By 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, the line to hear author Junot Diaz speak at Thorne Hall had reached the Johnson Student Center. Students and community members from all over Los Angeles had arrived over an hour and a half early just to secure a seat. Diaz received a standing ovation from a handful of audience members the moment he...

Deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, 100 miles off the coast of Chile, lies a monstrous, 6,000 km-long gouge in the sea floor called the Atacama Trench. It delineates an active tectonic plate boundary: a fault line between the South American plate and the subducting Nazca plate, which slides under continental South America at 65–80 millimeters a year....

Walking through the cavernous entrance of Downtown's new and long-awaited contemporary art museum, The Broad, is an exhibition experience like none other. The building itself is a work of art, and within it lie some of the greatest pieces of our time. Over 250 pieces are on display from over 60 artists, including some of the most renowned names in...

To many, opera conjures strange or boring images, such as scenes of stuffy singers with horns on their head, rooted to a single spot on the stage and howling at the audience for hours on end. Pacific Opera Project's most recent production, “Falstaff,” throws out these conventions, with even the most tender moments of soft singing interrupted by a raunchy...

Move over, Dre: the biggest hip-hop mogul of 2015 turned out to be Hollywood. The enormous success of the West Coast rap group N. W. A.’s biographical picture “Straight Outta Compton” last month signifies the beginning of a new era in hip-hop, one in which the general public’s view of the genre won’t just be formed by radio-worthy singles, but...

Soaring notes of violin, expressive riffs, and the quick pattering of fingers across Hindustani drums resonated out of Booth Hall Sept. 14 when renowned classical Hindustani musician Sangeeta Shankar and her accompanist Neelamjit Dhillon presented their North Indian craft to a crowd of enthralled community members. Music professor David Trasoff invited the pair to Occidental for his new class, Music...

While LA may not have the literary pedigree of New York City, a famed novelist's appearance nevertheless attracts bibliophiles in droves. Most recently, a remarkably large crowd gathered around the entrance to the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Los Angeles Central Library Sept. 10 for the evening's ALOUD literary lecture series. The excitement was palpable as those in line, many...

As of Aug. 28, students who frequent York Boulevard’s bar scene on Thursday nights have a new party to crash: Block Party. The new craft beer joint is only two doors down from The York and boasts a 3,000 square-foot back patio with a summery beer garden vibe. Block Party stands out among the restaurants and shops on York Boulevard...

In the southwest corner of the New Zealand’s south island lies Fiordland. It’s the southernmost nob of the Southern Alps, a waterlogged region of mountains and coast that’s been gouged by glaciers, uplifted by crashing tectonic plates, and invaded by ocean water that’s transformed 14 steep valleys into fjords. Three out of the five Great Walks on the South Island...

By the time this entry is published, I'll most likely be on a ferry headed toward Wellington — New Zealand's capital—and, all due respect to Auckland, the most vibrant and enticing city for my mid-semester break (not spring break, I have to keep reminding myself). The break has provided me with my first chance for extended travel in New Zealand...