Lucille Ball would have turned 100 on August 6th. Pretty much everyone knows Lucy's TV shows, knows her as a star. But far fewer know that she and Desi revolutionized the industry. How she did it, and everything else, is in the new book "Lucille Ball FAQ," as in Frequently Asked Questions, by James Sheridan and Barry Monush. Off-Ramp host John Rabe called them in New York.

In the late 1970s, actor and writer Taylor Negron, who died Saturday, took a class from the First Lady of Comedy. Negron shares a side of Lucy that few people ever saw.

Sunday, August 14, the LA Jewish Symphony will be performing a program called Exaltation!, with the symphony and special guests playing music that tells Bible stories. The program features the group's usual mix of classical and pops, instrumental and vocal. Off-Ramp's John Rabe talked with the LA Jewish Symphony's founder and artistic director, Maestra Noreen Green.

8/1/2011 - A SAD UPDATE: Kevin's Grandmother passed away early Sunday morning. She was 87. Team Off-Ramp and all of KPCC send condolences to Kevin's family. For most historians, there are few stories more compelling than that of the USS Indianapolis: a heavy cruiser that had seen battle for nearly all of World War Two. Its final voyage was one of the most integral, yet disastrous missions in the history of the US Navy. And for Off-Ramp producer Kevin Ferguson, it’s a story that hits very close to home.

The Los Angeles Public Library has just revealed an enormous new collection of over 900 color photos – all of Wilshire Boulevard in it's entirety, from downtown to the sea. The photos were taken between 1978 and 1979 by L.A. native Annie Laskey – who was just 15 years old at the time – and her mother. Off-Ramp producer Kevin Ferguson talked with Annie about the newly unveiled collection.

The Laguna Art museum is currently celebrating the legendary, late artist Isamu Noguchi, who was born in Los Angeles. They're showing two exhibitions at the museum and giving a special focus to California Scenario, a garden in Costa Mesa and one of Noguchi's last public pieces. Off-Ramp producer Kevin Ferguson met with curator Grace Kook-Anderson at the site of California Scenario.

Lisa See's "Shanghai Girls" ended with a cliffhanger, but now it's payback time in the historically rich See-quel, "Dreams of Joy," fills in Americans on Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward.

Japanese cult writer-director Sion Sono started out as prolific poet until he took up filmmaking. He earned worldwide critical acclaim for his film "Love Exposure" — a four-hour epic that tackles life's biggest issues: love, death, sex, revenge, religion and up-skirt panty photography. His latest is "Cold Fish," which screens at Cinefamily on Aug. 6 and 7. It's a tale of a tropical fish salesman who’s drawn into the dark orbit of a charismatic, middle-aged serial killer, based on a true story. He talked with Off-Ramp’s Lainna Fader on his last trip to L.A.

The Dinner Party Download is a fast and funny ‘booster shot’ of news and culture designed to help you dazzle your friends and family at this weekend’s dinner party. Hosts Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam set the table every Friday.