When I hear people discussing music, sometimes the idea comes up that the use of sampling, as in hip-hop, is less valid than music played live. Read more...

Back in 2000, Alice Sebold read her memoir "Lucky" to an audience of only 20 people at the then-fledgling UCLA Hammer Museum. Fast-forward to 2003, and Sebold was reading her best-selling novel "The Lovely Bones" to a sold-out theater at Royce Hall. Read more...

Melnitz Movies is about to get louder, and it's not because of THX. African drummers will be performing at Melnitz as part of a screening of "War/Dance," the award-winning documentary about Uganda's refugee population. Read more...

When J.K. Rowling revealed that Albus Dumbledore was gay, I admit, I was surprised. Read more...

UCLA alumni and environmentalists Judith Love Cohen and Robyn Friend stand in front of an audience and describe carbon capture, geological storage and methods to decrease carbon footprints. Read more...

Raymond Raposa, under the moniker "Castanets," makes country-folk of the most introverted and morose variety. His hoarse, Dylan-esque voice carries the pathos of a tortured soul. Read more...

Saturday Looks Good to Me is the name composer/guitarist Fred Thomas' pop fantasies take when played out in a fully-orchestrated setting. Read more...