Not a lot of people showed up to "No War on Iran" protest earlier this month on Saturday, August 3rd. Apparently, word didn't get around activist groups e-mail lists and only a small gathering of people showed up to Pershing Square that afternoon. One LAist commenter, jrb, was there and helps put a story to LAist Photographer Tom Andrews' photos. "There was the usual speeches and such. Then about 20-30 pro war on Iran people......

Last Sunday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances by local bands Matt Ellis (MySpace), Hypernova (MySpace), Tenlons Fort (MySpace), and Castledoor (MySpace), with The Karabal Nightlife (MySpace) as well as Ladies and Gents (MySpace) among those performing earlier in the day during Open Mic. While Hypernova, who are originally from Iran, have been living for the past year Downtown near MacArthur Park, they will be relocating to New York in two......

Get your green drink on tonight. WORDS Author and USC professor Gina Nahai and actress Bahar Soomekh (Crash) read from Nahai’s latest book Caspian Rain – about a family falling apart just before the Islamic revolution in Iran. Immediately following, there’s a discussion of the changing lives of women of the Middle East, and relationships between Iran’s Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as how these communities interact in Los Angeles, “home to the largest......

The always dapper Greg Proops is at the Hollywood Improv 8:00pm on Friday; Saturday at 8:00 & 10:00pm. Whose Line Is It Anyway? was the mass media vehicle to inform all of us that Greg Proops is a gentleman and a scholar but that show and his innumerable appearances on shows like Ugly Betty, Last Comic Standing, Just Shoot Me, and all the late night talk shows require that Proops corral his wit and personality......

The list is a little long this week since I'm including the Christmas Day openers. Having already raved about There Will Be Blood yesterday, I'll lead off with what some are calling the best horror film of the year, The Orphanage. For any horror fan who's tired of torture porn and bad Japanese re-makes, this is the movie for you. Grim and spare, it's a horror film for adults and Spain's foreign-language entrant for......

Caspian Rain is a novel about longing and belonging. Set just before the Islamic Revolution in Iran, 12-year-old Yaas narrates the story of her family – a family that’s just as divided as the country. Her father, Omid, is from a wealthy Jewish Tehranian family. He feels restricted by the rules dictated by the upper-class society, the rules imposed on him as a son and rules he must keep in order to not disgrace......

My folks are Republicans. I am not. On a recent visit from the East Coast, they wanted to go to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. I kinda didn't. But since they were only in town for a few days -- to see me and I wanted to spend time with them -- I put our political differences aside and drove them out to Simi Valley (via the 118 -- the Ronald Regan......

The much anticipated Damages finale is tonight - since the series was so very good I'm already thinking beyond the finale and more about which players will remain for a second season. Ted Danson's Frobisher is so delightfully evil the airwaves will be much the poorer in his absence, if in this season marks his departure. 8:00pm Five Days HBO - Part 4 of 5. The only new drama programming on at 8pm tonight other......

On a sticky dance floor at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Orange County this past Saturday, pretty girls screamed and jumped up and down in their too-high heels, hipster boys bobbed their heads as they sipped their Stellas, and baldish, grayish dad-types belted out memorized lyrics, flashing devil's horns of approval with both hands. They were all Iranians there to see Kiosk, a blues/rock outfit that started in the early '90s in Iran's underground......

Monday Porochista Khakpour presents Sons and Other Flammable Objects 7pm @ Dutton's Kenneth Turan presents Never Coming to a Theater Near You 7pm @ Studio City Branch Library Tuesday Susan Faludi presents The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America 7pm @ Central Library Max Brooks presents World War Z 7pm @ Book Soup Walter Mosley presents Blonde Faith 7:30pm @ Skirball Cultural Center President Vicente Fox discusses and signs Revolution of Hope......

Deadliest attack of the Iraq war claims at least 250 lives and as many as 500. Want to learn more about the local opportunities and challenges presented by global warming? Check out the Global Warming Forum at Cal State LA tomorrow from 9 AM to 3 PM. Progress made in improving California's public school system stalled this year after two years of promising gains. The L.A. City Council says no dice to Home Depot's......

I have never in my life thought that the following words would ever escape my lips: "Wow! That Flock of Seagulls song is AWESOME!!!" But that day has come: and so too has Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the Eighties, the latest installment in the worldwide gaming phenomenon/franchise. You now have thirty more classic songs to RAWK OUT on, including such favorites as Skid Row's "Eighteen and Life," White Lion's "Radar Love," and of course,......

Being a spy is a tough job. Not only do you constantly run the risk of being exposed by your enemies or compromised by an error in judgment or other grievous mistake (heck, your identity might even be leaked by your own government), you must also be able to adjust to rapidly changing conditions and always be quick on your feet. This then begs the question: why have you or a colleague do it......

In a move only baffling if you thought that President Bush and his administration had hit rock bottom, today the President gave Scooter Libby a get out of jail free card on his convictions of obstruction of justice and perjury. But it's deeper than all of that. Scooter Libby was convicted on a National Security charge prosecuted by a Republican prosecutor and sentenced by a Republican judge. Libby was helping to cover up the......

There are some films, particularly foreign films--no, particularly foreign foreign films--where you have to throw your critic's hat out the window and just try to keep up. That's how I felt watching Half Moon. I'm fairly certain that there were many Iranian jokes and Persian allusions that I just didn't get. (How do I know that? Well, there was an Iranian guy sitting next to me in the theater who obviously did.) Still, I......

After a good two weeks of bragging about being the first reviewers to test the God|Jesus|fuckme|iPhone, at least WSJ's Walt Mossberg and the NYT's David Pogue had the courtesy to post decent video reviews. Both reviewers did their best to avoid extreme gushing, while failing to really criticize the device. In fact, both are quick to blame AT&T's EDGE network for sucking without explaining why the iPhone does not connect to AT&T's faster networks......

We're big fans of Bill Maher and his weekly Real Time on HBO. The hour-long show features a panel of distinguished guests discussing politics and pop matters of the day with Bill, but the highlight of each show is the "New Rules" segment, in which Maher introduces a set of hilarious new rules. (Also, highly recommended is the book, or audiobook of the same name.) The "New Rules" above are from Friday's episode --......

Sorry for the delay, but your crack LAist Aviation Staff Reporters had their attention seized (at the time) by the guy at LAX with wires coming out of his…err…body cavity, and this slipped under the radar. However, after a 17 month investigation, three Federal Agencies announced Tuesday they had taken into custody four F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft, three from air museums around Chino and one from the company that produced the series “JAG” stored......

In an alarmist post on Digg.com, someone is feeling like the big one is coming. "Third Earthquake Hits San Fran/Bay Area in Three Days! Exact same spot, and the Bay Area is due for the Big One any day now!" As commenter PunkRampant points out, there should be no worries. "We get weak earthquakes all the time, ~3 magnitude quakes aren't uncommon. This is a good thing, because if the weak quakes suddenly stopped......

Weekend Edition Tonight - Saturday "Sunset Boulevard" (TCM, 5:00 p.m.) The movie about the fickleness of stardom in Hollywood. It's somehow beyond a classic. "American Movie" (IFC, 6:15 p.m.) The movie about self-financed redneck-geek movie maker Mark Borchardt's project "Coven", pronounced "koh-vehn" Ducks @ Sharks (KDOC, 7:30 p.m.) Didn't these guys just play each other a couple days ago? Are there only 3 or 4 teams in the NHL? Stars @ Kings (Fox Sports,......

- There are twice as many men than women with IQs over 120. Not so fast, Dubya - The Independent - Police taser an 11-year-old in a Jonesboro, Georgia middle school - WSBT - Just in time for Christmas! A perfectly preserved dinosaur nest containing 22 fossilized eggs of ancient dead baby dinos will go on auction tomorrow here in LA - AP - Just in time for Kwanzaa! Own Jessica Alba's bra -......

LA has 22 Sister Cities * Athens, Greece * Auckland, New Zealand * Berlin, Germany * Bordeaux, France * Busan, South Korea * Eilat, Israel * Giza, Egypt * Guangzhou, People's Republic of China * Jakarta, Indonesia * Kaunas, Lithuania * Lusaka, Zambia * Makati City, Philippines * Mexico City, Mexico * Melbourne, Australia * Moscow, Russia * Mumbai, India * Nagoya, Japan * St. Petersburg, Russia * Salvador, Brazil * Split, Croatia *......

Last time Iran was in the World Cup, their appearance sparked pro-democracy riots in Tehran and a throng of protesters showed up at the Federal Building in Westwood (yes, we know it seems like that happens every week). This year, Iran not only made it to the World Cup, but their first game was against Mexico -- another country not unfamiliar with the soccer-sparked riot. In the end, Iran lost. By a lot. But......

Sometimes flirting is subtle, a look across the room and tilting your head just so. However, flirting can also be blatantly obvious and inescapable. It is the latter that I would use to describe “L’EFFLEUR DES SENS, a French Cabaret” now appearing in a limited engagement on Thursday evenings at King King in Hollywood. The production is self-described by saying that it “caresses the senses, arouses the imagination and reinvents the stage as foreplay......

LA-based Tarrant Apparel Group (aka TAG) is suing Jessica Simpson for $100 million claiming breach of contract. Simpson was supposed to promote TAG clothing; TAG "has strong relationships" with J.C. Penny, K-Mart, Lerner New York, Sears — and look out, local style-istas! — American Rag. We suggest, if they get anything from Simpson at all, that they upgrade their $50 website. LA Weekly writer Daniel Hernandez scores a commentary on NPR's All Things Considered.......

A suit was filed yesterday against major sunscreen makers for harmful advertising. Waterproof? UVA blockers? "Snake oil," says a lawyer filing the suit. Insert "somebody's getting burned" joke here. The birdflu is coming! The birflu is coming! Officials met in LA yesterday and announced that they expect to see Avian Flu arrive in LA in two months. And then if it jumps to people, well, sunburn will be the least of our concerns. Farther......

This is California's execution chamber. Our taxes pay for it, so in some sense it's our responsibility. But right now there's not a darn thing we can do to prevent Stan Tookie Williams from walking in there at 12:01am next Tuesday to die. It's not like people aren't trying to stop the execution. The NAACP is flying around the state urging clemency, attracting the attention of the press. (There are also those calling for......

We've been trying to write an appropriate obit for Danny Sugarman, longtime aficinado, and eventual manager, of the Los Angeles rock band the "Doors" but we're not in the mood. Perhaps it's the rain, perhaps it's bitterness over what little he did with managing Iggy Pop's career, but we just can't work up any passion for the man who parlayed a gig as a male groupie into a career. He was such a starf*cker......