After debuting last week on the Internet, Jackass 2.5 is coming to DVD tomorrow. I'll be watching, laughing and drinking--in that order. If you missed Eastern Promises in theaters, pick it up immediately. Viggo has never been better. I enjoyed The Kingdom, but I think I would have preferred the original ending (spoiler warning!). The Heartbreak Kid was funnier than critics gave it credit for and had the best last line of any movie......

A few weeks ago, while perusing the offerings behind the glass at the Surfas café, I noticed a bowl of green grains labeled “Freekah salad”. “What’s that taste like?” I asked. “It’s easier if you just try it,” said the friendly lad behind the counter, handing me a spoonful. I ate it. I frowned. Then I smiled. “Did you add that smoke in a bottle stuff to it? It’s so smoky!” “Nope,” he said.......

Don't get me wrong, I love Beirut, but last Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend at Harmonia Mundi to the pre-screening of GYPSY CARAVAN...When The Road Bends. Written and directed by Jasmine Dellal of Little Dust Productions, the film is a documentary about five bands that play different kinds of Gypsy music, who united for a highly successful 6-week tour across North America. Descendents of the Roma, a group......

Musician Marcel Khalife, an artist sometimes called "the Lebanese equivalent of Bob Dylan," comes to town next week. You can catch a performance on Saturday, November 6 at 8:30 PM at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach, CA. Khalife is internationally known for mastering the oud (the Arabic lute). He has toured the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the United States giving solo performances as well as......