“The Departed” Director Martin Scorsese Warner Bros. Pictures Some of Martin Scorsese’s greatest work (see: “Mean Streets,” “Goodfellas” and “Gangs of New York”) revolves around mobs, violence and the constant striving for the American dream on dark city streets. Read more...

With octopus tentacles dangling from her mouth, Kerry Piper reflected on her first taste of Japan. After stepping off the Semester at Sea ship ““ a study abroad program in which students take classes on board a ship and visit countries from Venezuela to Kenya and beyond ““ Piper, a fourth-year biology student, was greeted by a platter of octopus dumplings. Read more...

When the Brentwood Public Library needed money to modernize 19 years ago, UCLA alumna and fundraiser Carole Schiffer swooped to the rescue with what is now the longest-running food festival in Los Angeles. Read more...

In the video game world, film adaptation is often the sincerest form of mediocrity. “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” for the Atari 2600, for example, rushed into production after only five months and the infamous flop was allegedly so bad that, according to urban legend, thousands of copies were buried away in the desert. Read more...

First the iPod took over campus. After that, the podcast was inevitable. “It’s the equivalent of TiVo for radio,” said Greg Katz, a fourth-year philosophy student and general manager for UCLA’s own campus station, UCLAradio.com. Read more...

Twenty-first-century society subscribes to a culture of shortcuts. So much information is thrown at individuals at any given time that people often feel they have no choice but to describe things they’re unsure of through generalizations and categorical dismissals. Read more...

Despite how beautiful and sophisticated film scores can be sometimes, there is only one orchestra in the world solely dedicated to performing them live, and it is based in UCLA. Read more...