In 1997, a war broke in a rural Chinese province near the Tibetan border. But it wasn’t a war over politics or religion ““ it was a battle between towns over who had the right to declare itself Shangri-La, the place that inspired the fictional town in James Hilton’s 1933 novel “Lost Horizon,” in order to draw more tourists to the area. Read more...

Although her professors at UCLA pushed her to pursue her writing talent, UCLA alumna Buff Given didn’t follow that path until receiving similar advice from an entirely different source ““ her astrologist. Read more...

Most parents dread the day that their child announces his or her intentions of becoming a professional actor, instead wishing that he or she would pick a future in a more sensible or stable career. Read more...

A friend once told me that life is nothing but a series of highly awkward moments. I initially thought this to be witty but wholly untrue. Read more...

It’s true what they say: The best things in life often come unexpectedly. One day at the beginning of fall quarter last year, recent graduate Monica Sheftel was practicing in the gamelan room of the music building with a group that performs music from Ghana when she met an Indian man named Abhiman Kaushal. Read more...

By now virtually every student understands that downloading songs for free from the Internet isn’t legal. And the Recording Industry Association of America’s recent slew of lawsuits against individual people should be enough to make even the most determined Kazaa user in the dorms at least a little nervous. Read more...

Getting a job isn’t easy. Students learn this all too well around this time of year, courtesy of countless rejections by unpaid internships, cheap local restaurants, department stores and more. Read more...