From the Graph Humor and Song Chart site, GraphJam, here's one way we see the rest of the country (& Canada... by the way, Happy Canada Day!).......

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early The electronic voting machine company, Diebold, has accidently leaked the results of the 2008 Election. Still, the company and the country will go on with the election to please the people. "This country is based on the fantasy that the government is the voice of the people," one Diebold representative said. Related on LAist (and in reality) -- Secretary of State Debra Bowen Checks Out NH Voting......

What could be better than grotesque pink salmon molds? When cooking went psychedelic, of course. There was a point where hippies influenced the mainstream style, converging with mom's Valium habit to birth some craaaazy foods. Moms had to show the family they were still groovy, didn't they? Some of these ideas look like Betty Crocker on acid. Bad acid. The brown acid. These cupcakes give me nightmares. Bad Gumby nightmares. Could they make them look......

Bob Kushell is at it again. The man who brought a big dose of humor to the WGA strike with his "The Strike, Your Marriage and You" follows it up with "The Strike, Your Marriage and You: The Healing". Anyone who thought Christina Applegate was a good sport in the first video will see her in a whole new light. Watch for the homage to Lily Tomlin and David O. Russell. Please to enjoy! (NSFW)......

Ever tell a joke? Chances are that if it wasn't made up by Red Sandwich, then it's indebted to his work. Fact of the matter is, our modern conception of humor and pathos has its roots in the groundbreaking pantomimes of Red Sandwich. LAist sat down with the prognosticator of laughter as the best medicine on the eve of his perennial The Red Sandwich Christmas Hour to discuss the nature and evolution of pathos,......

So I think I can safely say, having viewed it twice now, that Jason Reitman's Juno is the newest addition to my list of favorite movies. Okay, yes, it may be a pretty "rosy view of teen pregnancy", as my friend declared, but the humor, the characters, and the crazy dialogue ("You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put......

"You see this watch? You see this watch? That watch cost more than your car. I made $970,000 last year. How much you make? You see, pal, that's who I am. And you're nothing. Nice guy? I don't give a shit. Good father? Fuck you -- go home and play with your kids! You wanna work here? Close! You think this is abuse? You think this is abuse, you cocksucker? You can't take this......

It's sexy, it's sacrilegious, it's scandalous, and it's just in time for Christmas. LA's hottest art curator Lenora Claire has done it again with a new collection of saucy art pieces guaranteed to get folks hot and bothered. Mixing Christmas themes with ample female breasts and featuring the work of Austin Young, Kitten Natividad, Buff Monster, and our fave the Gay Bigfoot, among others, Claire chose not to rest on her laurels of the......

The Onion has published a companion Google map to promote their new laugher of a world atlas, Our Dumb World. Click on the markers in the map below for gems like Brazil ("Boasting some of the sexiest people ever to be stabbed repeatedly at night..."), France ("Heated conversation that will ultimately end in sex..."), and Mexico ("Now Hiring 2.4 Million Busboys"). View Larger Map In other Google Maps news, a new "terrain" layer has been......

Fridays at 7:30 pm: THE PERVERSE PUPPETRY OF JAN SVANKMAJER Unsurpassed in his tactile, uncanny approach to experimental animation, surrealist Czech master Jan Svankmajer's films have inspired a generation of directors, including Tim Burton and The Brothers Quay, to expand their confidence in what is visually and conceptually possible in cinema. Whether concerned with sexual taboos or blatant political satire, Svankmajer's vision is always off-kilter, mordantly funny, and oddly sincere. - The Silent Movie Theater......

New Jersey singer/songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs (MySpace), whose song "Fuck Was I" was on Weeds, is arguably best known for her connection with the controversial and self-described "Queen of All Media" Perez Hilton, whose championing of her music led to visits on her MySpace page reportedly leaping from 2,000 plays a day to a whopping 60,000. Youngs debuted locally in December 2005, "...in front of a rather industry crowd of artists, label dorks, and......

Back in 2002 or so, a guy friend of mine introduced me to a band he had discovered, whose lyrics were all about two fictional characters in a sci-fi world, and whose artwork had no band photos, only a drawing of the fictional guy and girl. The music was like a cross between pop/rock, metal, and prog-rock, with high-pitched vocals that immediately called to mind the band Rush. There were some amazing melodies in......

I have never been an improv fan. Another empty back room? Another watered-down drink? ANOTHER bunch of folks asking me to “name a city” so that they can squeeze some cheesy hilarity out of it? No thanks. Me and my Friday night are gonna hang out on the solo tip. However, I will drop everything I have when there’s an improv show at the Hothouse in the NoHo arts district. Every Friday night until the......

Watching Nip/Tuck has always been a dirty and guilty pleasure. Season five of the show returns tonight on FX and McNamara/Troy are moving the business to our own Los Angeles (as if you haven't been pummeled incessantly by the promos for the last month, and particularly during the World Series). The overpromotion irritates me a bit because it can set up what has been a pretty good show for a fall. Since Nip/Tuck has always......

Monday Paul Krugman discusses The Conscience of a Liberal 7pm @ Central Library Randy Cepuch signs A Weekend With Warren Buffett 4pm @ Dutton's Jenna Bush presents Ana's Story 7pm @ Pasadena Public Library Jason Goodwin discusses and signs The Snake Stone 7pm @ Vroman's Tuesday Wole Soyninka discusses his work with Mona Simpson 7pm @ Hammer Museum Eduardo Machado & Michael Domitrovich present Tastes Like Cuba 7pm @ Book Soup Maira Kalman discusses &......

For the fifth year in a row, Liquid Kitty on Pico has won Citysearch's title of Best Martini in LA. Liquid Kitty harkens back to LA's dark, Chandleresque side, with dim lights and strong drinks. It reminds me of both the rat pack martini bar Olive, and a little bit of Yee Mee Loo's, an historic Chinatown bar. The Hollywood speakeasy feel is enhanced by the lack of any kind of sign out front with......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......

LAist had the opportunity to catch up with Jonny Coleman, curator of Art Crawl X and also founder of Found Gallery in Silverlake this week to ask him some questions about the art walk this weekend, what not to miss, and why this art walk is sure to kick ass. What is Art Crawl X? Art Crawl X is the tenth annual art walk on the Eastside [excluding downtown]. The Crawl includes both conventional......

If Heath Biter failed to give you a rotten feeling about the Kings' chances this year, how does a 5-1 drubbing to a division rival treat you? To make matters worse, the points weren't taken by, say, the San Jose Sharks or Anaheim Ducks - two Pacific Division sides boasting some of the best odds of winning the Cup. Instead, the LA players had their asses handed to them by the Dallas Stars, a......

I hate Crank That. I love rap and hip-hop as much as the next sheltered 20-something white dude, but c'mon. Am I the only one who finds Soulja Boy as repetitive as Jay Z? Maybe it's because I haven't learned the dance, but I think this song is terrible. Unfortunately, the Miami Hurricane fans discovered that you can shout "U!" along with the beat. They'll be shouting this long after "Booty, Booty, Booty rockin'......

Mayor Tony V. signed an ordinance Monday allowing the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery to have free admission. The Department of Cultural Affairs hopes the freebie will encourage more Angelenos to visit the gallery, which has been serving the community since 1951. Located at Barnsdall Park in Hollywood, the museum has been a venue for Southern California artists for decades. “The arts should not be a luxury available only to those who can afford......

We know the UCLA taser fiasco didn't start the taser party, but some wacky kids have remixed the audio from the "don't tase me, bro" guy with your favorite MC Hammer track. It made us smile for some devious reason. Hopefully you'll get the same reaction. To us it was just a lighthearted end of a taser-happy week that included an OC cop tasering an autistic child. Dark humor, but humor nonetheless.......

It may be a tad chilly outside -- it's 68 degrees, break out those parkas! -- but LA's theatre scene is heating up. Here are LAist's five theatre picks for the week: Evil Knievel, the Rock Opera Yes, the stunt-daredevil motorcycle master now has a rock opera tribute. The music has a decidedly 70s sound. Bootleg Theatre. 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. 213-389-3856. Tickets are $25-$30. Opens Saturday at 8 pm and runs Thursdays and......

Am sorry to report the K-Ville is nothing more than another cop show. A shootout an car chase 8 minutes into it? Tough guy Anthony Anderson 's character crying in the first 15 minutes? I don't know how this show could redeem itself, I essentially tuned out after the first 20 minutes. I'll tell you what though, Saving Grace somewhat redeemed itself what with Holly Hunter's bare butt being the focal point of the......

Artist: Sunset Rubdown Album: Random Spirit Lover Label: Jagjaguwar Release Date: October 9th, 2007 Sunset Rubdown is the brainchild of Spencer Krug, member of major indie band Wolf Parade, and seemingly half a dozen other outfits. Instead of the pseudo-dance rock of Wolf Parade, we have a much more lyrically-driven product in Sunset Rubdown. Krug's curious copious screeds are lengthy and complex, and run the gamut of fable-telling ("The Mending of the Gown") to nearly......

After not receiving a Creative Arts Emmy last year, Kathy Griffin stormed out, flipping off the winners from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, while shouting, ''I was robbed and you all know it! Everybody can suck it!'' You would think that would be a hard one to top. Especially this year, when she won. But Griffin is never one to disappoint. During her acceptance speech Saturday night, she shocked pious Catholics with the statement, "A lot......

Avenue Q, the Broadway sensation now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre, simply put, is Sesame Street and The Muppets for adults. Actually, it's any go-lucky humpty-dory family/neighborhood TV sitcom with overly crude humor. It's a tight production with abrupt segues, hints of metatheatrical jabs and extremely catchy tunes. Everything's very un-PC, but that's okay, cause a puppet said it, right? They're just telling it like it is, as they see it, no qualms about......

Unlike Bob, who is a fan of Frank Zappa's, I am a superfan. I am a devotee. I have every album, as well as imports and bootlegs, and I have played them over and over and over. Some people tire of his Foley-esque Edgar Varese-inspired noise explorations, but for some reason I always found the humor in them. And I'm not usually very patient with masturbatory jams. My friend Dez and I used to......

Artist: Marissa Nadler Album: Songs III: Bird On the Water Release Date: March 2007 (UK) Label: Peacefrog Records Dark, melancholy folk, kinda like country Goth is what Marissa Nadler brings to the table. Her light and tremulous voice reminds one of Devandra Bernhardt, but without the humor. Most of the 11 songs on 'Songs III: Bird On the Water' have references to death: 'Diamond Heart' - "Your father died a month ago and he......

I don't care if the Golden Gate Bridge gets all of the attention. It's actually an orange vermillion anyways, as folk-rocker David Dondero reminds us. I have much love for the Oakland Bay Bridge, with its geometric patterns, sweeping lines and panoramic view of the city. By the way, they will be closing the bridge down for the long weekend, so beware. Cyberspace has given me the virtual ability to drag the entire world down......