Now in a water drought, Los Angeles County is planning to spend close to a million dollars on scientific magic that supposedly creates rain. It's called cloud seeding: Cloud seeding is the process of spreading either dry ice (or more commonly, silver iodide aerosols) into the upper part of clouds to try to stimulate the precipitation process and form rain. Since most rainfall starts through the growth of ice crystals from super-cooled cloud droplets (droplets......

At the 2007 BioBlitz in Rock Creek Park in Washington D.C. |Photo courtesy of National Geographic For twenty-four hours starting tomorrow at noon, 120 scientists, 1,400 LAUSD students and community members will embark on the 2nd National Geographic BioBlitz in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area (though some say it's essentially a National Park), which stretches from the ocean to Cahuenga Pass at the 101 Freeway. Together they will comb the area, as well......

Within two hours of landing on planet Earth's neighbor, the Phoenix Mars Lander began sending images to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena on Sunday evening. The current temperatures on Mars is a frigid high of -22 degrees and a low of -112. To see photos from JPL on Sunday, LAist was there to cover it.......

Good news for the Los Angeles area as Santa Monica High School placed top honors today at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. The bowl was created in 1991 "encourage high school students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields," according to KCBS. North Hollywood High School, also competing, tied for sixth place after losing to Santa Monica. The Los Angeles Department of Water......

LA Times Book Prize Science & Technology Nominees As the LA Times Book Prize award ceremony looms ever-closer, we're taking a look at the books nominated in each category. As we mentioned last week, unlike other big literary awards, the LA Times Book Prize winners are never a sure thing, which is what makes following them all the more fun. The nominees in the Science & Technology category this year are:Animal Architects: Building and......

...there will be no bubble after all. The bubble in question was to be a giant bubble encasing show-elephant Tai as part of Santa Ana's Discovery Science Center's upcoming "Bubblefest" event. Due to overwhelming public objection, artist Fan Yang will not get the chance to set a world record for the largest bubble blown that holds a large animal--and really, how often do those opportunities come along? (One may wonder how someone practices for such......

LAist catches up with Michael J. Nelson, a former host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, as he talks about his latest project, RiffTrax. In the interview, he also gives us the scoop about political ads, bloopers and a possible live event in Los Angeles....

Earlier this week, UCLA researcher and professor Edythe London had an incendiary device left on the porch of her home on the West side. London has been the target of such protest activities before, and remains as such, because of the project she is helming at the school to study nicotine addiction. The LA Times has a succinct recipe for London and UCLA's research-related woes:First, find dozens of hard-core teenage smokers as young as 14......

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......

Photo courtesy of travelin librarian via flickr One of my favorite films of 2007 arrives to DVD today, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I know what some of you are thinking--why would I want to watch a documentary about grown men competing at Donkey Kong? To that question I can only say, "Trust me. You won't be sorry." Like all great films, King of Kong is about much more than its......

LA readings and book signings around town for January 28th - Februar 3rd including Judith Freeman, Ron Jeremy, Tamara Jenkins, Mary McNamara, Sam Jones and Tom Dolby....

A group of enterprising young researchers in UCLA's graduate Computer Science department have discovered a fun new way of using your iPod playlist: Wi-Fi enabled software sends your music preferences to whatever computer is nearby. Then music tailored to your preferences pumps out of the speakers -- can you imagine walking into a coffee shop, and the Carrie Underwood track playing shuts off, and a Matthew Good album slides into the rotation instead? How......

It sounds like the plot of a Charlton Heston film from the 70's, but the possibility of meat from cloned livestock has become a reality. The FDA just released an extensive risk assessment whose aim is "determining whether cloning poses any health risks to the animals involved in the cloning process, and whether any hazards arise during the development of clones or their progeny that may pose food consumption risks" (you can check out......

You know it's a light week when I lead off with the DVD of a TV series. The Tudors wasn't great television, but it was pretty good and Natalie Dormer was fantastic as the doomed Ann Boleyn. Am I the only one who confuses Shoot 'Em Up with Smokin' Aces? War is Jet Li's last martial arts flick...until the next one. Weird Science lasted two whole seasons? Amazing. Consumer alert!: Indie Sex is mostly......

I'm hoping you got a bunch of DVDs to tide you over during this dead week as well as until the writer's strike ends. It looks like TCM is running an "aviation in movies" marathon tonight and IFC's featuring Harvey Keitel. For further marathon action, check out BRAVO which is showing all of Project Runway's fourth season (starts at 6:00pm). 4:15pm Five Easy Pieces IFC - (1970) If you've got the day off like me,......

The Dodgers continued their off season wheeling and dealing, singing Japanese All-Star pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a three-year deal believed to be worth $36 to $40 million. "This is a huge pickup for the Dodgers," said The Daily News' Tony Jackson, who may have been first to break the news. It's a lot of money, but winning the World Series does not come cheap. Just ask the Rockies. Two teens (age 18 and 19)......

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their......

Home Depot has been trying to build a Sunlund-Tujunga location for awhile now, but community activism and the LA City Council has put a stop to that, or at least a major delay. Now, in a suit brought forth by The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust and the University Park Estates Neighborhood Assn., a Home Depot planned for southeastern Long Beach was given a major setback in court yesterday. The Long Beach City Council......

The Geminid Meteor showers are set to peak this week, especially on Thursday and Friday. Um, great date night, anybody? Astronomers studying the phenomenon, David Levy and Stephen Edberg, are terribly enthused: "If you have not seen a mighty Geminid fireball arcing gracefully across an expanse of sky, then you have not seen a meteor.' Those guys are serious!!! "The Geminid Meteors are usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing......

"Sni Bong" - Dengue Fever Dengue Fever @ Getty Center Deborah Harry @ Pantages Theatre (see our interview from earlier this week) John Mayer @ Nokia LIVE Pete Hopkins @ Key Club Pierce the Veil @ The Troubadour Bikini Science, The Atma @ The Derby Aceyalone, Leadership Crew, Epsilon Project @ Malibu Inn Jon Brion, Nels Cline @ Largo Kingsley, Self Against City, Visa @ The Roxy Diegos Umbrella, Casa do Samba @ The......

I was a bit skeptical at first, I knew nothing about chiropractics. But I kept having this pain in my neck that no amount of massage or yoga could take away. I was at a loss and then I met Dr. Robin Hawkey who explained, for the first time in my life, what exactly chiropractics was without any strings attached at a dinner party we both attended. So I decided to try it. My......

FARMERS MARKET: Downtown’s latest farmers market takes place in the Fashion District. So hit up some holiday shopping then treat yourself to some of the freshest foods around. 4-7 pm // Fashion District // 716 S. Los Angeles St., Downtown // Free. ART: Diego Cardoso is the Executive Officer of Transportation Development and Implementation for the MTA who headed the East Side Gold Line project. He's also on the city planning commission. But his......

For me, Edgar Wright is one of those directors whose films I see the moment they hit theaters. Both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz share a comic spirit that never diminishes even after many viewings. This past August, Wright hosted several sold-out screenings of his films at the New Beverly Cinema and starting December 2nd the New Beverly will turn over its programming reins to him for what is sure to be......

To prepare for this interview, I scoured my closet for my pair of unwashed lucky socks, put on some Dog the Bounty Hunter ondemand, and tried to ignore the fact that his girlfriend is "shnacky", as I like to say. Yucko the Clown is a regular guest on "The Howard Stern Show", a stand-up comic, and the co-creator of The Damn Show later 'ported' to MTV2 as Stankervision. Currently he's touring with the Killers......

Phew! Today, be thankful this is not you. Apparently, Arnold Schwarzenegger said this at one point: "I love Thanksgiving turkey... it's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts." Parking in Beverly Hills is now a little better, just in time for Holiday shopping. Four parking structures will double their free parking from one to two hours. Residents, merchants and New York City retailers are rejoicing. 167 people in Riverside County......

Science and art rarely mix. And yet, despite the near polar opposite natures of these two fields, there's something that makes a collaboration between science and art undeniably captivating. Perhaps it's because behind the often sterile and calculated shell of the world of science, there lies the same human stories we find in every other area of life. And while we regularly see tales of greed, corruption, triumph, racism, fame, and passion acted out......

If you don't want to watch football over the next 4 days you are screwed. Normally I would tell you to head over to TCM or IFC for some fine movie action but it's slim pickins my friends. TCM has (lamely) decided to schedule a 3 day Andy Hardy marathon starring everyone's favorite short actor, Mickey Rooney, as the misguided but lovable Andy Hardy. One or two Andy Hardy movies is fine, but several days......

A couple premieres tonight worth noting, Project Runway for all you fashionistas, and the incredible Kenny vs. Spenny makes its US premiere, and check the above video for a message made exclusively for LAist! The boys live in LA, check the show out or at least Tivo the mofo. 8:00pm Pushing Daisies ABC - "The Soup"'s Joel McHale guest stars tonight. TV Junkie 8:00pm Pick 8:00pm Wired Science PBS/KCET - Love the show, hate......

What do you get when you mix a sponsor (AOL Spinner), a holiday (Halloween), a label (DefJux), and a DJ (Juggaknot's DJ Boo)? Of course, a free mixtape. Peep: DJ Boo - The Definitive Jux Halloween Candy Before Dinner Mixtape [DOWNLOAD] Tracklist: Aesop Rock, 'Citronella' El-P, 'Smithereens' Rob Sonic, 'Rock The Convoy' Junk Science,'Do It Easy' Hangar 18, 'West Wing' Rob Sonic, 'Dead As Disco' Junk Science, 'Hey!' Hangar 18, 'Bakin' Soda' Junk Science, 'Jerry......

Tuesdays will be the worse for the lack of Damages until when, next Summer?!?! There seems to be just a couple worthy prime time choices tonight despite a full plate of new offerings that have, to me, seemed mediocre. Please tell me in the comments if you watch any of the following and why (I've got an open mind, I'll check them out again): Gossip Girl, Life, Dirty Sexy Money, Criminal Minds, Private Practice. 5:00pm......