What is Carob, an Easter Fool’s Day joke?

by Daedalus Howell March 30, 2013

Every now and again, a pair of dates collide on the calendar that, juxtaposed, naturally create the conditions of chaos and comedy. Such a time will occur this Easter Sunday, March 31, which happens to immediately precede Monday, April 1, better known as April Fool’s Day. I cannot help but think there’s some opportunity lurking […]

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In Praise of Frederick Exley

by Thad Weitz March 28, 2013

In honor of what would have been the 84th birthday of American literary cult  icon, Frederick Exley,  Thad Weitz shares a review he originally wrote for Traffic East Magazine of Exley’s masterpiece A Fan’s Notes. Nearly 50 years since its publication, A Fan’s Notes  remains an astonishing meditation on broken dreams and the struggle to […]

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Reflections on Black History Month

by Harvey Asher, Ph.D. March 26, 2013

In a February syndicated column, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cynthia Tucker called for an end to Black History Month. Separating black history from America history, she said, minimizes “the myriad ways in which black Americans’ accomplishments are part of the national mosaic [by making] the contributions of a few well-known black men and women seem like […]

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Benevolent Universe – The Art of Gus Harper

by Tony Shea March 21, 2013

Reminiscent of masters like Diego Rivera and Georgia O’Keeffe, Gus Harper’s work is always highly original and heightened by a mystical sense of possibility. Gus has traveled widely around the world and his work has a symbolic and sometimes hallucinatory quality that crosses cultures. Based in Santa Monica, Gus has had a run of successful […]

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The Luck of the Irish

by Jim Coughlin March 16, 2013

In the fourth grade, I became a collector of four-leaf clovers. Word had gotten to me that Dyan Ortbal, a fellow fourth grader, had found a four-leaf clover. Suddenly, finding four-leaf clovers was something I could possibly do. I suppose if a kid from my neighborhood had made it into the NBA, maybe I would have […]

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Gutsy the Lizard

by Dan O'Day McClellan March 15, 2013

This past weekend, as I was walking to the store to buy some wine for dinner, I came across a very long lizard lying in the middle of the parking lot of the store. Though you wouldn’t necessarily think so, Los Angeles is filled with animal life: coyotes, the occasional mountain lion, and loads of these […]

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Farewell to Sunset Strip’s Legendary Key Club

by Tony Shea March 9, 2013

It was recently announced that the legendary Sunset Strip venue, The Key Club, will close its doors on March 15, 2013. Originally opened as Gazzarri’s in the 1960’s, and renamed The Key Club in 1998, the club played host to some of music’s biggest names through the years including: The Doors, Van Halen, and Guns […]

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Lost & Found Pages

by Daedalus Howell March 5, 2013

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/80526811″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] When I lived in Los Angeles, I would frequently discover stray screenplay pages littering the streets. I saved them all and with my ArtsID co-host Gretchen Giles, am pleased to present a staged reading of these pages, complete with cast and soundtrack provided by the fine folks […]

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The Best Cop Show on TV

by Tony Shea March 3, 2013

Southland is now in the third week of its new season on TNT. Created by Ann Biderman and produced, in part, by John Wells of ER, The West Wing, and Shameless fame, Southland makes a strong case for being the finest police drama on television. Now in its fifth season, the show had something of […]

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The Reluctant DILF…Balance

by Christopher T. Wood February 27, 2013

Monologist, Christopher Wood gets in bed with you to explore the tenuous balance between men and women when they perform that special ballet. Read it. Watch it. Or both. His. My name is Christopher. And if years and years of romantic failure have taught me anything, it’s this. With respect to some of life’s colder […]

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Roe V Wade in the Shifting Winds

by Harvey Asher, Ph.D. February 26, 2013

Our resident political historian examines the factors surrounding the abortion issue in the United States. Please note that Shea Magazine expresses no opinion either for or against the practice of abortion. TS The American debate on abortion will not be decided by legal rights or moral wrongs. These kinds of arguments, strident though they may […]

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My Top Films of 2012

by Tony Shea February 24, 2013

Today marks the end of the Hollywood awards season. The Gloden Globes, the SAG, WGA, and PGA awards are behind us, as well as the Independent Spirit Awards from last evening. All that remains is tonight’s Oscars and another year of cinema history will be behind us. Regardless of how the Acadamy votes however, these […]

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Facial Expressions – Can They Be Used by People Who Aren’t Professionally Trained Actors?

by Tony Shea and Dan O'Day McClellan February 22, 2013

Every year after the Oscars telecast I receive dozens of emails from my students saying that they noticed something unusual, something about how actors seem different from themselves and the other people they encounter in daily life. My students aren’t quite sure what the difference is, but they have a sense that actors do something […]

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