The lights go down, the curtain goes up, and for the next few hours you are transported out of your ordinary life. The theater can be a magical, even life-changing experience. Read more...

Why rice? According to Fowler Museum of Cultural History curator Roy Hamilton, the starchy grain is the one commonality on a continent that makes no sense as a single unit. Read more...

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...

Frank Black’s innovative guitar-playing and songwriting skills seem to always be one step ahead of the rest. However, despite his major influence upon the music community, Black appears to have a casual attitude about his musical career and seems content to remain on the fringe. Read more...

Leave it to an exuberant Danish duo to put radio programmers and other media types into a tizzy of cultural confusion. Ever since Junior Senior’s party vibes made its U.S. Read more...

This is the story of a middleman ““ a middlewoman to be exact. Sandwiched between the artist and the press, a publicist usually facilitates interviews, instead of actually giving them. Read more...