It’s no secret that UCLA is highly competitive. But employees of the UCLA Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering must have been shocked when management service officer Cassandra Franklin asked for a monthlong leave of absence in late November to take part in one of the nation’s most successful reality shows. Read more...

For an enterprising artist such as Erin McKeown, an album of obscure swing covers rotating around playfully sinful motifs was just the next step in an 11-year career of spunk, smarts and ingenuity. Read more...

There are only five bands I need to see live in order to die happy: Radiohead, Wilco, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and the Bacon Brothers. Read more...

“Sunday in the Park with George” Freud Playhouse Jan. 30 through Feb. 11 “Sunday in the Park with George” can be likened to such things as peanut butter and ham sandwiches, skydiving on acid or communism: a good idea in theory, but not so much in practical application. Read more...

He’s not unlike an extremely specialized botanist. But with an expertise so acute that it spans just one plant. And his work is not dissimilar from that of a devout missionary. Read more...

Whether it is the two-tone melodies of the Atari home systems or the digital harmonies of the Xbox 360, video game music has not only shaped the way we play the games, but also how we view our lives. Read more...

When I went to the bank the other day, my teller was a man who had the most sculpted eyebrows I had ever seen. He had clearly gotten them waxed, but I couldn’t stop staring at them. Read more...