Berkeley

How 'Gaysian' Filmmaker Quentin Lee Defies Hollywood Stereotypes

Quentin Lee has been called a "Gaysian" filmmaker, representing two significant minorities in the industry. He both exemplifies and defies Asian stereotypes, impressively obtaining degrees from three top universities but then dedicating himself to the arts instead of the sciences. And through a seri ... More >>

Fire Damages Chez Panisse in Berkeley

A fire broke out at the Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, according to various San Francisco news outlets, damaging the front of the restaurant. Firefighters were able to get the fire under control before it spread to neighboring buildings, and reportedly prevented ... More >>

Julie Brown Doesn't Care About the Super Bowl, But Will Watch the Half-Time Show, "Because That's Always a Train Wreck."

L.A. Traffic Relief Possible If We Targeted Specific Neighborhoods, Says GPS Data

Remember car pooling, flexible work schedules and "telecommuting." Yeah, none of that worked as far as our traffic goes. L.A. still has the worst congestion in the nation. Will anything bring relief? Researchers at UC Berkeley and MIT think they might have come up with something:

The New Pastrami Sandwich 3 Great Places to Get One

This week we're launching a new series called Food of the Moment which devotes itself to an ingredient or dish currently experiencing an boom at local eateries. We'll then eat it, dissect it, discuss it -- and tell you where you can get some. In a Slate piece back in September, Rachel Levin chronic ... More >>

Pee-wee's Playhouse Puppet Designer Wayne White Discusses the New Film About His Work, Beauty Is Embarrassing

When filmmaker Neil Berkeley was a college intern and first met Wayne White twelve years ago, he was already familiar with the artist's work. Certainly, you are too. White is best known as a designer for the landmark TV show Pee-wee's Playhouse, where he created, and even voiced, some of the puppet ... More >>

No Smoking in Your Own Apartment? Santa Monica Moves Toward Such a Ban

Please explain to us how L.A.'s own version of Berkeley, a town once ruled by ultra-lefty Tom Hayden and is band of merry pranksters called Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, has turned into a an Amish village where the local government is up your arse with just about everything you do there? It wa ... More >>

Rich More Likely to Lie, Cheat And Take Candy From Baby (Really)

California researchers this week confirmed it: The rich really are different. But maybe not in the ways you think. Nope. Those exposed to private prep schools, nanny-aided childhoods and the formalities of grand dinner parties seem to lie, cheat, cut people off in traffic, and "endorse unethical be ... More >>

Marijuana Preferred Over Doctors' Prescriptions, Says California Survey

​Do medical marijuana patients self-prescribe pot in place of the pharmacy drugs that doctors tell them they should take? If you're to believe a new California report, yes. In fact 66 percent of medical marijuana patients surveyed said they replaced their doctor-prescribed meds with good old ... More >>

Black Blood of the Earth: 40X Caffeine Coffee in a Mystery Location Coffee Jerky

On Sunday, October 30th, a caffeinated cabal of lucky citizens will gather at an unknown address in Pacific Palisades to celebrate the dark art of high-octane coffee-crafting. A Berkeley scientist's fast track to twitchy fingers, speed metal heartbeats, and eyes redder than an albino hamster's, bou ... More >>

'We Are the 53 Percent' Claims Middle Ground Between Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, Tells Protesters to 'Suck It Up'

See also: "Occupy L.A. Now Allowed to Camp on City Hall Lawn: Why Are Politicians Sucking Up to Protesters?" Our very own Gene Maddaus created an enlightening similarities chart between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party yesterday. In short: Same approach, opposite ends of the spectrum. But ther ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews L.A. Weekly Pancake Breakfast

California Death Penalty Could be Overturned With Your Vote: L.A. Police Union Says No to Statewide Ballot Measure

Richard Ramirez is still alive.​To kill or not to kill, that is the question that could be coming to a voting booth near you. Will you pull the trigger? The state Assembly's Public Safety Committee approved Berkeley state Senator Loni Hancock's SB 490 last week, setting off a firestorm of cri ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 4/18-4/22

Flickr/Lauren Manning​ In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "As Sotto, the new Italian restaurant from Steve Samson and Zack Pollack, who ran David Meyer's Pizza Ortica at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, somebody sprung to fix up the basement, because it is ... More >>

Q & A with Eric Greenspan, Part 2: Culinary School or Not Culinary School, Etc.

Photo by Felicia Friesema.​In Part 1 of our interview with Eric Greenspan, we discovered that The Foundry on Melrose is somehow a tight ship and a wild ride at the same time. The chef waxed poetic (and, well, dropped a lot of f-bombs) as he discussed the challenges of owning a restaurant, the ... More >>

Al Jazeera To Be Broadcast In Los Angeles?

​On the eve of Sept. 11, the date that helped put Arabic news network Al Jazeera on the global map, it looks like the controversial broadcaster could be coming to Southern California airwaves, albeit radio ones. The Washington Post reported this week that liberal Berkeley-based Pacifica Radio ... More >>

Food Union Supports California Pot Legalization

There are many good reasons for California to legalize marijuana, not least being that it's cheaper to drive to Mar Vista, say, than it is to fly to Amsterdam, and because one wonders what the folks who design Intelligentsia's high-strung coffee palaces could do with a pot café. There is also the w ... More >>

Long Beach Moves Forward With Marijuana Tax Proposal

​The Long Beach City Council this week moved forward with a proposal to add a local tax to medical marijuana sales. The body voted 8-1 to hold a public hearing on whether the matter should be put before LBC voters in November. The proposal would place a 5 percent tax on sales. The city Berkel ... More >>

Ravenswood Winery: Get A Tattoo, Get Free Wine For Life

Ravenswood WineryPosing Naked Among The Wine Barrels Is Not Required​ Getting a tattoo may not make you a chef, but get the right tattoo, and you can get free wine. For life. There is a catch or two, of course. The ink must be permanent and your body art must be the Ravenswood Winery logo. Pl ... More >>

Cars Are Being Torched In Santa Monica

Santa Monica Fire DepartmentFile photo.​The Santa Monica Arson Task Force is investigating a series of arson-related car and trashcan fires, including six in December, police said. Three fires happened on Dec. 20th alone. The series of fires started in late June and subsided September only t ... More >>

Students Prepare for Budget Protest

View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.As LAist and TV/radio reports are noting, students are already gathering today ahead of tomorrow's protest at California State University, Long  Beach. On Tuesday the Cal State system's board of trustees will convene on the Long Beach ... More >>

Battle Burrito, L.A. vs. S.F.

Rolling with the old-style classics

The Curious Palate: A Quizzical Lunch Spot

The squash soup is vegan, but the egg salad comes with guanciale baco bits

Dead Xmas Tree Watch, No. 11

Date: 24 January 2009 Time: 09:57Location: Berkeley AvenueRemarks: Hammering rain, water on lens. Spotted a tree in nearby home's living room. Must return when it's tossed.

Cook's Tortas, Westside espresso, Eastside spice

The new torta paradigm

Not With a Whimper

Another memorable Monday

Nagano: On the Road

Art thou not Kent?

Letters: Buk, Booth and the Burbs

Our readers write

Movie Reviews: Berkeley, The Heartbreak Kid, Lust, Caution

Also this week's pick, Colma: The Musical

I Am Not a Housewife

Caitlin Flanagan fights the mommy wars

Green and Bare It

Biodiesel can be sexy

Face in the Hip Crowd

Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You

Using the past to perfect the future

Tempest From a Teapot

For MoveOn’s Wes Boyd and Joan Blades, politics begins and ends at home

The View From Four Score

Eighty years in a musical life

Number Wonton

Life as Music

John Adams goes public

Berkeley, Berlin, Berlioz

Nagano on the move

Following the Flags in San Francisco

Hard Up

Diary of a Mad Waitress

The Seamless Dream

On fine service

Less Than or Equal To Another Vacation

Arrows of Desire

When life is gay

Back to Bataan

A brief history of one of the thousands of DIY singles released in 1979

Writing in the City

Mona Simpson’s dilemma

Letters

The Pacifica Wars: A Debate

Get real: Listeners like the new network, not the old one

Tuned In, Turned On and Locked Out

KPFA struggle recalls ’60s, but this time lefties are fighting each other

Let's Hear It for Ockeghem

Dear Diary

A week in the life of food