Results tagged “friends”

Although her official cause of death remains uncertain, it is known that Elias took in a combination of heroin and morphine, along with other drugs, but Los Angeles County Coroner Capt. Ed Winter has stated it is also not known what method of use she employed.

For this evening, a selection of gentle acoustic guitars to assist in warming your bones by the fire. Acoustic instruments made of wood just fit the theme - the yule log, the Christmas tree, toy horses, and now, the wood stove where Sufjan Stevens' presents end up - oops!

Our friends over at Austinist asked us to pass along this casting call for Lucky magazine--one of their writers, Breanna, made the cut and will be striking a pose in the mag's glossy pages come March '08--and now they're looking for some lovely Angeleno ladies for a local shoot. Could you be one of them?

Photo by kpe II via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

The Romans are often bagged on as being the Borg of the ancient world: assimilating barbarian cultures left and right, stealing the style and grace of the Greeks, tossing the odd Christian to lions. Yet, you must admit they did know how to PARTY, especially during those barren winter months.

The Human Calender, a Brady Bunch-esque representation of the calender.

A sad week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part photo essay, one, two). That wasn't the only photo essay either: Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy friends and Star Trek actors all joined in at the Writers Strike and KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas brought two nights of amazing bands that included Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park (Part I), Modest Mouse, Muse, Spoon and The Killers (Part II). Not only is L.A. a great music town, it has just been named the best city for bookish types. For those who are looking for something a little more active, American Gladiators are back (yes!) and if that's not enough, how about a Christmas gift of action and adventure?

Everybody's doing it, right? I don't pretend to be hip or edgy or rebellious. I mean, I grew up on Billy Joel and Madonna and Motown and then the Gen Xer's basic dichotomy of KROQ versus Top 40 in the 90s. I find it increasingly harder to fall in love with albums in the downloading age, and am one of those people who obsessively compiles mixed cds for friends and iPod playlists full of individual tracks from a broad sampling of artists. The three places I'm most thankful for getting me turned on to new music would be my fellow LAisters, the awesome site 3hive, and good ol' KCRW. So without further ado, here are my pics for the 2007 releases I most enjoyed:

[O]ur friends at Found LA have decided to get together and throw us a party at their amazing gallery in Silverlake (Google Map here), with free drinks and a cake to boot. It goes from 8PM - 10PM this Saturday (12/15) and is bound to be a blast...

Not too long ago, I recall picking up a certain book on a shelf somewhere and reading the back, and then deciding it was going to be mighty depressing and put it back. A couple months later, I went to see Atonement on a friend's request, knowing nothing of the story, and discovered it was the same book. And yes, friends, this story is depressing. Without giving too much away, (and you probably know this much already anyway), this is the story of a romance that might've really been something, had one major twist not taken place. Unfortunately it does, however, and pretty much nothing else goes right for the rest of the movie, while you sink further and further into the grayness of two beautiful people longing for each other, the guilt of one selfish little girl, and the tragedies of World War II. Yeehaw.

Admit it. We have all done it one time or another. Re-wrapped something that ran counter to our oh-so-fabulous taste and passed it along to some unsuspecting schmuck &/or loved one. It's not very nice. It reeks of cheapness and laziness. Still, in a recent survey more than half of the Americans polled said they re-gift regularly and unashamedly. Hey, we all got our reasons: couldn't make it to the store in time for the office Kris Kringle; spent our last few bucks on baby's new pair of shoes; already have one; this figurine with the clock in it's belly would look so damned good on my best bud's mantle.

In Which we Discover how the Golden Girls helped make stuff we like Have you ever written anything? I don't mean like a letter or a note, but something long, something good. Sure, you think you could. A lot of people do. But unless you're actually writing something, you're not a writer. Writing is really time consuming. It's not just about fun and ideas. It's about forcing yourself to sit down, get off the phone,...

Heath is out of town this week, so I thought I would take up the reins covering the strike. Yesterday, I was at Heath's stomping grounds -- Warner Brothers. Though I'm hearing from below the line friends that the negotiating committee should table the reality and animation writers issue as well as the no-strike clause (which would keep us from supporting other unions when they strike), it's hard to trust that doing that would...

As soon as we arrived at the Obey sale on Saturday in Santa Ana I told my friend, "fuck this, I'm out." The line was longer than anything I'd seen outside Magic Mountain. All you could see were high school and college-aged kids in hoodies and tapered jeans messaging their friends and they were probably saying the same thing I was saying, "fuck this." But my friend was determined. She had Christmas shopping to...

This weekend marks the height of the "celebrity" dog-and-pony shows for the Democrats: Hillary Clinton brought daughter Chelsea (we wondered where she was) and her momma Dorothy Rodham on the campaign trail in Iowa. And Barack Obama brought out the big gun -- Oprah Winfrey -- to Iowa and South Carolina. But Republicans have friends in Hollywood, too. Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, also has his own celebrity endorsement: Chuck Norris. Yup. Walker...

Today is the 27th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. Like the JFK assassination before it, his murder became a touchstone for a generation. Everyone remembers where they were when they found out Lennon had been shot. I was sitting on my bed doing homework, and I stayed glued to my little black-and-white TV all night as the events unfolded. My friends and I wore black to school for an entire week and refused to change out of them for gym. We sat on the benches singing Beatles songs and crying. Lennon preached a message of peace, and that is something we could all benefit from meditating upon today.

Due to "human error" in tallying the votes, the crown that was placed on the head of Koreatown's Christina Silva, aka Miss Los Angeles, was placed on the head of Miss Barstow Raquel Beezley yesterday in Beverly Hills, and Breezley is now the winner in the all-important Miss California pageant. - AP Guess who's getting naked for Peta now? Film star Eva Mendez. And if her poster is any indication, she's really behind this...

Still haven’t found the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for kinky family member? Not sure what to get for the Samantha Jones of your group? Or just broke, and would sooner choke on a reindeer cookie than knit another scarf? There’s hope yet—and thank the gods of crafting, it doesn’t involve mastering a new sweater pattern. This Friday, Babeland, L.A.’s loveable educational sex toy store, will offer up Craftnight. Hosted by Julianna Parr—or “JP the...

The lack of rain makes for sweet days at the beach, but today, December 5th, is the perfect day to get wet. Why today? Because it’s Repeal Day! The day Prohibition was repealed and the 21st Amendment hit the books. Dewar’s was one of the first to make it back, so rally your friends and raise a glass because you can.

Remember back in the mid 90s or so, when MTV used to play videos? Think hard. Okay, and then there was this period where, right before they cut to a commercial, there was a clip of a Sinatra wannabe singing the song you just saw a video for? Like a snazzy rendition of "Kharma Police" or something of the sort. (Okay, that would've been late 90s. Whatever.) Well, that dude is "Rudy Casoni", a character...

It's tamale season! Every year around this time, our family spends one Sunday wrapping tamales for Christmas Eve. It's easiest to make the meat the day before, then have the wrapping party the next day. This is not a solo project. Stock up on beer and make something easy, like chili, and invite all of your friends over. Call every Mexican restaurant/deli/store in your phone book and find one that sells the masa pre-prepared. Some...

For those of you who might not be familiar with the story, this is a tale of suspicion, revenge, and MySpace gone terribly wrong. In 2006, Lori Drew of Dardenne, Missouri, invented a fake profile on MySpace pretending to be a young boy named "Josh". Her intent was to use "Josh" to romance and keep tabs on her daughter's ex-best-friend, Megan Meier, who Drew believed was harassing her daughter via MySpace. "Josh" also "friended" Megan's other MySpace friends, and even worked in tandem with one of the teenage "friends" who had figured out the ruse. On October 16, 2006, after "Josh" dumped her, and her MySpace "friends" turned on her, Megan's parents found her hanged with a belt in her bedroom closet. Megan, who suffered from depression, died the next morning in the hospital. She had commited suicide. She was only 13 years old.

a writer's perspective After giving the 5AM shift a shot yesterday, I decide to actually get some sleep and “work” the 8-11 shift today. I feel rejuvenated and energized when I show up to relieve the exhausted morning crew. Not a lot happens today. People seem in extra-good spirits, but I’m not sure why. The latest “off the record” word is that negotiations didn’t go great yesterday. There is talk that the AMPTP is...

There is nothing like combining fashion and philanthropy. Tomorrow night, the Los Angeles flagship store for Martin & Osa is have a launch party for the opening of their store in Century City. The stylish fashion company has generously donated $5,000 to Step Up Women's Network and the event will feature shopping (optional), cocktails and bites, and time to mingle with friends and to meet new people. While Step Up Women's Network is for...

I almost didn’t go to see Ann Summa’s Los Angeles punk photo exhibition at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica. No offense to the once, raw obscure photographers who happened to be at the right place at the right time 30 years ago, snapping amazing images of once, raw obscure bands. Your recognition is well past due. It’s just that there’s been a plethora of punk picture/art/flyer/book exhibitions in the past few years and I’ve seen most of them and on the night in question, I was running late from an earlier art opening and thought, “maybe I’ll just skip this one.” Thankfully, I came to my senses and hauled my lazy ass over to Bergamot Station. On the way in, I was greeted by the nostalgic sight of a drunk-off-her-butt teenager being half carried through the parking lot by friends. I took it as a sign from the gods of punk rock.

This LAist poster trudges through Union Station every day for work. Usually the long hallway that connects old Union Station to Gateway Plaza is bland, beige and just plain boring. But once in awhile, some advertiser will cover the walkway with wallpaper for eye candy for tired commuters.

In honor of what would be Jimi Hendrix's 65th birthday today, I am posting my impressions of The Experience Music Project in Seattle.

Many of us have friends who live in Malibu and are worried about them and their families and their pets and their neighbors. Although it's pretty safe to say that most of the people are ok, if you would like to see if their home is ok - or if you live in Malibu and you're traveling for Thanksgiving, and you would like to see if your home is all right - the City...

Driving under the speed limit can cause you to fail your drivers test. From the Top 10 Reasons for Failing the Driving Test In October, the California DMV took a step out of the 1970s and into the current generation. Okay, so they have had online reservations for awhile now so you can avoid waiting in line. And now you can avoid some reading by watching the 55 videos they uploaded on YouTube. The...