Swan Lake “Beast Moans” JAGJAGUWAR RECORDS “Supergroup” is a term to be approached with a certain degree of skepticism. Sure, The Good, the Bad & the Queen are shaping up to be interesting and “Songs for the Deaf”-era Queens of the Stone Age were actually a force to be reckoned with, but most high-profile collaborations go the way of Velvet Revolver and The Raconteurs, crashing before they even get their feet off the ground. Read more...

Jay-Z “Kingdom Come” ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS The Mike Jordan of recordin’ is back with his ninth solo studio album, “Kingdom Come.” Returning to rap after a three-year “retirement,” Jay-Z is still witty, smart and sharp, boasting the assured flow and wordplay of a hustler wizened through years of being in the game. Read more...

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Well, not always. Jennifer Jester, a graduate student studying the euphonium at UCLA, puts this aphorism to shame. Read more...

“People who work in the conditions of war are very special.” Or so says UCLA documentary film Professor Marina Goldovskaya, referring to James Longley, director of the documentary “Iraq in Fragments.” Winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s awards for Best Director, Best Editing and Best Cinematography, Longley’s “Iraq in Fragments” opened in Los Angeles on Friday at the Nuart Theater. Read more...

Wishful Drinking Saturday, Nov. 18 Geffen Playhouse There’s no underwear in space. At least that’s what George Lucas told Carrie Fisher as the reason she couldn’t wear undergarments for her role as Princess Leia in “Star Wars.” Fisher allows theatergoers and Leia fans alike to enter into the deepest recesses of her mind in her new one-woman show, “Wishful Drinking,” which runs at the Geffen Playhouse until Dec. Read more...

American television is different than English television, and not just because we use better-looking actors or have a different version of “The Office.” In the United States, channels such as NBC, ABC and CBS are free ““ you don’t have to pay for cable to watch them. Read more...

The United States has a number of timeworn culinary traditions: baseball games and peanuts, the Fourth of July with its barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs, and Thanksgiving, laden with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie in a holiday centered entirely around paying homage to one meal. Read more...