Monday, February 16

Q&A: UCLA alum reflects on social media after reality TV show experience

Shubham Goel hated social media. Now he has over 240,000 Instagram followers. The alumnus’ shift in perspective – and popularity – came after competing in “The Circle,” a reality show Netflix released throughout January. Read more...

Photo: Alumnus Shubham Goel was the runner-up on the Netflix show “The Circle,” which released throughout January. The show follows people creating profiles on an app, interacting with one another to eventually become the highest-rated person through forging bonds with the other contestants. (Courtesy of Chelsea Donsker)


Student’s solo guitar EP to spin traditional jazz styles with playful style

Grant Grech wants his music to have a voice of its own. The second-year psychology student said he is releasing his solo EP, “Grant Grech Plays Guitar,” to showcase his modern spin on a traditional, classical jazz style. Read more...

Photo: Second-year psychology student Grant Grech said he merges traditional jazz style with bebop and swing, and he hopes his upcoming EP “Grant Grech Plays Guitar” will demonstrate his playful take on classical guitar. Having played the guitar since he was 14, Grech said his passion for jazz music started when a teacher played him a few records from artists he now admires. (Kanishka Mehra/Assistant Photo editor)


Student cohesively blends genres to make fluid self-produced music

The sounds of many instruments come together to create Thomas Crowley’s live spectacle – but he takes the stage alone. The third-year economics student said his music style drifts between R&B, hip-hop, electric and pop on each track. Read more...

Photo: Third-year economics student Thomas Crowley will perform at the Fowler Museum on Wednesday. He said his style ranges from R&B, hip-hop, electric and pop, which he said provides him with opportunities to be open to collaborating with a number of other artists. (Courtesy of Nate Watters)


Student film reflects on friendship, love and loss in story of owner and pet

Man’s best friend is telling the story in Alex Araki’s short film. Araki, a third-year English student, has been writing her film “The Best Summer Ever” for a little over a year. Read more...

Photo: Third-year English student Alex Araki has been writing the script for her short film, “The Best Summer Ever,” for a year. Araki said she hopes for audiences to resonate with the film, which is shown through a dog’s perspective. (Courtesy of Emily Wang)


Professor explores different cultures through traditional music in Fiat Lux seminar

Lily Chen-Hafteck believes music can create harmonious feelings in people of all cultural backgrounds. The professor of music education explores how music is a form of cultural expression in her Fiat Lux seminar, Music 19: “Celebrating Cultural Diversity of Immigrants through Music.” Chen-Hafteck said the course aims to deepen appreciation for the United States’ multicultural society by teaching students about the relationship between music and cultural empathy. Read more...

Photo: Lily Chen-Hafteck, professor of music education, explores how music from different cultures brings people together in her Fiat Lux seminar, Music 19: “Celebrating Cultural Diversity of Immigrants through Music.” (Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin staff)


UCLA student authors book covering themes of mental health and identity

Hannah Lin Kernal’s spooky short story about Halloween sparked a passion for her debut novel, “We Pretend They’re Fireworks.” The third-year English student published her young adult dystopian novel about mental health – and its intersections of identity and ethnicity – in December. Read more...

Photo: Third-year English student Hannah Lin Kernal’s novel, “We Pretend They’re Fireworks,” is a young adult book exploring the intersections of mental health, identity and ethnicity. (Tess Horowitz/Daily Bruin)


Movie review: ‘The Gentlemen’ is a raucous and riveting return for Guy Ritchie

Guy Ritchie is back in the director’s chair for another wild and hilariously British gangster movie. Ritchie’s last five feature films – including “Aladdin,” “Sherlock Holmes” and “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” – have all been based on multimillion-dollar source material and produced by major studios, but “The Gentlemen” is his journey back into the indie world where he started his career. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Christopher Raphael)