Such a drag.

Los Angeles journalists think any shift in the weather is breaking news. If it's cold, you can expect a wave of "Jack Frost possibly nips Hollywood sign!" stories or grim rain-damage estimates; if it's warm, every L.A. rag will run an obligatory "it's freaking gorgeous out" piece, usually about 1/4 whine and 3/4 brag.

radialsblog.com

Fun on Wilshire

We're not apt to spotlight every angry traffic rant posted on the Tubes, but BurnOutXL brings up some very good points. Ones we hope the myriad terrible drivers of Los Angeles might begin to take into account, someday.

Google

Yes, that somehow spells "Google." Click here for nifty animated version.

But today is different. Today is Cesar Chavez Day. And to whom does Google pay tribute, in its illegible (albeit adorable) doodle?

Robert freaking Bunsen.

Among other things, smart people in spectacles tell us that Facebook captures our true personality and helps boost our self-esteem. But also lowers it! Along with our GPA, our ability to control romantic jealousy and keep down our lunch. Then again, it also gives us transferrable skills for real social situations and improves our in-person relationships.

WTF. The only thing we can conclude from the chaos:

PHOTO BY JENNIE WARREN

WeHo City Council candidate Mito Aviles wants to send the Mubarak -- er, mayor -- packing on a private jet

And arguably the most outspoken of those candidates, the punky pompadouring Mito Aviles, is not afraid to draw the obvious parallel to the hot-button news item of the day: Egypt.

Destination 360

Hey -- if we're gonna sit in traffic, might as well do it on city dime

It's a perfect opportunity to observe one of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's infamous empty promises, in which he declares his commitment to doing right by the City of Los Angeles -- only to slink back off to the White House or Chicago and continue kissing President Obama's ass in the hopes of securing federal support for another expensive political career-maker the city can't afford while putting himself in the national spotlight for a possible promotion to Washington. [Deep breath in.]

L.A., meanwhile, is left to the rats.

Los Angeles Police Department

A composite of the El Camino cop shooter

The vast majority of media and community reaction to Wednesday's police shooting at El Camino High -- an unexpected jolt of violence in the affluent suburb of Woodland Hills -- has focused on the seven-square-mile search perimeter and extensive lockdowns at nine LAUSD campuses.

Critics speculate that the closed-off streets, sweeping lockdowns and hundreds of emergency responders and investigators roaming the area were vast overkill in response to the crime.

Wrecked Magazine

The 405 isn't good enough for the Weather Channel

Now, the cronies at the Weather Channel, of all people, are making the no-doubt erroneous claim -- in a hideously formatted smear piece -- that not a single L.A. roadway is in the nation's Top 10 fattest holiday traffic jams this year. And to that we say:

Avoid this

Unless you're a DWP baby, in which case we hate to inform you that you're on your own, kid -- because your power supplier is so totally out getting schwasted right now.

Ten fun-killing commandments after the jump!

reason.com

L.A.'s mayor wants to scan your body.

Only a week after a Southern Californian became a national hero for refusing the full-body scanning and sexual groping of airport security, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced his full support for the x-ray-like scanners.

The mayor was scheduled to issue "a statement in support of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) use of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) scanners" at an event at LAX Monday morning, his office announced.

Good timing.

NNDB

Once mere "friends," Beer and Jimmy are now close without quotation marks

Kimmel calls it National Unfriend Day, or NUD. (We think he should have chosen Federal Defriend Afternoon, because then everyone talking/trending about the FDA this morning could have unintentionally repped his stupid holiday. Too late.)

On the real though:

At LAX, do you allow yourself to be groped?

It's been nearly 10 years since 9/11, and it's time reassess how twisted we'll make our freedoms in order to make us think we're somehow safer.

Southern California resident John Tyner put the issue front-and-center over the weekend when he refused to be groped by U.S. Transportation Security Administration agents as part of the security screening ritual to get on a plane. He was right.

Carnival Cruise Lines

Luxury cruise ship? More like luxury hardship

"More than 3,000 passengers were forced to survive at sea on the 13-story floating hotel without electricity," CBS News reported dramatically.

The victims shared, via cell phone, the horrors of 72-hour confinement on the Splendor after its engine room caught fire:

Apple

We would vote with this thing. Would you?

Voting sucks. No, we know, it's a privilege and we should thank our lucky stars we live in such a democratic society. We do. But in an age when you can order a pizza via a few clicks on your iPhone, get a home loan over your laptop and swipe a keycard for gas, should voting really be so complicated?

imperialstars.com

'Cause posin' in front of Lambos is hardcore for the homeless kids, yo.

Our sister publication OC Weekly reports the trio is due in Los Angeles Superior Court for arraignment Wednesday. And, of course, these uber-kooks couldn't pass up the opportunity to shove some message down our throats ...

Mercedes Soler, new Miami anchor for CNNE

So why are the latest news-anchor hires at cable-TV giant CNN En Español -- Mercedes Soler, Fernando del Rincón and Camilo Egaña -- all from Miami?

Even more lopsided: Two of the three will be reporting from Atlanta.

Mayor V. with President Obama.

And on Tuesday morning he will check out a student assembly at nearby Roosevelt High School, where some of those 18 crash survivors were students, before heading -- yes -- on a school bus to the East L.A. Skills Center.

themadpothead via Flickr

Washington's telling California how to vote on marijuana?

So his Attorney General, Eric Holder, sent a letter to us Californians saying that if we dare to vote for full pot legalization, the feds will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger.

We're not sure if he meant it, but Obama sent Prop. 19 the biggest gift so far this campaign season: Way to piss off Californians so much that we might actually pass this thing.

CNN

Villaraigsa, at right, eyeing that podium.

That's cool. We need a guy like Antonio Villaraigosa pulling for L.A. (and for his own legacy/vanity project).

But really, Mayor V., 14 tweets about your meeting with the Obamanator? It's social media overload man. Compare the number of tweets from Villaraigosa's Washington trip to the number of votes he recently received at a Daily News online poll measuring his performance:

Stewart James via Flickr

As things have gotten worse -- a budget crises some critics say will lead to bankruptcy, his taking of free tickets to the Lakers and other events -- Villaraigosa has maintained his inner "Kumbaya" like a true yogi master.

An ongoing survey of readers at the Los Angeles Daily News website has found so few people giving Villaraigosa high marks that a few votes from his own staff would eclipse them: