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Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies

Shan Li

33% would give up sex before cellphone

Last updated Friday, August 12, 2011 - 3:14pm

Do you sleep cradling the phone? Sneak peeks at Twitter during meetings? Shudder at going without Internet? You're not alone.

Anecdotally, our Internet use seems to have spawned real addictions. And, according to several recently released surveys, we've got it bad.

More than half of Americans would rather give up alcohol, caffeine and chocolate for a week before parting temporarily with their cellphones, according to a recent survey by technology firm TeleNav Inc.

One-third would give up sex; 22 percent would give up their toothbrushes (versus 40 percent of iPhone users, who evidently love their phone more than clean teeth); and 21 percent would rather go shoeless before separating from a mobile phone. Sixty-six percent sleep with their smartphones by their side.

Features, Sex, Technology Read more Comments

(NICHOLAS DRANEY/Standard-Examiner) People dressed as zombies participate in the Ogden Zombie Crawl along 25th Street in Ogden in October 2010.

Ready for a zombie attack? CDC offers advice

Los Angeles Times, Shan Li

Last updated Friday, May 20, 2011 - 8:35pm

LOS ANGELES — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency whose task includes preventing pandemics and pushing flu shots, is preparing for a zombie apocalypse.

Emergency Preparedness, Hurricane, Safety, zombies, Featured Read more Comments

Zsa Zsa Gabor's home burglarized; husband estimates loss at $100,000

Los Angeles Times, Shan Li

Last updated Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - 9:44am

LOS ANGELES -- Zsa Zsa Gabor's Bel-Air mansion was burglarized early Sunday and several personal items were stolen, authorities said.

Crime, Burglary, Zsa Zsa Gabor, National Read more Comments

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/MCT
Frederic Prinz Von Anhalt, husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, talks with media on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, about his decision to put the couple's Bel Air, California, mansion up for sale. The mansion, which has 28 rooms, is currently on the market for $28 million. "I just want to settle my wife's debts and keep her omfortable," von Anhalt said.

Zsa Zsa Gabor forced to sell mansion to pay medical bills

Los Angeles Times, Shan Li

Last updated Tuesday, January 25, 2011 - 5:29pm

LOS ANGELES -- Medical bills, meager savings and crushing debt have pushed the husband of ailing actress Zsa Zsa Gabor to put their Bel-Air mansion on the market for $28 million, he said Tuesday.

Features, Zsa Zsa Gabor Read more Comments

Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times/MCT
Student Breana Hill, 15, hugs her mother, Lichelle, outside of Gardena High School in Gardena, California, Tuesday, January 18, 2011. Two 10th grade students were wounded, one of them critically, when a loaded gun went off in a classmate's backpack, authorities said.

Parents say school where gun went off failed in making sure their children were safe

Corina Knoll, McClatchy Newspapers, Shan Li, Tony Barboza

Last updated Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 12:32pm

GARDENA, Calif. -- Your children are safe, they were told. Security will be beefed up, and the school's quick response was evidence of a safer campus.

But the words did little to reassure the dozens of angry parents who filled Gardena High School's auditorium Wednesday, a day after two students were wounded -- one critically--when a gun that a 17-year-old youth was carrying in a backpack discharged. Any notion of safety at the Los Angeles-area school had been severely undermined, and the remarks from school and district officials calmed few.

"You guys failed us, and you failed our kids," a disgusted parent said.

Schools, Guns, Safety Read more Comments

Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times/MCT
Alan Bakor (left) and Stacy Roberts demonstrate response tactics to protect a client during a recent conference of bodyguards in San Diego, California on December 3, 2010.

Bodyguards are in demand as safety concerns grow

Los Angeles Times, Shan Li

Last updated Tuesday, December 28, 2010 - 1:52pm

LOS ANGELES -- When bodyguards around the nation flocked to San Diego recently, the talk was all about paparazzi, terrorists and the latest tech gizmos, with seminars like "Surviving the Kill Zone -- Human Factors Are the Key."

Guards trained in martial arts showed the latest techniques for subduing nightclub troublemakers, joked about the challenges of guarding celebrities like Paris Hilton and compared notes on the latest technology borrowed from the military.

The 29th annual Executive Protection Institute Conference in December came at a time when demand for bodyguards has soared in lockstep with increasing global unrest spurred by wars and economic turmoil and rising public curiosity about the private lives of celebrities.

Business, Features, Safety Read more Comments

(AL SEIB/Los Angeles Times) Makeup artist Chris Scott offers consultations via video chat.

Video chat expands possibilities for face-to-face services

Los Angeles Times, Shan Li

Last updated Wednesday, September 1, 2010 - 4:35pm

LOS ANGELES -- You once had to leave home to see a psychiatrist for therapy, a music teacher for guitar lessons or a makeup artist for face-to-face consultations.

Now they can come to you, virtually, through video chat.

Long the darling of science fiction aficionados, video chat has never much caught on for personal calls. But this year, with the technology being incorporated into a widening array of digital gadgets, professionals specializing in one-to-one services are experimenting with video chat as a way to vastly extend their reach.

Business, Cell phones, Computers, Technology Read more Comments