It’s All Hallows Eve — do you know what your kids are eating? This Halloween, don’t let your little ones get tricked by the smiling jack-o-lantern bucket, which typically hides about 250 pieces of candy, amounting to a frightening 9,000 calories. The sad reality is that many children actually eat their way through the entire... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — When you think about it, life is a series of forks in the road. They could be as trivial as where to go for lunch or as daunting as whether or not to move halfway across the world for employment. For violinist Jennifer Argenti, these “sliding doors” are key to finding her way. “Every decision that you make... Read more →

Some 500 years ago there lived a people know as the Incas. They had a thriving civilization going until they were conquered by the Spaniards and blotted out. The Spaniards thought they had destroyed all the cities that the Incas dwelled in. They did not know about Machu Picchu — a city built on a mountain in Peru. This table sized... Read more →

Many Halloween costumes are convenient enough to have room for shoes to fit underneath the costume, keeping the impeccable design of the costume untarnished. For those other costumes, homemade or handed down, think outside the shoe. Finding colored cloth to match the costume to put over the shoe is an easy out, proving to be cheap and simple.... Read more →

Ah, the beach. You can do so much there. You can sunbathe, swim, surf, boat, read or just relax. But whenever I walk on the boardwalk, gazing at the sun setting over the horizon, the one thing that comes to my mind is ... seafood. There are so many restaurants on the beach, but out of all of them, a new one caught my eye. That place is... Read more →

Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a series on Central Asia. TTKKU stands for Central Asia’s Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. To locate the five “Stans” think of a rectangle bounded by China on the east, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran on the south, the Caspian Sea on the... Read more →

Dear New Shrink, I need your help. I work with this really great guy and it’s obvious that we’re attracted to one another. We have begun spending more and more time together and I could see myself dating this guy. I have asked several of my friends for advice on the matter and all of them have advised me against dating a co-worker... Read more →

GENERAL COMMENT: We’re in a recession right? People are eating at home to save money, right? Well, you wouldn’t know it at the Enterprise Fish Co. in Santa Monica. Try and get a table on a Tuesday night, and watch the lobsters go by while you wait at the bar. WHERE: 174 Kinney St., just off Ocean Avenue — (310)... Read more →

OCEAN PARK — At a Boston elementary school, a boy’s third grade teacher told his parents that their son would never graduate from high school. His multiple learning disabilities and inability to read would prevent him from achieving at the level of his classmates, leaving little hope that he would ever go to college, become a... Read more →

In a country obsessed with body image, chronic disease, health care, food shows, fast food, vegan and raw food diets as well as high protein diets and supplements, one can’t help but wonder what is “normal” eating? What does it feel like to eat for the purpose of nourishing your body but without worrying whether or not we... Read more →

Getting into Halloween costume shape may be a challenge for many yet, ironically, it is only challenged by few. With Santa Monica as a backyard, it’s difficult to understand how today’s workout regime can stream over to a responsibility of the endless “tomorrow.” So now is the time to ask yourself, when exactly is this... Read more →

When a person dies it is hard to make the adjustment back to life. You tend to hide in activities and idiosyncrasies you weren’t aware of. Our main character has lost a wife. It was reported as a murder. It has been 20 years and he has estranged his children. He hides in memorizing and spouting trivia. He still has his business, the... Read more →

So, color me old-fashioned. I like a well-written play that engages me, that gets me to really care about the characters and what happens to them, and prompts me to think about them afterwards. And if there’s good music involved, so much the better! Under these rubrics, therefore, one of the best plays I’ve seen in a long while is... Read more →

Dear New Shrink, For most of my adult life I have struggled with weight and body image issues. Over the last two years I have gained over 50 pounds and can’t seem to kick my unhealthy habits. I have tried a number of different diets and weight loss plans, all with only short-term results. During a recent doctor’s visit, my... Read more →

I wanted to share my discovery once again of Josie on Pico Boulevard and 25th Street. I had all but forgotten that this place was there due to the location. The area has no other restaurants per se and is like a no man’s land as far as commercial business goes. I whiz by there often and don’t bother to look at what is around me... Read more →