LA's first gay citywide elected official ... how the SCOTUS decisons will affect married homosexuals at tax time ... Happy birthday ZIP Code! ... the lasting impact of a huge neck tattoo ... Eric Garcetti's week.

Jody Stephens, only surviving band member Big Star's debut album, talks with LA Record's Chris Ziegler ... intrepid intern Robert Garrova learns to curl at a bonspiel ... Val Kilmer talks with John Rabe about becoming Mark Twain for his one-man show "Citizen Twain" ... Gavin Newsom on the Prop 8 decision

Note from John Rabe

Message From John Rabe: This week Off-Ramp brings you the Monks of St. Catherine's Cathedral in the Sinai. The monks visited the Getty to kick-off the "Holy Image, Hallowed Ground" exhibit. Also, the Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler, Rose Bowl flea market finds and turkey talk. Happy Thanksgiving, -John (and Queena)

Midterm Madness; I Lost My Heart In San Francisco; Voting Block; The Comeback Kid; Rock en Spanglish; The Last Doughboy; The Wine House Rules; The Forgotten Veterans; Phys Ed Fizzles; My Barbarian; Whiteness; Full-bore Borat

New Scents; Free Laptop Bag Giveaway; The Haves, the Have-Nots and the Used-To-Haves; Alternate Route; Breaking the Rules of the Road; Spiritual Marketplace; Some botanas, por favor; The Everyday as Art; Give Me Some Lip; Reporter's Roundtable; The Rules of the Game

Saul Levine; Baptism By Ire; Motorcycle Writer; Sketches of Pain

Kinky in Los Angeles; Godzilla Released; Godzilla v. LAPD; George Takei and the voice of Godzilla; The Thill Ain't Gone; Norman McLaren; OCMA: HANK WILLIS THOMAS; The Vision Thing; Flaming Tri-Tip; Reporter's Roundtable; Call Sheet

Message from John Rabe: With cold and flu season upon us, we focus on germs. Or rather, how not to get them. This week, hand washing, flu shots, and the new sneeze. -John

Bob Kholos; OCMA Biennial; LA Smog; Sashimi and Wine; Tokyo's Ghibli Museum Park; TV on the Radio; Reporter's Roundtable