This past Sunday, HBO changed the world; or at least its marketing department convinced me it did. With an old episode of “The Sopranos” leading into the summer season finale of “Sex and the City” and series premieres of “Carnivàle” and “K Street,” the premium cable network redefined must-see TV, largely through its aggressive (to put it modestly) ad campaign. Read more...

FILM & TV: ManiaFest Laemmle Monica Theater Sept. 21, 10 a.m. to midnight The last day of this sci-fi, fantasy and horror extravaganza finds the likes of Stan Lee, Guillermo del Toro, and Chuck Russel serving as panelists on a day featuring films inspired by comic books. Read more...

In a recent New York Times article addressing Outkast’s alleged breakup, Andre 3000’s answers leave more questions. “I don’t feel the music the same way I did when I first got into hip-hop,” said Andre 3000 (born Andre Benjamin). Read more...

UCLA assistant professor of dance and choreography, Cheng-Chieh Yu, remembers one of her first encounters with rice as a child. Her mother told her that if she did not finish each grain of rice in her bowl, the wasted grains would come back as blemishes on her future husband’s face. Read more...

3:15 p.m. ““ I drive toward Sunset Boulevard in search of Star Maps, which are usually available on every other street along the strip. 3:30 p.m. Read more...

Maybe opposites really do attract. From Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, to Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the entertainment industry has shown that the pairing of two seemingly contradicting characters seems to be the formula for box-office success, at least in the non-buddy, buddy-action film genre, if there is such a thing. Read more...

In most cases, it would be difficult to describe a movie like “Bubba Ho-tep” without relying on the cliché and mundane descriptions that give critics a bad name. Read more...