“War,” according to its hype, is a feisty comedy about war, but it’s no “M*A*S*H.” And it isn’t about war. In fact, it isn’t even a comedy. It’s a series of angry tirades set in an Irish pub. (But it isn’t “The Iceman Cometh,” either.) “War” consists of 16 people... Read more →

As the holidays approach those U.S. families that can afford to are studying how they will spend a large chunk of their annual charitable donations. It seems that most giving happens during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. We want to help those in need when we have so much to be thankful for.  This year, take it a... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Bringing locally-grown produce directly from the farm to the consumer is at the heart of the Santa Monica Farmers’ Markets’ mission. So when Laura Avery, who oversees all four of the Santa Monica markets, received a tip that one of her regular vendors may have been selling fruit imported from South America, she... Read more →

CASA DEL MAR — The days of ordering rum and Cokes or an apple martini are over. It’s time to step it up a notch. Classic cocktails from the Prohibition era are in vogue, with mixologists re-imagining the old formulas, creating drinks that are both satisfying and conceptually refreshing. While cities like San Francisco and New... Read more →

I love little shopping centers that have all kinds of ethnic restaurants, and sometimes I go with friends and we hop from one to the other having a little bite here and a little bite there. One of the best examples of these little foodie centers is at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, at the west entrance to Marina del Rey.... Read more →

She is our 111th Supreme Court justice. Her name is Sonia Sotomayor. But other than that, what do we know about her? Every president wants to leave his mark on history by his choice of Supreme Court justices. A question to ask yourself, since so far President Barack Obama has packed the court with two women, where is the balance? Will our... Read more →

Saturday mornings, Tom Williams, the owner of Burn Fitness teaches a private cardio class for his longtime clients. I have heard it is the hardest class at the gym. Even the trainers quake at the mention of this class. But I’ve been feeling like my progress has slowed. I’m still losing weight, but it’s a snails pace in... Read more →

There are certain witches that everyone remembers. The trio in “Macbeth" brewed toil and trouble in a steaming cauldron. Elizabeth Montgomery from “Bewitched" did the dishes by twitching her nose. The Wicked Witch of the West melted when Dorothy threw a bucket of water on her. But unless you are a movie and theater... Read more →

Dear New Shrink, My little brother is, and has been, a little monster. While growing up he was constantly acting out and causing problems for the family. But now, he’s in real trouble. He has picked the worst friends and he has gotten himself arrested for not only DUI, but also felony possession of drugs. He could go to prison. I guess... Read more →

So, here’s what happened. I dropped Benjamin at camp up in Temescal Canyon. Camp drop-offs had been getting more and more difficult as he clung to me screaming that he didn’t want to go. I would carry him in my arms, just able to get him around my eight-months-pregnant belly. I barely had the energy to hold him up. Seeing him cry,... Read more →

I like a restaurant with personality, so that when I think of that restaurant a particular dish comes to mind. Nowhere is that more true than at Le Saint Amour in Culver City. Yes, it’s French. And I mean really French, like you can go there and not speak a word of English and do just fine, if you speak French. And if you look on the... Read more →

Imagine being stranded with a broken leg on the narrow ledge of a 600-foot ice wall, in minus 50-degree weather, just 1,000 feet from the summit of the second highest mountain in the world. That’s the terrifying premise of Patrick Meyers’ play, “K2,” that opened recently at the Underground Theatre in Hollywood. And... Read more →

The next stop on my culinary tour of Santa Monica Place is the first place I tried to enter but was rejected because it was “too close to closing time.” But we went back, and this time we brought our secret weapon, number two son Spencer-san, a professor of Japanese poetry at Yokohama U. We sat at the sushi bar in the main dining... Read more →

The next stop on my culinary tour of Santa Monica Place is the first place I tried to enter but was rejected because it was “too close to closing time.” But we went back, and this time we brought our secret weapon, number two son Spencer-san, a professor of Japanese poetry at Yokohama U. We sat at the sushi bar in the main dining... Read more →

Lately, gym members have been asking me the same question: “How did you lose all that weight?” I tell them the same three things: 1) I’ve got an awesome trainer, Keith Sims, who keeps putting me through the paces; 2) I get in to do my cardio everyday and; 3) I enter my foods into the Fatburn.com online program. Now, this is... Read more →