The average rap song exists for one reason: “Shake ya tail feather!” proclaims Nelly and P. Diddy’s hit from last summer. The dance floor is all well and good, but sometimes you want more out of your music. Read more...

Napster is back. But no, it’s not the same service that gave users free-for-all access to pop songs in the days of the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. Read more...

“Vinegar Tom” Workshop 360 British playwright Caryl Churchill remains a favorite daughter of the American feminist theater movement, and it’s no wonder since her plays resonate with an uncommon power ““ her works take a scalpel to humanity and strip the world naked to its patriarchal core. Read more...

Richard Curtis’ directorial debut easily could be renamed “Bridget Jones’ Diary about Four Weddings and a Funeral in Notting Hill” and reaffirms Curtis’ title as the go-to guy for British romantic comedies. Read more...

When I went home to San Diego a few weekends ago, the sky literally seemed to be falling. Fires raged just a few miles from my house, and looking up revealed only a fog of smoke, a glowing red ball that used to be the sun and a steady stream of falling ash. Read more...

In the strange world of David Rees, becoming as cool as the invincible master Karate Snoopy is the ultimate goal for all karate disciples. Besides practicing with each other, these martial arts students also fight Bruce Lee style against their imaginary selves, their circulatory systems and, occasionally, their own fingerprints. Read more...

The soft tick of a 70-year-old projector comes from upstairs in the New Beverly Theater. Up in the projector room, reel after reel of film lie in stacks: everything from “Things to do in Denver “¦” to “X-Men.” The room is cluttered with canisters, oversized red letters for the marquee and 30-year-old copies of Playboy magazine. Read more...