Thousands beamed into Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, the enduring science-fiction television franchise whose cult appeal transcends boundaries of space and time. Star Trek has proven to be one of Hollywood’s most durable products.
The film Snakes on a Plane has yet to be released, but already enjoys cult status in cyberspace, thanks to little more than its over-the-top title, which just begs to be parodied. It stars Samuel L Jackson as an FBI agent who fights off hundreds of snakes released by a Mob boss on a commercial flight in a attempt to kill a key witness.
More and more United States police dogs are enjoying similar protection to their human partners in fighting crime. The latest group are the dogs of one Southern California town who will be strutting the streets this week with the new bulletproof vests. Prompted by the shooting death of a police dog last year, an anonymous donor in Glendale, gave funds to bulletproof the four dogs of his community’s K-9 unit.
A new breed of artificial human sex companion has been unveiled that promises to take the air out of old-fashioned inflatable dolls. My Party Doll, a southern California-based manufacturer, displayed two prototypes of their  000 love buddies at the 10th annual Erotica-LA Convention, which ended on Sunday.
Marijuana users in West Hollywood are breathing easier after the city passed a resolution to deprioritise policing of pot infractions. ”This is just another nail in the coffin of marijuana prohibition,” said Bruce Margolin, a pioneer in pro-marijuana legislation.