Photo by Peggy Archer/LAist That white square thing behind the billboard is a generator. That's right--not only are these bright digital billboards annoying as hell and have the potential to cause accidents, but they're also using up fuel and polluting the air with the generators. Thanks billboard industry. Thanks a lot.......

Advertisers will do just about anything to create a cool ad spot that will get their product noticed. That kind of thinking is probably what led American Honda to take over a stretch of Avenue K in Lancaster and set it up so that cars driving on it pass over grooves tuned to emit the notes of the "William Tell Overture." According to cbs2.com, "the road is tuned to a car just exactly the length,......

The Freeway Blogger placing a sign near Dodger Stadium over the 110 Freeway | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist Yesterday the Freeway Blogger came to Los Angeles to promote peace via his easy-to-make signs placed over freeways where they get millions of impressions by passing drivers until someone comes by and takes them down. He hit at least seven spots yesterday. Did you see the signs saying "Peace" or "Peace on Earth"? 10 Freeway at......

The Sunday LA Times has a new addition--well, an old addition reinvented, sort of. It's LA, the new Los Angeles Times Magazine, but it's only available in print. In the age of the internets, a print-only publication (parented by a print publication that has had to face the age of the internets and--stop the presses!--do something about it) is a risky enterprise. Eating L.A.'s Pat Saperstein reviews the new mag on her blog today, and......

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!......

A TV commercial, shown above, appearing statewide this week has ignited a debate on whether it is a political ad or not. Political ads must disclose donor names. The makers, Let California Ring, say it's not, but Prop 8 proponents say "it is a campaign ad," according to the LA Times. The ad, which backs gay marriage, never mentions Proposition 8, the current ballot initiative that proposes to eliminate gay marriage in California. Lawyers......

In another round of job cuts for the LA Times, the paper announced today the planned sacking of 250 jobs across the company which includes 150 editorial ones. The paper will also reduce the number pages it prints by 15%. This is due to a declining revenue, some which is blamed on the internet (which is also a blessing, depending on how you look at it). "You all know the paradox we find ourselves in,"......

Two LAist Featured Photos contributors happened to submit similar photos around the same time. A new trend in street photography? Probably not, but where else can you put a biker looking dude's head?......

It looks very smooth in real life, doesn't transfer to video well If you weren't sleeping on the northbound Metro Red Line between Hollywood/Highland and Universal last week, then you may have noticed a Speed Racer movie trailer all of the sudden playing inside the tunnel. Officially announced today, the high-tech subway tunnel advertising tool is a first in North America for this type of digital advertising. It is "an LED system composed of......

LAist has been at ad:tech SF 2008 this week - this is the second part of our report. ad:tech featured several keynotes and "power panels" (not to be confused with a fuse box) that were remarkable. There was an emphasis on how companies can effectively maintain their brand in this new media era of blogs, forums, and podcasts. Day one started off with Keynote Roundtable: The Art of Conversation - Building Great Brands in the......

LAist is at ad:tech SF to cover developments in media as well as how advertisers are planning on targeting you everywhere-anytime. There are ad:tech conferences all over the world but this is the big one with their annual awards ceremony and everything - winners were announced tonight and are HERE. (see tomorrow's post). If you think this is boring you should be aware that the method by which every ad is delivered to you on......

Photo by kpeII via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The elderly women known as the 'Black Widows' have been found guilty of murder conspiracy. Partial verdicts were read today against 77-year-old Helen Golay and 75-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt for their roles in two murders. A 27-year-old man from Sherman Oaks jumped to his death this morning from an overpass on the 210 Freeway at Sierra Avenue in Fontana. He had left his car......

Capping off four days of panels at SXSW's 2008 Film Festival, (which also included Mark Cuban interviewing Michael Eisner, and a conversation with Billy Bob Thornton), Doreen Ringer Ross of BMI interviewed Moby. The meat of the interview is posted above and concerns Moby's take on licensing music for film (and the concept of mobygratis) as well as a look at his unlikely rise from a punker on Manhattan's lower-east side to a corporate......

More advertising on street furniture can help raise revenue for the city | Photo by el monstrito via flickr Today, Wendy Greuel announced a top ten list of sorts on new measures to save the city millions of dollars. It's good timing. On February 5th, we go to the polls and vote on Measure S, which will determine if $270 million will be taxed on our phone bills or not. If no is the......

Dear Tony Pierce, can you please tell your new employers at the LA Times to fix their streaming American Express advertising pop-up so that it does not crash my brand-new computer every five minutes? Thank you, signed, LAist.com. When we are not struggling to cope with adverse side-effects of inexorable technological progress, we are keeping track of the striking writers' negotiations with venture capitalists to begin producing Internet programming. Baby needs a new pair......

Gingersnaps and cocoa and rum balls and Italian knots and Kolacky and biscotti and chocolate chips, oh my! LAist has been in the kitchen, cooking up a Cookie Exchange. I Can Has JGoldBurger? Omg the PULITZER PRIZE WINNING JOURNALIST uses LOLspeak, I don't know what to say, my world has been all shook up like a snowglobe. It's entirely possible I was Afghani in a previous life (as well as Korean, Persian, Icelandic, and......

LATimes.com is well aware of the conflicts that come with contextual advertising -- no ad box appears alongside search results for terms such as "porn" or "sex," for example. But, for now at least, "freaky big, cartoon like muscles" are only a click away....

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. Busted Tees, where they're selling three colors of the LED scrolling belt buckle. If you're interested in advertising on LAist or any other site in our network, check out our online mediakit.......

Hop in your time machine and set the dial back sixty years to December 1947 and the pages of National Geographic magazine. Holiday shopping back then was just as difficult as it is now, especially when you've got people on your list who are hard to buy for. So what's left to get them except this "All in One" trailer that makes the ideal home at the beach, in the desert, or in the......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. Dewars Repeal Day, because you shouldn't take the right to have a drink for granted. Go Eight, a banging Hanukkah party tomorrow night at the Echo Plex. Mazel Tov! The Sasquatch Gang a comedy from the guys who brought you Napoleon Dynamite. Love is a Mix Tape, Rob Sheffield's book about women, music, and love. Busted Tees, where they've got naughty......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. Dewars Repeal Day, because you shouldn't take the right to have a drink for granted. Go Eight, a Hanukkah party on December 8th at Echo Plex. The Sasquatch Gang, which opens in L.A. today. We also have a special contest from them today, more details after the jump. Busted Tees, where they're selling 12 shirts for $12 each. If you're interested......

Driving down Sunset tonight we saw smoke billowing from what we feared was Safari Sam's. As we got closer we saw that it was not the rock club ablaze nor the 99 Cents store (thank God) but a car in the parking lot. All by itself. As if it had just spontaneously combusted. Because we knew you'd like nothing better than to see a car fire in such an eerie situation we reached into......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. Dewars Repeal Day, because you shouldn't take the right to have a drink for granted. Go Eight, a Hanukkah party on December 8th at Echo Plex. Homes for Working Families, because who hasn't been squeezed out of the housing Wristcutters, which is in theaters now. Busted Tees, where you get free shipping with the purchase of three shirts. If you're interested......

One of the best known personalities in tv advertising, Dick Wilson, better known as Mr. Whipple died today in the Valley, he was 91. The iconic character actor made over 500 commercials where he'd try to protect the precious tp from being felt up and smelled, while at the same time falling for its charms. Says the AP: The man famous as TV's "Mr. Whipple" died of natural causes at the Motion Picture &......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. Go Eight, a Hanukkah party on December 8th at Echo Plex. John Mayer , throwing his 1st Annual Charity Holiday Revue. Tickets may still be available. Homes for Working Families, because who hasn't been squeezed out of the housing Wristcutters, which is in theaters now. Busted Tees, where you get free shipping with the purchase of three shirts. If you're interested......

Yes it's a material world, and we are material girls. But look what they've done to our great record store. Is that really necessary? Isn't there a law against defacing a tomb? The state of outdoor ads in Hollywood is a sorry one. People should say sorry.......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. AMEX Urban Adventures, because big cities are full of little adventures. Go Eight, a Hanukkah party on December 8th at Echo Plex. Homes for Working Families, because who hasn't been squeezed out of the housing Coasting.com by Shimano, where you can wander around aimlessly. Wristcutters, which is in theaters now. Busted Tees, where they've thrown their weight behind Hillary in '08.......

Earlier today TMZ had a live camera spying on people trying to eat at the Urth Cafe on Melrose. They almost seemed giddy about the fact that they were going to hopefully deliver the world video images of the likes of Us Weekly celebs buying, uh, coffee. When the cameras weren't being shut down by Johnny Law, all they really documented were the sweaty backs of hard-working busboys. But still, wtf, TMZ? You're in......

Defamer: The Reno 911 men slipped on their shorts and offered their support to the striking writers today EatingLA: Everyone's favorite unbalanced chef Gordon Ramsay is going to have "a conversation" at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills on the 20th. Bite me. Sean Bonner: points us to a gift for the man or woman who has everything and would like less (and no it's not a Mike Huckabee mask, but close) Luke Ford:......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. AMEX Urban Adventures, because big cities are full of little adventures. Park, the Movie, which is playing at Music Hall 3 starting today. Coasting.com by Shimano, where you can wander around aimlessly. Wristcutters, which is in theaters now. Busted Tees, where you can get free shipping with the purchase of three shirts! If you're interested in advertising on LAist or any......