Music is both a uniting and dividing force. Read more...

I felt the rumblings of a new direction for hip-hop production when I almost blew out my '99 Grand Am's speakers last summer. The incident came at the hand of none other than Lil' Wayne and, in particular, his song "A Milli." Read more...

Now on its fifth studio album with "Shallow Life," Italian import Lacuna Coil has landed on a neat little formula: Layer some dense, gothic metal guitar, throw in a propulsive beat and turn up the bass, then unleash the stunning voice of Cristina Scabbia, one hell of a secret weapon. Forget what you thought about metal being a man's world. You don't need testosterone when you can sing like this. Read more...

Today, Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, will give a lecture at UCLA on difficulties hindering Africa's progress. Read more...

For students that have grown tired of the typical diet of mainstream $2 and sneak-peek movies shown at Ackerman, this week's film series, Reel Struggles: Four Progressive Israeli Films, should provide a thought-provoking variety. Read more...

Britney Spears brought us a circus, all right "“ and it wasn't the train wreck that that term might have meant a short time ago. Read more...

This week, I explored using one of the French mother sauces in a simple seafood pasta dish. If you read this column last year, you might remember I used a bechamel cheese sauce in a baked macaroni dish. Read more...