Branding extends to products, cookbooks


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Anyone with a genuine passion for food keeps a list of dream restaurants. If you love food, New York’s Momofuku Ko, Berkeley’s Chez Panisse and Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm are all gastronomic temples to which you’ve probably longed to pilgrimage. And if you’ve never heard of these restaurants, you will soon. That’s because these are three […]

‘Bad girls’ take over mainstream television


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Imagine all the bad little girls in America staging a mass prison break from every time-out zone and wall-facing chair in which they were being held. Now imagine, using the age progression technology of your mind, those same naughty tykettes all grown up, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a sizable […]

Well-kept secret shines with unique treasures


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Where can you find a virtual replica of an arctic area, an antique theater and a getaway garden? Past the vast stretch of dining options on Figueroa Street near campus resides this hidden gem, which is worth exploring because of its ability to take visitors completely out of their element. Within the walls of the […]

Musicians discover independence


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Disillusioned by pressures and expectations from big corporations, many bands and artists are now attempting to leave record labels behind and adopt a do-it-yourself spirit. And this trend is sparking creativity and spontaneity — the elements needed to make music so much fun in the first place. Without major labels, bands have no deadlines, no […]

Single issues are not dying, but evolving


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What’s the best way to tell a story? Last week, an article in the AV Club by Ryan McGee questioned if the rise in serialized television dramas had killed off the singular episode as a way of telling the story. McGee said that as longer storylines emerged, the basic episode stopped being its own story, […]

Cultural comfort foods go modern


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If you’ve dined in Los Angeles recently, there’s a good chance you’ve found some strange inclusions on menus.  Maybe you’ve spotted matzo ball soup, chicken and waffles or poutine. That’s because these very specific comfort foods have been taken out of their homestyle contexts and given upscale updates. Most prevalent in recent weeks has been […]

Online streaming plays with originality


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Our generation has made it clear hundreds of times over that removing that pesky human element from every interaction possible — in the noble name of increased efficiency — is a number one priority. We approve of technology that enables us to do or watch what we want, when we want — business hours or […]

Chinatown’s interior breaks tourist stigma


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If you think about spending a day in Chinatown, perhaps not much more comes to mind than bargain shopping and Chinese food grubbing. But a closer exploration of Chinatown will reveal the unique places that make it much more complex and interesting. Conveniently close to campus, the area is replete with idiosyncrasies and an overall […]

Live shows demand reversion to basics


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If people are enjoying live performances nowadays, it might be for all the wrong reasons. Somewhere along the line, live performances have become more about theatrics than about vocal talent. In other words, what gets people talking now is cool dancing and light shows. It is, however, worth noting that lights, pyrotechnics and dancing are […]

Cultural stigmas limit comic book audience


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When people think of comics, most unfortunately hold very dated and cliché views of the medium. That’s why so many articles and superhero movie reviews have the trite words “Pow!” “Wham!” “Bam!” headlines. This has some unfortunate consequences: Parents taking their kids to very mature films like The Dark Knight or Watchmen, for example, because […]