movie was influential in rousing the remaining members of pivotal L.A. punk band The Germs back into... [continue]

Do you have any of these items of clothing in your closet? If not it's time to go shopping with some recommendations from porn star Mandy Morbid (she's on the left) and her friend who we spotted in Little Armenia walking down the sidewalk. If you don't know about Morbid, she hosts a free porn site (very NSFW link) featuring herself and friends. She promises no scams or pop-up ads--it's just for the love it,... [continue]

Networked DVRs? Yesterday a US Circuit Court made a decision in Cablevision's favor that would allow them to store programming on a networked DVR thus allowing customers who do not have DVRs in their houses, to access the programming at their convenience through their existing set top boxes. Does this mean that advertisers will get short shrift with more people being able to FFWD through commercials? They will probably just get tapped again to pay... [continue]

Photo by Skalas2 via Flickr In today's city council session, there was a big discussion regarding congestion pricing on the 110 Freeway which would basically let non-hybrid solo car uses use the car pool lane for a price. Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who voted for the measure (and it did pass), had a concern about the lanes because they bottleneck, in her opinion, due to the inability to get in and out of the lanes... [continue]

Ringo Starr and his 10th All-Starr Band wrapped up a 31 date tour with a nostalgia-drenched set Saturday night at the Greek. The concept for the evening is simple: In between Beatles and Ringo solo tracks, most of the All-Starr band members - Billy Squier, Edgar Winter, Colin Hay, Stuart Hamish, and Gary Wright - get to take turns performing their own solo material. Gregg Bissonette, thankfully, seems content to just play drums. The evening... [continue]

This past Thursday night “Return of the Rub-A-Dub Style” made its world premiere at the Silent Movie Theatre. Directed by Steve Hanft, the documentary tells the story of how L.A.’s weekly Dub Club was formed and maps its continuation of the reggae dub soundsystem tradition in Los Angeles. Hanft’s documentary, like the Dub Club selectors, digs deep into the history of dub and its impact on other music movements such as hip hop. The film... [continue]

Welcome to the X Games. Flickr Photo courtesy Keith Lam (used by permission). It was a warm summer day in Carson, and people were jammed like sardines on the grounds of the Home Depot Center. With the festivities sold out Saturday, people were outright giddy walking into the grounds in anticipation for the excitement contained withing. There were even throngs of people gathered on Victoria Blvd. looking in from the outside to catch a... [continue]

All photos by Carrie Meathrell & Kevin Weis/LAist Though it may not have the scenic majesty of Morro Bay or the woodsy seclusion of Big Sur, San Simeon State Park is one of the quiet wonders of the California seaside. Located just a few miles south of fabled Hearst Castle, San Simeon offers two campground sites (San Simeon or Washburn) where you can set up home base for a long weekend. It's a short walk... [continue]

A Quick Look at the History of the Cost of a Trip to Anaheim's Disneyland The high cost of living has hit everyone hard, and now Mickey Mouse is feeling the pain, too. That's why the price of coming to visit him and all his friends at the "Happiest Place on Earth" will be even more expensive, starting tomorrow. KNBC explains: At Disneyland in Anaheim, one-day prices will rise from $66 to $69 for those... [continue]

This post is written in three parts: Event reporting and photography by Elise Thompson; Photography exhibit review by Bob Thompson and concert review by Sarah Ardalani. Let's hear it for teamwork! When people dream about glamorous Hollywood parties, they must imagine something like Gibson's event at the Sunset Marquis Hotel and Villas on Wednesday night. To celebrate a major expansion and upgrade, The Sunset Marquis is hosting a photography exhibit, "Through the Lens", a collection... [continue]

Having PMS and being drunk have a lot in common. You get horny and/or aggressive, and end up alienating everyone around you. And then there's the food. Nothing makes you want fatty, fried, carb-laden, crazy drunk food like PMS. Jack in the Box was definitely counting on this demographic when they came out with "Cheesy Macaroni Bites". Fried macaroni and cheese is nothing new. They have been serving it at Cafe 50s for awhile now,... [continue]

Dear baristas and coffee mixologists of LA: LAist loves coffee. In fact, collectively our staff probably drinks enough java on a daily basis to ensure many of your weekly salaries. But increasingly, we’ve found fewer and fewer of our local coffee bars and local Starbucks around LA know how to make really good lattes. Here are a few things that you might wan to consider when we order a simple nonfat latte. Following these... [continue]

It is a rather worrying and tragic fact that each year thousands of people seem to vanish from the face of the earth, never to be seen again. Of course, many of these absentee's may well have been murdered or suffered accidental death, but what about the victim in the following case....the weird disappearance of Dixie-Lee. Dixie-Lee Arensen was a gifted and sensitive girl. Aged just twenty-years, she was the bride of an associate youth... [continue]