Results tagged “stars”

The annual Perseid meteor showers has been around since July, but tonight and early tomorrow morning is its expected peak for visual gratification. Los Angeles' light pollution and the moon will distract somewhat, but there are some solutions if you can't travel afar to the likes of Joshua Tree or the Channel Islands.

Starting at 5:21 p.m., you should be able to see the International Space Shuttle passing above Los Angeles. "The Space Station moves from northwest to southeast between 5:21 p.m. and 5:27 p.m., appearing nearly overhead at 5:24 p.m.," says Anthony Cook at Griffith Observatory's Sky Report. "The ISS should rival brilliant Venus on both passes." Kevin Roderick at LA Observed finds good info on the station's passing on the LBReport.

       

This trio of planets were seen from around the world last night. And hopefully you saw it too because it won't be happening until 2052 (though, on New Year's Eve, Venus and the moon will be in view). This conjunction of planets have been seen in our skies since Thanksgiving night, but last night was when they appeared closest together.

If you're into planet watching, the next time this will happen is on Nov. 18, 2052. So best to take advantage this weekend:

LA will simply be bombarded with music tonight. On the agenda: We've got LA-based indie rockers One Trick Pony at Club Good Hurt. If you can get down with the notion of Venice Beach and bartenders clad in sexy nurse outfits, then head on out. The Québécois act Stars will be gracing the Avalon in support of their latest EP, Are You A Sad Robot?. The Diamond Cutter, otherwise known as Neil Diamond, will be performing all of his quintessential hits at the Hollywood Bowl. Bay Area punks Rancid will be continuing their six-night stint at the Henry Fonda Music Box. And Pattern Is Movement, a loopy and meticulous band from the City of Brotherly Love, will be hitting up Spaceland with LA locals the Minor Canon. But we propose that you take it easy on the wallet tonight by going to Tangier. Aaron Embry of AmniOn, a celebrated indie rock virtuoso, will be shelling out mellifluous strains with a backing band of friends. It's free, free, free!

Joe Dolce, former editor in chief of Star magazine, blogs at the Huffington Post about the increasing reported skirmishes between celebrities and the paparazzi. Dolce leaves the blame, not only on the paps, but on the magazines that pay for the photos and the celebs themselves. He offers suggestions for each involved party while knowing full well that it's all easier than said. Here's his thoughts on how celebs should act:

In a bid to revive the Hollywood stars after years of abuse and being stepped on, Absolut Vodka became the first corporate contributor to a $4-million dollar restoration plan in advance of the Walk of Fame's 50th anniversary in 2010. To recognize Absolut's initiative (and creative marketing tactics?), Leron Gubler, CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce presented the company with an honorary star near the entrance to the Kodak Theatre. More on the "Friends of the Walk of Fame" project and the condition of the 2,365 stars at the LAT.

Celtics 104, Clippers 76 - The NBA's top team won last night in the Staples Center, and it wasn't the Lakers.

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. So here's this week's top posts, as endorsed by you via the recommend feature, or as indicated by the level of talk going on in the comments:

It’s Super Tuesday and Mardi Gras. What other reason do you need to celebrate with LAist? Come to Seven Grand tonight to watch election returns. (Who knew that primaries would be this exciting?) You never know…people may start flashing for beads after a few Glenlivets. For questions or to RSVP: events@laist.com (Note: Seven Grand is a 21+ bar. We apologize for any inconveniences).

The moment has finally materialized: The official lineup for the three-day mega music fest in the middle of nowhere (aka Empire Polo Field in Indio) has been announced.

NFL Playoffs - It was almost the perfect Super Bowl match up. Instead of Brady-Favre, we get Brady-Manning -- but it's the wrong Manning, if you're going to have one. New England held off San Diego and New York stole it in OT from Green Bay to face off in the big game. Green Bay would have presented the better threat to the Pat's attempt at a perfect season (their secondary is better than the Giant's), and the QB showdown would have been epic. A lot of people also painted those teams as the "good" and "evil" of the NFL. It wasn't to be. Now, we get the team of destiny versus the team of a superstar's kid brother.

Clippers 97, Suns 90 - LA picked up their second win in the past 12 games and snapped a 4 game losing streak on the back of Sam Cassell, who scored 32 ... In their previous three meetings, Phoenix won by an average of 15 ... The Clippers are the lowest-scoring team in the NBA (92.6 points per game) while the Suns are the highest (110.3 ppg).

M.I.A. struts her stuff at the Echoplex, July 31

Johnny Grant was found dead tonight, around 7 p.m., on a bed at the Roosevelt Hotel where he lived on the 14th floor in a suite.

Grant, 84, has been one of Hollywood's most enthusiastic supporters for more than 50 years. Grant got his start in entertainment by hosting a daily radio show in New York City for servicemen and women during World War II, and later co-hosted the first national telethon ever produced to help send America's athletes to Helsinki Olympics in 1952. [CBS2]

I didn't want to just do a "best of" list. So this year, I've decided to take a years worth of personal New Year's Resolutions, ask around for those of friends and put a call out to readers (email me here) about things you've always wanted to know, always wanted to do and then take those requests and ask an expert, an insider to help out. The result? Here goes...

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).

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:

Etta James & Chuck Berry - "Rock n' Roll Music"

"A Little Prayer" by Evelyn Glennie, played with Fred Firth The Watkins Family Hour @ Largo Mike Stinson @ The Echo Sixteen Stars, Major O, Eggman & the Starkillers @ The Derby The Brown Out @ Fais Do-Do Wreckless Eric @ Safari Sam's Puddle Of Mudd, Solarcade @ Roxy Marc Cohn @ El Rey Theatre Francisco Aguabella Seven Piece Latin Jazz Ensemble @ Charlie O's Moutin Reunion Quartet @ The Jazz Bakery Evelyn Glennie...

Ghostface Killah The Big Doe Rehab Def Jam December 4, 2007 "No time...there's never any time," cried a caffeine pill crazed Jesse Spano in that very special episode of "Saved by the Bell." Ghostface Killah laughs at you and your complaints, Spano. While you can't find the time to balance a geometry midterm, getting into Stanford and covering Pointer Sister tunes, Pretty Toney is having no trouble finding time to spit sick verses on 8...

Robert Hass presents Time & Materials 7pm @ Central Library

Just read that one of Sid Caesar's writers, Mel Tolkin, just passed away at age 94, godlove'im. Instead of running vintage Leno re-runs they should be running some of this classic comedy that actually had great writing from way back in the day. The kids might learn something. 8:00pm A Charlie Brown Christmas ABC - If only this didn't have commercials, hmm, but if it didn't have commercials the show would be about 11 minutes...

The WGA and the producers are back at the negotiating table, hopefully they will catch the breaks that they need so that the collapse of Western civilization is averted. In a desperate attempt to avoid family time over the holiday, I managed to watch season one of Showtime's Dexter and my optimism for the future of mankind was restored. I missed Dexter when it premiered last year but was happy to cover the zany stunts...

1. In N' Out

Tuesdays are a slow day for the networks. Dancing With the Stars will soon require someone to pass out every week in order for the show to remain interesting and House seems like it jumped the shark a while ago. For satisfaction we'll have to delve deep into cableland or pay-TV. 8:00pm TCM Crime Drama Marathon TCM - Starting out with The Lineup and following on with Armored Car Robbery, and Follow Me Quietly 8:00pm...

It's a dream date for fans of Canadian songstress Feist and Austin's Spoon. Feist is just now making her break on the world stage, with a little help from Uncle Steve. But anyone with an ear to the Toronto indie rock scene could hear her coming ever since her solo debut, Monarch, was released on the heels of By Divine Right's "Bless This Mess" Tour (she was their rhythm guitarist). For most of this...

Feist, Spoon @ Gibson Spiritualized @ Vista Theatre Little Brother, Evidence, Black Milk @ El Rey Sondre Lerche @ The Troubadour The Parson Red Heads, Or the Whale @ The Echo Gliss @ The Viper Room The Jealous Girlfriends, A for Attack @ Silverlake Lounge The Airborne Toxic Event @ Detroit Bar Stars @ Glass House...

Naked Ambition, book of photos of the adult industry by photographer Michael Grecco "Like everything else in this business, this is chaos." This is what Lonn Friend, Naked Ambition writer, told me when I showed up at the Naked Ambition signing at Book Soup in reference to the way the event was going. For an event full of porn stars, it was actually quite tame, and not so much chaotic as lackadaisical. But, I...