Vancouver

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: A Replay While Henry's Away

KCRW BROADCAST #208 03-23-13   Fanatics! Hello from Honolulu, Hawaii. Due to a scheduling glitch, I am out here without the means to create this Saturday's show. Engineer X and I looked over some of our older shows and settled on one from last May to roll out for you. You might remember it from wh ... More >>

Elisa Lam: 21-Year-Old Missing From Downtown L.A. Possible Victim Of Foul Play

Cops were searching for a missing 21-year-old, Elisa Lam, who came to Los Angeles from Vancouver as a tourist. Unfortunately, investigators believe that her case is "suspicious" and might involve "foul play," according to an LAPD statement. She ended up in a sketchy part of downtown and stayed in a ... More >>

Los Angeles Has America's Most Congested Traffic -- Again

No big surprise here. Every quarter, it seems, new data supports the fact that Los Angeles is the absolute worst place in the nation for traffic. This time around TomTom's annual Congestion Index gives us the crown once more. Yay!

L.A. Traffic Is National Congestion Champion Once More

We were a little disappointed when an annual "Traffic Scorecard" in May figured Los Angeles was only the second most-congested city in the nation. WTF? After all, we're number one (and proud of it). Well, the folks behind GPS brand TomTom have put us back on top. Amen:

Food News Roundup: Greece's "Potato Movement," 60 Cool People Homemade Booze

The Guardian: In Greece, consumers save money by buying straight from farmers. It's called the "potato movement." The Daily Meal: The 60 "coolest" chefs, restaurateurs, bartenders, farmers and food writers. Plus a food performance artist (think cheese block sculptures; a room stuffed with cotton c ... More >>

Los Angeles Makes Top 20 Most Competitive Cities in World, But Ranking Seems Low to Us

L.A. ranks high when it comes to such things as traffic, potholes and rich people. What about global competitiveness? You know, the "ability to attract capital, business, talent and tourists," as the latest "Economist Intelligence Unit" report puts it. Not bad. We come in 19th place among 120 world ... More >>

Adult Entertainment Virtual Convention: Inside the World of Wank-Craft

The main virtual hall​ Most conventions are pants-mandatory kinds of affairs -- even those of the adult nature. For the world's first virtual porn convention, however, I'm not wearing any (relax...I'm in my PJs). This past weekend, XBiz and Red Light Center hosted the Adult Entertainment Virt ... More >>

I'm Fucked Up, You're Fucked Up

Harry Burkhart: Vancouver Fires in 2011 Examined For Possible Links to L.A. Arson Suspect

Gauri Ma​Last year Vancouver saw a series of as many as a dozen of unsolved arson fires, mostly involving garages, recycling bins, fences, rubbish, landscaping and at least one vacant home and one car. It turns out that Harry Burkhart, the man suspected in a 53-fire spree in Los Angeles, live ... More >>

Sea Harbour: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Thoughts From A Random Black Guy: Heathcliff, aka Raw Man Noodle

Frank Miles​[Editor's note: Odd Future member Lionel Boyce writes a weekly column for West Coast Sound. His archives are available here.] In a recent column I introduced everyone I was touring with, but I left out Heathcliff -- the co-tour manager and publicist for Odd Future -- on purpose be ... More >>

Sea Harbour: I Love The Smell of Tendon in The Morning

Anne FishbeinOne of the many intriguing dishes at Sea Harbour.​In exotica-obsessed Los Angeles, it is perhaps not unusual to dine on things like spinach sauteed with minced foie gras, steamed rice sheets with bitter melon, fried ox tripe and tendon with noodle rolls, dumplings stuffed with che ... More >>

Top 5 Natto Uses: A Love Letter to Fermented Soy Beans Happy Natto Day

Flickr/yoshing_BTJapanese fermented soy beans​ Boogers. Dirty socks. Puke. The only comparisons made to natto, or Japanese fermented soy beans, are unflattering ones. It's simultaneously sticky and slimy. When brought out of the freezer to room temperature and mixed, strings of what looks like ... More >>

Canadian Government Sponsoring Punk Album Called Holy Shit that Depicts Jesus as a Turd

​Vancouver punk rockers Living With Lions just released their sophomore album today. It's called Holy Shit, is subtitled "The Poo Testament," and has liner notes that recreate the Ascension with Christ portrayed as a turd. Oh, and the album is sponsored by the Canadian government. The album ... More >>

Actor and Model Sebastiano Serafini and Writer La Carmina on the 9.0 Earthquake in Japan

See La Carmina and Seba's photos from Los Angeles. Sebastiano Serafini, otherwise known as Seba, is a multi-media personality in Japan. He has modeled for a variety of labels, including Paul Smith and h. Naoto. Last year, he played Luca on the Japanese TV series Nijonjin no Shiranai Nihongo. Recent ... More >>

Ask Mr. Gold: Poutine in Los Angeles, or The Endurance of Boy Food

Anne Fishbeinthe invisible restaurant critic​ Dear Mr. Gold: Is there anywhere local that serves poutine? I have seen pictures of the dish, which apparently includes fries, cheese curds and gravy, but I have never seen it in a restaurant. Have you ever tried poutine? It looks like a french fr ... More >>

With Godspeed on Our Side

How did an experimental political punk octet become the hottest ticket of the winter?

The Second Monday In October In Canada: It's Thanksgiving, Eh

Margy RochlinFarmer's Market in Vancouver's West End​ We have often studied the notation on our Day-At-A-Time calendars -- Thanksgiving (Canada) -- and wondered what the festival entails. As it turns out, it's a national holiday that lands on the second Monday of October and mirrors our nation ... More >>

Tonight: Lost in the Trees, Brahms and Smetana, The Joy Formidable

​"This young North Carolina-based outfit recently signed with L.A.'s Anti- label, which just yesterday released a newly reworked version of Lost in the Trees' 2008 debut, All Alone in an Empty House. Full of dramatic string arrangements and folky acoustic guitar, Empty House belongs to the sam ... More >>

Best Coast Extends Headlining Tour, Offers Free 'Boyfriend' MP3

Best Coast Extends Headlining Tour, Offers Free 'Boyfriend' MP3

Hot Hot Heat's Indie Reinvention Continues with Bootleg Theater Residency, Dangerbird Records Album, and Free Origami In-Store

Darren AnkenmanHot Hot Heat​Kevin Bronson wrote a great feature for our print edition this week on the rebirth of former big-label hopefuls Hot Hot Heat as a proper indie act (courtesy of LA's Dangerbird Records). The band will be playing their new material at a month-long Wednesday residence ... More >>

Mochi Pizza? Japanese Pizza Chain "Strawberry Cones" Comes To San Gabriel Valley

Saturday's grand opening in San Gabriel marked the formal arrival of Japanese pizza chain Strawberry Cones to the United States. Located in a mini-mall adjacent to the Hilton Hotel, the chain opened their first store in Sendai in 1983, and currently has 200 stores in Japan. International expansion f ... More >>

LMFAO's Sky Blu Gets Into Beef with Mitt Romney On Flight, Gets the Boot

​It should come as no surprise that the rap duo LMFAO has no idea who Mitt Romney is; they're most certainly not the most enlightened, or well-read, pop stars. To them, he's not the straight-laced right wing former presidential candidate, but someone who on a flight from Vancouver to LA on Mon ... More >>

LMFAO Rapper Gives His Side Of Run In With Mitt Romney

Sky Blu.​A rapper from the duo LMFAO said he's the one who had a well-publicized run-in with onetime presidential candidate Mitt Romney on a Los Angeles-bound flight as it took off from Vancouver, and that the Republican politician is the one who started it. As the Weekly's West Coast Sound r ... More >>

Plate Spinnings: Listings From the Past Week

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: -- Designer Betsey Johnson unveils $3 million bottle of liqueur. Hope she's got a good dress to match. [United Business Media] -- Use your leftover Valentine's chocolate to measure the speed of light. Re ... More >>

Mitt Romney Assaulted On Flight To L.A.

Mitt Romney.​Onetime Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was allegedly assaulted in a non-injury confrontation during a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles this week, but the former Massachusetts governor on Tuesday said he would decline to press charges. The scuffle happened Monda ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free ... More >>

No L.A., Please, We're British

Angelenos secretly love being stereotyped, especially by New Yorkers and other foreigners, so we've pulled out three canards that appeared in today's U.K. press. Enjoy.Drinking at lunchtime, using irony and walking down a pavement (as opposed to driving) are the most reliable ways to raise eyebrows ... More >>

Palate Food & Wine: Charcuterie That's a Cut Above

Dining off sides in Glendale

King Hua's Dim Sum: Breakfast, à la Cart

In the Cantonese restaurant wars, Alhambra kitchen brings morning firepower

Did Subway Cheaters Put Egg On L.A.'s Face?

MTA is dismantling the honor system, jacking up construction costs and lying about why

Record Reviews: Cat Power, Drive-By Truckers

Also: Richard Swift, Black Mountain

Film Reviews

Including Freedom Writers

We Heart Denim...Honest

I'm not sure if any of us Style Council gals were at the denim shows last night... Buffalo, Yanuk and Taverniti were the designers showing, and even though denim and sportwear are LA's greatest exports - or at least most lucrative - how exciting can a pair of jeans get, right? Maybe that's why I ... More >>

Solving Smog

Our suggestions for ways out of this mess

Live in LA

Sunset Junction August 27-28 Snoop Dogg/Red Hot Chili Peppers/Ice Cube at the Greek, August 25

The Pleasant Probation of Tommy Chong

Conversations with the creator of “Man”

Posuer Nation

Does counterculture = consumer culture?

Blood and Ink

A Kilo Full of Kryptonite

Big Joe Bralic thought he was Superman. Then the Canadian tried to do a drug deal in L.A.

Strange Memes and Nascent Trends

The Ace is Wild

The Doug Chrismas story

Turn On, Meet God, Get Straight

An African root bark may offer clues to addiction — if only it were legal to study

Poppy Seconds

The Power of Bao

How to win at dim sum

The Site and the Sound

Reefer Madness

A weekend in "Vansterdam"

North by Northwest

Buck Stops Here

Meanwhile, the trio contemplates the Waffle House