Every winter, many Angelenos get excited by the novelty of heading downtown to Pershing Square and lacing up their ice skates and gliding along (or falling down on) the rink set up during the holiday season. If you spend enough time in Los Angeles eventually you'll hear someone say their weekend plans include "going to the snow," as if cold weather was a destination. And though we may crank up our heat on some chilly wintry nights, we still wear flip flops on our feet with scarves around our necks around here. So it's actually quite fitting to know that once upon a time, when UCLA's roots were barely sinking into the grounds of a blossoming area called Westwood, there was an outdoor skating rink open year-round for pros and amateurs alike. more ›

Torchwood is a guilty pleasure and its new season starts tonight on the BBCA. If you've ever been in a foreign land and seen a slightly dated American TV program come on and felt that queasy embarrassment then you know what watching Torchwood is like. It's cheesy and over-the-top science fiction with British accents and the odd dashing American thrown in. Everyone is hyper-sexed and they don't seem to discriminate between whichever sex they are attracted to at a particular moment and despite all the sexiness and the fact that it's a Euro import, I'm always a little dismayed at the lack of skin and even more dismayed at some of the gay-'80s hairdos. Still, it's well shot, good for a few laughs, and the way things are going with US licensing of UK shows, you'll be seeing it on one of the big four before you know it. more ›

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