San Francisco Bay

The Master's Master

Paul Thomas Anderson on his new 70 mm film

Majority of Californians Support Soda Tax

Three out of five California voters would support a special tax on soda and soft drinks to fight childhood obesity, according to a new Field Poll. New data collected as part of the Field-The California Endowment Childhood Obesity Prevention Survey found that 48% of participants cited unhealthy eat ... More >>

Why the Grammys Stink

See also: *2012 Grammys: The Best, the Worst and the Weirdest *Deadmau5, Rihanna - House of Blues - 2/13/12 *Dan Wilson: From "Closing Time" to Adele's "Someone Like You" So, our Grammy credentials were fairly limited last night. In fact, we were trapped in a room for eight hours, with journalists ... More >>

Your Local White Meat: Abalone

Kathy A. McDonaldAbalone and kelp thrive at The Cultured Abalone, Santa Barbara​Dining on sea snail may sound less than appetizing. Dining on abalone sounds luscious. But abalone's white, delicately flavored briny flesh is essentially that of a sea snail: a muscled mollusk, which consumes alga ... More >>

Chris Brymer: Head Case

Ex-football players with head injuries often end up in the criminal-justice system. The former USC lineman is Exhibit A

Live Review: Slayer, Megadeth and Testament Hit Long Beach for American Carnage (and a Couple of Christians Are Not Amused)

Evil AlexWarning thrash metal fans about Hell​ A tall skinny man in all black shouted, "FUCK YOU JESUS FREAK! SATAN SATAN!" as he stood in line to be frisked at the Long Beach Arena Monday evening, for the American Carnage Tour, a thrash metal epiphany type event, featuring Testament, Megade ... More >>

Drink Me: Vodka

Ben CalderwoodLucques Gimlet with fava bean purée, green olives, feta and grilled bread​ First in an occasional series of spirit lessons where Squid Ink picks up the tab. The etymology is a dead giveaway. Vodka originates from the Slavic voda, or water, which illustrates just how fundamenta ... More >>

Sole And The Skyrider Band Come To L.A., Release Bizarro PSA Series and Free EP (MP3s)

Anticon founder Sole will be performing tonight at the Knitting Factory backed by L.A.-based three-piece, Skyrider. Earlier this week, that combined outfit, Sole And The Skyrider Band, released its sophomore LP, Plastique, via Connecticut-based Fake Four Inc. -- not, as would be expected, through An ... More >>

The Life and Death of JT LeRoy

Lies and follies of Laura Albert

The Lies and Follies of Laura Albert, a.k.a. JT LeRoy

No exit plan

The Kite Runner: Grounded

Controversy aside, this movie doesn’t fly

Alt-Weeklies Provide Web Links to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe

Action taken in solidarity with Phoenix New Times

Sean Penn, With His Own Two Eyes

Sean Penn on anger, humility and the power of seeing things for yourself

Camping, but Not Really

El Capitan Canyon — the great outdoors for pansies

David Klawans

Panning for Hollywood gold

Film Reviews

Crossword

The Net

Theater Reviews

For March 3 - 9

Weekend Theater Reviews

Reviews of 1984, Not a Genuine Black Man and On the Verge, or the Geography of Yearning

American Idols

From Raymond Chandler to “Anywhere, U.S.A.”

Joe Donnelly Meets the New Boss, Mike Lacey

The Phoenix cowboys ride again

Four Wizards and a Funeral

Harry Potter goes through growing pains

The Air That We Breathe

Just when it looked like we might win the war on smog, a new and more deadly form of air pollution stalks Los Angeles

One Night, Two Bands, Two Fans freak out!

White Muslim

From L.A. to New York to... jihad?

Where Are They Now?

An ever-evolving list of L.A. Weekly alumni

Remembering Ron Curran

Rebel With Many Causes

Ron Curran, 1960–2003

Gods and Monsters

And a big hello to Mr. Green Genes

Start the Presses

The comeback of a Cleveland alternative newspaper

Death Mansion

What’s really behind Gray Davis’ push for a 1,000-bed death row?

The Accordion in Her Life

Homage to Catatonia

A history of drugs and the movies

Panic Time

The days, and the electoral votes, dwindle down

Loving and Leaving the Phonograph

Why Napster, extraterrestrials, Southern hillbillies and Dick Clark mean more to the future of music than copyright and the Recording Industry Association of America

Things Fall Apart

If your mother can’t take care of you, who will? The story of Sophie’s boys

Letters

Left and Lefter

Well-heeled Willie Brown dispatches challenger Tom Ammiano in San Francisco’s mayor’s race

A Lagoon and Two Rivers

Man vs. water vs. crocodile vs. music

Weapons of Mass Distraction

U.S. arms dealing leads Project Censored’s list of the Top 10 underreported stories of 1997