When Edward Monaghan was 11 years old, he wanted what most adolescent boys want more than anything: to kick some serious butt. “I began (martial arts) when I was a little guy,” said the UCLA theater professor of “Directing for Film & TV: Combat for Camera,” a new course open to all students. Read more...

It is undeniable that Web sites like MySpace have served as catalysts for the growing popularity of smaller musicians over the past few years, providing them with a free method by which to spread word of their music. Read more...

I’ve watched an exorbitant amount of television in my 21 years. Of course, we all have. For a lot of us, TV was the ultimate baby sitter. Read more...

Rock stars have always been larger than life. But thanks to the silver screen, that size is becoming literal. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the band Andrew W.K. Read more...

It is not every day that empty pizza boxes, a half-eaten chocolate cake and an Oscar statuette rest on the same table, much less the same classroom. Read more...

Loose Fur “Born Again in the USA” Drag City Records The title of an album can say a lot about its contents. Pavement’s “Slanted & Enchanted” is just that ““ a blend of skewed pop instrumentation and off-beat vocal delivery so unlikely it never fails to captivate. Read more...

Edgar Degas’ images of ballet dancers are a touchstone of early modern art familiar even to museum-phobic art-neophytes; his paintings of young women have enjoyed iconic status for more than a century. Read more...