Los Angeles Police Department

Where Is Lil Wayne In the Lyrical Hot Water Hall of Fame?

Proving that it is almost never wise to compare the results of rough sex to Emmett Till's face, Lil Wayne was dropped from his Mountain Dew campaign last week. Emmett Till, for those of you who aren't familiar, was a 14-year-old boy who was beaten to death, shot, and dumped in the river for whistlin ... More >>

Die Hard, Die Alone

When John McClane lost his family, the movieslost much of John McClane

Gangster Squad

retelling the stories of better movies.

L.A.'s Finest

Gangster Squad's cop-turned-screenwriter faces the thin blue line edit.

Kaskade's Moment

On-the-go DJ/producer might be electronica's very own superhero.

Start the Revolution! 10 Songs About Historical Events

If you ever look at music throughout time, along with a history book -- they kind of complement each other. Some of the greatest songs in rock, R&B and rap have chronicled history both social, major news events, sports, entertainment and political. In my opinion, many times, the song is about what ... More >>

Law and Order: Top 10 Best (Or Worst) Musicians' Arrests

Nobody is above the law - not even musicians even though some of them may think they are. However, some of their outrageous behavior has become legendary. Others have spawned rumors, killed their careers and/or made them the butt of many jokes. In fact, this makes me wonder why there is not a cele ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Cocking a Shotgun? Grow a Pair, Houston

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involving wit ... More >>

Hands-On Experience

Dozens of teenage Explorers have been sexually abused by police officers. Critics say the Boy Scouts, who oversee the program, should share the blame.

Five Life Lessons From John Lennon's "Lost Weekend"

​Rocks Off would like to wish a very happy 70th birthday to one of the coolest pop cats out there, Harry Nilsson. Four times out of five, whenever we play the jukebox at Warren's, we put on something from his Greatest Hits - like Martin Scorsese, we usually leave the lime in the coconut and ju ... More >>

Porn-ing in America

A Reagan-era bacchanalia succumbs to soggy nostalgia.

Somebody Make a Charlie Sheen/Lindsay Lohan Reality Show Already

It'll be just like this, only with more felony warrants and broken teeth​Believe it or not, writing about so-called "pop culture" has its difficulties. For starters, it's hard to deal with the effusive praise and overwhelming respect heaped upon you by your colleagues, none of whom view entert ... More >>

Rappers Vs. Uncle Sam: N.W.A., Eminem, Kanye...

​Mike Myers will probably go down in history as the most uncomfortable white guy next to a black guy in TV history, thanks to Kanye West's unscripted outburst during that infamous Hurricane Katrina telethon. It began with Myers reading his part of the script verbatim. Two-thirds into the PSA, ... More >>

Cop-Beating Video Will Stay Under Seal: Judge Agrees It's Gonna Go Viral Big-Time

Rodney King might be wondering if Houston can get along​A federal judge has ruled that the video of Houston cops beating a 16-year-old handcuffed suspect will be kept under wraps until trial, and his reasoning gives even more credence to the theory that when it finally comes out, it's going to be ... More >>

Falcon Lake: Case Closed? Five Remaining Oddities In A Very Weird Case

One more thing, ma'am....​After the murder and decapitation of one of their own, Mexican investigators are calling off the search for David Hartley's body, temporarily at least.So, is it case closed? Is STRATFOR's theory -- that Hartley was gunned down by Zeta thugs who believed he was a scout for ... More >>

FAIL: Katy Perry, DMX, Weezer

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​Katy Perry Finds Musicianship Depressing: Katy Perry, primarily known for her amazingly sexy body and, oh, probably some other stuff too, was interviewed recently about her time with an independent record label early in her career. "That was the most d ... More >>

HPD Chief McClelland Understands "Frustration" Over Misdemeanor Beating Charges

Photo by groovehousePull over when you see the red lights, people​At a news briefing earlier today, Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland appeared sympathetic to those in the community who are upset that the officers involved in the alleged beating of a handcuffed teenaged burglary suspect, whic ... More >>

The Killer of His Daughter's Mother

A cunning American boy becomes a Mexican cartel soldier and East L.A. executioner.

Charlie Huston Comes To Town With Tales Of A Sleepless Post-Apocalyptic Los Angeles

Photo by Pinguino K​Charlie Huston, the author of the newly released Sleepless, didn't start out to be a novelist; he had been hoping to become a screenwriter. That was six years and almost a dozen books ago."I was not thinking of a career as a writer until it was upon me," he told Hair Balls via ... More >>

Coroner Rules Michael Jackson's Death a Homicide

TMZ.com​It already looked bad for Houston physician Dr. Conrad Murray, whom just about everyone with a pulse expects to face criminal charges stemming from his client Michael Jackson's June 25 death and is already the subject of a manslaughter probe by the LAPD. Now things look even wors ... More >>

Boxing, Sex and Madness

Mike Tyson's many personalities are on display in James Toback's new documentary.

Angelina Jolie takes on a serial killer and the system in Changeling

Go Ahead, Make Her Day

Neil LaBute's Lakeview Terrace

Racial tension, above and below the surface

Tonight: George Michael at Toyota Center

The Year In Film

Judd Apatow's pretty good year and much more

The Popcorn King

Rush Hour 3 director Brett Ratner has been called a fauxteur, a womanizer and, worse, over budget. Why you should take him seriously anyway.

Rush Hour 3

The third time's the guilty pleasure for Tucker and Chan's buddy-cop franchise

DVDs

Tomorrow's Misery Today

The Black Dahlia

True-crime noir goes searching for Hollywood's heart of darkness

Hollywoodland

Showbiz noir investigates TV Superman's real-life tragedy

Scenes from a Picnic

Willie, Dylan, Kinky and the Ghost of Bob Willis descends on Fort Worth. Wack is there too.

Up in the Air

Was this the punch line to a bad racist, homophobic joke or a dry run for a terrorist bombing?

Collision Course

A lawsuit challenges deputies who shoot fleeing drivers

Fuddy Buddy

Hollywood Homicide tries to mock cop partner flicks, but the joke's on it

GET and Pre-Existing Conditions

Friday, January 31 and Saturday, February 1

Heart to Heart

Eastwood plays a detective with a bad ticker looking for the man who murdered his donor

Sleepless in Alaska

A frazzled Al Pacino tangles with a psychotic Robin Williams in Insomnia

Mean and Masterful

Denzel the narc finally takes a fine swagger into the darkness of Training Day

Tucker-ed Out

Noisy Rush Hour 2 mistakes volume for humor

Policing the Police

Does the Citizen Review Committee do the job?

Crimefighter in Spite of Himself

Blue Streak is not quite up to its identity crisis

News of the Weird

Night & Day

June 11 - 17, 1998

The Hotel Six Joker Turns Wild

A chance encounter and a federal feud endanger the sting

Unforgettable?

The new Bobby Fuller retrospective salutes a questionable legacy

Police Brutality

The terrific L.A. Confidential captures our worst suspicions of how the world works

Looking for Billy Zoom

X was the West's great punk hope. But now they're finding more fun in their new worlds.

Alison Cook looks back at 1996: Year of the Rat