LA artist Wayne White designed Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" video and was a puppeteer with Pee Wee Herman from way back, and his paintings -- words over landscape -- have been featured in Esquire, The New York Times, and The New Yorker, as well as a book by Todd Oldham. White's been touring the country with a one-man stage show, "You're Supposed to Act All Impressed," and brings it to Largo at The Coronet in West Hollywood for a four-week residency starting Tuesday, February 1. Hope to see you there; meantime, here's White's Off-Ramp profile.

Mike Brown is a professor of Planetary Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. In the early 2000s, Brown was instrumental in the dismantling of Pluto as a planet. But as he tells Off-Ramp's Kevin Ferguson: Pluto had it coming. He'll be speaking this Tuesday, February 1 at Vroman's books in Pasadena.

In our continuing series, Hard Times, Off-Ramp talks with people about how The Great Recession is affecting them. This time, Off-Ramp host John Rabe goes to a shopping center at Slauson and Vermont in South Central.

Two weeks ago, we met Jeffrey Hildreth, a man who dug a massive cave under his house in Sierra Madre, all by himself. Ultimately he wants to build an art gallery and wine cellar down there, but the city has taken Jeff to court in an effort to stop the project. Off-Ramp's Kevin Ferguson talks with attorney William Litvak, representing the city of Sierra Madre.

Maestro Gustavo Dudamel turned 30 in Cologne the other night, the third stop of the LA Philharmonic's first European tour with him. The rest of the itinerary: Lisbon, Madrid, London, Paris, Budapest, and Vienna. Off-Ramp host John Rabe talked with KUSC's Brian Lauritzen, who hosts his station's Phil broadcasts, after the London performance.

His story isn't often told, but for the international Hmong refugee community, General Vang Pao was a father figure. Pao led the Southeast Asian Hmong people in a CIA-backed battle against communists in the Vietnam war and joined the refugee community in 1975 when Laos fell to communist hands. After enduring house arrest, and then exhoneration by the US Government, Pao died January 6. Efforts are underway to get him buried at Arlington, but meantime, tens of thousands are expected to honor him for funeral services in Fresno from Friday, February 4, through Wednesday, February 9. The six days of mourning include Hmong and Buddhist ceremonies, plus speeches and presentations by organizations and dignitaries. (CLICK THROUGH for details.) In 2008, we ran a profile of Vang Pao produced by his great niece, then-KPCC reporter Doualy Xaykaothao, which we now present again.

Ron Perlman and Nameer El-Kadi tell Off-Ramp's John Rabe about their first movie: 1981's "Quest for Fire," a landmark film about human life on Earth 80,000 years ago. Here's the long version of their interview. For the short version, and for John Rabe's somewhat less groundbreaking but refreshingly short sequel, "Quest for Fire 2," with Perlman and El-Kadi, CLICK THROUGH.

The sign in Santa Monica hung over Off-Ramp contributor Hank Rosenfeld like an overdue DWP bill. "Moomat Ahiko." A small mystery he unravelled with the help of a chanteuse. (That's French for beautiful singer.)