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Jonah has redesigned the look of LABlogs.com and added a spot to run ads. Fear not, his impressive roll of the L.A. blog community remains, just moved to the left side. I'm in the process of adding new links to L.A. Observed (and weeding out dead and irrelevant ones) but I recommend the LABlogs.com blogroll. He lists many more personal sites than I could ever fit in and signals which blogs have been recently updated.
Here, the new listings include Scram magazine, Catalog of Cool, Los Angeles Neon and Science Blog. More as time allows. The general criteria I use: sites based in or about L.A., of interest to me or the readers who come here, and not hate sites. If I'm missing a site you like, let me know.
Today I also added Professor Bainbridge.com, the site of UCLA corporate law professor Stephen Bainbridge. Like everybody else he writes about politics and media (new thoughtful posts critique LAT coverage of Bush's Pryor appointment and blast "nativists" in the California Republican party), and he also reviews L.A. restaurants. This weekend he liked Chaya Brasserie (except for the loudness of the room). He writes frequently on wine and does a weekly wine commentary on Hugh Hewitt's radio talk show.
Since he mentions Chaya, I'll mention the original Angeli Caffe on Melrose. Stopped in on the way home from Griffith Park today and found it a warm and inviting place to sit out an afternoon rain shower, as always. From our favorite table in the window we even watched Melanie Griffith and her daugher pull up in a Porsche, run upstairs to a piercing parlor then scamper back down a minute later. Earlier, the city view from the park was spectacular, enhanced by Beatles music at a tribute for George Harrison and a rousing speech from councilman Tom LaBonge extolling the Observatory as the city's one true meeting place. (The ceremony was in the Observatory parking lot).