Last night, Indie 103.1's "Also I Like To Rock" series continued, at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, with performances from local bands Miss Derringer (MySpace) and The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace). Indie 103.1's Mr. Shovel (MySpace) has been actively supporting Miss Derringer, testifying that "Watching Miss Derringer perform for the first time is like setting into a dusty western ghost town and finding yourself in the middle of a British Blanket Bingo movie cast with......

Part of an ongoing series. Last month, local band The Airborne Toxic Event (MySpace) returned to Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake to headline a show that included The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace), and The Henry Clay People (MySpace) with support from I Make This Sound (MySpace) and Le Switch (MySpace). As aptly described by Mouse from Classical Geek Theatre, "Before a mixed-crowd of longtime fans and recent, true-believing converts, The Airborne Toxic Event rewarded ticket......

Crime and punishment are on the discussion table at the Hammer tonight.│Photo by colin.brown via LAist’s flickr pool. FILM* When Hollywood’s Production Code took effect in 1934, the onscreen antics of film characters got decidedly more wholesome. The same rang true for the cartoons of the time. Pre-Code, the animation by major studios was “just as violent, sexy, rude and crude as their live action counterparts. Nudity, naughty words, and outrageous gags involving body......

Tired of beach-going so early in the season and looking for a more cerebral way to enjoy the weekend in, say, air-conditioning? You're in luck. The Hammer Museum is the place to be on Sunday afternoon. The much-lauded Kara Walker exhibition, My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love, ends on Sunday and by all accounts, it's a show you don't want to miss. Doors open at 11am giving you plenty of time for......

Highlighting the combination of dance and film/video, the 7th annual Dance Camera West festival begins its month long series of screenings, ceremonies and related events this Friday at the REDCAT Theater downtown. Presenting a wide variety of short, feature length and documentary work, the events will occur at locations that range from the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica to the Hammer Museum's Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood to films shown with......

Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr SALSA & MERENGUE DANCING Dance Downtown kicks up its heels tonight for the first installment of the summer-long Friday night series. Free admission to anyone who feels like trying a little salsa out on the Music Center Plaza. Beginner lessons are at 6:30, and a live DJ provides the tunes from 7:15-10. 6:30-10 p.m. // Music Center Plaza // 135 North Grand Avenue,......

Vision gets re-interpreted at the Zimmer Children's Museum. / Photo by Paul Keleher via flickr. ART* ”The Art of Vision” features artists like David Hockney and Paul Frank who created works of art that play on a theme. In this case, “vision” includes objects like glasses, binoculars, telescopes and cameras. Proceeds from the exhibit go to youTHink – a museum division that brings art programs to schools and community centers. 6pm // Zimmer Children’s......

Photo of the now destroyed Mann National courtesy of Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library. Copyright Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library. Is Westwood making a comeback? The LA Times thinks so, in today's article on the burgeoning real estate development in UCLA's backyard. But isn't this a story we've heard a million times before? It goes something like this: Westwood used to be a great pedestrian area, then it fell......

Childhood obesity is rampant, and junk food contributes to a lot of it. Though these fries look oh...so...good. / Photo by Steve Beger Photography (Beger.com Productions) via flickr. CLASSICAL The LA Phil’s free “Neighborhood Concert” series brings music to local schools, churches and other local venues. Tonight, classical music fills St. Thomas the Apostle Church. Ticket requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The one-hour concert performance is presented without an intermission. Parking......

I'm actually a little hesitant to tell you about Junot Díaz's reading, scheduled for Monday, March 17th at the Hammer Museum -- I mean, yeah, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" was one of the best books of 2007, he's been nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction, and he's a fantastic speaker and reader. But then half of Los Angeles will show up to hear the Dominican-born, Jersey-raised professor......

Bikes and graffiti are on tap for today. / Photo by Lush.i.ous via LAist's flickr pool. GRAFFITI ART Ghettogloss presents the graffiti art of Jersey Joe in Silverlake. The exhibit runs until March 20, but the opening reception is tonight from 7-midnight. 7 pm // Ghettogloss // 2380 Glendale Blvd #C, Los Angeles // Free. RIDE & TALK * RIDE-Arc monthly ride -- themed "Trolly" -- happens tonight. The group rides along for awhile......

Barbarella plays at the Arclight tonight. / Photo by atomicshakespeares via LAist's flickr pool. SPOKEN WORD The NYC-based nonprofit organization The Moth brings its StorySLAM to LA every first Tuesday of the month. If you’re good a spinning yarns, then StorySLAM is for you. They provide the theme and the mic – you put your name in the hat and if you’re picked, you have 5-minutes to tell your story – no papers allowed.......

Drinks with Digital LA tonight at Bodega Bar in Santa Monica (and yes, this is not the Bodega bar) / Photo by C-Monster via LAist's photo pool. FILM I am so scaaared. Writer/director Eli Roth (Hostel) continues his reign at the New Beverly in “The Greats of Roth” series. Tonight, he’s screening the double-feature of The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980), an earlier film that deals with a missing documentary film......

Louis Allen as Christopher Walken and Amy Kelly as Robert DeNiro/Photo courtesy of Patrick O'Sullivan. COMEDY* All About Walken: The Impersonators of Christopher Walken is back on a new night and new venue (running only on Thursdays until April 3). Conceived and directed by Patrick O’Sullivan, the comedy show has an entire multiracial cast playing the same guy (Chris Walken, duh) picking up his tics and cadences to a tee. Tickets go fast for......

Get Your Lit On: The Week in Bookish LA includes some outstanding readings this week from some fine, fine writers including Maggie Nelson, Anne Enright, Colm Toibin, Toby Barlow, Amy Hempel, Peter Carey, John Rechy, Martha Grimes and Russell Banks....

And you thought the Burger King Chicken was crazy? Check out the Crazy Chickens this week at the Mayan / Photo by upslases via flickr. TALK Could you not get into Michael Pollan last night at the Central Library? No worries because American eating habits and food policy are a hot topic this week. Tonight, the Center for Healthy Communities presents “Hungry for Change: The Politics of Food with Marion Nestle.” The nutritionist, author......

Monday Michael Pollan and Barry Glassner discuss In Defense of Food 7pm @ Central Library Cindy Pierce and Edie Thys Morgan presents Finding the Doorbell 7pm @ Book Soup Tuesday Traci Slatton presents Immortal 6:30pm @ Metropolis Books Joe McGinniss and special guest Bret Easton Ellis present The Delivery Man 7pm @ Book Soup Terri Cheney discusses and signs Manic: A Memoir 7pm @ Vroman's Gary Goldberg presents Sit, Ubu, Sit 7pm @ Dutton's......

WINE TASTING Rock 'n Roll Wine brings exactly those two things at the Santa Monica Bar & Grille tonight. Vegas-based The Bends play live music while guests taste more than a dozen wines throughout the evening. No one will judge if you swallow it all and don’t spit – between wines. 7 pm // Santa Monica Bar and Grille // 3321 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles // $40 at the door. OPERA USC’s Thornton Opera......

TALK Natalie Angier, New York Times reporter and author of Woman: An Intimate Geography, has written foreword to Full Body Project, the recently published book of photographs by Leonard Nimoy (yes Trekkies, Spock). The two will focus their Hammer Conversation on the concepts of beauty and sexuality. 7 pm // Hammer Museum // 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles // Free. MORE TALK As we read in Get Your Lit On, yesterday, Fritjof Capra talks with......

TALK CalArts and USC have a joint program at REDCAT tonight titled, “Listen Again: Music You Should Change Your Mind About Right Now.” A great panel of writers, musicians and scholars discuss the current state of pop music and celebrate the release of the latest scholarly writings on music issued by the Experience Music Project. Panelists include Neal Pollack (alternadad.com), Ann Powers (Los Angeles Times), R.J. Smith (Los Angeles magazine), Oliver Wang (Soul-sides.com, CSU-Long Beach)......

Monday No bookish events on Mr. King's Day. Tuesday John Densmore of The Doors, Jim Henke and John McDermott present The Jim Morrison Scrapbook and Jimi Hendrix: An Illustrated Experience 7pm @ Book Soup Wednesday Sudhir Venkatesh presents Gang Leader for a Day 7pm @ Vroman's E. Duke Vincent presents Black Widow 7pm @ Book Soup Robert Novak presentsThe Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington 7pm @ Glendale Public Library Thursday Steve......

Monday Tanya Lemani presents Have Belly, Will Travel 7pm @ Book Soup Kim Sunee presents Trail of Crumbs 7pm @ Vroman's Tuesday Marc Porter Zasada presents The Urban Man: Staying Human in LA 7pm @ Book Soup Patrick Conyer presents Pasadena: A Business History 7pm @ Vroman's Elizabeth Pomeroy presents Pasadena: A Natural History 7pm @ Vroman's Muhammad Yunus discusses Creating a World Without Poverty 7pm @ Central Library Lewis Hyde discusses his books......

DANCE Anatomy Riot is an almost-monthly series of dance/performance works and videos in a casual atmosphere. Tonight is the 21st installment curated Meg Wolfe and featuring Rebecca Alson-Milkman, Catch Me Bird Dance Theater, d. Sabela Grimes, Arianne Hoffmann, Tekla Kostek, Dance Good Damn it, Sohini Ray and Mitsu Salmon. 8 pm // The Open Space // 209 S. Garey Street , Los Angeles // $7. FILM Arthur Magazine hosts a double feature at the......

Sure, you could always stay in and watch reruns of [insert name of your favorite show here], but why bother when you have these things happening tonight to get you through hump day. WORDS The West LA Chapter of the Sierra Club hosts a lecture by UCLA Professor David Haake who’ll focus on the question, “Do green choices make financial sense?” The evening will also offer steps on how you can reduce your carbon......

Rain rain has gone away...so Tuesday we'll go out to play. Here's what's going on around town tonight: MUSIC The LA Phil’s Concrete Frequency series continues tonight. “Songs of the City” is being billed as a program where “urban troubadours share lo-fi songs about city life.” We’ll believe it with a lineup that features: Marc Bianchi, Biirdie, Franklin Bruno, Zooey Deschanel, John Doe, Inara George, Stevie Jackson, Sondre Lerche, Kyp Malone, Bob Mould, Zach......

The week in Los Angeles bookish events from Monday, January 7th - Sunday, January 13th. Readings, signings and bookish events this week include Andy Summers, Jami Attenberg, Judith Freeman, Alice Fulton, J.A. Jance and Robert Gottlieb....

It is estimated that 200 firms, 6000 workers and 1200 actors produce 4000-7000 adult films a year in Los Angeles. Yes, there are more porn-related, adult industry jobs than software jobs in this town. With $4.3 billion in sales and rentals (which is still nothing compared to the $12 Billion made from toys and books), the Adult Entertainment Industry puts $4 billion in revenue back into the local economy. “It’s in an industry producing......

Monday Eliot Tiegel presents The Latinization of America 6:30pm @ Book Soup Judith Freeman discusses and signs The Long Embrace 7pm @ Vroman's Roz Chast discusses Theories of Everything 7pm @ Central Library Robert Kuttner in conversation with Arianna Huffington about The Squandering of America 8pm @ James Bridge Theater, UCLA Tuesday Cesar Millan presents Be the Pack Leader 7pm @ Borders, Pasadena Frank McCourt presents Angela and the Baby Jesus 7pm @ Borders,......

Lydia Lunch w/ Sonic Youth - "Death Valley 69" James Taylor @ Barnes & Noble - Third St. Promenade (6pm) Lydia Lunch @ Hammer Museum HIM, Bleeding Through @ The Orpheum Loudon Wainwright III @ Largo Suzanne Vega @ El Rey Castledoor, Polytechnic @ Spaceland Athlete, Gemma Hayes @ Troubadour Paramore @ The Wiltern Magnet, Sara Lov, The Panda Band @ The Roxy Correatown, The Broken West, The Henry Clay People, The Monolators @......

Monday Dave Isay, from StoryCorps, presents Listening Is an Act of Love 7pm @ Vroman's Johan Lehrer presents Proust Was a Neuroscientist 7pm @ Dutton's Nigella Lawson presents The Domestic Goddess 7pm Borders, Torrance Tom Brokaw presents Boom! Voices of the Sixties 7:30pm @ Temple Emanuel Tuesday Clive Barker presents Mister B. Gone 7pm @ Vroman's Gregory Rodriguez presents Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans & Vagabonds 7pm @ Central Library Susanne Daniels presents Season Finale 7pm @......