Friday, February 20

Student-designed video games explore themes of identity, decisions

Editor’s note: Daily Bruin replaced Lena NW’s full name with their artist name because of concerns about their safety. This post was updated May 8 at 1:20 p.m.  Players can relive high school – and all the angst that comes with it – in an alternate reality within the video game “Super Super Rap Battle Temptation Nightmare Academy.” Students can play the game, along with another student-designed game, “Artifacts II,” in an exhibition Tuesday at Broad Art Center. Read more...

Photo: Graduate students in design media arts Lena NW and Christina Curlee, who also goes by PhaZero, both designed video games they will showcase Tuesday in Broad Art Center. (Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin staff)


Chinatown bookstore offers curated local and global culinary knowledge

Los Angeles is home to a multitude of specialized bookstores, from those oriented toward horror and mystery to others with more practical focuses, like cookbooks. Follow columnist Clea Wurster as she explores the many niche literary interests the city accommodates. Read more...

Photo: In the sixth installment of her column “Bookmarked,” Daily Bruin columnist Clea Wurster went to Now Serving LA, a bookstore centered around cookbooks and culinary-themed books. (Niveda Tennety/Daily Bruin)


Alumni band highlights youth-led activism, plays at social outreach events

Hello Noon is using music to promote social connectedness in a world wrought with pessimistic headlines and political division. The pop-rock band of seven alumni – Stephen Spies, Danielle Castrence, Kyle Dombroski, Kate Bacich, Rebecca Bacich, Rory Snively and Austin Wilkins – will perform at the Healthy Campus Initiative Revolution’s event “Together We Thrive” on Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion. Read more...

Photo: Members of the band Hello Noon aim to combat pessimism in the media through their music. Stephen Spies, an alumnus and member of the band, said the band’s upcoming performance at Pauley Pavilion for the Healthy Campus Initiative Revolution’s event “Together We Thrive” aligns well with the band’s mission. (Courtesy of Andre Misyutin)





Theater review: ‘School of Rock’

“School of Rock” opens like a concert, complete with smoke, sweeping red lights and a rock band performing with guitars and drums. Then walls of a bedroom, and later, school maps and doors slide in, transitioning the concert opening into a musical and introducing the reality of the main character’s unsuccessful music career. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Matthew Murphy)