Bong

Miley Cyrus taking a hit off a bong? Ouch. Not exactly wholesome Disney fare. And though TMZ posted a video, it doesn’t show exactly what Cyrus may have been smoking. This Picture of Health blog post from the Baltimore Sun reports: "She says she was smoking salvia and not marijuana. That’s a hallucinogenic drug made from a plant in the mint family and it’s legal in many states, including California where the video was taken of Cyrus. " Read the rest of the post to learn what Johns Hopkins scientists say about the effects of salvia.

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso has an idea on how to better move Los Angeles - and it's a blast from the past. Caruso this week is talking up the idea of extending the old-fashioned trolley that now runs through his popular Grove shopping center to other locations in the trendy neighborhood, including the Beverly Center and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The plan is still in its infancy, but Caruso vows to throw his weight and "a...

Miley Cyrus turns 18 with a bong, but sources claim it's not weed. ( TMZ ) Dick Van Dyke's one-man show has been canceled due to the star's Achilles' tendon injury. ( Los Angeles Times ) The L.A. Forum has been quiet recently, but it's poised to be a major concert player. ( Los Angeles Times ) After a rocky 2010, Call of Duty: Black Ops perks up the video game industry. ( Los Angeles Times ) "The Hasselhoffs" won't join the Kardashians in the halls of reality show glory -- it got canceled after just two episodes.

This is one part of Silver Lake that has no lake view. In fact, the only views are from atop a corkscrew drive that looks out over a pair of freeways, the 5 and the 2. Residents, however, see this 10.2-acre stretch of undeveloped land - along Riverside Drive to the east and Corralitas Drive to the south - as a sanctuary. They also want to keep it that way. "For all the neighbors around here this is paradise," said longtime resident Russell Bates, standing in a meadow on what residents call the Corralitas Red Car property.

The explosion of South Korean cinema in the last decade or so has been extraordinary to watch. Not long after the vibrant Hong Kong industry started losing its momentum, Korea began to take up the slack. Extraordinary filmmakers such as Park Chan-wook ("Oldboy"), Kim Ji-woon ("A Tale of Two Sisters") and Kim Ki-duk ("3-Iron") developed reputations. Bong Joon-ho, whose fourth film, "Mother," opens in L.A. this week, is one of the best South Korean directors and arguably the most accessible to U.S. audiences.

One of the most successful directors in South Korea and one of the best-known Korean directors internationally, Bong Joon-ho is the rare filmmaker who seems to work both within and beyond the confines of genre. His brisk, funny, extremely well-made movies deliver the familiar pleasures of pop entertainment, though often in unfamiliar configurations. Bong has made four features (and a handful of shorts) and has been intriguingly hard to pin down from film to film. He made his debut in 2000 with "Barking Dogs Never Bite," a portrait of big-city anomie centered on an anonymous Seoul apartment complex, then followed it with "Memories of Murder" (2003)

Monsters come in all shapes and guises in the cinematic universe of South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. In his 2003 film "Memories of Murder," the monster was a serial killer whose murders were never solved by the police. In his acclaimed 2006 "The Host," which holds the record for Korean box-office admissions, the demon was quite literally a savage monster that came from the Han River in the middle of Seoul to feast on the metropolis. And in his latest film, "Mother," which opened Friday, the monster is a single mother who goes to any lengths to prove that her mentally challenged 27-year-old son didn't murder a promiscuous teenage girl.

Re "Bong hits for free speech," editorial, March 20 Perhaps young Joseph Frederick has stumbled on a constitutionally protected way to legalize marijuana. The fact that pot is benign compared with alcohol or pharmaceuticals, much less harder drugs, didn't do it. The fact that dying people find relief from their suffering with pot hasn't seemed to faze lawmakers. Perhaps as a sacrament to Jesus can an exception to our draconian legal posture be found, and we can end decades of lies about this resourceful weed.

There is nothing even a little funny about the rash of incidents at America's high schools involving student violence and/or drug use. There is nothing even a little funny about the efforts to restore order to our schools being made by teachers and/or parents. Or is there? Something a little funny did happen recently, affecting a student body from Winnebago County and a business based in Orange County.

An enthralling Korean mystery The enthralling, unpredictable, yet highly accessible "Mother" from Korea's Bong Joon-ho, takes the predicament of a fiercely devoted single mother (Kim Hye-ja, in an Oscar-caliber portrayal) determined to get justice for her simple-minded son, Do-joon (Won Bin), arrested for the murder of a teenage girl by lazy, indifferent police, and turns it into a dazzlingly multifaceted epic of stunning surprise. The mother's realization that she must investigate the murder herself if she is to have a hope of saving her son allows the film to become a murder mystery -- and much more.

I explained in an earlier post that if Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa leaves office early to become, say, U.S. secretary of Transportation, the acting mayor would be the City Council president. And right now, that's Herb Wesson Jr. If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed the post by Alice Walton on the KPCC news site that reports that Wesson is recovering from a serious fall at his home that sent him to the emergency room and required stitches. I wish him a quick and full recovery.

The last time City Councilman Tom LaBonge ran for office, he won 100% of the vote. That was 2007, and LaBonge ran unopposed. This time, he faces challenges from two political newcomers who have amassed nearly $94,000 to his $174,000 in their effort to oust him. LaBonge, who has been on the council 10 years, sat between his opponents at a packed candidate forum on a recent night in Silver Lake. He stared straight ahead, unblinking, as they took turns slamming him as an insider politician who has spent too long at City Hall.

Miley Cyrus turns 18 with a bong, but sources claim it's not weed. ( TMZ ) Dick Van Dyke's one-man show has been canceled due to the star's Achilles' tendon injury. ( Los Angeles Times ) The L.A. Forum has been quiet recently, but it's poised to be a major concert player. ( Los Angeles Times ) After a rocky 2010, Call of Duty: Black Ops perks up the video game industry. ( Los Angeles Times ) "The Hasselhoffs" won't join the Kardashians in the halls of reality show glory -- it got canceled after just two episodes.

Miley Cyrus taking a hit off a bong? Ouch. Not exactly wholesome Disney fare. And though TMZ posted a video, it doesn’t show exactly what Cyrus may have been smoking. This Picture of Health blog post from the Baltimore Sun reports: "She says she was smoking salvia and not marijuana. That’s a hallucinogenic drug made from a plant in the mint family and it’s legal in many states, including California where the video was taken of Cyrus. " Read the rest of the post to learn what Johns Hopkins scientists say about the effects of salvia.

A Los Feliz man seeking a seat on the Los Angeles City Council accused Councilman Tom LaBonge this week of mishandling a request to put a yellow ribbon on the Hollywood sign in time for Veterans Day. Apartment owner Tomas O'Grady said LaBonge unfairly turned down a proposal by David Weiss, a former Marine who lives in Newport Beach, to install the ribbon display at a cost of $11,000 to honor U.S. veterans. Veterans Day was Thursday. Standing with a small group of people holding signs that said "Yellow Ribbon vs. Red Tape," O'Grady said the rejection of the request showed how difficult it is for businesses and other individuals to get a fair hearing from City Hall.

One of the most successful directors in South Korea and one of the best-known Korean directors internationally, Bong Joon-ho is the rare filmmaker who seems to work both within and beyond the confines of genre. His brisk, funny, extremely well-made movies deliver the familiar pleasures of pop entertainment, though often in unfamiliar configurations. Bong has made four features (and a handful of shorts) and has been intriguingly hard to pin down from film to film. He made his debut in 2000 with "Barking Dogs Never Bite," a portrait of big-city anomie centered on an anonymous Seoul apartment complex, then followed it with "Memories of Murder" (2003)

BY THE time we began the interview, Bong Rip had absorbed quite a bit of THC. I'd been watching the 30-year-old host of "BongTV," a live Internet show that features Mr. Rip traveling around the Southland in his '88 Rolls Royce limo, rapping with guests and friends -- and smoking more pot than I thought was possible. On screen, he'd made short work of four big joints, demonstrated repeatedly and convincingly why his name is Bong Rip and otherwise had not gone three minutes without a quick lung full from his glass pipe.

Fountain maker: An article in the March 14 Business section about Mark Fuller said his project for the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas amounted to $2.7 million. His firm's contract was for $27 million. Trees for veterans: An article in the March 14 Section A about a tree-planting program to honor veterans described Frankie Sanchez as a Vietnam War veteran. Sanchez served in the Army during the Vietnam War era but never deployed to Vietnam. Dana Davis: An article in today's Image section about shoemaker Dana Davis identifies her mother as Nancy Davis.

Fountain maker: An article in the March 14 Business section about Mark Fuller said his project for the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas amounted to $2.7 million. His firm's contract was for $27 million. Trees for veterans: An article in the March 14 Section A about a tree-planting program to honor veterans described Frankie Sanchez as a Vietnam War veteran. Sanchez served in the Army during the Vietnam War era but never deployed to Vietnam. Dana Davis: An article in today's Image section about shoemaker Dana Davis identifies her mother as Nancy Davis.

Monsters come in all shapes and guises in the cinematic universe of South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. In his 2003 film "Memories of Murder," the monster was a serial killer whose murders were never solved by the police. In his acclaimed 2006 "The Host," which holds the record for Korean box-office admissions, the demon was quite literally a savage monster that came from the Han River in the middle of Seoul to feast on the metropolis. And in his latest film, "Mother," which opened Friday, the monster is a single mother who goes to any lengths to prove that her mentally challenged 27-year-old son didn't murder a promiscuous teenage girl.