Weekend shorts

Ian McKellen frenzy has reached $1,700 a seat for his appearance with the Royal Shakespeare Company in "King Lear" opening Friday at UCLA's Royce Hall. Top list price: $90.
Patterico catches the LAT's national politics blog in some weird, must-be-explained edits of a staff-written post about John Edwards' denial of an affair.
Steve Lopez devotes his Times column to downtown activist and blogger Brady Westwater, with pictures.
The old Rocketdyne test site in the Simi Hills west of Chatsworth will become state park land under a deal negotiated by the Schwarzenegger administration. EnviroReporter.com has more.
Judges extended a block on controversial new mandatory background checks at the Jet Propulsion Lab near Pasadena.
The L.A. Times is moving the listings content of Thursday's Weekend Calendar to a new tabloid section called The Guide and will resume publishing a regular-sized Calendar on Thursdays.
Westside Chronicle's demise is chronicled.
This year's Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena has been put off until next year — until Jan. 20.
Donna Barstow's cartoon Daily Special has been picked up by the Pasadena Weekly.