With both David Letterman and Conan O'Brien sporting beards, pop-culture talking heads have been all a buzz of late about the return of the beard. The return of the beard. Which brings us to this blog post from Best Week Ever called, The 10 Most Inspiring Beards Of All Time. more ›

When I was in elementary school, we had this art program called Meet the Masters in which our “docent” would educate us about a famous artist and allow us to employ the artist’s signature techniques. As an eight-year old, it was an enjoyable way to not only about art history, but appreciate the creativity and skill of the masters, whether it was the pointillism of Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande... more ›

Steve Buscemi really is a minor miracle. As I'm looking through his prolific resume on IMDB, I can't find an instance where I didn't enjoy his work. Sure, he's had his clunkers (Mr. Deeds, Domestic Disturbance) and has even fallen under the dark spell of Voldythingy, er, Michael Bay (Armageddon, The Island), but somehow Buscemi always seems to emerge untainted by the mediocrity surrounding him. And when he gets a great role (here, here, here, here, here), he utterly delivers. In short, you don't find many Steve Buscemi-haters. more ›

It's the first real day of the LA Film Festival so naturally a lot of films have sold out. But take heart--there are plenty of things to see. As of this morning, stand-by tickets are still available for Interview. Directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Buscemi and Sienna Miller, Interview tells the story of a journalist interviewing a celebrity that he doesn't particularly like (imagine that?). An adaptation of Theo Van Gogh's 2003 film of the same name, Interview received glowing reviews when it premiered at Sundance in the winter and is definitely worth your time. It plays at 2:00 p.m. at the Landmark Regent Theater. more ›

Over the years, we've visited the Getty about a billion times. Every out-of-tonwer (that's a Chicago misspelling), friend, fam or foe, wants to come here. And don't get us wrong, it's a great place, we love it much (plus the free WiFi we're on now). The West Pavillion is our current favorite. It has one the most famous paintings in LA -- Van Gogh's Irises -- and a mixed bag of current exhibitions: the John... more ›

The Hammer Museum has free admission all summer. And it's air conditioned. Of course, the galleries are organized around a central courtyard, but last weekend, when the rest of the city was as scorching as it was today, that little courtyard felt like an oasis of shade and calm. Parking in the building costs $3 with the Hammer's validation, or there's a Metro Rapid stop right outside. They've also got some cool nighttime events going this summer, including this indie rock concert series. more ›

So have you heard that King Tut is coming to town? He's embarking on a 27 month tour, stopping in four US cities, and our very own LACMA gets to put out the red carpet welcome. This smacks of a high-profile rock star tour, with the main attraction being even older than the Rolling Stones. Tut and his glittering goodies haven't made a US appearance in almost thirty years; the last visit in 1978-79 sparked something akin to Tut Fever--remember Steve Martin's King Tut song parody? So how will Tut fare in the 21st Century? Well, our eyebrows raised a bit when ABC's 20/20 called Tut the 'King of Bling', so we know his golden artifacts have a current equivalent in our lexicon. And he's garnering media oomph aplenty; Good Morning America is featuring the event prominently, and the "premiere" is expected to be a celeb-heavy happening. Where does that leave the public? Well, in line, it would seem. Pre-sale tickets have been available since March, and have surpassed the 250,000 mark. We know from back in the day at LACMA's "Van Gogh's Van Goghs" show that even a ticket still means a line, and the Egyptian P-Diddy is guaranteed to attract throngs of spectators, eager to take in "more than 130 artifacts from the tombs of King Tut, several of his relatives and his 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C. to 1305 B.C.) contemporaries". Never fear--Tut isn't doing a one-night stand, he's here June 16-November 15, so we say plan to go a little later. But plan on going--who knows when this lived-fast and died-young King is going to make his comeback! more ›